2009 Fishing Reports

Friday, November 27, 2009
We were blown out Monday and Tuesday.  Wednesday we had 50 keepers to 8.5 lbs.    Yesterday was a beautiful day out there for our Thanksgiving Special.  Flat calm and everyone in good spirits.  Put around 60 keepers in the boat up to 8-9 lbs before calling it early to head home for dinner.  Fun trip.!
Blown out again today and tomorrow.  Hopefully we can get out there again Sunday!

                                               
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Good day today!  85 keepers to 8.5 lbs.  Crazy Alberto and Kai were were high hook with 9 keepers apiece.  Fish bit well in the deep water up to 90 feet.  Fish definitely seem to be making the move offshore so hopefully we should see some good days ahead!

 
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Very difficult anchoring conditions today with wind against tide the entire trip!  despite it all we put together a decent catch with 60 nice tog up to 8 lbs or so.  Bite has definitely improved this week and we have some real light tides coming up for the rest of the month which is good.
We had the first good showing of fish in deep water today.  As they move offshore and settle on the deeper pieces, hopefully the bite will be strong well into december as it was last year.
Just a few booked for tomorrow.  Come on down if you would like to join us.
Congrats Thomas on your first keeper blackfish!


Thursday, November 19, 2009
Tough day yesterday as 18 keepers were landed on the day. Fish just weren't on the feed.
Today was certainly better as 45 keepers were landed with a lot of quality size fish in the mix. Seemed like the bite sound wide really picked up today.
Sailing tomorrow. Just a few booked so plenty of room. Just come on down!


Monday, November 16, 2009
Caught em good today!  We were blown out for 4 more days this week and yesterday the bite was way off in the entire area.  Today was much better though as 17 anglers were just a few shy of a full boat limit today.  Some BIG tog in the mix as well with the pool weighing in over 12 lbs!!  Felipe Sanchez caught this fish of a lifetime to go along with 7 keepers on the day.  Way to go Felipe!
11 year old Jeff also showed us how it was done landing his limit of tog to 7 lbs!  Nice job Jeff.


Monday, November 9, 2009
This was posted on Noreast .com by Pete "leprechaun":
Solid trip Today on the Celtic Quest
Today was the Noreast Mod's trip on the CQ. No need to talk up Capt. Desi, I think that by now we all know the quality of the man and his tog-hunting abilities. He told us on boarding that it was a might tough yesterday - honesty always goes a long way toward building trust.
But we also trusted his desire and skills to put us on the fish and were well rewarded for that trust. He steamed out, far to the East, to try some drops that he felt would give us our best shot at some outsided fish. Mission accomplished - we put at least 75 keepers in the boat to ~8lbs.
The weather was as good as the fishing, with maybe a 6" chop. Maybe less. This was the first time I've ever fished with Desi that I didn't need Long Johns and three sweaters to stay warm. Couple the conditions with the irrepressible Capt. Paul and Chris working the deck and it was a happy day for all. You won't finder a nicer group of guys (and gal of course!) to spend a happy day on a boat with than the moderating and executive staffs of Noreast.com.
See below for some pix of the results. John/Reelfisher beat my fish for the pool by a gnat's eyelash, followed REALLY closely by Ralphie/Rodwinders fat tog.
A great time, hosted by our leader George "The Late Inning Tog Killer," on what I honestly believe is the finest tog-hunting boat on Long Island.
Best, Lep


Sunday, November 8, 2009
Slow bite this morning on the incoming tide.  picked away as the tide eased off and on the first of the ebb we had a good drop to end the day.  Our charter today of 26 anglers ended up with 55 keepers to 8 lbs.  Ken was high hook with 8.


Wednesday, November 4, 2009
The weather has been tough this week on many days and kept us tied to the dock several trips.  Despite it all, We have been averaging 50 keepers or so the past few trips with tog to 9.5 lbs.    Very good tidal conditions are coming up later this week and the tog have begun to set up now on some of the deeper wrecks.  Should see a good showing of fish this week!

             
Friday, October 30 ,2009
Solid bite continues.  Today's charter of 35 Limited out on nice tog to 8 lbs.  Nice pick all day long. Sorry forgot the camera today.  Good days are ahead!

 
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
We put a good day together despite horrendous weather.  East wind, rain and choppy seas all day.  22 anglers finished up with over 50 keepers to 8lbs.  Solid tog bite now!


Monday, October 26, 2009
Beautiful day out here again!  two in a row.  Solid bite again.  Finished up with close to 100 keepers to 8 plus lbs.  We have had fish to 11.2 lbs the past few days.   Some real nice quality in the mix.
 

Sunday October 25, 2009
Blackfishing has been very solid.  Today the gang form noreast.com joined us and enjoyed a good solid bite all day.  We finished up with 125 keepers with several fish over 8 lbs and a few over 9 lbs.   Excellent quality today.  Pablo won the pool with a 9 lb beauty!

 
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Beautiful day out there!  Finished up with 125 keepers to 8 lbs.   Lee was high hook with 8 keepers.


Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Good day today.  140 keepers to 8 lbs.  Kai led the way with 9 keepers.  Phil Curcio finally took a day off and had 8 keepers.  Larry Wicker won the pool with an 8 lb beauty!    Tomorrow looks like the best weather day coming up.  Still plenty of room.!
Quinn's first blackfish!


Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Slayed the TOG today!  We have been blown out since last Wednesday
We sailed on a school trip in the morning and Capt Paul, Capt Chris Chris, Capt Big Des, and myself decided to try our hand at blackfishing.
The tog were feasting and we easily caught our commercial limit to 10 lbs in a half hour. Awesome! Even Paulie was catching them. :)
It is all set up now. Water temp, off the moon. Angry tog awaiting our crab baits!
 

Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Blackfish bite really turned on today!! 23 anglers had 84 keepers on the day.  Bob Collins was high hook with 13 keepers (orl)  Lots of nice fish in the mix.  Plenty of porgies and some seabass as well.  Great day!
Looks like we might be blown out thru the weekend, but when we get back out there it should be good!

                
Monday, October 12, 2009
Nice day out there today.  Felt like fall!  Good porgie fishing at the middle grounds today with some real quality scup in the mix.  They took a little work but by days end everyone had a nice amount of fillets for dinner. Hit a few wrecks for a dozen blackfish as well.


