New Jersey & Delaware Bay - Northern New Jersey Fishing Reports

Our first report of the week comes from Chris over at Bayonne Bait and Tackle who told us after the storm passed the striped bass fishing got progressively better and by the end of the week some fish topping the 35-pound mark were caught. He said he got reports from the back bay waters around Bayonne, Perth Amboy, Keansburg, the upper Shrewsbury and Navesink rivers and the tidal Passaic and Hackensack rivers. In addition there were some mixed size bluefish and a few weakfish caught. “It looks like the nor’easter got the stripers moving in our northern waters,” he said.

“The storm was more of an inconvenience than a problem,” said Joe over at Fairfield Fishing Tackle. Of course we were a lot more inland and out of the way of the worst part of the storm. One thing is for sure the beaches along the coast sure lost a lot of sand. When it comes to the fishing it looks like the storm really got the striped bass fishing going. “We had a decent amount of anglers stopped in for striped bass tackle and they told us the fishing was on fire in some places,” said Joe, adding “By the end of the week the bottom fishing began to pick up as well.” Let’s hope this is the prelude to some good fishing the rest of the fall.

“It took us a couple to days to clean up the mess from the storm however by Wednesday we were back operating at full swing,” stated Ken over at Dockside Bait and Tackle. Here too we were told of some stripers, mainly local fish on the move. He said a lot of fish were pushed into the back water areas by the storm and they were just seeing some bass, blues and other fish go active. On the downside he said they lost power and that cost them some bait. Lastly Ken told us the marina got through the storm with only some flooding and minor damage, adding “so I guess we were lucky.”

“The striped bass are all over the bay, the rivers and outside on the Shrewsbury Rocks,” said Steve Haas over at the Up Front Bait and Tackle. Steve was another person that said his place weathered the recent storm in good shape however Keyport and Keansburg were hit hard. He told us it looks like the striped bass fall run is in full swing and it will be interesting to see how long the migrating bass will stay in out northern waters.

One place that had some real trouble was Wagner’s Marina who had significant flooding on the full moon high tides. I spoke with Paul over the weekend and he told me they finally got the marina back to a 100% by the weekend. One of the first people to get in on the fishing out of the marina was Jim Ruff who topped a good catch of stripers with a 40-inch plus linesiders the top fish. Paul said the marina got back up to snuff just in time for the fall striper run.

Fishing planer boards, glide lures and live eels are taking some impressive striped bass cited Phil over at the Tackle Box. Some of the best fishing has been in the evening by the light of the moon, he said. The fishing started breaking open early in the week as fishermen slowly started getting back on the water after the blow. Some good reports of big bass being caught off the northern part of the Shrewsbury Rocks on eels was also heard. In addition he mentioned good reports on the sea bass fishing were also heard as the week progressed.

“It was nice to see some boats sliding down the boat ramp this past week, especially on Saturday,” said Lou Fligor over at Atlantic Highlands Municipal Harbor. Lou told us most of the minor damage at the harbor from the storm has been repaired and all the facilities at the harbor are open. He told us at the height of the storm the break water at the harbor was completely underwater. However no boats received any severe damage. Lastly reports coming in from boats fishing out of the harbor were of striped bass being caught.

“We did not fish his past week,” stated Capt. Bob Henn of the Ebbtide Too. Bob said he will resume fishing daily this coming week.

I spoke with Capt. Bunting over at Julian’s Bait & Tackle and he too told us that the fishing was picking up nicely since the storm passed and things were settling down. The big surprise has been the striped bass fishing that has gotten very good in some places especially in the back bay waters of Raritan Bay. More and more bass are starting to be caught off the beaches from Sandy Hook south. He also told us the bottom fishing was still off because of a temp change and roughed up bottom but he did get some reports of porgies being caught and bluefish are still being caught a short hop off the beaches. I asked him how our old friend, his dad, retired Capt. Ed Bunting is doing and he said fine and he is close to 90 years old. He’s an old salt, and I mean that respectfully who’s got me by a few years.

