From Romer Shoals, Shrewsbury Rocks and down to Barnegat Bay bass are everywhere. Anglers across the Garden State pursued trophy bass this week and finally found keepers. Captain Steve Purul aboard the Reel Fantasy charters from Barnegat has been in the thick of bass season all week long. Captain Steve had the Green Briar Fishing Club out to score 30+ stripers including 5 keepers to 30”. The guys scored with stripers from the Back Bay to the inlet area on spots and artificials.
Wayne Smith from Manahawkin has been picking bass off the surf every night for the past week from Island Beach State Park in Sea Side Heights. Wayne tells me 1 out of five are keepers with plenty of surf action.
From Pt. Pleasant Captain Joe aboard the Irish Ayes also slammed away at blues and bass. Captain Joe has been working south about two-three miles off of Manasquan Inlet. The crew managed to get passed some big blues and scored bass up to 24 lbs.
Hunter 2 from Keyport trolled almost everywhere with no luck until they spotted birds working off the hook. The crew found striper's with the shad umbrella rig and had plenty of action on the depth finder. Hunter 2 landed 13 Striper's and two big bluefish all on shads. One Striper was a keeper and the rest were 24" to 27".
Over the weekend over 1000 boats were chasing bass from Romer Shoals to Shrewsbury rocks. Anglers tried it all from clams, eels, jigs and trolling umbrella rigs. With November here Party boats are in full swing and should see good jigging action with the drop in water temperature over the next few weeks. The fall bass are definitely early and a bit bigger and more aggressive than last fall. This proves the bio-mass are getting a chance to grow and thrive off New Jersey. Now is the time to get out there and make it count.
Did You Know?
Built in 1898, the Romer Shoals Lighthouse is located in Raritan Bay between Staten Island and Sandy Hook. It marks the Swash Channel to Sandy Hook.
Fish On!
