The countdown begins… T-minus 5 days and counting until the opening of New Jersey fluke season and most tackle shops are fully stocked with gear for the backbay. The rivers and west sides of the bays would be the prime spots to target. Warmer water temperatures and clean water are two keys to look at when targeting the early season flatties. Our tautog will end a few days early for boaters as it looks to be a 3 day nor’easter going into the weekend and our last day of the season. The past week has been solid on large tautog at the wrecks and unlimited shorts from the jetties. Striped bass fishing has steadily increased and it looks like the inlets are beginning to produce with regularity.
Here is this week’s rundown:
Hook House Bait & Tackle in Toms River reported striped bass action getting better from the surf off Island Beach State Park with anglers able to pull a few with plugs during the evening. The Toms River area has warmed up, but there are still some bass around, especially around the bridges of Route 37. Tog fisherman have been getting a few keepers from the north jetty of Barnegat Inlet.
Lacey Marine in Forked River had some better reports on striped bass from the “BB” to the “BI” being landed on trolled plugs. There has been the first reports of spotty bluefish action around Barnegat Inlet and surrounding bay waters. Tog fisherman had a decent week on keepers at the reef sites, mainly south of Garden State North reef.
Creekside Outfitters in Waretown had a busy week at the shop getting new fluke gear on the shelfs and weighing tautog to 6 pounds. The bay striped bite has been spotty, but some anglers are catching good numbers.
Reel Reaction Sportfishing out of Waretown was busy on the water over the past week and the charters have been releasing striped bass up to 27.5 inches on light tackle. Some of the keepers have been up to 31 inches and filled with bunker. The crew has also been working some of the 1 to 2 foot flats for schoolie bass on poppers.
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The Super Chic out of Barnegat Light had another busy week getting the final preparations completed for the upcoming black sea bass season. The boat will also begin targeting striped bass.
Tony’s Bait & Tackle in Manahawkin reported that striped bass fishing has become very consistent off the Long Beach Island surf on both clam and bunker baits. The shop also had some positive news of 1 to 3 pound bluefish being caught in the bay along with a few weakfish. The white perch bite in Beach Haven West is going, but definitely not in great numbers. The has been loaded with white legger crabs and blue claws are starting to show.
Tackle Direct in Egg Harbor Townshipsaid the striped bass bite that has been going strong in the Mullica River slowed down tremendously over the past week. Better action has been closer to the bay along some of the sedges and deeper channels on live eel, bloodworms, and clam. Blueclaws are already showing along some of the local mud flats and grass beds. Tautog fishing was good with the reef sites having excellent numbers of tog, but a tad challenging to box a limit of keepers.
Tight Lines Bait & Tackle in Somers Point received a new shipment of bloodworms over the past week and anglers have been doing extremely well in the deeper, back channels. The surf off Brigantine, Ocean City, and the south beaches have started to produce better numbers of striped bass on clam or bunker.
Badfish Charters in Ocean City had a busy week on the water with lots of short striped bass action on light tackle and flies. The crew also released a few fish in the 20 to 30 pound range.
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The Cape May area much better reports of drum being landed on clam baits with some of the typical early season sloughs producing numbers. Drum, striped bass, and dogfish have been the main species landed while boats soaked clam baits. Short striped bass fishing has been steady in the back channels and along the bay. Plugs, poppers in the evening, and soft plastics continue to work best. The big news of the week has been a subtle influx of weakfish, but I was sworn to secrecy regarding the areas. Togging had another epic week with some nice double digit whitechins being released from the Cape May wrecks. White crab and green crab on jigs were the top bait choices.
South Jersey Fishing Forecast
It’s surely going to be a challenging weekend for anglers, if you can’t resist the urge to fish then togging (safely) off one of the inlet jetties would be the best place to start. Green crab, clam, or white crabs tipped on a one hook rig or jig works best. Most of the jetties are peppered with short females to 14 inches, but if you stay at it a keeper or two should be able to be iced. A word of advice, do not go to the jetty with anything less than 2 dozen, the ferocity and speed of the recent tautog bite will have crabs will be gone in 10 minutes. Striped bass fishing along, under, or adjacent to some of the area bridges would also be a good bet, but again wind, tide, and weather is the factor. If you’re not an ultra-hardcore fisherman, then prepping for the upcoming fluke season would be the top choice for the weekend. Good Luck, Be Safe, and Tight Lines!
Will you change the tackle direct to Egg Harbor Township NOT egg harbor city. It’s in eht.