Saturday, October 10, 2009
We didnt sail much of the week due to the weather. We werent able to sail today either. But we did sail yesterday!!
The tog bite is picking up a 30 nice keeper blackfish were landed to 9 lbs and 150 scup plus some sea bass. Rich seahag had the big 9 lbder and John Viol led the way with 8 keepers (orl).
Here is a report from John who posted this one the web:Jumped aboard the Celitc Quest yesterday for some early season Tog. I am happy to report that the Tog have begun to put on the feedbag. Big time. It was not long after the anchor was set on our first drop that quality Tog began coming over the rails all around the Boat. Even Capt. Chris got into the action, quickly putting a couple of quality Tog on ice. Every piece that we stopped on held good life, and some real quality tog, as a number of 6-7 lb Tog went into various coolers and buckets. By 12:30 the wind had gone from almost flat calm to downright nasty. So Capt. Chris decided to do a few Porgy drops. We managed some Quality Scup, and a few Seabass on every drop, before calling it a day. I managed 8 quality Tog, only keeping my limit of course. If you get the chance, nows the time to get out there and fish with some of the best in the business. Capt. Chris is always on his game, and Mates Tommy and Caroline are always there when you need a hand or to net your fish. You simply could not ask for a better Crew. I know i'll be back next week.


Monday, October, 5, 2009
Nice day out there today.  Felt like fall!  Good porgie fishing at the middle grounds today with some real quality scup in the mix.  They took a little work but by days end everyone had a decent amount of fillets for dinner. Hit a few wrecks for a dozen blackfish as well.


Sunday, October 4, 2009
Tog bite was better than it has been in the morning today as 35 chins were landed.  Tried a few wrecks for porgies and seabass but the action was slow.   Nice to see the blackfish waking up though!
 

Saturday, October 3, 2009
Despite the bad weather, a few hearty souls came out today.  It actually turned to be a very nice day as it only rained for the first half hour and the rest of the day was very nice.  Even had to put my sunglasses on at one point!
We started out with a very good porgie drop with some good sized scup and a few sea bass.  After we had a decent amount in the boat we headed to some blackfish drops.  It was a slow pick and you had to work for em, but we did put about a dozen nice fish in the boat.  Dave from Jersey was high hook with 4 keepers and 6 shorts.    Came back to the middle grounds to end the day, but the porgie bite was slow on the hard moon ebb tide.
Just getting started and good days are ahead!

      
Friday, Oct 2, 2009
Here is a report form John Viol who was on the boat today:
My good friend Dan and i decided to Join the C.Q. on yesterdays trip. As we were heading to the fishing ground Capt. Chris announced that we were going to try for Tog first, but he quickly added that there were giant Porgies and some quality Seabass on these pieces as well for those who wanted to fish with clams. We hit about 5 or so pieces finding life on every one of them. The Porgies were huge, all in the 2/34 - 3+ lb class. The Seabass were equally impressive. Each piece that we fished held a few quality Blackfish, and on the third piece i nailed the pool winning Tog which pushed the scales down to just shy of 8 lbs. By the end of the day everyone on board had enough fillets for at least a few quality meals. The Weather "especially in the morning" was beautiful with flat calm water for most of the day. As Always, Capt. Chris and Crew were on top of their game, always there whenever you needed them. Really a top notch operation. Get out there for a great mixed bag of truly quality fish. I know i'll be back next week.

 
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Opening day today for blackfishing.  The bite has been great for two weeks now  for the guys I know who have tried it.  Today, that was not the case though.  We caught some, about 15 keepers and some shorts as well as dozen sea bass.   But they were definitely off the feed.    Ray Balchi , amazingly, was high hook with 3 keepers.  Pool was 6.5 lbs.  Ended the day with a few porgie drops to get everyone some dinner.    Try again tomorrow.  Good days are ahead !

      
Sunday September 27th
The bottom fishing remained very solid. Nice load of porgies with a dozen sea bass and a dozen blues in the mix.   Porgies are open till OCT 15.  Come join us for the great fall bottom fishing!
We are chartered Tuesday day and Wednesday day. Blackfish opener is Thursday with plenty of spots available.


Saturday,  Sept 26, 2009
The weather cooperated just enough to get the trip in this morning. It wasn't calm the first few hours, but fishable. Things were pretty stirred up in the morning and fishing was slow on the first drop.
Looked around a bit and found a nice pile of fish to work on the rest of the day. Plenty of biggins with a few dozen super jumbos as well. Quality stuff and by days end most put together a good catch.
 

Tuesday, Sept 22, 2009
Gotta love fall fishing!    Fishing has been great.  Yesterday the porgie fishing was top notch as many had their limits.  Last night the jigging was very good on the blues.  Today's charter saw a few hundred nice porgies to start the day and then an all out BAIL jigging in the rip.  Great fishing.
Here is a report from Freddy Azaiter who was on the boat yesterday:
Wow what a way to said good by to summer...I went to the CQ and the fishing was FAST AND FURIOUS...Capt. Chris took us for just 20 min. ride to a very productive spot... and the fish were hungry it was a massacre, I got 8 double header of Porgy's and keep only 35 big fish and release more that 30 also keepers ...it was one of the most beautiful days this year and it was fun to fish with a bunch of funny guys..if you guys/girls want to have some of the fun just go fishing to Port Jeff in the CQ..great boat great Capts. and great mates...and I have to thanks God for so great day....Fredd
 

