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White Marlin Invitational coming up

The 49th annual Beach Haven White Marlin Invitational is coming up from July 24 to 26.

With Little Egg Inlet now back to a navigable inlet, there should be a lot more boats sailing out of Beach Haven, but the Manasquan River weigh-in alternative at Hoffman’s Marina will also be available. To sign up and get details visit http://www.TheWMIT.com.

While many other areas across the country have been complaining about extreme weather, we’ve had an exceptionally pleasant summer so far. That may be modified Sunday morning by some showers and possible thunder storms, but there appears to be a lot more good weather after that.

Today’s weather was almost too nice for the Big Mohawk from Belmar. They complained about a lack of drift, but still managed a decent catch up to a 7-pound fluke. They’ll be sailing at 6 a.m. through Monday.

Surprisingly, there were no fluke reports from Raritan Bay by 6 p.m. The Elaine B. II from Bahrs in Highlands did report a good fluke catch on Friday. There were  a couple of limits — including the one below by Iris Rivera of Saddle Brook.

 

Iris Rivera

The Golden Eagle from Belmar had another good day with sea bass as two-fish limits were no problem along with some fluke, ling and mackerel. They gave the latter a good try, but they were fussy and only a few were caught. The Jamaica from Brielle had lots of variety action on Friday that included sea bass, plenty of mackerel, and some fluke and blues. They sail daily at 6:30 a.m.

Capt. Vinny Vetere continues to limit out with large stripers on his  Katfish from Great Kills even when he has to work through dogfish and skates to get them.

Shark River school stripers weren’t quite as active this morning, but I picked four on a small paddletail jig that included a 25-incher which was the largest I’ve released there so far. Tommy Cox was casting a popper in another part of the river when a school of 4-pound blues came by to provide surface action along with a striper among then. Vinny D’Anton got into small bass with the Storm Searchbait and released six.

Jim Louro of Spring Lake took Matt, a friend from Long Island to his local beach for sand flea fishing. After Jim caught a schoolie on a shad lure, Matt made his first striper trip a success by catching a 26 1/2-incher on the crabs — but kept fishing and ended up with a 29-inch keeper. Vinny and I also gave it a short try as he missed one hit and I landed a 21-inch bass.

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Fluking a little better

Though there were no hot reports, fluke fishing seemed to be a bit better on another beautiful day — and despite the big ocean swell.

At Atlantic Highlands, the Sea Hunter reported improved fluking with one limit taken and others with two. The Fishermen had decent fishing until the current got too strong. Kurt Wieditz boated a 6.11-pound fluke to run away with the pool. but there was also a 4 1/2-pounder and a couple in the 3 pound class. Capt. Ron Santee said grandpa John Sabonis brought his 15-year-old granddaughter Slyler Mosselle who caught three fluke on her first fluke trip. Some sea bass were also caught. The Fishermen is chartered from Friday through Sunday.

At Belmar, the Ocean Explorer had good action with fluke and sea bass. There were three or four fluke in the 4-pound class. The Golden Eagle had no problem filling two-fish limits of sea bass along with some ling and keeper fluke.

The Queen Mary from Point Pleasant caught sea bass plus some porgies and triggerfish on Wednesday — and fought a sand tiger shark.

Tank Matraxia of Lyndhurst was invited to join a NMFS crew seeking live sea bass for studies aboard Tagged Fish from Highlands on Tuesday and Thursday. They fished in 40 feet the first day to ensure the sea bass would survive, but only ended up with small fish — though Marty Gras of Lyndhurst fought a sand tiger to the boat.  The Thursday trip to 70 feet produced bigger sea bass, including a 19-incher by Tank.

Shark River produced a pick of school stripers from 15 to 21 inches this morning as I cast a light paddletail jig to release seven plus a 20-inch bluefish that was my first there in almost a month. Vinny D’Anton had some short hits on his Chug Bug, and caught a small bass on a Zoom jig.  We then went to the surf to fight a much larger sea than yesterday’s — resulting from the far offshore hurricane. It didn’t look good for fishing, but I was shocked by a 21-inch striper that blasted my Chug Bug in the wash. That was it for us as sea weed was also a problem.

