Southern New Jersey Fishing Report
Although the wind has been pretty strong over the past week, it has not slowed the striped bass bite along the New Jersey coast. Slot-sized stripers and a few fish surpassing 40 inches have been in the mix for both surf fishermen and boat anglers, but boaters are getting better shots on the days of strong west wind. AVA jigs, sand-eel lures, and a variety of topwater offerings yielded quality stripers. Bluefin tuna are still around in solid numbers due to the sustained presence of sand eels, and they should stick around for the foreseeable future.
Tautog fishing has been slower than normal, not for lack of fish, but more from lack of effort due to the strong wind we have been experiencing as of late. If you don’t have white-legger crabs, I wouldn’t bother going, because there’s been a strong white-legger bite for the keepers. Anglers that want to stay tuned into the striped bass regulation discussion should jump on to today’s Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission webinar. You can register using this link.
Here is this week’s rundown:
Hook House Bait & Tackle in Toms River reported a hit or miss striped bass bite occurring along Island Beach State Park (IBSP) and Seaside Park over the weekend and through the past few days. Metals and white swimming plugs have been the top baits to hook up with striped bass in the surf. Boaters are chasing and finding stripers under bird action with better luck.
Creekside Outfitters in Waretown had decent reports of bluefin tuna action from 3 to 9 miles out for fish up to 70 inches, but fish in the 40- to 60-inch range have also been caught just past Barnegat Ridge. Anglers togging from the inlet rocks reported much slower action on keeper fish as it seems most have moved to deeper spots. The shop got a shipment of white legger crabs, but stock is limited. Striped bass fishing remained excellent for boaters and tougher for surfcasters fishing off LBI. The last word from anglers was there was a big push of fish from Harvey Cedars to the red tower.
Reel Reaction Sportfishing out of Waretown worked several trips over the Thanksgiving holiday to catch and release over 200 striped bass in as little as 4 hours. The trips have been boxing full boat limits of bonus tag and slot-size striped bass, as well as some keeper tautog. The skipper reported several fish over 40 pounds caught on white Hogy swimbaits. The skipper will be targeting mostly tautog on weekends, but has a few 3-hour after-work specials available on Tuesdays and Thursdays until Christmas.
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The Super Chic out of Barnegat Light continued to work the 1 to 3 mile line for charters and the boat boxed both slot and bonus-tagged fish. Metal jigs and soft plastics have been the top baits for anglers on the boat. They will continue to sail for striped bass over the next several weeks.
Tony’s Bait & Tackle in Manahawkin said the focus has been bluefin tuna and striped bass action, with the tuna being caught from the 4 to 8 mile range. Blue/white trolled rigs tipped with ballyhoo are the top bluefin producers, but soft plastics casted ahead of breaking tuna are also working well. Stripers can be found by making a left or right out of both LBI inlets with metals and soft plastics ruling the show.
Tackle Direct in Egg Harbor City reported waves and waves of striped bass traveling down the coast and excellent fishing as a result. Most fish are being caught from 2 to 3 miles out, but there have been a few schools in closer. Beach anglers are picking off striped bass from Brigantine to Ocean City. The Atlantic City jetties are still producing good numbers of keeper tautog around 3 pounds, but anglers have to weed through the shorts. Bay action has slowed for the most part, with the inlets producing better striped bass results, but the ocean remains the place to be. A few fisherman reported some nice white perch being landed along parts of the Mullica with the recent colder temperatures.
Tight Lines Bait & Tackle in Somers Point received a few tanks full of white leggers for the winter tautog season and there are Christmas deals going on at the shop. Bluefin and striped bass have been the word on the water. Most of the bluefin are being caught on trolled ballyhoo setups or soft plastics on large spinning setups. Anglers are finding them anywhere from 3 to 20 miles out, but when you find and hook them, fish have been ranging from 40 to 70 inches plus. Tog fisherman have reported good action in 30 to 45 feet of water for boaters, and some of the AC jetties are still producing keepers.
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Badfish Charters in Ocean City got the call up and will be presenting at the George Poveromo saltwater seminar series in January, so congratulations to the skipper. Fishing wise, striped bass action has been very good for striped bass out front. The bays also have some action on schoolie-sized specimens.
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Wildwood to Cape May has seen lots of bigger fish from 30 to 50 pounds as of late. Anglers have reported good numbers of large bass, bunker, and whales from the 2-mile line and beyond. Large plugs, trolled mojos, and metals have been accounting for a good number of the larger fish. Tog fishing was decent with some bigger fish landed by the local headboats out of Cape May and Wildwood, but it’s been a little tougher to get out for the smaller boats. There have been several big tautog up to 15 pounds landed on white crabs. The rivers are also producing some nice white perch on small pieces of bloodworm and grass shrimp.
South Jersey Fishing Forecast
The west winds look strong again for another weekend, so the best bet may to target striped bass from the sand beaches or stay close to the beach on the boat. AVA-style diamond jigs in the 1- to 3-ounce range with black, red, green, or white tails have been working better than naked jigs. With the stronger winds, bass and bait sometimes get “blown” further offshore, so if the fish aren’t in tight, boaters should plan on working the 1 to 2 mile stretches.
Tog fisherman still have shots at keepers and it seems the Atlantic City jetties to Cape May have better sized fish on them. Grab a few dozen white leggers, some jigs and rigs, and rock hop your way to a 5-fish limit. If you’re not up for fishing in snotty conditions, or you’re more of the armchair winter angler, hit one of the local tackle shops for tons of holiday deals. Good luck, be safe, and tight lines!