It was brief and not very descriptive, but Capt. Rob Semkewyc finally had striper action to report in Raritan Bay today with his Sea Hunter from Atlantic Highlands.

The first decent party boat striper report consisted of shorts up to 26 inches plus several keepers. The Fishermen from that port hadn’t reported when this was written, but Capt. Ron Santee did get into some striper action Sunday with a 28 1/2-inch pool winner and some shorts on bait– including three for a couple of anglers. Scott Leadbeater fished his center console out of that port on Sunday, and wasn’t able to catch bass casting before switching to trolling which produced a variety of bass sizes from 25 inches up to 20 pounds that he released after getting away from the boat traffic.

Chuck Many was out in the bay Sunday afternoon as his crew only tagged and released 10 stripers, but they were all large with three over 30 pounds up to a 41-pounder. That action was on live bunkers and plugs made by Cesar Carranza — including one by Many on his second cast with that lure (see photo).

Capt. Joe Massa and his crew on My Three Sons from Morgan Marina ran down to Long Branch on Sunday to get into lots of short blackfish while boating seven up to an 11-pounder plus two cod. On the way back there were gannets working off Sandy Hook, but they were over dolphins blasting into bunkers. The weather has been perfect, and that lasts into tomorrow with southwest winds at 10-15 knots before the weather turns that night.

There are lots of fish marks in Raritan Bay, and charter boats continue to do well with both shorts and keepers with jigs and by trolling, but the conditions just haven’t been right for party boats.

That problem was summarized today by Capt. Rob Semkewyc of the Sea Hunter from Atlantic Highlands as follows: ” Frustrating is the best way to describe the fishing. For over a week now we have been seeing lots of stripers on the fish finder but they just won’t eat. The charter boats trolling catch some but that’s not even that good. All you hear on the radio is they are piled up but we can’t catch them. We did get one nice keeper today and a handful of shorts but for what I see we should be crushing them. It could be a early spawn but who can say for sure. We will be back out there tomorrow and hope for the spring run to really get going. See you soon, Capt. Rob”

The Sea Tiger from that port also struggled on its Saturday half-day trips as jigs didn;t work and a switch to bait produced only a few shorts, though one angler caught three. The afternoon was no better.

The Ocean Explorer from Belmar also reported some frustration Saturday while catching blackfish as a strong current from the north resulted in a hot bite only in the bow even after re-anchoring. There were lots of shorts, but anglers in the bow also had limits.

Bob Matthews at Fisherman’s Den in Belmar Marina reported school stripers are being caught in the surf on lures, clams and bloodworms. Blackfish are available in the inlet. A good local freshwater catch was the 9-pound channel catfish by Stanley Davis.

The weather continues to be great with a forecast for the morning of south breezes at 5-10 knots.

Though the pandemic wiped out the traditional sportsman’s shows, the return of the Manhattan Cup on June 4 is a big step forward on the return to normalcy. Tournament Chairman Gary Caputi notes that everything will be the same as with the last contest. – but bigger and better. I’ll have the details shortly.

The Golden Eagle from Belmar had another frustrating morning reading stripers and bait in the ocean while not getting any bites. However, turning to bottom fishing produced two dozen blackfish, a dozen ling and a cod. They also returned 18 sea bass that aren’t in season. They plan to start looking for stripers again at 7:30 tomorrow before bottom fishing if necessary.

The Raritan Bay report from Atlantic Highlands wasn’t as good. Capt. Ron Santee of the Fishermen said the jig bite wasn’t on, so he went to bait despite a wind against tide situation. On the change of tide at mid-day there was some action with short stripers, though no keepers. Santee noted that he marked small bass in many areas. Bob Matthews of Fisherman’s Den in Belmar Marina tried the local surf this morning for stripers, but only saw a beautiful sky.

The forecast is great for Sunday with a northwest breeze at 5-10 knots before turning south in the afternoon.

Through party boats and some anglers have been struggling for a keeper, there seem to be plenty of schoolies in Raritan Bay.

Denise Leonard noted that a friend trolled over 20 bass on a shad umbrella rig without a 28-incher among them, but charter skippers such as Jim Freda on Shore Catch and Fred Gamboa of Andreas Toy have been reporting limits daily while casting and trolling shads, small swimmers and Spooks on light tackle. Capt. Vinnie Vetere was also in on that fishing, and will start chartering with his Katfish from Great Kills next week.

Big bass have been another story even though they seem to be available in the bay. Capt. Joe Massa reports bunkers are abundant and he marks many larger stripers on his My Three Sons from Morgan Marina. The bigger bass just don’t seem to be interested in chunks and live baits sometimes — though that will surely change.

