As the late, great Tom Petty sang, the waiting is the hardest part.
While there have been some positive signs, the fall run remains on hold. This endless summer refuses to quit.
A few big bass moved into the Monmouth Beach area over the weekend, but not enough to make every angler happy.
Capt. Phil Sciortino at the Tackle Box in Hazlet reported the stripers in Monmouth Beach. Their arrival coincided with the annual Monmouth Beach Striper Cup held over the Columbus Day weekend and sponsored by the Tackle Box and FISHIN NATIONS.
The cup goes to the Monmouth Beach resident that catches the largest striped bass and this year’s honor went to young Trevor Crochet for a 25 pounder he caught on clams Friday night.
The biggest bass caught during the tournament, a 27½ pounder, was caught by non-resident, John Shearer of Middletown, also caught on clams from the sand at the Monmouth Beach Pavilion.
All of the bass caught during the tournament, Sciortino said, were on clams. Many of the shorts were tagged before being released.
Sciortino also reported small blues and weakfish in the bay, with most of the weakies just around the keeper size.
Capt. George Bachert on the Angler out of Atlantic Highlands said the porgy and blackfishing continues to be very good. He’s also catching some lunker sea bass on the tog grounds.
His concern is that most of the big sea bass will be gone when the season opens on the 22nd so he’s hoping the warmer water will keep them around a bit longer. That doesn’t help the striper guys, though.
Capt. Ron Santee on the Fishermen said he’s been catching a lot of big sea bass as well on his bottom trips and he’s trying to avoid the pieces that hold them. However, he added, the sea bass are everywhere and he’s still catching a load of them every day.
He, too, fears they will be gone when the season opens. With the water temperature close to 70 degrees, who knows what will happen next. Capt. Santee said there’s still plenty of small blues and false albacore around as he sees them breaking water every day.
Capt. Stan Zaleski of the Elaine B II out of Highlands reported a good tog bite last weekend.
Saturday’s tough conditions didn’t affect the action as the blackfish chewed all day long. Dave Brink of Middletown landed 17 legal fish along with a bunch of shorts. The one he kept took the pool at 6 pounds.
Also out of Highlands, The Fisher Price IV reported good striper fishing on a crew trip on Tuesday. Out looking to locate some bass, they found and caught fish up to 25 pounds.
Mel Martens at Giglio’s Bait and Tackle in Sea Bright told me that the guys fishing in Monday’s rain at North Beach on Sandy Hook got into the false albacore pretty good with a few anglers getting up to nine fish each. Hogy Epoxy jigs were the favorite lure.
Martens also reported bigger bass being caught on the bay side of Sandy Hook, with fish in the 30-inch range. There are still plenty of shorts around, but more keepers as well.
The warm water, he said, is also keeping the crabs around.
Bob Matthews at Fisherman’s Den in Belmar reported that things remained pretty much the same as the last week with the exception of some winter flounder showing up in the Shark River.
Several were caught from the pier at the marina and a 20-incher was landed at the Shark River Inlet.
The bluefish boats out of marina, he said, have done pretty well over the past couple of days as have the boats fishing for tog and porgies.
Small bass are being caught in the surf early in the morning and the evening. A lot of these fish are hitting teasers.
Capt. Rich Falcone on the Golden Eagle has been one of the boats chasing the blues and he reported good fishing the last couple of days with bluefish up to 10 pounds along with bonito and false albacore.
The Golden Eagle put about a half dozen yellowfin tuna on the deck during last weekend’s tuna trip and lost about six more. The fish were between 70 and 90 pounds.
The Golden Eagle’s final tuna trip of the season is set for Sunday, Oct. 15 and there are still some spots available.
Capt. Pete Sykes of Parker Pete’s Sportfishing said he’s still waiting for the fall striper bite to get on track, but he’s been out on a few blackfish trips. Mate Craig Kutiak landed a 12 pounder, his personal best.
Eric Bunz at the Reel Seat in Brielle said things are pretty much the same as last week except that the tuna bite got quiet in the canyons. There are still some mahi in the Mud Hole, he said, but not as many as last week.
He did hear of a small body of bass moving into the area and fish from 20 to 30 pounds were caught on bunker spoons. He’s also getting reports of small bass in the surf and bigger ones in the Manasquan River. Eels have been catching them at night. There are some big blues, up to 12 pounds, in the river as well.
John Bogan at Brielle Bait and Tackle said not much has changed since last week simply because the weather hasn’t. Things are still in a summer pattern, he said.
The porgy and blackfishing remains good and there are plenty of tog in the Point Pleasant Canal, it just takes a while to get to a keeper.
Capt. Howard Bogan on the Big Jamaica out of Brielle reported a good canyon trip Tuesday and Wednesday with a mix of yellowfin, longfin, mahi-mahi, plus one swordfish. He’ll be running tuna trips through early November.
The warm weather isn’t doing the freshwater guys any favors either.
Jim Behre at Behre Bait and Tackle in Lebanon said the water temperature hasn’t changed at Round Valley and the rainbow trout bite has stalled. Fishermen are waiting for them to come to shore but it’s just not happening.
Ryan at Tackle and Field in Wanaque said the bass are about the only thing going on right now at Monksville Reservoir, Pompton Lake and Green Turtle Pond.
Dino at Garden State Bait and Tackle said he hopes the fall trout stocking that is taking place this week and next gets anglers excited and out fishing. Right now, he said, hunting is getting most of the attention.
He did say the bass fishing has been good at Oak Ridge Reservoir and the walleye are biting at Canistear Reservoir.
Best Bets for the Weekend
Bottom fishing remains the best bet until the water cools. Porgies, blackfish and triggerfish continue to bite although some captains report there is a bit of porgy fatigue among anglers.
On the upside, the warm water is keeping the albies around and they’ve showed up over the last couple of days at North Beach at Sandy Hook and on Wednesday in the Manasquan Inlet.
And there are bass around. More stripers are moving into the area and a few big fish have been caught in the surf on clams. There are also short bass in the surf hitting plugs and teasers.