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What a difference a day can make

Capt. Rob Semkewyc was surrounded by stripers yesterday on his Sea Hunter from Atlantic Highlands, as was noted in yesterday’s blog. Yet, he said today it was like the Sahara Desert in the same area. Only one small group of bass came up, and just one striper was boated. Of course, as fast as they can disappear, they could well be right back tomorrow.

Frank Jones was at the right place Saturday as he and his son Kyle livelined four stripers up to 48 inches in the fog off the Red Church while fishing on Bob Murzada’s Knee Deep before heading out to the Farms for limits of sea bass.

There was a surprising lack of reports today in such fine weather. There was one report of very cold water in the surf after days of south wind upwellings. The northwest wind is predicted to continue at 10-15 knots into the morning, which could help improve that situation before turning to southwest in the afternoon.

Point Pleasant Canal was dead this morning though conditions weren’t bad except for the usual weekend boat traffic. Yet, I saw only one angler get a hit. I stuck it out to the end of the outgoing and finally hooked a 17-inch striper on a Z Man 5-inch white Swimmereez. As far as I know, that was the only fish caught here this morning.

Vinny D’Anton is still in Sarasota. and had a fine morning of wade casting as snook turned on just as waves from the tropical storm started building up in the Gulf of Mexico. He ended up releasing 16 on the DOA Shrimp.

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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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Gale warning into tonight

It’s been a windy cold spring, but there are better days coming. The northwest wind now blowing up to 35 knots should drop to 20-25 west by morning plus gusts to 30. At least that should settle the ocean.

The relatively few boaters fishing in  Raritan Bay continue to do very well with large stripers. One claimed on Facebook that he had a hard time finding one under 38 inches.

I was able to find an article by Dan Radel in the Asbury Park Press noting that Norma Keller, owner of the Norma K party boat fleet in Point Pleasant, died at 80 from complications of old age. Due to the present restrictions, a small private service was held. However, I haven’t been able to find out any more about Capt. Art Hilliard after reading on Faceboook that he had passed away. Anyone with information can contact me at cristori@aol.com.

Vinnie D’Anton continues to do well wading for spotted sea trout at Sarastota, Fl. — and even added a flounder yesterday on a Z Man jig.

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Stripers best bet for weekend

Striped bass in Raritan Bay are the best bet at present, if you can find a way to get at them. Relatively few anglers have boats in the water so far, and getting launched may be a problem as marinas aren’t considered to be an essential business. To top it off, there are no party boats sailing in the bay, and some charter skippers aren’t sailing until the legality of doing so is settled.

Joe Massa went out himself with his My Three Sons from Morgan Marina today and had steady action casting a large shad. He then netted some bunkers and found that the bass responded to them as well. The stripers were mostly 15-20-pounders, but he also released a 40-incher.

Fisherman’s Den in Belmar Marina can supply bait, and reported a pick of flounder from the docks.  One angler told them that he had done well with stripers at Union Beach. A few small stripers have been taken on lures in the local surf.

At Seaside Park, Betty & Nick’s  is open for food take-outs, and the rest of the store is accessible for bait and tackle purchases. John Bushell continues to report a strong smell of bluefish blowing in from the surf, though it’s very early for blues.

Grumpy’s Tackle is closed, but the mail order business continues for those using Pay Pal.

Bill Hoblitzell has been raking worms and fishing for flounder, but only catching shorts lately. Yet, he did get a surprise in Point Pleasant Canal when a very early 18-inch blackfish put up a spirited battle on light tackle before the release.

Lots of N.J. anglers are still in Florida. Ric Gross of Point Pleasant said he had a fine offshore trip Wednesday with a boat  out of Hillsboro Inlet which trolled lots of blackfin tuna plus little tunny.

Tommy Cox bought a kayak, and has been doing very well in Lemon Bay on the west coast with seatrout, redfish and snook –including a 30-incher yesterday.

Vinny D’Anton is still wading in the Sarasota area, and finding good action as the waters have warmed to 80 degrees. Snook have been hitting the Zara Spook, though it’s been hard to get hooks in them. Seatrout and ladyfish have also been abundant.

Bob Corell of Bay Head and his wife Mary Agnes hosted his brother Todd and wife Karen on his Sea Vee out of Marathon yesterday as they finally got a calm day which produced a good catch of dolphin and blackfin tuna trolling out at the Hump.

Capt. Sal Cursi, who ran the Cathy Sea from Seawaren for many years,  took advantage of the good weather a couple of days ago to get out in his small boat at Palm Bay for a limit of mangrove snappers while releasing a few puppy black drum.

 

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A free Tady lure to those attending my Saturday striper seminar at the Saltwater Expo

The biggest and best show of the winter for saltwater anglers opens Friday in the N.J. Convention Center at Edison, and the Saltwater Fishing Expo continues through Sunday.

There’s lots to see at this show, which features complete displays from almost every major fishing tackle manufacturer and lots of seminars by local pros — but you can really make out by taking home a valuable Tady metal lure which will be presented to the first 100 attending my 11:30 Saturday morning seminar on catching big stripers.

As usual, Gary Quon will be aboard to explain how to get the most out of his Tady  metals which were developed in California but have spread to saltwaters worldwide.

There’s plenty of free parking at the Expo, which has an adult admission of $13. Youngsters 6-11 pay just $3, and those 5 and under are admitted free. Adults attending on Friday can save $3 by going online through Thursday at Sportshows.com to buy their ticket.

Windy weather persisted today, but it looks good for Thursday. Small craft warnings are up into Wednesday. After southwest gusts to 30 knots this afternoon, it’s down to northwest  at 10-15 with gusts to 20 by morning– but calming to north at 5 knots in the afternoon.

