Mullet Running, Stripers Feeding
I don’t know if you are going to get a chance, one LAST chance, to hit your favorite flounder grounds before the hammer comes down at 12:00AM on Saturday. I know I am not going to be able to get out before then, but it is not because of the forecast for a change. It looks like there might be a little rain, but seas will be fair enough and winds reasonable enough to make this a great fall fishing weekend.
Before we launch into gathering up all the fishing news that is fit to print, I just wanted to reach out and throw Mama nature a great big ‘Thanks MA!”. There is no question that summer flounder season 2012 was the best for size and numbers than I have seen in the last ten years.. maybe longer. I know there are rumblings already about next year’s allocation being decreased, and the speculation on the internet discussion boards about how many and how big and why and who we should hate are already in full swing. I expect nothing less from my brotherhood of anglers.
Since this is a transitional weekend as far as the regulations go, let’s take a little review:
Summer Flounder – Closed
Black Sea Bass – Open until October 14th, then closed until November 1st
Blackfish (Tautog) – Open for 1 fish only until Nov. 16 when it bumps up to 6 through the end of the year
Striper – Go get ‘um (inside of 3 miles)
Weakies – Go get ‘um
Bluefish – Go get ‘um
Bluefin Tuna – 1 fish 27”- 47”, 1 fish 47”-73”. If you are North of Great Egg Inlet in NJ, your 1 “Trophy” bluefin per vessel per year (over 73”) is still open. If you are South of GE, it is closed.
Now that you know what is permitted to be in your crosshairs, let’s find out how the anchor shops in the OTW network are doing so you can f get your own plans cooking for this weekend.
Starting in the fresh with Laurie from Dow’s Boat Rental in Lake Hoptacong. The fall chow down seems to be on! Lots of species on the feed including perch, crappie, large & smallmouth, pickerel and Hybrids. Smallies seem to be doing better on smaller baits off of the rocky points right now. Walleye fishing has slowed considerably since the storms last week. Laurie will be open into November.
Greg at Liberty Landing Marina in Jersey City is getting fired up as the bass are starting to move in. Lots of 29- to 32-inch fish for guys on the troll. Pitching swim shads is working as well. There are all the albies, skippies and football bluefin you want from New York Harbor to 20 miles out. The big push of little pelagics is cranking! There are also still plenty of bluefish to play with, or curse at, depending on what you are dragging behind your boat.
Darryl at Efingers Sporting Goods in Bound Brook has lots of his fly guys gearing up to travel upstate NY for salmon, but some of the crew are still connecting in the Raritan River. Smallies are taking clousers up near the Fish Ladder and there have been some nice pickerel caught on small plastics. In the Bay, there are still plenty of bluefish with some schoolie stripers mixed in. Reports from the surf are still kind of slow.
Bob at Crabby’s in Keyport says the Keyport Pier is still showing plenty of action on smaller species. Spot, small weakies and cocktail blues are keeping light tackle anglers busy, and you should probably still bring a crab trap with you. The Reach and Triangle are starting to warm up a little with those same sizes schoolie stripers we have been reporting about. Bob figures it will be about a week before the real meat starts moving in.
I missed Ernie at Giglios Bait and Tackle in Sea Bright, but did get Tom. He was full of good news to use. Andy DiFranco plugged up a 12.5-pound bass on the beach in Sea Bright. Brian Bolinger was throwing swim shads from the sand in Monmouth Beach and nailed a 20-pound striper, and another one of his guys, Brett, was blasting bluefish up to 15 pounds from the surf in Monmouth Beach! Feel the blood rushing to your head yet? I do!
Max at Pride Bait and Tackle in Red Banks backs up the news. The surf fishing has really started to pick up. Bluefish and bass up to 15 pounds are coming in and there are falsies within sight of the beach. There is a tuna bite that is spotty, but there in the Hudson and those little weakies are still kicking around in the bay.
Dominick’s guys are catching fish like crazy this morning. There is bait being blown out of the water by chopper blues even as I write this. That’s the word from The Bait Shop in Bradley Beach. From Long Branch to Manasquan, the bait is everywhere. Mike Petruzziello from the Bradley Beach Surfcasters weighed in a 19.4-pound bass. There have been 12- to 17-pound bluefish hitting the scales too. Keep your metal in the bag, the blues are hitting needlefish, swim shads and swimming plugs. Got mullet?
Eric from Harrys Army Navy was on the beach this morning and the blues he ran into were of the cocktail variety, but there was tons of bait. In the River, the smallie fishing was great before the water got all muddied up, so look for clean water and throw smaller baits. The local ponds are giving up good largemouth action as well.
Up the street at the Sportsmens Center in Bordentown, Tom P was on fire over the catfish bite in the surrounding creeks and rivers. Pennsauken Creek, the Rancocas, Morris, all are covered up in nice 8# cats gobbling crawlers. The D&R Canal has nice bass and pickerel if you want to float a couple of shiners through. Tom has had lots of guys doing well in the salt on sea bass at the nearshore wrecks as well, with good numbers but only fair size.
Jason at Bait Your Hook Bait and Tackle said the mullet run is bringing some good bass into the surf. The mullet are plentiful and the bass have taken notice. Black sea bass fishing is still good, and although there is just one day left in the season, keeper fluke are still being caught out of the surf.
Weather has been keeping the fishing effort down a bit, but the report from Better Bait and Ice is that there are plenty of spot, croakers and white perch in the back willing to eat a trout worm fished on a small hook. Blowfish are still around as well. On The freshwater side, big pickerel are the highlight this week.
When the weather allows it, anglers getting offshore are doing pretty well. Dave at the Reel Seat in Brielle reported that the crew of the NYSE-ly Done found a trio of bigeye on the troll, a few yellowfin on the chunk and a swordfish on a trip to the edge this week. Tilefish were also biting well. Since then, the weather has turned south and the winds have picked up stalling canyon efforts. A few bluefin were also being taken at the Chicken Canyon and Glory Hole, and one giant bluefin was caught in the Mudhole. In the surf, there’s been a pick of small bass and blues. Before the nasty weather, albies were also being caught off the beach with some regularity.
Jack at Surf Side Bait and Tackle reported small stripers and decent blues chasing waves of mullet through the surf this past week. As the water cools, more and bigger stripers should be joining in to eat these mullet.
Best bet for this weekend…
I’d stick close to the beach. From the sand or nearshore on the boats, there is just so much bait inshore that running over it could be a major mistake. It could be near perfect surf conditions with the wind dropping out and some of that clean water in tight. I’m leaving the boat in the slip and getting some sand in the wheel wells of the man-truck!
Stay Tuna-ed!