Fishing with Dad

Geri Demato at Jersey Joe’s Bait and Tackle said fluking is still hot in the surf. Anglers are using Gulp!, spearing and squid to land the fish. Little 1- and 2-pound cocktail blues are also biting in the surf Demato said. Anglers Dave Carluccio and Scott Kaufman, both of Toms River had a dozen blues on Hopkins and Crippled Herring metal lures. In the bay, Demato said the crabbing is fantastic with blue claws up to 6½ inches. Lou Antonis at Seaside Sam’s Bait and Tackle reports there are a lot of fluke running on both the bay side and in the surf. Tom Hansen at Grumpy’s Bait and Tackle reports there is a night bite with 2- to 3-pound blues on metal. The shop also had a number of fluke weigh-ins from the boat My Honey II, which brought in four keeper fluke between 3 and 5 pounds. John Bushell at Betty and Nick’s Bait and Tackle also reported action with the bluefish. Bushell said anglers had them in the morning off the beach in the area of the Atlantic Bar and Grill and Area 7 on Island Beach State Park. The fish were hitting bait and metals. Bushell added that they had some reports of a few local schoolie-size bass in the water around the bathing beaches on IBSP. Jana Keslink at Grizz’s Bait and Tackle in Forked River said fluking remains decent in Barnegat Bay spots like the Double Creek Channel, the High Bar and the BB and BI buoys. Anglers are also catching blowfish in the bay on small hooks and clams. Out front anglers are catching sea bass on the Tires.

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.

The crew at Grumpy’s Bait and Tackle in Seaside Park tallied quite a number of fish in their log book this week as the fall action is heating up. Most of the fish were blues. Tom Hansen at the shop said they had some silly fishing that started at sundown last Friday and lasted through Sunday with just a couple of lulls. The good fishing continued into the week. The first weigh-ins Friday were bass over 20 pounds on metals, teasers, swimmers and clams. As the weekend continued Saturday they had bass up to 32 pounds and blues up to 16 pounds. Anglers added pencil poppers to their arsenal. “The bass and blues were mixing up real good so you didn’t know what was going to end up on your hook,” Hansen said. Sunday saw a lull for a most of the day and action pick up again late. The start of the week was dominated by some pretty big blues up to 17 pounds. “We have tons of bait in the area and all signs are pointing to a great fall,” Ray Cherico at the shop said. John Bushell at Betty and Nick’s Bait and Tackle reported Bob Tice weighed in a 30-pound, 11-ounce striped bass at the shop. On Tuesday the action was pretty good by Judges Shack in Island Beach State Park where the blues chased the weakfish up on the beach. There was also corn cob mullet in the wash. David Hughes at Grizz’s Bait and Tackle said the blowfish bite has died out and the crabbing is getting real quiet. The action is now with the striped bass and blues off the beaches and stripers at night around the sod banks with live eels. The bite is still pretty steady with pickerel and catfish in the freshwater lakes in Forked River.

Dan Radel

The surf is loaded with rainfish and sand eels,” Tom Hansen at Grumpy’s Bait and Tackle said. Anglers have had some blues on mullet and stripers on clams in the surf. Mike Malek from the shop fished on his boat the Evil Queen a few times this past week and reported great action with false albacore. “We got into a mess of albies about a mile off the beach,” Malek said. They fished until their arms got tired skipping Ava 17 jigs across the surface. Frank Meade had good luck this week with three striped bass weigh-ins over two days of fishing. The bass were from 28 to 30 inches and were caught on clams and a shad. Tom Sagedy had a pair of bass on clams and Adam Longo weighed in a triggerfish that was just under three pounds. The trigger hit a crab. John Bushell at Betty and Nick’s Bait and Tackle reported Dennis Vincent picked up a 32-inch bass fishing at night on Island Beach State Park. Dave Hughes at Grizz’s Bait and Tackle reports anglers are catching stripers in the Barnegat Inlet and the sod banks with live eels at night. He said boaters were slamming the spots for awhile in the channel but the action has started to taper off. There are still blowfish biting in the clam chum slicks by the 40 Can and BI and BB buoys in the Barnegat Bay. In the freshwater lakes around Forked River the catfish are still biting in the evening. “The cats will hang around until it really starts to get cold,” Hughes said.

