Capt. Mark DeBlasio posted news on Facebook of a big breakthrough offshore today. I attempted to copy it for the blog, but ended up losing everything. Blue Runner had a bluefin that made giant size which was kept as their yearly trophy tuna. They also released bluefins up to 100 pounds and even broke through with the first yellowfin.
The ideal offshore weather continues tomorrow with southwest winds at 10 knots — and there’s nothing stronger predicted into the weekend!
Nick Honachefsky reported catching some school stripers and blues in the Brick surf recently while casting a black Bomber. He was also getting some light nips and slowed up his retrieve to hook weakfish of 33 and 34 inches. Another big weakfish was lost. Those were the first large surf weakfish he has heard of north of Cape May in many years. I certainly haven’t received any such reports either.
Nick from Monmouth tried casting a soft plastic from a local beach on Saturday and was pleased to catch school stripers even though the action didn’t last long.
The Golden Eagle from Belmar reported almost a boat limit of sea bass today while releasing over 500 shorts. They also caught some blackfish, ling, fluke and large cunners.
Maeve Donnelly was aboard Shanakee out of Manasquan Inlet when Dr. Pat Donnelly put his holiday crew into a quick limit of sea bass.
Though the season has been open long enough for NJ sea bass to be somewhat overfished, sea bass reports continue to be glowing. Capt. Mark DeBlasio said his Water Proof enjoyed such a savage bite today that they had a boat limit by 7:15.
The Golden Eagle from Belmar had lots of limits as clams proved to be most effective.
The Fishermen from Atlantic Highlands had fine drifting conditions during a beautiful day which produced sea bass up to a 4-pound pool winner.
The fine weather continues with southwest winds at 5 knots before increasing to south at 10-15 plus gusts to 20 in the afternoon.
Capt. Hans Kaspersetz had a limit of sea bass on Water Proof before tagging others for the Grey Tag program.
Those anglers seeking personal record striped bass have a very good chance of doing so in NY/NJ Bight any day before the Hudson River stock finishes spawning and the same fish become a lot lighter.
The reason we are seeing so many big stripers now is because all of them must be released. That means there is no possibility of a record. Even a potential record kept alive in a fish well won’t be accepted by the IGFA as only those legal to be kept can be entered.
Chuck Many uses a 60-pound scale that he gets tested by the IGFA to weigh his released stripers, on Tyman (see 53-pounder below) that’s only for his own records as the IGFA requires fish to be weighed on land if submitted for record status.
For your own purposes, the formula is accepted by most anglers as a valid estimate. Use a tape to take the length to the fork of the tail (not tail tip)) and the girth at the widest spot. You can’t determine much about a striper’s weight without the girth. Then multiply the girth squared by the length and divide by 800.
Sea bass reports remain positive. The Fishermen from Atlantic Highlands had steady action today along with a 5-pound tautog that had to go back plus a 23-inch pool-winning cod.
The Golden Eagle from Belmar had a beautiful day offshore with close to a boat limit of sea bass. They also had both spotted hake and red hake (king).
Tomorrow looks great, with southwest winds at 5 knots before going south in the afternoon.
Hot fishing and decent weather should make for a pleasant and productive Memorial Day weekend.
It wasn’t many years ago that we used to look forward to an ocean blitz of big stripers moving up from Chesapeake Bay, but there’s already been such great striper action that it’s hard to imagine it getting much better.
The forecast for Sunday is for an ideal north at 5-10 knots before shifting to south in the afternoon.
As noted yesterday, trolling off the beaches has been excellent for those seeking big bass that have to be released. Raritan Bay is a better bet for keepers. Bob Correll flew up from Florida to fish on the bay with Capt. Joe Massa on My Three Sons from Morgan Marina. Bunkers were tough to cast net, but the bite was on shortly after — and didn’t stop as Bob and Karl Drewing had steady action with the mediums while also releasing a 30-pounder.
Stripers seem to be active in the surf. Vinny D’Anton couldn’t get any hits in Spring Lake yesterday on sand fleas, but once again picked a bass on a Mirro-O-lure. Grumpy’s Tackle in Seaside Park reports stripers hitting clams during the day, but lure action in the surf has been at night. Small blues are starting to hit bait in daylight.
