Pictured Above: Matt Mangine landed this bluefin tuna last weekend in the vicinity of the Resor Wreck.
Excellent sea bass fishing continues to lead the charge with bluefish, striped bass, tuna and ling filling out the card. The only bad thing you could say about this week’s fishing was the weather and slow fluke bite. A particular bright spot was the surf fishing, with blues and stripers in the suds. The bass, although on the small side, are plentiful and hitting worms and sand crabs. The bluefish are taking chunks and artificials.
Northern New Jersey Fishing Report
Capt. Phil Sciortino at the Tackle Box in Hazlet said bluefish up to 15-pounds are popping up all over Raritan Bay and along Sandy Hook. The Keansburg Pier, he said, has been a hot spot. Sciortino added there have been some decent fluke in the Shrewsbury and Navesink rivers. He reported a 27-incher caught on Zoom baits soaked in Fin-Essence shedder crab oil. He also said that sea bass anglers are finding plenty of ling in the mix and they are a welcome addition to the catch.
Mel Martens at Giglio’s Bait and Tackle in Sea Bright said bunker chunks are catching big blues from the beach there while there are smaller blues in the Shrewsbury and Navesink rivers. The shop has been selling a lot of worms, he said, which are producing plenty of small bass from the surf. They’re also working on stripers in the Shrewsbury River. Fluking in the rivers, he said has been a little tough with not many keepers landed. Offshore striper fishing took a hit with the weather, he added, simply because the boats couldn’t sail over the weekend. The big fish are still around.
Mike Gleason at Tak Waterman in Long Branch reported plenty of small bass and a few fluke in the surf. He fished for fluke in the Navesink River on Wednesday but was disappointed in the results with only shorts for his efforts. Again, the fluking has been slow everywhere.
Let’s hope it picks up for the weekend as the annual Jersey Coast Anglers Association Fluke Tournament is being held on Saturday. The big change for this year is that the tourney is now divided into seven regions as opposed to 10 ports. Visit jcaa.org for details and entry information.
Bob Matthews at Fisherman’s Den in Belmar reported that tuna and sharks await offshore anglers when the weather allows. Matthews said sea bass continue to be the main target for the Belmar party boat fleet with all boats reporting excellent catches. Just a reminder, the 10-fish limit on sea bass ends on Saturday, June 22. He did report that the fluking in the Shark River is improving as killies and Gulp have accounted for some nice keepers. Matthews added the surf fishing is very good with small bass chowing down on sand crabs and worms. He’s been doing well with worms and the bugs have been working for me in the wash in Ocean Grove. The stripers aren’t big, but they’re full of fight on light tackle and a keeper can be had.
Capt. Pete Sykes on Parker Pete’s Sportfishing out of Belmar said when he can get out, the big stripers are there. Capt. Sykes has been getting the trophy fish on the troll and livelining. Last Saturday’s afternoon trip saw a bunch of jumbos up to 40-pounds come over the rail. He’s got open dates for daytime charters and golden hour trips.
Capt. Jay Richardella on Side Job Charters out of Belmar has been waiting on a weather window for his tuna trips. In the meantime, he’s been putting his charters on plenty of sea bass and a few stripers. He’s got open boat spots on his tuna trips for $425 per person plus tip.
Capt. Bobby Quinn on the Ocean Explorer out of Belmar reported another good day of sea bass fishing on Wednesday with plenty of limits around the boat. Ling helped fill the coolers as well.
Capt. Rich Falcone on the Golden Eagle out of Belmar continues to find big blues up to 18-pounds. He was into them big time over the weekend. Wednesday’s trip provided a smorgasbord of fish with a blues, sea bass, ling, a bonito and a keeper fluke.
Capt. Joe Karcich of Joey Tomato’s Fishing Charters out of the Manasquan Inlet has been concentrating on sea bass and finding plenty of fish on every trip. He reported all-day double headers on Wednesday, although not all of them were keepers. He’s sailing for sea bass, stripers and fluke depending on what’s biting best.
Alex Kondas at the Reel Seat in Brielle said the bluefin bite is still on but the fish have been on the move. He found them last weekend northeast of the Resor Wreck. The action has been mainly on the troll as they are refusing to touch the big poppers. Side tracker bars, daisy chains and bird chains are all working. He also said big false albacore, 18 to 20-pounds, and large bonito have been caught as well. There are also mako and thresher sharks at the Mud Hole, he added.
That’s good news for shark fishermen as three tournaments, the Brett Bailey Mako Rodeo, Mako Fever and Mako Mania are all scheduled to kick off this weekend. Check the websites for details.
Inshore, Kondas said the sea bass fishing remains excellent at the Sea Girt and Shark River reefs, there are blues in the morning and evening at the Manasquan Inlet and small bass at night in the Manasquan River. The fluke fishing in the river is decent but the ratio of shorts to keepers, he said, is about 15 to 1.
Greg Bogan at Brielle Bait and Tackle reported very good bottom fishing for the boats out of the Manasquan Inlet. The ling fishing has come on strong with anglers aboard the Paramount averaging 10 to 20 fish apiece in addition to the sea bass they’re catching. Ocean fluking is still on slow side, he said, but keepers are showing up in the Manasquan River. He, too, reported blues and bass in the river.
Rick Hebert at Tackle World in Rochelle Park said his customers are enjoying much the same fishing as last week with good sea bassing offshore and blues and stripers in Raritan Bay. He’s fishing in the JCAA Fluke tournament out of Keyport this weekend and is hoping for an improvement in the fishery. The better fishing, he said, has been in the Shrewsbury and Navesink rivers.
Trout fishing in local rivers and streams, he added, is holding up nicely.
Best Bets for the Weekend
That would be sea bass. The fishing has been solid for weeks and shows no sign of letting up. Again, don’t delay as the 10-fish limit closes on June 22. Surf fishing is also a good bet. There are loads of small bass on the beach hitting worms and sand crabs. Use three or four crabs on a baitholder hook and fish right in the wash with some split shot well above the hook. Small fluke are hitting the crabs as well. Get out there as it looks like the weather will cooperate for most of the weekend.