Southern New Jersey Fishing Report
It’s beginning to look and feel more like winter with colder weather and water temperatures and lower participation in recent weeks. Striped bass fishing in some of our bays has dried up completely with only isolated bridge action. One of the big waves of stripers has moved south along Ocean City through Cape May. There has been steady bird, bunker, and bass action to the south while in parts of Ocean County, stripers are sparse as anglers await the next, and perhaps final wave of fish. Head boats on Long Island (NY) are still reporting excellent results, jigging bass to 31 inches, so hopefully we’ll get some holiday stripers in the next few weeks. Togging has been hit or miss with most boats picking a few keepers before spots dry up; it has required a lot of moving around so far to put a few in the box.
Here is this week’s rundown:
Hook House Bait & Tackle in Toms River reported a few striped bass caught on eels and soft plastics around the Route 37 bridge, but it has been slow. Striper fishing in the surf is the best bet lately with sporadic bites from Lavallette to Seaside Park, but it seems to be more of an early morning bite. Anglers with buggy passes are connecting on some tog at the southern end of IBSP with green crab baits.
Creekside Outfitters in Waretown had a slower week of angler reports with striped bass action off of LBI and IBSP trickling to a few. Boat participation was very high over the weekend, but very few striped bass were reported. Togging has been a pick due to the winds and water clarity both inshore and offshore. Anglers have been playing catch and release with bluefin tuna approximately 5 to 9 miles offshore with poppers and jigs.
Reel Reaction Sportfishing out of Waretown continued to work double-charters with clients attempting to find some stripers, but lately, the jig and swim shad bites have been tough. Most trips have started out searching for bass, then quickly turning to tautog for the remainder of the outing. The bite has been steady for whitechins with fish up to 11 pounds being caught. Until the next major striper wave, all remaining charters will be strictly targeting tautog and the remaining open dates are December 29 and January 2nd, so call to book.
The Super Chic out of Barnegat Light had a tough time finding striped bass over the past week with the boat running tons of miles to find only a fish or two. Unfortunately, the area is in between waves of fish right now, but the boat is available for tog charters. Give Capt. Ted a call to get on some fish!
Tackle Direct in Egg Harbor City reported some days of very good striped bass fishing over the past week with anglers finding bass under birds via boat and from the surf. Over the weekend most of the action was around the Brigantine and Atlantic City areas, but the fish have slid off of Ocean City south to Wildwood. Swim shads, jigs, and trolled 9’ers, as well as live bunker, are all working. The tog bite has been better off the southern reefs, with the Atlantic City reef producing some nice fish and steady action.
Tight Lines Bait & Tackle in Somers Point reported better striped bass fishing for boats trolling the deeper water close to the 3-mile line. Niners and Mojos have been working, while inshore, there were spotty schools under birds. Tog fishing is in full swing at the reefs and wrecks, and white crabs are producing better action. Some fish have been over the 12-pound mark at the reef sites; the only issue has been the wind keeping boats docked, at times.
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Waterfront Marine in Somers Point reported some striped bass action in the bays, albeit a slower bite than the ocean. Boat anglers enjoyed a few sessions of “all-out” blitzes, but you had to be in the right place at the right time. Togging has been a grind, but if you have white leggers and put in the hours, some nice keepers can be landed. Offshore sea bassing is very good when boats can make the run, but fishable days have been few and far between.
Captain Brian Williams of Badfish Charters in Ocean City reported a mix of slot and over-slot striped bass this past week with good fishing when they turn on, but it’s been a sporadic bite to say the least. Swim shads, surface plugs and glidebaits have been the “go-to” lures for these striped bass. Bayside stripers are still chewing in some of the popular winter-over areas on jigs, worked low and slow, along with glidebaits. The skipper has some dates remaining in December and hopefully through January with the next wave of striped bass, so give him a shout.
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Captain Joe Hughes of Jersey Cape Guide Service in Sea Isle City had some beautiful over-slot striped bass caught last week on artificials including jigs and swim shads. The skipper said bayside fish are still around, but presentations have to be a bit slower. He is looking to bang up some more striped bass as there have been schools migrating through the Sea Isle area over the past few days. Capt. Joe told us he could squeeze some trips in, so give him a call to get on the December striped bass bite.
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The Cape May and Fortescue area saw an influx of striped bass with most of the fish being caught on the troll close to the 3-mile line. Most of the bass have been over the slot size, so handle them with care. Tautog fishing at Wildwood and Cape May reefs has been pretty good with anglers able to get some nice limits of blackfish to 8 pounds. There have been quite a few double-digit tautog caught so far this fall, so it should only get better as the water temperatures drop over the next few weeks. Offshore sea bassing has been good, but the issue for most has been getting out to the grounds as the winds & seas have been not so friendly.
South Jersey Fishing Forecast
The best bet for the weekend is to fish areas from Ocean City to Cape May for striped bass. Parts of Ocean County may start seeing more stripers slide in, so if you can’t make the drive south on the parkway, all hope is not lost. Surf anglers have had their best shots in the early morning while boaters are finding the late morning & early afternoon bass bite to be better. Tog fishing seems to be decent on most reefs and wrecks with a mix of short fish and keeper bass; the key has been sticking it out and building the bite using white crabs. Good luck, be safe and tight lines!