To quote the legendary Yogi Berra, “It’s like Déjà vu all over again.”
Different week, same fishing.
The weather hasn’t changed much either. It remains uncooperative. But we’re heading into the dead of winter. It would be unreasonable to expect anything different at this time of year. Participation is down, fewer boats are sailing and tackle shops are keeping shorter hours.
For the dedicated, however, there are fish to be caught—as long as they’re blackfish.
Fishing Report For New Jersey
While there are still reports of a few short bass in the surf, tog have been the marquee attraction for the last several weeks with some big pigs being landed. The king of them all was the 21-pounder caught by Dante Soriente of Magic Tail Bucktails on one of his own tog jigs. Soriente was fishing with Capt. Paul Haertel on his boat and there were other several double-digit fish caught on the Jan. 3 trip off Ship Bottom.
While not everyone is enjoying that kind of success, Bob Matthews at Fisherman’s Den in Belmar said he’s been seeing some very impressive fish caught. He reported a number of tog in the 10- to 16-pound range. A lot of these bigger fish, he added, are being released.
The only other action Matthews had to report were the short bass in the surf. Shop regulars were still catching them in Belmar and other local beaches as long as they put the time in. Rubber sand eels and small Avas were working along with teasers.
Capt. Bobby Quinn on the Ocean Explorer out of the Belmar Marina reported a good day of togging on Tuesday despite the drizzle and fog.
Not a lot of anglers showed up but most got their limits and everyone went home with fish for the table.
Capt. Pete Sykes on Parker Pete’s Sportfishing out of Belmar sailed over the weekend for tog but didn’t find the big fish he was looking for with a mix of shorts and a few keepers. He’ll keep at it as long as there are folks who want to fish.
John Vafiadis at the Reel Seat in Brielle said the tog fishing has been up and down for the boats sailing out of the Manasquan Inlet with some days better than others. He said there are still bass in the local surf and he got word of a few anglers livelining sea herring looking for bigger fish. Whether that tactic was working or not, he hadn’t heard. The Reel Seat is now on winter hours, open Wednesday through Saturday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Capt. Matt Sosnowski on the Norma K III out of Point Pleasant Beach reported a good day of blackfishing on Tuesday as well. He found plenty of life on most spots with a few anglers getting their limits while others had one to three keepers. The pool fish went 7 pounds and both green and white legger crabs were working.
Capt. Kenny Namowitz on the Mimi VI out of Point Pleasant Beach has been sailing for tog whenever the weather allows with good success. He’s got special tog trips scheduled for this Friday, Jan. 11 and another for Jan. 18.
Paul at Capt. Bill’s Landing in Point Pleasant Beach said the boats continue to pick some nice tog off the Axel Carlson and Sea Girt reefs, with fish in the 8-pound range. He’s also got customers fishing for bass in the surf and they’ve been picking up fish on sand eel imitations on beaches to the south, mostly Island Beach State Park.
Pete at Charlie’s Bait and Tackle in Normandy Beach said the short bass bite is about all that’s going on there right now. The fishing seems best, he said, early in the morning.
Ray at Grumpy’s Bait and Tackle in Seaside Park said there aren’t a lot of guys fishing for them, but he’s getting reports of small stripers on the beach almost daily. Tsunami sand eels and small shads with teasers have been working. He said there’s still bait around as the really cold weather has held off. There were even some peanut bunker around just last week.
Ray has also been getting good tog reports from his customers with the vast majority of the fish on jigs. He mentioned that he just got a new shipment of S&S White Chin Wrecker Jigs in at the shop.
Max at Fisherman’s Headquarters in Ship Bottom had a similar report with solid blackfishing on the local wrecks and small bass in the surf on Long Beach Island. Shads, sand eel imitations and small Avas are working there.
For those interested in some freshwater fishing, Mark at Tackle World in Rochelle Park said the walleye fishing has been pretty good in the local lakes and ponds. And while the rivers and streams are still running high, he said there are plenty of trout to be had in the slower moving water.
Not a lot of people have been fishing for them so there are a lot of fish left over from the summer and fall stocking programs. Nightcrawlers and Power Bait are your best bets. He said his saltwater customers are either fishing for blackfish or blackfish, indicating there are few other options at this point.
Fishing Forecast for New Jersey
There’s no getting around it—there’s wintry weather in the forecast.
Having said that, the tog are biting if you’re prepared to bundle up and face the elements. The beaches offer small bass as well and the trout are hitting bait in the slower moving streams and rivers.
If the great indoors is more to your liking, the Garden State Outdoor Sports Show is open this weekend at the New Jersey Convention and Exposition Center in Edison. The show features a long list of outdoor exhibitors, demonstrations and seminars along with the New Jersey Deer Classic.