Northern New Jersey Fishing Report
We’re at that awkward stage when summer fishing winds down, but before the fall run gets going.
Folks are still catching plenty of fluke, but it’s mostly shorts in the rivers, bays, and surf. There are some keepers around, but if you want one, you better hurry. The season ends Friday, Sept. 25.
The good news is that the 10-fish sea bass season opens on Sept. 23, so for the first time in quite a while, the seasons overlap.
Bluefish, false albacore, Spanish mackerel, and bonito are popping up along the beaches from Sandy Hook down to Island Beach State Park. Surfcasters just have to be in the right place at the right time.
Tuna are scarce, and it’s been a tough time for those chasing them. There have been reports of schoolie-size bluefin in mid-shore waters and a few yellowfin in the canyons, but it’s far from the fishing everyone was hoping for.
On the plus side, there is bait everywhere. Peanut bunker, spearing, mullet, and rainfish are thick in the rivers, bays, and inlets. The surf is loaded as well.
Let’s just hope stripers are waiting when it all pours out into the ocean.
Rick Hebert at Tackle World in Paramus said that he’s been getting reports of blues, Spanish mackerel, bonito, and false albacore along the beaches. Shiny metal and epoxy lures are working for all. Boaters, he said, are doing well trolling Clark spoons. Hebert added that resident stripers are getting more active as the water cools off. Freshwater anglers are buying more worms lately as perch and bass fishing has picked up with dropping temperatures.
Gary Carr at Keyport Bait and Tackle said loads of fluke continue to be caught along the waterfront, but 99 percent of them are short. There’s plenty of snappers still around and last weekend’s snapper contest was a huge success. Anglers giving stripers a try are catching resident bass on plugs, plastics and bucktails.
Capt. Phil Sciortino at the Tackle Box in Hazlet reported bluefish blitzes on rainfish up and down the beaches all week. There were Spanish mackerel, false albacore and bonito in the mix as well. Bass are starting to bite as well. He posted a photo of Andrea Spinola and the 30½-inch striper he caught in the surf on Tuesday night.
Joe Julian Jr. at Julian’s Bait and Tackle in Atlantic Highlands said it was a bit of a slow week now that school is back open, but he heard the party boats were doing well with blues and bonito. There were also good reports from the Wind Farm on mahi-mahi and small bluefin. There are still plenty of snappers around the bay, and fluke in Leonardo, Julian added.
Mike Pinto at Giglio’s Bait and Tackle in Sea Bright said good-sized blues between 6- to 8-pounds have been hitting the beaches from Sea Bright to Long Branch all week. There have been a few Spanish mackerel and bonito mixed in with them. He’s still hoping for more false albacore to show up. Pinto said the shop has just received a new shipment OutCast Lures ahead of the fall run.
Mike Gleason at Tak Waterman in Long Branch said albies showed up along the beaches there this week, along with bluefish and bonito. They’re in and out pretty quickly, so be ready. Tuna fishing has been pretty slow, but he did say the bluefin bite picked up a bit earlier this week on small fish in mid-shore waters. He also mentioned the enormous body of bait around.
The bonito returned to the Ocean Grove surf this week, and there were schools of bigger fish breaking out of casting range every day. There are small fluke in the surf and loads of rainfish swirling around the jetties.
Jesse Thomas at Fisherman’s Den in Belmar said the Shark River is still full of short fluke. He fished earlier this week and caught approximately 50 fish with one keeper. He had a fish hooked, and sometimes two, on every drop. Anglers using live bait, such as small peanut bunker or snappers, were doing better with keepers. He said the party boats out of the marina were also finding more fish to take home. Thomas also said blackfish are biting at the Shark River Inlet on green crabs and sand bugs, and bass are hitting shads there early in the morning.
Capt. Rich Falcone on the Golden Eagle out of Belmar reported good bluefishing this week by going old school. Chumming and chunking got bluefish between 4 and 10 pounds coming over the rail. He also reported catches of bonito and false albacore.
