Pictured: A-happy-John-Foster-of-Jackson-holds-the-9-pound,-13-ounce-fluke-he-weighed-in-at-Fishermen’s-Den.
No surprises here. The hot fluke bite, described by those in the bait shops and aboard the party boats as the best in years, continues to fuel the summer fishing season.
There are big fish, plenty of limits and lots of action on shorts with a respectable keeper-to-short ratio.
And while some spots are hotter than others, the fluke can be found all over the place – in the rivers, bays and ocean. The only place that’s not showing a lot of fish is the surf.
The other fishery enjoying as much action is the crabbing. Crab-stuffed summer flounder is probably showing up on a lot of fishermen’s tables this week.
Capt. Phil Sciortino at the Tackle Box in Hazlet is among those calling this year among the best in recent memory. He weighed in a 10½ pounder for Steve Tasori caught on a Spro-killie combo in the Chapel Hill Channel and an 8½-pound fluke for John Woodruff of Kinnelon that went for a Gulp and bucktail offering.
Sciortino also mentioned that the porgy fishing on the rock piles is improving steadily.
A lot of nice fish were taken over the weekend during the Sandy Bay Anglers two-day fluke tournament and the Raritan Bay Fluke Anglers tourney that took place on Saturday.
An 11.2-pound doormat weighed in by Gary Read of South Amboy took the top spot in both tournaments. A 10.17 pounder took second place at the Raritan Bay event while a 9.4 pounder came in second at the Sandy Hook contest.
It’s fluke tournament season with the Point Pleasant Elks event this weekend and the JCAA fluke tourney on Aug. 6.
For the most part, the party boats out of Keyport, Atlantic Highlands and Highlands are enjoying good fluking almost every day. Last Sunday was probably the slowest day of the past week, while limits and good action filled most of the others.
That was the case for the Captain John out of Keyport and the Angler out of Atlantic Highlands. Both boats saw a quick turnaround in the fishing with plenty of limits and fish up to 8 pounds on Monday and Tuesday.
For the Elaine B. II out of Highlands, even Sunday wasn’t that bad, and good fishing continued at the beginning of the week. Alexis Carbahal took the pool with a 7-pound fluke which was the first fish she ever caught. Capt. Stan Zagleski said that bait is working just as well as the Spro/Gulp combinations.
In addition to all the good fluking, Mel Martens at Giglio’s Bait And Tackle in Sea Bright said small blues are still being caught in the Shrewsbury River and they’re out front in the ocean as well.
Fluke can also be caught in the Shrewsbury River by the 36 and 37 buoys, he said, and the crabbing in the river is excellent.
Martens, who also spends some time over at Gates Bait and Tackle in Point Pleasant, got a report of spearfishermen shooting two bass in the Manasquan River of 42 and 40 inches. The big boys, I guess, are still around, but not for the rod and reel guys.
He didn’t have much to report from the surf, he said, mainly because there aren’t a lot of people fishing it. Martens did hear of some kingfish hitting small bits of worm.
Pete Pawlikowski at the Oceanic Marina in Rumson said the crabs are ferocious over there. While the fluke guys are still catching fish, the blue claws are all over the bait if it stays still too long. Traps and droplines are working best, but he did say they’re starting to hang from the bridge and bulkheads.
Rich over at Long Branch Bait and Tackle reported the same over on Atlantic Avenue with crabs up to eight inches.
James at Harry’s Adventure Outfitters in Robbinsville, who got out on the water about four times in the last week, called the fluke fishing “awesome.”
He limited out every time using Gulp pink shine on a three-way rig. The Axel Carlson and Sea Girt reefs were all good as was the Ambrose Channel.
He also reported kingfish taking Fish Bites in the local surf and some triggerfish down at Barnegat Inlet.
Offshore, he got word of mahi-mahi starting to hit top water plugs about 15 miles out.
Bob Matthews at Fisherman’s Den in Belmar reported that the fluke have been hungry all week, both in the Shark River and offshore.
He weighed in a 9-pound, 13-ounce fluke for John Foster of Jackson caught off Long Branch and a 7-pound, 3-ounce fish for Melissa Freifelder she caught in the Shark River from one of the Den’s Rental Boats. Matthews said the number of keepers coming out of the river is on the upswing.
All of the party boats out of Belmar are also doing well on fluke. The Big Mohawk brought a 10½ pounder over the rail on Tuesday and there were a load of limits around the boat. Judging by what I’ve seen from the beach, the Belmar boats seem to be heading north of the Shark River Inlet to the Long Branch, Elberon and Shrewsbury Rocks areas.
Capt. Pete Sykes of Parker Petes Sportfishing reported good fluke and sea bass fishing every day. On Monday, he held one of on-the-water bucktailing seminars and everyone on board limited out. His next one is scheduled for July 26.
While fluke are on his list, Capt. Steve Spinelli on the Skylarker is also devoting some time to other bottom species, such as ling, sea bass and winter flounder. There have been some cod in the mix as well with a 12 pounder caught earlier this week.
Capt. Jim Hull on the Suzie Girl out of Belmar is also doing the fluke and sea bass thing in the Long Branch and Elberon areas and catching lots of both in 30 to 70 feet of water.
Capt. Rich Falcone on the Golden Eagle out of Belmar targets fluke on his afternoon sunset cruises with good results, but during the day, he’s sticking with blues and mackerel. And the fishing has been excellent.
He’s been putting his customers on loads of small blues and mackerel pretty much every day. The fish have been hitting jigs, bait and teasers.
John over at the Reel Seat in Brielle got out from the behind the counter and went fluking by the Shrewsbury Rocks earlier in the week. He and his buddy got eight keepers up to 7 pounds.
The Manasquan River, he said, continues to give up some nice fluke in the 4- to 5-pound range. Killies, squid and Gulp will do the trick.
Based on what he heard from customers, John said the tuna bite went quiet over the weekend. He believes all the boat traffic covering the offshore areas might have something to do with it.
Dave Arbeitman, owner of the Reel Seat, was on a tilefish trip on the Voyager earlier this week and reported good catches of golden and blueline tile, along with streamer bass, rose fish and hake.
John Bogan at Brielle Bait and Tackle said it all fluke all the time. The Sea Girt and Axel Carlson reefs and the bumps and lumps to the south are all holding fish. He also said the one-fish blackfish season is now open and the Point Pleasant Canal is giving up some keepers.
Northern New Jersey Fishing Forecast
Go fluking. It’s the same old song, but a good one, and there’s no telling how long it will last. Bucktailing and bait are both catching fish. Early risers are also getting small bass on plugs in the surf and the suds are also giving up kingfish on worms and Fish Bites. Plus, the blue claws are going crazy and that’s always fun for the young and old.