I gave Capt. Mike Scardingo of the MiJo a call and he told me he did not sail this past week due to windy days and rough seas on days he had trip scheduled. He told me the boat will resume sailing this week weather permitting.

“We had some flooding and some minor damage but nothing to stop us from putting things back in order by Tuesday,” said Tim over at Bahrs Landing Marina. Tim said almost as soon as they opened back up they got reports of stripers being caught in several places including, the upper Shrewsbury and Navesink rivers, and the back of Raritan Bay. By Wednesday evening we had reports of bass to 30 pounds along with some bluefish. In addition he mentioned that some nice fluke were caught and released and there were still some croakers around along with snappers and a few spot. The one downside was the bunker that were in the back bay had disappeared and even the bunker boats didn’t find them.

“Some good striped bass fishing and some nice size sea bass was had on the trips that we got out to fish this last week,” was the answer to the question I asked Capt. Pete Wagner of the charter boat Hyper Striper. Pete added that he thinks it’s a go for the fall bass run as of now. He also mentioned that the book on the spring fishing in 2027 is open and is getting full so if you want a striper trip next spring give him a call.

“It was a good week of striped bass and sea bass fishing this past week,” said Capt. Fletcher Chayes of Two Rivers Charters. Fletcher told us he had his doubts about how the fishing was going to be, however once they started fishing he was pleasantly surprised at how good the fishing was. He said he has dates open in October and November for striped bass and bottom fishing for tog.

Our bottom fishing never had a chance pick up as boats were kept in port by a rusty old draw bridge that had its electrical systems inundate by salt water. Greg Hueth said the Big Mohawk III got in a trio of trips after the bridge was repaired and anglers caught some knuckleheads but nowhere near what they should be catching this time the year. He said it will be interesting to see how the rest of the year plays out because we still are not seeing any amount of adult bunker as the bunker boats from out of state have been wiping the bunker out in the spring.

Striped bass fishing was also the main topic when we spoke with our sources over at the Fisherman’s Den. Bass have been moving in and out of the inlet with the tides and some nice fish have been caught off the jetties, along with some keeper tog. Live eels have been the top striper getters, while green crabs have been doing the trick for the blackfish. Surfcasters have also been scoring some mixed size bass on eels and plugs.

Another boat that resumed fishing once the bridge finally went up was the Golden Eagle. Capt. Rich Falcone said bluefishing was decent once you found the slammers while the bottom fishing served up a mix of sea bass, tog, porgies and a few triggers. Rich said the storm cooled down the bottom temps and it will be interesting to see how the fall fishing plays out because of the effects from the nor-easter. He too had no kind words for this past week’s bridge fiasco.

“We only got out on one trip this past week thanks to the storm and a stuck antique road bridge,” stated Capt. Nick Caruso of the Ol’ Salty II and Big Kid. He said a Friday wreck hopping trip put anglers into a mix of sea bass, tog, porgies and other ground fish goodies. Nick said the boat will continue to bottom fish in October.

“We only got in a couple of trips this past week thanks to the out of date rusty bucket of bolts they call a bridge,” stated Capt. Steve Spinelli of the charter boat Skylarker. The Jim Trusnick charter decked plenty of sea bass along with porgies, tog, and triggerfish. Saturday’s trip with the Basso Trucking group braved the poor weather conditions for a catch of sea bass, blackfish and triggers.

A call to Nick over at Bullet Hole Annex got us news of some decent striped bass fishing since the storm the striped bass really came to life late in the week and reports coming into the store are telling of good catches of mixed size bass mainly on eels and fresh bunker, as well as artificials. Some anglers told of even catching stripers and blues in Raritan Bay. He also mentioned that some of the few boats that fished the inshore waters also mentioned some blues with a few bonito being caught. Lastly he stated that the fishing bounced back quickly after the blow.

I checked with Capt. Phil Bouchard of the Misty Morn and he told me his boat came through the storm in good shape. His first trip after the storm was with Latham charter hammered the sea bass, however it was six or seven shorts for every keeper. Phil said the boat will sail Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday this week. Phil said anglers should check out his webpage for current sailing info.