Every time it appears that striped bass fishing in NY/NJ Bight can’t be any better, there’s yet another report from Chuck Many on his Tyman from Highlands like the following:

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Monday was good with 60 jumbos, but Tuesday and a quick trip Wednesday morning topped it, with over 100 Jumbos boated. Smallest was right around 30 pounds, Largest was Rich Miller first 50 at between 51 & 52 pounds!! Great times with Rich, Dean Cox, & Brian Cox!!!

+NJ Hybrid striped bass record broken:

• The N.J. Division of Fish and Wildlife reports that Jim Piascik caught the new state record Hybrid Striped Bass in Monksville Reservoir on May 24, 2023.  The fish weighed 17 pounds, 12 ounces, replacing John Vayda’s 16-pound, 10-ounce record from 2022.  The old record only stood for 227 days.   Jim was fishing for Walleye when the fish hit just after midnight.  After previously landing a 25-inch Walleye, he was prepared with a large net, and managed to get this giant in the boat alone and in the dark.Congratulations Jim!  What a catch!

• The Fishermen from Atlantic Highlands reported steady sea bass fishing all day with a variety of sizes up to the 3-pound pool winner as many limits were taken.
• The forecast is for north winds at 5-10 knots before going southeast in the afternoon
• Vinny D’Anton fished sand fleas in the Monmouth County surf this morning for stripers of 32 and 29 inches, but was surprised to not see other anglers fishing.
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Chuck Many hosted fishing friends from South Carolina this week on his Tyman for great striper fishing that included not only great numbers of big bass, but also one over 50 pounds.

All of the striper reports I got today were very positive, including the following about yesterday’s trip from Andreas Toy out of Perth Amboy:

“Had George out today and made a long run to some of the best fishing I’ve ever seen. The first two hours it was almost every cast all alone and nearly every fish was over 40 inches. Spooks, metal lips, live bunker it didn’t matter they were hungry. One group of fish hit a spook so hard it hit the transom, fell back in the water and then they hit it before it hit the water. Every live bait on the surface got blown up on within 30 seconds and didn’t stand a chance. No time for pictures as the action was so hot and bass were blowing up around the boat for hours. It is simply impossible for fishing to be any better than this.”

Want to take a long shot at a giant bluefin tuna? Capt. Dave De Gennaro is ready to take a charter or individual reservations on his Hi Flier from Barnegat Light for 45-mile run to the north on Friday, Saturday or Sunday. when there’s an opportunity to troll for a giant if the seas are calm. DeGennaro mated three seasons for the greatest giant tuna skipper of all — the late Capt. Bob Pisano. Call 732 330-5674 for details. If the weather isn’t right, he’ll switch over to local stripers and blues.

Sea bass fishing is also standing up well. The Golden Eagle from Belmar reported slower fishing this morning when the weather was poor, but they ended up with many limits as conditions improved. Bait seemed to have the edge today. The Big Mohawk from Belmar has been enjoying similar action, but is chartered tomorrow.

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

I finally got the results from Sunday’s Governor’s Surf Fishing Tournament at IBSP, though I haven’t been able to transfer them. Despite light rain early, the fishing turned out to be pretty good, with over 160 fish measured as bluefish showed up. The Governor’s Cup winner was David Koenigstein of Toms River with a 37 2/8-inch striper and won two rod and reel ombos. His name will be engraved on the Cup. He edged by Kyle Keefer of Montague with a 35 4/8-inch bass. Parker Sowul of Manasquan won the teen bluefish award with a 33-incher, and Kathy Gresko of Robbinsville had a 19 2/8-inch fluke.

Fluke pro Dave Lilly stopped by the Tackle Box in Hazlet and asked iif any big fluke had come in as yet. When told there hadn’t been anything more than a modest 4 pounds, he decided to make his first fluke trip of the season. It didn’t take long in the back of Raritan Bay for Lilly to come up with a limit topped by a 6.8-pounder!

Lilly said the water temperature was 62 degrees where he drifted a Gulp Pink Slime plus a Tsunami Halographic teaser. Birds were picking on small bait, and only one other boater was in the area.

Vinny D’Anton made his first surf attempt in the Monmouth County surf since returning from Florida, and quickly hooked a 30-inch striper on sand fleas. There were only a couple of light hits during a brief attempt.

I haven’t been able to obtain result from Sunday’s Governor’s Surf Fishing Tournament at IBSP so far, but will pass them along whenever they’re available from the N.J. Division of Fish and Wildlife.

A small craft warning is up until Thursday afternoon. The forecast is for north winds at 15-20 knots plus gusts to 25 in the morning before switching to a calming 10-15 knots in the afternoon.

Sea bass reports remain very good. At Belmar, the Golden Eagle started out with an hour-long drift as everyone limited through lots of shorts.