Sunday, Sept 20, 2009
Well, today started out really slow....but ended really well!!!!
The first drop the bite was way off with very dirty water and ripping current. We moved around a bit and put a few dozen porgies and a 25 sea bass in the boat. But the bite was way off from what it had been.
So we headed west back to the middle and did very well on the porgies. The last drop especially was lock and load and in two hours at the middle we put together a very respectable day with high hooks approaching their limit. Had we gone there first it would have been some day. highlight today was a nice keeper bass that won the pool caught by 6 year old kyle! congratulations kyle!
Here is a report from Artie the Veteran who was on the trip:
jumped on the cq this morning with my hailey, mommy, and uncle tommy. had a great day, nice weather great company. it started off a little slow but by the end of the trip i was close to my limit the three of us wound up with 60 to 70 pork chops nice size and half doz c-bass. it was pretty crowded today, thank God Tommy and Little Chris were around to say on top of the action, as well as re-rigging the poles for all of us a few times. My daughter Hailey met a nice new fishing buddy Kyle who is in some of these pictures. he wound up catching the pool fish, a nice 15 pound striped bass for a 6-year old boy - it was his first striper.
i don't know what was more fun - fishing on the CQ with Capt. Desi, or getting to hang out with my wife and one of our best friends, uncle Tommy, or watching the kids playing with the fish. it was really nice to have another father there, teaching his son as i teach my daughter the traditions of long island fishing. my double hats off today goes to Little Chris for breaking his ass every minute as well as cleaning tons of fish which were finished off at the dock. this is just a great family boat. it was great to see Mr. Desmond out there today. i like to shout out to my buddy ray who we missed today especially when we went to tara's for our usual few raymundos for the road.
keep 'em tight
the veteran
He is a report from Andrew "Blackfish King" who was also on the trip
9 20 09 PORGY TIME.
2 of my buddys and i were on this trip and let me tell you.. those kids were pretty funny.
we were fishing the port stern and the little boy and girl were hysterical. they came to the back of the boat and were grabbing everyones fish and slamming them back into the pails.. then the little girl started to whip my buddy pete with some mono she found on the floor.. i got a kick out of that..
anyway about fishing part of the trip..
we took a long ride and had a slow morning due to conditions and fish that didnt really want to bite. desi decided to head closer to home and that was a golden move.. the fish were hungry to say the least. the were bitting before the sinker hit the floor.
i had my limit of porgys and made a little chum slick with some of the bait that was sitting out in the sun, then floated out a porgul with a bluefish hook for a few minutes before the trip was over...
next thing i know the little boy who was beating up everyones fish starts screaming and his father was calling for a net. he hooked a nice sized keeper bass. so the mate grabed a gaff and landed the bass. man was that kid happy..
ps we had a granny in on the boat and she was kicking the crap out of the porgys double header after double header.
very pleasant day to say the least.
2 more weeks and the togs are here... cant wait.
 

Tuesday, Sept 15, 2009
Beautiful day out there today. Fishing never reached ludicrous levels as is had at times on previous trips. Current was ripping today and the bite never really took off, though it was a steady pick most of the day. Slower than it had been, but still a good catch. The bite has been best on the ease of tide and we never had that today.
Nonetheless, High hooks had their limits (orl) and some had 10-15. Lots of blues as well.
Looks like a blowout tomorrow, maybe Thursday as well :(
But the east wind always reloads the pieces though and a good blow is not always a bad thing. Should be great when we get back again in a day or two.

 
Monday, Sept 14, 2009
The great bottom fishing continues! We had lots of jumbos, several dozen SUPER JUMBOS, 30 sea bass to 4 lbs, blues and 2 keeper striped bass.
The first wreck we fished had some nice seabass but was infested with blues. The second two wrecks were stacked and as the tide eased off the fishing was awesome.
The quality of some of many of these porgies is impressive with several fish 17 inches.


Sunday, Sept 13, 2009
We were tied up all week with the weather.  Finally got out again last night and CRUSHED the blues!   We only had a few people and chunked bunker for a bail job on the blues, many of them gaffing size and a few striped bass as well.
Today we sailed again on the Full day Super Jumbo Express and fishing did not disappoint for a full boat!!  A ton of fish were landed, lot of jumbos and Super jumbos.  Blues, seabass.  Two drops for the day and lots of fish for everyone aboard.
Tomorrow we are going on a special trip to explore a few new pieces of bottom that should be loaded with fish.  The fishing has been so good that even the crew is coming along for fun.  Plenty of room as just a few people are signed up but we are going no matter what!  Should be fun!


Tuesday, Sept 8, 2009
SUPER JUMBO EXPRESS IN FULL EFFECT!   Today's trip lived up to all the hype for sure.  Capt Chris took our fares to one of his favorite wrecks that was STACKED with fish.   Now if he would only tell me where he was!  Many, many jumbo porgies and over 150  SUPER JUMBO porgies were landed.  Also in the mix were 4 keeper BLACKFISH! (released, but still fun just to get everyone excited for the upcoming season)  We also had big sea bass to 4 lbs and lots of blues.  Even a few striped bass.  Awesome  wreck fishing!  Sailing these trips everyday now weather permitting!  Come on down!


Monday, Sept 7, 2009
Very solid bottom fishing today on all trips today.
Yesterday was tough as we had to fish the bay and the harbor during the day due to the wind. We were able to get to the middle grounds on our evening trip and did very well. Lots of blues and and big porgies made for a good night.
Today we drifted all day for a nice catch of porgies with a few hundred keepers on each trip. Little choppy in the morning but settled down nice for the afternoon.
The great fall fishing has begun! Tomorrow we will start our the Super Jumbo Express! east end full day wreck specials , harvesting porgies and sea bass on some prime bottom!


Friday, Sept 4, 2009
The jigging was awesome earlier in the week. Yesterday the jigging was slower as the fish were moving very fast on the surface. Put a few hundred porgies and about 60 blues in the boat for the day.
Last night we didn't have the right tide for jigging with slack in the middle of the trip. We stuck with porgies fishing putting about 200 keepers in the boat. Beautiful night out there!
Starting on Tuesday, 9/8 we will begin sailing our full day SUPER JUMBO EXPRESS!!!
Last year we had awesome fishing on Jumbo and SUPER JUMBO porgies and seabass. We go father on these trips and are able to hit some our wrecks and pieces that last year produced extremely well. Full day wreck and Bottom fishing in full effect!


Wednesday, Sept 2, 2009
We did not sail yesterday morning with the windy conditions.
Sailed on our pm trip though and Middle Grounds was awesome!!!
Started the trip in the deep water for 50 porgies up to 2.5 lbs. Then we set up in the rip and SLAYED the blues up to 12 lbs! We also had a few keeper bass and many shorts. A great night!!
The jigging this week should be awesome on this full moon. And the bottom fishing remains very solid as well. Bring the kids out for the end of summer MIDDLE GROUND MADNESS SPECIAL! They will love it!


