Welcome to NJ Saltwater Fisherman.
Your #1 Source for all NJ Saltwater Fishing News and Information.
Please visit our Free and Friendly NJ Fishing Forums where the talk is fishing 24/7. 
NO Politics... NO DRAMA.. Just Fishing!!

Saltwater Fishing News

NJ Bass Fishing - A Hit or Miss For Some

 NJ Bass fishing remains a hit or miss for some.  Big schools of bass are all along the shore and feeding heavily on rain fish and other small baits. With that much live bait in the water it makes it a challenge for a big old bass to take your bait. It?s all about being patient and improvising until something works.

Sandy Hook, Captain Ron?s Fishermen has been working hard chasing birds and finding bass up in the 20 to 30lb range. Dr. Sal made it two days in a row with the pool fish aboard the Fishermen with fish up to 26 lbs. Captain Ron is sailing daily for big bass. It should only get more intense as bigger fish move in to feast along our shoreline.

Brielle, Captain Jerry aboard the Fish Monger can?t sit still. If the bass bite is slow the crew immediately targets a different species. I bet Captain Jerry hates sitting in traffic.

With mostly blues on the jig the Fish Monger has been switching over to bottom fish and finding plenty of double header porgy action. Captain Jerry was able to put triple digit porgies in the box this week and keeping the action consistent for his patrons.  Another great week aboard the Fish Monger with a nice variety of porgies, fluke, sea bass, bonito, bluefish and of course striped bass.
nj_bass.jpg
Jim and James Monaghan from Spring Hill TN sporting their 30 lbs Striper, Caught on a NJ Charter.

Highlands, Captain Diane aboard Lady Di II Fishing charters had buddies Capt. Erwin and Paul out for a trophy bass hunt. Captain Diane immediately found the birds with bass breaking the surface. After a few shorts they managed to max out and troll up six nice keepers and back at the dock by lunch time.

It?s an amazing time of the year. Acers of bait fish along our shore and big bass and blues patrolling them make conditions perfect for all anglers to experience top water action. Taking a day off work is definitely worth a shot at these amazing fish.
Remember an angler means being courteous to other anglers from a boat or the surf. Give everyone elbow room, cutting across a school of fish or a fishing fleet only decreases the odds of catching  fish and defeats the purpose for everyone, it?s a big ocean give everyone room to fish......

Read more: NJ Bass Fishing - A Hit or Miss For Some

NJ Yellow Fin Tuna Invasion!

ron_nuzzolo.jpgTheir back and they are big. Yellow fin tuna have invaded the Hudson Canyon and as you read this article tonight anglers are in the canyon looking for a fight with these all muscle and built for speed monsters. Charters from Sandy Hook to Barnegat Bay found yellow fins in the canyon from 70 to 90lbs. Mahi mahi are right in the mix and as many as you want. The Big Jamaica from Brielle is nailing fish up to 90lbs. Doris Mae from Barnegat Light maxed out on yellow fin up to 80lbs and put a countless number of Mahi in the box. The Doris Mae is doing very well with yellow fin and boxing mahi up in the triple digits. These reports have phones ringing off the hook for reservations and charters are booking up fast. The Big Jamaica has added extra dates and I?m sure many others are doing the same. Charter scheduled dates for the 2010 tuna season were cut short by most charters not willing to take the 100 plus mile one way trip due to the lack of yellow fins in the previous years. With plenty of seventy degree water in the canyon, tuna like the yellow fin, big eye and long fin will hang around for a while.

Curious, I tried calling three different party boats for a mid week spot and they have all been booked solid. Even "Fish on with Ron" is on a waiting list. This is a year where many anglers took a wait and see approach so I have to be patient. This is the time when the internet comes in handy. A charter on a "party boat" will only take 20 to 25 anglers max and run around $325 per angler so when reports heat up they book fast. Canyon trips are normally 24 to 30 hours long so make sure you are physically and mentally prepared.  you better stretch those arms legs and back and be ready to go a few rounds. Ninety pounders are no joke and will send you to a chiropractor at the very least.
 
Immediate Release

FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla., -- As the pending Gulf Restoration Plan is being produced The Billfish Foundation is encouraging recreational anglers and boaters, especially those in the Gulf states most affected by the April 20th oil disaster, to urge the government to include the sport fishing segment in the plan.

?Boating and the sport fishing industry employ some 300,000 individuals in the region generating an economic stimulus of $41 billion dollars annually,? said TBF President Ellen Peel. ?It includes a wide array of marine related manufacturing, sales, service and diverse support and enhancement businesses ranging from artists to yacht builders and brokers.
?If we are ever going to see positive changes in the Gulf, we must impress upon the Secretary of the Navy, Ray Mabus, who is charged with writing the Gulf Restoration Plan, the need to include recreational fishing and boating as a major segment in it. E-mails are urgently needed to be sent to the Secretary at: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.,? she emphasized.

A draft letter is included on the TBF website billfish.org for anglers to use or compose their own version. She said the critical point is to send it in now and encouraged anglers to pass it on to their friends so sport fishing and boating will be counted in the Gulf Restoration Plan.

Fish On!

Missing Boaters Found alive off NJ Coast

The Coast Guard has found six boaters missing since Sunday alive and well on their disabled boat about 120 miles off the New Jersey coast
 

Search and rescue teams are hovering around the Black Magic and preparing to bring the men aboard rescue helicopters or boats.

The Coast Guard's David Umberger says the boat was found by searchers around 7:15 p.m. Monday.

 

Six Boaters Missing Off Atlantic City

 

32 foot BlackfinATLANTIC CITY, N.J. - Six men are missing after they didn't return from an overnight fishing trip 85 miles east of Atlantic City, N.J.

Two rescue helicopter crews from Coast Guard Air Station Atlantic City, a C-130 aircraft and three Coast Guard boats are searching the area known as the Canyons, or Toms Canyon for the missing men.

The Coast Guard says it received a call at 6:40 p.m. Sunday from the wife of one of men.

She said the men had left Forked River Saturday aboard the 32-foot vessel Black Magic for an overnight fishing trip.

The web site for the boat says it is a 40-foot Viking that is piloted by a charter captain, and it specializes in trips to the Canyons.

The site says the boat is equipped with a satellite rescue beacon and life raft.

They were set to return Sunday morning.

The men are Bernie Otiemsky, Jerry Lewis, Ed Filcox, Geoffrey McDade, James McDade and Ray Somerville. There is no word on their hometowns.

Anyone with information about the missing boaters is asked to call Coast Guard Sector Delaware Bay at 215-271-4960.


The Captains and Crew of NJSWF send their Prayers for a safe return.

 

For More on this see here

Update :  2:45 PM

There is also now a report from the AP that the boat may have gone offcourse and could be as far north as Martha's Vineyard, after initial reports put the boat 85 miles east o

Thomas McDade is the son of boat owner Geoffrey McDade and thebrother of one of the other fishermen, James McDade.

He says his mother called the Coast Guard on Sunday afternoon when the group did not return as planned from an overnight deep-sea tuna fishing trip aboard the 32-foot vessel Black Magic.

The Coast Guard initially was searching off the New Jersey coast, but they have moved to the north, near Martha's Vineyard, Mass., after a mayday call came from there around 1 a.m. Monday.