Dan Radel

Striped bass weigh-ins were pretty steady around the rain at Grumpy’s Bait and Tackle in Seaside Park. The small blues have also been out in the surf and there has been a little talk of a few weakfish. The wind made plugging difficult and the shop’s log book shows nothing but clams catching bass. Tom Hansen at the shop recommends using a fish finder rig when fishing with clams. The blues have been hitting mullet baits and small metals so it might be a good idea to bring two rods set up and ready to go for the different fish. By mid-week Hansen said the surf was down and conditions were improving. Some weigh-ins this week were Ken O’Gara with a 10.6-pound bass, Steve DiCarlo with a 15.3-pound bass, Tom Sagedy with a 15.8-pound bass and Carlos Rivera with an 8.75-pound bass. All fish were caught on clams. At Betty and Nick’s John Bushell had a couple of weigh-ins from anglers who fished in the Governor’s Cup. Gary Grimm, Flanders, stopped in and put the tournament winning bass on the scale. The fish weighed 9 1/2 pounds and was caught on metal. Francis Burns, Mount Holly also came by with the third place fish. It weighed 9 pounds and was caught on peanut bunker. Dave Hughes at Grizz’s Bait and Tackle reports the blowfish are still biting near the 40 Can in Barnegat Bay. The fish will begin to move out soon as the bay temps drop. Around the freshwater lakes, he said there are largemouth bass and pickerel biting but the early evening catfish bite has been pretty good. The fish have been around 6 to 12 inches and the trick has been using hot dogs for bait. Hughes said uncooked hot dogs cut into small pieces will get the catfish on the line. The fish have been biting best an hour before and hour the sunset.

Dan Radel

Despite the weather, Ray at Grumpy’s Bait and Tackle in Seaside Park said the fishing has been very good the last couple of days, especially at Island Beach State Park. This bodes well for the Governor’s Surf Tournament. He reported the mullet is pouring out of the inlet and the beach is loaded with bait, including sand eels and peanut bunker. Grumpy’s weighed in bass for Craig Napolitano, Toms River, a 10.2 pounder, a 10.95 pounder for Lou DeRosa, Toms River, a 16.7 pounder for Carl Jenny, and a pair of 10 pounders for the Hryszko brothers, Greg and Bob. Ray said Grumpy’s would be open early with plenty of clams, bunker and mullet for folks fishing the tournament at IBSP. John Bushell of Betty and Nick’s Bait and Tackle in Seaside Park said the small blues continue to hit even in the bad weather. Thursday morning saw a local angler come in right from the 9th avenue beach after landing three blues on a Deadly Dick. Bushell said it’s the best fall fishing he’s seen in at least 10 years. While he said the big fall run has yet to start, bass are being caught and he had three weigh in on Wednesday up to 16 pounds. Betty and Nick’s will be open very late on Saturday and open at 3 a.m. Sunday for the Governor’s Cup Tourney. Jana over at Grizz’s Bait and Tackle said the blowfish continue to bite at the BB-BI buoys and 40 can in Barnegat Bay on small pieces of clam. Clam chum is the trick. Kingfish are also biting in the bay along with some weakfish.