Sunday, August 30,2009
We did not sail yesterday or the most of Friday with the weather.  Fishing had been great before the storm and we were very happy to see that the fishing was still excellent today!!!  The porgies were snappin good as 20 plus fares kept close to a limit on the morning half day trip.  Pete Messina was high hook with 30 keepers (orl)
Starting Tuesday the limit on porgies will go up to 45 per man!  We will definitely be focusing on the great porgie fishing from here on out and mixing in the blues and bass on the right tides as well.

               
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Fishing has been fantastic!!  Jigged lots of blues off a deep water wreck today and at the middle.  Last night was an all out BAIL on the jigs!  We finished off the night with a 50 porgies.  Tuesday am trip was an all out BAIL on the jigs!  Monday the porgie fishing was slow but we anchored up on some bottom structure that had a ton of blues, 1 keeper striped bass, a bunch of big sea bass to 4 lbs and 12 porgies.   All in all a lot of fun for the 10 anglers aboard!
Here are two videos from the past two days action.  Bring the kids before the summer is over.  they will love it!


Sunday, August 23, 2009
Fishing has been great.  The jigging on this moon has been all out on some trips.  Last night we whacked the blues and bass on the outgoing and then finished up the night with a lot of nice porgies.  6 bass were keepers and many shorts were released.  The blues were up to 10 lbs.
The mid day trip didnt have the right tide for jigging but the porgie fishing was decent.  The am trip saw some great jigging with blues weighing up to a whopping 17.5 lbs!!!!
According to Capt Chris todays trips so far have been great lots and lots of blues. Grounds madness in full effect!
 

Thursday, Aug 20, 2009
All out bail on the blues and bass this morning!!!!!
All the blues you wanted with many bigger sized fished mixed in. We also had 4 keeper bass and many shorts.
The big blues of the day goes to porgy rob at 11.8 LBS
The BIG MOON tide is here and the next few days should be great for jigging.
We are now on the scup grounds where we have a solid bite going around 50 fish in the boat so far.
Chris
      

Tues Aug 18 ,2009
Solid Day Again Today!
Returned back to the same area we fished yesterday. Picked away in the morning. It took a little poking around but once we found then it was very steady action. We had to Jig at first to clear out all the blues. We also had a keeper bass. Once we got all the blues out of the way we could scup the area. It was almost lock and load. FULL BOAT LIMIT.
High hook was around 40 scup (ORL).
SEPT 1 45 per person, It should be ON!!!!!!!!!!!
50 blues and a bass.
Great Day


Monday, Aug 17, 2009
Bottom fishing this morning was good steady action of jumbo porgies with several sea bass in the mix. 275 porkchop porgies and a dozen sea bass for thirty anglers.
Also, we found a big school of SLAMMER BLUES, many of which were in the 10 lb class! Put 40-50 blues ranging from cocktail size to ten pounders in the boat as well.
Very solid bottom fishing now as the Big Jumbos have set up shop in the deep water. Only a few booked for tomorrow if you want in on the action1
 

Sunday, Aug 16, 2009
In general fishing remains very solid at the middle grounds.  The  porgies have settled in on the rocks and in the rip.  Yesterday, the am was a little slow but the midday trip was very good with high hooks upwards of 25 porgies (orl).  We also have been making a few drops on the deep water wrecks when the conditions are right for some big jumbos.
We havent jigged much the past two days as the tides haven't been right.  But great moon tides are coming up this week and hopefully the jigging for Bass and Blues will be hot! 


Friday Aug 14, 2009
On the 7am trip this morning we had the good hard outgoing so we decided to jig. It was very steady action for most of the morning, with several bass in the mix. Nine year old Quinn won his fifth pool of the season with a 9 lb bluefish.
On the 12pm trip we made a quick pass for the blues but didn't see much so we switch over to the scup, got on em first drop. We came very close to a full boat limit.
The Scup are on the hard bottom now and building ever day.

 
Monday, August 11, 2009
Another good day!  7 fares had very good action on the jigs in the Middle Grounds.  They also put 40 nice porgies on the boat to round out the catch.  Good day!
 

Sunday, August 10, 2009
Middle Grounds has been alive and well!  Tonight's nights trip was awesome!  Bailed the BIG SLAMMER BLUES up to 12 lbs.  All gaffing size!  Then we headed  closer to the light house and had a few more good shots on medium sized blues and some striped bass.  Great night!
Sundays am trip also saw some good action on the jigs.  Pete Messina was high hook with 17 blues for the half day.  We had slack water in the middle of the 12 pm trip so we went porgie fishing.  IT was a slow pick with about 70 scup landed for the trip.  Saturday nights trips was very slow as only some short striped bass were caught.  Sat AM though was very good with good action on the jigs.


Saturday August 8, 2009
Todays charter saw an all out bail job on the blues and bass.
Took a bit to get em going but once the tide started to rip it was silly action for the rest of the trip.
The size of the fish today was impressive, some blues close to 12 lbs.
Great Day!!


Sunday, Aug 2, 2009
We have been mixing it up a lot the past few days.  Our last East end trip saw a few hundred fluke but keepers were hard to come by.  Looks like the water warmed up enough this past week that the fluke are finally moving on.  But whatever happens....that was one AMAZING run of fluke.  Never have we seen those kind of numbers and size of fluke in Long Island Sound as we did this year.
This year we had more 9 lb fluke than all our other seasons combined.  We had many over 8 and dozens over 7 lbs this year.  The largest was 10.5 lbs.  By far our best BIG fish year to date.  Not to mention, never have we caught literally HUNDREDS and HUNDREDS of 18 inch plus fluke like we have seen in the past 3 weeks.  I never recall fluking in which anglers have put over 100 fluke per person in the boat.  We had many trips in which a 10-15 anglers put 200-300 fluke 18 inches or better in the boat!  Truly awesome fluking and a season I will not soon forget!
Thankfully the porgies have started to settle in off the local rockpiles and on some of our deep water drops and wrecks.  This morning we put about 90 jumbo scup in the boat.  We then switched over to fluke and had a lot of short action but again, tough to find keepers.   The mid trip was slow as we had to move inshore with the lousy weather.  We ended up with a few blues and a few porgies.
The jigging has also had its moments.  Last night we had about 200 blues on the evening trip.    We will continue to mix it up depending on the tides and conditions.  Now is the time the Middle Grounds starts heating up and we will definitely be headed out there on a regular basis.
 

