New Jersey Fishing Reports
04-16-2008
11-16-2007
Staten Island
Anglers with Kayla Rose Charters bailed a load of blackfish Wednesday, though the morning bite was a lot better than the afternoon, Capt. Darrin said. His blackfish trips are fishing in deeper water than before and no longer in the bay but in the ocean. Kayla Rose has been fishing every day, not only on blackfish trips but also for stripers. Patrons were trolling shads or casting light tackle and jigging shads for stripers, but some bigger linesiders were starting to appear at night and were grabbing eels. The vessel is offering both charters and open-boat trips and will fish all winter, and the boat won’t leave the water. If interested in the open trips, give Darrin a call with your dates, and he’ll try to set up a trip with others on his list. Space is available for an open blackfish trip Monday, and open striper trips are leaving the dock Wednesday and Friday evenings.
Blackfishing was super with Outcast Charters on Wednesday, and the boat made four drops, and all held life, and the anglers limited out by 11:30 a.m., afterward played catch and release and then came home early, Capt. Joe said. The slipperies weighed up to 9 pounds and bit both green and white crabs. Outcast sometimes stops on the way home from blackfishing trips and jigs for striped bass under working birds near shore, and the anglers were up for doing that, but no birds were seen on this trip. Blackfish charters will fish all weekend on the boat, and it’s been a great November for blackfishing for Outcast.
An open-boat trip with three anglers limited out on blackfish to 6 pounds Tuesday in snotty weather with Barbara Anne Fishing Charters, and they played catch and release with a dozen more, Capt. Anthony said. Blackfishing’s been pretty consistent for the most part for Barbara Anne, and some days are better than others. Blackfishing is the focus on the boat the rest of the season, and striped bass trips are available, but Anthony’s been telling customers that they might land 100 stripers and only a few keepers, and he says he’s up front with them. Open-boat trips sail every Tuesday, guaranteed to leave the dock with a minimum of two anglers.
Frenzy Fishing Charters eeled the Sandy Hook Rips on Wednesday night and landed more than 12 stripers to 17 pounds, Capt. Tommy Verderosa said. Lots of the fish in the area were small, but some nice ones were also there. One of the keepers was kept, and eight eels were inside its stomach, so the stripers were apparently feeding heavily on eels. The trip took place through the whole outgoing tide, and a few other boats were fishing. Frenzy will keep the boat in the water a little while yet.
Strong winds were keeping catches to a minimum, and striper fishing was spotty and gave up small fish, and some blues were around, and blackfishing was good, said Dino from Michael’s Bait & Tackle. Customers were surf fishing on Staten Island but with few results except occasional short stripers.
Laurence Harbor
A combo striper/blackfish trip is slated to fish with Evening Tide Charters on Sunday, Capt. Kyle said. Some larger striped bass weighing from the teens to 20s supposedly moved into the bay, and cast rubber shads would hook them. Evening Tide will probably fish till the second week of December, and openings are still available for charters.
Keyport
A good catch of stripers was boated on a short trip Thanksgiving Day on the Lucky Carm, Capt. Carmine said. Maybe a dozen of the fish to 33 inches, including four that were kept, and two big blues to 12 pounds were trolled in the ocean off Sandy Hook, while the boat worked back and forth along the beaches. The anglers—Doug Larsen Sr. and Jr. and John from John’s Tire Company—fished 2 hours, so the catch was especially good considering the length of time. A charter was supposed to fish today, but seas were nasty, and more trips are supposed to fish Saturday and Sunday. Charters will keep fishing probably until mid December, depending on the weather. November was a rough month for winds and storms, and Carmine hoped the weather would flatten out now.
Luigi Battone’s group of four anglers trolled and released 36 throwback striped bass and battled several jumbo blues today with Papa’s Angels Charters in the ocean off Sandy Hook in strong winds and tough seas, Capt. Joe said. He told the anglers about the forecast ahead of time, but they decided to sail, and they fought loads of fish with constant action. Birds worked the water all over creation, and the fish finder was lit up with marks, and the fish were plump, clean and looked newly arrived. A couple of spots are available for an open-boat striper trip 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday. Open trips also take place every day when no charter is booked, and call to reserve the open trips.
