As expected with the early start to the New Jersey fluke season, here were mostly shorts among a pick of fish in cool northern waters– though I suspect that they did much better in South Jersey. Yet. there was at least one fluke worth bragging about as The Tackle Box in Hazlet reported Richard Downato of Kearny boated an 8-pounder which hit a Fisherman’s Choice squid strip soaked in crab oil plus a killie drifted in Sandy Hook Channel.

At Atlantic Highlands, Capt. Rob Semkewyc found a few fluke in shallow bay waters with his Sea Hunter, but it wasn’t good fishing. He saw surfacing stripers, and is thinking about setting up a livelining trip this week if enough anglers call to indicate their interest.

Capt. Ron Santee Jr. was happy he stuck with sea bass, and also added a couple of cod plus ling on the Fishermen. A charter today loaded up on sea bass durng a single drop and also had a cod,

The half-day Sea Tiger II reported the Saturday trips produced only a few keepers and shorts. Steve Kaminski caught the first keeper of the season to win a free trip.

Nick Honachefsky opened the fluke seaso at Manasquan while fishing with a frend as they caught 60 fluke but could keep only three.

Chuck Many continued to rack up 50-pound strier releases yesterday evening on his Tyman from Highlands as he put Bob and Nikki Bowden plus Rich Carpenter into bass from 36 to 53 pounds.

Though there’s a swell from the,south. the wind forecast for Monday is just south at 10-15 knots with a 3-5-foot sea. The Queen Mary from Point Pleasant reported that the swell interfered with bluefishing, but they also added sea bass. They won’t be sailing tomorrow due to that swell.

The Berkeley Striper Club’s Catch & Release Striped BassTournament starts on May 28. Visit berkeleystriperclub.org for info.

The Asbury Park Fishing Club Tournament was won by the home team with 68 points over the Spring Lake Lineliners with 37, and the Shark River Anglers with 33 points. Congratulations to Tom Cook (Shark River) for largest striped bass at 20 pounds.

T

The NJ Division of Fish and Wildlife issued the following release:

Beautiful Weather, Fluke Season is Open and Prize Categories for All!

The Governor’s Surf Fishing Tournament is at Island Beach State Park this Sunday, May 23. Fishing is from 6:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. There will not be an awards ceremony, but winners will receive their prizes that day.Tournament participants planning to register in-person should arrive with the registration form completed. (Also available to pick up at park gatehouse.)In-person registration opens at 5:00 a.m. If you mailed in your registration you should receive your registration packet in the mail.

For info call 609 748-4347 or visit the Division’s web site.

Sorry for the short blog, but I’ve been involved in the Baptisim of my granddaughter at St.Ann Church in Palm Beach and the family gathering.. Will catch up tomorrow.

The fluke season in New Jersey opens Saturday , and many party boats will be shifting over to the flatfish. Be sure to check wth your favorite skipper before coming down. The regulations are the same as last year. .

Since sea bass fishing remains good, Capt. Ron Santee Jr. has decided to continue with that sport on his Fishermen from Atlantic Highlands. The bite was a little off yesterday, but was back in shape today along with some ling and winter flounder.

Also at that port, the Sea Hunter switches to daily fluke from 8-2. after finishing up what had been a tough striper season by enjoying a hot bite on live bunkers Wednesday and Thursday. As a result, Capt. RobSemkewyc is planning to run a few evening striper trips from 2:30 to 8 p.m. with a limit of 20 anglers at $100.

The forecast remains good with a southwest wind of just 10 knots, though there is a 4 to 6-foot swell from the east which small boaters can avoid by drifting off the Coast Guard Station inside Sandy Hook Bay or in the inlets.

Bluefish in the 2-4-pound class provided limit jigging catches today for the Golden Eagle out of Belmar — and then the boat was also almost limited with sea bass.

Andreas Toy from Keyport hade a run far offshore this week to fill the box with 30 tilefish up to 15 pounds.

Raritan Bay area striper fishing remains excelent fot big bass speialsts. Chuck Many trolled eels to put his anglers into personal bests of 52 and 54 pounds on his Tyman out of Highlands. SEE PHOTO BELOW.

