No need for a fish finder but if you turned it on you would read fish and bait fish from Sandy Hook to Barnegat Light up to 10ft thick. So many bass you can lose count within a couple of hours. I started an afternoon trip with my good friend Dan Zino aboard Fins on Feathers from Leonardo. The rhythm was the same for most anglers this week. Find the birds and start jigging. We lost count after catching and releasing 75 bass in 2 hours. We had bass on the troll 3 to 4 at a time. As two guys fought fish on the troll the rest of us worked jigs. At one point with both poles with fish on we just looked at each other hoping someone would jump on and take the fight. It was insane. Insane is the only way to describe this week’s action. No keepers for me or Dan but a great way to wind down the season.
Keith from Franklin NJ started his trip at the Hook and followed the birds up towards Shrewsbury. After sore arms and losing count how many fish he landed he was able to get a 28” for the dinner table. Avas, Crocs and 2oz spro buck tails worked best.
Captain Bob from Sandy Hook Fishing Charters had his last charter for the year Mark, Joe, JJ and Smitty were onboard for a memorable trip. Once again AVA-47's and crippled Herrings were the ticket for a good mix of fish. Each kept their two keepers and a bonus fish. Even Capt Bob was able to land two nice keepers as the boys got tired from jigging. All fish kept were between 31-40 inches. They released over 60 other fish.
Sea Hunter and The Fisherman party boats out of Atlantic Highlands also had similar reports with big numbers so get on a boat and jig the day away,it’s now or never.
Offshore
Duffman from NJSaltwaterfisherman.com headed out on the Voyager from Point Pleasant and hit the offshore wrecks 70 miles out.
Sea bass and humback porgies were on the menu. A great trip and all caught there share as well as Pollack to 12lbs, cod to 5 lbs, knuckleheads up to 6 lbs, ling, and of course a monster bluefish at 18lbs.
orgies were huge most up to 5 lbs and anglers filled 100qt coolers to the rim. If I didn’t see pictures I wouldn’t believe it either.
Tog Fishing on the Bandit has been nothing but exceptional. Captain Scotty who was docked in Belmar is now located on the Indian River Inlet in Delaware for the winter time. In Delaware Captain Scotty fishes Tog from now till April and its worth the trip. If you’re not familiar with the area the Del-Mar is home to the best tog fishing on the east coast. With a 10 fish limit in DE it’s not uncommon for most ranging from 10 to 16lbs. That’s bigger than most anglers see in a lifetime so look him up and book a trip if you feel any symptoms of cabin fever.
Fish on.
