I don’t know where to begin this week. With bluefish, weakfish, stripers, tuna, and sharks, May is turning out to be the start of a great fishing season. I don’t want to jinx it, so find the nearest piece of wood and knock on it. We finally started getting some decent reports of stripers in our waters and the bite seems to be slowly gaining momentum. Our only issue would be the bite going in the gutter with the lack of bait, or the water heating up to quick for the bass. We don’t want those bass quickly passing by, but would like them to take up residence in coastal New Jersey for a month or two, or even three. Another exciting additive to this week’s fishing engine is the start of summer flounder/fluke season in our waters on Friday, May 22. Most of our back bays already have flatties occupying the bottoms. Remember, New Jersey regulations are 5 fish at 18 inches, unless you’re a shore-based angler fishing off Island Beach State Park where you may retain two fish at 16 inches (see NJ Marine Digest for more details). Lastly, attention all offshore anglers: the canyons are “en fuego” with tuna, sharks, and mahi based on a variety of reports.
So here’s the week from Point Pleasant to Cape May:
John from Brielle Bait & Tackle reported bluefish “everywhere” in the Manasquan River as far as the hospital, but they do move around with the tide. A17s and A27s have been the choice lure to tackle these bruisers. Weakfish have made for a consistent bite with sparklers to 8 pounds around the Mantaloking Bridge. Old school pink Fin-S Fish thrown at dark continue to take a good share of the weaks.
Fluke from 3 to 5 pounds continue to be released in the Manasquan River, but that will all change on Friday. Fisherman’s Supply reported solid Bluefish towards the west end of the Manasquan River and northern end of the Point Pleasant canal with fish being in the 2- to 6-pound range, and some rogue 12 pounds in the mix. The canal continues to offer consistent action of schoolie and keeper bass to 33 inches on 5-inch finesse and bucktails. Weakfish to 7 pounds are still in the mix, most being caught on 5 3/4-inch Pink finesse fished on jigheads. Regarding the scene out front, boats had a slower pick at quality bass on the troll from Mantaloking to Seaside with the #4 Maja being the lure to drag. Jay reported the offshore bite has been insane, especially the southern canyons for yellowfin, bluefin, and makos. Aquatic Nutrition will be running a FREE sharking seminar at Fisherman’s Supply on May 21, 2015 (7pm) with lots of FREE giveaways. Don’t miss it.
Capt. Ken from the MIMI VI experienced some awesome fishing over the weekend with blues to 10 pounds. Due to fishing regulations, the boat has been somewhat idle awaiting the opening of sea bass. Capt. Bob from the Gambler has been targeting big blues with most caught on the jig. The boat will sail daily for ½-day fluke starting this Friday. The offshore wreck bite has been lackluster with a few ling and cod being caught according to the Norma K III where the boat has been targeting sticky pieces from 80 to 240 feet.
It seems areas from IBSP down through LBI have had decent shots at bass. Ray from Jersey Hooker Outfitters mentioned bass being caught oceanside off Mantaloking with Maja Bunker Spoons and in the Manasquan River on SP Minnows and Zoom Super Flukes. Brian from Betty & Nicks said that a different size class of blues have moved in, ranging from 4 to 6 pounds. The IBSP surf continues to give up schoolie stripers, with the nighttime fishermen picking off keepers. The boat bite flamed up over the past few days with anglers cashing in on 30- to 35-pound stripers via snag and drop, trolling, and even topwater poppers. Dock Outfitters reported fluke are being caught and released with more consistency in the backwaters on darters and the crab bite is starting to pop as they emerge from the mud.
As we move into the Toms River area, Lenny from Capt’n Hippos said anglers are still catching bluefish in the bay, but they are not as thick. He weighed in a 7.4 pound bluefish taken in the area of Mathis Park on Clark Spoon. Striped bass continue to inhabit the river and white and yellow perch are still being caught on worms near Mathis park. Better Bait & Ice reports they continue to see bluefish in the bay and lagoons in the 2- to 5-pound class. With fluke season starting this Friday, they will be stocking a variety of fresh baits and live killies.
