June, 2009 Fishing Report -

Sunday, June 28th

Aboard today was the Greg Vilardo family and friends charter, including Dan, Dan, Ed, Frank and Sam. 63° F. for an air temp. walking out the door this morning with low humidity. The rustling in the trees as I loaded the truck told me we were going to have a bit more than the forecasted 5-10 knots of wind early this morning, but I didn't find it surprising as it was not at all an unexpected result of a frontal passage. Sure enough, upon clearing the inlet, we found winds out of the Northeast in the 15 knot range. Seas had not had a chance to build and were mostly chops of 3'-4'. By mid-morning, the wind started falling out (to 7-8 knots) and veering, first to the East, then to the South by the time we got back to the inlet. Seas came down with the wind to a comfortable couple of foot chop. Skies were mostly overcast much of the morning, but cleared by lunch time, giving way to sunny conditions. The air temp. was in the mid-70's on the day on land, a bit cooler on the water over top of the 68° F. ocean surface.

We headed offshore today looking to catch some of the bigger blues that have been around the past 3 weeks. As we approached the grounds, conditions looked great with bait and fish marks on the sounding machine. Hoping for some good catching, lines and bait went in the water. Unfortunately, the results did not meet the expectations. We were not lacking in a good showing of bait and fish on the sounding machine, but the fish simply did not want to eat today, you go to the buffet often enough and eventually you have to take a break I guess. We tried fishing with bait, jigs and trolling, and we looked over a number of spots, all with the same results with respect to catching a bluefish - coming up empty.

We did have some excitement mid-morning as Sam and Greg battled the hard fighting "fouled jig". The jigs were subsequently released unharmed. Then I went over to Ed and noticed his rod was starting to dance, with line beginning to stream off the reel. It didn't take long to realize this wasn't a bluefish but something much bigger as line went from streaming off the reel to screaming off the reel. I thought if the fish might cooperate a bit I might be able to get the anchor up and chase this one a bit, as at least we had on some wire and heavy leader. But before I could get the anchor up, 300 yards of line was gone off the reel, and SNAP!, good-bye line, good-bye fish. We never did get to see this freight train, most likely another big thresher, could've even been a big bluefin tuna. Just another "fish tale" now, and a good one at that.

By lunch time the guys decided they just wanted to catch some fish, so we hit a couple wrecks and wound up catching over 60 fish, keeping just a handful of legal-sized sea bass. Ed got the first keeper, and when asked how that felt, he responded with "very good". Yes, it was very good indeed.

Capt. Adam

Saturday, June 27th

I hosted the Fred Verdi charter today, including Andy, Bill, Carl, Frank and Lou. A nice enough morning today, 64° F. with lower humidity as a weak cold front pushed just offshore, triggering last nite's thunderstorm activity. Skies were mostly sunny, and the mercury climbed into the 80's on the day. Winds were light and variable on the day, trying to take hold out of the North/Northeast a couple times, but repeatedly fluking out. Seas were calm over a couple of foot roll with a surface temp. of 68°+.

Total landings on the day were in the mid-300's, mostly sea bass. Lack of good anchoring conditions made it difficult to hold on any one spot on the day to develop a bite of better fish, but we did wind up with a box of near 60 fish again today, mostly sea bass along with more nice ling. Frank also kept most of the sea robins we caught on the day for his "special sauce". I like a man that makes the most of what Mother Nature provides. Carl found it was easier to catch fish with bait instead of "foo-foo". Andy was probably the day's leader in keeper sea bass and ling landings.

Thanks for fishing aboard the Karen Ann II, and see you in the fall.

Capt. Adam

Friday, June 26th

Jerry, Rich and Tony were aboard today looking for some sea bass. 67° F. and noticeably more humid this morning. Conditions were overcast most of the morning, giving way to a mostly sunny sky in the afternoon. The air temp. held right around 70° F. on the ocean, making into the mid-to-upper 80's inland. The heavy rain with which the weather forecast threatened all day arrived at the boat around dark, a strong thunderstorm (I was told) that failed to rain a drop at my house across the Mullica River. Winds were out of the Southwest at 10-15 knots all day, more early, less mid-morning, then piping up a bit by lunch time. Seas were a surprisingly large swell in the 4'-5' range, giving way to a 3' chop. The ocean surface temp. today on the fishing grounds was 67° F.

