Northern New Jersey Fishing Report
The fall run is more of a trot at the moment.
The bait is here and monster bass are being caught. But the wild blitzes most anglers are waiting for have yet to materialize.
Do not despair. The bite is gaining momentum with more fish being caught every day. You just don’t know when it’s going to go off.
There is an enormous body of fish to the north off New York that everyone is hoping slides on down to New Jersey very soon.
Boaters have the advantage as the most productive method has been live-lining bunker. The trick is finding pods with fish in them. Jigging heavy shads and trolling metal lips are also accounting for some bites.
Surfcasters putting in the time are getting some big ones, mostly at night. Gliders, swim baits and shads have been doing the trick.
Blackfishing has been excellent on the wrecks and reefs and at the inlets and in the Point Pleasant Canal. The only issue has been a shortage of green crabs.
Sea bass appear to have moved offshore and tuna have been scarce for weeks. There have been bluefin sightings in close but there have been few reports of landings.
Mark Fuduli at Tackle World in Paramus said there are bunker everywhere, but the pods could use a few more bass in them. He mentioned all the bass stacked up off Long Island and Staten Island. Fuduli also reported a surprise catch for Todd Vitello, who landed a cubera snapper under the Verrazzano Bridge last week. Tog fishing has been tremendous, he said, with plenty of action at the inlets and Point Pleasant Canal. Trout fishing is also excellent following the fall stocking, he added, but very few people are taking advantage of it.
Capt. Dan Mazza of Thin Blue Tide Charters out of Keyport fished Raritan Bay last Friday and found over, under and slot-sized stripers. He said the bay was full of peanuts and cupcake bunker. Shads and plugs did the job. Capt. Mazza has open dates for charters and can be contacted at the Thin Blue Tide website.
Capt. Phil Sciortino at the Tackle Box in Hazlet said the bass have been blitzing on the New York side and boaters are getting them on shads, jigs and flutter spoons. He also reported stripers caught livelining off Monmouth Beach.
Joe Julian Jr. at Julian’s Bait and Tackle in Atlantic Highlands said there was a bass blitz on Sandy Hook on Tuesday morning. Swim shads were doing the job. There were also bass caught in the Reach Channel on heavy shads. Julian said blackfishing is very good on wrecks and reefs and at the inlets.
Mike Pinto at Giglio’s Bait and Tackle in Sea Bright said boat anglers are doing very well with big stripers while the fishing is a bit spotty for surfcasters. There’s plenty of bait around, he said, and believes it’s just a matter of time before folks fishing the beach get their shot. Giglio’s just got a big restocking of white TYG Glide Baits.
Mike Gleason at Tak Waterman in Long Branch said boaters are having most of the fun right now livelining bunker. Surfcasters are getting some bass, mostly at night, on a range of offerings. His advice was to throw the lure you have the most confidence in. He, too, is praying all those fish to the north make their way to the Jersey Shore. Gleason said there are bluefin around, from recreational size to giants, but reports of landings are scarce. The shop, he added, is fully loaded with anything and everything you’ll need to fish this fall.
The bunker have been schooling off the beaches from Asbury Park down to Bradley Beach for the last week. I’ve witnessed a bunch of blow ups in the bait and the boats have been running up and down the shore fishing in the bunker pods.
Jesse Thomas at Fisherman’s Den in Belmar said the boats fishing for bass out of the marina, like the Golden Eagle and Big Mohawk, have been doing well, and it’s getting better by the day. Both reported a good day of striper fishing on Wednesday live-lining bunker. Beach fishing for bass has been hit or miss, he said. Thomas said you have to travel for sea bass. He got a report from On A Mission Charters that a trip to the Resor Wreck produced limit catches of sea bass and lots of blues. Tog fishing at the Shark River Inlet has been very good, but getting green crabs has been inconsistent.
Capt. Steve Spinelli on the Skylarker out of the Belmar Marina reported that sea bass, blackfish and porgy fishing has been good, but the latest nor’easter brought lots of dogfish in. He’ll be switching to striper fishing after the weekend.
Stanley Gola at the Reel Seat in Brielle said there are a lot of stripers being caught off the boats, mostly livelining. He also reported some bluefin sightings. Blackfishing is very good at the Manasquan Inlet and in the Point Pleasant Canal. Gola also reported that Oscar from the shop put angler Will Harrison on a 67-inch bigeye fishing aboard the J-Mar II on Saturday.
Jason Szabo at Fishermen’s Supply in Point Pleasant Beach said the boats have been picking away at the jumbo stripers, getting most of them live-lining. Some bass have also hit metal lip swimmers on the troll. Togging is good in the rough bottom and at the inlets and in the Point Pleasant Canal. Stripers are also eating live eels in the canal. Szabo said it’s been all quiet on the tuna front.
Brian Flanagan at Captain Bill’s Landing in Point Pleasant Beach said he’s been getting good reports on the striper fishing from the boats, especially north of the Shark River Inlet. He’s of the opinion the beach blitzes should be coming soon. The striper bite is excellent in the canal on live eels, and the togging is pretty good in there as well. Bluefin are scattered about, he said, but there haven’t been many reports of fish actually caught.
Capt. Tom Wolfe on the Norma K III out of Point Pleasant Beach said the striper fishing is good and getting better. A large body of bass appeared south of Manasquan Inlet since the weekend. He’s sailing every day for stripers at 6:30 a.m.
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Capt. Kenny Namowitz on the Mimi VI out of Point Pleasant reported they finally got out for their canyon trip and found a fat yellowfin tuna and plenty of mahi-mahi.
Frank Giacalone at Gabriel Tackle in Brick reported stripers hitting topwater plugs and live eels from Monmouth Beach down to Brick. All of the fish were too big to keep. The Manasquan Inlet, he added, is producing nice-size blackfish.
Pete Kupper at Charlie’s Bait and Tackle in Normandy Beach said the bass bite is starting to pick up down there with more bunker off the beaches and stripers getting picked in the surf. Bluefin, he said, have been spotted just past the breakers in the bunker pods. Kupper said registration is open for the 15th Annual Surf Turkey Striper Tournament set for the Thanksgiving Weekend.
Kurtis Walrath at Grumpy’s Tackle in Seaside Park said things are improving there with more bunker in the area and an occasional bass being caught off the beach. Togging is good at the Barnegat Inlet jetties, he said, with a lot of keepers being caught.
Best Bets for the Weekend
Striper fishing is good and getting better. Bunker is plentiful and boats fishing the New York side of Raritan Bay down to Bay Head are catching big fish livelining and casting shads.
The surf fishing is lagging behind but there have been small blitzes from Sandy Hook down to Long Branch. The bass bite has also been good at night for those putting in the time.
And blackfishing is very good on the reefs, wrecks and inlets.