Category — NJ Fishing Tips

Blackfish

Blackfish are usually caught in the early spring and late fall. Fishing with Green crabs and Filddler crabs from an anchored boat works well. Any rock pile in the bay or ocean will hold fish at one time or another. Locating and catching these fish requires a good bit of knowledge and skill. It’s not for amateurs. Fishing the ocean is some what tricky since the fishing is done by locating wrecks and rock piles. It’s best to fish from a charter or party boat that knows the wrecks and how to fish them. Blackfish are notorious bait thieves. You have to be fast. Some sharpies say you have to set the hook before the fish bite.

It’s a great way to cure your fishing itch over the long winter. The Easter holiday usually kicks off the season and that’s when the party boats start fishing for them.

Time of Year:

Blackfish usually like cold water so late fall/early winter and the beginning of spring are the best times.

How To Catch Them:

• Green Crabs or Fiddler Crabs are the best baits fished from a anchored boat. A 3 way swivel with a sinker and a 6 to 8 inch leader works well.
• You have to be right on the wreck or in the rocks or you won’t catch.
• Best fished from a boat or from a rocky shore line.

Best Places To Catch Them:

• Any natural or artificial reef is a good spot.
• Any rock pile in the ocean or bay is likely to hold fish at one time of the year or another.

Some Fishing Tips:

• Make sure to bring plenty of rigs. You’ll need them since you’ll be fishing in areas full of snags.
• Use a pole with a strong tip so you can get a good fast hook set.
• Some people like to tie the sinker on with lighter weight mono then the line your fishing with. If the sinker gets snagged it can break free and allow you to save the rest of the rig.

Weakfish or Seatrout are one of the best tasting and most colorful fish in our waters. They typically like to congregate in bays and rivers rather then the open ocean. They can usually be found along or in deep channels and are often stacked up in great numbers in concentrated areas. Since they are usually in tight schools you will need to locate them. Once you have located a school it’s not uncommon to catch 20 + per person. They will typically average a few pounds and get as large as 8-10 lbs.

Time of Year:

Weakies will usually arrive in the area around June or July and will stay until mid September. They are usually one of the first fish to leave the area when the water starts to cool.

How To Catch Them:

• Drifting Sandworms from a drifting boat is perhaps the most popular and effective ways to catch Weaks. A three way swivel with a sinker and a 3 to 4 ft leader works well.
• Chumming from an anchored boat with Grass Shrimp is also popular.
• Jigging with lead headed jigs works as well. Tip your jig off with a Sandworm, Grass Shrimp or Fins.

Best Places To Catch Them:

• Delaware bay is perhaps the most popular area of the country to fish for Weakfish. It has a good number of Party boats that fish form them exclusively.
• Raritan and Sandy Hook bays are enjoying a good come back of these species in recent years. Areas like the Raritan Reach Channel, Princess Bay and the edges of Flynns Knoll are popular.
• Barnegat bay is also a poplar area but only in specific areas.

Some Fishing Tips:

• The best bite is at dusk and into the evening
• In addition to a sandworm, put a fire tail rubber worm on your hook.
• Try to avoid heavy traffic areas since these fish spook easy.
• Once you have located the fish keep drifts in a concentrated area. These fish are usually in tight packs rather then spread out over a large area.
• The best way to locate fish is to look for a concentration of birds. If you have a fish finder you will usually mark what looks like clouds of bait fish.
• When chumming with Grass Shrimp be sure not to be too generous or skimpy with the shrimp. It’s a good idea release 5-10 shrimp at 2 to 3 minute intervals to keep a consistent slick and hold fish. Too much shrimp in the water and the fish will hang back for the easy meal and not bother to move up into the slick for your baits. Too little and your not going to hold or attract fish.
• A slight change in wind direction or tide can turn these fish on or off.
• When fishing from shore with bait it’s best to use a float rig. It keeps the bait off the bottom and away from crabs.

Bluefish

Bluefish are almost everywhere in the state, along the beaches, open ocean, bays and tidal rivers. Many party boats fish for them exclusively and will run trips during the day and night. They can run as small as 1-2 lb (Cocktails) or close to 20 lb. They are the most prolific fish in the area and for that reason are the most popular species to fish for. If you want to catch lots of fish Blues provide the best opportunity. It is not uncommon for you to catch 20+ fish per person.

Blues are noted for their great fight and fierce appetites. When a blitz occurs they will hit almost anything. Make sure to use a heavy mono or wire leader. These fish have sharp teeth that will make short order of 10 – 15 lb mono or your hand. Watch yourself when getting the hook out of the fish. It’s best to use pliers or some type of hook remover.

Time of Year:

Blues usually arrive in late spring and will stay around well into October. Most of the larger fish are caught in the fall.

