This week, bluefin tuna came roaring back while sea bass, stripers and bluefish stayed right where they were.
Reports indicate that the striper fishing slowed a bit but there are still some monster fish offshore while the surf guys are finding more keepers. The sea bass fishing wasn’t as frantic, but most anglers got their limits along with cod and ling.
Bluefishing picked up, especially around Island Beach State Park. Fluke fishing is slowly gathering steam in the rivers and bays while ocean fluking remains slow as the water is still on the cool side.
The best news was that party boats are now permitted to carry more anglers and, come Monday, customers will be able to enter all bait and tackle shops.
Rick Hebert at Tackle World in Rochelle Park reported a lot of excitement about the bluefin with fish just about 15 miles out.
Fluking is just so-so from what he’s hearing.
On the other hand, trout fishing has been terrific, he said, and not a lot of people are taking advantage of it. He’s been fishing the Pequannock River with excellent results using salmon eggs and Yo-Zuri Pins Minnows and Trout Magnets. Most of the streams are still holding a lot of fish, he said.
Capt. Phil Sciortino at the Tackle Box in Hazlet said there are still stripers in Raritan Bay being caught on the troll, on poppers, jigs and livelining. The fluking is getting better there as well.
Wendy at Julian’s Bait and Tackle in Atlantic Highlands said the bass are starting to head out of Raritan Bay but there are still plenty around. There are more blues in the bay, she said, and fluking is definitely picking up there.
Tom Giglio at Giglio’s Bait and Tackle in Sea Bright also reported better fluking in in the Shrewsbury and Navesink rivers.
He said big bass continue to be caught by local kayakers who’ve been snagging and dropping bunker. There’s been big schools of bait off the beaches all week. Giglio said that Ben Parker Flutter Spoons are accounting for a lot of stripers as well.
There have also been some nice beach bass caught. Mike Pinto from the shop got a keeper on a popper on Monday.
Mike Gleason at Tak Waterman in Long Branch said the return of the bluefin grabbed the spotlight. Fish have been caught trolling, on jigs and stick baits.
He said the bass were breaking on bunker off the beach earlier in the week but were out of reach of shore anglers. Keep a snag rig ready if you’re on the sand.
The surf has given up a few fluke but not many. A diver friend of his said he saw plenty off the beach but they were very lethargic due to the cold water. He could easily grab their tails.
Bob Matthews at Fisherman’s Den in Belmar said he’s been running out of ballyhoo with all the tuna around. There’s a ton of bluefin offshore, he said, about 14 miles out. The boats have been getting them trolling and on jigs and poppers.
Closer to shore, Matthews said it’s still sea bass and stripers. Charter and party boats continue to limit out on sea bass with The Farms a popular spot.
Capt. Pete Sykes of Parker Pete’s Fishing Charters out of Belmar said the striper fishing has been excellent with 40- to 50-pound bass caught trolling and livelining. The only drawback is that all of the fish are too big to keep.
If the boat hasn’t been chartered, he’s running open boat, magic hour trips on Tuesday and Thursday.
Capt. Jay Richardella of Side Job Charters out of Belmar has been jumping on the tuna and sea bass. Trolling has been the ticket on the tuna. He’s got some open dates and can be contacted through his web site.
Tommy Freda at the Reel Seat in Brielle said there are loads of tuna around and he was on them on Tuesday. He and his party got 30 bluefin, up to 42 inches, about 17 miles out.
Trolling, jigging and poppers have all worked with trolling the most effective method right now.
Ocean striper fishing is holding up, he said, on the Shrewsbury Rocks and out from the Highlands Bridge.
Dylan Nolan at Fisherman’s Supply in Point Pleasant Beach said that if you fish offshore and don’t catch something now, there’s something wrong. That may be a bit of a stretch, but the tuna, sea bass and striper bites are all very good and it’s certainly time to go.
The fluke fishing in the Manasquan River is another story. It’s been slow, he said, with bluefish a better bet in the river.
Capt. Kenny Namowitz on the Mimi VI out of Point Pleasant Beach said the sea bassing has been terrific with a boat limit on every trip. Fat ling and winter flounder have been filling out the catches. A
big pollock also came aboard earlier this week.
He’ll be carrying more anglers now that passenger restrictions have been eased. Reservations are still required so be sure to call ahead.
Capt. Matt Sosnowski on the Norma K III out of Point Pleasant Beach said anglers have been going home with plenty of sea bass and ling filets every day. The fishing has been holding up nicely as more winter flounder are showing up. Reservations, he said, are required for all trips.
Frank at Gabriel Tackle Co. in Brick said there were a lot of big stripers landed this past weekend on the troll and snagging and dropping bunker. Boats heading north out of the Manasquan Inlet were finding the best action.
Fluke fishing, he said, remains good in the bay with killies and squid working best. He’s had reports of blues and stripers in the surf with bait and top water plugs getting the job done.
Pete at Charlie’s Bait and Tackle in Normandy Beach said the surf action on bass and blues improved over the week. Bunker chunks were working well on the bluefish, but also attracting a good number of big sand sharks. Fishing the cuts got the best results.
Blues up to 12 pounds were also hitting poppers and metal. SP Minnows, he added, were responsible for a few fluke caught in the surf.
And, he said, the blue claws are finally starting to come out of the mud in the bay.
Ray Kerico at Grumpy’s Bait and Tackle in Seaside Park said there were bass breaking in the bunker schools off the beach this week and fish were taken on pencil poppers and snagging and dropping.
Big blues were hitting the poppers as well and eating bunker chunks.
The fluking, he said, has been decent in the bay on killies and squid.
Francine at Betty and Nick’s said there was a bluefish blitz at Island Beach State Park on Tuesday and all the fish were gators. There were some bass mixed in as well.
She also weighed in a 33-inch black drum on Tuesday.
Fishing Forecast for Northern New Jersey
If you get the chance, go tuna fishing. The bluefin are pretty close, around 15 miles out and being caught on the troll, with jigs and on poppers.
Trolling and livelining are also working for big stripers in the ocean. Bunker pods can be found all along the coast. You just have to hope there are bass in them.
The sea bass fishing remains strong on the wrecks and rock piles. Bass and blues are biting off the beach and in the rivers and bays. Fluking is best in the rivers and bays as well. Stay safe.