Writing the weekly northern New Jersey fishing report gives me a chance to look at the local fishing scene from a viewpoint that most anglers don’t have access to enjoy. Seeing the big picture through the eyes of the professionals who deal with anglers around the state each and every day, allow you to see patterns as they develop. Our goal is to pass on this knowledge along to you, to enable more successful fishing trips. Personally, I try to cover the conditions that are most important to my style of fishing. But you might consider other factors more important. If you find that to be the case, please, don’t hesitate to contact me and I will try and work it into the forecast. I can be reached via email at info@qualitylure.com. I look forward to your feedback. Now let’s see what our contacts have to say about the upcoming week.
First stop this week is Joey’s Bait Shack in Keyport. I had a long talk with Joe about conditions in the area. Water temperatures are right around 60 degrees. The striper bite is a bit slow right now but if you are looking for action, blues up to 10 pounds are all over the area. Fluking in the Keyport and Raritan Bay area has been great as well according to Joe. The most successful anglers are using squid strips or spearing. Best tides are the top 2 hours of the incoming. Joe told me that they are still having trouble getting killies, so plan accordingly. And while the bait fish are in somewhat short supply, it looks like it is going to be a good year for blue claws as Joe informed me they are already getting nice keepers off the Keyport bulkhead.
I had the opportunity to speak with owner Pete Crosta of Atlantic Highlands Bait and Tackle in Middletown about fishing in the area. Water temps are still cool but people are catching fluke in the shallows where the warm water is drawing in the bait. Look for 8- to 15-foot depths for the best results. Bucktail jigs are the hot rig tipped with your favorite cut bait or Gulp. The tip of Sandy Hook is the hot spot for stripers. Fluking has seen the best action in the rivers. Pete suggested the Navesink River as a best bet. AHBT is fully stocked and is open every day at 4:30 am. Check them out.
When I saw a picture of Max of Pride Fishing Tackle in Red Bank, holding a 10-pond fluke, I had to contact him to get his secret. For all the fishing I have done over the years, 8 pounds is my personal best. Ten pounds! That’s a doormat for someone with size 22 shoes! I spoke with Mike at the shop to get the low down. Max was using a green bucktail with a strip bait tip. The fish was caught in the Navesink River where the action has been best lately. The mouth of the river is the best spot according to Mike and the 2 hours on either side of the incoming has been the most active bite. There are still stripers in the area but the monsters have moved to the beaches. Bluefish are all over the place. Mike also told me the river is giving up more than a few nice weakfish. Water Temperatures are still in the high 50s, low 60s making for nice river conditions. I am sure Max will be making a print of the monster he caught, stop by and check it out.
Captain Chris Hueth of the Big Mohawk out of Belmar is getting ready to make the flip to full time fluking but until the water and bite reach their optimum value, he is targeting the best available. When fishing on the Mohawk, you can be assured of one thing. They know how to put you on fish.
I spoke with Ernie at Giglio’s Bait and Tackle in Sea Bright this week to see how the bite was on the beaches around Sea Bright. He told me the striper bite has been red hot and to prove it, he supplied names. Pat Delisa weighed in a 31-pound striped bass he caught locally on clam. Roy Soyka has been killing the bass on pencil poppers and weighed in several in excess of 20 pounds. Bill Bertsch had a 15-pounder taken on clams. And to make it even better, it would appear that the fluke are starting to move beach side. Mike Pinto of Bound Brook weighed in a couple of 4-plus-pound fluke at the shop that he took on Berkeley Gulp baits.
If you need information or tips on fresh water fishing and you are anywhere near the Bordentown area, I recommend stopping in The Sportsmen’s Center in Bordentown and looking up Tommy Pagliorili in the fishing department. The problem isn’t getting him to talk about fishing; it’s getting him to stop. When I spoke to him this week, he told me the bite was on in for bass in Strawbridge and Crystal lakes. Tome has been trying to catch a snakehead (remember, if you get one do not return it to the water) and has been frequenting both lakes in search of it and murdering the bass. He also told me the white perch bite has been spectacular in the area. Use blood worms if you can get them. If you are near the Delaware River and looking for some bass action, Tom recommended the stretch from Frenchtown north. And for bait, a purple curly tail one a 3/8-ounce football leadhead.
