June turned out to be a memorable month in terms of semi-tropical species arriving in NY/NJ Bight waters very early. In addition to the Spanish mackerel, there were cobia caught even in the surf from South Jersey — and Kevin Kuriawa sent a report about a 38-inch cobia caught by Rich Bizarri on Rick Paglucco’s 25 Cobia boat while fluking Sunday off Sea Bright. To top it off, that was only one of the two cobia he caught! Both the 38-inch and the smaller one were released as the minimum length for cobia is 40 inches. They were caught on 6-inch Gulp. If cobia are spotted on the surface  they can be very aggressive. In Florida I’ve even caught them by casting very long Sekora striper tubes and reeling fast so they create a lot of surface commotion.

The adventure continued today for Aidan Moorby of Franklin, Tn. who’s up here for today’s Manasquan beach wedding of his mother Allie to my son Mike. The 11-year-old caught his first fish (school stripers and fluke) yesterday with Chuck Many on his Ty Man at Highlands, and this morning he got a taste of surf casting. Luis Gonzalez of Palm Beach Gardens, Fl., who’s engaged to my daughter Cyndi, coached Aidan and soon had him making respectable casts with my canal and river light tackle quickly enough to catch a very small bluefish at Bay Head where there had been good action up through yesterday. However, that seemed to be the only fish caught there this morning.

I decided to look for the fish to the south, but saw no signs before blind casting in Mantoloking. I was shocked to hook up on a Chug Bug even though the sun was up high, and landed a double with a blue on the popper and a Spanish mackerel on the fly teaser. Luis hooked up at the same time on metal, but that fish came right off — and there was no more action until Aidan caught a windowpane flounder on the smallest Run-Off Sand Eel jig.

The first party boat doormat fluke reported to me was boated today on the Sea Hunter from Atlantic Highlands by Dan D’Antonio. That 10 3/8-pounder was among the few keepers in a day dominated by shorts. Word Press landed that photo above instead of where it was intended.

 

The Jamaica from Brielle will resume 3/4-day fluke and sea bass trips at 7:30 a.m. Tuesday.

The forecast for tomorrow is southwest winds at 10-15 knots.

 

Aiden Moorby lives a long way from saltwater in Franklin, Tennessee, but he broke into fishing in a big way this morning as Chuck Many put him into both striped bass and fluke aboard Ty Man from Gateway Marina in Highlands.

That was a big contrast from my first boat trip many decades ago in Freeport, Long Island when I was thrilled with a single blowfish. His mother, Ally, was aboard along with my son, Mike, who will be marrying her Monday afternoon on the Manasquan beach.

Chuck figured Shrewsbury River would be the ideal place for a young man’s first fish, and that was exactly the way it was. Aiden, who’s going into seventh grade, responded perfectly to instructions and was soon bent over the side by small, but hard fighting schoolies on sandworms. He then wanted to catch a fluke, and Chuck only had to shift the drift a few yards as Aiden quickly caught on to hooking fluke on a white 4-inch Gulp tipped with a sandworm. They were all shorts, though Aiden surprised us with an 18-19-incher that fell off as Chuck lifted it over. Before the short morning trip was over we had released 15 stripers up to 26 inches plus 10 fluke — and a new angler got his start in a sport which will fascinate him for many years to come. Fishing conditions were beautiful this morning, and tomorrow also looks fine with north winds at 10-15 knots plus gusts to 20 before switching to southwest at just 5-10 knots in the afternoon.

The Golden Eagle from Belmar reported another fine day of variety fishing with all the chub mackerel desired along with blues and ling. Sea bass had to be released, but the summer by-catch limit of two at 12 1/2 inches starts July 1 and runs through Aug. 31.

Betty & Nick’s Tackle in Seaside Park reports lots of small blues in the wash, while small stripers are feeding in the trough on sand fleas. Fluke are also in close, and one angler caught 10 on brown Gulp. The inlet is producing small blues and bonito,

Bob Matthews at Fisherman’s Den in Belmar Marina notes the appearance in the surf of Spanish mackerel, while triggerfish are in the inlet. Small bass are in the surf, but in calm weather he says they don’t seem to hit anything.

Mimi VI from Point Pleasant is sailing open for bottom fishing at 7 a.m. from July 1-3 plus 9 and 11. Call 732 370-8019.

