All rights reserved (About Us). A five-pound weakfish was landed by a young angler fishing the currents of the Reach Channel in Raritan Bay on Saturday. Tossing Gulp or soft plastics along the sedges or jigging bucktails tipped with shedder oil soaked squid strips over quiet, back bay sloughs is a relatively inexpensive endeavor, which can lead to good catch and release action when you can scare up a school of weakies. There are also a lot of … Bass, Blues and Weakfish. Similar to how I learned to grass shrimp for weakies to the south, the peanuts got those weakies tuned up, while throwing jigheads with paddletail style plastics like the Kettle Creek Swing Shad provided a pretty good match for what we were hatching. Recap of yesterday: The northwest wind greatly improved fishing. Didn't Joan Sharrott get three IGFA women's fly records that same summer? However, while overfishing is not occurring in the weakfish fishery, the stock is still considered depleted with the one-fish regulations sure to be around for some time. In ASMFC’s most recent benchmark stock assessment for weakfish in 2016, there are positive signs in the weakfish stock with a slight increase in the spawning stock biomass, and weakfish recruitment numbers in 2014, highest in about 15 years. 866-347-4836, A Steelheading Option: Lake Erie’s Tributaries, Offshore Strategies: Transitioning Into Fall, Surf Transitions: Prepping for the Fall Run. STRIPED bass, weakfish, fluke and bluefish are all on tap for the weekend and from the looks of it, saltwater fishing is in full bloom. Back in mid-June, a buddy and I were out fluke fishing in shallow water behind the old Fish Factory in Great Bay. Additional names for the weak fish include sea troutand gray trout, and it can be found along the east coast of North America, the Bay of Fundy, Rhode Island, South Carolina, and Nova Scotia. Slowly working those shrimp-tipped darts or shrimp flies back towards the boat on ultra-light gear was my favorite way to fish, with sometimes frenetic action; mostly with spikes in the 8- to 16-inch range but occasionally hooking into 3- to 5-pounders that would rip 4- to 6-pound mono from the spool in an instant. Then in 2005, weakfish action was pretty amazing on the Raritan in particular from August through September as peanuts were being gobbled up like candy by marauding schools of these sea trout. The shallow grassy inshore areas which have diminished greatly with beach replenishment are critical to successful weakfish spawning ..Weakfish are cyclical and have been forever but destruction of prime areas makes the cycle much longer than years past..Early 50's you couldn't find a weakfish BUT by early 60's they were all over and got bigger every year .Many of us including me caught weakfish … They really start to show up by mid-June, with the fishing peaking in July and August. Other spots for other fish: The Mud Buoy is the best bet for chumming blues. How: Thread a sandworm on a three-way rig and you’re good to go. Weakfish finally turned on in Raritan … The Jersey side of Raritan Bay is the place for … Many areas in Raritan and Sandy Hook bays hold weakfish. The Raritan East Channel in Raritan Bay and the Sandy Hook Channel in Sandy Hook are both excellent areas for weakfish too! Many have noticed that croakers haven’t really been around in significant numbers this season; old salts down in Delaware and Maryland once told me that in terms of cycles, when croaker are up weakfish are down, and vice versa. Raritan Bay Slam! The northern section of the state sees the first wave of fish moving down from the New England regions, and Raritan Bay is the place to set up. “They absolutely love to feed on fresh bunker. RARITAN BAY COMPLEX Includes the Raritan Bay, tidal Raritan River (to Rte. New York offshore fishing is covered as is Saltwater fly fishing. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. “Is this really a unicorn or are we just not targeting these beautiful fish because of the one-fish bag,” I asked half-jokingly later when posting a photo on Facebook. In fact, a precipitous decline in weakfish stocks from 2000 to 2004 had many fishermen and scientists wondering if the weakfish world was collapsing. Targeting trophy tiderunners with light tackle and artificials remains an annual spring tradition for many anglers. Raritan Bay -Sandy Hook- Jamaica Bay- New York Harbor- Offshore 1-5 anglers Fishing for Striped Bass - Bluefish - Weakfish - False Albacore - Mahi - Tuna Specializing in Light Tackle Fishing Fly Fishing - Jigging- Plugging - Live Bait - Chunking I’d love to see them bend again . (That’s because I am going to tag along…I need a weakie for the season slam.) Just click on the "post a comment'' link at the end of the blog and let us know how the fishing is. © 2020 Advance Local Media LLC. My brother, Kevin McCarty, has caught a lot of weakfish in his long salt water fishing career, but no others have come even close to this monster Weakie. Ling fishing was good on Mud Hole wrecks, and sea bass bit on wrecks in 60 to 70 feet out of Manasquan Inlet. No word on flounder, but a few weakfish have been reported from the east end. I spent years living in Sea Bright in the late ‘90s though, where’d I stand along the street ends on the incoming tide well into the night, slowly working a pink Fin-S at a 20- to 45-degree angle for a few amazing catch-and-release weakfish nights, and I was always excited at not having to clean a fish before slipping into the rack for a few hours of sleep. the Raritan Bay has probably experienced some of the most consistent weakfish action over the last decade (Dave Alu’s world record 19-pound, 12-ounce monster caught on a bunker chunk from shore on Staten Island back in 2008). Coordinates: Loran: 27005.13 and 43726.32 GPS: 40.29.00 by 74.01.50 Species: Striped bass, bluefish, weakfish, porgies. *See below for White Perch and White Catfish for the Raritan River and South River. Even easier and more direct was threading the hook of the jighead through the snout of a live peanut, and soft tossing into the fray; slowly raising the rod tip up and down gives that baby bunker reason to swim against the weight of the jighead, which can attract the attention of a weakfish nicely. It’s also possible that those beautiful unicorns are out there right now sucking down peanuts tumbling out of the creeks and estuaries, and we’re just too stubborn to believe it’s worth a shot! Particularly in the fall as young of the year peanut bunker begin spilling out of local estuaries from the Shrewsbury and Navesink on out to Great Kills and Jamaica Bay in New York, spots along the Raritan make up a convergence of bait opportunities that have led to some outstanding weakfish action, even when much of it is on the down low. Book your trip with Fin Chaser Charters – Manhattan. Worms or diamond jigs will catch tiderunner weaks here. He also noted that the weakfish of Raritan Bay are generally larger than in other bays. Weakfish are found in grass shrimp chum lines along the west side of Barnegat Bay. It’s home to some of the East Coast’s finest creatures, and can also be your starting point for an offshore adventure. And check out the charter and party boat link for a boat-by-boat listing of the state's sizable fleet. Nor'east magazine has interesting articles on charter boats, party boats, charter fishing and saltwater fishing equipment. Here look for them to be stacked up on the channel edges from 15 to 35-foot of water. The Northeast Angling season opened with a May 17 weakfish fishing trip to Barnegat Bay, NJ with Captain Terry Sullivan. A quiet night on the boat near bulkhead and bridge lights could produce equally well on the drift through September. If tide and wind are right, you can set out anchor ahead of an old dock, rocks or a creek mouth, tossing a few livies ahead of the ambush point and then allowing your jig-rigged peanut to frantically attract a bite. Mention the word weakfish, and some folks think back 30 or 40 years when Fortescue was known as the “weakfish capital of the world,” as anglers heading out of Cape May and ports along the Delaware bayshore could stack up double-digit weight tiderunners along the docks like cord wood at the end of a trip. Terry has extensive knowledge of New Jersey waters from Barnegat Inlet to … The responses I got were intriguing. The unpredictable weakfish appear on the verge of a comeback, and that’s good news for Northeast inshore anglers. On the paddle side of things, I haven’t heard much from the kayak fishermen on SI. Soft plastics and small swimming plugs are doing most of the damage. Raritan Bay -Sandy Hook- Jamaica Bay- New York Harbor- Offshore 1-5 anglers Fishing for Striped Bass - Bluefish - Weakfish - False Albacore - Mahi - Tuna Specializing in Light Tackle Fishing Fly Fishing - Jigging- Plugging - Live Bait - Chunking Where you should go: The western end of Raritan Bay has been hosting weakfish since last week. - Weakfish - Raritan Bay $725 - Tile Fish - Canyon $1,650 ----- - Six (6)-passenger maximum on all trips. As of last year, Raritan Bay in North Jersey saw some good weakfishing, but we did not. The fish are very aggressive and the action never stops. If you haven't looked in our "links" section, you're missing the latest water temps, tides, weather reports and state regulations. Along with weakfish, you are likely to find porgies, kingfish, blowfish, snapper blues, and even some sea bass in the mix. “I don’t know if I go with ‘unicorn’ but they’ve always been quite cyclical,” said Jeremy Muermann, the fishing club advisor at Lacey Township High School. The former Fisherman Dream Boat champ puts a lot of time in on the Raritan Bay grounds, as evidenced by the constant flow of weakfish photos I was receiving while sitting and working on deadlines at my laptop. "The most important habitat for the weakfish is the brackish waters of the Chesapeake bay… The first greenheads of the season had just started biting, but keeper fluke were not. And, as always, we'd love to hear from you. October 11, 2016 / alexisadamsqop. The bay is a popular destination for recreational fishing due to its proximity to the densely populated areas of Central Jersey and New York City. The weakfish also have a very fragile mouth, making it hard for anglers to keep them from spitting the hook. Where: Jersey side of Raritan Bay. Overall biomass may be down, but the heart of the fishery still beats in the Garden State. CROAKERS, ANYONE? Surfcasters can employ the same method along a sod bank or jetty by tossing a small handful of netted peanuts along with the moving tide and following up with rigged peanut (check out the surf bunker article this month by Allen Riley!). The channels are the main places: Raritan Reach Channel, Sandy Hook Channel, Chapel Hill Channel and Terminal Channel near the Earle Naval Pier. With cycles being what they are, it could be a long time – if ever – before we see 1980 style biomass of weakfish along the Atlantic Coast. Separating New York from New Jersey, the Raritan Bay is the fishing epicenter for one of the US’s biggest urban areas. Please support local journalism. The bay is bounded on the northwest by New York's Staten Island, on the west by Perth Amboy, New Jersey, on the south by the Raritan Bayshore communities of Monmouth County, New Jersey, and on the east by Sandy Hook Bay.Some of Raritan Bay's fish include striped bass, fluke, winter flounder, bluefish, tautog and weakfish. the fisheries of raritan bay Media Publishing eBook, ePub, Kindle PDF View ID 228817929 May 25, 2020 By Stephen King anglers club the raritan bay anglers club is a non profit organization for fishing enthusiasts in the raritan bay and sandy hook bay areas club activities support local charities and organizations that New York NY, United States • Member since March 2018 . Conservation. We'd love to see your photos! The Fisherman About The Captain. 14 Ramsey Rd, Shirley, NY 11967 With the boat bridle anchored along an edge, dad and I could sometimes catch 30 or 40 weakies each during a three-hour tidal shift, alternating between throwing handfuls of shrimp out with the moving tide and tossing light tackle shad darts impaled with two to three live shrimp into the slick. Weakfish are found in grass shrimp chum lines along the west side of Barnegat Bay. Where you should go: Raritan Reach finally appears to be turning on with weakfish, The west end was best yesterday. After sliding one in the icebox and another dozen or two back over the side of the boat, we headed out along the sod banks to try one last drift or two outside of a creek flushing out of the marshes. It also has dark spots on its back, yellow-colored fins, and two large canine teeth in its u… Sea bass are hitting drifted baits at Shrewsbury Rocks and on the reefs. Want to catch weakfish? 