Southern New Jersey Fishing Report - April 21, 2016

With the improved weather this past week, a majority of the shops reported an uptick in fish and angler activity.  Striped Bass (mainly shorts), Tautog, Bluefish, and some Weakies made a showing for anglers who were out there catching.  We have seen increasing temperatures on both the ocean and bay side, but most of the action still seems to be in the bays and entrances to the local rivers.  I think with another week of seasonable temperatures and full daytime sun should dramatically improve the fishing scene again for next week.  Remember, we are one month away from the opening of Summer Flounder season, so start getting the gear ready.

Gates Bait & Tackle of Point Pleasant Beach reported keeper Blackfish in the Manasquan Inlet on Green Crab, worms, and clam.  The key is to keeping that bait still to “feel” the bite.  The Bluefish have been hitting sporadically in the Manasquan River on bunker chunk and rubber swim shads.  There also has been small Striped Bass in the Point Pleasant Canal on soft plastics at night.

Jason from Fisherman’s Supply in Point Pleasant recommends hitting the back bay around Route 37 to Mantaloking Bridge up to the Route 70 bridge for 20 to 31-inch Striped Bass.  The anglers have been connecting with 4-in Swim Shads and small Hogy soft plastics.  A few 8 to 10-pound Bluefish have been caught from the Mantaloking Bridge southward on soft plastics and plugs.  This week may provide the last hoorah for Winter Flounder around the Route 70 because of the increasing Bluefish population.  There has been some bigger bass to 32 pounds caught out front on trolled Maja spoons and MOJO rigs near the mile marker outside the Manasquan Inlet.

The MIMI VI should be back in the water this Thursday or Friday as it has been on dry-dock for maintenance.  The crew informed me that the boat successfully passed it’s required Coast Guard examination and they are planning on running on Sunday for Open-boat Blackfish.  It is best to call the boat for details.

The Gambler crew took a quick exploratory trip looking for Striped Bass and Blues this past week.  They found some good marks and saw a few Bluefish finning the surface.  The Blues quickly took some plugs and each hooked Bluefish had several others following it.  With the presence of both species, the boat will now be sailing for Bluefish and Striped Bass everyday, except on Sundays (weather permitting) when Golden Tilefish will be the target.

The Norma K III has been targeting Blackfish and reports scattered keepers around the boat early in the week.  A few fisherman had their limits with Tog to 8 pounds.  The last few days they have been seeing some nice fish make it over the rails with more anglers limiting out.  The latest pool winner was over 12 pounds, and the 2nd place fish taped out to just over 11 pounds.  The boat is sailing everyday for Blackfish.

Brian from Betty and Nicks Bait & Tackle had good reports of Bluefish in the bay to 8 pounds on trolled ponytails and thrown plugs and poppers.  The areas to work were in the 3 to 6 foot depth ranges on both the east and west side of Barnegat Bay.  The surf zone has been hit or miss on Bluefish and Striped Bass, with most fish coming from near the Barnegat Inlet jetty.

Dock Outfitters also had some good reports of Bluefish invading the nearby flats in the 10 pound range.  Island Beach State Park to Oyster Creek Power Plant outflow had most of the action on poppers and swimming plugs.  There has been a halfway decent bite on Blueclaws off the dock with keepers in the mix.  If you put your time in, you can easily bring home over a dozen.  There has been hush-hush word of some Weakfish in Barnegat Bay caught mostly at night on soft plastics.  I would bet it is near warmer water.

The Carolyn Ann III out of Barnegat Light was noticeably slower early in the week, but it did pick up as the week went on.   There has been some nice cod in the mix, and the Gary Adair’s pool winner was a 7-pound cod.  The boat will be fishing Friday, Saturday and Sunday!

Creekside Outfitters reported Striped Bass of the surf in Long Beach Island and also near the inlet on baited clam and bloodworm.  The bayside also has some fish moving through as a few Bluefish have been landed between the BI and BB buoys and trolled ponytails, but Liza recommends fishing a outgoing tide.  The crabbing scene has been a pick of keepers mainly around the Oyster Creek outflow, but most jimmies have a decent amount of meat on them.

The shop also received reports of the “fanged” ones making their way in Barnegat Bay, target them with pink soft plastics in the evening.

Tony’s Bait & Tackle reported “great” Bluefish bite on the west side of Barnegat Bay along Forked River.  Most of the bruisers approached 10 pounds and were crushing any type of surface lure.  Blackfish have been hitting at the local snags off Long Beach Island and Island Beach State Park.  Andy mentions that there are still a lot of small Stripers in our bays being caught on bloodworms and small swim shads.  He added that the White Perch bite has been pretty consistent in the Beach Haven West area the last few nights.

Riptide Bait & Tackle is still waiting for their first weigh-in of the season, but at least the short Striped Bass have been more than cooperative.  Most of the shorts are in the 20 to 26 inch range.  There have been some reports of Bluefish off the south jetty in Brigantine caught by anglers casting metals and heaving bunker chunks or finger mullet.

Jay from Absecon Bay Sportsman recommended anglers fish around the Mullica River and Egg Harbor River for the best shot at Striped Bass and White Perch.  The Bass have been landed on both artificials (plugs, swimbaits) and bait (clam, bloodworm).  On the bluefish side of things, it has been a sporadic bite.  If you want to have action, fish the inlet at night for Stripers in the 20-inch range as the fish are numerous and aggressive.  The local bridges, jetties, and structure have also been giving up Tog on both clam and green crab.

Nowell from One Stop Bait & Tackle has seen a bunch of short fish being landed, but not so much in terms of keepers.  Most anglers who are actively fishing are bailing at least 10 to 20 fish per session in the 18 to 23 inch range.  There has been a couple of puppy Drum and Blowfish picked up on bloodworm and clam.  Nowell said that the T-jetty to Vermont Avenue has been the hot spot for Striped Bass, Drum, and some blowfish and the area around the Flagship has been the winning ticket for Tog on green crab.

Fin-Atics of Ocean City has a lot of micro Striped Bass in the backbays which range from 10 to 18 inches.  Ninth Street to Corson’s Inlet has had good numbers of bass in this size range.  The time of day makes a big difference in terms of successful tactics.  The daytime bite has been on baited clam and bloodworm, while the nighttime bite has been on soft plastics such as: white and pink Zooms, 4- and 7-inch Tsunami swim shads.  There was a few isolated reports of Bluefish around Corson’s Inlet but they may have pushed a little south over the beginning of this week.  The tog bite has been very consistent at 9th Street for anglers using either clam or green crab.

Fishing Forecast for Southern New Jersey

This week offers much better options and higher probability in terms of catching.  Let’s see, Bluefish for the smoker, and Tog for the chowder!  Sounds great doesn’t it!  Bluefish in the bay may be a “shore” thing if you can find them.  Personally, I would work a lot of water and fan cast poppers in different areas to illicit a bite.  You might also entice a patrolling Striped Bass or Weakfish.  If you have the ability to hop on a vessel the wrecks and jetties have been firing on Tog over the last few days.  So throw the hook and keep that bait steady and be sure to bring the green crabs and clam bellies.  Good luck, Be Safe, and Tight Lines.