The sea bass bite also seems to be holding up for boaters. The Jamaica from Brielle and Golden Eagle from Belmar reported doing well today with many limits. The Fishermen from Atlantic Highlands noted that it was a bit bumpy heading out before settling down to an all-day bite.
Capt. Chris De Stefano said Neversink River fluking has been the best in memory even though it’s hard to come up with the smaller slot fluke now allowed. He noted that giant tuna showing up inshore with one caught at Shrewsbury Rocks and another on Cholera Bank.
The IGFA has a preview of their annual online auction. The auction starts Sunday June 5 at 8 p.m.
You can’t keep them, but there’s no better time than now to catch and release a striped bass personal record in NY/NJ Bight. Dave Lilly advises that if you want a “keeper” try trolling bunker spoons or mo-jos in the back of Raritan Bay. On the other hand, trolling in the ocean will provide you with the opportunity to release the striper of a lifetime.
Lilly ran down the beach yesterday and had a hard time getting two bunker spoons out before the first one was hooked up. There wasn’t a single keeper among the 30-40-pounders! Dave kept trying different color Tony Maja spoons and couldn’t find any that didn’t work.
The master himself had a similar report this morning as Tony Arcabascio trolled out of Barnegat Inlet to release big bass from his boat on the number 4 Maja spoons.
Sea bass continue to please private and party boat anglers in the ocean. Doug Rusch used a slo-pitch jig to fool this fat bass.
Capt. Ron Santee said Wednesday’s sea bass fishing on the Fishermen from Atlantic Highlands wasn’t up to the [previous day’s standard, but there was a lot of excitement when one of his regulars fought a 50-inch striper in 100-foot depths to a successful release.
The Golden Eagle from Belmar reported another good sea bass trip today with some limits and lots of shorts. They add 4:30 p.m. fishing and sunset cruises on Saturday.
A small craft warning is up to Saturday afternoon though the forecast is only for southwest winds at 10-15 knots plus gusts to 25.
New Jersey is opening its state parks for entrance at no cost on Saturday. There are some exceptions, including beach buggies.
Commercial bluefin tuna fishermen in the General category will be able to land three large medium or giant bluefin tuna ((over 73 inches) from June 1 to August 31 — up from the present one per day. This also applies to the Charter/Head boat category for boats with a commercial sale certificate while fishing commercially.
The weekend outlook remains good for Raritan Bay stripers plus sea bass in the ocean. A small craft warning is up for Friday with south winds at 10-15 knots plus gusts to 20 along with possible showers and thunderstorms.
The photo below relates to striped bass fishing on Chuck Many’s Tyman from Highlands when the Wakefields were aboard this week.
The N.J. Division of Fish and Wildlife is providing an opportunity for anglers interested in saltwater fly fishing but not sure where to start. Join saltwater fly fishing experts on June 12 from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at Island Beach State Park for their first Introduction to Saltwater Fly Fishing Seminar. It’s open to participants 18 years and older to learn the basics through lectures, demonstrations, and hands-on learning stations. The cost is just $10, but there’s a limit of 18 who e-mail karen,byrne@dep.nj.gov
Sea bass fishing held up today. The Golden Eagle from Belmar reported limits for all, with many jumbos among them. The Fishermen from Atlantic Highlands had a couple of picky days in poor drifting conditions, but it was back to hot sea bass fishing today along with a cod and a 20-inch flounder. Chuck Many had the Wakefields from Pa. along with Dean Cox aboard Tyman from Highlands yesterday as over 40 stripers up to 45 pounds were released.
The forecast is for southeast winds at 10-15 knots.
Open to participants 18 years and older, come learn the basics through lectures, demonstrations, and hands-on learning stations.
This email was sent to cristori@aol.com using GovDelivery Communications Cloud on behalf of: New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection · 401 E. State St. · Trenton, NJ 08625
New Fishing Seminar!Interested in saltwater fly fishing but not sure where to start? Join saltwater fly fishing experts on June 12 from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at Island Beach State Park for our first Introduction to Saltwater Fly Fishing Seminar. Open to participants 18 years and older, come learn the basics through lectures, demonstrations, and hands-on learning stations.
