Though they normally don’t show up off the Jersey Shore until late summer, tuna trollers are already reporting quantities of little tunny jumping on their lures. I remember that happening once before, at least a decade ago, when they were mixed with small bluefins on the mid-range grounds. However, the bluefins being caught lately have been mostly much larger tuna such as the photo below which disappeared from yesterday’s blog when I published. That bluefin was trolled last Sunday from Capt. Dave De Gennaro’s Hi Flier out of Barnegat,

Capt. Chris Di Stefano was fishing aboard Frank Criscola’s center console from Brielle when the only fish of the day was trolled last week — but it turned out to weigh 54 pounds with the gill removed. Ironically, it was the same time last year when Chris took his son out and put him into a bass over 50 pounds on their boat from Shark River Yacht Club.

Fluke reports have been sparse with cold water still prevailing in the ocean and shorts dominating inshore. However, Greg Bazsa of Carteret did well Friday from his boat in Raritan Bay with four shorts and three keepers up to one of the biggest reported so far — an 8.25-pounder that was weighed at Fred’s Tackle in Sayreville.

Jerry Lasko and Maren Toleno fished Island Beach State Park this morning and managed to get poppers to the only surface flurry they came across. Jerry said those blues were jumbos. There were lots of anglers on the beach, and they saw a few blues caught on bait.

At Seaside Park, Grumpy’s Tackle reported mostly big blues in both the surf and bay, but also weighed a surf bass of 38 inches and 17.9 pounds landed by Paul Berger in the surf on a bunker head.

Betty & Nick’s weighed two stripers this morning of 12 pounds on bunker and 15 pounds on clam. They also noted that big blues are in the inlet and hitting yellow Ava diamond jigs.

As of this morning, the Big Jamaica from Brielle had two openings on the Sunday 10 p.m. tilefish trip. Call 732 528-5014 for info.

Gary Caputi was fishing for the mid-range bluefins today, and reported that they moved from the areas where they had been. He still managed two large  little tunny, and said one boater making his first trip of the season managed to find the whales later in the day to make the only good tuna catch.

There was lots of boat traffic in point Pleasant Canal this morning, and I was happy to settle for a 21-inch birthday striper on a shad jig.

The forecast for Monday is south winds at 10 knots early, but becoming 10-15 with gusts to 20 in the afternoon with a chance of showers and thunderstorms. Continue reading → Little tunny move into tuna grounds

Capt. Dave De Gennaro got into the hot bluefin tuna bite  off  the central N.J. Shore on Memorial Day, and was limited out with 40-to-100-pounders by noon on his Hi Flier from Barnegat.. A call from Brian on the Dora Lee put him into the area of feeding whales and dolphins where the bluefins were gorging on sand eels.

The hot trolling lured were the Chatter Side tracking Bars which produced three tuna, and the Superbird Bar  that lured the other tuna.  Jim and Brady Trainor, Chip De Paul and Chris Whiting, all from Cherry Hill, were the anglers.  Hi Flier is running an open tuna trip on Sunday.  Call 732 330-5674 for info.

The Jamaica from Brielle had many limits of sea bass plus ling on its daily 7:30 a.m. trip. A monkfish (angler) was also caught . Alex Bell (8) of Whippany won the pool with a 4-pound ling.

The Jamaica has room on a tilefish trip departing at 10 p.m. Sunday. Call 732 528-5014 for reservations.

Allen Riley had good news from the Sandy Hook surf this morning as his South Plainfield partner  John Mazzeo fished fresh cut bunker to beach a 38-inch striper estimated at 22 pounds before release.

The Golden Eagle from Belmar was into lots of small blues this morning, but they had a hard time catching them. A switch to bottom fishing produce a pick of sea bass.

Bob Correll and I joined Mike Heany of Allendale on his first trip of the season aboard his Sea Vee from Clarks Landing in Point Pleasant. We didn’t leave until 10 a.m., but found lots of bunkers just north of the inlet and up to Asbury Park, but there were no signs of stripers in them. North of there we didn’t see any bunkers. There were a few bluefish cuts on our live baits. Pound-size blues came up under birds as they fed on rainfish, and we caught some on metal.

