NJ Fish On - Fishing in New Jersey » Al Ristori

Bottom fish & blues bounce back quickly from storm

Al Ristori — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 00:26:11 +0000

Published: Sunday, September 05, 2010, 8:26 PM Updated: Sunday, September 05, 2010, 9:01 PM

It’s looking better for the last day of the fluke season, which ends at midnight, Labor Day in both N.J. and N.Y. Light winds and modest seas are predicted for the morning before some south wind later in the afternoon.

Major storms often harm bottom fishing for days, but Hurricane Earl seems to have had relatively little effect locally. Andrew Sokol certainly couldn’t complain about the quality of bottom fishing he experienced at Sandy Hook Reef aboard Capt. Frank Tenore’s Fins on Feathers from Leonardo. Sokol said they had six-man limits of porgies and added some sea bass, blackfish and bluefish plus a 32-inch striper that hit a piece of clam intended for a porgy.He noted that the porgies averaged about 1 1/2 pounds, with some in the 2-to-3-pound class.

There were mixed reports on fluke. Those from Raritan Bay were negative, and the dirty water that had prevailed before the storm was still there. The forecasted drop in northwest wind wasn’t sufficient, and Dave Lilly of Hazlet said Ambrose was unfishable as he drifted at 2.8 knots. Therefore, he ran out to the ocean and still found nothing until he got to Monmouth Beach. There weremostly small fluke out towardthe reef, but his Team Esca crew managed eight keepers up to 5 pounds.

Ross Goldberg ran his Lady J north from Belmar, and did well with fluke in the rough bottom, including a personal best 8.5-pounder by Joel Braun.

Capt. Jack Shea of Rambunctious out of Barnegat Inlet finally saw the non-stop short fluke action on the inside decline Tuesday, and fluking in the bay was deadthis morning.

Capt. Len Forsyth of Miss Belmar Princess said the blues were back again east of Shark River Inlet, and some little tunny were among them.The blues ranged from 4 to 12 pounds, and Saturday night fishing was also good. He didn’t see any of the skipjacks that had been there before the storm, and there still haven’t been any bonito so far.

Capt. Art Hilliard had the Cake Boss TV crew out bluefishing on his Eagle from Atlantic Highlands on Wednesday, and it was Chef Buddywho won the pool with a 14-pound blue.

I fished the Sea Girt surf at sun-up, and found it to still be rough — but fishable. There were quite a few anglers there, but I never saw a fish.

This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you’re reading it on someone else’s site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php
Five Filters featured article: “Peace Envoy” Blair Gets an Easy Ride in the Independent.

Northwester should set up good fishing conditions

Al Ristori — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 21:56:15 +0000

Published: Saturday, September 04, 2010, 5:56 PM Updated: Saturday, September 04, 2010, 6:12 PM

The northwest winds blowing Saturday should calm and clear the ocean after Earl, and set up reasonably good fishing conditions for the rest of the long weekend. Not surprisingly, there were no reports today, though anglers intent on fishing could always find a protected area such as Point Pleasant Canal.

The northwester is supposed to die down tonight, and there should be light winds and calm seas for the Labor Day end of the fluke season. The Jamaica from Brielle is fishing for bluefish tonight, and all boats should be out on Sunday.

Fortunately, Earle was a dud

Al Ristori — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 23:33:39 +0000

Published: Friday, September 03, 2010, 7:33 PM Updated: Friday, September 03, 2010, 8:00 PM

New Jersey didn’t even get a close brush from Hurricane Earl, but we’ll have to wait another day or two to determine the effects of large waves. There was so little wind in the morning that I tried surfcasting at Sea Girt. A couple of pros were coming off when I arrived as they said the approaching storm had the opposite effect expected — drawing water off the beach. I tried anyway, and found acouple of pools that looked like pssibilities, but only got the exercise that was the primary reason for the venture.

The Cock Robin from Point Pleasant won’t be sailing for blues on Saturday, but resumes on Sunday. The northwest winds predicted should knock down the big seas, making Sunday fishable — and setting up a nice Labor Day for the end of the fluke season. Even the small craft warnings for Saturday are based on the gusty west winds that will be calming the sea. Anglers can still fish some protected areas, such as Raritan and Barnegat bays, if they have wind and tide together. The surf will probably take a couple of tide changes to clear up.