Capt. Vinny Vetere reported 26 stripers up to 47 pounds yesterday morning while trolling his TGT bunker spoons from Katfish out of Great Kills. His largest release so far was a 51-pounder. The next opening on Katfish is on Tuesday, and then the following Saturday and Sunday.

Jim Hutchinson Jr. of The Fisherman magazine reports as follows:

A former commercial bunker boat, Carters Creek, takes a few final breaths before her 145-foot hull sinks to rest at the ocean floor at Manasquan Reef. Kudos to the Greater Point Pleasant Charter Boat Association and The Sportfishing Fund for sponsoring the new deployment, and especially the New Jersey Division of Fish & Wildlife.

Capt. Stan Zagleski Jr. will be switching to daily fluke fishing on Saurday with his Elaine B. II from Bahrs in Highlands. His father set stadards for party boat doornats that he’ll be trying to eclipse this year.

Also switching to fluke on Saturday will be the half-day Sea Tiger from Atlantic Highlands. They jigged a 35-inch striper Sunday morning, and had a few blues on the fternoon trip.

The beautiful weather continues with 5-knot east winds in the morning before increasing late in the afternoon.

Though some giant bluefins already made a showing in NY/NJ Bight before that season closed, they’ve been replaced by some mediums that can be targeted. N.Y. skipper John McMurry has been specializing in “running and gunning” with anglers ready to cast poppers and jigs to hefty bluefins — and has gotten into early bluefins such as the one below,

Striped bass aren’t running quite that large, but many of those being caught n the Raritan Bay ara are well above the maximum length. Capt. Vinny Vetere has been doing very well with them on his Katfish out of Great Kills, but due to a scheduling problem may have from Friday to Sunday open for chaters. Call him at 917 693-8968.

Sea bass fishing remains very good, but some N.J. boats will be switching to fluke with the opening of that season on Saturday. After a year off due to the pandemic, the Governor’s Surf Fishing Tournament returns to Island Beach State Park on Sunday — and this time fluke will be in season and an official contested species.

Bob Matthews. at Fisherman’s Den in Belmar Marina says sea bass fishing is still in high gear for party boats at the marina. His skiffs are ready for Saturday’s fluke opener, and those who have sampled the river are anticipating good catches. Bob also notes there are small blues off the tennis courts, and big bass are being trolled out to the three mile line.

The Jamaica from Brielle will be running limited sea bass trips at 7:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. over the weekend.

Weakfish have been scarce the last few years, but Jim Hutchinson Sr. passed along an interesting report of a Barnegat Bay trip by Capt. Brett Taylr who put his party into five weaks up to 6 pounds plus 35 releases on Reel Reaction from Beach Haven.

The Sea Hunter from Atlantic Highlands will be making a last effort with stripers on Thursday by fishing with live bunkers. Friday will be a day off to get ready for fluke on Saturday.

The weather looks good again with southeast winds at just 5-10 knots.

Vinny D’Anton made his first attempt of the season wading in Shark River yesterday, and went through all his favorite lures before catching a couple of 21-inch stripers on his go-to seatrout lure, the D.O.A. Shrimp. However, that didn’t work today before he came up with a single schoolie on his favorite lure — the Chug Bug.

Capt. Rob Semkewyc says Raritan Bay is loaded with bunkers, and he’s going to fish them from his Sea Hunter out of Atlantic Highlands through Friday for a better chance at big stripers which haven’t been cooperating on cut bait. It’s advisable to call him to be sure he’ll have enough fares to sail. The boat will shift to daily fluke on Saturday.

The great weather continues with northwest winds at 5-10 knots shifying to southwest in the afternoon.

Chuck Many hasn’t had a problem catching big stripers on live baits. His Monday afternoon trip with Bob and Nikki Bowden produced over 30 big bass from 43 inches up to almost 50 pounds.

