Sea bass, porgies keeping fall anglers busy

Sea bass are providing unlikely action in northern Barnegat Bay, and several local captains have reported good catches from the inshore reefs.

Though the majority of the sea bass are shorts, northern Barnegat Bay near the Mantoloking Bridge has been holding plenty of the tasty bottom fish lately, as well as porgies. According to Jason Szabo of Pell’s Fish and Sport, 335 Mantoloking Rd, Brick, sandworms are the bait to use. In most cases, the sandworms are cut down in size and rigged on jigheads.

As for other tackle options, “A lot of guys have been using weakfish rigs with floating jigheads,” he said.

Still other anglers are using rigs normally reserved for porgies, which are also taking residence in the northern bay this fall.

“A lot of those fish are small, but there is consistent action,” Szabo said. “The bay is filled with them. If you put your time in, you’re going to get a keeper here and there.”

For the anglers fishing from land, this represents a rare opportunity to catch sea bass from shore. A fishing pier adjacent to the bridge on the Brick Township side is also available for anglers to use for free. For boaters, hunting for sea bass and porgies in the bay is a perfect way to introduce youngsters to the sport or to salvage a day of fishing when the ocean is too rough to head out to the reefs. The inshore reefs and wrecks are also producing.

Reports from the Miss Beach Haven party boat which sails from the Black Whale dock in Beach Haven have indicated great catches of sea bass, porgies and blackfish on their trips to the Little Egg reef. In general, the trips have produced mixed bags, and some triggerfish have been over the rail, Capt. Brant Whittaker reported.

Looking north, Capt. Chris Hueth’s Big Mohawk out of Belmar has done quite well with the sea bass as of late. According to Capt. Chris, the sea bass have been biting inshore, and anglers have been scoring blackfish and triggerfish as well.

Green crabs have been the bait of choice for anglers hoping to score blackfish aboard the Ocean Explorer, also out of Belmar. So far, togs up to 8-pounds have been boated according to Capt. Bobby Quinn. Porgies are all over the place, he said.

Of a recent trip, “The sharper porgy guys easily caught 30-35 jumbo porgies, and the novices caught around a dozen,” he reported.

The importance of these fisheries can’t be overstated, especially during a year when fluke season ended so early. At a meeting in August, the Mid-Atlantic Fisheries Management Council recommended a 45 percent cut to the sea bass fishery next year, angering anglers who say the cut is arbitrary and based on faulty science.

“It all ties into the flexibility [in legislation] issue,” said Capt. Tony Bogan of the United Boatmen recently at a meeting organized by the Save the Summer Flounder Fishery Fund. “What happened with sea bass is that they said ‘in lieu of anything else, we think there’s a problem, so let’s cut it by 50 percent just in case we’re right.’”

The National Marine Fisheries Service will have to make a determination to approve any cuts proposed by a regional council before they are put into place.

The regulations currently in place allow anglers to take 25 sea bass at 12-inches. For tautog (blackfish), one fish at 14-inches is allowed, though the possession limit will be bumped to six fish on Nov. 16. Anglers may take 50 porgies at 9-inches under current regulations.

NJ Fishing Reports