Above: White perch are biting well in the brackish waters throughout New Jersey.
By mid-January, fishermen are just happy to have a few options for wetting a line, and thanks to this winter’s mild weather, the New Jersey fishing scene is offering a little more than that.
Water temperatures remain a little warmer than usual, which has kept the blackfish biting well, reported Bobby Matthews at Fisherman’s Den in Belmar. Fishermen have been catching limits, and some of the tog have been 10 to 12 pounds.
The Norma K III continues to catch tog, with keepers being caught daily, but throwbacks dominating the catch.
Amanda at The Reel Seat in Brielle recommended heading deeper for the blackfish, targeting depths of 70 to 80 feet. In those depths, Amanda said, there have even been some cod mixed in.
More keeper and throwback cod have been caught aboard headboats targeting ling, reported Matthews at Fishermen’s Den. The ling bite itself has been pretty good as well.
There are still stripers in the surf, though there are fewer now than a few weeks ago, when fishermen were catching as many as 20 in a single trip. Now, 1 to 2 fish would be considered a good day, but for the middle of January, you can’t ask for much more than that. Bobby Matthews said plugs have been producing better than the soft-plastics that had been the bot lures through December.
Quick reminder, striper season is closed in the backwaters until March 1. Same with winter flounder. The tog limit dropped to 4 on the first of the year.
I also saw a report from our usual Fishing Forecast writer, Captain Brett Taylor, who loaded up on some fat white perch this week. These small relatives of the striped bass bite well all winter, and are excellent eating. Below are a few stories on winter white perch fishing:
Keeping it in the Family – White Perch
Recipe – Onion Crusted White Perch
Fishing Forecast for New Jersey
You can still get that first striper of the year in the surf. Small swimming plugs, like the smaller SP Minnow of Shimano ColtSniper would be good choices, though I suspect the Tsunami Sand Eel could still tempt these coldwater bass.
Hopping on a headboat for tog would be a good option for securing a fresh fish dinner, but you may have a better chance at filling the cooler on a ling trip. If you’re fishing on your own boat, look deeper for tog, as they head farther offshore as the water cools and the winter wears on.