 

Strange things happen frequently in fishing, but the run of Spanish mackerel occuring along beaches in northern Ocean County right now may be one of the oddest ever. Those tropical visitors often visit us in August and September when waters are at their warmest, but I’ve never heard of them in our surf so early in the summer. They’ve been mixed in with very small blues, but I haven’t seen any of the srching leaps out of the water that they normally make. It’s been blind casting for the most part, but some anglers have seen seen birds working on them at times. Those who have kept blues say they’re full of spearing.

I stuck with a popper this morning rather than the small metals that others have been using. A very small teaser fly was rigged ahead of the Chug Bug, and that fly must have touched the water enough because I landed a 16 1/2-inch Spanish mackerel — the first I’ve ever caught from the Jersey surf. Later I released another of 14 inches that was part of a double with a fat 15-inch blue. That chopper was far bigger than the very small cocktails — and I was later surprised when a “huge” 19-incher blasted the popper and put a real bend in the rod. Though I didn’t see any other larger blues caught, another angler caught a 22-inch striper on an SP Minnow. Joe Melillo, at Castaways Tackle in Point Pleasant, was showing off an 18 1/2-inch Spanish mackerel, a real filleting size, that a customer brought in. Those fish are excellent eating. Hopefully, this evening’s storms with south winds won’t lower the surf water temperature and chase our tropical visitors offshore.

The Golden Eagle from Belmar reported a good day of variety fishing with blues, chub mackerel and ling.

Capt. Ron Santee saw the monthly pool leader change twice on Friday aboard his Fishermen from Atlantic Highlands despite a lack of drift. It went from 4 7/16 to 4 5/8 pounds before a 6 5/16-pound fluke by Pat Kostka took the lead for $1500 that will be payed out after Sunday.  Today’s RFA charter was also hampered by a lack of drift and produced mostly shorts with a few keepers.

Vinny D’Anton got a late start in Shark River, but it turned out to be the right time for four small bass on his Chug Bug.

The forecast inshore for Sunday starts with west winds at 10 knots before going to 10-15 in the afternoon with gusts to 20 knots and a chance of showers or thunder storms.

Pictured below is the 22-inch fluke I jigged Friday with a Spro and Gulp Grub while fishing with Joe Massa on My Three Sons from Morgan Marina.

 

Though you have to work hard for them with live bunkers, striped bass remain available to NY/NJ Bight anglers. I fished today with Joe Massa on his My Three Sons from Morgan Marina, and found Hudson River stripers eager to hit the bunkers he cast-netted with a single throw. We caught 10 bass up to 38 inches, and lost a few others. At one point we caught a doubleheader.

 

When the tide changed, Joe headed for his favorite fluke spot on the NY side where we had lots of hits on Spro jigs with Gulp Grubs, though my 22-incher was the only keeper  where the limit is 19 inches. We also caught sea robins and dogfish, while Joe added a bonito that hit as he was reeling in.

Chuck Many worked both the Hudson and East rivers with his crew on Ty Man from Gateway Marina in Highlands for 18 bass releases up to a 28-pounder.

The Golden Eagle from Belmar reported a good day of mixed bag fishing with blues, bonito, chub mackerel, ling, and even cod. The Big Mohawk from that port had a problem with lack of drift, but still had some fluke limits. They’re sold out Saturday and Sunday.

 

Though the inshore forecast remains calm, Capt. Jim Freda showed me an offshore forecast that shows breezy conditions offshore where there’s been a hot bite of bluefin tuna.  Saturday’s inshore forecast is for southwest winds at 5-10 knots increasing in the afternoon when evening thunderstorms are likely.

Grumpy’s Tackle in Seaside Park reported an improvement Thursday in surf fluking on Gulp. They’ve also heard of bonito and houndfish.

There have been lots of very small bluefish in the northern Ocean County surf, but I also saw a very unseasonable Spanish mackerel caught there Thursday evening,

Vinny D’Anton didn’t find anything in the surf this morning, but went to Shark River and released a 23-inch striper on a Chug Bug.

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A most unusual marine weather forecast predicts winds of no more than 10 knots right through Monday, which is great news for those seeking tuna both at mid-range areas and in the canyons — and for the Jamaica’s Sunday night tilefish trip.

The Jamaica sails from Brielle at 10 p.m. Sunday for a tilefish trip that will return at 2-3 a.m. Tuesday. The fare is $360 plus $10 if you want to reserve a bunk. Call 732 528-5014 for reservations.

The June 24 trip was also sailed in good weather, though strong currents were a problem at times. Yet, a couple of anglers managed limits of both golden and blueline tiles — and a bluefin tuna was also caught. Jigging was the best method. Joe Tomaszewski (not pictured) won the pool again as he boated a 26-pound golden.

