Fishing with Dad

Bob Mattews at Fisherman’s Den in Belmar said the fluke got real good on Wednesday with lots of keepers caught and weighed in. Colin Burck, Brielle, got nine fluke with several keepers up to 2 1/2 pounds mixed in. Chris Hutchison, Trenton, landed a 9-pound, 11-ounce fluke off the Red Church on a Spro baited with squid and Steve Beismann, North Hanover, fished with his son and they had seven keepers between them up to 4 pounds, 10 ounces. Chrystan Peddie, Jackson, landed a 3 3/4-pound fluke while fishing aboard the Tropical Adventure and weighed her catch in at the Den. Peggy and Dave Smith, Howell, got 10 keepers between them up to 5 pounds. Matthews also reported the crabbing is picking up in the river and nice-sized snappers are showing up. Capt. Ron Kish of the Capt. Cal, Belmar, said he’s been very happy with the fluking. The fish are biting in 40 feet of water and guys are getting three and four keepers along with big sea bass. Frank Geraci, Hamilton, landed a 5-pound, 10 ounce pool winner on Wedensday. Capt. Howard Bogan of the Big Jamaica said good bluefishing has returned with lots of limit catches and the best area a dozen or so miles east, southeast of Brielle.

John Oswald

Capt. Bob Bogan of the Gambler reports the catch on their evening ling trips has been improving. Anglers are averaging 10 to 15 ling on the trips that sail at 7:30 p.m. on Sunday and Monday. Capt. Willy Egerter of the Dauntless reports the bottom fishing is holding steady. A couple weeks ago, they had an early shot of porgies over some rough bottom but haven’t seen much of the fish since then. They’ve been catching mostly ling out in the Mud Hole. Capt. John Cole of the Golden Touch reports very good sea bass fishing with catches of fluke and blackfish mixed in for his charters.  Capt.Bill Burdge of the Barvic will be running two open boat trips this Sunday for fluke. The boat leaves the dock at 8 a.m. and again at 2 p.m. Adam LaRosa of the Canyon Runner said they recorded their fifth blue marlin catch and release since July 7 this week. The fish was estimated between 375-400 pounds and hit a trolled ballyhoo. The blue was brought boat side billed, the hook taken out and off she swam, LaRosa said. Jason Szabo at Pell’s Bait and Tackle said anglers found bigger fluke fishing around the Shrewsbury Rocks this week. Another good area was in the deeper 65-70 feet water around the Sea Girt Reef and right outside the inlet off Jenkinson’s beach. “The bigger California squid and new 6-inch Gulp were catching this week,” Szabo said.
Dennis Palmatier at Murphy’s Hook House said they’re getting a pretty good run of fluke at the Mantoloking Bridge and in the Manasquan River. Three-inch green Gulp! swimming mullet is catching. Out front, the boat fishermen are catching fluke off the bathing beaches of Island Beach State Park. “There have been some nice 5-pound fluke caught off Island Beach,” Palmatier added. The Toms River is also loaded right now with peanut bunker.
Dan Radel

As of August 2nd, 2010 the bluefish have all but disappeared from New Jersey waters.  Who knows where they are hiding, normally this time of year bluefish are abundant and can be caught with anything you happen to throw at them.  Personally I have caught one with a hot dog, yes a hot dog.  The fluking off the shore has been getting progressively better with a higher keeper to throw back ratio.  There are fish to catch just not bluefish.

A BAD DAY OF FISHING BEATS AN OUTSTANDING DAY AT WORK!!!!