John Oswald

“One heck of a bright moon,” Tom Hansen at Grumpy’s Bait and Tackle in Seaside Park said. The shop had their last bass of the summer weighed in one hour before fall officially arrived. The fish was weighed in at 11:09 p.m. Wednesday night. The blues have been in and out of the surf all week. The fish are mostly under 5 pounds and hitting fresh mullet and skinny metal. Some weigh-ins from the shop’s log book this week were Mauro DePinto with a bass over 12 pounds caught on a bomber and Bob Hryszko with a bass over 8 pounds that hit a clam. John Bushell of Betty and Nick’s Bait and Tackle in Seaside Park reported anglers were greeted with excellent conditions and fish on the first day of fall. The weigh-ins started early, just after 7:30 a.m. with angler Walt Rapchinski bringing in a 29-inch bass caught on a popper. Bushell said another angler Brian Kantor reported the surf was alive at Area 7 on Island Beach State Park with little 2- and 3-pound bluefish hitting non-stop on mullet. Other areas that had fish on the first day of fall were Midway Beach, Gillikins and Area 20 on IBSP and right out front on the Seaside beaches. Some of the anglers who caught bass were Bruce Howell who had a 9.75-pound bass, Bill Rutledge with a 19.25-pound bass and George Hummel who phoned in a 30-inch striper. Over at Grizz’s Bait and Tackle in Forked River Dave Hughes said kingfish are also in the surf and anglers are catching blowfish real good by the 40 can in Barnegat Bay. The blue claws are still around for a little while longer.

 Dan Radel

Lots of fish to Lots of fish to report from Grumpy’s Bait and Tackle in Seaside Park. Blues, false albacore, bonito and bass were all caught this week from the sand. “It’s definitely shiny metal time,” said Tom Hansen. He said the fast moving schools of albacore have frustrated anglers at times and there have been bonito mixed in with them. The bluefish have been ranging in and out all week and even made a strong appearance after the sun went down. The bass activity has been mostly after dark on needlefish. It seems though, that anytime you can get down to the beach there is a good chance of getting into some action with fish. Besides shiny metals like Avas, T-Hexes and Deadly Dicks, cut bunker and mullet have also been landing fish. The bass have also been hitting a needlefish lure at night. Mike Gallagher brought in their biggest blue of the fall season so far at just over 16 pounds. Other weigh-ins were Brian Leary with an 11.1-pound striper on a needlefish, Jim Shamy with a 13.6-pound blue on a metal and Nathan Parsons with a 9.75-pound blue on an Ava. Hansen also said congrats to youth anglers Anthony Giordano and Nick Riehl who landed fish in the Hooked on Fishing Not Drugs fishing tournament. Giordano and Riehl both landed bluefish over 10 pounds. John Bushell at Betty and Nick’s Bait and Tackle in Seaside Park said the mullet run is getting started. Bushell said there was plenty of action with blues and false albacore this week on Island Beach State Park. “The wash is paved with sand eels,” Bushell said.   Josh Raymond weighed in a nice 11-pound blue he caught on a Crippled Herring jig while being guided by Shell E. Caris of Shore Catch Guides.

Dan Radel

The surf guys are starting to see some stripers and bluefish in the surf, reports Tom Hansen at Grumpy’s Bait and Tackle. Daybreak has seen some good fishing for several days now with blues in a wide range of sizes in a wide variety of places. The fish have not been on top so birds working the surface haven’t been the best indicator of where the blues are. Metals are the number one choice for early morning fishing and bait has been producing the remainder of the day. Weigh-ins at the shop this week were Kyren Dooley with a little 1.3-pound blue caught on an Ava jig, Bill MacIntosh with a 9.75-pound bass on a peanut bunker and Anthony Francisco with a 7.45-pound bluefish on an Ava jig. John Bushell of Betty and Nick’s Bait and Tackle had plenty of bluefish reports from his customers this week. The reports came in from Seaside south to Island Beach State Park and spoke of bluefish busting on the surface. “One of our regulars was a little north of the bathing beaches in IBSP. He said as soon as the sun came up, it was non-stop small bluefish on swimmers and he also landed two small bass. He said he saw the big bluefish busting water out of casting distance and he left them biting. He was there all by himself,” Bushell said. Bluefish exploded in front of the Atlantic Bar and Grill on 24th Avenue in Seaside Park, Area 7 on IBSP and off the Bathing Beaches on IBSP. The blues are hitting just about anything, metals, mackerel, bunker and mullet. Scott Hoffman weighed in a 12-pound 12-ounce bluefish, Paul Bertero weighed in a 9-pound, 8-ounce bluefish and Carl Koger weighed in a 9-pound striped bass.

Dan Radel

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.