Northern New Jersey Fishing Report
Opening day of Jersey fluke season was met with mixed reviews. Most of the action was reserved to the rivers where limits were had, but the common theme of the week is “you have to work for them.”
Stripers and bluefish are being caught from the rivers and bays to the ocean beaches, and depending on your location on the coast, they could be hitting a number of offerings. Anglers in Monmouth County are catching bass and blues from Sandy Hook to Point Pleasant Beach on poppers, minnow plugs, bucktails and swim shads, while further south in Ocean County, clams have been the ticket to success for bass and some nice black drum.
Big bass from the Chesapeake are pulling up off Monmouth County, followed by waves of schoolie to over-slot fish. With the May full moon approaching, we’re in for a good week of striper fishing ahead.
Dan at the Tackle Box in Hazlet said they’ve got blues in the Navesink River being caught on Hydro Minnows, SP Minnows, bucktails and swim shads; just about anything subsurface has been doing the trick. Of course, there are stripers in the river with them, but the bass action is becoming more widespread from the bay to the ocean surf. Fluke season is starting off with a bang; there are keepers being caught in the nearby rivers as well as in Raritan Bay, with bucktails and Gulp doing most of the heavy lifting.
Captain Joe Greco from Chasing Tails Charters out of Sayreville said the bass fishing has been excellent. Plenty of stripers around along with some nice size bluefish that are starting to trickle in. They’re starting to see a good amount of bunker push into the bay, so there should be another few weeks of good fishing ahead. We should start seeing some real big fish soon!
Joe Julian at Julian’s Bait and Tackle in Atlantic Highlands said that surfcasters are doing well at the point of Sandy Hook on a falling tide, where stripers and bluefish are being caught on poppers. There are also plenty of blues in the Navesink River, along with a bunch of bunker. Fluke season is picking up as well, with most of the action right now reserved to the rivers. There are lots of shorts, he said, and the shore guys have been getting their fix on 5-inch Gulp Swimming Mullets, but there are not enough boats in the water yet to really gauge how hot or cold the bite has been outside of the rivers. Spearing have pretty much moved out, so the fluke seem to be keyed in on peanut bunker.
Mike Pinto at Giglio’s Bait and Tackle in Sea Bright said the rivers are loaded with stripers and bluefish, and there are plenty of bunker in there with them. Bucktails and swim shads are duping bass after dark, while the bluefish action seems reserved to daylight hours. The blues, he said, are being caught on mostly subsurface lures; they have been hitting topwater occasionally, but Mike’s bluefish have all been on SP Minnows and bucktail jigs.
Captain Jay Richardella of Side Job Charters said that striped bass fishing has been lights out whether they’re trolling, live-lining or jigging swim shads. He’s got another week of fishing up near the Raritan before moving down to Belmar for the black sea bass season opener and ocean striper fishing. Give him a shout to reserve your dates.
Mike Gleason at TAK Waterman in Long Branch said the bass bite has been good for guys throwing big swimbaits and glidebaits in the bay, and there are still a few fish being caught on swim shads. Meanwhile, the charter boats are doing really well live-lining bunker. Bigger stripers have moved in, he added; both the ocean and the bay are seeing improved fishing as those Chesapeake bass continue to press north. But it’s not all big bass—there have been some large schools of schoolie and slot fish that he has spotted out front with the drone. With the full moon coming, Gleason is anticipating the arrival of more bass from the south. The bluefin tuna bite is beginning to heat up, too. There are fish stalking the bunker pods up near Raritan Bay. Plus, there has been a really good run of bluefish on the local beaches, he said, better than we’ve seen in recent years. On top of that, one of the shop’s employees caught a 27-inch doormat fluke on a 3-inch NLBN on opening day, but released it because the fishing was good enough for them to catch a limit of smaller keepers.
Tom at Fisherman’s Den in Belmar said things have really picked up this week since the fluke opener on Sunday. Blues and bass are chewing at night in the back of the Shark River, and fluke fishing has been great for daytime anglers with a handful of customers reporting quick limits. There are bass out on the beach too; some guys are using clams or bunker, but SP Minnows and Mag Darters are pulling good fish during the night tides.
Ted Imfeld at the Reel Seat in Brielle said striper fishing is really heating up locally as some of those large breeders from the Chesapeake have started to move in out front. There are blues in the Manasquan and Shark rivers, but he hasn’t seen much or heard of much bait in the area. Fluking good in the back, out front there are some larger fish, hammering them. Striper in the surf on clams. Haven’t seen much bait near Manasquan. Tuna are in too. A couple up in Raritan Bay on the bunker.
