New Jersey Fishing Report - February 23, 2017

By this time next week, the seasons for winter flounder and river and bay stripers will be open.

And with the mild winter and fairly warm water, the chances of catching one or both species are pretty good. The forecast for balmy weather through Saturday will only help matters.

Phil Sciortino at the Tackle Box in Hazlet said the summer-like temperatures last weekend had a lot of folks out trying, but he didn’t hear of any fish being caught. Striper guys will be giving the flats in Raritan Bay their full attention come March 1.

Bob Matthews at Fisherman’s Den in Belmar is fairly certain the winter flounder are in the Shark River, but he can’t know for sure until folks start fishing with worms and clams. The shop will have all the bait in time for the opening.

The Ocean Explorer out of Belmar has been taking advantage of the nice weather and sailing practically every day. Capt. Bobby Quinn said they’ve been catching a mix of tog, cod, pollock, ling and a few other species.

Capt. Chris Dossantos on the BarbGail IV out of Brielle has been sailing every day the weather allows and finding blackfish and cod. He sailed on Wednesday when a 23-pound cod came aboard along with a 12.2-pound blackfish. His first drop of the day was the most productive with a steady bite for two hours straight.

Capt. Dossantos plans on sailing for tog and cod until the end of the month then fishing for cod, pollock and ling.

The Big Jamaica out of Brielle ran a President’s Day offshore trip and Capt. Howard Bogan reported a very good outing for jumbo porgies along with some pollock and ling in the mix.

There were a few anglers who got their limit of porgies with Mike Gorse from Monroe, N.Y. with a 4 pounder. Jim Rensalier from Maywood won the pool with a 10-pound pollock.

Saturday’s trip on the Big Jamaica was good as well with Mike Marist from Farmingdale, N.Y., getting his limit of jumbo porgies and a 12-pound cod. There was also an 8-pound cod caught.

Capt. Bogan reported the water temperature is around 50 degrees. He’s got trips planned for this Saturday and Sunday leaving at 2 a.m. and they will be the last of the year as porgy season closes on Feb. 28.

The Jamaica II sailed this past Saturday out of Bogan’s Basin and reported a pick of cod and blackfish. The fishing was better in the morning and a 12-pound cod took the pool.

Catherine at Brielle Bait and Tackle said she heard of a few blackfish taken at the Manasquan River Inlet and small stripers in Oyster Creek.  Freshwater guys have been trying their luck on local ponds and lakes with some perch being caught.

It’s been a tough year for ice fishermen with no real opportunities in New Jersey for well over a month. Cheryl at the Newark Sinker Company said customers are fishing open water now and catching some largemouth bass, crappies and perch.

Capt. Matt Sosnowski on the Norma K III out of Point Pleasant Beach said last weekend was a good one to be out on the water, with calm seas and warm temperatures.

The fishing was a little tough, but he said they picked tog all three days with Andrew DiMatteo from Pennington getting his limit on Saturday up  to 6 pounds.

Capt. Sosnowski said President’s Day was the best of the weekend with life on every drop. The catch was mix of keeper cod and blackfish. The Norma K III will be sailing this weekend then it’s off to the boatyard.

John Bushell at Betty and Nick’s Bait and Tackle in Seaside Park said he’s received reports of bass in the Toms River and in the surf hitting clams.  A handful of guys came into the shop on Thursday morning for clams before heading to the beach to give it a shot.

Winter flounder have been hitting worms in the bay as well so it looks like there may be an early start to the season.

John was among the more than 75 vendors at Surf Day at Brookdale Community College last Saturday which saw about 1,300 avid anglers in attendance. Most of the vendors I spoke with were doing a brisk business.

One thing was obvious, folks at the show were champing at the bit to go fishing.

Capt. Dave at Absecon Bay Sportsmen Center said there have been some short stripers caught and released in the bays and rivers using blood worms.

Anglers fishing for white perch are also doing well. Blood worms have a slight edge over the grass shrimp, he said.  For the end of February, he added, there are no complaints.

Justin at Fin-atics in Ocean City said the white perch fishing in the rivers has been pretty good as well on grass shrimp and blood worms. He said when anglers find the fish, they’re finding plenty of them. The fish are also a good size, with many well over a pound, he said.

Best Bets for the Weekend

If you’re after blackfish or porgies, it’s the final weekend for those so find yourself a spot on an offshore trip. Saturday is expected to be the nicer of the weekend days.  I, for one, am going to find some clams and see if there are any stripers to be found in the Ocean Grove surf.