I have lots more news to catch up on, but am still having writing problems with Word Press. Will try to catch up tomorrow.

Though there were few boat reports today, there was a slight improvement in northern N.J. shore fishing.

Vinny D’Anton broke the ice yesterday in his surf sand flea striper fishing with a 21-incher, and this morning he did the same thing in Shark River by releasing a couple of  similar bass and a cocktail blue on his Chug Bug. Bill Hoblitzell had caught a larger striper the previous day on his fly rod, so it appears the normal summer fishing there with light tackle may be underway.

I wasn’t part of that improvement while casting a jig in Point Pleasant Canal. My second cast at a favorite position produced a 3-pound bluefish and I had a bump on my next cast — but that was it. The only other fish I saw caught during my brief stay was a small blue released by Capt. Tom Savastano,

Capt. Vinny Vetere, of Katfish from Great Kills, has been trolling stripers up to the 30-pound class the last two days with his Ho-Jos. but bluefish have become a problem.

Sorry for the short report, but Word Press has been a problem tonight. I’ll catch up tomorrow.

 

Jin Louro fished the surf north of Spring Lake this morning to catch multiple short stripers and some small blues while casting the new Band of Anglers Hyperlastic Dartspin lure.

 

 

Unfo

 

 

With all the offshore reports coming in, it’s hard to believe that it’s still May. Bluefin tuna of all sizes have been well within range of seaworthy center consoles along the Shore, and the early canyon bite has been hot as the Canyon Runner fleet from Point Pleasant has tallied four giants, 40 smaller bluefins and 19 mako sharks so far.

Giants have also been caught closer than the canyons in shallower waters where anglers have a better chance of beating them on the lighter tackle normally used for medium bluefins. Chris De Gennaro of Wall weighed the first on his Yellowfin from Manasquan  on Saturday at 392 pounds after a 2.5-hour battle.

That fishing has probably distracted attention from early season sharking, but South Jersey Marina in Cape May weighed two makos the weekend before last. An 88-inch female weighed 230 pounds, and an 83-inch male was surprisingly heavier at 248 pounds. The South Jersey Shark Tournament is coming up there June 5-8.

Vinny D’Anton of Wall opened up sand flea fishing for surf stripers last year on May 30. He made his debut for this season this morning after returning from Florida as we fished the local surf together. Tommy Cox was down early to try to duplicate yesterday morning’s catch of a legal striper on a popper, but nothing was raised this morning. It didn’t look good for the sand flea fishing either, despite perfect conditions with white water on the bars. However, we stuck it out and had a few light hits before I broke the ice with three small bass from 18 to 21 inches before beating the rain off the beach. Now that we know there’s hope, there will be more effort put into waiting out the bigger bass.

Joe Melillo reported from Castaways Tackle in Point Pleasant that with little boat traffic there was a good pick of small bass and medium blues in the canal on plugs.

Bob Matthews , at Fisherman’s Den in Belmar Marina, says fluke are being caught though keepers are at a premium.  Sea bass and ling are keeping party and charter boats in consistent action. Some boaters get into big stripers in the ocean. John Reilly of Hooked Café in Belmar trolled three from 36 to 38 pounds yesterday off Monmouth Beach. Small stripers are in the surf.

Nick Honachefsky says his friend Don Mancuso made a most unusual catch yesterday when a houndfish ate a bunker chunk fished off Normandy Beach. I’ve never heard of one of those tropical visitors being up here so early.

At Seaside Park, John Bushell Jr. was greeted by an angler as he opened Betty & Nick’s with news that big blues had been hitting in the surf all night on mullet and cut bunker.

This afternoon’s storm should just be a memory by morning as the forecast for tomorrow is north winds at only 5-10 knots before switching to southeast in the afternoon.

 

 

 

 

Once again it was a beautiful day for boating, but fishing reports were sparse.

Capt. Ron Santee of the Fishermen from Atlantic Highlands said fluke fishing was better today only in comparison to Sunday. There were lots of shorts, but only a handful of keepers. He tried some of his big fish spots, but they weren’t ready yet as perhaps the water is too cold.

