Tight Lines

Capt. Ron Santee found blue 56 degree waters today with his Fishermen from Atlantic Highlands as everyone went home with sea bass for dinner.

The forecast is for southwest winds at just 5-10 knots.

Chuck Many got a break from the weatherman before the weekend when a bad forecast turned out well. His crew ended up releasing 31 out of 45 big bass hooked. Ironically, there is little competition for these trophy fish as most charter boaters concentrate on smaller bass that may include much smaller keepers — or don’t want to invest in costly eels for bait.

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Northeast winds at 20-25 knots don’t bode well for weekend fishing.

Chuck Many reports he had to finish Monday morning by 11, but still had great jumbo striper action as 21 were released — including a quadruple on Tyman. As usual, eels did the job.

Vinny D’Anton is back from Sarasota and used sand fleas to catch a 30-inch striper from the northern N.J. surf before adding a 24-incher. Those baits had been ineffective last year.

Capt. Ron Santee reports a good bite today on his Fishermen from Atlantic Highlands. ,Ling and some flounders made up for the fact that all the sea bass were too small. There was a hot bite of blackfish at the end, but they are out of season.

Dinner for all on the Fishermen from Atlantic Highlands.

Capt. Ron Santee reported a good bite today of ling and some flounders. All the sea bass were shorts.There was a hot bite of tog at the end, but they are out of season.

While cold aters continue to impact the sea bass bite, boaters are reporting good shots ling to provide meat on the table.

\The NY/NJ Bight forecast is for southeast winds at just 5-10 knots.

I’m fishing the next couple of days for snook, and won’t resume the blog until I catch one!

Though unfished wrecks had been expected to produce lots of sea bass, fishing was tough due to cold waters.

Capt. Ron Santee reported 46-48 degree waters that did produce some ling on his Fishermen from Atlantic Highlands.

The Golden Eagle from Belmar reported “g Reports

05/15/2026

We picked some KEEPER SEA BASS and some SHORTS on all our stops today along with some occasional LING. We also saw a few BLACKFISH come over the rail that were safely released.

The water temperature fluctuated from 47 degrees up to 53 out on the edge of the Mud Hole, but with increasing water temperatures, fishing should improve. 

We still have spots open on tomorrow’s SPECIAL AFTERNOON/EVENING SEA BASS TRIP departing at 3:30 PM and returning at 9:30 PM. This is an exciting trip where you’ll be fishing for SEA BASS into the evening.

With the first part of the NJ sea bass season now oopen, most boats are concentrating on working wrecks that haven’t been hit since last year for an almost sure thing.

e sure to check before boarding.

The Saturday forecast is for southwest winds at 5-10 knots before increasing to south at plus gusts to 25 in the afternoon.

There was an entry om Facebook today about the return of Atlantic mackerel, but I lost it before getting details. This would be a great thing if the report is accurate.

The forecast in NY/NJ Bight is for south winds at 5-10 knots with a slight chance of showers.