Mother Nature turned on the blower last Saturday and kept it on all week.
Southeast winds hammered the coast until Thursday, keeping most boats at the dock and anglers off the water. There was also healthy helping of rain along with wind.
Only the party boats that fish Raritan Bay have been sailing and even those made limited trips. Not a whole lot of people were in a hurry to go fishing this week.
Fishing Report for Northern Jersey
Capt. Phil Sciortino at The Tackle Box in Hazlet said it’s been a very quiet week there.
About the only things going on were snappers at the local docks and some kingfish at the Keansburg Pier. The crabbing, he said, is still good in the Keyport area.
Capt. George Bachert on The Angler out of Atlantic Highlands was able to fish out of the wind on Raritan Bay on Tuesday and reported almost everyone on board got a keeper fluke or two on the trip along with all the short action they wanted.
A 24-inch fluke caught by Carl Nabis took the pool
He expects the change in the forecast will let him get back to the ocean on Thursday.
Capt. Rob Semkewyc on The Sea Hunter out of Atlantic Highlands also got out on Tuesday with a very light crowd. Because of the wind, his choices of where to fish were limited.
The catch was mostly shorts with a few keepers. He’s looking at Thursday to get back to more productive areas.
Mel Martens at Giglio’s Bait and Tackle in Sea Bright said it’s been pretty slow at the shop since last Friday with all of the wind.
Mike Pinto, the shop’s resident fluke specialist, turned his attention to the Shrewsbury River and got some fluke on live snappers as the ocean has been almost unfishable.
Martens said some fluke were caught on the protected areas of Sandy Hook and the crabbing in both the Shrewsbury and Navesink rivers remains good.
Mike Gleason at Tak Waterman in Long Branch received reports of small stripers in the Long Branch surf but that’s been about it.
The small bass were in the Ocean Grove surf and I caught one on a live snapper just as the northeast wind started to crank last Saturday. The fluke were hitting live snappers in the surf as well.
There were plenty of the little blues to be had along the beach but they disappeared in all the rough water. They should be back when things calm down.
There were also a lot of cownose rays swimming around in the surf before the wind came up. You’ll have a fight on your hands if you hook one of those.
Bob Matthews at Fisherman’s Den in Belmar said conditions kept most people away this week and the party boats snug in the marina. It’s a tough break now that were at the height of fluke season.
He said the snappers are showing up in better numbers in the Shark River and the biggest fluke to come out of there this week was a 5¼ pounder caught by Aiden Mulred of Wall.
For those putting the time in, Matthews said there are small bass to be caught in the surf on clams or sand crabs or a small plug with a teaser.
The wind switched to the southwest overnight on Wednesday and most of the boats out of Belmar, including the Ocean Explorer, the Golden Eagle and The Skylarker were planning on sailing on Thursday.
Capt. Pete Sykes on Parker Pete’s Sportfishing out of Belmar said he will be waiting until Friday before heading out for fluke and sea bass.
Alex Kondas at the Reel Seat in Brielle said that this week’s weather brought the good offshore tuna fishing to grinding halt. No one has sailed since last weekend and he’s just hoping the tuna are still there when the boats get back out.
Kondas said that local anglers have been fishing the Manasquan River until things return to normal and still finding keeper fluke and plenty of shorts on bucktails tipped with Gulp.
Small stripers continue to bite in the Manasquan River as well with the action mostly at night and close to the bridges. He added there have been a few keepers among the shorts.
Unfortunately, the big wind last Saturday forced the cancellation of the annual Point Pleasant Elks Fluke tournament.
John Bogan at Brielle Bait and Tackle said his customers have been keeping to the Manasquan River as well this week and getting their fishing fix with fluke and small bass. The striper bite, he said, has been at daybreak and sunset.
Bogan added there are plenty of snappers around and the crabbing has been pretty good as well.
The Jamaica II and Big Jamaica plan to resume sailing on Thursday.
The freshwater folks had a better week, although they did have to deal with some of the rain.
Dino at Garden State Bow and Reel in Stockholm reported a good bite throughout the watershed for both largemouth and smallmouth bass. Topwater baits and Fin -S lures have been productive.
The night bite for walleye at Greenwood Lake and Spruce Run has been very good, he said. Greenwood Lake has also been giving up some very nice muskies.
Dino also said that there are still plenty of trout around but no one is fishing for them. Targeting them in the local streams and rivers would be his recommendation.
Larry at Newark Sinker Company in Pine Brook said the Passaic River is running pretty high right now after all the rain, but anglers are catching pike and some big carp.
He’s also had good reports on the large and smallmouth bass fishing at Swartswood Lake. The bite has been early in the morning and the evening in the weed beds.
He, too, had reports of the good walleye and musky fishing at Greenwood Lake, including a 48-inch musky caught earlier in the week.
Greenwood Lake looks to be the hot spot as Ryan at Tackle & Field in Wanaque also received good reports on the walleye and musky fishing.
He added that the fishing for crappie, bass and perch has also been good at the local lakes and ponds.
Fishing Forecast for Northern New Jersey
The wind was blowing southwest along the beaches on Thursday morning. There’s still a good swell out there but the boats can definitely sail.
It may take a day or two for things to settle down but the fluke and sea bass should be ready and waiting. I picked a couple of short fluke from the surf on Wednesday afternoon, so the fish are definitely along the beaches.
The rivers and bays are also holding a lot of fluke, snappers and crabs. The forecast for the weekend is pretty good with sun and clouds and warm temperatures so get out there and take advantage. Summer won’t last forever.