By Al Ristori

May 06, 2010, 8:23PM

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission has voted to allow states to extend the sea bass season in state waters that only a few months ago appeared would be a very short one. The new permissible dates are May 22 to Oct. 11, and then from Nov. 1 to Dec. 31.

The 12 1/2-inch minimum and 25-fish bag limit will remain the same. Federal waters will also open May 22, though the rest of the season is undetermined.

Approval of the new state dates should only be a formality when the Marine Fisheries Council meets at the Galloway Township Library on May 18 at 4 p.m. Jim Donofrio of the Recreational Fishing Alliance (RFA) has been pushing for the extended season, since the original dates were based on the need for a 44 percent reduction based on projected catches at the end of last year, while new data revealed only a 21 percent reduction was necessary.

New Jersey Commissioner Tom Fote had some bad news from the ASMFC meeting where the Striped Bass Board approved New York’s effort to increase commercial striper allocations despite falling recreational landings. Anglers will have the opportunity to testify against that provision when the amendment comes up for public hearings.

Striped bass fishing exploded Wednesday along the Shore from the tip of Sandy Hook to at least Elberon. Capt. Bud McArthur was reluctant to run north with his Splinter from Brick after experiencing a shutout the day before. There were bluefish early, and then bunkers came up over a broad area off Long Branch around noon as the blues retreated. Snagging bunkers then produced stripers up to 42 inches before the blues took over again about 1:20.

Capt. Scotty Hilliard said his Prowler from Atlantic Highlands was into that bite of large stripers.

Their largest of the year was boated, a 30-pounder by Felix Sontf of Old Bridge, and there were others in the 20s. The day before the action was off the Rockaways, jigging under birds.

The south wind may have changed everything today. Capt. Hans Kaspersetz of Sheri Berri from Baker’s Marina in Highlands said the bait was there, and so were the blues, but the only bass he caught was on the troll.

A DOORMAT TOO SOON

Dave Lilly of Hazlet had been regularly trolling Stretch plugs in Raritan Bay for quick striper limits.
 
On Monday he even coaxed veteran striper angler Henry Fister of Little Silver to fish for the first time since a long illness. The former skipper of Hank-El will be 88 this week.

I joined Lilly Tuesday morning. There was a decent pick for Bob Croker from Old Bridge and Al Tumolo of Dunellen, and we managed four keepers plus a short, and just a few blues.

My 23-pound linesider put up a good fight on baitcasting tackle, while the other bass were in the teens — as have been the vast majority of this spring’s stripers.

The highlight of the trip occurred when Tumolo reeled in a 28 1/4-inch fluke that ate the big Mann’s 25 Stretch plug. There was no scale aboard, but it was right around doormat size.

There were tears in Tumolo’s eyes as Lilly released the trophy that won’t be legal until Memorial Day weekend. Don’t feel too sorry for Tumolo, as Lilly put him into his first doormat last summer – and that 13 1/2-pounder was weighed at The Tackle Box in Hazlet. Lilly duplicated our bass catch Wednesday morning with four keepers and a short, but limited right away this morning with bass to 20 pounds.

The Tackle Box had a surprising weigh-in Wednesday, as Phil Sciortino reported Mark Lowrie of Keansburg caught a 70-pound black drum on 12-pound line from the Keansburg Pier. Sciortino noted that Bobby Phillips got into a blitz of bass up to 20 pounds in the Deal surf on Guide’s Choice plugs, and Sean Wagner of Edison beached a 13-pound blue on metal at Cliffwood Beach.
 
Raritan Bay striper fishing has been much better than last year, when veteran charter skippers often had a hard time finding even a single large bass while fishing live bunkers or chunking. Yet, it varies considerably from day to day, or even within hours.

For instance, Capt. Lou Grazioso of Striper Mania from Keyport had one of his best trips ever last Friday evening as birds were working in the back of the bay, and bunkers were engulfed as soon as they hit the water – while Tsunami shads and pencil poppers were just as effective for constant releases. When Gary Caputi of Brick and I joined Grazioso the next morning there was bird action and breaking fish right outside the harbor, but it was all big blues chasing bunkers. Poppers were hit immediately, but we left that action to seek out bass. It was nothing like the previous evening, though Grazioso was able to work marks that produced about 10 striper releases.

The same thing happened Tuesday evening, when there was another blast in the bay. Yet, this time it was a lot slower for Grazioso the next day when Tank Matraxia and Marty Gras from Lyndhurst, plus Don Alonzo of Point Pleasant and I fished aboard Striper Mania. There weren’t many marks in the areas they’d been abundant just hours earlier, and I caught the only striper on live bait before we anchored and bluefish took over on the chunks. Grazioso only found blues on his afternoon trip, but it was different story this morning as his party limited with live bunkers on large bass, carrying lice, fresh in from the ocean. A 35-pounder was released.

Capt. Sal Cursi got through the blues and was able to chunk a good catch of bass Wednesday on his Cathy Sea from Sewaren.
 
