The bluefish were in tight to the northern Monmouth County beaches this weekend, creating some white water scenes with birds diving on the bait in front of the picturesque locales. Conditions weren't ideal Saturday with the east wind, but the boats did come in with fish on ice.
Capt. Howard Bogan Jr. on the Jamaica said the blues that were underneath the bait and diving birds didn't always want to bite, but they had their oppoturnties. He had fares land the seven-fish party boat limit, but he said they worked the jigs for every fish.
The blues are sizing all over the place. The bluefish boat captains are reporting them from 2 to 12 pounds. And there have been Spanish mackerel and bonito running with them. Capt. Dave Riback on the Queen Mary said they are even seeing weakfish in the mix.
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These game fish are coming within the range of the surf and tips of the jetties. Gabriel's Tackle in Brick reported surf anglers at their local sand reeled in bonito. Last week, Fisherman's Headquarters reported a King Mackerel catch by an island surf fisherman, a rare catch off a jetty for a migrating fish that tends to stay in a littler deeper water.
The cownose rays were swimming around the Keansburg Fishing Pier on Sunday, according to the automated daily fish reports. The fishing was slower for the spots and croakers but some pier anglers caught their bluefish limits, which is 5 for private boats and land based fishermen.
The east winds made it tougher on the fluke boats to drift. The fish are biting in the warm, late summer water. Capt. Ron Kish on the Capt. Cal 2 out of Belmar said the sharpie fishermen working off the bow and stern of the boat had limit catches. His biggest fish was 8 pounds, 10 ounces.
White Marlin
On the final day of the Beach Haven White Marlin Invitational, the boat Shark Byte and Capt. Rich Barrett collared the winning white marlin. The fish weighed 55.7 pounds, beating out El Bendido's fish by 1 pound and 1 ounce. Those two boats are the only to catch qualifying white marlin that met the tournament's 68-inch rule, which is 2 inches more than the federal regulation of 66 inches.
The catch netted Shark Byte a cash payout of 166,590, the highest payout for the tournament. In total 57 boats competed for $700,115.
Up next is the 35th annual MidAtlantic tournament out of Cape May and Ocean City, Maryland. The tournament kicked off Monday and concludes Friday. Two-hundred and eleven boats have thrown their hat into the ring for a pot exceeding $6.5 million.
Last year, the Mantoloking-based Deadicated rode off into the sunset with a check worth $1.1 million for its winning blue marlin in this high stakes big game contest.
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 at dradel@gannettnj.com.
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Boats find bluefish blitzing, Shark Byte wins white marlin contest