The fishing is terrific.
Trophy bass off Monmouth and Ocean counties continue to hit live bunker and mojo rigs while the fluke bite has come on strong in the last few days.
Big fluke and limits galore is how Capt. George Bachert on the Angler out of Atlantic Highlands described the recent fishing. Starting last Saturday, he’s reported excellent fluking almost every day.
A new monthly pool leader of 9½ pounds came aboard in that timeframe along with a load of fish in the 5- to 8-pound range. Capt. Bachert has been fishing both the ocean and Raritan Bay and finding nice fish in both locations. The fluking, he said, is off to the best start in years and he’s been getting the Angler away from the dock by 7 a.m. to get an early start on the action.
Capt. Phil Sciortino at the Tackle Box in Hazlet reported the fluke fishing is great in the Raritan Reach with plenty of big fish caught. He weighed in a 12 pounder the other day and reported that natural bait, such as squid, killies and spearing, seems be outfishing Gulp! and bucktails lately.
While there have been a few slow days mixed in, Capt. John Connell on the Captain John out of Keyport is calling the overall fluke fishing excellent. The boat’s big fish was an 8½ pounder and there have been a number of 6 and 7 pounders along with lots of limits.
Joe Jr. at Julian’s Bait and Tackle in Atlantic Highlands touted the excellent fluke fishing as well. He said the juncture of the Shrewsbury and Navesink rivers is yielding some nice fish with the fluke feeding on grass shrimp and baby crabs. His actual words were that the “fluke were licking the pilings clean.” His customers are catching some beauties in the bay, too, and they’re still trolling striped bass by the Statue of Liberty.
Back up the Navesink River at the Oceanic Marina in Rumson, Pete Pawlikowski said his boat rental customers are coming back with keeper fluke.
The blues are still in the river there, but not just as big.
Pawlikowski also said that while it’s still a bit early, some big male blue claws are being caught. One customer came back with a half bushel.
Bob Oakley at Schupps Landing in Highlands reported the same thing for his rental boat customers who have been fishing the bay and rivers. The wind caused a bit of a problem over the weekend, but when the boats got out, keeper fluke came back
Loads of limits and some big fish up to 8 pounds have been the story aboard the Elaine B II out of Highlands. Capt. Stan Zagleski said the fishing has been good since the weekend. When the wind kept him off some of his favorite spots, he found alternates and the good fluking continued.
Overall, the fluke action is very good and a far cry from last year when anglers were catching dozens of fish with hardly a keeper to take home among them.
Ernie Giglio at Giglio’s Bait and Tackle in Sea Bright said there are lots of summer fish around with smaller blues and some bass being caught from the tip of Sandy Hook down to Monmouth Beach. Ernie did weigh in a big bass on Thursday morning, a 40 pounder caught from the beach on a popper. The exact location of the catch was not divulged.
The blues along the beaches are mostly cocktail size, feeding on rainfish and sand eels. Ernie also said the fluking is good in the Shrewsbury River and it’s picking up on the beach.
At Harry’s Adventure Outfitters in Robbinsville, Jeff reported there has been no letup in the striped bass bite off Monmouth and Ocean Counties. Snagging and dropping bunker are landing big bass at the Shrewsbury Rocks and off Elberon, while trolling continues to catch fish farther south. The linesiders are in the 40-pound range.
There are still big blues at Island Beach State Park and some nice threshers have been caught close to shore as they feed on the bunker. On the subject of sharks, Mako Mania, which was canceled last weekend due to weather concerns, has been rescheduled for this weekend, so Mako Fever and Mako Mania will again take place at the same time.
Out of Belmar, Bob Matthews at Fisherman’s Den said the boat guys are having a field day with the big bass.
On Saturday, the Murphy Charter aboard the Limited Out returned to the dock with stripers of 50, 49 and 45 pounds with others in the 30-pound range all caught on live bunker.
Matthews reported big weigh ins all week, but sadly, none from surf anglers. I’ve been trying myself in Bradley Beach with bunker chunks with nothing to show for it but skates.
The fluke fishing, Matthews added, has been good in the Shark River and for the fluke boats heading out of the inlet. He weighed in a 9½ pounder for Matt Salko of Cream Ridge and a 7 pounder for Jesse Thomas of Wall.
A new member of the 50-pound striped bass club is Irwin Weinerman of Spring Lake Heights, who joined with a 52-pound cow caught aboard Parker Pete’s Fishing Charters out of Belmar.
Capt. Pete Sykes said the bass fishing has been outstanding with the afternoon livelining trips producing the most fish. He’s been getting plenty of bass in the 30- to 40-pound range.
The Golden Eagle out of Belmar is splitting its time between blues and bass on its daily trips depending on which species is offering the most action. Capt. Rich Falcone and company are catching blues between six and 12 pounds and bass up to 40 pounds.
For those interested in black sea bass, you better hurry as the first part of the season closes on Sunday. Capt. Steve Spinelli on the Skylarker out of Belmar has devoted his time to sea bass and been rewarded with nice catches of fish up to 4½ pounds along with some ling and winter flounder. Once the season closes, Capt. Spinelli will concentrate on fluke.
The bluefish are back in the Manasquan River, with fish up to 5 pounds hitting plugs and metal. Smaller bass are mixing with the blues in the river.
In addition to the bass and blues, John at the Reel Seat in Brielle said the fluking has been good in the river as well.
The bigger stripers, he said, were just outside the inlet on Monday night and Capt. Jim Freda was getting them on poppers and surface plugs as well as snagged bunker.
Just across the river, Capt. Bob Bogan on the Gambler out of Point Pleasant Beach has seen some nice fluke fishing in the ocean the last few days. On Wednesday morning, Donna Brown brought an 8½ pounder over the rail using a bucktail with Gulp! and a squid/spearing combo. The Gambler has been fishing over mussel beds.
Fishing Forecast for Northern New Hersey
Time to get in on some of this good fluke action. Party boats plying Raritan Bay are all reporting good catches and the ocean fishing has really picked up in the last couple of days. Add some natural baits like killies, squid and spearing to your Gulp! offerings as the fluke appear to be favoring that at the moment. There are also a lot of small blues in the rivers and off the beaches.