Wednesday, July 28, 2009
Todays charter of 23 anglers had close to 700 fluke today.  The fluke were snappin good on the outgoing this morning.   High hook was 80 fluke.   Lots of 18-20's but enough keepers that everyone went home with dinner.  Pool fish was 5 lbs.
 

Tuesday, July 27, 2009
Today's east end trip saw very good action on the outgoing tide in the early part of the trip. Picked away on the slack. We were surprised to find that the flood was not as productive, so we steamed back to the west a bit to find the fish a lot more cooperative. By days end we caught 550+ fluke keeping 25 and the pool was a tie with 2 fish around 7 lb a piece.
We will be sailing one more of the east end trips on Thursday of this week and if this action holds up we might also add a few more next week.


Sunday, July 26, 2009
The fluke action continues to be very good as some trips are seeing literally hundreds of fluke per trip with anywhere from 5 - 20 keepers.  Pool fish has been up to 6 lbs the past few days.  Lots of 18's-20's and the kids are having a ball with all the action.
On tonights PM trip Capt Chris decided that with the great tide to check out the Middle Grounds!  He reported back that they found a nice body of bass and blues to jig and the rips had a lot of fish in them!!!  They finished the night with many striped bass, 6 were keepers and lots of blues.    Great to see the Middle Grounds coming to life!
 

Thursday, July 22, 2009
Over 700 fluke again on todays trip!  15 anglers caught fluke all day long, with 24 keepers to 6.5 lbs.
All this in a lousy east wind which made for a very fast drift.    Ed was high hook with 4 keepers and the pool fish.  Several anglers had over 50 fluke a piece today!
 

Wednesday, July 21, 2009
Truly amazing fluke fishing going on right now.  Today 13 anglers caught hundreds and hundreds of fluke!  22 were keepers up to 7 lbs.  Insane amount of fish right now!  Sailing on our East End Trip tomorrow.  Plenty of room if you want in on this awesome bite!
Here is a customer report from Chris "crabcake" that was posted on FishingUnited.com:
This morning's trip was nothing short of phenomenal. Action from start to finish as Capt. Dane put us on the meat. I somehow managed 5 keepers (ROL) and I lost count of how many "jumbo" shorts I released. It was light tackle bucktail fishing at its finest. As always, the crew did a fabulous job! How I wish I could go on tomorrow's full day marathon!!
In NJ we would have had 100+ keepers for 13 patrons!! Unbelievable!!


Monday, July 20, 2009
Today we sailed on out east end trip.  Absolutely amazing amount of fish around right now.  We had over 100 fish in the first drift and by days end 15 anglers landed over 700 fluke the day!  20 were keepers with the pool close to 7 lbs.  All this with a slack tide right in the middle of the trip and east wind against the outgoing which made for a lousy drift.  John Viol was high hook with close to 100 fluke himself!
It is mind boggling to see how many fluke are in the sound right now.  With an 18 inch limit 15 fares would have had over 200 keepers today, easy.   I wish the scientists could do a few surveys in the sound right now just to see the incredible amount of fluke around.    We will be sailing another east end trip on Thursday 7/23.  Give a call if you would like to join us!

          
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Plugging away at the fluke.  Lots of action, some nice keepers in the mix.  Today we had fluke to 9.5 lbs!  Also some keeper striped bass and a few porgies as well!


Saturday, July 18, 2009
Great fluke action right now.  Amazing amount on 18-20 inch fish on the shoals and the rods are bent constantly for everyone aboard.  Putting around 10-18 keepers in the box per trip with some nice ones up to 7 lbs the past few days.  When conditions are right we have been making some drops for porgies to add a few fish to the buckets.  Those drops have ranged from bail job to slow, but when you get on them it has been very good.


Tuesday, July 13, 2009
Last nights trip saw some very good porgie action on the BIG scup.  Full boat limit for 20 anglers.  We also had a lot of fluke action, most of which was released with a few keepers in the mix.
Today saw silly fluke action with one angler catching over 50 fluke alone!  10 keepers were landed.  With sane limits like they should be this would FANTASTIC fluke fishing all fares would EASILY limit out on 18-19 inch fish.  A lot of fun none the less!


Sunday, July 12, 2009
We have been concentrating on the fluke the past few days as there has been a ton of them in the local area.  Lots of action on 18-20 inch fluke, most of which are being returned but there are a few big keepers in the mix as well.  A few sharpies have been limiting out and we have had several fluke 6 lbs and one 7lbs the past few days.
Capt Jon ran a fluke charter on the CQIII today and kept a nice limit of fluke to 6 lbs.
                            

Thursday, July 9, 2009
Some good shots on the jigs yesterday as 75 blues were landed.  Porgies fishing was slow though.
Today saw a ton of action fluke fishing with 7 keepers landed on the am trip.  Ton of fluke right now and with good regs we would be calling this excellent fishing!!


Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Fishing has been very hot and cold.  Some trips have seen good jigging on the blues and a few bass, others have not.  Same goes for the Porgies.  Some tides they have settled under the boat nicely and we have caught well, but others have been slow.  Fluking has been a ton of action but only a few keepers.


Thursday, July 2, 2009
Here is a report put up by one of our customers named John Viol:
Diane and i decided to hop aboard the Celtic Quest yesterday to take advantage of the fantastic Porgy/Blue and Bass fishing that they have been experiencing. We started off fishing for Porgy's. Conditions were less than ideal but Capt Chris kept at it, and despite the tough conditions Diane and i easily managed our Porgy limit, keeping only the largest of Porgy's and releasing a number of keepers as well.
Then it was off to the Bluefish/Bass grounds. The Blues and Bass did not want to cooperate at first. But by early afternoon they turned on big time. Again, Diane and i had an easy limit of Blues, and released 2 Bass that were just shy of 28". My Friend Bill and his 2 Grandsons (Mike and Joey) filled their cooler to overflowing with Blues. Joey even managed a nice keeper Bass which just missed taking the pool by mere ounces.
As always Mates Tommy and John were there whenever you needed them, and Capt. Chris went the extra mile to make sure everyone had a great day on the water. Today starts part #2 of the Fluke season, and Capt. Chris and Capt. Desi have the big Fluke dialed in so get out there, and catch yourself some east end jumbo Fluke.
 

