Fluke fishing went from zero to 60 in about three days flat.
A slow pick turned into fast and furious action in the ocean over the weekend and it has kept on going. The bite has been from both the beach and the boats.
Unfortunately, shorts vastly outnumber the keepers, but that was almost to be expected. Still, all of the action is a move in the right direction.
Warmer water brought the improvement in the fluke fishing and it would also explain the early arrival of bonito and other warm-water species in the area.
Bonito and false albacore have been caught offshore and the bonito even showed up in the Manasquan Inlet.
Overall, the fishing is pretty good right now with the improved fluking, small bass in the surf and bottom fishing for ling.
Rick Hebert at Tackle World in Rochelle Park said the fluking broke wide open over the weekend. He fished off Monmouth Beach on Sunday and he and three of his buddies caught well over a 100 fluke. There were only seven keepers in the bunch, he said, but they were happy with all of the action.
The rocky bottom held the bigger fish but cost him some bucktails while the sandy stuff was loaded with smaller fish.
Hebert reported he hasn’t heard much on the striper front except for some fish caught in the Hudson and East rivers. The blues, he said, have been in Raritan Bay.
Capt. Phil Sciortino at the Tackle Box in Hazlet also reported on the excellent summer flounder fishing. He said the party boats out of Atlantic Highlands, such as the Dorothy B, Sea Hunter, Fishermen and others, all caught plenty of fluke.
There are big blues around as well, he said, on the beaches at Sandy Hook and in Raritan Bay and he’s still getting reports of some jumbo bass in the ocean. Capt. Chuck Tyman Manny, Sciortino said, continues to catch big bass on eels and on the troll.
The ling fishing remains excellent, he added.
Mel Martens at Giglio’s Bait and Tackle in Sea Bright said the fluking off the sand also saw a big improvement this week, at least in numbers if not in size. He got over 20 in one session but no keepers among them.
There are still small bass and blues in the surf as well. Both are hitting small plugs and metal and the bass are also going for sand crabs and worms. Clams don’t seem to be in favor this year.
The fluking in the Shrewsbury and Navesink rivers got better as well, he said, and blue claw crabs are out in the Navesink.
Martens also mentioned that the freshwater bass fishing has been very good at the Manasquan Reservoir.
Mike Gleason at Tak Waterman in Long Branch said the fluke fishing from the beach there has been really good. As to be expected, there are a lot of shorts but there are some keepers among them. Bucktails and Gulp have been doing the trick.
Gleason also said there are tons of short bass in the surf. He is a diver as well and said the stripers are stacked up all over the place. The water was thick with bait, including spearing and rainfish, and said anything small should work on the bass.
Sand crabs, or bugs if you prefer, have been working fine for me as they continue to catch bass in the Ocean Grove surf. A 19-inch fluke also took my offering of sand crabs.
Bob Matthews at Fisherman’s Den in Belmar said the party and charter boats out of the marina, including Parker Pete’s Sportfishing, the Ocean Explorer and the Capt. Cal II, are all getting in on the hot fluke fishing.
The beach bite on fluke also got much better and there are kingfish in the surf as well. Bucktails and Gulp for the fluke, clams and worms for the kings.
Matthews also reported good fluking in the Shark River with rental boats catching fish up to 6 pounds.
He added that the reports on the tuna bite have been outstanding and if you have an opportunity to go, now is the time.
Capt. Bobby Quinn on the Ocean Explorer reported good fishing on Wednesday’s trip with fluke hitting both bait and jigs. The fishing started a little slow but picked up quickly after a few drifts.
There were several limits caught by the end of the day.
Capt. Rich Falcone on the Golden Eagle out of Belmar has been catching a variety of fish including blues, bonito, fluke and ling. He ran an offshore chumming trip on Wednesday in search of bigger blues, but found only the smaller variety along with some bonito.
Capt. Pete Sykes on Parker Pete’s Sportfishing out of Belmar will be concentrating on fluke on his day trips for the rest of June. He reported there is plenty of action on fluke, you just have to weed through the shorts to get to the keepers. He’s got some openings on shared charters for the next week.
He’s still searching for big stripers and said he’s been marking plenty of fish but that they haven’t been all that cooperative of late. He suspects the warmer water is having an impact.
Capt. Jay Richardella on Side Job Charters out of Belmar reported excellent canyon fishing on his most recent trips with catches of yellowfin and bluefin tuna along with gaffer dolphin. There were also white marlin in the mix.
He’s has open spots on his tuna trips for $425 per person plus tip.
Eric Bunz at the Reel Seat in Brielle said the inshore trolling for bonito, false albacore and other warm water species has been very good. The bonito also showed up in the Manasquan Inlet and one angler told me they were hitting small shads and metal.
Tuna fishing at the Atlantic Princess and Triple Wrecks for yellowfin and bluefin has also been very good, he said, with fish caught on big poppers and on the troll. It’s been equally good for bigeye, yellowfin and bluefin in the Hudson and Toms canyons.
He, too, reported on the big improvement on the fluke fishing with tons of shorts around and more keepers being caught on rough bottom in 60 to 80 feet of water.
There’s lot of schoolie bass on the local beaches, he added, and the ling fishing offshore is outstanding.
Greg Bogan at Brielle Bait and Tackle said the Big Jamaica and Jamaica II out of the Manasquan Inlet have been getting in on the improved fluke action while anglers aboard the Paramount have been filling buckets with ling. Bogan said the night ling trips have been especially productive.
He’s also received reports of bonito at the Manasquan Inlet and there’s been word of sheepshead and triggerfish around.
Fishing Forecast for Northern New Jersey
Head to the beach or get on a boat as the fluke are finally biting. Bucktails, Gulp, killies and spearing will all do the trick. Be prepared to weed through the shorts.
There are also fluke in the rivers and bays plus plenty of small bass and blues around. Sandworms and sand crabs will work for the stripers on the beach.