The unofficial start of summer arrives this weekend with all of the season’s favorite fish on the feed.
Big stripers have moved into the ocean, bluefish of all sizes remain in the inlets and rivers and fluke season opens on Friday.
Based on the number and size of the summer flounder hooked already, everyone is expecting a solid opener.
Add the excellent sea bass fishing and it should be a memorable weekend for anglers. The weather looks like it will finally cooperate.
Fishing Report for Northern New Jersey
Capt. Joe Karcich of Joey Tomato’s Fishing Charters out of Laurence Harbor said the hot striper fishing in Raritan Bay has cooled off as the bass have moved into the ocean. He did report some very good sea bass fishing with a lot of ling coming aboard as well.
He’ll be fishing an open boat this weekend for stripers, sea bass and fluke. After the weekend, the boat will be moving to its Manasquan Inlet location.
Capt. Jay Richardella of Side Job Charters, currently out of Lockwood Marina in South Amboy, will be moving his boat back to its Belmar berth after the weekend.
He, too, said the bay bass bite has quieted down with the fish moving offshore. He’s going to start his tuna trips on June 5. Capt. Jay said he’s been getting good reports on the bluefin bite at the Chicken Canyon.
Phil Sciortino Sr. at the Tackle Box in Hazlet said there are still bass being caught in Raritan Bay with most of the action coming on the troll, with either Mojos or bunker spoons.
There are plenty of blues around, he added, both in the bay and on Sandy Hook.
Mel Martens at Giglio’s Bait and Tackle in Sea Bright said worms are accounting for some keeper bass in the Shrewsbury and Navesink rivers and clams and worms are picking up smaller surf fish.
The blues are back in the rivers and he’s had some reports of blue claws in there as well. There’s not a lot of meat in them at this time of year, but they’re getting active.
He’s also had reports of lots of fluke in both rivers so he’s expecting a good opening weekend. He hasn’t heard of any ocean fluke as yet, but they will turn up in the next few weeks.
Mike Gleason at Tak Waterman in Long Branch thought the fishing in the rivers for bass and blues had slowed down compared to last week but there are fish to be had.
He also said the small bass are biting in the surf with SP Minnows, shads and bait taking fish.
Bob Matthews at Fisherman’s Den in Belmar it’s been blues, blues and more blues with the local rivers loaded with them.
The fish are hitting most metal and plugs and Matthews said do yourself a favor and avoid treble hooks. They can be hard to remove and do more damage to both the fish and angler.
Matthews reported the stripers showed up in the ocean this week. The largest fish he weighed in was a 54-pounder caught on a bunker spoon off Ocean County. The shop also weighed in a 32-pounder caught by 10-year-old Jake Langerveld off Long Branch.
The sea bass fishing for the party boats out of the Belmar Marina has been very good, said Matthews, with the Ocean Explorer, Capt. Cal II and Skylarker all reporting plenty of limit catches with lots of jumbo fish. There have been ling and winter flounder caught along with the sea bass.
Lastly, Matthews reported a lot of big fluke have been caught and released in the Shark River by anglers fishing with bait. The early action bodes well for a good opener.
Capt. Rich Falcone on the Golden Eagle out of Belmar has been hunting for blues and stripers. When they prove elusive, he turns to sea bass and has had plenty of success.
Capt. Pete Sykes on Parker Pete’s Sportfishing said he’s been finding monster bass in the ocean. Last Friday and Monday were both excellent trips with fish in the 40-pound range.
He’s been catching them on the troll, livelining and on jigs. Capt. Sykes still has some open dates in June, including weekdays, and will be targeting big stripers.
Bob Carracozzo at the Reel Seat in Brielle said the ocean striper fishing is getting better for the boats.
There are also plenty of bluefish in the Manasquan River and in the Point Pleasant Canal from 2 to 10 pounds.
He said the sea bass fishing has been terrific. They’ve been hitting both jigs and clams, he added, with the jigs working best in warmer water, about 56 degrees at the surface, and bait when it’s cooler.
Carracozzo also said there are a lot of blowfish in the Manasquan River and anglers making the effort can catch all they want. He’s also heard of the good bluefin bite at the Chicken Canyon with fish in the 60-pound range.
Greg Bogan at Brielle Bait and Tackle said there are big and small blues at the Manasquan Inlet and both ends of the Point Pleasant Canal.
Ava 17s and 27s with white and yellow tails are doing the trick as are SP Minnows. Bogan added that fly rodders are picking up bluefish at the inlet and in the river.
He also said that the party boats out of the Manasquan Inlet are doing very well with sea bass and winter flounder and ling are mixed in with the catch.
Bogan said the river appears loaded with fluke and he’s looking forward to a good opening weekend.
Ron Tucci at Tackle World in Rochelle Park said his customers have been getting into the sea bass big time. They’re also catching blues in Raritan Bay along with some very big black drum. Tucci recently landed a 68 pounder.
The trout fishing remains good in the Ramapo and Pequannock rivers. Both are still running high, he said, but it hasn’t been affecting the fishing.
Fishing Forecast for Northern New Jersey
Fluke season starts on Friday and all the signs point to a good opening. Local rivers and bays are holding plenty of fish and some big ones have already been caught and released.
The blues are all over the place, but the Shark River and Manasquan inlets are a good bet for those. They’re in the ocean, Raritan and Barnegat bays and the Shrewsbury and Navesink rivers as well.
The sea bass fishing has been on fire, so party boats targeting them are also a good choice.
You may have to do some searching for big stripers as they have moved into the ocean. Trolling Mojos and bunker spoons and livelining have been catching monster fish. Smaller bass can be found on the beaches hitting clams and worms.
Have a great Memorial Day Weekend.
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