Southern New Jersey Fishing Report
Although the winds weren’t cooperative, the fluke did respond for the past weekend’s season opener with plenty of shorts and keepers to go around. Anglers who did venture out were rewarded with hungry fish to start off the season in our bays and tidal rivers. Most of the areas had fish feeding in the 7- to 10-foot depths with Gulp, live minnows, and mackerel strips leading the way. Striped bass fishing heated up over the past week with excellent numbers of fish being landed across southern New Jersey. Plugs, fresh bunker, clam, and paddletails have been working on both bay and ocean fish. Drum fishing has been banging to its own beat with quite a few being caught off our beaches on clam. Most of the these fish have been a tad smaller, what the shops call “puppy” drum. As far as the larger specimens, the Delaware Bay is the spot to be right now.
Here is this week’s rundown:
Hook House Bait & Tackle in Toms River said the striped bass bite definitely improved for anglers fishing the oceanside. Fresh surf clams are best for anglers looking to soak baits, but metal-lipped swimmers are getting it done around Barnegat Inlet. Backside bass are still taking soft plastics and small plugs when worked around the bridges.
Creekside Outfitters in Waretown had some solid reports of keeper fluke for the season opener during the beginning of the week. The shop said fluke have been biting on both tides. Striped bass fishing at the inlet and surrounding ocean waters picked up over the past few days with fish being caught off the north and south jetties. Some blues have made their way into the main channels of Barnegat Bay.
Reel Reaction Sportfishing out of Waretown was busy working the backwaters during the opener to put clients on some nice numbers of fluke up to 22 inches and full limits of flatties. Most of the trips have averaged 30 to 40 throwbacks with 5 to 6 keepers in less than 4 hours. The schedule is packed for the next several weeks, but there are openings in late July!
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The Super Chic out of Barnegat Light told us they have spots available for some of their open boat sea bass trips and they are limiting the numbers to 12 anglers. Currently, they have availability on May 25th, June 6th, and June 13th.
Tony’s Bait & Tackle in Manahawkin reported striped bass being caught at the bridges during the night tides and in the inlet area at dawn and dusk. There was an influx of bigger striped bass in the area over the past few days. Summer flounder season began with a nice showing of keepers from both the northern and southern parts of Long Beach Island with live minnows and Gulp doing the trick. Surf fishermen have been getting better shots at stripers and a few blues on fresh clam.
Tackle Direct in Egg Harbor City said it was excellent fishing along parts of Brigantine and Atlantic City. The Brigantine beaches are producing striped bass and drum to 13 pounds on soaked clam. Meanwhile, the Atlantic City jetties experienced some major striper blitzes. Soft plastics, plugs, and glidebaits produced fish from 28 to 37 inches. Summer flounder anglers were rewarded along parts of the ICW and the back channels on Gulp baits and minnows. It seems most of the fish have been caught in the 5- to 12-foot depths. The inlets and bays are also showing good numbers of feeding bluefish with most being caught on the incoming tides.
Tight Lines Bait & Tackle in Somers Point said the season opener was met with tougher fishing due to the heavy dose of weekend winds. Fishing was decent in most of the bay spots, but anglers did have to work through some short fluke to find the larger ones. The past few days had more cooperative winds and fluke fishing has improved with fish to 24 inches being caught. The inlets have been excellent for bluefish action on the incoming tides. Anglers looking to soak clam are finding both striped bass and drum to 30 inches.
Badfish Charters in Ocean City had better numbers of striped bass over the past week with an influx of fresh migratory fish in the area. The skipper and his clients are also scoring on hungry fluke in the shallower areas. Capt. Brian saw much better action this past week as the winds stabilized and he will be working charters this weekend.
The Cape May and Fortescue area saw a huge uptick in the numbers of drum being caught along the Delaware Bay on soaked clam. Striped bass fishing produced another solid week of quality numbers from Cape May to Fortescue and shops have been telling us that more striped bass are pushing out of the Delaware River. Fluke opened up over the past weekend and the fishing got even better over the past few days. Areas behind Wildwood and along parts of the ICW reported decent fluke action with some fish up to 25 inches.
South Jersey Fishing Forecast
The best bet for the weekend will be to fish hard on Saturday as there are tons of options: drum, striped bass, bluefish, and fluke. Remember, Sunday is the day for Moms, so it may be a quieter day on the water. Drum are being caught from Long Beach Island to Cape May, and soaking clam off the beaches or in Delaware Bay will produce the best results. Stripers will also pick up clam baits in these areas, so be ready. Bluefish seem to be filling in nicely, but the Atlantic City, Brigantine and Ocean City areas have been red hot for these spring racers.
Another popular option will be fluke fishing; the bite has been solid on both sides of the tide. Most areas are showing better numbers of fish in the 6- to 10-foot depths, so that would be the best place to start. If you’re not finding fish, move around as reports are showing pockets of larger fish. Gulp, strip baits, and of course, live minnows, are the early season favorites for our summer flatties. Good luck, be safe, and tight lines!