Northern New Jersey Fishing Report – May 3, 2018

It was a wild week in New Jersey.

A 58-pound striped bass caught on a Raritan Bay beach grabbed everyone’s attention while a chilly spring turned into a hot summer practically overnight.

Both events seemed to have lit a fire under local anglers.

Capt. Phil Sciortino at the Tackle Box in Hazlet said the bass fishing in Raritan Bay has been just incredible with fish up to 30 pounds being caught on the troll, bunker chunks, rubber shads and plugs.

John Callahan was the angler who landed the 58.1- pound bass on a bunker chunk in the middle of the day. He fished for several hours and it was the only fish he caught, which was weighed in at Julian’s Bait and Tackle in Atlantic Highlands.

Sciortino said he expects the big bluefish to show up anytime now that the weather has finally turned warm.

There are also loads of smaller bass being caught from the beach at Sandy Hook with worms doing the trick.

Capt. Ron Santee on the Fishermen out of Atlantic Highlands said the bite finally broke open for his anglers on Tuesday morning on jigs and shads.

The pool fish was a 20 pounder and there were plenty of keepers caught. Santee said jigs with tails and the larger shads were working best.
Capt. Rob Semkewyc on the Sea Hunter, also out of Atlantic Highlands, said the bass were on top feeding on bunker when he got to the fishing grounds Tuesday morning.

Shads, diamond jigs and bunker chunks were all working and Capt. Semkewyc said everyone went home with a striper dinner.

Dan at Jigging World in Rochelle Park reported his customers are catching bass on the lower Hudson River anywhere anglers can gain access to the water. He mentioned Englewood, Edgewater and Exchange Place.

He also said the trout fishing remains good in local streams and rivers.

Mel Martens at Giglio’s Bait and Tackle in Sea Bright said he and Bob Pastor did very well with stripers in the Shrewsbury River earlier in the week. Most of the fish were shorts, but there were plenty of them and Pastor landed one over 30 inches.

Martens said Pastor fished the Shrewsbury again a couple of days later and had fish to 20 pounds.

Guys are catching fish in excess of 25 pounds in the bay, he added, on bottle darters, Yo-Zuri plugs and SP Minnows.

Bob Matthews at Fisherman’s Den in said the surf anglers had a good week with better numbers of small bass on local beaches. He said SP Minnows and small Bombers set up behind a teaser are catching an impressive amount of fish.

He said that the fly guys are also doing well with bass and fish up to 28 inches are not uncommon.

Matthews added that a few fluke have been taken in the Shark River by anglers looking for winter flounder. Summer flounder season opens on May 25.

Boats targeting bass in the ocean are marking fish, but the action has yet to catch up to the bay bite.

Capt. Rich Falcone on the Golden Eagle out of Belmar has been sailing for stripers the last few days, and while they’ve landed a few fish, it’s been a little slow. He expects this little heat wave will get the bass biting.

The ocean water temperature is hovering somewhere around 50 degrees.

Capt. Pete Sykes on Parker Pete’s Sportfishing out of Belmar reported that the boat is back in the water and ready to go. On the trip back from the boatyard in Barnegat, Sykes said he marked a lot of fish and saw plenty of bird life.

Capt. Steve Spinelli on the Skylarker out of Belmar, is putting the finishing touches on the boat will be sailing soon for cod, ling and striped bass.

Capt. Bobby Quinn on the Ocean Explorer, Belmar, wrapped up the tog season on a high note and is now sailing for ling and cod, and will fish for stripers if they pop up in his vicinity.

Bob Caracozzo at the Reel Seat in Brielle said that the Manasquan River is loaded with small stripers, as is the surf around the Manasquan Inlet.

The winter flounder fishing near Mantoloking, and in the Manasquan River, also found some new life with anglers picking up some nice fish. Carocozzo said the fish were moving into the Manasquan River in preparation for their departure into the ocean.

Greg Bogan at Brielle Bait and Tackle also reported winter flounder in the Manasquan River with anglers catching flatties up to 2 pounds from spots along the shore. Fishing is best, he said, at change of tides.

Rubber shads are proving to be the best bait for the river stripers, tied behind a teaser.

He also said he’s been selling a lot of freshwater bait as the bass and crappie bite has been excellent in the ponds and lakes in Wall, Brick and Jackson.

Ron at Fins and Furs in Newfoundland reported that the dry fly guys are having a great time on the Pequannock River with some nice trout being caught. The trout fishing, he said, has been pretty good on all the area streams and rivers.

He added that pickerel and walleye are being caught at Canistear Reservoir and the crappie bite has been good at Greenwood Lake. A 40-inch musky was also caught and released there over the weekend.

Ryan at Tackle and Field in Wanaque reported that the bass are now moving up into shallower water at the Monksville Reservoir and Pompton Lake. The trout bite, he said, is going strong in stocked areas with meal worms and Power Bait catching fish.

Joe at Newark Sinker Company in Pine Brook said the water has gone down in the Passaic River, making for better fishing. Folks are catching trout, some big carp and smallmouth bass.

The trout fishing remains good as well in the Ramapo and Rockaway rivers.

Dino and Steve at Garden State Bow & Reel in Stockholm said the fishing really picked up in the last week with an excellent walleye bite at Canistear Reservoir and Greenwood Lake.

Water levels have gone down on the rivers and streams and the trout bite has improved as a result. Butter worms have been working well, said Dino, and lures will be getting more attention as the water warms.

The shop is getting ready for the Kids Fishing Derby scheduled for May 19. Contact Garden State Bow & Reel for more information.

Laurie Murphy at Dow’s Boat Rental at Lake Hopatcong reported that there are a lot of pickerel being caught on both bait and the troll. The crappie fishing has been good as well.

The big surprise of the week was the a 45-inch muskie caught by Bob Smith who was trolling a small phoebe intended for trout.
Murphy said a few trout have been taken on the troll, and she expects more to come as the water warms.

Fishing Forecast For Northern New Jersey

Raritan Bay remains the hot spot for bass as the ocean water is still on the chilly side. Trolling Mojos, stretches, Rapalas and shads are all working in the bay. Bait guys are also doing well with bunker chunks, clams and worms in the bay and on Sandy Hook. Don’t expect to be alone as word is out on the excellent fishing.

The rivers, including the Shrewsbury, Navesink, Shark and Manasquan, are all holding small bass with an occasional keeper mixed in. Rubber shads and Fin-S baits are good bets along with a teaser. The lower Hudson River is also giving up plenty of fish.

This week’s mini-heat wave also warmed up the lakes and ponds leading to a better bass bite. The crappie fishing has also been improving while the good trout fishing continues.