Capt. Ron Santee had a good striper catch yesterday in fine conditions with his Fishermen from Atlantic Highlands, but the weather was a lot different today. Santee said “I’t’s amamazing after all these years of posting fishing in the snot reports and the great fishing that comes with it that customers still want to wait for the perfect day!
Headed out today with the wind blowing 20 out of the North, Dark & Cold with a little bit of a swell and chop…..Found amazing life right off the bat, a huge area of birds working, just like it’s supposed to be. Action was awesome the first couple hours, lost the tide bite went to a pick.
After the change the wind came on stronger, the life came back and we finished up with a bang! Another great Striper trip in the books. Sailing everyday bright and early, first boat out. Don’t miss this bite!‘
A small craft advisory is up tonight, but by morning it should be northwest at just 10-15 knots before dropping to 5-10 in the afternoon.
There was a great tautog catch last week as Aiden Cole (17) boated a 15.78-pounder on Melissa Ann Fishing Charters, and weighed it in for a CT. Trophy Award before releasing her.
It’s hard to believe that this late in the season there are still top ten spots worth valuable fishing prizes in the Fisherman magazine’s Dream Boat Fishing Challenge. With a minimum of 15 pounds, only five bluefish spots are filled at a time when big blues used to be abundant, A 16.13-pounder is first.
The black sea bass category thas only three entries at a 4-pound minimum, though that will change when party boats start fishing the deepwater offshore wrecks There are only three entries in blackfish with a 7-pound minimum. Though the weakfish category is full, there isn’t a single tiderunner as the entries range from 8.66 to 8.10 pounds. The Dream Boat contest is only open to subscribers, and provides prizes ranging from a 21-foot Steiger to a Costa Rican fishing trip, electronics and tackle.
The fishfinder on Capt. John Contello’s Just Sayin indicates that it may just be possible to catch a striper.
The forecast is for north winds at 15-20 knots with possible evening and night rain.
This is the last day to apply for the Striped Bass Bonus Bass Program. Go to the SBBBP website.
Only the Princess sailed again today and had a KILLER DAY!! Tons of ACTION ALL DAY on JUMBO STRIPERS and a few KEEPERS in the mix today too! Over 60 fish landed today with a bunch lost as well! High hook had 7 plus today with a bunch of other anglers hooking about 5 a piece. Live bunker and swim shads both worked today. Back at it tomorrow!
Miss Belmar Princess is fishing for STRIPERS- departs at 7:30am and returns at 2:30pm
Royal Miss Belmar is fishing for STRIPERS 3/4 day- departs at 6:00am and returns at 12:30pm
MAKE YOUR RESERVATION at missbelmar.com or call Stephanie 732-681-0030 or Heather 732-681-6866
The Golden Eagle from Belmar had a similar report of all day action on bunkers and swim shads. Most of the bass were overs. but smaller than usual– though not quite keeper size.
Vinny D’Anton got into big bass from a northern Monmouth County beach this afternoon as they were feeding on peanut bunkers and hitting shads. He released a 38-incher, and saw other bass over 40 inches being caught,
Just as predicted yesterday, striper fishing in NY/NJ Bight was a pleasure today without the crowds.
Capt. Ron Santee of the Fishermen from Atlantic Highlands noted:
“After a weekend from Hell it was good to be back on the meat!!!
Little fog this morning had us in stealth mode finding the bunkers…Couple beauties with Dave landing a Monster at 48 inches. Nice mix of fish from keepers to Bonus fish with a bunch of overs.
Several times we had white water around the boat, was fun watching Eric the Morgage man work that Plug. Fish knocking it right out of the water then coming back to attack it again. Weather is perfect for Bass fishing all week….don’t miss out like today!!!“
The Fishermen is chartered. on Saturday,
Max DeGennaro with a 42-pound bass on the Boga before release from Hi Flier out of Barnegat
The Queen Mary from Point Pleasant switched to porgies on Saturday as a charter party loaded up — before returning to hot striper action Sunday with mostly overs from 32-38 inches and some keepers as swim shads of 6-9 inches worked along with live bunkers.