I did no better in the Spring Lake surf after casting a Storm Searchbait jig for fluke near low tide. However, Tommy Cox had arrived earlier and cast a popper to release a legal striper. That turned out to be a one shot deal.

Jerry Lasko and Maren Toleno fished Island Beach State Park, where Maren caught two large blues and a small striper on a popper. Jerry didn’t get a hit in what he called the clearest waters he’s ever seen in the park. However, the bars aren’t very fishable at low tides with any sort of swell coming in.

Grumpy’s Tackle in Seaside Park is weighing in some blues from both the surf and bay.

Hunter Evans (12) beached this 31-inch, 9.8-pounder.

Grumpy’s also had in interesting report from Al Acquaviva about a small sand tiger shark he released in the surf Sunday evening — the first such report this season.

The Golden Eagle from Belmar looked for blues and stripers but couldn’t find either before switching to sea bass which produced catches up to limits plus ling, dogfish, ocean pout and a whiting.

The Queen Mary from Point Pleasant ended up with a decent pick  of sea bass and ling today.

Blog readers commented on yesterday’s entry about few reports. Stuart Rosen was happy with his fluke catch as that 28.5-inch, 7.5-pounder caught in NY Bight took the pool onCapitol Princess, which sails from Skyport Marina in N.Y.

Eric Wasserman ran his boat out of Hoffman’s Marina in Brielle yesterday, but didn’t get a hit trolling south of the inlet before finishing up with a couple of short fluke in the river.

 

With a nice day on a holiday weekend, I expected to get a lot of reports — but that wasn’t the case.

Capt. Stan Zagleski of Elaine B II from Bahrs in Highlands said there was little movement today — which is never good for fluking. Some keepers were caught during periods of movement, but fishing wasn’t up to yesterday’s standard.

The Golden Eagle from Belmar found bluefish, but they were skittish and wouldn’t hit well. A attempt at striper fishing also didn’t work, so they filled in with decent sea bass fishing though not enough.

Jim Louro ran his Vicki Lynn from Manasquan up the river where he and Frank Manzi caught two keeper fluke plus shorts in a couple of hours this morning on pink and chartreuse bucktail jigs tipped with Gulp of the same color.

I gave Point Pleasant Canal a try despite the weekend boat traffic, and got a couple of bumps that kept me there longer than I planned. I didn’t see anything caught.

 

 

The northwest wind blew a lot harder than predicted, and made fluking conditions very difficult except for Allen Riley of South Plainfield, who went surfcasting at Sandy Hook with the wind behind him. Though the fresh bunker and clams he and John Mazzeo brought went untouched in 58 degree waters, Riley cast a soft plastic jig plus a large white teaser and was surprised by a 22-inch fluke that hit the teaser — and later released a 17-incher on the jig. He outfished many party boat anglers with that catch.

At Atlantic Highlands,  party boat skippers reported gusts to 40 knots and horrible drifting conditions. Capt. Rob Semkewyc of the Sea Hunter managed only a few keepers and shorts, while the highlight was the sight of a big humpback whale feeding on bunkers. Capt. Ron Santee said they managed a keeper to take the pool on the Fishermen. Drifting conditions should be much better over the weekend.

Jim Louro and Nick Honachefsky did better in more protected Manasquan River on Louro’s Vicki Lynn from Manasquan after leaving at 5:30 and fishing most of the day. The action was in just 2 1/2 to 3 feet of water where three keeper fluke and 16 shorts were caught. Nick may have had the fluke of the day with a 4 1/2-5-pounder that hit his teaser tipped with Gulp and a bluefish strip.

At Belmar, the Big Mohawk reported sea bass limits for all, and will continue sailing through Memorial Day only with customers who have made reservations.  The Golden Eagle found poor bluefishing and a picky sea bass bite when they made the switch. They start their afternoon fishing and cruise trips Saturday at 4:30 p.m.

Fluke fishermen may be looking for wind in the morning. After the present wind drops off this evening, there’s only a 5 knot south wind predicted for the morning — though it increases to 10-15 with gusts to 20 in the afternoon.