Atlantic Highlands
The Atlantic Star fished for blackfish Wednesday for the first time since Sunday, Capt. Tom said. Patrons bagged a few of the tog, not as many as on Sunday, when the fishing was good, and conditions mostly made anchoring difficult, and maybe week’s rough weather affected the bite. There was a ground swell, and that along with currents and light, southerly winds failed to create solid anchoring, except a brief time in the morning when the vessel held. More shorts bit than on Sunday, but some keepers were bagged, and Tom hoped things would straighten out after the weather. No porgies were landed on this trip, but the boat wasn’t fishing the area for porgies. It fished the Scotland Grounds instead of Sandy Hook Reef, because of the weather, and also because blackfishing was good at Scotland on Sunday. Some anglers tried dunking clams for porgies anyway, but dogfish bit, so the crew put away the clams and stuck with green crabs for tog. They were careful with soft baits like clams that will attract dogs, and the number of dogs on the bottom was increasing. But the boat is still carrying both crabs and clams. Togging with the crabs is the focus, but sometimes clamming for porgies can be an option, though Tom was yet to see if porgies remained after the weather. No trip sailed Thanksgiving Day, but trips were slated to resume today. The Atlantic Star is bottom fishing for blackfish, porgies and sea bass from 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily.
Boating for striped bass was very good along the beaches, and stripers were taken from north of Rockaway down to Sea Bright, and adult bunker were schooling, said Jimmy from Julian’s Bait & Tackle. Stripers to 30 pounds were eeled at Ambrose Channel yesterday, and the bay was also giving up linesiders. Trolling with shad, umbrella or tube rigs was working, and so was clamming, and pretty much every type of fishing for stripers was working. Surf fishing was also excellent for the fish on clams, metal or popper lures. Kevin Mueller weighed in a 24.8-pound striper that smacked a popper plug in the wash at the Sandy Hook Rips. Blackfishing was a little slow in rolly seas from the winds.
Jigging for striped bass was very good on the Fishermen, and the bass were spread throughout a large area, and the boat was targeting them at several spots, Capt. Ron said. A trip Tuesday was probably the best of the season so far, despite nasty weather, and all patrons limited out by 10:30 a.m. and afterward played catch and release. Wednesday’s fishing wasn’t as hot but was good. The stripers have weighed up to 25 pounds, and lots have been small, but keepers were also biting, and so were plenty of blues. Ava 17’s, Ava 27’s, Crippled Herrings and Storm shads all connected, and on some days the stripers attacked just about anything. The boat is carrying clams in case dunking the bait is necessary, but lately jigs were working fine. The Fishermen is fishing for striped bass 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily and 3:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. Ron was unsure how long the 3:30 p.m. trips would keep sailing, and this weekend could be the final ones.
Highlands
Striped bass and a bunch of blues were trolled and jigged with Jersey Devil Charters on Wednesday in the ocean from the Highlands Bridge to the Shrewsbury Rocks, and striper fishing was nothing great, but the fish were there, and they seemed spread out during that moment after the rough weather earlier in the week, Capt. Brian said. Spoons were trolled, and rubber shads were jigged, and the water was 47 or 48 degrees, a good temp for the fishing. Big stripers were sometimes hooked lately, and a buddy drilled a 25-pounder and a 20-pounder. Jersey Devil is also tog fishing, and Brian heard that tog were boated Wednesday.
A charter with three anglers on Thanksgiving Day jigged stripers to 30 inches, including dozens of throwbacks, with Sandy Hook Fishing Adventures, Capt. Bob said in an e-mail. A trip with the Hoffman family produced four keeper stripers to 35 inches and a bunch of shorts, and a charter with members of the Middletown North High School soccer team jigged and trolled stripers to 34 inches and blues to 8 pounds. So charters were having great success on stripers in both the bay and ocean, and all weekend dates are booked until the boat gets pulled from the water for the season, but several weekday spots are open, and special discounts are available for jigging trips, but only jigging trips, on weekdays.