The Ocean Explorer from Belmar had nice weather Monday, but tracing down a cod report to the north didn’t work out and they ended up with ling.  They expect to sail for cod on Thursday.

Jeff Dement of the American Littoral Society will be a guest speaker at tonight’s 7:30 meeting of the Hudson River Fishermen’s Association in the Ridgefield Park Elks at 19 Cedar St.

Vinny D’Anton was into lots of spotted sea trout yesterday as he was wading at Sarasota, Fl. and casting a variety of lures. He usually gets into quite a few small blues at times down there during the winter, but they’ve been as scarce as blues were in our surf last fall. I’m sure that blues in the Gulf of Mexico are a different stock, but it’s curious that they’re also suddenly scarce.

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NJ fluke & sea bass regs to be set today

Click here for the accessible version

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Re: 2018 Fluke and Sea Bass Options
Paul Haertel of the JCAA reports as follows on today’s NJ Marine Fisheries Council meeting which will select one of the approved options for both the fluke & sea bass seasons:
2018 FLUKE AND SEA BASS OPTIONS
     Below are the options for fluke and sea bass that the New Jersey Marine Fisheries Council will consider at their next meeting on 4/5/18 at 5 PM at the Bay Av. Community Center located at 775 East Bay Av., Manahawkin, NJ.  The public will have an opportunity to give their opinions before the council votes on which options to adopt.  A top priority for JCAA is to close the gap between when fluke season ends and sea bass season begins. We certainly don’t want to go seven weeks with little to fish for inshore as we had to do last year after fluke season ended on 9/5. I will post the final regulations on the JCAA FB page on Thursday evening. Please “like” our page to keep abreast of the regulations and other important fisheries news.
Paul Haertel, JCAA Board Member – Past President
 
Fluke Options
5/25 – 9/22  3 fish 18”
5/22 – 9/20  3 fish 18”
5/15 – 9/16  3 fish 18”
(The special regulations of 3 fish at 17” for Delaware Bay and 2 fish at 16” for Island Beach are expected to remain the same)
Sea Bass Options
1.      May 23 – June 30, 10 fish, 12.5 inches
July 1 – August 31, 2 fish, 12.5 inches
October 8 – October 31, 10 fish, 12.5 inches
November 1 – December 31, 15 fish, 13 inches
2.      May 15 – June 22, 10 fish, 12.5 inches
July 1 – August 31, 2 fish, 12.5 inches
October 8 – October 31, 10 fish, 12.5 inches
November 1 – December 31, 15 fish, 13 inches
3.      June 9 – June 30, 10 fish, 12.5 inches
July 1 – August 31, 2 fish, 12.5 inches
October 1 – October 31, 15 fish, 12.5 inches
November 1 – December 31, 15 fish, 12.5 inches
Vinny D’Anton called from Sarasota last night to pass along the info that one of the “regulars” along the central N.J. Shore had caught some school stripers in the surf yesterday.  I haven’t been able to track down any details so far. The sea trout bite from Sarasota shores was off yesterday, but ladyfish and flounder continued to hit the 4 1/2-inch Rebel that’s been the hot lure lately. Surprisingly, D’Anton’s grandson, Luke Longo (10), caught a 27-inch Spanish mackerel on that lure.
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Bad news for northern anglers

NOAA has the following bad news about recreational regulations for cod and haddock in the Gulf of Maine and Georges Bank:

Proposed 2018 Groundfish Recreational Regulations – Open for Public Comment
By April 6, please submit your comments on proposed groundfish recreational measures for 2018. Recreational possession of Gulf of Maine cod would continue to be prohibited, the haddock possession limit would be reduced from 12 to 10 fish for the charter/party fleet, and a new closed season would be implemented in May for private anglers. For Georges Bank cod, we are proposing an increase to the minimum size from 22 to 24 inches, and a possession limit for the for-hire fleet, set at 10 fish.

The Ocean Explorer from Belmar will be sailing for cod on Thursday, while the Golden Eagle from that port gets started Friday for herring and mackerel.

Vinnie D’Anton reports from Sarasota that shore fishing was very good again today for spotted sea trout plus ladyfish, Spanish mackerel, snook and flounder all on the 3-inch Gulp  Shrimp in new penny color.

Joe Greco fished for redfish for the first time this spring on his small boat out of Fort Myers and cast for two of 20 and 22 inches.

Yesterday I fished from shore in the Miami area for some very unusual fish, and will have photos in tomorrow’s blog.

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Wild giant tuna action in NC

The Canyon Runner from Point Pleasant has been enjoying great giant bluefin tuna action during their winter stay in North Carolina — whenever the weather permits them to get offshore. Adam La Rosa has been frustrated by so many charters being lost, but when the boat gets out the fishing has been spectacular. Seven giants to over 700 pounds were caught during the two most recent days at sea — March 19 and 24. On the first trip, the Mark Brzozowski party hooked an unheard of quadruple of giants at once after a slow morning. The next trip produced non-stop trolling action not only with giants but also yellowfin tuna and dolphin for the Matt Mozitis party. If you want to get in on this incredible bite, and are willing to wait out the weather, call Adam La Rosa at 732 272-4445.

 

The Tackle Box in Hazlet reports Matt Calabria has been picking away at small stripers in the back of Raritan Bay on bloodworms, and also caught the first keeper there.

Vinnie D’Anton  has been enjoying good light tackle casting from shorelines near his winter home in Sarasota, Fl. Spotted sea trout have been hitting 3-inch Gulp, and he topped yesterday morning’s catch with a 24-incher.