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Sandy Hook reopens

The national park at Sandy Hook will be reopening Saturday with operating hours of 5 a.m. to 7 p.m. There will be no rest rooms open or lifeguards on duty, and swimming isn’t allowed — but fishing is. Fishing permits from 2019 will be honored. Lots B, C, D, E and G are available up to 50% capacity. Lots A and K are closed.

Jim Hutchinson Sr. reports that bluefish are just starting to show in South Jersey with water temperatures at 50 degrees. There are mostly short stripers in the bays — though Surf City Bait & Tackle noted one keeper bass from the local surf. Some black drum are showing in Great Bay and at Tuckerton, but it’s hard to find surf clams for bait. Hutch suggests trying several chowder clams on a hook.

Small craft warnings are up for northwest gusts to 30 knots. They drop to 15 knots by morning with an occasional gust to 25.

My nephew, Todd Correll, sent along this shot of his daughter Daneille with a couple of large dolphin they trolled out of Islamorada in international waters near the Bahamas.

Danielle dolphin

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Blues in Barnegat Inlet

It’s that time of year when bluefish normally flood into rivers and bays along the New Jersey coast and Long Island’s south shore, but there are lots of questions this spring after bluefish stocks have been declining for a few years.

Some years those blues are small, but in other springs the first showings provide some of the largest blues of the year. That was the case last May, after the previous year was a bust with just scattered small blues and very few jumbos.

John Bushell reported getting word at Betty & Nick’s Tackle in Seaside Park on Saturday morning that blues were hitting bucktails in the inlet — though there was no mention of size. He also noted this morning that some juvenile stripers were hitting clams in Island Beach State Park.

The park reopened at daylight Saturday, but I heard of problems with cars getting stuck as some without permits were  trying to run the beach without lowering their tires enough.

Phil Fischer fished shallow spots in Raritan Bay just before the blackfish season ended Friday, and had great action with tog up to 8 pounds before running out of bait.

Vinny D’Anton is still fishing in Florida where there have been few restrictions on wading in the Sarasota area. He’s been plugging some spotted seatrout and snook — and also hooked his first bluefish there last week.

Pete Connell extended his stay in Florida, which provided him with lots of action with small snook in the back country at Islamorada plus a big day catching large tarpon..

The marine forecast looks good, with northwest winds at 10-15 knots before increasing to 15-20 with gusts to 25 in the afternoon.

 

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Striper bite continues in Raritan Bay

Dave Lilly of Hazlet trolled up stripers in Raritan Bay again today, though it wasn’t as easy as it had been.

Lilly decided to head east from Keyport and never had a hit all the way to Romer Shoal before running to the back of the bay where about a dozen bass in the 34-35-inch class were trolled in 16-foot depths on Tony Maja 3-ounce mo-jos.  He only saw one bass caught to the east among a good fleet taking advantage of a calm morning — though some snow flakes were falling in the cold air when he started out. However, he did hear a radio report of a 7-pound fluke being trolled.  The water temperature was up a couple of degrees to 48 in the back, though there were no surface signs of bunkers or birds in the bay.

As noted in yesterday’s blog, Capt. Stan Zagleski passed away from cancer at 76. His son Stan sent this shot of his father with one of his top big fluke customers, Ashley, on Elaine B. II from Bahrs in Highlands. Stan, Jr. will be running the boat as soon as party boat fishing is permitted.

 

Stan Zagleski

Capt. Art Hilliard was also lost to the for-hire fleet recently. He had run the large-group charter boat Eagle from Atlantic Highlands. R.I.P. Art.

Art Hilliard

Capt. Bob Garafano from Belmar also reported the recent loss of former party boat owner Marty Tave. Capt. Chris Di Stefano noted that he bought the Renegade from Tave and briefly ran it as a party boat.

Chis had some inshore cod news as a friend told him that 19 legal cod were boated at Sandy Hook Reef last weekend along with ling and blackfish. There was also a cod report from Sea Girt Reef.

Bob Correll of Bay Head has been hooking and jumping small tarpon from the back of a house he’s been living in at Islamorada in the Florida Keys, but finally got one that hung on for a photo a couple of nights ago.

Bob's tarpon

Rain is forecast after midnight, and the morning prediction is northeast winds at 15-20 knots with gusts to 25.

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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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The big one that got away — again!

While I’m not fishing at this time, I can still enjoy the adventures of others. — and my nephew, Todd Correll of Ft. Lauderdale, had a great story to tell this week.

Todd was trolling with his boat 14 miles offshore of his second home in the Keys at Islamorada, and got into small blackfin and yellowfin tuna feeding under working birds when a 50-pound class rod was bent over by something much bigger that hit a cedar plug trolled far astern behind a teaser.

After four hours battling with tackle that was inadequate for the situation, he seemed to be making some progress before  the heavy leader suddenly broke. Worst of all,  the fish could never be identified — though it was likely a giant bluefin or a very large yellowfin.

If it was any consolation, I told Todd that he got off easy. Decades ago I was trolling off Salinas, Ecuador for striped marlin and sailfish with 30-pound tackle  when I saw a swordfish engulf my bonito — a blind strike that’s almost unheard of by that species. After three hours of stand-up battle, I sat down in a fighting chair. The swordfish only jumped once, and I really had no realistic idea of how big it was since I’d never seen one before.  However, I did know that the IGFA world record on 30-pound was vacant — and it would surely be a world record if the line tested out at 30-pounds or less.