The Canyon Runner from Point Pleasant reported two more giants plus lots of 30-to-80-pound bluefins in the canyons from the 60-foot Ritchie. An unusual open boat trip opening is available next Thursday to Friday. It’s limited to four anglers, and costs $1,750 all-in per person. Call 732 272-4445 for info.

At Seaside Park, Grumpy’s Tackle reported more big bluefish action in the surf, and Betty & Nick’s weighed in two stripers this morning.

Point Pleasant Canal remained  slow in the daytime, but I saw one angler jig a small striper — and I got a 20-incher myself on a Z man white paddletail.

 

 

The long-awaited NJ fluke season opens tomorrow with the weather forecast being a bit better than it usually is at this time. After the rain and gusty south winds end tonight, it should go to northwest. The same three fluke at 18 inches applies, except for three at 17 inches in Delaware Bay, and two at 16 inches from shore in Island Beach State Park.

Even though the wind will be 15-20 knots Friday with gusts to 25, which keep small craft advisories up through Friday afternoon, that’s a good drifting wind in the ocean as boaters can run almost into the beach and drift out in calm conditions near shore.  However, don’t expect miracles as the ocean is still cool and the bite may be sluggish. The reefs should be a good bet if its not too windy, and sea bass should provide variety there.

Don’t hesitate to fish inside, as anglers casting jigs for blues and stripers have been hooking fluke for some time  — and the waters are warmer. I heard that a proud, but not very knowledgeable fishermen walked into a tackle shop with a 29-inch fluke yesterday before being thrown out with his illegal catch.

Fluke season usually opens with a northeast wind which is good for the Raritan Bay fleet which can shelter and catch well at the Sandy Hook Bug Light. Northwest will push boats to shore, but they’ll probably be fluke there anyway.

Capt. Stan Zagleski is moving his departure with Elaine B. II from Bahrs in Highlands up to 6 a.m. from tomorrow through Memorial Day before going to his regular weekday sailing time of 7:30 a.m. on Tuesday. However, he’ll continue to sail at 6 on weekends and holidays throughout the fluke season.

At Belmar, the party boat bottom fishing fleet has been doing very well with sea bass and ling which will remain the targets. The Big Mohawk is sailing limited sea bass trips, which require reservations, over the weekend.

The Golden Eagle from that port only found a few blues Tuesday before heading off to a boat limit of sea bass plus ling. On Wednesday they found blues to be scarce, but Allen Hopkins of Reading, Pa. was fortunate to boat a 30-pound striper on his first fishing trip. The only problem then was that once that striper was aboard they couldn’t leave state waters — and the inshore sea bass fishing was picky.

The Jamaica from Brielle will be sailing Saturday at 7:30 for sea bass. They only jigged two blues Wednesday, but then limited on sea bass. The Jamaica will also be running Saturday and Sunday night bluefish trips from 7:30 p.m. to about 2:30 a.m.  A June 1 sea bass Marathon trip requires reservations by calling 732 528-5014.

Tom O’Connor has been fishing on South Amboy Beach, where bunker chunks have been producing blues and a few stripers for the many anglers fishing there. Tom had both a 10-pound blue among the smaller ones this week plus a 31-inch striper. He noted that the beach has been kept very clean this year.

Jerry Lasko and Maren Toleno fished Island Beach State Park yesterday evening and did nothing there. Jerry said there were relatively few anglers fishing in the park. On the way back to Point Pleasant they fished the canal where Maren released a short striper on a Bomber and Jerry missed a couple.

I tried the canal briefly this morning without getting a touch on my paddletail jig. The regulars weren’t even fishing since the daytime bite has been so poor. That will change tomorrow as they seek the several large fluke which have been released there this month. Joe Melillo has plenty of bait and rigs at nearby Castaways Tackle, but he had no encouraging word about the surf fishing due to beach replenishment that discolors the waters.

Continue reading → NJ fluke opens tomorrow

The Atlantic Highlands party boat fleet is looking forward to Friday’s opening of the fluke season after a good start in April turned into a frustrating May when bass were marked regularly and trollers kept catching — but party boats had a hard time getting bites.

