Northern New Jersey Fishing Report - June 14, 2018

Northern New Jersey Fishing Report

Fishing is good. And while nothing is certain, there’s a chance the weather will finally cooperate over the next couple of days.

And it’s about time. Fluke, stripers, black sea bass and bluefish are all biting, but rain and wind have kept folks away.

Capt. Phil Sciortino at the Tackle Box in Hazlet reported big bass continue to be caught on the troll in Raritan Bay. The fishing is a little picky but Mojos and bunker spoons are still catching fish in excess of 40 pounds.

He said the fluking has picked up in the bay with a good bite near the Naval Pier.

Cocktail blues are also popping up around Belford and the Keansburg Pier and the sea bass fishing continues strong on the wrecks and reefs.

Capt. George Bachert on the Angler out of Atlantic Highlands had a good day with fluke on Tuesday, with a number of limit catches. The boat marked the best drift of the year so far with 22 keepers coming aboard.

The Angler is among the first boats out in the morning and the better fishing has been early.

Dennis Fuchs of Cranford took with pool with a 5 pounder. Capt. Bachert said bait was working the best but the preferred bait is changing day to day so you have to pay attention.

Capt. Rob Semkewyc on the Sea Hunter had a pretty good on Tuesday as well, again with the better fluking early in the day. Once the southeast wind comes up, which is almost a given this time of year, the bite usually slows down.

Dan at Jigging World in Rochelle Park said he’s been getting better fluke reports from his customers fishing in Raritan Bay. They’re also reporting good sea bass fishing.

He added there are still loads of trout being caught in the rivers in that part of the state.

Mel Martens at Giglio’s Bait and Tackle in Sea Bright reported the fluking just keeps getting better in the Shrewsbury and Navesink rivers. There are some blues and short bass in there as well, but most of the action is on fluke.

Clams are catching bass in the surf, and while most of the fish are shorts, more keepers are showing up in the mix. The bigger bass are being caught on chunks at night in Raritan Bay.

Mike Gleason at Tak Waterman, the new shop in Long Branch, said the fluke fishing in the surf there has been picking up, but the majority of the fish continue to be shorts. There are also a few bass being taken on clams in the wash.

Bob Matthews at Fisherman’s Den in Belmar reported good fishing but that the crummy weather has been taking some of the fun out of it.

The fluking in the Shark River has been very steady with many keepers coming to the dock. He also said the black sea bass fishing has been so good the party boats are holding off on switching to fluke. Sea bass season closes on June 22.

Matthews also said some big bass are still coming to the scales. Ray Soyka, Lincroft, landed a 52 pounder on his boat and Brett Thibodeau of Belmar got a 48-pounder.

Capt. Pete Sykes on Parker Pete’s Sportfishing out of Belmar said the striper fishing has been a bit picky the last week but he still managed to get into some trophy bass on Tuesday’s magic hour trip. A few of the fish were over 40 pounds.

He expects the striper fishing to pick up with this week’s new moon and he still has some openings for charters and magic hour trips.

Capt. Bobby Quinn on the Ocean Explorer out of Belmar, has been having a good week with the black sea bass, catching plenty of limits every day. Jigs and bait are both working.

Capt. Quinn said the fish are feeding on plentiful sand eels and the jigs have really been productive.

He’s also been catching a few winter flounder along with some ling.

Capt. Steve Spinelli on the Skylarker, also out of Belmar, has been having a lot of success with the sea bass as well. The pool winners have been up to 4½pounds. He, too, has been catching a few ling, some winter flounder and even the occasional cod.

Capt. Rich Falcone on the Golden Eagle out of Belmar reported day-long action on the bluefish on Wednesday with fish on top, hitting jigs and teasers. He’s also been getting some sea bass on the same rigs.

The blues were in the 3-pound range, but he reported getting fish up to 14 pounds over the weekend.

Al Monteverdi at the Reel Seat in Brielle said there’s plenty of fish to be caught with the Manasquan River holding some nice fluke, bluefish and stripers. The fluke are hitting bucktails and Gulp, the blues have been aggressive on topwater plugs and the bass are going for shads.

The Axel Carlson and Sea Girt reefs continue to produce loads of sea bass and some fluke are being caught there as well.

John Bogan at Brielle Bait and Tackle also mentioned the good fluke fishing in the Manasquan River, reporting that a 7-pound fluke was caught off the wall near the inlet.

The blues are also running in and out of the inlet, mostly in the morning and evening, and the bass bite is good at night on bait under the Route 35 Bridge.

The freshwater fishing has also been hobbled by the poor spring weather, but the fish are biting for those who go.

Ryan at Tackle and Field in Wanaque said the bass and crappie fishing has been good at Monksville Reservoir, Pompton Lake, Greenwood Lake and Green Turtle Pond.

He also reported good musky fishing at Greenwood Lake with a 40-incher caught over the weekend.

Ron at Fins & Furs in Newfoundland said the bass bite in the reservoirs cooled off a bit, but anglers are still catching some nice fish.

The trout fishing in the stocked rivers and streams remains very good. Most anglers are limiting out on the Pequannock River, he said, with salmon eggs a good bait.

He also had some saltwater action to report with a relative of his catching 20-pound bass on chunks near the Statue of Liberty this past week.

Steve at Garden State Bow & Reel in Stockholm said everything is coming alive in his neck of the woods.

The reservoirs are giving up bass and walleye. He reported Dino from the shop caught a largemouth of 6½ pounds in a private pond this past week. He also said that the fishing has been good in the Delaware River and even few striped bass were caught in the river up near Hancock, N.Y.

Steve added that anglers at Lake Wawayanda are getting some landlocked salmon and hybrids are being caught at Lake Hopatcong.
The much-delayed Kids Fishing Derby is back on for this Saturday at Echo Lake.

Cheryl at Newark Sinker Company in Pine Brook said folks fishing for bass using drop shot rigs with Berkeley MaxScent flatnose minnows are doing very well at Lake Hopatcong and other lakes and ponds in the area.

Northern New Jersey Fishing Forecast
There’s lots of fish to choose from, but like last week, the surest bet is the black sea bass. Most wrecks and reefs are holding fish and limits have been the norm.

The fluking has been very good as well, with the rivers and bays giving up most of the fish. The ocean is still on the chilly side, so it will be some time before the fishing offshore gets up to speed. There have been a few keepers caught in the surf.

The bluefishing is getting more consistent and the stripers are still around. This week’s new moon may help boost the bass bite.
Finally, the freshwater fishing has been good for bass, crappie and walleye. You just have to go.