NJ Fish On - Fishing in New Jersey » Belmar

Gale put a crimp in fishing

pokerchi — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 20:47:18 +0000

The gale warnings posted for offshore waters on Tuesday must have kept anglers ashore. Even Capt. Jimmy Elliott conceded to the weather, and will probably do so again on Wednesday to wait out the clearing northwester.The Golden Eagle did get out from Belmar Monday, but Elliott said mackerel fishing wasn’t as good as he hoped for despite better conditions. Mackerel were very scattered, though there were plenty of herring — which are a good substitute for those seeking to load their freezers with bait for the upcoming season. Offshore water temperatures remain high (in the upper 40s), and the main body of mackerel may not even have arrived as yet. A striped bass in the 20-pound class was caught to the east on Monday, but released in the federal waters Elliott was fishing.

Capt. Howard Bogan Jr. reported slower offshore wreck fishing over the weekend due to high winds and strong currents, but some cod and good quantities of ling were caught on the Jamaica from Brielle. That boat fishes from 4 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and Sunday, and leaves at 11 p.m. Friday for Saturday’s 50-to-100-mile wreck trip. Call 732 528-5014 for reservations.

Elliott heard that a boat ran into diving birds outside of Shark River Inlet on Sunday, and found small stripers under them.

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Notheaster slowed mackerel jigging

pokerchi — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 20:41:18 +0000

The forecast of snow kept most anglers at home today, but the real problem turned out to be the 20 mph northeast wind. The Golden Eagle from Belmar scratched out a pick of mackerel up to about 50 for the high hook, after a very good day on Friday.

The Jamaica from Brielle cancelled its weekend ling and cod trips due to the weather. They will sail from 4 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday this upcoming week, and will also run a 50-to-110-mile wreck trip that sails at 11 p.m. Friday to fish Saturday.

The National Marine Fisheries Service is closing the General categry season for giant and large medium bluefin tuna at 11:30 p.m., Sunday. It reopens on June 1, 2012.

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Mackerel finally turn on

pokerchi — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 20:25:18 +0000

Capt. Jimmy Elliott reported that the Golden Eagle from Belmar had a good catch of mackerel today. Capt. Rich Falcone ended up to the northeast, where they had been fishing, but this time there were plenty of mackerel — and some larger ones. Coolers were filled by some jiggers. Though freezing rain and snow is forecast for Saturday, it may be fishable offshore — and the Golden Eagle crew will be shaping up to check out the weather.

Joe Melillo, at Castaway’s Tackle in Point PLeasant, had reports today of shore fishermen catching some school stripers on Bombers from jetties in the Deal area.

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What happened to the mackerel?

Al Ristori — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 09:36:15 +0000

By Al Ristori

April 16, 2010, 9:10PM

Has anyone noticed that with all the fishing action going on now, there hasn’t been a single mention of mackerel? From the time I started saltwater fishing on Long Island well over half a century ago, mackerel have been showing up in New York Bight during April before providing action into May. Yet, that hasn’t been happening the last few years, and I’ve yet to hear of a single mackerel so far this spring. There have been no reports south of us, where mackerel first show from Virginia north as they move steadily to the northeast to stay ahead of the bluefish. Even though this has been the case for several years, this is the first time I haven’t had a single call from a party indicating that they would even be looking for mackerel this spring.

Capt. Jimmy Elliott of Miss Belmar Princess specializes in mackerel during the productive late-fall to winter run, but he says it’s been six or seven years since he last had a spring run to fish. Elliott has been striper fishing with success, but he says those fish moved out over the three-mile limit a couple of days ago. However, the Ocean Explorer from Belmar did get into bass outside of Shark River Inlet on the way in during early afternoon Friday.

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Stripers flood into Raritan Bay and Shore waters

Al Ristori — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 21:35:26 +0000

By Al Ristori

April 11, 2010, 8:49PM

Striped bass have arrived earlier than ever along the Shore and in Raritan Bay. Several years ago there were a couple of seasons that opened with large bass on bunker chunks off Staten Island during late April, but that only repeated one more year – and was later in the month than the present run. The last two springs have been poor in the bay, and the early clam fishing has been very inconsistent, but it now appears that a good body of larger bass has moved in.

Chuck Many of Annandale said bunkers have been hard to come by, but those he managed to castnet Friday and Saturday from his Tyman II out of Highlands produced lots of mostly teen-size stripers around Raritan Reach each of those evenings. His crew released over 40 bass Friday.

Dave Lilly of Hazlet trolled in the ocean off Sandy Hook on Sunday morning to catch a dozen bass from 33 to 37 inches on spoons, jigs and diving plugs. The smaller Maja herring spoon was best as he trolled in 21 feet.

