Pictured Above: This 35-pound striper was caught on a blackfish jig with green crab off Monmouth Beach. The fish was released.
Last week’s nor’easter did what everyone was hoping: shake things up.
Big stripers, well over 40 pounds, showed up at the beginning of the week off Monmouth County and were taken on jigs and on the troll.
At the same time, bluefin tuna, some estimated at 300 pounds, crashed the area from 3 to 7 miles out.
When word got out about the tuna, plenty of boats gave chase, but there were only one or two hook ups reported.
Now we just have to hope that the Bomb Cyclone that arrived on Wednesday doesn’t disrupt the good fishing.
Before this latest weather interruption, the porgies, sea bass and blackfish were biting well and there were reports of false albacore and Spanish mackerel still around.
The striper action in the surf was also holding up, with a few more keepers to go with all the shorts.
Rick Hebert at Tackle World in Rochelle Park said he was getting a lot of reports about the jumbo stripers. The bite really turned on, he said, Tuesday afternoon on the Shrewsbury Rocks and off Sandy Hook.
He fished Sunday for sea bass in the southern part of the state and had decent fishing. He reported the fish were full of sand eels.
Hebert said there were a lot of newly stocked trout in the Ramapo River hanging in the pools but there didn’t seem to be a lot of folks fishing for them.
Capt. Phil Sciortino at the Tackle Box in Hazlet said it’s all about the big bass right now.
He reported stripers up to 50 pounds caught by the Verrazano Bridge out to the Ambrose Channel and from Breezy Point to Fire Island, mainly on the troll. Stripers were also caught off Sandy Hook on diamond jigs with green tails.
The porgy bite on the bay side of Sandy Hook shows no signs of slowing down and some nice blackfish have been on the rockpiles off the Highlands Bridge.
Mel Martens at Giglio’s Bait and Tackle in Sea Bright said the striper fishing off the beach was slow over the weekend due to the heave left over from the nor’easter. The bite, however, started to come back early in the week.
He said there were schools of fish breaking off the beach on Tuesday but too far out to tell what they were. Martens suspects either bass or blues and said there have been more stripers around than bluefish lately.
Martens added that the Shrewsbury River is still loaded with stripers and anglers are getting them on shads and plugs.
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Mike Gleason at Tak Waterman in Long Branch was hoping for a chance to go and chase the big bluefin that appeared inshore at the beginning of the week. The tuna popped up in several different spots starting on Monday.
He, too, said the river bite for the stripers has been good with some fish in the teens along with smaller fish. The bite was good in the surf as well on shads and plugs until the blow came along.
Even I managed to catch one of these big bass. Blackfishing with my buddy Jim Stonaker off Monmouth Beach on Monday, a striper we estimated at around 35 pounds ate my tog jig baited with a green crab. After a couple of pictures, she was released.
The blackfishing wasn’t bad either. After a slow start, we managed to put some nice keepers in the box.
Bob Matthews at Fisherman’s Den in Belmar said the big bass have everyone’s attention.
It was a mad bite on Tuesday afternoon with all of the boats sailing for bass coming back to the dock with limit catches. The weather made things tough on Wednesday morning but the Big Mohawk sailed early and was back at the dock by 10 a.m. with a boat limit and fish to 46 pounds.
The fish were hitting Ava 47s with green tails while Mojos worked best for those on the troll.
Matthews also reported that the surf fishing for bass opened up a bit but most of the fish are still on the small size. One angler, Vance Demuro, did get a keeper when he hooked a 13½-pound striper on a bucktail.
Matthews added that the 6-inch Tsunami sand eel has been the hot lure off the beach lately. He’s also asking anglers to consider releasing some of these big stripers as these breeders are the future of the stock.
One angler determined to hook one of the bluefin was Payton Gepp of Spring Lake who boated an 80-pounder after a long battle on light tackle.
Capt. Pete Sykes of Parker Pete’s Fishing Charters joined Capt. Jay Richardella of Side Job Charters on Tuesday to scout the striper situation and check out the bluefin tuna reports.
Sailing aboard Side Job’s 38-foot Topaz, Capt. Richardella said they saw tuna of at least 300 pounds breaking the surface just 20 feet from the bow of the boat. Unfortunately, they just wouldn’t bite.
The big stripers were much more cooperative and after catching their limit of fish in the 40-pound range on jigs, the crew played catch and release.
Both boats will now be chartering striper trips. Capt. Sykes has openings for full or shared charters next Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Capt. Richardella can be contacted through his website or at 561-578-2710 for open dates.
Capt. Bobby Quinn on the Ocean Explorer out of Belmar has been sticking with sea bass and porgies and reported decent fishing of late.
Capt. Ron Kish of the Capt. Cal II out of Belmar is also sailing for sea bass and porgies.
Vinnie at the Reel Seat in Brielle said the sea bass fishing was very good before the nor’easter. He also reported on the big bass at the Shrewsbury Rocks. He said fish up to 43 pounds were taken on jigs and Mojos
There are still a lot of bass in the Manasquan River as well, he said. He, too, reported tuna as close as 3 miles out feeding on chub mackerel.
Zach at Brielle Bait and Tackle said the Jamaica II did very well on its last two sea bass trips and should be sailing again by the weekend.
Sandworms, he said, are working better than green crabs for blackfish in the Point Pleasant Canal.
There are still some Spanish mackerel and bonito around, he added, but time may be running out on them.
Capt. Joe Karcich on Joey Tomato’s Fishing Charters out of the Manasquan Inlet and has been sailing for sea bass and blackfish. His most recent trip produced a nice catch of tog with blackfish sharpie Marty Aborlleile catching a 12-pounder.
Capt. Karcich said he’s got some good blackfish spots and has open dates for charters. He can be reached through his website.
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Best Bets for The Weekend
The big bass are back. There were good shots of fish at a number of locations before the Bomb Cyclone hit but who knows where they will be after the wind dies down. A little reconnaissance will be in order.
Same thing for the bluefin tuna that appeared close to shore earlier in the week.
The beach is a good bet for stripers and blues once the surf calms down and those bottom fishing can expect to find sea bass and blackfish on the rough bottom.