Southern New Jersey Fishing Report
Striped bass and drum continue in the bay, and even some nice bluefin within 20 miles of the beaches, but finally we get some nice warmer weather as we go into the weekend and next week. The bite is slowly getting better for tautog along our inshore reef sites, though anglers are still needing to put in a solid 6 to 8 hours to see limits on some of the boats. Boats and rock hoppers fishing from Atlantic City south to Cape May are seeing better action on the larger whitechin front. Bluefish have started to show up with some fish being caught in the Manasquan and some gators off the surf in LBI. Striped bass to 40 inches continue to be landed throughout the Raritan Bay. Weakfish have made a definite showing along coastal South Jersey, with some nice 5 to 7 pounders landed over the past week. With May approaching, the state has started to place some of the secondary channel markers in, but be smart when running as I have heard quite a few reports of poorly marked areas. The last thing you want is for the first trip to end with the vessel high and dry aground.
Here is this week’s rundown:
Hook House Bait & Tackle in Toms River received some solid reports of striped bass to 26 inches along parts of the Toms River and around the Route 37 bridges. Small shallow swimming plugs worked slowly along with soft plastics to 5 inches have been working for most of the fish. Anglers soaking nematode varieties, sandies and bloods, are also scoring for consistency. Beach action has definitely been on the uptick with regular catches of striped bass up to 34 inches on soaked clam baits.
Creekside Outfitters in Waretown had a few weigh-ins this past week with some roaster tautog and youth anglers getting in on the sweet water largemouth action. The shop has been busy selling clams to anglers from our area and Pennsylvania looking to target some of the Barnegat Bay drum. There have been angler reports of drum along the Long Beach Island bridges and some of the holes off the main channel of the “BI” to “BB”.
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Reel Reaction Sportfishing out of Waretown was out during the week and clients worked baits on the shallow water skiff. The charter released a several from 20 to 30 inches, while keeping two striped bass for the table. The crew tried for tautog, but the water was incredibly dirty so bites were non-existent. The crew’s schedule is completely booked out for May and June, but trips do remain for July through the end of the season in December.
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The Super Chic out of Barnegat Light will be sailing for the start of the sea bass season and the dates are almost completely booked out. Capt. Ted said there are fluke dates available for private charter, so give them a ring.
Tony’s Bait & Tackle in Manahawkin had anglers catching some large gator bluefish along with some quality striped bass off the Long Beach Island surf which is a great sign for things to come. The mid-island spots have been producing some striped bass to 26 inches, but it’s been better along the inlets and beach front. Tautog are being landed at the Barnegat inlet, although last week’s dirty water had the bite on hold. With better weather and conditions this coming week, the shop feels the tautog should explode along the inlet and inshore wrecks. Anglers working the rocks and north end of the island are finding some striped bass and even a weakfish or two have been caught.
Tackle Direct in Egg Harbor City said it’s been hot for striped bass off of some of the Atlantic City jetties during the early morning or late evening hours. Stripers have been plentiful with specimens from 26 inches to 37 inches caught on plugs, bloodworms, and soft plastics. Togging slowed up over the weekend, but the second half of the week has been better for decent sized fish from the inshore reefs and wrecks. The bite has been on green crab with jigs on the less current days.
Tight Lines Bait & Tackle in Somers Point received a full shipment of gem green crabs in the last 24 hours and the tog are ready. The artificial reef sites are producing some really nice keepers up to 16 pounds while the local rocks, jetties, and pilings are showing a pick of keepers. Anglers working the beaches with clam baits are seeing the occasional striped bass to keeper size. The bay is producing keeper striped bass on live eels during the night tides, so stop in and pick them up.
Badfish Charters in Ocean City worked a handful of spots in the bay to produce some quality striped bass on light tackle soft plastics and on the fly. The skipper remarked that the bite should only explode over the next week for some topwater action with the warmer temperatures.
The Cape May and Fortescue area had solid striped bass action for fish in the keeper-size class over the past week. Most of the fish landed off the Delaware Bay beaches have ranged from 28 to 31 inches, which are perfect for the table. Bloodworms and clam baits continue to the most consistent action for bay anglers. There were some larger ones released up to 39 inches, which fell for the bloody nematode. Boaters working the wrecks for tautog have been bringing some quality fish over the rail. Reef Site #11, Cape May reef and Wildwood reef sites have been the spots to work the anchors and drop down crab baits too.
South Jersey Fishing Forecast
The best bet for this weekend will be to get out and work the beaches and inlets for spring bluefish and striped bass. By pitching metals along the Manasquan, Shark River, and Barnegat Inlets you should be able to hook some of these hard fighting fish. Anglers working stretches of the beaches will also have excellent opportunities at bunker chunking a few blues or striped bass.
Our coast has finally seen consistent action on striped bass, and there are bigger ones in the mix up to 40 inches. Another option would be to work the inlets and inshore wrecks for tautog on green crab. Anglers will the best bet at hooking limits or larger fish should concentrate their efforts south of Little Egg Inlet. Those areas receive much less fishing pressure, and tend to hold some really nice whitechins. Good luck, be safe, and tight lines!