EP 78: Cuddyhunk Stripers and Exploding Korkers

EP 78: Cuddyhunk Stripers and Exploding Korkers

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/1950037/fan_mail/new] You can’t fish new water like it’s your home beach and Cuddyhunk Island makes that crystal clear. We sit down with Kwa to replay his first trip to Cuddyhunk, Massachusetts, a ferry-only island where golf carts rule, stores are basically nonexistent, and the striped bass game is built around rocks, current, and night bites. If you’ve ever planned a fishing vacation and wondered what to bring, what you’ll forget, or how fast gear can fail, this conversation is for you. We talk through what real preparation looks like: building a packing list that covers food, backup rods, and the small stuff that saves trips. Khoa shares why wetsuits matter more than waders when you’re climbing slick rocks in the dark, why waterproof reels like Van Staal or ZBASS earn their price when you’re getting dunked, and how heavy leaders like 60-pound fluorocarbon become a smart move when every fish wants to rub you off on a boulder. There’s also the brutally honest moment when his Korkers fall apart mid-trip and there’s no shop to bail you out, plus the practical fix-it mindset that separates a ruined night from a recovered plan. Then we get into the fun part: scouting the island by golf cart, reading tides, and learning to “see” the structure at night because you studied it at low tide. We also tell the story of a daytime topwater bite that seems to vanish until a drone goes up and shows hundreds of stripers cruising right where everyone just walked. If you want better results when traveling to fish, this is the blueprint: research the terrain, listen to the experienced people, and stay flexible. If this helped, subscribe, share it with your fishing group, and leave a review so more anglers can find the show. What’s the one piece of gear you’ll never travel without? Great Bay Outfitters - Gear Up! [https://www.facebook.com/greatbayoutfitters] Your go-to shop for top fishing gear, apparel, and kayak essentials in South Jersey. Quad State Tune For Your Toyota Truck [https://www.facebook.com/Qstune/about_details] Custom engine tuning for peak performance for Toyota trucks. Improve power and performance today. Richard Natoli Real Estate [https://richardnatoli.com] Helping PA homeowners buy & sell with confidence. 267-270-1145 or NatoliRealEstate@Gmail.com Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you. Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/1950037/support] Fat Dad YouTube Channel: (569) Fat Dad Fishing - YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/c/FatDadFishing] Fat Dad Instagram: @fat.dad.fishing Fat Dad Facebook: (7) Fat Dad Fishing | Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/FatDadFishing/] Email: rich@fatdadfishing.com

EP 77: Spring-To-Summer Saltwater Fishing Playbook with Badfish Charters OC

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/1950037/fan_mail/new] The water can be 61 near the beach, 68 a few miles off, then colder again on the next turn and that one detail changes everything. We’re in that messy spring-to-summer window where anglers either adapt fast or spend a lot of time wondering why yesterday’s “pattern” died overnight.  I’m joined by Captain Brian Williams of Badfish Charters (Ocean City, New Jersey) to break down what he’s actually seeing on the grounds right now: delayed warming, upwelling, inconsistent bait, and how those shifts ripple through back bay fishing and nearshore structure. We get tactical on fluke fishing, including when he prefers casting over jigging, how he uses the trolling motor to work small holes and edges, and a straightforward bucktail plus dropper-loop setup built around Gulp. We also dig into color, silhouette, and hook choices without the usual superstition.  Then we pivot into the tougher stuff: summer striped bass and conservation. Warm water, low dissolved oxygen, and stressed fish make catch-and-release a gamble, and we talk honestly about when to back off, how incoming tides and upwelling can change activity, and why “fish the conditions” beats fishing the calendar. We also hit sheepshead pressure and size decline, plus habitat realities like eelgrass loss and how oyster programs might be the long-term path to cleaner water.  If you fish New Jersey inlets, marshes, bridges, or back bays, this one will sharpen how you think on the water. Subscribe, share it with a fishing buddy, and leave a review if you want more practical regional breakdowns like this. Richard Natoli Real Estate [https://richardnatoli.com] Helping PA homeowners buy & sell with confidence. 267-270-1145 or NatoliRealEstate@Gmail.com Great Bay Outfitters - Gear Up! [https://www.facebook.com/greatbayoutfitters] Your go-to shop for top fishing gear, apparel, and kayak essentials in South Jersey. Quad State Tune For Your Toyota Truck [https://www.facebook.com/Qstune/about_details] Custom engine tuning for peak performance for Toyota trucks. Improve power and performance today. Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you. Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/1950037/support] Fat Dad YouTube Channel: (569) Fat Dad Fishing - YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/c/FatDadFishing] Fat Dad Instagram: @fat.dad.fishing Fat Dad Facebook: (7) Fat Dad Fishing | Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/FatDadFishing/] Email: rich@fatdadfishing.com

