Fishing with Dad

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.

Bob Matthews at Fisherman’s Den in Belmar said the fluking is still good in the Shark River with the rental boats getting two to three keepers per trip. The better anglers are coming back with more. Matthews is hoping the weather doesn’t hurt the last few days of fluke season too badly. The kingfishing is also good with nice catches reported inside the inlet. One angler landed 10 the other day on worms. Surf guys are doing well on bass with fly rods and plugs with teasers. The snapper fishing continues strong and guys are doing will with blackfish on crabs. Capt. Ron Kish of the Capt. Cal II reported he’s fishing in 70 feet of water on mussel beds and doing real well with nice sea bass. There are also a number of keeper fluke in the mix. Capt. Howard Bogan of the Big Jamaica, Brielle said the bluefishing couldn’t be any better than it is right now. They are biting on jigs and bait. On Wednesday’s trip, Capt. Bogan reported false albacore and skipjacks mixed in with the blues. Capt. Captain Greg Markert of the Golden Eagle. Belmar, said customers are reeling in blues until their arms are too tired to reel anymore. Greg Bogan of Brielle Bait and Tackle reported Lee Karosen of Manasquan caught two school stripers in the early morning surf on clams. He also weighed in a 6-pound fluke for Greg Jewell, Manasquan, he got off Sea Girt.

John Oswald

The big bluefish are here. Had reports of monsters being weighed in at the local bait shops, the biggest one being a 14 pound behemoth blue. Nothing from the fluke fisherman as the shoreline has been quite active because of Earl. I tend to believe that fluke like somewhat calmer waters, but this is definitely good water for bass if they were around. Another gorgeous day, get out there and enjoy.

The last couple of days have had some 12 lb Bluefish. They are taking assorted metals and bunker or mullet. The Fluking is still good on the surf, only 10 days left and bucktails with GULP is still a best bet. More of those rumors of keeper Bass are floating around. Get out there it is going to be a gorgeous weekend!!!!

Bob Matthews at Fisherman’s Den is Belmar said everybody seemed to be making up for lost time Thursday morning at the shop, renting boats and getting out after the blow. Before the weather went south, the ocean was producing bigger fluke, with the Ocean Explorer reporting catches of 8 to 9 pounders. Michael Boiko, Monroe, also weighed in a 8.6 pounder. Matthews did report that Billy Renner fished the surf on Wednesday with clams and got two bass, a 28 and a 30 incher. The 30-inch bass came in with a 20-inch fluke on the other hook of his hi-low rig. Matthews expects bigger fluke in the surf, but with the season ending soon, there won’t be much chance to keep them. The snapper fishing is good and there are plenty of crabs. Capt. Ron Kish of the Capt. Cal II said the weather kept them off the water, but the fishing was good before and he expects it to pick up again. He’s fishing in at least 58 feet of water and weeding through the throwbacks for a couple of keepers. Capt. Joseph Bogan reported much improved fluke fishing before the weather went south with fish up to 8 pounds. He caught them in both deep and shallow water along with some sea bass. Spro jigs tipped with fresh spearing or bluefish strips have been the best producers. Captain Greg Markert of the Golden Eagle said the bluefishing has been very good on both day and night trips with the big are taking jigs early in the day and then bait in the late morning and afternoon. The night bite has been on cut bait while anchored over chum.

John Oswald

Not much to report, the rain is keeping the fisherman away. I know the fish don’t mind getting wet, if you can brave the cool weather and rainy day, give it a shot.

Starting to hear of bluefish being caught in the surf. No monsters yet, but you can have plenty of fun with the snappers on light tackle. Fluking is still picking up and it’s getting close to the end of the season, so go out there and claim your big doormat.

Captain Greg Markert of the Golden Eagle, Belmar, reports the blues are back and the bite is on both day and night. The pool winners are 12 to 15 pounds. The choppers are hitting jigs during the day and bait at night. The Big Mohawk, also out of Belmar, reported much improved fishing on Tuesday with lots of shorts but some guys getting four to five keepers. There were also some nice sea bass in the mix. Dave Bender from the Jenny Lee reported captains Jimmy Gahm and Sean Carton took the Dial Family, Dave, Greg, Erik, and Lindsay out for their annual canyon trip. the trolling remained a bust as we did not troll a thing. Setting up for the night we had the fish under the boat several times, but they would not eat. At false light we caught and boated a 50-pound yellowfin on a Shimano Butterfly jig. the guys worked their tails off, with not much to show for their efforts, but The Dial family is a pleasure to be with. Bob Matthews at Fisherman’s Den in Belmar said things are generally good. The bluefish bite has picked up again and the sea bass fishing is very good. The size of the blackfish being caught is dynamite, he said. He’s selling more crabs every day. Fluking is the same, with the shorts still outdistancing the keepers. There are bass in the early morning surf and the size of them is getting bigger. The water cooled a bit and that may be helping the bite, along with all of the bait in the surf.

John Oswald

Finally got a report worth reporting today! I heard of bass being caught at night just north of Seaside Heights on small plugs. Fluking is steady down by the jetty on Gulp, although I do hear that people are having more luck with squid/killie combo. Blackfishing is also good on crabs.

It’s going to be a nice, hot, sunny day.  If you don’t have to work, enjoy the day and wet a line.  Who knows what will take your bait during the summer days.  Still not much going on off the surf.  The charter boats are having a blast with big blues, it’s a matter of time before we start seeing them come closer to the shore.

There have been some reports of keeper fluke being caught while drifting the Manasquan Inlet.  If you have a boat give it a shot.