TOP CATCHES

Tony Arcabascio of Bayville is catching a few big bass while trolling his Tony Maja spoons from Maja off Island Beach State Park. It’s only been a pick so far, with few readings, but he’s had stripers up to 35 pounds, and Capt. Jack Shea of Rambunctious used the small Maja spoon to boat a 40-pounder. Surprisingly, there haven’t been any bluefish — though Barnegat Bay is loaded with them.

The 17th annual Aberdeen Township Fishing Tournament will be contested on May 22 from 3 to 6 p.m. at Cliffwood Beach. This is a free contest, sponsored by the Aberdeen Township Environmental Board, offers lots of prizes in various divisions. For information, contact fhuza@verizon.net.

Allen Riley of South Plainfield hasn’t been doing anything in the Sandy Hook surf lately, though he left clams one morning for John Mazzeo of South Plainfield — who then released a 24-inch bass. A couple of days ago, an angler from Pa. arrived late with some “gamey” clams — and proceeded to land a 33-inch striper and a 5-pound blue.
 
Nick Honachefsky of Normandy Beach fished the back of Barnegat Bay on Wednesday to catch lots of blues from snapper-size to 2-pounds on a small bucktail. It’s a mystery where the snappers came from since bluefish don’t spawn until July.

By Al Ristori

April 15, 2010, 7:55PM

Striped bass fishing has been in mid-spring form since last weekend, far ahead of a normal season and a vast improvement over last year at this time. Clamming has been effective at Romer Shoals and down the beach, but most surprising has been the excellent jigging from Sandy Hook down to Long Branch. A good proportion of the bass are keepers, and two-fish limits have been common.

Though there were a couple of seasons a few years ago when I was releasing big bass on bunkers off Great Kills with Tony Arcabascio in late April, before the New York season opened. That hasn’t happened since and I’ve been telling my charter customers to wait until May for fishing as good as we actually have right now.

Dave Lilly of Hazlet made an experimental trip Tuesday on his center console out of Angler’s Marine in Sea Bright in order to determine if ESCA lights will improve lure performance. He rigged one of his Stretch plugs with an ESCA at the head, and trolled it alongside another plug without the water-activated light.

The vast majority of hits came on the ESCA-equipped Stretch as Al Tumolo of Piscataway and Joe White from Dunellen joined Lilly in catching about 40 bass up to 36 inches. They limited at the Highlands Bridge before moving up to Sandy Hook for bigger bass. Lilly even caught one by casting a Rapala.

Ironically, the 28-inch minimum hasn’t been much of a problem at the very time when the possibility of being able to keep a 24-inch striper is on the horizon. Readers of my daily blog are already aware that Monday’s Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission Striped Bass Advisory Panel conference call produced a majority in favor of the N.J. Division of Fish and Wildlife/Marine Fisheries Council proposal for changing the limit to one bass of 24 inches or greater, and a second of 32 inches or greater. Ex-State Senator Lou Bassano of Union and I are the New Jersey representatives on that panel.

The Technical Committee approved that state proposal as being the conservation equivalent of the present two at a 28-inch minimum. There’s been a lot of interest among the public in allowing a smaller striper that could greatly increase the odds of shore fishermen being able to catch a keeper, while also providing a better eating-size fish that is less likely to carry any contaminants.

 Some party boat skippers have also been hoping for a 24-incher during the fall jigging fishery that normally produces lots of stripers, but relatively few more than 28 inches. Other captains oppose the change as the second keeper at a minimum of 32 inches would often be hard to come by.

If the ASMFC approves the proposal, the public will have time to comment at a Marine Fisheries Council meeting before the Legislature takes up the question of changing the law. Though it could be instituted this year, 2011 is more likely. The Jersey Coast Anglers Assocation hasn’t taken a position as yet on the change that’s been pushed by some of their member clubs.

The Hudson River is the location for Saturday’s Hudson River Fisherman’s Association $100,000 Striped Bass Derby that will be run out of New York’s Haverstraw Marina, where an in-water boat show will also be in progress. For information visit boatingonthehudson.com.

The Stafford Township Fire Department will present a Fishing
Flea Market on April 24 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. An 8-foot table costs
$35. For information call (732) 330-5674 or visit hiflier.com.
 
The RFA N.J. Chapter will hold their third annual Save the
Summer Flounder Fishery Fund dinner from 7 to 11 p.m. Friday night at
Crystal Point Yacht Club in Point Pleasant. The fundraising event will
help in the effort to pass the Magnuson Act flexibility bills, HR 1584
and S1255. Call (732) 223-5511 for the $75 tickets.

TOP CATCHES

While striper fishing is way ahead of time, inshore blackfishing has been slow to develop. Capt. Tommy Joseph of Runaway at Belmar notes that ocean surface temperatures are fine, but bottom temperatures remain cold. Last week he had 13 cod aboard from a drop in only 57 feet. Joseph had to bail out Monday’s trip by putting his anglers on stripers that hit jigs north of the Highlands Bridge.

