I hope everyone was buckled up as our weather has been as wild as the stock market with temperatures close to 70 over the weekend followed by mornings of freezing temperatures. The swings have played havoc with the striper action in the shallow bay areas, but the Raritan has been on absolute fire. Anglers from all over the state have been flocking to the area and whaling stripers to 44 inches on a variety of artificial lures. Tog fishing has been hit and miss with some nicer fish, but most of the action has been in spurts rather than a steady bite. Based on the shop’s reports, the further south you go the better the bite with the Cape May area having some nice tog to 14 pounds. White perch are still biting in some of the tidal rivers on bloodworms and grass shrimp and it doesn’t hurt to pitch out grass shrimp on a bobber in some of the back lagoons.
Fishing Report For Southern New Jersey
Hook House Bait & Tackle in Toms River said the striped bass fishing has slowed a tad bayside with the drop in temperatures, but hardy anglers are still getting fish on bloodworms. Some customers who stopped in fished the Raritan and said action was epic on fish from 28 to 40 inches. Island Beach State Park had a few tog caught off the Barnegat Inlet jetty on clam, but it’s been slow so far.
Creekside Outfitters in Waretown said a slower week in terms of striped bass, but the shop has been busy selling green crabs for anglers looking to hit the tog grounds. There are some fish around with most of the action occurring in the 35 to 55 foot range. The northern bridges which were hot a few weeks ago have cooled off from striped bass action as some of the fish have spread out in the bay.
Reel Reaction Charters out of Waretown was out over the weekend for their first charter of the season. The skipper said action was rather slow due to heavy rains the night before and dirty bay water. The managed a few bites on striped bass and tog with a keeper in the mix. The crew will be at it again this week and looking for cleaner water conditions.
The The Super Chic out of Barnegat Light out of Barnegat Light is all set to begin sea bass fishing for the opener in May. The crew has been booking trips for the upcoming season, so give them a ring.
Tony’s Bait and Tackle in Manahawkin reported good action along the bridges to Long Beach Island, but timing is the key with fish biting on certain tide swings. Bloodworms have been the bait of choice for bait anglers, while white paddle tails for the artificial scene. Graveling Point begun to turn on for better striped bass and drum action on clams. Tautog bite was slow off the south jetty in Barnegat Light as very few keepers have been in the mix. The white perch bite begun to pick up in Beach Haven West lagoons on grass shrimp, minnows and/or bloodworms. The shop has a full lineup of fresh and live baits, so stop in.
Tackle Direct in Egg Harbor City reported striped bass action still heating up in the back bays from Mullica River to Ocean City. Anglers have been able to get more fish on artificials over the past week, but the winds and rain kept the participation at a lower level. Tog fishing has been good at the wrecks and some of the closer jetties or bridges on clams and green crabs. The lagoons are showing a few perch as well as the rivers which have been consistent all season. Plugs, shads and pencil poppers have been flying off the shelves for anglers making the trek up the parkway.
Tight Lines Bait & Tackle in Somers Point had some great reports from toggers working the wrecks in between the wind and rain. Some of the fish have been as big as 15 pounds and the shop said most were released in that range. Anglers working the bay with small Yo-Zuri plugs found some bass along the bridges and sod banks. Bloodworms are still the bait to use for tautog while green crabs have been the go-to tog bait. The shop just received a few more bushels of green crab for the tautog bay bite.
Badfish Charters in Ocean City said the weather has been iffy and cold. Most fish are on the spawn, but there has been a revolving door of fish moving in and out. The skipper said fish were good on the topwater before the water dipped into the low 50’s. Capt. Brian said he will be on OTW on NBC sports this upcoming weekend (930am) on Sunday. Tautog have been chewing baits pretty heavily in the bay.
The Cape May and Fortescue area had excellent reports of tautog action coming from the local head boats fishing on the Cape May reef as well as local charters. Boats working the inshore wrecks off Wildwood said it was slower for keeper tog with shorts and dogfish. Anglers going deep for tilefish had a mix of golden tiles and lots of dogfish invading dropped baits. Striped bass were chewing along parts of Delaware bay and there was word of some drum picking up clam baits meant for striped bass. This is a good sign for the upcoming drum run.
South Jersey Fishing Forecast
The best bet for working striped bass or tautog baits continues to be looking like the later part of the weekend with Sunday looking decent as of the latest forecast model. Anglers looking to cash in on the striped bass bite should make the run up the parkway or check in to a local shop to pick up bloodworms and sling the nematodes along the bridges and sod banks. Toggers should look to drop clam or green crab baits on double hook setups along the jetties, bridges, and inshore reef sites. I would suggest hitting the reef sites and working the perimeter wrecks to find biting fish, but just like the late winter – the key is to build the bite. Good luck, Be Safe, and Tight Lines!