Fishing Report
May 22, 2025
After a couple days off, we are sailing tomorrow! Weather looks good, light winds with a ground swell. It's freezer filling time! Don't miss out on this non stop action and bags full of tasty fillets!
Sailing all weekend 7:30AM-2:30PM for Seabass and 6:30PM-11:30PM for Stripers!
Plenty of room on all trips, open boats no reservations needed!
All open trips limited to 35 passengers! Sailing from 2 Simon Lake Dr Atlantic Highlands NJ
To reserve your spot, please visit fishdarkhorse.com or call/text 973-440-0335
May 21, 2025
Out with a light crowd on our night trip tonight. Immediately got into a very good bite with 2-6lb blues and stuck with them for about an hour. As many as you wanted, blowing up all around the boat. As the sun set we switched gears to bass. Never really had the conditions we needed to fish the pieces the right way. Slow drift with a wind that made us slide bad. Lots of short drifts trying a bunch of pieces but seeing the same on each. Readings with no bites. Finally got the tide and wind together right at the end and got a couple bites. Landed one and lost a couple others, but overall a very slow night on the bass grounds. Hopefully this hard NE wind the next 2 days will shake things up a bit.
May 20, 2025
Great Seabass bite today for our Private Charter. Had drop and reel action for the majority of the day, only slowing down when the current started roaring. Had to weed through loads and loads of shorts, but everyone went home with bags of tasty fillets. Will post more pictures when I get them!
We are taking a pass on all 4 trips the next 2 days. Wednesday and Thursday are cancelled. Lots of NE wind coming, going to stir things up. Keeping an eye on Friday.
This weekend looks great, have plenty of room on all trips.
7:30AM Seabass and 6:30PM Stripers
May 17, 2025
Opening Day Seabass
Out with a good crowd this morning for the opening day of Seabass, and man was the weatherman wrong. Stiff south wind against a ripping north current made it very uncomfortable. Despite the poor conditions we had drop and reel fishing for the majority of the day. Loads and loads of shorts, with a mess of keepers in the mix. Double and triple headers pretty much every drop. Good showing of ling as well, plus short cod and a few roaster out of season blackfish. Thanks to everyone for fishing hard through the tough conditions.
Had a sold out crowd for tonight's 6:30 bass trip, and once again had a terribly blown forecast. Plan was to eel for the bigger fish. Hard wind against tide all night long making it nearly impossible to fish the way we needed to. Had some bites, landed one lone jumbo, and had a mess of tangles with the terrible conditions. Unfortunately we can't control the conditions, we can only play the cards that are dealt!
May 16, 2025
Out today with a good crowd in more pea soup fog for our last daytime Striper trip. Had a steady bite all day picking fish on pretty much every drift. Was never hot and heavy, had a couple times with 2-4 fish on at a time, but it was a steady pick. Ended the day with some jumbo bluefish action close to home.
We are now fishing for SEABASS everyday 7:30-2:30
We will continue our night time Striper trips every night 6:30PM-11:30PM as well
May 15, 2025
Out in the pea soup fog this morning, lots of searching once again with the conditions making it hard to see life. Finally found something to work with and picked away at the XXL size fish all morning. Read much more than we caught, but the ones we caught were jumbos. Made a move at the end of the day when we got the outgoing and found a decent bite of mostly jumbo blues with a few bass in the mix. The big blues are tons of fun and were blowing bunkers out of the water all around the boat. Landed a bunch of them and lost even more.
One more daytime bass trip until the fall tomorrow morning! Don't miss it! Definitely sailing, have a good handful of regulars coming down.
May 13, 2025
Man what a difference this moon made last night and today. Ghost town for our trip last night, with only dogfish and skates coming up. Back out this morning and saw a whole lot more of the same. Over 40 miles traveled looking for something to work with with not much to show for it. Scraped together a lone bass and a handful of jumbo blues to end the day, but not nearly enough. Tonight's trip, as well as both trips tomorrow are cancelled due to the poor weather.
Back at it Thursday for both trips, and Friday morning. We are SOLD OUT Friday night.
May 12, 2025
Another good day of bass fishing! Beautiful day with a light crowd. Picked away in the morning, reading way more than we caught. Did a bunch of searching and finally got a couple shots at them. Right at the end they came together pretty good and gave us a good top water show for a little while. Was short lived, and not as good as yesterday, but we got our fish out of it. Appreciate everyone for fishing hard and for coming down this morning! Derek had the hot hand today with 6 or 7 himself.
We are sailing tonight, and both trips tomorrow! Don't let a little rain scare you away, the fish are here and they're biting! Only a couple more days until we switch over to seabass, so get them while you can!!
May 11, 2025
Mother's Day Stripers!!
