Page 5 of 6

Posted on

It’s time for a 50

The big migrating stripers moving up along the Shore after spawning in Chesapeake and Delaware bays, provide possibly the best opportunity to join the elite of striper fishing with a bass over the coveted 50-pound mark. Though those fish lost a lot of weight after dropping their roe, they regain weight quickly by feeding on bunkers.  That’s what provided the 30-inch girth on only a 48-inch bass to get it over 50 pounds for John Wasnesky of Freehold when he trolled a Tony Maja #4 bunker spoon off Asbury Park last week with Capt. Jim Freda on Shore Choice out of Point Pleasant.

wasnesky 50That bass was released, but you can get a good idea of the weight by using the formula — length to fork of tail times girth squared divided by 800. Remember to use the fork length measurement , as the formula was developed in the old days when that was the standard for length measurements.

While going through some old JCAA newsletters last night, I read a Tom Fote column on striped bass in which he noted that trophy stripers are usually about 25 years old; At that time the great 1993 year class was the hope for the future — and Fote said he was looking forward to catching and releasing those 25-year-old fish from the 1993 year class in 2018 — “God willing”.  Tom, your time is here!

Capt. Vinnie Vetere had a great Memorial Day weekend except for the rain-out on Sunday as lots of big bass were trolled on his Ho-Jo lures from Catfish out of Great Kills — including a 52-pounder. Rockfish from N.Y had a 54-pounder on one of Vetere’s Ho-Jos.

Today’s great striper catch wasn’t a 50, but a 41-pounder fought on fluke tackle by Bob Evans of Flemington from Elaine B.II out of Highlands after it was hooked on a Spro rig.

Bob Evans 41 on Spro

Capt. Stan Zagleski said fluke fishing was also good. That was also the report from Capt. Ron Santee on his Fishermen from Atlantic Highlands as he made the most of the morning incoming tide that produced the 7-pound pool winner.

The Golden Eagle from Belmar picked at small blues before adding sea bass in the afternoon. Miss Belmar Princess ran north from Shark River to jig small blues, including some limits before switching to sea bass and fluke.

 

 

 

Posted on

Manhatten Cup is back

There was good news recently for those of us who used to participate every spring in the Manhattan Cup fishing tournament to benefit disabled vets and other good causes.

The Manhattan Cup

                  Is Back!

And it’s Time to Get on Board

 

Date: June 8, 2018

Hosts: Capt. Frank Crescitelli & the Manhattan Cup Committee

Where: Liberty Landing Marina – Liberty House Restaurant, Jersey City, NJ

 

To Benefit: RFA Fisheries Conservation Trust & Wounded and At-Risk Warriors

 

The Manhattan Cup is the New York/Metropolitan area’s famous charity fishing tournament with a 17-year track record of great fishing, fantastic events and great people. It’s the only tournament where teams compete in a live release format to catch the biggest and the most striped bass, bluefish and weakfish. All in the shadows of downtown NYC and the Statue of Liberty, home to the most amazing run of striped bass in any river on the East Coast!

 

Reserve a Boat and Captain

You can fish aboard one of the top charter or light tackle guide boats, or with a local “sharpie” all with “local knowledge” by going to the website and making a donation that will entitle you and your team the boat and crew for the day. These boats are donated for your enjoyment and the proceeds of your donation are used to benefit our charity recipients. cSo get online at www.manhattancup.com and enter to secure one of these great boats and captains for your team. Four man teams sign up for a Platinum Entry. One or two man teams sign up for a Light Tackle Platinum Entry. Donated boats will be assigned on a first come – first serve basis so don’t delay.

 

Enter Your Own Boat

If you’d rather enter your own boat and team and compete against other boats in the Sportfishing Division we’ve got you covered. The base entry price covers up to three people, additional anglers can be included for an additional donation to the tournament. All entrants must be pre-registered and pre-paid and will include only the number of anglers specified. Remember, you donation is used to benefit our charity recipients.

 

*All divisions include a gourmet breakfast at Liberty House before blast-off; a scrumptious box lunch provided by Celebrity Chef Tom Colicchio’s “witchcraft” restaurant in Manhattan; and a gala awards banquet at Liberty House after the live release weigh-in. Each entrant will receive a gift bag and exclusive Manhattan Cup clothing and a shot at some great door prizes plus access to the auctions and live raffles.

 

DON’T WAIT – SIGN UP NOW!!!

http://www.manhattancup.com

 

Be sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter and get ready for a totally unique fishing experience.

