Sea bass fishing remains insane, fluking keeps improving and blues are popping up all over the place. And with the official start of summer less than a week away, the fishing should keep getting better and better.
Except for sea bass. That closes next Monday (6/19) which will be the last day of an absolutely remarkable month of fishing. They are back on the menu on July 1 but with just a one-fish limit at 12½ inches.
Hopefully, fluke fishing will step up and fill the void while summer favorites like blues, tuna, kingfish, snappers and blue claws will keep folks happy. Stripers will still be on the beaches eating sand crabs, clams and plugs.
Rick Hebert at Tackle World in Rochelle Park said he’s been getting better reports on the fluke bite, especially from the rivers. More are showing up in the surf as well. There are still big bass around hitting live bunker in the ocean while blues are being caught all over Raritan Bay. The walleye and hybrid striper fishing are good in Lake Hopatcong and despite the low water, he said, there’s plenty of trout to be caught in the rivers and streams.
Danny Stolba at FishTail Bait and Tackle in Carteret said there have been fluke, blues, bass and even a false albacore caught at the pier in the last week. All of the bites have been on bunker chunks.
Capt. Phil Sciortino at the Tackle Box in Hazlet said the fluke fishing is really starting to turn on with an 11-pounder caught on the Prowler V out of Atlantic Highlands earlier this week. Sea bass fishing on the Sandy Hook Reef has been incredible, he said, and there are still some big bass around but it looks like they’re starting to move out.
Mike Pinto at Giglio’s Bait and Tackle in Sea Bright said the fluke bite has picked up on the beaches and there are big blues there as well while small blues are back in the rivers. He also reported good bass fishing on the beaches at Sandy Hook with sand bugs.
Mike Gleason at TAK Waterman in Long Branch said the striper bite is slowing down but the fluke action is picking up, especially in the surf. There are plenty of schoolie bass around, he said, as a recent dive on a few Long Branch jetties revealed. He also spotted some weakfish in the 6- to 8-pound range. There have been several big tuna caught in mid-shore waters, Gleason added, but the bite hasn’t quite come together as yet. TAK Waterman is holding a Father’s Day Sale through Sunday.
Bob Matthews at Fisherman’s Den in Belmar said the sea bass action is the best thing going on right now with all of the party boats out of the marina absolutely crushing them. I got my chance last Friday aboard the Big Mohawk out of Belmar when Capt. Payton Gepp found fish everywhere we stopped. It was a boat limit and a great day of fishing. The Big Mohawk will be sailing for fluke once sea bass closes. Matthews said fluking in the Shark River has been very good, with the catch of the week a 6-pound, 2-ounce flattie caught from a rental boat. The freshwater action on bass and crappie has also been good in local lakes and ponds, he added.
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Capt. Jay Richardella on Side Job Charters said it’s been drop-and-reel sea bass fishing for his charters with limits all around the boat. After sea bass closes next Monday, Capt. Richardella said they will be tuna fishing. Tuna fishing is off to a slow start and at the Manasquan River Bluefin Open last weekend there were only two weigh-ins. The Side Job Charters crew was responsible for one of them. There are still some open tuna dates and Capt. Richardella can be contacted through his website.
Capt. Pete Sykes of Parker Pete’s Sportfishing been getting in on the extraordinary sea bass bite as well. On one of his recent charters, a great white shark pup tried to make a snack out of sea bass as it came to the boat. Capt. Sykes last open boat sea bass trip will be this Sunday and there are still a few spots available. After Monday, Parker Pete’s will be targeting fluke.
Capt. Steve Spinelli on the Skylarker out of Belmar said the sea bass fishing is excellent. After getting his boat limit on Tuesday, he decided to do a little fluking and ended up with a number of keepers up to 4 pounds. He’s also been catching ling and winter flounder. There are a few open dates on the calendar available for charters.
Matt Haeger at The Reel Seat in Brielle said it’s been good fishing with tons of bluefish around, stripers at the Manasquan Inlet, solid fluking in the river and crazy sea bass action on the wrecks and reefs. The southern canyons, he said, are where the better tuna fishing is taking place, mostly on yellowfin.
Kyle Tanger at Fisherman’s Supply in Point Pleasant Beach said a lot of stripers, from schoolies to keepers, are being caught on the beach using sand fleas. Bluefish are moving in and out of Manasquan Inlet and Tanger said party boats are waiting just outside the inlet to catch them on metal. Fluking in the river and on the beaches has been good with Gulp and bucktails and there are still some big stripers roaming around in the ocean. He, too, said boats heading south are having better luck with tuna and also tilefish.
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Capt. Kenny Namowitz of the Mimi VI out of Point Pleasant Beach said fishing has been good. He reported that more ling are starting to mix in with the sea bass and winter flounder limits his customers have been catching. The Mimi VI with be running open boat bottom fishing trips for flounder and ling on June 26, 27, 29 and 30.
Chris Parlow from Captain Bill’s Landing in Point Pleasant Beach reported that sea bass still remains your best bet for catching a limit of fish. The ocean fluke fishery has been getting better this week as well. He also reported that the Manasquan River has been producing striped bass on clams around the bridges. There has also been a number of thresher sharks caught over the last week, he added.
Capt. Danny Gregory on the Norma K III out of Point Pleasant Beach said it’s been lights out sea bass fishing and he’ll be ending the season sailing three-quarter day sea bass trips through Monday and family fun trips Saturday and Sunday 4 to 8 p.m.
Frank Giacalone at Gabriel Tackle Co. in Brick said the local beaches continue to produce stripers on clams and sand fleas and there are plenty of stripers and blues in the Point Pleasant Canal.
Pete Kupper at Charlie’s Bait and Tackle in Normandy Beach said they are still getting bass on the beaches with clams and blues with mullet and bunker. Fluking is good in the Manasquan River and back in Barnegat Bay and the crabbing back there is starting to pick up.
Ray Kerico at Grumpy’s Bait and Tackle in Seaside Park said not much has changed since last week. The fishing is still very good. Fluking is picking up in the surf on Gulp and jigs, the bass are on clams and sand bugs and the blues are on everything, including bait, metal and poppers. Crabbing is good back in the bay and there are blowfish around as well. The shop, he said, is all set for summer.
Best Bets for the Weekend
It’s your last chance to get in on the spectacular sea bass fishing. Anglers are enjoying drop-and-reel action for these tasty fish on wrecks, reefs and mussel beds.
There are also fluke in the bays and rivers and blues and bass on the local beaches. Metal, mullet and bunker chunks will catch the blue and the bass are hitting plugs, clams and sand bugs. Happy Father’s Day.