Thanksgiving was a blowout for boaters due to the NW gale, but Black Friday continued to be a best bet. Capt. Ron Santee of the Fishermen from Atlantic Highlands said he was greeted by clouds of birds in the channels, and catches ran up to 50 bass. However, tomorrow will be his last trip of the season as bad weather is forecast after that.

The Golden Eagle from Belmar had to make a long run to get into lots of stripers this morning, but they enjoyed great action until 11 a.m. The bite shut off then and very few bass were caught after that,

A small craft advisory is up until 10 p.m., but tomorrow looks good with northwest winds at 10-15 knots before the switch to east winds by Monday.

Though there were some good surf reports on Thanksgiving, blog contributor Dan said the only birds he saw today at Sea Bright were well offshore, and he never saw a fish caught during the hour he fished.

I hope everyone is enjoying a fine Thanksgiving!

There were no boat reports with the gale warning posted, but that goes down tonight. By morning it’s down to north 15-20 knots with gusts to 25,

Most boats will probably be fishing, and the Jamaica from Brielle is promoting her Black Friday Striped Bass Marathon at 6:30 a.m.

Surfcasters were able to cast like champs today with the strong wind behind them. Jerry Lasko reports that Island Beach State Park was crowded, but there was a steady pick of small stipers despite waters that were dirty due to all the west wind. Maren Toleno ended up with 20 releases.

Jay Russell used the Tsunami Sand Eel to release 16 schoolies last night at Sea Girt.

Gale-force northwest winds are forecast for Thanksgiving Day, and the usual shortened trips run that morning by party boats are being impacted. Even the Big Jamaica from Brielle has canceled, and anyone planning on making one of those trips should check with the skipper before coming down.

Actually, I used to run charters out of Manasquan Inlet in the old days in any kind of northwest blow as long as there were fish within a half-mile of the beach to the north. The land deflects the wind and it’s almost calm close to shore. The NW wind also lays down the swell, and makes for perfect surfcasting conditions. The Black Friday trip of the Jamaica from 6:30 to 3 is still on with  lighter winds.

The Jamaica’s Tuesday offshore wreck trip was successful with many limits of jumbo sea bass plus good numbers of porgies and bluefish. A few weakfish and ling were also caught. Lawerence Arabian of Allentown, Pa. won the pool with a 7.5-pound sea bass, and Mike Vastola from Lavallette was second with a 7.2-pounder. The weekend offshore weather looks better, and there’s room on the trip departing at 11 p.m. Saturday — as well as one on the Paramount at 9 p.m. Friday. Call 732 528-5014 for reservations.

The Golden Eagle was offshore out of Belmar today where they found plenty of breaking striped bass and caught enough to satisfy the fares. The Sea Hunter fished from Atlantic Highlands even though only eight anglers showed up on a nice day. They had good early fishing for stripers locally and returned by noon.

The Canyon Runner from Point Pleasant has been wrapping up a fine striped bass season, and put a group of six veterans into a big striper for each among the smaller ones on the free Veteran’s Day trip they ran.

Small stripers are abundant all along the N.J. Shore, along with hickory shad. The northwest blow will be just fine for that fishing and will draw hundreds to the beaches tomorrow. Vinny D’Anton fished at Belmar this morning and picked away for hours to end up with 10 releases by casting where the loons were hanging around sand eels of all sizes that are the main attraction for bass.

Maren Toleno released 18 bass Tuesday and 19 this morning in the Ortley Beach area where the dusk action hasn’t been up to that standard  Below is John Greger with a fat 26-incher at Ortley.

Jay Russell on the other hand  has been picking bass in late afternoon at Sea Girt.

Blog reader Jim Giles reported he was into fussy bass Saturday, but was able to fool them up to a 32-incher by casting a Sluggo on a jig head.

The Seaside Park tackle shops also report lots of small bass in many areas.

The marine forecast is for a gale warning to go up at 6 p.m. and through tomorrow. South gusts to 30 knots tonight – then go to west up to 45 after midnight.

Dave Lilly said it was a sight to behold this morning as birds  and surfacing stripers were everywhere from the Tin Can Grounds to the Rockaways. They were gorging on very small sand eels, and hit shads or small diamond jigs as fast as they were cast.

Sorry for the delay, but I traveled to Florida today for Thanksgiving with the family.

Allen Riley didn’t have a good report from the Sandy  Hook surf as he and John Mazzeo were shut out in fine conditions as there was no bait inshore while birds were working far out.

Bob Matthews reports from Fisherman’s Den in Belmar Marina that small bass and hickory shad are hitting lures such as the Tsunami Sand Eel in the local surf, but the big news was is the run of winter flounder at local docks with two-fish limits for all.

