Northern New Jersey Fishing Report
Two species at opposite ends of the fishing spectrum, bluefin tuna and blue claw crabs, are currently providing a lot of the fun.
Giant and recreational-size tuna are biting in mid-shore waters and the crabs are thick in the rivers and bays.
Take your pick. One requires a boat and some expensive equipment; the other doesn’t
There were also better reports on ocean fluking this week with the water getting closer to normal temperatures for this time of year.
At the same time, ling fishing is excellent, the sea bass are big and blues and bass are showing up in the surf, rivers, and bays.
Fishing Report For Northern New Jersey
Rick Hebert at Tackle World in Rochelle Park said the ocean fluking is on the upswing.
He fished aboard the Maddie Marie, captained by owner Bryan Pieros over the weekend and took first place in the Point Pleasant Elks Club fluke tournament with a 7.6-pound fluke caught by Pieros.
Bruce Stout, John Tucker and Dan Nykyforuck made up the rest of the crew. Hebert said they picked fish all day long. The fluke also took the top spot at the Jersey Shore Shark Anglers’ fluke tourney held the same day.
Hebert added that he had reports of tuna inshore and at the canyons.
Capt. Phil Sciortino at The Tackle Box said he’s been getting better reports on the fluke bite and that the ling fishing is incredible.
He had reports of cobia on the New York side of Raritan Bay and that inshore bluefin fishing blew up this past weekend. Spot and croakers are being caught at the local piers and crabbing is terrific.
Mike Pinto at Giglio’s Bait and Tackle in Sea Bright said crabbing in the Shrewsbury and Navesink rivers is off the charts. Nets and traps are flying out of the shop, he said.
There are still a lot of short fluke in the surf but keepers are hard to come by. Stripers are being caught off the beach early in the morning on poppers and plugs.
Pinto also said the biggest tilefish ever weighed in at Giglio’s was this week when Frank Reps brought a 52-pound golden to the scale.
The shop, he added, is fully stocked with BaitFuel 5- and 6-inch grubs.
Mike Gleason at Tak Waterman Long Branch said the bluefin bite is very good with a mixed bag of bluefin from schoolies up to giants. Gleason said RonZ soft baits, 9-inch Hogy Harness Pro tails and NLBN plastics were all good choices. Fish have also been caught on jigs and poppers. The yellowfin bite has been good as well in mid-shore spots and the canyons.
The shop, he said, is fully stocked with everything tuna anglers need, from rods and reels to line and lures.
Gleason said there are still loads of short fluke in the wash and folks are picking stripers in the surf.
The Ocean Grove/Bradley Beach surf is full of short fluke hitting Gulp and jig heads. I got a double-header on Wednesday, but both fish were too small.
Tim Rizzuto at Fisherman’s Den in Belmar said the Shark River is absolutely loaded with fluke and most are small. He said the ratio is about 30 shorts to one keeper.
He also said the bluefish are running in and out of the river so catching them is just a matter of timing.
There are kingfish in the surf, he added, along with short fluke and the occasional keeper.
Rizzuto said he’s had good reports on bluefin fishing at Little Italy and the Atlantic Princess
Capt. Rich Falcone on the Golden Eagle out of Belmar said he’s been getting into bluefish almost every day, catching a boat limit of them on Wednesday. There were also bonito mixed in with the blues, which were between 1 and 3 pounds.
Ling, sea bass and fluke were caught as well.
Capt. Steve Spinelli on Skylarker Charters out of Belmar said the fluking is definitely getting better with fish up to 6 pounds coming over the rail. He’s also seeing more cocktail blues.
The ling fishing is still very good and the sea bass are jumbos.
Greg Hueth of the Big Mohawk out of Belmar said the fluking has picked up over the last several days and he’s hoping the trend continues.
Matt Heagen at the Reel Seat in Brielle said the fishing is good, especially for bluefin with fish from 24 inches up to giants being caught on soft plastics, jigs and poppers.