As noted in the following HRFA release, even fractions of an inch were decisive in winning prizes during their recent catch-and-release striper tournament, in the Hudson River and its tributaries, based on photos of the catches:

The 2021 Fred Rung Memorial Striped Bass Derby

Mr. Fred Rung

HERE ARE ALL THE WINNERS

The Grand Prize Winners1st Place $600 – Heather Baez (39.83″)2nd Place $300 – Jerry Crean (39.67″)3rd Place $150 – Keith Baez (39.67″)4th Place $75 – Chris Palmer (38.67″)5th Place $50 – Chris Vargo (38.5″)Largest from Shore $150 – Feby Philip (30.75″)

NOTE: The HRFA is hoping to have an outdoors Derby Awards Ceremony mid-June. Stay tuned for more information.

The Jeff Dement Award WinnersLargest tagged $150 – Jerry Crean (39.67″)Most tagged $300 – Chris Palmer (103) Chris also wins a basket of fishing stuff from The Fisherman magazine PLUS gets to tag-along with Professor John Tiedemann, aboard a Monmouth University research vessel, on a striped bass acoustic tagging trip in the Sandy Hook area.

The Photo/Video Competition Winner ($25 Gift Card)Patrick Gagliardi

The Weekly Winners ($25 Gift Cards)Week-11st Place – Chris Vargo (38.5″)Best Photo/Video – Patrick GagliardiWeek-21st Place – Jerry Crean (39.67″)Best Photo/Video – Alex SpindelmanWeek-31st Place – Keith Baez (39.17″)Best Photo/Video – Bobby SydnorWeek-41st Place – Heather Baez (39.83″)Best Photo/Video – Scott Havner

Honorable Mentions (thanks for playing)6th Place – Patrick Gagliardi (38.0″)7th Place – Andrew Ward (35.5″)8th Place – Steve Plake (35.0″)9th Place – Bobby Sydnor (33.0″)10th Place – Feby Philip (30.75″)2nd Largest from Shore – Carl Hartmann (29.25″)2nd Most Tagged – Charlie Spindelman (33)2nd Largest Tagged – Chris Palmer (38.67″)

Thank you to those who supported the 2021 Derby!

Almost all N.J. party boats switched over to sea bass on Saturday, and there weren’t any negative reports as limits were common along with lots of shorts plus some ling and even a few cod and whiting. Capt. Ron Santee Jr. of the Fishermen at Atlantic Highlands had a couple of very unusual catches during a beautiful Sunday as a lone winter flounder was big enough to win the pool –and a 44-inch striped bass hit just as he blew the whistle to end the trip. Of course, that striper was way oversized and released. Santee has been lanning to switch to fluke when the N.J. season opens on Saturday, but may hold off if the ocean waters don’t warm up enough. After struggling to catch stripers before they were ready to bite, he’s not going to leave fine bottom fishing just because the calandar says it’s time for fluke.

The Golden Eagle from Belmar has been doing very well with sea bass, but said that fishing was only decent today with about half of the fares limiting from among numerous shorts plus a few cod and whiting They will not be sailing tomorrow in order to finish up the cabin air conditioning, but will be back at it on Wednesday.

Yet another beautiful day is in the forecast with southwest winds at 5-10 knots before increasing to 10-15 in the afternoon plus gusts to 20.

Vinny D’Anton is back from Sarasota, and checked out the Spring Lake and Belmar beaches this morning without success — though he did see a huge whale explode on bunkers not far from shore.

Big Mohawk sea bass!

Instead of the channel bass (red drum) that were the most important inshore game fish along the central N.J. coast a hundred years ago coming back with Climate Change, cold water cod are being caught by anglers seeking sea bass in mid-May.

Bob Matthews at Fisherman’s Den in Belmar Marina reports that Ben Green of Ocean Township boated a 25-pound cod off Pt. Pleasant today. The Ocean Explorer reported cod were mixed in with numerous sea bass plus ling and a few whiting yesterday afternoon. Sand eel teasers and a jig have been producing more and larger sea bass than bait,

Capt, Ron Santee Jr, gladly switched to sea bass yesterday with his Fishermen from Atlantic Highlands and not only caught plenty of them but also a dozen cold water whiting which have been a rare sight in recent years. The Sea Hunter from that port has only been picking some stripers and blues, and will not sail morrow. However, the boat will fish for stripers from Tuesday to Thursday before shifting to fluke on Saturday.

