Blackfish in the PP Canal?

[ALK11]

Hello everyone,

I'll be home for the holidays starting today and I'm excited to get some New Jersey fishing in. I've never caught a blackfish and would love to get my first. Anyone know if there are any blackfish still in the PP Canal or anywhere else in the northern half of the state that can be caught from shore? Thanks.

[Foul Hook]

🤔 There may still be some stragglers around. Water is still warm.

[tautog]

Inlet would probably be a better bet. Some blackfish do winter over in the canal but they eat very little once the water temp drops below 50. Last decent fishing I heard of there was about 3 weeks ago.

[Deepdeckhand]

I would fish Pt. Side of MI or Belmar side of SRI ...Focus @ slack tide- 80/100 lb green power pro ( only need 50ft top shot)straight to 1/0 hook with crab....2 oz lead at slack to 4 oz running tide- bring plenty of weight ...cast 1/4 way out - sink to bottom and slowly pull back till you feel the first rock.U R in the zone/ wait for the real bite- Now go catch emm up👍👍...

[WhaleFart]

80/100 power pro? For blackfish? In the inlets? LOL, just use whatever you would for fluke, grab some crabs, a few rigs and some sinkers and you’ll be alright. Keep expectations pretty low.

[NJ219bands]

I saw a fisherman walk off the Manasquan Inlet north jetty jetty with a keeper blackfish recently.

[Deepdeckhand]

80/100 really helps with keeping your gear yours and not the inlets...Sometimes I even catch more sinkers then I lose 😆/ it will also straighten a 1/0 instead of breaking your line, bend hook back with pliers and back in action...There are big ones there tight to the rocks( Jax )- heavy line and you might just drag that fatty out of their holes 👍👍 Just my way of doing it/ light tackle guys get some too....

[rumster]

80/100 really helps with keeping your gear yours and not the inlets...Sometimes I even catch more sinkers then I lose 😆/ it will also straighten a 1/0 instead of breaking your line, bend hook back with pliers and back in action...There are big ones there tight to the rocks( Jax )- heavy line and you might just drag that fatty out of their holes 👍👍 Just my way of doing it/ light tackle guys get some too.... Smart move...Could not agree more...Most guys will cast out 15-20 feet into the inlet and bring their rig in closer until they find good bottom. More often than not your line is rubbing against rocks from where the water drops off. Not to mention when a larger fish runs into a hole. I use 60lb test, but have many friends who use 80lb test. Blackfishing at the inlets is not like fishing for sunnies in a lake or blackfishing from a boat where you have a better angle on the fish.

[Chumslick]

My buddy had 8 tog on Tuesday, all shorts up to 14", all on soft baits.

[ALK11]

Thank you everyone for the replies. I'll give it a shot sometime early next week and will report back.

[ALK11]

After dozens of bites and a dozen lost rigs, I finally pulled in my first blackfish. Plenty of people fishing the MI, but it didn't seem like too many were catching. Only saw one other guy catch a small sea bass.

[Deepdeckhand]

Nicely done!!! whole different game catching them from shore... Inlet definitely can take possession of some tackle/ bet that 100 Lb power pro is seeming like not so bad idea 😁

[Duffman]

Nice clean looking fish. Is that a Virginia hook I see?

[ALK11]

The hook is whatever came on the blackfish rig I bought at the tackle shop. Not sure of the name, but it was definitely a longer shank and narrow gap between the point and shank.

I used my medium power surf rod with 20# mono that has caught me some big stripers and bluefish without any problem. These smaller blackfish were causing me all sorts of problems today. If I ever target them regularly like this, I'd definitely be upgrading my line.