 

Questions? Please call

Capt. Frank Crescitelli – (917-468-4817) or email finfly@aol.com

Gary Caputi – (732) 740 9982 or email caputifish@comcast.net

Capt. Jim Freda had a thrill Friday evening while trolling a Tony Maja #4 bunker spoon in 60 feet off Asbury Park from Shore Catch out of Point Pleasant when John Wasnesky of Freehold reeled in a 48-inch very fat striped bass. That magnificent bass was released after being measured with a 30-inch girth. After applying the formula for determining approximate weight (length times girth squared, divided by 800), Freda got a weight of 54 pounds, but later remembered that the length in the formula must be to the fork of the tail — not to the tip. Though 48 inches overall is short for a 50-pounder, that bass surely made that because of the exceptional girth.  The ocean bass migrating from the south are spawned out, but Freda said this one seemed to be full of bunkers.

Freda -48-inch

The skipper thanks Capt. Eric Kerber for info that put him in the right area.

The Golden Eagle from Belmar had a 40-pound striper in the ocean today, but that was the only one. They added some sea bass. The Queen Mary from Point Pleasant reported some sea bass and bluefish.

The Sea Hunter from Atlantic Highlands got into a shot of bass on the surface, but only a couple were caught on shads before they went down. The bait fishing was then slow with only a couple more caught. Due to the east winds predicted for Sunday being up against the tide, Capt. Rob Semkewyc is advising anglers to stay home.  Also at that port, Capt. Ron Santee said he had the same conditions that produced good fluking yesterday on his Fishermen, but keepers were harder to find today in the same areas.

Capt. Stan Zagleski reported it took some time before the drift got right on his Elaine B. II from Bahrs in Highlands. After that there were some fluke limits caught. He sails at 6 a.m. through Memorial Day.

Allen Riley of South Plainfield fished the Sandy Hook surf earlier in the week and had a thrill when a big fish took his bunker bait, though it turned out to be a 4 1/2-foot smooth dogfish.  He later added two sea robins and a 23-inch striper that morning on bait.  Returning Friday morning, Riley had an easier time with a 3-foot smooth dogfish on bunker before making his day with a 35-inch bluefish.

Posted on

Opening day fluking was promising

The opening day of the N.J. fluke season was probably better than most anglers expected as weather conditions were perfect.

Capt. Ron Santee was pleased with the drift in Raritan Bay as wind and the outgoing tide were together for anglers on his Fishermen from Atlantic Highlands. Fluke were located in many areas. and keepers were well represented.  Robert Neilsen and his wife combined for five. The pool fluke was a 6.3-pounder.

Capt. Stan Zagleski said his early start with Elaine B. II from Bahrs in Highlands gave him a jump on the competition as fluke were found in several areas and there were some limits. He’ll continue to sail at 6 a.m. through Memorial Day.

Elaine B fluke

Capt. Rob Semkewyc is sticking with the striped bass on his Sea Hunter from Atlantic Highlands . The last couple of days have been slower, but today’s catch was topped by a 27-pounder fought by Jon  Keidel. The skipper hopes the full moon coming up will spark the striper action.

Capt. Sal Cursi relocated to Florida. but didn’t forget everything he learned from years of running his Cathy Sea from Sewaren. He Joined Capt. Hans Kaspersetz and his crew on Sheri Berri from Twin Lights Marina in Highlands as they scratched out a few fussy stripers plus some opening day fluke.

Cursi said they only had one bluefish at a time of year when we used to be overrun with them. Yet, Nick Honachefsky reports that Keith Schaudecker got into 15 gator blues up to 16 pounds Wednesday off Port Monmouth on live bunkers from his Castaway.

It took awhile to find them, but Bob Correll of Bay Head and I had plenty of action with 3-to-4-pound blues while casting Thursday afternoon in Manasquan River from his Boston Whaler. Metal was the best bet, but Bob also got hits flycasting.

At Belmar, the Golden Eagle had no luck with stripers and blues before switching to sea bass for a good pick along with a few ling. Miss Belmar Princess ran north, but didn’t find stripers and blues before finishing up with sea bass.

At Point Pleasant, the Queen Mary had a good catch of sea bass today, Don Marantz and his party fished yesterday on Barb-Gail for limits of sea bass and some ling. Mimi VI will be sailing open on Tuesday. Call 732 370-8019 for reservations.

At Seaside Park, Grumpy’s Tackle reported surfcasting was slower Thursday, but bluefish are hitting bunker chunks off local docks.  Billy Martin checked into Betty & Nick’s early this morning with two 19-inch fluke taken in IBSP on a white bucktail with a chartreuse Gulp.

