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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.

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Would you believe — N.J. cod in August

Al Ristori — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 23:15:20 +0000

Published: Saturday, August 28, 2010, 7:15 PM Updated: Saturday, August 28, 2010, 8:24 PM

Capt. Bud McArthur of Brick got so disgusted with poor fluke fishing in the ocean that he completely changed gears and ran out to the Mud Hole. Working one wreck, on which he had to re-anchor three times due to current and wind changes, his party on Splinter boated not only the expected 41 ling — but also 23 cod. Some smaller cod were released, but those 23 were all above21 inches including an 18-pounder. An out-of-season 17-inch winter flounder was also caught. It’s not unusual to pick a small cod on Mud Hole wrecks in the summer, but that volume of legal cod in August is amazing. Anglers would be delighted with that action so close to home even in the middle of the winter.

The big swell from a far away hurricane made for tough surf fishing today — and it will probably be worse tomorrow. I tried Bay Head briefly, but couldn’t get too close to the surf. My casts were barely long enough to get into good water, but flukerarely bite so close to shore in a big swell.

Those big swells are imposing, but as long as the winds don’t blow (only light winds are predicted) they shouldn’t be a problem for boaters — thoughcaution will be required at inlets, especially on the ebb.

Scott Leadbetter of Haddon Heights tried to head out of Atlantic Highlands for bluefish, but was surprised by agusty north wind that hadn’t been predicted. Trolling down the beach didn’t work, but a switch to fluking off the beach did provide two legal fluke.

Capt. Hans Kaspersetz of Maggie K from Bayville got back just before this blog was finished with the good news that school bluefin tuna were located again in the area of the Virginia.Dennis Nalepaof Red Bank, Tom Morford Jr. of Northern Marine Electronics and Kaspersetz spent all morning looking for signs of fish before finding a small fleet in the afternoon — after which they caught their over and under while releasing two others on bait.

Though Sandy Hook Bay waters are looking ugly from an algae bloom, Bruce Vitale of Piscataway found a good drift near the Bug Light on Thursday afternoon that produced three keepers up to a 5-pound, 2-ounce fluke.

The Mud Buoy has been hot for big bluefish this week. Leif Pettersen took his son Leif and friend Ben Green (14) of Wayside out on Prower V from Atlantic Highlands for the Thursday night trip. Theytotaled 17 blues up to 15 pounds — some of which were caught on 3-ounce diamond jigs with green tails, or with glow jigs.

Jeff Michaels of Hillsborough ran his boat from Manasquan up there Thursday for a day trip with his son Jeff (15) that produced a good catch of bluesfrom 10 to 16 pounds.

The rest of the week is looking up

Al Ristori — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 23:52:31 +0000

Published: Wednesday, August 25, 2010, 7:52 PM Updated: Wednesday, August 25, 2010, 8:07 PM

Anglers who’ve had enough of northeast winds, rain and rough seas may find much better conditions through the weekend.I received only one report today, and that was from Nick Honachefsky of Normandy Beach, who fished green crabs at Manasquan Inlet until what he called “toglets” finished off his crab supply. Joe Melillo at Castaway’s Tackle in Point Pleasant suggests there are bigger tautog to be caught in Point Pleasant Canal. He will have green crabs in stock next week. Melillo notes that small bluefish invade the canal at times.

The Cock Robin at Point Pleasant won’t be shaping up on Thursday, but will resume bluefishing Friday.

Prowler V at Atlantic Highlands is adding Thursday night bluefish trips to thosebeing made over the weekends.

Best bets for the weekend

Al Ristori — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 01:47:51 +0000

Published: Thursday, August 19, 2010, 9:47 PM Updated: Thursday, August 19, 2010, 10:08 PM

Ambrose Channel for fluke: After being poor all week, Ambrose Channel came to life Thursday as Capt Ed Bunting reported 45 keepers on his Sea Horse from Atlantic Highlands.

Bluefish at the Mud Buoy: The traditional late season bluefish hot spot is finally producing steadily for chummers. Jigs work at times.

Blues at Shrewsbury Rocks: Big blues have been at the Rocks all week, but they are hard to catch at times. It’s been basically a jigging bite there.

Bluefin tuna to the northeast: School bluefins to over 100 pounds are being jigged north of the Bacardi. It’s all on readings and by jigging near bottom.

White marlin in the southern canyons: Boats fishing the Mid-Atlantic $500,000 out of Cape May have had as many as 15 white marlin releases in a day.

