Stripers remain the favorite target for fishermen, but they proved to be a little more elusive in the last week. The big problem wasn’t finding them but getting them to bite.
There was also the issue of some nasty wind making things a bit more difficult.
Still, the bass cooperated on a couple of days and the fishing was good in Raritan Bay and along the beaches down to Long Beach Island.
Phil Sciortino Sr. at the Tackle Box in Hazlet reported that the bay is loaded with stripers, just not a lot of keepers. Most of the bigger fish, he said, are down along the coast.
Sciortino emphasized that when he says there are a lot of fish in the bay, he means a lot of fish. They’re a lot of fun on light tackle, hitting mostly shads and surface plugs. Plus, he said, there are some keepers to be had.
The bigger fish are falling for Mojos and bunkers spoons on the troll in the ocean. Those monster blues are still around as well. Sciortino said he had one guy report a 25 pounder he caught and weighed aboard his boat.
Sciortino added that sea bass fishing is still good but the porgy bite has gone a bit quiet. Blackfishing remains good as well, and everyone is anxious for the six-fish season to open up on Nov 16.
Joe Julian at Julian’s Bait and Tackle in Atlantic Highlands said the stripers can be found near the Naval Pier, the Keansburg Pier and over toward Staten Island. Eels are also catching bass at the tip of Sandy Hook
He, too, reported good sea bass fishing but a drop off in the porgy bite. Anyone trying for blackfish is easily catching their limit of one fish on the reefs and rockpiles and Julian said they’re being caught under the Highlands Bridge as well.
Capt. Ron Santee on the Fishermen out of Atlantic Highlands said Wednesday’s fishing was a vast improvement over the previous couple of days. He reported finding bass and blues blowing up in bunker almost immediately with keeper stripers in the mix.
He said the bite only got better after the change of tide. The one downside was that he didn’t have much of a crowd to enjoy the excellent fishing.
Not everyone in the bay is targeting stripers. Capt. Stan Zagleski on the Elaine B II out of Highlands said he had a good day of fishing on Saturday. There were a couple of limits on porgies on clams and loads of limits on blackfish on green crabs.
Zagleski said there were some sea bass in the mix, but they were mostly shorts.
Mel Martens at Giglio’s Bait and Tackle in Sea Bright said he noticed a bit of a slowdown in the bass bite but the fishing wasn’t bad. There’s lots of fish up in the bay, he said, near Union Beach and Keansburg feeding on peanut bunker.
There are also stripers hitting plugs in the surf, usually in the early morning. Schools of fish are moving all over the place, so, as always, it’s a matter of being in the right place at the right time. Martens said a load of fish were heading north one day, which is out of the usual pattern. One never knows what will happen.
He hasn’t heard too much on the porgies of late, but the blackfishing has been terrific. Martens was also catching small bass on light tackle with bucktails in the Navesink River a few days ago and reported guys were still catching blue claws in traps.
Bob Matthews at Fisherman’s Den in Belmar said the boats out of the marina continued to catch bass, wind or no wind.
The charter boats did especially well with limit catches of stripers and lots of the enormous bluefish.
Capt. Pete Sykes on Parker Pete’s Sportfishing reported excellent fishing on Sunday with bass over 40 inches. He’s been catching them trolling, on shads and snagging and dropping.
Tuesday proved to be a tougher day, but the fishing bounced back nicely on Wednesday with loads of stripers and jumbo blues. Capt. Sykes said the charter was playing catch and release by the end of the day. He’s still taking reservations for blackfish trips.
Matthews also reported good fishing for the party boats out of the Shark River Inlet on Krocs and shads.
Capt. Rich Falcone on the Golden Eagle fished north of the Inlet on Wednesday and found good striper fishing with monster blues mixed in.
Falcone said the bass were hungry after a few days of being off their feed and weighed between 10 and 30 pounds. They hit Hammer jigs, Krocs and bait. The bluefish were 15 pounds and up.
Matthews added that the surf is giving up some nice fish with Ed Fort bringing in a 21-pound bass he caught from the sand in Asbury Park.
The blackfish bite is holding up and Matthews expects a big day next Wednesday when the limit goes to six fish. The Den is taking orders for white legger crabs.
Finally, he said the winter flounder fishing is as good as it’s been all year in the Shark River, but he thinks it will get even better.
Capt. Steve Spinelli on the Skylarker out of Belmar has been sticking with the bottom fishing and it’s been holding up very well, he said.
He was out fishing for porgies on Tuesday and a number of them were coming to the boat cut to pieces by the monster blues, so they started fishing for them as well.
One angler, Paul Amadio of Aberdeen, got a surprise when he landed a visitor from down south, an almaco jack.
Also known as a lesser amberjack, a couple were caught during the trip after they hit the clam baits meant for porgies.
Jeff Nuel at Harry’s Adventure Outfitters in Robbinsville reported that the bass fishing slowed down somewhat but if you know what you’re doing, you can still catch them.
It’s a snag-and-drop bite early in the morning when you can find the bunker then it drops off until later when it comes back at dusk.
The sea bass fishing is better in deeper water, he said, in about 70 feet and over. The tog fishing is good as well, with blackfish jigs catching a lot more fish lately.
The tuna fishing, Nuel said, has been quiet lately as he’s only heard of a few yellowfin. He did get reports of some small makos being caught in the 12- to 15-mile range and he had word of some bluefin sightings in the same area.
At the Reel Seat in Brielle, John said the bass fishing has been the best either north of Asbury Park and from Bay Head south. He’s also had reports of schools of bass outside the three-mile line, which makes them off limits.
There are also bass in the Point Pleasant Canal along with blackfish. The sea bass fishing has been good on the offshore reefs along with the tog bite.
At Brielle Bait and Tackle, John Bogan said the bass bite has been good south of his location, between Bay Head to Lavallette with Mojos and snagging and dropping getting most of the fish.
The bridges in the Manasquan River, he added, are holding plenty of blackfish with some keepers among them.
The Jamaica II out of Bogan’s Basin has been doing pretty good with sea bass on the offshore wrecks and reefs.
Fishing Forecast for Northern New Jersey
It’s the heart of the fall striped bass season and the fish are around. Take advantage. Charter, party and private boats are getting most of the action on shads and livelining, so jump on a party boat or finagle an invite aboard a friend’s craft. Or hit the beaches, preferably at dawn or dusk and toss a popper or SP Minnow.
That’s not an almaco it’s an adult banded rudder fish. Both are amberjack species but have different markings. I’ve been catching a lot of juvenile banded rudders last few years.