EP 76: 9+ Tips for Fishing the Summer Transition with Capt. Ben

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/1950037/fan_mail/new] The bite doesn’t “die” when the seasons change. Your old pattern does. Rich Natoli sits down with Captain Benji Bar to talk through the late spring to early summer saltwater fishing transition in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast, with practical, on-the-water guidance you can apply right away. We dig into the biggest driver first: water temperature. Not air temp, not the date, not what worked last year on June 15. As temps swing from the low 60s into the 70s, fish reposition, bait shifts, and your best water changes with it. We talk fluke depth moves from skinny water to double-digit depths, why structure and current edges matter more now, and how understanding baitfish movement helps you predict where fish will stage rather than chasing yesterday’s reports. Then we get into timing and behavior. As summer sets in, striped bass can turn into a low-light game in the backwaters, with current, bridges, and channel edges becoming the reliable zones. We also break down how tides and dissolved oxygen can make or break a trip, including why an outgoing tide can pull hot, low-oxygen water off the flats and shut down the afternoon, while an incoming tide can refresh a spot. We wrap with smart tackle adjustments: downsizing braid and leader for better sensitivity and bottom contact, why quality line matters more as you go lighter, and a few real-world notes on weakfish conditions and clean water. If you fish New Jersey inshore, back bays, or nearby coastal waters, this is the roadmap for staying consistent as the season flips. Subscribe, share this with a fishing buddy, and leave a review with the one adjustment that changed your summer bite. Great Bay Outfitters - Gear Up! [https://www.facebook.com/greatbayoutfitters] Your go-to shop for top fishing gear, apparel, and kayak essentials in South Jersey. Quad State Tune For Your Toyota Truck [https://www.facebook.com/Qstune/about_details] Custom engine tuning for peak performance for Toyota trucks. Improve power and performance today. Richard Natoli Real Estate [https://richardnatoli.com] Helping PA homeowners buy & sell with confidence. 267-270-1145 or NatoliRealEstate@Gmail.com Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you. Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/1950037/support] Fat Dad YouTube Channel: (569) Fat Dad Fishing - YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/c/FatDadFishing] Fat Dad Instagram: @fat.dad.fishing Fat Dad Facebook: (7) Fat Dad Fishing | Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/FatDadFishing/] Email: rich@fatdadfishing.com

