Southern New Jersey Fishing Report
New Jersey may be in a drought in terms of rain, but there is definitely no shortage of fish along our coastal waters. Bunker, bass, and bluefin! I don’t think we could ask for better fishing in the South Jersey waters for this month, and all of the catching is occurring within the sight of land. But wait, on Saturday, tautog season opens up to 5-fish per day; it just got even better!
Bluefin have been busting on bait from just outside the breakers to 10 miles out, but NOAA enforcement has been clued into the bite due to social media posts and the lack of tuna being reported. Anglers have been getting checked by NOAA boats as far as 5 miles out. Be sure to have your NMFS tuna permit and to report any harvesting within 24 hours of landing the tuna. Striped bass have been busting spooks and topwater plugs, bucktails, and jigs with both beach and boat anglers getting into the melee. Tog fishing remains excellent from the jetties and inlets, but the colder temperatures should begin to push these fish to the inshore wrecks.
Here is this week’s rundown:
Hook House Bait & Tackle in Toms River reported excellent fishing from the Barnegat Inlet jetty for tautog and the shop had a few anglers come in with 16- to 18-inch fish this past week. Striper fishing is off the charts from Seaside Heights to Island Beach State Park, but the wind is a big factor, keeping baits and bass close to the beaches. Bay side angling has been good on striped bass around the bridges and lighted docks with white paddletails and other soft plastics. The shop has a full lineup of tog and striped bass baits, so stop in.
Creekside Outfitters in Waretown reported a mad-dog bite on striped bass using live spot and eels along parts of Barnegat Inlet and the backwaters. Anglers out front, off IBSP and LBI are also connecting on some nice bass from 28 to 46 inches. Toggers have been finding success off the southern Barnegat jetty on sand fleas, greenies, and Asian shore crabs. Bluefin to 70 inches are being caught with regularity on Ron-Z’s and trolled (way-back) ballyhoo and some reported fights as long as 2 hours.
Reel Reaction Sportfishing out of Waretown worked a bunch of charters over the past week. Most trips were seeing between 10 to 20 striped bass in the backwaters with at least 5 being boxed before the skipper switched over to tautog. Tautog fishing has been exceptional with easy 1-fish limits to 18 inches and between 35 to 60 fish released in 2 hours. The remainder of 2024 has been booked out, but the 2025 calendar is open—if interested, give us a shout!
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The Super Chic out of Barnegat Light continued to work the ocean waters for striped bass; the boat has been finding action from just outside the inlet up to Lavallette. Shads and live-lined bunker worked for fish up to 48 inches, but some trips were able to find a few tagged and fish in the 28- to 31-inch range. The boat has some weekday dates available, so give them a ring.
Tony’s Bait & Tackle in Manahawkin reported excellent bluefin fishing from 3 miles to 20 miles out on a variety of tackle from jigs and poppers to trolled ballyhoo. The shop reminds anglers to have their NMFS permits up to date. The striped bass bite was good off Long Beach Island with chunked bunker and large, metal-lipped swimmers leading the way. Togging is still going strong and the season switches to a 5-fish limit on Saturday.
Tackle Direct in Egg Harbor City said it’s been bluefin mania over the past week with quite a few anglers hooking up with large bluefin from the 3 mile line to the inshore ridges. Trolled lures, and rigged and unrigged ballyhoo have been flying out the door. Striped bass are biting in the backwaters, along parts of the ICW and sod marshes. Poppers, small plugs, and live baits have been doing exceptionally well on bay bass. The South Jersey tog fishing continues to be off the charts, especially for the Atlantic City and Brigantine area. It seems there are a ton of keepers coming over the rocks.
Tight Lines Bait & Tackle in Somers Point received a monster NLBN (No Live Bait Needed) order with 3- to 6-inch paddle tails hitting the shelves. The striper bite has been so good with these lures, so they won’t last that long. Backwater fishing remains solid for fish from 20 to 30 inches, while ocean front bassing is producing fish to 45 inches. Anglers hitting the inshore ridges found bluefin tuna to 60 inches plus on trolled baits. Tog fishing off the bridges and jetties produced good numbers of keepers to 17 inches on green crabs.
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Badfish Charters in Ocean City has been mixing it up with striped bass in the mid-30-inch range over the past week. The action has been good on the flats for fly and light-tackle poppers. Capt. Brian said the peanut bunker vanished as of late, which could be due to the lack of rain. He plans on working both the ocean waters and backwaters over the next several weeks. Give him a call to inquire about availability.
The Cape May to Fortescue areas have seen a few bunker schools around, but mostly dogfish are on them with a few striped bass in the mix. Additionally, the area has seen plenty of whales and dolphins, but it’s been hush-hush on the local bluefin bite. Party boats and some charters have been working further wrecks for sea bass, triggerfish, and bluefish. Striped bass have begun to move out of the back creeks and onto some of the Delaware Bay beaches. Interest in white perch fishing has dramatically increased over the course of the past week, and bloodworms are catching both keeper white perch and short striped bass. Tautog fishing continues to be more of the same—epic fishing with plenty of keepers off the rocks and shallower wrecks. Boat and shore-based fisherman have been cashing in on excellent numbers of green-crab eating tog.
South Jersey Fishing Forecast
The best bet for the weekend would be to fish Sunday off one of the local jetties for tautog as the limit increases to 5 fish over 15 inches on Saturday. Saturday looks like a blow out, so take the time to secure green crabs from one of our local shops for the following day. If you want to catch your own Asian shore crabs or green crabs, bring some bunker to the local jetties and drop down in between the rocks. Crabbing for bait will usually only take about an hour or two and there should be plenty for your next trip. One-ounce tog jigs or single-hook bottom rigs are good to use on these tog. If jetty togging is not your thing, hit the beaches early with darters, minnow plugs, metal-lipped swimmers or white swim shads to potentially hook some nice striped bass. Good luck, be safe, and tight lines!