Joe Melillo, at Castaways Tackle in Point Pleasant,  weighed a 35-pound, 14-ounce striper caught from a boat for Bill McCrystal.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sh

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Posted on

A tough day in Raritan Bay

After a great Tuesday morning jigging bite, party boat striper fishermen had a much tougher time Wednesday, when only a few keepers and shorts were hooked. That was actually very good compared to Thursday. Capt. Ron Santee ran his Fishermen from Atlantic Highlands all over the bay without marking all the bait and fish seen the day before — ending up without a bite. The Golden Eagle from Belmar read some fish and bait, but got no hits.

Don Marantz of Clarksburg had a charter on Billchaser out of Twin Lights Marina in Highlands. They started out with a 27-inch bass, but after that only had a skate and a big sea robin chunking —  while trolling was also unproductive,

Chuck Many said it was tougher on his Ty Man from Gateway Marina in Highlands than it was Tuesday when four of us released 30 bass up to 33 pounds on live bunkers.  Yet, he and three other anglers managed to release 17 stripers on both live bunkers and chunks today. The largest was a Ty Man season best of 40 pounds, though the next largest was only about half that size.

I gave the Sea Girt surf a brief try this morning, and got blanked there for the third time this spring. Jimmy Wilson felt the water and said the temperature had dropped quite a bit due to upwelling from the gusty southwest afternoon winds.

At Seaside Park, Grumpy’s Tackle reported John Alcoriza released both a large bluefish and a decent bass Wednesday night in the surf. Betty & Nick’s had the first blowfish reports in the surf. Adult bunkers have moved in close enough to be snagged, but there have been no reports of hook-ups.

I Big bass38-pounder before release from Ty Man on Wednesday.

Posted on

First bluefish in surf

We’ve been waiting for the bluefish to arrive in force as they usually do by the end of April, but nothing has been happening in N.J. — and Fred Golofaro of The Fisherman, Long Island edition had the same report from another early location at Fire Island Inlet. However, just before writing this blog I got a photo from outdoor writer Nick Honachefsky of Normandy Beach of a surfcaster with a good-sized bluefish. I picked a logbook from 1998, and found that my charter party was inundated with blues on May 1 in Raritan Bay. Yesterday, Honachefsky caught eight small bass (a 26-inch and micros) plus five hickory shad on a fly rod in the surf.

First surf blue

There have still been no reports of blues up there, and a message from Rob Rommel noted that he fished with Chuck Many on Ty Man as they released 20 stripers up to a 38-pounder.  in Yesterday’s release count when I was with them was 30 bass up to 33 pounds, but I forgot to credit Many with his best catch — the first sea robin reported from the bay,  an aggressive little fish that hit a 6-inch shad cast into small bait off Staten Island.

Reel Fun from Twin Lights Marina in Highlands had the Sean Basilone party with six legal stripers just a half-hour from the dock this morning, but Capt, John Kolias said they couldn’t come up with an over 43-incher.   Kolias usually trolls.

The Golden Eagle from Belmar reported they had some bass chasing their jigs, but none were caught. After yesterday’s hot early jigging reports from Raritan Bay, there were no reports today from Atlantic Highlands boats.

Capt. Vinny Vetere of Katfish Charters in Great Kills reported small bass dominated early as he trolled his Ho-Jo’s, but bigger bass hit as the tide ebbed. Green chartreuse was the hot color.

Jim Louro of Spring Lake fished Raritan Bay in an outboard during the afternoon and had to fight the southwest wind while trolling mo jo’s and casting shads. He said they marked fish, but had no hits and didn’t see anything caught on other boats. The forecast for the next two days is similar with light SW in the morning before gusty winds in the afternoon.

Allen Riley of South Plainfield was happy with his Tuesday morTodayndy Hook surf. After catching a very small bass on a Tsunami Shad before sun-up, small bass turned on to sandworms fished on a very light rod. He released bass of 22, 24, 25 and 28 inches before the bite ended at 8 am. John Mazzeo of South Plainfield fished a bunker chunk to release a 26-incher.

 

 

Posted on

Big swell hurts ocean fishing

The ocean swell was big enough today to make Shark River Inlet so rough that the Big Mohawk turned around and returned to its berth in Belmar.  They’ll give it another try at 7 a.m. Friday — and at 6:30 am. from Saturday through Monday to finish out the spring N.J. blackfish season which closes at the end of the month.

Bob Matthews reports from Fisherman’s Den in Belmar Marina that winter flounder still haven’t produced much action at the docks there, with more fluke taking the baits. Small stripers are being caught in the surf. However, Jim Louro of Spring Lake said he gave up quickly this morning due to the big swell. The forecast for Friday is for moderate east winds with small craft warnings plus rain before west winds should produce better conditions over the weekend.