Capt. Bobby Bogan of the Gambler from Point Pleasant has been finding good blackfishing on wrecks to the south in 100 to 120 feet. Everyone aboard had limits Monday and Tuesday. Tony Rygiel of Harrison topped his Tuesday limit with a 14-pound, 6-ounce tog plus a cod. Pete Santino from Old Bridge had a 10-pound tautog. The Gambler is fishing further offshore for cod through Sunday, but returns to blackfishing from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Wednesday. A tilefish trip has been scheduled for May 17.

Capt. Stan Zagleski reports he had no two-fish flounder limits three trips in a row, and didn’t lose a worm on Monday so he’s switching his Elaine B. from Highlands to blackfish as of Saturday. The winter flounder situation is also terrible on Long Island, where most reports indicate heavy chumming is required to even catch a couple in traditionally prime waters such as Moriches. We can only hope there was a successful spawn, and that the commercial moratorium will allow the remaining flounder to regroup offshore this summer for next year’s spawning. It may take years of strict regulations for any significant recovery of the species.

At Brielle, Capt. Howard Bogan Jr. has canceled his weekend cod trip in favor of running 7:30 a.m. striper trips both Saturday and Sunday.

At Atlantic Highlands, Capt. Scotty Hilliard called in this morning to report many anglers on his Prowler had already boated stripers over 28 inches, as jigging remained excellent under diving gannets off the northern Shore. The Prowler starts night fishing for bass from 3:30 to 9:30 Friday night through Sunday. Hilliard noted that the boat limited on bass Tuesday, when Peter Near of Lebanon won the pool with a 23-pounder.

Capt. Ron Santee is delighted with the bass action on his Fishermen from Romer Shoals to Long Branch, especially after the worst spring fishing in years he had experienced last year. He’s been limiting daily with stripers up to 25 pounds.

Capt. Rob Semkewyc has also been in on the hot jigging with his Sea Hunter, and reported 20 keepers during his first drift Tuesday.

Capt. Hal Hagaman has switched his Sea Tiger II to half-day striper fishing. He had limit catches Tuesday afternoon.

The Sea Hawk from Perth Amboy has stuck with clamming down the beach that has resulted in many limits. Lou Pruppi of Nazareth, Pa. boated a 25-pounder this week.

Tank Matraxia and Marty Gras from Lyndhurst fished with Capt. Lou Grazioso aboard Striper Mania from Keyport on Wednesday to catch 10 stripers by trolling Stretch plugs and by clamming in the back of the bay. One was an 18-pounder.

Gene Graman of Middletown and Harold Smith trolled Stretch plugs Monday with Carlos Rebalo of Keyport to catch 17 stripers in the back of the bay, keeping four up to 32 inches. Graman reported that friends snagged bunkers off Sandy Hook on Wednesday to not only catch stripers, but also a 13-pound weakfish.

Allen Riley of South Plainfield said beautiful weather in the Sandy Hook surf hasn’t done the fishing any good, with only a couple of short stripers released along the beaches recently.

By Al Ristori

April 12, 2010, 7:50PM

The N.J. Division of Fish and Wildlife has proposed a change in striped bass regulations from the two at a minimum of 28 inches that applies all along the coast to a conservation equivalency of one at 24 inches or geater plus another of 32 inches or more. The Technical committee has approved that change which is calculated to actually improve the spawning stock biomass (SSB). The concept was accepted today during a conference call of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) Striped Bass Advisory Panel. Ex-state Senator Lou Bassano and I are the N.J. members of that panel, and we both supported the proposal. Some other members had reservations, but the vote ended in favor by 8 to 2.

The next step will be consideration at the ASMFC Spring Meeting. If approved there, the Division will have to consider setting up punlic hearings as this proposal was developed by the Marine Fisheries Council in conjunction with the state’s marine scientists — and the general public hasn’t had much of a chance to weigh in the change. Furthermore, changes in striped bass regulations must be approved by the state legislature. The change could come this year, though I suspect 2011 is more likely.

Allen Riley of South Plainfield had the only report today. He said the weather was too nice at Sandy Hook, as fishing is rarely good under those circumstances. A couple of Riley’s friends reported having caught bass of 34 and 29 inches on bait Sunday afternoon, but this morning was dead. Surprisingly, the water temperature had dropped off considerably to 48.9 degrees.

Riley noted that Divison law enforcement personal were checking anglers over the weekend for their Registry cards. Those without them got a warning – and info on how to register.

The Jamaica from Brielle will sail to 50-to-90-mile wrecks for cod and pollock at 11:30 p.m. Friday for Saturday fishing. Call 732 528-5014 for reservations. Striped bass fishing begins Sunday from 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.    

Capt.Ken Gallup reports his last trip on Big Kid from Brielle Yacht Club produced ling, cod, and blackfish up to a 12.8-pounder.

Hoffman’s Marina in Brielle reports it’s only been a pick of flounder in the river, and anglers fishing wrecks over the weekend just picked at blackfish.

The Coast Guard Aux., Flotilla 7-12, has a safe boating class leading to the required boating certificate from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Saturday at the Ocean Club in Manahawkin. Call Joe Lupa at 609 597-4878 or Joe Giunti at 609 597-1295,