It’s safe to say the fall run is on. 

Big bass, many well over 40 inches, were reported caught this past week by both beach and boat anglers. The action started to the north in Raritan Bay but jumbo stripers were soon reported all the way down to Seaside Park. The bass were caught on live eels, Mojos, shads, poppers and metal-lipped swimmers. Schools of adult and peanut bunker along with sand eels are fueling the bite and there are still massive amounts of bait back in the rivers and bays. 
 
At the same time, sea bass fishing has been decent, the porgy bite is on fire and blackfishing has been very good in the Point Pleasant Canal and at the inlets. 

Offshore reports have also been good with anglers catching yellowfin, bluefin, bigeye and swordfish. 

Rick Hebert at Tackle World in Rochelle Park reported stripers in the 30- to 40-pound range in Raritan Bay with Mojos taking most of the fish. Catches were reported in the back of the bay and around the Navy Pier. He also said the sea bass fishing was holding up well while tuna anglers continue to find bluefin. Fall trout stocking, he added, started on Tuesday and will continue through the end of next week in streams, lakes and ponds throughout the state. 

Danny Stolba of Fish Tail Bait and Tackle in Carteret said the stripers started biting again in the Arthur Kill this past week with fish up to 31 inches hitting bunker chunks.  

Capt. Phil Sciortino at the Tackle Box in Hazlet said the fall run is in full swing with tons of bass moving into Raritan Bay. Mojos, shads, eels on planer boards and swimming plugs all accounted for fish. Sciortino also reported sand eels on the beach and bass and big bluefish in the rivers. He’s also been getting good reports on sea bass and porgy fishing at the local rock piles.  

Mike Pinto at Giglio’s Bait and Tackle in Sea Bright reported several large stripers caught from the beach this week with shop regular Rich Carter landing a 47-inch bass on a popper Tuesday morning. Pinto said the fishing has been good from Sandy Hook down to Monmouth Beach. Peanut and adult bunker are keeping the bass interested. Anglers fishing eels in the rivers at night are also picking up stripers. 

Mike Gleason at TAK Waterman in Long Branch said the beach fishing has been good with a lot of teen-sized fish around. Again, it’s adults and peanuts in the surf, along with sand eels, keeping the fish around. Gleason said shads and bucktails have been doing the job. The boat guys, he added, have been getting the bigger fish. There are bass in the rivers as well and there’s still a lot of bait back there. The fall run, he said, has officially started. As for tuna fishing, the bluefin and yellowfin continue to bite on bait, jigs and poppers. 

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Whales and dolphins have been feeding on all the bunker off Asbury Park and Ocean Grove but the surf has been quiet, at least for me, over the past few days. 

Johnny O. at Fisherman’s Den in Belmar said the party boats out of the marina have been doing okay with sea bass but it’s the porgy fishing that’s red hot. The stripers are biting in the Shark River at night, he said, and the togging is terrific at the Shark River Inlet on green crabs. The tuna anglers continue to do well, he said, but they’re traveling farther east than the Bacardi and Triple Wrecks to find fish. 

Capt. Jay Richardella on Side Job Charters out of Belmar found lights-out tuna fishing on Wednesday but didn’t specify exactly where. His charter put 12 yellowfin and one bluefin in the boat. Capt. Richardella said he has some open tuna and striped bass dates available and can be contacted through his website. 

Capt. Steve Spinelli on the Skylarker out of Belmar said he’s been catching sea bass, porgies, blues, bonito and blowfish on his daily trips this week. There are usually several sea bass limits per trip and the porgy fishing has been very good. He’s also seeing some unusual southern visitors like pig fish and banded rudderfish. 

Capt. Pete Sykes of Parker Pete’s Sportfishing out of Belmar said the sea bass fishing has been fair but the porgy fishing has been terrific. He’ll be scheduling open boat trips for next week and details can be found on his website. He’ll be adding striped bass trips as well once the ocean fishing becomes more consistent. 

Ted Imfeld at The Reel Seat in Brielle said the bluefin and yellowfin bite has been good at Barnegat Ridge and the Hills. Bait, jigs and poppers have all been catching fish. Imfeld said the bass are moving in and he had good reports from boats off Long Branch. The Manasquan Inlet offers good togging and there are stripers in the river hitting plastics at night. There’s still a lot of bait in there, he added. 

Kyle Tangen at Fishermen’s Supply in Point Pleasant Beach said a lot of folks were sailing offshore on Wednesday night for tuna. He heard a number of boats were heading for the flats short of the canyons where there’s been good reports of bluefin and yellowfin. Travel a little farther to the canyons, he said, and there are bigeye and swordfish to be caught. The striper reports are getting better from the beaches and the boats, he added, especially to the north. 

Chris Parlow from Captain Bill’s Landing in Point Pleasant Beach reported that some very large stripers arrived in local waters. He went out on Tuesday and boated two fish in the 50-pound range on swim shads. The fish were feeding around pods of peanut bunker along the beach. Parlow said the tuna bite was red hot on Tuesday, with many yellowfin, bluefin and false albacore caught on butterfish.  He also reported that sea bass and tog fishing remain very good on the local reefs. There have been loads of blackfish caught at the Manasquan inlet and in the Point Pleasant Canal. 

Capt. Kenny Namowitz on the Mimi VI out of Point Pleasant Beach reported good bottom fishing this week with good size sea bass, huge porgies, winter flounder, pollock and cod.  

Pete Kupper at Charlie’s Bait and Tackle in Normandy Beach had reports of bass hanging right on the three-mile line. The bait comes in and out, he said, and sometimes the fish are with them. Mostly it’s been a pick of stripers. There are still some blues in the surf and bass back in the bay and Manasquan River. There’s still a ton of bait in both places, he said. Kupper said he is getting ready for the 12th Annual Surf Turkey Striper Tournament scheduled for Thanksgiving weekend. 

Scott Thomas at Grumpy’s Tackle in Seaside Park said the striper fishing is starting to turn on around there. Grumpy’s own Jenni Ackerman proved that when she landed her personal best bass of 49 inches from the beach on an S&S Rock Hopper on Tuesday. Metal-lipped swimmers are also a good choice and Thomas said early morning and last light into dark are good times to fish. Thomas added that the togging off the inlet jetties is excellent and there are still crabs to be had back in the bay. 

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Best Bets for the Weekend

The fall run is on. Stripers are on the beaches hitting shads, bucktails, poppers and metal-lipped swimmers.  

Boaters are also doing well fishing bunker pods with shads and metal-lipped swimmers. Mojos are working up in Raritan Bay as are shads and swimmers. The real challenge this fall will be finding stripers between 28 and 31 inches. 

Bottom fishing has been good with a solid sea bass bite and excellent porgy fishing.