How To Catch Them:

• Diving birds are a sure sign there are Bluefish in the area. Cast a diamond jig or plug into a pack of working birds and your almost sure to get a Bluefish.
• Chumming from an anchored boat is the most popular way to fish for Blues. Pay out Bunker chum to attract fish while dropping back pieces of cut bunker on your hook.
• Trolling tubes, jigs, Bunker spoons, plugs or umbrella rigs work great. This method is highly effective for locating fish. Some sharpies will troll to locate the fish and then anchor or drift in the area with bait. In order to keep your trolling lures down at the right depth it is usually necessary to troll with heavy drail sinkers or wire line. Wire line trolling is the most effective. Some sharpies also use down riggers.
• Jigging for blues works well when there is a large body of fish concentrated in an area. Diamond jigs tipped with surgical tubes are dropped to the bottom and reeled up quickly. They can sometimes be bounced off the bottom as well. Best thing to do is try and find out at what depth they are picking up the jigs and concentrate your jigging there. Many times larger fish will be underneath the smaller ones or at the edge of the school. When approaching a school of breaking fish in a boat slow down and let you boat drift into the school with the engine off. Running over the fish under power will send the fish down and break up the schools of bait they are foraging on.

Best Places To Catch Them:

NJ Party boats fishing for bluefish are very popular all along the coast. From north to south the most popular areas are Atlantic Highlands, Shark River/Belmar, Brielle & Point Pleasent, Barnegat Light and Cape May. If you have your own boat popular areas are as follows:

• Sandy Hook: 17 Fathoms
• Schrewsbury Rocks, Mud Hole
• Barnegat Light: Barnegat Lumps

Some Fishing Tips:

• Use fresh rather then frozen Bunker if you can get it.
• When chumming be sure not to be too generous or skimpy with the chum. It’s a good idea to release chum at 2 to 3 minute intervals to keep a consistent chum slick and hold fish. Too much chum and the fish will hang back for the easy meal and not bother to move up into the slick for your baits. Too little chum and your not going to hold or attract fish.
• Trolling speed is not too critical for bluefish. Between 2.5 and 4 knots is good although they will also hit at Tuna Trolling speeds of up to 6 knots. When trolling bunker spoons slow it down until you see your pole pulsing in an erratic side to side and bobbing motion. When trolling other lures like tubes, jigs, and umbrella rigs try and stay close to the bottom without hanging up. Pay line out until you feel contact with the bottom and then reel in just enough line to keep your lure from hanging bottom. If you have a fish finder and can determine a consistent depth where your marking fish try and keep the lures at that depth. A usual rule of thumb for wire line is 10 feet of line usually equates to 1 foot of depth. As an example you would let out 90 feet of wire line if you want your lures to run at 9 feet. Every once and a while take the boat out of gear and let the lures free fall then engage the engine again. This change in motion is often times enough to entice a fish to strike.
• Always try and keep the boat in gear when fighting a fish. This allows you to keep constant pressure on the fish and results in less thrown hooks .
• When party boat fishing try to stay on the side where the chum is drifting. The trick is to use just enough weight to keep your hooked bait floating along with the chum/chunks. Manually pay out line until you feel a hit. If you run out of line or hit bottom. Then reel up and do it again. Be careful to pay attention to how much line is paid out when you catch a fish so you can let the same amount of line out the next time. These fish will usually suspend at a certain depth and stay there.
• When fishing from shore with bait it’s best to use a float rig. It keeps the bait off the bottom and away from crabs. You can purchase one from almost any tackle store.

Whether you are an amateur angler or a professional deep sea fisherman, knowing what time to fish is a critical skill of successful fishing.  The following are some useful tips that will help you figure out what is the best time of day to test your luck and see if the fish are biting.

1. Evaluate the amount of sunlight. On hot sunny days, fish move to cooler, deeper waters to stay comfortable. Cloudy days improve fishing since the clouds diffuse sunlight. 
2. Study daily warming trends. Morning sun warms the shallows, creating more comfortable water temperatures for fish to feed. Late morning is best when the sun has had more of a chance to warm the shallows. 
3. Learn at which depth fish are found. Fishing is more successful near the surface only in early morning and late afternoon when cooler temperatures and lower light levels allow fish to cruise the shallows for meals. 
4. Monitor storm and weather patterns. Warm fronts cause surface water temperatures to increase and often put fish into a feeding mode on or near the warm surface. Fishing slows during and after a storm or cold front. 
5. Check daily tide information in the newspaper or local fishing shop when saltwater fishing. The best fishing is almost always on a rising or falling tide since they cause bait to move and provoke active feeding among coastal fish. 

Fishing during a light summer or spring rain is often successful. The shower helps hide anglers from the fish since the rain breaks up the view that the fish has through the water surface. Rain also washes insects and bait into the water, creating a feeding binge for fish. 

