Fishing with Dad

Jesse over at Fisherman’s Den in Belmar said the bass fishing finally slowed down. They’re still getting them on plugs in the morning, but the weigh ins have dropped off. The daytime blues have quieted down as well, but the night fishing has been good. He said the bluefish may be in their summer spawn. Capt. Chris Hueth of the Big Mohawk said the fluking was good all week with lots of fish. Fluke of up to 11 pounds were caught along with a bunch in the 5- to 8-pound-range. Capt. Ron Kish of the Capt. Cal II also reported a good week of fluke fishing in about 50 feet of water. Lois Plaska, Shark River Hills, took her first trip aboard the Capt. Cal II and won the pool with a 7-pound, 14-ounce fish, plus another at 6.8 pounds. Capt. John DeRose had the boat out when Carl Dienes, Whiting, landed a 10-pound, 14-ounce doormat. Capt. Howard Bogan of the Big Jamaica reported good bluefishing over the weekend, catching 7- to 14-pound blues chumming and on bait. Capt. Francis Bogan of the Paramount, Brielle, had two good deep water ling trips this past week followed by several days of mixed ling and sea bass on inshore trips. He reported sea bass fishing has still been from slow to fair depending on the day. He said he’s been mixing the trips with sea bass, ling and cod except for the Tuesday and Wednesday ling specials.

Courtesy APP.com

Bob Matthews at Fisherman’s Den, Belmar, said the fishing is just phenomenal. There are still tons and tons of bass around feeding on all the bunker. Tom Riggs, Neptune, weighed in two bass of 29 and 30 pounds and Eric Johnson, Colonia, landed a 44 pounder, both from boats. Ray Zoyka, weighed in a 40 pounder and Brian Biedinger came in with a 34 pounder. Both belong to the Asbury Park Fishing Club. The fluking is good in the Shark River. Ed Klump got six up to 4½ pounds in one of the Den’s rental boats. Capt. Greg Markert’s Golden Eagle is doing great with blues in the 7- to 10-pound range, with pool winners running to 12 pounds. Capt. Howard Bogan of the Big Jamaica also reported good bluefishing on both the day and night trips with choppers up to 15 pounds coming over the rails. Capt. Greg Hueth of the Big Mohawk, Belmar, reported a string of days of good fishing with lots of action and plenty of keeper fluke. The biggest fish was around 8 pounds. Capt. Joseph Bogan on the Jamaica II reported good fluking most of the week with tons of shorts and a good spread of 3- to 5-pound fish showing up on the local reefs. Capt. Ron Kish of the Capt. Cal II, Belmar, said the fluke fishing is good with lots of bigger fish. Capt. Francis Bogan of the Paramount reported an increase in sea bass action during his ling trips.

Courtesy APP.com

I did hear of some action regarding big bluefish in Island Beach State Park.  They were caught on bunker, striped bass are still a little bit of a hit and miss.  Still waiting for the water to cool down a little more to hopefully spark the fishing into a fall blitz.  Today might not be one of the better days to go out and fish, since it will probably be raining all day and the wind will be kicking.  If you are not afraid of the wind and rain, as the fish don’t mind getting wet, you might as well give it a try.  Beats a day at the office.

Bob Matthews at Fisherman’s Den said things had slowed down in the surf the past couple of days, with few anglers reporting much success on the beach. It might have something to do with the moon, he suggested. He did say the party boats out of Belmar are having a field day with the bluefish, with big choppers being caught. He also reported plenty of bait around and he expected things to pick up again quickly. Dave Arbeitman at the Reel Seat in Brielle said boats trolling umbrella rigs with small baits are doing well with stripers and the offshore fishing in the Hudson Canyon is producing yellowfin and longfin tuna. Capt. Howard Bogan of the Big Jamaica also reported good canyon tuna fishing on the Tuesday overnight trip. They got their first tuna shortly after arriving at noon and picked yellowfin until the early evening. The night bite was slow, but it picked up again in the the morning when they caught 50- to 70-pound yellowfin until it was time to head home. Bait fishing was the best method this trip, Bogan reported. Mike Jung, Woodside, N.Y. caught his limit of yellowfin and John and Alex Mattina from Brick, caught four yellowfin and one 60-pound longfin. Bogan reported was plenty of action and it looks good for upcoming trips. Capt. Ron Kish of the Capt. Cal II, Belmar, said the porgy fishing is excellent and he is still getting a lot of sea bass and can’t wait for the season to reopen.