I was later surprised to hear from Allen Riley of South Plainfield, who took his wife, son Kevin of Raleigh, N.C. and two granddaughters to Sandy Hook and said it was calm there.  They managed to catch some short fluke on Gulp.

Reader John Westerdale saw lots of cownose rays in the Monmouth County surf this week, but they ignored bunker heads and lures. He’s been picking at 15-to-20-inch stripers on swim shads in Point Pleasant Canal — even during mid-day.  He fished last month on Cape Cod with Capt.  Ray Ransom on Bass River Charters at Dennis to catch lots of 15-pound stripers at Monomoy and jumbo sea bass off Chatham.

 

Capt. Pete Wagner of Hyper Striper at Highlands will be back to fluking this weekend after brief trip to Los Suenos in Costa Rica with his daughter Nicole and niece Amanda.  They fished aboard a friend’s L&H boat to get into lots of small dorado (dolphin), two small wahoo, a bigeye trevally, a cubera snapper on live bait — and Nicole’s first sailfish.

Wagner cuberaT

That cubera snapper is he same species as the one I’m pictured with at the head of this blog — which was released from Pesca Panama in March but weighed over 73 pounds by formula.

Nicole's first sail

Nicole’s first sailfish before release

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Fluke tournaments coming up

The major fluke tournaments are coming up, and anglers have a chance to make their “fortune” in the  July 21 Grandpa Savino Fluke Tournament out of Great Kills. Staten Island The heaviest fluke over 13 pounds is worth $25,000. The contest hours are from 4 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. The captains meeting is at 7 p.m. Friday, July 20 in Captain’s Marina, Great Kills. Call Walter Fisher at 917 375-7607.

The Sandy Hook Bay Anglers 37th annual Two-Day Fluke Tournament  will be run July 14 and 15 out of Atlantic Highlands Municipal Marina. There are $5,700 in cash prizes plus Calcuttas. The entry fee is $100 per boat. For details visit http://www.sandyhookbayanglers.com – or call 732 787-4008.

The big Point Pleasant Elks Fluke Tournament is coming up July 21. The entry fee is $145 per boat, and there’s also a kayak division for $50 per angler. For details visit point pleasantelks.org

Fluke fishing was generally tough today. At Atlantic Highlands, Capt. Rob Semkewyc of the Sea Hunter said he was surprised by seeing relatively few anglers on the docks this morning despite the fine weather. Fishing was slow, though some quality fluke were boated.

Capt. Ron Santee of the Fishermen was happy to see a young girl win the pool with her first keeper fluke. Miss Cosgrove fought the 5-pounder to the net unaided. There were more shorts today to produce action, but fishing pretty much shut down after the change of tide. The Fishermen is chartered Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Miss Belmar Princess went right to the sea bass today as two-fish limits were easy to come by. Then they went inshore for fluke and caught some shorts and keepers.

The Tackle Box in Hazlet weighed in a rare for this season doormat fluke as Dan Lisak of Westfield used bucktail and Gulp to catch an 11-pounder in Sandy Hook Channel.Dan Lisak 11-lb fluke

Both the surf and Shark River showed some promise this morning. Vinny D’Anton of Wall fished the river at first and caught eight small stripers before joining me in the surf where I had caught a small bass on a Chug Bug and raised two others. Vinny got a small bass  on the same lure, and later added a 23-incher further south.  I cast a Storm Searchbait jig briefly at Spring Lake to catch the fattest little windowpane  I’ve ever seen. It had so much meat on it that I couldn’t see through while holding it up to the bright sun. Another one was released along with a 15-inch fluke before I switched to a brief effort with sand fleas that produced a 22-inch striper and a large skate.

