Brought to you by Asbury Park Press April 11, 2008 (sorry for the late post)
ZONE 1: VERRAZANO BRIDGE-HIGHLANDS BRIDGE
The winter flounder fishery in the back of Raritan Bay should attract a lot of attention this weekend, and party and charter boat captains are hoping it will be an old-fashioned run of medium to big fish that will last until the season closes May 21. The deep draft vessels have been fishing the Shrewsbury River and the deeper parts of Sandy Hook and Raritan bays while the small boats are fanning out to fish the rivers, the deeper water and the flats on the Bayshore side of the bay off Keyport and Keansburg. Chris Salus of Crabby's Bait and Tackle, Keyport, said most of the stripers being caught off the Cliffwood and Union Beach beaches are shorts, but now and then a nicer fish is taken. Phil Sciortino of the Tackle Box, Hazlet, said he is encouraged by the keeper bass weighed in thus far, and expects an explosion of bass action as soon as the weather and water temperature warm up. The staff at Julian's Bait and Tackle, Atlantic Highlands, had no keeper bass weighed in, but reported winter flounders caught from boats and bulkheads. The staff at T & A Tackle and Huntin', Middletown, reported no bass weighed in, but surf fishermen picking short fish here and there at Sandy Hook and along the Bayshore beaches. The activity has been on either clams or worms. The party boats that have slipped offshore in the last week to 10 days have come in with ling and blackfish. There are fish on the Scotland Grounds and Sandy Hook Artificial Reef. The deepwater wrecks have been producing some cod, pollock and ling.
John Geiser
ZONE 2: SEA BRIGHT-SHARK RIVER INLET
The shot of sun Tuesday, and prospects of more this weekend are helping the winter flounder fishery in the Navesink River, according to Pete Pawlikowski of Oceanic Marina, Rumson. He had nine rental boats out Tuesday, and they all came in with fish. One trio of anglers had 25 nice-sized flounders. Jack Monteiro of Surfside Bait and Tackle, Long Branch, said he is fully stocked with bait and tackle for trout, winter flounders and striped bass, and noted there has been some activity in all sectors. The heaviest trout brought in thus far was an 8.2-pound brown trout. Bass fishermen have been few and far between in this zone, but John Allen of Jim's Bait and Tackle, Long Branch, said he opened the shop Tuesday, and will be keeping regular hours. He has heard of some small bass caught on clams, but has had no weigh-ins thus far. Herring are nosing around the freshwater discharge from Takanassee Lake, and some alewives have already entered the Deal Lake flume. One bass fishermen caught a few herring in the flume to use as bass bait. Bob Matthews of the Fisherman's Den, Belmar, said he and many anglers are disappointed at the slump in the Shark River winter flounder fishery. He reported a little better cooperation from the fish on sunny days, but even heavy chum has not been yielding the returns that might be expected. A handful of flounder anglers are still renting boats and fishing the bulkheads, but the general feeling is that the opening of the season was too late. Monroe Boyce of Mac's Bait and Tackle, Neptune, said his annual sale gets under way Saturday and will run through April 19 with discounts of up to 50 percent on many items.
John Geiser
ZONE 3: BELMAR TO MANASQUAN INLET
The weather, which has been more like March than April, has hurt party boat participation and winter flounder fishing this week. Bank fishermen waiting for the spring exodus of flounders from Barnegat Bay have seen more fish coming through the Point Pleasant Canal to join the flounders that wintered in the Manasquan River. Fish have been taken from the grounds west of the Route 70 Bridge, along the stretch from the bridge to Treasure Island, off Clark's Landing Marina in Point Pleasant and east of the Railroad Bridge. Most of the flounders taken in the Manasquan and Shark rivers, and upper Barnegat Bay seem to be spawned out, and are loaded with mud shrimp, leeches, clams, and marine worms. Bob Przewoznik of Reel Life Bait and Tackle, Point Pleasant, said his customers are reporting flounders taken opposite Dale's Point and the old Johnson Brothers site. He also heard a report of bass in the Point Pleasant Canal. Herring are running in the Manasquan River and through the canal. Przewoznik said the raw northeast wind this week discouraged surf fishermen looking for bass. A few small fish were caught on clams, but no bass were weighed in. White perch fishermen have caught some fish in Wreck Pond and the upper reaches of the Manasquan River, but the fish seem scattered, and good catches are not easy to come by. Surf fishermen are scarce on the beaches in this zone. A fish has been caught here and there on clams or sandworms, but most of the regulars are still waiting and watching. The east end of the Wreck Pond flume is probably as good a place as any to look for a stray school striper.
