Things are sorting themselves out as we move into the summer fishing season.
The fluking is good, but not great, depending on where you’re fishing. The rivers and bays have been best with the ocean proving to be a tougher test.
The bite on big stripers, which most thought was over, bounced back this week while the bluefishing has been hit and miss.
Early reports on the crabbing have been good and porgies have also arrived on the scene. Plus, the sea bass are back, with the two-fish season opening on Sunday.
Northern New Jersey Fishing Report
Capt. Phil Sciortino at The Tackle Box in Hazlet said the fluking in Raritan Bay has been terrific with a lot of big fish being caught. He weighed in an 11 pounder at the shop for Brian Welsh of Far Hills.
A 10-plus pounder was also caught aboard Capt. Tom Buban’s Atlantic Star out of Atlantic Highlands.
The Raritan Reach looks to be the hot spot right now
Sciortino said that most of the private and party boats out of Keyport, Atlantic Highlands and Highlands have been doing well in the bay. He also added that the porgy fishing has been pretty good on the Knoll and other local rock piles.
Capt. George Bachert on the Angler out of Atlantic Highlands reported good fluking over the past couple of days despite some tough conditions. There’s been a persistent southeast wind making things a little difficult.
Still, Capt. Bachert said he’s been pleased with the catches. Monday’s trip produced plenty of keepers around the boat with 9-year-old Paul Schkular taking the pool with a 6¼-pound fluke
Mel Martens at Giglio’s Bait and Tackle in Sea Bright said the fluke fishing in the surf continues to improve.
Rich Carter of Monmouth Beach can testify to that after landing an 8.95-pound beauty from the sand in Monmouth Beach this past Monday
He was fishing for bass using a bucktail and, after landing a couple of those, hooked the big fluke. Martens said there are a lot of sand eels in the surf and the fluke are likely feeding on them.
Martens added that the fluking remains good in the Shrewsbury and Navesink rivers with some small blues being caught in both rivers as well.
He also said the crabbing is coming along nicely in the rivers. It should get even better after this full moon.
Mike Gleason at Tak Waterman in Long Branch also reported better fluke fishing from the beach with an increase in the number of keepers landed as well as the overall number of fish.
The small bass are biting there as well on clams and bucktails. All of them are in the 20- to 25-inch range. He also said there are some triggerfish around.
Bob Matthews at Fisherman’s Den in Belmar said the good fluke fishing in the Shark River continues. Ed Rosenberg of Roxboro, Pa., landed a 6½ pounder while Jesse Thomas of Wall landed four to 4½pounds.
Matthews said the rental boats are averaging two to four keepers with five times as many shorts.
He also reported the surf has been hot for small stripers on clams, bucktails and sand crabs.
The sand crabs, or sand bugs if you prefer, have been working for me.
I ran into a local sharpie on the Ocean Grove beach who told me to drift three or four of the crabs on a No. 5 octopus hook tied to 30-pound leader with a couple of split shot a foot or so above the hook. He said fish in the current close to the beach.
The schoolie-sized fish hit right in the wash on Wednesday morning and were plenty of fun on light tackle. It was also nice to grab your bait right at your feet.
Capt. Bobby Quinn on the Ocean Explorer out of Belmar said the fluke fishing was good at the beginning of the week despite some high winds.
It was a fast drift on Monday but they did put some nice fish in the box, with both bucktails and bait accounting for keepers. The wind was back on Tuesday, but the boat managed a good catch of keepers and shorts.
Capt. Rich Falcone on the Golden Eagle out of Belmar has been chasing the bluefish with mixed results.
He got into some small ones early on Sunday’s trip and ended the day with a good shot of the deluxe size with fish up to 18 pounds.
The fishing was tougher on Monday but bounced back a bit on Tuesday with a pick of blues in the 3-pound range along with some porgies.
Capt. Pete Sykes of Parker Pete’s Sportfishing got back into the stripers with a vengeance on his evening trips earlier this week catching fish up to 52 pounds both on the troll and livelining.
During the day, he’s been fluke fishing with the mixed results. The ocean conditions haven’t been great with some heavy winds. Still, there’s been a number of keepers in with the shorts and the fishing should definitely improve as the water warms up.
The bluefin tuna bite has been good around the Texas Tower, reported John Vafanidas at the Reel Seat in Brielle. He said boats have been catching the fish on the troll and with jigs and big poppers.
He also said the yellowfin and bigeye fishing has been good in the Toms and Lindenkohl canyons.
Closer to home, he said the fluke bite has been good in the Manasquan River with small bass and blues in there as well.
Greg Bogan at Brielle Bait and Tackle also reported good fluking in the Manasquan River with spearing becoming a popular bait. The fishing has been good, he said, all over the river, from Clark’s Landing up to the Route 35 Bridge.
There are also fluke in the surf, along with the small bass. He’s been selling a lot of clams but said sand crabs are also getting fish on the local beaches.
The ling fishing has also been pretty good as well, with anglers on the Paramount out of Bogan’s Basin coming home with plenty of filets.
Rick at Jigging World in Rochelle Park said things are about the same as last week with good fluking in the Raritan Reach. He also heard of good porgy fishing over by Breezy Point.
The trout fishing remains good, but the rivers and streams have gone down some and it’s time to fish the larger pools.
Steve at Garden State Bow & Reel in Stockholm reported better walleye fishing in the Delaware River and good walleye and bass fishing in the reservoirs.
He said the trout fishing is still productive in the area streams with most of the folks who are putting in the time getting their limits.
Larry at Newark Sinker Company in Pine Brook said topwater baits are catching musky and walleye at Greenwood Lake, while the crappie and bass fishing has been decent at Lake Hopatcong.
He said he went fluking in New York waters earlier in the week and caught mostly shorts. The limit there is 19 inches.
Ryan at Tackle and Field in Wanaque said it’ been a little quiet around there. The shop caters to a lot of tournament bass fishermen and they’ve been off fishing in Lake Champlain. The regular guys are still doing well in local waters with bass crappie and perch.
Northern New Jersey Fishing Forecast
It’s going to be a warm one so what better place to be than at the beach.
The fluke bite in the surf is getting better with more keepers showing up. Bucktails with Gulp are working. There are sand eels around so something imitating them should work as well.
There are also small bass in the surf, hitting clams and sand crabs.
A boat is also a good place to beat the heat. The party boats out of Keyport, Atlantic Highlands, Highlands, the Shark River Inlet and the Manasquan Inlet are all doing pretty well with fluke.
The two-fish sea bass season also opens on Sunday so they’re back on the menu. Have fun.