There was an error in Friday’s column asI added an “a” to the name of the company making the American Red Cross Clipray hand-cranked emergency flashlight. The company name is Eton , not “Eaton” — and the web site for info is www.etoncorp.com.

Marine Fisheries Council endorses saltwater license

Al Ristori — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 00:28:29 +0000

Published: Thursday, September 02, 2010, 8:28 PM Updated: Thursday, September 02, 2010, 10:05 PM

A dramatic vote was taken at yesterday’s monthly meeting of the Marine Fisheries Council when a motion to endorse a saltwater fishing license as a means of funding marine fisheries within the Division of Fish & Wildlife was passed unanimously.

The N.J. Federation of Sportsmen’s Clubs and the Cape May Party & Charter Boat Association have been on record as supporting this concept, but the Council’s motion will probably result in the required legislative action for consideration. The very mention of a saltwater license has always been poison in N.J., but with many of our state’s anglers now having to buy a New York or Delaware license, the prospect of reciprocal licenses and sending money to N.J. rather than a neighboring state may make a difference. In addition, we will have to deal with the federal registry next year — when it will no longer be free unless we have a state license.

Yet, Dr. Pat Donnelly said those concerns weren’t the reason for the license proposal. Our marine fisheries are run on a budget of just $380,000, while North Carolina (a state with about as many fishermen) has an $18 million budget, about half of which comes from the recreational license. Donnelly noted that we probably could have had more liberal tautog regulations if we had the personel last year to provide the required statistics to back up our case. The same thing may apply next year with shad and river herring.

There will be a lot more about this in the weeks to come, though there isn’t even a bill in the Legislature to put a license dedicated to Marine Fisheries into law. Let the debate begin!

Best bets for the weekend

Al Ristori — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 00:08:20 +0000

Published: Thursday, September 02, 2010, 8:08 PM Updated: Thursday, September 02, 2010, 8:27 PM

Though this is the day that I do Best Bets for the Weekend, it’s little more than a guessing game now with a hurricane passing by. Raritan Bay and Barnegat Bay fluking may be the least impacted unless rains are much heavier than expected. Big seas will surely disrupt ocean bottom fishing and create big problems in the surf. Hopefully, bluefish and school bluefin tuna will return to the areas where they were abundant prior to the storm (blues at Shark River Reef and bluefins in the vicinity of the Virginia) as the seas settle after northwest winds. Locating “good” water will be a guessing game for offshore anglers until it’s clear enough for Len Belcaro to get a good shot with his Offshore Satellite Services in Point Pleasant. Check this blog each day for updates.

Public fluke fishing reduced to party boats

Al Ristori — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 00:07:33 +0000

Published: Thursday, September 02, 2010, 8:07 PM Updated: Thursday, September 02, 2010, 11:19 PM

Its all over but the shouting for most recreational fluke fisherman after Labor Day. Commercial fishermen will continue to load up with 14-inch fluke during their open periods, but the only hope for the public will be fishing on party boats that have obtained a permit to take poundage from the research portion of the summer flounder quota.

As if regulations havent created enough economic problems for party boat skippers, the recent warnings about big swells from distant hurricanes have scared some anglers off even when there was no wind and seas were calm with a long swell that was barely noticeable except where they broke on the beaches. Unless theres significant wind involved, those storm swells are of concern only at the inlets on an ebb tide, and not at all in protected waters such as Raritan Bay.

Though N.J. is in a tropical storm warning, the outlook tonight wasnt bad. The ocean was quite fishable, and the period of strong easterly winds is predicted to be brief before a switch to gusty northwest winds that should settle the seas Saturday. Light south winds and modest waves are in the forecast for Sunday and Labor Day.

Unless theres more rain than expected, Raritan and Barnegat bays should be fishable for those seeking that last fluke. The big swells will likely have a negative impact on ocean bottom fishing, but bluefish and school bluefin tuna should shortly resume feeding. The storms could even bring some positives, such as moving those currently distant bluefins into the Mud Hole, improving the canyon tuna bite or providing an influx of little tunny and bonito into inshore waters. Sandy Hook Bay can certainly use a flushing to move out the ugly algae bloom. Keep track of changing conditions on this blog.

