The title sums it up. Have a great holiday with the family, but if you get up early enough there may be time to catch a school striper before opening the presents. The forecast is for northeast winds at just 5 knots — shifting to south in the afternoon. You might even catch a fluke as Bob Correll did at Bay Head this week!
The few boats still fishing for blackfish have to work through shorts for keepers, but are finding the effort to be worthwhile. The Ocean Explorer at Belmar reported the seasonal pool is up to over $3,000, and they’ll be looking for a new leader during a Christmas Eve trip running from 6:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The Elaine B. II from Bahrs in Highlands is taking advantage of the good fishing weather at 7 a.m. Once again on Sunday they had a slow start before making a move that produced more keepers into overtime to provide a decent catch.
The Jamaica from Brielle will be sailing for the offshore sea bass wrecks at 2 a.m. on 12/26. Sunday’s trip produced many limits of jumbo sea bass plus porgies and some bluefish. Call 732 528-5014 for reservations on this and other sea bass trips before the season closes at the end of the month.
Tomorrow’s forecast is for north winds at 10-15 knots with gusts to 20.
Jerry Lasko reported there was some swell in the Ocean County surf this morning, and the water temperature was up a tick to 45.4 degrees as there was some action. He caught four stripers while Maren Toleno had 16 and John Greger seven. They all missed other hits.
I’ve been working a lot harder in Florida to catch largemouth black bass in small ponds while enjoying the holiday season with my family and awaiting Cyndi’s marriage next month in Palm Beach. Most of the released bass are small. but all the surface strikes are fun — and a few larger ones provide a pleasant surprise, such as this fat 22-inch bucketmouth that hit a Z-Man 5-inch DieZel MinnowZ worked on the surface during my last cast at dusk while fishing with future son-in-law Luis Gonzalez in Palm Beach Gardens.
While cold waters may be affecting inshore fisheries, that’s no problem at all on far offshore wrecks which are normally at their best n mid-winter.
The Jamaica from Brielle reported many limits of both sea bass and porgies during Friday’s trip. Bruce Snyder of Philadelphia won the pool with a 6.5-pound sea bass over a 6-pounder by Jimmy Ricardo of Pittstown.
There may be room on the trip leaving at 11 p.m tonight. Call 732 528-5014 for reservations. Other trips will be sailing at 11 p.m. Dec. 26,27, 28, 29 and 30. The sea bass season closes at the end of the month.
The Golden Eagle from Belmar had finished up after their last striper trip, but they have added an offshore sea bass trip on Friday, Dec. 27 at 8 p.m. The fare is $200, and it’s limited. They made one successful offshore wreck trip earlier in the month (see below). Make reservations online at http://www.goldeneaglefishing.com
Jerry Lasko reports there was some life in the Ocean County surf this morning as he caught two stripers and Maren Toleno had one. Bob Correll was surprised to catch a decent fluke at Bay Head, where he also saw one striper caught. The good weather continues in the morning with southwest winds at just 10-15 knots with gusts to 20.
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The school striper bite in the surf has been so good that it looked as if it would last all winter — until the Ocean County water temperature dropped to 40 degrees today.
Jerry Lasko reported that he only caught two bass this morning while Maren Toleno had just one. In the evening it was even tougher as Maren hooked the only striper.
That colder water may have been the reason Capt. Stan Zagleski didn’t find many blackfish where he’s been catching them with his Elaine B. II from Bahrs in Highlands. However, a move from that area provided steady action that resulted in several keepers for most fares plus lots of action with 14-14 1/2-inch shorts. Zagleski sails there tomorrow at 7 a.m.
The good weather continues as west winds at a mere 5-10 knots are forecast for the morning before shifting to southwest in the afternoon.
Chuck Many continues to catch and release big stripers off Cape Charles, Virginia
Anglers are getting an early Christmas present this weekend with great December weather on tap.
That starts with the morning when the forecast is for northeast winds at just 5-10 knots — switching to southwest in the afternoon with mild temperatures. Conditions should be fine for school stripers in the surf as well as for blackfishing in the ocean.
Phil Fischer fished Scotland for good blackfishing this week, and on the way out he and his brother dropped near bird action which produced some mackerel, herring and a good whiting before small bass. Could it be that we’ll have a winter mackerel fishery? The Fisherman magazine reports lots of herring being jigged on the N.Y. side at the Coney Island and Canarsie piers.
The new Salmon Strips from Fisherman’s Choice should be deadly on big fluke when that season arrives in the New Year, but in the meantime they’ve been proving effective on such other species as tilefish. As noted above they come from the creators of marinated Squid Strips, and are also soaked in FIN-ESSENCE..
Check them out with Phil Sciortino at the Tackle Box in Hazlet.
Jerry Lasko reports the Ocean County school striper bite in the surf continues. Maren Toleno and Jerry fished dawn and dusk for a good bite in a surf blown flat by the west winds. She released 16 and Jerry was close behind with 14.
The small craft advisory is coming down tonight, and it will only be northwest at 10-15 knots by morning along with gusts to 25. That should also be fine for blackfish. The Elaine B. II should be able to fish from Bahrs in Highlands, and the Big Mohawk from Belmar will sail open at 7 a.m.
The Paramount from Brielle has added offshore wreck sea bass trips at 9 p.m. on both !2/20 and 12/21. There’s a 30-man limit, and the cost is $195. Call 732 528-2117 for reservations.
