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Rain & wind coming Wednesday, but it looks good after that

The weather from N.J. to Long Island isn’t looking good for Wednesday with rain and gusty winds in the forecast, but it’s supposed to be back to just 10 to 15 knots from the west for Thursday — and the weekend looks good.

The Sea Hunter from Atlantic Highlands clammed in Raritan Bay today, but it was mostly short bass that responded. There were some keepers topped by Eric Nova’s 15-pounder. Capt. Rob Semkewyc won’t be sailing tomorrow due to the weather, but will be ready to go on Thursday.

Tank Matraxia and his crew from Lyndhurst fished with Capt. John Contello aboard Just Sayin from Keyport. After casting produced only one short, they switched to trolling mo-jos and limited out with keepers up to about 32 inches. Matraxia was also able to put ALS tags in five legal bass and a short. One of those bass had a fairly recent bite taken out of it — possibly by a seal. The action was in the back of the bay where there were lots of boats and kayaks.

At Belmar, the Big Mohawk reported a good blackfish bite today, but won’t sail again until Thursday. The Ocean Explorer had good blackfishing Monday with some limits.

The Gambler has been getting out from Point Pleasant. but blackfishing has been slow so far due to cold waters. The Queen Mary starts striper fishing out of that port on Saturday.

At Seaside Park, Grumpy’s Tackle reports small stripers are hitting in the surf on small pieces of bait and lures. An angler fishing bunker chunks reported losing a better fish in the wash. An ODM rod demo will be held at Grumpy’s on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

 

 

Sandy Hook Late April SunriseAllen Riley photo of Sandy Hook at dawn Monday. Don’t expect that tomorrow!

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Stripers cooperate in Raritan Bay

With a good forecast drawing lots of boaters, I suspected that striper fishing in Rartan Bay might have been tough today — but that wasn’t the case! At Atlantic Highlands, Capt. Ron Santee of the Fishermen had his best action right away as Chris Zotti caught two legal bass and three shorts in the first hour before ending up with a total of seven legal bass and 14 shorts.  Morris Duckett boated a 23-pound pool bass, and the first fluke of the season was released  — a 4-pounder. Santee said clams worked best as they caught over 20 keeper bass plus lots of shorts.

Capt. Rob Semkewyc had a similar report from his Sea Hunter with a super start followed by a pick the rest of the day.

Sea Hunter bass

A Sea Hunter striper from last Saturday

At Belmar, the Golden Eagle reported a beautiful ocean as they saw some stripers, but the fish wouldn’t hit.

The Ocean Explorer found lots of bottom life in the flat ocean, and a 7-pound blackfish that came up early ended up taking the pool. A few fares bagged two to three tog, and there were also some legal cod and a pollock.

The forecast for Sunday is NW 5-10 knots, switching to SW in the afternoon. Seas range from one foot early to two feet in the afternoon.

Grumpy’s Tackle in Seaside Park reports lots of small bass in the surf on clams, paddletails, bucktails and small swimmers.  One angler reported bunkers coming close enough to be snagged, but there were no takers for that live bait.

Sunday is the last day for pre-registration for the Governor’s Surf  Fishing Tournament on May 20 at Island Beach State Park. The adult fee of $20 is reduced to $15, and you won’t have to be at Pavillion 2 that morning in order to sign up at 5:30 a.m. for the 6:30-1 contest.  Visit http://www.njfishandwildlife.com for forms and info.

Tank Matraxia of Lyndhurst and Emil Pavalac fished a couple of days last week at Cedar Key on the northern Gulf coast of Florida. Cousins Steve and Jimbo Keith put them into limits of spotted sea trout and redfish, including eight redfish that got ALS tags,  but Tank lost a big tripletail after working hard to get a hit from those fish that hang around crab pot buoys and channel markers.

Matt 44-inchThe Tackle Box in Hazlet sent along this shot of Matthew Loiselle of the Urban Jersey Fishing Team with a 44-inch striper from shore before  its release

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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,

 

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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.

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N.Y. Marine District opens for stripers

The striped bass season in New York’s Marine District opened today, though I doubt if anyone was out there to enjoy it during a thoroughly miserable cold, damp and very windy day.