John Geiser
ZONE 4: POINT PLEASANT TO SEASIDE HEIGHTS
The cold weather has been the the big factor in the slow action but fish are being caught. Dennis Palmatier of Murphy's Hook House said they are still picking up winter flounder around Island Heights but things may be winding down. The white perch action, however, is gaining momentum in the same area. Palmatier did have a customer who reported things are heating up stripers saying he landed 11 fish and three keepers at Island Heights Yacht Club dock using a float rig with a single blood worm. Anglers are also getting a mix of keepers and shorts from Route 37 Bridge at night fishing with rubber shads and dark bomber plugs as spearing are coming in and spawning. Winter flounder are still being caught on the outgoing tide at Mantoloking Bridg, BB Buoy Myers Hole and Double Creek Channel. Pete Ordemann at Pells Bait and Tackle also reported catches of flatties at the the Mantoloking Bridge despite the lack of cooperation from the weather. Ordemann said that all the fish are all a good size, most all of them keepers, including a 17 1/2-inch fish. Guys have been trying for stripers at the beach in Brick but so far no keepers. Capt. Ken Keller of the Norma K III said they did pretty well over the weekend with ling on the edge of the Mud Hole with 40 fish taking high hook honors. The Miss Norma K is running every day for winter flounder. Rich Przewoznik at Reel Life Bait & Tackle reported that there is very little activity on the beach for stripers but the winter flounder fishing is good from the Mantoloking Bridge to mouth of the Point Pleasant Canal. The key he said is heavy chumming with sandworms or bloodowrms for bait. There are also some blackfish being caught with Paul Smith from Brick bringing in a 17-inch fish.
John Oswald
ZONE 5: SEASIDE PARK TO ISLAND BEACH STATE PARK
According to the folks at Grumpy's Tackle in Seaside Park, all has been quiet on the eastern front recently. Due to the bad weather the beaches have been deserted, but when anglers actually do go out, fish have been caught on a pretty consistent basis. "We had a few guys fishing Sunday and they actually caught a few fish," Grumpy said. "Clams were the ticket and we also had several reports of short bass." The water temperature in the ocean has generally been in the upper 40's, so winter flounder reports have been scarce. However Ray, a part-timer at Grumpy's, had success fishing for bass in the bay using Rappala X-Raps. John Pizzuto at the Dock Outfitters in Seaside Heights said that some flounder are still being caught around the Mantoloking Bridge, as well as some short stripers in the bay. "Look for the flounder fishing to heat up over the weekend after a few days of warmer temperatures," Pizzuto said. Phil G. fished Spring Lake with Scotty on Saturday and caught a beautiful 19.5-inch, 3.5-pound Golden Trout on a night crawler, but for the most part the bad weather has kept a lot of the fishermen home. "Early in the week we had reports of flounder in Island heights and the Toms River," Pizzuto said. "One customer said he tried to fish the Mantoloking Bridge but had no luck due to a lot of seaweed." Brian Pash of Betty and Nick's Bait & Tackle in Seaside Park said that anglers have been having success picking winter flounder around Island Heights and the Pelican Bridge. Stripers (mostly schoolies and shorts) are starting to show up on the beach front, but there has still been no sign of keepers off the beach yet. "We are still waiting for the bluefish to show up," Pash said. "But we expect that to start happening either late this week or early next week." According to Pash, most anglers have been fishing with clams off the beach.