The MAFMC has recognized the sad state of the bluefish fishery and imposed large catch reductions for 2020 — including just three bluefish for shore fishermen and private boaters while allowing those who fish aboard for-hire vessels to keep five.
Anglers have been protecting the bluefish stocks by releasing the vast majority of their catch ever since the Bluefish Management Plan was enacted. Yet, rather than “bank” all those releases, the Council and ASMFC kept transferring recreational quota to the commercial sector. Now the public will be paying the price for that abuse of the management system which didn’t provide for any such action. I’ll have more about this in future blogs.
Nick Honachefsky has come out with a book that should be of interest to all surfcasters or would-be surfcasters. An autographed copy of The Jersey Surf Diaries can be ordered for $19.95 at http://www.saltwaterunderground.com/shop.
Surfcasting for stripers continued today, though Jerry Lasko said it wasn’t up to yesterday’s great bite. There was a strong west wind which eliminated the white water on the bars which is best for that fishery. The bite was best at sawn and dusk, but poor during mid-day. Jerry released 16 bass, and Maren Toleno had 32.
Vinny D’Anton has seen the Belmar bite die down, but went south to Brick after the morning warmed up and managed to release 12 bass that ranged up to 25 inches.
Though there’s a gale warning up to 6 p.m. for northwest gusts to 40 knots, the forecast for the morning is down to 20-25 knots with gusts to 30.
The following e-mail from Jerry Lasko tells the story of Ocean County surfcasting today:
The oddest recent catch in the Ocean County N.J. surf was the semi-tropical spotted sea trout hooked by Jerry Lasko while casting for school stripers on Saturday. He said the southern relative of the weakfish was a 20-incher, and the first he’s caught in N.J. Actually there is often a showing of them at the end of summer in Cape May County waters. I heard of only one other caught in Ocean County this fall even when Spanish mackerel were common. Ironically, Jerry may have caught more spotted sea trout this year than adult weakfish. The striper bite continued today. Jay Russell said he couldn’t get a hit at Sea Girt, but went to IBSP and caught 10 bass on a Tsunami Sand Eel.
Though east gusts to 25 knots are forecast tonight, the morning looks good with a forecast of 10-15 northeast before switching to north in the afternoon along with rain.
Scroll down for a press release on Mako Mania
GREATER POINT PLEASANT CHARTER BOAT ASSOCIATION,
SPONSORS OF MAKO MANIA, ANNOUNCES MAJOR CHANGES FOR 2020 TOURNAMENT
In recent tournaments we have witnessed a noticeable decline both in the size and number of the Atlantic Shortfin Mako Sharks. Captain Ron Braen President of the Greater Point Pleasant Charter Boat Association went on further to state that NOAA Fishery has placed a number of restrictions and regulations on the harvesting of the Atlantic Shortfin Mako Shark. NOAA has concluded that the Mako is significantly below target population levels, and is being overfished, and we agree.
The Greater Point Pleasant Charter Boat Association’s first mission as stated in our web site is: “Support charter and recreational sport fishing through collaborative information sharing, safety and the promotion of marine conservation.” For these reasons and in our effort to insure the Atlantic Shortfin Mako Shark be given a chance to make a comeback, we have voluntarily placed a moratorium on Mako Mania. It will be replaced by ”TUNA MANIA”. Information on registration and calcuttas will be available in the coming months.
Tuna Mania will still support the values of Mako Mania in that the profits from our tournament will go towards further reef construction in our local waters, local marine conservation organizations and of course, cancer research.
We would hope that other shark tournaments would follow our conservation efforts, and give this distressed fishery a chance to recover and thrive for future generations to enjoy.
Small striped bass are showing no signs of leaving the N.J. surf. Bob Matthews at Fisherman’s Den in Belmar Marina says the volume is greatest to the south in Ocean County and in Island Beach State Park, but there are also bass in local areas hitting slim lures such as the A17 diamond jig with green tail. He also noted that blackfishing remains good for boaters in the ocean.
Jerry Lasko reported the southwest wind shifted to west and provided good Ocean County striper action despite somewhat stained waters. Many of their fish were hooked in very skinny waters, but Maren Toleno released 53, Will Fredricks 28 and Jerry 18.
The Jamaica from Brielle has room for additional reservations on the trip sailing to far offshore wrecks at 11 p.m. The calming weather looks perfect for jumbo sea bass fishing out there tomorrow. Call 732 528-5014 for reservations.
The gale warnings for west winds to 35 knots go down tonight, and by morning the forecast is only northwest at 5-10 knots before going north in the afternoon with 2-4-foot seas. There is a chance of snow in the morning, and rain or snow in the afternoon.
The weather during our winter is always good in Panama, and you can count on fishing every day for a great variety of species ranging from roosterfish and cubera snappers up to black marlin. Capt. Mike Augat is almost sold out at Pesca Panama, but has a few dates left to fill in — and is offering $1,000 discounts for the following periods: Jan. 12-17; Jan. 19-24; Jan. 26-31; and Feb. 2-7. Call Augat at 716 868-4432.
The impressive teeth of the cubera snapper are tough on poppers, but their surface strikes are the most thrilling I’ve experienced — especially when they leap far out of the water to blast a plug.
Tight Lines 