Northern New Jersey Fishing Report
Fluke, blues, crabs, spot and snappers, all your summer favorites, are here. There’s more of some and not enough of others, but, hey, that’s fishing. Plus, there are tuna in close and offshore, cobia in with the bunker and rays and sea bass and ling along the bottom. Tilefishing is also red hot.
Fluke remain the star attraction with good fishing reported in the rivers and bays. Rivers continue to boast bigger fish with catches up to 9 pounds reported. Offshore reefs and wrecks are producing plenty of fish, but there are a lot of shorts to get through. The surf also offers plenty of action but shorts dominate.
Tuna are the other big draw with good bluefin and yellowfin action in mid-shore and offshore waters.
Mark Fuduli at Tackle World in Rochelle Park said the offshore fluke action is improving steadily with boats finding more keepers in deeper water. He also reported monster blues offshore tearing up tuna gear out near Little Italy. The bluefin bite has been good around there. There have also been early reports of false albacore, which is always good news. Freshwater action on walleye and hybrid stripers has been good at Lake Hopatcong early in the morning. Topwater plugs and herring are working for the stripers. Greenwood Lake offers good largemouth fishing as well, very early in the morning on topwater plugs and Senko worms.
Gary Carr at Keyport Bait and Tackle reported that crabbing and spot fishing has been very good in Keyport. Fluking has definitely improved offshore with a lot better keeper ratio. An 11-pound fluke still holds the lead in the shop’s monthly fluke challenge for July. Triggerfish and ling are also being caught in good numbers out front, he said. And big sharks are being caught off the beaches. Carr added that they are loaded up with crab traps, bunker, lug worms, spot rigs and they have rod and reel rentals.
Capt. Phil Sciortino at the Tackle Box in Hazlet said fluke fishing has been good offshore on the sticky stuff. The Prowler out of Atlantic Highlands has been putting good catches together out in deeper water. Raritan Bay has good fishing for snappers, spot and croakers and crabbing in the Navesink River is excellent.
Joe Julian Jr. at Julian’s Bait and Tackle in Atlantic Highlands said the fluke action off the beaches has been very good but keepers aren’t easy to come by. He’s been fishing with 5-and 6-inch jerk shads with a three-quarter ounce head and a metal spinner blade at the tail. Julian said the rig has been very effective and the shop has ready-made ones for sale. Monster Ledge, he said, is holding football bluefins and there are mahi-mahi there as well. The bay and rivers still have loads of cownose rays and peanut bunker are all over the place.
Mike Pinto at Giglio’s Bait and Tackle in Sea Bright said the fluke continue to bite off the beach there with an occasional keeper landed. There are also a few bluefish and stripers turning up in the surf. Shop regular Bill Bertsch got a schoolie bass on Wednesday morning. Crabbing is good in the rivers, he added, and more snappers showing up every day.
Mike Gleason at Tak Waterman in Long Branch said the tuna fishing is still very good with some giant bluefin in relatively close and yellowfin offshore in the canyons. The fluking is holding up on the local beaches with a keeper or two showing up among the many shorts. Gleason said there are more and more cobia in the bunker schools and swimming among the rays.
After taking a break for a few days, fluke are biting again in the Asbury Park, Ocean Grove and Bradley Beach surf. It’s predominantly shorts but there are lots of bites.
The folks at Fisherman’s Den in Belmar said there are still some very big fluke being pulled out of the Shark River. Tim Rizzuto at the shop said a 7-pounder was caught from a rental boat this week and there were a couple of 6-pounders. Fishing for the party boats out of the Belmar Marina, including the Big Mohawk, Ocean Explorer and Capt. Cal II, is improving steadily with more keeper fluke coming over the rail. The boats are also getting limits of sea bass and plenty of ling.
Capt. Rich Falcone on the Golden Eagle out of Belmar reported non-stop action on the fluke grounds Wednesday morning. Conditions provided long, slow drifts and there were plenty of keepers caught along with loads of shorts.
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Capt. Jay Richardella of Side Job Charters out of Belmar reported a good day of yellowfin fishing on Wednesday. He’s got open dates and can be contacted through his website.
Capt. Steve Spinelli on the Skylarker out of Belmar reported solid fluke fishing with plenty of short action and some limit catches. He said there are lots of triggerfish around and the ling fishing is very good.
Stanley S. at the Reel Seat in Brielle said the ocean fluking is on fire. He fished with friends over the weekend and reported limits all around. There are still big fish in the backwaters, he said, with fluke of 8- and 9-pounds coming out of the rivers. Surprisingly, the big winner of last weekend’s Elk’s Fluke Tournament caught in the ocean weighed a little over 6 pounds. Bluefin are being caught in the shipping lanes and yellowfin are at the Bacardi and Texas Tower, he added.
Brian Flanagan at Captain Bill’s Landing in Point Pleasant Beach said fluke fishing is still good in the Manasquan River but there are a lot of shorts to get through for a keeper. He’s had reports of giant bluefin at the Mud Hole, Bacardi and Triple Wrecks while bigeye and yellowfin are in the offshore canyons. Crabbing is good in the Beaver Dam Creek, he added, and a lot of spearing and small peanut bunker are starting to show in the Manasquan River.
Kyle Tangen at Fishermen’s Supply in Point Pleasant Beach said there’s still good fluke fishing in the Manasquan River. Gulp and jigs are catching keepers and Tangen said the shop now carries BKK Silent Chaser jig heads that are becoming a favorite of fluke anglers. The river also has good striper fishing at night on soft plastics and big blues, in the 10-pound class, have been showing up just before dawn. Anglers are catching bluefin at Little Italy dead sticking RonZs and NLBN plastics and yellowfin are at the Triple Wrecks and Bacardi. Tilefishing, he added, is on fire. One customer has been catching big golden tilefish with a specially rigged Nomad Squidtrex 220. There are also mahi offshore and Tangen said, with the water this warm, it won’t be long before more false albacore, bonito and Spanish mackerel arrive.
Frank Giacalone at Gabriel Tackle Co. in Brick said fishing remains good with not much change since the last week. Bluefin and yellowfin tuna are being landed with catches reported from 8 to 20 miles out. The surf, he said, is offering a lot of fluke action on Gulp and bucktails and crabbing off the local piers and docks has been very good.
Pete Kupper at Charlie’s Bait and Tackle in Normandy Beach said beach fluking is holding up nicely with a mix of keepers and shorts. There’s have been a few blues caught as well and here are loads of spot, crabs and snappers in Barnegat Bay.
Ray Kerico at Grumpy’s Bait and Tackle in Seaside Park made a similar report on fluke in the surf with lots of action on small fish with keepers mixed in. Big blues, between 8- and 12- pounds, did blitz the beach earlier this week so hopefully that’s a sign of things to come. Kerico also reported plenty of summer fun with crabs, spot and snappers in the bay. Grumpy’s now has its Dreadnought series of factory-made rods in stock. Kerico said it’s an excellent inshore rod for beach and boat at a good price.
Best Bets for the Weekend
High summer means fluke. They’re in the rivers, bays, surf and on the reefs and wrecks. As in years past, there’s plenty to catch if not to keep. But there are fish to take home for those with patience to weed through the shorts.
Tuna fishing is also very good so if you get the chance, go. Recreational size bluefin are relatively close as are yellowfin. Soft plastics bounced along the bottom, popping plugs and trolling ballyhoo are all working.