Thanksgiving is a family day, and it may be hard for anglers to get away for even short periods to pursue their sport. However, even when stripers weren’t as abundant as they are now, there usually was a blitz somewhere that day. A few party boats are sailing early trips which will get you back long before turkey time, and the fishing seems to be close to a sure thing.

It was like that this morning for Hazlet pro Dave Lilly as he ran Rick Martel’s boat down the North Jersey Shore until a couple of feeding humpback whales were spotted. Though bass weren’t showing, they were marking — and Lilly could hardly get his secret rig out before he was hooked up with 20-30-pounders. They managed only one keeper among all the big fish and were worn out before heading back at 10:30 from the spot they had all to themselves.

Capt. Ron Santee Jr. reported from his Fishermen out of Atlantic Highlands as follows: Started out the morning locally, caught some fish right away but didn’t like what I saw.

Took a ride and found some amazing life for the rest of the day. Fish were stuffed with sand eels and still hungry at the end of the day..

Not Sailing Thanksgiving, will be back at it bright & early on Friday! DONT MISS THE BITE, The clock is ticking.

7:00am Sharp. First Boat out, First Boat on the meat. No Reservations. Fare is $90, Rod Rentals $20. All Jigs & Tackle aboard for sale.

Happy Thanksgiving“

Vinny D’Anton only caught one striper yesterday morning in Ocean County before getting word of bunkers back in Ocean Grove. The bait was so thick that surfcasters couldn’t get lures through it without snagging them. Vinny’s legal circle hook snagging rig was the answer to that problem, and he released all big bass up to a 45-incher. After a while it appeared that conditions had changed enough to try plugs – and anglers started hooking up on swimmers. That blitz continued until almost dark.

Nick Honachefsky of Saltwater Underground fished in Monmouth County this morning, where he had to make very long casts with the Ava jig in order to get over the bar and catch school stripers.

The forecast is for southeast winds at 10-15 knots before going southwest at 15-20 knots in the afternoon.

Happy Thanksgiving!

The weather was good, and stripers cooperated for boaters today.

The Golden Eagle from Belmar reported fine surface action throughout the trip. The Fishermen from Atlantic Highlands had a similar report — and got into some bigger bass when anglers cast poppers toward shore when stripers came up. The front came through as they were fishing, and tomorrow looks very good. The forecast is for west winds at 10-15 knots plus gusts to 20.

Dr. Pat Donnelly reported a fine Sunday striper trip that also included some spectacular surface sights with whales. The Brielle dentist noted: “Great striper fishing Sunday. Maeve and Dave David Donnelly( trained on Fisher Price IV Sportfishing) for snag and drop fishing. Over 100 bites landed 30+, kept our limit of slots and bonus. Was spooled by a big thresher during the whale show. Literally Nat Geo! “

Capt. Ron Santee Jr. reported his customers on the Fishermen from Atlantic Highlands were delighted with both the weather and the fishing as he was into stripers right away for a day-long bite that produced mostly keepers. Bill V won the pool with a 31-incher. The first drift lasted 35 minutes.

Surfcasting is almost always a matter of being at the right place at the right time. Vinny D’Anton said that the Monmouth County surf which was only a pick yesterday morning, produced hot action with school stripers later around 3 p.m. This morning was also picky. but Vinny was on his way to a blitz at Seaside Park when he reported in the afternoon.

Mike Monte was shut out at three Monmouth County spots in fine early morning conditions, but saw loads of big bunkers being torn up by whales outside the bar — along with a couple of 80-90-pund tuna which were jumping among them.

The forecast is for south winds at 15-20 knots before increasing to 20-25 in the afternoon.

A potential record yellowfin tuna was boated on the Ecel out of San Diego while fishing to the south. The 442.5-[ounder was almost 20 pounds over the present record. Though biologically the same, Atlantic yellowfins never seem to grow as large as their Pacific kin.

