NJ surf stripers still scarce as waves decline

There was some improvement in NJ surf conditions today, but even small stripers were hard to come by.

Mike Monte said he ever had a hit in the Monmouth County surf, and he talked to a dozen other anglers who had the same experience even though the waves were down to 2 to 3 feet. There were also no signs of the recently abundant peanut bunkers.

It was the same story further south as Jerry Lasko only saw a couple of small bass caught in the Ocean County surf which had cleaned up since yesterday.

Capt. Mark DeBlasio reported decent blackfishing on his Water Proof yesterday despite a big swell, south wind and some rain. His party ended up just one short of a boat limit despite releasing a couple of large female tog to spawn again.

A small craft warning is up to late Friday. The forecast is for north winds at 10-15 knots with 4-6-foot seas — but there’s a switch to northeast at 15-20 predicted for Saturday.

Big stripers have become harder to find recently, but Chris Lido managed this one just in time.