Southern New Jersey Fishing Report
The Thanksgiving holiday is upon us and most households are filled with the sounds of football on television, chatter of friends and family, and aromatics of turkey and stuffing, but it is also prime time for South Jersey striped bass anglers as waves of bass follow bunker and sand-eels down the coast. The run is at its peak with schools of bass, flocks of birds and loads of baitfish present just off Jersey sand, but they are moving fast. They’re here one day and gone the next. Whether fishing from a jetty, sand beach, or a fiberglass hull, now is the time to rig up your swimbaits, metals, and plugs and enjoy the migration.
Here is this week’s rundown:
Hook House Bait & Tackle in Toms River reported an influx of slot-sized striped bass invading parts of Seaside Park and Island Beach State Park during the late afternoon the past few days. Most of these fish are being caught on sand-eel presentations such as AVA jigs or soft-plastic eels. The jetty rocks are producing mixed sizes of tautog up to 18 inches on green crabs.
Creekside Outfitters in Waretown weighed in tautog up to 8 pounds being caught from the local jetties, wrecks, and pipes on green crab baits. Striped bass fishing has been feast or famine with some days producing good action while others find the ocean as barren as a desert. Anglers working the sand beaches are having the greatest success along IBSP and LBI over the past week with schools of fish moving through the area in waves.
Reel Reaction Sportfishing out of Waretown was stacked running double trips over the past week with anglers boxing some slot and tagged striped bass on swim shads. Some of the bass released have been over 40 inches. Togging started out slow due to poor water clarity, but the most recent 5-hour charter boxed 18 keepers to 6 pounds at some of the skipper’s favorite snags. There are some tautog dates available on the book for the last 2 weeks in December and white leggers are included, so give a call.
The Super Chic out of Barnegat Light has been putting in some extra time to find striped bass amid poor sailing conditions and a growing fleet. Anglers aboard the vessel have been jigging up striped bass on swim shads or AVAs.
Tackle Direct in Egg Harbor City reported a better push of striped bass into the Brigantine, Atlantic City, and Ocean City areas, especially for boat fishermen. Anglers reported several large schools of striped bass from 1 to 3 miles out with bird shows and surface action over the last two days. Brigantine beach anglers are starting to slowly pick away at some of these bass. The backwaters still have good numbers of striped bass being caught on live spot along the main channels and tidal rivers, such as the Mullica.
Tight Lines Bait & Tackle in Somers Point reported excellent striped bass fishing for the boats working off the point and Ocean City, with good amounts of bird action and limits of slot-sized fish. Surfcasters are having their best shots in the morning as the sun rises, or during the late afternoon. Tog fishermen have been doing better at the wreck and reef sites with white and green crabs on jigs. The shop has a variety of tog jigs in stock, and now is the time to drop some crabs on jigs before the fish head deeper.
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Waterfront Marine in Somers Point reported similar activity on the striped bass scene with some massive schools making their way through the area. Anglers have been getting bass on jigs, shads, and swimming plugs. Surf anglers are catching the occasional bass with most action reserved to early morning hours.
Captain Brian Williams of Badfish Charters in Ocean City reported much better bassing out front over the past week as waves of striped bass moved into the area. There have been lots of birds leading the way to the action and anglers are catching on a variety of baits from metals to shads.
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Captain Joe Hughes of Jersey Cape Guide Service in Sea Isle City said striped bass finally showed up in force over the past week and the skipper said fish have ranged from slot size to 45 inches. Jigs, shads, and flies have been fooling these fish. The captain did see some big bluefin close to the beach, feeding on sand eels, with bass mixed in.
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The Cape May and Fortescue area also had a nice showing of striped bass with the largest schools of fish arriving earlier this week. Most of the bass have been caught at or very close to the 3-mile line on jigs and occasionally, under diving birds. The better bet has been the excellent tautog bite off Cape May with lots of nice fish coming over the rails of party boats on the inshore reef sites. Jigs and rigs are producing, but white crabs are the keeper killers. Offshore sea bassing is in full swing with anglers picking up limits of humpback sea bass on clam baits.
South Jersey Fishing Forecast
The best bet for the holiday weekend is to focus on striped bass from Ocean City to Cape May as waves of fish have moved into the area. Right now, it seems that the hottest nearshore action is occurring from Atlantic to Ocean City, but hopefully that trends down the coast. Ava diamond jigs with colored tails are the top producers, as are white swim shads worked deep. Togging is the next best option, depending on the wind and sea conditions, and white crabs are a definite must-have for keepers. Finally, if you don’t have a chance to get out fishing and you want to do a little pre-Christmas shopping, hit some of our local tackle shops for some nice Black Friday deals and tent sales. Good luck, be safe and tight lines!