Tom Hansen at Grumpy’s Bait and Tackle reports there is a definite shift in the fluke being caught. The throwback ratio is getting much more acceptable with more larger fish around. Gulp! baits seem to be working effectively to catch these fish hanging out in the surf. The most popular have been four-inch swim mullet, ghost shrimp and belly strips. There have also been abundant rumors of bluefish, but Hansen said it has been a long time since the proof was hanging on their scales. Some of the fluke weigh-ins from the shop’s log book are Robert Chatillion with a 3.7-pound fluke caught on a Gulp! bait, Don Brown with a 3.25-pound fluke on a Gulp! and Cheryl Vornhold with 2.55-pound fluke also on a Gulp! All those fish were between 19 and 23 inches. Out front on the boats, Mike Malek at the shop had Capt. John of the Debra Ann and Capt. John of the Tijereta out on the Evil Queen. The crew put together a catch of three keeper fluke up to 23 inches and had fun catching a mess of almost keeper and keeper-size sea bass. Down on the Barnegat Inlet North Jetty, blackfish are being caught. The daily bag limit is one fish per angler. At night from the beach, the surf anglers are tying into the brown sharks. Jana Keslink from Grizz’s Bait and Tackle said in the Barnegat Bay people are catching blue crabs, snapper blues and fluke. She mentioned the usual bay spots are holding fluke, the BB-BI buoys, the 40 can and Double Creek Channel and the Inlet. “In the bay Jig with a Grizz jig or Corky’s buck tail with spearing and squid,” she said. Out front, fluking is beginning to pick up in 50 feet of water off the Coast Station on Island Beach State Park. On the Barnegat Light Reef, or Tires as the locals call it, sea bass are being caught with clams and squid. Their big fluke weigh-in came from 7-year-old Gavin Guarascio who weighed in a 10.18-pound fluke.

Dan Radel

Bob Matthews of Fishermans’ Den, Belmar, reported that things are about the same in the Shark River, lots of fluke but not a lot of keepers, with anglers reporting one to three keepers an outing. One Den regular, Mo, and his grand daughter, Ashley Benyola, 8, and her mother, Allison, from Brick, went fluking and Ashley outfished them all, catching 35 flatties and a couple of keepers up to 3 pounds. Matthews also said the party boats are doing real well with sea bass with fish up to six pounds being caught. They are also doing pretty well with ling. He’s received reports that the bluefishing is slowing down somewhat and he suspects they are on the spawn. He hasn’t heard much from the bass guys except the fly rodders are picking up schoolies at first light. The snappers are getting bigger and are now bait size. He’s got green crabs fro blackfish and the porgies are hitting sandworms. Capt. Ron Kish of the Captain Cal said the fluke fishing has really improved and he’s concentrating in deeper water. Dan Retelle, Philadelphia, landed an 8.8 pounder and he’s getting one to three keepers per drift. Capt. Ron said he’s going to stick in 60 to 70 feet of water where there seems to be a lot of life. Capt. Joe Bogan of the Jamaica II out of Brielle reported respectable catches of fluke and sea bass this past week when conditions were favorable. He’s been fishing in deeper water which requires a proper drift. Some notable catches this week were Ryan Bogan Jr., Brick with a 10-pound fluke, Pete Talevei, Trenton, with four fluke up to 8 pounds, 12 ounces along with six sea bass and Alex Pilewski, Trenton, who had a limit of fluke up to 8 pounds, 2 ounces, plus five sea bass. Some of the sea bass were up to 5 pounds, Capt. Bogan reported and most of the fluke caught were keepers. Greg Bogan at Brielle Bait and Tackle reports that the The Manasquan Inlet is alive with fluke, blackfish and hickory shad. Guys using Gulp!, killies and squid are catching fluke in the Inlet and throughout the Manasquan River. The hickory shad bite at the inlet every night around 8 p.m. on Sabiki rigs and shad darts. He also reported big blackfish in the rocks hitting crabs. On the freshwater side, Lake Riviera in Brick is red-hot in the evenings for largemouth bass hitting top-water lures.

