The super moon didn’t make for super fishing over the weekend. Extreme tides and swift currents took some of the blame for the slow fishing.
Keeper bass were hard to come by and it wasn’t until Monday that the fishing bounced back a bit. to make them any happier.
Capt. Phil Sciortino at the Tackle Box in Hazlet said participation was way down over the weekend. The party boats, he said, were still catching bass, but the vast majority of the fish were shorts. The surf has been giving up a lot of small stripers as well, along with some bluefish.
Capt. Rob Semkewyc on the Sea Hunter out of Atlantic Highlands reported catching loads of bass over the weekend, but very few keepers.
Monday’s trip saw a lot more keepers and it was a dramatic turnaround from what he experienced just a day earlier.
Capt. Ron Santee on the Fishermen also reported better fishing on Monday but with the inconsistent bite he’s decided to call it a season for 2017.
Sciortino said the reports he’s been getting on the blackfish action indicate the togging has just been okay.
Capt. George Bachert on the Angler out of Atlantic Highlands said that it was tough to find keepers on Saturday’s trip. He reported the same area that gave up big tog just the day before was mostly shorts.
Sunday’s fishing was much better, he said, with sea bass, porgies and ling coming over the rail along with the blackfish.
He got out again on Wednesday and found much tougher conditions due to the wind but managed to put a decent catch together.
Capt. Stan Zagleski on the Elaine B II out of Highlands said his fares had a good shot of fish on Monday morning until the current picked up and put the bite on hold for a while.
When the current slowed, the tog started chewing and he stayed out a while longer to take advantage of the action. Capt. Zagleski said the water temperature on the bottom is still 52 degrees which is still pretty warm for this time of year.
Mel Martens at Giglio’s Bait and Tackle in Sea Bright said it’s mostly short bass and bluefish in the surf. Tuesday’s wind dirtied the water and kept folks off the beach, but before that guys were getting the little bass on sand eel imitations and teasers.
Bob Matthews at Fisherman’s Den in Belmar said guys are having a lot of fun with the short bass in the surf. The fish are around 20 inches with some a lot smaller and a few slightly bigger.
It doesn’t really matter what you’re throwing, he said, as long as there is a teaser on the rig.
I’ve been catching a lot of the shorts in the Ocean Grove surf and found that a Tsunami sand eel behind the teaser is getting half of the fish.
The stripers are very close to the beach and Matthews reported flyrodder Bill Massey of Wall is getting as many as 30 fish in an outing.
There are some bass in the Shark River as well, and Matthews said Paul Newman, 12, of New Milford, hooked and landed a 21 pounder back in the river on a pencil popper.
The winter flounder remain in the river as well with most guys getting their two-fish limit without any problem. Clams and worms are working.
Matthews added the blackfishing boats out of the marina are getting some quality fish and most of them have been caught on jigs.
Capt. Pete Sykes on the Golden Eagle said the weekend bass fishing was tough. He read a lot of fish but couldn’t get them to bite.
Things were much better on Monday with Mojos and bunker spoons producing fish 30 to 38 inches. He, too, reported tons of shorts around. There were a few fish taken on shads as he said there are still adult bunker in the area.
Capt. Rich Falcone on the Golden Eagle also reported a tough weekend. He located plenty of fish on Sunday, with bass breaking under birds all over the place. The problem was they wouldn’t bite. A couple of shorts for a few anglers was the best action for the day.
He was going to give it a rest for a few days and head again out this weekend.
Capt. Bobby Quinn on the Ocean Explorer out of Belmar said Wednesday’s blackfishing trip was not great with a big groundswell left over from Tuesday’s wind. There were a couple of keepers on each spot, but that was it.
Monday’s outing was much better with the tog really chewing and a number of limits around the boat.
Bob Caracozzo at the Reel Seat in Brielle said the best reports he’s been getting are about the offshore sea bass fishing. Boats making the long trip, about 30 miles, are getting big sea bass and, surprisingly, monster bluefish.
Greg Bogan at Brielle Bait and Tackle said the Big Jamaica, Paramount and Jamaica II out of Bogan’s Basin are all doing well on their offshore wreck trips for black sea bass and porgies, along with cod, pollock and ling. They’re also finding some of those big blues.
Bogan added there are also a lot of short bass in the surf in Spring Lake, Sea Girt, Manasquan and Bay Head. Teasers, he said, are the way to go.
Blackfish continue to bite in the Point Pleasant Canal and at the Manasquan Inlet, but the bite is showing signs of slowing down.
Hunting season seems to be capturing everyone’s attention, so there hasn’t been a lot of freshwater fishing going on. But it’s not entirely quiet.
Chris at Tackle and Field in Wanaque said most of the effort there has been for trout in the Ramapo and Wanaque rivers and Green Turtle Pond. He also reported some of his customers are having success fishing for stripers toward the mouth of the Hackensack River.
Jim Behre at Behre Bait and Tackle in Lebanon said lake trout season is now open and anglers are catching them at Round Valley. Rainbow trout continue to be caught there on slip bobbers with shiners and Power Bait.
Larry at Newark Sinker Company in Pine Brook also reported a few of his customers caught lakers at Round Valley from the shore on Power Bait.
He also got word of some big landlocked salmon coming out of Tilcon Lake that were holdovers from the last stocking.
Steve at Garden State Bow and Reel in Stockholm said it’s been pretty quiet on the fishing front with the reservoirs in the watershed closing at the end of November. Folks will now be waiting for the ice to come.
He did report crappie and pike being caught in the private lakes and ponds and a few bass mixed in the catch as well.
Fishing Forecast for Northern New Jersey
If you’re just looking to get out and catch some fish, the small bass in the surf are a good time. Bring some light tackle and run a teaser ahead of your lure. A rubber sand eel behind the teaser will definitely increase your chances.
The bigger stripers are still around, mostly south of the Manasquan Inlet and trolling Mojos and bunker spoons is the best way to catch them. The offshore sea bass and porgy fishing has also been very good and the boats out of Bogan’s Basin in Brielle have been adding pollock, cod and ling to their catches.
There are still lots of fish around, but the size and quantity are making for some cranky anglers. And the cold snap in the forecast isn’t going