Saturday was a different story as there was the first big turnout of boats in Raritan Bay this spring. Indeed, Capt. John Kolias of Reel Fun from Twin Lights Marina in Highlands  said boat traffic turned off the bite in the morning before he trolled three keeper stripers later up to mate Rick’s 39-inch, 22-pounder. The best news was that the water temperature finally got up to  50 degrees.

Dave Lilly of Hazlet  couldn’t find any life under gannets diving in the bay Saturday morning, but on the end of the outgoing he got into all legal bass in just 12 feet at the back of the bay. It was too shallow for stretch plugs, but he took shads off an umbrella rig, put them on jig heads and trolled for steady action with bass from 29 1/2 up to 35 inches.

The Ocean Explorer from Belmar was out Saturday in a “monster” swell that they were afraid would kill the bottom bite. Yet, there was good life until a hard wind developed. Catches ranged up to three blackfish, and there were also a couple of legal cod and some shorts. Fishing will resume when the weather straightens out, but the forecast for Monday is no good.

 

 

Mike Greene & Bob Bowden with bass in Raritan Bay Friday on Ty Man before release — and my 29-inch legal bass on a Tsunami Shad during my first striper trip of the season before also being released.

Grumpy’s Tackle in Seaside Park got a report of a surfcaster releasing a legal striper on a clam. Still no word of bluefish.

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A real garage sale Sunday — rain or shine

The weather forecast isn’t good for Sunday, but the garage sale will go on –in the garage. There was a good crowd today, and it was a pleasure to meet many of my readers. There’s still dozens of rods plus reels, and countless lures and line in all sizes. The 130–pound Internationals are gone, but other big game outfits remain along with the planer boards and many accessories. Free fishing magazines are available with any purchase. We’ll be there again Sunday from 8-2 at 1552 Osprey Ct., Manasquan Park, NJ 08736.

Though the weather was fine today, fishing reports were generally modest. The Golden Eagle from Belmar heard of some stripers being trolled, but there wasn’t much reported on bait or lures. They won’t be sailing Sunday or Monday as small craft warnings tonight are being upgraded to gale warnings tomorrow.

The Ocean Explorer from Belmar found good bottom life on Friday with decent catches of keeper and short blackfish plus a few keeper cod.

The Prowler 5 started its season out of Atlantic Highlands today, and reported some keeper stripers plus shorts. They won’t be sailing again until next weekend.

At Seaside Park, Grumpy’s Tackle notes there’s  some stripers in the surf, but still no solid bluefish reports.

Joe Blaze of Brielle tried the backside of Island Beach State Park this morning. Conditions were good and he saw some bait, but there was no sign of fish. There were some good-looking bars showing on the surf side, but nothing was going on there either.

 

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Ty Man finds big bass in Raritan Bay

The long-awaited arrival of big stripers in Raritan Bay seems to be getting started. Chuck Many loaded up with bunkers this morning and came upon big bass swirling in shallow waters. The largest fish responded to live bunkers, and shad lures produced smaller keepers for Many and Bob Bowden until the bite died off . When Brian Pieros came out later in the day with the same offerings, there wasn’t a bite.

Chuck striperChuck Many with big bass before release. Big bass hit live bunkers today in Raritan Bay.

 

Jim Hutchinson Sr. reports that captains of the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association are delighted with the dredging of Little Egg Inlet as they can now run in at least 10 feet through that unstable inlet.

The Ocean Explorer from Belmar  had a pick of blackfish during Wednesday’s  trip, but some fares managed two to three of keeper size. Clams have been most effective.

Grumpy’s Tackle in Seaside Park has fresh clams and bloodworms in stock, and expects fresh bunker on the weekend. They had their first weigh-inn, but it was of a blackfish caught by Billy Browne. That 20-incher weighed 5.65 pounds.

Keep in mind my Sat.-Sun. fishing tackle garage sale from 8-2 this weekend at 1552 Osprey Ct., Manasquan Park, N.J. 08736. In addition to all the fishing gear, there will be classic fishing magazines free with any purchase.

