Tight Lines

Though there’s still a gale waring in place until 6 p.m. Friday, the forecast after that is as good as it gets in mid-November. Saturday morning starts out with a marginable for boaters west at 15-20 knots with gusts to 25 — but diminishing by afternoon to 10-15 knots. It might be better not to be an early bird tomorrow. Sunday starts with a mere 5-10 knots before becoming southeast in the afternoon. It’s back to west on Monday, but at only 10-15 knots.

I doubt if anyone sailed into today’s gale, but it’s likely that the whole fleet will be out there tomorrow and Sunday.  There was a hot bite of stripers on jigs in several areas before the storm, and everyone will be looking for that new body of bass again.

.Surfcasters were faced with a huge swell this morning. Vinny D’Anton checked a surfing cam that put the swell at 12 feet. The northwest wind has been knocking that down, but it may take another day for the surf to clear. Casting sure won’t be a problem with the west wind at your back. There was a showing of school bass in the surf from IBSP to Point Pleasant just before the storm. As nasty as Thursday was, Jerry Lasko stayed on the beaches with his buggy from dawn to dusk and managed three bass on diamond jigs — though Maren Toleno had 17 releases that included one close to 28 inches.

Grumpy’s Tackle in Seaside Park reported that those who got out early in the NE storm caught short bass on metal and teasers. Betty & Nick’s in that town noted that the best bet just before the storms was yellow — in SP Minnows, Otter Tails, and bucktails.

Jim Hutchinson Sr. reports skippers of the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association had good action trolling stripers up to 48 pounds north of the inlet before the storm. Capt. Ray Lopez of Miss Liane had six to 35 pounds on one trip that included a first striper for Zach Reitmann (13), who’s also a member of the association’s Junior Mate Program.

Those dreaming of the tropics at this time of year may be interested in the third day results of the Los Cabos Big Game Charter Boat Tournament out of Cabo San Lucas and San Jose Del Cabo in Baja California, Mexico. A noteworthy 203-pound yellowfin tuna was boated by Mike Rasi from California on the Renegade, which also had the day’s largest wahoo at 36.6 pounds. That contest concludes today.

Reader J.R. Aloise sent a note on Word Press that he had a good weekend with stripers of 32 and 34 inches plus a huge blue — but with no details. I can’t seem to get replies out to such messages, and once again urge all to message me at my e-mail — cristori@aol.com., My daughter Cyndi (who also set up this blog) set that e-mail up many years ago with just the “c” for captain. I’ve had it so long that it would be too much trouble to change it. Be sure to include the details with reports such as when, where, and how.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Reader Monday’s prediction ir west at 19-15 knots.

It’s been a pretty poor surfcasting season along the Jersey Shore so far, but there were some good signs on Wednesday as small stripers started getting active in several places.

The wind came up quickly this morning, and though I saw a few hardy souls casting along the beaches there didn’t seem to be any action in a very rough surf during a raw morning — and it got a lot worse in the afternoon.

I assume all boaters stayed home today. The Big Mohawk from Belmar had planned to try it, but didn’t go. With gale warnings up through Friday afternoon for east winds gusting to 45 knots tonight and west winds gusting to 40 tomorrow, they’ll be waiting until Saturday morning — nd I suspect that so will everyone else.  Thankfully, the forecast for Saturday is just 10-15 west, and down to north at 5-10 on Sunday.

Joe Melillo, at Castaways Tackle in Point Pleasant, had several reports from Bay Head to Point Pleasant, with one angler catching eight schoolies. The Run-Off silver sand eel metal in 1 1/2 or 2 ounces was the hot lure along with teasers. Bob Correll’s dog Bailey checks out the schoolie he hooked at Bay Head late yesterday afternoon before release.

The big showing of fall migratory stripers finally got to the Jersey Shore after Tuesday’s east blow — but we can’t seem to get a nice follow-up day. There’s rain, snow and sleet in the forecast along with northeast winds of 15-20 knots that will increase to 45 by later. Friday remains tough with north winds of 20-25 and gusts to 45.  Saturday looks good with west winds of 10-15 knots. .

The Golden Eagle from Belmar reported spectacular striper fishing on jigs with keepers for all. They are not fishing tomorrow due to the forecast. The Big Mohawk from Belmar reported good striper action and will try to get back out to it in the morning before the worst of the weather. Bob Matthews, at Fisherman’s Den in Belmar Marina, said the boats had a hard time finding the bunkers they’ve been snagging for bait, but didn’t need them today as big Crocs and jigs did the job. Capt. Chris Di Stefano said the fleet was about 2 1/2 miles off Spring Lake.

