Big triggerfish giving anglers a fight off the Jersey Shore coast
Capt. William Egerter Jr. got into the triggerfish good, rock hopping with his Dauntless party boat along the northern Monmouth County coastline.
Some of the fish were giants, as far as triggerfish go, in the neighborhood of four pounds. They put plenty of bend into the rods of his fares, who had a fun time reeling them in. Few bottom fish caught around these parts are as exciting on rod and reel at the triggerfish, which let out a deep grunt when landed. The porgies are also back and biting after being hard to find for awhile.
The summer is at that sweet point where the bait is building up and the water temperatures are peaking.
The south wind has kept the ocean cool for the most part, and the waters temps were all over the board on Thursday, however, it hit 76 degrees in the surf at Beach Haven and was about 72 degrees at Belmar. There are some big fluke creeping into the surf. On Tuesday, Grumpy's Tackle in Seaside Park weighed in a doormat that was reeled in out of the Island Beach State Park surf.
The fish was landed by Mike Wujek on Gulp! bait and was just a few ounces shy of 10 pounds on the shop's scale. Grumpy's said it was one of the biggest land-based fluke they've ever had on the scale in over two decades of weighing in fish.
The Queen Mary party boat was once again on the bluefish Thursday morning. Capt. Cole Riback was at the helm and had the boat up the coast in view of the Atlantic Highlands. His dad, Capt. Dave Riback said it's been "decent fishing" for the blues. Some days they get them real good when the conditions line up.
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"It's not slam-bam fishing, but those who know how to the turn the handle to work the jigs, are catching them," Dave Riback said.
For the most part, they're just taking the boat up the coast playing the tides. Last week, they had the outgoing tide and the blues were right on the beach between Jenkinson's in Point Pleasant Beach and Wreck Pond in Spring Lake. On Thursday, he said the fish were mostly hitting AVA diamond jigs with teaser tails. The fish are mostly two to four pounders, but there's been a few running bigger.
Big game tournaments
The Beach Haven Marlin and Tuna Clubs 53rd annual White Marlin Invitational kicked off Wednesday with the Captain's Meeting. Fifty-three boats entered the country's longest running white marlin tournament. Thursday was the first fishing day and as of this report's deadline, none of the boats were back in yet.
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The Manasquan River Marlin and Tuna Club's premier event of the year, the 42nd Offshore Open, kicks off next weekend. The contest, sponsored by Lester Glenn, will run Aug. 27 thru September 3. The captain’s meeting is at Crystal Point at 6:30 p.m. Aug. 26. The base entry fee is $500, however, anglers will be sure to be putting some money down on the Calcuttas to grow the pot.
And of course, the big Mid-Atlantic tournament, which draws contestants from near and far, is all next week in Cape May. Base entry fee for that contest is $3,000.
When Jersey Shore native Dan Radel is not reporting the news, you can find him in a college classroom where he is a history professor. Reach him @danielradelapp; 732-643-4072; dradel@gannettnj.com.
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Jersey Shore fishing: Big triggerfish giving anglers a fight
