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For–hire fishing a go for tomorrow

Much to my surprise, Gov. Murphy  opened up party and charter boat fishing in N.J. , plus boat rentals, as of 6 a.m. Sunday under restrictions that weren’t specified, but are probably those already proposed by the United Boatmen and RFA and checked by the DEP.

You will have to make payment in advance in order to eliminate payment contact, and provide name, address and phone contact information for possible contact tracing. No one with a temperature or virus symptoms will be allowed aboard, and the boat may require facial coverings and gloves.

The Jamaica from Brielle will be sailing for sea bass at 6:01 a.m. Since that trip had been cancelled, even those with reservations have to call 732 528-5014 to confirm they are included in the reduced capacity required for social distancing.

The Golden Eagle will open its season from Belmar at 7:30 a.m. Sunday and Monday.

Bud McArthur of Brick fished with friends in 60-70–foot local waters today, and reported legal sea bass (12 1/2 inches) were scarce. The water temperature was fine at 52 degrees, and there was lots of life on bottom even though it was mostly shorts plus bergalls and dogfish. Surprisingly, they did catch some Atlantic mackerel of a foot or so — as did other boats. There was also a report from the Axel Carlsen Reef of some cod.

Bud finished up by trolling bunker spoons for stripers. They had no hits, but a friend doing that off Deal came up with the first ocean bass I’ve heard of so far –a keeper, but not one of the big spawned-out bass coming up from southern spawning grounds.

The Hudson River Fisherman’s Assn. Catch & Release Striper Derby  finished up this weekend as Doug Palmer easily won the tagging division with 22 releases.  There were 35 bass released with ALS tags during the contest.
Joe Albanese sent a quick recap of the 2020 Derby.  Despite only 34 anglers competing, uncooperative winds & weather and low water temperatures we still had a successful Derby. Those fishing further north in the Hudson River had much more success than those fishing Haverstraw or south. We opened the Derby up this year to tributaries of the Hudson River and received a bunch of photos of bass captured in the Hackensack River from Dirk van Everdingen. In WEEK-1 there were only 12 stripers entered. Two photos were disqualified. However, two of the biggest fish were entered just a few hours into the Derby start. They were from Douglas Dean and Shane Dean. In WEEK-2 there were only 7 stripers entered.  In WEEK-3 there were 9 entries and 1 disqualification. In WEEK-4 the action turned hot and heavy up around the Newburg area. We had 27 entries this last week, 22 from Doug Palmer.
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The morning weather looks great with an east breeze of 10 knots forecast — with mild temperatures and no showers until after midnight.

Betty and Nick’s Tackle in Seaside Park didn’t have any special word on surfcasting except for blowfish.

Congratulations to C.J. Parker (7) who caught his first keeper striped bass yesterday from his father’s boat in Raritan Bay while casting and jigging a 6-ounce white glow Tony Maja mojo with no assistance throughout the fight.

 

 

 

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Poor start to Sandy Hook surfcasting

Allen Riley and Duke Matero made their first Sandy Hook surfcasting effort of the year this morning, and had pretty good conditions with a calm surf and enough water.  Though Lot A is closed, there were other lots available at the southern end on a chilly, but pleasant day. Allen fished sandworms and Duke used fresh bunker chunks, but they didn’t even have a tap.

There was better surf  news from Grumpy’s Tackle in Seaside Park. All of the local beach is open to anglers, and lots of short stripers are being hooked on small pieces of fresh shucked clam. It’s the same story at IBSP, where the hours are from 5 a.m. to 8 p.m. Admission is free, but a 2020 permit is required in order to drive the beach.

Mark Roy started off this morning with his Release Me from Raritan Marina in Hazlet off the Navy Pier, but only saw small stripers being caught there. After only catching one there, and not getting any hits from swirling bass, he ran to the back of the bay  where trolling mo-jos produced better-sized stripers for Robert and Jacob Foehner of Warren even though there was no sign of bunkers. The fish count was up to eight when I talked to him at 5 p.m.

The Thursday morning forecast looks good with a northeast breeze at just 5 knots before going south in the afternoon at 15-20 with gusts to 25 knots plus 4-6-foot seas.

The latest standings in the Hudson River Fisherman’s Association Catch & Release  contest (supplied by Joe Albanese) were topped by a 42.5-inch boat striper that was also the Calcutta leader. The largest from shore was a 34-incher, and a 29-inch bass from shore was the largest released with a tag.

 

 

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July ICAST fishing tackle show cancelled

Conditions are slowly improving with the pandemic, but there are still few fishing reports, and the annual fishing tackle show which introduces new tackle to the fishing trade has been cancelled.

The annual ICAST event of the American Sportfishing Association was to be held July 14-17 in Orlando, Fl., but with no assurance that social distancing regulations will be down by then a decision had to be made before  exhibits were shipped in from all over the world. A “virtual” show will be run it its place.

The HRFA Catch &  Release Striped Bass Tournament is underway, and continues to May 15. However, entries are being accepted up to May 1 for the contest that’s limited to the Hudson and East rivers plus associated waters — but not the ocean or Raritan Bay. For information contact Joe Albanese at 908 458-2968 or joealbanese2@gmail.com.

Ric Gross of Point Pleasant fished off Florida’s southern east coast yesterday, where chartering is legal. He was aboard Deja Vu  Charters as blackfin tuna and king mackerel  were trolled before they made deep drops in 750 feet for snappers. A dolphin was trolled on the way back along with a blast of little tunny (called bonito in the  south) up to a 23-pounder.

Bob Correll of Bay Head also got into little tunny as he fished off Islamorada in the Keys — but was able to catch  them in the most exciting way by casting poppers.

There was a cold rain this morning, but Sunday should be better though small craft warnings are up. It will be southwest at 10-15 knots with gusts to 20 in the morning  before gusting to 30 knots in the afternoon.

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NJOA fights to open state parks

The New Jersey Outdoor Alliance (NJOA) has been opposed to the closure of state parks due to the pandemic right from the announcement of the executive order by Gov. Murphy, and have been circulating a petition calling for him to change that position. Now, they are asking those who agree the parks should be open for much-needed recreation to contact the governor and legislators to express that opinion. Visit info@njoutdooralliance.org for talking points and links.

Dan, a regular on this blog, said there were a lot of cars in the lots during Saturday’s trout opener, but everyone was well-spaced on the streams — as were the trout. Many caught one or two — and some more. Stocking continues, and there are no special restrictions on those days.

The Hudson River Fisherman’s Association has extended the registration deadline for its 2020 Catch and Release Striper Tournament  to May 1 because the  pandemic has hurt participation. The contest will go on in any case, though prizes may have to be reduced to prevent a loss to the HRFA. Contact Joe Albanese for info at 908 456-2968 — or joealbanese2@hrfanj.org.

Small craft warnings are  up until 2 a.m. Showers are likely in the morning when winds will be northwest at 10-15 knots before going to west with gusts to 20 in the afternoon.