I think we have finally turned the corner. South Jersey area has been seeing more and more striped bass. Although the boats have started to get more stripers on the troll, it is the surf fishing that is red hot this Spring. Cape May to Asbury Park have had fish off the beach on SP minnows, darters, and poppers. Boat fisherman seem to have more hit-and-miss opportunities with the afternoons providing a better bite this past week. There are striped bass off the jetties and these fish have been hitting better on the incoming tides. Another good piece of news is a much more consistent bluefish bite this past week. And the long awaited fluke season has finally arrived, with this Friday being the first day of the season. It is key to target the warmer back-bay areas as these locations should be holding fluke, and they can be easily caught using a light bucktail or jig-head tipped with Gulp or mackerel strips.
Southern New Jersey Fishing Report
Fisherman’s Supply in Point Pleasant had a more promising week with anglers cashing in on 40-pound striped bass caught on trolled spoons and mojos off the Shrewsbury Rocks and Asbury Park. The Manasquan River is still loaded with striped bass which can be easily caught on soft plastics at night. Most of these fish are on the smaller side, but it they will definitely put up a nice fight on light tackle rods. The fluke season should get off to a banner start as there has been quite a few out of season released on the bigger side in the Manasquan River.
Capt. Bill’s Landing in Point Pleasant Beach reported a bite on striped bass up and down the coast from Asbury to Point Pleasant. These fish have been feeding on schools of bunker and are being caught on mojos and bunker spoons. Donald Florio was this week’s notable angler who weighed in a solid 38 pound striper caught off Mantoloking. Bluefish were caught in the Manasquan Inlet and have started to make their way up the Manasquan River. The shop is fully loaded for the first day of Fluke season and the weather looks great for the season opener.
Norma K III in Point Pleasant Beach reported good sea bass fishing this past week with awesome weather on the ocean for the past few trips. Anglers have been their catching limits of sea bass on both the morning and afternoon trips. It seems that both jigs and bait are working equally well. The boat will start running two trips daily for Fluke when the season opens this Friday.
The MIMI VI out of Point Pleasant had a couple of nice wreck trips this past week with anglers catching Pollock, Cod, Sea Bass, and Winter Flounder. The boat has some prime open dates with May 29th as an open-boat. The skipper will be running open-boat striped bass this Friday from 4pm to dark with a 15-person limit.
Jersey Hooker Outfitter in Brick reported a good bite on striped bass for anglers trolling mojos and bunker spoons. Most of the fish were between 20 to 40 pounds, but anglers had some put in a little time to find them. It seems that this past week had better bites on the afternoons as compared to the mornings. Bluefish are being landed in the Manasquan River and at the inlet on bunker chunks, metals, and plugs. A decent amount of summer flounder have been released in the Manasquan, so it should be a good start to the season.
Grumpy’s Bait & Tackle in Seaside Park reported a variety of fish being weighed in at the shop. Bluefish to 30 inches and striped bass over 33 inches have been hitting the store’s scales. Bunker, SP Minnows, and Clam have been taking the majority of the surf caught fish. Right now, it seems that the early morning and dusk bites are pretty good on striped bass. Bluefish have been hitting casted metals around the Manasquan inlet, but you have to put your time in for them.
Lacey Marine in Forked River reported some bigger stripers being caught from trolled mojo’s and spoons at the 3-mile line from Island Beach State Park to Ortley. Some of these bass have ranged from 20 to over 40 pounds. Anglers have been getting Striped Bass off the IBSP and Long Beach Island surf. Barnegat Bay has 3- to 8-pound bluefish swimming around which are being caught on trolled Pony-tails and worked surface poppers. Most of the action has been between the BB and BI buoys on pink and chartreuse ponytails.
Super Chic in Barnegat Light has been hitting the Sea Bass and Striped Bass spots over this past week and the skipper has a few trips booked for this upcoming Memorial Day weekend. Capt. Ted said he still has open dates in June, so give him a call.