A small craft advisory goes up at 7 p.m. to late night. Tuesday starts with north winds at 10-15 knots plus gusts to 20 before diminishing to northeast 5-10 in the afternoon,
Those fortunate enough to be able to fish in NY/NJ Bight waters on Monday should have great striper action without the crush of boats putting them down as was the case the last two days.
The Golden Eagle and Big Mohawk from Belmar reported the early bite was best, though bunkers remained available for snagging all day, The Big Mohawk counted 70 bass, which included some 32-38-inch fish among all the bass over 40 inches. The pool bass was 48 inches.
The Golden Eagle is on its last tuna trip, but will be back to stripers on Tuesday.
The Queen Mary from Point Pleasant summed up last week as follows:
What a week! Great Weather combined with BIG STRIPERS! Tuesday & Wednesday saw all larger fish to 50″ taken on live Bunker. Thursday was slow all morning. The afternoon perked up. 6″ Shad’s were the ticket with 30″-44″ fish We finally are seeing a few smaller ones we can keep in the mix.
The forecast for Monday is for south winds at 10-15 knots plus rain and patchy fog before going northwest in the afternoon.
Just as always can be expected on a nice Saturday in October, NY/NJ Bight was loaded with boat traffic today. That always results in poor results for some, but most of the reports I’ve received were positive.
Indeed, the Big Mohawk from Belmar reported their best day of the season with 140+ bites on live bunkers. One angler caught 11 bass, and the pool bass taped out at 50 inches.
Capt. Ron Santee wasn’t as happy with the conditions as he said boats were so packed in on surfacing bass that he couldn’t get in. After only getting a few early, he made a move that resulted in a later bite carrying into overtime to end up catching a couple of dozen bass on his Fishermen from Atlantic Highlands,
The Golden Eagle from Belmar reported an early bite saved the day before the traffic got too bad Most bass were over 40 inches and up to 50-incher in the bunker schools.
The forecast is for east winds at 10-15 knots with gusts to 20 plus rain.
If you can handle historically outstanding striped bass angling with a forecast of west winds at a mere 5-10 knots. then tomorrow should fill the bill in NY/NJ Bight waters. Of course. there might be a few others that can figure that out.
Capt. Ron Santee provides some guidance within his description of today’s fishing on his Fishermen from Atlantic Highlands as follows “
Headed out with a nice gang today and found fish right off the bat before all the traffic showed. Had a couple shots at them then changed up the game plan for the rest of the day.
Mostly keepers with some Bigger fish in the mix. Caught the end of the tide but it didn’t seem to matter as the bite got better as the day went on. Fishing mostly readings all day which makes me wonder how many actually use the fish finder anymore….Run & Gun for the birds, when they are not there, the deer in the headlights come out.
Brother John had the Monster for the day at 44 inches! Several customers with double digits.
Weather looks great for the weekend, please get here early, we sail at 7:00am but if we have our crew early….we go!!
Open Boat, No Reservations just come on down. Fare is $90, Rod Rental $20. See you Bright & Early!“
Capt. Ron
Even surfcasters like Gerald Cece get into them at times!
Just because you see them doesn’t mean you’re always going to catch them!
That was the problem reported by the Golden Eagle from Belmar They managed some bass early as they were feeding in bunker schools, but the bite slowed before picking up at mid-day. Later the bass resumed working the bait, but were difficult to hook. Most were overs which were released, though there were a few keepers.
Capt. Ron Santee had a different experience on his Fishermen from Atlantic Highlands as bass of all sizes cooperated including some Bonus Bass. Eddie led the way with a 48-inch release, and there were several 25-30-pounders.
Scroll DOWN
Tony Arcabascio’s grandson caught his first striped bass this week though I doubt if it was on a Tony Maja bunker spoon. That young man has a lot of catching up to do before equaling his grandfather in catching stripers!
The weather forecast remains ideal, with southwest winds at 5-10 knots.
Vinny D’Anton reports there’s a bothersome swell on the Monmouth County surf that’s. creating a backwash problem which surfcasters have to take into account. There was some exciting fishing yesterday for those who could fire a lure far over the bar as the bass out there were from 15 pounds up to over 40. Vinny raised one monster, but it failed to hook up. This morning was a different story as none of his group hooked up even though a few big surf bass were reported by others.
