Southern New Jersey Fishing Report
Our May fishing has begun to bloom like our Jersey fresh wildflowers on the sides of the parkway, with striped bass, drum and bluefish hitting the beachfront and the bays. As we head into the weekend, the state’s favorite fishery, summer flounder, will be open for business. West of the inlets are the places to find cooperative flounder, with warm water usually dictating the ferocity of the bite. Surf fishermen have some excellent opportunities to land migrating stripers and there have even been a few blitzes south of Atlantic City. Tog season is unfortunately closed, a tough loss for anglers as the bite was just beginning to get going; at least the closure protects spawning fish!
Here is this week’s rundown:
Hook House Bait & Tackle in Toms River had striped bass hitting 4- to 5-inch white paddletails around the area bridges. Bloodworms and clams have been catching striped bass and drum on bottom. The IBSP and Seaside surf showed some promising results on striped bass to 30 inches along with a few big bluefish.
Creekside Outfitters in Waretown reported a good ending to the tog season with a few keepers to 11 pounds being weighed in, but overall, the shop reported a slower bite for the month. With the start of the fluke season, Gulp and jigs are in good supply for bayside anglers, so stop in to pick some up. Striped bass are around the inlets on live spot or bloodworms, and also around the local bridges on small plugs and plastics.
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Reel Reaction Sportfishing out of Waretown had a few charters over the past week and the skipper picked at only a few small striped bass. Togging action was good with the crews releasing over 67 shorts, but it was tougher to find keepers. The boat will be working the bay areas on opening day for fluke and the skipper will have a full report next week.
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The Super Chic out of Barnegat Light continued to prepare for the 2025 season and they are about 15 days away from the beginning of sea bass. The crew said they are ready to go, so give them a call.
Tony’s Bait & Tackle in Manahawkin reported striped bass hitting soft plastics at the local bridges, white perch in the back lagoons, and some drum along parts of Great Bay with clam baits. The LBI surf heated up this week with anglers landing a few striped bass on clams and bunker along the beaches of Barnegat Light and Ship Bottom. Bluefish were also caught in the inlet on baits and metal jigs. Anglers ended the tautog season with a few keepers from the area wrecks and the inlet jetties, but the numbers of short tog were high. The shop said they have a full lineup of fluke lures and baits for the start of the season this Sunday.
Tackle Direct in Egg Harbor City remarked that the striper fishing came alive over the past week with more striped bass caught on the ocean side from parts of Brigantine down through Ocean City. The Atlantic City area had a few striped bass blitzes going on during the day. There was hush-hush word of a few weakfish being landed on bloodworm and purple soft-plastic worms at night. The bridges are supporting a variety of species including blues, bass, and even a few puppy drum on clam baits. Anglers working the shallower sod banks and marshes found striped bass to 30 inches on slowly worked plastics, with even a few fluke caught. This is a great sign for the upcoming opener this weekend. Check out the shop for its full lineup of Gulp baits.
Tight Lines Bait & Tackle in Somers Point said it was a bluefish invasion over the past week with a good number of spring racers hitting the inlet and back bay areas. Plugs, plastics, and metals, along with soaked baits accounted for most of the blues which measured up to 26 inches plus. Striped bass fishing has been pretty steady over the past week with more and more fish being landed around the inlets, bridges, and sod-marsh channels. The tog bite ended on a high note with a few fish pushing 12 pounds landed. The shop said don’t count out drum just yet, as the deeper channels have been producing good fish on clams.
Badfish Charters in Ocean City had a great week playing with striped bass in the backwaters and the skipper reported a bycatch of bluefish with some fluke in the mix. Capt. Brian said the bite exploded with the more consistent temperatures this past week. Post-spawn fish are on the move and feeding pretty heavily, so give the skipper a call to get into the action.
The Cape May and Fortescue area reported a better mix of striped bass this week with more fish pushing out of the Delaware. Our southern counties are seeing a big wave of striped bass from 30 to 46 inches, which have been picking up clam and bunker baits. The drum fishing has been a tad slow due to cooler Delaware Bay temperatures, but anglers have been picking a few along the shallower spots on clams. Unfortunately, there are some dogfish around, so bring plenty of bait.
South Jersey Fishing Forecast
The best bet for this week will be to work the surf or inlets for striped bass and blues on Saturday. Brigantine to Ocean City has the best concentration of fish at this time, followed by the Long Beach Island area. Spike one rod to soak clams or bunker while casting around artificials in order to cover your bases and cash in on the migrating fish. Drum fishing is also in play for the weekend, so pick up a bushel of surf quahogs and make it happen.
Sunday should be full-ahead fluking as our coveted summer flounder season opens. Between fluke, stripers, blues, and drum, the back bays are the places to be. If you can work the afternoon outgoing tide with Gulp, mackerel, or minnows, you should be in business. Remember, fluke regs call for a limit of three fish at a minimum size of 18 inches. Good luck, be safe, and tight lines!