Capt. Pete Sykes with his personal best tog of 15 pounds caught aboard Parker Pete’s Sportfishing.Beware the polar vortex
If one were to believe the hype from the weather folks, the second coming of the ice age is due by the end of the week.
While the temperatures are expected to drop dramatically on Thursday, it’s predicted the mercury will head in the opposite direction by Saturday, offering an opportunity for some weekend angling.
And the fishing should be good, especially for tog. The stripers are still around as well, but the fish have shrunk a bit.
Capt. Phil Sciortino at the Tackle Box in Hazlet reported that the blackfishing has been really good with Matt Calabria, Hazlet, landing a 14½-pound tog earlier this week. The fish was released.
Sciortino said that a lot of his customers have switched to blackfish jigs and they’ve been responsible for some nice fish.
The stripers continue to bite in the surf and Sciortino said they were on the beach from Sandy Hook through Deal over the weekend. There weren’t a lot of keepers but there was plenty of action.
Joe Julian Jr. at Julian’s Bait and Tackle in Atlantic Highlands reported that the boats out of there continue to do well with blackfish but most of the striper action he’s heard of has been farther south.
Capt. George Bachert on the Angler is one of those boats. He reported his Sunday trip was a bit chilly but the tog fishing was good with limit catches and tons of shorts in the mix.
Denise Ryu from Palisades Park caught four big ones, including the 7-pound, 11-ounce pool winner. Capt. Bachert said he was surprised the ling haven’t showed up as yet but he did hear of some cod and mackerel being caught.
Capt. Hal Hagaman on the Sea Tiger II, also out of Atlantic Highlands, sailed on Tuesday for tog and had good results. There were a couple of limits and a number of folks with three or four fish.
The crew aboard the Elaine B. II out of Highlands had another good day on the tog grounds on Tuesday with plenty of action. Capt. Stan Zagleski said they made just two drops all day with very steady fishing.
There were several limits and a good mix of keepers in with the shorts.
White leggers attracted most of the nice fish, Zagleski said, adding there was also a keeper cod in the day’s catch.
Mel Martens at Giglio’s in Sea Bright said it’s been quiet on the beach since the weekend, but there were plenty of small bass in the surf on Saturday. The gannets have been diving on the herring and he’s getting more reports of sand eels, which should help ignite the night bite.
He’s also getting good reports on the tog fishing and the shop has been selling a load of blackfish jigs.
Bob Matthews at Fisherman’s Den in Belmar said sooner or later the weather would become a factor and now the freeze is upon us. There’s still plenty of herring around, he said, and the gannets are feeding on them from above and the bass from below.
There were stripers on the beach in Ocean Grove on Friday and I picked up a dozen or so on a small white swimming plug. The biggest among them was about 25 inches and most barely made 20. They were still feeding on peanut bunker.
Matthews also reported the winter flounder fishing in the Shark River is still very good and anglers having no trouble getting their two-fish limit.
The blackfish boats out of Belmar, Matthews said, have been doing very well. Hunter Schlegel had a 15-pound, 4-ounce tog on the charter boat Fish Stix.
Capt. Pete Sykes on Parker Pete’s Sportfishing said the blackfishing has been very good on most days. He’s also seeing plenty of stripers around but his charters are opting to go blackfishing.
Tuesday was a maintenance day for Parker Pete’s Sportfishing and when the crew finished early, the boat sailed for blackfish. Capt. Sykes caught his personal best, a tog of 15 pounds. He sailed again on Wednesday with a charter and found more fish with a 10 pounder coming aboard.
Capt. Steve Spinelli on the Skylarker, also out of Belmar, is also getting into some nice blackfish, bringing an 11 pounder aboard for angler Roger Sheetz. Capt. Spinelli said he’s been fishing in about 45 feet of water.
He said the water temperature is dropping and the ling and mackerel should be along shortly
He called in a late report on Wednesday saying he was fishing on the eastern side of the Mud Hole and there were a load of bluefin tuna around.
Jeff Nuel at Harry’s Outfitter in Robbinsville said that he heard of a least a dozen bluefin caught over the weekend about 10 to 12 miles out.
He also said there are plenty of schoolie bass on the beaches in the Sea Girt and Manasquan areas and on Island Beach State Park. They’re feeding on peanut bunker, sand eels and herring.
Nuel said the blackfishing really picked up in the last week with lots of reports of fish in the 10- to 15-pound range. He noted the growing popularity of the blackfish jigs with anglers telling him it’s easier to feel the tentative bite of the tog.
John Vafiadis at the Reel Seat in Brielle said the blackfishing for the boats out of the Manasquan Inlet has been very good. He, too, got reports of several double-digit tog.
The stripers are still on the local beaches, Vafiadis said, with a blitz on the Brick beaches on Tuesday night. Again, not a lot of keepers, but lots of action. He also heard of bluefin tuna in the vicinity of the Sea Girt Reef.
Catherine at Brielle Bait and Tackle said the boats sailing out of Bogan’s Basin, the Big Jamaica, Jamaica II and Paramount have been doing pretty well on their offshore trips for sea bass and jumbo porgies.
Fishing Forecast for Northern New Jersey
Options are dwindling as the year comes to a close but there are fish to be caught. Temperatures are supposed to be back in the 50s by Saturday and Sunday, giving you a comfortable shot at bass and blackfish. Party and charter boats will be sailing for tog and the stripers should still be on the beach after the cold snap. Sand eels are around so bring some metal along with shads and swimming plugs.