This email was sent to cristori@aol.com using GovDelivery Communications Cloud on behalf of: New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection · 401 E. State St. · Trenton, NJ 08625
New Fishing Seminar!Interested in saltwater fly fishing but not sure where to start? Join saltwater fly fishing experts on June 12 from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at Island Beach State Park for our first Introduction to Saltwater Fly Fishing Seminar. Open to participants 18 years and older, come learn the basics through lectures, demonstrations, and hands-on learning stations.
This email was sent to cristori@aol.com using GovDelivery Communications Cloud on behalf of: New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection · 401 E. State St. · Trenton, NJ 08625
New Fishing Seminar!Interested in saltwater fly fishing but not sure where to start? Join saltwater fly fishing experts on June 12 from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at Island Beach State Park for our first Introduction to Saltwater Fly Fishing Seminar. Open to participants 18 years and older, come learn the basics through lectures, demonstrations, and hands-on learning stations.
This email was sent to cristori@aol.com using GovDelivery Communications Cloud on behalf of: New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection · 401 E. State St. · Trenton, NJ 08625
New Fishing Seminar!Interested in saltwater fly fishing but not sure where to start? Join saltwater fly fishing experts on June 12 from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at Island Beach State Park for our first Introduction to Saltwater Fly Fishing Seminar. Open to participants 18 years and older, come learn the basics through lectures, demonstrations, and hands-on learning stations.
This email was sent to cristori@aol.com using GovDelivery Communications Cloud on behalf of: New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection · 401 E. State St. · Trenton, NJ 08625
New Fishing Seminar!Interested in saltwater fly fishing but not sure where to start? Join saltwater fly fishing experts on June 12 from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at Island Beach State Park for our first Introduction to Saltwater Fly Fishing Seminar. Open to participants 18 years and older, come learn the basics through lectures, demonstrations, and hands-on learning stations.
This email was sent to cristori@aol.com using GovDelivery Communications Cloud on behalf of: New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection · 401 E. State St. · Trenton, NJ 08625
New Fishing Seminar!Interested in saltwater fly fishing but not sure where to start? Join saltwater fly fishing experts on June 12 from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at Island Beach State Park for our first Introduction to Saltwater Fly Fishing Seminar. Open to participants 18 years and older, come learn the basics through lectures, demonstrations, and hands-on learning stations.
This email was sent to cristori@aol.com using GovDelivery Communications Cloud on behalf of: New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection · 401 E. State St. · Trenton, NJ 08625
New Fishing Seminar!Interested in saltwater fly fishing but not sure where to start? Join saltwater fly fishing experts on June 12 from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at Island Beach State Park for our first Introduction to Saltwater Fly Fishing Seminar. Open to participants 18 years and older, come learn the basics through lectures, demonstrations, and hands-on learning stations.
This email was sent to cristori@aol.com using GovDelivery Communications Cloud on behalf of: New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection · 401 E. State St. · Trenton, NJ 08625
New Fishing Seminar!Interested in saltwater fly fishing but not sure where to start? Join saltwater fly fishing experts on June 12 from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at Island Beach State Park for our first Introduction to Saltwater Fly Fishing Seminar. Open to participants 18 years and older, come learn the basics through lectures, demonstrations, and hands-on learning stations.
This email was sent to cristori@aol.com using GovDelivery Communications Cloud on behalf of: New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection · 401 E. State St. · Trenton, NJ 08625
New Fishing Seminar!Interested in saltwater fly fishing but not sure where to start? Join saltwater fly fishing experts on June 12 from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at Island Beach State Park for our first Introduction to Saltwater Fly Fishing Seminar. Open to participants 18 years and older, come learn the basics through lectures, demonstrations, and hands-on learning stations.
This email was sent to cristori@aol.com using GovDelivery Communications Cloud on behalf of: New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection · 401 E. State St. · Trenton, NJ 08625
New Fishing Seminar!Interested in saltwater fly fishing but not sure where to start? Join saltwater fly fishing experts on June 12 from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at Island Beach State Park for our first Introduction to Saltwater Fly Fishing Seminar. Open to participants 18 years and older, come learn the basics through lectures, demonstrations, and hands-on learning stations.