Betty & Nick’s Fishing Club member Brian Smith reported he went up north yesterday to release this 47-inch bass.
There doesn’t seem to be any method that isn’t working right now for striped bass of all sizes in N//NJ Bight. Capt. Joe Massa went out from Morgan Marina yesterday afternoon, and turned live bunkers into 20-pound stripers before running past other surface feeding stripers on the way back.
Jim Hutchinson Jr. was happy with this 43-inch bass he caught by casting a white shad.
At Belmar, Miss Belmar Princess reported “another solid day”of striper fishing . The Golden Eagle had hot striper fishing right away, and it kept up.
Capt. Ron Santee made a couple of drifts with his Fishermen from Atlantic Highlands get everyone acclimated before putting them into hot action all day with everything from slots to three over 40 pounds!
The forecast remains great with southwest winds at a mere 5-10 knots.
Tue Oct 24 – Coxes Ledge Cod & Sea Bass
The Viking Fleet reports a good start to the fall Cox’s Ledge Sea Bass & Cod trips. “We had a very nice pick of QUALITY Sea Bass all day with some very nice Cod in the mix as well. Guys who used the jig/jelly worm combo definitely put on a clinic with the Sea Bass as well as landing a majority of the Cod. More than a few of them had their limit of BOTH jumbo Sea Bass AND Cod. Along with a boat limit of Sea Bass and strong Cod showing we also landed a nice Monk Fish, some hub cap Scup, big Cunners, and a few green Bonito to round out the catch. It was definitely a great start to the Cox’s Ledge excursions which should only get better and better as the fall progresses. The Cod pool winner was Dwayne “Jigaholic” Sherard with a 16 lber. The Sea Bass pool winner was Anthony Bjelke from Bohemia, NY with a 4 lber.
showing we also landed a nice Monk Fish, some hub cap Scup, big Cunners, and a few green Bonito to round out the catch. It was definitely a great start to the Cox’s Ledge excursions which should only get better and better as the fall progresses. The Cod pool winner was Dwayne “Jigaholic” Sherard with a 16 lber. The Sea Bass pool winner was Anthony Bjelke from Bohemia, NY with a 4 lber
Michael Leech of the IGFA had sad news today on Facebook as great woman angler Marsha Bierman passed away this morning. Though she looked more like a showgirl than an angler, that tall blond woman could put most men to shame while fighting big marlin and tuna on stand-up tackle long before that type of big game fishing became popular on the east coast.
Marsha put tremendous pressure on those big game fish, and I’m sure she never gave up on one while setting numerous records. I had the pleasure of fishing with her in Costa Rica and also when giant tuna were first discovered during the winter on shallow wrecks off North Carolina. She wanted to catch a giant standing up, but was frustrated by only hooking up with medium bluefins. Of course, as soon as we switched to 130-pound outfits so all could participate, we caught all giants!
There was finally very good news from Vinny D’Anton as the northern N.J. striped bass surf run got underway this morning. He fished northern Monmouth County where 20-25-pound bass were feeding on peanut bunkers. Swim shads did the job as Vinny said anglers casting poppers didn’t seem to be connecting.
At Belmar, The Golden Eagle reported lots of big bass on live bunkers, with yesterday’s largest at 53 inches. They change their sailing time to 6:30 a.m. tomorrow. Miss Belmar Princess had a similar report.
Capt. Ron Santee said he was at the right place at the right time with his Fishermen from Atlantic Highlands this morning. It was mostly big bass up to a 56-incher, but included some keepers.
The forecast is great — southwest winds at 10-15 knots..
