New Jersey & Bight

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Belmar:
Golden Eagle (732-681-6144): Capt. Greg Markert reported we continue to jig blues from 5 to as big as 12 pounds well north of shark river inlet in 35 to 50 foot of water with a few stripers in the 38 inch class coming over the rail as well. Most drifts are a pick of fish with some drifts being an all out blues blitz. The weather has not been a great help in getting the stripers moving better but we see it improving. Bluefishing is pretty good. We are sailing Daily 7:30 AM-2:30 PM and Fri & Sat Night 7:30PM-2:30AM Come & get em! Watch for our posts or check our website for updates. Call 732-681-6144 or on line at www.goldeneaglefishing.com.

Family owned by Capt Greg Markert and operated for over 55 years and three generations, the Golden Eagle tradition continues with the same fishing know-how and customer service that our fishermen have become accustomed to. Capt Greg Markert, trained by former owner and NJ fishing icon Capt Hank Leonard brings you over 25 years of fishing experience with one of the most talented and successful crews in the business. The Golden Eagle is a 100ft custom built “Lydia” party/charter fishing vessel maintained in top condition and powered by twin Detroit 12V71 diesel engines with combined 1300 HP. She features state of the art navigation and fish finding electronics, extra wide fishing spaces at the rail with individual rod holders and bench seating around the entire vessel allowing plenty of room to rest between fish.

The Golden Eagle has a spacious deckhouse with a “full service” galley offering a variety of fresh cooked foods, drinks and snacks. A 24 man bunkroom below the deck creates a comfortable place to sleep on our overnight Canyon Tuna Trips. The Golden Eagle crew is friendly and courteous, as well as trained to be among the finest in the business. From rigging to gaffing, to cleaning and filleting your catch, you will find them to out perform the rest. The Golden Eagle runs daily and nightly open boat fishing trips in season and specializes in small group, corporate and private charters as well. In season trips include Bluefish and Stripers, Spring Bottom fishing and Mackerel and are well known for our Canyon Tuna Trips in the fall. Reservations & info (732) 681-6144

Thursday Night Fishing Forecast Radio Show Back

Scott Frank's Personal Report:

Scott Frank: Scott is a paramedic/police officer and resides and works in Morrisville PA. Scott fishes the Shark River, NJ area and has over 30 years of inshore fishing experience. Primarily fishing northern New Jersey including Spring Lake, Belmar, Asbury Park, up to and including Monmouth Beach and the Highlands and Raritan Bay, with a primary focus on striped bass, fluke, weakfish and tog (blackfish). In recent years I have expanded my fishing grounds up to Cape Cod and as far south as the Florida Keys. I start my fishing season with a short striper run in the Delaware River, fishing from the Trenton falls area south to Burlington. The primary bait is herring both cut and live. Most of my summer time fishing is spent drifting along the beaches. However I do enjoy the fall deep water hunting for blackfish and sea bass. Scott runs two fishing vessels, a 22 foot Kencraft and a 14 foot Princecraft (river boat). His hobbies include rod building, fly tying, hunting and trap shooting. E mail Scott Frank at Scott Frank.

NORTH JERSEY COAST
Written By Scott Frank E mail Scott Frank at Scott Frank.

Scott Frank's Overview:

Jersey City: The fishing is still slow in the upper river, with reports of some bass and blues around Hoboken. Most of the fish were taken on cut bunker.

Keyport: The guys report that the lager bass have shown up and most have been taken from the Reach Channel, on bunker heads, on the bottom. Blues come and go but seem to stay in the area of Keyport flats. Some winter flounder can also be found on the Keyport Flats, under heavy chum.

Atlantic Highlands: The guys reported the bass fishing is excellent in the deep channels and in the areas of Flynn's Knoll and Romer Shoal using cut bait. The blues are chasing bait off the beaches and on the south side Raritan Bay.

Monmouth Beach: The surf action is starting to improve as the bait starts to move in close to the beach. The blues and bass are abundant. The stripers can be found at night using cut bunker and swimming plugs. During the day there have been reports of blues and fluke in wash.

CENTRAL JERSEY COAST
Written By J. R. Warnet
E Mail Your Reports to J.R. Here

J.R. Warnet:J.R. has been been living in New Jersey over 25 years and fishing for 15 years. JR concentrates on central fishing areas like Barnegat Inlet, Manasquan Inlet, Island Beach State Park (IBSP) but travels up and down the coast to get some other fishing in when he can. You can usually find his 07' Silverado on the sand in Island Beach from Friday until Sunday morning during the summer. I target the big four fish in Jersey, but loves offshore tuna trips in September and November. Light spinning tackle and bait are his top favorites, but wants to get into saltwater fly and spear fishing this summer. JR also enjoys freshwater fishing but I hasn't found too many good bass spots in central NJ as of yet. One thing JR adds to his fishing articles and reports is a science background, having a vocational degree in Marine and Environmental Science and that helps when JR writese. Other than that, I guess you can say I fish most of the year but my schedule holds me back from fishing as much as I want to...like the rest of us!

Central NJ Overview: The bluefish flood gates are officially open so get ready to arm the wire leaders. Cocktails and big heads alike have been hitting metals and cut bunker all week. The weakfish bite hasn’t been able to get going with so many toothy blues pushing them around but the lagoons are holding a few weakies. Bass anglers have been either slacking off or the fish just aren’t there. Either way, not much for bass anglers to cheer about but the bunker are moving south from Connecticut and New York so hold on to your waders. Put a fork in the flounder action because it’s done but get ready for a quick and hopefully painless fluke season in less than two weeks.

Shark River Area: Very few keeper bass have been coming into the inlet area this past week. Reports of schoolie bass and some keepers have been pouring in but no cows just yet. Anglers have been scoring with both bait and plugs, but clams and sandworms are working right now. Flounder are pretty much history with the addition of the blues; even chumming isn’t producing flatties. Places like the Shark River Inlet and Belmar are good but the blues are snagging the bait before it can get down to the bass.

Point Pleasant Area: Reports from the Point Pleasant area suggest the bass action is “spotty” at best. Clams and plugs, white and light green swimmers, are the best baits right now with the bunker run just starting to really take off. The blues are around but mainly in the Barnegat Bay. The water is too warm for flounder so many anglers are just waiting for fluke to start up on the May 24. Freshwater action is just plain OK with trout still doing well in the Manasquan River.

Seaside Park Area: This week noted a big increase in the bluefish population. Tons of 3 to 5-pound blues have been churning in the bay and hitting everything but the kitchen sink. Striped bass is slow right now with mainly shorts from 18 to 25 inches being caught. One lucky duck landed a 22-pound bass off the South Jetty in Long Beach Island. Reports of weakfish hitting the bay are in but the blues are pushing them southward.

Toms River Area: It’s been slim pickens’ in the Toms River area for both fresh and saltwater. Bass and blues are hitting the beaches mainly taking bait. Cut bunker is the best choice for blues while the bass are starting to take white shads in addition to the normal clams and sandworms. Scattered bluefish have made their way into the Back Bay area but weakfish are putting up a strong hold near Berkley Island Park. The lagoons are especially loaded with weakies and the bite is great at breakfast and dinner time.

Waretown Area: The area south of Oyster Creek has been hot with both weakfish and blues this past week. Metals, pink plastics and sandworms are hooking both fish in places like the BB and BI Buoys. The word on flounder is that its dead; start gearing up for fluke in two weeks. As for bass, the word is a little better but not much. Most of the action is farther north, around Lavallette and Ortley Beach. Anglers who have caught bass are using mainly plugs in the Oyster Creek.

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