The Hudson River has excellent bass fishing from Croton Point on down was the word from Mino over at M&M Bait and Tackle in Jersey City. He weighed in a 24.3 lb. striper for Juan Pizarro that's taken the lead in his Striped Bass Tournament. Stop by his new location and check out the inventory. Mike over at Emjay’s Bait and Tackle in Rahway knew of consistent action over at South Amboy, Cliffwood Beach and Keyport. He said to put out one rod with sandworms and one with bunker for a chance at the bass and blues in the area. I stopped in to see Jim at Fish’N For ‘Em in Hazlet and he was excited by all the bass, blue and weakfish coming in. All the local spots in the bay are producing with cut bunker and sandworms producing best. He also mentioned that good-sized fluke are available from the local creeks and are taking baits meant for the blues. Kash at Fred’s Bait and Tackle also mentioned the excellent fishing and weighed a 12.5 lb. bluefish for Dan Farkas of Sayerville. Captain Charlies in Port Monmouth said that the Spye House is the place to soak baits and that if the pier is crowded don’t be afraid to put your baits in from the adjacent beach as the fish are there! He also mentioned that if you have a boat not being used, you can store it at his yard for a reasonable rate. Ken over at Mac’s Bait and Tackle also told of bass and blues in the surf and mentioned that it’s time to try some fiddlers or green crabs at Shark River inlet as the blackfish should be there. I also stopped in to see Scott at Scott’s Bait and Tackle in Bradley Beach. A lot of shorts are in the local surf with a keeper or two mixed in. When you’re in the store check out the picture of the 15.5lb. Bass weighed there. It was 28" long and had a girth of 26". It’s the weirdest looking bass I have seen. It looked like a white bass on steroids! Over at Reel Life Bait and Tackle in Point Pleasant, I spoke with Nick and he knew of excellent surfcasting on just about all the beaches from Point Pleasant to Island Beach State Park. He showed me the pictures to prove it including the one of Kirk Ruquet’s 23.5 pounder. Remember that Reel Life is open 24 hours so no one has the excuse they can’t fish because they couldn’t get bait! As to what’s happening in Island Beach State Park, I spoke with Al at Sunnyside Luncheonette in Seaside Park and he said I just missed a guy who had a 21lb. bass, 8 bluefish to 6 lbs. and 3 weakfish to 7 lbs. The guy wouldn’t give his name or have his picture taken because he called in sick at work. Imagine a great catch like that and you can’t even brag about it! I guess he’s still glad he played hooky. Al also mentioned that Blueclaw crabbing is excellent off the docks. Dave over at Absecon Bay Sportsmen Center reported excellent Bluefishing off the sand at the North end of Brigantine. Stripers are mixed in and several nice fish were taken off the jetties. For those interested in kingfish he said that the beaches by the boardwalk in Atlantic City are the place to be. He said several calls were made to friends to "drop everything and get down here now"! That’s how good the fishing is.

I want offer a first hand observation that might be of interest to you surfcasters. I was fortunate enough to recently take 5 keeper bass from the Sea Bright surf. They weighed from 9.68 lbs. up to 13.83 lbs. What surprised me was the stomach contents of these fish. One fish was loaded with 12 pipefish and grass shrimp, another had 9 small ling from 3"-5" long, one had clams, one had a bunker and the last had grass shrimp and sand eels. All these fish were taken from the same location over several days! This clearly demonstrates that there is continual movement of bass along the beach migrating from the Hudson River and feeding on what’s available. All these bass were taken on fresh clams on a hi-lo rig. Regardless of their current diet they just can’t pass up a fresh clam! I also had numerous shorts on these trips so be patient and fish through them as the keepers are mixed in. Please be careful when releasing the little guys as they are the trophies of our future.

An update on the Sandy Hook situation reveals that the recycle bags are in place in some areas and that Lot "F" is temporarily closed due to the search for unexploded military ordinance.. There are still plenty of beaches in the park that are open so give it a try. Parking lot C looks pretty good.