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June 2, 2006

Small bait and big fog!

Finally the small bait has arrived and the Bass are eating the flies good!  Tough to fool them when they are eating 2 pound Bunker, but thank the fish Gods for Anchovies and Sand Eels!

This past week brought in the small bait and the big fog!  The combination of the two made for great fishing.  The Bass were sipping the small baits right ion the surface and the were eating crease fly's very well.  Doug Bird landed some strong and acrobatic Bass at the end of last week, and the bait and switch worked earlier during the week for the larger fish.  The hot weather has put things off a bit as soon as it heats up and the sun is high, but still the fishing is great.  Until next week, no sleep!

- Capt Frank Crescitelli

May 26, 2006

FCA Manhattan Cup Recap

It was a little crazy before this year's FCA Manhattan Cup.  It's amazing to see how this event has grown from an idea that Dave Fallon had, which he presented to you and I over a few beers 8 years ago!  When you turned to me and said, do you think guys will do it?  I never thought it would be as big as it is! I'm proud and exhausted, but it was a wild success, and all the money will be used to protect the resource.  We started off with a BBQ lunch sponsored by Urban Angler in NYC and then fished the rest of the day in crazy weather.  Not even hailstorms could hold these guys back, and most teams experienced some great fishing.  Fireworks sponsored by Mako Vodka and the "Big Man" Clarence Clemens blowing his sax were two unbelievable additions this year.  Having Clarence fish on one of my boats was a great honor.

Capt. Tony Gangone guided Clarence to the biggest Striped Bass he has ever seen!  Fin Chaser captain Fletcher Chayes guided Keith Overlander to the winning Bass on the fly and even I managed to win Largest Bass on bait (I know) caught by Geoffrey Jones, Largest Bluefish on Fly caught by Bob (Bubba) Rich and largest Bluefish on artificial, caught on a Barefoot "Getz Em" jig by Michael Donovan. Capt.

Gene Quigley guided my new friend, former Yankee catcher Mike Stanley to win the Manhattan Cup, congrats to Gene!  My sincerest thanks to all the captains that donated their time, expertise and boats to support the new Fishermen's Conservation Association.  There were too many to list, but please log on to www.manhattancup.com in the next few days's to see all the captains listed. 

A special thank you to my Co-chair David Fallon for all his hard work, and to all the volunteers that helped make this tournament a wild success. This year we also added a Striper Tube category and we weighed in and released, alive, over 25 Stripers. Capt. Rich Tenrerio of Northeast Angling won that division and took home the 2500.00 prize money as well. This years "man of the year" Capt.  Gary Ellis, had his first Striper ever as well with me that day, so all in all it was great!

As for the fishing, it has been insane!  Gator Bluefish and Hog Stripers are here and don't seem like they are going anywhere for a while.  I have said this for the last four years and I'll say it again -- "this is the best spring fishing in my life" I'll end on that note.

- Capt Frank Crescitelli

May 12, 2006

Welcome back everyone!

We're fishing again and all is right with the world once again! Very large Menhaden have moved into Raritan Bay and the Big Bas and Bluefish are feeding heavy on them.  When the fish are feeding on these large baits make it is very hard to fool them with a fly, even a big one, but the reward is worth the risk!  This past week we had some good day's with the fly with Bass up to 14 pounds, and Blues up to 11 pounds. When we have clients that liveline, well, let's just say... ther've been bigger.  With fish up to 42 pounds in the bay eating the live baits, anything can happen on the fly and if this year is anything like last, we broke the 20 pound mark many many times.  It's all a matter of being in the right place at the right time, because we know something like 26 million fish will pass through our area this spring, so get your big bunker flies, your full sinking lines and go get em! By the way, nothing sinks like Rio T-14 Tungsten heads, they will get you down in 25 feet of water!

The fishing in Raritan Bay and lower NY Harbor has been off the hook, but challenging at times with the fly, still. This week we had a 21 pounder on the fly and some very nice teen size fish as well. The movement of the Bunker is dictating where we are fishing and changes from day to day, which is keeping it interesting! Very large fish are moving in everyday, so stay tuned.

- Capt Frank Crescitelli