EP 75: 10+ Sheepshead Tips That Actually Work

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/1950037/fan_mail/new] Sheepshead are one of the most addictive fish we chase in the mid-Atlantic, and they also humble more good anglers than almost anything else. So we keep it simple and useful here: real-world sheepshead fishing tips that help you catch more fish around docks, bridge pilings, bulkheads, and back bay structure without turning it into a graduate course.  Paul, owner of Great Bay Outfitters, joins me to talk about what actually moves the needle. We dig into why shallow water gets overlooked, how shadow lines can be the difference between silence and a legit bite, and why floating docks deserve way more attention than they get. We also tackle a big mindset shift on timing: sheepshead show up earlier and stick around later than most people assume, and they don’t always live “right near the inlet” the way the internet loves to say.  Then we get into the stuff you can apply on your next trip: why moving current often beats slack tide, where to position on a current seam, how to work the water column instead of dropping straight to the bottom, and what bite clues can point to bigger fish versus small pickers. We also talk gear without the hype: when to change rigs, how to rotate baits (fiddlers, sand fleas, Asian shore crabs, mussels, grass shrimp, blue crab, even clams and minnows), and how to use electronics as a time-saver instead of getting glued to the screen.  If you fish New Jersey, Delaware, or the broader mid-Atlantic coast and want more consistent sheepshead results, this one will tighten up your approach fast. Subscribe, share it with a fishing buddy, and leave a review with your best sheepshead tip so we can build a stronger playbook together. Great Bay Outfitters - Gear Up! [https://www.facebook.com/greatbayoutfitters] Your go-to shop for top fishing gear, apparel, and kayak essentials in South Jersey. Quad State Tune For Your Toyota Truck [https://www.facebook.com/Qstune/about_details] Custom engine tuning for peak performance for Toyota trucks. Improve power and performance today. Richard Natoli Real Estate [https://richardnatoli.com] Helping PA homeowners buy & sell with confidence. 267-270-1145 or NatoliRealEstate@Gmail.com Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you. Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/1950037/support] Fat Dad YouTube Channel: (569) Fat Dad Fishing - YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/c/FatDadFishing] Fat Dad Instagram: @fat.dad.fishing Fat Dad Facebook: (7) Fat Dad Fishing | Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/FatDadFishing/] Email: rich@fatdadfishing.com

EP 74: Fluke Season Reality Check

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/1950037/fan_mail/new] Fluke season opens and we do what every obsessed angler does: we go anyway, even when the forecast is wrong, the wind refuses to cooperate, and the back bay bite feels like it shuts off mid-drift. This archived kickoff show from 2022 is a time capsule that still holds up, because the fundamentals of early-season summer flounder don’t change. We’re talking water temperature swings after overnight rain, why “clean water” doesn’t always mean “easy fishing,” and how you can watch an area go from promising to stubborn with just a few degrees of drop.  We get into the real back bay decisions that matter: incoming tide vs outgoing tide (and why we each argue for a different one), what slack tide can do for bigger fish, and how to stop wasting time drifting the middle for shorts. If you want bigger fluke, we explain the structure story: drop-offs, ledges, creek mouths, current seams, and shallow flat potholes that are only inches deeper but fish way “bigger” than they look. We also talk bait vs artificial, including when live bait like mud minnows, squid strips, or spot can separate you from the crowd, plus the Gulp profiles and colors that actually got touched on a tough day.  Regulations change strategy, especially in New Jersey where you’re forced to think about size classes and tough keep-or-release choices. We also hit practical gear and rigging details like bucktail and teaser spacing, rod action and sensitivity, and what matters most for kayak fluke fishing when you can’t just “run and gun” to the next spot. Stick around for an honest safety segment on dry suits, why we don’t trust the rule of 120, and why waders can make a self-rescue harder than most people realize. If you get value from this, subscribe, share it with a fishing buddy, and leave a review so more back bay anglers can find the show. Great Bay Outfitters - Gear Up! [https://www.facebook.com/greatbayoutfitters] Your go-to shop for top fishing gear, apparel, and kayak essentials in South Jersey. Quad State Tune For Your Toyota Truck [https://www.facebook.com/Qstune/about_details] Custom engine tuning for peak performance for Toyota trucks. Improve power and performance today. Richard Natoli Real Estate [https://richardnatoli.com] Helping PA homeowners buy & sell with confidence. 267-270-1145 or NatoliRealEstate@Gmail.com Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you. Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/1950037/support] Fat Dad YouTube Channel: (569) Fat Dad Fishing - YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/c/FatDadFishing] Fat Dad Instagram: @fat.dad.fishing Fat Dad Facebook: (7) Fat Dad Fishing | Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/FatDadFishing/] Email: rich@fatdadfishing.com