Clint Millpond Fishing Report on Invalid Date

Published Date: October 24, 2022

AUTHOR

Frank Breakell

Stone Harbor, NJ

At Brynnie-B, we go where the fish are!

NOTES

Testing out new toys...

Clint Millpond

Well, I finally got the Brynnie-B II back on Friday. She looks good! I added a Minn Kota Riptide trolling motor, two new Simrad NSS12+Evo3S sounders, new spreader lights from Black Oak, new LED nav lights in the rub rail, and of course three more batteries. It took nearly a month, but definitely worth the wait.

I poked out into the ocean on Saturday with my buddy Chris to see what the trolling motor could do, and see how the new screens look. We set up over a wreck and tried to engage the anchor feature of the trolling motor. It took us a few attempts. Two older guys with new technology and no instructions is never a good mix. We finally muddled through it and got set up right on top of the wreck. We stayed perfectly over the structure despite the wind and current. I am seriously looking forward to getting better with the new toy. It will open up so many opportunities for fishing.

Once we got set up we dropped down some green crabs. Chris started off with a rig he's trying out, and I used a 3oz tog jig I just poured. We missed the first few drops as we were instantaneously assaulted by tog and sea bass. Pretty sure we were picked clean before our offerings even hit the wreck. We both had holes we could drop into for instant tog bites. Chris got a nice 16" keeper early on. I finally managed two tog on the jig once I dropped down to a two ounce. One was about a hair shy of 15", so it went back. I had a big tog grab my jig. I pulled it up and it pulled me right back down. After a short but fun tussle I was cut off by something sharp. That sucked! I switched over to a rig to improve my odds. Jigs are fun, and Skinner makes it look so damn easy, but there is definitely a learning curve. Chris tried a jig for a bit, but switched back out of frustration. My hook up ratio increased with the rig. We had hits on every drop. Between us we pulled up 30 some odd tog and sea bass. Chris was high hook on the day. And he got a little bluefish.

We hoped to find some bunker schools, or chance upon some stripers, but no such luck. The trolling motor worked superbly, holding us right on the wreck and allowing us to drop into the same holes consistently. Technology is awesome. Now I need to get better at using it. Much better. The screens are sweet too. Big, clear, and accurate.

And just a heads up. If you are launching out of Stone Harbor and traversing the football field, be aware that there us currently a dredge working and you need to slow down and co.e off plane. We were running at dead low. It was only 2' along the dredged working area. We bumped bottom, but made it through. Coming back in just shy of four hours later it was only barely above 3 feet in depth. So watch yourself in the area. Hopefully they clear it out soon.

Tight Lines!

Gear & Tackle Used:

spinning and conventional rods. Tog jigs tipped with green crab chunks, and tog rigs. Tried salted clam too with good results.

STATS

Popularity

Light Fishing Pressure

Water clarity

Murky, 6-12 Inches

Scenic setting

Rocks/Boulders

Bait

Jig

Popularity

Water clarity

Scenic setting

Bait

CATCHES

133 Total Catches

Total catches133

black sea bass

Catches - 15

Species Family : Centropristis Striata

Habital : Offshore, Onshore, Nearshore, Wreck, Reef

Weight : 2 - 9 Pounds

Length : 10" - 26""

tautog

Catches - 118

Species Family : Tautoga Onitis

Habital : rocky outcrops, boulders, jetties

Weight : 1 - 3 Pounds

Length : 1" - 36""