ZONE 1: VERRAZANO BRIDGE TO HIGHLANDS BRIDGE

APP.com: Fishing & Boating — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 10:30:08 +0000

Capt. Mike Russo of the Sea Hawk, Perth Amboy, reported good fluke fishing over the weekend with plenty of action and an increase in the keeper ratio. There are tons of fluke around he said and now’s the time to learn how to catch them. Pool winners aboard the Sea Hawk were Ralph Kolasinski, Union, with a 4 1/2 pounder, Lou Napno, 3 1/2 pounder and Bill Grzye, Clark with a 4 pounder. Capt. Russo has been fishing Chapel Hill, the Ambrose and the Sandy Hook channels. The Sea Hawk fishes for sea bass and porgies on Wednesdays. Capt. George Bachert of the Angler out of Atlantic Highlands had a good day Wednesday with 55 keepers for 35 anglers with loads of fish being caught, many just short of keeper size. He was fishing the Sandy Hook Channel. “There were times when everyone was either taking one off or bringing one in,” he said. Bob at Crabby’s Bait and Tackle in Keyport said the fluking continues strong in the bay and the crabbing has been unbelievable. Capt. Ed Bunting of the Seahorse, Atlantic Highlands, also reported a good day of fishing on Wednesday with a good pick in the Ambrose Channel until the drift got to be too much. He then went to the Sandy Hook Channel and continued to get some more keepers. Robert Johnson from South Plainfield, won the pool with a 5-pound fluke. Capt. Bob Malgieri of the Bottom has been fishing the Sandy Hook Channel using homemade feather jigs dipped in cod liver oil. He and his fellow angler, Kathyann Furman, have been fishing Sandy Hook all summer with the two of them catching between 50 and 100 shorts a day. Now, he reports, they’ve been getting their limit most days. Fishing the ledges of the channels seems to do the trick.

Big blues hit again at the Rocks

Al Ristori — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 23:01:22 +0000

Published: Tuesday, August 17, 2010, 7:01 PM Updated: Tuesday, August 17, 2010, 7:39 PM

Though bluefishing started slowly, it came on strong for the large party boat fleet gathered at Shrewsbury Rocks. Some party boats chummed successfully when jigging wasn’t working. Ross Goldberg got into the 12-to-15-pounders on his Lady J. from Belmar before adding 50 short fluke in 70-foot depths near there plus a 6-pounder by his son Brian on a spearing teaser Ross had tied.

Allen Riley of South Plainfield fished aboard the morning trip of the Sea Tiger II from Atlantic Highlands along with his brother, Ed of Edison. Nothing much had changed since their previous trips, as they caught plenty of short fluke but no keepers while drifting between the channels.

Early weigh-ins at the Mid-Atlantic $500,000 being contested in Cape May plus Ocean City, Md, didn’t change much.Shark Byte’s25-pound dolphin leader from Monday survived by a pound when Tar Heel from Monmouth Beach weighed a 24-pounder, but was soon blasted off the board when Legasea brought in a 39-pounder.

The rest of the weigh-ins will be summerized in a blog after the scales close later tonight.

ZONE 1: VERRAZANO BRIDGE TO HIGHLANDS BRIDGE

APP.com: Fishing & Boating — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 22:05:14 +0000

Fluke surprise off the Navy Pier

Al Ristori — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 23:53:52 +0000

Published: Wednesday, August 04, 2010, 7:53 PM Updated: Wednesday, August 04, 2010, 8:28 PM

Mike Sawyer of Summit wanted his sons and friends to bend rods this afternoon as he fished with me and Capt. Hans Kaspersetz on Sheri Berri Charters out of Baker’s Marina on the Bay in Highlands — and that’s what we did off the Navy Pier. Gulp tipped with killies from Julian’s Tackle in Atlantic Highlands proved attractive to the small fluke that usually dominate there, and I was happy to watch Andy Sawyer and Mike Sawyer Jr. of Summit, Jim Kerr from N.C., and Andy Kerr from Dallas get the hang of holding bottom to pick away at small fluke that included a couple of 17 1/2-inchers. I used my light surf spinning outfit with a Gulp teaser above a 1/2-ounce bucktail tipped with a small whole squid to cast downwind in order to hit bottom and workthe light bucktailback. To my great surprise, a thick 22 1/2-inch fluke hit that bucktail/squid. The party later added another legal fluke before heading in early.

