Northern New Jersey Fishing Report
Anglers are enjoying a tremendous start to the spring sea bass season with limits coming early and often. Jigs and clams are both working well and ling, cod and winter flounder are adding to the catches. At the same time, the rivers and surf are producing fluke, blues and bass with a lot of big black drum joining the party down to the south.
Fishing for big stripers has also picked up offshore primarily on the troll with eels and planer boards, bunker spoons, diving plugs and Mojos. Simply put, fishing is excellent as we head into the holiday weekend.
Rick Hebert at Tackle World in Rochelle Park said sea bass fishing got off to a great start with easy limits. Fluke seem to be everywhere, he said, mostly in the rivers but they’re making an early appearance in the surf. As far as freshwater goes, Hebert said there are still plenty of trout being caught in the rivers and streams and largemouth bass are hanging on the beds.
Capt. Phil Sciortino at the Tackle Box in Hazlet said boats trolling eels on planer boards are catching some very big stripers. The jumbo bass are also hitting metal-lip swimmers and live bunker, which are showing up in better numbers in the ocean. Sciortino also reported good fluking at the mouth of the Shrewsbury River and around the Oceanic Bridge. Squid, killies and spearing have been doing the job.
Mike Pinto at Giglio’s Bait and Tackle in Sea Bright said there are a lot of bluefish around, in the rivers and the surf. Plugs and bucktails have been working for them. Fluking is surprisingly good in the surf, he said, with a report of a 26-incher coming in. Gulp on jig heads is working just fine. Stripers are also hitting clams and sand bugs in the surf, Pinto added.
Mike Gleason at TAK Waterman in Long Branch said the striper bite has been running hot and cold. One moment it’s great, then they’re hard to find. Lack of bait may be an issue, as bunker aren’t as plentiful as in the past few years. More are starting to show up, however, but Gleason called them walnut bunker, somewhere between peanuts and adults. Deep-diving metal lips have been scoring bass and he’s had good reports on the eel and planer board bite. The Ocean Grove surf has been giving up stripers on clams but the sand bug bite has yet to get going.
Jesse Thomas at Fisherman’s Den in Belmar said the sea bass fishing is really good with all of the party boats, including the Big Mohawk and Capt. Cal II, reporting limits by late morning with some nice knuckleheads up to 5 pounds. Fluking in the Shark River has just been so-so, he said, with the outgoing tide offering the best fishing. Jumbo blues have been in an out of the river with fish up to 14 pounds caught at the inlet and back by the L Street pier. Bass are being caught in the Bradley Beach surf, he added, on clams and plugs with the artificials working at night.
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Capt. Steve Spinelli on the Skylarker out of Belmar called the sea bass fishing pretty damn good with boat limits coming early, leaving plenty of time to fish for ling, cod and winter flounder. He’ll be sticking with sea bass until that closes on June 19 then switch to fluke.
Capt. Jay Richardella on Side Job Charters has also been taking advantage of what he’s calling a savage sea bass bite. He’s filling coolers on every trip and will continue to target them for the next couple of weeks. Check his Facebook page for availability.
Matt Haegen at the Reel Seat in Brielle said the fishing has been good all around with bluefish and bass in the Manasquan River. Fluking has also been good in the river and the flatties are in the surf as well hitting Gulp on jig heads. Sea bass fishing has been excellent on the local reefs and wrecks in water from 60 to 100 feet. Jigs, like Ava 17s and 27s, and clams have both been working. A teaser above the jig is also a good idea. Bunker spoons are picking up big offshore stripers, he added.
Kyle Tanger at Fishermen’s Supply in Point Pleasant Beach said the Manasquan River really lit up this past week with blues and striped bass. The blues are throughout the river, from the inlet back through the Point Pleasant Canal. A lot of the action has been on topwater plugs. Bucktails are also working and Tanger had a report of a couple of tiderunner weakfish hitting them in the canal. Fluking has been good in the Manasqaun River, he said, with fish up to 23 inches reported. BaitFuel, a new artificial bait the shop now carries, and Gulp are working for the fluke. Sea bassing is excellent right now and Tanger said jigging is the way to go. The fish, it seems, are dying to get caught. Small Avas with a teaser are catching multiple fish. Clams are working as well if that’s your preference. Tanger also reported jumbo stripers at the Shrewsbury Rocks hitting Mojos and bunker spoons. He had a report of a 60-inch striper.
Capt. Danny Gregory on the Norma K III in Point Pleasant Beach said the sea bass fishing can’t get any better than it is right now. He’s been getting the boat limit every day by 11 a.m. at the latest. Gregory said once the boat has their quota of sea bass, they’ve been catching ling, cod and pollack. The Norma K III sails every day from 7:30 to 2:30 and will be running special afternoon trips from 4 until 8 p.m. this Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Wednesday.
Chris Parlow from Captain Bill’s Landing in Point Pleasant Beach reported that fishing this week has been outstanding for a number of species. Sea bass opened last week and mostly all reports indicate easy limits of nice fish from the Axel Carlson and Sea Girt reefs to the Shark River Reef. Clams on a high-low rig has been the way to catch them, but jigs have been working as well. Nice size ling and cod have also been in the mix. The ocean striped bass fishing was also very good over the last few days with big fish being caught on the troll from Seaside Heights up to the Shrewsbury Rocks. Mojos and bunker spoons are getting the job done. Fluke fishing inside Manasquan Inlet and river still remains very good depending upon the tide and the water temperature. The bluefish bite around Dog Beach and Treasure Island remains very good.
Frank Giacalone at Gabriel Tackle Co. in Brick said there’s excellent sea bass fishing on the local wrecks and reefs and he’s had good reports from the surf with a mix of blues and stripers. Clams are still the bait of choice for stripers. The fluke bite remains good in the Manasquan River and in the north end of Barnegat Bay.
Pete Kupper at Charlie’s Bait and Tackle in Normandy Beach said the fishing has been very good, especially for stripers in the surf. The bite has all been on clams. There’s been plenty of blues around as well with mullet working in the surf and plugs and metal catching them in the bay, at the Manasquan Inlet and in the Point Pleasant Canal. He’s had good reports on fluke in the northern part of Barnegat Bay and added that all signs point to a good holiday weekend for anglers.
Ray Kerico at Grumpy’s Bait and Tackle in Seaside Park said there’s a world-class black drum bite going on right now in the surf at Island Beach State Park and other local beaches with fish from 20 to 60 pounds. In fact, it was a 36 ¾-inch black drum that took the top prize at the annual Governor’s Surf Fishing Tournament last Sunday. Clams are catching all the drum. There’s also a really good striper bite in the surf with clams and artificials working for them. Blues are also in the surf hitting mullet. In Barnegat Bay, they’re going after metal and plugs. Anglers are also doing pretty well with fluke in the surf on Gulp and bucktails.
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Best Bets for the Weekend
Sea bass fishing is red hot. Party, charter and private boats are reporting plenty of action and easy limits on these tasty fish. Clams and jigs are both working on most of the wrecks and reefs.
Trolling for jumbo stripers has also been good offshore using bunker spoons, Mojos and eels with planer boards.
The surf is producing stripers on clams, blues on mullet and fluke on Gulp and bucktails. Black drum also await in the surf at Island Beach State Park and surrounding beaches. Clams will do the trick for them.