Field Notes:
On 4/26 Linda B. reported: 'I have seen several hawks circling the Manasquan over the last few days but I haven't seen them catch any fish.'
On 4/25 Ann W. reported: 'There were swans on Old Mill Pond.' --Update: Susan S. saw mallards on Wreck Pond Brook later the same day.
On 4/24 Linda B. reported: 'I was told that a river otter was by the (Manasquan) weir early this morning. A fisherman saw him there looking for breakfast.'
On 4/23 Capt. Paul reported: 'Back end of Raritan Bay, from Keyport to the mouth of the Raritan is LOADED with river herring and gannets are making the best of it.'
On 4/18 Capt. Paul reported: 'Herring in the Navesink near Red Bank' and he encourages everyone to monitor their sites now as much as possible.
On 4/17 Linda B. reported: "Water temperatures continue to rise. This morning the Shrewsbury River inlet and Raritan Bay were reported at about 55 degrees F and Shark River inlet was 53 degrees F. An upstream Manasquan River gage recorded 59 degrees F yesterday afternoon. We have high hopes for full moon next week (Apr. 24)."
On 4/16 Capt. Paul reported: "tons of birds are diving on fish off of Monmouth County in ocean... odds are that they are River Herring!" --Update: Tom C. said no herring were at Tinton Falls yet so most are likely still out in the Ocean.
On 4/13 Kathleen D. reported: "Michael and I went to (Tinton Falls) last night and it is roaring. The water is nearly a full 8 inches higher than on Tuesday night . There are no gravel beds visible. Michael tried using his (underwater) camera but the water was too dark." Kathleen also noted word had reached her that Alewifes were spotted earlier in the week near the Oceanic Bridge on the Navesink. These might have been scouts.
Also on 4/10 Tom L., who is monitoring Shark River off Remsen Mill Road, reported: "I (saw) a fish leap over the weir, but I had just arrived and was preparing to take the water temperature so I wasn't really watching. It looked like it might have been a herring but the look was so quick and unprepared that I could not be sure."
On 4/10/13 Kathleen D. reported: "Doug P. and I saw a school of fish at the waterfalls. He took video. We are not sure of the species. He thought sucker and some might have been trout." --Update: Capt. Paul confirmed the fish were suckers.
On 4/8/13 Linda B. reported: "Water temperature is rising. Today the inlets were reported at about 50 degrees F and an upstream gage on the Manasquan reported river temps reaching 56 degrees F."
On 4/5/13 Kathleen D. reported: "I saw two dead suckers at Tinton Falls this morning."
On 4/1/13 Erin J. reported: "With a nearly full moon, the water was high enough at the Lake Takanassee inlet, but the tempreture was too low."
On 3/31/13 Capt. Paul reported: "Water is still very cold 37-40 at inlets. Yesterday, I stopped at Hockhockson (Tinton Falls) and found it to be 47 degrees and saw some suckers a little bit downstream from the falls. I posted a video on FB of them. The falls will definitely be the end of the road for the herring and the shallow creek areas leading up to it will be a good viewing spot. We need more sunny days and warmer nights to get the h2o temps up."
