Stripers up to 50 pounds appeared at the end of last week and have been making for some happy anglers since then. Ben Nichols flutter spoons, Doc Spooks, live lining bunker, and trolling shad rigs and Mojos have all been working. There haven’t been too many keepers as most of the fish are too big, in excess of 38 inches. Folks fishing to the south are hoping the bass make their way down the coast as there is plenty of bait waiting for them. In the meantime, the surf is giving up a lot of small bluefish, most just a notch above snapper size. There are also schoolie stripers in the wash and albies continue to pop up off the beaches.
Northern New Jersey Fishing Report
Rick Hebert at Tackle World in Rochelle Park said the jumbo stripers have grabbed everyone’s attention. He hasn’t heard anything on bluefin tuna as everyone is now chasing the bass. The trout fishing has been good after the stocking but the fish still seem a little sluggish. It takes them a little while to get acclimated, he said.
Capt. Phil Sciortino at the Tackle Box in Hazlet said the big stripers are all over Raritan Bay. Bunker spoons, Mojos, live eels and live bunker are all working along with shads, flutter spoons and topwater plugs. If you’re snagging bunker, remember the new regulation requires that an inline circle hook must be used when fishing with bait for stripers. There are also bluefish at the tip of Sandy Hook and porgies and sea bass on the rock piles.
Mike Pinto at Giglio’s Bait and Tackle in Sea Bright said Raritan Bay is on fire for bass anglers. Closer to home, there’s loads of bait off the beaches and false albacore keep popping up. Most of the time, they’re just out of reach but come close enough on occasion for anglers to get a shot. Several were caught on Wednesday. Pinto said the bass fishing in the Shrewsbury River has been pretty good mostly at night and the kayakers are doing well with tautog on the smaller pieces.
Mike Gleason at Tak Waterman in Long Branch said guys fishing Raritan Bay are having a blast with the big bass. He called it dynamite fishing with a lot of stripers between 30 and 50 pounds. Ben Nichols flutter spoons and Doc Spooks are both working well and Gleason said the shop just received big orders of both. He also reported good striper fishing in the back of the Shrewsbury River. There are still tons of peanuts back in the rivers, he said. If all bass up north come south and connect with the massive amounts bait, it will be an epic fall run. There were plenty of small blues off the Bradley Beach, Ocean Grove, and Asbury Park beaches earlier in the week along with loads of bait including bunker and spearing.
Bob Matthews at Fisherman’s Den in Belmar said the inshore fishing lit up on Sunday with bluefish blowing up all along the beaches. He also reported an excellent tautog bite at the Shark River Inlet. The striper bite has been good in the rivers at night but the surf remains a bit quiet for bass anglers. The Shark River also has kingfish and winter flounder as Jimmy Murphy of Lake Como had nine of the former and five of the latter over the weekend. The party boats out of the Belmar Marina, including the Big Mohawk, Capt. Cal II and Ocean Explorer are catching sea bass, porgies and tautog. The Golden Eagle and Miss Belmar are sailing for blues and stripers.
Capt. Pete Sykes of Parker Petes Fishing Charters said his sea bass extravaganzas have been finding plenty of fish with porgies and winter flounder in the mix. On Wednesday, Capt. Greg Kutiak did an ocean search for stripers and brought a couple of jumbos aboard while marking plenty of fish. Sykes expects that bite to gather steam after this full moon. Parker Pete’s has a few spots for this Friday’s Striped Bass Extravaganza and open striper dates in October and November.
Capt. Jay Richardella of Side Job Charters out of Belmar has stripers in his sights as the big fish invaded Raritan Bay. He was heading there on Wednesday and has open dates for striper trips. Earlier in the week, he had the Goldstein charter out and they crushed the sea bass with a full boat limit.
Capt. Steve Spinelli on the Skylarker Charters out of Belmar said he’s been doing very well all week with sea bass and porgies. His charters are also getting shots of bluefish and there have been some bonito in the mix.
Frank at the Reel Seat in Brielle said the tautog bite in the Point Pleasant Canal has been excellent while the boats fishing the reefs and wrecks are doing well with black sea bass. Small blues and bonito are on the beaches there and when the boats have been able to get out, the yellowfin and bigeye bite has been good in the canyons.
Capt. Kenny Namowitz on the Mimi VI out of Point Pleasant Beach reported a good week of porgy and sea bass fishing with some ling in the catch as well. For its November and December open boat tautog trips, the Mimi VI be accepting online reservations. Check the website for details.
Frank Giacalone at Gabriel Tackle Co. in Brick reported lots of life in the surf with blues and bass feeding on all the bait. The Mantoloking bridges are also producing schoolie stripers at night. He’s also getting reports of stripers in the Manasquan River at night on eels around bridges. The Manasquan Inlet is producing plenty of tautog and blues and albies are also popping up there. Gabriel Tackle’s Chadwick location will be hosting a surf fishing seminar this Saturday morning at 8:30 given by local legend D.J. Muller. The seminar is free.
Pete Kupper at Charlie’s Bait and Tackle in Normandy Beach said the small blues are in the surf there as well along with some short bass. First light seems to be the best time for them. There’s still a ton of bait around, he said, and false albacore continue to pop up off the beach now and then. The bigger bass are back in the Manasquan River, he added, being caught at the bridges and in the Point Pleasant Canal at night. Kupper said sign-ups are going well for the Surf Turkey Tournament and there will be a special fundraising 50/50 held during the tournament over the Thanksgiving Weekend.
Jenni Ackerman at Grumpy’s Bait and Tackle in Seaside Park said there are bass and bluefish in the local surf. One customer caught 11 stripers earlier this week on an SP Minnow. There’s a ton of bait around, she said, and small bluefish are plentiful. Tog fishing has been good from the inlet jetties and the sea bass fishing out front has been decent as well.
Northern Jersey Forecast
Raritan Bay is bound to draw a crowd with all of the big stripers being caught but if you can stand the traffic, it’s worth a shot. Doc Spooks, flutter spoons, and live lining look to be the most popular methods for catching jumbos. The beaches are loaded with bait and bluefish, bass and false albacore are apt to pop up just about anywhere. It’s the season to walk the sand.