Grumpy's Tackle in Seaside Park says that's been best in the south end of the park. Curcio ran his Shananigens out of Morgan, and was a dedicated striper angler.
The wind forecast for Tuesday was pretty bad, with small craft warnings posted for south winds gusting to over 25 mph. We're still working on local stripers, as the water temperature in the bay is still very high at 66 degrees -- and must drop considerably before the migratory run gets started.
The Queen Mary from Point Pleasant reported good jigging for the large blues today, and the Golden Eagle from Belmar noted good Friday and Saturday night action with 8-to-16-pounders on bait as well as Sunday jigging. Betty Nick's Tackle in Seaside Park reports lots of small blues on mullet at the end of the paved road along with short stripers and out-of-season fluke.
By far the largest surf bass of the fall that I've heard of was landed before daylight in Island Beach State Park by Frank Stone. There was a decent bite of yellowfins and albacore from false light to 9 a. m.
Most anglers will be hoping that the forecast of west winds up to 30 knots tonight will come true, as that will knock down the big swell we've been dealing with and help clear waters stirred up by Saturday's strong south winds. Joe Melillo, at Castaways Tackle in Point Pleasant, said the surf was unfishable early Saturday morning due to the south wind and rain.
There were also lots of blues for surfcasters at Seaside Park and Island Beach State Park -- though those are small blues that hit consistently on mullet while also taking metal and poppers at times. Instead, I tried Sea Girt after high tide in the afternoon, and did nothing with metal into fishable surf -- though another angler released a 25-inch bass.
That issue was number two among those to be considered in development of the Comprehensive Summer Flounder Amendment to the Summer Flounder, Scup and Black Sea Bass Management Plan by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (MAFMC) and the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC). Capt. Joe Bogan, of Jamaica II at Brielle, is also awaiting reopening of the sea bass season on Oct. 18.
Betty Nick's Tackle reported one angler caught 50 blues in two hours on metal and a teaser at the end of the paved road in Island Beach State Park. I took a look at the Bay Head surf early, but with the low tide and the northeast blowing down the beach it didn't look like I'd even be able to cast metal into fishable waters.
Opinions expressed will be considered in development of the upcoming revision of the Summer Flounder Management Plan. This is the last day to send your comments on striped bass management alternatives to the ASMFC if you didn't do so at one of the hearings.
After netting peanut bunkers, Manny took a shot down the beach for the first time in a couple of months. He released one in the teens on a peanut bunker and I lost one before we tried chunking with old bait that produced only small dogfish.
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