The Jamica from Brielle added some ling and winter flounders to Tuesday’s sea bass, as the pool went to a 4.5-pound flounder caught by Igor Nedeski of Howell.

NYC Capt. John McMurray continues to catch lots of stripers and blues from among the great marks on his fishfinder.

The 27th annual JCAA Fluke Tournament is coming up on 6/17 with the usual load of prizes plus the opportunity to win the $50,000 Doormat Fluke prize as was done last year. The big awards party and drawings for prizes takes place at Resorts Casino on 6/23. . It’s not necessary to catch a single fish during the contest in order to be eligible for the drawings. Go to jcaa.org for entry information’

Chuck Many not only had lots of big stripers tagged from his Tyman out of Highlands during the Grey Striper Quest, but also had four 50-pounders included. I lost his report yesterday, but here’s the biggest at 56 pounds.

Grumpy’s Tackle in Seaside Park reports Antonio Leone won the children’s prize in Sunday’s Governor’s Surf Fishing Tournament at IBSP with this 14.7-pound striper caught on clams.

The weather looks good, with east winds at just 5-10 knots before going southeast in the afternoon.

All sea bass reports remain very good. At Belmar the Big Mohawk had a 30-man limit for the Wall H.S. Fishing Club yesterday. The Golden Eagle reported today was so good that it seemed as if a new body of sea bass arrived.

Absecon Bay Sportsmans Center reports the bay is now loaded with big blues.

Capt. Jim Freda reported as follows:

“This past Sunday the 6th Annual Governor’s High School Surf Fishing State Championships took place at Island Beach State Park. I am very proud to announce that our Manasquan HS fishing team won the state championship again this year repeating what the team did in 2021. The high school team consisted of all juniors co-president Parker Sowul, Nicholas Horvot, Jack Mead, and co-advisors Mr Eric Wasnesky, and myself. Parker had the big winning fish for the team, a 33 inch bluefish, while Nick had a 17 inch bluefish. Surf conditions were only fair on Sunday as a big swell with over headers was constantly pushing sets in on the beach. Therefore, not many fish were caught in the entire tournament. You had to fish hard and work at it by timing your casts in between the waves. Our team did just that as all three team members are experienced surf casters. There were 7 teams that competed for the state championship this year with second place going to Pascack Valley HS with a 32-7/8 inch bluefish and third place to Toms River South HS with a 30 inch bluefish. Congrats to all that participated! Thank you Karen and crew of the NJDEP Fish and Wildlife and NJ Beach Buggy Assoc for all your hard work and efforts in running another very successful tournament! Much appreciated!

Tuesday’s forecast is for east winds at just 10-15 knots

The Big Mohawk from Belmar reported a 30-man boat limit of sea bass plus some ling today.

Though both species have been taking a beating, most trips for both striped bass and black sea bass seem to be producing at least good to very good results.

Live bunkers seem to be the key to success in striper fishing. Even though bunkers are often hard to net, the time spent in obtaining them is worthwhile.

Capt. Frank Masseria provided a shot of his fishfnder to show why striper fishing remains so good on his Vitamin Sea out of Keyport. He also trolled a 51-incher yesterday on a spoon.

The Big Mohawk from Belmar reported slower sea bass fishing today, though there were still plenty of limits with more shorts to go through. They are chartered tomorrow.

The Fishermen from Atlantic Highlands had a beautiful day on the ocean with lots of sea bass, but not many jumbos.

A small craft warning is up tonight, but it drops to northeast at 10 knots by morning before going east in the afternoon.

Kil Song continues to pop up in unlikely places. Now he’s catching bull red drum from a Texas jetty.

AS noted below

Chuck Many reports from his Tyman out of Highlands as follows:

As StriperQuest 2023 Gray FishTag Research continued Monday afternoon, the South wind was crankin!! Stu Webber, Hans J Kaspersetz, Justin Lerner & I did a 6 mile drift and caught monsters the whole way!! Made new friends & rebuilt old ones!!! Awesome day!

Fisherman magazine Advertising Sales ManagerJohn DeBona was aboard another boat when he released his personal best 46-pound striper.

Thugh a small craft warning is up through Sunday afternoon, the northwest wind by morning is predicted to be only 10-15 knots with gusts to 20, which is fishable off the NJ Shore. Then it drops to west 5-10 knots in the afternoon.

Eric Kerber reported he was back into sea bass, and sent a rare photo with some sun on one. The full name of the species is black sea bass, and when the photo isn’t taken with sun on the subject it’s hard to make out the fish.