The Barnegat Light boats have been gearing up for stripers and sea bass, Capt. Ted White of the Super Chic mentioned that they will be targeting bluefish and stripers, and wreckin’ for sea bass once the season opens. Gina from the Carolyn Ann III called and mentioned that they will be fishing for blues and stripers Saturday and Sunday of Memorial day weekend. Once sea bass opens, the daily sea bass trips will commence. Across Barnegat Bay, Liza from Creekside Outfitters gave a stellar report of the shop having over 25 striped bass weigh-ins in 2 days ranging from 28 to 43 pounds. Most of the bass were caught trolling off IBSP using Majas, 9’ers, or Stretches. The shop will be providing a free sharking seminar from 6:30 to 7:30pm this Friday (May 22). Andy from Tony’s Bait & Tackle reported anglers connecting on striped bass off of Seaside trolling spoons. Although not as thick, they are still getting blues in Barnegat Bay on plugs or trolling pony tails. There have been a few big weakfish caught off of Long Beach Island on bunker chunks.
As we move south past Little Egg inlet, Riptide Bait & Tackle reports the bass and blues are still being caught off the sandy beaches of Brigantine with it being a 90% meat game – bunker or clam.
One of the notable catches was from angler, Johnny Tefanklion, who won $2000 in the shops contest by landing a 47-inch 38-pound striper. Jay from Absecon Bay Sportsman reports that the blues are still around and that anglers are whacking bass up to 30 pounds off the AC jetties on artificials. He noted that Absecon Bay, Reeds Bay, and areas around are stacked with fluke, and the bite should be pretty good heading into opening day.
The AC surf has been on fire reports Noel from One Stop Bait & Tackle with big blues hitting during the day and anglers getting weakfish at night on artificials and bloodworms. Brian from Tackle Direct gave a decent report of bass, weakies, and bluefish off the beaches from AC to Ocean City- mostly taken on SP Minnows and bucktails. They continue to see big blues in the back. Regarding offshore, it has been “on fire” with a mix of yellowfin tuna and bluefin tuna, sharks, and mahi just inside the Wilmington canyon.
In the areas of Somers Point, Ocean City, and Strathmere, Ed from Fin-Atics, reported seeing bluefish smaller than 10 pounds and quality bass caught off the beach. It seems the big bruisers have moved further offshore. The backwaters are still holding schoolie bass caught on a variety of artificials. Boats are cashing in on bluefish trolled close to the beach, and the offshore bite was also on fire at the Spencer, Toms, and Lindenkohl canyons with loads of 25 POUND yellowfin being landed. There was a big temperature break as this past weekend which accounted for the presence of bait and fish. Mike from Sea Isle Bait & Tackle reports a lot of bluefish still on poppers and soft-plastics in the back, and stripers on the surf at night from Sea Isle City down to Avalon. Again, offshore action continues on skipjacks, bluefin, and mahi in the 40-mile range, and yellowfin at the canyons.
The Cape May and Delaware Bay area boasts decent beach action on striper and blues off of Higbee and Sunset beaches. The weakfish action continues on soft-plastics and artificials worked off the jetties according to Cape May Bait & Tackle, and also nice sized bass off the jetties on fresh meat. Bomber plugs in black or blurple worked at night have been a popular lure. Also there are still reports of drum being landed on clam in Delaware Bay.
Best Bet for this weekend
If you can manage the crowds this Memorial Day weekend, hit the area beaches early around the top of the tide for decent shots at bluefish, striped bass, and weakfish. Boat anglers will have their best shots at bass early, but you can also slide to the back as fluke is officially open. For the big boys, now is the time to get in on a consistent offshore bite. Hopefully your plans involve fishing this weekend, but more importantly, be safe in your travels.