Sans the current today, the better sea bass bit very well. The 3-person group had a box of near 60 fish on the day (throwing back 5x that many, as well), mostly sea bass along with a few ling, including a large 2½ lb. specimen landed by Tony, one of the larger ling I've seen caught inshore. There were many 2+ pound fish in the box, an excellent day for quality, rivaled only (in this captain's opinion) by Rich's grilled chicken sandwiches and jar of half sour pickles.

Thanks for fishing aboard the Karen Ann II.

Capt. Adam

Sunday, June 21st (Father's Day)

With rain and wind forecast for this first day of summer, we canceled today's trip. We had periods of rain this morning with winds out of the north in the 15 knot range. The rain tapered off by lunch time (whilst the wind did increase). It started to pour again after dark and was continuing to rain well after I had gone to bed for the evening. After taking advantage of a good chance to get some maintenance done on the boat this morning, I had an enjoyable afternoon with my kids, a perfect way to spend Father's Day.

I will continue sea bass fishing for the next couple of weeks, then will be pulling the boat about of the water after the holiday weekend for some maintenance. From mid-July through August we will be fishing a combination of fluke and sea bass primarily, along with some trolling trips for bluefish and inshore tunas. I do have some open dates, contact me soon to book your fabulous day of deep sea charter fishing aboard the Karen Ann II.

Capt. Adam

Saturday, June 20th

Today's shared deep sea bottom fishing charter included Bob, Dennis, Greg, Jack, Mike M. and Mike T. It was a very nice 61° F. morning, with air that felt clear of the humidity that has been prevalent the past couple of weeks. We had a partly sunny sky headed to the fishing grounds with just a light and flukey breeze out of some variant of a Southerly direction. Around 10:30 am, the first drops of rain fell, and we had a steady drizzle for the next 90 minutes. When that rain passed, the wind filled in steady out of the South, building to 15+ knots in a short time. It started to rain heavy as I was pulling the anchors at the last stop, and we carried rain and drizzle back to the dock. Some clearing of the skies took place before I left the dock for the day, but it was raining again after dinner. The air temp. on the day was around 70° F., a bit warmer when the sun was out late afternoon (and humid). Seas were calm to start with a gentle roll, building to 3' when the wind filled in. What do they say about the weather in certain locales, if you don't like it, just wait 10 minutes and it will change? It was like that here today. The ocean surface temp. was 66.5° F.

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The fishing (and more specifically, the catching) was a lot like last Sunday's trip, a bit higher in total numbers with near 400 total fish landed today. The majority of the landings were black sea bass, with 73 going in the box and 250-300 returned to the ocean. Quality of the keepers was excellent again, lots of 2+ lb. fish on the day, with Bob leading the way in landings of keepers and getting the day's best at an even 3.5 lbs. A photo of "Cigar" Bob with a couple of 3+ lb. sea bass appears above. The tog bite was also excellent today, we landed 30-35 tog with the day's biggest being landed by Dennis at 9.25 lbs. Many other 3-5 lb. tog were hooked, fought, landed and released, Mike M. got more than his share of them. Were Dennis and Mike putting Bob on notice that they intend to challenge for the Spring Tog King crown next year? We'll see. Ling landings were in the double digits today, making for another total box of over 80 fish.

Capt. Adam

Friday, June 19th

Ed, Frank and Lou were aboard for their charter today. 65° F. to start the morning with fog inland, on the bay, and a couple miles offshore before giving way to overcast conditions on the fishing grounds. We had nary a hint of a breeze most of the day, filling in lightly (very lightly) out of the West later in the morning. Without much sun, it was another day in the low 70's for an air temp. Seas were glassy smooth over top of a rolling 4'-6' swell, leftover from some wind and rougher seas the past couple of days. The swells diminished through the morning. The ocean surface temp. was 64.5° F. on the fishing grounds.

