Sunday off NJ

[SkunkBoat]

Originally Posted by bgreene

Skunk......... ref long haul for fluking we each have our own opinion.....here's mine:
Only X number of days I have available to fish.......mostly just weekends.
Only X number of good weather that lines up with my days off.
Only X number of days with very calm ocean.

So, for me, and with the V21 as I have it rigged, a 20 mile run to get on a bite is usually fine. Running as I did .......38 knots (43.7 mph) is about a 1/2 hour ride.
Way faster than I usually cruise, but rare flat ocean and another 600 rpm left on the throttle so the engine was happy too !

That's also my policy regarding fuel burn - I mostly don't care.....if I burn 10 gallons, 20, or 30, I'm out there to fish, not count my pennies.

To me, running 80 miles/ 160 miles + for a chance at a tuna seems a tiring haul, but hey, nice adventure.

I hear you. I don't care about burning gas either. The only way to catch a tuna is to run east til your feet fall asleep standing...

With fluking though, and striper too, I find that you gotta pick a direction and stick it out. Shrewsbury way north out of Manasquan, Axel is south. Lots of good ground and historic fluke spots in between.

All the fluke are either in the bay or river or from the beach out to 70 ft (5 miles) Its really an "In/Out" fish not a North/South fish.

I keep hearing reports of Axel is hot...SeaGirt is hot...Red Church is hot... its only ever hot for the guy that was there for the hour they bit.

Axel and Sea Girt have a thousand boats on them every weekend and a hundred every day in between. Invariably, a few guys catch the crap out of them and everyone else strokes it..
I am always disappointed with Axel for fluke BUT I have a friend who seems to crush em there often. Some of the wrecks have good sea bass and tog. Stripers are there in the fall.
Sea Girt has, in years past, been great for fluke and our two biggest 8.5 & 9 pounds. Lately I have been beaten by the fluke. Used to be my favorite fish but can't seem to catch a break. Looking back at pictures, the last time fluke dominated them was 2007. Since then its mostly pix of stripers. Its not that I don't try... I have wasted many days catching sea robins, skates and dogfish these last few years at the Axel and SeaGirt.