Fishing with Dad

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.

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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