Southern New Jersey Fishing Report
We had a nice reprieve from the weekend to the early part of the week as Mother Nature provided some nice weather windows for inshore and offshore fishermen. You pick the word: epic, on-fire, stupid-fishing, hot, or plain old “good catching”—all of these accurately describe the past week’s fishing.
Inshore sea bassing saw easy limits of 10 fish with both clam and hammered diamonds working well. Offshore yellowfin fishing remained solid with limits of solid yellows coming over the head boat rails or through the sporty’s doors. Fishing in the bay and inlets has also been pretty solid, with anglers getting some bluefish on the incoming and tautog during the lesser tides. The recent full moon has the mullet run in full swing, so grab a cast net and bag some up for striped bass or blues, or vacuum seal them for next year’s flounder season.
Here is this week’s rundown:
Hook House Bait & Tackle in Toms River showed full support for the 7th Annual Barrier Island Beach Brawl this weekend. The shop is fully stocked with bloodworms and anglers have been picking up striped bass in the back during the evening tides. Surf fishermen have been picking at bluefish to 23 inches on metals off IBSP, along with tog towards the southern end of the park.
Captain Cole Kennedy of Salty Love Sportfishing in Forked River said the yellowfin bite has been excellent at the Hudson to within 20 miles of the canyon. The skipper said the hottest bite has been on the chunk, and mentioned that he has some dates available for the fall. Give them a ring to get in on the action while it’s still good.
Creekside Outfitters in Waretown said the Garden State North and South bite for sea bass has been absolutely lights out with most boats picking limits of sea bass to 18 inches along with triggerfish and some porgies. Offshore, the yellowfin bite is hot from 70 to 90 miles out on the chunk. Sardines and butterfish chunks are working great, but don’t hesitate to drop down a jig. Canyon jockeys also reported some bigeyes in the mix. Bay action has been slowly heating up for anglers drifting live spot along the sod banks for striped bass to 28 inches.
Reel Reaction Sportfishing out of Waretown was busy running 5-hour sea bass charters over the weekend and through the beginning of the week. Depending on the size of the charter, the skipper reported easy 5- to 7-man limits of sea bass to 22 inches along with some hubcap-sized porgies, blues to 22 inches, and nice triggerfish. Based on the weather this upcoming weekend, the vessel will be tied to the dock until Wednesday of next week, at the earliest. The crew has some fall striped bass and tog dates available through December, so give them a call.
The Super Chic out of Barnegat Light was out overnight in the canyons and reported excellent action with yellowfin to 70 pounds coming over the rail. Some anglers got their 3-fish limit, with the bulk of those fish coming on the chunk. Their weekday sea bass trips have been very good, too, with most anglers getting 10-fish limits along with porgies and triggerfish.
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Tackle Direct in Egg Harbor City had good reports of solid sea bass action on the reef sites from Atlantic City to Ocean City. Most anglers have been banging them on double-hook rigs tipped with clams, and bigger fish were hitting hammered AVA jigs. The offshore chunk bite has been red hot for tuna up to 60 pounds with some bigeyes mixed in. Jetty fishing continues to be good for tautog up to 17 inches, but you have to put your time in on the rocks and bring good amounts of sand fleas or green crabs.
Tight Lines Bait & Tackle in Somers Point got a huge batch of sand fleas in stock and they have been excellent baits for tautog off the jetties and bridges. The other hot bay bite has been striped bass on live spot, and the shop has their tanks full of spot. Ocean side, angler attention has been on either inshore sea bass or yellowfin at the canyons. The beaches have a few blues around, but not much is happening on the striped bass front yet.
Waterfront Marine in Somers Point said boats have been sailing for sea bass on the inshore reef sites and are finding some fish at the local wrecks. There are plenty of sea bass, porgies, and triggers to go around. Offshore, the yellowfin bite has been very good at the canyons, from the Hudson to the Baltimore, with chunks and jigs both working well.
Captain Brian Williams of Badfish Charters in Ocean City said the tog bite continues to be decent in the bay along some of the bridges and there are some topwater stripers in the back, especially around the flats and some of his favorite tidal creeks. The skipper is anticipating increased bass action with the recent temperature drop.
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The Cape May and Fortescue area had some better weakfish reports with sparklers to 23 inches on bloodworms and soft plastics. Delaware Bay has been good when you find schools of weakfish, as some of the jetties, lights, and towers have fish around them. The EP Tower was giving up good weakfish, croakers, kings, and some bluefish over the past week. A handful of anglers targeting late season drum hooked a few keepers on clam. The reef sites from Wildwood to Cape May have been hot on sea bass with double-hook clam rigs and jigs. The tog bite has also been very good on the rocks and at some of the inshore wrecks, and there are some nice triggerfish in the mix.
South Jersey Fishing Forecast
If anyone checks the marine forecast, which is still being updated amid the government shutdown, it’s looking like the best bet for the weekend is to do some gear prep as winds are projected to gust to 50 knots on Sunday. On Saturday morning, there is an ultra-short window to play at the inlets for bluefish, tog, or the occasional striped bass, but that window closes pretty fast. Unfortunately, most of the good fishing action has been by boat in the ocean for sea bass or tuna for the larger vessels. If you have to get out to wet a line, try the safer approach and work the backwaters or bridges for striped bass or a weakfish early Saturday morning, then take the rest of the weekend to do those “pay-it-forward” honey-doo’s. Good luck, be safe, and tight lines!