John Oswald

Like everywhere else, the weather has been a factor in this zone. But, the word is, if you go, you’ll catch fish. Johnny O at Fisherman’s Den in Belmar said there are plenty of spot and kingfish in the Shark River and the party boats are doing well with sea bass, porgies and blackfish. Reports out of this zone also say the are bass on the beach for those who want to brave the storm. Capt. Scott of XTC Sportfishing, Belmar, said there were all the bluefish you wanted on Tuesday’s trip, along with some false albacore. He had been doing real well with bluefin when he could get out, but the weather has been a problem. Capt. Scott is gearing up for the striped bass run and said to book early. XTC is offering $100 off on trips booked by Oct. 15. Capt. Howard Bogan of the Big Jamaica reported good fishing for false albacore and bluefish over the weekend. Check out www.bigjamaica.com for upcoming trips. Capt. Joseph Bogan, Jamaica II reported excellent sea bass fishing mid-week, that turned a a bit slower over the weekend due to rough ocean. He said there were a number of limit catches including Bruce Casagrande, Middletown, to 4 pounds and Anthony Kim, Manalapan, to 4 pounds. The biggest sea bass of the week, and monthly leader, was caught by Wayne Nelson, Willingboro, 6-pound, 4-ounce whopper.

John Oswald

Bob Matthews at Fisherman’s Den in Belmar said everybody is getting into the fall fishing. He reported the boats continue to do well with the false albacore, while the fish are still proving a challenge for the guys on the beach. But the beach guys are doing all right with stripers, especially on clams. Matthews said one customer, who is relatively new to the sport has been catching and release two to three fish a day. Guys fishing in the early morning with plugs and fly rods are also doing well with bass. There are plenty of spot and kingfish in the river and the inshore fishery for sea bass and blackfish continues to produce. Things, Matthews said, are pretty good. Capt. Jody Distaso of XTC Sportfishing reported Capt. Scott Kulaszewski had a charter out last Saturday to Sunday and found excellent bluefin fishing southeast of the Virginia with fish from 40 to 250 pounds. Capt. Scott went back out Wednesday night but reported the fishing has slowed down. XTC is gearing up for the fall run. Visit www.xtcsportfishing.com for more information.

John Oswald

Bob Matthews at Fisherman’s Den in Belmar said things are getting better and better. Big albies are in the area and getting close to the beaches. There’s also a lot of bait in the surf and the river and anglers fishing a plug with a teaser have a good chance at bass. Not big ones, but they’re around. Guys bottom fishing are also doing well with porgies, kingfish, blackfish and sea bass. He also reported a good finale to the fluke season fish up to 8 1/2 pounds reported from the Belmar party boats. Capt. Ron Kish of the Capt. Call II said the sea bass fishing has been good on wreck in about 80-feet of water. His fluke season was good, but the last day was a little tough with only 12 to 15 keepers. Capt. Howard Bogan of the Big Jamaica reported good bluefishing Sunday night and Monday, which included albacore. Tuesday’s trip was also very good, he said, with blues, albacore and skipjacks were all caught in good numbers.
John Oswald

So it seems that early morning fisherman are having a blast with bluefish. Throw anything out there and you are bound to catch one. Just because the birds are not working does not mean they are not there. As the day progresses try your luck with bait. Small stripers are also being caught but don’t expect to catch one, they are few and far between right now. The water is still a little too warm for striped bass. Unfortunately, fluke season has ended. If you happen to hook one make sure you throw it back. Good luck.

Today is your last chance to get your fluke and it sure is a beautiful one. Get out there and give it a shot, there have been some monsters weighed in throughout the state in the last few days. Hurricane Earl churned up the seas and the fish are biting. Big blues are also on the menu, they are being caught on mullet, spearing, anything you can throw at them actually. Some striped bass have also been weighed in recently. You can throw out a clam or two for them but do not focus your time on them. Striped bass are still a hit or miss. Enjoy your labor day weekend.

Hurricane Earl, has come and gone. Looks to be a great Labor Day weekend for the beachgoers and for the surf fisherman. The seas are churned up, perfect fishing water for striped bass. The best thing you can do is get out there this weekend and give it a shot. The fluke season is almost over, try giving one of your local charter boats a shot this weekend. I would not recommend fluke fishing off the surf as the water will still be dirty and probably too rough for fluke. Try throwing out mullet for the monster blues that are finally showing up in our local waters. False albacore and kingfish have been caught recently also. There is plenty of action out there, get out and throw out some metal or some fresh bait. There probably will be some beach erosion, if you are driving onto Island Beach state park this weekend, be extra careful during high tide especially at beaches 12, 17 and 18.