Fluke, the fish that keeps on biting and biting and…
While many thought Hurricane Lee’s arrival would send the fluke offshore and bring an end to the season, this week saw good fishing in the rivers, on the beach and in the boats. The action isn’t up to summer standards, but it’s pretty good. And it ends next Wednesday.
And as that season winds down, fall fishing is picking up. Mullet are starting to move along the beaches and there are more reports of stripers hitting plugs in the surf. At the same time, blues, porgies, albies, Spanish mackerel, tuna and the occasional weakfish are keeping anglers busy. And come Oct. 1, sea bass reopens.
Rick Hebert at Tackle World in Rochelle Park said the boats were enjoying good fluking in deeper water following Lee’s departure. He had reports of mullet in the surf and heard that bass, false albacore and Spanish mackerel were biting off the beaches. One customer said he caught some weakfish up to 30 inches but would only give the location as off Monmouth County.
Danny Stolba at Fish Tail Bait and Tackle in Carteret said the fishing picked up in the Arthur Kill with more blues showing up. Spot and sand sharks are in there, too. He said there’s plenty of bait around the pier, including peanut bunker, spearing and killies.
Capt. Phil Sciortino at the Tackle Box in Hazlet said the fluke boats out of Atlantic Highlands continue to catch keeper fluke, calling the fishing for this time of year unreal. He’s also getting good reports on porgies, croakers and weakfish in the bay while. folks fishing eels are doing well with stripers.
Mike Pinto at Giglio’s Bait and Tackle in Sea Bright said there’s a little bit of everything going on right now. Fluke fishing is still good off the beaches of Sandy Hook and Sea Bright. Pinto himself got a 25-incher in the surf on Wednesday. There are stripers in the surf as well, hitting poppers and metal-lipped swimmers. The Shrewsbury River is still giving up some nice fluke between the bridges and bluefish are in there, too. Crabbing is pretty good in the Navesink as well. Pinto said there is still a massive amount of bait back in the rivers.
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Mike Gleason at TAK Waterman in Long Branch said mullet is moving along the beach and stripers are on them. Paddle tails, Mag Darters and most mullet-imitations are catching fish. The bass are mainly schoolies. Gleason said the rivers are wall-to-wall bait and he expects the nor’easter forecast for the weekend will shake things up. Gleason said bluefin are still around but it will take some searching. Not many boats have been sailing due to the storm. The yellowfin action was very good before the blow with chunking and jigging working well.
Schoolie stripers are in the Ocean Grove surf as I picked up a couple on shads and poppers earlier this week around the jetties. I also saw a short cobia hooked from the OG pier on bunker chunks. The party boats out of the Belmar Marina, including the Capt. Cal II and Ocean Explorer, reported excellent fluking on Wednesday with fish up to 9 pounds on the Capt. Cal II.
Capt. Steve Spinelli on the Skylarker out of Belmar also reported excellent fluking this past week with plenty of limits and fish up to 5 pounds.
Capt. Jay Richardella on Side Job Charters out of Belmar said the yellowfin bite doesn’t get much better than it was late last week. He got limits Wednesday and Thursday jigging and chunking. He’s got plenty of open dates for bass and tuna trips in the coming weeks and can be contacted through his Facebook page.
Eric Bunz at The Reel Seat in Brielle said the fluke fishing is still holding up in the Manasquan River. They’re staring to move out and are gathering east of the Railroad Bridge. Live bait is the way to go. Stripers are in the surf, he said, and they’re hitting poppers, bombers and SP Minnows. Benz mentioned Yo-Zuri’s Top Knocker pencil as a good plug to have in the bag. There are small blues in the mix as well. Bigger blues, up to 5 pounds, are back in the river. The lumps and humps out front are holding a variety of pelagics like false albacore, bonito and Spanish Mackerel. Mahi-mahi are on the pots and chumming with spearing is working for them. Bunz said there’s always a chance of raising a bluefin while chumming. He had reports of yellowfin in the Hudson Canyon along with a handful of swordfish.
Kyle Tangen at Fishermen’s Supply in Point Pleasant Beach said blackfishing in the Point Pleasant Canal provides plenty of action if not a lot of keepers. Green crabs are doing the job and it’s just a numbers game until you get a keeper. He also reported more bass showing up in the surf with some fish up to 32 inches. Metal-lip swimmers and spooks are getting the stripers to hit around the jetties and in the pockets. Bass fishing is also good in the Manasquan River at night on soft plastics around the bridges. Boaters are doing well throwing skinny metals and epoxy lures for albies and Spanish mackerel offshore. And there are tuna around, Tangen said, but since the blow, it will take some looking.
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Capt. Danny Gregory on the Norma K III out of Point Pleasant Beach said he left the fluke biting on Wednesday’s trip with several limits on the boat and plenty of keepers. Tuesday’s trip also saw a bunch of keepers come aboard but Capt. Gregory said the offshore fluking is starting to slow down. The weather will dictate whether he’ll sail for night blues this weekend. Last weekend’s trip saw limits for all anglers onboard. Check his website for the latest information.
Chris Parlow from Captain Bill’s Landing in Point Pleasant Beach reported that the fall season has begun. Blues, bass, albies, weakfish and bonito have all shown up along the beaches. Bluefin and mahi-mahi have also been cruising the inshore grounds and the yellowfin bite continues at places like the Triple Wrecks and the Bacardi. Fluke fishing has been very good in the Manasquan River, but the reef bite has slowed significantly, he said.
Capt. Kenny Namowitz on the Mimi VI out of Point Pleasant Beach went looking for inshore tuna earlier this week but had to settle for mahi-mahi, blues and mackerel. He was heading out to the Hudson early Thursday looking for tuna.
Frank Giacalone at Gabriel Tackle Co. in Brick said the local beaches are still holding fluke as is the Manasquan River. They are also at the either end of the Point Pleasant Canal. Anglers livelining spot or eels are also catching blues and bass in the canal.
Pete Kupper at Charlie’s Bait and Tackle in Normandy Beach said the mullet are in the surf along with loads of short fluke. Bluefish are in there as well feeding on the mullet. The Manasquan River striper bite is very good in the dark, he said, all on soft plastics. The blackfish are biting well at the Manasquan Inlet and in the Point Pleasant Canal. Crabbing remains decent back in the bay and it also has spot, snappers and blowfish.
Frankie Z at Grumpy’s Bait and Tackle in Seaside Park said there are loads of mixed-size blues in the surf with fish up to 5 pounds. Small poppers and metal are doing the trick as the mullet is thick in the wash. Albies are popping up off the beaches and Spanish mackerel are around as well but staying just out of reach. Frankie added there’s bass off the beach hitting plugs at first and last light.
Best Bets for the Weekend
The weather will be a factor in this weekend’s fishing as a strong nor’easter is predicted. Fortunately, the rivers and back bays continue to hold fish with fluke in the Shrewsbury, Navesink, Shark and Manasquan rivers.
There are also stripers and blues in the rivers and the blackfishing in the Point Pleasant Canal promises a lot of action, if not a lot of keepers.