One of the best weeks in terms of temperatures, and just like the temperatures the tog bite has becoming increasingly better for our southern reefs. You want easily limits of tog hit the Atlantic City reef and you’ll beat the house every time. That’s how good it is right now. I received quite a few texts and calls that Reef Site #11 was also pumping out some nice fish. Striped bass fishing has picked up along the back bays and on the beaches out front. The drum bite has officially started in parts of Great Bay and around the southern tip of Cape May.
Here is this week’s rundown:
Hook House Bait & Tackle in Toms River said striped bass are starting to bite off the beaches of Island Beach State Park. Anglers soaking clams have been rewarded with some nice striped bass up to 33 inches. The Toms River is still holding plenty of schoolie to keeper bass, but the bite has mainly been on bloodworms.
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Lacey Marine in Forked River said anglers trolling small Yo-Zuri’s and other plugs just north of the “BB” to the “BI” marker are finding striped bass to 13 pounds. Bloodworms and clams are also working for these fish. Togging has been challenging, but the best bites have been from the Atlantic City Reef site on white and green crab. The shop is loaded with bay fluke gear for the upcoming opening in early May.
Creekside Outfitters in Waretown has been stocking up with bloodworms, clams, and bunker as striped bass were pretty cooperative over the past week. Stripers to 30 inches have been caught around the Route 37 bridge, but it’s been an evening bite. The striped bass action has slowed along the Long Beach Island bridges as fish have spread out into the bay. Togging continued to be decent and anglers making the run to the Little Egg Reef and Atlantic City reef have been rewarded with tog to 5 pounds.
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Reel Reaction Sportfishing out of Waretown had a busy week running several back to back striped bass trips. Most of the trips had throwback striper action, but a few keepers to 31 inches were boxed on live baits. The crew will be running bay fluke trips in a few weeks and has some weekday afternoons available.
The Super Chic out of Barnegat Light is planning on running trips for the sea bass opener and is currently booking for sea bass in May and fluke in June.
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Tony’s Bait & Tackle in Manahawkin had some nice reports of tog being caught from the Little Egg and Atlantic City reef on crabs and clams. The inlet jetty has been spotty on keepers, but does have good action on shorts. Although it has become a slower bite, striped bass are still biting along the bridges on live bloodworms. The shop did hear of a few drum caught south on clam baits along some of the southern marshes. The Beach Haven West area is showing a good number of white perch and the dinner time bite has been better.
Tackle Direct in Egg Harbor City had a few bass caught off the beaches of Brigantine and Ocean City. The beach bite has definitely improved over the past several weeks with clam baits and plugs in the evening working the best. The bays have a large number of short bass which are pretty much spread out along the back bays and rivers. Small plastic artificials and plugs are working, but the retrieve has to be slow. Tautog fishing remains very good off the Ocean City and Wildwood reef sites. Green crabs, white crabs, and clams tipped on jigs are the prime bait choices.
Tight Lines Bait & Tackle in Somers Point had a few customers stop by the shop with striped bass that were caught on eels in backwaters. The main channels and the deeper holes have been holding some better sized bass. The night bite has still been ruling in terms of sheer numbers of striped bass, but signs are starting to point to a daytime bite.
Badfish Charters in Ocean City has been busy working the backwaters with a better week in terms of weather and Capt. Brian said the fish have responded. Flies, small artificials and plugs did a nice job on stripers up to 30+ inches. The skipper has some spots available in the coming weeks, so give him a ring.
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The Cape May area had some of the first reports of large drum caught along the Delaware bay and some of the flats are producing both bass and drum. Several nice striped bass have been caught over the past week from Fortascue to Reeds beach. Clams, bunker chunks, and jumbo bloodworms are working with equal success, but clam baits will give additional shots at drum. The tog bite remained hot this past week with several boats reporting easily caught limits and there were a few tog in the 10-plus pound range. The Cape May jetty produced lots of tog on green crab baits, but anglers have to weed through quite a few shorts.
South Jersey Fishing Forecast
The best bet for the weekend will be to hit tautog from the area jetties if anglers are looking for steady action, while the inshore reef sites and wrecks are much better in terms of keepers. Reef site #11, the Cape May reef, and the Atlantic City Reef have been the hot spots, while the other reefs have had somewhat scratchy bites for keepers. It seems that most sites have large numbers of 13 to 14 1/2 inch fish which is great for anglers looking for action. The winds could be a deciding factor, but we have to see how the weather holds. Striped bass would be the second best option and picking up some jumbo bloodworms offer the best shot at picking up keeper striped bass. Night time has been the best followed by early morning and working the deeper bay holes. Good Luck, Be Safe, and Tight Lines!