By all accounts, summer fishing is off to a great start. Granted, the official start of the season remains a few weeks away, but most of our favorite species have landed on the end of someone’s line.
Bass, blues, fluke, sea bass, and blowfish now populate local waters and provide plenty of opportunities for local anglers. There are even some blue crabs in the Shrewsbury and Navesink rivers.
One change in the fishing has been that the epic bluefish bite has slackened a bit to just very good fishing. Phil Sciortino at the Tackle Box in Keyport said they can still be caught throughout Raritan Bay, but they aren’t as dominant as they were.
But while the blues have slowed down, Sciortino said the sea bass fishing has picked up and the fluke bite has been very good in the bay, especially in shallower water. The ocean fluking isn’t quite there as yet as the water is still a bit on the chilly side. The shop did weigh in a 13-pound fluke for Mark Kipper of Old Bridge he caught in the Reach Channel on a Gulp and bucktail.
He also said bass continue to be caught, mostly on the troll with Mojo rigs.
The fluke bite, reported Joe Jr. from Julian’s Bait and Tackle in Atlantic Highlands have been very good in the rivers. The Shrewsbury River is yielding some very nice fish, a number of them in the 8-pound range. Guys fishing with worms and poppers in the early morning are also catching stripers on the beaches in Sea Bright and Monmouth Beach.
After reporting that the opening of the fluke season was the best he’s seen in years, Capt. George Bachert of the Angler out of Atlantic Highlands said the fishing is still very good, if not up to last week’s high marks.
He had a good number of anglers aboard over the Memorial Day weekend and said there were as many keepers as people. Several had three or four fish to take home.
The party boats out of Atlantic Highlands are about evenly split between blues and fluke. The Sea Tiger, Dorothy B and Atlantic Star are targeting fluke while the Sea Hunter and the Fishermen are sticking with the blues.
Capt. Ron Santee on the Fishermen said Tuesday saw a nice pick on bluefish throughout the day, with fish up to 14 pounds. He’s been fishing with bunker chunks. He also said the night trips are experiencing a big improvement in the bass bite.
In Highlands, Bob Oakley at Schupp’s Landing said rental boat customers are having a great time with the fluke in the Shrewsbury River and Raritan Bay. One boat with four anglers had its limit of summer flounder with a bunch of throwbacks. It’s been a great start, he said, and he’s just hoping it continues.
Over at the Oceanic Marina in Rumson, Pete Pawlikowski reported loads of keepers being taken in the Navesink River. Standard baits of bucktails, Gulp, killies, spearing and squid are all working and the blue claws latch on to those baits that aren’t moving quickly enough. Beware of the game wardens, Pete said, as they’re out in force and handing out tickets for short fluke.
In Sea Bright, Ernie Giglio at Giglio’s Bait and Tackle said there’s been a steady stream of striper weigh-ins over the past couple of weeks with fish up to 35 pounds. Some have been boat fish, but guys fishing the bulkheads on the Shrewsbury River with bunker chunks are picking up some nice fish, mostly at night.
There are beach fish, too, with Bruce Gattisch landing an 11-pound bass on a plug in the surf.
Guys fishing for fluke in the Shrewsbury are also coming up with the occasional blowfish, so we’ve got that going for us as well.
Jeff at Harry’s Adventure Outfitters in Robbinsville said his customers are coming back with good reports of fluke in the Raritan Bay and Shark and Manasquan rivers. The Sea Girt Reef is giving up bigger black sea bass and the bluefish bite at Island Beach State Park remains strong.
As for stripers, Jeff said boats trolling bunker spoons and Mojo rigs from Lavallette to Point Pleasant in 60 to 75 feet of water are picking up fish while snagging and dropping is the way to go in shallower water of 15 to 30 feet as long as you can locate the bunker.
Capt. Pete Sykes on Parker Pete’s Fishing Charters out of Belmar called the striper fishing excellent. He’s been running magic hour livelining trips aboard the Capt. Cal II, also out of Belmar, and catching bass up to 35 pounds. He’s also doing well with bass on the troll on his regular charters.
The Skylarker out of Belmar, with Capt. Steve Spinelli at the helm, has been sticking with black sea bass with good results.
Bob Matthews at Fisherman’s Den in Belmar called it a great weekend with stripers, sea bass and fluke keeping everyone busy. The shop weighed in bass up to 38 pounds with bunker spoons and Mojo rigs accounting for most of the fish. Snagging and dropping bunker landed a smaller percentage.
He called the sea bass fishing top quality with plenty of limits on large fish. The fluking also remains good in the Shark River with several fish close to six pounds weighed in.
Capt. Hank Leonard on the Golden Eagle out of Belmar reported a terrific weekend of bluefishing with fish between five and 15 pounds. They’ve been jigging all of the blues. He did say the boat found a school of bunker just outside the inlet on Thursday morning and put a 25-pound bass in cooler snagging and dropping.
Fluke in the 4-pound range are showing up with consistency in the Manasquan River, reported John from the Reel Seat in Brielle. He said there have been cod caught on the Shark River Reef and the sea bass fishing has been pretty good, with the bigger fish just a little harder to come by. Blowfish are in the Manasquan as well.
Bunker spoons are getting most of the bass he’s heard of, but guys snagging and dropping bunker off Beach Haven are also getting some nice stripers.
A good mix of fish is how Greg Bogan at Brielle Bait and Tackle described the offshore bottom fishing over the last couple of days. The boats out of Bogan’s Basin have reported catches of cod, ling, winter flounder and sea bass. The fluking in the ocean is a tad slow, he said, but the Manasquan is holding some nice fish back by the Route 70 Bridge.
Fishing Forecast for Northern New Jersey
It’s another weekend when the choice is yours but it might be worth targeting fluke in light of the strong opening. Shallower, warmer water offers the most promise in Raritan Bay and the local rivers. Try the beaches with bunker chunks for bass and blues.