After yesterday’s N.J. internal waters stripers became legal, there was a flurry of weigh-ins at Absecon Bay Sportsman Center that was topped by Vince Trasatti’s 33-inch, 15.5-pounder. That shop now has a supply of fresh bunkers as well as bloodworms and live grass shrimp for tidal rivers white perch.
The first report on Raritan Bay was spotted on Facebook from Extreme Philly Fishing as four anglers cast for five hours, but only caught one short. It was just 30 degrees at daylight — and the water temperature was a chilly 38 to 40 degrees.
A small craft warning is up through late tonight before changing to a gale watch from Friday morning to Saturday afternoon. However, the Friday morning forecast is only north at 5-10 knots plus a chance of rain.
The Paramount from Brielle will be sailing for cod on mid-range wrecks Saturday and Sunday at 4 a.m.
Vinny D’Anton got into a good surface bite of snook and redfish yesterday morning near Sarasota.
Capt. Hans Kaspersetz fished aboard Water Proof in N,C. for a hot bite of bluefin tuna. See photo at bottom of page.
Chuck Many ran into bull reds yesterday at Hilton Head, South Carolina.
Though striped bass can be legally caught by anglers year-round in New Jersey, they are protected in internal waters during the winter. That changes tomorrow as the internal waters open with no changes in regulations.
Absecon Bay Sportsman Center has their usual season-opening contest with the top three stripers weighed in eligible for gift certificates. White perch fishing continues in the rivers there, and the biggest of those will win a sweatshirt from the store.
A small craft warning is up through late tonight, but the morning forecast is just for northeast winds at 5-10 before going southeast at 10-15 knots plus gusts to 20 in the afternoon.
Only 20 tickets were left as of this morning for Saturday’s Canyon Runner Seminar at Capt. Bill’s in Bayshore from 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. No tickets will be sold at the gate.
The $120 tickets include a full meal with carving stations as well as all the offshore fishing information that’s well worth the price. Call 732 272-4445 ASAP.
A gale warning goes up at 6 p.m. in NY/NJ Bight and runs through Tuesday morning. East winds of 20-25 knots plus gusts to 35 are in the forecast along with likely morning rain.
The weather is a lot better in Florida, and Vinny D’Anton reports he got into some snook yesterday morning while wading in Sarasota. MirrOlures were effective.
Kil Song reports that Chong Chae’s party had great tautog fishing Sunday out of Virginia as nine over 12 pounds were caught. The largest went 16, 17, 19 and 21 pounds. They were caught on Chae’s jigs and Song’s Black Hole Challenger Bank 701L rod.
An historic note to yesterday’s blog about tilefishing off Key West in 1975. That was long before modern braided lines that make it possible to drift in 600-foot depths. Mono is so stretchy that you can’t feel bottom in such depths, and the best line we had to use then was DuPont Dacron. Unfortunately, I didn’t record in my notes what we were fishing with that day.
While going through old fishing records, I was amazed to find how much time and effort I used to be able to invest in catching fish during brief trips to Florida in the “old days”. A notable sequence started on June 25, 1975 while staying in Islamorada. My “day” started at 2:45 a.m. when I got up to fish for tarpon on the outgoing tide from bridges to the west. I knew that small tarpon would be lining up under lights at the bridges to pick off shrimp and small fish coming out of the Gulf of Mexico. However, in order to get to them at that time I had to hug the rail, with trucks passing by at 60 mph, while using a long rod to flip a live shrimp into the dark so it would float freely into the lighted water and result in a hook up. Then I fought the jumping tarpon as it went under the bridge until it settled down and I could control it around pilings while walking to the end of the bridge and scrambling down to land and release the fish which were in the 15-25-pound class. Years later, I switched to casting lures from the sides of the bridges which was safer and produced some bigger tarpon.
Three tarpon were released before first light stopped the action, and I went to Caloosa Cove to seek a bonefish on a flat just yards from the highway. I found a bone tailing there, and managed to cast a shrimp just far enough ahead of its path so as not to spook it. The bonefish raced all over the flat before I weighed it on my Abu Combi at 8 3/4 pounds and made the release.
Then I started the long drive to Key West where John Mortimer wanted to try catching a tilefish from his outboard boat in the Gulf Stream. We left on a calm day at 11 a.m. and caught a few small dolphin for chunk baits. I didn’t note what tackle we used to get down in 550-600 feet, but I caught two gray tilefish of 4 to 4 1/2 pounds and a 5 1/2-pounder while John added one. I suspect what they were calling gray tilefish were actually bluelines.