The Jamaica will be sailing for fluke at 7:30 a.m. on other days. They also start afternoon family fluking at 4:30 p.m. Friday, and have a half-night ling trip at 4:30 p.m. Saturday.

The forecast for Thursday is northwest winds at just 5 knots before shifting to southwest in the afternoon.

The Golden Eagle from Belmar didn’t find the big blues they sought offshore on Wednesday, and the few small blues and bonito they encountered wouldn’t cooperate. Today was much better with small blues plus bonito and chub mackerel in the slick while ling were caught on bottom along with sea bass that had to be released. A big hammerhead shark swam around the boat to provide some excitement.

Small blues and bonito have moved into the surf, but they are just as small as those we saw there last fall. Joe Melillo, at Castaway’s Tackle in Point Pleasant, said he heard from two sources that there were also Spanish mackerel in the mix. Those tropical visitors usually don’t show up until at least August.

Allen Riley, of South Plainfield, is vacationing on the Outer Banks in Corolla, N.C. with his family and enjoying clear waters with lots of life in the surf. He and his son have been catching many small blues casting any small shiny lure along with mostly 9-12-inch Spanish mackerel plus a 16-incher.

With water temperatures rising, it’s time to be looking out for species from the south to be moving into NJ/NY ocean waters.

Grumpy’s Tackle in Seaside Park made mention of hearing about cownose rays, sand tiger sharks and bonito moving into the surf along with small bass and blues plus the expected fluke in very clear waters.

There were also bonito reports a bit further offshore, where Miss Belmar Princess anchored on rubble to pick at small blues plus a few bonito in the chum slick while anglers fishing bottom did well with ling.  The Golden Eagle from Belmar had great weather for their experimental chumming trip far offshore to locate big blues, but there was no report by 5 p.m.

Northern NJ fluking remains slow for keepers, but shorts are more abundant now. The action’s been in the ocean, and bay fishing remains tough. The Elaine B. II from Bahrs in Highlands got into a good shot of ling in shallower waters on Monday, indicating that ocean bottom temperatures remain low.

Vinny D’Anton worked hard to catch a 21-inch striper on his Chug Bug at Manasquan, and lost an 18-incher in the surf — but nothing else was caught there this morning.

 

 

After not raising anything to a popper yesterday morning in the Manasquan surf, I switched to the Band of Anglers Dart Spin plastic (ith a metal blade at the rear) as it had produced fluke the last time I used it there. There were still no hits until it got stuck even though I was retrieving at a steady pace.

After pulling hard to either get off or break my 30-pound braid, there was some movement before I reeled in what I hoped was a fluke but didn’t feel like one. The culprit turned out to be a 19-inch, 6-pound stargazer.

I should have realized what I had hooked as they are common in the surf and typically feel like a snag when first hooked.

That was the largest I’ve caught, though they grow to at least twice that size. While potential problems in handling most fish are obvious, the stargazer’s mouth full of sharp teeth isn’t all you have to worry about as they can give you a shock if you touch the top of their head. The bigger the stargazer, the greater the shock. Yet, they can be handled by holding them under the body — or under the gill cover.

Releasing stargazers is an experience as they are likely to dig in rather than swimming away. Mine was completely covered with sand in a second, and you’d never know he was there. The same thing may happen when they’re being reeled in to shore. I’ve seen anglers who have fought a fish stare in amazement when they see nothing at the end of their line even though they can’t reel any further. Stargazers are edible, though I doubt if you’ll ever see such an ugly species in a fish store.  They will hit a wide variety of lures, especially jigs or metal bounced off bottom, but rarely put up much of a fight. Yet, with so little variety in our surf, I welcome those occasional surprises especially after getting shut out on them last year.

It was another great week in the canyons for the Canyon Runner fleet from Point Pleasant. They caught over 100 tuna which were mostly yellowfins and bluefins plus bigeyes and a 300-pound giant. In addition there were dolphin, a 92-inch 375-pound mako shark and 12 white marlin — including five one day. Capt. Deane Lambros has already accounted for 20 bigeyes out of the fleet’s 25.

Vinny D’AntoN tried Shark River after the early storms and rasised a couple of bass or blues, but went to the beach to release six small bass on his Chug Bug.

Wednesday looks like a beauty, with northwest winds at just 5 knots before they switch to southwest in the afternoon. The Golden Eagle from Belmar is planning a run far offshore to locate big blues which have been absent inshore lately.

The Big Mohawk from that port will be sailing early for fluke at 6 a.m. this week before taking reservations for Saturday and Sunday sailings at 5:30 a.m.

