NJ Bottom fishing and offshore reports

[bunkerjoe4]

Folks, now is the time of year when many surfcasters cut back on the sport and tend to other interests. Families are important too. Some of us of have been neglecting them somewhat during the season, and it is now time to get back to reality.

For those of you who will be bottom fishing through the winter, there are quite a few capable party boats in NJ who will put you on fish. The blackfish season now allows more keepers, and there are tasty seabass, ling, and whiting available through the season.

As a thanks for those putting up NJ bottom fishing reports, I will give away one custom plug at the end of the season. The winner will be chosen via a random number program.


Remember, folks, the party and charter fleets are suffering through this bad economy as much as we all are. The days of full boats are limited to days around holidays and vacation days. Many anglers have cut back on their fishing. There is just not enough disposable income to go around.

Meanwhile, the fleets available to you, both commercial and private charters, are some of the best around. These captains and mates will work hard to put you into fish.

If you feel some of them do an exemplary job, please post a report detailing the time you had, so others can use their services as well. If you feel the trip was less than optimal, please be honest and tell us about that too. All the information is valuable to those who live far away and travel here for the fantastic (at times) bottom fishing.

Thank you to all members, new and existing, for your support and posts. I wish all of you and your families a joyous Holiday season - bunkerjoe

[gjb1969]

was at bt shop in nnj a guy was fishing and he has bin doing wellon some nice size ling i mite have to try for the bigger ones all the ones i have bin getting are from 12 to 15 inches i have bin useing clams he told me to use sandsworms we will seetite lines and good luck guys

[storminsteve]

from Ristori's column

At Point Pleasant, Capt. Bobby Bogan found those temperatures were down to 36 degrees when he fished 20-mile wrecks Sunday with his Gambler from Point Pleasant. A few small cod were boated along with large ling. Jim Custer of Edison bagged 10 ling, and Steve Otkel from Garwood added four ling to his 6-pound cod. The Gambler is sailing open to those wrecks from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., except from Monday to Wednesday, when the target is blackfish.
Capt. Jeff Gutman has switched tonight’s sailing of his Voyager from Block Island to a NE wrecks trip at the reduced fare of $200. Gutman noted that the Block Island codfishery hasn’t been consistent. He’ll also be running an open trip for $90 at 6 a.m. Sunday to 20-to-40-mile cod wrecks. Last Sunday’s trip produced over 100 cod, of which about ¾ were keepers. Bruce Harbac of Keansberg topped the catch with a 37-pound cod. Shawn Meyer, Dave Marshall and Joe Grabowski from Clifton combined for 15 cod up to 17 pounds. Vinny Faiella of Little Silver bagged five to 10 pounds, and Archie Stewart from Nutley had five to 8 pounds.
At Brielle, Capt. Howard Bogan Jr. will be sailing his Jamaica by reservation (732 528-5014) to 60-to-80-mile wrecks to the northeast for cod over the weekend, leaving at 11:30 the night before. The Jamaica didn’t get out last weekend, but sailed Tuesday to catch cod up to 15 pounds. The high hook had 10 cod, a 35-pound pollock, and some ling.
Capt. Ken Gallop of Big Kid is continuing to charter from Brielle Yacht Club during the winter. He put the Roman Pera party into some cod and ling on Sunday.

[bababooey]

Some of the Jersey boats are running to Montauk, This was in Ristori's column yesterday.



Best cod fishing in a long time

By Al Ristori

March 11, 2010, 9:17PM

Catches of cod by local party boats last weekend were the best since I started writing this column in 1984 — and they’re not coming from two-day trips to Block Island. Furthermore, large cod outnumbered shorts — and the volume of “cows” brought back memories of great trips many years ago to the Red Square wrecks off Long Island and on the Nantucket wrecks.

Unfortunately, after a week of beautiful conditions, stormy weather is predicted for the weekend, with gale warnings posted for Saturday. Check with captains to see if they’re sailing, and visit my blog for updates.

While not truly “local,” as was the relatively close-to-shore clam-bed cod fishing decades ago, these catches are coming from wrecks within range for daily trips on today’s fast party boats.

Capt. Howard Bogan Jr. called the Jamaica’s cod catch “the best of the century” when he returned Saturday to Brielle with about 300 cod plus a dozen pollock and some ling.

Those cod averaged 8-to-15 pounds, and ranged up to a 39-pounder boated by Dunbar Atkinson of Parlin.

It’s been a long time since a 30-pound cod wasn’t the largest aboard a Jersey party boat, but that’s what happened with the one hooked by John Petty of Piscataway.

Sunday’s trip to different wrecks didn’t produce as many cod, but those caught averaged larger at 10-to-18 pounds. James Sutter of Staten Island probably had the best individual cod catch brought into the state in recent memory when he not only won the pool with a 28-pounder, but added nine more from 15-to-24 pounds.

James Blushstein from Vineland had a bottom fisherman’s thrill of a lifetime when he boated a doubleheader of 20- and-25-pound pollock while adding six cod and some ling. Barry Young of Belmar bagged 10 cod, including six from 18-to-24 pounds. Chris Steinart totaled 10 cod, half of which were between 18 and 21 pounds.

The Jamaica has been sailing weekend trips to the NE wrecks at 11:30 p.m., the night before, but added a trip for Thursday that quickly filled up. Bogan said even wrecks that haven’t held cod in recent years are filling up with them, possibly due to the very cold ocean temperatures this winter. Call (732) 528-5014 for reservations.

Capt. Joe Bogan didn’t go as far with Jamaica II, but also had good cod action Saturday during his 3 a.m. to 5 p.m. trip. Frank Wisnowski of Old Bridge had five cod and eight ling.