Matthews also reports that Scotty Lex caught a 25-pound striper on a plug north of Shark River, while Kenneth Rittman fed a clam to a 75-pound black drum off Convention Hall in Asbury Park. There are still blues in Shark River.

The great weather continues with sunshine and southwest winds at 5 knots going to southeast in the afternoon.

Capt. Chris De Stefano got word from Raritan Bay today that blues were making it difficult to get through to stripers. but trolling bunker spoons off the Shore has been producing large stripers.

Happy sea bass anglers aboard the Queen Mary from Pt. Pleasant yesterday.

The long-awaited sea bass opener in N.J. began in perfect calm weather, and the Golden Eagle from Belmar reported they had many limits plus some ling and even cod. That should continue tomorrow with a forecast of southwest winds at a mere 5-10 knots before going south at 10-15 knots in the afternoon.

There wasn’t such good news for party boat striper fishermen though the N.J. Bonus Bass program also opened today. At Atlantic Highlands, there’s been no report from the Sea Hunter since Wednesday when they had one keeper plus shorts. The half-day Sea Tiger has had poor striper fishing. but their anglers got a thrill this week when they spotted a whale inside Raritan Bay.

Striper trolling has been another story. Capt. Vinny Vetere says it could hardly be any better day and night for big bass on his Katfish from Great Kills. Walk-ons are welcomed for the 5-9:30 evening trips. Call Vetere at 917 693-8908.

A member of Betty & Nick’s Fishing Club reported lots of bunker and spot in the Seaside Park surf, but not a hit from 5:30 to 11 a.m.

Capt. Monty Hawkins also had a good sea bass opener on his Morning Star from Ocean City. Md. including this big male.

Some N.J. party boats are sold out on morning trips for this weekend’s sea bass season opener, but there may be spaces available on afternoon sailings. The Jamaica from Brielle has room on their Saturday 4:30 p.m. trip, as does the Queen Mary from Point Pleasant on their 3-8 p.m. trip. The Paramount from Brielle may still have space on Sunday at 6:30 a.m. Be sure to check with boats to ensure a spot before the rush subsides during the week.

Miss Belmar Princess couldn’t find ocean stripers yesterday, so they went bottom fishing to catch some ling plus a few blues and cod while releasing lots of sea bass. The Queen Mary had a similar report during Thursday’s trip. The Golden Eagle from Belmar couldn’t find any stripers today, but picked some ling and cod on bottom. They will concentrate on sea bass and ling next week while keeping an eye out for stripers. There may be room on the Saturday evening and Sunday morning trips.

Capt. Ron Santee Jr. said today may have been the first time there wasn’t a hit from the target species on his Fishermen from Atlantic Highlands even when they were marked. He welcomes a switch to sea bass and ling tomorrow. Trollers were catching stripers today in the same areas.

The Fisherman magazine reported a 55-pound striped bass was trolled on a mo-jo earlier this week by the Little Hawk out of Atlantic Highlands. I wasn’t able to find any mention of that on their web site, though they noted a 51-pounder among the bass trolled yesterday morning. .

Don Marantz fished aboard the Dauntless from Point Pleasant yesterday and had 20 ling. One of the giant tuna caught offshore this week was stuffed with ling, which is a good sign since it had seemed as if spiny dogfish had taken over the Mud Hole in recent years.

At Seaside Park, John Bushell Jr. of Betty & Nick’s Tackle was surprised to see the surf packed with bunkers at sun-up when he did his daily video. Dolphins were holding the bunkers close to the beach, but there was no sign of fish on them.

Grumpy’s Tackle reported that clam and bunker baits have been producing large stripers in the surf, but lures haven’t been as good a bet at present. However, fluke up to 5 pounds are hitting lures well before the season opens on May 22.