The Atlantic Highlands party boats had loads of stripers once again, but it appears that shorts are becoming a larger proportion of the catch. The Sea Hunter had slots and a few keepers. The weather coming up after tomorrow may signal an end to the great jigging. Capt. Rob Semkewyc figures rain will scare away anglers Monday, but he’ll try Tuesday if enough customers call him. Capt. Ron Santee Jr. had an all day bite on the Fishermen with a 10-pound bass taking the pool. He’ll try sailing into next week.

Nick Honachefsky had a great time in the Ocean County surf yesterday morning with 15 bass up to 32 inches on a green tail Ava plus teaser. Frank Huza went to IBSP this morning and had lots of company. He managed a 21-inch bass, but one group of anglers caught them steadily.

The Golden Eagle from Belmar had a super offshore wreck trip for big sea bass plus lots of porgies. They limited on sea bass and bluefish before daylight, and also caught weakfish, cod and ling. Another trip is possible next week if enough anglers e-mail goldeneaglefishing.com for the $205 sailing.

Sunday’s forecast is for southwest winds at 10-15 knots with gusts to 20.

Chuck Many reports from Cape Charles as follows:

“Definitely a WOOOOOOOO kind of day going 5 for 8 on monsters with a 57 and 52 pounder!!!! Trying the new Shimano Teramar New England Series combo with Trinidad 30, absolutely sick!! Why do you take your boat to VA and get skunked 4 days in a row??? This is why!! All released unharmed”.

· 

 · 

 · 

Capt. Rob Semkewyc said striped bass jigging on his Sea Hunter from Atlantic Highlands was good by normal standards, but it was the first time in a while that the boat wasn’t limited on slots as smaller bass dominated.

Frank Huza of Aberdeen went all the way to IBSP where he managed two 25-inch bass.

Jerry Lasko said it was slower on Ocean County beaches as he and Maren Toleno had to get out on the bars where she caught eight and he had one casting skinny metals plus teasers.

The Jamaica from Brielle may have a few spots open Saturday’s 10 p.m. sailing to offshore wrecks for jumbo sea bass and porgies. Call 732 528-5014 for reservations.

The Saturday forecast is for south winds at 5-10 knots with a chance of fog and showers before switching to southeast with gusts to 20 in the afternoon.

Historically. it hasn’t been often that anglers seeking striped bass could be concerned only about how many and not if they were going to catch them when they left port.

That hasn’t been the case lately in NY/NJ Bight, but it won’t last forever.

Fishing was a bit slower in the ocean today as the Golden Eagle from Belmar reported stripers and some blues for a decent catch, The bite was best early, and they had to move around to find more. Tomorrow’s 6:30 trip will be their last for stripers.

There was no change in the great jigging for Atlantic Highlands boats. The Sea Hunter had a slot bass for everyone and some over 28 inches. The Fishermen reported they moved into deeper waters to add some larger bass up to 34 inches. The action slowed after the tide changed and the wind came up.

Jerry Lasko said the Ocean County surf was flat and the striper fishing flow. After he outfished Maren Toleno yeterday, everything was back to normal today as Maren scratched out five and Jerry couldn;t score. He noted that some peanut binker were spotted in the evening.

There may be some rain on the weekend, but Friday looks great with southwest winds at 10-15 knots plus gusts to 20.

“Paul Haertel reported on Facebook about blackfishing on his boat out of Barnegat Inlet as follows: Well this kid, Peter Hammond is in big trouble. Once again he broke the boat rules by catching a bigger fish than the Captain. This time though he did it twice with two personal best, the first weighing in at 10 lbs 2 oz and the second a whopping 13 lbs. 3 oz. To his credit though he released both of them. Today he even outfished King Dante Soriente though Dante had some nice ones and was high hook. My friend Jeff C and I managed a few tog though. Congrats Pete but don’t let this happen again. All on Magictails. #magictails“

123Jim Freda, Chris Lido and 121 others39 Comments6 SharesLikeCommentShare

Comments

View 1 more comment

• Dante SorienteThanks Paul1
  • Like
  •  · 

Capt. Ron Santee Jr. saw his first snow on the Fishermen from Atlantic Highlands today, and the striper bite slowed when the wind picked in the afternoon. However, catches were already in the dozens. The pool bass was 35 inches. Santee will continue fishing at least through the weekend. The Sea Hunter from that port didn’t have enough to sail, but is ready to go tomorrow.

The Golden Eagle from Belmar had very good striper fishing and also a few blues today. They sail early at 6:30 tomorrow.

Jerry Lasko said Ocean County surfcasting was slower today though he caught 15 stripers while Maren Toleno added five.