 

 

 

 

 

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Legal fluke biting in Shark River

Bob Matthews, at Fisherman’s Den in Belmar Marina thinks this year’s fluke fishing is better than last year’s so far. The party boats are doing well enough in the ocean with fluke up to 9 pounds, and his rental skiffs and private boats are finding plenty of keepers in Shark River.  Ben Green of Ocean Township limited up to 22 inches. Shane Mahler of Croyden, Pa. limited to 7 pounds, and Brenda Kreitz from Gilbertsville, Pa. also had a 7-pound fluke. Matthews notes that sea bass are biting offshore, and the two-fish limits are easy to come by. Small stripers are in the surf, and small blues have been coming into the inlets the last few days. Cownose rays are showing up. Though I haven’t seen any in the surf so far, Matthews said Marty Westerfield and Jesse Thomas fought a big one in Shark River from Jesse’s boat  for a long time before getting the release.

The Golden Eagle from Belmar couldn’t find any bluefish today, and went to sea bass fishing for a boat limit of two per man. Miss Belmar Princess went right to sea bass and had plenty of action with shorts and keepers. The Big Mohawk had picky fluking, though there were some limits plus sea bass. The pool fluke was about 7 pounds. They are chartered on Wednesday, but sailing at 6 a.m. other days this week.

At Atlantic Highlands, Capt. Rob Semkewyc said he had better fluking today on his Sea Hunter, but it still wasn’t good by his standards. Capt. Ron Santee had great wind and tide conditions to start with on his Fishermen, but a long ride to get a lengthy drift didn’t work out. After that it was a pick as the conditions were never good again.  Some fares got two or three keepers up to a 5-pounder, but there were relatively few shorts. Capt. Ron Sr. is almost always high hook, but couldn’t come up with a keeper while fishing next to a fare who limited.

A big offshore swell created a somewhat rough surf, and that was complicated at Belmar by lots of weed in the water after the NE wind. Vinny D’Anton managed a 22-inch striper on his Chug Bug, but that was all we could catch through the weed.  A move south to fish with sand fleas produced some action with small stripers that made my 23-incher look big.

Allen Riley of South Plainfield fished the Sandy Hook surf with Gulp in ideal conditions, but never had a hit in waters that had cooled.

 

 

 

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Hawaii entry won July 4 Blue Marlin World Cup

There were 148 boats over much of the world fishing for a giant blue marlin during the July 4 World Cup competition. Blues over 500 pounds proved elusive until a last minute bite and overtime battle produced a 780.5-pound blue marlin for Troublemaker at Kona, Hawaii. With a $5,000 entry fee plus a Calcutta, that fish should be worth over a half-million dollars. Bermuda. which had a local tournament going at the same time, had the largest fleet with 38 boats that released 26 blues not big enough to win.

There wasn’t anything that exciting going on locally this weekend, but Capt. Ron Santee said some large fluke were caught from his Fishermen out of Atlantic Highlands during the two hours of ebb tide available this morning. A 6.8-pound fluke beat out a 6-pounder for the pool. The action dropped off to only a keeper here or there after the tide change.

Capt. Rob Semkewyc of the Sea Hunter at that port reported weekend fluking wasn’t as  good as it had been.

Allan Zertuvo

Allan Zertuvo of Old Bridge with a recent fluke catch to 6 1/8 pounds on Elaine B. II from Bahrs in Highlands

The bluefish boats didn’t look for the elusive choppers today, but rather took advantage of the sea bass abundance on bottom. Virtually everyone on the Golden Eagle and Miss Belmar Princess from Belmar had their two-sea bass limit. The latter also mentioned some ling, and a couple of days ago had the odd fish of the week — a remora (shark sucker).

The Big Mohawk from Belmar reported a pick of fluke in many areas plus sea bass. Fluke catches ran up to a few limits, and the pool winner was about 7 1/2 pounds. They will be sailing at 6 a.m. Monday and Tuesday, but are chartered Wednesday.

As soon as I wrote in last nights blog about the complete lack of bluefish in Shark River, Vinny D’Anton caught a cocktail blue on a jig there this morning. There was no repeat of the hot school striper bite on Saturday, but Vinny plugged a 21-incher and I got a small bass on a Kettle Creek jig. Vinny then checked the surf and found a trough where he released four small bass on sand fleas. The last one was attacked by a pit bull being walked on the beach, but Vinny saved it without thinking about what he was tearing it away from. Fishing can be a dangerous business!

