Southern New Jersey Fishing Report
It’s smoking, and I’m not talking about the turkey—fishing has been red hot! Anglers in New Jersey should be very thankful this season for the epic fall striper run and the blitzing bluefin action not far from shore. Beach and boat fisherman saw waves of striped bass gorging on not-so-lucky schools of bunker and sand eels over the past few days. Seaside Park, Island Beach State Park and parts of Long Beach Island had excellent surf fishing on plugs, pencil poppers and AVA-style diamonds jigs from 1 to 2 ounces with green or white tubes. Bluefin fishing continued to be red hot on blue-white Wolfpack Tackle lures rigged with ballyhoo and trolled 200 to 400 yards behind the boat. Tautog fishing has been good at the inlets, but poorer at the wrecks with an oddly large number of spiny dogfish schools.
Here is this week’s rundown:
Hook House Bait & Tackle in Toms River reported some schoolie striped bass being caught along the Route 37 bridge spanning Toms River and Seaside. The beach has been the hot zone for striped bass on poppers, plugs, pencils and metals. The shop recommends hitting the beaches from Ortley to Island Beach State Park in the early morning or around dinner time for the best bite.
Creekside Outfitters in Waretown had a busy week with the shop selling hordes of striper, tautog, and tuna gear. A few new shipments of ballyhoo came in and they said that’s been the trick to catching the large bluefins. Striped bass fishermen found fish over 34 inches both north and south of the inlet. There are some slot fish around too, and they are being caught on jigs closer to shore.
Reel Reaction Sportfishing out of Waretown was busy with some school functions this past week and was only able to get out once during the week. The charter released over 24 striped bass, keeping 7 for the table up to 30 inches. The crew will be working a few trips over the holiday and wishes all of their clients a Happy Thanksgiving.
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The Super Chic out of Barnegat Light worked striped bass trips over the past week outside of Barnegat Inlet and the skipper ran far up north to find feeding fish. The boat has been releasing plenty of overs and putting slots in the cooler. Some of the bites have consisted of full-on surface blitzing action.
Tony’s Bait & Tackle in Manahawkin had good reports of striped bass being caught off of the LBI beaches from the inlet down to Little Egg. Tautog fishing continued to be solid off the jetties, but keepers are much harder to come by after last week’s onslaught. Green crabs are still working, but the bite will begin to switch over to white crabs with cooler water temperatures. Anglers reported a lot of spiny dogfish around, which has disrupted bass and tog fishing. The bluefin tuna bite has been good from 3 to 10 miles out and some of the fish were up to 71 inches.
Tackle Direct in Egg Harbor City said anglers have been getting into striped bass along the 3 mile line. Surfcasters are picking at striped bass up to 33 inches off the Brigantine and Atlantic City beaches. The tog fishing was decent from the Brigantine and Atlantic City jetty rocks. The shop recommended anglers to work the backwater and bridges during the early morning or night tides to produce better numbers of fish.
Tight Lines Bait & Tackle in Somers Point said it’s tuna, tuna, and more tuna in the reports this past week. The shop had several nice bluefin weighed in with crews taking fish up to 70 inches on trolled and casted soft plastics. Striped bass are mixed out front, with a few fish along the stretches of sand from Somers Point to Wildwood. Boaters have been getting better shots at them, especially in the morning. Tog fishing rebounded after last week’s blow and there were a few nice ones caught at the inshore pieces.
Badfish Charters in Ocean City worked trips along the picturesque parts of Great Bay and put anglers on fish to the mid-30 inch range on sub-surface lures and poppers. The skipper said the recent rains and winds helped to push some bait around. The crew will be out fishing and has some dates open next week. Give them a ring!
Wildwood to Cape May area saw another influx of striped bass and a solid tautog bite, but the news of the past week has been the outstanding bluefin tuna bite going on with lots of Cape May boats making the inshore runs. Bluefin have been ranging from 50 to 70 inches with most being taken on the troll on blue and white rigged ballyhoos. Creekside action remained solid for small striped bass and white perch along parts of Fortescue and the surrounding areas.
South Jersey Fishing Forecast
The best bet this week will be to work the suds during the early morning or late evening for striped bass, and be sure to bring a variety of lures. Some days it’s all topwater, while other times it’s been subsurface plugs or jigs doing the work. Regardless, load that surf bag up with everything that will cover bunker to sand-eel imitations. If you are in the game to go bluefin tuna hunting, talk to one of our local tackle shops, as most will rig you up and point you in the right direction. The tuna are in the rather large category, so be ready for a potentially long-lasting fight and make sure you have the correct permits. Even though it’s a Thanksgiving “turkey-themed” weekend, give Tom the Turkey a break and hit the salt for some of our South Jersey species. Good Luck, Be Safe, and Tight Lines!