This could be the weekend when ocean stripers finally turn on. The Golden Eagle from Belmar will be looking for them again on Saturday and daily after that. They have been seeing some though none have hit so far. A few mackerel were caught on the last trip, and this is the month when those fish used to swim along the Atlantic coast from Virginia to the north by the millions. NOAA Fisheries screwed that up by allowing foreign fleets to load up with “surplus” mackerel despite scientific advice and opposition by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council. All we can do now is to hope for a miracle recovery just as was the case after the 200-mile limit was enacted.

The N.J. blackfish fleet will be out this weekend to get in their shots before the season closes at the end of the month. The weather looks great after the small craft advisory ends late tonight. Saturday’s forecast is for northwest winds at 10-15 knots with gusts to 25 before dropping out to west at a mere 5-10 knots by early afternoon. Sunday looks perfect with west winds at 5-10 knots.

When I fish with Crazy Alberto Knie in Florida it’s usually exotics that are targeted, such as the colorful and tough-fighting peacock bass. Thanks to Lee Wakefield and Seth Joel for their help and the photo.

NOAA Fisheries

Shortfin Mako 90-day Finding NOAA Fisheries published a 90-day finding on a petition to list the shortfin mako shark (Isurus oxyrinchus) as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and to designate critical habitat concurrent with the listing.  This finding states that the petition presents substantial scientific or commercial information indicating that the petitioned action may be warranted. The NOAA Fisheries Office of Protected Resources is initiating a status review of the species to determine whether listing under the ESA is warranted. To ensure this status review is comprehensive, the agency is soliciting scientific and commercial information regarding this species.  The deadline for providing scientific and commercial information is June 14.  For more information please go to the NOAA Fisheries website or the Federal Register.Fishery Bulletins and Notices Visit NOAA Fisheries’ Rules & Regulations directory to learn more about recent federal management actions affecting Atlantic highly migratory species. Visit our WebsiteSubscribe to Atlantic HMS News Regulations on recreational mako fishing are already so strict that it’s almost impossible to hold the traditional tournaments for them. Those sharks take so long to mature and produce so few young that it’s always seemed to me to be a miracle that they have managed to survive in the face of ever greater fishing pressure. A small craft advisory is going up at 6 p.m. and continues through late Friday night. The Friday forecast is for northwest winds at 15-20 knots with gusts to 25 and a chance of morning rain — but the weekend looks good. The Big Mohawk from Belmar had poor conditions Wednesday though some blackfish up to about 8 pounds were caught along with a cod.

When Crazy Alberto Knie is on the hunt for fish, anyone joining him better be prepared to put in a lot of time and end up in unexpected places. That’s the reason there was no blog last night as a trip which started from Fort Myers at 5:45 a.m. didn’t end there until 3 a.m. this morning.

The trip started with a long ride across Florida to the east coast where we joined up with three friends from Pa. in a search for freshwater exotics that managed to evade us all day. Though snakeheads and clown knifefish failed to cooperate, we did mange to release some colorful and hard-fighting peacock bass before making that long trip across the state again where Alberto and I cast small paddletail jigs from shore during the middle of the night to release spotted seatrout and snook plus a single ladyfish and even a Gulf kingfish which has the same tiny mouth as the northern member of that species that we catch in the surf — though very rarely on artificials.

I received a note from someone catching reds and seatrout, though it disappeared before I could track down who it might be from. I do check text messages occasionally, but find that many of them come in with no identification. Especially if you want a reply, use my e-mail at cristori@aol.com which I check every day. My daughter Cyndi set that up for me when I started on the internet — and the “c” is for captain.

The Hudson River Fisherman’s Association has issued a final sign-up notice for its Fred Rung Memorial Striped Bass Tournament which runs from April 17 to May 15 and is limited to the Hudson River and its tributaries. Visit HRFA.org for information on that all-release contest or e-mail joealbanese@gmail.com.

Party boats have been struggling to catch striped bass even as Raritan Bay charter skippers and pros have been doing well with jigs, bunker chunking and trolling most days. The Sea Hunter from Atlantic Highlands found some improvement Tuesday as they at least marked bass in quantities that should have produced a good catch. Yet only six shorts from 21 to 26 inches were caught and as many lost. They were ready to sail this morning, but only four fares showed up. Tomorrow is canceled due to weather.

Chuck Many reports that jigging for smaller bass was hot during his last trip with Ty Man in Raritan Bay, but the bait bite for bigger bass was slower though he did release the lunker in the photo.

The Thursday forecast isn’t very good with southeast winds of 10-15 knots plus gusts to 20 and rain. There’s a clearing northwest forecast for Friday at 15-20 knots with gusts to 25.