Capt. Ron Santee gave it his best effort Monday with the Fishermen, but even the blues wouldn’t bite. He didn’t fish the last two days while getting ready for fluke. Capt. Rob Semkewyc  usually sticks with stripers on his Sea Hunter into the start of fluking, but will make the final striper trip on Thursday.  He will probably set up some June afternoon trips for big bass.

The Sea Tiger II didn’t have enough to sail this morning, but the few who showed up for the afternoon trip were rewarded with a surprisingly good bluefish bite. If you want blues, Capt. Hal Hagaman suggests you bring wire-leadered hooks tomorrow.

The Queen Mary from Point Pleasant had a slow trip Tuesday until some blues were caught late in the day. After hours of searching, the Queen Mary got into some readings Sunday, and a few stripers up to 30 1/2 pounds were caught on 9-inch white shads and 6-ounce diamond jigs. They also jigged a few sea bass and a couple of blues.

Ocean trollers continue to pick a few big stripers, but the reports I got this morning from Capt. Bud Mc Arthur and Capt. Chris Di Stefano were negative along the northern Shore at that point. Pete Connell of Avon trolled a 42-pound striper on the weekend, but only missed one hit today.  Those skippers reported scattered bunkers popping

Following up the Canyon Runner report from yesterday, it was during a free trip for six military veterans that Capt. Charlie Vanderbeck  on the 48-footer put them into two giants and smaller bluefins plus an albacore and two makos. One of the makos was an 80-inch male (about 180-200 pounds) that met the standards for a legal catch and was kept.  Four hooks were found in it, including one in the liver. The Canyon Runner has only one date left before mid-July.

Capt. Vinny Vetere has had good striper fishing for bigger bass from his Katfish out of Great Kills. During the last week, there were four in the 40-pound class, and two in the 50-pound class. He’s open Thursday and Friday plus Wednesday to Friday next week.

I’ve been having a big problem with AOL, including e-mails coming in late or not being able to open them. Today I was also unable to reply — or to write an e-mail. If you haven’t seen your report or received an answer, try again or call me at 732 757-5531.  Please don’t text me as I don’t text and rarely remember to check for those messages.

The Big Mohawk from Belmar has been doing well with sea bass and ling, but will be sailing from Friday to Memorial Day only by reservation on limited trips.

Bob Matthews reported from Fisherman’s Den in Belmar Marina that he’d heard of stripers up to 54 pounds being caught by trollers off Ocean County. He weighed a 32-pounder for Jake Langerveld (10) from North Whales, Pa.  Blues are in the river, and small stripers in the surf. The Den’s rental boats are ready for Friday.

Paul Haertel of the JCAA had no luck trolling stripers out of Barnegat Inlet yesterday afternoon, and it was the same story with casting after dark in Point Pleasant Canal. I was on the other side with Jerry Lasko and Maren Toleno as we failed to follow up a successful night. Jerry quickly lost what he thought as a striper, and I had one run from a big blue before the hooks pulled. Maren later moved to another area to release a 22-inch striper. –

Joe Melillo reports from Castaways Tackle in Point Pleasant that short stripers are feeding in the canal on cinder worms at night and are a fly rod target. He’s getting stocked up on fluke bait for Friday, and tying  sliding hook rigs so long baits for larger fluke can be presented properly. Anglers fishing the canal for stripers and blues have been catching large fluke for weeks.

Grumpy’s Tackle in Seaside Park reported good action out front with blues from 8–14 pounds Tuesday on both bait and artificials, plus smaller ones in the evening. They had their first big blue weigh-in on a popper in the surf, and also heard of fluke being released on Kettle Creek shads — including a 5-pounder by Lou DeFonthey.

Tomorrow’s forecast is for a return to south winds, but at only 10-15 knots in the morning before increasing to 15-20 in the afternoon.

Jell Merrill took his son out bluefishing I from their small boat in Manasquan River yesterday as the cold front blew through. Steve, who graduated from Rider this week, was dressed like it was November, but caught a 10-pound blue on the surface after they left 50 degree water at Dog Beach and fished in 58 degrees at Treasure Island.