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Fishing News

Bunker Wars

Commerical boats frustrating recreational anglers by affecting striper fishing


By now, saltwater anglers realize the importance of adult menhaden, or bunker, and the symbiotic relationship bunker play within our ecosystem.

Bunker are the true lifeline to the entire striped bass population along the east coast. What's more, bunker are filter feeders, and without them only bacteria and jellyfish can eat the plankton floating in the water.

The complexity here is that jellyfish also eat fish fry as well as fish eggs. In short, bunkers play a pivotal role in balancing the ecosystem.

Right now, the Atlantic Coast, specifically New Jersey, is witnessing a crushing blow to its Atlantic menhaden or bunker fishery with an unprecedented disturbance to the heart of the striped bass migration.

For weeks, large purse-seining vessels have situated themselves immediately off our coast while spotter planes and helicopters locate schools.

Like clockwork, planes and purse-seine vessels work in harmony as huge nets are continually set throughout the day. Most vessels have been adhering to the state legislation requiring them to remain at least three miles offshore....

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NJ Fishing | June 14th

ron_nuzzolo.jpgAnother explosive week in the 2010 NJ fishing season as striped bass remain strong. Anglers live lined bass on bunker in early hours and late afternoons with fish still coming in at the 30 to 40lb mark. Big fish are still here, from Shark River Inlet, Shrewsbury Rocks and all the way to the Sandy Hook Rips.

The Raritan Bay has been invaded with bluefish, schools ranging from five to ten lbs stirring up huge pods of bunker 2 and 3 acres wide in the early morning hours. Bluefish will only grow in numbers as the water temperatures warm and the bunker pods stay healthy and protected by the bay.A great fish to practice your skills with. This fish is the number one reason most of us fish today. A great confidence builder.

Fluke Season or Summer Flounder is off to a good start. Fluke have ranged from shorts to as big as ten pounds so far and that?s a good sign considering it?s early in the season. Anglers are picking away at fluke from the Verrazano Bridge to Shark River Inlet.

Perth Amboy Captain Mike on the Sea Hawk is picking away at plenty of fluke. Most patrons went home this week with a nice catch for dinner. Captain Mike had fish up to five pounds. Check out the Sea Hawk and relax after work. Captain Mike is running Magic Hours for fluke and he is off to a great start.

Now is the time to get your friends together and go fishing. 2010 has been an amazing once in a life- time striped bass run and if you don?t get a bass then settle for a few gator size bluefish, it will do you good. If you want to relax then bottom fish for fluke, it?s always a good time. Big fluke have already hit the boards up to ten pounds and we have a whole season ahead. Sea bass another fun bottom fish with plenty of action for any angler. I can only hope the fishery remains healthy and I look forward to see what the offshore bite will be like this year. Over the next few weeks I will be keeping a close eye on the off-shore reports from blue fin, long fin & yellow fin tuna, mahi- mahi, shark, marlin and sword. If it?s anything like our striper run, off-shore anglers are in for an amazing run.

Fish On!
Ron Nuzzolo

Shark River Stripers

Excitement was in the air May 27 as Cliff Willever IV of Jacobstown NJ reeled in his first ever Striper.

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It was 46 inches long and weighted 35 lbs.  It was a great day with Capt. Bill  of Savannah Ray Charters off the coast of Asbury Park that Cliff will remember for a long time.  A total of 6 stripers were pulled on board the Savannah Ray out of Shark River.   

New Jersey Summer Flounder Season

ron_nuzzolo.jpgFishing remains solid for New Jersey Anglers. June looks like another great month in the Garden State.  2010 proved to be one of the best spring striped bass runs in our lifetime. Anglers continue to find big trophy bass as water temperatures start to slowly warm up and the bass migrate north.  Summer flounder and sea bass are now being targeted as the relentless bluefish moves in on bass territory making it a love hate battle between man and fish.

New Jersey Summer Flounder Season is officially opened, May 29th to September 4th with an 18 inch six fish per angler limit. The summer flounder is the most sought after fish in the Atlantic and for most it is a fish that many can?t resist fishing for. Nothing in this world taste better then a fresh fried flounder fillet on a roll with tartar sauce that you caught a few hours earlier.

Seabass, flounder, bluefish, blackfish and soon weakfish should remain solid pickings in the summer weeks to come. So far this has been a year of bigger fish in all categories with offshore species yet to be seen. Charter boat captains finally feel some relief from the gas pump and seeing the greatest bass season ever has helped many survive a tough economy.

Last year we had very little action in the canyons with yellow fin tuna, but inshore blue fin tuna made up for that. The inshore run made it easier for charters on fuel and a different cycle of blue fin tuna not seen in many years within reach. We had some great weak fish seasons in recent years but not a great 2009 season. Sea bass have remained solid in past years along with blackfish as restrictions allowed the stocks to rebound. Bait fish hold all the answers, bunker pods are bigger than ever and schools of spearing are showing up in bigger sizes each year. These are all tell tale signs of a well managed fishery. Sure some restrictions are a bit off line and may not seem right to the avid recreational fisherman and charter boat captains who rely on our fishery. We can only hope that the restrictions are enforced on the commercial markets so we can continue to watch our recreational fishery grow in the Garden State and neighboring states. I have seen many patterns of species come and go in cycles. Most species when given a chance will bounce back stronger than ever. It is a delicate balance between fish and angler. A balance that is up to us to decide.... 

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Read more: New Jersey Summer Flounder Season

Fish On! A Fight after school with a Big Mouth

ron_nuzzolo.jpgI recently received an e-mail asking me if an 8lb largemouth bass was a big deal or not. My immediate reaction was any freshwater fish at 8lbs is a big deal. Any  caught in Manalapan by a 13 year old is an even bigger deal. Kevin Thompson is an avid fisherman from Manalapan; he rides his bicycle to fish local ponds and lakes after school as much as possible. On April 21st 20010 Kevin got into a fight after school with a bigmouth. Kevin hooked into a monster of a fish and landed the 25 inch 8lb largemouth bass after an intense battle between man and fish. Kevin landed the monster using a 5? yamasenko bait with an All-star Select rod and Fluger bait caster reel which is his weapon of choice.

To confirm this was a trophy fish I logged onto http://www.state.nj.us/dep/fgw/recfish-fresh.htm .  The NJ state record was a 10 lb 14 Oz largemouth bass caught in 1980 by a Robert Eisele. Unfortunately Kevin
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did not get an official weigh in for a possible junior category but he did get plenty of pictures. I did advise him to record the fish with the NJ state Division of Fish and Wildlife's Skillful Angler Awards Program. The program is for any fish which may not be of record size but is of sufficient size and weight to have tested your skill and/or be of "bragging" size.

The Skillful Angler Awards Program is designed to supplement the Record Fish listing. It honors the many anglers who catch both freshwater and marine fish which aren't of record size but are impressive and worthy of recognition. Qualifying anglers receive a signed certificate attesting to their achievement along with a bronze pin suitable to be worn on a fishing hat, jacket, etc. At the end of each year, special recognition is given to the anglers who caught the largest fish in each of the species categories. Kevin?s goal is to be on a fishing team when he goes to college. Kids like Kevin have a true love for fishing and he is one of the 40 million Americans who love to fish. Food for thought, if you Google the word baseball you will get 130 million hits, Google fishing and you get 143 million hits.

 Fish On!
Ron Nuzzolo
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