Creekside Outfitters in Waretown reported big Bluefish at both Long Beach Island inlets and the bridges leading into the island. Striped Bass are being picked on trolled spoons and mojos from LBI to Seaside in about 60 to 65 feet of water. Striped Bass are hitting both clam and bunker off the surf.
Captains Adam Sherer, Robbie Radlof, Mike Green, and Hunter Gutwein from Waterman Charters are reporting a great bite from each of the locations they’ve had captains working. On Thursday morning in the Raritan Bay area, Capt. Robbie had his clients on big bass on topwater with one lucky guest besting 47- and 44-pound stripers using the Doc. The bite has been steady in the bay with Thursday being a banner day. Captain Adam Sherer had constant action this week trolling Mojo rigs off of Island Beach in 40 to 55 feet of water, with plenty of fish caught and released well past keeper size. Capt. Mike Green found consistent action on live baits drifted off of Island Beach, with stripers up to 44 pounds hitting the boga. Last but not least from the Waterman foursome, Hunter Gutwein has been able to double dip, putting his clients on a limit of tasty sea bass before switching focus to stripers using the snag and drop technique with bunker taking stripers up to 44-pounds off of the Seaside area.
Tony’s Bait & Tackle in Manahawkin reported that the Long Beach Island surf has been the hottest ticket in town. A bunch of 15 to 20 pound Striped Bass have been beached along with Bluefish in the 5 to 12 pound range. Boat fisherman have been getting into larger Striped Bass on wire-lined bunker spoons and mojos. Most of the bites have been north of the bathing beach on Island Beach State Park to Seaside Heights. It seems most of the fish have been spread out as there hasn’t been any real concentration reported.
Riptide Bait & Tackle in Brigantine reported a consistent bite on Brigantine with striped bass hitting baits and lures at night and in the early morning hours. Bluefish are feeding from sunup to sundown and several have been over 12 pounds. The shop had a couple of nice Drum up to 50 pounds being caught on clam. The shop is doing it’s best to get clam in, but the drought continues as commercial clammers are having a hard time getting them. The shop does have fresh bunker and salted clams in stock daily.
Fin-Atics in Ocean City reported good sized flounder being caught and released in the backwaters. The shallower waters of Ships Channel and Corson’s inlet will be areas to target for the start of the season this Friday. Bluefish have been hitting a variety of lures around Corson’s Inlet and the back-bays of Ocean City. Small Striped Bass still taking soft plastics around the bridges and sod banks at night. Bigger Stripers are taking live-lined Bunker and trolled mojos. The shop has weighed in some nice fish to 40 inches and anglers stated that most were caught around the inlet on Bunker.
Peace Token Fishing Tackle in Cape May Courthouse continued to report a red-hot Drum bite on clams. This has been one of the best seasons for Drum in the Delaware Bay as anglers are also getting them off the bay beaches. Striped Bass fishing is still good with fish being weighed in off the surf and from boat fisherman. Anglers fishing for smaller Stripers in the backwaters are reported a good number of Fluke, so it should be a good start to the season.
Hands Too Bait & Tackle in Cape May had Striped Bass hitting bunker and clam baits in the Delaware Bay. The shop reported that the Drum bite has been spectacular this season and is still going strong. It’s been all on clams, and the shop should expect a delivery for this weekend. Weakfish are starting to show at most of the local jetties and anglers have been catching them up to 24 inches on jumbo bloodworms.
South Jersey Fishing Forecast
If striped bass fishing is your aim, then hit the beaches as a larger majority of the bass have been caught off the surf. Fresh bunker, large plugs, and darters are working especially when working the early morning or late evening tides. Drumfish are still biting with consistency off the Delaware Bay, so anglers may want to take the trip down the parkway to Cape May to get in on the action. Just be sure to secure fresh or frozen clams as some shops have had a challenging time getting them in stock. The best bet for this weekend still seems to get out and target those Summer Flounder as our bay waters have warmed sufficiently to hold baitfish which will ultimately provide feeding opportunities for fluke. It will be key to target the warm water which means the outgoing tide and beginning of incoming should produce fish. So if you have time to step away from the BBQ, get out there and fish. Good Luck, Be Safe, and Tight Lines!