 

 

There’s still excellent striper fishing for boat anglers, with the bonus bass provision making it possible for to bring home dinner  even though bass over 28 inches aren’t common.

The Sea Hunter from Atlantic Highlands reported very good action in fine weather, though the Thanksgiving Day trip has been canceled due to the forecast of 40-knot winds.

The Golden Eagle from Belmar had to move around a lot, but ended up with close to a coat limit. They sail early tomorrow at 6 a.m.

Tank Matraxia fished today with Capt. Fletcher Chayes on Two Rivers charters out of Twin Lights in Highlands. There were loads of stripers off Sandy Hook, and they kept a few slots on jigs.  Both Tank and the skipper tried to interest the bass in poppers, but they weren’t interested. A seal checked them out during the trip.

The Tuesday forecast is great, with west winds at 10 knots. The surf bite is up and down, but was off at Belmar this morning after two very good days. I only saw a few bass caught early, though hickory shad were hitting. I lost a bass early, and only bailed out on my last cast with a Run-Off chromed Sand Eel jig

 

It didn’t look good for surfcasting yesterday with strong south winds predicted overnight. The surf was rough along the Jersey Shore, but there were reports from many Monmouth and Ocean County beaches of school stripers feeding on sand eels.

I was late getting to the beach I selected, and those who were there before daylight had been catching doubleheaders. It was more of a fairly steady pick there as the morning went on, though everyone caught stripers that were mostly in the 20-22-inch class at first before the very small bass often seen at the end of the fall became more common . I managed to release a 26-inch striper that was hard to get out of the heavy wash and looked big today, but my last fish was a 16-incher. I only caught one hickory shad and saw a few others. The Tsunami Sand Eel and various small jigs were producing. A young man named Gillon was catching bass as fast as any adult.

Most surprising was the mild weather and lack of rain while I was fishing. There wasn’t a whisper of wind and the rain had ended by the time I started in daylight. Bill Hoblitzell complained that he dressed for cold weather and was sweating in his waders. That changed a bit later when the wind shifted to NW and the temperature dropped so fast that my hands were cold within minutes.

 

The forecast for tomorrow is west at 10-15 knots with gusts to 20.

The Golden Eagle from Belmar reported good striper fishing despite the rain and wind. Lots of whales were spotted, and everyone brought home fish for dinner.

Joe Blaze had an unusual catch during yesterday’s charter with Two Rivers Charters  — a 2-3-pound bluefish that he jigged around Shrewsbury Rocks. That was the first one I’ve heard of since I caught one  while fishing with Chuck Many weeks ago. What happened to the great November bluefishing we used to have?

The Jamaica from Brielle reported a good Saturday offshore sea bass trip with many limits plus porgies, weakfish, a couple of cod and some ling and bluefish.  Thomsz Wojcik of Clifton won the pool with a 6-pound sea bass to edge Leon Jackson from Andover, Md. with a 5.5-pounder. There’s room on the Monday sailing at 11 p.m. and many other trips this week. Call 732 528-5014 for reservations.

 

Just when surf striper fishing turned on in several areas, the weather is turning on us.

A gale warning is up for Sunday with south winds at 15–s20 knots increasing to 25-30 in the afternoon. Rain is likely in the morning.

Belmar was one if the spots where surf stripers were active this morning. There were bass chasing sand eels out of the water before Vinny D’Anton and I arrived after dawn. Though the surface showing was over, everyone caught bass blind casting for some time. I didn’t see any keepers, but bass up to 26 inches were mixed with smaller ones and hickory shad. I measured the thickest of my shad at 15 1/2 inches. Most of the action was on Tsunami sand Eels.

Unfortunately, there was no afternoon bite though Vinny got one before dark. Prospects for the morning aren’t good if the weather forecast is right.

The Sea Hunter from Atlantic Highlands had another good striper day as everyone went home with dinner. The Saturday turnout in fine weather was poor, and Sunday’s trip has been canceled due to the gale.

The Golden Eagle from Belmar had another good day with stripers, though it wasn’t easy as was the case yesterday — and they went into overtime for “OK” fishing with some keepers and slots plus many shorts.

Joe Blaze was able to catch some bass with his fly rod on a charter with Capt, Fletcher Chayes on Two Rivers Charters from Highlands. There was a bite between the channels before boat traffic shut it down. They went south to catch bass casting , though there were no swirling fish. Some slot bass were included. An attempt at blackfishing wasn’t successful.

