T’is the week before Christmas and all through the shore – the fishing’s been tough
The stripers have all but disappeared from the surf with just a few reports of shorts being caught while bad weather has kept the blackfish and sea bass boats from sailing with any consistency.
There are fish to be had, just not a lot of opportunities to get to them.
Phil Sciortino Sr. at the Tackle Box in Hazlet hasn’t heard of anything going on in the last several days. The boats have been stuck at the dock and the surf has been too rough to fish. There may be some stripers still around, he said, but no one has been fishing.
There was a break in the weather on Wednesday and Capt. Stan Zagleski on the Elaine B II out of Highlands took advantage of the rare window and found good togging with a crew of his regulars. Most of the anglers had a couple of keepers to take home and there were several limits. One angler landed nine keepers from which he kept his five. Zagleski also reported some of the nicest fish of the season with blackfish between 8 and 12 pounds.
Joe Cahill of Middletown took the pool with the 12 pounder. Green crabs were the bait of choice, Zagleski said. He was planning on sailing Thursday but didn’t hold out much hope for Friday with a major storm due to hit.
Mel Martens at Giglio’s Bait and Tackle in Sea Bright said it’s gone quiet there. He’s heard of a few bass in the surf on metal and sand eel imitations, but they were caught in Point Pleasant Beach. Your chances of fish improve, he said, the farther south you go. Giglio’s is now operating on winter hours with the shop open from 6 a.m. until noon on Saturday and Sunday.
Mike Gleason at Tak Waterman in Long Branch has heard of a few small bass in the suds, but that’s about it. He’s planning on keeping the shop open through the winter.
My own efforts for stripers in the Ocean Grove and Bradley Beach surf haven’t met with any success lately.
Capt. Bobby Quinn got out on Wednesday on The Ocean Explorer and reported fine weather and hungry tog. There were loads of bites and some quality keepers came over the rail. Capt. Quinn also reported lots of shorts that fell just shy of the size limit. He had a pretty good trip on Saturday as well with just a bit of rain and the pool-winning tog tipping the scales at 9 pounds, 6 ounces. He’s scheduled to sail on Thursday but has already written Friday off due to the forecast.
Capt. Pete Sykes on Parker Pete’s Sportfishing out of Belmar said he hasn’t sailed since the middle of last week due to the dismal weather. He’s still planning on sailing for bass and blackfish at least through the end of the year and there are open dates.
Bad weather has been cramping the sailing schedule of Capt. Steve Spinelli on the Skylarker out of Belmar. He did take the helm of the Jamaica II on Wednesday for an offshore trip out of Brielle and put his anglers on a nice bunch of ling. Everyone on board got five to 10 fish.
Alex Kondas at the Reel Seat in Brielle said the blackfishing is pretty much the only game in town right now. When they can sail, boats fishing in 60- to 90-feet are finding good fishing on local reefs and wrecks.
Jigs and traditional rigs and both catching fish and Kondas reported limits have been caught with fish up to 12 pounds.
He’s had word of a few small bass around hitting metal and teasers but not a lot of them.
John Bogan at Brielle Bait and Tackle in Brielle said the offshore black sea bass fishing has been good for the Big Jamaica when it can sail. Limits are common, he said, and the fish are big, up to 6 pounds.
He’s heard of a few small bass in the surf as well in the Bay Head area. The bite, such as it is, seems to be best in the morning on teasers and metal.
The blackfishing, he added, has been decent on the Axel Carlson and Sea Girt reefs.
Bogan also mentioned that he’s scheduled the first rod building class of the winter for Feb. 4, 6 and 8. The three-night class at the shop covers all the basics and costs $90.
Rick Hebert at Tackle World in Rochelle Park said all he’s heard of lately of any note is the offshore sea bass bite when the boats can get there.
There was nothing to report on the freshwater front as the rivers are all running too high. They’re going to go even higher with all of the rain in the forecast.
Steve at Garden State Bait and Tackle in Stockholm said the ice, when it gets here, will change everything. Everyone is just waiting on it and he’s hoping for the start of the ice fishing season around Jan. 1.
Fishing Forecast for Northern New Jersey
It’s getting to be that time of year when the fishing is left to the real die-hards. The best bet for getting some fish for the holidays are blackfish and offshore sea bass. All you need is for Santa to being you some fair weather. Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.