Fishing Report For Northern New Jersey
Just when the fishing was getting back on track, Mother Nature put her thumb in the eyes of anglers again this week with heavy winds and rough seas. A hard south wind came up over the weekend and then switched to the northeast, making for a nasty ocean and tough fishing.
The good news in all this is that there are still some nice fluke around, with the boats willing to sail reporting nice catches. The bad news is that the northeast wind is expected to hang around through the weekend. And the clock is ticking on the summer flounder season.
Reports have been thin on Spanish mackerel, false albacore and bonito due to the weather. The weather hasn’t made the tuna fishing any easier either, but a few boats made the trip and found yellowfin biting near the Bacardi and in the Hudson Canyon.
Rivers and bays have at least been fishable, and they’re still holding fluke, spot, snappers and croakers.
Rick Hebert at Tackle World in Rochelle Park said he had a few reports of yellowfin and bigeye in the Hudson Canyon. He also received conflicting reports on the fluke fishing with up-and-down action. Porgy fishing has been good, he added, on the New York side of Raritan Bay. Hebert said the store is ready for the fall run. Rick added that freshwater anglers are doing better in lakes and reservoirs as the water starts to cool down, and smallmouth fishing has been good in the Delaware River.
Gary Carr of Keyport Bait and Tackle said boat and land-based anglers have been doing well with fluke. Danny V. stopped by the shop with a 9.9-pound flattie he caught from shore on a tog candy jig on Monday. Carr added that snappers are starting to show up in better numbers and spot and croakers are still around the waterfront, along with blue claw crabs. He also wanted to remind everyone that this Saturday is the free Kids Snapper Derby at the Keyport Waterfront. Registration is at 9 a.m. with fishing from 10 a.m. until Noon. The grand prize goes to the longest snapper.
Capt. Phil Sciortino at the Tackle Box in Hazlet reported that they got their first bass of the fall when Dan Staal from the shop got a striper on worms. The bait is starting to show with peanuts in Raritan Bay. There are a lot of porgies being caught right now on the rock piles, and he said snappers and small bluefish are at the tip of Sandy Hook. Fluking is good, he said, when the boats can sail. He added that Capt. Ron’s Fishermen out of Atlantic Highlands reported its best day of the season last Monday with double limits and a 6-pounder taking the pool.
Joe Julian Jr. at Julian’s Bait and Tackle in Atlantic Highlands said the store has been a little quiet since Labor Day. The porgy, spot and snapper people are having fun, he said, especially with all the snappers around.Julian also mentioned that there are a lot of bunker around, but they are on the small side. He also had a few reports on Spanish macks and albies, but the weather is keeping the boats at the dock.
Mike Pinto at Giglio’s Bait and Tackle in Sea Bright said it seems like nobody wants to go out and fish. It’s understandable with this weather, but there are fish around, especially in the rivers. Pinto weighed in a 6.8-pound fluke caught by John Lettuce in the Shrewsbury River on a jerk shad. There was another 5-pounder caught as well by John Gillis. The shop is expecting the new line of ODM Eagle X rods to arrive soon.
Mike Gleason at Tak Waterman in Long Branch said fluke are still biting on the beach there. He expects big fluke will start to come shallow in the next couple of weeks, as they normally do this time of year. Yellowfin are biting in several areas when the boats can sail, but the weather looks dicey for the next several days. The tuna have been biting on the chunk and jigs. He also heard of some gator blues in Raritan Bay and out in the ocean. The rivers, he added, are loaded with bait. Gleason said the shop is all stocked up for the fall, and he’s expecting a delivery of Back Bay Plugs in the very near future.
Tim Rizzuto at Fisherman’s Den in Belmar said the party boats haven’t sailed since Monday, but there have been fish caught. An angler using a live snapper caught a 10-pound, 4-ounce fluke at the Shark River Inlet. Blackfish are also being caught at the inlet, and he said the yellowfin bite was good before the wind arrived.
Capt. Steve Spinelli on Skylarker Charters out of Belmar said he had a good bite of triggerfish earlier this week on rough bottom. He’s still hitting his fluke spots and reported good fishing with plenty of keepers. The big fish of the week was a 6.2-pounder caught by Jesse Rosario of Woodbridge.
Stanley S. at the Reel Seat in Brielle said the weather has really hampered participation, but before the howling wind arrived, yellowfin and swordfish were biting in the Hudson Canyon. He said a small weather window is possible for late this week, and some boats may give it a try. The Manasquan River has stripers at night, and there are big blues in the Point Pleasant Canal.
Kyle Tangen at Fishermens Supply Co in Point Pleasant Beach said the fluking had been picking up on Sea Girt and Axel Carlson reefs before the weather turned sour. He said there are bass and fluke in the Manasquan River, with both biting at night. The chunk and jig bite for yellowfin was good around the Bacardi with early morning and late afternoon being the best times. Overnight has been hit or miss, but Tangen said the Voyager did well on their last trip, with the only problem being too many sharks. Albies and Spanish mackerel were biting before the blow, he added, and we’ll just have to wait and see if they’re still around when things calm down. The water is still pretty warm, so it’s a good bet they will be. Tangen said they just got a big shipment of Simms waders and tops for fall, and the shop has all the plugs, rods, reels and tackle you’ll need.
Frank Giacalone Gabriel Tackle Co. in Brick said if you want to wet a line, fish Barnegat Bay, the rivers, and the Point Pleasant Canal. Both ends of the canal are holding fluke, he said, and the south end of the bay by the BB and BI buoy has blowfish.
He also reported stripers and blues in the Manasquan River and canal.
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Capt. Tom Wolfe on the Norma-K III out of Point Pleasant Beach said the last time he sailed was Tuesday and the fluke fishing was pretty good. He fished a little farther east in 75 to 90 feet of water. The pool fish was around 6½ pounds and there were several 3- and 4-pounders in the mix. His weekend bluefish trips were blown out, but he’ll try again this weekend.
Brian Flanagan at Captain Bill’s Landing said it’s been quiet there; with the best thing he heard of was striper fishing in the Point Pleasant Canal on live spot.
Pete Kupper at Charlie’s Bait & Tackle in Normandy Beach said the beach was empty most of the week, but anglers did well back in Barnegat Bay. Folks caught spot, snappers, weakfish, croakers, stripers, blowfish and big blue claw crabs. Kupper said friends of his even broke out the cane poles and caught spot and snappers old school.
Ray Kerico at Grumpy’s Bait and Tackle in Seaside Park said the mullet run started on Monday, and 4-pound bluefish were on them. Mullet also mean bigger fluke in the surf. Wayne Woodland got one of the big ones the same day the mullet showed up when he weighed in a 7½ pounder caught off the beach. Kerico said blackfishing has been very good off the Barnegat Inlet jetties with lots of action and keepers caught. The bait, he said, is starting to stage in Barnegat Bay.
Fishing Forecast for Northern New Jersey
The weather is still a question mark for the weekend, but hopefully the wind will subside and the ocean will be calm enough for the boats to sail. There are still big fluke waiting to be caught and just about two weeks remain in the season. The rivers and bays are still holding some big fluke, as evidenced by this past week’s catches. If the boats can’t sail, you might want to turn your attention there. You’ll also find bass, blues, croakers, spot and snappers in those same places.