Justin Sauer
ZONE 6: BARNEGAT INLET TO BRIGANTINE
There are just enough striped bass being picked up to get anglers out and about, but the bite is still a slow one. The Graveling Point and Pebble Beach areas at the end of Radio Road near Tuckerton have produced a few fish. A few small bass have been picked up on the beaches of Long Beach Island, especially in the Barnegat Light area. In addition, the artificially warmed waters of Oyster Creek in Waretown have produced some bass, including a few keepers. The other action has been winter flounder. This action has been strong enough to put some fish on the dinner table, but limit catches are few and far between. The best producing areas thus far are the Long Beach Island Causeway section and the warm waters of Oyster Creek. Every year Scott Albertson at Scott's Bait and Tackle in Mystic Island awards a $100 gift certificate to the first keeper striped bass caught in the Graveling Point area and weighed in at his shop. This year the first bass did not appear until March 24 when Len Senkarik weighed in his 9-pound fish. He picked the fish up at Pebble Beach on bloodworm in the middle of the afternoon. Rather than open the floodgates, this was the only keeper reported for over a week. Occasional keeper bass have been caught, but most of the fish showing so far have been throwbacks. The recommended bait in that area is bloodworm with fresh clams a second choice. The best bite is usually on the outgoing tide when the water is at its warmest. Bob Misak at Barnegat Light Bait and Tackle reports a few bass showing up in the surf of Barnegat Light, but most of those have been shorts. Stan Cudnik at Fisherman's Headquarters has heard of some bass falling for clam from the mid-island beaches, but these fish too are throwbacks. The waters of Oyster Creek in the Waretown area which are warmed by the outflow waters of the power plant have been receiving attention for the bass and winter flounder in that area. Cudnik reports that Chris Bender was fishing there one evening recently when he caught seven short bass on clams and Fin S lures. The winter flounder bite in Oyster Creek has been a pick with most anglers boating only a few fish. Bob Reynolds did boat an 18-incher that was in the 3-pound class. Another likely spot to try for the little flatfish is the channel parallel to Long Beach Island just north of the bridge closest to the island. The fish use this waterway to feed and also as a path toward Barnegat Inlet as the water warms. The fleet of boats targeting flounder will gradually make their way north as the fish move that way.
Jim Hutchinson Sr.
ZONE 7: ATLANTIC CITY TO WILDWOOD
The season has begun and anglers are working through the windy days and finding stripers and blackfish. The bass are on the small side but a few fish in the twenty pound class have been weighed in already. Blackfish have been cooperating as well along the bridge pilings in the back bays, on the inshore reefs and wrecks and the jetties.
The best bait is either clam or green crab. A few of the bigger bass weighed in this week were taken from the Mullica and Great Bay Estuary. A few keeper bass were taken from the beaches of Brigantine and Ocean City. The bass up in the rivers are responding well to chunking with fresh cut herring.
