No keepers for me since mid June, weaks or fluke. while I admittedly have only been boat fishing in the area of the USCG and back to Massapequa once, my buddy has been out boat fishing half a dozen times with just shorts. He uses squid and spearing and I only Gulp. Still, what few keepers I came home with last month (all from the yak) outnumbered my "take" of 2018. Truly loving my new Tsunami 6' Slimwave, now matched with a Daiwa BG2000. Both for $180. Hoping to do some "damage" if I manage to live line the early arriving snappers soon. And in that vein, I have yet to see a bluefish this year. Hope you guys are doing a lot better in this area although we haven't seen too many nets moving !
Edited to add:
thanks to Lep's advice, everything I have caught so far has been on 3/4 oz HT minnow leads with silicone skirt and a Gulp of various colors. Oddly enough, the smallest fluke get off at the side of the kayak without me having to touch them. sorry to say small sea robins invariably were well hooked but so were all keepers. Because of the lightness of the aforementioned rig, I have been bouncing the jig (and a bucktailed teaser with a Gulp) three straight hours each trip with no fatigue, and close to the bottom even in 30 feet. Most take the lead head. Definitely a dif ferent and more enjoyable way of "bucktailing / jigging. and I credit John Skinner, Capt Paduano and Elias.