What better way to celebrate the opening of sea bass season than with a nor’easter, one that’s going to last a couple of days.
Only one boat, the Ocean Explorer, managed to sail on opening day and was rewarded with a good catch of sea bass.
Not only has the storm kept boats at the dock since Tuesday, but it has made the beaches unfishable.
On the bright side, the prevailing wisdom is that the storm will get the rest of the bait moving from the rivers and bays and push the fall run into high gear.
The forecast has the weather clearing by the end of the weekend. There were bass, blues and porgies before the blow and they should still be biting when it’s over. And the sea bass will be there for the taking as well.
Rick Hebert at Tackle World in Rochelle Park said the bad weather interrupted a lot of fishing plans with the exception of customers heading to the Pulaski River to catch salmon.
He’s among those hoping the storm will kick the bait loose and spark the fall fishing. The reports on the bass fishing from Montauk are excellent and he said maybe the nor’easter will push some of those fish down our way.
Capt. Phil Sciortino at the Tackle Box in Hazlet said the weather threw a wrench in the fishing but there were big blues at the Rip on Sandy Hook early Tuesday morning.
The Shrewsbury River, he said, still has bass and blues and eels have been working for stripers under the Highlands Bridge at night.
The porgy fishing was hot until the storm arrived and should pick up where it left off when things calm down.
Mel Martens at Giglio’s Bait and Tackle in Sea Bright said the storm has kept things quiet there. Small bass and blues were being caught in the surf until the rough water made it impossible to fish. He, too, mentioned the bigger bluefish on Sandy Hook.
The blackfishing had been excellent, Martens added, in about 35 feet of water and there is no reason to think it won’t return when the boats can sail again.
The Shrewsbury and Navesink rivers, he said, still have small blues and bass and there have been blowfish and small weakfish in the rivers as well. And, yes, there are still crabs to be caught in the rivers.
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Mike Gleason at Tak Waterman in Long Branch said the bass fishing was pretty good in the surf with bigger fish showing before the weather interrupted. They were hitting SP Minnows, shads and metal-lipped swimmers.
There were bluefish in the Long Branch surf as well hitting poppers.
Gleason said the river fishing for bass and blues has been holding up as there is still plenty of bait in the Shrewsbury River.
Bob Matthews at Fisherman’s Den in Belmar was hoping for a good black sea bass opener as all preseason reports indicated lots of nice fish around. Anglers will just have to be patient a little longer.
He reported that porgies and blackfish had been filling the void left by the closing of fluke season.
Matthews said there were a few anglers trying for winter flounder in the Shark River. While there was no luck with the winter flounder, blowfish and kingfish hit the worms and clams.
He added small blues and stripers are in the inlets in good numbers and surfcasters were getting a few keeper bass. Matthews believes the surf fishing will only improve once the storm moves on.
Capt. Bobby Quinn on the Ocean Explorer out of Belmar took a chance and sailed on Tuesday for the opener and delivered a good catch of sea bass to his customers.
He reported a lumpy trip but it was fishable and there were a number of limits caught. There were also jumbo porgies and some blackfish in the mix.
Judging by the forecast, he expects his next trip to be on Saturday.
Capt. Pete Sykes of Parker Pete’s Sportfishing out of Belmar said the weather had him tethered to the dock along with everyone else. He’ll be fishing for sea bass, blackfish and porgies once the skies clear.
This weather, he said, should spark the striper fishing and there are plenty of fall dates available to get after the bass. Sykes said the week before Halloween is usually when the striper action really picks up.
Like everyone else, Dave Arbeitman at the Reel Seat in Brielle said the weather made for a slow week of fishing.
He did get a report on the offshore trip taken by the Gambler out of Point Pleasant last weekend with the crew landing one yellowfin, two swordfish and a boat limit of mahi-mahi.
Last Saturday morning, Arbeitman said, the false albacore were at the Manasquan Inlet hitting epoxy jigs.
On Monday morning, one of Arbeitman’s customers caught four bass in the Spring Lake surf. The stripers were feeding on mullet.
He also mentioned that anglers have been getting small blues on the beaches south of the Manasquan Inlet.
Zach at Brielle Bait and Tackle said it’s been quiet there and that most of the people coming into the shop are buying green crabs for blackfish in the Point Pleasant Canal.
He did say the Big Jamaica had a good trip for bonito, Spanish mackerel and false albacore last weekend. Hopefully, the bad weather hasn’t put an end to that fishing.
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Fishing Forecast for Northern New Jersey
It looks like things should be back to normal by Sunday and anglers can get back to fishing for sea bass, blackfish and porgies.
The nor’easter should provide a jolt to the fall fishing, pushing the bait out of the rivers and bays and more bass and blues onto the beaches. A walk along the sand is definitely worth a try. Early morning and twilight have been the best times for stripers.
And there’s always the chance the false albacore and Spanish mackerel will show off the beaches as well.