If you can make the time, you are going to catch. That’s it.
Up and down the Northern and Central sections of New Jersey there are swimmers out there and they are chewing. You might have to get a little strategic, but trust me my angling brothers, this is the time of year you have been looking froward to.
Starting up at The Hook, Mark from Meltzers in Garfield has his boys connecting at the top of the state throwing white swimmers. Storms and Tsunamis are on the list of things to pack. The key here, and you start hearing this an awful lot starting around now… the nighttime is the right time. Actually,, for this bite, the nighttime is the ONLY time. Even the boat guys that are working the bunker schools off of the beach are fishing that as soon as the sun gets up, the fish go down and the day is done ‘til there’s no more sun. Poetic..ain’t me? Bays are full of blowfish and there have been sharks hammering the bunker schools as close as 5 miles off the beach. Aloha my surfing buddies.
A little further south at Keyport Marine Basin, the fluking was pretty strong until the big freshwater flush came out of the sly late this week. Nice flatties mostly on Gulp wither bouncing a bucktail or a regular fluke rig. A few bass on bunker chunks early and no real sign of the blue claws yet.
Phillip at The Tackle Box reports good fluke catches, even a couple of limits of 5-6# fish from his zone in Hazlet. Squid, spearing, and Gulp on teasers rigs are the ticket. There have also been some 25- to 30-pound bass taken early in the day on bunker chunks by the Range Markers. You can also get into them in 65 feet of water if you can find the bunker. All action very early and very late. Just for fun, the spot and kingies have moved into the surf by the Kingsford Pier and Belford.
Mark from The Bait Shop in Bradley Beach was filling in for Dominick this week and reported a couple of his anglers had a good week. harold Burns had a 35.2-pound bass taken on a bunker spoon not far off the beach and local Andy Magrath pulled 5 nice triggers in the 2- to 3-pound range out of Shark River Inlet. Tasty little outing.
I got a chance to talk to Tom from Giglio’s in Sea Bright this afternoon. I always get Ernie on the phone since I usually call in the morning, and it was the first time we had connected in a year so we had a little catching up to do. I know it may begin to sound like a broken record to some of you that live on really dry land, but you really have to admire the small businessman that bounces back from the kind of hammering that these two guys took. They will tell you that others got it worse, but they still had 3 feet of water in their business and it did trash their inventory. If you are in the neighborhood, swing thru and give them a little bump.
Joe was in his study when I called Joey’s Bait Shack in Belmar. I don’t know if I would have broken my focus if he had called me for a fishing report but you have to give kudos to a business guy that has that kind of marketing commitment. He has guys reporting loading up on spot by Lafayette using bits of sand worms and night crawlers. Fluke of decent size, the low 20” range, re still responding to squid and spearing, and the blue fishing is spotty. Joe also kicked in that the crabbing in the Keyport area has started to turn the corner.
Harry’s Army Navy in Robbinsville has been a part of our weekly update since I have been doing it, and Chris and the boys over there are always focused like a laser beam trying to feed us all good info. This week is no exception as we get the word of a really excellent black drum bite going on back in Raritan bay. It;’s the clam my friend… it’s the clam. Truth of the matter is that you really are entering the time of the season where you really need to either know what the heck you are doing, or find someone that does. Very few accidents in the Dog days. Chris his partner in crime Eric (Eric runs On A Mission Fishing out of Shark River when he is not in the store) are tow of the best sources for current info you can mainline into for your required fix.
So here is the plan… ya ready?
Best Bet for this weekend is to start in the dark. If you really want to put a slob striper on the deck then it is going to have to be before the direct rays of the sun start hitting the water. Beach or boat, bunker are going to have to be part of the equation because that is what the chubs are eating. Then, it is off to the beach for a little multi-tasking. Spot, kingfish & bikinis. Hey, when the sun is up you have to find something productive to do! Then as the evening approaches, it is back to the striper focus to be worked diligently in to the night.
Lots of pop-up lightening this weekend, so if you are going to be out please keep a weather radio, radar phone app, or something to keep you in the info loop to stay safe. I’m running an event this weekend in my home town of Margate called “Beachstock, The Planet’s Biggest Beach Party” and am expecting about 15,000 of my closest friends. You and your family, of course, are most certainly invited! It’s free, there is great music, a beer and margarita garden, lots of food, and a bonfire on the beach that will burn late in to the nite while the band plays on. If you are in the same hemisphere and looking for something to do check us out on Facebook or give us a Google.
Stay Tuna-ed!