Sustained cold weather brought some changes to the fishery this week with bigger bass moving into the area.
Yet the water stayed warm enough to keep the false albacore around. Boats were running and gunning for albies all week up and down the beach, from Sandy Hook to Manasquan.
At the same time, the solid bottom fishing kept chugging along with good fishing for porgies, sea bass, blackfish and winter flounder.
Fishing Report for Northern New Jersey
Capt. Phil Sciortino at the Tackle Box in Hazlet said big bass over 40 pounds were taken this week in the ocean on the troll and on plugs. Most of the fish went for bunker spoons.
Sciortino reported that Dennis Hall got a 46-pounder tossing a top water plug.
He also reported false albacore from the tip of Sandy Hook down to the south while bluefish blitzed the surf in Sea Bright.
Capt. Rob Semkewyc on the Sea Hunter out of Atlantic Highlands has been sailing for stripers and doing fairly well with some days better than others. Last Friday’s trip turned into a catch and release outing after the boat limited out with fish up to 28 pounds.
Subsequent trips haven’t been as good, but he’s still managing to put fish in the boat. He expects things will only get better as the fall pattern settles in.
Capt. Ron Santee on the Fishermen, also out of Atlantic Highlands, has stuck with bottom fishing and reported a good day on Monday with big porgies, sea bass and a lot of tog. He said they fished on the same drop all day.
Mel Martens at Giglio’s Bait and Tackle said it was mostly albies around there this week. The boats had the best of it, but he managed to get a few when they came in close in Monmouth Beach.
Martens said they were pretty big false albacore, 8 to 10 pounds.
He, too, had good reports of bass on the troll at West Bank and at the Shrewsbury Rocks.
There are still small bass in the surf along with bluefish. There is a ridiculous amount of bait around to keep them interested.
Mike Gleason at Tak Waterman in Long Branch said the false albacore came into the beach there last weekend.
He said the bass fishing has been a little spotty in the surf, but the fish are getting bigger, from 28 to 32 inches. He’s been fishing the Shrewsbury River in the evening and finding plenty of stripers.
The albies were off the beaches of Asbury Park, Ocean Grove, Bradley Beach, Avon and Belmar all week but stayed out of reach of beach anglers. The boat guys, on the other hand, had a ball.
There’s no telling how long they’re going to hang around but the water is cooling off and there’s a nor’easter predicted for Saturday so this year’s phenomenal albie fishing may be close to the end.
Bob Matthews at Fisherman’s Den in Belmar said the winter flounder fishing broke open in the Shark River on Tuesday with some anglers reported catching as many as 20 fish.
Most got their two-fish limit and Matthews said they weighed in one fish at 3 pounds. Clams and worms are catching the fish.
Matthews reported that bass anglers have been doing fairly well at night on the beach catching some keepers. He’s also getting word on stripers up to 35 pounds taken on the troll.
Matthews said he’s been doing a brisk business in green crabs as the blackfish bite at the Shark River Inlet remains hot.
The party boats out of the Belmar Marina, he added, continue to find good catches of porgies, sea bass and blackfish.
Capt. Bobby Quinn on the Ocean Explorer out of Belmar reported a good day on Wednesday despite a howling west wind.
The porgy fishing was non-stop on all drops, he said, with blackfish and sea bass in the mix. Some folks did better with one species over another but it was good fishing all around.
Tuesday’s trip was successful as well with drop and reel fishing on big porgies with plenty of double headers. The porgies were hitting both bait and jigs and there were plenty of sea bass around, although it took some time to get through all the shorts.
Capt. Steve Spinelli on the Skylarker out of Belmar said he’s finding a steady catch of porgies and sea bass along with blackfish, bluefish and triggerfish. He’s sailing every day as long as the weather cooperates.
Capt. Pete Sykes on Parker Pete’s Sportfishing out of Belmar has been sea bass fishing but now that the big bass are here, he’ll be targeting them. There are 40 pounders around, he said, and there are still a number of open dates available to go catch them.
Capt. Rich Falcone on the Golden Eagle out of Belmar fished in the breezy conditions on Wednesday and put his fares on plenty of big fat albacore.
He said they didn’t have to travel too far as the fish were close to the inlet. He’s also been fishing for sea bass, porgies and bluefish.
Alex Kondas at the Reel Seat in Brielle reported that the false albacore have been in and out of the Manasquan Inlet all week. You just had to be there when they decided to show up.
The run-and-gun boat anglers are catching most of the fish, he said, and it’s been one of the best years for false albacore in a long time. The hot lure has been the S&S Bucktail Chrome Slim Fish.
The striper fishing is holding up in the Manasquan River with more keepers hitting shads and bucktails at night under the bridges. He also said the bass are showing up at night and first light for the beach fishermen using plugs.
Big bass, he said, 30 pounds and up, have been caught off Asbury Park and the Shrewsbury Rocks on bunker spoons.
Kondas said the boats out of the inlet are getting big sea bass, but you have to travel farther out than the local reefs to catch them. The Axel Carlson and Sea Girt reefs have been heavily fished, he said
The wind, he added, has pretty much shut down the offshore fishing for the past week and there were no tuna reports to speak of.
John Bogan at Brielle Bait and Tackle said the party boats out of Manasquan Inlet are doing pretty good with blues, sea bass and big porgies. Anglers are also having plenty of fun with all the false albacore around.
The blackfishing at the inlet and in the Point Pleasant Canal has been good, he added, and he’s been selling a ton of green crabs.
Ron Tucci at Tackle World in Rochelle Park reported good striper fishing on chunks near the Statue of Liberty.
Anglers are taking full advantage of the fall trout stocking and he said a lot of nice fish have been caught on the Lower Flatbrook. The action, oddly enough, has all been on bait as the trout are ignoring the offerings of fly casters.
Steve at Garden State Bow & Reel in Stockholm said the cold weather they’ve been experiencing hasn’t had much effect on the smallmouth bass fishing in the reservoirs. There have been some heavy frosts but Clinton, Canistear and Echo Lake are all giving up fish.
Trout fishing, he added, has been good since the stocking with the Walkill producing some nice catches.
Larry at Newark Sinker Company in Pine Brook told me that anglers fishing the pools in the Passaic River are catching large and smallmouth bass, perch and catfish.
The trout fishing, he said, has been good for the recently stocked breeders in the Rockaway and Ramapo rivers.
Fishing Forecast for Northern New Jersey
The forecast looks like it could complicate the weekend fishing with a nor’easter due on Saturday.
On the plus side, the storm, dropping temperatures and the waning moon may be the spark to get the bass run going. Be ready to head to the beach.
The false albacore run has been living on borrowed time as the colder weather moved in. Still, it might be worth one more shot before they leave the area for good.