Sea Bass opened this past week, but Mother Nature has dealt us a serious “blow” with 30- to 50-knot winds and seas approaching 10 feet off the coast. Most boats, including charter and party, did not make it out in the gale warning conditions. Party boats have been bailing keeper and out-of-season sea bass during the porgy trips the past couple of weeks, so it should be “epic” fishing at the local snags. Striped bass have been biting in the backwaters with the strong northeast winds, especially around the bridges and sod banks. I was fortunate enough to take a mini-trip up to Rhode Island, where my wife and son released a number of schoolie bass on Rockhopper bucktails tipped with 6-inch RonZ soft plastics. The point of this personal account is that we saw lots of blitzes of stripers and albacore, so it won’t be too long for New Jersey.
Southern New Jersey Fishing Report
Capt. Bill’s Landing in Point Pleasant Beach reported bluefish in the 2- to 5-pound range gorging on Mullet from the Manasquan Inlet and surrounding beaches. Striped bass are cooperative on soft plastics, but it has been hard to get through the bluefish. Most of these stripers have been on the smaller side, but eels in the inlets at night has been catching a few keepers.
Norma K III in Point Pleasant Beach reported a poor week as the weather had the boat tied to the dock for most of the week. Prior to the blow, the boat has been catching keeper porgies and lots of sea bass. Once the seas calm down, it should be lights out for black sea bass on the wrecks and snags. The boat is looking to sail on Sunday, but it’s best to call ahead for the most updated.
The Gambler out of Point Pleasant Beach reported sneaking in a 24-hour canyon trip prior to this week’s weather event. They landed yellowfin, mahi, and some swordfish up to 300-pounds and the patrons had a blast. With the sea conditions predicted to be rather sporty, the boat will be looking to get out by Sunday. They still some openings available for the fall pelagics and will start booking their offshore sea bass.
The MIMI VI out of Point Pleasant reported no sailing due to the various gale warnings and Capt. Ken took a look from the inlet saying it was very sporty. The boat has been bailing sea bass, so the crew feels it should be game on for sea bass when the seas lay down. There are quite a few dates open for bottom-fishing and striped bass, so give them a call.
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Jersey Hooker Outfitter in Brick reported good tog action from the Point Pleasant Canal on green crab and anglers have been using both single-hook and Blackfish jigs to catch them. Some of the tog have been up to 4-pounds, but there are a steady pick of shorts to keep anglers busy. The inlet areas (Manasquan / Shark River) have been producing some Striped Bass on plugs and soft plastics.
Charlie’s Bait & Tackle in Normandy Beach reported a slow, almost non-existent, report from the beaches except for a few anglers checking out the water. the best action has been in the backwaters and around the bridges for striped bass and small bluefish. The Point Pleasant Canal has been pretty hot on tog as generally October is a good month to bag your 1-fish limit inside.
Grumpy’s Bait & Tackle in Seaside Park had very few reports from the beachfront as the Northeast winds and waves batter the coastline. Anglers will have to wait until the waters calm and clean up to search for bluefish, stripers, and some bonito. The shop reported that the best option through the blow has been the back bay as there are plenty of schoolie bass and blues. Small plugs, Tsunami 4- or 5-inch shads, and Kettle Creek soft plastics worked around the bridges is producing a fair number of fish per outing.
Creekside Outfitters in Waretown reported slow to no action off the beaches as the Northeast winds have made fishing from the surf and ocean unsafe. Anglers did report some schoolie bass and bluefish inside the inlet and along the back channels. Tog are being caught off the inlet jetties back towards the bay and the shop has limited numbers of green crabs. The back still has a good amount of blowfish being caught in 6 to 8 feet of water, but they may push out with the latest blow.
Reel Reaction Charters out of Waretown and Barnegat Light was tied at the dock this past week with the weather, but the skipper took time with his family to catch a few striped bass in Rhode Island. Their charter schedule is almost booked out for October and November, but a few remaining dates are available on their website.
Fisherman’s Headquarters in Ship Bottom reported a slow week on Ocean fishing with the better fishing opportunities coming from the backwaters. The Route 72 bridges have been decent on striped bass and bluefish and there have been some blowfish from Barnegat Light to Holgate. Sea bass opened, but nearly zero anglers made it out with the rough conditions.
Jim’s Bait & Tackle in Cape May reported Bluefish in the 2- to 5-pound range being caught from the Cape Point. There are also some striped bass and weakfish being landed in the same areas and most of the bites have come on fresh mullet or mullet-sized poppers. The shop is loaded with fresh mullet and has a wide assortment of soft plastics and artificials to match the hatch.
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South Jersey Fishing Forecast
this weekend seems to be one of those weekends to check and maintenance gear for the upcoming fall season. if your planning on sea bass fishing, use the free time to tie rigs and pour lead for better ocean conditions. if you do plan on fishing, the best bet will be from the inlets and back rock-walls for blackfish. fiddlers, Asian shore crabs, or green crabs are the best baits for these and there have been a few keepers in the mix to 5-pounds. most of our south jersey inside areas have had a good number of tog, and don’t count out the bridges as these are prime real estate for keepers. in addition to tog, striped bass, bluefish, and even some weakfish have been patrolling the areas around the shadow lines during the evening. soft plastics worked up-current and allowed to swim naturally should produce the most strikes. poppers and plugs in these areas and also along any of the tidal creeks are good ways to produce fish. as far as ocean fishing, Sunday and the following week look good to hit some of those inshore wrecks and reef sites for keeper sea bass. offshore fisherman may have to wait as it looks like 12- to 19-foot through Saturday for the canyon bite. Good luck, be safe, and tight lines!