Southern New Jersey Fishing Report
Fall is officially here, so break out the pumpkin beer, backyard fire pits, and of course, striped bass lures. The first migratory cows of the fall season started to finally show up in the northern parts of our area, with Island Beach State Park seeing 40-inch-plus striped bass blowing up bunker 300 yards off the beaches. Unfortunately, surfcasters could not get into the melee, but some beach fishermen witnessed a few small boats getting into the action. Sea bass seemed to move way out, as boats fishing up to 90 feet had issues finding keeper fish. Tautog fishing over the past week remained strong with a fair amount of keepers in the area.
Bad news for yellowfin chasers, the strong nor’easter seems to have pushed them out; anglers who ventured further offshore looking for tuna said the bite was nonexistent. But we do have a ton of good fishing to look forward to, with striped bass migrating south and the 5-fish tautog opener in a few weeks. It’s fall fishing at its finest, so dust off the metals and secure your white leggers.
Here is this week’s rundown:
Hook House Bait & Tackle in Toms River had some reports of big bass blowing up baits off Island Beach State Park over the weekend, but mostly boat action. Surfcasters were finding some bluefish around along with the occasional striped bass. Togging with green crabs has been good off the north side of Barnegat Inlet and there are some stripers in the bay. The shop did receive a new shipment of 6- to 11-foot TFO rods this week, so stop in, check out the selection, and prep for the fall.
Salty Love Sportfishing in Forked River said the offshore yellowfin bite dried up real fast with the drop in canyon water temperatures. The crew should be out this weekend for the first time in a while and they’re looking forward to finding some action.
Creekside Outfitters in Waretown said the offshore tuna bite has come to a halt as the canyon water cooled by 6 degrees, but there are still some mahi around. Sea bassing took a major hit with nearly zero keepers being caught among boatloads of shorts. Green crabs have been tough to keep in the store, with the inlet tog bite producing good numbers of short fish along with the occasional keeper.
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Reel Reaction Sportfishing out of Waretown was busy working sea bass trips on Friday and Saturday and the skipper said the seas and winds were more sporty than predicted. Friday’s afternoon trip produced a 2-man limit of sea bass, some porgies, and 2 nice triggerfish for the charter. Saturday’s trip took a ride and the 3-person charter boxed 20 nice sea bass, 50 large porgies, and triggers to 4 pounds. The crew will be sailing for striped bass and tautog for the remainder of the season and has some special 3-hour weekday afternoon striped bass charters, which includes live spot on the trips.
The Super Chic out of Barnegat Light worked some wrecks for sea bass, but the skipper said the bite cooled down on keepers with a ton of shorts and some porgies around the rail. The boat will continue sailing for sea bass, but will start running some ocean striped bass trips with the recent push of migratory fish into our area.
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Tackle Direct in Egg Harbor City had good reports of striped bass along the main channels, sod banks, and on some of the bridges. Live spot and eels, 4- to 5-inch poppers, and shallow-diving swimming plugs have been the most productive with the recent drop in bay temperatures. Tautog fishing remained relatively strong throughout the weekend around some of the jetties in the Atlantic City area. Offshore action cooled down quicker than the water temperatures with a sharp drop in yellowfin action, but there were some bluefin caught and released.
Tight Lines Bait & Tackle in Somers Point just fully restocked green crabs over the past few days; the tautog bite has been very strong from the jetties and bridges. Sea bass wise, the shop said the bite definitely moved eastward with more keepers being caught between 15 and 25 miles out, but the wind has been an issue. The bays have some striped bass being caught on live eels and spot by boaters, while soft plastics and swimming plugs are working well for bridge anglers.
Waterfront Marine in Somers Point echoed similar sentiments regarding the weather and sea conditions since last the weekend, with sportier seas and a major drop in offshore water temperatures. The yellowfin bite was nonexistent, but there were some mahi to play around with. Striped bass in the backwaters continue to pick up eels at night and some live spot during the day.
Captain Brian Williams of Badfish Charters in Ocean City said striped bass have been taking a variety of lures and flies in the shallows. Gurglers and Clousers, or topwater plugs like spooks and poppers have been the ticket. The skipper has been seeing more conducive temperatures in the backwaters and he said he has some openings next week, so give him a ring for light-tackle spin or fly fishing trips.
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Captain Joe Hughes of Jersey Cape Guide Service in Sea Isle City has not been in our area for the last few weeks as the skipper has been busy fishing in Montauk. Lately, he said, the albie fishing has slowed and it’s been blitz action on bass since the weekend on both fly and spinning gear.
The Cape May and Fortescue area had some better action on black drum with blood worms being the best baits, and tautog on green crabs from the piers, bridges, and inlet. The inlet has been especially good for tog with most anglers fishing jigs tipped with small whole green crabs or halved larger green crabs. Sea bassing slowed up on the shallower wrecks with more shorts than keepers, but wrecks in the 125- to 160-foot range produced excellent numbers.
South Jersey Fishing Forecast
The best bet for the weekend is to hit the sands of Island Beach State Park or Long Beach Island, as we are finally seeing some migratory striped bass in the area. Large swimmers, pencils, glidebaits, or Danny plugs are perfect for the early morning or late evening surf. A majority of the these fish should be over the 31-inch mark, so be careful and quick when releasing them, as they are our future big breeders. Boaters should throw some of the same lures, but don’t count out some jigging because there have been a lot of sand eels around.
Bay anglers will have excellent shots at tautog off the jetties, but secure your green crabs or sand fleas early as some of the tackle shops have been selling out quickly. The winds and seas look amazing this weekend, so boaters can take a good ride for sea bass or even hit the canyons for shots at mahi and tilefish. The wrecks off of Cape May and Wildwood in the 150-foot depths are the place to start for sea bass, and the southern canyons for mahi.
Good luck, be safe and tight lines!