Now’s the time of year when the true diehards separate themselves from the pack.
Plummeting temperatures have sent fair-weather anglers indoors. While there are still fish to be caught, only the truly dedicated will be out there.
The current freeze, however, is good news for the freshwater folks as they’ve been waiting patiently for some fishable ice.
Capt. Rob Semkewyc on the Sea Hunter out of Atlantic Highlands reported only a few brave souls showed up for Tuesday’s trip and, with wind gusts up to 30 mph and temperatures around 10 degrees with the wind chill, he returned to the dock early.
He was hoping for a last shot at the bass, which he found in decent numbers on Christmas Eve. Capt. Rob was having an excellent run on late season stripers with good catches all last week.
Although he still thinks there are plenty of stripers around, he’s decided to call it a season and will be sailing again when the bass bite again in the spring.
Capt. Phil Sciortino at the Tackle Box in Hazlet said it’s been quiet the last couple of days with the deep freeze, but said short bass still being caught in the Sandy Hook surf.
Blackfishing has been up and down but he did hear of a 22-pound tog caught aboard the Fish Monger out of the Manasquan Inlet. The big pig was released alive and kicking.
Capt. George Bachert on the Angler out of Atlantic Highlands made his most recent tog trip last Friday and worked in a little striper fishing as well.
The birds were working as the Angler headed out and those aboard started jigging, catching a mixture of keepers and shorts with a few bass over 38 inches.
After an hour of bass fishing, with one fisherman catching more than a dozen, the boat switched to tog. Capt. Bachert reported finding fish right away with a good ratio of keepers to shorts.
As the day went on, the bite got better but the size of the fish shrunk. Capt. Bachert is hoping to get another trip in before the limit goes back to four fish on Jan. 1, but the weather will be the deciding factor.
Mel Martens from Giglio’s Bait and Tackle in Sea Bright said he hasn’t heard much as there aren’t a whole lot of anglers trying their luck. He’s sure the small bass are in the surf there, but he hasn’t received any first-hand reports for the last couple of days.
I can attest to the fact that there still stripers in the Ocean Grove area as I caught a few from the sand on Tuesday and missed a bunch more. Teasers and sand eel imitations were working.
Bob Matthews at Fisherman’s Den in Belmar said the winter flounder fishing in the Shark River is holding up nicely. Ronald Byrnes of Manchester weighed in a 3-pound, 12-ounce flattie that was 19 inches long and thick.
Matthews added that Marty Westerfield from the shop got his two-fish limit nearly every day last week.
The blackfishing continues to experience its ups and downs and by most accounts, Matthews said, it’s been a disappointing season.
He is still getting reports of small bass in good numbers on the local beaches, but it’s hard to know how long they will hang around in the cold.
Capt. Pete Sykes on Parker Pete’s Sportfishing out of Belmar found the bigger bass last Thursday and Friday with boat limits of fish both days.
All of the bass were caught on jigs and shads and the action was pretty much non-stop on Thursday’s trip with loads of keeper stripers released.
Capt. Sykes said he will continue to sail for stripers as long as the weather allows. He’s also starting to book his trips for the 2018 season.
Vinny at the Reel Seat in Brielle said the small bass, with a few keepers mixed in, were biting like mad at the Manasquan Inlet on Tuesday of this week. One angler, he reported, caught about 45 fish.
There are loads of sand eels and herring in the area keeping the fish interested. The bass, he said, were hanging close to the rocks at the inlet. Small Avas and sand eel imitations were doing the trick
He also reported the offshore sea bass fishing has been holding up very well, but if you want to get in on that action, you’ll have to hurry and be willing to brave the cold. The season closes on Sunday.
Lou at Brielle Bait and Tackle also reported small bass on the local beaches and at the inlet. Shads and metal were the favorites but he also said small pieces of sandworms were caching fish.
The boats out of Bogan’s Basin continue to sail to offshore wrecks catching sea bass, jumbo porgies, ling and a few cod.
Capt. Howard Bogan on the Big Jamaica reported that Wednesday’s wreck trip started out a little slow but improved as the day went on.
A number of folks caught their limit of sea bass along with some porgies, with the pool winner, Bill Effing from Bensalem, Pa., catching sea bass of 6 and 6¼ pounds.
After Jan. 1, the Big Jamaica will sail every Saturday for cod, pollock and porgies.
The Jamaica II sailed in Tuesday’s cold weather and put together a decent catch of blackfish, cod, porgies and sea bass.
On the freshwater side, it’s all about the ice. Anglers have been waiting for this kind of weather and it looks like it will be here for a while.
Cheryl at Newark Sinker Company in Pine Brook said a few people have already been fishing the frozen coves at Budd Lake catching pike and pickerel.
Steve at Garden State Bait and Tackle in Stockholm said the guys are coming into the shop for new auger blades and are raring to go. There should be plenty of ice on the local ponds and lakes by the weekend, he said.
Chris at Tackle and Field in Wanaque said it was the same there with everyone waiting for the ice to get thick.
Fishing Forecast for Northern New Jersey
If you’re hankering for sea bass, this is the last weekend to fish for them until the spring. Be prepared for the frigid temperatures. This is also the last weekend for the six-fish tog season. It drops to four come Monday.
The short bass will probably still be on the beaches, so go for a brisk walk on the sand with some light tackle.
But it’s the hardwater anglers that have the most to look forward to this weekend. There should be plenty of ice around for them to pursue their favorite sport.
Have a happy and safe New Year.