Capt. Jimmy Elliott got into jigging bass Sunday from the tip of Sandy Hook down to Long Branch. There were 35 to 40 keepers plus many releases from Miss Belmar Princess.

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Striped bass seminar at Garden State Show tomorrow

pokerchi — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 23:38:12 +0000

There was a good crowd at the Garden State Outdoor Sportsmen’s Show in the Expo Hall at Raritan Center in Edison today, and they had plenty to see among the hundreds of exhibits. The doors open at 9 a.m. for the final day, and I’ll be on hand for a 12:30 seminar on World Class Striper Fishing in Raritan Bay. Hope to see you there. Check my blog entry for details on the show plus the seminar schedule — or visit gsoss.com

Though the wind was down a bit from Friday, and the surf was in better shape, there wasn’t much participation in the cold. Some hardy mackerel anglers joined Capt. Jimmy Elliott on the Golden Eagle from Belmar. Elliott said the northwest wind created a 2.5-knot drift, and a south current made it even harder to fish – even with 20 ounces. There was a pick at each drop, but only a few strings of mackerel. Yet, Elliott said he had his best readings of the season — and will be back out there at 7 a.m.

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Balance of Friday's column

pokerchi — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 23:25:12 +0000

Following is the balance of Friday’s column that didn’t make print:

Joe Blaze of Brielle released a 30-inch bass while fly fishing Sunday morning after we walked on at Island Beach State Park, but that was the only fish we saw caught..

At Seaside Park, Don Hieb of Milford weighed in a 19-pound striper Sunday at Betty & Nick’s. Eric Green took over the winter tournament at Grumpy’s Tackle on Tuesday by weighing in bass of 17.9 and 15.1 pounds.

Bruce Vitale of Piscataway and Mike Obuch from Bridgewater had fine ling fishing Monday aboard the Gambler, and added a 5-pound cod, but had to release four out-of-season sea bass, Vitale praised the Gambler’s mates who helped customers with dogfish that were a problem early before the last drop produced lots of ling.Vitale fished aboard the Ocean Explorer from Belmar on Wednesday at 17 Fathoms. Anglers seeking the pool caught a few blackfish on crabs, but Vitale said ling fishing was much more productive.

Tom Paglioroli’s fiancée, Denise Marie Theiler, once again outfished him as she boated a 12-pounder plus a 7-pound tog and two smaller keepers Sundayat two small wrecks 14 to 15 miles offshore on Capt. Tom Ferrarra’s TWrecks Charters from Little Egg Harbor.

At Brielle, the Jamaica reported very good ling fishing Sunday along with a few cod. Chris Anderson of Somerset had a 17-pound cod. The Jamaica sails the next two days from 4 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Capt. Joe Bogan reported finding a wreck on Sunday with his Jamaica II that was loaded with porgies as well as ling. Trevor Daniels of Mt. Holly boated a 25 ½-pound cod. Adam Nowak from Passaic had eight cod up to14 pounds. Chris Molinari of North Haledon totaled four cod, a bucket of ling, and lots of porgies. The next 14-hour trip sails tomorrow at 3 a.m.

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Tuna jumping — mackerel & ling cooperate– Garden State Show opens

pokerchi — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 23:24:12 +0000

This January is one for the books! Capt. Arthur Stokes was trying to troll bluefin tuna surfacing this morning in 60 feet of water off the Spring Lake Hotel from his Fintastic out of Clarks Landing in Point Pleasant. What are tuna doing here in the middle of the winter?

From a catching standpoint, mackerel and ling are much better bets. Capt. Jimmy Elliott of the Golden Eagle from Belmar had another good day with mackerel, as most fares had about 100 mackerel on the east side of the Mud Hole. Elliott said there was no drift in the light morning wind, and dogfish were a problem — but it was still good fishing. Unfortunately, the easterly wind and rain will probably eliminate that fishing for a day.

Bruce Vitale of Piscataway fished aboard the Ocean Explorer from Belmar, and reported good ling action plus some tautog.

You can’t prove it by me, but there are still some stripers around. Grumpy’s Tackle in Seaside Park reported that their winter contest had a new leader Tuesday when Eric Green weighed in two bass of 17.9 and 15.1 pounds.

Joe Blaze of Brielle and I walked on at Island Beach State Park in the morning and cast into a calm, clear sea with just a 3-foot swell. It was a great morning to be on the beach, and cormorants were picking up some sand eels, but we never had a hit. The only other angler there did get one light tap. I also tried casting a plug into the building east wind in the evening at Point Pleasant with the same lack of results.

A better place to be on Thursday will be at the Garden State Outdoor Sportsmen’s Show in Raritan Center, Edison. That show runs through Sunday at the Expo Center. Go to www.gsoss.com for information and directions. I’ll have more about the show tomorrow, and will be doing seminars there Saturday and Sunday.

