There’s nothing you can do about the weather and it’s been beyond miserable at the Jersey Shore for the last week.
The remnants of Ian generated pounding surf, relentless wind and constant rain that made for unfishable conditions. With the exception of blackfish in the Point Pleasant Canal and striped bass in the rivers and bays, the storm pretty much shut everything down.
Compared to the situation in Florida, however, this blow was a minor inconvenience. There is relief in sight as clearing is forecast for Thursday and anglers are looking forward to the opening of sea bass season on Friday. The size and bag limit from Oct. 7 to Oct. 26 is 10 fish at 13 inches.
Rick Hebert at Tackle World in Rochelle Park said he hasn’t heard a thing on the fishing front but suspects bass were being caught in Raritan Bay and the Hudson River. More water is flowing in the local rivers and streams, he added, which is good news for freshwater anglers. Fall trout stocking begins on Oct. 11.
Capt. Phil Sciortino at The Tackle Box in Hazlet said it’s been lonely at his place with very few people coming in. He did get reports of bass caught on the bay side of Sandy Hook and in the Shrewsbury River. With all the bait around before the storm, he’s pretty confident the fishing will light up when the weather clears.
Mike Pinto at Giglio’s Bait and Tackle in Sea Bright said the ocean has been out of control. A few hardy anglers dressed for the weather picked a few stripers out of the Shrewsbury River, he said, but that’s all he heard. On the plus side, there is still a massive amount of bait stacked up in the rivers and it should be on the move very soon.
Mike Gleason at TAK Waterman in Long Branch also reported bass caught in the rivers by anglers willing to endure the weather. With the wind forecast to switch offshore, he believes all of the bait in the ocean will hold close to the beach. Surfcasters were catching bass up to 30 inches just before the weather went bad. Gleason said he knows of several boats planning to head out on Thursday in search of tuna. The Ocean Grove surf has been an absolute mess since last Friday and was just starting straighten out late Wednesday afternoon.
Bob Matthews at Fisherman’s Den in Belmar said the weather backed everyone into a corner but we were lucky compared to Florida. The fishing was good up until the blow with blackfish the top target. The bite has been red hot at the Shark River Inlet and Point Pleasant Canal and everyone is getting their one-fish limit, plus plenty of short action. The boats out of the marina were hammering bluefish with some albies and bonito in the mix. Hopefully, the fish will still be around when the weather clears. Matthews is also of the opinion the storm will trigger a bait migration from rivers and bays leading to a good surf bite for stripers and blues. Party boats like the Big Mohawk, Capt. Cal II and Ocean Explorer will be heading out for sea bass on Friday.
Lloyd Bailey at The Reel Seat in Brielle said a few bass were caught in the Manasquan River during the week. He’s just hoping that all the mullet that were in the river and heading out the inlet will still be around when people get back to fishing.
Kyle Tanger at Fishermen’s Supply in Point Pleasant Beach said the blackfishing is nuts in the Point Pleasant Canal with loads of action and plenty of keepers. Everything else came to a halt. He tried to fish in the northeast wind at the beginning of the storm but it was impossible. Some small bass were caught in the Manasquan River by those willing to face the elements. The river still has loads of bait and he, too, believes the recent wild weather will kick the fall run off. Tanger said most of the tuna boats won’t be wasting any time getting back out there. The Voyager sailed at 6 a.m. on Thursday.
Capt. Danny Gregory on the Norma K III out of Point Pleasant Beach will be sailing for sea bass on Friday morning. He expects the fishing to be good as he was catching some nice ones as the fluke season came to a close. The Norma K III will sail for sea bass every day leaving at 7:30 and returning at 2:30.
Frank Giacalone at Gabriel Tackle Co. in Brick said that despite the bad weather, striper fishing in the Manasquan River at the train and Route 35 bridges was pretty good. He also reported on the excellent blackfishing in the Point Pleasant Canal.
Pete Kupper at Charlie’s Bait and Tackle in Normandy Beach said it’s been a ghost town there this week with the beach taking a terrific beating. He’s not exactly sure what it will look like when all is said and done but he imagines there will be a new sand bar and all the familiar cuts and holes will have disappeared. Surfcasters will have to spend some time finding the new ones. The canal blackfishing, he said, was the best thing going.
Scott Thomas at Grumpy’s Bait and Tackle in Seaside Park said there were bass being caught in Barnegat Bay for those willing to fish in the wind and rain. He believes the post-storm surf will deliver a great clam bite for stripers this weekend.
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It’s anybody’s guess what impact the recent storm will have on the fishing but the forecast calls for calmer seas for the opening day of sea bass season. Nice fish were caught as fluking came to a close so there’s a good chance the boats will find them right where they left them.
And now that the skies have cleared, it’s time to check the beaches. The prevailing opinion is that the recent weather was just what we needed to get the fall run in gear. Bass, blues, false albacore and Spanish mackerel are all probable targets.