Weakfish finally turned on in Raritan … The responses I got were intriguing. If they’re catching weakfish, they’re not telling me. 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. Targeting trophy tiderunners with light tackle and artificials remains an annual spring tradition for many anglers. 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. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. An average day begins with riding up and down the channel edges, watching the fish finder for piles of weakfish and signs of bait. info@thefisherman.com (That’s because I am going to tag along…I need a weakie for the season slam.) The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. - You are welcome to bring your own fishing rod and tackle. Captain Frank has been fishing Raritan Bay from the age of 10. 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. That strange-looking creature has long been a favorite of stripers and weakfish in Raritan Bay. TACKLE. 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). 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 “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. “Fish to have fun, not every legal fish should be looked at as a meal.” For the most part, Mancari’s right. 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! 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. Sea bass are hitting drifted baits at Shrewsbury Rocks and on the reefs. Note to readers: if you purchase something through one of our affiliate links we may earn a commission. Smaller blues are chasing peanut bunkers in Raritan Bay, and big blues surface along the northern Shore on the same baits plus rainfish. Raritan Bay's fish include striped bass, fluke, winter flounder, bluefish, porgy, black sea bass, smoothhound shark, northern puffer, northern king fish, oyster toadfish, tautog and weakfish. 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. 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. 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. “Two years ago Barnegat Bay was loaded with them in August and September.”. 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. The weakfish also have a very fragile mouth, making it hard for anglers to keep them from spitting the hook. Back in mid-June, a buddy and I were out fluke fishing in shallow water behind the old Fish Factory in Great Bay. *See below for White Perch and White Catfish for the Raritan River and South River. Nor'east magazine has interesting articles on charter boats, party boats, charter fishing and saltwater fishing equipment. The main breeding grounds of the weakfish are in the near shore estuaries of the Chesapeake Bay. They really start to show up by mid-June, with the fishing peaking in July and August. 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. Recap of yesterday: The northwest wind greatly improved fishing. The guys use live peanut bunker on a 3-way rig and catch too many fish to count up to 7lbs. ... Weakfish: One meal per month. Just click on the "post a comment'' link at the end of the blog and let us know how the fishing is. We'd love to see your photos! "The most important habitat for the weakfish is the brackish waters of the Chesapeake bay… As of last year, Raritan Bay in North Jersey saw some good weakfishing, but we did not. Raritan Bay Slam! 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. 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. Sharks starting to show in surf. The first greenheads of the season had just started biting, but keeper fluke were not. 866-347-4836, A Steelheading Option: Lake Erie’s Tributaries, Offshore Strategies: Transitioning Into Fall, Surf Transitions: Prepping for the Fall Run. New York NY, United States • Member since March 2018 . 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. 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. Ling fishing was good on Mud Hole wrecks, and sea bass bit on wrecks in 60 to 70 feet out of Manasquan Inlet. In 1985, New Jersey anglers landed 3.4 million pounds of weakfish; commercial fishermen took another 3 million pounds. On a little pimple cropping up about 20 feet, surrounded depths of 30 or more feet, the fishfinder lit up like a Christmas tree from top to bottom. 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. This particular method should work well wherever you’re fishing this month, and whatever the “structure” you might be fishing. XBMX - That was some year (2008) for Raritan Bay. Weakfish are found in grass shrimp chum lines along the west side of Barnegat Bay. 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. “They absolutely love to feed on fresh bunker. Clams and mussels also live in Raritan Bay. RARITAN BAY COMPLEX Includes the Raritan Bay, tidal Raritan River (to Rte. It also has dark spots on its back, yellow-colored fins, and two large canine teeth in its u… Everyone has a good fish tale -- but how about a good fish photo? Learn more about this video at http://bit.ly/11eI1Yn including recommended tackle at http://bit.ly/10gUhZZ from Northeast Angling (http://neangling.com). 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. 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. For bait fishing, sandworms and clams are getting lots of eats. 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 … 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. For good action, fish around bridges, back-bay creeks and rivers. 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. Kevin McCarty of Tuckerton, New Jersey Caught This 16 pound, 12 Ounce Lunker in Raritan Bay in 2008. If you haven't looked in our "links" section, you're missing the latest water temps, tides, weather reports and state regulations. It is hoped that this past spring, some of these fish made a left turn as they headed up the coast. 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. Soft plastics and small swimming plugs are doing most of the damage. 1 bridge) and the tidal portions of all tributaries. 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. 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. 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. 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. About The Captain. Matt Broderick says the whole island is inundated with schoolies. - All bait and tackle is provided (except where noted). 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. Where you should go: Raritan Reach finally appears to be turning on with weakfish, The west end was best yesterday. - Bring your own food and beverage. 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.) 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 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. 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. The crustacean species represented include the blue crab, fiddler crab, green crab, horseshoe crab and spider crab. Subscribe today ». Both stripers and blues were feeding on peanut bunkers in the bay and ocean. I’d love to see them bend again . On the paddle side of things, I haven’t heard much from the kayak fishermen on SI. The Northeast Angling season opened with a May 17 weakfish fishing trip to Barnegat Bay, NJ with Captain Terry Sullivan. Weakfish finally turned on in Raritan Reach. Conservation. 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. The Raritan East Channel in Raritan Bay and the Sandy Hook Channel in Sandy Hook are both excellent areas for weakfish too! How: Thread a sandworm on a three-way rig and you’re good to go. Separating New York from New Jersey, the Raritan Bay is the fishing epicenter for one of the US’s biggest urban areas. Yellowfin tuna are abundant for night chunkers in the canyons. Check out the reader photo gallery (it's on the rail on the left of the page under "Categories"). Some of the top spots to find them include the Raritan Reach and Channel Buoy 7. It has a sleek body that can grow to about 3 feet in length. 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). ... I’m now trying to be part of the solution. Frank Wagenhoffer. 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