Wednesday, July 1, 2009
8 Fares enjoyed awesome fishing this morning.  Bailed the blues at b11 and then put about 50 porgies in the boat before the weather turned lousy and we headed in.


Tuesday, June 30,2009
Great day today!!  Slayed the blues in the morning.  Then put a few hundred nice porgies in the boat!  Check out the video from the great fishing this morning!

  
Monday, June 29, 2009
Today's trip was more of the same. Started the day jiggin' blues. We put about 100 fish on the boat only keeping about 40. Played catch and release for a bit and then went scupin'.
It took a few drops to find them today but when we did it was lock and load. Again, we only kept about 40 fish (that is all the charter wanted to keep). High hook in the mid 20's.
The fishing is still holding strong.


Sunday, June 28, 2009
Awesome fishing this morning!!  Jigging was great and finished it off a nice catch of porgies.

 
Saturday, June 28, 2009
Great jigging today.  Bailed the blues and some bass off b11 in the morning.  Porgies were slow on the change of tide but we  picked away in the afternoon.  All in all a very solid trip.
Hugh and the kids had a nice catch of big porgies on the pm trip and one keeper bass as well!


Friday, June 27, 2009
Today Friday June 26 trip was a repeat of yesterday. The morning started out slow, due to the slack tide. We had to wait it out for about one hour. Once the tide started to push it didn't take long for the blues to show themselves and it was lock and load fishing. We captured all we needed. We then played catch and release for a bit. We also had 5 keeper bass to 16lbs in the mix.
We then moved on to the scup grounds where we again found LOCK AND LOAD fishing!!! 30 min is all it took, full limit!!!!!!!!
Richie (tweety) was high hook on the blues, only catching 2 at a time and George the greek did a ok job on the scup catching a few more then his buddy rob.
Great to fish with you guys, see you soon.
          

Thursday, June 25, 2009
SILLY SAVAGE fishing today!!!!  BAILED the BLUES.  BAILED the porgies.  And finished the day chunking up a bunch of Striped bass to 25 lbs!!!  A Day to Remember!!!


Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Great fishing today!  We had Capt Jerry Mcgraths Fish and Kinds program out today.  All the kids had a great day as bottom fishing was red hot!! Here is Capt Jerry's report:
Yesterday, forty 4th graders, 20+ chaperones, and 4 teachers from the Oxhead Rd. Elementary School were taken to the "Promised Porgyland" by the always affable and friendly crew of the Celtic Quest. Whooping and hollering prevailed as porgy after porgy (porkchop after porkchop) found their way over the rails of the famed Port Jefferson party/charter. No skunks around the entire vessel and 9 yr. old Alexia Lengyel led the way with her dad by capturing over 26 scup. Victoria Mankowski captured the largest fish on the day, a 5 lb. blackfish which was quickly released. Not much sun today, a few sprinkles, but NO WIND, thus nice flat seas (a big factor with a boatload of young newbies). To sum it up: AWESOME DAY, despite the June grey skies. Many thanks to Capt. Chris and the ever-patient Tommy & Josh.
The Pm trip was also very solid as 8 anglers jigged 40 blues and a few short striped bass to start the night and then finished up with 100 big porgies. (retaining only their limit)
Hot fishing now!
 

Tuesday, June 23, 2009
The weather has been awful.  We did get out Sunday morning and despite the bad weather had a few hundred nice porgies on the morning trip.  The rest of the day was cancelled due to the weather.
Monday was blown out due to the weather.  Finally sailed again this morning and as of 11 am the boat had a full limit of big porgies.  Bottom Fishing was great according to Capt Chris.  They were headed out to find some blues and bass for the rest of the trip but Capt Chris said he want sure how it was going to be as the current was slacking.  He said there was a ton of bait and life on the hills though.


Saturday, June 20, 2009
We started out this morning on the scup grounds. With slack tide and no wind, it was very hard to stay on the fish. We had no set of any kind. When we got on them they were on the larger side, many fish over 2 pounds. We boated around 300 keepers.
We then shifted gears and did some jigging. It was all out bail job from the first drift to the last!!!
We left them biting. We must have had 175 bass (hard to keep track, there was way to much mayhem) 13 of which were keepers!!!
Great day to be out there, didn't start raining until the last drift!


Friday, June 19,2009
Great fishing continues!  Started the day with 250-275 nice porgies.  Then we hit a few pieces of bottom that were stacked with Striped Bass and blues!!  Caught approximately 80 bass, 15 keepers and dozens of blues.  Left em biting and headed home.  Great trip!


Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Full limits of porgies on all trips today!  Few nice seabass as well.  Great fishing now!
Here is some video from the day. also below are a few pictures of our fish-finder showing the HUGE schools of porgies on the bottom.
This one is from our PM PORGY BONANZA!


Monday, June 15, 2009
Bottom fishing has been on fire the past 2 days.  Yesterday we had close to 2000 porgies on the day, over 1000 keepers!!  (only retaining our limit)  Some fishing right now!
Today was the final day of fluke for two weeks.  We started off with a BAIL JOB on the porgies.  Full boat limit for 20 anglers in no time.  Fluking was slow most of the day, though Capt Chris found a decent amount of fluke to end the day and put 8 keepers and a bunch of shorts in the boats to end the trip.
Here is Chris' report from yesterday as well.  Bring the kids.  Now is the time!
"Steamin' in now on trip #2 for the day, the only word to describe today's porgy action is SILLY.
The 7am trip started out on the slow side, after a little looking around we located the mother load and put 450 fish on in one hours time. Just about as good as it can get. The best and most fun porgy fishing I have seen in a while.
On the 12pm trip the scup were right were we left them biting this morning, we picked up right were we left off and limited again in no time.
Clam down - SCUP UP!!!!!!!!!!
This fishing should hold up like this for a few weeks.
capt chris


Friday, June 12, 2009 AM
Had a nice charter today with the Hudson Anglers.  Fluking started of with a slow pick on the end of the tide and the slack  A lot of shorts but just a few keepers.  We headed east a ways and found a nice body of fish for the first part of the incoming tide.  Ended up with 30 keepers to 6.9 lbs.
Then we moved inshore and whacked the porgies up to 3 lbs to end the trip, keeping a full boat limit! Fun day.

