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Little change in council appointments

NOAA Fisheries made very few changes to fishery management councils in this year’s appoinement process. with almost everyone reappointed to new three-year terms.

The New England Council will have Matthew McKenzie of Ct.; Terry Alexander of Maine; John Quinn from Maine; and Eric Reid of R.I. in the obligatory seats plus Vincent Balzano of Maine at-large.

In the Mid-Atlantic, Tony Dilernia  of N.Y. returns along with Adam Nowalsky of N.J., Peter Defur of Vir., and Sara Windslow from North Carolina.

It appears that the early thunder and lightning scared off most fishermen as there were no reports. The marine forecast had warnings for hazardous seas into tonight, though the wind forecasts for the rest of the week are only 5-10 mph from the west.

 

Capt. Stan Zagleski of Elaine B. II from Bahrs in Highlands reports fluke being cleaned on his boat often have mantis shrimp in their stomachs. That strange-looking creature has long been a favorite of stripers and weakfish in Raritan Bay. They’re also a great permit bait in Northwest Channel at Key West if you can find them in shrimp boat “trash” (by-catch)

mantis shrimp.jpg

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Bluefish hearings being conducted

Public hearings on the Bluefish Allocation Amendment continue tonight at 6 p.m.  in Ocean City, N.J. Public Library , 1735 Simpson Ave. — and Thursday at 6 in Ocean County Administrative Bldg. , 101 Hooper Ave. Toms River, N.J.

Capt. Rob Semkewyc reports today’s fluking in Raritan Bay aboard his Sea Hunter from Atlantic Highlands wasn’t nearly as good as yesterday due to wind against tide conditions. The Thursday morning forecast of showers and thunderstorms is marginal, but he’ll be shaping up in case it turns out to be fishable.

At Belmar, the Golden Eagle reported a good Tuesday afternoon trip for ling after the morning trip had produced only  a few small blues and some porgies on jigs.

The Big Mohawk had some fluke limits during Tuesday’s trip. They will sail at 7 a.m. Thursday and Friday, but at 6 a.m. on the weekend. Light winds are forecast right through Monday.

Capt. Vinny Vetere has been trolling stripers every trip with his Katfish from Great Kills, and has openings Thursday, Saturday and Monday.

Vinny D’Anton of Wall had the hot hand in Shark River this morning as he quickly caught three small stripers on jigs before later adding another on his Chug Bug. I got there a but late, but managed one small bass on a Tsunami shad.

Grumpy’s Tackle in Seaside Park reported a few big blues being caught in the surf on bunker, while fluking is good on bucktails and Gulp. Crabbing from the bay docks is picking up.

Sun-up at Sandy Hook. Photo by Allen Riley

Sun-up at Sandy Hook.jpg

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Canyon fishing has been hot

Adam La Rosa reports the spring canyon season has left little to be desired for his Point Pleasant boats. The two boats combined for 42 yellowfin tuna, 10 bluefin tuna, four mako sharks, and two bigeye tuna during one overnight trip. The makos caught at night were released as they were short of the new 83-inch minimum. Though most of those fish were caught in the canyons, some of the bluefins were trolled coming or going in the Glory Hole — such as the one below.

ffCR Glory Hole bluefin

Fluke fishing was surprisingly good for the northern party boats depite the east wind being against the current all day as skippers used their engines to create drift. At Atlantic Highlands, Capt. Rob Semkewyc had five limits on his Sea Hunter, while Capt. Ron Santee, Sr. put on a clinic by catching fluke of 5 and 7 pounds on his son’s Fishermen while others were happy with the number of  3-5 1/2-pound fluke sprinkled in. Capt. Stan Zagleski reported a 5 1/2-pound pool winner for Mike Pylypyshyn of Little Egg Harbor on his Elaine B. II from Bahrs in Highlands.   \

 

 

Elaine B limitAs good as the fluking was in Raritan Bay, it was the opposite when Tank Matraxia and his Lyndhurst crew fished in the normally productive and protected waters of the Shrewsbury and Navesink rivers with Capt. Fletcher Chayes on Two Rivers Charters from Highlands as only a few shorts and sea robins hit.

The bluefish fleet had another tough day after being spoiled by all those huge blues jigged last week in Raritan Reach.

Capt. Vinnie Vetere lost last Saturday to the weather, but made up for it Sunday with a good striper catch on Katfish Charters from Great Kills.

Vinny D’Anton of Wall had a hot hand in the Spring Lake surf Monday morning when he caught three 21-inch stripers on a MirrOlure  plug, and later added two more releases to 24 inches on his Chug Bug — before finishing up with a 23-incher on sand fleas. There were three anglers, including me, keeping Vinny company this morning, but nothing was caught.