 

 

 

 

 

Though it’s nothing like the hot fishing of the spring, striped bass remain on the menu in NY-NJ Bight all summer — at least for the pros who know how to catch them.

I fished with two such striper pros Sunday, and released legal stripers both trips. Chuck Many has earned his reputation while winning many tournaments over the years, but Sunday morning he and I joined old friend Capt. Fletcher Chayes on his Two Rivers Charters for a fun trip to areas he doesn’t fish often. While fishing together a few years ago, Fletcher spotted my class ring  and noted that we’re brothers in Lamda Chi Alpha fraternity — he at LSU and me at Colgate. We also enjoyed a great trip to Pesca Panama a few years ago.

Chayes only needed one throw of his cast net to fill the live well, and we headed up to Hudson River to work several of Many’s drops. Bluefish were a surprising problem at the first, and we also spent some time in East River in the course of releasing eight stripers up to a 37-incher within a few hours.

After Fletcher dropped us off at Gateway Marina in Highlands, we walked to Many’s Ty Man as Hugh Mura and his son Dan joined us along with Bob Bowden for the afternoon tide. Bunkers were hard to come by in the afternoon boat traffic, but Many made a long run that payed off in a net-full on his only throw.

The bass were waiting for us where we had left them. It wasn’t easy fishing, and we missed many hits from fussy fish, but Hugh got us off to a good start with three and the rest of us caught up . Chuck only ran the boat to put us on his pieces as we ended up catching 10  legal bass ranging up to 36 inches plus two shorts.  Not wild action, but not bad for weekend daytime summer fishing in an area surrounded by millions of people!

Trolling reports haven’t been as good. Capt. Chris Di Stefano fished aboard Frank Criscola’s Crisdel out of Brielle Yacht Club yesterday while looking for entries in the Navesink-Shrewsbury River Club contest,  — but never got a bass hit. Crisdel is expert at trolling Shrewsbury Rocks with umbrella rigs, and they rarely fail there.

Fluking is looking up  after a very poor start. Capt. Ron Santee, of the Fishermen from Atlantic Highlands, said he saw more shorts and some keepers as Jimmy Valentino fell just two ounces shy of the monthly pool with a 4-pound, 10-ounce fluke. The pool is up to over $900.

The Golden Eagle from Belmar didn’t find any blues today, but did see some bonito running through the slick, Jon Falkowski was aboard and confirmed their report of very good ling fishing.

.At Seaside Park, Grumpy’s Tackle reports some bass, blues and drum are being hooked in the surf — and fluking is improving. Betty & Nick’s  noted that schools of bunkers are out-of-range, though nothing has been on them.

Showers and patchy fog are coming in later tonight. The wind will be south at 10-15 knots in the morning with gusts to 20,

 

Summer stripers cooperated today in the Hudson River during two trips from Highlands which I’ve just returned from. Though too tired to go into details now, I’ll detail that info in tomorrow’s blog.

Capt. Stan Zagleski reported the best fluking of the season on Sunday’s trip of Elaine B. II from Bahrs in Highlands. Shorts provided lots of action and keepers were mixed on as both Spros and natural baits produced.

The weather was great today, and Monday looks even better with 5-10 knot west winds.

 

 

The weather was great, but there were surprisingly few reports today. Tomorrow looks like another great one with a  northwest breeze at 10 knots switching to west in the afternoon

The N,J, sea bass season closes this evening, which is bad news for all the party boats that have been depending on them to fill bags with bluefishing off to another poor summer start and fluking very spotty so far.

The Golden Eagle from Belmar had a very good sea bass catch today, but will be looking for ling and anything other than sea bass on Sunday if bluefish don’t show again. Check with your favorite skipper before coming down.

Capt. Rob Semkewyc of the Sea Hunter at Atlantic Highlands was happy with the weather today, and saw a lot more action with short fluke, but keepers are still hard to come by.

Capt. Dave De Gennaro is excited about getting weather suitable for offshore fishing by small boats. He says bluefins are 50 to 60 miles off, and he may have room for a last minute angler tomorrow at $350. Call 732 330-5674 for info about that and other trips this week.

The Jamaica from Brielle has a tilefish trip sailing at 10 p.m. Sunday that has some spaces available. The weather looks perfect for that trip, and the last one earlier this month produced quite a few large tilefish. Joe Tomaszewski of South Amboy had two 30-pounders to take the pool — and there was a boat limit catch plus a few of the smaller blueline tilefish.  Call 732 528-5014 for reservations.