Northern New Jersey Fishing Report- July 6, 2023

With Independence Day in the rearview mirror, we head into the heart of summer with fluke leading the hit parade. Good reports keep coming in from beaches, rivers and bays.  

The surf has been particularly active as anglers are finding keepers along with loads of shorts in the wash from Sandy Hook down to Island Beach State Park. 
 
There are also bass and blues biting off the sand on bait and artificials. 

This past week also saw an uptick in the tuna action with bluefin making a better show of it offshore and reports of yellowfin in the canyons. 

Rick Hebert at Tackle World in Rochelle Park said the reports have all been good on the fluke front. His customers are reporting good boat catches from Raritan Bay. On the freshwater side, largemouth fishing has been good at Merrill Creek Reservoir but the warming water has slowed down the trout bite. 

Capt. Phil Sciortino at the Tackle Box in Hazlet said he’s had good fluke reports from the Rattlesnake and Shrewsbury Rocks. The big fish of the week was an 8½ pounder.  Stripers are still being caught on live bunker on the New York side of the bay, he added, and there have been reports of yellowfin in the canyons. 

Mike Pinto at Giglio’s Bait and Tackle in Sea Bright said the blues are in the surf hitting topwater plugs in the early morning. Little neck Super Strike poppers have been working for him. Schoolie stripers are biting off the beach as well. There’s lots of fluke in the wash, he said, but not a whole lot of them are keepers. 

Mike Gleason at TAK Waterman in Long Branch said he and his pals found some outstanding bluefin action offshore last Thursday. The tuna were on sand eels and mackerel and Gleason said the purple Hogy Pro Tail Paddle was getting the job done. Several tuna in the 50- to 65-inch range were hooked and the day ended with an epic battle with a giant bluefin. Gleason also reported good fluking in the Long Branch surf on Gulp and bucktails. Some stripers are being caught on bait as well. The bass fishing on sand bugs slowed down in the Ocean Grove surf this past week but the fluke are there in big numbers. Gulp on small jigs heads did the trick. 

Bob Matthews at Fisherman’s Den in Belmar reported very good fluke fishing in the Shark River with plenty of keepers caught. The party boat fleet out of the marina, including the Big Mohawk, Ocean Explorer and Capt. Cal II, all reported excellent fluke fishing as well. Matthews said the shop weighed in its largest fluke of the season so far this past week, a 10 pounder. Bluefishing has also been good for the boats with mackerel mixed in.  Beach anglers are still doing well with stripers on sand crabs while freshwater folks are catching lots of bass in the local lakes and ponds. Killies have been the go-to bait for those, Matthews said.  

• Want to get in on the bite? Find an OTW-approved Charter Fishing Captain in New Jersey!

Capt. Jay Richardella of Side Job Charters out of Belmar said he found tuna on his last offshore trip but they proved very picky and just wouldn’t bite. He’s been doing well on his fluke trips and will be out chasing tuna for the next couple of weeks. There are spots available on upcoming trips and he can be contacted through his website. 

Capt. Pete Sykes on Parker Pete’s Sportfishing out of Belmar reported good fluking on his trips but said some days proved a little tougher than others to put a catch together. Fishing was good at the beginning of the week, but Tuesday’s trip was more of a challenge with the water chilled due to southeast winds. Conditions should improve for Friday’s open boat trip. Anglers are having no trouble getting their one sea bass. Parker Pete’s will also be sailing for night blues on Friday. Check the website for details. 

Matt Ruggeri at The Reel Seat in Brielle said the inshore fluking has been amazing lately with good catches reported on the beaches and in the rivers. Bluefishing has also been pretty good in the Manasquan River. On the tuna front, he said bluefin have been reported between 15 and 30 miles offshore but they are scattered all over the place. The yellowfin bite has been good in the canyons. 

Kyle Tanger at Fishermen’s Supply in Point Pleasant Beach said the fluking got really good on the beach in just the last couple of days. Gulp and bucktails or just jig heads will work. A teaser rig or single hook up top with a small Gulp like a 3-inch swimming mullet then the jig head or bucktail below with a larger Gulp is his recommended setup. Colors are up to you. Tanger said bluefin were found around Barnegat Ridge and Ollie’s Lump but they were very picky. Hogy Pro Tail Paddles and 6-inch stick baits got the most attention. Yellowfin were caught at the Chicken Canyon and Triple Wrecks on jigs. Boats trolling ballyhoo also had some luck, he added. 

• Want to get in on the bite? Find an OTW-approved Charter Fishing Captain in New Jersey!

Chris Parlow from Captain Bill’s Landing in Point Pleasant Beach reported that the fluke fishing on the local reefs broke open over the weekend with many limits being reported and a lot of throwbacks. There are also plenty of sea bass around, he said. The inshore bluefin tuna bite was also good for some anglers with fish caught on top water baits, trolling and livelining mackerel. The canyons are also producing numerous yellowfin and bigeyes. 

Capt. Danny Gregory on the Norma K III out of Point Pleasant Beach reported a good trip on Monday with plenty of action and rods bending all day. He’s also sailing for blues on weekend nights and reported last Friday’s trip was a success with almost everyone aboard getting their limit. 

Frank Giacalone at Gabriel Tackle Co. in Brick said the fluking remains very good in the Manasquan River while there were also positive reports from the Axel Carlson and Sea Girt reefs. The surf was also producing fluke, he reported, while schoolie stripers are biting on sand fleas and blues are eating bunker and mullet. Tuna fishing remains a guessing game, he added, with some yellowfin in the Hudson Canyon and rumors of bluefin in multiple locations. Shark anglers have been picking up a few threshers.  

Pete Kupper at Charlie’s Bait and Tackle in Normandy Beach said fluke fishing has been really good in the surf with bucktails, Gulp and teaser rigs. There are some blues around, he said, both off the beach and back in the bay. The crabbing is getting better by the day and blowfish are showing up in the crab traps and that means there’s a lot of them around. 

Scott Thomas at Grumpy’s Bait and Tackle in Seaside Park said there are loads of fluke in the wash, just not all of them keepers. He fished with a friend earlier this week who landed a 21½-incher while Thomas had about three dozen shorts. There are still some nice ones being caught back in the bay. He said the fluking has been up and down on the reefs and wrecks while triggerfish are being caught at the pots. Party boats have been doing very well with bluefish and Thomas said he heard of tuna in tight, about 10 miles off Barnegat.

Best Bets for the Weekend

Go to the beach or get on a boat and fluke. They’re in the wash, in the rivers and on the reefs and wrecks. Gulp and bucktails will do the job in all those places. Gulp on light jig heads with a teaser is all you’ll need in the surf.  

Several party boats are also sailing for night bluefish on the weekends with good results.