This email was sent to cristori@aol.com using GovDelivery Communications Cloud on behalf of: New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection · 401 E. State St. · Trenton, NJ 08625
New Fishing Seminar!Interested in saltwater fly fishing but not sure where to start? Join saltwater fly fishing experts on June 12 from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at Island Beach State Park for our first Introduction to Saltwater Fly Fishing Seminar. Open to participants 18 years and older, come learn the basics through lectures, demonstrations, and hands-on learning stations.
This email was sent to cristori@aol.com using GovDelivery Communications Cloud on behalf of: New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection · 401 E. State St. · Trenton, NJ 08625
New Fishing Seminar!Interested in saltwater fly fishing but not sure where to start? Join saltwater fly fishing experts on June 12 from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at Island Beach State Park for our first Introduction to Saltwater Fly Fishing Seminar. Open to participants 18 years and older, come learn the basics through lectures, demonstrations, and hands-on learning stations.
This email was sent to cristori@aol.com using GovDelivery Communications Cloud on behalf of: New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection · 401 E. State St. · Trenton, NJ 08625
New Fishing Seminar!Interested in saltwater fly fishing but not sure where to start? Join saltwater fly fishing experts on June 12 from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at Island Beach State Park for our first Introduction to Saltwater Fly Fishing Seminar. Open to participants 18 years and older, come learn the basics through lectures, demonstrations, and hands-on learning stations.
This email was sent to cristori@aol.com using GovDelivery Communications Cloud on behalf of: New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection · 401 E. State St. · Trenton, NJ 08625
New Fishing Seminar!Interested in saltwater fly fishing but not sure where to start? Join saltwater fly fishing experts on June 12 from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at Island Beach State Park for our first Introduction to Saltwater Fly Fishing Seminar. Open to participants 18 years and older, come learn the basics through lectures, demonstrations, and hands-on learning stations.
This email was sent to cristori@aol.com using GovDelivery Communications Cloud on behalf of: New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection · 401 E. State St. · Trenton, NJ 08625
New Fishing Seminar!Interested in saltwater fly fishing but not sure where to start? Join saltwater fly fishing experts on June 12 from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at Island Beach State Park for our first Introduction to Saltwater Fly Fishing Seminar. Open to participants 18 years and older, come learn the basics through lectures, demonstrations, and hands-on learning stations.
This email was sent to cristori@aol.com using GovDelivery Communications Cloud on behalf of: New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection · 401 E. State St. · Trenton, NJ 08625
New Fishing Seminar!Interested in saltwater fly fishing but not sure where to start? Join saltwater fly fishing experts on June 12 from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at Island Beach State Park for our first Introduction to Saltwater Fly Fishing Seminar. Open to participants 18 years and older, come learn the basics through lectures, demonstrations, and hands-on learning stations.
This email was sent to cristori@aol.com using GovDelivery Communications Cloud on behalf of: New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection · 401 E. State St. · Trenton, NJ 08625
New Fishing Seminar!Interested in saltwater fly fishing but not sure where to start? Join saltwater fly fishing experts on June 12 from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at Island Beach State Park for our first Introduction to Saltwater Fly Fishing Seminar. Open to participants 18 years and older, come learn the basics through lectures, demonstrations, and hands-on learning stations.
This email was sent to cristori@aol.com using GovDelivery Communications Cloud on behalf of: New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection · 401 E. State St. · Trenton, NJ 08625
New Fishing Seminar!Interested in saltwater fly fishing but not sure where to start? Join saltwater fly fishing experts on June 12 from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at Island Beach State Park for our first Introduction to Saltwater Fly Fishing Seminar. Open to participants 18 years and older, come learn the basics through lectures, demonstrations, and hands-on learning stations.
This email was sent to cristori@aol.com using GovDelivery Communications Cloud on behalf of: New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection · 401 E. State St. · Trenton, NJ 08625
New Fishing Seminar!Interested in saltwater fly fishing but not sure where to start? Join saltwater fly fishing experts on June 12 from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at Island Beach State Park for our first Introduction to Saltwater Fly Fishing Seminar. Open to participants 18 years and older, come learn the basics through lectures, demonstrations, and hands-on learning stations.
