New Jersey Fishing Report for 3-26-2015

“One benefit to the cold, long winter this year,” said Eric from the Reel Seat in Brielle, “is that it brought some great cod fishing to New Jersey.”

A few charter and party boats in the northern half of the state are cashing in on the cod bite. The fish can be found staging around wrecks or chasing herring over open bottom, Eric said.

Closer to shore, some fishermen are picking up winter flounder in places such as the Mantoloking Bridge, reported Eric.

The upper reaches of the Raritan Bay are starting to see some stripers, reported Phil at the Tackle Box in Hazlet. The fish are small, 15- to 18-inchers, Phil said, but the water is still cold. On warm days, however, the dark mud flats of the Raritan are warming the surrounding waters beyond that critical 42-degree mark for consistent spring striper fishing. “All we need is a few sixty-degree days,” Phil said, “after that, it will break open.”

The farther south you go, the better the striper fishing is. A few keeper stripers were reported from the backwaters of South Jersey, but the vast majority of the fish are still shorts.  Most of the stripers are falling to bait, such as clams or bloodworms, and many are coming farther up rivers such as the Mullica, Great Egg and Tuckahoe. Graveling Point, at the mouth of the Mullica River, has produced a few short stripers for fishermen soaking bloodworms there.

White perch fishing is excellent right now. Fishermen working the same rivers mentioned above have taken perch as large as 1½ pounds in recent days. Grass shrimp are the bait of choice for the perch.

Best Bets for the Weekend

For stripers, head south. The back bays and rivers of Atlantic and Ocean County offer your best shot at striper success, but a couple warm days could light up the bass bite throughout the state. The Raritan bayshore would be the first place to check once the water warms up. Bring fresh clams.

Hopping on a boat to track down that cod bite is another good option. Some of the cod have been surprisingly large, and this relatively unique opportunity to catch cod out of New Jersey won’t last much longer.

Winter flounder and white perch offer the best shot at catching something for the table, without having to take a long boat ride offshore. Fish sandworms for the flounder and grass shrimp for the perch.