All reports indicated solid fishing this past week for striped bass, bluefish and fluke.
The blues made an especially strong showing in the bays and rivers and, to a lesser degree, on the beach. Their widespread presence might explain the slight slowdown in the striper fishing up in Raritan Bay and the local rivers. Still, there were plenty of bass caught along with reports of a more fish moving in after the full moon.
Fluke fishing is off to a surprisingly good start in the local rivers and bays and even surf anglers are reporting keeper catches on Gulp and bucktails.
Rick Hebert at Tackle World in Rochelle Park said Raritan Bay stripers were a little picky over the weekend. He fished on Saturday and said they ignored everything but live bunker. The response to the live bait was almost immediate while shads, Mojos and plugs went untouched. The only problem was that the bait wasn’t easy to find. The huge schools of bunker that were recently in the bay, he said, have become scarce. Hebert said the trout fishing has picked up with more water in the streams. Walleye fishing has been good at the Monksville Reservoir and largemouth anglers are picking fish off the beds in local ponds and lakes.
Danny Stolba at Fish Tail Bait and Tackle in Carteret said the better fishing over the weekend was closer to Perth Amboy in the Arthur Kill with keeper bass caught on bunker chunks. Stolba also reported some very large eels were taken closer to Carteret.
Capt. Jay Richardella of Side Job Charters said the bass fishing was holding up in Raritan Bay and he will be heading back to his permanent base in Belmar next week to start fluking, sea bassing and tuna fishing. He’s already had reports of tuna being caught in the canyons.
Capt. Phil Sciortino at the Tackle Box in Hazlet said big bass up to 50 inches are being caught on live bunker in Raritan Bay. Mojos, flutter spoons, eels and plugs also accounted for some jumbo stripers. Gator blues are also in the mix hitting poppers and metal, he said.
Mike Pinto at Giglio’s Bait and Tackle in Sea Bright said that the striper bite is still good in the local rivers but it cooled a bit this past week. At the same time, more blues, up to 10 pounds, showed up in the rivers and on the beach. There are also stripers in the surf feeding on clams. Pinto said the shop now has a wide selection of Salty C’s Lures.
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Mike Gleason at TAK Waterman in Long Branch said the bass fishing remains good in Raritan Bay and the local rivers on a mix of baits and plugs. He said some better fish moved in with last full moon. He’s also getting decent fluking reports in the rivers.
Bob Matthews at Fisherman’s Den in Belmar said the fishing is holding up nicely in the Shark River with good fluking from the boats and the shore. Barry Young and Kris Johansen fishing from the L Street Pier had three keepers with Johansen winning the day with a 23 incher. Matthews reported lots of blues at the inlet over the last couple of days and there are also plenty of tasty blowfish around. He added that more bass are moving into the area with live eels and trolling doing the trick. Matthews also mentioned that the last bass he caught coughed up a 10-inch weakfish.
Capt. Pete Sykes of Parker Pete’s Sportfishing in Belmar is putting the finishing touches on the Express ahead of next Wednesday’s sea bass opener. He’s running morning and afternoon trips and they’re filling up fast. Check the website for availability.
Capt. Steve Spinelli on the Skylarker has been catching ling and stripers but is looking forward to next week’s sea bass opener. He’s booking spring and summer trips and can be contacted through his website.
Matt Haeger at The Reel Seat in Brielle said bluefish up to 16 pounds have invaded the Manasquan River hitting poppers and metal. He also said the river fluking is getting better every day on Gulp and bucktails. Bass are on the beach hitting clams and some artificials. Haeger mentioned that he’s had early reports of tuna in the canyons.
Jack Flood at Fishermen’s Supply in Point Pleasant Beach said fluking in the Manasquan River is good with Gulp, bucktails, squid, spearing and killies all doing the job. Blues, from cocktails to gators, are all over the river as well. Flood said there are still some stripers in there but the bluefish have pretty much taken over. He’s heard of bluefin up to 60 pounds being caught in the Hudson Canyon.
Capt. Kenny Namowitz on the Mimi VI out of Point Pleasant Beach reported catching a lot of ling. The Mimi VI will sailing open boat for ling until sea bass opens next Wednesday.
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Capt. Danny Gregory on the Norma K III out of Point Pleasant Beach said they had a very successful offshore trip earlier this week with a boat limit of golden tilefish. The tiles were up to 25 pounds and caught on bait and jigs. The Norma K III will be sailing three-quarter day trips for fluke and afternoon striper trips this weekend. Check the website for full details.
Chris Parlow at Captain Bill’s Landing in Point Pleasant Beach reported that the bluefish that arrived last week have moved farther up the Manasquan River and into Barnegat Bay. They’re being caught on swimming plugs and Zara Spooks. Fluke fishing, he said, continues to get better with more keepers being caught in the river and bay. He, too, is looking forward to sea bass season opening next week.
Frank Giacalone at Gabriel Tackle Co. in Brick said the local beaches are producing stripers on clams and there are blues in the surf as well. Stripers, he added, are hitting live eels in the Point Pleasant Canal.
Pete Kupper at Charlie’s Bait and Tackle in Normandy Beach said the big blues are creating a lot of excitement in the back bay with fish up to 12 pounds around Seaside Heights and north of the Mantoloking Bridge. There are still stripers in the back bay as well hitting mostly at night under the lights on soft plastics and plugs. Kupper said there’s fluke in the surf hitting Gulp and bucktails while a few have been caught on SP Minnows fished close to the bottom. Bass are also taking clams on the local beaches.
Ray Kerico at Grumpy’s Bait and Tackle in Seaside Park said there are a lot of fish being caught in the surf lately including blues, bass and fluke. The fluke fishing, he said, is surprisingly good so early in the season. The fluke are on Gulp and bucktails, the bluefish are hitting mullet, bunker chunks, metal and poppers and the bass are going for clams and SP Minnows. Those same baits are working for those fish back in the bay as well. Kerico also reported blue claws crabs are starting to show in the bay.
Best Bets for the Weekend
Early season fluke fishing has been surprisingly good with keeper fish reported in the rivers, bays and surf. The Shark and Manasquan rivers have been especially productive.
Those same areas are also holding bluefish, from cocktails to gators, and they’re hitting poppers, swimming plugs and bait.
The bass fishing has gone a little quiet with all the blues around, but they are hitting clams in the surf and live bunker, plugs and shads in the bays and rivers.