The man who dubbed the lowly bunker as The Most Important Fish in the Seas in his book passed away in his N.J. home at 90. The former Rutgers professor was noted as an anti-war activist, but recognized how important menhaden were in the chain of ocean life — and yet not being protected at all from unlimited purse seining for reduction into everything from oils to chicken feed, The once enormous schools were being greatly diminished when Franklin joined other conservationists and many anglers in fighting for bunker conservation which eventually won the day with regulations that recognize the needs of fish, marine mammals and birds as well as those of fishermen and industries. Franklin’s book was a very important part of that fight.

Sea bass fishing has been generally good since the seaon in N.J. opened last week. Capt. Ron Santee Jr. had steady action Wednesday on his Fishermen from Atlantic Highlands that included a 3-pound sea bass, ling and some whitin and even a 3 1/2-pound winter flounder. However, today’s fishing was surprisingly picky.

The Friday forecast is fine, with west winds at just 5 knots before going south in the afternoon. There’s only a slight chance of showers or thunderstorms.

Frank Ruczynski sent this ode to an ugly — with a good photo.

“A face only a mother could love! I caught a bunch of northern stargazers over the years, mostly on jigs while fishing on or near the bottom. The mouth of the stargazer faces up so that it can ambush prey while hiding in the sandy bottoms of coastal waters. The top of the stargazer has electric organs in the orbitae which can generate and transmit an electric shock. The electric apparatus is composed of two organs, which form two vertical columns roughly oval in horizontal section, and placed behind and somewhat under each eye. It is composed of about 200 thin layers of electric tissue.”

I’ve caught quite a few stargazers over the years, both from the NJ surf and boats. They don’t fight at all, but try to dig into the sand — leaving surfcasters with a bent rod and line pointing straight down in the sand. They can be held with a hand under the belly.

Capt. Frank Masseria of Vitamin Sea from Keyport reports “Excellent live line bite this morning. The 4 man crew managed a couple of dozen ++ bass with overs, unders and a boat limit of keepers in the mix.

Bunker have finally moved into the bay by the millions.

Some blue bite offs. “

Fluke pro Dave Lilly once again found no fluke at his offshore spots before finally hitting a small area that produced five fluke from 3 to 3 1/2 pounds for his crew. There were also small sea bass, but no short fluke.

The forecast is for southwest winds at just 10 knots, but with a slight chance of thunderstorms and showers.

Stargazer

Capt. Ron Santee Jr. of the Fishermen at Atlantic Highlands reported a very good Tuesday sea bass trip as follows”

Once again it was another very good fishing day today.

Despite the South wind and lousy conditions the Sea Bass & Ling were hungry. Some real beauties in the mix with the pool fish going 3 pounds. A   pollock, couple whiting and Winter Flounder finished it off.“

Jim Hutchinson Jr. of the Fisherman sent the following tagging report:

The NOAA Marine weather forecast for May 16th wasn’t so hot, but we still had a great day with our StriperQuest event as friends and family joined in the ‘quest’ to tag striped bass with Gray Fishtag Research.  At the end of the single-day event, over 80 striped bass were caught, tagged and released by field of 20 boats, with three 40-pound class stripers also fit with MiniPAT tracking devices to follow their movements for the next 4 months.  Three boats deployed the satellite tagging devices, including Chuck Many’s “Tyman” and Dave Glassberg’s “Critter Catcher,” as well as Dave Schunke’s “Fish Circus” which also had a team of anglers from PENN, Tackle Direct and The Fisherman aboard nabbing the award for most fish tagged for the day.  Second place in the overall tagging was Guy Buono’s “Krunch” out of Staten Island, while a private crew of “Dirty Ol’ Bassers” skippered by Tom Streahle earned third place. 

This is the start of another year of striper tagging with the Northeast Striped Bass Study; in 2023, there were 2,110 stripers tagged through Gray Fishtag Research, with “Andrea’s Toy” captain Greg DeMello tagging 391 for the year getting honored by Gray for top tagger in the world last season.  Round and round they swim, where they end up we’ll eventually learn through technology and science.