Out with a nice crowd on this beautiful mother's day. Started the day with the fleet, picking one here and one there, knew it wasn't going to happen. Made a run to a new area and man am I glad we did! Run and gun action chasing birds and fish on top for the rest of the day! The best part about it was there was no other boats to push them down. Stuck with that for the rest of the day picking a few fish out of each pile of birds. Put in some OT since it's beautiful out and the fish were biting and the fishing got better! Check out the readings from the last stop of the day Even got my mom her mother's day bass, and her first fish on the new boat!
Loads of fish around, and they've found the bait! Now's the time for the big 9" shads, metal lips and top water plugs! Only 5 more day time bass trips until the fall, make the most of them! We are sailing all week 7:30AM and 6:30PM for Stripers!
May 8, 2025
Out with a nice crowd today in this very nice weather. Too nice actually. Got to the grounds and caught some right away, but realized it wasn't going to last long with the boat traffic. Hundreds of trollers getting as close as they could to you, I knew we had no chance. Bounced around picking some here some there. Took a ride to check some other areas, found what I thought would be the mother load, but only picked a couple again. Very frustrating. Kept looking, and finally landed on a patch of fish that wanted to bite a little with no boats around. Wind picked up with the tide in it's favor and we were able to make nice long drifts with action the whole way. Put in some OT and added a good amount of keepers to the box as well as our 36" pool fish. The ticket today was chartreuse shads... If it ain't chartreuse, it ain't no use! Some guys had the hot hand today landing multiple fish, some couldn't buy a bite. Story of fishing! Russ helped some guys out landing 4 or 5 himself.
May 7, 2025
On the Chunk!
Great night chunk bite tonight with fish up to 39"! Steady action all night with some flurries of a couple at a time. After not sailing the past few nights, it feels great to get back out here and catch these things! Tons of bait around the boat all night, with loads of bass pushing through them. Looks great for trips coming up!!!
May 7, 2025
Had Sandy Hook Bay Anglers Club out for their annual Veteran's Fishing Trip. Great group of vets out on this drop dead gorgeous day. Started the day off striper fishing, had some good shots at them in a few different areas. Most fish were caught on spoons with a handful taken on shads. Ended the day doing a couple of fluke drifts, seeing loads of shorts with a good number of keepers hitting the ice. All in all a great day with some great people. Look forward to it again next year!
We're back to Striper fishing tonight and tomorrow morning/night!
May 6, 2025
Lots of running around and looking today with a lighter crowd. Fish were verrryyyy spread out, and seemed to be moving quick. Finally landed on a nice patch of fish and was able to pull a bunch out until the bite slowed. Went looking again finding some incredible readings, but the bite never materialized. Weather turned out to be much nicer than they forecasted too.
We are SOLD OUT tomorrow morning, but we have plenty of room tomorrow night 6:30PM and Thursday morning 7:30AM!
May 4, 2025
Stripers Stripers Stripers!!!
Fantastic day of striper fishing today! Loads of fish flooded into the bay and they were hungry! Had more than half the boat hooked up on a couple of drifts. Fish were blowing up all around the boat for over an hour. Tons of keepers with even more overs going back. Definitely a new body of fish! The weather kept the boat traffic down, which was even better.
We're doing it again tomorrow!! Striper weather at its finest, bring your rain jacket and let's go! 7:30AM leave
May 3, 2025
Finally some good bass fishing today!!! We had shots of fish everywhere we went today making for pretty steady action all day. The readings we've had every day finally decided to bite like they should! All fish were taken on shads today. Loads of overs going back, with a good amount of keepers hitting the box. Actually saw a bunch of fish in the 26-27" range as well, that we'll be able to keep starting May 15th.
May 2, 2025
Better day of bass fishing today! Very slow start, picking one here and one there. Once the tide changed in the afternoon they came up good and were splashing all around the boat. Didn't catch nearly what we saw, but they bit pretty good for the time being. Oh, and if you didn't see the video we had a bluefin blowing bunkers out of the water next to the boat
On the afternoon trip, made our way out and saw quick action with the shads. Caught a couple, and what would've been a keeper fluke. Sun went down, tide changed and they seemed to spread out. Found some real good readings to set up on but only got one more to end the night.
Appreciate everyone that's been fishing with us recently. Wish we could make them bite all the time, but we do everything we can to give everyone the best shot at catching!
We are continuing Striped Bass fishing! We'll be striper fishing until the Seabass opener on May 17. Come and get your fix before it's too late.
May 1, 2025
Slow day on the bass grounds today. Had action on the first drift but it immediately faded to nothing. Looked all over the place and just couldn't find the ones that wanted to eat the shads. Found a small pile right at the end of the day and picked one more, but overall a very slow day. Back out on our night chunking trip right now, conditions are right so hoping for a good bite.
