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Ristori: Flounder season arrives with much anticipation
Species Information
| Scientific Name: | |
| Common Names: | Blackfish, american shad, striped bass, striper, summer flounder, flounder, fluke, bluefish, bunker |
| Environment: | |
| Ideal Temp: | |
About Ristori: Flounder season arrives with much anticipation
The summer flounder season opens Saturday with an 18-inch minimum length and eight-fluke bag limit through Sept. 25. Early season fluking is usually best in South Jersey, but northern waters have warmed enough to provide some action at such hot spots as the Bug Light in Sandy Hook Bay. Check the ads, as many party boats will be switching over...
The summer flounder season opens Saturday with an 18-inch minimum length and eight-fluke bag limit through Sept. 25. Early season fluking is usually best in South Jersey, but northern waters have warmed enough to provide some action at such hot spots as the Bug Light in Sandy Hook Bay. Check the ads, as many party boats will be switching over to fluke from other fisheries.
The Jersey Coast Anglers Association Fluke Tournament will be contested statewide on June 11, with the awards ceremony on June 17 at Trump Marina Casino in Atlantic City. Boat entries sent by June 4 cost $120, but are $150 thereafter. Call (732) 506-6565 for information.
Tank Matraxia of Lyndhurst got a preview of the season when a 16-inch fluke he tagged in Sandy Hook Bay on Aug. 31 last year was recovered by a Massachusetts trawler working 93 miles E-NE of Barnegat Inlet on April 19. That fluke had grown to 16.3 inches.
That was American Littoral Society (ALS) tag return number 103 for Matraxia, who was busy tagging 13 large striped bass in Raritan Bay last Friday while fishing with captains Lou Grazioso and Fletcher Chayes on Striper Mania out of Keyport. Lyndhurst natives Rob DeYoung and Pete Norcia plus your reporter were aboard to work live bunkers and chunks plus Tsunami Swim Shads for stripers that were mostly in the mid-to-upper teens. The live baits were exciting to use in 18-to-20-foot depths near the mouth of the bay, but they were a bit large for teen stripers that did more chasing and boiling on the baits than eating them. In addition to the 13 bass tagged, a couple of bleeders were boxed, and several others released without tags when too many were being fought during the morning trip.
Matraxia’s outstanding catch was a 33-incher (to the fork of the tail, as the ALS has traditionally measured) released after a 20-minute fight on his “golf course water hole” 4-foot telescopic baitcasting rod with a tiny Ambassadeur reel and barely enough 15-pound mono. The largest bass was my first one, a fat female of about 25 pounds that will be carrying a tag as she spawns up the Hudson River later this month. Grazioso was into those bass on live and cut bunker again Sunday morning.
TOP CATCHES
Striper jigging was tougher last weekend along the northern Shore. After Capt. Dave Riback had limited catches during the first trip of the Queen Mary from Point Pleasant, the bass were much fussier Saturday. There were good readings and many follows, but not many hooked fish.
Capt. Howard Bogan Jr. had a similar report of the early Saturday jigging on his Jamaica from Brielle, but some bass turned on later as they ended up with 75 to 80 keepers up to a 24-pounder by Arthur Spatafore of Browns Mills. The Jamaica’s best striper of the season was a 36-pounder jigged last Friday by Brian Picariello of Hillsborough.
Striped bass continue to hold the spotlight even as increasing numbers of bluefish move into local waters. Ling and cod remain good targets for bottom fishermen offshore as blackfish are out of season.
Shad fishing in the Delaware could hardly have been any better last week as incredible numbers were moving in from the ocean to spawn. Dave Perruso of Palmer Township, Pa. had been enjoying nonstop action ever since the Delaware dropped after the big storm. When Nick Kolodiy of Brick and I drove up from the Shore to Phillipsburg to join Perruso, he had already released 29 shad before picking us up with his aluminum skiff at the launching ramp. Back on his anchor buoy in front of the railroad bridge, we immediately starting catching shad, and the boat count reached 73 a few hours later when he took us back to the ramp for the trip home. Perruso returned to his buoy and pushed the count to 106 before evening — and wasn’t even high hook as Shad Pappy II (anchored alongside) ended up at 130.
