NJ fishing reports

[SkunkBoat]

Its hard to describe in a post what takes a few seasons of experience to learn.
I can give you some bullet points;

The inlet is constantly changing....every six hours the tide goes in & out and it can go from dead flat calm to class 5 rapids in an hour or two.
That means you can leave when its pleasant and return to a frightful experience.

I suggest that you leave the kids behind while you learn the inlet. (I'm assuming Barnegat Inlet?)
Get out with someone with experience...on their boat or yours.

Watch what other guys do for a while

If you go slower than the water is pushing you from behind, you can't steer.

When there are incoming swells against an outgoing tide you need to know what you are doing.
Standing waves are dangerous if you don't understand them. Watch youtube "Haulover inlet" videos..and don't do that!
If the length and weight of your boat are just right on a given day, you will stuff one over the bow and there is nothing you can do about it.

For God's Sake don't let anyone on the bow while traversing an inlet.

They dredge the north side channel, the south side is a gamble.
There are sand bars and breakers outside the inlet and sometimes inside the inlet! Barnegat is derived from Dutch, loosley translated "Inlet of the Breaking waves"

Just because a chart says 11 ft doesn't mean it can't be 3ft

The end of the north jetty is a foot underwater at high tide. Go around the Red tower marker. There are white/orange cans marking it on the outside. Don't be the guy that drives across it every year...

 

[Billv]

As far as the rollers it all depends on the spacing yesterday they were so far apart we just rolled right over them

 

[Billv]

Out with a couple of friends for opening day summer flounder and he got this nice weakfish in the ICW

 

[SkunkBoat]

Nice fish BillV!

We ran out to Shark River Reef and limited out on Black Sea Bass again! Three boat limits in a row...that NEVER happens.



Today was a good example of why you need to learn to read the Coastal forecast. They had a "small craft advisory" due to a 4 to 5 ft long period swell from an offshore storm. But Wind forecast was West at 5 to 10. The swell was overrated and we had nearly glassy conditions except for an hour with 5 kts that helped us set an anchor for a spell.

 

[Billv]

Seabass are one of my favorites. I’ve made 3 Seabass trips so far

 

[Punchline Cap]

Went out on first day of Fluke this past Saturday in the bay behind Avalon. Caught a few shorts, didn’t see anyone else knocking them dead either. Nice to be out on the water with the family and friends on the water, though.

 

[Blaugrana]

Its hard to describe in a post what takes a few seasons of experience to learn.
I can give you some bullet points;

The inlet is constantly changing....every six hours the tide goes in & out and it can go from dead flat calm to class 5 rapids in an hour or two.
That means you can leave when its pleasant and return to a frightful experience.

I suggest that you leave the kids behind while you learn the inlet. (I'm assuming Barnegat Inlet?)
Get out with someone with experience...on their boat or yours.

Watch what other guys do for a while

If you go slower than the water is pushing you from behind, you can't steer.

When there are incoming swells against an outgoing tide you need to know what you are doing.
Standing waves are dangerous if you don't understand them. Watch youtube "Haulover inlet" videos..and don't do that!
If the length and weight of your boat are just right on a given day, you will stuff one over the bow and there is nothing you can do about it.

For God's Sake don't let anyone on the bow while traversing an inlet.

They dredge the north side channel, the south side is a gamble.
There are sand bars and breakers outside the inlet and sometimes inside the inlet! Barnegat is derived from Dutch, loosley translated "Inlet of the Breaking waves"

Just because a chart says 11 ft doesn't mean it can't be 3ft

The end of the north jetty is a foot underwater at high tide. Go around the Red tower marker. There are white/orange cans marking it on the outside. Don't be the guy that drives across it every year...

View attachment 20786

Thanks Skunk for the advice...

Yes, Barnegat Inlet. I’ve gone out maybe 5 times since last year but plan to do more this year. Each time the inlet was choppy but nothing crazy. Last time, 3/4 of the inlet was glass except for where the waves were rolling into. A few times it looked like they were about to crest on the north side. I think I timed it about 15-45 mins into the start of the incoming tide.

I need to figure out the speed better. On the way in I think I was too slow, but I tried to mimick the boats I saw coming in when I was going out. Conditions were probably more favorable for me and I bet I could have driven over them on the way in. On the way out, I think it was just dumb luck. I do try to follow boats going out and did that day but I think they must have run on the south side as I was alone when I turned after the lighthouse.

I am incredibly nervous to be that guy going over the rocks so I go way out and deal with that mess the whole way out. I need to turn by the statue and enjoy the calmer waters.

Looking forward to getting some fluke fishing this weekend in the Bay. Hope to be out by 530 and in before the craziness.

As for riding on the bow, i probably should have gone with an Express. Having little ones, I never go to the front to avoid having them thinking about going

 

[SkunkBoat]

and another 3 man limit today on Black sea bass at the shark river reef! Plus two 5 gallon buckets of red hake at the Arundo

 

[Blaugrana]

First Keeper of the season caught about 50yds south of the BI marker in the bay

Didn’t get many bites though, used the same gulp more or less for about 3-4 hrs (recharging with no luck). Tried my usual spots but not much happening. It was a weekend so I didn’t go to the inlet, oyster creek channel or the sedge islands. Assume it might have been better there.