Capt. Ron Santee also got into plenty of bass further north while “fishing in the snot” with his Fishermen from Atlantic Highlands. Those bass were on sand eels, and heavy jigs or those with tails worked best. Only three bonus bass were caught as all others were 30 inches or more. Vic Bubbin took the pool with a 44-inch 32-pounder.

There was even a bit of surf action at Bay Head, where a few small bass were picked despite no sign of bait. Bob Correll hooked a 20-incher at dusk.

I fished Point Pleasant Canal with dead sticky sandworms and had ;ots of bites on the afternoon slack while releasing six up to a 15-incher.

Capt. Vinny Vetere sent a weekend report from his Katfish out of Great Kills which  noted Saturday was calmwhere he was fishing though the bite was slow — but the bass turned on Sunday in rougher conditions.

The Jamaica from Brielle will be running a jumbo sea bass trip to far offshore wrecks on Saturday at 11 p.m. — and om Friday Nov. 21 at 2 a.m. They also got a good tuna report from Monday and will sail a 28-hour trip to the canyons at 10 p.m. Sunday. Space is available on those trips by calling 732 528-5014. A Thanksgiving striper trip will be run from 6:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

 

Today was a good one for sleeping in. Rain and gusty east winds probably kept almost everyone in. There was a nice period in the afternoon when the wind switched to the west and Mark Roy watched Raritan Bay go flat. So he took his Release Me from Raritan Marina out for a ride to the mouth of the bay where it was still rough and there was no bird life.

Capt. Ron Santee reported better shots of small stripers during Monday’s trip of the Fishermen from that port as sand eels have arrived. A plain diamond jig worked best, and there were a couple of keepers several slot fish mixed in. Live eels were tried for bigger bass, but they didn’t produce.  Capt. Rob Semkewyc of the Sea Hunter at that port noted that the boat traffic on Veterans Day was horrible. We’re still waiting for the great surface action in the mouth of the bay that we enjoyed last year.

I took advantage of the switchover from rain and east winds to the start of the cold NW to fish the afternoon slack in Point Pleasant Camal. I only had dead sandworms to offer the blackfish, but quickly caught three up to a 13 1/2-incher. I was encouraged that bites continued into the outgoing tide bringing very cold waters from Barnagat Bay.

There was plenty of company on the ocean yesterday when I fished with Chuck Many on his Ty Man from Gateway Marina in Highlands along with Rob Bowdan and Dave Glassberg. We rarely saw a bunker flip. but had to snag them on readings. One inshore area produced a decent pick of large stripers by using the snag & drop technique. I stuck to swimming a live bunker with a circle hook, but only spiny dogfish were hitting that way while the others were catching with the snag & drop.

Many moved off to deeper waters when the bunkers moved out.of that area/ We saw some isolated breaks in 60 feet just inshore of the three-mile line, and ended up doing well with live bunkers out there while I threw a big Tactical Angers Bomb popper from the bow and hooked up twice with stripers that got off before releasing a 15-pounder. I also raised two others though it seemed unlikely casting blind in 60 feet. We ended up with 19 releases of large stripers (averaging like the one I’m holding below) up to a 32-pounder after jigging six small bass on the way out.

Capt. Chris Di Stefano was part of the party yesterday on Frank Criscola’s Crisdel from Brielle Yacht Club as they trolled about 15 bass from Sandy Hook to Mantoloking that were all under 43 inches.  All the action was on bunker spoons as the heavy mo-jos didn’t work that time. They also spotted the breaks offshore, and tried casting without success. Chris knew that a Coast Guard vessel was out checking boats near the three mile line.

The Queen Mary from Point Pleasant postponed their Striper Marathon trip to Wednesday at 6:30 a.m.

Though surfcasting was generally tough before today, the switch to NW winds should knock down the swells and make it practical to try for the long overdue surf bass. Boaters may be able to work with that wind as long as they stay fairly close to shore.

Joe Melilllo. at Castaways Tackle in Point Pleasant, weighed in a 48-pound striper that Gavin Petillo of that town caught in the ovean on a live bunker a few days ago.

Many veterans were able to enjoy their day today by catching fish under pleasant weather conditions. However, all that will change on Tuesday with rain and SE winds of 20–25 knots with gusts to 30 in the forecast. Many party boats have already cancelled. Don’t come down before checking with your skipper.

This vet celebrated by joining Chuck Many on his Ty Man from Gateway Marina in Highlands. He  stopped under picking birds as Bob Bowden and Dave Glassberg from Little Silver and I jigged six small bass before going on the hunt for bigger stripers in the ocean. Finding bunkers to snag for live bait was tough, but we ended up with 19 keepers released. The largest was a 32-pounder. I’ll have details in tomorrows blog.