The technique involves fishing flutter spoons off downriggers at anchor. American shad don’t feed after coming into spawning rivers, but will instinctively hit very small lures. Since there’s no chumming or any other attractant involved, imagine the vast quantities of shad that have to be passing by in order to produce that almost constant light tackle action from fish averaging 3 to 5 pounds for every boat in the area. “It’s too bad they don’t taste like salmon,” Perruso said, but if they did he wouldn’t be catching huge quantities. Those who like fish roe prize the female shad for that reason, but otherwise the bony fish must be smoked or baked for long periods to make them edible. As a result, everyone was releasing their shad. Perruso fished from dawn to dusk the next day with a buddy in the annual Shad Tournament to catch 145, though the biggest at 5½ pounds wasn’t quite big enough for a prize.
Big Al Wutkowski’s passion for Barnegat Bay and its wildlife is such that he was appointed Barnegat Bay Guardian by the ALS. That legendary big striper angler, who releases almost all his bass, can be contacted about bay and wildlife problems by e-mail at buddy124ever@comcast.net — or by phone at (732) 295-1437.
The Aberdeen Township Environmental Board holds its 18th annual Aberdeen Family Fishing Contest at Cliffwood Beach tomorrow from 3 to 6 p.m. Prizes will be awarded in many categories, so women and kids can get in on the fun, which is timed for the spring bluefish run.
At Atlantic Highlands, catch-and-release angler John Lester of Piscataway returned 23 bass to spawn during a recent jigging trip aboard the Fishermen from Atlantic Highlands. Capt. Ron Santee had a charter for the RFA on Saturday, but good readings didn’t translate into hot action as the best drift produced only six bass, and the hi-hook caught three keepers while the pool striper was 14 pounds.
Capt. Rob Semkewyc of the Sea Hunter had a good catch of stripers jigging last Friday, but only picky jigging Saturday.
Capt. Ed Bunting reported a boat limit of stripers up to 18 pounds Friday, though clamming Saturday was only good until the current shut off the bite.
Capt. Art Hilliard had a good charter last week with his Eagle for the Regency Fishing Club of Monroe Township, with some keepers jigged at Flynn’s Knoll before clamming finished a boat limit of 28 bass up to a 35-inch, 16-pounder for Stan Wallerstein.
At Highlands, Capt. Pete Wagner of Hyper Striper at Twin Lights Marina said he’s had striper limits during both morning and afternoon trips. Pat Collins released a 32-pounder as his party limited out.
At Brielle, the Jamaica II was in the boatyard for painting this week. Capt. Joe Bogan has Mud Hole cod and ling trips set for 5 a.m. May 8 and 11 — and a cod special at 3 a.m. May 14. He switches to fluke on May 18.
Greg Bogan reports from Brielle Tackle that George Somers of Jackson fished from dawn to noon near Point Pleasant Canal last weekend with clams and sandworms to catch a 4 1/2-pound blackfish, two legal flounder, and a 30-inch striper.
At Point Pleasant, Capt. Jeff Gutman has been doing well with cod, and plans to continue seeking them with his Voyager into June. A recent trip produced cod mostly on jigs. Mike Buonaquista of Middletown had eight cod up to 21 pounds.
Dave Lilly of Hazlet had Walter Robinson and Luke Carpenter aboard Sunday morning as he trolled ESCA-enhanced Stretch plugs in Raritan Bay for limit catches of bass to 20 pounds plus releases.
Sal Pinto of South Amboy recently weighed a 13-pound striper at Castaways Tackle in Point Pleasant, while Joe Bixby of Newark had a 12 1/2-pounder — and Mike Conners from Chatham had a 33-incher. All hit clams in the local surf.
Ristori: Flounder season arrives with much anticipation Fishing
| World Record: | |
| # Fish Caught: | 0 documented in database. |
| Earliest Record: | and located at 0, 0. |
| Latest Record: | and located at 0, 0. |
| Common Techniques: | |
| Popular Lure Types: | |
| Fishing Spots: | 0 Ristori: Flounder season arrives with much anticipation fishing spots. |
Location
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GPS Files
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GPS Coordinates
Degree, Decimal Minutes:
N39º 56.132', W74º 05.714'
Decimal Degrees:
39.93554, -74.09523
Degree, Minutes, Seconds:
N39º 56' 07.94", W74º 05' 42.83"
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