The bass in the surf keep biting and it was a pretty good week for blackfishing when the boats were able to sail. Anglers are not finding a lot of love from the weatherman lately.
The stripers are thick in some spots and a little tougher to catch in others but they can be found from Sandy Hook to Island Beach State Park. There have been reports of anglers catching several dozen at a time.
Saltwater Fishing Report Northern New Jersey
Capt. Phil Sciortino at the Tackle Box in Hazlet said the bass are all over the place. There aren’t a lot of keepers but folks are having fun with the small fish. Parking Lot B at Sandy Hook has been a good spot and the beaches in Sea Bright have been giving up a lot of fish with guys catching up to 25 fish. Small Avas with red or green tails rigged with a bucktail teaser, he said, are all you need to catch the bass. There are plenty of doubleheaders being caught, he added.
The blackfishing, he said, has been good on the rocks off Deal with a good number of keepers coming over the rail. Capt. Ron Santee on the Fishermen out of Atlantic Highlands reported a good day of striper fishing last Saturday. Fishing was slow until the tide changed then the bite was on. High hook had more than 40 bass, Capt. Santee reported, and there were a few keepers and bonus fish landed throughout the day.
Sunday’s lousy weather kept him at the dock and a huge ground swell and ripping current made for tough fishing on Monday with only a few small fish coming aboard.
Capt. Rob Semkewyc on the Sea Hunter out of Atlantic Highlands reported a big improvement on Wednesday with good action on larger stripers.
He suspected a new body of fish moved into the area bringing more keepers.
Capt. Stan Zagleski on the Elaine B II out of Highlands reported a good day of blackfishing on Wednesday with most of the regulars going home with their limit of tog.
He said green crabs are still the bait of choice as guys trying white-leggers are not having as much success. Mel Martens at Giglio’s Bait and Tackle in Sea Bright said the small bass are the big story there and in Monmouth Beach. He, too, is getting reports of anglers catching upwards of 30 shorts in an outing. The small fish seem to prefer Tsunami sand eels and Vision eels over metal lately, he said, but that can always change.
Mike Gleason at Tak Waterman in Long Branch said sand eel imitations dragged along the bottom are catching bass there.
Tsunami sand eels, Avas and small metals with teasers will all work. Bob Matthews at Fisherman’s Den in Belmar said the chilly temperatures are starting to take their toll on participation, but the hardier souls are getting small to medium size bass in the surf.
He’s been getting reports of fish from 20 to 32 inches from Belmar to Point Pleasant Beach. Again, it’s 6-inch Tsunami sand eels, Ava 17s and 27s with red, green or orange tails or 2-or 3-ounce Deadly Dicks. Teasers are a must. Winter flounder are still being caught in the Shark River as well.
Capt. Bobby Quinn on the Ocean Explorer out of Belmar said it was a slow start to tog fishing on Wednesday but they started chewing in the afternoon and he ended the day with a decent catch of fish. High hook had four keepers with a bunch of shorts while others had a keeper or three along with their throwbacks. Unfortunately, a few folks got skunked. Tuesday was a pretty good day as well but with fewer keepers coming aboard.
It was good fishing on Monday, too, despite a heaving sea. The action was steady and the fish of the day was a 13½-pounder that was weighed and released.
Capt. Rich Falcone on the Golden Eagle out of Belmar reported a decent day of striper fishing last Saturday with a few keepers, bonus fish and a lot of shorts. There were also some mackerel in the mix. Capt. Falcone wasn’t overly fond of the forecast for the week so he wasn’t planning on sailing again until Friday.
Capt. Pete Sykes on Parker Pete’s Sportfishing has been catching keeper and short stripers when he’s been able to sail. He sailed for blackfish on Thursday and plans and making some more tog trips. Check his website for availability.
Capt. Steve Spinelli on the Skylarker out of Belmar was fishing between the channels off Sandy Hook on Thursday and caught a load of stripers on jigs, including a number of keepers. He was hosting a school trip and reported seeing plenty of bait with the students snagging adult bunker on their bass jigs. There were also several whales in the area. Capt. Spinelli also mentioned that he did fairly well with blackfish over the weekend.
Bob Carracozzo at the Reel Seat in Brielle said the fishing for small bass has been good all along he beaches there with the usual offerings all working. He also heard of some fish hitting plugs this past week. If you’re interested in catching windowpane flounder, he said, small Deadly Dicks dragged along the bottom will work for those.
Blackfishing for boats out of the Manasquan Inlet has been good, he said, when they can get out.
John Bogan at Brielle Bait and Tackle said the black sea bass fishing has bounced back nicely after some tough fishing. The Big Jamaica, Jamaica II and Paramount have all been sailing around 20 miles out for them with good results.
Anglers on those trips are also catching cod, pollock and some jumbo porgies.
Private boats are doing well for tog on the Axel Carlson and Sea Girts reefs, Bogan added. Kyle O’Connor of Sea Girt weighed in an 8-pound blackfish earlier this week.
Ron at Tackle World in Rochelle Park also had reports of good blackfishing on the party boats and bass on shore beaches.
Freshwater Fishing Report Southern New Jersey
The freshwater fishing, he said, has pretty much shut down due to all the rain.
Steve at Garden State Bow & Reel in Stockholm said participation has fallen way off due to the cold and rain. The reservoirs have also closed down for the year and everyone is now waiting for ice fishing season to get started.
Larry at the Newark Sinker Company in Pine Brook said freshwater fishing has pretty much come to a halt. The Passaic River is over its banks and all of the local streams are running too high.
Northern Jersey Fishing Forecast
Bundle up and head to the beach. There may not be a lot of keepers around, but there are plenty of short bass that are a blast on lighter tackle. Sand eel imitations with a teaser will do the trick.
The blackfishing has also bounced back and as long as the weather cooperates, the party and charter boats will be sailing this weekend.
They need to add a slot for Stripers. I live in Mass and have seen #’s dropping like crazy. TOO MANY breeding size fish being taken.
I agree. There should be a slot size. I see to many people taking fish that should be left to breed. That and people high grading their fish which bothers me to no end