The Golden Eagle and Big Mohawk from Belmar had good striper reports. The Sea Hunter from Atlantic Highlands found some small bass under birds, and added a couple of keepers. Perhaps this east wind will pish some of those bass that have been off eastern Long Island our way.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

off eastern Long Island our way.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

from Arlantic Highlands

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

yVeterans

We finally got a break in the weather today, and many boats went to sea this morning. Surprisingly, there were few reports.

The Golden Eagle from Belmar reported seeing many stripers swimming around bunker schools though only a few large bass were caught/. Hopefully those bass will turn on during the SW 5-10 knot weather forecast predicted for Monday before the switch to SE up to 25 knots after midnight.

Capt. Rob Semkewyc thought the hot action we had last year at this time was about to break open this morning when working birds were spotted. However, the Sea Hunter from Atlantic Highlands only got into some shorts with a few keepers mixed in before everything went quiet.

Nick Honachefsky held his 21st annual Fishing Fiesta on the beach at Lavallette from 4 a.m. to 6 p.m. and had the nest surf report I got as 24 anglers caught six stripers up to a 29-incher. Four were on white shads and two on bunker. Two other fish were lost, and there were seven other bumps on the shads.

Vinny D’Anton had all negative reports from the many surfcasters who keep in touch with him

I couldn’t give away a sandworm in Point Pleasant Canal early this morning, and assumed the blackfish mist have been turned off by cold water from Barnegat Bay after that very cold night. I returned later in the morning toward the end of the flood when the water temperature had to be up with the 58 degree waters from the ocean. Sure enough, there were some bites and I released four up to 14 inches. Still not good, but a huge difference from the morning.

Today’s west gale put a big crimp in fishing. but it’s supposed to blow itself down to a moderate wind by tomorrow. The forecast for Sunday morning is NW 10-15, but with gusts to 25 knots. That’s similar to last Sunday, though the direction is better than the north direction last Sunday when a huge fleet encountered a choppy dry northeaster at dawn. With a NW wind it should still be fishable within a mile of the beach — and should calm down during the day.

The Jamaica from Brielle is running their offshore wreck trip for jumbo sea bass, but will be leaving later at 1 a.m. There’s room on that trip at $180. Call 732 528-5014.

Capt. Dave De Gennaro is also going with his Hi Flier from Barnegat, but he’ll be hugging the protecting shoreline in the search for stripers. This is the last November open trip hat boat. Reservations for the 6 a.m. trip can be made by calling 732 330-5674.

The Golden Eagle from Belmar may have been the only boat that sailed today, and they managed to snag some bunkers and catch two bass despite winds to over 40 knots and a two knot drift that took them right away from the readings. The Big Mohawk from Belmar is sailing at 5:30 in the morning, but warns patrons they must have a spinning rod, Crocs, and a  weighted treble hook  to get on the boat.

There were no reports from the surf, though quite a few anglers were trying. I went right to Point Pleasant Canal this morning and released six small tog on sandworms before the wind got too bad. When I returned for the noon slack it was all I could due to keep from being blown down as the tide switched to outgoing and was glad to settle for a 12-inch tog before retreating. Another angler told me that he’d tried to fish for flounder at Belmar, but that there were waves in that protected area.

Grumpy’s Tackle in Seaside Park weighed in a Friday catch of a 34-inch, 15.75-pound bass caught in the surf on a bunker chunk by Chris Flood.

Today was as close to a total blowout as possible, with no reports at all. It’s blowing SE at 35 knots now — but at ;east the rain held off until late. I had hoped to get a shot in the surf early before the wind got too bad, but only made a few casts into the Manasquan surf which was already very rough and with no bird life to indicate the presence of bait.  I did try Point Pleasant Canal on the slack later in the morning to pick at small blackfish and sea bass on sandworms before breaking the ice for the day when a 32 1/2-inch striper hit the worm.

The forecast for Saturday is sunny, but with 25-30 knot west winds gusting to 35. The Sea Hunter from Atlantic Highlands has cancelled for Saturday, and I suspect many other party and charter boats will do the same. Be sure to check with skippers before coming down.

The Fishermen from Atlantic Highlands reported only a pick of short bass and a couple of slots on Thursday. Capt. Vinny Vetere said he caught 15 large bass from his Katfish out of Great Kills that day — mostly trolling his Ho-Jos plus some chunking bunker.

Mark Roy and his crew on Release Me from Raritan Marina in Hazlet trolled mo-jos between the channels on Wednesday for stripers of 21,30 and 32 pounds. He spent hours pounding the same area Thursday without a hit.

Saturday’s gale warning extends to that night, but Sunday looks better with NW for surfcasters with 20-25 knots though still gusting to 30. That should knock the surf down, but it may take longer to clear up.

NMFS is reopening the commercial General Category for large medium and giant bluefin tuna from Nov. 12-16 with a daily limit of one.