Northern New Jersey Fishing Report
Summer arrives on Sunday, and the changes it brings are already apparent.
Warmer water has fluking on the upswing, with reports of more and bigger fish coming from the rivers and ocean. Sea bass fishing, on the other hand, appears headed in the opposite direction. Finding a pile of fish isn’t easy, I’m told, and shorts tend to outnumber keepers. The sea bass limit goes from 10 fish to 1 after Sunday anyway, so the tough fishing doesn’t sting as much.
The good news is that tuna have arrived. Most of the action reported has been down south, but it won’t be long before bluefin make their way north.
Croakers and spot are plentiful in Raritan Bay, bluefish are in the rivers and the ocean, and stripers continue to bite in the surf, rivers, and bays.
And that summer favorite, blue claw crabs, have become much more plentiful, especially in Barnegat Bay.
Rick Hebert at Tackle World in Paramus said the sea bass slowdown will likely send anglers to their early-season fluking spots. He’s had better reports of fluke in the surf. He also heard the southern canyons are producing small bluefin. On the freshwater side, deep trolling for lake trout has been productive at Round Valley Reservoir, and night fishing for walleye and hybrid stripers has been good at Lake Hopatcong. Hebert said they have about 200 entrants in Tackle World’s Virtual Fluke Tournament, with a 23-inch fluke leading the competition.
Dan Picciallo at the Tackle Box in Hazlet said spot and croakers are all over Raritan Bay, hitting pieces of worm and clam strips. A jumbo croaker also went after a Gulp bait on Wednesday, he said. Bunker chunks are working for stripers in the back of the bay, while sand fleas and clams are doing the trick for bass in the surf. Picciallo also reported that small blues are popping up around the Keansburg Pier and off Leonardo. The Tackle Box just received a full line of Tempest Rods.
Joe Julian Jr. at Julian’s Bait and Tackle in Atlantic Highlands also reported a lot of croakers and spot around Raritan Bay. There have also been numerous sightings of Atlantic sturgeon jumping clear out of the water in the bay. Fluking in the surf picked up on the local beaches, at the mouth of the Shrewsbury River, and by the Highlands Bridge. Killies and Gulp are the baits of choice. Sea bassing has been tough, he said, with shorts dominating the catch.
Mike Pinto at Giglio’s Bait and Tackle in Sea Bright said fluking in the surf there has been very good. It did slow down a bit on Wednesday when a south wind turned the water colder. Before that, Pinto said fluke up to 24 inches had been landed. Pinto himself caught a 23 incher on Tuesday. He said 6-inch Gulp jerk shads in pink shine or pearl white have been the hot baits. Spearing and squid strips are also catching fluke. He’s found small calico crabs in the stomachs of his keepers. There are loads of those in the wash right now, and the fluke are making a meal of them. Bluefish are around, but the bite has been spotty. Pinto said the shop now has the new Happy Baits 7-inch paddle tails in stock.
Mike Gleason at Tak Waterman in Long Branch said the surf fluking really picked up, but what he’s most excited about is the arrival of bluefin tuna. The bite is down to the south, but Gleason said people are making the run and catching 40- to 50-inch tuna on soft plastics and poppers. It won’t be long, he said, before they move north. He added that Tak Waterman is holding a big Father’s Day sale with specials on clothing, lures, and tackle.
Warmer water brought a sand crab bloom to the Bradley Beach/Ocean Grove beaches, and a much better striper bite ensued. I picked up several nice bass over the past week. “Two-pole” Mike Compoly from Neptune had a good day on Tuesday, catching five stripers up to 32 inches on calico crabs. There was also a school of bluefish breaking offshore at the beginning of the week, just out of casting range.
Jesse Thomas at Fisherman’s Den in Belmar said the fluke bite in the Shark River is very much improved, with more keepers reported. Folks fishing the ocean also reported better fluke catches on the reefs and off the Red Church in Long Branch. He also had a few reports of blues caught off the beach.
Capt. Rich Falcone on the Golden Eagle out of Belmar reported mostly good sea bass fishing lately. Tuesday was one of the good ones with a steady pick of keepers and numerous limits around the boat. The Golden Eagle has also picked bluefish on recent trips on jigs as they blew up on top. The Big Mohawk and Capt. Cal II also reported decent sea bass fishing over the last week, with keepers mixed in with the many shorts.
Stanley Gola at the Reel Seat in Brielle said the big fluke have arrived. Liam Kelly weighed in an 8.4-pounder at the shop earlier this week. Fluking in the ocean, he said, is heating up nicely. Sea bass fishing is fair to good, he added. There are loads of fluke in the surf, Gola said, and the tuna are biting at the Cigar and on the southern lumps.
Kyle Tangen at Fisherman’s Supply in Point Pleasant Beach said the fluke fishing in the Manasquan River has become much more consistent. There’s a lot more action on shorts and keepers on killies and Gulp. He also reported a better fluke bite in the ocean. Andrew Bulinsky, out of Manasquan, got a 9.1-pounder off Long Branch this week. Tangen said there are striped bass around the Manasquan Inlet, hitting plugs with gator blues in the mix. Folks are also getting bass off the beach on plugs. Tangen also mentioned the bluefin bite to the south with tuna ranging in size from schoolies to jumbos. Casting and trolling are both working.
Brian Flanagan at Captain Bill’s Landing in Point Pleasant Beach said the Manasquan River is loaded with spearing, and the fluking has been good in the river and back into Barnegat Bay. He said a friend of his fished the outgoing tide near the mouth of the Point Pleasant Canal this week and boated nine keepers on Gulp. Flanagan also had good reports on tuna from down south on jigs and popping plugs. Crabbing reports from back in Barnegat Bay have been very good, he added.
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Capt. Tom Wolfe on the Norma K III out of Point Pleasant Beach, said he was switching to fluke since he found the sea bass fishing frustrating. He made his first trip on Wednesday and found fish all day with fluke up to 5½ pounds. There were some nice sea bass in the mix as well. His next trip is Friday, leaving the dock at 7:30 a.m.
Frank Giacalone at Gabriel Tackle Co. in Brick reported that local beaches are still producing stripers with a few bluefish mixed in. Clams and bunker chunks are the baits of choice. He also said they finally got reports of fluke being landed at the Axel Carlson and Sea Girt reefs.
Pete Kupper at Charlie’s Bait and Tackle in Normandy Beach said folks are still catching bass in the surf on clams. And there are keeper fluke in the wash as well, hitting Gulp and bucktails. He’s had good reports of stripers in the Manasquan River and added that the crabbing improved dramatically in Barnegat Bay.
Ray Kerico at Grumpy’s Tackle in Seaside Park said bass continue to be caught in the surf on clams and sand fleas. Bluefish are also hitting bunker chunks and mullet off the beach. Fluking is also starting to pick up in the surf and Barnegat Bay; Kerico said he caught a 5.3-pound fluke in the bay using live spot. And there has been an explosion of blue claw crabs back in the bay, he added
Best Bets for the Weekend
There is plenty to choose from this Father’s Day Weekend, and the weather forecast looks excellent.
Fluke fishing has gathered steam in the rivers, surf, and offshore with Gulp, bucktails, and killies doing the trick.
Stripers are hitting sand fleas, calico crabs, and clams off the beach. Bluefish are popping up in the surf as well, taking mullet, bunker chunks, and metal lures.
Croakers and spot are thick up in Raritan Bay.
And the 10-fish sea bass season closes on Sunday. While the fishing has slowed down a bit, there are still some good catches being reported. Happy Father’s Day.