Manasquan Inlet Surf Fishing Report

Over at Fisherman’s World I spoke to Jeremy this week and he said that there’s still a pretty good herring bite taking place in the Harbor. The fish are showing a slight preference for smaller Sabiki rigs he suggested size 6 hooks for your best shot. Otherwise the striper bite in the Housy is still a viable choice but the bite is tough. The fish are schooled up in the deeper water as projected in February an this is when they begin to get a sever case of lock-jaw. On occasion a warm snap like the one predicted for this week can trigger them into feeding so this may be a good call if you are wanting to wet a line in the next few days. (thefisherman.com)

All along the coastline, many anglers come to fish for Bluefish, Striped Bass, Fluke, Weakfish, and a range of other species. At the northern end of town, where the inlet meets the Atlantic is an area called The Pocket. This area is a part of a private beach west of the high tide line. Entrance is usually allowed by the owner except throughout hours that the beach is open and guarded Day- Memorial Day to Labor Day. Head south and you’ll find The Pier. The lights from the establishment can attract fish to shoreline here. Continue south and you’ll find another access point right across from the Dunes Motel. (pointpleasantbeach.com)

From the license line to the New York state border. Spawning takes place in the lower river up to the path 1 Bridge in Trenton. Ship anglers dominate the river south of Trenton as it’s large, tidally influenced, and deep. It’s believed that the striped bass that continue to migrate farther up river are feeding on a spawning population of river herring and American shad that precede them. Big stripers have been caught in the Delaware River well up into New York State. From Trenton north, wading, shoreline fishing also as fishing from a ship are all used to pursue stripers. (stripers247.com)

Sunday’s action was GOOD after a tough Saturday.  November 2015 was the best Striper month in years!  Water temps are warm and lots of fish are North of us on there way down the coast.  We can get some more weeks in maybe fish to New Years.  Hi-hook was Bert with 12+ Bass plus some Blues.  Many had their keeper under 43 fish plus a bonus tag fish.  Only some shorts released as most were Bonus or Keeper size today.  Again the Tsunami Swim Shads 5 – 7 worked best!  be sure you pick some up before heading down. Weather looks tough Monday, so NO SAIL MONDAY!  Thursday & Friday look best this week. (newjerseyshore.com)

Those holding Mobile Sportfishing car Permits are obliged to ask a receipt at the front entrance gate of IBSP. The two fish at 16 inches or greater for shore-established anglers are the rules on IBSP – anglers can’t decide to keep 2 fish at 16 inches or 5 fish at 18 inches, it’s 2 fish at 16 inches only. Anglers that possess summer flounder harvested at IBSP may harvest summer flounder outside IBSP provided they abide to the 18-inch size bound and 5 fish ownership bound related to all other waters as an example, if 1 fish is harvested at IBSP, 4 fish 18 inches or greater can be harvested in waters outside of IBSP . (njsaltwaterfisherman.com)

Fluke make their look in May but the action really heats up in July and August when the amount of bait has exploded in the Inlet. At that time, the fluke are feeding on spearing, killies, bay anchovies, mullet, small snappers, spots and anything else they can fit in their mouths. A common fluke rig will work, however make sure to go with it up with a sinker that will get you to the bottom. Be prepared to lose lots of rigs as there are many snags in the Inlet. For those that don’t want to use conventional bait, a good choice is to put a three inch Gulp Swimming Mullet on a 1/2 oz jig head and cast it out. (hubpages.com)

This time of year, the fish may be found in some places in the river. Now in the season, my favorite spot in the river is the small channel that runs parallel to the path 35 bridge on its west side. The water is typically calm there, and there are some good holes where bigger fish can be hiding in wait for their prey to swim on by. Nose around with your ship and use your depth sounder to find deeper regions, then give it a drift. Since the water this far from the inlet will be some degrees warmer, Berkeley Gulp baits are a great choice, and the squid/spearing mix generally works. (brick.shorebeat.com)

All in all it was still a good day on the water. I think I’m close to done with party boats Dad raised my brothers and I fishing on the boats so I still find time to dabble a bit on them when I can. This season was odd in the sense that majority if not all the ship trips I went on this year were less than successful coming home without fish. I have done better in the surf this year. That’s a role reversal from last season. This makes me feel like I m becoming a better surf caster Out of frustration of my results on a ship trip I have hit the surf after the ship docks and really catch more fish. (stackfish.com)

Reports at the NJ Fishing web site propose Sandy Point as one of the best striper places in the state. The Sandy Hook Rip, Flynn’s Knoll, Romer Shoal and Schrewsbury Rocks in this region are stated as good places for stripers. As indicated by NJ Fishing, the best place to surf fish for stripers in Sandy Hook is the Rip. This is where the ocean current and bay meet at the northern tip of the point. An yearly pass to the area is available for $50 as of August 2010 and lets you unlimited access. The 1st stripers of the season are found in April and May. You are allowed to night-fish for stripers if you have a permit available at the ranger station . (trails.com)

What does this mean? This opens the door for our pelagics like bonito, albies, small bluefin, skippies, and mackerels to move inshore. Yesterday on my way back from the Barnegat North Ridge there were big pods of mackerel and bonito and what looked like some small bluefin just off of the Island Beach and Seaside Park in 45-60 feet of water. These fish were up on top and blitzing small baits. With the water along the beach the way it’s these fish can move right into the surf at anytime. If you look out over the water from the beach and see pods of fish purposing and skittering across the surface they are the pelagics. (stripersurf.com)