Tomorrow’s weather looks even better with northwest winds of 15-20 knots diminishing in the afternoon to 10-15 knots.

Fall northwesters set up ideal surfcasting conditions along the N.J. Shore, but they also bring cold temperatures. Jerry Lasko said it never got out of the 30’s on the Ocean County beach he was fishing, but the action kept anglers warm. The hot bite was on the incoming, and by the the end of the day he had released 35 stripers while Maren Toleno got up to 61. When the sand eels come in, so do the bass.

Frank Huza of Aberdeen went all the way to Island Beach State Park and didn’t score there though he saw some bass being caught.

Capt. Ron Santee Jr. reported a continuation of all you can handle striper jigging on his Fishermen from Atlantic Highlands. It was cold, and got nasty on the change of tide, but the fishing remains amazing and he will sail every day.

The northwest wind continues at 15-20 knots with gusts to 25.

The northwest wind sure isn’t bothering striped bass in NY/NJ Bight, and the cold hasn’t sent them fleeing to the south. Both boaters and surfcasters scored today.

Jerry Lasko reported surfcasting was slow early in Ocean County, but picked up later in the morning to such an extent that MarenToleno ended up releasing 34 while he added 11. Sand eel lures did the job as that’s what the bass are feeding on.

Bob Matthews at Fisherman’s Den in Belmar Marina noted that the early bite has often been poor due to low waters, but it may turn on later in the morning. He also noted that party boats there were doing well with stripers and blackfish. The Ocean Explorer had a 13-pound tog on a recent trip.

The Golden Eagle from that port reported another very good day with stripers today as a boat limit was caught and others released. A few bluefish were also hooked. Their 6:30 sailing time got them into the best of the bite.

At Atlantic Highlands, the Sea Hunter reported fares could catch 20 or more bass without really trying. There were lots of slot bass, but only a few over 28 inches. Due to a lack of reservations and gusty winds, tomorrow’s trip has been canceled — but they’ll be back at it Wednesday.

The Fishermen also had great striper jigging, with one fare counting 61. They also didn’t see many of the larger bass.

Tuesday’s forecast is for northwest winds at 15-20 knots with gusts to 25.

Though the northwest wind continues, and there were no reports today, it should drop off enough to permit party and charter boats to make their trips tomorrow.

The forecast is for northwest at 10-15 knots with gusts to 20. There’s some protection from that wind, and even the Shore can get in the action. The Golden Eagle from Belmar will be sailing at 6:30 a.m. to be on the grounds for the early bite of stripers. However, the Queen Mary from Point Pleasant won’t be there as they are finished for the season. The Sea Hunter from Atlantic Highlands doesn’t have far to go for what’s been crazy striper jigging — and they are sailing as scheduled.

The northwest wind is ideal for NJ surfcasting. Dress warm and enjoy the cast- extending wind at your back!

Though the storm was tough on weekend boaters, the clearing northwester should set up surfcasters with clear waters and fishable waves. It will be cold, but NJ anglers will have the wind at their backs as they make long casts.

Boaters may take another day off Sunday as the forecast is for northwest at 20-25 knots with gusts to 30 — and 4-6-foot seas. Be sure to check with skippers before coming down. Capt. Ron Santee Jr. said his Friday fishing report from the Fishermen out of Atlantic Highlands was like a broken record as it was once again a red hot bite with the smallest bass so far at 15 inches up to a 33 1/2-incher. One angler ended up with a two-day total of 108 stripers. However, Santee won’t sail on Sunday due to the forecast that will result in nasty fishing conditions.

The gale didn’t seem to make a bit of difference to the fall NJ striper run. The Golden Eagle from Belmar reported limiting out on keepers while releasing some bass too big to keep. The best action was, as usual, right away as they arrived from their 6:30 a.m. departure.

At Atlantic Highlands, I didn’t see the Fishermen’s report from yesterday when they fished in cold, windy conditions for a super bite. The Tagged Fish from Highlands was also in on that hot bite.

The Sea Hunter sailed into a mass of feeding birds today and was limited on slots during the first drift. There weren’t as many 28-inch bass today, but they ended up with 14 of the bigger fish in the boat. They’ll be on that all-day bite in the morning, but the Saturday trip has already been canceled.

Betty & Nick’s Tackle in Seaside Park reported striper action in the surf this morning with a 9-pounder weighed in. A report from South Seaside Park was of multiple very late 6-pound bluefish being caught. There was also a report of a 28-inch fluke caught on a teaser at sun-up.

Friday’s forecast is for west winds at 10-15 knots with gusts to 20. There’s a chance of rain in the afternoon before the switch to northeast at 15-20 knots plus gusts to 25 on Saturday.