          
Friday, June 12, PM
Our PM trip, Jumbo Porgy Special was a BAIL JOB on the Porgies!  All the kids had a ball as a full boat limit was caught in no time! Great night!!
The porgies are stacked up right now on the beach.  The next few weeks usually is very good if you would like to get in on the action.
Here is a report written by Capt Neil was joined us on our evening trip:
What a fishing/catching trip! Right from the first stop large porgys were flying over the rail. This continued for most of the trip. Bottom line, 25 fares caught their limit. You did not have to measure the porgys. If there was any doubt it just was released.
The age of the fares covered 7 decades. My fishing partner was 3 year old Andrew. Helping each other we caught, caught, caught and caught some more porgys. What a blast. All the other young children were catching just like the adults. It was a "should have been here yesterday" trip.
This was lock and load catching! The best! Folks this is the kind of fishing/catching that works for young children and is also excellent table fare. Now is the time.
Great job keeping us on the porgys Capt Chris. Mates Tommy, John and Chris always right there when needed
Thanks guys for a memorable trip.
Capt Neil


Thursday, June 11,2009
Today we sailed on our east end fluke special.  It was a tough day with all the east wind and fast drift.  Lousy conditions made for slow fishing.  70 fluke, 16 keepers to 6 lbs were landed.


Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Nice catch of fluke today. Little picky with the east wind this morning but kept looking around and found a nice pile to work on for the rest of the day.
400 fluke on the day, 50 keepers to 8 lbs. FishingUniteds own Jfish led the way with 30 plus fluke, 8 keepers (orl) fishing with a single white spro.   Way to go John!
Headed out again tomorrow.


Tuesday June 9, 2009
Very tough start to the day today on our East End trip.   The weather was awful, heavy rain, thunder storms and with the strong east wind the drift was very fast.  We started with a very slow pick for the first few hours.  Luckily the conditions improved late morning and we moved to a new area that had some decent life to finish out the trip.  Picked away for the rest of the day with some Big doormats in the mix.
30 fares ended up with 175 fluke, 35 keepers including 3 over 7 lbs, 1 over 8 lbs and one 10.4 lbs!
Not bad way to end considering how the day started.  Looking forward to getting back out there tomorrow!

 
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Fishing was picky this weekend.  Boat traffic made things difficult.  We had a few good shots of fish on some trips but all in all just a pick with 6-20 keepers a trip.  Pool fish 5- 7 lbs.


Friday, June 5, 2009
Lat nights PM trip was very lively as 16 fares had 60 fluke, 15 keepers to 6 lbs.  Bill P. was high hook with 10 fluke, 4 keepers on the night.
We did not sail either trip on Friday due to the weather.  Below is a picture of a big 9.5 lb doormat caught on Wednesdays PM trip right outside the harbor.


Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Whacked the Big Fluke Today!  Capt Chris put us on the meat!  We sailed on our first East end Fluke Special.  As we came up on the the first drop you could tell there had to be a ton a fish around.  The area was lit up with bait, sandeels all over the place.  From the first drift we were into the big Fluke!
12 fares plus 4 crew limited out in the first 2 and half hours and then released many big fluke for the rest of the trip.  Easily had over 50 keepers today, only retaining our limit.   Many big 5-9 lb fluke as well.  Pool weighed in over 9 lbs.  Several 7 plus.  Lost the biggest double digit doormat of the day at boatside! Oh well.   Multiple 6 plus pounders were released.
By days end it was lift em or loose em as Capt Chris and crew then turned their attention to preparing some fine cuisine which featured marinated Striped Bass, hot dogs, hamburgers, Flank steak,  chocolate cake and a fruit and vegetable medley for all to enjoy! 
Beautiful weather and drift conditions, great company, awesome fishing!  With fluking like this we have decided added next  Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday June 9, 10 ,11.  These are limited passenger trips.  Please book online or give a call if you would like to join us!


Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Nice catch of fluke this morning.  First few hours of the outgoing they were biting good.  Bite slowed on the last part of the tide.  Finished the day with 150 plus fluke, over 30 keepers to 7 .5 lbs for 22 anglers.  Plenty of quality fluke in the mix.  Sailing our east end trip tomorrow.  Still spots available if you would like to get in on the action!


Monday, June 1, 2009
Fluke fishing remains solid.  Our half day trips this weekend saw between 50 -160 fluke a trip, 8 to 17 which were keepers up to 7 lbs.    The morning bite today on our was very good as of 9:30 am Capt Chris reported that they already had 15 keepers in the boat.


Friday, May 29, 2009
After all the east wind this week we finally got back to the grounds on the Friday PM trip. We sailed with a very light crowd (5 anglers). We were very happy to see that the fish were right were we left them a few days ago. 10 keepers to 5.6 pounds, Mike Axelrod put on a show with a fish on most of the night, catching 3 keepers(orl).


Friday, May 29 AM trip
This is the post put up on FISHINGUNITED.com about our school trip yesterday:
Smithtown High School Oceanography students were rewarded with had an awesome time out on the Celtic Quest this week. This group of 11th graders has worked hard all year to learn about how temperature, salinity, sediments, weather, currents, and tide all work together to influence what lives in the waters around us, but finally came the big week: we actually got out into the field to see it with our own eyes!
The students loved working with Dan, our BOCES/SCOPE marine educator, Captains Desi and Chris and the crew (especially 1st mate Tommy, who as a recent Smithtown grad could really relate to the students). These guys were the pros-they brought us to all the right places so that we caught tons of plankton, bottom samples, and fish. . . and believe it or not, no one got sick-even in this week's crazy weather!
One of the greatest joys a teacher can experience is hearing students scream with excitement over seeing something they've never seen before but have read about in a textbook for months. Once they touch it, smell it, even get squirted by it, they are hooked, so to speak! If anyone is curious about going out and actually learning about the marine world while they are fishing, I highly recommend this type of experience! It was so rewarding for my students to make connections like this in a fun, hands-on way that I know they'll never forget! If you want more information about doing this or activities you can do with students while out on the water, please feel free to contact me through this forum and I'll help out however I can. This was the greatest experience and I'd just love to share it with anyone interested!
Best fishes,
Ms. Williams, Marine Science Teacher, Smithtown HS
Plankton as seen under the microscope


Monday, May 25, 2009
It was a beautiful Memorial day!.  First and foremost, thank you to all who have served this great country.     And may we never forget those who have given the ultimate sacrifice so that we may live in freedom!
Today, well lets just say it was crowded out there.  Big fleet of boats but  we managed to put together a decent catch.  We had a full boat today and landed over 400 fluke, 50 eaters to 8.5 lbs.  With reasonable limits, today would have been "awesome" as we easily would have had over 200 keepers over 19 inches!  Pool was won by Bob Tracy with his 8.5 lb beauty.


