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Yesterday’s report from Chuck Many sums up the Raritan Bay area fishing with live eels for jumbo stripers. Before leaving for a vacation in S.C., Many put his crew on Tyman into 45 releases from 42 to 49 inches!
The forecast there is for NW winds at 10-15 knots before going SW in the afternoon.
With fine weather in yhe forecast, the Golden Eagle from Belmar will be back to chasing stripers on Friday.
The Thursday forecast in NY/NJ Bight also looks fishable with northwest winds at 10-15 knots.
T
hough Chuck Many is the most successful striper angler in N.J., he can still appreciate his first sea robin of the season.
Anglers seeking blackfish in N.J. are running out of time, but there’s good news with the fluke opening at a very early 5/4 which is a big improvement for South Jersey anglers.
A report from Betty & Nick’s Fishing Club in Seaside Park was very interesting as an 8-pound striper that hit a chunk turned out to have a stomach full of grass shrimp rather than the expected sand fleas. The angler feels that may lead to great surf fluking.
The forecast for NY/NJ Bight is for SE winds at just 5-10 knots.
Chuck Many and crew found that casting plugs at night produced big bass in the Raritan Bay area.
As noted in yesterday’s blog, Frank Manzi caught a large snook at Sarasota on a live whiting, but is that an accurate description of the species?
Anglers in the NY/NJ Bight area are familiar with a once abundant whiting which was actually a silver hake – a member of the cod family. Anglers in the South Atlantic also fish for a whiting, but is actually closely related to the weakfish and familiar to surfcasters as the northern kingfish. There are also southern and Gulf versions of that species. Kngfish is used for the much larger king mackerel in the south. Thus, it’s likely that the bait Frank was using was a Gulf kingfish.
The forecast is for NE winds at only 5 knots before going to SE in the afternoon.
Vinny D’Anton reports Frank Manzi joined him on a charter out of Sarasota today to catch a l arge snook on a live “whiting”. North Jersey surfcasters know that angler as F.B.I. Frank.
The NY/NJ Bight forecast is for NE winds at 10 knots before going east in the afternoon.
Though Raritan Bay striper fishing has been very good, there will be days when thhe bite is tough. Fisher Price IV reports “ly and went to where we had them the day before. Despite good readings only managed 1 fish. Headed another direction and found a pick of some larger fish on live bunkers to 26#. Finished up the day picking another dozen on shads before heading in. Thanks for fishing hard guys.ly and went to where we had them the day before. Despite good readings only managed 1 fish. Headed another direction and found a pick of some larger fish on live bunkers to 26#. Finished up the day picking another dozen on shads before heading in. Thanks for fishing hard guys.ly and went to where we had them the day before. Despite good readings only managed 1 fish. Headed another direction and found a pick of some larger fish on live bunkers to 26#. Finished up the day picking another dozen on shads before heading in. Thanks for fishing hard guys.ly and went to where we had them the day before. Despite good readings only managed 1 fish. Headed another direction and found a pick of some larger fish on live bunkers to 26#. Finished up the day picking another dozen on shads before heading in. Thanks for fishing hard guys.ly and went to where we had them the day before. Despite good readings only managed 1 fish. Headed another direction and found a pick of some larger fish on live bunkers to 26#. Finished up the day picking another dozen on shads before heading in. Thanks for fishing hard guys.ly and went to where we had them the day before. Despite good readings only managed 1 fish. Headed another direction and found a pick of some larger fish on live bunkers to 26#. Finished up the day picking another dozen on shads before heading in. Thanks for fishing hard guys.ly and went to where we had them the day before. Despite good readings only managed 1 fish. Headed another direction and found a pick of some larger fish on live bunkers to 26#. Finished up the day picking another dozen on shads before heading in. Thanks for fishing hard guys.ly and went to where we had them the day before. Despite good readings only managed 1 fish. Headed another direction and found a pick of some larger fish on live bunkers to 26#. Finished up the day picking another dozen on shads before heading in. Thanks for fishing hard guys.ly and went to where we had them the day before. Despite good readings only managed 1 fish. Headed another direction and found a pick of some larger fish on live bunkers to 26#. Finished up the day picking another dozen on shads before heading in. Thanks for fishing hard guys.ly and went to where we had them the day before. Despite good readings only managed 1 fish. Headed another direction and found a pick of some larger fish on live bunkers to 26#. Finished up the day picking another