New Jersey & Delaware Bay - Northern New Jersey Fishing Reports

We started off this week’s report with a call to Chris over at Bayonne Bait and Tackle who told us all kinds of bait fish moved into the back waters around Bayonne this past week and brought with the all types of fish. Chris said blues ranging from snappers to slammers were moving around with the tides, some weakfish were caught. Light tackle fishermen are enjoying snappers, croakers and spot. Occasional stripers were being caught in the deeper water of the channels and there were even a few sheepshead taken. Some of the best fishing was the fluke action but you had to pick through the shorts to find some keepers. Crabbing was also very good. He ended his report by saying that the only thing missing was the fishermen. Most of the week the weatherman kept the area under a storm threat and this cut into the number of anglers fishing, he said.

Another place where we were told that short fluke were dominating the catch in a big way was over at Fairfield Fishing Tackle. Joe said reports he got told that the keeper to short ratio was better the farther south you went along the coast. He too mentioned the good bluefish and bonito fishing and said he got reports of some Spanish mackerel and albacore start mixing in with the choppers. He also mentioned that he got a couple of reports of bluefin being caught along the inshore waters, along with some yellowfin and bigeye in the southern canyons.

It was a decent week of fishing for the anglers that braved the weather and heat this past week stated Ken over at Dockside Bait and Tackle. He said the storm on Monday kept boats at the dock while the heat from mid week on kept a lot of people hugging their air conditioners. Those that fished saw some decent catches of fluke, croakers, cocktails, snappers and an occasional weakfish in the back waters and a few places in the bay. Fluke, sea bass, tog, ling and triggerfish were on tap for anglers fishing the inshore waters when they were fishable, he said. Lastly he told us crabbing was very good just about everywhere.

Bluefin along the inshore waters have been supplying some decent action for boats sailing out of Raritan Marina. Dave Rani told us several boats from the marina chanced the weather this past week and tangled with tuna to 50 inches. In addition he said anglers fishing for fluke were into plenty of flatties but in most cases it was one keeper per 30 to 50 shorts.

A call to Capt. Victor Hartley of the Keyport Princess got us another good report on the fluke fishing. Victor said all his trips saw plenty of short fluke with a decent amount of keepers and some one fish limits of sea bass on most trips that they got out on. The boat will be leaving the dock at 9 a.m. for its Monday late riser trip and will be doing a Fluke Marathon trip on Wednesday. All other days the boat will be sailing normal hours. It was also be doing Magic Hour Trips on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.

We started off our Keyport report with a call to Steve Haas over at Up Front Bait and Tackle who reported that Gary Read weighed in a 10-pound, 6-ounce doormat of a fluke on Sunday afternoon destined for The Fisherman’s Dream Boat Fishing Challenge. No details on where exactly, but that big rug taped out at 30-3/4 inches. Steve said the backwater fluke fishing was heavy on the shorts and decent when it comes to the keepeers. Croakers are still being caught all over and snappers and cocktails are in good supply for light tackle fishermen. Big cow nosed rays and doggies continue to steal baits and crabbing remains very good. He said outside blues with bonito mixed in are being caught along the inshore waters, and bottom fishermen are into croakers, sea bass, tog, triggerfish and ling.

Boats sailing out of Wagner’s Marina also report some good catches of fluke, sea bass, triggerfish and other goodies along the inshore waters. Mike said Tony Carbone came back to the dock with a 47-inch bluefin on Sunday morning.

I checked with Phil over at the Tackle Box and he also told us of a decent week of fishing in spite of the weather. Fluke fishing served up decent numbers of keepers and plenty of shorts in the Navesink and Shrewsbury rivers as well as the lower bay and back bay waters of Raritan Bay. The fishing is still heavy on the shorts but keeper numbers are increasing. He also mentioned some good bottom fishing outside as well as good catches of fluke and one fish limits of sea bass and tog. Mixed size bluefish, bonito and some Spanish mackerel are bending rods along the inshore waters. Bottom fishermen are into sea bass, tog, ling, triggerfish and croakers.

“While we didn’t fill up all the parking spaces like we did last week, it as still a very good Saturday with steady boat launches most of the day,” said Lou Fligor at the Atlantic Highlands Municipal Harbor. Most of the week saw fishermen hampered by the passing storms that managed to make the rounds almost every day. Fluke catches were heavy with shorts but inshore bluefishing was good with some bonito and for the first time false albacore mixed it.

“While this past week was not as good as the previous week because of some weather interference, our fishermen enjoyed some good fluke and sea bass action when conditions were good,” cited Capt. Mike Scardingo of the charter boat MiJo. Mike said the catch is still dominated by short fish but anglers with the patience to fish jigs were catching the bigger fish. He said at least now we are catching some decent numbers of fish and hopefully the water temps, which are in the low 80s will last until the end of the fluke fishing.

Our first report from the Atlantic Highlands came from Jay over at Julian’s Bait & Tackle. He said it looks like August is going to be a good month if we keep seeing the kind of fishing we have seen so far. Fluke fishing is a lot better than the first part of the season and only the weather is keeping more anglers from fishing. We got mixed size blues and bonito out side, bottom fishing has been getting better by the day with sea bass, tog, triggerfish and croakers keeping sinker bouncers happy. In short the fishing has really come together in the last couple weeks.

“Well we were back on the water and fishing,” said Capt. Bob Henn of the half-day boat Ebbtide Too .Bob said anglers saw a nice jump in the sea bass and fluke fishing this past week. A 7.3-pound fluke took the pool on one trip for the biggest fish of the week. most days saw everyone walk off the boat with their one fish limit to sea bass and that fish was topped by a fish that came close to 9 pounds by Sal Carchiola.

