The folks at Keyport Marine Basin summed up this week’s fishing in three words—rain, storms wind. Fortunately, the reports weren’t all bad in Northern New Jersey this week. In fact, since the weather cleared Wednesday, the fishing had improved dramatically, and stripers, fluke, sea bass and cod all helped anglers bend a rod this week.
Aboard Skylarker Sportfishing, Steve said the action was great prior to the recent inclement weather. Black sea bass between 2 and 4 pounds filled coolers while cod to 8 pounds generally took home the pool money. A few ling and some out-of-season and released tog rounded out the recent action. As the water warms back up, Steve expects the bass to move right back in to the nearshore waters off Northern Jersey. It’s loaded with bunker, he said, a great sign that the best bass fishing of the season is still to come.
Fluke fishing in Raritan Bay bounced back reported Brayden at Efinger’s Sporting Goods. The bite, which had slowed with the heavy south winds, resumed, and anglers took fluke to 8 pounds inside Sandy Hook Bay this week. Both bait rigs and jigs were working, an improvement from the first week of the fluke season when colder waters made bait rigs the best option for action. Brayden also mentioned the sea bass are biting well on the wrecks, and the occasional cod and throwback blackfish is providing some variety. Fishing for stripers and blues quieted with the weather, but as the water settles, Brayden predicts the fishing, especially the bluefishing, to pick up over the next week.
The folks at Tackle US are seeing lots of big bass on live bunker, including a 35- and a 43-pounder taken this week. The bluefish have pushed out, they reported, and the bass have moved in, a good trade by anyone’s standards. Fluke fishing is best off the beaches in 20 feet of water according to the Tackle US Crew.
Tom at Giglio’s checked in a 25-pound and a 17-pound striper this week. The winning tactics were clam on the bottom and pencil poppers on the surface. Bass are around, Tom said, but the nasty weather kept many fishermen from giving it a try. Tom had also heard of some keeper fluke coming out of Shark River. He’d heard few reports from the Navesink River other than those concerning the wayward beluga whales currently popping up in the river.
Pete of Parker Pete Sportfishing reported that this spring is off to a slower-than-normal start with the poor weather. He’s landed a number of bass up to 40 pounds, and expect the good fishing to resume as soon as the weather begins to cooperate.
Best Bets for the Weekend
With the wind laying down and the rain giving us a break this weekend, there should be a major improvement in the fishing. The easterly winds should help bump up the water temperature and bring the stripers back inshore to feed on the bunker schools. Striper fishing was already improving as of Thursday morning with boats on the bunker schools catching bass up to 40 pounds.
Fluke fishing is picking up, but the hotspot this week was Raritan Bay and Sandy Hook Bay. Bucktails are producing better now that the waters are warming up, but it doesn’t hurt to have a bait rig with you in case the jig bite is slow.
The wreck and reefs are your best choice if coming home with a seafood dinner is your goal. Sea bass fishing is great, and the added bonus of a keeper cod or two makes it even more inviting. Just make sure to release any blackfish you catch by accident as they are out of season until July.
The freshwater streams are blown out from the rain, but as they return to fishable levels, the hatches should resume and the trout should begin feeding again.