All the favorites, stripers, fluke, sea bass and bluefish, are biting just in time for the unofficial start of summer.
The sea bass bite has been the best of all this past week while striper fishing remained good in rivers and bays and picked up in the ocean. Jumbo bass were caught from the Sandy Hook Rip to the Shrewsbury Rocks.
Freshwater anglers are also doing well with largemouth, crappie and trout in local rivers, streams, lakes and ponds.
Rick Hebert at Tackle World in Rochelle Park said overall fishing is good as we head into the Memorial Day Weekend. Anglers are catching big sea bass on the reefs and rockpiles and stripers remain in the Raritan Bay and are being caught offshore as well.Hebert said the freshwater bite has been solid and trout fishing has been especially good in rivers and streams. For whatever reason, he added, not a lot of anglers have been targeting them.
Capt. Phil Sciortino at the Tackle Box in Hazlet said he got into the big bass at the Shrewsbury Rocks earlier this week and his arms are still sore. His crew had fish up to 54 pounds slow trolling eels and Mojos.
Mike Pinto at Giglio’s Bait and Tackle in Sea Bright said there are still plenty of stripers in the Shrewsbury and Navesink rivers and there are some scattered bluefish in the mix.Sandworms, he said, have been working for bass on the beach and the bluefish have showed up in the surf as well. He also had good reports from the boats off the beaches on big stripers.
Mike Gleason at TAK Waterman in Long Branch said anglers are picking up schoolie bass off the beach on small swim shads. The bigger fish are farther off feeding on bunker.The striper bite is still good up in the bay, he said, on metal-lipped swimmers, Doc Spooks and flutter spoons.Gleason said lots of people are out looking for tuna and there have been a few reports of sightings. The shop, he said, just got a new shipment of Madd Mantis lures for when that action begins.Nice-size stripers are in the Ocean Grove surf. Clams produced three keepers for me earlier this week with one fish about 35 inches. All were released.
Bob Matthews at Fisherman’s Den in Belmar reported very good fluke fishing in the Shark River with the new size limit a great help as it’s easier to get fish to take home for dinner.Matthews said the sea bass fishing has been exceptional with party boats carrying good crowds and catching limits.Big stripers, he added, are now off the beaches and boats trolling bunker spoons and Mojos are pulling some monsters over the rail. Live eels are catching fish as well. Surf and river anglers are also scoring stripers.
Capt. Pete Sykes of Parker Pete’s Sportfishing said the striper fishing in the ocean is phenomenal with fish in the 40- to 50-pound range. All these giants were taken on the troll.He added that the sea bass fishing on the Express is outstanding as well and it’s sailing open boat every day unless there is a charter. There are openings on Sunday and through next week.
Capt. Jay Richardella of Side Job Charters now sailing out of Belmar said the striper fishing has just been lights out in the ocean. He’s been getting trophy stripers on the troll along with slot fish.Plentiful sea bass are also adding to the action and filling coolers.
Capt. Steve Spinelli on the Skylarker out of Belmar has been scoring sea bass, cod, ling and winter flounder on his trips.
Lloyd Bailey at the Reel Seat in Brielle said the fluking is hot in the Manasquan River with bucktails and Gulp doing the job. He also reported excellent sea bass fishing at the Sea Girt Reef.There have been some tuna rumors, he added, but nothing he could confirm
Kyle Tanger at Fishermen’s Supply said the fishing has been good, but he is of the opinion that the colder water has put us two weeks behind of where things should be this time of year.The Manasquan River has fluke, blues, weakfish and stripers but the fluking is a little hit or miss and the bluefish have been spotty.He said the sea bass fishing has been very good at the Shark River Reef but advised fishing the higher parts of the reef as the bite falls off the deeper you go.Big stripers are at the Shrewsbury Rock hitting live bunker and chunks. Everybody, he said, is out looking for tuna.
Chris Parlow at Capt. Bill’s Landing in Point Pleasant Beach said the better weather got things going and the sea bass fishing has been outstanding. The Sea Girt and Shark River reefs have been giving up quality fish on jigs and bait.He said fluke fishing continues to be good in the river and south of the Point Pleasant Canal in Barnegat Bay.He also had a report that bluefin were spotted busting on some unidentified inshore grounds. There was a tuna weighed in at Capt. Bill’s when the End Game Tournament Team brought a 225-pound bluefin to the scale.
Capt. Kenny Namowitz on the Mimi VI out of Point Pleasant Beach called the sea bass fishing super. He said there’s been a lot of fishing pressure since the season opened but there are still plenty of fish around.There are a few spots open for this Saturday’s open boat trip sailing for sea bass, cod, pollock, ling and winter flounder.
Capt. Danny Gregory on the Norma K III out of Point Pleasant Beach said they’re having plenty of limits on sea bass.The Norma K will be switching to half day trips starting this Saturday targeting fluke and sea bass.
Frank Giacalone at Gabriel Tackle Co. in Brick reported better fishing on the local beaches with clams accounting for some nice-sized bass. He said fluke fishing remains good at the Mantoloking bridge with reports of weakfish in the mix.
Pete Kupper at Charlie’s Bait and Tackle in Normandy Beach said it was a good weekend with big bass taking clams during the day and plugs at night off the beaches.Soft plastics are catching weakfish and stripers in the Manasquan River and Barnegat Bay and there are bluefish in the mix, making short work of those lures.
Ray Kerico at Grumpy’s Bait and Tackle in Seaside Park said the striper fishing in the surf is excellent. The one change from last week is that plugs, like SP Minnows, are now starting to pick up some bass at night.Clams are still the go-to bait, catching fish up to 40 inches.Barnegat Bay is holding stripers and fluke and Kerico added that big blues are being caught from the bayside docks.
Want to get in on the bite? Find an OTW-approved Charter Fishing Captain in New Jersey
Best Bets for the Weekend
Sea bass fishing is excellent right now and many party boats out of the local marinas are targeting them.
Striper fishing on the beaches, especially on clams, has been good from Sandy Hook down to Long Beach Island.
It’s Memorial Day Weekend, get out and fish.