Allen Riley and John Mazzeo of South Plainfield fished the Sandy Hook surf early Monday morning, and enjoyed the great sunrise while catching only a very small fluke and a few sea robins on Gulp.

Grumpy’s Tackle in Seaside Park is encouraged with two verified reports of sand eels in the local surf.

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Stop commercial attempt to take part of the public’s bluefish allocation

The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council and the ASMFC are holding scoping hearings to gather information to be considered in the Bluefish Allocation Amendment which is being pushed by commercial interests seeking to slice off a greater percentage of the bluefish allocation for commercial fisheries. This wouldn’t be acceptable under any circumstances, but is particularly dangerous at this time when bluefish abundance seems to be declining.

Recreational fishermen are being punished for releasing such a large percentage of their bluefish catch, which makes it appear that they’re not interested in that fishery.  In actuality. we’ve generally had a hard time seeking blues in recent years

The Long Island hearing will be on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. in the NYDEC Division of Marine Resources, 205 North Belle Mead Road, Suite 1 , East Setaucket.

There are two N.J. meetings. with the first on Wednesday at 6 p.m. in Ocean City Library, 1735 Simpson Ave,\Ocean City. The next is Thursday at 6 p.m. in Ocean County Administrative Bldg., 101 Hooper Ave., Toms River.

The controversy continues about the mako tournament incidents described in last nights blogs. The Mako Mania committee is considering the issue, and Wednesday”s awards dinner  has been postponed until everything is straightened out.

The Canyon Runner fleet from Point Pleasant has been enjoying great canyon action, and also adding bluefin tuna in the Glory Hole. More about that fishing tomorrow.

At Belmar, Bob Matthews reports from Fisherman’s Den that Shark River fluke fishing has been good. Jay Rosenberg of Roxboro, Pa, boated a 6 1/2-pounder, and Jesse Thomas of Wall caught four that ran up to 4 1/2 pounds. The average rental boat catch includes two to four keepers and five times as many shorts. Small stripers are being caught in the surf on clams and crabs, and there were reports of some kingfish on sandworms at Asbury Park. The Golden Eagle reported from that marina that bluefishing was poor today, though they did jig some small blues and big porgies.

The Queen Mary from Point Pleasant had poor fishing today, though that was better than on Sunday after Saturday’s blow. They are chartered Tuesday, and also on the morning of July 3.

Capt. Rob Semkewyc said the west wind really howled  today and fluking on his Sea Hunter from Atlantic Highlands wasn’t up to par. Also at that port. the Angler reported Kang Artly boated a 7-pound fluke on Sunday, but wasn’t in the big and monthly pools which are both worth over $1,400 and led so far by a 6 15/16-pound fluke.

 

 

 

 

Matt Slobodjian, at Jim’s Tackle in Cape May reports “We’ve gotten some good fluke reports this week from Del Reef Site #11 and the Wildwood Reef. There are also more fish starting to show up in the backwaters around Cape May. Fluke and weakfish are around the Cape May Point jettys. The best time to fish for the trout is early AM or just before dark. Fluke will hit all day long.

We are starting to see some sheepshead come in from around the bridges and rocks in the area. Sand fleas, shedder crabs, and fiddlers will all work on these fish.
The tuna bite has been very good in the canyons. There are bluefin, yellowfin, and bigeyes being caught on the troll.  A few white and blue marlin are starting to show up, but no real good numbers yet. There have been some bluefin hanging around the 20 fathom line, but they’re spotty following schools of sand eels.
We are also starting to catch some kingfish in the rips and on the surf in Cape Ma
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Last minute mako wasn’t legal

Unfortunately, the last minute mako brought in by Seaquested to win Mako Mania turned out to be short when brought over to be weighed for Mako Fever.  The skipper had made the measurement on a curved fork length as with tuna. Yet, as I noted in my blog about the tournaments, sharks must be measured on a straight line basis. The measurement at Mako Mania was done while the shark was on the scale and with a Conservation Officer present, but when laid flat at Mako Fever it was inches short of their 83-inch caliper — and wasn’t weighed. Already disqualified there, that entry also awaits its fate when the Mako Mania committee meets. More about all this tomorrow.

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Mako tournaments got their winners despite 83-inch minimum

Mako tournament organizers were sweating out the new 83-inch mako minimum, but so far they’ve all been able to just barely get by.

