Tight Lines

Capt. Mark DeBlasio reports his second offshore trip was another great success.

The Whitesell party boated 18 yellowfin tuna, a bluefin tuna, a mako and the first three dolphin reported to the north during the June 2-3 trip. The area fished wasn’t specified, but I suspect it’s far to the east,

The weather was perfect for that trip, and it continues as the forecast is for northeast winds at 5-10 knots before going south in the afternoon.

No official results have been issued for Friday’s Manhattan Cup, but Capt. Brian Rice of Jersey Devil Sportfishing noted on Facebook that his winning streak with Jim Hutchinson’s party continued as they had the winning wounded warrior and also the largest striper om bait.

The Golden Eagle from Belmar reported another super day of sea bass fishing as most fares limited.

Vinny D’Anton has heard of some surf stripers on sand fleas though he hasn’t been able to get a hit on then so far at Spring Lake. Yet, Vinny continues to pick a few bass on the same lures he uses for sea trout in Sarasota.

Striped bass fishing has been so good for so long this spring that it’s hard to believe that ever bigger linesiders continue to be hooked. Indeed, the big problem for those wanting a striper for dinner is often finding one small enough to be legal.

Ironically, bunker schools have been scarce this year. However, if you can find those baits Capt. Joe Massa at Morgan Marina says you should have no problem catching keepers in the back of Raritan Bay.

The largest stripers seem to be falling to those trolling or using live baits off the Jersey Shore out to the three-mile limit. Since all of those fish have to go back, be sure to get the fork length and girth so you can release them without harm and use the formula (length x girth squared divided by 800) to get a personal record weight.

Sea bass continue to please most anglers, and fluke fishing remains best in warmer internal waters. The Golden Eagle from Belmar reported good sea bass action when drifting conditions improved after a slow start. Some ling and a big monkfish (angler) were added.

The forecast is for calm waters with a northwest breeze at 5-10 knots before shifting to south in the afternoon.

I didn’t get a press release this year, and the Manhattan Cup is suddenly upon us. That very worthy event raises funds for disabled vets while also giving them a chance to enjoy a day of sportfishing for stripers and blues with captains who volunteer their boats for the contest. The weather looks good, and anyone wishing to participate can check for a spot on one of the boats sailing out of Liberty Landing in Jersey City can e-mail manhattencup.com. Some years they end up after the big breakfast with skippers short of anglers.

The forecast is for northeast winds at just 5-10 knots before switching to southwest in the afternoon. Patchy fog and showers are possible in the morning.

Capt. Vinny Vetere will be fishing the contest,but is open over the weekend with Katfish from Great Kills for charter or even individual reservations.

Capt. Ron Santee reported a return to comfortable drifting conditions for sea bass on his Fishermen from Atlantic Highlands. He said everyone went home with plenty of meat, and a fluke took the pool. That boat is chartered Saturday.

The Golden Eagle from Belmar had a similar report with most fares limiting on sea bass while adding some ling.

Betty and Nick’s Tackle in Seaside Park reported a repeat of afternoon surfcasting for big blues on bunker and topwater lures.

New Jersey has a free freshwater fishing day on Saturday. Anglers don’need a license or tout stamp, but all other regulations remain the same.

The IGFA continues its preview of their annual online auction which goes live at 8 a.m. Sunday.

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Jim Gates is a regular at Point Pleasant Canal and in the Bay Head surf, but had to troll for this big striper.

Justin Strehl fished a jig and crab on light tackle off the Jersey Shore last fall to boat a 22 1/2-pound tautog which has been accepted as a 20-pound line class world record by the IGFA

Justin was fishing on Capt. Frank Tenore’s Fins on Feathers when the huge tog hit. That catch broke a record which had stood for over 60 years.

The forecast for today looked good, but it turned out to be cool, windy and rough. That worked at well for surfcasters fishing the beach at Seaside Park when Betty and Nick’s reported a blitz of big bluefish on topwaters going on at 12:58.

Boaters took a beating getting out to the sea bass grounds, but still did well at anchor. The Fishermen from Atlantic Highlands added ling to the large sea bass topped by a 2 1/2-pounder for Scott Scuderi.

The Golden Eagle from Belmar released blackfish up to 10 pounds. Fluke and ling also hit.

I haven’t been hearing anything about sportfishing for sharks at this prime time since makos have been protected. Yet a mako got stranded this morning at Point Pleasant on Long Island. That’s very unusual for a strictly oceanic shark species which looked to be unmarked, but must have been sickly.

Greg Prestosh had all the action with stripers from 26 to 43 pounds that he could handle during a solo trip.

Capt. Mark DeBlasio posted news on Facebook of a big breakthrough offshore today. I attempted to copy it for the blog, but ended up losing everything. Blue Runner had a bluefin that made giant size which was kept as their yearly trophy tuna. They also released bluefins up to 100 pounds and even broke through with the first yellowfin.

The ideal offshore weather continues tomorrow with southwest winds at 10 knots — and there’s nothing stronger predicted into the weekend!

Nick Honachefsky reported catching some school stripers and blues in the Brick surf recently while casting a black Bomber. He was also getting some light nips and slowed up his retrieve to hook weakfish of 33 and 34 inches. Another big weakfish was lost. Those were the first large surf weakfish he has heard of north of Cape May in many years. I certainly haven’t received any such reports either.

Nick from Monmouth tried casting a soft plastic from a local beach on Saturday and was pleased to catch school stripers even though the action didn’t last long.

The Golden Eagle from Belmar reported almost a boat limit of sea bass today while releasing over 500 shorts. They also caught some blackfish, ling, fluke and large cunners.

