Where are all the outlandish blackfish coming from? The latest was weighed at The Tackle Box in Hazlet after Shane Burke of Holmdel caught it Friday while fishing from a private boat out of Wildwood. Not only did it weigh 23 pounds, but he also caught another of 17 pounds!
Tank Matraxia of Lyndhurst was in Miami today, where he chartered an ex-NJ guy to fish for peacock bass in a lake west of that city. Using large shiners, Matraxia caught 16 peacocks to over 5 pounds plus 10 largemouth black bass. He was fishing with Frank Barone, at hawghunterguideservice.com (954 325-1115).
On the other side of Florida, at Fort Myers, Capt. Joe Massa of My Three Sons at Morgan Marina, fished this morning with Joe Greco of Fort Myers (formerly of Edison) as they had a good time catching sheepshead and mangrove snappers. The sheepshead spawning run is just getting started on the west coast, but Massa sent along a photo with one of at least 5 pounds.