There was a lot of driving involved, and no sleep, but I wonder if anyone else has ever caught tarpon and bonefish from shore plus dolphin and tilefish in the same morning?
A gale watch is up from Monday evening through late night. Monday starts OK with north winds at 5-10 knots before going east 10-15 in the afternoon with a chance of snow.
The Ocean Explorer from Belmar reported a calm ocean yesterday though the waters were very cold and there was little fish life.
Capt. Nick Stanczyk sent this photo of yet another big swordfish caught aboard his Broad Minded from Bud N’Mary’s Marina i Islamorada. For charter info call him at 305 664-2461.
NY/NJ Bight anglers should get a break in the morning with a forecast of southwest winds at just 10-15 knots before increasing to 15-20 plus gusts to 25 in the afternoon.
I had a problem with WordPress yesterday as I couldn’t move the page up or down to edit or add anything. There was no explanation of the bottom photo with Chuck Many and daughter Isabella with black bass from Hilton Head, S.C. ponds which were producing action while chilly waters seemed to be holding back the bite in salt ponds. That changed yesterday as redfish arrived for a hot bite. That photo follows.
The Ocean Explorer from Belmar faced a huge east swell on Thursday which made for tough blackfishing though some tog, cod and ling were caught. The Jamaica from Brielle will be sailing at 4 a.m. for cod on offshore wrecks.
George Poveromo has a N.J.-based TV on canyon fishing out of Cape May on Sunday at 8 a.m. on DiscoveryChannel.
Capt. Monty Hawkins had a very unusual sighting during his Feb.21 tautog trip with his Morning Star from Ocean City, Maryland. There are only supposed to be 350 of those massive whales left, but he spotted two that day and was able to take a good shot from long range. That species got its name from being the best source of whale oil in the days of whale hunting. Though protected now, they are frequent victims of ship strikes. The one pictured below was the largest Hawkins has seen in his 43 years at sea.
The Ocean Explorer from Belmar encountered some freezing rain Wednesday, but the ocean was flat calm. Blackfishing started slow, but they ended up with a decent catch for February.
The gale watch ends at 5 p.m., Saturday starts with northeast winds at only 5-10 knots before going southeast in the afternoon.
At Brielle, the Jamaica sails cod trips from 4 a.m. to 5 p.m. the next two days to fish 20-30-mile wrecks. Call 732 528-5014 for a reservation, but walk-ons are welcome is there is room. The Paramount will fish for cod and blackfish at 6:30 a.m.
A small craft advisory is up through late tonight in NY/NJ Bight before it changes to a gale watch from Friday morning to evening. The forecast starts Friday with northwest winds of 20-25 knots plus gusts to 30.
Fish Bound from Ocean City, Maryland reports having to work hard for every tautog bite this week, but still produced big tog of 10, 11 and 12 pounds.
The many small wrecks located about 20-30 miles offshore in NY/NJ Bight have long been regarded as prime locations for anglers seeking large cod during the winter, and they may be coming back after seemingly being overfished. The Jamaica from Brielle is fishing them on weekends and came up with “some” cod (see photo below) up to a 28-pounder last weekend.
There were also a few blackfish boated along with some ling that made their best showing so far this season.
Saturday and Sunday trips of the Jamaica run from 4 a.m. to 5 p.m. Call 732 528-5014 for reservations.
The forecast is for northwest winds at just 5-10 knots before going northeast at 10-15 plus gusts to 20 in the afternoon.
Vinny D’Anton has been picking away at spotted sea trout and ladyfish on the DOA Shrimp while wading in the Sarasota area every morning.
Sharp hearing usually isn’t considered to be an important sense in fishing, but there are times when it comes into play. That subject came to mind after I heard a local TV report in Ft. Myers, Fl. about people living in homes near canals complaining about strange noises in their homes recently.
It turned out the culprits were mating black drum! Those fish are unique in that they produce a grunting noise underwater that can frequently be heard from boats. Indeed, I’ve heard those sounds while fishing for black drum in Delaware Bay — but I never before heard of that sound penetrating homes. I wonder if it would be possible to walk along canals during the mating season and be able to cast a bait in that direction to an unseen black drum?
