Eric Bunz News Today

Stripers and bluefish storm the surf chasing peanut and adult bunker, and big sea bass are caught on bottom in this week's Northern New Jersey Fishing Report.

Bass to 40 pounds hit swim shads, poppers and swimming plugs in the surf, bluefin tuna crash bunker schools near shore, and scup and sea bass are plentiful around the wrecks.

Surfcasters see better striper fishing on the beaches, the tuna chunking bite develops, and sea bass are chewing after Sunday's season opener.

Fluke fishing holds strong after Hurricane Lee, stripers and bluefish are active in the surf, and anglers find albies and Spanish mackerel further offshore.

Fluke fishing slows in the surf as the storm approaches, albies and bonito are caught from beaches and jetties, and local rivers hold accessible fishing for stripers and cocktail blues.

By all accounts, tog fishing remains a bit of a slog. There are days when the weather and blackfish cooperate and anglers who put in the time and effort are rewarded. Unfortunately, there haven’t been a whole lot of those days. The majority of the blackfishing is a pick and there isn’t much else to fish for right now.  Offshore cod, ling and porgy trips have been hampered by bad weather and finicky fish. Freshwater anglers are finding some bass and crappie in local ponds and lakes but even...