Sunday, May 24,2009
Fluke are biting good! Yesterday was very slow with the east wind all day which made for awful conditions.   We had to fish in the bay mostly and had a few fluke.  We also had a lot of jumbo porgies that had to be released.
Today was beautiful and we were able to get back on the fish again. The morning saw a ton of action with 7 keepers as well as some bass and blues. The mid day trip was even better as 14 keepers with some meaty ones as well.


Thursday, May 21, 2009
Very good day today!  25 anglers had 250 fluke today, keeping 35.  Michele won the pool with an 8.1 lb beauty and there several other meaty ones in the mix!  Ken Scott was high hook with 25 fluke, 5 keepers (orl) including one 7.75 lbs.
Chartered tomorrow during the day.  But plenty of room over the weekend if you want to join us!


Wednesday, May 20, 2009
We had a nice school trip with the gang from Smithtown High School today.  Spoke to some of the local boats as well and they smacked the Fluke today! Capt Chris checked in from our afternoon charter and said they Bite is on as they already have a very good catch of fluke to 8 lbs in the boat!
Lots of fish around right now. Back out there again tomorrow.  Plenty of room if you would like to join us!


Tuesday, May 19, 2009
We did not sail yesterday but the Fluke were biting good today!  7 fares and 2 crew had over 100 fluke today, retaining only their full boat limit.  Todd Silverstein was high hook with 15-20 fluke, 5 keepers, retaining his limit including the 6.8lb pool fish.  Fish are here!


Sunday, May 17, 2009
We did not sail today due to the weather.  Yesterday saw slow fishing on the am trip today as lousy drift with the wind against tide. Only a few keepers were landed.  The mid day trip saw much better results as 11 fares plus a few friends put 12 keepers in the box before having to head for home.
Fluke are here and hopefully are going to stick around for a while as there is a ton of sandeels all over the place.
 

Friday, May 15, 2009
Opening day  today! Fluke are here! We sailed with 5 fares today and ended up with 60 fluke retaining a full boat limit by 12:30.
Connor Middleton won the pool with a 6.5 lb beauty. That was one of 15 fluke he landed on the day. Way to go Conor!
Will post pictures later! Give a call if you would like to join us.
Sailing for fluke everyday now.


Thursday, April 30, 2009
Well, the tog started to bite good just in time for the season to close!
Today was more like it as 200 blackfish,  62 keepers to 7.5 lbs were landed on the day.  All the pieces are starting to come to life.
Thankfully we got a few to end the season.
Ken JZ led the way with 6 keepers (orl)
We will begin again on May15 sailing for fluke.

 
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Blacks are starting to bite good!
Today you could tell that they are really starting to turn on as the bite was much more aggressive than it has been.
18 anglers had 150 blackfish today, with over 50 keepers to 8.5 lbs.  Joe from the Captree Princess led the way with
18 blackfish, 5 keepers. (orl)  Al Pesce won he pool with an 8.5 lb beauty. Several quality blackfish were landed today.
A few of our friends from FishingUnited.com joined us today including Capt Rick, Marcco, and Togmaster.
Pleasure fishing with you guys as always! Not sailing tomorrow with the bad weather.
Thursday will be our last day!  Give a call if you want in on the last chance for tog!

              
Monday, April 27, 2009
Slow start to the day today. Decent finish once that current eased off.
Finished up with 60 -70 tog, 30 keepers to 6.5 lbs for 24 anglers. 
Few guys limited out. Few didnt do so well. And so goes blackfishing!
Only 3 days left until Blackfish season closes!


Saturday, April 25, 2009
Nice spring day with fog in the morning and warm and sunny in the afternoon.  Picked away all day finished up with 75 blackfish, 32 keepers to 6-7lbs.  Starting to come to life a bit more on some of the drops.

           
Friday, April, 24, 2009
Beautiful Spring day today.  Flat calm and warm. The official DEC count today was 20 fare,  37 blackfish, 15 keepers up to 7 lbs.  Some decent fish came up but s
till waiting for the big hit!

           
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
We did not sail the past two days with the weather. Sailed to day with 7 fares in flat calm conditions. Water temp was holding in the mod 40's. Had a decent bite on the change of tide as 50 blackfish were landed, 17 were keepers.  Clams were the best bait today.
Once the ebb got moving the bite slowed. With this great stretch of weather coming up hopefully
this is just the beginning of some good fishing to come.
 

Sunday, April 19, 2009
Picked away at the blacks today.  Nothing great yet though.
Despite the lousy forecast it actually turned out to be the nicest day yet with almost no wind and warm temps.
The water has risen a few degrees the past 3 days which we needed.  Temps around 45-46 degrees and its getting close to the ideal temp for Spring Blackfishing.
We finished the day with around 40 blackfish, 16 were keepers.
Yesterday we had 20 blacks for the day with 8 keepers. We are getting close though and any day now hopefully it breaks open.
Weather doesnt look good for the next two days.
Hopefully we will try again on Wednesday.


Friday, April 17, 2009.
Well.....today was opening day. It has been some awful weather and the water just hasnt heated up much. When we started the day the water temp was a chilly 42.8 degrees. We had a few shorts on the first wreck and that was it.
Wasnt looking too good at all. We kept looking around and trying different depths finding life on every piece, just no keepers.... Until finally, once the incoming tide got going in the afternoon,
a few blacks finally started to bite! We ended up with about 50 blackfish for the day, 16 were keepers with the pool over 6 lbs.
The last drop definitely had some promise. After a slow start it was certainly nice to see a few tog come over the rails. A few more degrees and they should really turn on.