Leave the water immediately if there is lightning or any possibility of lightning.  Heavy rains and high water levels can create rapids, waves and dangerous fishing conditions.

Fishermen have many methods to tie a fishing knot. This article describes step by step how to tie three of the most commonly used fishing knots. Practicing these knots until you are proficient is a great way to make sure that your line is secure so you do not lose the trophyfish you are fighting.

Arbor Knot
1. Thread the line around the reel arbor. 
2. Tie an overhand knot around the line itself. This is looping around once then back through. 
3. Tie a second overhand knot in the tag end. This is behind the original knot and keeps the line from slipping through the first. 
4. Make sure both knots are pulled tight. Cut off the excess line behind the tag. 
5. Slide the first overhand knot down the line to tighten it around the reel arbor. 

Clinch Knot
1. Thread the line through the eye of the hook. 
2. Double back, or loop around, the line five times. 
3. Pass the end of the line through the first loop. Then pass it through the large loop that you just created when you passed the end of the line through the first loop. 
4. Draw the knot into shape gently. This is after you pass the line back through the first loop. If you do this incorrectly you will have to start over. 
5. Slide the coils down tight against the eye of the hook. The knot is complete and will look like a noose. 

Trilene Knot
1. Thread the line through the eye of the hook then double back through the eye again. 
2. Hold the hook in your left hand and standing line in your right. 
3. Loop the tag end around the standing line six times. 
4. Feed the tag end through the loop from step 1. 
5. Tighten the knot gently by pulling the tag end and the standing line. You can moisten the line to help tighten the knot. Cut any excess off the tag end down to 1/8 of an inch. 

Have some patience. You will probably not make a good knot on your first attempt.  Have an experienced fisherman help you out. The owners of local bait and tackle shops will usually help you a great deal. 

Careful with the hooks! It does not feel good to get stabbed with a hook that has a barb on it.

Knowing your gear well is an integral part of fishing success. This article provides helpful tips on how to become more familiar with the variety of fishing gear on the market before you buy new rods, reels, and tackle. These tips also suggest activities to become more familiar with your gear once you have made your purchase.

1. Buy a rod and reel that have manuals and instructions. 
2. Read the instructions while you are assembling and disassembling your rod several times. Repetition really does work. Do the same with other equipment you have. 
3. Browse the fishing aisle and read the descriptions of items. Find out what the name of the thingamabob is at the end of the doohickey. 
4. Ask the salesmen questions. Most likely they have already read the instructions and manuals for most of their products. 
5. Drop a line with other fishermen at the local fishing hole. Listen and ask questions as you fish with them. You’ll find that old timers love to pass on their knowledge. 
6. Read books, instruction manuals, and fishing magazines. These will each have a wealth of information in them.

Packing and preparing for a fishing trip can be a daunting process. These tips break down fishing trip preparation into a step by step process that will ensure that nothing is overlooked or forgotten. The difference between a pleasant and a miserable fishing trip is often made before a single line is cast, so read these tips to be sure you are prepared for anything.

1. Purchase your fishing license 
2. Know the rules and regulations for the state and area where you will be fishing. 
3. Call the park ranger or camp site over that area to find the water level. Based on that information, you will know if you are able to bring your boat. 
4. Know what kind of fishing you will be doing, such as fly, bass or saltwater. This will enable you to know type of fishing equipment you will need. 
5. Verify whether or not the your fishing spot is a catch-and-release area. 
6. Pack your supplies 
7. Check that everything is in good and usable condition. For example, if your rain gear has holes, buy some new gear. 
8. Leave a number and location where you will be for someone at home in case of emergency. 

If you are caught taking fish from a catch-release, you may incur severe penalties and fines.

No matter what sort of gear or equipment you use, you cannot catch fish unless you fish where the fish are. These tips will help you figure out how to read the water and figure out where the fish are hiding. Using the techniques suggested here will improve your fishing success.

