Their shot never came as it looks like that bite has slowed down. They drop down a heavily weighted string of 5 squid jigs to the bottom and just reel up slowly and are catching three or four big 12 squid a time and using those as baits.
When we set out the lines at 8 30am we could only get four baits out but with some luck on our side the wind let up and by 10am we had out our full pattern of two double Offshore Innovation dredges and two 9 Canyon Runner rainbow squid teaser bars (no hooks due to tournament rules) and 6 ballyhoo baits. Fishing Penn International 80VSWs on both trolling rods and stand-up rods and Penn International 70VSWs all on stand-up rods with 130 pound Momoi they trolled all big lures (12 Mako Jets, Moldcraft Chuggers, and horse and select ballyhoo with Ilander lures) looking for that big big-eye or blue marlin as was the wish of Damien.
Capt. Mark Deblasio ran to the northeast corner of the Toms Canyon with the Paul Pedretti charter on Thursday morning and put her on the troll looking for the big-eyes that have been biting their heads off since Sunday. He found them when 5 came up and ate ballyhoo and Canyon Runner purple black spreader bars and green machines.
Capt. Mark missed out on the biggest big-eye bite in decades by only a few hours as the Jenny Lee and the Pepper both out of Manasquan Inlet boated 15 big-eyes between the two boats. He put the 130 pounder in the boat caught on a ballyhoo and then went right to the chunk.
Mark was right on the 100-square and trolled until 10 50am and only picked one more yellowfin and was going to pull lines out at 11am when with 2 minutes to go he got his bite. The two on the 12 squid bars did not come tight but the other two did.
The real excitement for the night came at 4 30am when a 700 pound mako bite a 70 pound yellowfin in half right at the boat. The crew teased the mako with the other half of the yellowfin for 5 minutes right at the back of the boat until a suitable shark rig was ready.
Capt Mark and Adam noted that the bite down in the Linden was just not that great all around (while Phil had 7 yellowfin 8 other boats caught nothing), there were reports of boats doing well in the Dip and the same water in the Dip was just offshore of the Hudson so the decision was made to head that way. He finished the night 21 for 35 and many of the yellowfin were in the 70 pound class or a little better.
Leaving late on Saturday and going out slow due to the remaining swells left over they arrived just before night fall and dropped the hook in 400 feet of water settling back in 450 feet. At 5am just before pulling the hook they put a 40-pounder in the boat and then the yellowfin came under the boat in plain sight.
Capt. Mark DeBlasio and mate Eddie Farrel took the Bob Petro charter out to sneak in an overnighter before the blow Thursday to Friday and ran right to the northeast corner of the Lindenchol and dropped the hook. This trip was Eddie Farrel s last trip of the 2007 season as he is off to Duke University for his masters in Marine Biology we like our Canyon Runner Crew well educated!
Mark immediately cut off a section of the yellowfin, mate Eddie Farrell got a shark rig and they put it out and hooked up immediately. With 10 yellowfin total in the boat at 3am they got a bite on a high rod on a Penn International 16 with only 60 pound flouro and fought what turned out to be a big sword for 2 hours before breaking it off 40 feet from the boat when the flouro chaffed off.
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