Capt. Pete Grimbilas said the Greater Point Pleasant Charter Boat Association’s Mako Mania got a mako winner at the last moment when Seaquester brought in a mako that was just a quarter-inch over the minimum and weighed 207 pounds.

There was a provision in this year’s Mako Mania that a thresher could take the prizes if there was no legal mako. It looked as if that was going to happen when Miss Ginny brought in a 467-pound thresher despite losing an engine.

The ongoing Jersey Coast Shark Angler’s Mako Fever Tournament already had a potential mako winner when Big Nutz Required weighed a 258-pounder Thursday. Tra Sea Ann added a 236-pound mako on Friday. Seaquester’s mako was also entered in Mako Fever, and a 316-pound thresher was weighed today. I’ll have more about these contests tomorrow.

Capt. Stan Zagleski said he had no wind for drifting in the morning, and then wind against tide later as anglers on his Elaine B. II from Bahrs in Highlands worked hard for their fluke.  Michael  Stashluk of Denville caught four legal fluke, keeping his limit which included the pool;

Capt. Rob Semkewyz reported his worst keeper  fluking so far on his Sea Hunter from Atlantic Highlands. Yet, the boat’s largest fluke of the season was boated — a just under 8-pounder by Pat Lassen.

S.H. pool fluke

The Golden Eagle from Belmar jigged some small blues early, but later had a few shots at 8-to-15-pounders.

The Big Mohawk from that port reported the big swell hurt ocean fluking today, but a few limits were caught and the pool fluke was about 5 pounds.

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Moist Saturday kept most anglers home

The bad news is that there is hardly any fishing news as the rain and wind forecast kept most anglers home. The good news is that the east wind dropped out in the afternoon — and Sunday’s forecast is good.

I was among the few who ignored the forecast in order to join Vinny D’Anton and Frank Manzi casting in Shark River. Conditions were fine with clear waters, and a strong outgoing current. There was never more than a mist that didn’t require rain gear, but none of us got so much as a bump.

With a 20-mph east wind churning up the surf, we didn’t even try there — though Jim Louro of Spring Lake did brave the conditions to fish sand fleas briefly without a hit.

It appears that few boats sailed. even in partially protected Raritan Bay. That should all change tomorrow. The weather next week is also looking generally good.

The Jamaica from Brielle should have good drifting conditions on their tilefish trip that sails at 10 p.m. Sunday. Call 732 528-5014 for reservations.

jamaica tilefish new1

Capt. Vinny Vetere had a good maiden voyage with his new Pursuit S408 out of Great Kills on Friday. He said it ate up the rough seas that day, and was very stable while fishing due to the expensive Seakeeper Gyro System.  Striper trolling was good with his Ho-Jos, but the only really large bass hooked was lost in a tangle at boatside. It was estimated in the 40-pound class.

Vinnie's Pursuit

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It’s Mako Mania time

The 33rd Greater Point Pleasant Charter Boat Association’s Mako Mania Tournament gets started this evening with a 6:30 p.m. captains meeting at Wehrlen Brothers Marina on Princeton Ave. in Brick. N.J.  Anglers can fish either of the next two days — or opt to fish both by paying two entry fees. All boats sail out of Manasquan Inlet, and weigh-ins are from 4 to7 each day at Capt. Bill’s Lamding in Point Pleasant.

There’s expected to be about $250,000 in cash prizes, and Lester Glenn Auto Group will present a 2018 Chevy Silverado to the angler who breaks the state shortfin mako record of 856 pounds.  There’s also a provision this year that if no mako making the new 83-inch minimum length (a straight line measurement from the tip of the nose to the fork of the tail) is weighed, the largest thresher shark of at least 66 inches will be eligible for all prizes.+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Remember that each boat is limited to one shark. If last weekend’s BTB Mako Rodeo is any guide,  it doesn’t appear that they’ll be any problem in finding a few big makos among a large fleet.

Nor’Easter put a 729-pound mako on the scale at Hoffman’s Marina in Brielle to run away with that contest and blew away the old tournament record of 401 pounds. Other makos and threshers were weighed in, and Fin-Ominal won the first mako Calcutta with a 242-pounder.

The 40th Jersey Coast Shark Angler’s Mako Fever continues through Sunday. Anglers entered in that contest were relieved to find that Nor-Easter’s mako wasn’t also in Mako Fever. However, Big Nutz Required jumped on top of the leaderboard this week with a 258-pound mako.

The N.J. sea bass season concluded today. so there will be more pressure on ocean fluking.  Raritan Bay fluking wasn’t very good today, and Capt. Rob Semkewyc of the Sea Hunter from Atlantic Highlands said he couldn’t fish every spot as it got a bit nasty at times in the east wind. Yet, there was one limit, and the pool fluke was 4.5 pounds.

