Northern New Jersey Fishing Report - April 4, 2019

The spring weather is working its magic.

Bigger bass have joined the plentiful shorts, the blackfish bite got off to a good start and there’s been an improvement in the winter flounder fishing.

Plus, trout season opens on Saturday. It’s time to fish!

Fishing Report For Northern New Jersey

Capt. Phil Sciortino at the Tackle Box in Hazlet said more keeper stripers are showing up in the back of Raritan Bay and are being caught on rubber shads, SP Minnows, X-Raps and other small swimming plugs.

Anglers fishing off the bay beaches continue to do well with bass using worms and clams.

Sciortino reported there are loads of stripers around, with the warmer water in the late afternoon producing a lot of bites. Bass have also been caught in the Shrewsbury and Navesink Rivers.

He’s heard of a few winter flounder in the rivers, but it’s still a bit slow.

Capt. Joe Karcich of Joey Tomato’s Fishing Charters out of Raritan Marina in Laurence Harbor said he’s ready to go and will be out this weekend fishing for stripers. He’s currently booking his spring trips and can be contacted through his website.

Mike at Giglio’s Bait and Tackle in Sea Bright said his customers have been getting bass up in the bay on worms, clams, SP Minnows and other small swimming plugs.

He’s also had reports of a few small bass off the beach on rubber shads and the kayakers in the bay and Navesink and Shrewsbury rivers have been picking up fish on artificials.

Giglio’s is now open from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day.

Mike Gleason at Tak Waterman in Long Branch said bass on small plugs have made up most of the action in the Shrewsbury River so far. The fish are mostly shorts.

He has yet to hear of any stripers coming off the beach, but said no one has really been trying as yet.

That should change over the next few days.

Bob Matthews at Fishermen’s Den in Belmar said there has been steady improvement in the fishing over the last week.

He said blackfishing got off to a great start for the boats out of the marina when the season reopened on Monday. He added that more winter flounder were caught in the Shark River, mostly on worms.

Matthews heard Capt. Bobby Quinn on the Ocean Explorer ran into a huge school of stripers in the ocean north of Belmar. All of the fish were about 30 pounds and they were feeding on bunker. He was catching them on jigs. Quinn was out blackfishing.

He also heard of a few blackfish caught on crabs at the Shark River Inlet.

Matthews said his customers are getting bass in the Shrewsbury and Navesink rivers and in Barnegat Bay and he’s had a few reports of short stripers off the beach in Monmouth and Ocean counties.

The Den is fully stocked for this Saturday’s trout opener and he said Spring Lake is stocked as well with trophy trout for the annual Trout Contest for Kids organized by the Shark River Surf Anglers.

I was at the lake last Saturday as the club released over 600 golden, rainbow, brown, brook and tiger trout. Some of the fish were monsters, up to 10 pounds. Along with the rainbow trout the state stocked in the lake, there are plenty of fish for the kids to catch.

The contest is open to children 15 and under and starts at 8 a.m. at Spring Lake. It’s a terrific event and a great way to introduce kids to fishing.

Capt. Bobby Quinn on the Ocean Explorer out of Belmar said he found a “savage chew” on Tuesday’s blackfish trip with lock and load fishing for most of the day.

He reported that the majority of the fish were shorts but there were some nice keepers in the mix with the pool winner going about 8 pounds.

The fish, he said, were pounding both clams and crabs and a lot of the fish just missed being keepers.

He sailed on opening day and while Monday’s fishing was good, it didn’t match Tuesday’s trip when the water was a little warmer. Most of the bites on Monday came on clams in 70 to 80 feet of water.

Capt. Quinn will be sailing for tog until the season closes at the end of the month.

Capt. Pete Sykes on Parker Pete’s Sportfishing out of Belmar is currently booking his spring striper trips and plans to be fishing by next week.

He’s partnering up this season with Capt. Jay Richardella of Side Job Sportfishing who will be sailing for bass out of Lockwood Marina in South Amboy. He’ll be scouting Raritan Bay over the next few days and running charters next weekend.

Dave Arbeitman at the Reel Seat in Brielle said folks continue to catch small bass in Barnegat Bay and the winter flounder fishing has picked up at the bay end of the Point Pleasant Canal.

He said the Manasquan River remains quiet, but the bite should pick up soon as the water warms. The locals are on the lookout for the spring bluefish.

Greg Bogan at Brielle Bait and Tackle said the fishing is getting better every day with more winter flounder coming out of Barnegat Bay by the canal and close to the Mantoloking Bridge.

He said the Jamaica II sailed offshore last Saturday and found decent fishing with ling and cod along with a few blackfish.

Bogan had a few reports of bass off the beach on bait, but most of the striper action he’s aware of is still to the south in Barnegat Bay or up north in Raritan Bay.

The shop, he said, is all set for the trout opener on the Saturday.

Dan at Tackle World in Rochelle Park said the striped bass are biting in the Hudson River at the Piermont Pier in Piermont, New York, and in Hoboken and Edgewater in New Jersey. His customers are also getting in on the bass bite in Raritan Bay.

The shop, he said, has every kind of worm you wouldd want for the trout opener.

Fishing Forecast for Northern New Jersey

The bass bite continues to improve in the rivers and bays with more keepers reported, especially in the back of Raritan Bay. The fish are hitting clams, worms and small plugs.

There have been a few reports of small stripers on the beach so it’s definitely time to give that a try.

The blackfishing reports have been good as well so you may want to get out there, especially since the season closes in just three weeks.

And trout season opens on Saturday. Check the Div. of Fish and Wildlife website for stocked waters near you and if you have kids, bring them to Spring Lake on Saturday for the annual Trout Contest for Kids.

Big fish and a good time await.