Sea Bright
Two Rivers Charters jigged the Shrewsbury Rocks today, and not a whole lot of fish bit, but probably 40 were hooked: mostly small stripers but some up to 32 inches, and big blues to 12 pounds, Capt. Fletcher Chayes said. It wasn’t exciting—just consistent—and a fair number of birds worked the water.
Long Branch
Weigh-ins rolled in from the surf and included John Ross’s 10-pound and 8.8-pound stripers that he clammed, said John from Jim’s Bait & Tackle. Al Pollard checked in two 12-pound and 8-pound stripers that bit clams for him in the suds. Surf fishing was a little slow today, but surf anglers before and during this week’s blow were beaching small stripers. Little was heard about bluefish in the surf. Dave Clark showed off a 15-pound striper that he boated in the ocean on an eel. Anglers in the Shrewsbury and Navesink rivers were supposedly picking up both small and large striped bass on rubber shads or live eels.
Neptune
Fishing for striped bass was the best of the season so far on Tuesday and Wednesday in the ocean on jigs and eels with Last Lady Fishing Charters, Capt. Ralph said. On Tuesday the anglers limited out on the bass to 24 pounds by 11 a.m. On Wednesday the outing was an individual-reservation blackfishing trip, but the boat stopped for stripers an hour, and patrons nearly limited out, catching 14 keepers. Then they loaded up on blacks to 6 pounds. More individual-reservation blackfish trips are slated, including on Monday, and space is available. In December individual-reservation blackfish trips will run every weekend. A couple of openings are also available for a mid-range wreck-fishing trip the third week of December.
Belmar
Striped bass fishing was great, the best jigging of the year so far, Tuesday in the ocean on the Nan Sea J, and 105 of the fish were landed, and 24 of them were keepers, and 40 blues were also hooked, Capt. Tom said. So the trip was awesome, and seas were rough, and the weather was stormy and rainy. Tom also knew boaters who found similar action at the Shrewsbury Rocks that day. The Nan Sea J will keep sailing for these fish, and tog fishing is also on the menu. One half-day tog trip already sailed, and the catch was fair, but seas were rough, and the boat returned early. Charters will keep fishing through the end of the year.
Blackfishing trips were out every day except one lately on the Big Mohawk, and the fishing was good, was fine, and sometimes anglers limited out, and most of the fish measured 15 to 17 inches, Capt. Chris said. A number of 7-, 8- and 9-pounders were bagged Wednesday, and patrons were picking away at the tog in 30 to 55 feet. The number of larger fish will pick up as the season progresses, until the blacks that are caught are very big. It’s only just beginning, but catches were good. The Big Mohawk is sailing for blackfish 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. every day.
The Bandit is now in Indian River, Delaware, to fish for tog through winter, Capt. Scotty said. This is especially good news when Jersey’s bag limit drops to four on January 1, because then anglers can head to Indian River for Delaware’s 10-fish, 14-inch bag limit. The boat fished there last year and did well, and reports on the fishing will be posted here until January, when the reports will be moved to this site’s Offseason Report that covers out-of-state fishing during Jersey’s saltwater-fishing off-season. The boat will start fishing tomorrow, and then open-boat tog trips will sail 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursdays through Sundays, and reservations are required. The trips will be limited to 25 passengers on the 77-foot vessel, and green crabs are supplied. Tog charters will be available Mondays through Fridays. The Bandit is connected with a hotel that offers a discount and very reasonable rates to the boat’s anglers. The vessel will fish from Delaware until April and then return to Belmar.
Party-boat blackfishing was good, and some patrons limited out, and all were at least going home with a number of keepers, said Bob from Fisherman’s Den. Boating for stripers was very good in the ocean, and sometimes the fish swam into the surf, and surf fishing was also good, and both boaters and surf sharpies fought blues along with the stripers. Boaters were nailing the fish on Ava 47 jigs, and surf casters were scoring with 17’s and 27’s or needlefish lures, when winds were calm enough to throw needles. Shark River offered nothing to fish for, because winter flounder season was closed. Plenty of flounder were hugging the bottom, though.