Capt. Steve Spinelli on the Skylarker out of Belmar said he had a good week of fishing, catching mahi-mahi, keeper fluke, bonito, and sea bass. He’ll be concentrating on sea bass once the limit goes to 10 fish on Sept. 23. Capt. Spinelli said he has open charter dates.
Stanley Gola at the Reel Seat in Brielle reported there’s still good fluking in the Manasquan River. He also had reports that the bluefin bite picked up on Wednesday and that there are tons of false albacore offshore. Blackfishing, he added, is very good. He fished a local reef last week, and caught a bunch of nice tog, keeping his limit of one.
Kyle Tangen at Fishermen’s Supply in Point Pleasant Beach said things are kind of slow right now as he senses a lack of enthusiasm on the part of anglers due to the tough tuna fishing. Tangen suspects a change in weather patterns due to this year’s Super El Nino might be to blame for our tuna troubles. The good news is that there are massive amounts of bait everywhere, in the Manasquan River, at the inlet, in Barnegat Bay, the Point Pleasant Canal, and along the beaches. Stripers and bluefish are hitting live spot in the canal, bass are in the river at night on plugs and plastics, blackfish are biting at the inlet, and fluking is good at the Axel Carlson Reef. He also had good reports on bonito, false albacore, and mahi from boaters. There were also a few reports of small bluefin mixed in with the hardtails. There are huge numbers of sea bass around, and Tangen expects the fishing to be good when the limit goes up, as long as the weather doesn’t turn against us.
Brian Flanagan at Capt. Bill’s Landing in Point Pleasant Beach said there are still keeper fluke in the Manasquan River, you just have to put the time in. Folks fishing live spot in the Point Pleasant Canal are doing well with striped bass. The canal, he said, is full of mullet. Flanagan didn’t have much to report about tuna fishing other than to say it’s disappointing. There are mahi-mahi at the Glory Hole. Flanagan did say that fuel prices and the lack of tuna action are likely hurting participation.
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Capt. Tom Wolfe of the Norma K III out of Point Pleasant Beach said there is still plenty of keeper fluke around. He found them quickly heading north on Wednesday’s High Roller trip. Within a half hour of hitting his spot, there were close to a dozen keepers aboard. Then the drift disappeared and didn’t come back until there were only 90 minutes left to fish. That was still enough time for a number of limits to be caught and one angler to secure the $3,800 pool with a 4½-pound fluke. Wolfe also reported successful night bluefish trips over the weekend, catching blues up to 10 pounds, mostly on bait.
Frank Giacalone at Gabriel Tackle Co. in Brick reported that fluke fishing remains good, you just have to weed through all the shorts to get to the keepers. Bigger baits have been the ticket to finding them. Giacalone indicated that the Axel Carlson Reef is producing better than the Sea Girt and there have been good fluke reports from up at the Red Church.
Pete Kupper at Charlie’s Bait and Tackle in Normandy Beach said it has gone a little quiet, but there are short fluke and bonito in the surf. Keeper fluke are being caught at the south end of the Point Pleasant Canal on live bait. Barnegat Bay, he said, is full of bait and short fluke and, at night, is producing schoolie stripers on soft plastics, with pink a popular color. Kupper wanted to remind everyone to put the annual Surf Turkey Tournament on their calendars for Thanksgiving Weekend.
Elizabeth Ribas at Grumpy’s Tackle in Seaside Park said it’s a bit quiet there, with short fluke in the surf along with a few bonito and Spanish mackerel. There are also blackfish at the inlet jetties and blowfish and spot in Barnegat Bay. Crabbing, she added, is still pretty good.
Best Bets for the Weekend
Bonito, Spanish mackerel and false albacore are popping up along the beaches feeding on the enormous amount of bait in the surf. They move in and out pretty quickly, so there are no guarantees. But the hardtails aren’t around for long, so it’s worth a shot.
There are also plenty of bluefish on all this bait, and there are fluke in the surf.
Party boats are catching more keeper fluke, but time is running out on that fishery. Fluke closes in just about a week. On the upside, the 10-fish sea bass season opens on Wednesday.