Fire up the grill: Sea bass fishing is red hot heading into Memorial Day Weekend
Black sea bass figures to be on the menu for many fishermen during the long Memorial Day Weekend.
The fishery has pretty much been a guarantee when it opened on May 17 with lots of limit catches by anglers who have jumped on the party boats. The current seasonal bag limit is 10 fish per day, per fisherman. Which isn't too hard to obtain. Capt. William Egerter Jr. of the Dauntless, who has been out every day since it opened, said the fishing doesn't get much better than what it is right now.
The ride out has not been long. The sea bass are on most rock piles or reef structures in a 120-foot water depths or less, though it seems about 60 to 100 feet is best depth right now. The mussel beds of the Farms has been a productive area. That bottom ground is also holding ling, codfish and winter flounder, which have been making their way into the buckets and coolers.
Other spots n that general area like the Klondike, the Sandy Hook Reef and even England Bank are worth a stop.
More: Fishermen see fun weekend of bluefish blitzes and sea bass limits at Jersey Shore
Capt. Jerry Postorino on the Fish Monger II was fishing for them within three miles of the beach when a member of his fishing party caught a striped bass. He said there was a ton of bait in the area. While surfcasters and bay fishermen have been enjoying a decent run of fish, there has not been much of any action to speak of yet on the boats fishing in the ocean where the surface temp is about 56 degrees and warming up every day now.
They have been by the inlets. Capt. Dave DeGennaro of the Hi Flier found some in Barnegat Inlet casting by the rocks with a simple worm bait suspended by a bobber.
The surf down along the Ocean County's barrier islands has been very fun to fish as of late. There seems to be a couple black drum caught every day to go with blues, striped bass and fluke. Bob and Sue Misak of Lacey have been on the beach a couple of times in the last week. Last Friday they headed to Barnegat Light and caught a bunch of bluefish. On Tuesday they tried the Surf City suds and caught and released one large striper, while again reeling in several bluefish.
More: What's biting: get the latest fishing reports here
Weather-wise it should be a pretty good weekend for fishermen. The air temps will be up and the breezes are expected to be light and the seas should be minimal. The only thing is thunderstorms are in the mix for Monday.
When Jersey Shore native Dan Radel is not reporting the news, you can find him in a college classroom where he is a history professor. Reach him @danielradelapp; 732-643-4072; dradel@gannettnj.com.
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: NJ sea bass fishing is red hot heading into Memorial Day Weekend
