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NJ Saltwater Baitfish

Bunker Bunker typically start showing in NJ around mid to April and arrive en masse in May. Peanut bunker leave the bay in the fall and can lead to a bait fish bonanza along the NJ beaches. April - June, September - November
Herring Herring are a cold water fish and as such are not as important on the NJ bait scene as some as the others. Still Striped Bass LOVE Herring. November - February
Mullet Look for the Mullet to leave the bay mid-September. Typically, any Mullet run is before the Peanut Bunker leave the bay. September - October
Rainfish Rainfish or Bay Anchovies on first inspection closely resemble spearing. September - October
Sandeel Sandeels are like the candy of the Sea. When they are around it seems to light something in the local Gamefish's DNA because they tend to gorge themselves on these. Read more on how to take advantage. May - June, October - November
Spearing Spearing are the most prevalent fish in New Jersey's bay and estuarine system. Very similar in appearance to rainfish. It has a much smaller mouth than rainfish. April - November
Spot Spot migrate seasonally, entering bays and estuaries in the spring, where they remain until late summer or fall when they move off shore. Larval spot will enter the Bay as early as December and appear in nursery areas in April and May. Primary nursery areas for juvenile spot occur in low salinity areas of the bays and tidal creeks, but they can also be found associated with eel grass communities. Young spot grow rapidly over the summer months, and by fall reach an average length of five inches. As water temperatures decrease in the fall, most juveniles move to the ocean by December. October - November

Weekly Update (June 11, 2017)

The weather gods are going to smile upon fishermen this week.  A summer weather pattern is settling in and other than a cold front that could produce some boomers on Wed it all looks clear sailing for all species. 

It is go time for Shark.  Unfortunately the messiness of the weather from last week really put an anchor on last week's action and disrupted a bit 2 of the big tournaments that ended yesterday.  Water temps are just about perfect to go get your Mako this week.   Of coure, even if you don't catch a Mako, Brown and Blue sharks are around so you should have some fun.  Head to a nice lump where you can set up a good drift along some structure and let the chum fly.  If you can find a temp break around some 65 degree water, even better.

Nice weather this coming week should make it easier to find the Bunker pods.  If you find the Bunker you have a decent chance of finding some nice Striped Bass.  More and more you really need to get out early for so many reasons.  The increasing boat traffic as summer draws near tends to disrupt things.  Also, bright sunshine with an almost full summer sun is going to put the bass down.

You have one more week to catch some Seabass before we head into regulations hell.  It already getting tougher to find enough to limit so expect this week to be the toughest so far.  All of the usual haunts have kind of been picked at this point so you may need to run to your special numbers if you really want to pound them.  Shorts galore at the moment.  All things being equal I would drif and jig (Deadly Dicks, Ava's) around structure to pick off the big ones rather then set up on anchor and drop clam.  Always seem to catch bigger fish on average on jigs. 

Should be a fine week a fluking ahead, especially if you like to catch shorts.  The good news is that moderating water temps mean that the Fluke won't go completely lock-jaw on the incoming tide like they do early in the season

 

 

 

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