Eric Kerber with a 47-pounder on his digital scale
“Big Stripers on the fly …..not an easy task especially in this area. What do we consider “big” on fly tackle? Anything over 40 lbs….but between the boat crowds (which is at an all time high these days), massive schools of large bunker difficult to imitate with a fleye, wind, weather ect…..making this happen is not an east task. No one does it more graciously that this guy right here, “Doc John” @jyavorsky. “Doc” has been fishing with us for over 25 years and he has landed countless fish in the 40-50lb class range, including one yesterday with Capt @eastbound_malanga on the #REELFREEDOM at an estimated 45lbs. Having the right gear is critical; and there is no better fleye than the Popovics Beast Fleye, which literally accounts for all of the big stripers we take on fly tackle. Great job Doc and big Jer ! #popfleyes#shorecatch#reelfreedomBig Stripers on the fly …..not an easy task especially in this area. What do we consider “big” on fly tackle? Anything over 40 lbs….but between the boat crowds (which is at an all time high these days), massive schools of large bunker difficult to imitate with a fleye, wind, weather ect…..making this happen is not an easy task. No one does it more graciously that this guy right here, “Doc John” @jyavorsky. “Doc” has been fishing with us for over 25 years and he has landed countless fish in the 40-50lb class range, including this one yesterday with Capt @eastbound_malanga on the #REELFREEDOM at an estimated 45lbs. Having the right gear is critical; and there is no better fleye than the Popovics Beast Fleye, which literally accounts for all of the big stripers we take on fly tackle. Great job Doc and big Jer ! #popfleyes#shorecatch#reelfreedomBig Stripers on the fly …..not an easy task especially in this area. What do we consider “big” on fly tackle? Anything over 40 lbs….but between the boat crowds (which is at an all time high these days), massive schools of large bunker difficult to imitate with a fleye, wind, weather ect…..making this happen is not an east task. No one does it more graciously that this guy right here, “Doc John” @jyavorsky. “Doc” has been fishing with us for over 25 years and he has landed countless fish in the 40-50lb class range, including this one yesterday with Capt @eastbound_malanga on the #REELFREEDOM at an estimated 45lbs. Having the right gear is critical; and there is no better fleye than the Popovics Beast Fleye, which literally accounts for all of the big stripers we take on fly tackle. Great job Doc and big Jer ! #popfleyes#shorecatch#reelfreedomBig Stripers on the fly …..not an easy task especially in this area. What do we consider “big” on fly tackle? Anything over 40 lbs….but between the boat crowds (which is at an all time high these days), massive schools of large bunker difficult to imitate with a fleye, wind, weather ect…..making this happen is not an easy task. No one does it more graciously that this guy right here, “Doc John” @jyavorsky. “Doc” has been fishing with us for over 25 years and he has landed countless fish in the 40-50lb class range, including this one yesterday with Capt @eastbound_malanga on the #REELFREEDOM at an estimated 45lbs. Having the right gear is critical; and there is no better fleye than the Popovics Beast Fleye, which literally accounts for all of the big stripers we take on fly tackle. Great job Doc and big Jer ! #popfleyes#shorecatch#reelfreedom“
Miss Belmar Princess reported as follows on today’s striper fishing:
“Miss Belmar Princess had really good fishing today with JUMBO STRIPERS up to 46lbs! Beautiful flat calm ocean today with PLENTY of ACTION all day! All action today was on live bunkers. Todays high hook had 7 JUMBOS which were all safely released. We also saw HUMPBACK WHALES, GIANT BLUEFIN TUNA and THRESHER SHARKS blowing up the baits today! Tomorrow’s weather looks great, join us for your Trophy STRIPER!”
Miss Belmar Princess striper
Capt. Ron Santee said he got into “unreal” bait with fish breaking on it early, and also did well with his Fishermen from Atlantic Highlands in the afternoon. Dereck had the day’s monster at 53 inches and 40 pounds. Scott Scuderi was high hook with eight up to 25 pounds, which included a keeper and a bonus bass. Despite the abundance, the bass were hard to catch as they were on peanut bunkers — and Santee had to run & gun to stay on them.
Vinny D’Anton only heard of one school striper taken on a swimming plug in the Monmouth County surf this morning, but that fishing is bound to break open any day.
The forecast is perfect – northeast at just 5 knots before going southwest in the afternoon.
.jpeg)
at an estimated 45lbs. Having the right gear is critical; and there is no better fleye than the Popovics Beast Fleye, which literally accounts for all of the big stripers we take on fly tackle. Great job Doc and big Jer ! 
Tight Lines 