Mike Monte found himself in an unusual situation this morning as he was fishing the Spring Lake surf. School stripers in the 22-25-inch class were feeding on sand eels, but he was losing more than he was catching as many seemed to just be grabbing the tail end of the reliable Tsunami Sand Eel and not getting hooked.

Vinny D’Anton and his crew moved to northern Ocean County where they found stripers feeding on peanut bunkers, but refusing most lures. Vinny had the solution to that problem with the circle hook snagging rig he’s devised. Stripers have been pretty consistent on that rig when peanuts are thick enough to snag with that legal circle hook rig.

Vinny D’Anton and his crew ended up in northern Ocean County where bass on peanut bunkers also largely refused lures. However, Vinny has devised a legal circle hook snagging rig which put them into action with those bass.

Though there were lots of boats off the Jersey Shore this morning, Capt. Ron Santee Jr. of the Fishermen from Atlantic Highlands reported the bite wasn’t up to the recent par anywhere he went.

Vinny D’Anton reported a good turnout on Monmouth County beaches this morning as there were blitzes at this time the last two years. However, a continuing rough surf resulted in only a pick as stripers were reluctant to come over the bar.

On the other hand, boaters had no such problem as noted by Capt. Ron Santee Jr. on his Fishermen from Atlantic Highlands : ” Had the IBEW local 456 crew out with us for their annual fishing trip today.

Despite the wind & strong current once we got the guys acclimated it was game on! Several area’s of life once again after the change of tide, heavier jigs worked best today.”

A small craft advisory is up to late tonight.

Sunday starts with northwest winds at 10-15 knots and seas down to 2-4 feet.

Capt. Ron Santee Jr. likes to fish for fall stripers in rough waters as they usually bite best under those conditions. However, it wasn’t necessary to take a beating today as per the following report from his Fishermen out of Atlantic Highlands;

“Another top 10 day today, Weather, Calm Ocean and the Bass were Hungry once again!

Headed off to a new area all by ourselves, no bird life, No traffic had to do it old school with the fish finder!

Found the Mother load and went to work. Every drift was amazing with some better than others and the bite never died. Fish stayed in the same area and didn’t move. Awesome day to be a Party boat Captain! 

WE ARE NOT AVAILABLE Saturday,”

Mike Monte found the Monmouth County surf to be fishable this morning, but there were no bass hitting in the 4-foot waves. He did see a couple of 22-25-inch stripers jump clear of the water over the bar, which was an indication that the smaller bass which hang around into December may be starting to arrive. They remained out of his casting range, but there was also a good sign inshore with loons diving on sand eels which should fuel the big schools of smaller bass as they arrive.

N.J. surfcasters had to fight 6-7-foot breakers this morning which resulted in generally poor striper fishing. Mike Monte said the surf conditions were actually dangerous. and he didn’t spend much time fighting that situation in Monmouth County. He did hear of some action to the south, but it was only on heavy Ava jigs cast as far as possible.

Vinny D’Anton only got one good report which came from Sandy Hook. He took the morning off as it was also cold and nasty.

On the other hand, the Golden Eagle from Belmar got into stripers right away and had plenty of surface action as every angler had a keeper.

Capt. Frank Masseria reported “insane” bass action on his Vitamin Sea from Keyport that led to an early return.

Capt. Ron Santee Jr. of the Fishermen from Atlantic Highlands reported as follows :” Fish were a little skidish this morning, saw & read plenty but only could pick at them. Ocean got nasty as the tide ran hard.

Looked over the bay, caught a couple on readings then decided to go back out to the snot!

Glad we did, the bite was on as soon as we got there. Had two 40-minute drifts with non-stop action. Awesome day with some sore arms! Back at it in the morning.”

If anglers are up to the beating, rough waters usually produce feeding migratory stripers along the N.J. Shore at this time of year.

Capt. Ron Santee Jr. put his Fishermen from Atlantic Highlands into that action today as “fishing in the snot” produced plenty of bass in many areas.

Betty& Nick’s Fishing Club in Seaside Park had a morning surf report of “Pure insanity for 3 hours. NNE winds pushed them literally to our feet.”

Vinny D’Anton said surfcasting to the north has been more of a pick between blitzes in the Monmouth County surf. Stripers are spotted chasing peanut bunkers on the other side of the bar before driving then inshore at times — when they also may be fussy about lures. In yesterday’s N-NW and today’s northeaster, Ava jigs were the best bet. Vinny said those bass were in the 15-20-pound class, and there’s been no sign of the usual smaller schoolies.

Jim Hutchinson Sr. reports for the Beach Haven Charter Boat Association as follows:

“
On the bottom fishing front the daily limit for black sea bass has increased to 15 fish while the tautog daily limit increases to 5-fish on November 16.

Captain Ray Lopez of the “Miss Liane” reports that he and Captain George are taking trip reservations for inshore bluefin tuna, stripers, and wreck fishing. Their past several trips have been “very productive.”