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Great gain for recreational fishing due to Reef Rescue

There was some very good news for recreational fishermen from NOAA Fisheries this week as the final rule to implement Special Management Zone status for artificial reefs in federal waters off New Jersey was approved. That rule, long ago requested by the N.J. D.E.P. and approved by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, restricts allowable gear for fishing on those reefs to handlines, rod and reel, and spears. Commercial fishermen must remove their pots by Aug. 8. That gear conflict was a problem for anglers attempting to drift the reefs which were created for recreational fishing, paid for primarily  by the public, and maintained in large part by funds coming from the excise tax on fishing tackle,

This was a huge victory for Capt. Pete Grimbilis and reef creator Bill Figley who formed Reef Rescue well over a decade ago to save the reefs for their original purpose. The inshore reefs have received some protection through a compromise plan, but the new rule will protect such popular reefs as Sea Girt and Shark River plus most of those off South Jersey. I’ll have more about this in future blogs.

Today’s northeast wind put a big crimp in fishing, and resulted in some party boat trips being cancelled. The Golden Eagle from Belmar sailed into a very nasty sea and didn’t even look for bluefish,. Instead they found plenty of bottom action with sea bass, ling and fluke. Two sea bass per person can be kept during the summer by-catch season.

The Fishermen from Atlantic Highlands had a slow start until the tide changed, but then had a decent pick of up to two keeper fluke and many shorts. The pool winner of 5 9/16 pounds was boated at the end of the day. Capt. Ron Santee said a big swell from the northeast wind slowed the bite in the channels.

The Queen Mary from Point Pleasant cancelled due to the conditions, and they are chartered tomorrow.

The northeast wind was dropping off during the afternoon, and is only supposed to be 5 knots on Sunday. Indeed, there isn’t any wind over 10 knots in the forecast right through Thursday.

Vinny D’Anton got into a blind blitz of small stripers in Shark River this morning. They weren’t showing, and wouldn’t look at a popper, but the 18-to-20-inchers hit a variety of plastic jigs.  Frank Manzi and I also got into the action. Usually those small bass are only picked at in the river, but they may be enjoying the complete lack of bluefish there this summer. I haven’t caught or heard of a blue in Shark River since June 13.

 

 

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Some July 4 thoughts

A most unusual annual July 4 contest is going on across the world as this is being written. The Blue Marlin World Cup is a one-day, one-species tournament with a $5,000 entry fee per boat and a winner-take-all pay-off. Since blue marlin are found in most offshore tropical and temperate waters around the globe, it will take some time before the results are in from all time zones. It will probably take a blue of over 500 pounds to win — and likely areas include Bermuda, the Virgin Islands and Hawaii.

While cleaning up my office this morning, I came across one of my Star-Ledger columns from 2002 that had some interesting July 4 news about doormat fluke which have been missing from party boat reports so far this year.

Back then, Rob Larsen of Sayreville boated a giant 14.72-pound doormat fluke on the July 4 trip of the Sea Tiger from Atlantic Highlands — the largest by far from northern N.J. that year and a record for the Sea Tiger, breaking one that he had set himself two years earlier with a 13.8-pounder. Yet, just eight days later, Larsen not only lost his coastal honor but also his boat record when Mike Whiter of Middletown clearly beat Larsen’s giant with a 15.64-pound doormat weighed at Julian’s Tackle. Capt. Hal Hagaman reported both super doormats were caught near the tip of Sandy Hook on live snappers.

There were no doormat reports from Atlantic Highlands so far today, but Capt. Ron Santee said Tuesday’s fluking on the Fishermen was better as Capt. Ron Sr. boated a 6-pound fluke before Steve “Chaos”  caught a 5 11/16-pounder to take his second pool in two weeks.  Power drifting was required to make up for the lack of drift. That was still a problem on the holiday. Capt. Rob Semkewyc of the Sea Hunter said it wasn’t a stellar day, though they picked away.