The crew wanted that fish as much as I did — and the fight went on. When it started getting dark, the captain had a hard time following the line until it got pitch dark and “fire” in the water on a moonless night made it easy to track. Before daylight, another boat was coming out with more fuel so we could continue the fight when, suddenly, my heavy leader broke or was cut by something to end a 12 1/2-hour battle.

At least I got to see my “big one that got away” and at that point only prayed that it survived  the fight it deserved to win.

There was lots of wind today, and there will be more tomorrow which starts at 15-20 knots plus gusts to 30 before dropping to east at just 5-10 knots in the afternoon.

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Friday is theend of NJ spring sea bass season

Friday is the last day for N.J. anglers to fish for sea bass with a 10-fish bag limit at a 12 1/2-inch minimum.

After that closure, there will be a summer by-catch season intended to accommodate summer ocean fluke fishermen from July 1 through Aug. 31 with just two sea bass allowed at the same 12 1/2-inch minimum.

New York is going in the other direction with sea bass as they re-open from June 23 to Aug. 31 with a limit of three at a 15-inch minimum — followed by a Sept. 1 to Dec. 31 season with seven at a 15-inch minimum.

Jersey anglers must be aware of the fact that regulations are different in New York. I heard of one case this summer where anglers from Morgan were catching fluke off Hoffman’s Is. and happy to have found 18-inch N.J. keepers when they were boarded by the N.Y. D.E.C Police and found their fluke were under that state’s 19-inch minimum  — a costly mistake. The Angler from Atlantic Highlands fished the N.Y. side with good success one day this week while observing the 19-inch minimum.

Also at that port, Capt. Rob Semkewyc reported that today was just O.K. — with a couple of limits and a 6.8-pound pool winner on his Sea Hunter. The Sea Tiger II had their best fluke so far when Roger Lee boated a 7 1/2-pounder Wednesday afternoon.

Sea Tiger II fluke

Capt. Vinny Vetere will be sailing the maiden trip of his new Dina Maria out of Great Kills Friday morning. The usual cost is $1250 for a party of six, but the charter had to back out. Vetere wants to make the trip anyway, so he’ll take up to three walk-ons at just $150 each. Call him at 917 693-8908.The 43-footer is powered by three 350-hp Yamahas, and has a width of 13.5 feet — plus air-conditioning. Vetere says the striper fishing has been hot the last two days

Capt. Chris Di Stefano of Wall said canyon fishing wasn’t hot today as Frank Criscola’s Crisdel from Brielle worked from Lindenkohl Canyon to the Carteret for only one hit and a lonely yellowfin tuna. He only heard of about five tuna today in a big fleet attracted by the calm seas. There was a report of a blue marlin caught further south, but the whales that had been in the canyons left with the bait.

John Schachel of the Jersey Coast Shark Anglers reported their ongoing Mako Fever Tournament had its first entry yesterday when Big Nutz Required weighed a 258-pound mako.  Schachel fished the contest today and found beautiful warm water far offshore that were full of life. They had 11 releases that included a mako that would have been boated before the 83-inch minimum went into effect.

Bluefishing continued to the north today. Capt. Dave Riback of the Queen Mary from Point Pleasant said he only got into the smaller blues, but had his best volume so far. Blues up to 14 pounds were jigged yesterday.

The Golden Eagle from Belmar started out with the small blues, but got into jumbos later in the day — and even a keeper striper.

Jim Hutchinson Sr. sent the following report for the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association:

“The sea bass season is temporarily on hold, but fluke fishing action continues to remain steady for the boats of the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association. A few bluefish are around the inlets, and offshore reports are very good for both yellowfin and bluefin tuna. Sharks are also making their presence known offshore.

 Captain Ray Lopez and mate Liane Lopez on the “Miss Liane” reported some great family type fishing for black sea bass on inshore structure. The Occhipinti family celebrated Father’s Day in great style with “drop and reel” action.

 Captain Carl Sheppard reports he too has been running family trips of up to 12 anglers on mostly half-day trips. His groups have been averaging 25 fish per trip. He has been blaming cool water for the slow action but anticipates increased action as the water has started warming. On one recent inshore trip Captain Carl had bluefin tuna breaking water around the boat, but he was unable to coax any to his lines.

 Captain Brett Taylor of Reel Reaction Sportfishing reports a definite improvement in his fishing trips over the past few days. As the water temperatures have warmed, the slime grass on the bottom is leaving, making fluke drifting much easier. Weather conditions made fishing touch recently for Ian Habich and his wife Tracey. Using the S&S Bigeye, they managed to put 3 keeper fluke in the box up to 5.5 pounds along with a catch and release short striper. The finished the day with 3-6 pound bluefish caught in the inlet. Other trips resulted in 20 short fluke along with one keeper and another with five keepers to 22-inches. The bluefish in the inlet have been completing his trips. This is a good time to book an offshore tuna trip. The weather is decent and the fish are there. For information on tuna fishing and the boats of the BHCFA go to the website at www.bhcfa.net. “

There are still no reports of dolphin in the Mid-Atlantic, but Pete Connell of Avon just returned from Islamorada after clobbering them not far from shore on his outboard.  Luis Gonzalez of Palmetto Bay, Fl. ran his trailered Sheri Berri III out to 650 to 1050 feet off Triumph Reef where he and Austin Moore had a good shot of school dolphin such as we should be seeing very shortly.

 

The Sea Tiger fluke wanted a second showing!