This email was sent to cristori@aol.com using GovDelivery Communications Cloud on behalf of: New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection · 401 E. State St. · Trenton, NJ 08625
New Fishing Seminar!Interested in saltwater fly fishing but not sure where to start? Join saltwater fly fishing experts on June 12 from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at Island Beach State Park for our first Introduction to Saltwater Fly Fishing Seminar. Open to participants 18 years and older, come learn the basics through lectures, demonstrations, and hands-on learning stations.
This email was sent to cristori@aol.com using GovDelivery Communications Cloud on behalf of: New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection · 401 E. State St. · Trenton, NJ 08625
New Fishing Seminar!Interested in saltwater fly fishing but not sure where to start? Join saltwater fly fishing experts on June 12 from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at Island Beach State Park for our first Introduction to Saltwater Fly Fishing Seminar. Open to participants 18 years and older, come learn the basics through lectures, demonstrations, and hands-on learning stations.
This email was sent to cristori@aol.com using GovDelivery Communications Cloud on behalf of: New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection · 401 E. State St. · Trenton, NJ 08625
New Fishing Seminar!Interested in saltwater fly fishing but not sure where to start? Join saltwater fly fishing experts on June 12 from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at Island Beach State Park for our first Introduction to Saltwater Fly Fishing Seminar. Open to participants 18 years and older, come learn the basics through lectures, demonstrations, and hands-on learning stations.
New Fishing Seminar! Interested in saltwater fly fishing but not sure where to start? Join saltwater fly fishing experts on June 12 from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at Island Beach State Park for our first Introduction to Saltwater Fly Fishing Seminar. Open to participants 18 years and older, come learn the basics through lectures, demonstrations, and hands-on learning stations.
After a slow start, school stripers seem to be building up in the New Jersey surf.
Mike Monte is visiting his Monmouth County origins from Nantucket and found today that the same pearl Bomber which is all he needs on the island at this time works just as well in the Sea Girt surf though this morning’s bite was prior to daylight.
Nick from Monmouth fished his jumbo bloodworms at his local beach on Saturday for three bass. Once again, clams were ineffective. Yet a bigger bass was lost after hitting a sand crab that Nick dug by hand — but he couldn’t come up with any more crabs.
The Golden Eagle from Belmar reported another good day with sea bass that included some limits and plenty of shorts plus ling.
The forecast is for east winds at 10-15 knots.
John DeBona, advertising manager of The Fisherman, had limit sea bass fishing Saturday on the
Dauntless from Point Pleasant, but Sunday was even better as he added two cod to the sea bass. See photo at bottom, under an internet shot of a black marlin being caught from a kayak off Los Buzos. Panama.
It’s normal for sea bass sizes to drop as the open season goes on, but that hasn’t been the case so far. Both the Golden Eagle from Belmar and Jamaica from Brielle reported a surge of bigger sea bass to go along with ling. The Golden Eagle even had some whiting.
Golden Eagle sea bass
Vinny D’Anton is back from Florida, and had a good first N.J. surf trip with several small blues and stripers on lures he’d been using down south — the Chug Bug and the MirrOlure. Unfortunately, his 15-pound leader didn’t stand up to one of those blues.
The forecast is for east winds at 10-15 knots plus gusts to 20 late in the morning.
Fog has been an ongoing problem this week, and it was back earlier this morning. There’s more of a chance of rain or a possible thunderstorm on Sunday along with light west to southwest winds.
Sea bass continue to provide a pretty good shot at taking home a few good meals even though that fishing has become a bit tougher after many of the best spots have been worked over since the season opened on Tuesday. Some ling may be encountered, and the Fishermen from Atlantic Highlands reported a 23-inch cod as their pool winner.
Capt. Fred Gamboa took a look offshore on Friday with Andrea’s Toy and saw a few signs of life. However, trolling, jigging and chunking didn’t produce until he switched to tilefishing and the Don Beshada party dropped Stalker jigs into the depths for a dozen up to a 30-pounder.
Tight Lines 