The cold northwest wind didn’t interfere with NY/NJ Bight boaters, but a lack of early morning water on northern N.J. beaches was a problem for surfcasters.

The Fishermen from Atlantic Highlands reported lots of stripers right from the start. Even a later wind against tide situation didn’t stop the day long bite as everyone went home with their slot and bonus bass. Miss Belmar Princess had a similar report with plenty of surface feeding action.

On the other hand, Mike Monte couldn’t get a hit at a couple of his favorite Monmouth County beaches even though sand eels were evident. A hard northwest wind is usually good for Jersey surfcasting as it’s at your back. However, it also pushes water off the beach — which is a big problem on lower tides.

The gale warning is down, and the forecast is for northwest winds at 10-15 knots plus gusts to 20 before diminishing to west 5-10 in the afternoon.

Andreas Toy Charters reports on a trip this week as follows: “Had one of the funnest days of the year. Shot an episode with host Nick Honachefsky of Salt water Underground and guest angler Bass master Champion Mike Iaconelli. Started out in bunker pods, lots of dogfish and few bites. Made a run and found the fish all to ourselves for the remainder of the day. All the fish on light tackle on the surface, easily landed over 30 fish. Thanks to Capt Jamar on the assist, and camera men Ryan and Alec. Cant wait to do it again “.

The smaller striped bass typical of this time of year in the northern N.J. surf seem to be dominant now. At least that was the case this morning as anglers cast into a still rough Monmouth County surf in a frigid northwest wind. Mike Monte said he wasn’t getting hit on an Ava jig before switching to a Tsunami Sand Eel that matched the natural bait present.

Vinny D’Anton and his crew found the jigs to be effective in the areas they fished. Vinny only saw bunkers well outside the bar where two whales were putting on a show by blowing them up.

I didn’t receive any boat reports, though it is possible to fish close to shore under the hills of northern N.J. When I was chartering out of Manasquan Inlet, I fished during northwest gales by turning north out of the inlet and staying in the calm waters within a half mile of shore.

A gale warning is up through Sunday afternoon. Sunday starts with west winds at 25-30 knots before diminishing to 20-25 in the afternoon. Seas in open waters will be 4 to 6 feet.

Though yesterday’s northeaster probably sent the ocean stripers anglers had been working on fleeing to the south. there should be many more to come throughout the month.

Vinny D’Anton was surprised to find fishable conditions in the Monmouth County surf even though the wind was southwest rather than the expected northwest. The surf wasn’t discolored by the strong winds, but just a bit tea colored. On the other hand, it was very cold and there was no sign of the bunkers which had been holding the bass. Sand eels seemed to be the current attraction as some anglers snagged them. Vinny started with a Tsunami popper and was rewarded with a 27-incher before adding another bass on an Ava jig. Other anglers also picked a few smaller bass, and it’s likely that flurries will have developed in other areas during the day.

The expected switch to gusty northwest winds should further reduce the waves. Vinny only saw one small boat in still-rough waters beyond the bar, but that should change tomorrow. Capt. Ron Santee Jr. is definitely going to sail with his Fishermen from Atlantic Highlands.

NYC Capt. John McMurray got a day off great striper fishing due to the northeaster, but had a big surprise the day before as noted:”Well, that was damn near 6 weeks of fishing pretty much every day…topped off by getting bit by a BIG bluefin in 30’ of water on bass gear yesterday. We fought it for a little over an hour before it broke off, but I was basically just chasing it with the boat. Didn’t ever really budge. Not a chance in hell. WOW, what a striper run we’ve had tho. Quantity AND quality! Truly extraordinary, and it’s still going! But yeah, felt pretty damn good to sleep in today. “

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Anglers in NY/NJ Bight have been generally getting a break with recent weather conditions, but that changed today in a roaring northeaster. Fortunately, the morning northeast gale switched to a hard northwest before noon and will start knocking down the 6-foot seas pounding the beaches. Hopefully, the quick change will result in the surf not becoming too discolored to clear up in a day or so.