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Raritan Bay stripers break out on lures

Jim Louro of Spring Lake had breakthrough news this evening after fishing in Raritan Bay with Matt Del Mauro of Long Branch on an 18-foot bass boat. They went out without any bait in the afternoon to fish with lures,  and saw three seals chasing fish plus lots of bird action. I suggested giving the back of the bay a try when they called, and that worked out fine even though no fish were marked. Casting 5-inch Storm Shads in shallow 47-degree waters produced 29 stripers that were mostly over 28 inches. Jim caught a 22-pounder — and Matt a 15. This was a complete reversal of a fishery dominated by almost all shorts on bait.

The Golden Eagle from Belmar will be sailing for stripers from Belmar tomorrow to check out what the gannets have been diving on in the ocean. Also at that port, the Ocean Explorer had a good bite of blackfish on Tuesday that resulted in 20 keepers plus a bonus cod.

Bob Matthews, at Fisherman’s Den in Belmar Marina, had the first report of legal blackfish being caught in Shark River Inlet. However, the winter flounder bite has never turned on at the docks — and may not happen this spring.

Grumpy’s Tackle in Seaside Park noted that a surfcaster reported releasing two short stripers — one on bait and another on a lure.

The Mimi VI from Point Pleasant will be sailing open for bottom fishing from Friday through Sunday from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Call 732 370-8019 for reservations and info.

I’m still finding things in the basement for this weekend’s garage sale at 1552 Osprey Ct., Manasquan Park, NJ 08736. In addition to all the rods, reels, lines, lures. etc., there was a never-used planer board rigging and Chatillon hanging scales.

 

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Ty Man finds lots of small stripers

Chuck Many had no lack of action today with his Ty Man from Gateway Marina in Highlands as 100 small bass were released by three anglers even though the water temperature was only 46 degrees.

Gannets were diving all over Raritan Bay and on the outside, but Many didn’t mark any big bass. It only took one throw of his cast net to get what was needed, and he said the small bass even hit bunker chunks in the running tide before really turning on to worms and clams as the current slowed. Yet, there wasn’t anything close to 28 inches among them.

The Golden Eagle is making its first striper trip out of Belmar at 7:30 a.m. Wednesday. Hopefully they’ll find some under those gannets in the ocean.

The Ocean Explorer from Belmar found blackfish action on bottom during Sunday’s trip, and it was good enough to produce some limits.

The Jamaica from Brielle has room on Saturday’s 1 a.m. offshore wreck trip for cod and pollock. Call 732 528-5014 for reservations on the limited trip that costs $140.

Grumpy’s Tackle in Seaside Park reported their first surf striper — a short that hit metal.

I’ve been tied up getting ready for this weekend’s fishing tackle garage sale at my home — 1552 Osprey Ct., Manasquan Park, NJ 08736.  I keep finding things hiding in my basement, including a Penn International II  80S on a Daiwa 80-pound bent butt rod that I never got around to using. Call for info at 732 757-5531.

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Getting to be a little more like spring

Though it was still pretty chilly today, it appears that we will be experiencing more normal temperatures as the week progresses. Ocean waters are warming a bit, up to 43 to 44 degrees, and bottom fish are getting a bit more active.

At Belmar, the Big Mohawk found blackfish life on some spots, and picked both some keepers and shorts. They are holding off until Wednesday for the next trip. The Ocean Explorer got out Sunday for some keeper and short tog plus short cod.

Jerry Lasko of Point Pleasant gave the Ocean County surf a try on Sunday with no results, but was pleased to see lots of small dolphins jumping and plenty of gannets diving on bait not too far offshore.

I’ve been busy getting gear together for this weekend’s garage sale at 1552 Osprey Ct., Manasquan Park, NJ 08736. I’m even putting up my two Penn International 130-pound giant tuna outfits. I’m not ready to take up golf, but at 81 I can close that page in my record book with 38 legitimately fought giants (no cranking in a rod holder as in Wicked Tuna) up to 1022 pounds .

One of the young readers of this blog, Daniel Myers (8) of Kendall, Fl. is working his way up to such fish in the future in his local waters where he caught a bragging-size largemouth bass. That was a lot more impressive than the 7-inch sunfish I caught on my came pole at his age.

 

Daniel's big bass