Last Monday's Report
Staten Island
Outcast Charters was weathered out on a blackfishing trip Friday, but a charter sailed for blacks Saturday, and the boat had to bounce around to different pieces a bit, and some produced better than others, but the catch was excellent in the end, and the anglers limited out, Capt. Joe said. The charter fished in 40 to 55 feet as usual lately, and the fish weighed up to 8 pounds, and the morning seemed better than the afternoon. No striped bass fishing was done, but sometimes blackfish charters will stop and target stripers under working birds near the beaches on the way home. A charter was also going to run for blacks Sunday, but the trip had to be cancelled because of an illness in Joe’s family. Blackfish are a specialty on the boat, and the season is really kicking, but striper charters are also available.
Keyport
Striped bass fishing was in full swing, but lots of small fish were mixed in, said Chris from Crabby’s Bait & Tackle in a fax. Good reports were coming from all along the bay shore and the ocean, but for better-sized bass, “the night bite is the right bite,” Chris said. Clams, bunker and live eels got the hits. Winds kept most boaters at the docks, though tons of birds worked the bay. Trolling should be great at Sandy Hook Reef and Romer Shoal when winds calm down. No decent reports were heard about blackfishing because of the winds.
Pat Harrold’s party of six fished near Hoffman Island with Papa’s Angels Charters on Saturday and fought 14 blues and six short stripers to 26 inches that they released, Capt. Joe said. Eels, bunker and clams were brought along, but all the fish hit metal under a huge group of working birds. The anglers had a great time, Joe said, and the weather was somewhat windy but doable under mostly cloudy skies, and few other boats were fishing. Two spaces are available on an open-boat trip for stripers Thanksgiving Day from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m., so anglers can be back in time for turkey. Open-boat trips also sail every day when no charter is booked, and call to reserve.
Capt. Carmine from the Lucky Carm was in Naples, Fla., during the week, but his friend Doug Larson from Longfin Tackle took a trip that trolled more than 35 stripers, and kept eight, on the Brooklyn side of the Verrazano Bridge on Saturday, Carmine said. The weather was looking bad in the coming days, but Wednesday looked okay, and charters are available on the Lucky Carm both that day and for six hours on Thanksgiving. The weather’s been tough a lot lately, but Carmine will keep the boat in the water. In Naples he fished from the Naples Pier and reeled in Spanish mackerel, a couple of bonito and a king mackerel on a 2-ounce Hopkins jig. If anyone ever goes, he recommends fishing the pier highly, and it’s free, and no license is required on the pier. Fish were busting the surface, and dolphins even chased them around. Diesel was $3.75 a gallon there, and the Naples head boats raised their prices to $70 a head from $40 last year.
Atlantic Highlands
Trips that mainly fished for tog, but that also kept bagging porgies, got under way on the Atlantic Star on Saturday and Sunday between the rough weather, Capt. Tom said. Tog became the primary target because the bag limit increased to eight on Thursday from the previous limit of one, although porgies, the previous focus on the boat, kept biting at many of the same places as the tog, and bait was supplied for both fish on the trips. Saturday’s trip fished Sandy Hook Reef, and a few blacks were taken, and the high hook scored four, and another lifted aboard three keepers, and another claimed two, and some picked up none. So it wasn’t great fishing, but some blacks were found, and one family fished for porgies and took home a bucket of the scup. On Sunday the weather was nasty, but blackfishing was actually a little better. The boat fished at the Scotland Grounds, because winds kept it from sailing to the reef, and a couple of drops produced a few fish, and another couple were a little better, and most patrons pulled a few keepers over the rails, and Tom thought the high hook returned to port with five. Anglers will see if the ongoing stretch of stormy weather pushes out the porgies, but if it does, customers will just fish for blacks. But until the porgy fishing slows, both green crabs for tog and clams for porgies and/or sea bass will be supplied. The Atlantic Star is bottom fishing for blackfish, porgies and sea bass from 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily. No trip will sail Thanksgiving Day, but the boat will be back at it on Black Friday.
