Saltwater & Jetty Report:

2/6/2012
12:30PM
As I said no one left the house yesterday to go fishing. Made they did leave to go pick up some food or snacks for the football game but that is it. Did some digging to find out there has been a few plugging LBI and the IBSP/Seaside area, but they said no stripers were caught. No word lately from the Monmouth County jetties lately either. Only good thing I am hearing is that the offshore ling fishing has been great while cod, pollock, and blackfish has been hit or miss. We will be having a rad building in March so sign up now.

2/5/2012
9:10AM
Don't think too many will even leave the house today as they get ready for their big Super Bowl parties. No word from any of the beaches yesterday. Was told Seaside as well as LBI was a ghost town. I also had no word from any of the northern beaches or jetties. You just because the groundhog saw his shadow doesn't mean you have to hide in the house. As for boats it is still pretty much mackerel and ling. There have been a few cod mixed when people are fishing ling. Well the time frame for reel repairs is now getting longer. So the longer you wait to get them here the longer you will wait to get them back. Also if you want that rod repaired or a custom rod built now is the time to get that order in. We also have a few spots still open for the rod building class that starts tomorrow. If you want to get in on it call us so we can get you on the list. If you want to attend the March one the sign up list has already started.

2/4/2012
9:30AM
Looks like you have to be on a Monmouth County jetty if you want any action. Small plugs off the jetties at night is the ticket. Heard as soon as there is any light the bite goes away. These stripers are not just shorts but a few dinner sized keeper are being caught. Seems any other beaches such as Seaside, IBSP and LBI there has been nothing caught lately, but I was also told that the beaches are empty. So let's see, empty beaches means no one fishing which means there is nobody to catch fish. So that means that there could be some action but we would never know. I know tomorrow will be slow because everyone will be watching the Super Bowl. As for the boaters only word is that mackerel is still pretty hot. People going for cod end up fishing ling and that's about it.

2/3/2012
10:30AM
The central surf around LBI, IBSP and Seaside has been really quiet lately. It could be due to the lack of people fishing as well. But the northern jetties have still been producing stripers at night on small plugs. This could add up to be being a great spring run but we will have to see. He is the kicker thou, I have been told that some boaters returning have run into birds working and under the birds are stripers. I have not been told if they are stopping to try and catch them and if they are I am not being told if they are catching any. Ok, ok I know you want to know where as well, only thing I been told is that it is up north. I know this time of year they keep their boat I believe in Shark River. That is all I know. As far as the party boats go, ling has been the best it has been in years. Mackerel has turned on a bit and people are getting coolers full of medium sized fish. Cod has been a pick at best and blackfish has not been much better.

2/2/2012
10:30AM
Sorry for the later report but one of the roads I use to get to the store was a parking lot this morning. Oh well see the above note about herring. Looks like for now it is gone as a bait and food. Well on to the reports. Nothing new to report seems it is mostly stripers from the jetties from Belmar and points north. One customer reported 3 shorts on a fresh water bass lure. So when I said small lures it is small lures. Try using 3 to 4 inch ones and work them slow. The blackfish regs went into effect yesterday. I know a lot of people are upset over these new regs but I guess we will just have to live with them for now. The new size limit for both commercial and recreational is 15 inches. The season for recreational is as follows:
Jan. 1 - Feb. 28 4 fish
Mar. 1 - Mar. 31 CLOSED
Apr. 1 - Apr. 30 4 fish
May 1 - Jul. 26 CLOSED
Jul. 27 - Aug. 31 1 fish
Sept. 1 - Oct. 17 CLOSED
Oct. 18 - Nov. 15 1 fish
Nov. 16 - Dec. 31 4 fish


Fresh Water Report:

BUY NJ FISHING LICENSE ONLINE CLICK HERE

2/5/2012
Some out fishing but didn't hear too much back. AMC and Miry Run is producing catches of pickerel and a few bass. Pickerel is on shiners and bass on fatheads.

2/4/2012
Walleye in the Delaware River is doing better then what I was told. Seems they are catching a good number of them now. Had a few reports from Lake Mercer that the muskie fishing is doing pretty good. I am going to try and get some bigger shiners in for that. Right now I have large but some people like to use much bigger bait. You can also use saltwater plugs as well. Pickerel has been doing really good as well, with crappie coming in a close second. The bass fishing has been on the slow side but they are being caught when using fatheads.

2/3/2012
Pickerel, crappie and a few bass are being caught. Pickerel is on spoons or shiners and the crappie and bass have been on fatheads. Reports came out of a few of the local lakes. Some are catching catfish out of the Delaware River and had a report of a few walleye from up around Washington Crossing. If you are fishing south of the Calhoun Street bridge don't forget you need to have a Saltwater Registry card. If you don't or need to renew it for 2012 see the links above.

2/2/2012
Great day and a bunch of people fishing. Assunpink Bob reports that the pickerel bite in the Assunpink lakes is going strong. Just so you know Bob fishes from the shore and not in a boat. So that just goes to show you that you don't need a boat to fish them lakes. Also had reports that some bass were caught on fathead minnows from AMC and Miry Run.

About river herring see above.

Fisherman Fred's
2222 State Highway 33
Hamilton, NJ 08690
Phone: 609-570-8035
Fax: 609-570-8036
http://www.fishermanfreds.com