Critter Catcher’s Jack Glassberg, Caterpillar Marine’s Chris Scanzillo and Bill Dobbelaer from Gray Fishtag Research with one of the stripers fitted with a MiniPAT satellite tracking device on May 16^th off Sandy Hook. 

jhutchinson@thefisherman.com

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Critter Catcher’s Jack Glassberg, Caterpillar Marine’s Chris Scanzillo and Bill Dobbelaer from Gray Fishtag Research with one of the stripers fitted with a MiniPAT satellite tracking device on May 16^th off Sandy Hook. 

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• sat tagThe offshore tournament season is off to a good start. The Hatteras Village Offshore Open produced the following results:

Sea Toy – Biggest Blue Marlin – 547lbs

First Look – 2nd place Marlin – 502.7lbs

Doc Fees – Level I and II (5 blue Marlin), Day 4 release, and 2nd place Dolphin

Due South – 2nd place Level I and II (4 blue Marlin)

Play It By Ear – 3rd place Level I and II (3 blue Marlin), Day 3 release

Beagle – 1st place Wahoo (42.5 lbs)

Magic Moment – 1st place Dolphin

Tuna Duck – Day 2 release

Bravehardt – 2nd place Wahoo

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Capt. Ron Santee Jr. summed up today’s sea bass fishing from his Fishermen out of Atlantic Highlands as follows: “

4 Days in a row with great weather and good fishing, The World is gonna end!!

Action right from the start till the end of the day. Didn’t see any Whiting today and only a hand full of ling but the Sea Bass bite kept everyone busy.  Weather looks great for the next several days, come on down.“

The forecast is for southwest winds at a mere 5-10 knots before going south at 10-15 plus gusts to 20 in the afternoon.

The N.J. sea bass season opened Friday, and so far there have been mostly good reports. Limit catches seem to be common, and there haven’t been too many complaints about having to pick through lots of shorts. Most boats are also reporting ling in the mix, as well as a few whiting.

Today was somewhat of an exception as the Golden Eagle from Belmar reported “It was a slower start today with the SEA BASS so we picked with shots along with lulls.

We made a few moves and it got better as the day went on. Anglers that stayed at it had their limits of SEA BASS along with LING in the mix. There was also a showing of WHITING and WINTER FLOUNDER.“

Chuck Many reported from his Tyman out of Highlands a couple of days ago”

Great day with the Kings of the Musky world, Mike, Bob, & James!!! 40 Giant Bass to 52 pounds. Definitely one to remember!!! Love these guys!” See photos below.

That was the first 50 I’ve heard of so far this season.

The forecast is for northeast winds at just 5-10 knots before going east in the afternoon.

Sorry for no blog last night, but I got delayed in traveling after a “wild” second birthday party in Palm Beach Gardens for my grandson Alex Gonzalez.

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Capt. Michael Ardolino reported good opening day sea bass fishing on both Miss Belmar and Miss Belmar Princess — including many limit catches. They sail at 7:30.

He also noted there are only three spots left on “the OFF THE GRID” FAR DISTANT CANYON TILEFISH TRIP. Imagine 60 hours of YOU being off the grid! Deep Blue Water fishing in the abyss. Do you follow reports or do you make reports? Do you follow trends or do you set them? GO FOR IT!

www.captloufleet.com or call 516 623 5823 for reservations. Wednesday May 22nd 10pm sail return Saturday May 25 by 4am.

Capt. Ron Santee Jr. of the Fishermen at Atlantic Highlands reported as follows:

“

Wasn’t sure what to expect today with all the crappy weather and nasty ocean the past few days…

Was pleasantly surprised once we hit the ocean. Had a swell but it was fishable. First drop was not good with only a few fish coming up. Made a move to a little shallower water and found a better pick for the rest of the day.

Nice mix of Sea Bass, a couple big whiting, some ling and a keeper fluke. Fish were ice cold. A nice 2 pound Sea Bass took the pool.

The forecast is for northeast winds at just 10 knots before going east in the afternoon.

One of many releases this week on Chuck Many’s Tyman from Highlands,

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The long-awaited sea bass season in N.J. opens Friday with marginal weather.

A small craft advisory is up through Friday afternoon, with 10-15-knot northeast winds, but seas up to 5 feet. That shouldn’t bother the party boats, but check with your favorite for a sailing time.

