Northern New Jersey Fishing Report – June 24, 2021

Now that summer is officially here, summer flounder are starting to bite.
Better fluke reports are coming in from the boats and the beach with some nice keepers being caught. Anglers still have to wade through a bunch of shorts, but that’s been true for years.
The beach also has bass and bluefish on bait and artificials while offshore anglers are catching bluefin tuna, false albacore and thresher sharks.

Northern New Jersey Fishing Report

Capt. Phil Sciortino at the Tackle Box in Hazlet said the inshore fluke fishing is getting better by the minute. Fish up to 6 pounds have been reported caught in Raritan and Sandy Hook bays and out front. He said the hot striper bite in Raritan Bay has cooled off but some nice fish are still being caught on the chunk and topwater plugs. Sciortino also said that porgies have started to move into the area.

Mike Pinto at Giglio’s Bait and Tackle in Sea Bright said the blues are still scattered along the beach while the fluking is getting better in the surf. There’s a lot of shorts but more keepers are showing up. The stripers are in the wash as well, hitting small plug and shads. He also reported that anglers drifting worms in the Shrewsbury River are picking up striped bass. The fluke bite is improving in the Navesink and Shrewsbury rivers, but again, shorts outnumber keepers by a wide margin.

Mike Gleason at Tak Waterman in Long Branch said the fluking off the beach is decent with the big catch of the week a 25-inch, 5-pounder caught in the suds. Gulp on a jig head did the trick. Gleason also reported kingfish in the surf while a few triggerfish have been caught from the jetties. He said river fluking has been hit or miss with killies and Gulp working the best. The tuna bite, he added, is a little picky with bluefin in the 35- to 42-inch range making up most of the catch. Nomad jigs and popping plugs are working well. He also said there are plenty of big false albacore in the mix.

Bob Matthews at Fisherman’s Den in Belmar reported that the biggest news of the week was the 625-pound thresher taken on Capt. Mike Formichella’s Shark Inlet Charters. The big shark hit a bait floated during a sea bass trip with the trophy weighed in at Fisherman’s Den. Matthews reported excellent sea bass fishing and decent fluke fishing over the weekend. The party boats reported fluke up to 6 pounds and boat limits of sea bass. Matthews said the striper action has been good in the back waters and in the surf, with the most fish on the short side with a few keepers mixed in. Trigger fish are showing in the inlets, he added, with good-size fish hitting clams and worms.

I finally got in on this season’s excellent sea bass fishing last Friday aboard the Big Mohawk. While the fishing seemed excellent to me, Greg Hueth, who has been running operations since the untimely passing of his brother, Capt. Chris Hueth, called it just a decent pick. The day saw a boat limit with some very nice fish coming over the rail. Like his brother, Greg has high standards. The Big Mohawk is in good hands. Now that sea bass is closed, most of the party boats, including the Big Mohawk, Capt. Cal II out of Belmar and Ocean Explorer out of Belmar have switched to fluke. Hueth said they were biting well on Wednesday with limit catches reported.

Capt. Pete Sykes of Parker Pete’s Fishing Charters out of Belmar also reported an outstanding end to the sea bass season with his last few trips ending in boat limits and a lot of big fish. Starting July 1, Parker Pete’s will be running open boat bucktail extravaganzas for jumbo fluke on hard bottom every day there isn’t a charter. He’s also booking ocean striper trips. Check the calendar on his website for availability.

Capt. Steve Spinelli from Skylarker Charters said there were ling, winter flounder, cod and even a few whiting along with all of the sea bass he caught during the final week of this portion of the sea bass season. Anglers can fish for sea bass again starting July 1 with a two-fish limit through Aug. 31.

Capt. Jay Richardella of Side Job Charters said the action has been good on a variety of species along with his limits of sea bass. There’s been keeper fluke, striped bass and bluefin tuna. He’ll be sailing for tuna this weekend and is currently booking fluke, tuna and striped bass trips.

Max Kristiansen at the Reel Seat in Brielle said a number of their customers are getting in on the good thresher action. The bluefin bite has been good as well and he said the southern canyons are starting to heat up. Nomad back slide jigs have been working well, he added.

Jason Szabo at Fisherman’s Den in Belmar
Fishermens Supply Co in Point Pleasant Beach reported that the Manasquan River is giving up some pretty big striped bass. He heard of several fish in excess of 40 inches caught in the river at first light on artificials. There are keeper fluke in there as well. He also reported some weakfish were caught by the Route 70 Bridge on plastics. In the ocean, he’s had reports of good action on threshers with sharks up to 400 pounds landed. And, he said, the ling fishing has been very good at the Farms.

Capt. Matt Sosnowski on the Norma-K III reported a solid ending to the sea bass season and he’s now out fluking every day. He reported that it took a while to find some decent action on Wednesday’s trip but he ultimately found the fish. Anglers had to pick through a lot of shorts but managed to put keepers in the boat. He’s fishing rough bottom for bigger fluke and suggests bringing extra tackle along with your Gulp. The Norma K will also be running weekend wreck trips for ling and cod. Call ahead for reservations.

Capt. Kenny Namowitz on the MIMI VI out of Point Pleasant Beach reported very good ling fishing lately. He also said fluke are starting to show in bigger numbers and sizes. The winter flounder bite slowed down some, but he expects it will pick up again. The Mimi VI is running open boat bottom fishing trips. Spots are limited so call ahead to make a reservation.

Tom Murphy at Capt. Bill’s Landing in Point Pleasant Beach said the bluefin bite has been good for smaller fish between 30 to 40 pounds. False albacore are mixed in with the tuna. Capt. Bill’s Landing is the weigh station for the Jersey Coast Shark Anglers Mako Fever and Tuna Fever Tournament that started on June 19 and concludes this Sunday.

Frank Giacalone at Gabriel Tackle Co. in Brick reported that the local beaches are producing keeper stripers on salted clams. There are bluefish in the surf as well. He said fluke fishing remains good in the Manasquan River and Barnegat Bay with plenty of keepers landed.

Pete Kupper at Charlie’s Bait & Tackle in Normandy Beach said the fish are there, it’s the anglers that are missing. The lack of participation is confounding because the fishing is good. Out front, there are big and small stripers in along with blues and fluke. Barnegat Bay has bass and fluke, especially north of the Mantoloking Bridge. He also said the crabbing continues to improve. Now all that’s needed is people.

Frankie Z at Grumpy’s Bait and Tackle in Seaside Park said the ocean fluking is picking up down there. The proof is the 7 pounder he caught on a S&S rattling bucktail fishing an offshore lump. Big stripers continue to be caught in the local surf. Last Friday saw a 45-incher landed from the beach at Island Beach State Park on a salted clam. Frankie added that there are still black drum being caught from the sand. Crabbing, he said, is getting better in the bay as the water warms up and the blowfish are starting to bite as well, he added.

Fishing Forecast for Northern New Jersey

Now that the blistering sea bass bite is on hold until July 1, it’s time to go fluking. Reports indicate a better fluke bite in the rivers, bays and ocean. Gulp and bucktails will do the job.

The surf also offers stripers on small plastics, plugs, clams and sand bugs.