We'll be fishing tomorrow 7:30AM and 6:30PM, plenty of room on both trips
2 Simon Lake Dr Atlantic Highlands NJ
April 30, 2025
Out this morning with a lighter crowd. Found loads of readings almost immediately but had a lack of bites. Figured it was a tide thing, so stuck it out trying all sorts of different things to get them to bite. Shads, spoons, bait, seemed like they just didn't want to eat. Once the tide changed we continued looking for something better. Ran all over gods creation and finally right at the end of the day found something to work with. Had plenty of fish splashing around the boat with no one around. Put some in the boat and lost a bunch more to end the day. Should've caught more but it was still good to see some bites!
Tomorrow looks good! We are sailing both 7:30AM and 6:30PM!
Sailing tonight as well, 6:30PM!
Light crowds on both trips, come on down.
April 28, 2025
Weird bite tonight on our chunk trip. Had a decent bite going on the incoming until the tide went slack. Landed a few and lost a bunch. Once the tide slacked off the bite dissipated. Read plenty of fish but they would just mouth the baits. Checked a few other areas and seen the same thing.
We'll have another hour of the incoming tide tomorrow night, so we'll see what it brings!
Sailing both trips tomorrow 7:30AM and 6:30PM
April 26, 2025
Only enough guys for 1 boat to go this morning in the harbor, so we did not sail. Tonight's trip and both trips tomorrow are cancelled due to high winds. We'll be back at it for both trips 7:30AM and 6:30PM on Monday.
We'll be on the other side of this moon, and these fish should bite much better than they have been.
See you all then
April 25, 2025
Had a good crowd on tonight's chunk trip. Conditions were anything but ideal with the hard wind against the tide all night long. Made the best of the cards that were dealt and picked a few fish. With the readings we had I think if we had the right conditions and sat correctly we would've crushed them.... But we can't control the weather, only adapt! Thanks to everyone for fishing hard and sticking with it.
We'll be there in the morning, 7:30AM leave. The fish are already wet! The forecast will help keep the boat traffic down.
Keeping an eye on Saturday nights trip, as well as both trips on Sunday.... Will keep everyone posted!
Sailing every day and night 7:30AM-2:30PM and 6:30PM-11:30PM for Striped Bass from Atlantic Highlands Municipal Marina
April 25, 2025
Out this morning with a light crowd of regulars. Had a good shot of fish as soon as we got out, but unfortunately it didn't last. Ran around looking for better and picked a couple but nothing great. I'm sure the boat traffic didn't help the bite.
Headed out tonight at 6:30PM and again tomorrow morning 7:30AM. Don't mind the rain, the fish are already wet! The forecast should keep the small boats away. Textbook striper weather!
April 24, 2025
Didn't get out this morning, only a couple guys showed at the dock. Made it out this evening and found loads of readings but a lack of bites. Complete opposite of last night. Sounded like they bit pretty good before we got out, but we just couldn't get them to commit to the chunks once the sun went down. Very light bites, had to hold the rod and really pay attention to feel anything. Tried all depths, but found the same picky bite everywhere.
Tomorrow is a new day, sailing BOTH trips, 7:30AM and 6:30PM
April 23, 2025
Night Time Striped Bass Chunking!!!! It's time!!!!
What a difference a night makes! Made our way to a different area tonight and found what we were looking for! Took a little bit to get them in the slick, but once we did it was game on. Steady action on the chunks all night with fish up to 36". Many overs going back and a couple keepers for the box. Couldn't have asked for a better night weather wise, or fishing wise.
We're doing this EVERY NIGHT! 6:30PM-11:30PM
Sailing from Atlantic Highlands Municipal Marina
Open Boat limited to 35 passengers! No overcrowding, and no reservations needed.
April 23, 2025
Slow fishing last night and this morning. Covered lots of ground on both trips, had good readings, but getting them to cooperate was difficult. Seen some fish coming up, but not nearly enough! Appreciate everyone that's been with us for fishing hard and sticking with it! Story of spring time striper fishing, the bite changes with every tide!
Weather looks good for tonight and tomorrow mornings trip. Sailing 6:30PM tonight and 7:30AM tomorrow
Open Boat, no reservations needed.
2 Simon Lake Dr Atlantic Highlands, NJ
April 22, 2025
Out with a light crowd on this beautiful Tuesday. Couldn't beat the weather, warm and light winds. Made our way to where we caught them yesterday and didn't see much so kept pushing. Found a nice body of fish but they had lock jaw for us. The trollers caught well, but they didn't really want the shads. Kept searching and found a pile of bait with fish pushing them up. Still not a great bite but we were able to pick a few with the bait and shads. Once we got covered up with boats there, we moved on and found a nice little patch of fish on top to ourselves. Once we found out what they wanted to eat we started to get some bites. Even had some sick bites right at the boat. Tons of followers and blow ups. Real cool to see the fish eat up top! Landed a handful of fish out of it before it slowed with the boat traffic. Missed a couple of the pictures, but here's some!
