Southern New Jersey Fishing Report
Play the eerie music—they’re here! Striped bass are back, hitting baits and lures off the Ocean County beaches, with shops reporting action from Island Beach State Park and southward. Beaches and inlets are showing excellent signs of bass action for our coastal fishermen. Another solid fishery for rod-bending action has been the inlet and bridge tog bite—but the only issue for most has been securing green crabs. The positive news as of yesterday is that more shops are getting new shipments this week from their suppliers. I was able to get a few reports from offshore anglers looking for a late bite on tuna at the canyons, as satellite imagery showed a large swath of 76-plus-degree water off the Gulf Stream. Most reported a few small swordfish on the night chunk, but some solid mahi from the pots. Bluefin have been in play at the mid-shore lumps, with most running 15 to 40 miles out. Hopefully, the bluefin bite plays out like last year, with the ghosts of November providing “hit ’n’ run” bites just offshore.
Here is this week’s rundown:
Hook House Bait & Tackle in Toms River reported striped bass caught from the bay and the beach. One of the shop’s workers landed and released a 53.5-inch striped bass off Ortley Beach this past week, and the shop said there have been bass caught off the state park from Seaside to the inlet. Plugs and darters are working off the beaches, while white poppers are producing some bass at Barnegat Inlet. Tog are biting along the inlet and also at the Point Pleasant Canal on green crab.
Creekside Outfitters in Waretown reported striped bass being caught in the bay, but the water was a tad dirty this week, which made it tougher on fishermen. Tog are biting at the inlet, especially along the south jetty and the “old” south jetty, which have been better for keepers. The walkways of the inlet have fish, but most are on the short side. Boats reported some nice striped bass play from Mantoloking northward on large plugs and live-lined bunker.
Reel Reaction Sportfishing out of Waretown worked a few 3-hour afternoon trips this past week, and the crew reported good results on striped bass and tautog. A fair number of over-slot striped bass (32 to 35 inches) were released, with slot and bonus-tag bass going in the box. The tog bite was on fire, with full limits plus extra keepers released in an hour or less of fishing. With schools off this coming week, the crew will be running trips every day for striped bass and tog.
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The Super Chic out of Barnegat Light reported tougher conditions on the inshore wrecks, with strong current and plenty of short sea bass. There are keepers around, as well as a few large porgies, but the bite has been tough due to the large number of short fish. The boat is looking to start striped bass fishing pretty soon, as the bass have begun moving down to our area, with good reports coming in.
Tackle Direct in Egg Harbor Township had a few anglers report white perch caught “up” the Mullica River on grass shrimp and bloodworms. Striped bass are being landed along some parts of the Mullica on plugs, top-waters, and live spot. The offshore canyons had some solid reports of large swordfish and bull mahi caught around the pots.
Tight Lines Bait & Tackle in Somers Point reported a solid tog bite at the reef sites on green crab and sand fleas. Black sea bass have been caught in the same areas, with some bigger ones coming on green crabs. Striped bass are starting to be caught off the beaches, but the bite is still better in the back bays on live spot during the day and eels at night. Anglers working eel baits after dark have been finding the better action.
Waterfront Marine in Somers Point reported good tautog fishing, with fish devouring green crabs on both the jig and rig. The bite is very quick, so be ready on the drop. Striped bass are in play in the bay backwaters and along the beaches, with some larger fish making their way down. Swords and mahi are being caught in the canyons, and one of Capt. Sean’s friends was just shy of a state-record swordfish. Sea bass are at the reef sites, but you have to work through shorts. Bring crabs, as there are plenty of blackfish at the reefs.
Captain Brian Williams of Badfish Charters in Ocean City has been working the backwaters on light tackle to find cooperative striped bass, which have been released healthy. The skipper has been taking most of the fish on glides, swimming plugs, and top-waters. Tog fishing has been very good along the bridges, rocks, and shallow-water wrecks.
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Captain Joe Hughes of Jersey Cape Guide Service in Sea Isle City is currently having a blast up in Montauk playing with bonito, false albies, striped bass, and tog. The skipper will be back in southern NJ in the coming weeks.
The Wildwood and Cape May areas had a few nice striped bass caught locally off the beaches and in the back bays on live spot. Most of the action has been in the deeper channels for boats drifting at the peak of the incoming or outgoing tides. Reef sites have plenty of short sea bass, with the 120- to 170-foot wrecks showing better numbers of keepers. Tog fishing has been exceptional on the reefs, wrecks, and inlet rocks. The creeks and rivers are showing excellent numbers of white perch on bloodworms, and there are a few bonus-tag stripers in the back creeks.
South Jersey Fishing Forecast
The best bet for the weekend looks to be targeting striped bass off the beaches, tautog at the inlet rocks, or sea bass at the deeper wrecks. Saturday looks like the better day to hit the surf—plug the beaches or spike a rod and soak bunker. The beaches of Ocean and Monmouth Counties are showing better numbers of larger bass, but if you do catch one, be quick for the pic and get the big girls back in the wash. I’m not sure if the offshore sea forecast is doable, but if it is, deep-drop some whole squid baits for swords.
Good luck, be safe, and tight lines!