When pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training, you know it’s getting close for “our” season to begin. What a great feeling to be back reporting on fishing in South Jersey! The striped bass season, which opened over the weekend, had some very positive reports and even a few keepers to 30 inches being weighed in at local tackle shops. It was a good start to the 2025 season.
Anglers working the usual double or triple bloodworm rigs had shots, but bass were also aggressive on small plugs and soft plastics. Winter flounder fishing has been somewhat slow in terms of angler participation, but there should be a few around to keep anglers busy. White perch fishing from shore, boat, and kayak continued to be excellent for parts of the Mullica and areas west of Green Bank. There was also good word on striped bass and perch from the Cohansey and Maurice rivers.
March is a month to pick your days as we get spurts of spring-like weather followed by dips via polar vortices. We are still dealing with the lion in terms of weather, so be picky when selecting your days!
Here is this week’s rundown:
Hook House Bait & Tackle in Toms River had excellent reports of striped bass to 30 inches being landed along several swaths of the Toms River on soft plastics, surface poppers, and drifted bloodworms. The shop has a full stock of shiners and flats of bloodworms for your striped bass and white perch needs.
Creekside Outfitters in Waretown said the shop will be open most weekends and a few days toward the end of the week. The main bite has been on white perch in the Mullica and Toms River along with striped bass on live bloodworm and artificials. The shop had a complete redesign for 2025 with new flooring and more tackle for the season ahead.
Reel Reaction Sportfishing out of Waretown has been busy getting both vessels ready for upcoming season and doing seminars at NJ boat shows. The larger vessel should be in the slip by the first week of April to tackle the tautog season. March and April are great times to target striped bass on the night tides, so give us a call!
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The Super Chic out of Barnegat Light has been working the on the vessel for the 2025 season and the skipper said they will begin with the spring tautog season, followed by the sea bass season towards the middle of May.
Tony’s Bait & Tackle in Manahawkin reported a decent bite on striped bass from parts of the Toms River and some lagoons of Barnegat Bay. Four- to 5-inch topwater baits along with swim shads worked very slowly were the top baits. Winter flounder fishing has been relatively slow due to lack of effort. Graveling Point will be a hot spot in the coming weeks for targeting striped bass with clam or blood worm. The shop has a variety of fresh baits for stripers, perch and winter flounder.
Tackle Direct in Egg Harbor City has been extremely busy at the shop putting out new inventory for the 2025 season with Shimano, Ocean Tackle and others leading the way. The staff said striped bass fishing has been good along the backsides of Tuckahoe, Mullica and Great Bay. White perch action has been hit or miss for parts of the Mullica River.
Tight Lines Bait & Tackle in Somers Point received a large shipment of jumbo and regular sized bloodworms as these have been the hot baits to target early season striped bass and white perch. Both species have been picking up baits along parts of Great Bay and the Mullica River. The shop also re-stocked their Gulp baits for the new summer flounder season, which opens up the first week of May.
Badfish Charters in Ocean City has the vessel ready and has already hit some of his favorite areas for early season schoolie bass. The skipper said the bass are here and the bite should get better with warmer weather in the coming weeks.
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The Cape May and Fortescue area has seen quite a few striped bass cooperating along the western side of the bay. The rivers have produced much better on jumbo bloodworms as a few of the local shops are carrying them. White perch are being caught along the Cohansey and Maurice rivers. The Cape May area has been a tad slow, but there are some schoolies around.
South Jersey Fishing Forecast
The best bet for this weekend looks to be another bloodworm soaking session with above average temperatures set for both days. Simple circle hook rigs along with sliding sinkers are perfect for working some of the deeper holes in our South Jersey rivers. Most of the fish are in the 17- to 27-inch range, but there have been a few keepers pulled out.
If you can get your hands on live grass shrimp, targeting white perch is another viable option for anglers. Regardless of your angling choice, it’s nice just to get out on the water— I plan to hit a few spots with soft plastics targeting striped bass. This time of year, the getting “out” feels good enough, and fish are secondary! Good luck, Be Safe, and Tight Lines!