A quick status report on Jersey Hooker Outfitters in Brick. As some of you may know, they were punched hard by Sandy. Captain Rich Wilkowski has the shop back up and running in all of it prior glory and then some and the boat is nearing completion. Stop in a check out some of the specials if you get a chance and say hi to the new first mate, Nicole.
The Reel Seat in Brielle is one of the top shops in the area, especially if you’re going after big game or surf action. Owner Dave Arbeitman stocks the best of the best. I missed Dave when I called the shop this week; he was hosting a “Beginners Tile Fishing” trip on The Voyager party boat. Early reports in to John at the shop indicate that they were having good results. Locally, John informed me that the striper bite has been good when on but that the “on” time was hard to gauge. The most consistent bite seems to be from 4 to 6 pm. Locals are using snag and drag if the bass are chasing bunker or pencil poppers if they are schooled on top. John attributes the sporadic nature of the bite to another drop in water temperatures over the last weekend. Temps in the area are in the mid-fifties but seem to be sliding up. There is some bluefish action as well but nothing really big, most in the 2- to 4-pound range. John also told me he was awaiting the arrival of several mako sharks that were called into the shop. He did not know the location that they were caught but reckoned they were relatively close inshore. The head boats and charter captains have been reporting nice catches on black sea bass, ling and fluke on the inshore reefs.
Family owned and operated since 1914, Meltzer’s Sporting Goods in Garfield is one of my “go-to” sources for information in the northern reaches of the state. When I spoke with Nick at the store this week, he told me that there was a very good bass bite going on. Most anglers were having great success using the Gary Yamamoto 5-inch Senko Baits. Nick also told me that there is a strong walleye bite (at night mostly) in Lake Hopatcong. Anglers fishing live bait in the dark are having great success. If musky is on your target list, Greenwood Lake in West Milford has been very productive. Nick recommends trolling big plugs for good action with this hard fighting creature. Crappies are active right now in all the usual haunts. And finally, Nick told me there has been some good pike fishing going on in the Passaic River, specifically in the area of the Twin Bridges. Anglers are using live shiners to hook up.
Jill at Reel Life Bait and Tackle in Point Pleasant tells me that the drop in water temperatures locally seems to have slowed down the ocean front bite substantially. Most of the nice stripers, blues and weakfish seem to have migrated back in the rivers and the canal, most likely seeking warmer water and the bait that goes with it. The flukers are using spearing or a squid as their go to bait. For weakfish, Jill recommends trying a Rattle Trap lure or one of the SS Rattle Tails tipped with your favorite Berkley Gulp Bait. Don’t forget to stop in the store and check out some of the bait and tackle specials they will be running for the upcoming Mako Mania Tournament.
When the water temperatures dropped the inshore bite slowed down to a crawl, so what is a good captain to do? That’s the question I posed to Captain Steve Spinelli of the Skylarker in Belmar. The answer is simple, target species which are still feeding such as black sea bass, fluke and ling. Mix in the occasional cod fish and you have the menu which the Skylarker has been serving up to its clients when the striper bite slowed. The mark of a good captain is to find fish for his clients when things slow down.
Best Bets for the Weekend
Early reports from the weather prognosticators indicates that the remnants of the first tropical storm of the season (Andrea) could play a role on fishing conditions as early as Friday. We could get as much as two inches of rainfall in coastal areas, leading to some very tough settings for those on or near the water. On the bright side, it looks like the storm will pass through rather quickly clearing out by Saturday. Keep an eye on the water temperatures afterwards as the fishing seems to be predicated on it of late. A recent cool down has already slowed the beachfront bite down considerably. The fish are still there mind you, but anglers had to work harder to achieve success. If water temps hold steady, I would personally think about fishing the back waters and feeder tributaries searching out warmer water columns where the bait might be clustered up. If the opportunity presents itself, sea bass fluke and ling would be my target Oceanside.
On the fresh water side, all options seem available. Small mouth bass, pike, walleye and musky are all making strong showing. Big rainfall could affect that action so keep an eye on your local conditions. A heads up for killies (minnows) all over the state. Still in short supply, prices are up when you can get them but the good news is that artificial bait such as Gulp and FishBytes are producing well along with spearing and strip baits. Whichever option you choose to pursue this weekend, please stay safe out there. There is nasty weather on the horizon and even after it departs it could make for hazardous conditions. You only get so many days in the game, spend them wisely. See you on the incoming.
Long Island/New York Fishing Report