Fishing has been very productive on the Sea Girt reef, with as many bluefish as you can handle and most anglers hitting their limit. Pool fish have been between 10 and 13 pounds. Miss Belmar Princess sails every night at 7:30, returning around 2 a.m.
Jimmy and son Ryan Granito from Old Bridge had a great day of father-and-son bonding on the Keyport pier. Ryan was set up for some bluefish action with peanut bunker and wound up playing catch and release with three flatties. Just when the season ends, the fluke know to head in close for some free meals. Get the poles and kids, and check out the new fishing pier. Crabby’s Bait & Tackle is right on the corner; stop in and they will set you up for some good family fishing on the pier. Fish or no fish, it’s the effort that the kids love.
NJSaltwaterfisherman.com reported that Capt. Allen Gonzalez on Reel Class Fishing Charters from Point Pleasant had Bill Tevlin, his girlfriend Steph, Bluefish Steve, and Steve’s buddy Ron aboard for a jig-troll sea bass trip. Set up on the troll with Clark spoons and looking for albies (albacore) and bonito between Bay Head and Mantoloking, they found the no-luck water conditions were not on their side. They managed to locate birds working about two miles off when the ocean erupted with alligatorsize bluefish chasing rain fish, peanuts and snapper blues clear out of the water among a fleet of around 40 boats.
They used light spinning gear and tackle, jigs and top water plugs, and every blue was 12 to 15 pounds. From the chaos of jigging monster blues, they shot out to the reef for some sea bass. The wind made it difficult, with only a few shorts, so they finished up the ocean portion of the trip jigging a few more big blues in on the beach. Eventually, they headed into the river, put on some small storm shads and threw them at the bridges, and were rewarded with a few stripers, tops being about 24 inches taken by Steph. If you ever chartered a trip before, these are what great captains do. They mix it up and are not afraid to try everything they can to catch fish, any fish. That’s what a good charter is all about. To charter Capt. Allen, give him a call at (201) 248-5281 or look him up at www.reelclassfishing.com. Fish on.
Updates and tournaments
Art Bokor and teammate Joe Keris,both of Robbinsville, captured many of the awards at the Boomer Esiason Foundation (BEF)- FCA Montauk (N.Y.) Slam, a Redbone @ Large series event. Besides runnerup team honors, Bokor was the runner-up angler, scored as the top rod angler for both days, was named the spin/plug division champion, and recorded the most bluefish and albie releases. He and Keris flank their guide, Capt. Chris Jensen, of Hope, Warren County, catch-and-release fishing for blues, false albacore and stripers. The money raised from the celebrity charity tournament went to the BEF to be used for scholarships for students with cystic fibrosis. With their BEF- FCA Montauk Slam Redbone@ Large tournament awards, Tim Borski, Tavernier, Fla., and Baseball Hall of Famer Wade Boggs, Tampa, Fla., Redbone series tournament director Capt. Gary Ellis, Islamorada, Fla., and guide Capt. Paul Dixon, East Hampton, N.Y., Borski was named the grand champion of the Boomer Esiason Foundation-partnered Redbone event, and Boggs was the celebrity grand champion. The wins qualified both Borski and Boggs for invitations to the IGFA Inshore World Championship in 2008.
The FISH (Fishing in Seaside Heights) Children’s Fishing Tournament, sponsored by Seaside Heights Fishing Club, will be held Oct. 6 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Registration begins 9 a.m. at Franklin Avenue Stage. The tournament is free to all children 16 years of age and younger. Bait and fishing rigs will be supplied free, so get out there – no excuses. There will be awards for first, second, and third place, and a door prize to each participating child. There will also be free lunch on the beach, and a free T-shirt to the first 200 children who register. Dress warm, and get the kids into fishing. All you need are the poles.