Pictured Above: A bonito and false albacore caught aboard the Big Jamaica earlier this week.
Fluke season ended with a whimper rather than a bang and there don’t seem to be many folks mourning its passing.
For the most part the weather cooperated and there were some very big fish caught, but the season was marked by countless shorts and frustrated anglers.
Attention is now focused on striped bass, bluefish, porgies, false albacore, bonito, Spanish mackerel and tuna.
There’s also great anticipation for the reopening of sea bass season on Oct. 8. A lot of beauties were caught and released during the most recent closure.
Rich Hebert at Tackle World in Rochelle Park said anglers eeling for bass are doing well by the Statue of Liberty and there are plenty of bluefish being caught in the Shrewsbury River and at Sandy Hook.
He added that the boats making it offshore continue to catch mahi-mahi and yellowfin tuna are being picked up in the canyons.
On the freshwater side, Hebert said the largemouth bass fishing has been very good at Lake Hopatcong and Greenwood Lake with most of the fish hitting Keitech and Kettle Creek soft baits.
Capt. Phil Sciortino at the Tackle Box in Hazlet said the porgy fishing is off the charts. Filling a cooler with the tasty fish is not a problem as jumbos are biting on the wrecks, reefs and rock piles in Raritan Bay and off Sandy Hook and Sea Bright.
There are also blowfish and smooth puffers in the mix.
Capt. Sciortino said the bluefish have been at the tip of Sandy Hook practically every day and boats fishing the channels in Raritan Bay are getting keeper bass on worms and eels.
The bay, he added, is still loaded with bait and schools of peanut and adult bunker are making their way to the ocean. There are enormous bunker pods up and down the coast already.
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The Tackle Box is now carrying a new product for Fisherman’s Choice which is salmon strips soaked in Fin-Essence Oil. The salmon strips have become a favorite of tilefish anglers and will likely become a go-to bait for flukers next season.
Mel Martens at Giglio’s Bait and Tackle in Sea Bright said the bass are still biting off the beach there even though several days of a persistent northeast wind followed buy a hurricane swell have made surf fishing difficult.
Mike Pinto from the shop picked up a nice striper in the suds last Friday while trying for albies.
The bass are also in the Shrewsbury River along with small blues and an incredible amount of bait. The crabbing in the rivers, he said, is still going strong.
Mike Gleason at Tak Waterman in Long Branch said anglers are picking bass in the surf on metal-lipped swimmers and shads. There are a lot of blues in the Shrewsbury River, he added, feeding on all the peanut bunker.
He did say the bait seems to be on the move with a lot of mullet in the jetty pockets. There are peanut bunker in there as well.
The mullet are in the surf in Ocean Grove and the stripers are right there with them. Kettle Creek and Storm shads are catching most of the fish.
There hasn’t been any sign of Spanish mackerel or false albacore in the last few days, but hopefully they’ll be back once the ocean calms down.
Bob Matthews at Fisherman’s Den in Belmar said the fluke season went out without much fanfare and most of the people he spoke with wouldn’t call it a great one.
There were a few late-season bright spots, he said, with a 14- and an 11-pounder caught aboard party boats out of the marina but the short-to-keeper ratio was pretty dismal. That was the story in the Shark River as well.
Porgies and blackfish will be the bottom-fishing targets until sea bass reopens.
Matthews said the bluefish bite has been very good for the party boats and he said more bait has been moving out of the river.
The surf fishing, he added, is picking up with stripers, blues, and false albacore being caught in better numbers.
Capt. Pete Sykes on Parker Pete’s Sportfishing made the transition to porgy fishing once fluke season closed and he’s been finding some huge ones in the Sea Bright area.
He said the fish are the dinner-plate sized ones you normally find way offshore later in the year. There have been plenty of medium-sized bluefish as well to add to the action.
Capt. Sykes will be fishing for sea bass once that opens and is also booking fall striped bass trips. Contact information is on his website and his Facebook page.
Capt. Bobby Quinn on the Ocean Explorer closed out his fluke season last Saturday with a special extended trip and a larger pool. Ron Romano took home the cash with a 9-pounder.
The Ocean Explorer is now targeting porgies and triggerfish and will be sea bassing starting on Oct. 8.
Capt. Jay Richardella of Side Job Charters out of Belmar will be heading out this weekend on charters for porgies and mahi.
He is still booking open boat canyon trips for white marlin and tuna. He can be reached through his website or at 561-578-2710.
Amanda at the Reel Seat in Brielle reported that, with the exception of small bluefish, the Manasquan River has gone quiet. The bait is on the move and all of the schoolie bass that were in the river seem to have moved out into the surf.
There have been false albacore, Spanish mackerel and bluefish at the inlet and just outside. Boats out of the Manasquan River have been doing well with all three.
Greg Bogan at Brielle Bait and Tackle said the bonito, false albacore and Spanish mackerel are the best things going on right now. There’s nicer bluefish in the mix, too, up to 5 pounds. The Big Jamaica has been fishing for all of the above.
Bogan said the bait is definitely on the move and stripers are hitting poppers and shads early in the morning and the evening in the surf.
Porgies, blowfish, blackfish and triggerfish are being caught by the bottom fishermen.
The Paramount continues to ling fish on Tuesdays and spends the other days fishing for porgies and triggerfish.
Capt. Joe Karcich of Joey Tomatoes Fishing Charters out of the Manasquan River is fishing inshore this weekend for porgies, triggerfish and ling.
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Best Bets for the Weekend
Porgy fishing is red hot right now. The fish are big, plentiful and easy to catch which is perfect for youngsters. And they are excellent table fare.
There are also a lot of options from the beach with bass, blues, false albacore and Spanish mackerel around. The bait stacked up in the bays and rivers has begun to move and the fall fish aren’t far behind. Have fun.