 

Capt. Hans Kaspersetz returned from Guatemala where the world’s best sailfishing produced 27 releases in three days for him while fishing out of Blue Bayou.  No sooner did he return than he was fishing locally today on his Sheri Berri from Twin Lights in Highlands. After releasing stripers, he switched to blackfish with similar success.

 

The weekend should at least start out well as the morning forecast is for west winds at just 10-15 knots. with 2-4-foot seas.

Boaters enjoyed another fine day of striper fishing. Capt. Rob Semkowicz reported good action with shorts and slots plus one over 28 inches on his Sea Hunter from Atlantic Highlands.  The Golden Eagle from Belmar reported a boat limit of stripers and was in release mode by 11 a.m. They said there were several bass in the 25-30-pound class.

Vinny D’Anton fished several northern Monmouth Count beaches to pick at stripers both early and late in the day — including a release of that surf rarity this fall, a 28 1/2- inch  legal triper.  I tried the Long Branch surf later in the afternoon to catch two small bass quickly on the Tsunami Sand Eel before the bite died as it got toward dusk.

Boaters generally had a fair to good day with stripers in several areas, though there was none of the wild surface action that we’ve seen in the late fall many years.

Capt. Rob Semkewyc was happy with the slot action today as everyone on his Sea Hunter from Atlantic Highlands wen home with dinner from local waters.

I fished with Mark Roy on his Release Me from Raritan Marina  as we did a lot of running to try to find a Bonanza without seeing anything other than scattered birds dipping at times. We caught most of our 13 released bass mostly around Ambrose Channel, including Mark’s 28 1/2-incher. All were on Tsunami shads except for one on a heavy Run-Off jig further down the beach in deep water.

The Golden Eagle reported another good day of jigging not far from home port in Belmar.

The Big Mohawk from that port had decent blackfishing, and will sail open for tog tomorrow at 7 a,m

The Jamaica from Brielle had another good offshore wreck sea bass trip yesterday with many limits plus porgies and a few cod, pollock, white hake and bluefish. Felix Schlindler of Morrisville won the pool with a 10-pound pollock. David Cook from Raeford, N.C. was second with a 7-pound white hake.  Call 732 528-5014 for reservations on upcoming trips.

 

Vinnie D’Anton had the only good surf news as he once again scored in the afternoon around Long Branch with blind casting. Metal didn’t work today, but he caught six up to 24 inches on a Tsunami Sand Eel, and lost another in the wash.

There’s a cold front coming through tomorrow that may bring some showers. Southwest winds gust to 30 knots tonight, but drop to 15-20 in the morning when a small craft advisory goes up at 5 a.m. West gusts to 30 are forecast in the afternoon.

Castaways Tackle in Point Pleasant is still open on regular hours. It’s Joe Melillo who won’t be there for advice after 10 a.m.

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Boat fishing for stripers has come back off the Jersey Shore after the weekend northeast blow. However, the Atlantic Highlands party boats had to make a move after the wind came up against the current and killed the drift.

Capt. Ron Santee had a good start with his Fishermen with the end of the a.m. tide When the conditions changed, he took a ride to deeper waters where both bait and fish were abundant. Rachael Waudenberg took the pool with a 23-pounder– the largest in several trips.

Capt. Rob Semkewyc of the Sea Hunter had a similar day which produced shorts, bonus bass, and keepers.

At Belmar, the Golden Eagle picked away at short, slot and keeper bass on every drift while fishing not far from the inlet. Jigs proved more effective than shads, They’ll be sailing an early limited trip at 6 a. m.

The Big Mohawk will sail limited open trips for stripers each of the next two days at 5:30 a.m.

There wasn’t such positive news reported on the surf front. Allen Riley and John Mazzeo fished Sandy Hook, where Allen caught the only fish on the beach — a bass over 20 inches on a black Ulltimus teaser before dawn, and had one other hit. John had a hot morning of bass fishing there Friday, but this time there was no bait.

Maren Toleno caught a single schoolie at Lavallette early, but I never had a touch at Brick Beach despite clear waters and good conditions.

Despite the poor early reports, Vinny D’Anton went to Long Branch for a higher tide in early afternoon and picked three stripers up to a 26-incher with long casts of a Skippy metal and shorter ones with a Tsunami Sand Eel.

Capt. Vinny Vetere is running open tomorrow from 6 a.m. to noon for Hudson River stripers on live bunkers from his Katfish out of Great Kills.

Capt. Dave De Gennaro is taking advantage of all the northwest wind and will be running open with his Hi Flier from Barnegat on Saturday and Monday. from 6 a.m. to 2 p. m.

The marine forecast for tomorrow is northwest winds at 15-20 knots            before diminishing to 10 knots in the afternoon.