Over the next three weeks the Raritan bay should produce world class striper fishing. Despite tough weather conditions some did manage to pick the right time to fish. On the Staten Island side Michael’s Bait and Tackle had a decent number of fish weighed in from the teens into the 30 lb range however the big story this weekend was a few monster weak fish from 14 to 16 pounds taken from both surf and boat off Staten Island. Most big fish are coming from the north. Great Kills Harbor remains loaded with bunker schools and most didn’t need to go far for bass. The harbor also produced a few bass up to 30 lbs and big blues patrolled the mouth and back walls keeping bunker corralled up like an all you can eat buffet.
Outside the bay from Atlantic Highlands south to Barnegat Bay bluefish,keeper bass and even weakfish are starting to pick up along the shore. Ocean temps in the mid 50’s and water clarity is amazing for poppers. It’s a time of year you can try jigs, lures, poppers and plugs and have a blast with swarms of bluefish. Charters and Party boats are in full swing and this is the time they have all been waiting for.
I received some great reports this week and others were the complete opposite. It’s still a 50/50 on bass if you can get past the blue demons. Another 10 days and it should bust wide open. Don’t wait charters are booking quick and for most of them May and June are booked solid. If you’re looking for a charter NJSaltwaterfisherman.com has plenty of veteran charter captains who will find you those trophy fish. With just about every species of fish showing up early this year we could see a few record size fish in the coming weeks.
Fish On