Tank Matraxia joined the family and friends fluke charter arranged by Marty Gras of Lyndhurst today on the Bingo out of Atlantic Highlands. He said fluking was a tough pick in the bay with only a few keepers, though the kids caught a couple of 23 1/2 and 24 inches. With about 30 people aboard, there were only 30 short fluke big enough to be tagged by the American Littoral Society volunteers aboard.

The bluefish fleet in Raritan Reach had a tough day of jigging. The Golden Eagle from Belmar  reported it was nothing like the last four days as they only got a few brief shots of big blues. Miss Belmar Princess only got a shot of small blues early before scratching out some up to 12 pounds as there was none of the surface action they had been seeing.

Point Pleasant Canal was quiet this morning except for one very excited little girl who fought a 30-inch striper to the landing net.

Vinny D’Anton of Wall was happy to catch two small stripers on his Chug Bug in Shark River before heading to the surf. The east wind created good white water conditions for fishing sand fleas, and he quickly caught two stripers — including a 32-incher. I went down to take pictures of his fish, and gave it a try that resulted in a 29 1/4-inch release before losing two others on-and-off with circle hooks.

Vinny’s bass was so fat that we expected it was full of sand fleas. Yet, it turned out that it only had hard-shell calico crabs and a rock crab in the stomach — and was still carrying roe though the spawning period was over a month ago. Some stripers don’t spawn every year, and reabsorb their roe.

The Jamaica from Brielle will be making another tilefish trip that departs at 10 p.m. Sunday. Call 732 528-5014 for details and reservations.

Those who would like to fish fresh waters in New York State have the opportunity to do it for free this weekend.

Maren Toleno of Point Pleasant was surprised by this houndfish while casting a popper on the bay side of Island Beach State Park recently, but Jerry Lasko’s dog Bunker was properly wary of those small, but sharp teeth

Bunker & houndfish.jpg

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Friday is theend of NJ spring sea bass season

Friday is the last day for N.J. anglers to fish for sea bass with a 10-fish bag limit at a 12 1/2-inch minimum.

After that closure, there will be a summer by-catch season intended to accommodate summer ocean fluke fishermen from July 1 through Aug. 31 with just two sea bass allowed at the same 12 1/2-inch minimum.

New York is going in the other direction with sea bass as they re-open from June 23 to Aug. 31 with a limit of three at a 15-inch minimum — followed by a Sept. 1 to Dec. 31 season with seven at a 15-inch minimum.

Jersey anglers must be aware of the fact that regulations are different in New York. I heard of one case this summer where anglers from Morgan were catching fluke off Hoffman’s Is. and happy to have found 18-inch N.J. keepers when they were boarded by the N.Y. D.E.C Police and found their fluke were under that state’s 19-inch minimum  — a costly mistake. The Angler from Atlantic Highlands fished the N.Y. side with good success one day this week while observing the 19-inch minimum.

Also at that port, Capt. Rob Semkewyc reported that today was just O.K. — with a couple of limits and a 6.8-pound pool winner on his Sea Hunter. The Sea Tiger II had their best fluke so far when Roger Lee boated a 7 1/2-pounder Wednesday afternoon.

Sea Tiger II fluke

Capt. Vinny Vetere will be sailing the maiden trip of his new Dina Maria out of Great Kills Friday morning. The usual cost is $1250 for a party of six, but the charter had to back out. Vetere wants to make the trip anyway, so he’ll take up to three walk-ons at just $150 each. Call him at 917 693-8908.The 43-footer is powered by three 350-hp Yamahas, and has a width of 13.5 feet — plus air-conditioning. Vetere says the striper fishing has been hot the last two days

Capt. Chris Di Stefano of Wall said canyon fishing wasn’t hot today as Frank Criscola’s Crisdel from Brielle worked from Lindenkohl Canyon to the Carteret for only one hit and a lonely yellowfin tuna. He only heard of about five tuna today in a big fleet attracted by the calm seas. There was a report of a blue marlin caught further south, but the whales that had been in the canyons left with the bait.

John Schachel of the Jersey Coast Shark Anglers reported their ongoing Mako Fever Tournament had its first entry yesterday when Big Nutz Required weighed a 258-pound mako.  Schachel fished the contest today and found beautiful warm water far offshore that were full of life. They had 11 releases that included a mako that would have been boated before the 83-inch minimum went into effect.