Vinny D’Anton of Wall celebrated July 4 with a school striper as soon as he started casting a Sluggo into the Belmar surf this morning, and later got another on a Chug Bug, but the hot topwater bite he had the previous morning didn’t develop as Frank Manzi and I couldn’t raise a thing. D’Anton later moved south and added one more schoolie.

 

Cyndidolphin

Dolphin haven’t even been mentioned in any reports I’ve received off the NJ coast, and there wasn’t a single entry in the dolphin Calcutta of the Bluefin Open. However, there are dolphin way to the south like this bull plus many more caught trolling baleo today in 1100 feet off Miami by my daughter Cyndi. She was carrying on the tradition aboard Sheri Berri III, Luis Gonzalez’s trailered boat out of Palmetto Bay.

 

 

 

 

 

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My Christine wins Bluefin Open at 191.5 pounds

The Manasquan River Marlin & Tuna Club took advantage of the improved bluefin tuna fishing this year, and sponsored a successful first annual Bluefin Open tournament that was won by Neil Franzoni’s My Christine with a 191.5-pound bluefin that took the basic entry $7,040 prize. Douglas Johnson was second on Double D at 180.5 pounds, and Robert Wedeking third on Over Ride with a 155-pounder. Haley Adyson took the day 3 prize with a 132-pound bluefin. The yellowfin tuna Calcutta was won by The Right Place with a 64.55-pound entry, and the small boat Calcutta (35 feet or smaller) went to On The Line for a 48.7-pound bluefin. No one could come up with a dolphin for that prize.

The MRMTC Jack Meyer Trolling Tournament also concluded with a big change after Frank Criscola’s Crisdel had a sweep going until the end. Pete Torcicollo on Clean Livin took over first with an 81.20-pound yellowfin, followed by Rob Wedeking’s Over Ride at 53.60 pounds — while Crisdel hung on for third with a 48.65-pound yellowfin.

Capt. Chris Di Stefano said the big yellowfin bite in the canyons cooled off as the waters blended and most of those trolled were small.

That jumbo bluefish jigging that the Queen Mary from Point Pleasant found Sunday and Monday wasn’t repeated today. The Golden Eagle from Belmar reported the blues didn’t cooperate so they switched to bottom fishing for a boat limit of sea bass (two per man) plus some porgies and a couple of ling. They will sail at 7:30 a.m. for July 4 blues. Miss Belmar Princess stayed with the bluefish hunt until mid-morning before switching to sea bass and porgies. They’ll also be seeking blues on July 4 at 7:30 a.m.

The Big Mohawk from Belmar reported it was a lot cooler on the water today than forecasted, and fluking was OK with a showing of 3-to-6-pounders plus a pool fluke just under 7 pounds. They note that spinning rods and Gulp have proven to be a “huge game changer”.

The Sea Hunter had the only report from Atlantic Highlands, and Capt. Rob Semkewyc notes that he only had a few anglers aboard due to the weather forecast — though the heat wasn’t bad at all today as they had a slow start before finishing up well. A 5.6-pound fluke took the pool.

Capt. Stan Zagleski had a tight finish for the pool during Monday’s trip with Elaine B. II from Bahrs in Highlands as Bob Evans of Waldwick (center) and Anthani Limaxes from New Milford each had 7 1/16-pound fluke — but were nosed out when young Dominic Rocco of Parsippany boated his first keeper fluke on his first fluke trip at 7 1/4 pounds.

Elaine B three 7's

Vinny D’Anton of Wall found the right trough in the surf this morning and released seven small stripers on his Chug Bug. I tried Shark River and quickly caught a 21-inch striper on a jig, but never had another hit.

Steve Mirande, a follower of this blog, reports he was catching fluke from the Bay Head surf on Monday morning when he was surprised by a 23-inch striper that hit his jig.

The Jamaica from Brielle will be bluefishing at 7:30 a.m. on July 4. A $15 coupon for adult or senior fares is available on their web site.

