Northern New Jersey Fishing Report
Memorial Day Weekend brought memorable fishing to the Jersey Shore. Sea bass fishing remained red hot, giant stripers bit off the beaches, inshore fluking was excellent and blues hit lures in the rivers and in the surf. And as long as the weather cooperates, there’s no reason it won’t get ever better.
The party boats all reported limit catches on the sea bass grounds with plenty of ling in the mix. The good fluking held up in the rivers with loads of keepers reported. The surf is starting to give up some flatties as well.
Trophy bass in the 50-pound range continued to delight anglers in search of big stripers while smaller fish are being caught in the rivers, bays and the surf.
And freshwater anglers did well with trout and largemouth bass.
Rick Hebert at Tackle World in Rochelle Park said he’s hearing about mostly limit catches aboard the sea bass boats. He added that some bigger sea bass are now coming over the rails. There are huge bass out in the ocean eating eels while smaller stripers can be found in the rivers and bays. Fluking in the rivers has been very good with kayakers doing exceptionally well in the harder to get to spots, he said. On the freshwater side, largemouth bass action has been very good and boats trolling in the reservoirs are finding some nice lakers.
Capt. Joe Greco of Chasing Tails Charters out of Sayreville and Highlands found the big girls off Sandy Hook earlier this week dragging metal-lip swimmers. The biggest fish was 49½ inches and Greco said every fish caught was over 40 inches. The bunker seems to be coming in waves with tons around one day and hardly any the next, he said. There are still bass in Raritan Bay, he added, closer to keeper size. Chasing Tails specializes in small, inshore charters and can be contacted through its Facebook page.
Capt. Phil Sciortino at the Tackle Box in Hazlet said the bass fishing is incredible with giants hitting eels on planer boards. He said the fluking has been good in the Navesink River and the shallow parts of Raritan Bay. Gulp and killies have been working well. There are also lots of small blues around in the rivers and bays, he added.
Joe Julian Jr. at Julian’s Bait and Tackle in Atlantic Highlands said the blues are on the beaches as well with fishing very good at the Rip on Sandy Hook. Poppers and metal are doing the job. He’s had excellent reports of sea bass on the rock piles and fluking has been good in the rivers. The only issue has been a shortage of killies. Julian added that he’s had his first reports of blue claws in the rivers.
Mike Pinto at Giglio’s Bait and Tackle in Sea Bright said the bass fishing for the boats and kayakers is off the charts. Metal-lip swimmers, live bunker and eels on planer boards are catching some very big bass. The rivers are still holding bass and blues and some of the bluefish are in the 9-pound range. Fluking, from what he’s hearing, is a bit up and down.
It looks like it’s time to try the sand bugs as Mike Compoly of Neptune let me know he picked three stripers up to 32½ inches in the surf on Wednesday morning.
Tim Rizzuto at Fisherman’s Den in Belmar said the fluking is incredible in the Shark River with a number of 4- and 5-pound fluke caught. The rental boats out of the marina are returning with limit catches and there was a 6-pounder caught off the floating dock. Rizzuto also mentioned killies have been hard to come by. The party boats out of the marina, including the Big Mohawk, Capt. Cal II and Ocean Explorer, are cleaning up on sea bass with jigs and teasers catching most of the fish. Double headers are common. There are also small blues and some bass in the Shark River, he said.
Capt. Rich Falcone of the Golden Eagle out of Belmar reported several exceptionally good days on the sea bass grounds catching limits and adding plenty of ling to the catch.
Stanley S. at the Reel Seat in Brielle said the fluking hasn’t been this good in a long time. The Shark and Manasquan rivers and Barnegat Bay have all been producing nice fish on Gulp and bucktails. He also said it’s very easy to get your limit of sea bass out on the reefs and wrecks.
Brian Flanagan at Captain Bill’s Landing in Point Pleasant Beach said the fluking has been very good in Barnegat Bay from Bay Head north to the mouth of the Point Pleasant Canal. The fluke bite is also good in the Manasquan River as a friend of Flanagan’s got a couple of keepers off the shop’s dock. Small blues are biting at the Dog Beach on the river and sea bass fishing is red hot, he added.
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Kyle Tangen at Fishermen’s Supply in Point Pleasant Beach said the bluefishing is really, really good in the Manasquan River and at the Inlet. In addition to all the small blues at the Dog Beach, there are bigger fish up to 8 pounds in the back of the river. Topwater plugs along with metal are doing the trick. Fluking remains good in the Manasquan River, he said, even though it has been fished hard since opening day. The sea bass fishing is solid, he said, with Ava 17s and 27s with a teaser working well. Limits are the norm. There are a some bluefin being caught, he added, anywhere from 70 pounds down to albie-size. But they’re not in close and there’s a lot of searching going on without a lot of results.
Capt. Tom Wolfe of the Norma K III out of Point Pleasant Beach said the sea bass fishing has been excellent on both his daily trips. The first leaves the dock at 7:30 a.m. while the afternoon one departs at 4 p.m. It’s usually limits around the boat with some ling mixed in.
Frank Giacalone at Gabriel Tackle Co. in Brick also reported tremendous sea bass fishing on the local reefs and wrecks. Fluke fishing remains good in the rivers and Barnegat Bay, especially on the outgoing tide. Striper fishing in the bay remains good on soft plastics and topwater plugs, he added.
Pete Kupper at Charlie’s Bait and Tackle in Normandy Beach said it was good fishing over the weekend with a couple of bluefish blitzes in the surf. One lasted for three hours and provided plenty of action on 2- to 3-pound blues. The other didn’t last as long but offered fish in the 6- to 8-pound range. There are bass to be caught under the lights in Barnegat Bay on soft plastics and the fluking is decent in the bay as well, he said.
Frankie Z. at Grumpy’s Tackle in Seaside Park said fishing is good with bass hitting plugs off the beach after dark. He added that the blues are in and out of the wash as well. There is still an occasional black drum being caught on clams in the surf. The surf is also giving up some nice fluke with a 23½ incher coming into the shop. Fluking is also decent in Barnegat Bay, he added.
Best Bets for the Weekend
Now is the time to get in on the red-hot sea bass fishing. Nothing this good lasts forever and the season closes on June 19. Party and private boats are doing very well on the reefs and wrecks with jigs and teasers catching the majority of the fish.
Bluefishing has also been very good in the rivers and it’s staring to pick up in the surf as well.
Then there are fluke, which are biting well in the Navesink, Shark and Manasquan rivers. Fluke anglers are also finding fish in the shallow parts of Raritan Bay and in Barnegat Bay.