Northern New Jersey Fishing Report
It’s an ill wind that blows from the south for days on end and brings a precipitous drop in water temperature. That’s what we’ve been dealing with for most of the last week. While the unusually cold water didn’t shut down fishing entirely, it certainly didn’t help. The stiff breeze kept boats at the docks and anglers off the beaches. Most of the fish seemed to lose their appetites in the cold water.
Rivers and bays took up the slack with fairly decent fluking in both while bluefish and bass continued to be caught in inshore waters and in the surf. Thankfully, a change in the weather pattern is forecast for the weekend and will hopefully get the fishing back on track.
Rick Hebert at Tackle World in Rochelle Park said the cold water was definitely a factor this week but anglers continued to chisel away at fluke, especially around the Rattlesnake. Trout fishing remains good at the reservoirs, like Merril Creek and Round Valley, but the lack of rain has left the local streams practically dry, Hebert said.
Danny Stolba at Fish Tail Bait and Tackle in Carteret said the Arthur Kill appeared unaffected by the wind and cold water. Fishing for stripers, blues and fluke was good from the pier with frozen and fresh bunker doing the job for all three species.
Capt. Phil Sciortino at the Tackle Box in Hazlet said things were a little slow but he had good reports on fluke from the Brooklyn side of the Verrazzano Bridge with fish up to 10 pounds reported. Small blues are popping up all over Raritan Bay and in the rivers, he said, and there have been good catches of croakers and spot at the Keansburg Pier.
Joe Julian Jr. at Julian’s Bait and Tackle in Atlantic Highlands said the wind was wild this week but the party boats out of Atlantic Highlands still did pretty well with fluke. He also reported good croaker fishing at the Keansburg Pier. The are some schoolie bass hitting swim shads in the Navesink River and he said the crabbing near Red Bank is phenomenal.
Mike Pinto at Giglio’s Bait and Tackle in Sea Bright said the fishing did slow down but some fluke were taken from the surf locally. Bluefish are scattered around in the surf as well. The rivers continue to give up stripers but he hasn’t heard much in the way of fluke in the rivers. Pinto said the shop now carries Yo-Zuri Hydro Minnows and Hydro Pencils in all the new colors.
Mike Gleason at TAK Waterman in Long Branch said the weather has only provided a few small windows for the tuna boats to sail. Two friends of his, James Kuhl and Ryan Degraw, made it out and landed a nice bluefin on a NLBN soft plastic. Gleason said there are enormous schools of big sand eels offshore, about 8 inches long, providing a feast for just about everything that swims. He’s very excited about the new Hogy Protails the shop just received. Olive Clear and Pink Bone are now available in all the popular sizes. Gleason also reported stripers in the surf hitting plugs.
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Johnny O. at Fisherman’s Den in Belmar said it’s been a rough week with the cold water making it tough for the party boats heading offshore and the rental boats in the Shark River. It’s been mostly short fluke, a few blues and some stripers at night.
Capt. Steve Spinelli on the Skylarker out of Belmar said it’s been a grind with the temperature drop but he did manage to catch some fluke in the 4- to 6-pound range.
Capt. Rich Falcone on the Golden Eagle out of Belmar has been targeting fluke and bluefish on his daily trips. The bluefish proved a bit elusive this past week but they’ve been catching keeper and short fluke. He’s also sailing afternoon fishing and sunset trips on Saturday and Sundays.
Matt Heagen at the Reel Seat in Brielle said it’s been a weird week with the weather. Water temperature at the Manasquan Inlet went from the low 70s to the low 50s with the incoming tide. Still, he said, there were fish to be caught. Big blues, between 10 and 15 pounds, came into the Manasquan River along with some smaller bluefish in the 5-pound range. Fluking was still pretty good as well with a mix of shorts and keepers. Z-Man shrimps have become a popular fluke bait. Folks are also picking bass in the surf on soft plastics. Heagen said the bigeye tuna fishing got off to a good start in the canyons before the weather made things difficult. He added that he’s just finished updating the Reel Seat’s website, adding more products from the shop and making it easier to use. Heagen is inviting everyone to check it out.
Capt. Jay Richardella of Side Job Charters out of Manasquan said the tuna fishing was excellent before the wind came up. He fished the Hudson last week and went 3-for-4 on longfin. There were also eight yellowfin and three bigeye in the mix, all caught on the troll. He’s got open dates for tuna and fluke and can be reached through his website.
Kyle Tanger at Fishermen’s Supply in Point Pleasant Beach said the fluking in the Manasquan River has been really good with better fishing the farther back you go. Friends of his got their limits to 22 inches. Riverfront Park was good for land-based anglers. There’s been topwater action for blues in the river as well and Tanger said some of the fish are gators. Cold water has hurt the surf fishing except for those targeting sharks. That bite has been pretty good, he said. He had a good report on fluking at the Sea Girt Reef and said some bonito have been caught on jigs offshore as well. Tuna reports have been spotty due to the weather but Tanger did hear of loads of sand eels at Little Italy and people have been sight fishing for cobia. Tanger added that the shop just received a huge shipment of Nomad Jig in all sizes and colors.
Chris Parlow from Captain Bill’s Landing in Point Pleasant Beach reported that the upwelling of ocean water along the coast continues to wreak havoc on the inshore fluke fishing. He fished the ocean on Tuesday and had 52-degree water temperature right outside the inlet, which only rose to 61 degrees by the end of the day. Only short fluke were caught on the Axel Carlson Reef. He did report that the inshore shark bite has been terrific, with multiple hookups of mako, dusky, and thresher sharks being reported. He did note that all makos were released according to NMF Regulations. Bluefish continue to pop up in and out of the Manasquan Inlet and there is an abundance of fluke being caught in the inlet as well, he added.
Frank Giacalone at Gabriel Tackle Co. in Brick said fluke fishing inside remains good in Barnegat Bay, at the Manasquan Inlet and in the river. Striper fishing remains good at night in the bay and river around the bridges and in the Point Pleasant Canal. Livelining eels is the way to go there, he said. Crabbing remains good in the bay and lagoons with some solid numbers of crabs landed.
Pete Kupper at Charlie’s Bait and Tackle in Normandy Beach said the surf fishing was very good until the dramatic drop in water temperature came along. Until the water warms, Kupper said anglers are catching fluke in Barnegat Bay and Manasquan River. He also reported very good crabbing in the bay.
Frankie Z. at Grumpy’s Bait and Tackle in Seaside Park said the good fluking in the surf turned into a slow pick with the colder water. The fluke bite, however, is decent at the Barnegat Inlet. Spot are starting to show in Barnegat Bay and Frankie said kingfish are being caught in the bay as well on Fish Bites. He, too, reported good crabbing in the bay. He said the green heads are starting to show when the west wind blows and the shop is now fully stocked with Capt. Ron’s Insect Repellent.
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Best Bets for the Weekend
There are plenty of fluke around, we just need some warmer ocean water to get them biting again. There’s a brief change in wind direction forecast for Friday, coming out of the east, before going back to the south for the weekend. Hopefully, the brief respite will let the water warm up a bit.
The Manasquan River appears to be the hot spot for river fluke. Bluefish are biting in the rivers and bays; stripers are in the surf on plugs and plastics and crabbing is gathering steam in all the usual places.
Tuna anglers are praying for a weekend sailing window as the bite was getting good before all the wind started.