Capt. Tom Buban has purchased an allocation of 1,500 pounds of summer flounder from the research portion of the quota and will continue to sail his Atlantic Star twice daily from Atlantic Highlands for that species indefinitely as he has the rest of the year to account for that poundage.

What happened to global warming? Weve been looking forward to catching groupers on nearby wrecks in late August, but instead we get better cod than in mid-winter. Capt. Bud McArthur of Splinter from Brick got tired of poor fluking at the reefs and took a shot at wreck fishing Saturday in the Mud Hole. He fished only one wreck in 225 feet, though it was necessary to re-anchor three times in order to lay right. The crew had 41 of the expected ling but were amazed to add 23 cod over the 21-inch minimum while returning some shorts. The largest cod weighed 18 pounds.

With a hurricane in mind, the new American Red Cross Clipray self-powered hand crank flashlight is a handy item to have at home or on a boat. Without having to worry about batteries, this 4.9-ounce unit can be clipped to a belt loop and provides light by solar power or simply by cranking a built-in handle. Sixty seconds of cranking provides 10 minutes of light, and theres also a USB Cell Phone Charger Port that can make communication possible if that battery discharges. A portion of the $15 sale price from this Eaton Corp. product goes to the Red Cross. For more information visit www.eatoncorp.com.

Anglers seeking bluefin tuna must remember that private boats with Angling category permits are limited to one bluefin from 27 to less than 59 inches per day. Charter and party boats with the appropriate permit may take one from 27 to less than 47 inches plus one from 47 to less than 59 inches. No small mediums from 59 to less than 73 inches may be boated.

MARINE FISHERIES COUNCIL ENDORSES SALTWATER LICENSE

The N.J. Marine Fisheries Council took a bold step today at their monthly meeting in Galloway Township by unanimously passing a motion in favor of establishing a saltwater fishing license in order to fund marine fisheries within the Division of Fish & Wildlife. The N.J. Federation of Sportsmens Clubs and the Cape May Party & Charter Boat Association have taken similar positions.

TOP CATCHES

The 30th annual Manasquan River Marlin & Tuna Club Offshore Open, with 33 boats participating, continues through Sunday. As of Day 5 (Wednesday), Recovery Room had the only blue marlin release plus a tenuous lead in tuna with a 62.7-pounder just ahead of Paddy Whack at 62.60 pounds and Speculator at 61.10 pounds.

Contestants are hoping Hurricane Earl will blow up the mass of white marlin that were in Washington Canyon on April 30, when nine boats fishing a Virginia Beach tournament released an incredible 267 whites. Billfisher released a record 57. Tar Heel had 30 whites, had a blue marlin release and caught three dolphin.

Capt. Len Forsyth of Miss Belmar Princess reports Warren Ide of Long Branch won Tuesdays pool with a 16-pound bluefish, and Ricky Gonzalez from Jersey City took the money Wednesday with a 17-pounder.

At Brielle, Capt. Joe Bogan of Jamaica II said fluking improves on tough bottoms in 60 to 90 feet.
Top catches last week included Dale Isaacs of Manchester with a limit up to 5 pounds; Pete Talevei from Trenton with five to 5 1/2 pounds; and Eric Hanson of Old Bridge five to 5 pounds.

Capt. Howard Bogan Jr. reports pool-winning bluefish this week on his Jamaica included a 15.5-pounder by Shannon Wagner of Hopewell, who also limited.

Wayne Smith reports from Hoffmans Marina that weekend canyon fishing was poor, though Impulse returned with two albacore plus a 50-pound wahoo, and released an 80-pound swordfish.

Some boaters found school bluefins in the area of the Virginia. Joe Vezzosi weighed a 90-pounder. Fluking remained tough, but Capt. Bob Lake took Ron Masseralli up to the Rattlesnake last week on Kimberly Ann, where both had fluke limits with fish up to 8 pounds.

At Point Pleasant, Capt. Bob Pennington reported good bluefish jigging Saturday on the east side of the Mud Hole from his Sea Devil, before the best bluefishing of the season Sunday at Shark River Reef where 10-to-15-pound blues started on jigs before settling into the chum. Ernie Armitage of Rutherford and Jeanne Noonan from Monroe, N.Y. tied for the pool with 15-pounders.