Capt. Bobby Bogan had a pick of cod Saturday on his Gambler from Point Pleasant, with fares averaging about four keepers, though a pollock of over 30 pounds won the pool. On the way out Sunday he found a boat on the wreck he planned to fish, and kept going until he arrived at a 50-mile wreck that produced steady action with cod plus some pollock and big ling.

Dave Kottyra of Budd Lake won the pool with a pollock over 30 pounds. Dave Morck had cod of 10, 12 and 15 pounds plus eight ling. Bogan stayed late, and reported his mates were cleaning fish all the way back.

Nick Honachefsky of Normandy Beach was along on that trip, and reported the cod averaged 5-to-14 pounds. He caught three plus a 10-pound pollock. The Gambler sails daily at 7 a.m., with blackfish being the target from Monday to Wednesday, and cod from Thursday through Sunday.

Perhaps the best indication of the sudden infusion of cod that have been building up to the east comes from South Jersey, an area that hasn’t traditionally had any quantity of that species.

Tom Paglioroli, whose Rack & Fin radio show airs from 9 to 10 Saturday mornings on ESPN 97.3 FM, reports Capt. Al Crudele joined fellow skippers on a Sunday small boat trip out of Townsend’s Inlet to wrecks 23 and 28 miles offshore where the three anglers caught 28 cod, many of which were very small. Yet, there were 12 keepers up-to-12 pounds plus four blackfish to 6 pounds on clams.

Bruce Vitale of Piscataway, Mike Obuch from Bridgewater and Lou Truppi of Bushkill, Pa. drove up to New Bedford, Mass., for cod fishing Sunday aboard the catamaran party boat, Nice Day Too.

They were surprised when Capt. Ton Chan told them few cod would be caught before afternoon. That turned out to be the case as a big fleet in the Block Island area hardly caught a fish until the tide changed around 3 p.m.

Then there was a mob scene southwest of Cox’s Ledge as the fleet, including 11 party boats and 15 charters, made short drifts through a small area that produced lots of short cod under 22 inches, plus three or four keepers a man up to Vitale’s 12-pound pool winner. The key to catching them was a pink Sluggo tipped with clam. What attracted so many cod to such a small area was uncertain, as Vitale found nothing in the cod stomachs.


http://www.nj.com/shore/blogs/fishin..._long_tim.html

[bababooey]

From Ristori's blog -

Big tog taken aboard the Gambler

By Al Ristori

April 07, 2010, 7:55PM

Capt. Boby Bogan reported the best blackfishing of the season so far on his Gambler from Point Pleasant. Many fares had their four-tog limits, and there were also quite a few cod ranging from shorts up to 24 inches. The blackfish ranged up to just over 12 pounds, but a tog an ounce under 15 pounds was boated a couple of days ago. Clams were more effective than crabs for the tog. Bogan was fishing wrecks in 130 feet, and has seen the water temperature shoot up from 42 to 50 degrees in a week. He'll be offshore codfishing Thursday, but on Monday will switch to a combination of tog and cod during daily trips.
Raritan Bay striper fishing was disappointing today, I Joined Tank Matraxia and Marty Gras from Lyndhurst on Capt. Lou Grazioso's Striper Mania from Keyport. Conditions were excellent for clamming during the morning ebb, but we never had a hit until the change of tide. Gras caught a 25-inch bass that got an ALS tag from Matraxia, and I started the season off right with a 31-inch bass.Then the SW wind started honking against the current -- and the bite was over. Capt. Pete Wagner wasn't out today with Hyper Striper from Highlands, but he said Tuesday's clamming was good.
Capt. Stan Zagleski has been picking away at winter flounder in Shrewsbury River with his Elaine B. from Highlands. He's doing best off The Quay and north of the bridge around slack tide. Two-flounder limits are common along with shorts.

[bababooey]

From Ristori's blog-

Spring ling run commences

By Al Ristori

May 09, 2010, 8:14PM

With the blackfish season closed until summer, and the sea bass season not yet open, party boats specializing in borrom fishing have been hoping for a traditional spring run of ling that hasn't been happening to any great extent in recent years. However, Capt. George Bachert of the Angler at Atlantic Highlands was encouraged by Friday's action. Noel Westerlind of Middletown was high hook with 20 ling, a showing sufficient for Bachert to start a daily ling schedule. A few cod are mixed, and fluke have already been returned -- though no sea bass have shown as yet.

At Brielle, Capt. Joe Bogan of Jamaica II reported good wreck trips last week for cod and ling. Fishing wrecks from 10 to 25 miles offshore produced catches such as eight cod and six ling for Gene Zubricki of Old Bridge; eight cod by Ray Bryant from South Orange; 10 cod plus five ling by Dale Isaacs of Manchester; six cod and eight ling for Bob Plasket from Medford; and the nine cod and five ling boated by Ryan Borgunn of Toms River.

[J Barbosa]

Fished on Saturday had 2 keeper fluke and 2 shorts before switching over to porgies. We managed 8 nice keepers before running out of bait.

Sunday we covered many miles of water to find 5 short fluke. Almost happy to see Fluke 2015 come to a close; what a terrible year for most.

Monday we went 60 miles offshore in a friend's boat. We found plenty of fish about 10 miles away from the fleet. Ended up with a 5 man limit of yellowfin and all the skippies you could want. The albies were mixed in but nowhere near as thick as last time. Jigs and chunks both working equally well.

[surferman]

Wow that's a very nice haul you managed there.
what about those skipjacks do they taste like other tuna and how do you prepare them? Thanks

[VSdreams]

Sashimi galore- nice!!!!