The more boats on dry dock the better the fishing gets. As boat owners continue to call it a season the bass fishing remains red hot. For those remaining in the water this was a banner week and everything seemed to work. Bass and blues continue to feast on sand eels. From Sandy Hook all the way to Brielle the birds, bass and blues are fatter than ever gorging themselves on bait. Although there were more shorts than keepers the shorts are thick and coming in just under 28 inches but putting up a good fight .The blue fish are bigger than ever up to 15 lbs and hitting anything you throw at them. Following the birds from North to South was like a never ending buffet line. Bass hit jigs if you can get them past the bluefish,green and black diamond jigs worked best for bass.
Brielle, Captain Mike on the NYSE-ly Done had the Wayne Smith Party out and nailed about 50 plus bass and countless monster blues. Craig Dixon won the pool with a nice 15lb keeper for his birthday. Jimmy Granito,Tony Sgotto and Joe Haffner all had busted up knuckles, broken rod tips and they lost over a dozen jigs to some of the biggest blues seen in years. Overall the crew jigged fish for over 10 hours boxing several keepers and what was a non-stop battle and a great day to take off from work.
Captain Jerry aboard the Fish Monger was scheduled for black fishing all week but the crew could not pass up on all the action along the way. With birds as far as the eye can see they immediately had bass and blues on right away. They managed to box up 6 keeper bass and still made time for a black fish trip where they were able to put together a six man limit with plenty of fresh black fish and striper fillets for all. Captain Jerry had similar reports all week.
Atlantic Highlands, Captain Ron Fisherman worked hard all week to find bass and he did just that. Captain Ron continued to move around inshore and offshore before hooking up with keepers. Beside the hundreds of big blue’s the Fisherman found bass up to 18lbs with solid jigging action most of the week and keeping his patrons very happy.
Aboard the Cock Robin the crew continued the same dance all week with some bigger fish up to 36”. The crew managed to box over 35 keepers and continues to sail into Thanksgiving weekend for big bass and blues.
So far the fall run has been a fifty/ fifty due to some tough weather patterns. The ocean temps remain around and average of 56 degrees and should continue to hold over the next two weeks. As long as the bait hangs around the bass and blues won’t be far behind. Find the birds and you should be fine. Hopefully Thanksgiving weekend will produce some bigger fish. Pick a day and a boat and get out there. Jigging is a simple concept and right now anyone can land a keeper for the dinner table and maybe even a trophy. Dress warm and remember if you don’t get a bass, a 15 lb. bluefish is a great substitute. Bigger fish are on the way so don’t miss out on the best time of the year.
Fish On!