However, too much northwest may keep boats in tomorrow. Check with your favorite skipper to determine if he’ll be sailing.

The big ocean striper schools probably continued their migration to the south, but there are plenty more behind them.

Capt. Ron Santee Jr. had a great Wednesday trip with his Fishermen out of Atlantic Highlands as follows: “Great Bass fishing today from start to finish. Took the ride once again and we were blessed with a day most dream of!  Had tremendous readings for over a mile on the machine and at times we had 8-10 fish on with 20 fish drifts most of the day. Some Big babies in the mix once again. Shads & NLBN’s were the ticket.“

That’s a snook to dream of even if it’s actually a potential IGFA World Record 51-pound 5 ounce white snook from the Pacific. It was caught by Wesley Blough at Cabo San Lucas, Mexico casting a Savage Gear Mackstick.

The Wiz did it again today as his hunch about the back of Raritan Bay being the place to be for stripers paid off as he ran Dr. Wally’s boat from Oceanport to an area with no surface signs but plenty of marks in the deeper waters. Lilly also put together a rig which proved so attractive that the troll hardly started before constant hook-ups.

Almost all the bass were keeper-size, with just one short and a few overs. Though the bass obviously were in a feeding mode, attempts with a popper and a diamond jig brought no response.

The Golden Eagle from Belmar reported a slow start with stripers before they took a ride which got them into both keepers and some overs up to a 43-incher. They will not be sailing tomorrow due to the weather forecast, and are chartered Friday.

A small craft advisory is up into Friday morning. A northeaster blows in Thursday with 25-30 knot winds before dropping to 10-15 in the afternoon.

Jersey Shore surfcasters didn’t have to look around for a blitz today as Seaside Park came through again. Vinny D’Anton said he was able to score with a popper before bunkers became too thick and would be snagged on every cast. A switch to the legal circle hook snagging rig he devised then did the job before he became too tired to catch another bass. A change to southeast winds tomorrow could change things.

They are all sizes at Seaside as Grumpy’s Tackle sent this shot of Dom Talarico with a hefty bass released yesterday.

The Golden Eagle from Belmar reported as follows: “It was a good day of angling and we ended up with a nice catch of KEEPER BASS with all anglers going home with fish. We had a nice pick with shots on most drifts, some better than others. STRIPERS were up on top busting in the bunkers at times.

Shads worked best today. The BASS were also caught on tailed 4oz. Run Off jigs.

There were plenty of throwbacks along with tagged fish on board.

Come join us tomorrow for another fun day.

The Fishermen from Atlantic Highlands had a similar report with a good early start followed by a long move out of traffic to be sure everyone went home with fish. Catskill John released a 45-pounder. Shads proved to be most effective today. Try to get out tomorrow, as Thursday may be weather problem.

You never know what you may find during any day of saltwater fishing. Capt. Monty Hawkins of Morning Star from Ocean City, Md. counted 80 boats trolling for tuna a couple of days ago and had a tuna line out yesterday as he was on his way to drop materials on a reef site before sea bass fishing. Sure enough, a 40-inch, 47-pound tuna hit that line. The sea bass fishing was poor, but a switch to fluking produced another prize — a 30-inch doormat.

The Golden Eagle from Belmar reported as follows: “There were a few drifts in the morning where we picked away at the STRIPED BASS and then it slowed down until midday.

The BASS came up on top in the bait at the end of the day. We picked a couple per drift and had action at times but they were hard to catch.“

The weather looks good tomorrow, and they’ll be out for the early bite

.The Fishermen from Atlantic Highlands got into mostly smaller stripers as everyone went home with fish. A switch to using shads helped today.

Vinny D’Anton got into a brief showing of stripers in the Lavallette surf that produced one on a lure before he had to switch to his circle hook snag rig to get another before the bass moved back over the bar where peanut bunkers were thick.

This 91-pound cod was caught recently in Norway.