Northern New Jersey Fishing Report
Not much has changed since last week and that is a good thing. Anglers continue to catch loads of black sea bass on the wrecks and reefs. Fluking is holding up in the rivers and picking up in the suds. Stripers are offshore, on the beach and in the backwaters, and bluefish seem to be everywhere.
The only dark spot on the horizon, and it’s a big one, are the onerous regulations NOAA has put on bluefin tuna. Private boats can only keep one fish per day from 27 to 47 inches while charter boats can keep two at the same size. The drastic reduction comes as NOAA estimates that the bluefin quota was exceeded by 50 percent in 2024.
Bluefin fishing has been very good the last couple of years and the new regulations will inflict a painful blow to recreational anglers and the charter captains that put them on these tremendous fish. The hope is that yellowfin make a big showing this season and save the day.
Rick Hebert at Tackle World in Rochelle Park said sea bass are keeping everybody happy with outstanding fishing, mainly on jigs. River fluking is getting better and he said that anglers are now attaching spinner blades to their Gulp for some added flash. Rivers and streams are returning to normal levels after all the rain, he added, and better trout fishing has returned. Anglers are also pulling some nice bass off their beds.
Capt. Joe Greco of Chasing Tails Charters out of Sayreville keeps putting his clients on big stripers offshore. Tuesday saw two big bass up to 46 inches come aboard after hitting metal-lip swimmers. Capt. Greco has some open dates and he can be contacted through his Facebook page.
Capt. Phil Sciortino at the Tackle Box in Hazlet said eels on planer boards continue to catch jumbo stripers out in the ocean. He also said fluking in shallow water is picking up. But the best bet by far is the sea bass fishing with jigs responsible for most of the catches.
Steve at Julian’s Bait and Tackle in Atlantic Highlands said fluking is improving as the water warms and there are plenty of blues around Sandy Hook. One young customer caught a giant that weighed 19 pounds on his Boga grip. He also heard of a few bass hitting plugs on the beach at Sandy Hook.
Mike Pinto at Giglio’s Bait and Tackle in Sea Bright said that there are still bass and blues in the Shrewsbury and Navesink rivers. Some of the blues are gators in the 10-pound range. Bass are biting on the beach on plugs and bait and one customer picked a nice one on his fly rod. Pinto said the shop is fully stocked with OutCast Lures.
Mike Gleason at Tak Waterman in Long Branch reported jumbo stripers hitting metal-lip plugs and eels from Sandy Hook down to Deal. Bluefish are all over the place and fluke fishing in the surf is getting better on Gulp and bucktails. Gleason was particularly dismayed by the new bluefin regulations as the shop has put a strong emphasis on the fishery in recent years offering custom rods, select spinning reels and a wide variety of popping plugs.
The sand bug bite is slowly coming to life in the Ocean Grove surf and anglers are picking a few bass on the small crabs while clams and sand worms are catching stripers as well.
Tim Rizzuto at Fisherman’s Den in Belmar said the fluking remains good in the Shark River over by Maclearie Park and the L Street Pier. There are also a lot of blues coming in and out of the river and at the Shark River Inlet. The party boats out of the Belmar Marina are all getting in on the incredible sea bass bite and Rizzuto added that striped bass are hitting clams on the local beaches.
Capt. Rich Falcone of the Golden Eagle out of Belmar reported excellent sea bass and ling fishing nearly every day for the past week with limit and near limit catches. The Golden Eagle sails every day at 7:30 a.m.
Capt. Jay Richardella of Side Job Charters out of Belmar said he’s been keeping busy with all the sea bass around while getting ready for ocean fluking and the tuna season. He admitted it’s going to be tough to get tuna charters when you can only keep two small fish.
Capt. Steve Spinelli on the Skylarker out of Belmar said he’s been limiting out on sea bass on almost every trip and catching plenty of ling and some winter flounder as well.
Stanley S. at the Reel Seat in Brielle said the sea bassing is off the charts and fluking is good in the Manasquan River and off the beach. He said there was a report of yellowfin but they were 140 miles to the south.
Brian Flanagan at Captain Bill’s Landing in Point Pleasant Beach said he and a friend, John Gibbons, crushed the tilefish out in the Hudson Canyon earlier this week. They caught mostly big goldens but there were a couple of blueline in the mix. Fluking remains good in the Manasquan River and the bluefish are in there as well. Stripers are hitting clams on the beach and bunker spoons are working for bass off Bay Head, he added.
Capt. Tom Wolfe on the Norma K III has been getting into the sea bass and ling on his morning trip leaving at 7:30 a.m. and on the afternoon trip departing at 4 p.m.
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Kyle Tangen at Fishermen’s Supply in Point Pleasant Beach said the fluke fishing in the Manasquan River is very good with a number of keepers being landed. There are also loads of blues in the river, most in the 3-to 4-pound range with bigger fish to be found in back by Treasure Island. Blues and bass are in the Point Pleasant Canal with stripers hitting soft plastics at night. Folks are picking bass off the beach on clams and getting some on plugs as well in low light. The local reefs are loaded with sea bass, he said, and there have been some nice winter flounder mixed in with them.
Frank Giacalone at Gabriel Tackle Co. in Brick reported that fishing remains good with little change from last week. In the surf, the striper bite has been good on clams with blues and fluke being caught from the beach as well.
Pete Kupper at Charlie’s Bait and Tackle in Normandy Beach said there are bass and blues in the surf. It’s clams and plugs for the bass and metal and mullet for the bluefish. Kupper also reported that Gulp and bucktails are catching keeper fluke in the surf. And the crabs are starting to show in Barnegat Bay.
Ray Kerico at Grumpy’s Tackle in Seaside Park said big drum have returned to the surf hitting clams and keeper fluke are taking Gulp and bucktails. Striped bass are also eating clams and Kerico said it’s been good spring fishing off the beach. There are lots of spot in Barnegat Bay, he added, along with fluke and blowfish. He, too, reported the start of crabbing season.
Best Bets for the Weekend
Black sea bass continue to rule with no let up in the action on the reefs and wrecks. If you haven’t taken advantage of this epic bite, make plans to go as there are just two weeks left in the season which closes on June 19.
Fluking remains good in the rivers and bays and it’s picking up nicely in the surf. Keepers are taking Gulp and bucktails with the beaches down to the south seeing some nice catches.
And bluefish appear to be everywhere, in the rivers and bays and off the beaches.