Tons of snapper blues around, reported the folks at True World Tackle. Some fishermen are taking those snapper blues and using them to catch keeper fluke in New York Harbor. The striper fishing is improving some in Raritain Bay. The best bet has been heading out after dark with fresh bunker.
Steve aboard the Skylarker reported that fluke fishing had slowed on account of the dirty water. The keeper ratio has dropped off, but he’s still having success when targeting ling and cod. There are also good numbers of bluefish and chub mackerel around, providing some fun light-tackle action for fishermen willing to chum these species to the boat.
Fishing is on the slow side reported the guys at Tackle US. Fishermen looking for fluke are catching plenty of undersized fish, but the current throwback to keeper ratio is about 10 to 1. Besides the snappers, bluefish have been scarce, but croakers and kingfish have moved into the Raritan, and are hitting sandworms and squid.
Giglio’s got a few good reports this week. Bob Wilson headed out for fluke, and though he only caught two fish, they weighed 6.2 and 4.6 pounds. The fish fell for an S and S Rattletail Bucktail. A kayak angler fishing chartreuse Berkley Gulp connected with a 35-pound black drum this week.
According to the report from Julians, fluke are running in the surf right now. Boat fishermen are having luck heading out after dark and fishing eels or seaworms for stripers. In the Navesink, snapper bluefish are providing entertainment for young and old anglers alike, and excellent blue-crabbing is providing the foundation for some late summer feasts.
Shark River and Shark River Inlet is loaded with bait according to the report from The Bait Shop in Bradley Beach. The fluke have taken notice, and fishermen working the inlet with jigs are catching fluke from shore. Along the beaches, the fishing is a bit slower with only skates and dogfish showing interest in baits cast out by surfcasters.
East of Shark River Inlet, the Miss Belmar has been fishing a lump and catching bluefish, chub mackerel and the occasional false albacore. The crew has been chumming the fish to the boat, and the fares are jigging or bait fishing for these fast-moving fish.
Fluke fishing has been running hot and cold for Pete of Parker Pete’s Sportfishing. After a banner day Friday with keepers to 27 inches, the fishing dropped off on Saturday with only 3 keepers on the day.
Best Bets for the Weekend
The last full moon of the summer is this weekend, and once it passes, we should start seeing some changes in the Northern New Jersey fishing scene as baitfish schools prepare to leave, and gamefish of all sorts move inshore to feed. False albacore and bonito should be showing up soon, and bigger bluefish should be hitting the midshore structures soon.
For this weekend, the best bet is to continue to try to pick some keeper fluke out of the piles of shorts. If you’re looking for some fast action, try chumming up the bluefish and chub mackerel. Cutting some of those fish into strips and lowering it to the bottom could be the ticket to hooking into a large fluke.
If you’d like to get a jump on the striper fall run, head out after dark and dunk bait. Fresh bunker, live eels and sandworms have all accounted for stripers in the past week.