Pictured Above: Mike Gleason of Tak Waterman in Long Branch caught this 46-pound striper on a specially modified Nichols jigging spoon.
It’s been about three weeks since the big stripers arrived, and while they’re not biting every day for everyone, it’s been a memorable fall so far with bass over 50 pounds and plenty in the 30- to 40-pound range.
Most of the action has been from Asbury Park to the north with recent days seeing more fish up in Raritan Bay. There were also a lot of bass outside the Shark River Inlet earlier this week.
Bunker and sand eels have been fueling the feeding so trolling, livelining and jigging have all been working. Enormous schools of menhaden have been stretched along the shore all week.
The stripers, however, aren’t always hungry. Captains have been reporting days with bass breaking on top and schooled under the boat but refusing to eat.
For those unaffected by the current striper mania, there are blackfish, sea bass and porgies to be had.
Capt. Phil Sciortino at the Tackle Box in Hazlet said the boats continue to have a field day with the big stripers. He did say that last Saturday was slow for some reason but the fishing bounced back at the start of the week in the Reach Channel and off Sandy Hook.
Anglers fishing the beach were also picking up keepers and smaller fish on Avas with teasers and rubber baits like sluggos.
Sciortino said not a lot of folks have been sea bass fishing due to the all the striper excitement and that the dogfish have become nuisance. Blackfishing has been good, he added, and will get more attention when the limit goes to five fish on Nov. 16.
Mel Martens at Giglio’s Bait and Tackle in Sea Bright said more and more keeper bass are showing up in the surf with Kettle Creek shads and Mag Darters doing most of the damage.
He said even a couple of small blues were caught on the beach in Sea Bright on Tuesday morning.
The Shrewsbury and Navesink rivers still have some small stripers, Martens added.
He, too, heard a plague of dogfish have been making sea bass fishing difficult but the blackfishing has been pretty good.
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Mike Gleason at Tak Waterman in Long Branch said there’s been a marked improvement in the surf fishing with fish up to 35 inches being landed. SP Minnows and shads with teasers have been doing the trick.
Adult bunker moved closer to beach with the west wind that blew earlier this week and Gleason said there were some peanuts in the wash on Wednesday from Sea Bright to Deal.
Gleason said he got into the big fish earlier in the week landing a 46 pounder on a Nichols jigging spoon.
Gleason said he’s been working with Nichols Lures, which is highly regarded for its freshwater bass lures, to upgrade its spoons to heavier hardware for stripers. The souped-up spoons are now available in the Long Branch shop.
Bob Matthews at Fisherman’s Den in Belmar said the jumbo stripers have been chowing down after taking last Friday and Saturday off.
The Big Mohawk returned to the dock on Sunday with a 54½-pound monster that hit a Tsunami swim shad.
Matthews said the bass appear to be moving south so the action should pick up off the Ocean County beaches.
The surfcasters are doing better, he added, with needlefish and slim metal lures
producing now that sand eels are in the mix.
Capt. Pete Sykes of Parker Pete’s Fishing Charters out of Belmar said the fishing for big bass has been outstanding. Except for the slow days at the end of last week, the boat has been on the jumbo fish every day.
Trolling, jigging and livelining have all been catching fish and it just depends on the day which method works the best.
Last Sunday was an especially good day with a 49½-pounder coming over the rail along with a boat limit of big fish.
Capt. Sykes also posted a few photos on his facebook page of what happens when a thresher shark that’s been hooked is attacked by dozens of smaller sharks.
Capt. Sykes said he’s still got a few dates open in December for stripers.
Capt. Jay Richardella on Side Job Charters out of Belmar found the big bass for the Brian Graves party on Tuesday. It was great fishing on the troll, he said, with bass up to 45 pounds and a boat limit.
He was sailing again for stripers on Thursday and has some open dates available. He can be contacted through his website or at 561-578-2710.
Vinny at the Reel Seat in Brielle said all the reports he’s getting on the stripers are coming from north of the Manasquan Inlet in the Long Branch area. The bass action in his neck of the woods is mostly on the beaches.
The boats out of the inlet are catching sea bass and blackfish at the reefs. The tuna fishing was a little quiet this week with just one report of a 100-pound bluefin.
Greg Bogan at Brielle Bait and Tackle reported good blackfishing at the Axel Carl-son and Sea Girt reefs and also in the Point Pleasant Canal. As for sea bass, he said the Jamaica II has been finding them much farther offshore, about 25 miles.
There are also big porgies with the sea bass.
He said the reports he’s getting on the stripers have them from Bay Head to the north. The Big Jamaica is sailing for the stripers and there are tons of bunker in the area.
Capt. Joe Karcich of Joey Tomato’s Fishing Charters out of the Manasquan Inlet had a two-man charter out on Sunday and landed five bass and kept two.
He fished again on Wednesday with a buddy and found plenty of fish without any trouble.
Capt. Karcich has open dates and can be reached at his website or at 732-684-8739.
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Best Bets for the Weekend
The boats continue to get the best of the big bass bite so if you want in on that action, better jump aboard. Trolling spoons seems to be the better percentage method but jigs, shads and livelining are also catching fish if you can find them on top.
Bigger bass are also on the beach hitting shads and sand eel imitations.
Blackfish are the best bet for bottom fishing as the sea bass and porgies have moved pretty far offshore and the inshore spots are holding lots of dogfish.