Courtesy of APP.com

John Oswald

Ronny Bala at Fisherman’s Supply said the Manasquan River has been real hot for fluke. “A lot of people are flying out the inlet but the river is holding a lot of 3- to 6-pound fish,” Bala said. Mike Sullivan of Point Pleasant caught a 6-pound fluke and an 8-pound fluke on the river grounds this week. Outside Bala reported there has been some talk of bluefin catches in the Glory Hole and Chicken Canyon. Capt. Jeff Gutman of the Voyager reported good action with short and keeper fluke on his trips out front. Bill Werking of Toms River had a limit catch of fish up to 3 1/2 pounds and Walt Steward of Toms River had three keepers and won the pool with a 4 1/2-pound fluke. “We have been fishing the local reefs and other rough bottom so we have also been seeing some sea bass mixed in,” Gutman said. Capt. Ron Pry of the Miss Norma K said he has been fishing the Axel Carlson Reef for fluke and pink teasers seem to be working best with squid and spearing. Pool winners this week were Ben Gibbs from Clinton with a 5-pound fluke, Sara Everett from Hamilton with a 4 1/2-pound fluke and Dave Glenny of Marlboro with a 6-pound fluke. Joe Melillo of Castaway’s Bait and Tackle said the reports he has been getting from the Manasquan River have been excellent. “The river is paved with fluke,” he said. The sharpies are still taking stripers along the beach. Savvy striper fishermen are catching fish with plugs and bucktails from Belmar to Bay Head. Joe Santoro of Manchester weighed in an 18 1/2-ounce bass, Nick Grasso of Brick had a 13 pounder and Bill Williams of Normandy had a pair at 11 and 12 pounds. Tommy Kilgannon of Pell’s Bait and Tackle said he had some reports of kingfish and croakers coming up the beaches hitting sandworms and clam strips.

Courtesy of APP.com

Dan Radel

Tom Hansen at Grumpy’s Bait and Tackle in Seaside Park said the fluke in the surf is the game most anglers are playing lately. There have been some scattered bluefish, brown sharks at night and some talk of keeper-size bass around also but none biting as much as the fluke. Blackfish is now open and the Barnegat Inlet Jetty at the end of Island Beach State Park is a spot where anglers catch them because of the structure. Weigh-ins at the shop this week were all fluke and Gulp! baits seemed to be the ticket. Danny Prickett topped all catches with a 7.95-pound fluke. Other weigh-ins were from Joe Cassini with a 1.9-pound fluke, Don Brown with a 2.8-pound fluke, Greg Hryszko with a 2.1-pound fluke and Bob Hryszko with a 2.85-pound fluke. In the Barnegat Bay the crabbing has been consistently good Hansen added. John Bushell, Jr. of Betty and Nick’s Bait and Tackle in Seaside Park had some reports of anglers fishing the Barnegat Inlet. Bob Oxley had them one cast after another in the inlet, landing 14 fluke, however none were keepers. Brian K also fished the inlet and caught one shad, seven short fluke and one small bluefish. Brian was using the Gulp! sand eels. Darryl Zarichak fished the surf in Island Beach State Park and within a couple casts had a keeper 18-inch fluke on Gulp!. Zarichak said the keeper fluke was loaded with the crabs it was eating in the surf. Bushell added the crabbing in the bay continues to be good and there is light tackle action with snapper blues.

Courtesy APP.com

Dan Radel

The fluking activity is picking up quite a bit from the beaches. Bucktail jigs with a Gulp! teaser is working to draw those fish in. Fluke are also being caught from the Barnegat Bay and out front on the boats. Stripers are still around a 43.7 pound monster was recently weighed in. Sharks are around mostly on a night bite, eating bunker baits and biting off lots of rigs. Browns are the most common ones and all of these toothy creatures need to be treated with respect. Fluke are also being caught out of the Barnegat Inlet at the Tires and to the south at the Garden State North Reef. On the Tires they are also drifting and catching sea bass. In Barnegat Bay, fluke fishing has been better on the incoming tide. The somewhat cooler water seems to wake up their bite. The 38 Can in the Oyster Creek Channel is a good spot, but tough to fish when there is a lot of boat traffic. Crabbing is still very good and for freshwater anglers, Bamber Lake off Lacey Road has a ton of pickerel and some large mouth bass.

Courtesy of App.com