Check results from from the Ocean City White Marlin Open in a seperate blog.

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Bluefish still hard to catch

Al Ristori — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 23:24:33 +0000

Published: Monday, July 26, 2010, 7:24 PM Updated: Monday, July 26, 2010, 8:01 PM

After a series of summers when even the spawning period hardly seemed to effect bluefishing, that sport has become very spotty during the last couple of weeks. It wasn’t long ago that we were fighting off blues in order to catch stripers in Raritan Bay and off the Rockaways, while party boats were scoring at Shark River Reef and in the Mud Hole — and tuna trollers couldn’t keep choppers off their expensive lures. Yet, a charter skipper called me today to ask where he could find some blues for a customer who wants them. Unfortunately, I didn’t have a good answer for him. Gene Graman of Middletown even fished bunker chunks for stripers last week at Shrewsbury Rocks without catching a single bluefish.

The Sea Devil from Point Pleasant headed up to the Rocks on Saturday, and eventually moved offshore to finda few large blues for Boy Scout Troop 91 from Hamilton. Rob Verrinber won the pool with a 13-pounder. The highlight of the trip was watching a dolphin (mammal) chase a blue out of the water and catch it in mid-air.

The angler who caught a 9-pound fluke Saturday in Sandy Hook Bay while fishing from the Angler out of Atlantic Highlands was Eddie Ziegert of Hackettstown. Fortunately for him, he was entered in the seasonal pool. That leaves him in the lead for $1950 so far.

Leif Pettersen and his son Leif fished the Saturday morning trip of the Gambler from Point Pleasantalong with Ben Green and his dad Tony. The boys caught short fluke from the boat even before the trip started. Out at sea, the group accounted for about 20 fish, including three keeper fluke up to a 21-incher that almost won the pool for Ben, plus four legal sea bass.

Ross and Brian Goldberg, along with Adam Katz and Dave Sherman, ran their Lady J from Belmar north to the Rattlesnake on Saturdayto bucktail six fluke up to 6 pounds plus 12 sea bass to 3 pounds on clam.

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Donnelly wins Pt. Pleasant Elks Fluke Tournament

Al Ristori — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 23:37:53 +0000

Published: Sunday, July 25, 2010, 7:37 PM Updated: Sunday, July 25, 2010, 8:19 PM

Brielle dentist Pat Donnelly proved his expertise at fluking once again by winning the Point Pleasant Elks Fluke Tournament for a second time. The first was in 1996, and Donnelly has also won the JCSA Fluke Tournament twice with his Shanakee. A 9.1-pounder took the money this time, and it was caught by Donnelly’s father-in-law, Mike DeSimon of Portland, Me., who plans his summer vacation every year to fish for the summer flounder they don’t see that far north. The winning fish hit a strip bait and sand eel fished in sticky bottom off Long Branch where they had a dozen keepers and some sea bass. The crew included Joe Martz of Key Colony Beach, Fl., Tom White of Brick, and Allan Deutsch from Manasquan.

Dr. George Gabuzda of Wall had a thrill in Sandy Hook Bay when a cownose ray hit his fluke rig. while he was fishing with me and Capt. Hans Kaspersetz of Sheri Berri Charters from Baker’s Marina on the Bay in Highlands. We were there to get some action for his young son Colin, and there were plenty of short fluke plus a couple of sea robins. Fortunately, Colin didn’t get involved with the 30-pound ray that was released to surprise another angler. Though we didn’t find any keepers in Sandy Hook Bay, Capt. George Bachert of the Angler from Atlantic Highlands yelled over to let me know a 9-pound fluke was caught by one of his fares there on Saturday. We moved out to Ambrose Channel tolook for biggerfluke in deep waters. Three keepers were boated, but the doormats eluded us– and there were quite a few shorts even in the 65-foot channel depths.

Wayne Smith, at Hoffman’s Marina in Brielle, reports Big Boy returned from canyon fishing on Friday with four yellowfin tuna plussix dolphin up to a 30-pounder — but some other boats fishing out there that day came up empty.He said fluking remains tough, except for Doddle Bug, which had eight up to 8 pounds.

Capt. Bob Pisano reports most offshore boats stayed in port over the weekend due to bad weather reports. In addition to yellowfin tuna in the canyons, be notes there have been bluefin tuna trolled in such areas as Chicken Canyon, the Bacardi, and the Triple Wrecks.

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