Another good week of fishing was in the books for anglers working the wrecks for sea bass or the inlets for striped bass. But it seems anglers looking for “long-runs” have been doing the best with striped bass around Sandy Hook area or tuna in the offshore canyons. Most of us are still waiting for the striped bass migration to start as bigger sized cows start to slowly trickle into our areas. I still prefer “CPR,” Catch, Picture, Release, on the 40+ inch fish, but ultimately, it’s the individual angler’s preference. Canyon action has pretty much overshadowed most of the inshore fishing with lots of successful trips keeping tackle shops and dock-masters busy weighing tuna, swords, and even some nice shark.
Here is this week’s rundown:
Capt. Bill’s Landing in Point Pleasant Beach reported striped bass being caught in the northern parts of Monmouth on the troll. Most of the action has been on bunker spoons or Mojo rigs. Some of the headboats have been running as far as the “Hook” to jig bass in the 40-45 inches on AVA, Tsunami Swimshads, and other metals. The tog fishing has been pretty good along the jetty rocks with green crabs on jigs.
Norma K III in Point Pleasant Beach had some sea bass this past week, but anglers are having to work for the keepers as most of the stops have lots of shorts. There are some nice sized porgies in the mix. Some of the bottom readings have the wrecks stacked with fish, but they have been on the picky side. The night fishing trips are starting to show some nice bluefish in the 8 to 12-pound range. Most of the blues have been picking up baits, and this weekend will be the last bluefish trip of 2019.
The Gambler out of Point Pleasant Beach reported some nice “back to back” canyon trips with anglers catching yellowfin, swordfish, mahi, and some golden tilefish. There has been a ton of life out there with several different tuna species, sharks, and billfish swimming by the boat. The vessel still has some room on the upcoming canyon trips, and they have also started booking their daily striped bass trips which start on November 1st. The remainder of October will be pelagic action, so give them a ring if interested in canyon fishing.
The MIMI VI out of Point Pleasant was working both canyons and some inshore trips this past week. The boat will be focusing on bottom fishing next week on some of the days and has open boats available for Monday 10/28 and Thursday 10/31. The office staff will be manning the phones from 8am to 8pm, so give them a call.
Jersey Hooker Outfitter in Brick received good news on the tog bite along the Manasquan Inlet and Point Pleasant Canal with some nicer fish close to 5 pounds. Most of the anglers have been using 3/4 to 1 1/2 jigs tipped with green crabs. Both sides of the Manasquan Inlet had some striped bass action with schoolie to keeper sized fish feeding on bunker.
Want to get in on the bite? Find an OTW-approved Charter Fishing Captain for New Jersey
Charlie’s Bait & Tackle in Normandy Beach reported small striped bass to 22 inches and bluefish to 5 pounds picking AVA’s (007, 017, and 027’s) off the beaches. Anglers casting 4 to 6-inch poppers have also reported good action on striped bass during the times of early morning and dusk.
Grumpy’s Bait & Tackle in Seaside Park had anglers stop by and report striped bass during the morning hours on metal jigs and teasers. Most anglers have been casting AVA or Tsunami metals below a dropper-loop tipped sand-eel teaser. Most of the bass have been on the smaller side in the 18 to 23-inch range. Angler Raymond weighed in a quality 4.5-pound tog caught on off the Manasquan Inlet on the S&S Whitechin Wrecker tipped with green crab. Boats have been getting into bigger bass, but the bite has been Asbury Park north to New York.
Creekside Outfitters in Waretown reported striped bass being caught locally in Double Creek and the Barnegat Inlet, but most are under 24 inches. A few anglers did make the run past Shark River to find bass to 40+ inches. The canyons are alive with pelagics from swordfish to sharks and two mates from the Beach Haven Charter Association did some personal fishing and weighed in a gorgeous 347-pound thresher shark caught in the Lemke’s. The shop is set to get another shipment of green crabs in this Friday for anglers looking for tog off the jetties and they have a wide assortment of S & S Whitechin Wreckers.
Reel Reaction Charters out of Waretown and Barnegat Light was busy this past weekend and had clients catching close to a dozen striped bass in the backwaters and inlets. The charters have been ranging from 3 to 5-keepers per trip as they have been using the NJ striped bass bonus permits. The skipper has dates available in November for striped bass, tog, or a combination of both.
Fisherman’s Headquarters in Ship Bottom reported keeper blackfish off of the North and South jetties of Barnegat Inlet. Anglers pitching crab baits tipped on traditional rigs or jigs have been finding success. Striped bass have been picking up live baits, white bucktails, and plugs off the North side and some areas in the back. Canyon action has been very hot with tuna, swordfish, and tilefish being landed when the wind/weather windows are good. The bridges off Route 72 also have been pretty good for small striped bass and bluefish up to 5 pounds.
Brigantine to Sea Isle City reported similar reports as the rest of the areas on striped bass. It seems lots of good action on smaller fish in the low to mid-20’s. Unfortunately, that’s inches, not pounds. The action has been around most of the South Jersey inlets on live spots with moving tide and also the deeper holes around some of the tidal creeks are good areas to drift a live spot during the day or eel at night. Tautog fishing has been very good off most of the jetties, bridges, and shallower wrecks. Most of the keepers have been from 15 inches to 5 pounds, with an occasional bigger whitechin in the mix. Canyon fishing blew wide open this past weekend with many ports reporting yellowfin, swordfish, skipjacks, and even shark or two (mako/thresher).
Jim’s Bait & Tackle in Cape May reported sea bass in the 50 to 60 foot depths and also in the 110 to 130 foot depth, but not much in between. Striped bass have been picking up salted clams and chunked bunker off the beach while the backwaters of Cape May and Wildwood have been better on soft plastics. White and pink have been the “go-to” colors for the backwaters bass and don’t be surprised if you land a weakfish as they have been in the back also.
Want to get in on the bite? Find an OTW-approved Charter Fishing Captain for New Jersey
South Jersey Fishing Forecast
The best bet for this weekend will be to start targeting striped bass as the temperatures are hovering in a good area and it “hopefully” will be a nice-long run of bass. Trolling Mojo’s and Spoons is the best way to cover lots of ground, but don’t be afraid to drop down a few jigs on good marks. The fish have been eating a combination of Bunker and Sand-eels and if the sand-eels stick around inshore, it could be an “EPIC” fall for jigging. Sea bassing remains good, but anglers will definitely have to work harder for them with the wrecks starting to get picked over. The inlets and backwater still has plenty of options with schoolie striped bass being cooperative on live baits and artificials. Work those areas with good current and some deeper holes. Tog fisherman are picking good numbers on green crab from any of the jetties in South Jersey and if you have a small boat and can find some rockpiles or structure close to our inlets, you should have some untapped fish. Good luck, be safe, and tight lines!