Northern New Jersey Fishing Report - June 22, 2017

Thick fog combined with a ferocious southeast wind and some torrential rain made things tough for anglers over the weekend and at the start of the week.

But by the time summer arrived on Wednesday, things looked to be improving and the next couple of days should provide some decent fishing.

There are still some big stripers around, the fluke bite is picking up and there’s tons of sand eels in the area to keep the fish interested.

Capt. Phil Sciortino at the Tackle Box in Hazlet said the weather did a number on the striper bite over the weekend with the bunker hard to find and not a lot of people trying in the lousy conditions.

He said the fluke bite in the bay is decent with most of the fish caught in shallow water. It’s taken a while for the water to warm up and the few fish caught down deep are coming up well chilled.

Sciortino added there are a few bluefish and small stripers being caught around the Bayshore.

The party boats out of Atlantic Highlands were hampered by the weather over the weekend but still found some quality fluke, if not a lot of them.

Capt. George Bachert on The Angler said a number of his regulars stayed home on Sunday due the forecast, but those that showed up found a steady pick of fish with a 6-pounder taking the pool.

On Wednesday, the Angler headed down the beach and found some nice fluke in the ocean, which is an encouraging sign.

Capt. Hal Hagaman on the Sea Tiger II also found some nice ones over the weekend with an 8-pounder winning the pool.

The Elaine B II out of Highlands has been making the most of its trips with Capt. Stan Zagleski reporting fluke up to 8 pounds on recent outings.

Mel Martens at Giglio’s Bait and Tackle in Sea Bright said the bluefish, albeit small ones, are still around in the Shrewsbury and Navesink rivers and the ocean. There are small bass around as well, with the better fishing in the Shrewsbury River. There have been some stripers taken on clams in the surf, but overall it hasn’t been a great spring for beach bass.

The fluking is okay in the rivers, too, and a few blue claw crabs have made an appearance as well, but it will be a few weeks before that really gets into gear.

Bob Matthews at Fisherman’s Den said fluke fishing will now grab all the attention now that the black sea bass season has closed.

By all reports it was an exceptional year for sea bass and anglers will now have to wait until July 1 for another crack at them when the season reopens with a two-fish limit at 12½ inches.

Matthews said the fluking in the Shark River picked up some this week but it’s still not where it should be. Cold water is the main culprit.

There have been a few nice fish caught with Shirley Williams of Lakewood catching a 6-pound, 10-ounce fish at the L Street Pier. Matthews said small bass and blues have been moving along the beaches with some bass taken at night on clams and plugs.

Capt. Ron Kish on the Capt. Cal II out of Belmar got out in the better weather Wednesday and reported good fluking in warmer water. The pool winner was a 5- pounder.

The Ocean Explorer, also out of Belmar, had a good day on Wednesday with the fluke chewing and a good number of limits aboard the boat.

After nailing a number of big bass last week, the weather forced Capt. Pete Sykes on Parker Pete’s Sportfishing to do some bottom fishing over the weekend. He reported good catches of keeper fluke and sea bass.

He heard the big bass are still around with a 50-pounder taking an eel on Tuesday. Capt. Sykes said they’ll be chasing fluke but will continue to fish for stripers as long as they’re here.

Bob Caracozzo at the Reel Seat in Brielle said most of the action there is on blues in the Manasquan River along with some small stripers. There are sand eels everywhere, he said.

Greg Bogan at Brielle Bait and Tackle reported there are some nice fluke coming out of the Manasquan River, usually on the incoming tide. The killie-Gulp combo is getting most of the fish. There aren’t tons of fish, he said, but the quality is there.

Small bass are there, too, hitting Fin-S lures, sandworms and small plugs.

Bluefish up to 2 pounds are also hitting in the river and some blowfish have been caught by the Mantoloking Bridge.

Bogan said the Paramount out of the basin has been doing well with ling and winter flounder.

On the freshwater front, the inconsistent weather is still playing havoc with the fishing.

Jim at Behre Bait and Tackle in Lebanon said wasn’t much change in the fishing from last week. The recent rain kept people home and there still aren’t a lot of folks fishing.

The Spruce Run action on hybrids remains good with the fish hitting herring and topwater plugs at night.

The one big change has been at Round Valley, where the water temperature went up about 11 degrees, putting the kibosh on shore fishing for trout.

Laurie Murphy at Dow’s Boat Rental at Lake Hopatcong said there is still some night action on walleyes and hybrids hitting on topwater plugs. The big hybrid of the week was over 8 pounds.

Ken at Tackle and Field in Wanaque reported the bass fishing has really come along in the last week with smallmouth hitting jigs in Greenwood Lake. There are still some walleye being caught there as well.

The wacky weather pattern, he said, hasn’t been helping matters, but he expects things to settle down as we head into summer.

Steve at Garden State Bow and Reel in Stockholm said it was a pretty good weekend for their customers with a nice spike in the smallmouth and largemouth action in the reservoirs and private ponds.

The crappie, he said, have moved into deeper water.

The warmer weather has slowed the trout fishing, but he said the fly fishermen are continuing to give it a go and finding some fish.

Larry at the Newark Sinker Company said he’s received good reports of smallmouth being caught in the Passaic and Rockaway rivers. He’s also getting word from his customers about the solid hybrid bite at Lake Hopatcong on herring and topwater plugs

Fishing Forecast for Northern New Jersey

With the black sea bass season closed, fluke fishing has moved to the top spot. Reports indicate the bite has been getting better with the warming water and the fish favoring natural baits at this point.

High winds and rough seas over the weekend scattered the bunker but there’s reason to hope the big bass are still around. A 50-pounder was caught earlier this week off northern Monmouth County. Smaller bass remain in the local rivers hitting plugs, shads and sandworms.