It’s high summer and time to go fluking!
Anglers on the boats and the beaches are all doing well with the beach bite especially good. Shorts still dominate, but there are keepers to be had. Bucktails and Gulp are the way to go. Being at the beach also affords the opportunity to get in on the bluefish and Spanish mackerel. Those two species have been popping up off the sand from Sandy Hook down to Island Beach State Park.
Northern New Jersey Fishing Report
Rick Hebert at Tackle World in Rochelle Park said fluking in New Jersey is very good right now. He’s been getting good reports from all the reefs and wrecks from the Rattlesnake to the Axel Carlson. He’s also getting good fluke reports from the beaches with keepers caught along with the huge number of shorts. From what he’s hearing, the tuna fishing is a little mixed right now with good days followed by some tough ones.
Mike Pinto at Giglio’s Bait and Tackle in Sea Bright said Spanish mackerel and bluefish are popping up off the beach. The fluking off the sand has been good, if a bit inconsistent. Some days they are there then gone the next. The best spot he heard of this past week was in the Shrewsbury River underneath the Highlands Bridge. He’s been getting good reports on bluefin in the 30- to 40-pound range from his customers. The shop now carries Mustad Moonriser jigs.
Plus, crabbing in the Shrewsbury and Navesink rivers is good and the snappers have arrived.
Mike Gleason at Tak Waterman in Long Branch said he’s getting mixed reports on the mid-shore tuna bite with some folks finding fish and others not so lucky. Jigs are catching most of the bluefin and yellowfin. While the striper bite on sand crabs has slowed in the Ocean Grove surf in the last week, more fluke are being caught. So far, most are on the short side, but there is plenty of them around. The party and charter boats out of Belmar Marina all reported excellent fluke fishing this past week. Reports from The Big Mohawk, Capt. Cal II and Ocean Explorer detailed limit catches and loads of short action on most trips.
Capt. Steve Spinelli on The Skylarker out of Belmar said the fluking was great all week with the daily pool winner averaging 5 to 6 pounds with sea bass, king mackerel and some bluefish in the mix. He even saw a ribbonfish come over the rail. He believes that the good fluke fishing is just getting started and it should only get better from here on.
Capt. Pete Sykes of Parker Pete’s Fishing Charters reported an excellent bucktail extravaganza on Wednesday aboard the Express with plenty of limits and loads of keepers around the boat. The next bucktail extravaganza is scheduled for Sunday, Aug. 1 and there are still a few spots available. Capt. Sykes also reported successful fluke trips on hard bottom over the weekend. In between the fluke outings, he managed to squeeze in tuna trip that saw bluefin taken on the troll. Check his website for available dates for fluke and tuna fishing.
Want to get in on the bite? Find an OTW-approved Charter Fishing Captain for New Jersey.
Capt. Jay Richardella of Side Job Charters reported lights out tuna fishing this past week. He ran six trips and boated bluefin and yellowfin on all of them trolling and jigging. There were also mahi-mahi in the mix.
Capt. Jay is running inshore trips for fluke, bluefish, Spanish mackerel and sea bass. Check his website for availability.
Max Kristiansen at the Reel Seat in Brielle said boats heading to the mid-shore spots are still catching tuna. All the traffic has taken its toll, he said, but the anglers putting in the effort are finding fish. Kristiansen said a lot of their customers are getting ready for the White Marlin Open in Ocean City that starts next Monday. The fluke fishing, he said, has really improved with folks catching fish from the Manasquan River to the offshore reefs and wrecks. Practically anywhere you go, he said, there are fluke. He also reported Spanish mackerel and bluefish in the surf.
Kyle Tanger at Fishermens Supply Co in Point Pleasant Beach also said it’s a good time to go fluking. He fished the Shrewsbury Rocks on Tuesday and said they were biting as soon as the bucktail and Gulp hit bottom. There were lots of shorts but he limited out easily. All of the wrecks and reefs are producing as are the Shark and Manasquan rivers. He also reported kingfish are being caught in the Shark River. Kyle said all of the boat traffic has hurt the mid-shore tuna bite but fish are still being caught. There are plenty of bluefish and Spanish mackerel off the beaches as well.
Capt. Kenny Namowitz of the MIMI VI out of Point Pleasant Beach had no trouble finding fish on his first tuna trip of the year returning to the dock on Wednesday with a limit of yellowfin. The Mimi VI has also been doing well with fluke, sea bass and ling on its daily bottom fishing trips.
Capt. Matt Sosnowski on the Norma-K III out of Point Pleasant Beach reported loads of action on Wednesday’s trip with keeper fluke up to 5 pounds along with some nice sea bass. Gulp and bucktails did the best, he said, but the squid and spearing combo accounted for some nice fish as well. The Norma K III sails every day for fluke and two half-day trips on the weekend. There’s night bluefishing on Friday and Saturday nights as well.
John Miller at Capt. Bill’s Landing said the boats continue to get tuna at Little Italy, Atlantic Princess and the Resor Wreck. The majority of the fish are hitting jigs. Fluking is good at the local reefs, he said, with the short to keeper ratio about 10- to-1
Frank Giacalone at Gabriel Tackle Co. in Brick said the Axel Carlson and Sea Girt reefs along with local wrecks are producing some nice fluke. There are also keeper fluke at the Manasquan Inlet along with bluefish and Spanish mackerel. The fluke bite on the beaches has been good as well and blues are hitting mullet rigs. He also reported good blowfishing in Barnegat Bay around the Mantoloking Bridge and the BI Buoy.
Pete Kupper at Charlie’s Bait & Tackle in Normandy Beach said the surf fishing is really good right now with fluke, blues, Spanish mackerel and even a few bonito. He also reported there are lots of sharks around as well. It’s Gulp and bucktails for the fluke and skinny metals for the blues and Spanish macks. Kupper did mention that meat, either squid, spearing or killies, seemed to be catching the bigger fluke. Crabbing is very good in Barnegat Bay, he said, and the snappers are now showing in the lagoons.
Ray Kerico at Grumpy’s Bait and Tackle in Seaside Park called the fluke bite on the beach “amazing” and unlike anything he’s seen before. There are limits being caught with fish close to 5 pounds. Again, it’s Gulp and bucktails.
The action is along the Seaside beaches and on Island Beach State Park. There are also blues and Spanish mackerel off the sand. The crabbing in the bay, he said, is decent, but expects it to improve.
Fishing Forecast for Northern New Jersey
Fluke, either off the beach or on a boat, are the best choice for the weekend. There’s been plenty of action on both with keepers to be had. The surf also gives you a shot a blues and Spanish mackerel.