He also reported a 60-inch cobia caught aboard On A Mission Fishing Charters that ate a Nomad DTX minnow.
There are a lot of peanut bunker in the Manasquan River, Heagen said, and the blues and bass are taking advantage of their presence. A 25-pounder striper hit a Doc spook earlier this week, he reported.
There’s also lot of fluke action in the river, he added, just not a lot of keepers.
Capt. Jay Richardella of Side Job Charters out of Manasquan reported a good canyon trip over the weekend hooking 18 yellowfin and a white marlin. He also ran to Little Italy at the start of the week, landing a nice bluefin.
He’s got open dates and can be contacted through his website.
Chris Parlow from Captain Bill’s Landing in Point Pleasant Beach reported that the inshore tuna bite continued over the weekend and into the early part of this week.
East and southeast of Little Italy continue to be the hot spots. Bluefin of all sizes are being caught on a variety of artificials and rigged ballyhoo.
There have also been a few cobia caught as well. The Canyon is still producing a good bite with yellowfin and bigeye being caught on a regular basis.
Fluke fishing in the ocean picked up slightly with water temperatures finally warming into the low 70s. Fluking along the Manasquan Inlet wall continues to be consistent with a lot of shorts and a few keepers being caught daily.
Kyle Tangen at Fishermens Supply Co in Point Pleasant Beach said the fluking in the Manasquan River is pretty good in terms of action if not keepers. He estimates that every fluke in the river has been caught at least once.
Fishing for bass and blues has been very good in the Point Pleasant Canal on soft plastics and live spot. Some of the bluefish are jumbos, he said, up to 15 pounds.
Tuna fishing is great, he said, with a lot of big fish around. Pink RonZ soft plastics, UVT jigs and poppers have all been working and there have been fish taken on the troll as well.
Tangen also reported yellowfin in the 70-pound range around the East Elbow of the Hudson Canyon.
Capt. Danny Gregory on the Norma-K III out of Point Pleasant Beach said the last few trips have seen more keeper fluke come aboard. The deeper water is finally starting to warm up, he said, and the fish are more active.
Big sea bass and ling are filling out the catches. The Norma K III sails twice daily at 8 a.m. and 2 p.m.
Frank Giacalone at Gabriel Tackle Co. in Brick said the tuna bite is on. Anglers who headed to the inshore and mid-shore grounds landed some nice fish on the troll and on jigs.
Local beaches are producing some fluke in the wash on teaser rigs with a bucktail tipped with Gulp. The Point Pleasant Canal continues to produce plenty of stripers and live eels and spot are doing the trick.
-
Want to get in on the bite? Find an OTW-approved Charter Fishing Captain in New Jersey!
Pete Kupper at Charlie’s Bait & Tackle in Normandy Beach also reported good striper and bluefish action in the Point Pleasant Canal and the Manasquan River at night.
He said more bunker are showing up just beyond the sand bar, but the beach fishing has been a little slow. There are fluke in the wash but not many are keepers.
Snapper fishing in Barnegat Bay lagoons has picked up and crabbing remains good.
Ray Kerico at Grumpy’s Bait and Tackle in Seaside Park said fluking in the surf showed a small improvement as the water continues to warm up. There were kingfish caught off the beach this week as well.
Crabbing in the bay is excellent, he added, and there are a lot of cow nose rays back there along with bluefish.
He did mention that Frankie Z from the shop hooked into a giant bluefin just five miles out and fought it for an hour before breaking off.
Fishing Forecast for Northern New Jersey
Bluefin tuna fishing is very good in mid-shore waters with a mix of sizes feeding on sand eels. RonZ soft plastics and Hogy Pro Tails are performing well and fish are being caught on jigs and poppers as well.
Ocean fluking has taken a turn for the better with more keepers reported by party and charter boats. Short fluke are providing plenty of action in the rivers and in the surf if not a lot of fish for the table.
And blue claw crabs are all over the rivers and bays.