That northwest wind should be ideal for the Governor’s Surf Fishing Tournament at Island Beach State Park which was written up in my blog this week. Fresh clams or bunker chunks are a good bet for a striper that usually wins the Governor’s Trophy, and everyone is hoping for a bluefish showing that will assure many valuable fishing tackle prizes are distributed in categories for kids, teens and women as well as men. The contest runs from 6:30 to 1 before the awards ceremony from 1:30-2.

At Belmar, the Big Mohawk came up with almost a 40-man limit of sea bass on Friday when jigging was most effective with lots of sand eels being present.

Many years ago, I tried out for the Mepham H.S. freshman basketball team in North Bellmore, Long Island. That didn’t work out well for a short, skinny kid before I built myself up by weightlifting, but there was a great memory of that day as our varsity was being clobbered on the other side of the gym in a scrimmage by Manhasset High School from the north shore. That school had a black player who was absolutely dominant, and someone mentioned to me that he was reputed to be a great lacrosse player. As it turned out, Jim Brown was also pretty good at football — and ended up as probably the greatest running back and in the Hall of Fame. He went on to Syracuse University while I attended Colgate University and watched Brown dominate us for the next four years. Jim Brown died today at 87. R.I.P.

Sea bass reports were very good today despite some rough conditions. At Belmar, the Golden Eagle reported limits for most plus many jumbos. Both of the Miss Belmar boats had similar fishing. Jigs and Gulp worked best, The Fishermen from Atlantic Highlands had a rough ride out, but good fishing later on. However, they won’t be fishing tomorrow due to the weather.

Striper reports were also very good today both in the bay and ocean.

A small craft advisory is up for Saturday with southeast winds at 10-15 knots but gusting to 25. Morning showers are possible.

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Though the weather could have been better, it appears that most NJ boats fishing for sea bass since Wednesday’s opening have been doing well.

The Jamaica from Brielle had many limits plus some ling yesterday — while a 10-pound pollock won the pool.

The Fishermen from Atlantic Highlands once again had an early pick before a strong end. A nice cod had to be returned as that season is presently closed.

The Queen Mary from Point Pleasant had many limits yesterday, with jiggers limiting first and catching the largest sea bass.

Friday’s forecast is for south winds at 10-15 knots plus gusts to 20.

Capt. Clinton Lessard of SHO-NUF came up from Virginia to N,J, on his birthday a couple of days ago to fish with Chuck Many on Tyman before filing this report “Absolute sick fishing in Jersey for my birthday. Chuck Tyman Manny invited me and Johnny Mathena up to fish. Of course I had to go. To say fishing was amazing is an understatement. Yesterday we landed 30 fish and had 47 bites in about 7 hours of fishing. Today even better 23 landed out of 31 bites and only fished 3 hours. Sick crazy fishing WOOOO.’

There was an interesting report on Facebook today of some Atlantic mackerel being caught in the west end of Long Island Sound. That report indicated the last big mackerel run there was about 40 years ago.

New Delaware state record tautog is approved for James Milano of North Babylon, Long Island at 22 pounds, 14.4 ounces. That 34-incher was caught with a whitelegger crab from Capt. Lou Azato’s No Limit out of Indian River Inlet on May 6.

The annual Governor’s Surf Fishing Tournament will be contested Sunday at Island Beach State Park from 6:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. for a wide variety of species and many valuable prizes in several categories. Adults pay $15, while those from 13 to 17 can enter for $5 — and younger kids compete at no charge. A N.J. registration is necessary for those required to have one. Sign in at Pavillion #1.

The largest eligible fish wins the Governor’s Trophy, and is usually a striped bass caught on bait. A 37 1/2-incher took first last year. Some years there are lots of bluefish, but the choppers haven’t been abundant so far. It’s a treat to have fluke open for this contest, and they may be the best bet. On the other hand, blackfish which are usually a target at the inlet are out of season at this time. Don’t count on them, but weakfish, kingfish, red drum and black drum are also eligible.

The N.J. sea bass season opened today, and reports are just starting to come in. Capt. Ralph Leyrer said it was a bit bumpy this morning on his Last Lady from Belmar but there was a good mix of sea bass, ling and cod while many blackfish were released. He has a few openings for tomorrow.

Capt. Ron Santee reported the ride out on his Fisherman from Atlantic Highlands was good with the sea behind them. but it was uncomfortable at anchor for awhile before the sea settled and fishing improved. Mr. Kim had a 15-inch sea bass for the pool.

Striper reports continue to be good, but Capt. John Contello had a real bragging fish with a 49 1/2-incheron his Just Sayin from Highlands that was carrying a Grey’s Fish Tag. Catching a tagged fish is always a rare event, and I’m looking forward to hearing where it was tagged.

A small craft advisory is up for northeast winds to 25 knots tonight, but that drops to east at just 5-10 knots in the morning before going southeast 10-15 in the afternoon.