The waters are still cold throughout most of New Jersey, and the fish are definitely running late to the spring run party, but the fishing is steadily improving, and anglers have lots of options going into this weekend.

New Jersey Striper Report

The Raritan Bay striper bite has been very good according to Dave at The Reel Seat in Brielle. Fishermen want to find a spot with an onshore wind for the best shot at taking a striper on clams or bunker chunks.

Unfortunately, the beachfront striper bite has been on the slow side. The guys at The Bait Shop in Bradley Beach have only heard of a single small striper taken on the local beaches.  Moving south, there have been more stripers in the surf, especially in Atlantic and Cape May counties, but still not very many. Clams are the best bet.

Fishermen are finding better luck with stripers in the back bays according to Dave at the Reel Seat. The Point Pleasant Canal has teen-sized stripers on bucktails recently.

The backwater bass bite is on the verge of breaking open according to Dave at Absecon Bay Sportsman. Some keeper fish are being caught, and the number of small stripers has been great.  More schoolies than Dave has seen in recent years. The crew at Fin-atic’s in Ocean City echoed the good school striper bite in the backwaters.

Behind Sea Isle and Avalon, small stripers began mixing in with the weakfish, which have been feeding in the backwaters for nearly two weeks, according to Mike at Sea Isle Bait and Tackle.

New Jersey Weakfish Report

The weakfish bite continued in the South Jersey backwaters this week.  Anglers had the most luck using soft-plastic lures on jigheads, but Mike at Sea Isle Bait and Tackle reported a few fish on bloodworms as well.

Jay at Tackle Direct also heard of a strong weakfish bite taking place in the bays.

New Jersey Tautog Report

Blackfish season closes next week (May 1), but fishermen can still sneak in some fishing before they go off-limits.

Tog reports were mixed. The word in the northern half of the state was that the fishing was slow, with most tog still hanging offshore. A week ago, fishermen out of South Jersey were making a 40-mile run to catch tog, but this week, some fish were caught by anglers fishing from shore. Mike at Sea Isle Bait and Tackle said Townsends Inlet has been producing tog for the shorebound anglers.  Green crabs and salted clams have been working. There have not yet been any blackfish reported in the backwaters, but it won’t be long.

Winter Flounder Report

The crew at Bradley Beach heard of a few winter flounder being caught on bloodworms recently.

Dave at the Reel Seat said the fishing has been good, with fish being caught in the Manasquan River from Treasure Island to the Route 35 Bridge. Chum heavy, Dave advised.

Bluefish Report

No word of bluefish yet.  With stripers and weakfish in, the blues should be here any day.

Cod & Ling Report

The ling bite has been slow, but the cod fishing at the mid-range wrecks has been good, with fish into the teens being caught on clam baits. Several headboats are still sailing for cod.

New Jersey Fishing Forecast

The surf is slow, but the backwaters are fishing well—and getting better each day. Stripers are taking soft-plastics, bucktails and swimming plugs in the backwaters, but the best shot for hooking a quality fish is with bait, and the best location has been the Raritan Bay.

Anglers in the southern half of the state would be wise to hunt for weakfish in the backwaters. Soft-plastics have been outfishing bloodworms, so outfit yourself with some jigs and move around until you find the weakfish.  The bays behind Sea Isle, Avalon and Ocean City have been producing fish, but there are undoubtedly more weakfish being caught in Barnegat Bay.

The clock is ticking on the spring tog season, and while cold waters and tough winds have made the fishing tough, it seems a few are being taken from shore in South Jersey. If the wind lays down before Wednesday, it could be worth taking the boat out to some mid-shore structure to intercept the migrating tog.

Winter flounder have been a more reliable bottom-fishing target in the northern half of the state. Hit the Manasquan River with plenty of chum to catch some of these delicious flatfish.