“While it was a crazy ride with the weather this past week, there still was some good fishing if you were willing to deal with the storms and the late week heat,” said Tim over at Bahrs Landing Marina. If you were looking for the fluke they were easy to find but you have to be patient and pick through the shorts, many of which were just under the size limit. Tim said that the 18-inch limit has really hurt the recreational catch with so many fish just under the size limit having to be thrown back. He also mentioned decent catches of croakers still being seen and porgies are also being caught in New York waters and not here. Lastly he said crabbing has been very good.

Fluke and bluefish continued to treat anglers fishing aboard the Hyper Striper to some good fishing. Capt. Sean has been jigging a good bite of blues on most trips to start off then switching to fluke for a nice mix of shorts and keepers. Capt. Pete Wagner told us he is booking September tuna fishing and jigging blues and bottom fishing. He also mentioned anglers that did not book a fall striper trips yet should give him a call now while there are still dates available as there are only a few dates left.

We spoke with Jesse over at Twin Lights Marina who told us first it was the nasty storms early in the week then the hot weather and some more nasty storms later in the week that led up to a spotty week of fishing for boats sailing out of the marina. How good the fluke fishing was depended on who you talked to and where they fished. Needless to say no boats sailed offshore because of the storm threats, we were told.

I asked Capt. Fletcher Chayes of Two Rivers Charters how his week was and his and he said he had some interference from the weather but as a rule the fishing was good on most trips. Bottom fishing has been filling coolers with fluke to 6 pounds, triggerfish and sea bass. He also put anglers into some bluefin tuna that were hooked up along the inshore waters. Fletcher said he has dates open for the fall fishing so give him a call for info and available dates.

One of the first persons I checked with in Belmar was Greg Hueth of the Big Mohawk III who also said it was an excellent week of fluke and sea bass fishing. He told us he had another good week of fishing for fluke and sea bass with Saturday proving to be the best day of the year with 70% of a full boat limiting out. Greg said the fluke are on the move into closer waters and hopefully the fishing will continue to get better.

It was a good week of fishing for anglers fishing Shark River and inlet this past week said Tom over at the Fisherman’s Den. He said rental boats continue to catch fluke but the short to keeper ratio is very high and also see blues and triggerfish occasionally. Boats sailing out of Belmar are doing well with the bluefish, bonito and a few albacore when conditions are good. Fluke and sea bass fishing aboard Belmar party boats was also very good this past week and it looks like some of the bigger fish are starting to move closer to the shoreline. In addition Tom told us anglers fishing the jetties at the inlet are into one fish limits of tog, triggerfish and occasional shots of mixed sizes slammers.

“It was another good week for blues with bonito mixed in,” said Capt. Rich Falcone of the Golden Eagle. He told us most trips found some good bluefish action to start off, however, some days saw bonito dominate the fishing. He ended his report by saying his mahi trip on September 7 only has a few spots left. and his first two tuna trips that leave the dock on Sunday only had a couple of spots left, so if you want to get in on any of those trips give Greg a call at the number in his ad.

Mixed size slammers along with bonito and a few Spanish mackerel this past week kept rods bent aboard the Miss Belmar Princess this past week. Capt. Al Shinn said the fishing was very good and big King Mackerel was also boated. Aboard the Miss Belmar half-day fluke and bottom fishing was also very good. Al said it looks like the bigger fluke are finally moving in closer to the shore and keeper numbers got better and one fish limits of tog and sea bass were also very good.

Four trips aboard the Ol’ Salty II enjoyed some good fishing this past week in spite of the weather. Capt. Nick Caruso said bottom fishing served up once fish limits of sea bass and tog, triggerfish, croakers, and other goodies, along with some fluke with a 6-pound fluke the top flattie this past week and a 4-1/2-pound sea bass was the top knucklehead. Nick told me he is going to start his tuna trips and has a complete line up of his mid-range and offshore trips, both dates and prices on his website, if you’re looking for a tuna trip this year.

“This past week was an excellent week of bottom fishing,” said Capt. Steve Spinelli of the Skylarker. Steve started the week by putting the Rob Silogn Construction party into a very good bite of line and one fish limits of tog and sea bass. Next up was the Kim Ratty group who hammered out a good catch of fluke and sea bass. A mid-week trip with the Mike Jooch charter also beat up on the sea bass and fluke while the B-Tech Builders party deck an excellent catch of blues to 8 pounds. The crew finished up the week with what Steve described as the best day of fluke fishing so far this season with the Blues Brothers decking knuckleheads to 4 pounds, limits of tog to 5 pounds, sea bass to 4 pounds and fluke to 5 pounds

Another person that told us fishing was a nice mix in northern waters was Nick over at Bullet Hole Annex. He said reports coming into the store told of anglers complaining about to many shorts. One angler told him he caught over 100 shorts just to get three keepers while fishing the back bay. Outside the fishing saw better numbers of keepers but the shorts ratio was still high. He also mentioned some good bluefish action with fish to 8 pounds being caught along with bonito to 5 pounds and some mackerel. He said bottom fishing was also a nice mix of fish with sinker bouncers catching ling, one fish limits of tog and sea bass, triggerfish, croakers and other bottom goodies.

“When we were able to sail and had decent conditions the fishing was good,” stated Capt. Phil Bouchard of the Misty Morn. Phil said in general the fishing was hit or miss because of the weather. The boat got in several trips that found good short action and a few keepers on each trip. Likewise an evening trip had the same results. Taking pools on the boat this past week were Tom Nobel (3-pound fluke), Scott Knox (3-2/3-pound fluke), Lucas Cortez (3-pound fluke) and Denise Mullet (3-pound fluke).