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Queen Mary jigs jumbo blues

Capt. Dave Riback welcomed jumbo blues back to Raritan Bay with his Queen Mary from Point Pleasant. The long ride was worthwhile as his fares jigged blues up to about 18 pounds — and he had them to himself today.

Riback said bigger jigs worked best as the blues are chasing bunkers, and they did better working on readings rather than when the choppers came up on the bunkers. As is always the case with large blues, many were lost. The Queen Mary is chartered the mornings of July 3, 8,15 and 21. Below are some of Sunday’s blues.

Queen Mary blues

Fluking was a lot tougher today in Raritan Bay due to the continuing lack of drift. Capt. Rob Semkewyc said he still managed a decent catch on his Sea Hunter from Atlantic Highlands though some only hooked shorts.

Allen Riley of South Plainfield surprised even himself during a beautiful morning in the Sandy Hook surf. He had only caught a sea robin early on a 4-inch Gulp fluorescent Swimming Mullet, and was about to retreat from the rising heat when a 23-inch fluke slammed his lure. It weighed 4 pounds at the Tackle Box in Hazlet.

Riley fluke

Vinny D’Anton managed another small striper on his Chug Bug this morning at Belmar, while I tried the same lure at Manasquan and Sea Girt without success.

The state budget problem was settled in time to allow fishing to continue at Island Beach State Park on Sunday, but Betty & Nick’s in Seaside Park noted that flies were a problem though fluke were also biting. Be sure to bring repellent if it’s calm or there’s a west wind.

The Jamaica from Brielle is running a fishing and Long Branch fireworks trip from 5-9:30 p.m. on July 4. There’s a $15 discount coupon on their web site.

 

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Hot weather — mixed fishing

One thing everyone could agree on today was that it was HOT! Unfortunately, there wasn’t a repeat of the hot Saturday fluking in Raritan Bay.

Capt. Ron Santee of the Fishermen from Atlantic Highlands said there was little drift, and power drifting didn’t help much this time.  June Benson started the day off right with a 5 13/16-pound fluke, and then added an 18-incher. However, only a few managed multiple keepers in contrast to yesterday on the Fishermen when all the fluke were at lest 19 inches.  The Sea Hunter had a similar report of decent fluking over the weekend despite the conditions.

John Vanderstad of Pompton Lakes had this pair of 6-pound fluke Saturday on the Elaine B. II from Bahrs in Highlands.

John Vanderstad 6-lb fluke

The Angler from Atlantic Highlands  settled their monthly pool yesterday as John Brock of Clifton held on all month with his 6 15/16-pounder to win $1,560.

The Canyon Runner fleet from Point Pleasant had a last minute cancellation, and the 60-foot Ritchie Howell  is open for the July 2-3 overnighter. Yellowfin trolling has been hot as 72 were caught Saturday though the boats only trolled for seven hours.

canyon tuna on canyon runner

Mark Roy ran his Release Me from Raritan Marina in Hazlet out to the Chicken Canyon area yesterday and got into 50-to-60-pound bluefin tuna on pencil poppers. He and his crew caught four casting, and trolled a yellowfin on a spreader bar. A trip to the Hudson Canyon was fruitless, and overnighting only produced a brown shark.

There were no reports from the bluefish boats as of the time this blog was written.

It was delightful being on the Spring Lake surf this morning, but the only small striper I saw was caught by a fluke fishermen on Gulp. I switched from a popper to a Storm Searchbait jig to break the ice with a small fluke. Vinny D’Anton said he caught a short bass at Belmar on a Chug Bug, and Frank Manzi managed a 15-inch fluke on sand fleas at Spring Lake.

Bob Matthews at Fisherman’s Den in Belmar Marina is still raving about that 13 1/4-pound fluke from Shark River as reported here this week. Henny Green and Marty Westerfield have been catching lots of keepers in the river up to 4 pounds. Matthews has seen the first very small snappers in the river.

The Mimi VI from Point Pleasant is running open for bottom fishing on July 2, 9, 10, and 11.  Call 732 770-8019 for details.