Northern New Jersey Fishing Report
Surfcasters finally got a shot at all the stripers around. There were bona fide blitzes and bass on the beach just south of Raritan Bay this past week. The fish were a mix of overs, keepers and shorts and they hit Avas, shads, metal-lips and poppers. As always, it’s a matter of being in the right place at the right time.
Boats have been getting the lion’s share of the action so it was good to see the bass come over the sand bar. This week also saw more bunker off the beaches, joining the sand eels that have been fueling the bite.
Tuna fishing remains very good, both for bluefin in inshore and mid-shore waters and yellowfin, bigeye, and longfin in the canyons. There wasn’t much word on sea bass this week even though the limit has gone to 15 fish as of Nov. 1. There were good reports, however, on blackfish off beach jetties, at the inlets, under bridges and in the Point Pleasant Canal.
Mark Fuduli at Tackle World in Rochelle Park said the bass blew up on the beaches north of Long Branch over the weekend and at the start of the week. There were more keepers in the mix as well. For the boats, he said it’s just stupid fishing with loads of bass up and down the coast. Speaking of stupid, I misquoted Mark last week when he reported bass up to 60 inches and I wrote 60 pounds. My bad. On the freshwater side, Fuduli said, trout fishing is excellent in the deep pools on power bait and salmon eggs. He also reported several large muskies caught at the Monksville Reservoir on big Whopper Ploppers.
Capt. Phil Sciortino at the Tackle Box in Hazlet said there’s a big body of fish around the beaches south of Raritan Bay. Boats are catching fish livelining, on metal-lip swimmers, shads, poppers, diamond jigs and eels. More keeper bass are being caught around Sandy Hook, he added, and there are loads of peanut butter still coming out of Raritan Bay.
Joe Julian Jr. at Julian’s Bait and Tackle in Atlantic Highlands said there were blitzes on and off at Sandy Hook for three days last week. The bass were on sand eels and Julian said he’s sold hundreds of diamond jigs in the last couple of weeks. He also reported a couple of his customers have been spooled by tuna grabbing their stripers. The Highlands Bridge, he added, is holding blackfish.
Mike Pinto at Giglio’s Bait and Tackle in Sea Bright said it really went off there last Sunday afternoon with bass up to 51 inches caught on topwater plugs. Anglers are also picking fish in the surf on SP Minnows, Avas, shads, pencil poppers and sand eel imitations. Pinto reported stripers in the rivers up to 20 pounds hitting MP Bucktails. The shop, he added, is fully stocked with Blitz Baits, which have been working well for stripers.
Mike Gleason at TAK Waterman in Long Branch said the bass were in and out of the surf on Tuesday. There were keepers and overs, with fish up to 40 pounds, hitting metal-lip swimmers, pencil poppers and diamond jigs. A few were taken on snagged bunker as well. Gleason said last Saturday’s inaugural Kids Striper Classic, which the shop co-presented with the Sandy Hook Bay Marina, was a huge success with 74 young anglers participating and catching some very large stripers. The big bass of the day was 47½ inches. Gleason also reported plenty of bluefin around and there are more recreational-size fish in the mix. This Saturday, TAK Waterman will be welcoming Zack Richardson of Zack’s Custom Rods to the shop from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and he’ll be bringing a wide selection of his finely crafted rods with him.
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Jesse Thomas at Fisherman’s Den in Belmar said the party boats out of the marina, like the Big Mohawk, are all doing well striper fishing. He said the boats were on the fish just off the beaches on Tuesday. Blackfishing has been good at the Shark River Inlet as well, he added.
Capt. Rich Falcone on the Golden Eagle reported superb striper fishing on Tuesday. He started catching bass livelining bunker in the morning and by mid-day the bass were up top hitting jigs and shads. There was plenty of action all day with a good amount of keeper bass to go with all of the overs that were safely released. The action was slower on Wednesday’s trip, Falcone reported, with plenty of fish around but not in the mood to bite. Still, keepers and overs came over the rail. The Golden Eagle sails for stripers every day.
Capt. Steve Spinelli of the Skylarker out of Belmar said the striper fishing was excellent on Monday south around Raritan Bay. His crew from the Bensalem Fishing Club had a mix of overs and keepers all on shads and jigs. He’s got some open dates through December and can be contacted through his webpage.
Duncan Hathaway at the Reel Seat in Brielle also reported on the blitzes to the north with bass feeding on bunker and sand eels. He said more peanuts are coming out of the back bay. The yellowfin bite has been excellent in the Hudson Canyon and bluefin are hitting ballyhoo and stick baits in mid-shore and inshore waters. Togging, he added, is still good at the Manasquan Inlet.
Brian Flanagan at Captain Bill’s Landing in Point Pleasant Beach said the boats are enjoying lights-out striper fishing and he had a good report of bass to the south. He said the tuna fishing in the Hudson Canyon has been very good for yellowfin on the chunk. Togging remains solid in the Point Pleasant Canal, he said, with a few keepers among the many 13- and 14-inch fish.
Kyle Tangen at Fishermen’s Supply in Point Pleasant Beach said the striper fishing picked up on the beach with bass on bunker and sand eels. First light has been best on spooks, pencil poppers and metal-lip swimmers. Boats are finding plenty of bass in the bunker pods and larger plugs have been working for them. Bluefin, he said, are all over the place with the bigger fish up to the north. Fish in the 60- to 70-inch range are hitting hoo heads and ballyhoo. The Hudson Canyon is on fire with a chunk bite for yellowfin, longfin and bigeye. He said dark into light has been a good time and a number of boats have been limiting out early. Jigs have also been catching fish.
Capt. Danny Gregory on the Norma K III out of Point Pleasant Beach said the bass fishing is as good as it gets right now. He’s been fishing up to the north and getting keepers and overs livelining and on jigs and shads. The stripers are everywhere, he said. He’ll be sticking with stripers until Nov. 16 when the five-fish tog season opens.
Capt. Jay Richardella on Side Job Charters out of the Manasquan Inlet said the bass fishing was very good on Wednesday, with a lot of big bass caught in the morning livelining. He switched to the troll later in the day and the good bite continued. Capt. Richardella has open dates remaining and can be contacted through his website.
Pete Kupper at Charlie’s Bait and Tackle in Normandy Beach said anglers have been picking some nice bass off the beach on Avas with teasers. Early morning and nighttime seem to be best. The bite picks up, he added, an hour before or after slack tide. He also said the bass fishing has been very good in the Toms River with soft plastics on a jig head. Kupper said sign-ups continue for the annual Thanksgiving Surf Turkey Tournament taking place over the holiday weekend. Details can be found on the shop’s Facebook page.
Ray Kerico at Grumpy’s Bait and Tackle in Seaside Park said striper fishing has been good from the beaches in the dark. If you put your time in, you will be rewarded. Avas with teasers and metal-lip swimmers have been doing the job. There are schools of bunker off the beaches, he added, and hopefully the blitzes won’t be far behind.
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Best Bets for the Weekend
Striped bass are by far the best bet for the weekend. The fish are spread out over a wide area; blitzes were reported on the northern New Jersey beaches last weekend and at the start of the week from the Hook south.
Boats continue to get the best of it, but walking and casting along the sand will pay off if you put your time in. Diamond jigs with tube tails, along with other sand eel imitations, metal-lip swimmers, pencil poppers and shads are all catching fish.