Northern New Jersey Fishing Report - March 28, 2019

Striped bass on bait is the best bet right now.

Raritan Bay is the hot spot. Nearly all of the fish are shorts, but reports indicate there are plenty of them around, mostly at night with the vast majority hitting worms.

There hasn’t been any word on bass on the beach from Sandy Hook down to Manasquan, but that could change any day. There are a few folks trying with clams so it’s just a matter of time before someone gets a bite.

As for winter flounder, that fishery remains stalled. There just haven’t been a lot of fish caught.

Fishing Report For Northern New Jersey

Capt. Phil Sciortino at the Tackle Box in Hazlet said there are plenty of stripers in Raritan Bay with some anglers getting 20 or 30 an outing.

Matt Calabria, Hazlet, has been catching loads of shorts on “worm balls” he rigs with sand and bloodworms and flavors with Fin-Essence Clam Oil. He’s using clam thread to keep the worms on the hook and the bait balls, he says, will last a day or two.

Sciortino said there have been a few winter flounder taken at the Oceanic Bridge in Rumson by anglers chumming heavily, but the bite is still spotty.

Capt. Joe Karcich of Joey Tomato’s Fishing Charters out of the Raritan Marina in Laurence Harbor witnessed a couple of shorts and a keeper caught on the beach there on Wednesday on worms.

He’s currently booking his spring striper trips and plans on sailing within the week. He has availability for morning and afternoon charters and can be contacted through his website and Facebook page.

Capt. Rob Semkewyc on the Sea Hunter out of Atlantic Highlands announced that he will start sailing three-quarter day striper trips on April 6.

Mel Martens at Giglio’s Bait Tackle in Sea Bright said Raritan Bay bass are getting most of the attention right now with the slow winter flounder bite. There are plenty of bunker up in the bay but the action is all on worms.

He did say that there are small bluefish being caught up in the bay along with the bass.

Giglio’s will be open full time starting next weekend and Mel said he’ll be in the shop starting Tuesday.

Bob Matthews at Fisherman’s Den in Belmar said there are few winter flounder showing up in the Shark River but not many. A few more sunny days will help in opening up that fishery.

He said stripers can be found in most of the backwater estuaries from Raritan
Bay to the Mullica River. A lot of his customers are heading up to the bay shore and the Toms River for bass.

The wait shouldn’t be much longer, he said, for the bass to show up on the local beaches.

Capt. Pete Sykes on Parker Pete’s Sportfishing out of Belmar is getting the boat ready and booking his spring striper trips. He plans to be back fishing the ocean within the next couple of weeks.

Capt. Sykes is partnering this season with Capt. Jay Richardella of Side Job Fishing Charters, who will be running Raritan Bay striper trips starting April 15.

Capt. Bobby Quinn on the Ocean Explorer out of Belmar is back out on the water targeting cod and ling.

His last trip out was Sunday and he reported decent life on the bottom. There were loads of sharks around which indicated to him the water is warming up.

The fishing wasn’t great but they did catch a handful of keeper cod along with some ling. The weather kept him at the dock the rest of the week but he was planning on sailing Thursday.

Come Monday, April 1, he’ll be targeting blackfish as that month-long season opens. The limit is four fish.

Most of the party boats sailing out of the Belmar and Manasquan inlets will be targeting tog starting next Monday.

Dave Arbeitman at the Reel Seat in Brielle said most of the action right now is around the Mantoloking Bridge with a few winter flounder and short stripers. The Manasquan River, he added, is quiet right now but the fishing should improve in the next week or two. Big blues have a habit of moving in there in the early spring.

Arbeitman will be conducting a tilefish seminar this Saturday at the Jersey Coast Shark Anglers Club House in Brick. A recognized expert, Arbeitman will be sharing tactics and techniques he has honed over many years fishing for this deep-water species.

Jersey Shore Marine Electronics will also be presenting the latest on equipment at the seminar. The program runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and is free. The JCSA is located at 385 Herbertsville Road in Brick.

Greg Bogan at Brielle Bait and Tackle said it’s still a little quiet there with just a few winter flounder caught at the bay end of the Point Pleasant Canal. He’s getting reports of lots of small bass in the Toms River around Island Heights. He mentioned that the Jamaica II will be sailing out of Bogan’s Basin this Saturday at 5 a.m. for ling and cod. Bogan said the freshwater fishing for pike, pickerel and bass has been pretty good in local lakes and ponds such as Lake Riviera and Forge Pond.

Mark at Tackle World in Rochelle Park said his freshwater customers have reported good walleye fishing lately in area lakes and ponds. Trout fishing is closed until the season opener on April 6. He, too, reported plenty of striped bass in the back of Raritan Bay and said some anglers are getting bluefish as well at night on poppers.

Fishing Forecast for Northern New Jersey

Spring stripers in rivers and bays are accounting for most of the action right now. Raritan Bay, Barnegat Bay and the Toms River are all giving up fish, mostly on worms although small plugs and plastics are picking up fish. Don’t expect too many keepers.

Blackfishing also opens on Monday.

If you’re looking for some family fun, bring the kids to Spring Lake in Monmouth County this Saturday for the annual trout stocking for the Shark River Surf Anglers Trout Contest for Kids.

The contest is April 6, but the club stocks the lake with more than 600 trout a week ahead of time. Rainbow, golden, brook, brown and tiger trout, some weighing in excess of 10 pounds, are released.

The kids help carry the fish to the lake in tubs and the stocking has become a favorite family event in Spring Lake. More details are on the Shark River Surf Anglers website.

The stocking begins at 9:30.