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Best bets for the weekend

pokerchi — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 02:59:45 +0000

Weekend prospects are looking good, with temperatures going back up to the fifties.

Striped bass: Surfcasters continue to pick away at mostly short bass. I plugged one Thursday morning at Point Pleasant (and lost another), and plugged another at dusk. There was a surf blitz of mostly 15-to-20-pound stripers from Point Pleasant to Mantoloking on Wednesday afternoon, but there were no birds or fish the next afternoon.

There will be no party boats fishing for stripers after the Gambler from Point Pleasant completes Friday’s trip before switching to daily cod and ling on Saturday. The Gambler picked a dozen keepers and 20 shorts while jigging Thursday on readings south of the inlet. The Sea Hunter from Atlantic Highlands quit after Sunday, but had been into lots of shorts and some keepers under birds between the channels.

Mackerel: None have been caught so far, but the winter run is overdue. Capt. Jimmy Elliott begins daily 7 a.m. trips to the Mud Hole with the Golden Eagle from Belmar. Miss Belmar Princess will be doing likewise.

Blackfish: These fish are still being caught in relatively shallow waters. Capt. Stan Zagleski had a good catch from Elaine B.out of Highlands in just 65 feet, about 3 1/2 miles offshore, on Thursday. While the surface temperature was 44 degrees, it was a “balmy” 50 degrees on the bottom.

Cod: After the best local codfishing in decades ast winter, there’s been no end to the season as cod were caught throughout the summer at areas such as Shark River Reef. The week before Christmas we jigged cod in relatively shallow waters at Shrewsbury Rocks.

Ling:Large quantities are being caught on deep Mud Hole wrecks and at Shark River Reef. Many are small, but there are enough large ling to make the effort worthwhile.

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Balance of Friday's column

pokerchi — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 02:56:45 +0000

Following is the balance of Friday’s column that didn’t make print:

At Belmar, Capt. Jimmy Elliott expects to get the winter mackerel season started at 7 a.m. tomorrow when he sails the Golden Eagle to the Mud Hole. Capt. Rich Falcone ran to the north on Monday for six legal bass and nearly 30 shorts. A 34-pound bass was boated last Friday, and a few blues were still being jigged on Dec. 30.

Capt. Len Forsythe had the most spectacular party boat catch on Dec. 30 aboard Miss Belmar Princess when Sean Litwine from Hunterdon County hooked a 61-inch bluefin tuna on a jig at Shrewsbury Rocks. Don Marantz of Clarksburg reported that tuna was also fought on 60-pound braid by other patrons and the mate before being subdued. Estimated at 175 to 180 pounds, it was a miracle that the bluefin didn’t strip the reel before Forsythe could follow it. Stripers were later located off Asbury Park, where a dozen keepers up to 19 pounds were boated and 35 to 40 shorts released. Miss Belmar Princess switches to mackerel tomorrow.

At Atlantic Highlands, Capt. Rob Semkewyc of the Sea Hunter had a shot of 17 cod at the Rocks on Saturday before finding two miles of birds between the channels. It was mostly shorts, though three bass were boated. The Sea Hunter finished up Sunday, when even a few blues were jigged. Capt. Ron Santee had a successful season-ender on Saturday with his Fishermen.

At Brielle, Capt. Howard Bogan Jr. finished the sea bass season Saturday with some limits of jumbos from far offshore wrecks on his Jamaica. A bluefin tuna and a lobster were added to the catch that also included a 35-pound pollock for Duc Lai of Landing, a 30-pounder by Rob Finkle from Sparta, and a 20-pounder for Joe Blushstein from Vineland. Dimitrios Kapetankis of Freehold bagged a 7-pound sea bass. The Jamaica is sailing for cod and ling at 4 a.m. on Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Call 732 528-5014 for reservations.

Capt. Joe Bogan reports good ling fishing on his Jamaica II, up to the 7 3/16-pounder by Alex Rajnai of Carteret. Eric Cone of Trenton caught 61 ling, three cod, four white hake, and five sea bass. Tom Belvoir from Camden had 34 ling, an 18-pound cod – and a 3-pound lobster

The Paramount is running open 10 ½-hour Marathons for ling and cod from 6:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. John Watson of Burlington had 29 ling and one cod on Jan. 1.

The Tackle Box in Hazlet reports jetty anglers have been catching stripers at night from Asbury Park to Long Branch on Bombers, Tsunami Minnows, and shad lures. Rich Swisstack of Cliffwood used a shad to fool a 20-pounder. Swisstack is one of the experts instructing at Phil Sciortino’s Striper School. Call 732 264-7711 for information.

Saltwater anglers are required to have a free 2012 N.J. registration. Google N.J. saltwater registration. Those also fishing in N.Y. waters require a separate free registration from the N.Y. D.E.C. web site.

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