With striped bass fishing winding down, and blackfish limits low, large party boats are turning to the to the big catches of large sea bass and porgies available on far offshore wrecks. Limit catches are routine, and several other species often provide variety.
At Brielle, the Jamaica has room on the 10 p.m. Wednesday trip — and has added another for the following Wednesday. The Paramount sails to those deep water wrecks at 9 p.m. Tuesday. Call 732 528-5014 for the required reservations.
The Golden Eagle from Belmar has spots available on Tuesday’s sea bass trip at 7 p.m.
A small craft advisory is up through Tuesday morning. The morning forecast is for northwest winds at 15-20 knots plus gusts to 25 knots before dropping to 10-15 knots in the afternoon. Wednesday sounds ideal with 5-10-knot north winds.
Jerry Lasko said there was some small striper action in the Ocean County surf this morning as he released four and Maren Toleno added two.
Though the hot surfcasting may be over, there’s still some smaller stripers in the NJ surf with enough sand eels to hold them until water temperatures plunge.
Mike Monte had loons picking on sand eels in front of him this morning in the Monmouth County surf. He released a couple of bass in the 24-25-inch class and lost another while casting the 6-inch Tsunami Sand Eel into perfect surf conditions.
Jerry Lasko said there was no life in the Ocean County surf this morning, but he and Maren Toleno released a few in the 24-inch class in the afternoon. Herring were spotted shining in the surf at dusk, though the bite shut off at dark.
The Golden Eagle from Belmar wrapped up its striper season, but has room on its Dec. 20 offshore sea bass trip.
Small craft warnings are up from 7:30 p.m. to Monday morning. The forecast is for west winds at 15-20 knots with gusts to 25 in the morning
Fishing conditions should be fine for Sunday as west winds knocked down big swells and the waters should clear on the change of tide.
Jerry Lasko only managed one 14-inch striper this afternoon in the Ocean County surf, but he said the water quality wasn’t good at that time.
With west winds of 15-20 knots in the forecast, the surf should be in good shape throughout Sunday. Herring were spotted today. and they could attract larger stripers.
At Belmar, the Big Mohawk will be sailing for blackfish at 6:30, and the Golden Eagle will give stripers one more try. However, you’ll have to fish off Cape Charles to catch a pre-spawning trophy tagged linesider such as Chuck Many is straining to hold before release,
With a switch to west winds tonight, seas should drop for boaters fishing close to the NJ Shore. Though the swell all week may have the tog off the feed, fishing for them under the protection of the hills should be comfortable.
Striped bass were still plentiful a few days ago off Ocean County where sand eels were providing the attraction. Feeding birds should tell the story there. The surf may take another day to clear up, though casting should be a pleasure with that wind behind you. The Tsunami Sand Eel should be a best bet.
The N.Y. striped bass season closed on Dec. 15. Raritan Bay anglers should be careful not to go over the line.
The forecast is for west winds at 20-25 knots plus gusts to 30. Seas that had been 9-13 feet will drop rapidly with those winds. All remaining party boats should be fishing tomorrow.
The Mimi VI from Point Pleasant has openings on tomorrow’s 6:30 tog trip, as well as one on Christmas Eve. Call 732 370-8019 for reservations.
Just as predicted, rough seas and an east wind put an end to NJ striper fishing today — and a gale watch is up through Friday afternoon.
The forecast is for east winds at 25-30 knots plus gusts to 40 knots before dropping a bit in the afternoon with rain. Jerry Lasko said the Ocean County surf was barely fishable this morning, though Maren Toleno managed to catch four small bass on a bucktail. The afternoon was unfishable. Lasko noted that the big waves have chewed up the beach, with beach buggys having to exit and go around some areas.
No party boats fished today, but the Golden Eagle from Belmar reported yesterday’s trip into heavy bird action produced boat limits of keepers and slots.
Capt. Clinton Lessard of SHO-NUF Charters at Cape Charles, Va. sent the following message about yesterday’s trolling for trophy stripers:
SHO-NUF Sportfishing / Charters
Intro
Come fish with us on the updated 35’ Bertram. It’s huge cockpit and salon gives you plenty of room.
With and eels finally settling in off Ocean County beaches, striped bass have a steady source of forage to keep them round well into December, though these are the small bass that usually signal the end of the season if water temperatures drop suddenly.
Jerry Lasko said there was a pick along Ocean County beaches this morning even though the bird action remained beyond casting distance where party boats were jigging. A return in the afternoon provided another pick as Maren Toleno released a dozen and Jerry added two. Surprisingly, anglers were often casting into working birds without getting hits.
Vinny D’Anton ended up in Brick late in the morning as he broke the ice with one bass and had another hit. He saw the party bots, but as of yet I haven’t received any reports from them.
Mike Monte stuck with the Monmouth County beaches and did nothing there in the morning though the sea was down enough to permit decent casting conditions.
