Bluefish bite picks up near shore, inlet mouths
The bluefish have been worked up into a frenzy for a few days.
The fish are so aggressive an angler on the Queen Mary party boat out of Point Pleasant Beach had two bluefish hit the same topwater popper on Monday's trip. The angler, Chris Long, visiting from Pennsylvania, landed both of them.
Queen Mary's skipper Capt. Dave Riback said they had the same thing happen a couple of times over the weekend, too. He's been catching the blues right outside the Manasquan Inlet and following them all the way up the coast to almost Sandy Hook. The blues have been in close to the beach to a few miles off. The fish have been running from a couple of pounds up to 12 pounds. The fish have been hitting right on the surface.
The mackerel are still holding on the southeastern edges of the Mud Hole. Fishermen have been having an easy time catching a bucket full with a tackle set up of a jig and a teaser hook about 18 inches above the jig. Capt. Howard Bogan Jr. of the 125-foot Jamaica has been running fares out there daily and setting up a chum slick to get the fish going. The action is pretty steady except when the occasional hammerhead or black tip shark cruise into the slick and scare the mackerel.
More:Fishing report: Mack attack is on as Atlantic and Spanish mackerel hitting
Bogan said he's hoping to draw in more bonito in the slick. Each trip he's getting one, but that's it. On Sunday, Allen Zerrudo of Old Bridge won the pool with a 4-pound bonito. They also had a nice cobia landed in 120 feet of water on the bank of the Mud Hole.
He was set up not too far from where the tuna fleet was working in and around the Mud Hole. In his binoculars he could see the tuna chicks feeding on bait on the surface. The tuna have been coming in close. Some boats have had catches of mahi mahi in the last week over the same area.
The fluke fishing is well into its summer stride out in the ocean. Despite little to no wind on Saturday, Capt. Bobby Quinn on the Ocean Explorer out of Belmar said the current was enough to carry the drift. His sharpies did good jigging the fish off the bottom. He had several fares catch their limit of three fish.
More:What's biting: get the latest fishing reports here
Crabbers are getting a steady pick on blue claws. Trixie's Landing in Bayville said one of their rental boat customers returned with a half bushel of crabs from a run to the mouth of the Cedar Creek on the west side of Barnegat Bay.
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: NJ fishing: Bluefish bite picks up near shore, inlet mouths
