So far, it’s a November to remember.
Enormous amounts of bunker, both peanuts and adults, are fueling one of the best fall striper runs in many years. The bass come in all sizes and they’re spread over a wide area.
The whales are pretty happy, too. They’ve been feasting on all the bait pretty close to shore amid the many boats.
On top of the that, the sea bass fishing offshore remains good and the six-fish tog season is now open.
Capt. Phil Sciortino at the Tackle Box in Hazlet said it was a good week of fishing with stripers and blues in Raritan Bay. The fish in the bay are a mix of keepers, shorts and slot fish while the bigger bass – up to 30 pounds – can be found down along the beaches in the schools of big bunker.
The bluefish have been monsters. Dennis Sipplak of Manalapan weighed in a 24½-pound giant that ate his bunker off Long Branch. There have been a lot of blues in the 22-pound range. He also said the night bite on eels for striper has been very good at the tip of Sandy Hook.
The porgy fishing, he added, has gone quiet but the sea bass fishing is still pretty good, although more keepers would help.
Capt. Ron Santee on the Fishermen out of Atlantic Highlands has been finding bass on a regular basis and Wednesday was no exception.
Things got off to a slow start with loads of bait but the bass weren’t feeding. Two whales were working the area, he said, and maybe the fish were waiting their turn.
Once the tide switched to outgoing, the bite turned on big time and bass up to 28 pounds were caught. Blues up to 22 pounds joined the party. Capt. Santee said jigs were the ticket.
Capt. Rob Semkewyc on the Sea Hunter, also said Wednesday’s fishing took its time, but he found the fish in a new spot and action heated up quickly. It was a mixed bag of fish with keeper stripers and some chopper blues.
Joe Julian at Julian’s Bait and Tackle in Highlands said the guys from the beach at Sandy Hook are getting their share of stripers on bucktails and clams. The guys trolling bunker spoons, umbrella rigs and mojos are also in on the action.
One of the few boats not bass fishing is the Angler out of Atlantic Highlands. Capt. George Bachert sailed on the opening day of the expanded tog season and found tog on all the spots he stopped. Dave Woodson from Dover took the pool with an 8 pounder.
The Elaine B. II out of Highlands was another boat togging and Capt. Stan Zagleski said he fished most of the day of on just one drop. His group of blackfish regulars banged away at keepers and near-keepers for most of the day on green crabs. He said there was plenty of action with a number of limits and everyone going home with some fish for the table.
Mel Martens at Giglio’s Bait and Tackle in Sea Bright simply said there’s a lot of fish around. Guys from the beach are catching smaller bass up to 30 inches on bait, poppers and small swimming plugs while the guys in the boats are getting the bigger fish snagging and dropping bunker.
It seems the peanuts are coming in closer to the beach while the adult bunker stay a little farther offshore.
The peanuts were right on the beach on Thursday in Asbury Park, Ocean Grove and Belmar and guys were picking bass between 10 and 15 pounds on shads, white swimming plugs and snagging and dropping.
Bob Matthews at Fisherman’s Den in Belmar called last Sunday’s bass bite one of the best, if not the best, of the year.
Most charter and party boats, he reported, were limited out by 9 a.m. and there were bass in the 40-pound range. The fish were caught on live bunker, bunker spoons, mojos, shads and jigs. The big, bad blues were there as well.
Matthews did mention that one boater banged into a whale and returned to the dock with some serious damage. Hopefully, the whale escaped uninjured.
Capt. Pete Sykes on Parker Pete’s Sportfishing out of Belmar called the current bass bite phenomenal with stripers over 40 inches. He’s been fishing north and south of the Shark River Inlet and catching fish snagging and dropping and on the troll.
The big blues are adding to the action as well. It’s been a great fall, he said, and if the westerly winds keep the bait close, he expects the good fishing to continue.
Parker Pete’s is also booking blackfish trips as the expanded season is now under way.
Capt. Rich Falcone on the Golden Eagle out of Belmar found the bass up to 30 pounds and monster blues and blues right outside the Shark River Inlet on Monday. Jigs, Krocs and bait all worked well in the nice weather.
Tuesday was a wash and it took the fish a while to get back together on Wednesday, but he did manage to find the bass again. Judging by the large number of boats off the beach on Thursday, I’m sure he got back into them.
Capt. Steve Spinelli on the Skylarker out of Belmar ran a bass trip on Sunday that caught bass up to 35 pounds. He’s also been doing his bottom fishing trips and catching porgies, sea bass and blackfish. He’ll be targeting tog now that the more liberal season has opened.
Capt. Chris Hueth on the Big Mohawk fished opening day and called the action decent. There were some limits and the pool winner went about 6½ pounds.
Jeff Nuel from Harry’s Adventure Outfitters in Robbinsville took a couple of co-workers out fishing on his boat over the weekend and caught bass up to 35 pounds snagging and dropping in 30 feet of water.
He was fishing south of the Manasquan Inlet and the bass bite was early in the day with big blues coming on in the afternoon. He predicts this good bass bite will last another month.
The blackfish reports have been good and he said green crabs and jigs have both been catching fish.
Stripers dominated the report from John Vafiadis at the Reel Seat in Brielle. He said that fish have been caught from Spring Lake down to Mantoloking with snagging and dropping the preferred method.
There may be some bass in the Manasquan River, he said, but everyone’s been fishing the ocean lately.
He did make a bottom fishing trip on Monday and reported a good catch of porgies, sea bass and winter flounder aboard the Dauntless.
Greg Bogan at Brielle Bait and Tackle said they’ve weighed in a couple of 40-pound bass along with a load in the 15- to 20-pound range.
The sea bass fishing, he said, is better the farther out you go. The Jamaica II has been hitting spots 20 to 40 miles and finding the bigger fish.
Fishing Forecast for Northern New Jersey
This bass bite isn’t going to last forever, so now’s the time to act. Beach anglers are using plugs, shads, metal, clams and bunker chunks. Make sure to have a snag rig if the peanuts are close. The boats guys are snagging and dropping and tossing shads and poppers.