# Keyport NJ (Raritan Bay)



## Manayunk Jake (Oct 3, 2001)

Couldn't take sitting around the house any longer, so Carol and I decided to head to North Jersey and check out all the hype about the striper fishing.

We arrived at Crabby's Bait and Tackle around 2:30 PM. The kid (well he was younger than me) working the counter said he had good news and bad news. The bad news was that striper fishing from the beaches wasn't producing much. The good news (well, to a fish-starved Philly boy) was that a huge school of blues from 3 to 8 lbs had invaded the bay and were hitting every bunker chunk thrown their way.

We bought four fresh bunker and followed his directions to a place called Woodcliff, about 15 minutes from the bait shop. When we arrived we checked out a section of beach that was deserted and seemed shallow (the water was very muddy.) We drove up two blocks, and I jumped out of the car for a quick see. As I climbed the little hill, I could see a lot of rod tips in the air.

We unloaded, and Carol parked the car down the road (many vehicles were already double-parked.) As we set up, a young kid to the right of us caught a 5 lb blue. I'm thinking good omen. Ten minutes later the same kid nails the biggest weakie I've seen in a long time. I figured a good 8 lbs. The kid drove to Crabby's and had it weighed - 10.5 lbs (It will be in next week's Fisherman Magazine. In the mean time the tide is coming in, and people begin picking up nice blues here and there.

Carol and I sat there for an hour without a bite. We had packed jetty rods for the Keansburg Pier. The people doing the catching were getting out 10 to 20 yards farther than we could manage. In addition, I had rigged us with bluefish floats to keep the precious bunker away from the crabs. I finally broke down and rerigged with a simple fishfinder and wire leader 5/0 hook. This resulted in a couple of half-hearted hits and a lot of well fed crabs.

The sun disappeared behind the houses around 6:00 PM, which seemed to coincide with high tide. The breeze faded and the no-see-ums came with a vengance. Carol had a savage hit that broke her 12 lb test before the drag could kick in. I missed a run-off on my bait runner. People were still catching an occasional blue, but the bugs were starting to drive folks away. We set the lines out for one last cast, and Carol went for the car. I dragged the process out as long as I could. Carol reeled her rod in with only the skin of the bunker left by the crabs. I noticed a tap on my rod, but didn't give it too much thought because of the crab activity. Carol couldn't hack the bugs anymore and went back to the car.

A gregarious black man noticed we were leaving and asked if he could have the spot. I said sure, and I gave him the two remaining bunker. We chatted off and on while Carol blew the car horn. My line began to tighten right at change of tide, and I noticed that I had not set the bait runner. I could feel the pressure for a moment as I picked up the rod, but the fish dropped the bait. I thought the night shouldn't end like this, and I sat there with my finger on my line.

There was a mighty surge, but I was ready this time and reared back. I was fast into a bluefish - he made a magestic leap about 30 yards out, then slowly began to yield. Both the net and gaff were in the car, but my newfound buddy offered to climb down the rocks and land the fish. It wasn't the biggest blue caught that day, but the 4 pounder was all mine.

A picture was taken, and the blue was thrown in the cooler. Carol was now yelling at me to get in the car. I asked her for help loading the cooler, and flipped the lid back to reveal my prize. It was 10:00 PM when we got back home. I gutted the blue for my friend JoAnne who likes to grill them whole. With the fish stored in the refrigerator, I grabbed a cold beer and typed out this report. Now all I have to do is think up an excuse for my sunburn after missing a week of work! But hey, it should be easy for a guy who can write nine paragraphs about catching ONE bluefish!


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## davehunt (Mar 27, 2003)

Hello Manayunk Jake!

That's a great way to end the day.

I was accross the bay from where you fishied in the morning, Great Kills on Staten Island. While it wasn't a blitz by any means, there were probable 30 - 40 people out there, including my brother and I, and blue fish were coming in at a fairly steady pace. Didn't see any sign of striper being landed, but several hits felt like striper as opposed to blue. Of the 4 bluefish we landed, 2 jumped out of the water and one did a nice couple of tail walks! it was great fun.

We had gotten there at around 6 and fished the out going until about 9:30. Same story, bunker was the only item on the menu.

My brother and I left with 4 fish, but I was finally in the game after a long winter (and into spring) layoff.

More importantly I hadn't had the chance to fish with my brother in a long time, so all in all it was a great morning.


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## Manayunk Jake (Oct 3, 2001)

Greetings davehunt!

Glad to hear you and your brother had a good time. Those Raritan blues were might acrobatic... Its nice getting them in the daylight when you can see their antics.

We had a boat drift down along the wall about 30 yards out. They didn't get a thing, but I think they were trying for fluke judging from their gear.

The kids nailing the fish were using really light gear, too. We had a tangle, and I learned their secret -- braided line! With the braided line they were able to cast like they had 8# test, but still horse the blues in. Our lines tangled when a green blue took a run up the wall. I'll post the pictures of the weak and my blue when I finish off the camera (have to go digital some day!)

Re: Stripers -- Someone brought a 24 lber in that morning, and a 40 was weighed in earlier in the week. Both fish were caught from boats at "The Reach", wherever that is. I have a feeling both fish were caught at night. Both were caught on bunker, although nobody new if it was chunks or whole.

It was a really decent spot. The neighbors don't seem to enjoy the fishermen, and although Crabby's site says you can fish 24 hours, we were told you had to leave the "park" at sunset. Just wish we had been there the week before when there were more stripers and weakies than blues.


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## davehunt (Mar 27, 2003)

Manayunkjake,

I beleive the Reach is the main shipping channel that bisects raritan bay, I know I read that somewhere, just can't remember the source, I'll try to dig it up again and post details. So bottom line is yes, if the fish were caught at the Reach, they were caught on a boat.


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## shaggy (Jun 18, 2003)

Hey MJ, congrats, and nice tellall. Done the thing with even less to show for the efforts, yet, still ned to make that journey to the beach and this past time, I was blessed in my persrverance, and a tad lucky.

Gotta say, sometimes it is the "little" one, when you know it's about over, and figure oh well, that makes ya go back for more. Kinda like golfing, I shot a 99 today, but one shot just did it for me, and now looking forward to the next round.

May your next round be the striper of your dreams!

Have Jeep will travel.


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## davehunt (Mar 27, 2003)

Manayunk Jake,

Finally found the article about the Raritan Reach, it was on the ESPN web site, see the link

http://espn.go.com/outdoors/fishing/s/f_map_NJ_Raritan_bay_stripers.html

It's got a pretty good map of the area.


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## Manayunk Jake (Oct 3, 2001)

Greetings shaggy!

I'm already looking forward to hitting North Jersey during the Fall blitz. Gonna have to get a new surf pole so I don't have to worry about distance. My 7 foot Tiger Ugly Stick is meant for jetty fishing, where most casts are more like underhanded lobs.

Thanks for the emcouragement! If I can get my knee up to 70% I'll be able to do more fishing (and hopefully, more catching!) If not, I'll be part of the party boat crowd. Just isn't the same....


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## Manayunk Jake (Oct 3, 2001)

Greetings davehunt!

Thanks for the link -- very informative. I had a feeling about the size of the crowd that Cliffwood isn't just a local hotspot.

Makes sense that the big ones would be along the channel edges. Shallow water nearby for feeding, plus deep water for a fast retreat. Maybe you and your brother can try it one evening. I didn't see any heavy traffic, just a few party boats motoring back towards NYC, so chunking or drifting at night should be doable...


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