Southern New Jersey Fishing Report
2023 is almost in the books for another full season of South Jersey fishing. Overall, it was a pretty decent year for fisherman, crabbers, and clammers alike. But we are not done yet! There are a few days left in the offshore sea bass season, so now is the time to jump on one of the long range headboats and most trips are 16 to 18 hours. The storm screwed alot of things up, even the sea bassing, but the latest trips seem to have the bite rebounding. It was similar sentiments from the blackfish bite with slower action last week, but a steadily gaining bite. Most headboats are scratching through 20 to 30 keepers per 8-hour trip. It’s not fantastic, just scratchy! Striper action just doesn’t want to let up with a resurgent bite occurring along the Seaside to LBI stretches and even better action from Ocean City to Cape May.
Here is this week’s rundown:
Hook House Bait & Tackle in Toms River had a few reports of striped bass picking up Daiwa SP minnows and small swim shads off stretches of Seaside Park and Island Beach State Park. The anglers noted there was some bird play with boats a mile or so off the park. The shop still has some sale items remaining from the store Christmas sale.
Creekside Outfitters in Waretown reported a slower week in terms of striped bass and tog fishing due to the weather and the holiday. A few anglers did box some post Christmas stripers off the bathing beach. Tog fishing remained pretty slow with a few fish caught here and there.
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Reel Reaction Sportfishing out of Waretown fished the first weekend after the massive swell and it was a much slower bite. The 6-hour charter boxed 6 keepers with 2 at 8 pounds while releasing 15 shorts. The water was still churned up and had the fish off the feed. The boat will be working its remaining charters with the skipper’s decision to call it a season around the New Year.
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The Super Chic out of Barnegat Light wanted to wish all of their patrons a happy holidays and the crew will be performing their annual vessel maintenance in preparation to the 2024 fishing season. The boat will begin sailing again for May’s sea bass opener, but may get in early for tautog.
Tony’s Bait & Tackle in Manahawkin has some leftover Christmas deals at the shop, so be sure to stop in. The fishing has been slow in terms of angler turnout, but there are still decent numbers of striped bass being caught from the shore and the boats. Metal or sand eel soft plastics have been the best lures of choice. Togging has been slow for some and better for others with the extreme southern reefs producing the best results, such as the Little Egg and Atlantic City reef sites. Our local reefs have been a tad slower for the whitechins. The white perch bite is back on the Mullica with a few hardy anglers hitting the back creeks for a perch.
Tackle Direct in Egg Harbor City received some nice reports of striped bass being landed from Atlantic City to Ocean City. The 2 to 3 mile line was the epicenter of the action and some days the action has been over the line. Tog fishing remains spotty, but has started to rebound since the big waves a week ago. White crab on jigs remain the best way to catch the larger sized keepers.
Tight Lines Bait & Tackle in Somers Point was busy for the holiday rush with lots of gift cards being sold. Anglers who made it out around Christmas and after the holiday put a hurting on striped bass with nice bird play from Ocean City to Wildwood. Trolling and jigging produced fish to 35 inches along with plenty of unders. Tog fishing has been best from the Wildwood to Cape May reef sites and if you plan on going white crab has been the ticket. The shop is loaded with tog jigs for the January and February bite.
Badfish Charters in Ocean City was tied to the dock for the holidays and the skipper will be wrapping up the 2023 season shortly. Capt. Brian wanted to see a big thank you to all of his clients for the season and looks forward to 2024.
The Cape May and Fortescue area had good action on striped bass from the 1- to 3-mile line with most of the action occurring at or on the 3 mile limit. Trolled umbrellas, mojos, and stretches had most of the action during the week. There were a few days of limited bird play, but the bass were hungry for swimshads and jigs. Tog fishing was best at the Cape May reef site and Reef Site #11 gave up some big ones over the past few days. Some of the fish were 10 to 16 pounds on 1.5- to 2-ounce jigs tipped with pieces of white crabs. Anglers leaving from Cape May to work the offshore “rocky” areas in the 180- to 240-foot range have been picking at quality sea bass. The bite has been spotty since the storm with some days of full limits, while others producing a slow pick.
South Jersey Fishing Forecast
The best bet for this weekend might be to get out for a few hours off the beach or your boat (if it’s still in), as the bass are still out there. Early morning has been best for surf fisherman, while later in the day has been better for boat anglers. Anglers looking to tog through the New Year need to procure white leggers as the bite with greens drops out dramatically. If you can only get greens, then stay tight on the hook to build a bite. Sometimes it can take 3 to 5 minutes between bites, so stay the course on the tautog. I haven’t heard much on bluefin since the storm, but don’t forget to bring a large spinning setup rigged with soft plastics in case you see the canyon ball explosions on the surface! Happy New Year, Be Safe, and Tight Lines!