We’ve got a favorable Fourth of July weekend fishing forecast.
While shorts still far outnumber keepers, there’s plenty of action on the fluke front and some bigger fish are now showing up, especially on rough bottom.
In addition, the two-fish sea bass season is open and anglers are having no trouble getting their limit.
Plus, the offshore ling fishing remains excellent, there are mackerel and blues off the beach and small bass in the surf.
Rick Hebert at Tackle World in Rochelle Park said the fluke fishing is definitely on the upswing as he heard of more keepers caught among the many shorts along with a few 10 pounders.
A 10-pound, 6-ounce fluke was landed aboard Capt. Rob Semkewyc’s Sea Hunter out of Atlantic Highlands on Monday.
Hebert also got word on Spanish mackerel and bluefish offshore. The ling bite, he said, is terrific for those bottom fishing.
Phil Sciortino Sr. at the Tackle Box in Hazlet agreed and said the best fishing right now is for ling at Scotland Grounds and the Mud Hole. In addition to all the big ling they want, anglers can easily get their two-fish limit on sea bass
He said the action on fluke has definitely improved with plenty of shorts being caught. Keepers, on the other hand, have been hard to come by. Boats fishing on the Belford side of the Navy Pier, he said, appeared to have better luck with bigger fish this week.
There are blues in Raritan Bay, he added, and reports of Spanish mackerel from the beaches on Sandy Hook.
Mel Martens at Giglio’s Bait and Tackle in Sea Bright said bucktailing for fluke has been pretty good in the Sea Bright surf. Again, not a lot of keepers but fish very close to legal size. They will only get bigger.
He, too, reported Spanish mackerel and small blues caught from the sand. There are also kingfish in the suds. Worms and clams on small hooks will work for them.
Martens said small snappers have appeared in the local rivers and the blue crabs are out in force in the Navesink River.
Mike Gleason at Tak Waterman in Long Branch said the fluking has been good from the beach there with bucktails and Gulp. There is plenty of bait in the surf, he said, including spearing and small peanut bunker.
He also reported Spanish mackerel and blues being caught from the beach. Epoxy lures and small metals are the best bet choice for those, he said.
The small bass are still in the surf and one hit my offering of sand crabs in the Ocean Grove surf on Wednesday morning. An angler down the beach also caught a mackerel on a small popping plug.
Bob Matthews at Fisherman’s Den in Belmar reported Spanish mackerel and small blues in the surf there and also recommended epoxy lures or Ava 17s with no tail to catch them.
He said the stripers are still in the surf in good numbers, but the ocean has been pretty flat lately and they don’t seem to bite as well in calm water.
Matthews said some of the party boats have been catching plenty of mackerel while others have been doing well with fluke, reporting fish up to 10 pounds.
He said the tuna bite remains red hot for the offshore fleet.
Capt. Jay Richardella of Side Job Charters out of Belmar can attest to that. He’s been doing well with bluefin tuna at the Atlantic Princess. He also getting into Spanish mackerel, bonito and big bluefish on his offshore trips.
Capt. Pete Sykes of Parker Pete’s Sportfishing is now fluking and sea bassing full time and finding plenty of action. His charters are weeding through the short fluke like everyone else but he’s put some nice keepers in the cooler with fish up to 8 pounds.
He’ll be holding a number of on-the-water bucktail seminars for big fluke this season so check his website or Facebook page for dates and details.
Capt. Bobby Quinn on the Explorer out of Belmar said he’s been getting a lot of short fluke but there have been a few anglers getting their limits. Pool fish have been around 4 pounds.
Capt. Rich Falcone on the Golden Eagle out of Belmar has been catching all kinds of fish including mackerel, bonito, sea bass and pollock. The mackerel, bonito and blues provide a lot of fun for his fares on light tackle.
Dave Arbeitman, owner of the Reel Seat in Brielle said the fluke fishing has definitely improved, especially on hard bottom. There are also plenty of sea bass to be had on the Shark River Reef and the Farms.
The ling fishing, he said, has been off the charts with anglers catching almost as many as they want.
Bluefin tuna fishing remains very good at the Atlantic Princess and at the Chicken Canyon. Arbeitman also reported that bigeye and yellowfin are being taken in the Jones Valley area of the Hudson Canyon.
At the Toms Canyon, bigeye and yellowfin, mahi mahi and white marlin are also being caught.
Arbeitman got offshore himself at the end of June aboard the Voyager and in addition to catching golden and blueline tilefish, he landed a rosefish triple-header.
Greg Bogan at Brielle Bait and Tackle said the fishing is pretty good right now with lots of fluke in the river. Shorts dominate but there are keepers up to 5 pounds being caught with killies and Gulp the favorite baits.
There’s a lot of mackerel around the Manasquan Inlet, he said, both Spanish and Atlantic, hitting diamond jigs. The Manasquan River is holding loads of spearing and small peanut bunker
The ling fishing is terrific, he said, and there are plenty of winter flounder being caught along with the ling.
Capt. Joe Karcich of Joey Tomato’s Fishing Charters out of the Manasquan Inlet has been concentrating on fluke lately. Like everyone else, he’s been wading through shorts but also bringing some nice keepers over the rail.
Fishing Forecast for Northern New Jersey
There’s plenty of action on fluke right now, from both the beach and the boats. Just be prepared to weed through a lot of shorts and release them carefully.
Ling offers the surest thing with anglers fishing the bottom bringing home as many as they like. Winter flounder and sea bass are also in the mix.
There are also striped bass, blues and mackerel available from the beach. Bring your light spinning tackle. Have a safe and fun Fourth of July.