Wicked wind from every direction ruined the fishing for several days this week with the surf unfishable and boats stuck at the dock.
It wasn’t until mid-week when things finally started to settle down.
But it was no harm, no foul as the fishing appears to be bouncing back nicely with tuna, fluke, sea bass and stripers back on the feed.
Bob at Tackle World in Rochelle Park said a lot of their customers have bad cases of tuna fever. Yellowfin are in the same areas as before the storm, he said, if a bit more scattered.
He also said chicken mahi were about 10 to 12 miles out on the pots.
The keeper fluke are on the hard bottom, he added, and there are plenty of nice sea bass to go with them.
Steve at Julian’s Bait and Tackle in Atlantic Highlands said the porgy fishing has been very good on the local rock piles. He also reported big fluke in the deeper water on rough bottom.
He said The Fisherman out of Atlantic Highlands reported a 12-pound, 14-ounce doormat caught last Friday.
Capt. Phil Sciortino at the Tackle Box in Hazlet said the snappers are all over the place in Raritan Bay as are the crabs.
The porgy fishing remains very good on the local rockpiles and the bayside of Sandy Hook while the Keansburg Pier is giving up keeper fluke.
Mike Pinto at Giglio’s Bait and Tackle in Sea Bright said the Shrewsbury and Navesink rivers were the bright spots this week with crabs and snappers the best thing going.
Shop regular Vegas Vin managed a couple keeper fluke at North Beach and Sandy Hook. Other than that, Pinto said the fluking in the surf has been slow, before and after the hard wind.
Mike Gleason at Tak Waterman in Long Branch reported good fluking in the surf there before the wind interrupted the fishing.
He hadn’t received any tuna reports for a few days but expected that bite to pick up right where it left off.
The Shrewsbury River is loaded with bait and snappers, he said, and the shop hosted an outing with Long Branch Recreation where 21 kids had a blast catching the little blues at Branchport Park.
The rough surf put a stop to the beach fishing in Ocean Grove, but there was a nice surprise on Wednesday with a mini-blitz of small stripers in the surf.
Surfcasters have also been getting the small bass at night using white Kettle Creek shads.
The Spanish mackerel, however, have disappeared off the beach.
Bob Matthews at Fisherman’s Den in Belmar said the rental boats in the Shark River continue to catch some nice fluke with fish up to 6 pounds.
Matthew said there’s a lot of bait in the river, including peanut bunker, and small bass are in there along with the fluke.
The boats out of the marina lost of couple of days at the beginning of the week but were back at it on Wednesday, reporting catches of fluke up to 10 pounds.
Matthews also reported kingfish biting on clams and worms in the surf.
Capt. Pete Sykes of Parker Pete’s Sportfishing out of Belmar ran back-to-back bucktail extravaganzas in challenging conditions on Tuesday and Wednesday and still managed to put keepers up to 8 pounds in the boat.
Wednesday’s trip saw some especially fierce weather with tornado warnings, waterspouts and wind coming in from every direction.
Capt. Sykes has another extravaganza, sponsored by Anthony Palmer Tackle, scheduled for this Friday.
Both boats in the Parker Pete fleet are targeting fluke and sea bass.
Capt. Jay Richardella said the most recent trip aboard Side Job Charters out of Belmar was an inshore trip that saw a variety of fish come over the rail, including sea bass, fluke, chub mackerel and ling.
Max Kristiansen at the Reel Seat in Brielle said the yellowfin bite was on fire before the blow and he was heading back out on Thursday to get them again.
His last trip saw 15 yellowfin in about two hours all on jigs.
He also reported good fluking on hard bottom prior to the storm. There are some big sea bass in the mix as well and he said the Daiwa Zakana jigs have been working well for them.
Kristiansen added that anglers continue to pull keeper fluke out of the Manasquan River.
Dylan at Fisherman’s Supply in Point Pleasant Beach said the fluking in the Manasquan River has been excellent lately. The river is loaded with tons of bait, spearing and peanut bunker, and the bass are in there at night as well.
There are stripers in the Point Pleasant Canal, too, along with blackfish.
Anthony at Capt. Bill’s Landing in Point Pleasant Beach said the weather definitely hampered the fishing this week but it was starting to come back to life. He said there have been Spanish mackerel at the Manasquan Inlet and some nice fluke caught in the river.
He also had good reports on the chunk bite for yellowfin offshore.
Capt. Kenny Namowitz on the Mimi VI out of Point Pleasant Beach had the Rebecca Armbruster party out for a Captain’s Special trip on Tuesday afternoon and the young gang caught plenty of sea bass and bluefish.
The Mimi VI sails every day bottom fishing for fluke, sea bass, ling and other species. Check the website for availability.
Capt. Matt Sosnowski on the Norma K III out of Point Pleasant Beach sailed on Tuesday for the first time since the weekend.
The ocean had finally calmed down and he reported catching some good size fluke and sea bass. There were a few limits caught with the pool winner going 7 pounds. Bait, Gulp and bucktails all worked for the fluke.
Frank at Gabriel Tackle Co. in Brick reported that the crabbing remains exceptional at the Mantoloking Bridge.
He’s also had good reports of bass and blackfish in the Point Pleasant Canal and tog at the Manasquan Inlet. Spanish Mackerel are popping up at the inlet as well.
The Manasquan River has bass at the bridges at night on shads and live eels.
Pete at Charlie’s Bait and Tackle in Normandy Beach said the ocean was unfishable for a couple of days due to the wind and fluke and bluefish are just starting to return.
The blow didn’t seem to bother the crabs and snappers in the bay and there are bass at the bridges at night. Kettle Creek shads are working for those.
Ray Kerico at Grumpy’s Bait and Tackle in Seaside Park said small blues are back in the surf following the nasty weather.
One nice surprise, he said, is that anglers tossing metal for the blues are picking up stripers. One angler reported catching a couple of bass, one just shy of keeper size.
He’s also had reports of kingfish in the surf and Fishbites are working for them.
The crabbing is still very good, he said, but more smaller crabs are showing up. And the snappers, he added, are all around the bay.
Dennis at Betty and Nick’s Bait and Tackle in Seaside Park said things remained pretty much the same as last week despite the heavy winds. It’s small blues and fluke in the surf.
Fishing Forecast for Northern New Jersey
It’s prime time for fluke with the bigger fish around. But time is also a factor as the season closes in about four weeks. The offshore rock piles are holding the trophy fish so it’s time to hop on a boat and go.
There have also been early hints of the fall run with more stripers showing up in the surf. Shads and metal are catching most of the fish at first light and in the evening. Have fun!