BARBARA ANNE RUNNING BLACKFISH REPORTS

The time has arrived once again to start blackfishing. Oct 1st signals the first day of blackfish season with the first 2 weeks of October being more sebass than blackfish. As temps cool down the fish start to set up to feed for the fall migration offshore. Some of the migration patterns have changed with fish migrating to the north from the southern wrecks. When this migrations begins to take a foothold, it could be some of the best blackfishing the season has to offer with double digit fish not uncommon. By the third week of October the blackfishing starts to heat up and remains strong through the middle of January.

October 1st-opening day:The fishing very simplywas just outstanding today with fish up to 6lbs.d thing is the seabassing wasnt as good as the blackfishing. Pictures will be on the website later tonight. This report has come directly from my other captain as he was anchored on the wreck. Looks like a good start to the season and hopefully can carry through for the rest of the month.

October 2nd:The fishing was not that great with only a few fish with the biggest one going about 5lbs. We decide to seabass and it was the right move as everyone cuaght some fish for the table and went home with a bag each of fillets. The southwest wind made for some tough conditions to fish but working hard and making alot of moves resulted in a happy crew.

The weeek of October 3rd saw alot of wind once again with two trips being cancelled but we did manage to sail on October 10th and 11th.

October 10th:The day was surpringly tough conditons wise with the wind predicted to come on late but only arrived midmorning to real har south wing at about 25-30 mph. Unfortunatley, we sailed based on the a forcast that was completely incorrect. A very tough grind through the day, but mother nature did turn the fan down a bit and allowed us to fish in a few different areas and that was enough to bail the day out with nice-sized sea bass and a pick of blackfish. The group walked away with a 5 gal pail of fillets.

October 11th:More of the same..................WIND! The Ferlanti Group manage to see some great seabassing along with some nice sized blackfish. They ended the day with 1 gal bags full of fillets. The conditions never let up as the wind came hard from the northwest all day at around 20-25. In the end, the day was a win-win with all taking home fillet for the table.

With the water temps starting to plummet with some of these 40 and 50 degree nights, the tog fishing should really open up within the next few weeks.

October 13th:Windy.................................!The charter got cancelled due to a forecast of windy conditions. Looks like like there might be a window for wednesday.

October14th: The weatherman gave us the window we needed to sail with winds laying down to 10-15mph from the nw. The fishing was very good today with the largest fish weighing in at 5 1/2 lbs. But the action was nonstop as we went through 1 1/2 bushels of green crabs. The fishing is starting to really get going now that the water temps are finally getting to comfortable levels.

October 15th: The forecast is predicting wind for the next three days. All wind coming from the NE direction making for some very sloppy seas. We will be tied up too the dock as this sytem moves out.

October 20th: Finally made it out after the less than stellar weather that ahs held us hostage at the dock. Unsurprising, the fishing was on the slow side with a 4ft roll from the eastnortheast that had all blackfish with lockjaw. We did manage a few fish up to 4lbs for the box but overall very poor fishing but not surprising.

Oct 21st: It was like the switch was turned on the tog decided to bite with fish up to 8lbs coming to the boat. The acton was very consistent with shorts and keepers. The wind came from the west and conditions turned very favorable.

Oct 22nd: With the fishing pretty good the day before, we hoped for a follow through. Well, I must admit that might have been asking for a bit much as the the wind came from the SW at about 5-10 andthe fish retreating into their finicky mode. Shorts with a handful of keepers to 6lbs (20 fish in all)made their way to the cooler. As the day progressed, the fishing seemed to remain the same on both tides.

For the next three days forecast is calling for wind, rain, sun and some more wind. Seems like a rerun of last run.......Whole lot of booked charters and no where to go with them...........lol

Oct 23rd.........Oct 28th: It seems like this years fall weather is a copy cat of last years in that the wind is relentless and not allowing many days on the water. As for the Barbara Anne, we have been cancelled out of the last six days with the wind blowing mostly from the ENE hard.

Nov.1st: Finally, we made it out to the fishing grounds with the Niedzwiecki Group for a day of blackfishing that seemed to yield quantity and quality with fish up to 10lbs coming to the boat.

Nov 3rd: We ran an open boat blackfish trip today with limits all around and fish up to 7lbs. the action remained consistent throughout the day with 5 drops being made in various areas including varying depths. Water temps still a bit on the warm side with all this East and Northeast wind.

Nov 6th: Fishing was a little tough with conditions not being very favorable. It was a very slow pick with fish up to 5lbs. Limits were caught but you had to fish hard.

Nov 7th: We had the Michael Reilly and the boys from the Huntington Anglers Clug out for a day of NY Bight togging and the boys managed to walk away with their limits. The big fis of the day was just over 6lbs. The boys fished very hard as the weather finally cooperated for us.

Nov 8th: We had Bob from the Huntington Anglers Club out for a day of togging with conditons not as good as the day before but still alot better the weather we have been accustomed to. All had their limits with beautiful 3-5lb fish hitting the deck.

Nov. 10th: We had the Steve group for a day of togging and was a struggle to say the least with the biggest fish goin to 6lbs. The wind was a non event and conditions allowed us to fish where we wanted but the fish did not cooperate. We did manage to salvage the day with our last drop being the best and having the best life. We manged 20 keepers up to 6 1/2 lbs. All in all it was a great day.

Nov 11th-15th: Wind more wind and more wind. Continuous hard winds from the Northeast kept us tied to the dock as been the storyline for most of the month of November.

Nov 16th-17th: Fishing remained to be in a shutdown mode in the after math of one of the worst storms we had in 5 years with the ground swell approaching 14 ft during the storm and a mere 8-10 ft after. Eventually, the seas calmed and the fishing bounced back somewhat with some better size fish showing in the mix. Again, the water temps are still not where they should be for this time of year as November was warmer than usual.

Nov 20th: We had horst and his grandson for a full day of toggin and was rewarded with a pair of 10lb blackfish for their effort. They were pleasantly surprised with a striper to top off the catch along with their limit of tog

Nov 21st: We had Scott Paciello and the crew from ESPN out for a day of blackfishing and was rewarded with fish up to 9lbs. The easily caught their limits and caught and released the rest for another day. Conditons were a little sloppy in the m orning with the northwest wing against the incoming tide with a picky bite in the am . As the tide eased and conditons went flat, the bite got better and the pick now became a steady bite.

Nov 22nd: Charter cancelled due to the forecast. The conditons were no where close to what they were calling for with the being very fishable.