Captains Jimmy Gahm, Sean Carton and Dave Bender took Tom and Tim Cunningham from Colts Neck out Sunday on Jenny Lee from Manasquan to seek school bluefin tuna. They found one 40 miles offshore, and later got into another bite 15 miles to the east where the tuna were hard to interest though a 40-pounder was boated on a Shimano Stella spinning outfit.

Fluke weigh-ins at Castaways Tackle in Point Pleasant all came from the ocean. Chris Rodek of Brick boated a 5 1/2-pounder; John Letezin of Brick had a 6 3/4-pounder; Fred Blair from Toms River a 6 1/4-pounder; and Mike Graffton of Bergenfield a 6 1/8-pound fluke.

Nick Honachefsky of Normandy Beach fished for fluke on Tuesday with Brian Keating and Mike Warlog on Killer Bea as they released over 40 shorts.

The WICC Greatest Bluefish Tournament on Earth was contested last weekend on Long Island Sound. Eric Hunar of East Setauket, N.Y. was the winner with a 15.94-pounder weighed at Caraftis Tackle in Port Jefferson.

Hans Kaspersetz of Weehawken was fishing Ambrose Channel during Wednesday afternoon with Dennis Nalepa and his son D.J. from Red Bank as the crew on Shaken totaled six keepers in the Buoy 3 area.

Bluefish bite continues as little tunny show

Al Ristori — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 01:07:00 +0000

Published: Wednesday, September 01, 2010, 9:07 PM Updated: Wednesday, September 01, 2010, 9:37 PM

It was yet another day suitable for small boats on the ocean despite all the premature worries about big swells that are probably still another day away. Bluefish cooperated again, and quantities of little tunny were finally running through the slick of Miss Belmar Princess as Capt. Len Forsyth anchored 15 miles east of Shark River Inlet. He also had skipjacks in the slick, and noted that his anglers have even jigged an occasional cod out there. Capt. Jim O’Grady of the Cock Robin from Point Pleasant also had little tunny in his slick plus some bonito. Capt. Howard Bogan Jr. reported 7-to-15-pound blues on his Jamaica from Brielle plus little tunny and skipjacks.

Jesse York of Atlantic Beach, N.Y. said one of his Long Island boats had a good day with school bluefin tuna, bringing in theprivate boat limitwith a 90-pounder. York was fluking on Cholera Bank, and managed a 22-inch N.Y. keeper — but said that fishing was slow due to the lack of drift on a calm sea with no wind until the afternoon.

Bruce Vitale of Piscataway was fishing aboard Funny Pharm from Highlands as the crew caught three legal fluke from among lots of shortseast of Sandy Hook Channel.

Bluefishing holds up

Al Ristori — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 23:51:53 +0000

Published: Tuesday, August 31, 2010, 7:51 PM Updated: Tuesday, August 31, 2010, 8:17 PM

While other species have their moments, bluefish have been responding consistently in the ocean. Capt. Howard Bogan Jr. reports continued hot action today on his Jamaica from Brielle. The blues ran from 7 to 15 pounds, and hit best on bait — though jiggers also did well.

Capt. Bob Pennington loaded up with big blues Monday at Shark River Reef, where it was necessary to make only one move with his Sea Devil from Point Pleasant.

Allen Riley of South Plainfield, and his brother Ed of Edison, fished the morning trip of Sea Tiger II from Atlantic Highlands, but found even short fluke hard to come by. Ed had only one short, while Allen came up with three small sea robins. He had one big thrill, but it turned out to be a doubleheader of horseshoe crabs. There were only a few keepers aboard up to a 2 1/2-pounder.

Capt. Stan Zagleski reports he’s been fighting a wind against tide situation the last two days with his Elaine B. from Highlands. Yet, he moved around a lot today and managed a decent fluke catch under the circumstances. Al Warinis of Trenton, John Porada from Pompton Lakes, and Carmine Florio of Belleville each had three keepers.

Nick Honachefsky of Normandy Beach fished Barnegat Bay with Brian Keating and Mike Barlogon Killer Bea as they bucktailed Gulp to catch over 40 shorts — but also boated fluke of 3.2, 3.5, and 6.5 pounds.