The Sea Hunter got out into Raritan Bay from Atlantic Highlands this morning, but Capt. Rob Semkewyc said it was just a pick of shorts with an occasional keeper that kept him on the first drop for the rest of the tide rather than taking a chance by moving from the modest bite. He noted that trollers were doing better.

Capt. Joe Massa made a short Wednesday evening trip with John D’Andrea on My Three Sons from Morgan Marina and had good trolling in greater depths than the fleet has been fishing. They caught five bass of legal size, which had sea lice on them, plus two shorts.

Capt. Hans Kaspersetz is back from serving as an observer at a billfish tournament in the Dominican Republic, and ready to start chartering Sheri Berri from Twin Lights Marina in Highlands. If you’d like to fish with Hans and me on that fast 25-foot Regulator, send a e-mail to me at cristori@aol,com. — or call 732 757-5531.

 

Hank Matri - March 2018 - East End Lodge - Grand Bahama Is

A touch of the tropics. Hank Matri with a Bahamas bonefish on a fly before the release in March

Posted on

Boat traffic slows striper bite

It was a beautiful Sunday on the water, but boat traffic seemed to slow the striped bass bite in Raritan Bay. Capt. Rob Semkewyc was coming off a very good day of clamming with his Sea Hunter from Atlantic Highlands, but only put a few bass aboard today as he felt the volume of trollers passing close to him was the problem. There was one highlight, as Andy Sokol of Manalapan boated a 41-inch, 29-pound striper.

001Andy Sokol 29 lb

Capt. Joe Massa found the trolling to also  be way off from Saturday as Carl Drehwing, Bob Correll and I joined him on his larger My Three Sons (a Grady White 30) from Morgan Marina.  Yesterday he had trolled 15 bass, though all were shorts. We started out casting shads around scattered marks where I caught a small bass right away — but there were no more hits. A crowd of boaters trying to net bunkers in Great Kills convinced Joe to troll instead — especially since he had spent three hours Saturday chunking on good marks without a hit. We did hook a half-dozen bass on Rapala X-Raps, but they were very small, and there were no hits on the larger stretch lures. There were lots of boats trolling in the back of the bay, but I didn’t notice anyone stropping to fight fish before we headed back early.

The Golden Eagle from Belmar read some bait and fish, but couldn’t get any bites, and won’t sail again for stripers until Thursday.

Capt. Stan Zagleski started blackfishing daily with his Elaine B. II from Bahrs in Highlands on Saturday as he found one spot to be dead but picked away with tog and even a few cod on another. Art Garrett of Red Bank won the pool with a cod. Clams were most effective for both species.

Grumpy’s Tackle in Seaside Park reports small stripers in the surf for those casting small pieces of clam or bunker. Skimmer clams are back in stock along with fresh bunker. There’s still no word of bluefish, but there has been talk of weakfish in the southern end of Barnegat Bay.  Betty & Nick’s noted that small stripers hit in the surf yesterday before the wind came up in the afternoon.

Posted on

Much nicer weather coming

After yet another day of strong  NW winds, it appears that we’re finally  going to see some much better fishing weather.

The inshore marine forecast for northern N.J. to N.Y.  is for northwest winds dropping to 10–15 mph Saturday and then to 5-10 mph SW in the afternoon. Sunday is supposed to start at 5-10 mph NW — going to SW with seas of one foot or less. The seas remain the same Monday with a 5 knot breeze from the northeast — and Tuesday it’s 5-10 from the southeast increasing to 10-15 in the afternoon.

The Jamaica from Brielle should finally get a break for their offshore trips. An offshore wreck cod & pollock trip sails at 1:30 a.m. Saturday(boarding at midnight), and a tilefish trip departs Sunday at 10 p.m. Both trips are by reservation. Call 732 528-5014.

At Belmar, the Ocean Explorer found blackfishing to be very slow this morning, but it picked up in the afternoon as some fares had two to three keepers plus shorts.

The Atlantic Highlands fleet is getting more active as the Dorothy B. starts striper fishing Saturday from 7:30 to 2:30.  The Sea Hunter passed its Coast Guard inspection today, and will be sailing daily. The Fishermen got out with a dozen anglers on Thursday. Capt, Ron Santee said anchoring conditions were poor, but short stripers hit all around the boat along with the “odd” keeper.