dozen on shads before heading in. Thanks for fishing hard guys.ly and went to where we had them the day before. Despite good readings only managed 1 fish. Headed another direction and found a pick of some larger fish on live bunkers to 26#. Finished up the day picking another dozen on shads before heading in. Thanks for fishing hard guys.ly and went to where we had them the day before. Despite good readings only managed 1 fish. Headed another direction and found a pick of some larger fish on live bunkers to 26#. Finished up the day picking another dozen on shads before heading in. Thanks for fishing hard guys.ly and went to where we had them the day before. Despite good readings only managed 1 fish. Headed another direction and found a pick of some larger fish on live bunkers to 26#. Finished up the day picking another dozen on shads before heading in. Thanks for fishing hard guys.ly and went to where we had them the day before. Despite good readings only managed 1 fish. Headed another direction and found a pick of some larger fish on live bunkers to 26#. Finished up the day picking another dozen on shads before heading in. Thanks for fishing hard guys.ly and went to where we had them the day before. Despite good readings only managed 1 fish. Headed another direction and found a pick of some larger fish on live bunkers to 26#. Finished up the day picking another dozen on shads before heading in. Thanks for fishing hard guys.ly and went to where we had them the day before. Despite good readings only managed 1 fish. Headed another direction and found a pick of some larger fish on live bunkers to 26#. Finished up the day picking another dozen on shads before heading in. Thanks for fishing hard guys.ly and went to where we had them the day before. Despite good readings only managed 1 fish. Headed another direction and found a pick of some larger fish on live bunkers to 26#. Finished up the day picking another dozen on shads before heading in. Thanks for fishing hard guys.ly and went to where we had them the day before. Despite good readings only managed 1 fish. Headed another direction and found a pick of some larger fish on live bunkers to 26#. Finished up the day picking another dozen on shads before heading in. Thanks for fishing hard guys.ly and went to where we had them the day before. Despite good readings only managed 1 fish. Headed another direction and found a pick of some larger fish on live bunkers to 26#. Finished up the day picking another dozen on shads before heading in. Thanks for fishing hard guys.”
Before starting to cast from the sides of Florida Keys bridges for tarpon at night, it’s a good idea to observe how they feed at night.
That can be done at any of the bridges open to fishing. Go down on the outgoing tidein the dark and you’ll observe mostly small tarpon darting out at the openings between supports to grab shrimp and small fish brought to them by the tide. That will demonstrate what you have to duplicate with a small lure or live shrimp. It’s very similar to casting a fly to trout in a stream. You’ll also hear the plops and see the flashes of feeding tarpon.
Saturday’s forecast in NJ/NY Bight is for east winds at 5 knots before going southeast in the afternoon.
NJ anglers can’t go wrong inRaritan Bay. but Nick Honachefsky says the northern NJ rivers are just as good. He recomends the Daiwa Bone SP Munnow.
The Friday forecast there is for NE winds at just 5-10 knots before going SE in the afternoon.
With the tarpon season in full bloom throughout the Keys, many anglers will be chartering to get into the big tarpon of their dreams. However, there are also opportunities for much smaller tarpon that can be caught at virtually no expense. Over the years I caught hundreds of smaller tarpon from the sides of bridges and rarely had any competition for them. That applied all year and even under poor conditions that made other fishing impossible.
Thia is a night fishery that’s somewhat dangerous, but suitable for those in good condition.
Ideal tackle involves a light surf spinning rig as long casts aren’t necessary, but maximum pressure must be employed in order to keep the tarpon from running under the bridge. There are many lures that will draw strikes, but don’t use treble hooks which are tough on the small tarpon which must be released — plus being a danger to the angler.
Modern braided lines are ideal for this fishery as they provide easy casting with light lures while allowing the angler to stop the tarpon before it cuts off on a piling. A short mono 30-pound leader will be enough to stop the sizes you can release while breaking off a much bigger one will save you time.
Fishing time is on outgoing tide, and the bite at each bridge usually lasts only a short period before they get wise to the lure. The cast is made uptide so the lure is carried to the opening where the tarpon are feeding.
I’ll have more about this fishery in future bogs.
The NY/NJ Bight forecast is for west winds at 10-15 knots plus gusts to 20.
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Tight Lines 