Wednesday was a real treat as Captain Steven took the day to fun fish and enjoy the beautiful weather. O'Neill's Marina was bustling with anglers heading out for the day. I needed live bait which was relatively easy to gather especially since I was the only angler. White baits are still plentiful on the grass flats.
The water temperature a mile off the beach was 69 degrees at sunrise and would slowly inch up with a forecasted 84 degree high temp. I deployed a frozen chum bag which promptly ripped so I had to make my own chum bag from my lunch bag.
Bluefish were first to attack my baits and while these Blues are small compared to their Northern cousins they make up for it with a fierce battle. Mackerel and Bluefish took turns then I got crushed by a Kingfish that took 100 yards of line in record time. The King exploded into the air and left me high and dry.
I saw Bonita crashing baits up tight to the beach so I gathered the anchor and ran to the diving birds. I cast my favorite Bonita lure a Clark silver spoon into the boiling frenzy. It felt like I was hooked to a high speed train. After landing your fish simply find the school, position yourself up current and drift in.
I left the fish chewing to go check out the area we killed the Macks the day prior. First bait in was greeted by a solid 4 pound Mackerel. The action was ok but not the non stop action prior.
Happy Thanksgiving.
Captain Steven Markovich
www.onthemarkcharters.com