Clam is working the best along the beaches. A few nice bass made it to the scales at Absecon Bay Sportsman on Saturday. Captain Dave said Fred Bakely and Gordon Mueller were chunking fresh herring up in the Mullica River and caught three twenty-pound bass during a mid-day trip. Gordon Mueller went back for more and iced a nice 24-pound bass later in the afternoon. There were plenty of short bass taking the herring chunks to keep the action going. Most of the action is in the rivers right now but Dave expects the action to be wide spread with a few days of sun. Tog are biting around the Brigantine Bridge and taking clam and green crabs. Captain Andy over at Rip Tide Bait and Tackle in Brigantine said that Pat Cook cashed in on the $300 bounty the store had for the first keeper bass. Pat weighed the fish in on Thursday and it weighed 16-pounds. The action was pretty steady off the Brigantine Beach this week. Jerry Miller weighed in a 31-inch, 18-pound bass and released two shorts. Scott Robbins went to the same general area and nailed a nice 36-inch bass that tipped the scales at 24-pounds. Clam has been the bait of choice. There is another bounty for $160 on AC Fishing.com and has to be caught from the Brigantine Beach. The back bays and channels are not producing that many fish right now, the fish seem to be out front and they all the fish cleaned had bunker in their bellies. There was one fish that came from the back bay sod banks this week that weighed 18-pounds. The boats that are anchored up and fishing with clam aren't doing well at all but that can change overnight. Finatic's Bait and Tackle in Ocean City reported decent striper action this week but most of the fish were under the 28-inch minimum. Anglers are working the Parkway Bridge and the sod banks behind Ocean City with rubber baits and clam. Anglers are catching fish but few are keepers. Small bass are taking clam from the beaches and from the Corson's Inlet area. Clam has been the best bait for the bass during the day and plugs are getting the attention during the evening. Blackfish are plentiful around the back bay bridge pilings, the reefs and along the jetties. Green crab will get their attention along with fresh clam. Beginner tog anglers may find it easier to hook the fish using clam and then slowly graduate to green crab. Wildwood anglers are heading to the Delaware Bay to fish the Twenty and Sixty-Foot Sloughs. The action just started and it won't be long before limit catches of bass are a common item. Chunk bunker or clam should be all you need to hook bass pushing forty-pounds. Blackfish are available at the Cape May and Wildwood Reefs and the rock piles at Hereford and Cold Spring Inlets. Green crab and clam along with quick reflexes should be all you need for a limit of nice spring blackfish.
Robert Lee
ZONE 8: CAPE MAY TO DELAWARE MEMORIAL BRIDGE
With small craft advisories up for much of the past week, catch reports from the bay have been on the slow side. A few Cape May charters made it out to fish for stripers around the mouth of the bay with mixed results. One skipper said he had a steady pick of linesiders measuring up to 25 inches one day, followed by an extremely slow pick in the same location two days later. Most of the reports from the mouth of the bay indicated fresh clams to be the most productive bait. The clammers also have reported the first black drum of the season, with one boat out of the Cape scoring on a 19-pounder while targeting stripers with fresh clams. While this is kind of early for black drum to move up the bay, there also have been reports of commercial fishermen pulling in drum as heavy as 25 pounds while tending nets in the Maurice River Cove. The netters also have landed their first weakies of the season. Reports from the mid- and upper bay showed scattered action on mostly short striped bass at locations including the east side of the shipping channel from Cross Ledge up to Ben Davis Shoal, Ship John Shoal, Fortescue, the oyster beds off of Woodland Beach and the jetty at the entrance to the Smyrna River. Most of the upper bay catch reports listed bloodworms as the top producer for the rockfish. While boat fishermen are seeing the best fishing, a mix of stripers, perch and catfish also are being caught by anglers fishing from shore at Fortescue. Bait with bloodworms for the perch and bass, and fresh bunker or night crawlers for the cats. A mix of stripers, catfish and white perch also are providing Delaware River fishermen with good action. Keep in mind that the season on striped bass is catch-and-release only from the south jetty of the C&D Canal north, with circle hooks required if you're using natural bait. Fishermen looking for quality "catch and keep" action on rockfish should be able to connect with a fish or two over 28 inches in the hole on the south side of the South Reedy Point Jetty, the Yellow Can, the south end of the Augustine Jetty and the Bullpen. The mouths of the major tributary rivers and creeks on both sides of the river also have been good choices for keeper bass, white perch and channel catfish in the two- to six-pound slot. Anglers fishing in Delaware waters are reminded that a new "General Fishing License" went into effect on January 1. The license is required to fish, crab or clam anywhere on Delaware waters. For more information or to purchase fishing licenses online, go to http://www.fw.delaware.gov/Fisheries...ngLicense.aspx
LinkBack URL
About LinkBacks
NJ: Map of this week's hot fishing spots
Reply With Quote