Bluefishing continued to the north today. Capt. Dave Riback of the Queen Mary from Point Pleasant said he only got into the smaller blues, but had his best volume so far. Blues up to 14 pounds were jigged yesterday.

The Golden Eagle from Belmar started out with the small blues, but got into jumbos later in the day — and even a keeper striper.

Jim Hutchinson Sr. sent the following report for the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association:

“The sea bass season is temporarily on hold, but fluke fishing action continues to remain steady for the boats of the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association. A few bluefish are around the inlets, and offshore reports are very good for both yellowfin and bluefin tuna. Sharks are also making their presence known offshore.

 Captain Ray Lopez and mate Liane Lopez on the “Miss Liane” reported some great family type fishing for black sea bass on inshore structure. The Occhipinti family celebrated Father’s Day in great style with “drop and reel” action.

 Captain Carl Sheppard reports he too has been running family trips of up to 12 anglers on mostly half-day trips. His groups have been averaging 25 fish per trip. He has been blaming cool water for the slow action but anticipates increased action as the water has started warming. On one recent inshore trip Captain Carl had bluefin tuna breaking water around the boat, but he was unable to coax any to his lines.

 Captain Brett Taylor of Reel Reaction Sportfishing reports a definite improvement in his fishing trips over the past few days. As the water temperatures have warmed, the slime grass on the bottom is leaving, making fluke drifting much easier. Weather conditions made fishing touch recently for Ian Habich and his wife Tracey. Using the S&S Bigeye, they managed to put 3 keeper fluke in the box up to 5.5 pounds along with a catch and release short striper. The finished the day with 3-6 pound bluefish caught in the inlet. Other trips resulted in 20 short fluke along with one keeper and another with five keepers to 22-inches. The bluefish in the inlet have been completing his trips. This is a good time to book an offshore tuna trip. The weather is decent and the fish are there. For information on tuna fishing and the boats of the BHCFA go to the website at www.bhcfa.net. “

There are still no reports of dolphin in the Mid-Atlantic, but Pete Connell of Avon just returned from Islamorada after clobbering them not far from shore on his outboard.  Luis Gonzalez of Palmetto Bay, Fl. ran his trailered Sheri Berri III out to 650 to 1050 feet off Triumph Reef where he and Austin Moore had a good shot of school dolphin such as we should be seeing very shortly.

 

The Sea Tiger fluke wanted a second showing!

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Big blues hitting jigs like they used to

After some lean years of ocean spring bluefishing, we’re finally seeing some old-fashioned action with large choppers. The Shore party boat fleet had been happy when small blues showed up for jigging after a terrible spring striper run in the ocean, but they’re now into blues of a size we haven’t been seeing much of until the fall in recent years.

The Golden Eagle reported that those blues were once again up on the surface chasing bunkers today, and they ranged up to 17 pounds. The action was on jigs, and many of those fish are lost by anglers who haven’t been hooking such sizes in a long time.

The Jamaica from Brielle was into that fishing yesterday as Abdullah Samardeen of Philadelphia took the pool with an 18-pounder.

Jamaica blue Jumbo blue yesterday on the Jamaica

At Atlantic Highlands, Capt. Rob Semkewyc reported lots of short fluke on his Sea Hunter along with decent catches of keepers up to a few limits and 5 pounds. That skipper has cancelled his afternoon trophy striper trips because the bass haven’t been responding to live bunkers.

Capt. Ron Santee was pleased with fluking on his Fishermen during a beautiful day. John Sabonis took the pool with a 5 3/4-pound fluke, and Gary Thompson had a 5 3/16-pounder. The Fishermen is chartered Saturday.

Jon Falkowski of Linden reported he caught eight short fluke on spearing and Gulp during the Tuesday evening trip of Misty Morn from Morgan, but keepers were hard to come by.

Capt. Vinny Vetere reported a epic striper trip today on his Katfish from Great Kills as the party caught 10 large bass on bunkers and 10 more trolling Vetere’s Ho-Jos.

Vinny D’Anton of Wall put in the time this morning, and after not finding anything to the north ended up catching a couple of short stripers on his Chug Bug at Spring Lake during mid-morning. One of those bass had a bloated stomach that felt full of sand fleas, yet an angler fishing that bait couldn’t get a hit.

Capt. Dave De Gennaro made the long run from Barnegat to Wilmington Canyon under ideal conditions Saturday — and it payed off for his party on Hi Flier as they filled the box with legal yellowfins plus a 40-and-50-pounder. On the way back they spotted some bluefins on the surface and Jarett Powell of Tuckerton fought a 50-pounder on a 20-pound rig for 45 minutes to top off the catch.

HHi Flier tuna