The recent heat wave seemed to bother the fishermen more than the fish.
The boats and bait shops saw participation fall during the thermal blast, but those that ventured into the furnace found some hot fishing.
The boats continue to do well with fluke, with most reporting a slight increase in the number of keepers coming aboard and with good catches of sea bass and porgies helping to fill coolers.
The one place where the fishing is slow is the surf.
Phil Sciortino Sr. at the Tackle Box in Hazlet said the fishing is tough in the suds. He’s not sure if it’s the warm water or the heat keeping folks off the sand but there haven’t been too many positive surf reports. There’s plenty of bait in the water, he said, and some fluke are being caught – mostly shorts – but other than that it’s quiet.
It’s a different story on the boats. He said they’re catching keepers and shorts in the Sandy Hook and Ambrose channels and the porgy fishing is good on the Sandy Hook Reef and over toward the New York side of Raritan Bay.
Capt. Mike Russo on the Sea Hawk out of Perth Amboy reported catching a ton of shorts on Monday with a solid number of keepers coming aboard up to 5 pounds. Both bait and bucktails were working. The Sea Hawk will be fishing for sea bass and porgies on Wednesdays.
Capt. Rob Semkewyc on the Sea Hunter, Atlantic Highlands, reported the same kind of action on Monday with the boat’s biggest fish coming in over 9 pounds.
Capt. George Bachert on the Angler has been stringing a bunch of good days together and Tuesday was no exception. The Angler sails early and he said it paid off with six fluke on the first drift all weighing over 6 pounds with one coming in at 7½ pounds.
Capt. Bachert said the fishing only got better with plenty of short action, more nice keepers and some sea bass. Archie Stewart had the hot hand with seven keepers and his second limit in two days.
Joe Julian at Julian’s Bait and Tackle, Atlantic Highlands, bemoaned the lack of traffic in his store the last couple of days saying there’s not much beach fishing going on. There’s a few fluke being caught, he said, but not much else.
In the bay, porgies are biting near the Naval Pier and the Shrewsbury and Navesink rivers are loaded with crabs and snappers.
Mel Martens at Giglio’s Bait and Tackle in Sea Bright also lamented the lack of people fishing the surf. He’s been catching a few keeper fluke mixed in with the shorts using fresh mullet. There are more snappers in the ocean now, said Martens, which should interest the bigger fluke. Bring a light rod with a small piece of metal and catch some bait.
Martens said the crabbing in the Shrewsbury is excellent right now with loads of blue claws hanging from bulkheads.
Pete Pawlikowski at the Oceanic Marina in Rumson said the crabbing is the best it’s been there since Hurricane Sandy. Rental boats are coming back with bushel catches. The fluke have also returned to the Navesink River with some keepers being caught.
Bob Matthews at Fisherman’s Den in Belmar said the heat seemed to have helped the fishing while it kept most of the fishermen indoors or cooling off in the water.
Party and charter boats reported good catches. Rob Valone fished on the Ocean Explorer and got his limit, including a 7-pound, 12-ounce fluke. Marty Westerfield of Wall fished the Shark River for an hour and got 15 fish but just one keeper.
Capt. Pete Sykes on Parker Pete’s Sportfishing said the fluking has been pretty good on the rough stuff and he’s been routinely getting keepers in the 7-to 8-pound range.
He had a crew of expert bucktailers aboard to fish the Friendly Sons of the Shillelagh Tournament last Saturday and they put on a clinic. The boat limited out early and a lot off keepers went back. Craig Kutiak landed a 6.95 pounder that was good for sixth place in the tourney.
Sea Spine, owned by Mark Burney, took first place with an 8.3-pound fluke caught at the Rattlesnake. Fred Garfunkel, Joe Ciervo and Frank Castlegrante made up the rest of the crew. A total of 69 boats fished the annual tournament.
Capt. Steve Spinelli on the Skylarker reported an improvement in the fluke fishing since last week with more keepers coming over the rail. He’s been catching fluke up to 9 pounds and sea bass up to 21 inches. He’s also been catching porgies up to 12 inches.
The bluefishing turned around for the Golden Eagle out of Belmar with Capt. Hank Leonard reporting that the boat found plenty of blues in the 2- to 4-pound range on Wednesday. The boat got into the blues on Monday and Tuesday as well with every one getting their limit and then playing catch-and-release.
Jeff at Harry’s Adventure Outfitters in Robbinsville reported that the fluke bite is still really good at the Axel Carslon and Sea Girt reefs and at the Shrewsbury Rocks with a decent number of keepers and some big fish in the mix.
He said the lobster pots are holding mahi and he’s heard rumors of false albacore at the Mud Hole. It’s that time of year when the tropicals should be moving into the area.
Eric Bunz at the Reel Seat in Brielle said a lot of people did well with fluke in the last week. He, too, said the local reefs are holding nice fish and 6-inch Pink Shine and Nuclear Chicken Gulp are the baits of choice at the moment.
Small blues are popping up on the beaches and he said if you’re anxious to bend a rod, toss a piece of mackerel into the surf and it’s likely a cownose ray or brown shark will take your offering.
He’s had reports of mahi at the Mud Hole and white marlin in the Hudson Canyon, but as for tuna, things are quiet.
Participation took a hit from the heat, but Greg Bogan at Brielle Bait Tackle said the fishing was fine. Fluke fishing in the Manasquan River improved with keepers caught by Clarks Landing and out at the Inlet. There’s load of bait in the river, including mullet and peanut bunker.
The snappers are there, too, and good for bait or just to catch. Crabbing is good as well.
Bogan said the Jamaica II out of the Basin has been catching bigger fluke out on the reefs and the Gambler out of Point Pleasant Beach is doing equally well.
Fishing Forecast for Northern New Jersey
If you haven’t done so already, it’s time to take the kids snapper fishing. The small blues are all over the place, along with the blue claws, and nothing beats it for a good time with the family. Light tackle, bobbers and spearing or snapper poppers are all you’ll need.
Then there are the fluke. It’s been a good year, and with little more than a month to go in the season, take advantage of what time is left.