There are times when listening can lead you to good fishing. I’ve had nights casting small lures in calm backwaters when the plops of feeding school stripers or weakfish have produced fine action. Night tarpon fishing in Florida is greatly aided by the feeding splashes at bridges which provide a target even on the darkest nights.
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The unusual amount of whale strandings in NY/NJ Bight this winter has led many people to blame the construction of offshore wind farms for that problem. There’s been no confirmation of that so far, but Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) has introduced H.R. 1056 which calls for an investigation of the environmental approval process for offshore wind projects.
Absecon Bay Sportsman Center reports good white perch(see photo below) fishing, and just saw the first adult bunkers of the season show up in Absecon Creek. Stripers may not be far behind, but you can’t target then in N.J. internal waters until March 1.
The Ocean Explorer from Belmar had a problem with big swells Monday, though a few keeper tog were caught.
A small craft warning is up from this evening to Wednesday morning. The forecast is for northwest winds at 10-15 knots plus gusts to 20 before going south at 5 knots in the afternoon with possible rain or sleet.
The final four sea bass and scup regulations for New Jersey in 2023.
All of these options resulted in the 10% cut (or more) mandated by NOAA. These are the proposals that were submitted by our state to the ASMFC. It is highly unlikely that any other options will be considered. This is the beginning of an eco-system management approach which is why the sea bass and scup regulations are tied together. Our fisheries managers are now taking into account that these two species are often caught at the same time and locations whether the season for one or the other is open or closed.
The ASMFC Summer Flounder, Scup and Black Sea Bass Board will be meeting at 10:30 AM
on 3/2 to consider final approval of these proposals as well as those submitted by the other states/regions. On that same day the NJBMFC will meet at 5 PM to decide which option will become law. Prior to that decision, the public may give their opinions on the various options by attending in person at the Atlantic County Library, Galloway Branch located at 306 E Jimmie Leeds Rd., Galloway or by signing up for the webinar at https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/976664722292017751. In the event you have trouble with the link just google NJ Marine Fisheries Council Meetings
.All Sea Bass options include a 12 ½” size limit for all seasons. All options for scup include a 10” size limit and a 30 fish bag limit.Option 1 Sea Bass 12 ½” for all seasons 5/17- 6/19 (10 fish), 7/1-8/31 (1 fish), 10/1-10/31 (10 fish) 11/1-12/31 (15 fish) Scup 10” for the entire season 8/1-12/31 (30 fish) This option would allow us to stay open for all of July and August but we would be able to keep only 1 sea bass per day. Option 2 Sea Bass 12 ½” for all seasons 5/17- 6/19 (10 fish), 7/1-8/31 (1 fish), 10/1-10/31 (10 fish) 11/1-12/31 (15 fish) Scup 10” for the entire season 1/1 -10/15 (30 fish) This option would allow us to stay open for all of July and August but we would be able to keep only 1 sea bass per day. The difference in this option would be that the Scup season would begin on 1/1 and end on 10/15 instead of 8/1-12/31Option 3 Sea Bass 12 ½” for all seasons 5/17- 6/19 (10 fish), 7/1-8/7 (2 fish), 10/1-10/31 (10 fish) 11/1-12/31 (15 fish) Scup 10” for the entire season 8/1-12/31 (30 fish) This option would allow us to keep 2 sea bass from 7/1 -8/7 (a 38 day summer season with 2 fish as opposed to a 62 day summer season with just 1 fish) One advantage of this option over option 4 is that it would allow us to be open for July 4th.Option 4 Sea Bass 12 ½” for all seasons 5/17- 6/19 (10 fish), 7/20 – 8/31 (2 fish), 10/1-10/31 (10 fish) 11/1-12/31 (15 fish) Scup 10” for the entire season 8/1-12/31 (30 fish) This option would allow us to keep 2 sea bass from 7/20 -8/31 (a 43 day summer season with 2 fish as opposed to a 62 day summer season with just 1 fish) the advantage of this option is that the summer season would be open 5 more days than in Option 3. It would also be open at a time when large sea bass are caught by those targeting fluke on the wrecks and rough spots as they migrate offshore.
Tuesday’s forecast is for east winds at 10-15 knots before gusting to 20 in the afternoon. Rain is likely in the morning.
The Ocean Explorer from Belmar had a good start to blackfishing Sunday before it got lumpy in the afternoon. A few tog, ling and cod were caught, and the seasonal pool is up to $6,080.
Tight Lines 