Fishing was poor on two trips Saturday and Sunday, and some blues bit, and so did dogfish and skates, but few stripers grabbed baits, said Capt. Mick from the CRT II. The trips fished all over, including Ambrose Channel, Sandy Hook Channel, Romer Shoal, and the clam beds. The CRT II will sail this season through Saturday, and openings are available this week, and Mick hoped stripers turned back on after the storm.
A striped bass trip made it out Saturday morning on the Teal, and the weather made it difficult to leave the dock on any other outing in the past several days, Capt. Rich said. The fishing was a little slow, and anglers just had to wait out the weather, but some of the fish were jigged, and so were blues. Patrons had been eeling the fish on evening trips, and that action was strong before the storm. Lots of bait filled the water, and plenty of stripers could be jigged, but anglers had to get to them. The Teal is fishing for stripers 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. and from 3:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. every Friday through Sunday. But a trip is also expected to fish 7 a.m. Thanksgiving Day and will return a little earlier than the usual time.
“A nasty ocean turned on the bite today!” Capt. Ron from the Fishermen said Sunday in the report on the boat’s web site. Patrons bailed 90-percent striped bass to 24 ½ pounds, and the fish attacked anything thrown at them: Ava’s, shads, Storms, it didn’t matter, and they were hungry. The stripers were feeding on sand eels and anchovies, and a few big blues were mixed in, but blues weren’t the norm. “Waited all year for a day like today!” Ron said. On Saturday plenty of blues bit, and so did 25- to 27-inch stripers, and not a whole bunch of keepers did, and there was lots of action. The Fishermen is fishing for striped bass 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily and 3:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. The daily trip will sail its usual hours on Thanksgiving Day.
Highlands
Jigging for striped bass was very good from Sandy Hook Bay to Long Branch during the past days with Fisher Price Charters, and blues were mixed in, Capt. Derek said. Most of the bass were shorts, but keepers to 26 pounds got boated Saturday. The bay was 52 to 55 degrees, and the ocean was 57 degrees, and a few dates were open for charters this week and next, and the season was running out, so now’s the time. Besides striper trips, tog charters are also available, and Derek tested the waters for tog a couple of times, and the fish were plentiful.
Three anglers looked for striped bass at night with Sandy Hook Fishing Adventures and limited out on linesiders to 34 inches and released about 20 throwbacks, Capt. Bob said in an e-mail. Another group of three left the dock in the afternoon and pulled up a boxful of blues to 12 pounds, two keeper stripers to 30 inches and dozens of throwbacks from 24 to 27 inches. Fishing’s been hot, and every day’s been getting better. All weekend charter dates are now booked until mid December, but prime weekdays are open.
Sea Bright
Two Rivers Charters fished the Shrewsbury and Navesink rivers Thursday, because of the weather, and stripers turned on during slack tide only, and probably 10 of the fish to 29 or 30 inches were hooked, all on jigs, Capt. Fletcher Chayes said. On Friday a trip fished off Sandy Hook Point and jigged all blues, no bass, to 18 pounds under working birds. A charter Saturday morning stopped at the tip of the Hook and caught some bass and a few blues but left the fish biting, because the plan was to fish the Shrewsbury Rocks. At the rocks small stripers and blues to 8 pounds were fly rodded, and Fletcher said he probably should have stayed at the tip of the Hook, because the stripers were bigger there, but the anglers still connected. The fish toward the rocks bit anywhere from 20 to 50 feet, a larger spread of depths than usual, as west winds drifted the boat offshore.
Neptune
Seas were brutal, but the boats from Last Lady Fishing Charters got out Sunday, one putting customers into stripers to 22 pounds, and the other fishing a mid-range wreck, Capt. Ralph said. The wreck fishing produced fewer fish than Ralph would like, but cod to 10 pounds and sea bass to 6 pounds were pulled up. Another mid-range wreck trip will fish the third week of December, and openings are available. A tog trip heads out Tuesday.
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