I would have never thought it in the past to actually target these fish with my freshwater rod and reel!. As a kid i had caught porgies but never really targeted them. The Croaker is new to me as i had never caught the species in Raritan bay. It is actually very tasty. Better than fluke I must add. Just bony your not making a fish sandwich out of these fish. Their too bony and filleting them i hate wasting the meat with the pin bones. Theyr just way too small to get out by pulling the meat and them staying in the fish.

The photo to the left is a trophy. a 15.5 inch 4.5 lb Porgie. Amazing! Personal best for porgies! That one was foil packed and grilled. Excellent.

The rest of the fish were smoked in the smoker for 3 hours. Perfect!

The fluke tournament had a great weather this year!  A big change compared to previous years. Along with a decent turn out of registered anglers. The fishing was ok on Friday but was much better Saturday. Firday I went fishing with Lunchbox & Yakman at Sandy Hook Horseshoe Cove. Managed a few croakers. Fishing just wasn’t good and the north wind was just brutal. Besides the wind it was a nice day!. Saturday had to stay close so fished with Lunchbox at the MRI. Yakman fished further up the river with no luck. Lunchbox and I had a lot of short fluke. I lost 2 one was in the 20″ range and a massive one that snapped my leader was easily in the 24″ area. It was an incredibly rough day fishing there due to immense boat traffic. I must say it was the first time my back was wet due to taking boat wakes over the side of the Cuda.

Back getting ready for the awards at the HQ at 2:00 weigh-ins were open. This year we actually had a tie with two entries at 26″ being legally entered. The third place fish came in at 24″.

First place Chris Baggott with a 26″ fluke Awarded a Jackson Kayak Coosa Kayak 100 dollars cash & a 50 dollar Jersey Paddler Gift card.

Second Place Judy Segar with a 26″ fluke (by time) Awarded a C-Tug Kayak cart and 100 dollars cash.

Third Prize Brian Pickard with a 24″ fluke Awarded a Scotty flag & light and 50 dollars cash.

The Calcutta was also won by Chris Baggott with 3 separate fluke not entered in the tournament totaling 61.75″

The tournament was a success once again this year with 27 registered kayak anglers participating. Congratulations to 1st place Chris Baggott of Shark River Hills 2nd Place Judy Segar from Allenhurst, and 3rd Place Brian Pickard of Hackensack!

See the awards presentation here!