We are definitely sailing tonight, 4/22 at 6:30PM for our first chunk trip! Come on down, weather is supposed to be gorgeous.
2 Simon Lake Dr Atlantic Highlands, NJ
Sailing every day this week 7:30AM-2:30PM and 6:30PM-11:30PM
Open Boat, limited to 35 passengers. No reservations needed!
April 21, 2025
Much better bass fishing today! Still have lots of room for improvement, but if you worked the shads there were some fish to be caught! Bounced all around today looking for the right patch of fish and had a couple good shots at them in the second half of the trip. Had wind against tide conditions all morning, but once the conditions came together the fish started to cooperate a little. Like I said, definitely no beatdown but it was better than it's been! Things are looking up for the rest of the week.
Everyday is a new day, weather for tomorrow and the rest of the week looks awesome. Warm with light winds.
We'll be sailing open every day and night this week, 7:30AM-2:30PM and 6:30PM-11:30PM
No reservations needed, just come on down!
2 Simon Lake Dr Atlantic Highlands, NJ
March 13, 2025
Join us this weekend 3/14-3/16 at the Saltwater Fishing Expo in Edison, NJ! Take advantage of our show special pricing, as well as trip packages before the season starts!
As work continues on the new Dark Horse, we are nearing the finish line! Our plan is to begin fishing the weekend of April 19th. We will be sailing twice daily for Striped Bass. 7:30am-2:30pm and 6:30pm-11:30pm
We are currently booking our summer cruises as well. We are available for private charter for graduation parties, birthday parties, burial at sea, and any other private events that you want to invite 60 of your closest friends to! We will also have open boat cruises every week throughout the summer, a full schedule will be posted soon.
Look forward to seeing everyone this weekend at the show.
January 22, 2025
Boat work is underway for the new 62’ Dark Horse! We are hard at work getting her ready for the 2025 Spring Striper run. Making some improvements to not only make her look pretty, but also super fishy! The plan is to start fishing full time by the end of April for Stripers. We’ll be fishing twice DAILY, 7:30am-2:30pm and 6:30pm-11:30pm
We will be limiting all of our open boat trips to 35 passengers
Our daytime fishing will start with casting swimshads and snagging live bait. We will do our best everyday to find and get live bait. Our night time will start with chunking bunker for a couple of weeks, before switching over to live eels for the “jumbos” in late May until the end of June.
Glimpse at our 2025 season:
Once the daytime fishing for Stripers slows up near the end of May, we will transition into Seabass for a couple of weeks. Perfect opportunity to load the freezers with meat! Once the fluking gets good at the end of June / early July, we will turn all of our attention towards Fluke until the season ends in late September. Once Fluke season closes, we will be bottom fishing for a couple of weeks, with a few special “Exotic Jigging” trips for Bonito and Albies with other inshore speedsters mixed in as well. Early October we will resume our Night Time Striper Trips, sailing every night 6:30pm-11:30pm until late November. These trips will be all live eel “trophy hunting” trips. Once we get a good showing of daytime bass mid-late October, we will be jigging for Stripers daily. Diamond jigs, swimshads and topwaters will all be the ticket. We will focus on Stripers until late November, then we will turn our focus to Blackfish. We’ll finish our season sailing daily at 7:30 for Blackfish until January.
We will have a full galley on board, with hot food and cold drinks available for purchase. We will also be fully stocked with any tackle you may need for any species available for purchase. Our cabin is heated and has more than enough room to keep you dry and warm in the cooler months. We have separate men’s and women’s heads, both with freshwater sinks. We also have a full upper deck with benches providing a 360° view around the boat for the ride in and out. Private charters for fishing, NYC cruises, sunset/booze cruises, or burials at sea are all available as well.
On another note, I want to thank everyone that supported us the past couple of years with our 6 pack boats. We hope to give you that same “personal feel” and successful fishing trips with the new boat! You’ll be seeing all the familiar faces on board like Capt Justin, Capt Henry, Scott, Nick and Hua-Jen, as well as a few new faces that we’ve welcomed into the family. I am beyond excited to get this season underway and hope to see everyone aboard! If you have any questions regarding the upcoming season, please feel free to give me a call or shoot me a text at 973-440-0335. I will try to post all the updates on here, but for the most up to date information please visit our Facebook page.
Capt Justin