Northern New Jersey Fishing Report
In a nutshell, fishing is good.
It took a day or so for the fishing to bounce back after last weekend’s fierce wind, but good reports are coming in on sea bass, stripers, blues, and fluke.
There’s plenty of bait around, including squid, sand eels, and bunker. In fact, squid are so plentiful that party boats are targeting them at night.
Beach anglers are catching bass and black drum on clams, and blues on bunker chunks and metal. Fluke are in the mix as well, as keepers have been caught in the suds on Gulp and bucktails.
Folks fishing the rivers report bass and blues as well, along with fluke and weakfish.
The shops are also hearing rumors of tuna, but no catches have been confirmed. With all the sand eels and squid around, that is likely to change soon.
Rich Hebert at Tackle World in Paramus said there’s been steady improvement in the fluke fishing, and the sea bass fishing is good, depending on your location. Some pieces are more productive than others. Jigs and teasers are the way to go. Hebert said there’s a ton of squid around. Big bass continue to hit eels on planer boards out front. Tackle World is holding a Virtual Fluke Tournament this year, running from June 15 to Sept 15. There are shore and boat divisions with Van Staal reels as the top prizes. Participants must register by June 14. Complete tournament details are on the Tackle World website. Ten percent of the $20 entry fee benefits Keep America Fishing.
Capt. Dan Mazza of Thin Blue Tide Charters out of Keyport said the gale blew out his weekend trips, but he hopes to sail this week for sharks and sea bass. He can be contacted through his website.
Capt. Phil Sciortino at the Tackle Box in Hazlet said bass and blues are biting on the Sandy Hook beaches, and fluking is getting better in the rivers. Sea bass fishing has picked up on the reefs and croakers and spot are in Raritan Bay. The shop just got a drop of MS Plugs, and Bluff Lures will be bringing a new shipment of Mantis Shrimp on June 12.
Capt. Harry Browne of Muscles Magoo Charters out of Atlantic Highlands got out on Sunday with live eels and put first-time striper angler Chris Chehade on a beauty. For his inaugural bass, the South Brunswick native landed a 45-inch, 43-pound trophy. Capt. Browne will be fishing the Manhattan Cup this Friday. Now in its 25th year, the Manhattan Cup was started to offer veterans and first responders an opportunity to enjoy a day on the water fishing for striped bass. Browne is one of approximately 45 volunteer captains for the event.
Joe Julian Jr. at Julian’s Bait and Tackle in Atlantic Highlands said croakers and spot are now biting in Raritan Bay. He also reported keeper fluke are being caught under the Highlands Bridge in the Shrewsbury River. Bluefish have also popped up in Raritan Bay and along the beaches.
Stelios Melekos of Stack Tackle reported good fluke fishing from shore this week using the Stack Tackle screwy head jigs paired with 5-inch pink shine Gulp grubs. At first, he was fishing a 1-ounce head and the jig proved to be a bit heavy, so he screwed the head off and sized down to 3/4-ounce head instead of retying his whole rig. Casting and slowly bouncing the lighter offering off the bottom proved effective, yielding him a 24-inch, 5.5-pound fluke that inhaled the rig within 10 yards of the rocks.
Mike Pinto at Giglio’s Bait and Tackle in Sea Bright said the fluke fishing in the Navesink River has been pretty good on spearing, killies, and Gulp. There are still stripers in the Shrewsbury and Navesink rivers, he said. Folks continue to catch bass on the beach on plugs and bait, but it has slowed down a bit. Pinto said you just have to work a little harder for them. Giglio’s still has some TA Glide Baits in stock.
Mike Gleason at Tak Waterman in Long Branch said fluking is decent in both the rivers and the surf. Gulp and bucktails are working. The night bite for bass in the surf on plugs is holding up. It’s all quiet on the tuna front, he said, but he doesn’t expect it to stay that way for long. There are loads of mackerel, squid, and sand eels around. Gleason said the shop just received a new batch of Personal Best swimbaits and metal lips, and a limited supply of diving metal lips from Time & Tide Lures.
Capt. Rich Falcone on the Golden Eagle out of Belmar reported excellent fishing all around the boat on Wednesday. There were plenty of keeper sea bass and lots of limits. Falcone said they saw plenty of bait, and winter flounder, fluke, and mackerel were mixed in with the sea bass.
The Big Mohawk out of Belmar also reported excellent fishing on Wednesday with a boat limit of sea bass. Jigs with teasers led the way.
Capt. Steve Spinelli on the Skylarker out of Belmar has been catching sea bass, along with ling, cod, mackerel, and squid.
Stanley Gola at the Reel Seat in Brielle said he’s heard rumors of bluefin, but that’s been about it, just rumors. Big stripers continue to hit live eels at the Shrewsbury Rocks, and sea bass fishing has been good. Fluking in the Manasquan River has been decent, he said, but he’s been getting better reports from the surf. Barnegat Bay, he added, has been quiet flukewise.
Kyle Tangen at Fishermen’s Supply in Point Pleasant Beach said the bite in the Manasquan River got hot with a couple of 8-pound fluke caught. Gulp jerk shads on bucktails were doing the trick. There are also weakfish in the river, up to 20 inches. Soft plastics in the 3- to 4-inch size on a light jighead, from 1/8- to a 1/4-ounce, are working best. Keep the jig in the middle of the water column, he said. Stripers are in the river as well, hitting cut bait and soft plastics during the day. Tangen reported solid bass fishing off the beach on metal lips and plugs. Bait is all over the place, he added, with sand eels in the wash and squid at the inlet and on the reefs. Sea bass fishing has been good since last weekend’s wind, with all the action on jigs and teasers.
Dean Stiso at Captain Bill’s Landing in Point Pleasant Beach said fluke and bluefish are biting in the Manasquan River. The blues are also back in the Point Pleasant Canal.
Capt. Tom Wolfe on the Norma K III out of Point Pleasant Beach said the sea bass fishing has been decent, but you have to weed through a lot of shorts to get to the keepers. The trick is to find a good patch of fish. He did see a 7-pound fluke come over the rail on Tuesday’s trip. The Norma K III will be sailing for sea bass every day.
Capt. Kenny Namowitz on the Mimi VI out of Point Pleasant Beach said the fishing is good, but he also mentioned the large number of shorts. There have been ling, fluke, and winter flounder in with the sea bass. Capt. Namowitz has been fishing in water anywhere from 60 to 110 feet deep. Check the website for the sailing schedule.
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Frank Giacalone at Gabriel Tackle Co. in Brick has been getting good reports from the Manasquan River with bass, blues, and fluke all biting. The Point Pleasant Canal is also holding bass and blues. Live eels are the bait of choice for the bass. Local beaches are producing plenty of stripers on clams, he said, with the last two hours of high tide and the first two of the outgoing proving the most productive.
Ray Kerico at Grumpy’s Tackle in Seaside Park said the fishing is still very good with striped bass, large black drum, and bluefish biting on the beach. It’s clams for the bass and drum, mullet and bunker chunks for the bluefish. Gulp and bucktails are also working for fluke in the surf. Crabbing, he added, is just starting to pick up in Barnegat Bay.
Best Bets for the Weekend
Good reports have been coming in from the sea bass grounds with limit catches, and ling, winter flounder, and fluke mixed in.
Fluke fishing picked up in the Navesink, Shrewsbury, Shark, and Manasquan rivers. Gulp and bucktails will do the trick.
There are bass and blues in the rivers as well, and bluefish have also appeared in Raritan Bay and Barnegat Bay.