0. While Delaware Bay once experienced some of the most epic weakfishing in history (Karl Jones still holds the state record, an 18-pound, 8-ounce tiderunner caught there in 1986 during the heyday.) The guys use live peanut bunker on a 3-way rig and catch too many fish to count up to 7lbs. - Bring your own food and beverage. the Raritan Bay has probably experienced some of the most consistent weakfish action over the last decade (Dave Alu’s world record 19-pound, 12-ounce monster caught on a bunker chunk from shore on Staten … They’re also a great permit bait in Northwest Channel at Key West if you can find them in shrimp boat “trash” (by-catch) Posted on June 10, 2018. Meanwhile, if the weakfish population remains weak, the croaker population in Delaware Bay has gone just the opposite way. Registration on or use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement, and Your California Privacy Rights (each updated 1/1/20). Closing the lid on my work one morning, I met up with Guy at the dock with an array of jigheads and plastics in my bag and a light tackle spinning outfit (20-pound braid on 2000 or 3000 size reel, 20-pound fluoro and rods with fast action). Perhaps a down cycle of hardheads for 2018 might spell bigger returns on tiderunners in 2019, who knows. Both stripers and blues were feeding on peanut bunkers in the bay and ocean. Even going 15 to 20 years into my own past, July through August was prime time for grass shrimping in Barnegat, Little Egg Harbor and Great Bay, when 4 or 5 quarts of live grass shrimp could get the waters boiling with weakfish along a quiet slough or deeper edge of a grassy flat on the outgoing tide. The problem with weakfish stocks began in the mid 1990s, and while surveys since have mostly shown that juvenile weakfish populations are strong, the older fish just haven’t been turning up in any great numbers. An average day begins with riding up and down the channel edges, watching the fish finder for piles of weakfish and signs of bait. Yellowfin tuna are abundant for night chunkers in the canyons. It is hoped that this past spring, some of these fish made a left turn as they headed up the coast. “Two years ago Barnegat Bay was loaded with them in August and September.”. Shad bars, bunker spoons and Stretch 25 Minnows all end up on the trolling lines to attract big bass and blues in the reaches of the bay. Pushing off from the slip, the first order of business was securing bait/chum in the form of peanut bunker, which were thick in Great Kills Harbor as usual this time of year. Frank Wagenhoffer. Why today is a good day for this: Weather conditions should be ideal, and decent quantities of 16-to-20-inch weakfish were boated yesterday. An 8-foot net made of approximately 1/4-inch mesh with roughly a pound of lead per foot is a good net for throwing on top of a school of peanuts or finger mullet, and one throw should give you enough in the livewell to play around with. That strange-looking creature has long been a favorite of stripers and weakfish in Raritan Bay. Playing the tides For good action, fish around bridges, back-bay creeks and rivers. Clams and mussels also live in Raritan Bay. fishing the fall run on raritan bay February 26, 2020 A rather new entry into the world of artificial baits for 2019/2020 is FishLab lures, which is in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic market as of the ’19 holiday season with their realistic, scientifically accurate, and meticulously crafted lineup of hard and soft baits. Kevin McCarty of Tuckerton, New Jersey Caught This 16 pound, 12 Ounce Lunker in Raritan Bay in 2008. What you should use: Sandworms are the best bet, but live peanut bunkers should work -- as will Gulp lures. This particular method should work well wherever you’re fishing this month, and whatever the “structure” you might be fishing. Guy’s method of fishing for weakfish throughout his region is to find appropriate shore structure to slowly drift past, throwing a handful of live peanuts to attract some attention while following up with a few casts. Raritan Bay fishermen employ a variety of methods to tangle with the stripers and blues, but most notably are fond of trolling at this time. Sharks starting to show in surf. Capt Andy and Capt Rich join up with Capt Nick Savene of No Time Charters and get in on a red hot weakfish bite in the protected waters of Raritan Bay, NJ. While Delaware Bay once experienced some of the most epic weakfishing in history (Karl Jones still holds the state record, an 18-pound, 8-ounce tiderunner caught there in 1986 during the heyday.) It has a sleek body that can grow to about 3 feet in length. If this happened in those waters, imagine how badly the Raritan River and Bay would change if these vital fish were removed from the ecosystem? Al's Tip of the Day: Sandworms are very expensive, but you can stretch out your supply by combining one with a plastic worm -- or better yet a Gulp sandworm. In late September of 2017, I joined Guy Buono aboard his Grady-White out of Nicholl’s Great Kills Park Marina out on Staten Island. With the same fluke rig, an S&S bucktail with squid strip and Tsunami Glass Eel teaser with pink Gulp swimming mullet, I dropped to the bottom and was quickly rewarded with my first weakie of the 2018 season, a little 2- to 3-pounder. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. Some of the top spots to find them include the Raritan Reach and Channel Buoy 7. Everyone has a good fish tale -- but how about a good fish photo? As for the low bag limit keeping anglers away, Muermann agreed; though others like Daniel Mancari wondered why a low bag limit should really alter fishing plans. That would be real nice to see another season like that one! Smaller blues are chasing peanut bunkers in Raritan Bay, and big blues surface along the northern Shore on the same baits plus rainfish. Note to readers: if you purchase something through one of our affiliate links we may earn a commission. XBMX - That was some year (2008) for Raritan Bay. info@thefisherman.com But nine years ago, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) faced a brutal scientific fact; that New Jersey’s total harvest for 1985 was higher than the entire coastwide stock of weakfish as of 2009. Weakfish Fishing Raritan Bay NJ. Subscribe today ». I use a bunker head with 1 to 2 inches of meat left on behind the head for my prime bait. 1 bridge) and the tidal portions of all tributaries. Weakfish finally turned on in Raritan Reach. Check out these links: Captain Frank has been fishing Raritan Bay from the age of 10. I have rods designed & built around fishing for weakfish. For bait fishing, sandworms and clams are getting lots of eats. Anglers catch big weakfish in unusual waters BY AL RISTORI Star-Ledger Staff Weakfish are a shallow-water inshore species rarely found in deep waters except those adjacent to their preferred habitat, such as Raritan Beach in Raritan Bay. In 1985, New Jersey anglers landed 3.4 million pounds of weakfish; commercial fishermen took another 3 million pounds. We have already witnessed the complete disappearance of the weakfish in Raritan Bay and it is said that this is due to the loss of bunker in the Chesapeake, a major spawning ground for them. While ASMFC believed that the problem was not due to fishing pressure but instead due to natural mortality, by 2010 every state along the Atlantic Coast had moved to a one-fish bag limit on weakfish. Raritan Bay, NJ - Weakfish. “In Raritan Bay in May, those big weaks are mixed right in with the bass and bluefish feeding on the bunker schools,” says Swisstack. Recap of yesterday: The northwest wind greatly improved fishing. It has a silvery-white belly, and the back is dark olive/green which gives the fish an iridescent look. - All bait and tackle is provided (except where noted). Now this only works if you send in your photos (send them to "fishpic@starledger.com") so if you've got a catch worth bragging about, send it in and we'll put it up for all to see. Check out the reader photo gallery (it's on the rail on the left of the page under "Categories"). The crustacean species represented include the blue crab, fiddler crab, green crab, horseshoe crab and spider crab. “Fish to have fun, not every legal fish should be looked at as a meal.” For the most part, Mancari’s right. Then again, when you plunk down $50 on a gallon of live grass shrimp or flat of sandworms, some of most effective ways to catch weakfish throughout the season, you typically expect to justify the expense at the end of the day with a few slices of fresh meat. ... Weakfish: One meal per month. - You are welcome to bring your own fishing rod and tackle. Learn more about this video at http://bit.ly/11eI1Yn including recommended tackle at http://bit.ly/10gUhZZ from Northeast Angling (http://neangling.com). TACKLE. Bonito and little tunny have been spotted off Breezy Point. The main breeding grounds of the weakfish are in the near shore estuaries of the Chesapeake Bay. ... I’m now trying to be part of the solution. These “young of the year” baits often choking local canals, harbors and lagoons by late summer will soon be making their migratory move down the beach, which coincides with the kickoff of the fall run. 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