Southern New Jersey Fishing Report
Everybody has been waiting for the calm after the storm with the recent nor’easter kicking up seas to 13 feet and pumping lots of water into our bays. Some anglers pulled their vessels while others secured lines and rode out the fury of the weekend’s lower pressure storm. But a few positives came with the NE winds, which triggered some better activity in the backwaters for striped bass. Tog were still biting pre-storm, and it’s been even better at the inlet jetties following the blow with some nice fish to 23 inches being caught on green crabs. How tuna and sea bass fishing will recover remains to be seen, as some anglers will wait for reports to come in, but it’s always better to make your own report, so get out there!
Here is this week’s rundown:
Hook House Bait & Tackle in Toms River said striped bass were biting in parts of the Toms River and around the Route 37 bridges on bloodworms and soft plastics, but this was prior to the recent storm. The shop has a full lineup of fresh baits (bloodworms, clams, eels) for working rigs for striped bass off IBSP and the bay.
Salty Love Sportfishing in Forked River rode out the storm and the skipper is looking to get to the tuna grounds to get on the yellowfin bite. The boat has some trips in November open for striped bass, and it’s best to give them a ring to get on the schedule.
Creekside Outfitters in Waretown had a few customers stopping in during the storm to re-string reels and purchase baits for the fall. The shop said the tautog at the inlet have been picking up clams, green crabs and frozen sand fleas with the action improving since the temperatures have dropped. The yellowfin bite was almost guaranteed prior to the storm, but whether or not they stuck around remains to be seen. The weekend weather looks good enough to get a shot at them.
Reel Reaction Sportfishing out of Waretown ran a pre-storm trip and his crew boxed their limit of sea bass, nice triggerfish, and a few porgies. The crew decided to leave the vessel in the water and weathered the recent nasty nor’easter. With the seas beginning to lay down, they will be heading out at the end of the week and this weekend in search of more sea bass.
The Super Chic out of Barnegat Light hit the yellowfin grounds prior to the recent blow and the skipper said it was an excellent tuna bite. They have also mixed in some inshore trips picking some limits of sea bass and several nice porgies. The boat was tied at the dock over the weekend, but they hope to get back offshore for tuna and inshore for sea bass as soon as possible.
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Tackle Direct in Egg Harbor City said it’s been a slower week with quite a few anglers waiting for the seas to settle. The bridges and some of the rocky jetties are producing good number of tautog on green crabs. The Atlantic City area has been very good for the tog from the rocks. Bayside, the striped bass bite cranked up a notch with better action on topwater along the back channels and creeks. Parts of the Mullica River had excellent schoolie striped bass action with small shads doing the trick.
Tight Lines Bait & Tackle in Somers Point reported a strong tog bite before the storm and even stronger after, with sand fleas and cut green crabs tipped on small tog jigs producing the best results. Anglers casting plugs and poppers in the bay’s tidal creeks on the west side have been finding striped bass to 27 inches. The reports have been a little sparse due to the weekend storm, but this weekend looks very favorable both off the beaches and for boats targeting sea bass and more in the ocean.
Waterfront Marine in Somers Point was busy handling boats during the recent nor’easter that walloped parts of South Jersey. They said the yellowfin bite was insane prior to the storm in the canyons. Hopefully, the tuna hung around and the bite will rebuild this weekend. The inside play has been mostly striped bass along the marshes and tidal creeks, or tog from the jetties and bridges.
Captain Brian Williams of Badfish Charters in Ocean City was out just before the wind came up on Saturday and had striped bass on topwater plugs and flies. The skipper hit the back again yesterday and found some bass feeding and willing to hit topwater. Capt. Brian will be targeting stripers in the back for now and tog along the structure.
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Captain Joe Hughes of Jersey Cape Guide Service out of Sea Isle City has been up north working the Montauk waters for false albies with the fly rod. The skipper said the fishing has been excellent and expects to be back in New Jersey in November. Give him a shout to get on the books for some fall run fishing.
The Cape May and Fortescue area had similar reports of a lack of angler participation due to the recent storm. Pre-storm fishing was excellent for toggers off the jetties and around the bridges. Bottom fishing to 100-foot depths on the reefs produced excellent numbers of sea bass. Bay temperatures dropped almost 5 degrees and some bay anglers said striped bass have been cooperative on topwater plugs. The rivers, although they have been running high, have striped bass and white perch being caught on blood worms.
South Jersey Fishing Forecast
The wind is finally giving us a reprieve, with the first half of the weekend looking great for anglers hitting the inshore wrecks for sea bass, or giving the canyons a shot for yellowfin. The big question mark will be if Charlie Tuna is still hanging around in the same area? The best bet for bluewater fishermen would be to work together with a few buddy boats to build a bite. Inshore fishermen shouldn’t have any issues finding sea bass, but some wrecks are getting fished out, so moving around may be necessary. Surf fishermen will have much better opportunities at striped bass and bluefish since water temps have finally dropped a few degrees and we are approaching the upper temperature range of striped bass’ “gravy” area. With the tog bite ramping up on our jetties and more keepers kissing the rocks with cooler bay waters, it may be the weekend to get crabby, stay local, and keep it toggy! Good luck, be safe and tight lines!