Winter weather has arrived.
And while one group of anglers hopes the visit is brief, another wants the cold to continue.
The saltwater folks would like another shot at more stripers in comfortable temperatures but the freshwater faction is aching for some ice. There was precious little last year.
We’ll just have to wait and see who gets their wish.
As of now, the stripers are still around, on the troll and in the surf. Overall, the most consistent fishing has been offshore for sea bass and porgies, while the word on blackfishing is that it’s decent, if not spectacular.
Capt. Rob Semkewyc on the Sea Hunter out of Atlantic Highlands is planning on sailing for stripers this weekend. He’s received encouraging reports of gannets diving for bait over the last several days and that leads him to believe there will be another opportunity for some keepers.
Sciortino added that the blackfishing has been fair, but there are a lot of shorts in the mix.
Capt. George Bachert on the Angler out of Atlantic Highlands made his most recent tog trip last Friday. He found a solid bite on white and green crabs with the white leggers having the edge when it came to keepers. His plan was to wait for better weather and sail again on Thursday.
Capt. Stan Zagleski on the Elaine B II in Highlands took advantage of a weather window and sailed this past Monday. The first drop, he said, held a lot of life but it was mostly shorts. After a move to a new area, Zagleski said his fares banged away at mixed size tog for the rest of the day. Todd Kataguchi of Fort Lee caught plenty of fish and went home with his limit.
Mel Marten at Giglios Bait and Tackle in Sea Bright said there wasn’t a whole lot going on this week due to the weather. He, too, reported small bass in the surf from Sandy Hook down to the Manasquan Inlet. He did say that Jimmy Giglio found a couple of keeper bass in the Bradley Beach surf among the shorts.
I fished in Ocean Grove on Tuesday afternoon with a teaser and rubber sand eel and caught about six shorts in around 30 minutes and missed plenty more. You could see the fish swirling in the wash.
Bob Matthews at Fisherman’s Den in Belmar said his customers are catching a tremendous amount of the small bass in the surf and rivers. The biggest ones are about 22 inches.
Matthews reminded anglers fishing for these bass to use single-hook teasers and lures to avoid injuring this future generation of stripers.
Capt. Pete Sykes on Parker Pete’s Sportfishing out of Belmar is still finding keeper bass.
He’s been fishing to the south off Seaside and catching bass from 30 to 36 inches, mostly on Mojo rigs and bunker spoons. He sailed on Monday and had the boat limit by 8:30 in the morning. He’ll be fishing for bass as long as they’re around and then switch to blackfish if the weather holds.
Capt. Rich Falcone on the Golden Eagle has called it a season as far as the stripers go. Trolling is not an option so he will be waiting for the mackerel to show before sailing again.
Capt. Bobby Quinn on the Ocean Explorer out of Belmar reported a good blackfish trip on Monday with the tog biting right away. They hit both jigs and rigs with white leggers holding a slight advantage over the green crabs. Several guys got their limits and a few more just missed by fractions of inches.
Bob Caracozzo at the Reel Seat in Brielle said the best fishing right now is offshore for sea bass, porgies and big blues. He said the Voyager out of Point Pleasant Beach is putting together some nice catches and there have even been some weakfish in the mix.
Guys were also getting their share of the small stripers in the local surf, but Carocozzo said the bite cooled off over the weekend in Sea Girt and Spring Lake.
Greg Bogan at Brielle Bait and Tackle said the Big Jamaica, Jamaica II and Paramount are also in on the jumbo porgies, sea bass, weakfish and blues on their offshore trips when they can get out. There have been nice cod caught as well.
The blackfish reports he’s been getting indicate decent fishing but a lot of shorts in the mix. A few boats have run into a plague of dogfish.
On the freshwater front, it’s all about the big chill.
Steve at Garden State Bow and Reel in Stockholm said the folks up there are all excited about the drastic drop in temperatures and are hoping thicker ice is on the way.
There was a slight coating on the private lakes and ponds in the area and the ice-starved anglers are raring to go. It’s been three years, he said, since there was a good ice fishing season. Otherwise, he said, there’s not much fishing going on right now.
Chris at Tackle and Field in Wanaque said the skim ice on the local ponds was a welcome sight for the hardwater fishermen but it will take an extended freeze before it’s fishable.
In the meantime, jerk baits are catching some bass at Monksville Reservoir and Pompton Lake.
Jim Behre at Behre Bait and Tackle in Lebanon reported that the colder weather has made for a better trout bite at Round Valley Reservoir. Folks are getting lake trout from the shore fishing shiners on the bottom.
Use a half-ounce egg sinker, Behre said, and cast your bait as far as you can from shore. The rainbow trout are also biting on Power Bait. One day they prefer yellow and then it’s orange the next.
Fishing Forecast for Northern New Jersey
A lot depends on the weather and, so far, it looks fairly decent.
Offshore sea bass and porgy fishing offers the best chance for consistent action and fillets for the table. You may also find some cod, big blues and weakfish to go along with your catch.
Keeper stripers are still being caught on the troll with Mojos and bunker spoons. The bass are being found south of the Manasquan Inlet off Seaside. The little ones will most likely still be in the surf if you’re looking for catch-and-release action.
The blackfising has been up and down, with a lot of shorts being caught. There are still some nice tog to be had, so it’s always worth a try. The colder weather will more than likely help the bite.