Today was a near carbon copy of Tuesday's trip, with another shot of mal de mer making the rounds, limiting the fishing on the day. It was another box of 20+ fish (mostly sea bass along with a handful of smaller bluefish) for the time we fished, keeping 1 out of 4 fish caught on the day. Full recoveries occurred at the dock, bringing out the lunches that had remained locked away while the group had their fish cleaned, sending everyone home with some nice bags of fillets. Thanks for fishing aboard the Karen Ann II.

Capt. Adam

Tuesday, June 16th

I hosted Sara Madonna and family and friends from the Douglassville, PA area today. Sara's group included her mother, Holly, her sister, Sandy, her fiance, Brian (best of luck to you both) and friends Bill and Matt. 61° F. with some showers around as I got to the dock this morning. Skies stayed overcast most of the day with a few breaks in the clouds. Winds were out of the East at 10-15 knots again, with seas in the 3' range. With the onshore flow and overcast conditions, the air temp. struggled to get to 70° F. on the day. Needless to say, it has been an easy month on the electric bill at home so far, no A/C required! The ocean surface temp. was 64.8° F.

We were down some anglers and angling time on the day as apparently this fine group of EMT's didn't have much experience inland with preventing the spread of mal de mer. It crept from one to another, until only Holly and Sandy were left standing (and catching). Before calling uncle, we put nearly two dozen nice sea bass in the box, throwing back 3 times that many. There were plenty of laughs through it all, and once again, all made a complete recovery upon reaching terra firma.

Capt. Adam

Sunday, June 14th

The Dennis Doriety "brownie throw down" charter was aboard today with Bob, Gene, Jack and Nof. 63° F. for an air temp. to start the day with some fog on land, clearing outside of the inlet. Skies remained mostly overcast all day, with the sun coming out as we headed for the dock. The air temp. was right around 70°, warmer inland, with a breeze out of the Northeast in the 10-15 knot range. Seas built to a 3' chop offshore with a surface temp. on the fishing grounds of 63° F.

Total landings today were only about 1/2 of what we had yesterday, in the 300 total fish range. While overall landings were down, we had a much higher percentage of keepers, with better than 1 in 4 fish going in the box today. At day's end we had a box of 86 fish, mostly black sea bass along with some ling and a big bluefish. And a beautiful box of fish it was, nearly half the catch was 14"-15" and up. Unlike yesterday where many of the fish we didn't measure because they were obviously sub-legal in size, we didn't have to do much measuring today because of so many fish that were clearly legal sized. Dennis must have been especially pleased with the quality as I caught him at least once throwing back fish that I believed were obviously legal in size, he must have had enough! Bob was intent on keeping his Spring Tog King crown intact, landing the day's best blackfish at around 6 lbs.

As for the "brownie throw down", I would have to say it came down to a tie between Dennis and Gene. I was unable to come to a decision on my own (despite numerous samples), so I turned the judging over to the "experts", my kids. They were unanimous in their determination that they needed to eat every one of them before coming to a decision. When the crumbs had cleared, a draw was declared. They indicated that additional smaples would be required to name a winner. I'm sure they'll get their chance!

See you next time on the Karen Ann II.

Capt. Adam

Saturday, June 13th

After a few days of rainy weather here, it was off to the fishing grounds with Bill, Brian, Buck, Jim, John and Sam. 67° F. to start the morning for an air temperature with a light easterly breeze. While you could feel the sun was out, it was obscured much of the day by the "marine layer", low level and thin clouds, almost like a fog hanging a few hundred feet up in the air. It was an overall comfortable day somewhere in the 70's for an air temp., feeling warmer in the sun. There was an approx. 3' swell on the ocean with a light chop as the breeze made it to around 10 knots. There was a ton of current running down the beach today, with the wind, thankfully. The ocean surface temp. was 65° F.

