Strike while the fishing is hot.
That rare confluence of a favorable forecast and good fishing should have every angler in the state planning to get out this Memorial Day weekend.
Big blues continue to bust tackle, bass up to 50 pounds have been taken on the troll and fluke season got off to a great start, as did the one for sea bass. There are even some bluefin tuna close to shore.
Capt. Phil Sciortino at the Tackle Box in Hazlet reported the bluefish action has scaled back a bit from the recent insanity, but there are still plenty of fish around. Jeffrey Reynolds of Teaneck landed a 20-pound monster in the Sandy Hook Surf using a bunker chunk. Big bass are moving into the Shrewsbury Rocks with fish up to 40 pounds caught, while smaller fish are hitting bunker chunks at night in the local rivers.
The blues are also making for some happy anglers aboard the party boats out of Atlantic Highlands. Capt. Rob Semkewyc of the Sea Hunter and Capt. Ron Santee of the Fishermen and hooking their customers up with the choppers until the stripers show with some regularity.
Joe at Julian’s Bait and Tackle in Atlantic Highlands also reported blues all over the place. But that’s not all that’s going on. There have been good fluke catches in Raritan Bay along with stripers taking bunker chunks on Flynn’s Knoll and bass on the Sandy Hook beaches on clams and chunks.
Capt. George Bachert on the Angler, also out of Atlantic Highlands, said this is one of the best starts to the fluke season he’s seen in years. He’s already had a 9-pounder come over the rail and a number of fish in the 4- to 5-pound range. He’ll be fluke fishing until the season ends.
The fluke are definitely biting in the Navesink River. Pete Pawlikowski at the Oceanic Marina in Rumson said Gulp with spearing or killies on a bucktail rig are accounting for a lot of limits over there. The big blues continue to hang around and Pete said he’s had reports of some blue claw crabs grabbing slow-moving fluke baits.
Mel Martens at Giglio’s Bait and Tackle in Sea Bright said the number of bass being taken on the beach is increasing steadily, with bunker chunks outfishing clams. Martens advises anglers to fish the moving water in the surf as it cuts through sandbars and swirls around the jetties.
The blues haven’t quit the Shrewsbury River yet either, and anglers fishing that river at night with chunks are also picking up some nice bass. The fluke fishing in the Shrewsbury got off to a good start as well with fish up to four pounds being caught.
Bob Matthews at Fisherman’s Den in Belmar said the big bass are showing up in greater numbers off the beaches. Steve Germann, Freehold, landed a 46-pound-bass taken on the troll off of Long Branch and he’s received reports of many bass up to 45 pounds caught snagging and dropping and on the troll.
The fluke season started well in the Shark River, despite the chilly temperatures and gray skies.
Ken Morse of Wall was kind enough to include me in his annual opening day trip with Greg Hueth and we started catching fish almost immediately using Gulp and killies. Ken got the big fish of the day with a nice 7½ pounder and we ended up with more than a half dozen keepers and loads of shorts. The better fishing was on the incoming tide.
Matthews said the fluking in the Shark River improved as the week progressed. The ocean fluke bite has a little way to go as the water needs to warm a bit. There are also good numbers of blowfish biting on clams in the river.
The water temperature hasn’t bothered the sea bass fishing as the boats targeting them reported excellent fishing. Matthews said the boats reported a banner day on Tuesday with sea bass up to four pounds.
Capt. Steve Spinelli on the Skylarker out of Belmar reported a fantastic week of fishing. Between the big bluefish and some terrific sea bass fishing, his anglers went home very happy. The bluefish, he said, were loaded with sand eels and rainfish so there’s all kinds of bait in the area. He also made a long distance cod trip and came up with fish up to 15 pounds and a good catch of ling.
Capt. Nick Caruso of the Ol’ Salty II, Belmar, said there were plenty of limit catches of sea bass aboard his boat this week.
It’s been mainly big blues for the Golden Eagle out of Belmar as Capt. Hank Leonard said he and Capt. Rich Falcone have been finding super fishing nearly every day. Hitting Krocs and hammer jigs, the fish range for five to 15 pounds. Capt. Leonard said some days it’s been absolute chaos. The boat is sailing every day at 7:30 a.m. and the trip for May 28 is sold out. The Golden Eagle is also starting its afternoon trips leaving the dock at 4:30.
The Suzie Girl with Capt. Jim Hull is booking weekend fluking trips out of Belmar as well.
For Parker Pete’s Fishing Charters, also out of Belmar, it’s been nothing but bass – and big ones. Most of the stripers have been taken on the troll with fish up to 43 pounds. The bunker schools were a little broken up, Capt. Pete Sykes said, due to the weather earlier in the week so snagging and dropping wasn’t really working. He expects that to change with the better weather. Capt. Sykes is also running Golden Hour fluke trips aboard the Capt. Cal II, also out of Belmar.
It’s been a good opening for fluke in the Manasquan River. John at the Reel Seat in Brielle said guys have been picking up fish to five pounds from the Route 70 Bridge to the beginning of the Point Pleasant Canal. He, too, reported blowfish biting in the Manasquan.
The sea bass fishing has been excellent on the local reefs and boats have been getting bluefish up to 15 pounds between Elberon and Sea Girt. John also reported more bluefin tuna sightings as close as a mile and half offshore. He knew of a few guys that were going to target them this weekend. Capt. Spinelli on the Skylarker said he spotted them as well on his wreck trip earlier in the week.
Jeff at Harry’s Adventure Outfitters in Robbinsville reported his customers continue to do well with blues from the beach on topwater plugs at Island Beach State Park and the boats are catching loads of sea bass at the Axel Carlson and Sea Girt reefs.
Fishing Forecast for Northern New Jersey
Take your pick. You can jump on a fluke boat out of Atlantic Highlands, Belmar or the Manasquan River or you can fish for them in the Navesink, Shrewsbury and Manasquan rivers. There’s still plenty of bluefish around and the bass are on the beaches with bait. You can also head offshore for sea bass. Whatever you decide, it’s time to go.
this was a great read, thank you.