Captain Brett Taylor of “Reel Reaction Sportfishing” says his anglers of been enjoying the great fishing and weather. On one trip “in the shadows of Old Barney” he released over 55 short and keeper tautog while keeping their 5-man limit to 17 inches. He has also been doing well on bass in the inlet and nearby waters and also taking trips to nearby wrecks

Captain Dave Wittenborn has been finding nice bluefin tuna fishing aboard the “Benita J.” He reports finding an “amazing fishery only a few miles outside our inlet.” He will soon be targeting striped bass but hopes to get one or two more tuna trips in. A recent trip saw a bass measuring out at 51-inches, a new “Benita J” record.

Captain Jonathon Kelly reports an “awesome day” on the “Outcast” with a beautiful 66-inch bluefin very close to shore. His most recent trip saw 4 fish hooked up just as they started fishing with a 68-incher in the boat by 7am. “

Capt. Ron Santee Jr. found stripers everywhere he looked today, but his anglers had to work for them before bass of all sizes came to the surface around 1:30 and provided a wild bite on both plain and tailed jigs aboard his Fishermen from Atlantic Highlands.

The Fishermen is chartered on Saturday, but will fish tomorrow as Ron usually does well in rough seas.

The Golden Eagle from Belmar reports ” Tuesday’s Early Departure Striper Trip, 11/12, has been canceled because of the forecasted high winds.

We will be back out STRIPER fishing Wednesday. Today’s Veteran’s Day trip produced decent striper action with some keepers.

The Golden Eagle further reports “We still have” some FREE TRIPS FOR VETERANS that did not get used.The first 6 Veterans that are at the boat starting Wednesday will get their trip for free. If there are not 6 Veterans at the boat Wed., we will continue Thurs. etc. until the free trips have been given out. Must be a Veteran of the U. S. Armed Forces and bring a Veteran ID or DD-214. “

They’re in & they are out. Surfcasters working the Jersey Shore have been going from feast to famine. In yesterday’s blog, I noted the lack of bass in the Monmouth County surf where they provided great action the previous morning — but mentioned that at this time of year of year they can turn on at any time. That’s what happened yesterday as a late morning showing of bass on bunkers developed to the south around Seaside.

Vinny D’Anton got in on that bite which he said consisted entirely of stripers from 35 inches up! Unfortunately, Vinny said there was no life reported from any of his contacts . Bunkers weren’t showing. and party boats were fishing a mile or more offshore. Vinny was encouraged by hearing of some sand eels being snagged yesterday even though the bass seemed to be feeding only on bunkers. He also thought that the south wind might have been the problem this morning.

My computer has been giving me problems today, and I haven’t been able to open any messages or reports. Don’t hesitate to call me at 732 757-5531 if you have better news.

After watching boaters catching big bass working on bunkers beyond the outer bar for weeks, northern N.J. surfcasters got their shot yesterday morning.

Vinny D’Anton said the bass ranged up to 40 pounds, and were on medium–sized bunkers. He used the Lil Doc surface plug for steady action until the bass started working on somewhat smaller bunkers and wouldn’t hit artificials in the Monmouth County surf.

It was necessary to switch to live baits, but it’s now illegal to use treble hooks in the old snag and drop technique. Vinny rigged up a circle hook snagging rig that did the job as long as he could cast into very thick bunker schools.

When the fishing was at its peak, Vinny watched an angler with a very light rod fight a 48-inch bass for about a half-hour before the release. That action ranged up into Sandy Hook — and was duplicated in some South Jersey areas.

Unfortunately, it was a different story this morning as no one in Vinny’s group of contacts weas able to locate those bass early in the day. However, at this time of year, it’s just as likely for them to show at any time of day if the bait suddenly appears.

As noted in yesterday’s blog, the Golden Eagle from Belmar will be providing the first 15 veterans to show up on Nov. 11 with a free trip. Proof of veteran status will be required. That boat had another great day of striper fishing yesterday, including whitewater surface action as everyone caught a keeper.

The Golden Eagle from Belmar is offering vets a very special reward on Nov. 11 — a free trip to the first 15 showing up before the 6:30 A.M. sailing time! Additional vets will be offered a discounted rate. Proof is required. Be sure to bring your Certificate of Service Card or other proof. I’m in Ft. Myers, but will be hoping all my fellow vets will be successful on their special day.

The Queen Mary from Point Pleasant had to put in over 75 miles of running in order to get on stripers during their Striper Marathon trip before finding a great bite which included releases of two bass over 50 inches plus one that was a true 50+-pounder.

Queen Mary striper readings

The Jamaica from Brielle reports canyon tuna trips have been successful, and they are adding additional dates. There is room on Monday and Thursday night departures at 8:30 p.m. by reservation.

A viewing for Bob Popovics will be held on Nov, 11 from 3-7 P.M. at the Timothey Ryan Home for Funerals in Toms River.

Betty & Nick’s Fishing Club reminds anglers that snagging bunkers and fishing them on a treble hook is in violation of the law which requires the use of only circle hooks in bait.