Fisherman spears barracuda free diving off New Jersey coast
Hurricane Lee is barreling up the coast, but remains on a course far out at sea, which means fishermen may just see a lazy ground swell from the storm if Lee maintains its current trajectory.
That swell could be sizable, reaching 20-foot wave heights offshore in the deep canyons by Friday, according to NOAA's forecast. That's the extreme end of the forecast. The coast should start seeing the built up Wednesday night into Thursday and fishermen will know more about what they're up against then and whether or not they can run offshore to the tuna grounds.
One of the boats that ran offshore over the weekend in pursuit of yellowfin tuna returned to the dock with a big barracuda. It was not caught by conventional means, either, but by a fishermen using a spear gun and free diving. The fisherman was an area youth Danny Vilardi, 16 of the Manahawkin section of Stafford.
Vilardi said they were coming in from offshore where they landed six yellowfin tuna and stopped on a buoy about 50 miles off the coast that had mahi-mahi on it. He jumped in along with his uncle. The barracuda was just waiting for him when he got there. He shot the fish just past the gill plate in the belly with the spear.
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The false albacore were blitzing the surf at Island Beach State Park on Monday morning, according to Grumpy's Bait & Tackle in Seaside Park. A couple fishermen sent word to the shop of the bite as it was happening. The fish were hitting the Hogy epoxy jigs. Ray Kericho at the shop said the albies had been running with the blues, which have been in the surf and in the mouth of the Barnegat Inlet, but on Monday surf fishermen were mostly pulling in albies.
The bonito were in a frenzied mood. The party boats probably had their best showing of the fish so far this season over the weekend. George Hamway from Wayne caught 25 bonito on the Queen Mary party boat on Sunday. He was using a soft plastic Tsunami pearl-colored, 5-inch minnow with split tail. The fish wanted a super fast retrieve according to Capt. Dave Riback. Anglers also reeled in some blues and false albacore.
The bonito and Spanish mackerel hit the beach in the Monmouth Beach and Sea Bright area. Giglio's Bait and Tackle had reports from its regulars catching the colorful fish on metals and Exo jigs. Fishermen who launched from kayaks got into the fish within a few hundred yards of the sand.
More: What's biting: get the latest fishing reports here
There is still a little more than two weeks left in the fluke season and are a good amount of fish around to be taken. Capt. Ryan Bogan on the Jamaica II said they had lots of bites Sunday and several anglers caught their three-fish limit. The big fish over the weekend went 7.2 pounds.
The pan-size porgies are biting on the rock piles and reefs up around the Atlantic Highlands but the fishing is still a bit slow. Capt. Francis Bogan on the Paramount reported high hooks were around 10 scup on Sunday. There are some grunting triggerfish on the same spots.
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: Fisherman spears barracuda free diving off New Jersey coast