Jim Louro of Spring Lake tried to fish Raritan Bay this afternoon, but the NW wind was too strong for comfortable small boat fishing. Trolling has been most effective lately for scattered stripers, but the bass are starting to turn on to bunker chunks when conditions are good.

The Mimi VI from Point Pleasant will be making limited open boat trips for blackfish at 7 a.m. on Sunday and Monday. Call 732 272-4445 for information and reservations.

The Elaine B. II from Bahrs in Highlands begins its season with daily blackfishing at 7 a.m. on Saturday.

Some school stripers have been caught, mostly on bait, in the Island Beach State Park surf, but many more are hitting small lures in Barnegat Bay. Grumpy’s Tackle in Seaside Park reports skimmer clams are hard to come by as bait, but they do have large chowder clams in stock.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At Belmar,

 

Posted on

Give pregnant stripers a break

Raritan Bay-area striper fishing looks as if it will be breaking open any day now, but the downside to the good fishing is that it’s mostly on females ready to spawn in a week or two.

Actually, almost all stripers over 20 pounds are females. The very occasional male that large will probably be easily identified as it leaks milt when lifted. There are fair numbers of amaller males and immature females around if you want a fish for the table, but it’s clearly a shame to take a bass bursting with eggs that will be rejuvenating the stock in just a few days.  That’s especially the case in Raritan Bay where the Hudson River stock has been providing us with fine summer fishing after the southern spawners are long gone to the east.

Pregnant striper.jpg

Bob Bowden with an obviously pregnant striper released in Raritan Bay recently from Ty Man  to spawn in the Hudson River next month.

The Atlantic Highlands fleet is getting into action. The Sea Hunter had a few keepers and some shorts Saturday, though trollers were doing better on the scattered fish.  They’re fishing daily except Friday when a Coast Guard inspection is scheduled. Capt. Ron Santee started his season Saturday on the Fishermen by observing a whale in the bay within a mile of the jetty before finding bait and some short bass plus three keepers up to 31 inches.

Capt. Stan Zagleski begins daily blackfishing at 7 a.m. with his Elaine B. II from Bahrs in Highlands on Saturday.

At Belmar,  the Golden Eagle sails for stripers on Thursday, while the Ocean Explorer and Big Mohawk seek blackfish and cod. Miss Belmar Princess joins the striper fleet on Saturday. So far, the weekend looks fishable — especially on Sunday.

The Gambler from Point Pleasant is running Lazy Man Tog trips from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. from Wednesdays to Sundays.

Grumpy’s Tackle in Seaside Park had reports of some legal stripers in Toms River. Betty & Nick’s reported a calming and clear surf.

Allen Riley of South Plainfield gave the Sandy Hook surf a brief try with very expensive sandworms that were ignored in the calm surf that’s still a cold 43 degrees. The 38-degree air temperature and continuing blustery west wind this morning didn’t help.

Posted on

Hope to meet you at my weekend fishing tackle garage sale

As this is being written, I’m still filling up my garage with fishing tackle of all kinds for the weekend sale from 8-2 both days at 1552 Osprey Ct., Manasquan Park, NJ  08736.  There’s everything from light spinning and baitcasting to big game — including two 130-pound giant tuna rigs. There’s lots of canyon lures and big boxes of freshwaters lures for $1 and $2, plus other boxes of saltwater lures for $5 and $10 — including deep-diving plugs and poppers. There is even a planer board set for just $25. I’ll have my last two books for $10, and will be glad to autograph them for you. Classic fishing magazines are free with any purchase.

If you have any questions. call me at 732 757-5531. My daughter, and former charter boat mate, Cyndi,is coming up from Florida to help with the sale.

I took a break this morning to join Chuck Many on his Ty Man from Gateway Marina in Highlands for a shot at the big stripers he found yesterday in Raritan Bay. Bob Bowden was back again, and Mike Greene was up from LBI — but there wasn’t a sign of the big bass where they had been in the back of the bay. Bob only had to throw the cast net once to load the live well, but we couldn’t give those bunkers away. Many did mark a few bass in the shallow waters, and by casting Tsunami Shads we were able to release 17 bass that ranged from about 20 inches up to three of 29, 30 and 31 inches.  We were comfortable in our jackets all morning before a noon return into the heat on land. Keep in mind the fact that it will be cooler on the water now with the water temperature still at 48 degrees,

The Golden Eagle from Belmar had a beautiful day on the ocean, and saw lots of life, but only managed a few short stripers on clams.  The weather looks good again tomorrow, but east winds and rain are in the forecast for Sunday.

Allen Riley of South Plainfield made his first surf attempt of the year, and was happy to release two “rat” stripers on sandworms at Sandy Hook.