Maeve Donnelly was aboard Shanakee out of Manasquan Inlet when Dr. Pat Donnelly put his holiday crew into a quick limit of sea bass.

Though the season has been open long enough for NJ sea bass to be somewhat overfished, sea bass reports continue to be glowing. Capt. Mark DeBlasio said his Water Proof enjoyed such a savage bite today that they had a boat limit by 7:15.

The Golden Eagle from Belmar had lots of limits as clams proved to be most effective.

The Fishermen from Atlantic Highlands had fine drifting conditions during a beautiful day which produced sea bass up to a 4-pound pool winner.

The fine weather continues with southwest winds at 5 knots before increasing to south at 10-15 plus gusts to 20 in the afternoon.

Those anglers seeking personal record striped bass have a very good chance of doing so in NY/NJ Bight any day before the Hudson River stock finishes spawning and the same fish become a lot lighter.

The reason we are seeing so many big stripers now is because all of them must be released. That means there is no possibility of a record. Even a potential record kept alive in a fish well won’t be accepted by the IGFA as only those legal to be kept can be entered.

Chuck Many uses a 60-pound scale that he gets tested by the IGFA to weigh his released stripers, on Tyman (see 53-pounder below) that’s only for his own records as the IGFA requires fish to be weighed on land if submitted for record status.

For your own purposes, the formula is accepted by most anglers as a valid estimate. Use a tape to take the length to the fork of the tail (not tail tip)) and the girth at the widest spot. You can’t determine much about a striper’s weight without the girth. Then multiply the girth squared by the length and divide by 800.

Sea bass reports remain positive. The Fishermen from Atlantic Highlands had steady action today along with a 5-pound tautog that had to go back plus a 23-inch pool-winning cod.

The Golden Eagle from Belmar had a beautiful day offshore with close to a boat limit of sea bass. They also had both spotted hake and red hake (king).

Tomorrow looks great, with southwest winds at 5 knots before going south in the afternoon.

Hot fishing and decent weather should make for a pleasant and productive Memorial Day weekend.

It wasn’t many years ago that we used to look forward to an ocean blitz of big stripers moving up from Chesapeake Bay, but there’s already been such great striper action that it’s hard to imagine it getting much better.

The forecast for Sunday is for an ideal north at 5-10 knots before shifting to south in the afternoon.

As noted yesterday, trolling off the beaches has been excellent for those seeking big bass that have to be released. Raritan Bay is a better bet for keepers. Bob Correll flew up from Florida to fish on the bay with Capt. Joe Massa on My Three Sons from Morgan Marina. Bunkers were tough to cast net, but the bite was on shortly after — and didn’t stop as Bob and Karl Drewing had steady action with the mediums while also releasing a 30-pounder.

Stripers seem to be active in the surf. Vinny D’Anton couldn’t get any hits in Spring Lake yesterday on sand fleas, but once again picked a bass on a Mirro-O-lure. Grumpy’s Tackle in Seaside Park reports stripers hitting clams during the day, but lure action in the surf has been at night. Small blues are starting to hit bait in daylight.

The sea bass bite also seems to be holding up for boaters. The Jamaica from Brielle and Golden Eagle from Belmar reported doing well today with many limits. The Fishermen from Atlantic Highlands noted that it was a bit bumpy heading out before settling down to an all-day bite.

Capt. Chris De Stefano said Neversink River fluking has been the best in memory even though it’s hard to come up with the smaller slot fluke now allowed. He noted that giant tuna showing up inshore with one caught at Shrewsbury Rocks and another on Cholera Bank.

The IGFA has a preview of their annual online auction. The auction starts Sunday June 5 at 8 p.m.

You can’t keep them, but there’s no better time than now to catch and release a striped bass personal record in NY/NJ Bight. Dave Lilly advises that if you want a “keeper” try trolling bunker spoons or mo-jos in the back of Raritan Bay. On the other hand, trolling in the ocean will provide you with the opportunity to release the striper of a lifetime.

Lilly ran down the beach yesterday and had a hard time getting two bunker spoons out before the first one was hooked up. There wasn’t a single keeper among the 30-40-pounders! Dave kept trying different color Tony Maja spoons and couldn’t find any that didn’t work.

The master himself had a similar report this morning as Tony Arcabascio trolled out of Barnegat Inlet to release big bass from his boat on the number 4 Maja spoons.

Sea bass continue to please private and party boat anglers in the ocean. Doug Rusch used a slo-pitch jig to fool this fat bass.

Capt. Ron Santee said Wednesday’s sea bass fishing on the Fishermen from Atlantic Highlands wasn’t up to the [previous day’s standard, but there was a lot of excitement when one of his regulars fought a 50-inch striper in 100-foot depths to a successful release.

The Golden Eagle from Belmar reported another good sea bass trip today with some limits and lots of shorts. They add 4:30 p.m. fishing and sunset cruises on Saturday.

A small craft warning is up to Saturday afternoon though the forecast is only for southwest winds at 10-15 knots plus gusts to 25.

New Jersey is opening its state parks for entrance at no cost on Saturday. There are some exceptions, including beach buggies.

Commercial bluefin tuna fishermen in the General category will be able to land three large medium or giant bluefin tuna ((over 73 inches) from June 1 to August 31 — up from the present one per day. This also applies to the Charter/Head boat category for boats with a commercial sale certificate while fishing commercially.

The weekend outlook remains good for Raritan Bay stripers plus sea bass in the ocean. A small craft warning is up for Friday with south winds at 10-15 knots plus gusts to 20 along with possible showers and thunderstorms.

The photo below relates to striped bass fishing on Chuck Many’s Tyman from Highlands when the Wakefields were aboard this week.