1. Ask an experienced angler to share his favorite fishing holes or ask an employee in the tackle store for suggestions of areas that have recently provided good fishing. 
2. Look at the direction of the waterflow, if applicable. When fishing in streams and rivers, the current is usually the determining factor on where fish will hold. Fish often sit directly downstream of a boulder or other current break because it takes less energy to maintain their position here than in the main current. These spots also have a constant flow of food drifting by that makes for easy feeding, and often as a result, successful fishing. 
3. Observe other fishermen at the location and note the type of gear they use, the types of fish they catch, and what lures and baits are working. 
4. Use the sun’s position to help you determine where fish might be hiding. All fish like spots that provide cover from other predators. If the sun if straight overhead, you probably will not find fish in shallow, exposed areas. More likely they will be in the shade, deeper pools or among rocks or vegetation. 
5. Look for heavy insect activity or hatches in the water. You will often find fish in the middle of the action gorging on the emerging bugs before the action is over. Depending upon the type of insect, hatches can take place in both fast and slow water. 
6. Look for areas that combine factors from all the previous steps. A spot that is shaded and has a log underwater will provide cover, a current break for the fish, and if enough water is flowing past, a constant supply of food being swept by. 
7. Look for areas in lakes where fish can find food or comfortable water temperatures. In lakes principles similar to rivers and streams apply, but there is usually no current to consider. A lake might look the same everywhere at first glance, but inspect more closely and you will find coves with more insect activity, deep channels that provide cover and cool water mid-summer and shorelines with boulders that are cover and ambush points for fish. 
8. When you head into the ocean to start fishing, you need to keep the same principles in mind. Most of the ocean does not have very many fish, so any structure, natural or man-made, will usually hold fish. Both reefs and sunken debris will be home to small fish, which in turn attract larger fish. 
9. Take your time and observe the water before fishing. Look for activity above and below the water. Eagles or seagulls fishing for small fish are often a sign that more fish will be in the area. Look for fish rising to the surface or jumping at insects. Take note of locations where you see fisherman catching fish and notice what makes that area different. 
10. Use an electronic fish finder when other methods do not work. The device uses sound waves transmitted through water to detect the depth between the boat, the bottom of the water and any object in between, hopefully a fish. 

A pair of polarized sunglasses will cut down on glare and make seeing into the water easier.

Try reading a local guide book before heading to a new location to gain insight on likely spots to start you search.

Don’t spook the fish. By keeping a low profile and not alerting the fish to your presence you can ensure that the fish keep biting. These tips explain specific measures you can take to keep from spooking the fish.

1. Fish early in the morning or late in the day if there is lots of sunshine and you are fishing in shallow water. Fishing is acceptable at any time on an overcast or rainy day. 
2. Try not to cast your shadow. Stand back and stay low to keep your shadow away from the area of your line. 
3. Fishing by wading in shallow water requires a longer cast. Wading causes the stirring up of sediment and water movement, which will definitely spook the fish. Fishing in shallow water requires short casting if you are in a boat or on a raft. 
4. Manage your watercraft. Keep noisy engines off, use a raft and poles or invest in a trolling motor, which keeps noise down. 

Fishing is a quiet sport. Explain this to any guests who are unfamiliar with the rules of fishing. If you have to bring a talkative person with you, make sure you invite them on a windy day. This includes noisy kids and mother-in-laws.

If you are new to fishing, and don’t want to spend a lot of money, try buying an inexpensive rod (or borrow one) and some bread. Find a nice perch on a dock, take a small piece of bread and roll it into a tight ball, put it on your hook and lower the line. You are just as likely to catch a fish as anyone else. Try not to lean over the dock and look in the water so the fish don’t identify you as a person looking to eat them.

Make sure you really want to go fishing. Once you’re on that boat, there’s no getting home, unless you want to take a long swim. Jumping overboard will definitely spook the fish.

When on a paid fishing trip on a professional fishing b oat, let the captain do all the work. Sit back on the comfortable, leather fishing chair, put the rod in the rod holder and sip your favorite drink. The captain will know how to handle the boat to keep the fish from scattering. When you do catch the big one, the pro will help you reel it in, you get to take a picture with your prize catch and you get all the credit.

If you do decide to eat what you catch, then you will need to clean the fish preparing it to be eaten. Preparing fish involves gutting, scaling, and possibly filleting the fish to be eaten. These tips guide through these different processes step by step.

1. Set up a fish cleaning table outside and place it near a water hose. 
2. Rinse fish thoroughly with fresh water and determine if fish has scales, such as fresh water Perch. Fish without scales, such as Catfish, have to be skinned prior to cooking. Use the tip of a spoon to scrape the scales off the fish and rinse again. 
3. Use a sharp fillet knife to remove the fish head by placing the fish on the table and inserting the knife below the gills. Cut the head off and rinse again. 
4. Slice down the center belly of the fish and open the gut to remove and discard entrails. Rinse fish thoroughly, removing membranes and other unwanted particles. Pat dry with paper towels. 
5. Decide whether to cook the fish whole or to fillet the catch. Small fish, like Perch, are usually cooked whole and larger fish must be filleted. 
6. Assemble cooking utensils and ingredients for deep frying your fish. Place ample amounts of cornmeal, half as much flour, salt and pepper to taste in a flat dish, stirring to blend seasonings. 
7. Heat cooking oil in a cast iron dutch oven to 400 degrees and dredge fish in the cornmeal mixture. Drop fish into hot oil and fry once on each side until it floats. Remove from hot oil and drain on paper towels. It is ready to eat. 

Overcooking fish will make it dry and tough. Always keep fish in the refrigerator or on ice before preparing. 

Use extreme caution when frying to prevent injury.