An early blast of winter hit the pause button on the fishing for a few days after Thanksgiving but the bass and blackfish are biting once again.
Small stripers were back in the surf on Tuesday and the boats had no trouble finding tog when they could sail again on Wednesday.
The offshore sea bass fishing was good last week and expectations are it will be again when the boats can make the trip this weekend.
In addition to the sea bass, there were cod, jumbo porgies, weakfish and even some blues in the mix.
Fishing Report For Northern New Jersey
Rich Hebert at Tackle World in Rochelle Park said the blackfishing on the reefs and rocks to the north picked up after a slow bite last week. The Sandy Hook Reef, he said, gave up some nice fish.
He also had good reports on the offshore sea bass fishing before the weather went bad.
Phil Sciortino Sr. at the Tackle Box in Hazlet said he had reports of small bass on the beach at Sandy Hook on Tuesday.
The blackfishing was good over the weekend for the boats out of Atlantic Highlands, Sciortino said, but he hadn’t received any reports since then.
Capt. Rob Semkewyc on the Sea Hunter out of Atlantic Highlands sailed for stripers on this past Wednesday and reported it was probably the best day of the fall.
It was non-stop action from beginning to end, he said, with everyone going home with sore arms and fish for dinner.
Mike at Giglio’s Bait and Tackle in Sea Bright said the bass were right back in the surf there on Tuesday feeding on sand eels. Diamond jigs with teasers were catching fish up to about 25 inches.
Mike Gleason at Tak Waterman in Long Branch said the small bass were on the beach there Tuesday and Wednesday. The stripers, he said, were blowing up right in front of him.
Gleason was catching the bass on Tsunami sand eels with teasers. Plenty of action, he said, but no keepers.
Bob Matthews at Fisherman’s Den in Belmar said he expected the fishing to bounce right back as the water temperature is still relatively high.
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The Monmouth County surf bite had slowed up, he said, prior to the blow, but anglers were still catching a handful of fish. The only keeper to come into the shop was a 10-pounder caught in the Belmar surf.
He received better reports from Ocean County, specifically at Island Beach State Park.
Matthews also reported that the blackfish bite has been lights out on most boats out of the marina with limit catches and double-digit fish reported.
The biggest they weighed in was 16-pounds but he said a lot of the bigger tog were being released. White legger crabs and jigs have accounted for many of the larger fish.
The Ocean Explorer out of Belmar is one of the boats doing well with blackfish and Capt. Bobby Quinn reported a very good day of togging on Wednesday.
He said there were a number of limits aboard the boat and at times, he said, the bite was on fire.
Those who exceeded their limit were able to share their catch with those who came up a little short so everyone had fish to take home. Capt. Quinn will be sailing every day weather permitting.
Capt. Ron Kish on the Capt. Cal II out of Belmar also reported a good day on the tog grounds Wednesday with several anglers getting their five-fish limit. The Captain Cal II is sailing for blackfish every day.
Matthews added the winter flounder continue to bite in the Shark River. Clams and worms are the best baits. What he’s hoping for is some consistent weather so folks can fish for the bass and blackfish while they’re still around.
Capt. Pete Sykes of Parker Pete’s Fishing Charters out of Belmar sailed for stripers last Friday and had no trouble finding fish jigging and on the troll.
He switched it up for blackfish on Saturday with the charter working the jigs hard for a mix of shorts and keepers.
Capt. Sykes will be sailing for stripers on Saturday and has some open dates remaining for bass and blackfish.
Capt. Jay Richardella on Side Job Charters, also out of Belmar, sailed on Saturday for stripers and caught more than 20 up to 38 inches. The fish were taken on jigs and on the troll.
He’ll be fishing up to Christmas for tog and stripers before calling it a season. The boat will be back at Lockwood Marina in South Amboy in April for the spring bass bite.
Dave Arbeitman at the Reel Seat in Brielle said he thought the bass fishing was slowing down as he hasn’t heard much since the bad weather hit. It had been good, especially at Island Beach State Park.
The one real bright spot, he said, has been the offshore sea bass fishing with quality taking precedence over quantity. Jumbo porgies, weakfish and cod have been landed along with big sea bass.
Arbeitman said from what he’s hearing the blackfishing has been hit and miss.
John Bogan at Brielle Bait and Tackle says the fishing is pretty good despite the weather. The Jamaica II did well on Wednesday’s blackfish trip with several limits and a high hook of 10 fish.
Bogan said last weekend’s trip aboard the Big Jamaica saw jumbo sea bass and porgies come over the rail along with weakfish and cod. Offshore fishing this time of year is definitely for die-hards but the bite has been worth it.
He said there were good reports of stripers off Lavallette and he expects the bass will hang around for the rest of the month.
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Fishing Forecast for Northern New Jersey
Even though it’s December, beach and boat anglers both have a good shot at striped bass. Short fish are on the beaches north of Asbury Park. The boats out of Atlantic Highlands also found them in big numbers off Sandy Hook.
The blackfishing has also been good with party boats out of Belmar and the Manasquan Inlet returning with limit catches and some double-digit fish.
Offshore sea bass fishing has also been very good if you’re willing to travel a bit. Get out there before winter really takes over.