Capt. Russ Binns of Toms River fished with a friend at Shrewsbury Rocks and nearby areas for a dozen large porgies plus sea bass, but no fluke.

Bluefish thick to the SE

Al Ristori — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 00:07:01 +0000

Published: Monday, August 30, 2010, 8:07 PM Updated: Monday, August 30, 2010, 8:37 PM

All’s well in the bluefish world, as the Jamaica from Brielle found big schools of choppers up to 15 pounds, 15 miles southeast of Manasquan Inlet for big catches Sunday, that night, and Monday. All of the action had been north to Shark River Reef and the Mud Buoy before that. The Jamaica has room on its limited canyon trip departing at 5 p.m. Sept. 5. Call 732 528-5014 for reservations.

Capt. Bob Pennington had good bluefish jigging Saturday on the east side of the Mud Hole from his Sea Devil out of Point Pleasant. Sunday was the best day of the year as blues up to 15 pounds hit both jigs and bait at Shark River Reef.

Capt. Tommy Joseph of Rightaway from Belmar said the swell didn’t bother his fluking on Sunday as one customer even managed a limit. Joseph has been disappointed in the porgy fishing lately, and is hoping they’ll come on to take the place of sea bass when that season closesbriefly on Oct. 11.

Bill Klimas of Scotch Plains foud both the missing weakfish andlittle tunny on Sunday, but not in the sizes we need. He was fishing with Doug Rusch on his Fin Fun from Brielle along with Doug’s mother Valerie and sister Valerie Klimas as they picked at some legal sea bass and fluke when some tiny weakfish up to 8 inches started hitting at the Sea Girt and Carlsen reefs. Then, on the way backoff Point Pleasant they spotted surface action where A17 jigs produced tiny little tunny not over10 inches.

Captains Jimmy Gahm, Sean Carton and Dave Bender had Tom and Tim Cunningham of Colts Neck aboard Jenny Lee from Manasquan as they searched out school bluefin tuna on Sunday. They found one 40 miles from Manasquan Inlet before being called in on a bite 15 miles to the east. Some boats did well there, but the funa were fussy. The party did add a 40-pounder caughton a Shimano Stella spinning outfit.

Canyon fishing slow

Al Ristori — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 00:40:39 +0000

Published: Sunday, August 29, 2010, 8:40 PM Updated: Sunday, August 29, 2010, 9:12 PM

Wayne Smith, at Hoffman’s Marina in Brielle, didn’t have much good news from the canyon over the weekend, though some wahoo are starting to show out there. The best report was from the Impulse, which had a 50-pound wahoo and two albacore while also releasing an 80-pound swordfish. Some boaters caught school bluefins in the Compass Rose area, including JoeVezzosi who weighed a 90-pounder.

Smith said fluking remains tough, but Capt. Bob Lake of Kimberly Ann had Ron Masseralli with him as both limited with fluke up to 8 pounds during the week at the Rattlesnake.

Capt. Joe Bogan has been scratching out some large fluke on rough bottoms in 60 to 90 feet with his Jamaica II from Brielle. Dale Isaacs of Manchester had a limit up to 5 pounds during the week. Saturday night bluefishing was good for 10-to-12-pounders, as fares averaged eight to 15 choppers. The Jamaica II has openings on a 3 a.m. Sept. 7 cod trip.

The Sea Devil from Point Pleasant had a good shot of big blues Saturday on the east side of the Mud Hole.

The most valuable bluefish was a 15.94-pounder caught by Eric Hunan of East Setaucket, Long Island to win the WICC Greatest Bluefish Contest on Earth Tournament in Long Island Sound. The winner was weighed at Caraftis Fishing Station in Brookhaven.

Dave Lilly of Hazlet and his Team Esca crew boated 17 large fluke in the depths of Ambrose Channel.

Bruce Vitale of Piscataway was intent on catching a big fluke in Chapel Hill Channel from Funny Pharm, owned by Mike Obuch of Bridgewater. He quickly caught a 20 1/2-incher that was returned since it was a half-inch short of a N.Y. keeper. Everything went downhill from there as the big fluke didn’t cooperate — and we caught only a few small fluke and three dogfish. Most unusual was Obuch’s catch of a small kingfish that was snagged on a fluke rig in Ambrose Channel — the first kingfish I’ve ever seen there.