The Viking Fleet at Montauk reports “We are definitely sailing on our 38 Hour Tile Express Trip abaord the 144FT “Cadillac” Viking Starship leaving Friday night at 6PM and returning Sunday morning @ 9AM. There are a couple of spots available and the weather forecast looks great! If you want to get offshore for a full day of sun up to sun down fishing, come and jump on! You can reserve your bunk and fishing position when you reserve. Give us a call at (631) 668-5700, or book online at www.vikingfleet.com

Though striper results in NY/NJ Bight have been up and down, there have been several reports this week about red hot action with live bunkers which often take more time to net than is normally the case at this time.

Capt. Frank Massereia of Vitamin Sea at Keyport reported this week “

Had Steve and the Milford gang on board this afternoon. The boys must’ve brought some western luck with them because we saw a great improvement from the recent fishing we’ve been having. Started the trip off with loading the net with all the bait we needed in one throw and the guys went to work.

All the fish came in flurries with several double and triple headers and they were all JUMBOS. Fish from 40” to 47” with an odd keeper mixed in. All in all a great trip with a great crew.”

Frank reported for today as follows:”

Great live line bite this morning for our open boat guys that included Capt Art of Wild Bills fishing from Keywest Florida.

Even caught a bunch on poppers. Beautiful morning with little wind, very little rain and flat water.”

Betty & Nick’s Tackle in Seaside Park reported jumbo blues are now hitting poppers in Barnegat Inlet, the surf and the bay.

Matt Calabria’s cast net full of bunkers almost ensures a good day of striper action on Capt. John Contello’s Just Sayin

A small craft advisory is up from 4 p.m. through Thursday afternoon. The forecast is for northeast winds at 15-20 knots plus gusts to 30 with seas increasing to 9 feet and likely rain.

Party boats in N.J. have been releasing sea bass for weeks. but that changes Friday when that prime food fish becomes legal through June 19 with a bag limit of 10 at a 12.5-inch minimum.

Check with your favorite party boat as some may be running special trips for the opener.

Chuck Many continues to release big stripers on live eels from his Tyman out of Highlands .

“Great day on Sunday with Kristian Henriksen & Cesar Carranza!!!”

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The forecast is for southeast winds at just 5-10 knots before going east at 10-15 in the afternoon. Rain is possible in the morning, and likely in the afternoon.

Jim Hutchinson Jr. of The Fisherman reports:

“

Looking forward to a great event, StriperQuest ’24, with Captains Meeting on Wednesday at Ross Brewery in Belford, NJ, and a 100% ‘catch, tag and release’ striper contest on Thursday. Awards ceremony afterwards back at Ross Brewery. If you have a Raritan Bay charter already booked for Thursday, check with your captain and fish for $$$ and science! Gray FishTag Research

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In the normal course of striped bass fishing, it’s a lot harder to catch a trophy striper than small ones, but that hasn’t been the case lately.

The Fishermen from Atlantic Highlands has found volume fishing with shads, flutter spoons and even topwaters has been so inconsistent that Capt. Ron Santee Jr. has given it up. He’ll resume fishing Friday from 7:30 to 2:30 when the sea bass season in New Jersey opens. After two weeks of that, Santee will switch to fluke.

Yet, Chuck Many has had no problem catching big bass on live eels from his Tyman out of Highlands in NY/NJ Bight.

Paul Castelli had the following report from Atlantic City today. “

This morning my 94 year-old Dad got up at 2:00am, jumped in with some neighbors and rode 2 hours to meet my son Michael and I at a boat ramp before sunrise. It was 40 degrees, colder with wind chill, but Dad hung tough and managed to winch in a 50”striper! As usual his was the biggest fish of the day!

John Santos caught one almost as big. Tim Chelius, Michael and I struck out, but it was a stellar morning on the ocean nonetheless. Sun rising, birds wheeling, porpoises jumping, whales spouting all shared with some of my favorite people on earth!

The first strike was also the big one for Eric Kerber this morning as it was a 47-inch. 40-pound release from On A Mission out of Belmar.

The Golden Eagle from Belmar got out for stripers on Saturday, and found both bait and bass — but the stripers wouldn’t hit.

The forecast is for south winds at 10-15 knots before increasing to 15-20 in the afternoon with seas to five feet plus showers.