Northern New Jersey Fishing Report
Mother Nature rang the dinner bell.
Enormous amounts of bait in the ocean, rivers, and bays have assorted species stuffing themselves. Fluke, bluefish, bonito, and Spanish mackerel are feeding on peanut bunker, spearing, spot, snappers, and rain bait. It’s the usual late summer buffet that’s added some spark to the bite, especially along the beaches.
Offshore fluking is holding up, and boats are finding bluefish, some up to 12 pounds.
Bluefin are still in mid-shore waters, but the bite has been a little inconsistent. Tuna anglers are working hard for their fish.
Tilefishing remains excellent in the Hudson Canyon, mahi-mahi are on the pots, and there have been reports of wahoo as well.
Rick Hebert at Tackle World in Paramus said not much has changed since last week, with good fluking on the offshore spots. There’s plenty of action, but shorts still vastly outnumber keepers. Tuna fishing, he added, has been, up and down. They’re on the usual spots, but not always biting, he said. Bluefishing has been good, he said, especially compared to the past several years.
Capt. Phil Sciortino at the Tackle Box in Hazlet said there are still loads of short fluke around with an occasional keeper. Phil Dolgan got one of those, and then some, with the 10½-pound doormat he caught on Capt. Ron’s Fishermen earlier this week. Sciortino said bluefish, Spanish mackerel and bonito have been all over the beaches from Sandy Hook down to Long Branch.
Capt. Harry Browne of Muscles Magoo Charters out of Atlantic Highlands said his charters continue to pick away at fluke with a better ratio of keepers to shorts on recent trips. Capt. Browne has available dates, including this Sunday, and can be contacted through his website.
Joe Julian Jr. at Julian’s Bait and Tackle in Atlantic Highlands said Raritan Bay and the Atlantic Highlands Harbor still hold loads of short fluke. There are also weakfish in the bay and back in the rivers. He hooked one at his favorite spot only to have a cobia come up and eat it. Not something you see every day. Snappers, he added, are all over the place.
Mike Pinto at Giglio’s Bait and Tackle in Sea Bright said blues and bonito blitzed the beaches from there to Monmouth Beach all week. He said there is a crazy amount of bait in the wash and he’s waiting anxiously for the albies to show up. Fluking is up and down in the surf, but he’s had good reports from the boats fishing offshore. Pinto said the shop just received new Triumph rods from St. Croix, featuring a complete redesign.
Mike Gleason at Tak Waterman in Long Branch said the tuna fishing is a bit of a mix lately. One day, it’s an easy limit and the next, they’re nowhere to be found. When located, the tuna are hitting jigs and soft plastics, and range from 50-inches up to giants. Gleason said there are some yellowfin in the mix. Fluking picked up in the surf with all the bait around, he said. He dives the jetties and said spot and snappers around the rocks are helping to fuel the action. There are still some stripers roaming around in the wash. He also had better reports on ocean fluking, from shallow to deeper spots.
Small bonito and Spanish mackerel have been popping up along the beaches in Asbury Park, Ocean Grove, and Bradley Beach. Epoxy lures worked for me on Sunday as I caught some of both. Fluking also improved in the surf here, with some near-keepers hitting Gulp and Q8 jerk shads on a jig head.
Johnny O. at Fisherman’s Den in Belmar said it’s still mostly short fluke in the Shark River, but one of the rental boats landed an 8.6-pounder on Monday, and a 6-pounder was weighed in on Sunday. Fluking on the party boats is a mixed bag, he said, with good days followed by not-so-good days. The Big Mohawk saw a 7.1-pound fluke come over the rail on Tuesday. There have been Spanish mackerel at the Shark River Inlet, and blues and bonito are popping up along the beaches, he said.
Capt. Steve Spinelli on the Skylarker out of Belmar called the fishing fair to good for fluke. He’s been catching keepers between 3 and 6 pounds along with loads of shorts. Everybody is getting their one keeper sea bass. Spinelli also reported lots of triggerfish on the rough stuff off Sea Bright.
Stanley Gola at the Reel Seat in Brielle said the Manasquan River is giving up mostly shorts, but the offshore fluking has been decent. There are loads of triggerfish at the inlet, he said. Spanish mackerel and bonito are offshore as well, and there are chicken mahi in the mix. Gola also reported some bluefin 5 to 10 miles out, but it’s a trip to the canyon if you want yellowfin. Tilefishing is still really good out there, he added.
Kyle Tangen at Fishermen’s Supply in Point Pleasant Beach said the Manasquan River still has some keeper fluke, especially around the Dog Beach. And there are stripers to be had at night on plugs and soft plastics. Fluking also picked up on the local reefs. Bluefin fishing has become a little spotty. Tangen said folks are really grinding for them. On the upside, he said the Farms and Sea Girt Reef are holding lots of Spanish mackerel and bonito, and mahi-mahi are on the pots. He also reported there are now wahoo in the offshore mix.
Brian Flanagan at Captain Bill’s Landing in Point Pleasant Beach said the Manasquan River is loaded with bait and the fluking is still pretty good, with keepers to be had. Bluefin fishing, he said, has become sporadic. Big bluefish, up to 12 pounds, were caught off Asbury Park, he said, and false albacore showed up at the Manasquan Ridge.
Capt. Kenny Namowitz on the Mimi VI out of Point Pleasant Beach said they’ve been fluking, and like everyone else, weeding through loads of shorts. Capt. Namowitz did report that the Mimi VI returned on Wednesday from a successful canyon trip with a limit catch of mahi-mahi and four yellowfin tuna.
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Capt. Tom Wolfe on the Norma K III out of Point Pleasant Beach said the afternoon trip on Wednesday provided good fishing with keeper fluke between 3 and 5 pounds. Wolfe also reported good bluefishing on his Friday and Saturday evening trips. Last weekend’s outings saw blues between 4 and 8 pounds come over the rail.
Pete Kupper from Charlie’s Bait and Tackle in Normandy Beach said surfcasters are getting blues, bonito and Spanish mackerel off the beach. They are also catching plenty of fluke in the surf, but they are mostly shorts. There are keeper fluke back in Barnegat Bay, and Kupper said the best chance to get one is on live spot. The bay is also holding plenty of croakers and snappers along with some weakfish. Blowfish are biting at the BB Buoy. Chum logs and bits of clam are the way to go for them.
David Eurell at Grumpy’s Tackle in Seaside Park said epoxy lures and Deadly Dicks are working well for blues, bonito, and Spanish mackerel off the beach. Bluefin are at the mid-shore spots, and there are cobia being caught inshore, he said. Spot, croakers, and blowfish are back in the bay, blackfish are off the jetties, and triggerfish are at the Barnegat Inlet, Eurell added.
Best Bets for the Weekend
The weather may prove a spoiler for the weekend, but the fish are here. There’s plenty of short action on fluke with an occasional keeper in the rivers, bays, and ocean.
Enormous amounts of bait are fueling bluefish, bonito and Spanish mackerel blitzes along the beaches. The blues, bonito, and Spanish mackerel are also in and out of the inlets. The inlets are holding a lot of triggerfish as well.
More weakfish are showing up in the rivers and bays, and they also offer spot, croakers, snappers, and excellent crabbing.