Kyle Tangen at Fishermen’s Supply in Point Pleasant Beach said fluking has been great way in the back of the rivers; a lot of people are catching keepers in the channels close to the Canal. Most anglers are using Gulp, like 5-inch grubs and 4-inch shrimp, as well as the new Berkley Gulp Dragon Tails on Z-Man Pro ShroomZ Ned heads. There are some weakfish in the mix too, we’ve heard of some nice fish in the 20-inch-plus range hitting those Dragon Tails. Good fluking continues out into Barnegat Bay, too. In the bay, there are some big blues being caught on top along with multiple stripers from schoolie to slot size. The last few nights there have been some gator blues on soft plastics in the Canal, and numerous bass up to 40 inches as well, most of which are being caught on 1- to 1.5-ounce jigs and 7- to 9-inch plastics. Moving toward the ocean, a few good fluke have been caught in the inlet as well. There are whispers of bass out front on plugs at night, with dark-colored swimming plugs like Bombers and Mag Darters producing good results. There were also some good striped bass reports out front a little further off the beach, where deep diving metal lips and flutter spoons are catching some of those big Chesapeake fish moving up the coast. Some of the party boats are out fishing for ling, and judging by their bycatch of sea bass, it should be a hot start to the season on the 17th.
The Norma K III out of Point Pleasant Beach reported that they had to do a little searching to find the bass over the weekend. They had a light crowd on Sunday but managed to boat a few slot and over-slot fish. They are sailing daily for stripers at 7:30 a.m. until the black sea bass season opener on the 17th, at which time they’ll be running morning sea bass trips and afternoon/evening striper trips from 4-8 p.m. Give them a call to reserve your spot.
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Frank Giacalone at Gabriel Tackle Co. in Brick said weakfish have showed up in the Manasquan River, so it’s not only fluke, stripers, and bluefish in the rivers and bay now. The local beaches are producing bluefish and stripers, and right on time, the shop is receiving a delivery of fresh shelled clam today. The striper run is not in full swing yet, but there are good numbers of fish down in Atlantic City and moving north, so the bite should be hot and heavy some time near the end of the week. Bluefish recently invaded the Manasquan River and the Point Pleasant Canal, and now they’re in the bay, so grab those metals and SP Minnows and re-up on some soft plastics. Striper fishing in Barnegat Bay remains good on soft plastics and topwater plugs, but if you’re fishing in the canal, you’ll want live eels. Raritan Bay, he said, is experiencing a typical bass bite for this time of year, and it’s definitely worth taking a ride up north or jumping on a charter if you can.
Pete Kupper at Charlie’s Bait and Tackle in Normandy Beach said striper fishing is picking up out front, partially because of more participation, which means more fish being caught. A customer came in and bought a new rod earlier this week, and returned 20 minutes later after catching a 38-inch bass. A few of the younger guys at the shop caught bass to 40-inches plus on clams in the surf too. Opening day fluke fishing was good, with reports of fish to 23 inches in north Barnegat Bay and the Manasquan River. Monday morning the early birds got the worm before boat traffic picked up and created a lull in the fluke bite. It seems like up in the river, spearing has been outfishing Gulp. We’re seeing more bunker in the area this week, and the bay is packed with spearing which bodes well for fluke fishing. We should start to see crabs coming out soon, and snapper blues in the near future. Right now, there are a few blues to 22 inches in the river as well as stripers to 35 inches, according to Captain Dom of Eight Ball Sportfishing. There are also some smaller stripers being caught in the lagoons in Barnegat Bay.
Ray Kerico at Grumpy’s Bait and Tackle in Seaside Park said striper fishing off the beach has been steady, but it’s mostly bait bite. You know how Grumpy’s does it—throw the snot. The local beaches have been productive for bass on clams along with some big black drum that recently moved in. Surf fishermen targeting bass and drum have even had their clam-baited hooks picked clean by blowfish this week. There has been some sporadic bluefish action in bay and in the ocean, and the shop even weighed in a nice surf-caught fluke this week, which was the first of the season. Kerico added that there’s not much concentrated bait in the backwaters, but opening day of fluke season still yielded some good keepers from the bay and area rivers.
Best Bets for the Weekend
The rivers are holding good numbers of bluefish, but they’re being picky towards topwater, so load up on minnow plugs and bucktail jigs or tear-resistant soft plastics.
Striper fishing in the Raritan is as good as ever, but bass and blues are also being taken on the nearby beaches via plugs, plastics, and bucktails. Further south clams are getting the job done on bass and drum; but beware of the pesky blowfish. It may be worth tossing out a smaller rig consisting of Aberdeen hooks tipped with clam. Northern puffers are great table fare.
Fluke fishing in the Manasquan, Navesink, Shrewsbury, and Shark rivers, as well as Barnegat Bay, is also a great option. Some areas are beginning to see schools of peanut bunker filling in while spearing have been harder to come by. Bucktails and Gulp have been the ticket so far.
The weekend weather looks nice enough to poke around out front for some of those cow stripers from the Chesapeake. Pack your biggest soft plastics, flutter spoons, and deep-diving metal lips to best target these fish—especially if they’re tight to bunker schools.