The Canyon Runner from Point Pleasant hasn’t been out there yet, but an eastern Long Island member of their Coaching & Report Service reported catching over 30 bluefin tuna while fishing the canyons recently. There was no mention of sizes, but those early bluefins are usually small. Te Canyn Runner’s Service had been sold out, but one subsciber has decided to stay in Florida — and his spot has opened up. Call Adam La Rosa at 732 272-4445 for information.

The Ocean Explorer from Belmar had a tough Sunday of bottom fishing in a lumpy ocean as only about 20 short blackfish were caught along with a couple of keepers, four cod and a few ling. Wednesday looks like the next possibility.

Small craft warnings are up through Tuesday morning when the forecast is for north winds at 10-15 knots with gusts to 20 before dropping off to just 5-10 knots in the afternoon. The Golden Eagle from Belmar has cancelled for Tuesday while looking forward to Wednesday.

Both Andreas Toy boats out of Keyport started in fog on Sunday, but ended with striper limits on bunker in rain and east wind. The largest bass caught was a 38-incher.

Fisherman’s Headquarters in Ship Bottom reported the first Long Beach Island surf bass were caught Saturday by John Moran of LBI on clams as he released two shorts.

The Mimi VI from Point Pleasant is sailing open on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 6:30 for blackfish with whitelegger crabs included for $110.On Tuesdays and Thursdays the sailing time is 7 a.m. for $90. Call 732 370-8019 for reservations. Striper dates start in May.

The Tackle Box in Hazlet reports that Fishermen’s Choice Scented Squid Strips and Salmon Belly strips scented in shrimp oil are being distributed in Florida by Bionic Bait in Pompan Beach. Capt. Mike Sisto has been doing well on the Marathon reefs with snappers and groupers on squid strips, while the salmon is great for tilefish when that season is open.

Recent tog on Ocean Explorer

NOTE: On Thursday April 15th all Derby registrants will receive an email invitation to attend a ZOOM meeting to be held that night at 7:00pm. The purpose is to review rules and answer any questions. Attendance is not mandatory but if you never fished the Derby before you may find it helpful. On Friday April 16th, around 8:00pm, everyone entered in the Derby will get an email with their own 3-digit Derby Number. That number is unique for each angler and MUST be visible in any photo submitted for review by the judges. Do NOT show your name in the photo or it will be disqualified. Entry photographs are to be emailed to: 2021striperderby@thehrfa.org. Remember this is strictly a “no kill” derby. Catch, Photo & Releaseand/orCatch, Tag, Photo and THEN Release.

To register by US Postal Service, print and complete the Entry Form below. (Entry Form also available on the website at https://thehrfa.org/derby/.) Then mail it, along with your check made payable to “The HRFA”, to our address: H.R.F.A.PO Box 421Cresskill, NJ 07626

Party boats are still trying to break through with stripers. Capt. Rob Semkewyz gouldn’t even get a hit Saturday on his Sea Hunter from Atlantic Highlands despite using lures, bunker and clam. The only fish he saw caught were by trollers, and even they weren’t doing much.

The Ocean Explorer from Belmar did well with blackfish yesterday, including a “slob” they estimated at 14 pounds. Their customers may have to take up a collection to buy them a scale.

A small craft advisory is up through Monday afternoon. The morning forecast is for northeast winds at 15-20 knots with gusts to 25 and likely showers.

Though charter boats have been doing well with Raritan Bay striped bass, initia[ party boat reports were negative.

At Atlantic Highlands, the Sea Hunter started on Friday and quickly found some marks to which Tsunami Shads were cast. Two were hooked, and a good one boated — but that was it. They also tried bait later with no action. The Fishermen got started today and reported poor tide conditions especially when a east wind came up later in the trip. They marked some fish that would’t hit.

The Golden Eagle from Belmar once again saw stripers, but couldn’t get a hit. However, there was an interesting development in the ocean as they caught a few mackerel. They won;t be fishing the next two days.

Also at Belmar, the Big Mohawk reported several blackfish limits on Friday along with lots of shorts.

There’s a chance of showers after midnight, but Sunday starts with southeast winds of only 5-10 knots before increasing to 10-15 with gusts to 20 later.

The unusual run of light winds and mild weather continues into the weekend with southeast winds at just 5-10 knots predicted for Saturday.

While ftriper fishing remains hot in Raritan Bay, this could be the first weekend of striper fishing in the ocean. The Golden Eagle from Belmar has reported seeing and reading them though they haven’t started biting. All it might take is a slight increase in water temperature.

Blackfishing seems to be improving steadily at Belmar for the Big Mohawk, which had an angler with a limit yesterday, and Ocean Explorer (see photo).

Chuck Many had a fine striper bite during a late afternooon to night trip on Ty Man from Highlands as his crew tagged and released bass from 22 unches up to a 32-pounder on both live bunkers and chunks in Raritan Bay.