Species

Striped Bass

Season - April to November

Striped Bass get their name from and can be easily identified by the horizontal striped pattern along the sides. The body is silver in color with greenish tones. Stripers are a popular game fish throughout the year, and have been making a comeback in numbers in recent years with many trophy size fish over 50 lbs being caught. They can be caught in late April and May using calms as bait, soon after the larger stripers show up on the ocean and are caught on chunked and live bunker. These fish are generally sparse through the summer, with some fish caught on the beachfront using plugs or bait. Fall striper season we switch over to live eels and drift for them.

Bluefish

Season June to October

Bluefish can be found along the entire coast of New Jersey, along our beaches, out in the open ocean or in the bays. They generally travel in schools (groups) so the possibility of many people catching a bluefish is great. Although they can be caught as small as one to two pounds (cocktail blues) and the world record is 30 pounds, most of the bluefish you will catch will weigh from three to fifteen pounds. Many people believe the smaller blues are tastier. Bluefish are one of the most abundant fish along the Jersey shores, so you have the chance at catching many fish. They also put up a terrific fight, once hooked, so they are challenging and exciting to catch. Fishing for a bluefish will provide lots of fun and challenge your strength. Bluefish most often arrive in the Jersey area around late spring and stay until late October.

Fluke

Season May to September

Fluke is a flat-sided bottom fish. The eyes of the Fluke actually migrate from one side of the head to the other during maturation, winding up on the left side. It is not uncommon to catch one where one eye has not fully migrated. The Fluke has the large mouth, full of teeth. They lie in wait on sandy bottoms (the degree of darkness in the coloration on their back changes to match their surroundings) for prey to swim overhead. A quick thrust of the tail sends up a cloud of silt, and the Fluke claims its prey. Drifting with a combination of a live peanut bunker and squid strip is the most common way to catching fluke. They are caught in back bays starting in May, and slowly migrate through inlets and out to inshore lumps into September.

Sharks

Season June to September

Mako Shark

The Mako shark is one of the most sought after species of shark. The quality and taste of its meat is equivalent to the swordfish, and its impressive speed and ability to rocket from the ocean's surface like a missile is an angler's dream. The Mako has a dark grey upper body fading from blue into pale white below. The front teeth are long, narrow and curved, with no projecting points (cusps). They can grow as large as 12 feet, to over 1200 lbs.

Thresher Shark

The Thresher is so named for its distinctive tail with an extremely long upper lobe, and very short lower lobe. This large tail is used to "thresh" and stun its prey. The eyes are large, but not as large as the Bigeye Thresher, which as huge elongated eyes set high on the head, enabling it to see upwards. The color varies, generally brown to grey brown along the upper body, and creamy to white below. Threshers can grow to be 20 feet and 1000 lbs. They prefer cooler surface waters and feed on all kinds of schooling fish, such as mackerel and bunker.

Blue Shark

The Blue Shark is one of the most common species of shark found in New Jersey waters. The species is beautifully colored with a bright cobalt back and snowy white belly. The long snout features a mouth of nearly triangular teeth with serrated edges. Although the Blue Shark has a ferocious appetite, it puts up a relatively poor fight for rod and reel anglers.

Tuna

Season July to October

Bluefin

The Bluefin Tuna is one of the largest and most highly prized marine game fish. Giants of the species are know to exceed 1,500 lbs., and the high quality of the meat can push the value of some fish to tens of thousands of dollars by overseas buyers. The Bluefin Tuna is one of the most exciting game fish to chase, using bait or jigging and popping for them offshore. Bluefin tuna general range from 50lbs to over 180lb. These fish begin to feed about 50-60 miles offshore in early to late July and will migrate as close to a couple miles off the beach in late October.

Yellowfin

The Yellowfin Tuna is a highly sought after marine game fish as a result of its excellent tasting meat and sporting battle it gives on rod and reel. Yellowfin can be distinguished by their fairly long pectoral fin; brilliant yellowfin lets, and longer than average second dorsal and anal fins. Yellowfin is a popular species for offshore anglers from July through October in the offshore canyons. An occasional small (football-sized) fish will be caught inshore of 20 fathoms, but this may vary from season to season. Yellowfin is often caught by trolling a spread of artificial lures as well as by chunking.

Mahi

Season June to September

Properly called dolphin or dorado, the mahi-mahi is not related to the mammal called dolphin. It is one of the most beautiful fish in the sea; brilliantly colored with an iridescent bluish green and gold body, and golden yellow fins and forked tail. The average size is 3-6 pounds but they have been known to grow as large as 5 feet and reach 70 pounds. One of the fastest swimming fish in the sea, Mahi-Mahi feed offshore near the surface on small fish, shrimp, squid and crabs. The mahi we generally catch most often weigh less than ten pounds.

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