Today was as good of a catching day as any aboard the Karen Ann II this or any other year. Total landings on the day were well in excess of 600 total fish, mostly sea bass along with a handful of tog and ling. Fish were stacked 20'-30' off of the bottom, you didn't have to do much more than drop it down, wait a half second and start reeling up again, and how ever many hooks you had baited (and in some cases, not baited) would be filled. The only complaint would have to be overall quality of the sea bass today. It was like a fresh body of smaller fish moved in, the vast majority of the catch was from 8"-12" on the day. We were able to put 53 fish in the box with a handful in the 2 lb. range. An incredible catching day with fish to take home, a very good day of fishing.

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With barely a whimper from the rest of the crew, Buck cleaned house for the fisherman of the day award. His accomplishments on the day included landing the largest sea bass, largest ling, largest cunner and largest tog. (Note to the rest of the crew: If you don't want to have to keep buying Buck bigger hats, step up to the plate!) His tog was the real trophy of the day, a personal best 13 lb. female, a beautiful specimen that was returned to the ocean to fight again. Buck's photo appears at left with his trophy tog prior to release. I also shot a video of Buck with his fish, it's clear that he loves his tog. Click the following links to download/view the video in Windows Media Player format -
Smaller Size (Faster Download) | Larger Size (Slower Download)

Capt. Adam

Tuesday, June 9th

Danny and Lin Pang were back with their family today including Benny, Melissa, Mike and Sherry. 65° F. to start the morning with fog at the dock, which cleared 1/2 way across the bay. Winds were out of the South at 8-10 knots, and the ocean had a 1' chop, a pretty nice day for fishing. By mid-morning, conditions changed, as the forecasted late day thunderstorms moved in a bit earlier than expected. I tracked the storm's approach on radar, and by 10:30, the weather was about on us. It got about as dark as I've ever seen it for mid-morning, the wind shifted out of the North (light for a thunderstorm, under 15 knots), and it began raining hard enough to flatten any white caps that may have been forming. It took a half hour to 45 minutes to motor through to the other side of the cell, and by then, a steady rain developed. The rain was steady with some thunder until after lunch. Winds remained light during this time, then picked up to 12-13 knots out of the South for the afternoon. The ocean surface temp. jumped up a bit to 62.8° F.

We had time to make a few stops this morning before packing it in. We caught fish everywhere with a varying percentage of keeper sea bass per stop. By the time we quit fishing in the storm and made for the dock, we had landed about 125 sea bass, keeping only about one of out ten. The keeper percentage was best at the last stop, we were headed for some better keeping, I believe. For the time we fished, the gals outfished the guys...big time. Today's lesson - If you want to go home with fish, don't send a man to do a woman's job! Ouch!

Capt. Adam

Sunday, June 7th

Today Ben Brown was down with family and friends, including Jessica, John, Matt, Mike and Pat. 59° F. this morning under partly cloudy skies. Sun dominated the day, sending the air temp. to near 80° on the day, cooler at the shore. Winds were light, mostly out of the West-Southwest, before building to 13-15 knots out of the South-Southwest at lunch time. Seas were flat calm over a leftover 2' roll, becoming a 2' chop with the wind. The ocean surface temp. cleared 60° F.

It was an excellent day to be on the water today making for some great fishing, however, the super nice conditions did hamper the catching a bit. We spent a good portion of the morning alternating between drifting and anchoring under changing conditions of wind and current. Just when you'd start to get the fish biting fairly well, you'd slide off a piece and have to figure how to get back on it, only to have conditions change after getting setup again. A bit frustrating to be sure, but when the weather was as pretty as it was today, hard to complain. We did land approx. 250 sea bass on the day, with the keeper percentage down from what it has been, approx. 3 dozen went in the box, with the biggest fish around 2 lbs. Jessica landed the "pool" fish, a 7 lb. tog that gave her quite a tussle. Upon landing the fish, she astutely noted that the fish looked pregnant. Right you are, give that lady a prize! With a little coaxing, we got the fish to swim right back down to its home to go make some baby blackfish.

Thanks for fishing aboard the Karen Ann II.

