Anglers find more winter flounder in Barnegat

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Anglers find more winter flounder in Barnegat

By JOHN GEISER • March 25, 2008

The opening of the winter flounder season Sunday morning revealed the spring run is under way, and a lot of fish are already spawned out.

Greg Bogan of Brielle Bait and Tackle reported that most of the anglers who stopped by the shop Sunday and Monday had caught fish with upper Barnegat Bay more productive than the Manasquan River.

"Opening day was not bad," he said. "Most of the small boaters had from two to six fish - mostly keepers. It was described as a slow pick."

Bogan said he stocked sandworms, bloodworms and clams, but sold mostly clams and sands. Corn beads and yellow Twister-tails also worked.

Capt. Bill Burdge, whose BarVic docks in Point Pleasant Beach, opened the season Sunday morning with a trip down to Barnegat Bay.

"It wasn't good fishing, but we had a high hook of six fish and another guy had five," he said. "Others had two, three or none. We wound up the trip with 25 fish."

Burdge said he will be making two trips daily Saturday and Sunday, and will be keeping an eye on the river as well as the bay.

Capt. Ron Pry, skipper of the Miss Norma K out of Ken's Landing, Point Pleasant Beach, also opened the flounder season Sunday, and found upper Barnegat Bay a better producer than the river.

"We fished south of the Mantoloking Bridge, and it was on the slow side," he said. "Ben Gibbs was high hook with seven flounders, and he won the pool.

"It took a lot of sinker-bouncing to catch the fish," he said. "We had water temperature readings of between 39 and 42 degrees."

Mike Paras, Lakewood, fished with Joe Lynch, maker of Mai Tai lures, Sunday morning, and they caught five keeper flounders, three of which were caught within a few minutes of each other.

Paras said the heaviest flounder, one that was caught near the Mantoloking Bridge, weighed 2.38 pounds. All were clean-bellied fish, and they were spawned out.

Pete Pawlikowski, Oceanic Marina, Rumson, has his rental boats in the water, and fish were caught in the lower Navesink River Monday.

"We're ready to go, and I'm looking forward to a good flounder season," he said.

Capt. George Bachert, Angler, Atlantic Highlands, said his plans were to fish for winter flounders, but the good ling fishing he enjoyed Saturday convinced him to switch to wreck fishing Friday.

"I was surprised," he said. "We only had a dozen people, and we caught between 150 and 200 fish, mostly ling that were mixed in size, but a few keeper blackfish and one cod.

"We were at the Scotland Grounds - 80 feet of water," he said. "It's early for fishing that good, but the fish are there."

Bachert said he fished the Shrewsbury River for flounders Monday, and had a nice flurry of action on warmer outgoing water in the afternoon.

"Two guys had four keepers each plus three throwbacks," he said. "Ken Raabe, Wallington, won the pool with a 16 1/2-inch flounder, and he had four keepers."

Capt. Tom Buban, Atlantic Star, Atlantic Highlands, fished the Shrewsbury River Sunday morning, and both trips Monday with the best fishing coming on slack water.

"They were mostly keepers," he said. "And only one fish had roe in it; the rest were spawned out."

Bob Matthews of the Fisherman's Den, Belmar, said bulkhead and boat fishermen had rewarding days in the Shark River.

"Some of the rental boats came in with 18 to 20 keepers Sunday," he said. "And there were a lot of throwbacks. The biggest weighed in was just under 2 pounds."

Capt. Gary Fagan, Ocean Explorer, Belmar, was out Monday, and he was not disappointed with the ling fishing in 80 feet of water west of the Mud Buoy.

"It was not bad," he said. "I fished six spots, and there were ling on all of them. High hook had 18. We also had one blackfish - a 9-pounder."

Fagan said he will be at the wheel for the next couple of weeks before heading for Maine and his whale-watching trips.

Capt. Joe Bogan, Jamaica II, Brielle, said fishing was good Saturday on the 12-hour trip, and anglers had solid catches of ling with a few cod, pollock and blackfish mixed in.

Mack DuBois, Bristol, Pa., had 39 ling and two cod; Omar Richardson, Tabernacle, had 27 ling; Ricky Gallopo, Bradley Beach, had 25 ling, two cod and a pollock; and Tommy Cussman, Trenton, had 33 ling and two pollock.