Bad weather may have kept boats at the dock and anglers indoors this week but the fish didn’t seem bothered a bit. Anglers unfazed by conditions — high wind, cold rain and heavy fog — found plenty of action on sea bass, fluke, blues and stripers. Unfortunately, sea bass are now off the menu as the season closed after a sensational spring from start to finish. Better weather is in the forecast and expectations are high the good fishing will continue, especially for offshore fluking as the water gets warmer.
There was also good news this past week on the tuna front as NOAA adjusted the retention limits for bluefin tuna. Private boats will be able to keep one fish from 27 to less than 73 inches while charter boats can keep two fish from 27 to less than 73 inches. Only one fish for the charter folks can be in the 47- to 73-inch range. The prior limits of fish from 27- to 47-inches were going to make for a tough year for tuna anglers and the shops that provided the rods, reels and gear. The new limits are in effect from July 1 to Dec. 31
Rick Hebert at Tackle World in Rochelle Park believes the hot weather on the way will help kickstart ocean fluking. Saltwater anglers will need something to fish for now that sea bass has closed. Freshwater fishing has been good with largemouth bass and hybrid stripers in Lake Hopatcong and local reservoirs. Streams are back to normal levels, he added, bringing better trout fishing.
Capt. Phil Sciorino at the Tackle Box in Hazlet said the fluke are biting in the rivers but no one was out fishing in the crummy weather. He also reported bass continue to bite in the rivers on worms under the bridges.
Steve at Julian’s Bait and Tackle said the bluefishing remains solid in the rivers, Raritan Bay and around Sandy Hook. Store traffic was light all week but he expects things to get very busy this weekend with warmer weather on the way and the official start of summer on Friday.
Mike Pinto at Giglio’s Bait and Tackle in Sea Bright reported fluke are being caught in the surf in Deal and the regulars were catching bass in the rivers. But, he said, Sea Bright was a ghost town as nobody was fishing in the fog and rain.
Mike Gleason at Tak Waterman in Long Branch said fluke fishing in the surf there was very good before the weather really went south and he expects it to rebound as the weather improves. The sand bug bite for stripers finally got on track, he added. A friend who was fluking spotted loads of bass rooting around in the wash for the fleas.
Gleason, who is a devoted tuna angler, was happy to hear that NOAA revised the bluefin regulations for this season.
The sand bug bite is on in the Ocean Grove surf. A 35-inch striper grabbed my bait and went for a good run off the beach on Tuesday. Two-pole Mike Compoly has been using hard calico crabs he rakes on neighboring beaches and has been catching numerous stripers, mostly over 28 inches.
Tim Rizzuto at Fisherman’s Den in Belmar said folks were catching fluke in the Shark River despite the miserable weather. Outgoing tide was best. He added that blues were a constant presence at the Shark River Inlet.
Bluefish were busting at the inlet on Wednesday morning as I sailed aboard the Big Mohawk to get in on the penultimate day of sea bass fishing. Capt. Payton Gepp put on us on spots where it was pretty much drop-and-reel fishing until we got a boat limit and headed in early. The Big Mohawk will start fluke fishing this Friday.
Capt. Rich Falcone on the Golden Eagle out of Belmar also reported lights out sea bass fishing on Wednesday and will begin bluefishing on Friday.
Capt. Steve Spinelli on the Skylarker out of Belmar will start his offshore fluke season on Friday.
Dean Visone at the Reel Seat in Brielle reported good fluking in the Manasquan River and Barnegat Bay. Anglers are also catching bluefish in both places. He hasn’t heard much in the way of tuna reports, but everyone is very happy about the change in the regs. Visone did say folks making the trip offshore are crushing tilefish.
Capt. Tom Wolfe on the Norma K III out of Point Pleasant made his first fluke trips over the weekend in less-than-ideal conditions and reported better than expected results. There were keepers up to 21 inches in with the many shorts. There were also loads of sea bass caught along with the fluke. Capt. Wolfe said they will be sailing twice a day for fluke at 8 a.m. and 2 p.m. and targeting blues at night on weekends from 7:30 p.m. until 1 a.m.
Ella Stiso at Captain Bill’s Landing in Point Pleasant Beach said a co-worker caught their limit of sea bass at the Shark River Reef earlier in the week. Fluking is very good in the Manasquan River and there are blues and bass in the Point Pleasant Canal.
Kyle Tangen at Fishermen’s Supply in Point Pleasant Beach said he had really good reports amid all the bad weather. Fluking in the Manasquan River remains very good with limit catches and keepers up to 23 inches. Bluefish are in the river, too, hitting topwater baits. There are bass in there as well, eating clams and cut baits in the back channels and around the bridges. He had reports of stripers up to 35 inches. Loads of spot are in the river and bay as well with Sabiki rigs and Fish Bites catching them. Sand crabs are catching bass in the surf and Tangen said a fly-fishing friend of his has been using a mole crab fly and hooking stripers and fluke. He’s heard of tuna at the Triple Wrecks and in the Wilmington Canyon but that bite hasn’t really come together as yet. Tangen did say he had his first report of bonito caught over the weekend to the north.
Frank Giacalone at Gabriel Tackle in Brick reported plenty of stripers and bluefish in the Manasquan River and Point Pleasant Canal. The bass are hitting live eels and spot. He also said crabbing off the local piers and docks has been very good with lots of reports of big crabs.
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Pete Kupper at Charlie’s Bait and Tackle in Normandy Beach said fluke fishing in Barnegat Bay is really good with live spot catching fish up to 6¾ pounds. Kupper said Scott Hoffman of Happy Baits and a friend had seven keepers between them.
Kupper added that land-based anglers are enjoying the fluke bite along with boaters. Spot are thick in the bay with some folks using cast nets to catch the live bait.
Fluking is also very good in the surf with fish in the 3- to 5-pound range. Blues are in the canal as well, Kupper added.
Frankie Z at Grumpy’s Bait and Tackle in Seaside Park there are loads of fluke in the surf but there haven’t been a lot of folks fishing. The lousy weather kept participation way down.
He did say one angler caught 15 in the surf with two keepers among them. There have also been bass and black drum in the surf with clams catching both.
Frankie also reported good fluke fishing in the bay with anglers live-lining spot and catching some very nice fish.
Best Bets for the Weekend
Bright sunny days are in the forecast and the beach beckons. Fluke fishing in the surf is improving daily with Gulp and bucktails responsible for most of the catches. Stripers are also in the suds eating clams and sand bugs. Just float the bugs in the wash on a circle hook with a couple of split shot 24 inches above the hook. Offshore fluking is also on the upswing with most party boats starting their summer season this weekend. And bluefish can still be found all over the place.