Capt. Adam

Saturday, June 6th (D-Day, 1944)

After enough rain in the past 36 hours to make me wonder if I ought to start building an ark, I set sail today with the Chang family aboard, Jack, Jean, Jason and Jeff. 62° F. this morning with some light drizzle/fog around with a light Northeasterly breeze. We carried the drizzle to the fishing grounds, then shortly after getting set up, we got some fair visibility under overcast skies. The sun tried to make an appearance a couple times during the day, but never really cleared until I was cleaning up for the day, allowing the air temp. to get into the mid-70's. On the ocean, seas were a good sized ground swell in the 6' range, fairly tight in the morning but spacing out as the day went on. It was a bit uncomfortable if you tried running directly into the seas, but ok on the beam or when following. A bit of a sea breeze came up in the bay by the time we got back to the dock. The ocean surface temp. was 58° F.

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The sea bass fishing and catching was very good today with a lot of nice 13"-15" fish. We wound up with a box of 70, and released another 200+, good fishing for a four-person group. It would have been an easy limit had we been fishing under the 12" size limit. Landings also including two dozen spiny dogfish and a couple of tog (released). Making it easy in awarding the fisherman of the day award was Jeff, really putting it to his older brother on the day, and I'm sure he won't soon let him forget it either.

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Jeff did get points deducted for mugging his own mother, but when she is landing 3¼ lb. sea bass herself (photo at right), it was hard to blame him. Alas, Jeff was far and away high hook and had the day's best sea bass, a beautiful 4.38 lb. sea bass (according to an official scale at the dock where Jeff had the fish weighed for the state's Skillful Angler program). Jeff's photo appears above with his trophy sea bass.

Always a pleasure having the Chang family aboard, and today was no exception. Thanks for fishing aboard the Karen Ann II, see you in the fall.

Capt. Adam

Tuesday, June 2nd

Danny and Lin Pang (of the Bamboo House restaurant in East Stroudsburg, PA, be sure to check it out on your next trip to the Poconos) chartered the Karen Ann II today with Dave, Joan, Bob and Sunny. 58° F. with some showers around on the way to the dock this morning, but skies cleared as we headed offshore. Sunny skies prevailed thereafter, at least until we got back to the dock. Strong thunderstorms (more later) ruled the late afternoon and early evening. With 8-10 knots of a South-Southwest wind on the day, the air temp. offshore was in the 60's. Inland the story was different, however, 87° F. at Atlantic City Airport and humid. Seas were chops of 1'-2', and the ocean surface temp. registered 59.8° F. on the day.

It was another fine day of sea bass catching, although the keeping does require a bit of work now. A lot of boats have been fishing the past few weeks, and it is taking its toll on the number of keepers. We finished the day with a box of near 60 fish, mostly sea bass (with Bob landing the day's best, an ounce shy of 4 lbs. even at the dock) along with a handful of ling.

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Over 300 fish were returned to the ocean alive, including another dozen tog to about 8 pounds (captured by Danny). Both Bob's and Danny's fish made for some good photos, so I am including them both in this report, see above (Bob at left, Danny at right). It was one of those days where the jump in size for sea bass of the ½" for 2009 had a definite effect on the number of sea bass we kept, we threw back 30 or more fish that would have been legal sized otherwise. Spiny dogfish landings were up today, almost two dozen.

So after a near perfect day on the water, you could see the thunderheads building in to the West as I was cleaning up for the day. I put the lock on the wheelhouse as the first big drops started falling, and threw the last bag of garbage in the dumpster as the torrential sideways blowing rain hit. The heaviest rain had passed as I was almost home, and I figured that was that. But as I headed down one of the main roads in town, an unexpected end to my day was unfolding. The road was littered with debris, numerous tree limbs were down, and the fire department and state police were blocking the road awaiting the arrival of the power company and road crews to work on

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trees that had downed lines and were blocking the road. I detoured around them, amazed at the number of downed limbs and trees I saw, all ripped from healthy looking trees. My wife told me the wind was like a freight train hitting the house, presumably some type of outflow boundary from the approaching storms and thankfully, short lived. Local weather reports from surrounding areas also affected by the storms reported sustained winds of 50+ mph with gusts to over 75 mph. For the next couple of hours, the sound of chain saws and smell of fresh cut lumber filled the air. Quite the evening.

Capt. Adam