High summer and the fishing is good.
Nice fluke are no longer scarce, there’s still plenty of sea bass around, the porgies continue to bite and now some southern species have made the scene.
Bonito, Spanish mackerel and false albacore being caught in midshore and inshore waters.
But the clock is ticking on fluke and sea bass.
Capt. Phil Sciortino at the Tackle Box in Hazlet reported good fluking has returned to Raritan Bay with the Raritan Reach finally getting hot. He weighed in several big fluke in the last couple of days including an 8½ pounder for Frank Janiec of Flemington.
The bay is loaded with bait, Sciortino added, and the porgies just keep on biting.
Capt. George Bachert on the Angler out of Atlantic Highlands said the fishing was good over the weekend and has not slowed down since.
The rain had little effect on Tuesday’s trip. He reported a number of limit catches with fluke in the 5-, 6- and 7-pound range. There were a lot of sea bass as well, both keepers and shorts.
There’s still no word on what will happen with them for the fall.
Capt. Mike Russo on the Sea Hawk reported a busy weekend with plenty of sea bass and fluke up to 7½ pounds.
The fish hit both bait and jigs with the hot colors for Gulp being new penny and nuclear chicken.
He added that the porgy fishing on Saturday afternoon’s trip was very good once the tide changed. He sails open boat most days, but is chartered this Friday and Saturday.
Capt. Ron Santee on The Fishermen out of Atlantic Highlands had no trouble finding big fluke over the weekend with June Benson of Hazlet landing an 11.9 pounder on Sunday.
He’s followed that up with big fluke every day since with fish up to 8 pounds.
Capt. Stan Zaglesky on the Elaine B II out of Highlands has also seen good fluking of late with fish up to 6 pounds and plenty of sea bass. Gulp and Spros are doing the trick.
Bruce Maloney of Garwood landed a surprise catch on Wednesday when he pulled a 30-inch cobia over the rail. This fish was released.
Mel Martens at Giglios Bait And Tackle in Sea Bright said the fluke fishing in the surf has picked up with more keepers landed. Gulp and live snappers have been catching fish, but he said the snappers may be getting a little too big.
There are still small bass in the Shrewsbury and Navesink rivers and the crabbing remains fantastic there as well. The shop has been selling out of traps as soon as they get them.
Bob Matthews at Fisherman’s Den in Belmar said the fluke fishing is still going strong offshore and in the Shark River as well. The party and charter boats are returning from the ocean with fluke in excess of 10 pounds and plenty of boat limits.
Matthews reported that Scott Box of Edison caught a 25-inch fluke in the Shark River along with a short striper.
With all the bait around, he’s anticipating a good striper and bluefish run once the mullet, bunker and spearing leave the rivers and bays and start heading down the beach.
Capt. Pete Sykes on Parker Petes Sportfishing out of Belmar called the recent fluke fishing awesome and showing no signs of slowing down. His charters have been catching quality fluke and some big sea bass.
He said he’s got plenty of dates available until the end of the season and he’s currently booking fall striped bass trips.
Capt. Steve Spinelli on the Skylarker out of Belmar said he’s also finding plenty of fluke and sea bass and adding some ling and porgies to the mix.
Capt. Rich Falcone on the Golden Eagle out of Belmar is treating his fares to a real smorgasbord of fish with a mix of blues, bonito, mackerel, Spanish mackerel, fluke and sea bass depending on the day.
Tuesday’s trip saw blues, bonito, mackerel and Spanish mackerel come over the rail while Wednesday was a repeat with the exception of the Spanish mackerel.
Eric Bunz at the Real Seat in Brielle said bonito made a big showing off the Mantoloking Pipe hitting spoons and bait. Small Clark spoons and Ava 007s were catching fish along with spearing.
Bunz also said there were tons of albies in the midshore areas. He’s expecting to see them closer to the beach in the coming weeks.
The tuna bite has been good at the Atlantic Princess, he said, with bluefin and yellowfin being caught. The bluefin are in the 30-to 40-pound range and the yellowfin between 40 and 60 pounds. Mahi-mahi, skipjacks and other southern species can be found mingling with the tuna.
As for fluke, Bunz said the Axel Carlson Reef was the hot spot this week with fish up to 8 pounds. The fluke bite has definitely picked up and the preferred baits have been jigs with white and glow Gulp.
There are also blues mixed in with the bonito at the Manasquan Ridge, Klondike and other inshore lumps. There’s lots of fish to be caught, said Bunz.
Greg Bogan at Brielle Bait and Tackle also reported good fishing. The Manasquan River, he said, is packed with bait and the fluke, bass and blues are all feeding on it.
Anglers are using strips of mackerel to catch the bass and bluefish in the river at night and a few of the stripers have been keepers.
The snappers are getting big, he added, up to 10 inches.
He, too, reported, lots of false albacore, bonito and bluefish around. The Big Jamaica has been getting in on that action about 8 to 10 miles offshore. He also said the ling and sea bass bite remains strong for the Paramount sailing out of Bogan’s Basin, but the winter flounder are becoming scarce.
On the freshwater side, it’s late summer action mostly on large and smallmouth bass, hybrids and catfish.
Dino at Garden State Bow And Reel in Stockholm said most guys are fishing topwater plugs, frogs and buzz baits for large and smallmouth bass in local ponds and lakes. He added that there have been a lot of hybrid stripers caught and the catfishing has been very good in the Delaware. The water has become too warm for walleye.
Ron at Fins and Furs in Newfoundland began his report by saying that his nephew caught a 70-pound wahoo on an offshore trip on Sunday. Getting back to local action, he said, the bass fishing has been good at Canistear Reservoir and Echo Lake.
Jim Behre at Behre Bait and Tackle in Lebanon reported that the hybrid fishing at Spruce Run is doing just fine. There were some silting issues at the reservoir that have been fixed and the stripers are biting.
Anglers are slow trolling for the fish 10 to 15 feet down using shiners on naked rigs. He also said there are white perch and catfish being caught.
The warm weather has slowed things down at Round Valley but Behre said rainbow trout are still being caught on Warrior and Challenger spoons in 25 to 30 feet of water. He said the water temperature is 74 degrees on top, but 58 degrees 30 feet down.
There are still lake trout to be had, but they are deep, at 80 to 100 feet.
Jim also wanted to remind anglers that the Howie Behre Memorial Tournament is this weekend and all those interested can sign up at the shop.
Chris at Tackle and Field in Wanaque said it’s mostly bass fishing in his neck of the woods right now with good catches reported at Greenwood Lake and Lake Hopatcong.
Laurie Murphy at Dow’s Boat Rental at Lake Hopatcong reported hybrid stripers are being caught there up to 8 pounds. There are also crappie, pickerel and bass around.
Fishing Forecast for Northern New Jersey
Take advantage of the solid fluke bite. All of the boats sailing for them are reporting good catches and you can try off the beach as well. Gulp, live snappers and strips baits are working from the sand. The snappers can be caught in the wash on snapper poppers. Party and charter boats also give you a shot at black sea bass as well.
There are also tons of porgies, blue claw crabs and snappers around. Without travelling too far offshore, you can also find bonito, bluefish and false albacore.