A gale watch is up from tonight through Friday afternoon. Thursday starts with east winds at 15-20 knots plus gusts to 25. Rain is likely in the afternoon.
Capt. Clinton Lessard sent the following report of yesterday’s trophy bass tagging on his SHO-NUF from Cape Charles, Virginia:
What started off as a rough miserable NW wind ended up beautiful. Changed it up a bit and fished a different area with high hopes. Well it payed off as we went 3/3 today. They were all safely tagged and released with Gray FishTag Research. Biggest today was 56lbs. The other two were 47lb ,and 48lb. As I always say, we go out in hopes to catch that one, and anything else is a bonus. We have availability early January. Give us a call 757-710-0098.
A gale watch is up from this evening to Friday afternoon. The forecast for tomorrow is for east winds at 15-20 knots plus gusts to 25 and afternoon rain.
Capt. Clinton Lassiter sent the following report about big bass action yesterday on his Cape Charles, Va. charter boat:
What started off as a rough miserable NW wind ended up beautiful. Changed it up a bit and fished a different area with high hopes. Well it payed off as we went 3/3 today. They were all safely tagged and released with Gray FishTag Research. Biggest today was 56lbs. The other two were 47lb ,and 48lb. As I always say, we go out in hopes to catch that one, and anything else is a bonus. We have availability early January. Give us a call 757-710-00
Mike Monte reported no life in the still rough Monmouth County surf as he cast both Tsunami Sand Eels and tin squids, but he did get word about an Ocean County angler catching a legal striper that had a stomach full of sand eels.
Monte did see gannets diving well out of range from Belmar to Long Branch — a likely indication of herring which could attract another run of big bass. Herring often move into the surf at dusk where their flashes can be spotted
Fisher Price IV from Highlands wound up charter fishing for stripers with an early pick of schoolies to fill a limit plus a few releases for the open boat trip before the bass got lockjaw and wouldn’t hit anymore even as they continued marking. They will switch to blackfishing before concluding the season on Jan. 1.
The Golden Eagle from Belmar is set to sail for stripers at 7:30 in what may be their last trip for that species.
A small craft warning is up through Wednesday afternoon. The forecast is for northwest winds at 15-20 knots plus gusts to 25 before it’s back to east at the same speeds on Thursday.
Blackfish like this one hooked by Lou Castellano will be the featured inshore species this month.
The recent rough ocean has impacted both party boat fishing and surfcasting, but a shift to northwest winds tomorrow may briefly improve conditions.
Small craft warnings are up through tonight, but by morning it should be a calming 10-15 knot northwest with gusts to 25. That will be perfect for surfcasting, and boaters will be able to seek stripers and blackfish close to shore. Favorable conditions won’t last long as there’s a switch back to the east the next day.
The Golden Eagle from Belmar will seek stripers at 7:30, and the Queen Mary from Point Pleasant will make its last trip of the season tomorrow.
Jerry Lasko reports surf conditions at Ocean County beaches have been so poor that no one has been fishing. The wind switch may help, especially if sand eels and herring begin to provide forage.
Big bass have been heading south, but Chris Lido got into this release last week.
Big pre-spawning stripers are building up in Chesapeake Bay, and the Cape Charles charter boat SHO-NUF placed another sat tag in one which they reported as follows:
“Another amazing day here at SHO-NUF. Another satellite tag deployed from Gray FishTag Research with David Nova and Chuck Tyman. We went 6 for 8 on the big girls. We left the fishing grounds at 1 to go look in a different spot closer to home. We had another bite but she didn’t want to cooperate. What a beautiful day on the Chesapeake Bay. The only day we have left in December is this Friday the 16th and we have some dates early January. Give us a ring 757-710-0098.”
A small craft advisory is up through Monday afternoon in NY/NJ Bight. North winds at 15-20 knots are forecast for Monday with gusts to 20 plus morning rain.
Fisher-Price IV has Tuesday open for individual anglers, Call 732 861-3394.
Big pre-spawning striped bass are arriving off Cape Charles, Virginia — and will be providing anglers with a prime opportunity to catch a 50-pound bass of a lifetime. The SHO-NUF from that port had Chuck Many aboard today to place a Gray sat tag, and they did so on a 46-inch, 50-pounder. See photo below.
A 46-incher caught in northern waters wouldn’t be even close to a 50-pounder, but that can happen down there with bass stuffed with roe that adds many pounds. The charter boat also boated bass of 34 and 54 pounds.
If you can make a last minute move, the Jamaica from Brielle has three spots open on tonight’s sailing at 10 to fish tomorrow on far offshore wrecks for giant sea bass. Call 732 528-5014 for a reservation.
Easterly winds have made for tough fishing along the Jersey Shore, and a small craft warning continues through tonight. East winds continue at 15-20 knots with five-to-seven-foot seas. There’s a chance of rain in both the morning and afternoon.
Tight Lines 