 

[SkunkBoat]

looked for BFT Sunday. Went to Resor area. Found whales & dolphin feeding on sand eels about 10 miles short of Resor. Had two misses on a blue&white daisy chain and we actually saw the tuna...then nothing for an hour so we moved on.
There was bait at Resor but no whales and no bites. Ran east to Princess area found whales/dolphin/bait....no bites. Came back toward Resor found dozens of whales and hundreds of dolphin about 10 miles north of the wreck. Had two knockdowns but no fish.

Headed toward home, stopped at Humpty Dumpty...no life. Looked for a nearby wreck "Dave Moran". Found it and caught 10 keeper seabass before the wind made it to hard to fish.

 

[Seafarer_Bob]

looked for BFT Sunday. Went to Resor area. Found whales & dolphin feeding on sand eels about 10 miles short of Resor. Had two misses on a blue&white daisy chain and we actually saw the tuna...then nothing for an hour so we moved on.
There was bait at Resor but no whales and no bites. Ran east to Princess area found whales/dolphin/bait....no bites. Came back toward Resor found dozens of whales and hundreds of dolphin about 10 miles north of the wreck. Had two knockdowns but no fish.

Headed toward home, stopped at Humpty Dumpty...no life. Looked for a nearby wreck "Dave Moran". Found it and caught 10 keeper seabass before the wind made it to hard to fish.

Thanks for the report and good way to end it on some Sea Bass. I'm keeping my boat in OCMD this season but I'll be running my brother's new 28' Regulator out of the Atlantic Highlands this summer. I'll let you know next time we make a run at it and let's hope it turns on again like last year.

 

[SkunkBoat]

The area near the Resor was hot on Sunday. Guy in my marina got 11 bft on poppers before sunrise. My brother took the boat there Sunday but rolled into town after the bite.
They got skunked. Only a few fish were picked by other boats after the sun rose up..

Again...crazy whale life.

I'm hoping to get there for first light Thursday if things go as planned

 

[Billv]

Fishing in Martha’s Vineyard this week. Came up on my friends 32 ft Cape Horn. Stopped at Coxes ledge on way between Block Island and MV.

 

[Billv]

Fishing in Martha’s Vineyard this week. Came up on my friends 32 ft Cape Horn. Stopped at Coxes ledge on way between Block Island and MV.

 

[SkunkBoat]

We got out Manasquan Inlet Thursday at 2:30 AM on a hunch that the weather would be good for a 12 hour window. We called it right. Beautiful 40 mile run to Resor area under a full moon and crystal clear skies. Lines out at moonset/first light. No Bites...no whales no dolphns no bait no life.
Trolled into sunrise then picked up and ran a big loop looking for whales.. no luck. Decided to try out at the Texas Tower to look for life... saw two lonely dolphns...nothing.
Tried trolling pots back in, looking for early mahi...nothing. Water was 64-65 everywhere.
Picked one false albacore( aka bonita)
Back at dock by 11:30 am

Forecast is crap now for as far as I can see


Moonset

 

[SkunkBoat]

Some info for checking NJ Marine weather forecasts and real time buoy data

NWS 7 day- Toms River
NWS Marine-Coastal out to 20nm
NWS Marine-Offshore Hudson Canyon to Baltimore Canyon to 1000 FM-
Buoy 44065-NY Entrance
Buoy 44025- mid range
Buoy 44066- "Texas Tower" - this is NOT the Texas Tower wreck
Buoy 44091-Barnegat
KDIX Radar
Tides- Manaquan River Rt35 bridge
Beach Cam - Manaquan Inlet
Rutgers SST - Northeast

Reef sites--- reef_guide.pdf

 

[CJ7Rob]

Raritan Bay last weekend 21"

 

[CJ7Rob]

Sandy Hook yesterday

 

[SkunkBoat]

Tuna Report: Everyone can catch tuna except my brother and I

We have skunk stink really bad.

We got out out to Resor area ( about 5 miles NE of it) 20 minutes behind our dockmates about 530am

They caught asap. We put out lines about 1/2 mile away and gave them some space. We should have went over and mugged them.

All morning we watched boats catch trolling, catch jigging, catch popping....we suck.
On the way in we stopped at Humpty Dumpty/Little Italy where other people were catching Bluefin tuna on jigs and trolling
We managed to jig a blueFISH, a Bonito and a black seabass on the bottom....while we watched another dock buddy catch a bluefin on a dead-sticked jig right next to us.
We suck.
We still have not caught a tuna this season.

So back at the dock my brother bums a chunk of sushi from the dock buddy cleaning tuna( oh the humiliation!) to catch a keeper sized dock striper

 

[SkunkBoat]

So apparently it was a great day for tuna fishing today...

We, of course, wasted the day and decided to try the evening bite...just as the south wind kicked up.
Ran 17 miles to Humpty Dumpty, got there at 5 pm. Lots of bait and readings. few boats since they had all gone home before the wind...

I hooked up on a jig on the bottom, fought hard for 15-20 minutes, saw the leader twice. Then it ran off 200 feet out on the surface and I new I was doomed. Threw the jig...treble hook was straightened.

Got no more bites. Watched our dock buddy gaff one(an over). We do a lot of that lately. Today he had 11 unders near Resor and that over at Humpty.

I didn't get the stink off yet but at least I covered it up with some bent rod Fabreeze.

...and yes I KNEW I should have swapped out the hooks on the straight out of the package Walmart 8 oz diamond jig

Ran back in snotty 3 to 5 at 28 mph. Picture doesn't do the waves justice... Love this boat!