The fishing this past weekend was spotty with some anglers reporting very good catches of striped bass to 30 pounds on the troll and others have no action for a full day of fishing. The inlets and bays are very good places for action, but keepers are a little hard to come by unless you have your slot tag. The weather certainly has helped as we pretty much settled into a similar rollercoaster pattern as last year and the dramatic temperature changes surely do not help our cause. Tog fishing has been very good with lots of fish close to shore and along the jetties with many anglers reporting some nice fish to 5 pounds. I haven’t heard much on offshore action as it was rather windy and unstable this week, but prior to that the mahi and swordfish bite has been really good.
Here is this week’s rundown:
Capt. Bill’s Landing in Point Pleasant Beach reported striped bass for anglers working the troll and blackfish from the Sea Girt, Axel, and some of the inshore rockpiles. The shop will be running their 1st Annual blackfish tournament next weekend on November 23rd, check out their website or stop in for details for this great event.
Norma K III in Point Pleasant Beach performed maintenance on the boat most of this week because of the high winds and poor sea conditions. There were able to make it out over the weekend to hit some wrecks for sea bass and porgies, but the dogfish have been all over. The blackfish trips open on Saturday, but the weather does not look fishable till Monday.
The Gambler out of Point Pleasant Beach reported found some striped bass working schooled peanut bunker and anglers were hooking up on plastic shads and Ava metals. Most of the fish were in the slot size, but a few over 28 inches were landed. The crew is trying to piece together one more canyon trip as the water in the Hudson to Wilmington canyons looks really fishy and they have just updated their website with the roll-out of offshore jumbo sea bass dates for December.
The MIMI VI out of Point Pleasant has plenty of Open Boat striped bass trips available and the skipper is holding those to a 15-man limit. Bottom fishing is still good, and the boat will be focusing on blackfish once the season opens to 5-fish per angler.
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Jersey Hooker Outfitter in Brick had striped bass to 45 pounds off the Manasquan Inlet trolling with mojos and spoons through Mantoloking 1 to 3 miles off the beach. Anglers said that white and chartreuse have been working the best in the deeper water. There were also some schools reported to be in the upper half of the water column feeding on sand-eels, so keep the metals ready.
Charlie’s Bait & Tackle in Normandy Beach reported another weekend of good trolling action with spoons and mojo rigs. Anglers have been catching fish to 40 pounds and some of the action was a mile or two out of the Manasquan Inlet. There are some shorter striped bass around which are being caught on plugs and soft plastics for surfcasters working the suds. Tog fishing remains spotty, but better on the shallower wrecks.
Grumpy’s Bait & Tackle in Seaside Park received some better reports from the northern beaches this past week. Diawa SP minnows and skinny metals have been working well on the striped bass, but most of the fish have been under 26 inches. The weather was a bit challenging with fronts and some arctic cold temperatures that moved in.
Creekside Outfitters in Waretown reported striped bass on mojo lures and spoons over the past week when boats could make it out. Lavallette to the bathing beach off Island Beach State has been the best areas to try for 30 to 50-pound fish. Most of the fish have been landed close to the 3-mile line. The beach has had some action with a few fish to 40 pounds caught off the surf on clams. Blackfish are being picked off the wrecks on S&S jigs and green crabs. Sea bass are also being landed, but you have to travel a considerable distance from the inlet to catch them.
Reel Reaction Charters out of Waretown and Barnegat Light was busy last week and through the weekend with charters. The skipper has been targeting striped bass on live bait and Tsunami swimshads in multiple locations along Barnegat Bay and his clients have been bringing home bass to 27 inches (NJ Striped Bass Bonus Permits). Along with striped bass, some of the trips have been split with tog and they have been limiting out with keepers to 7 pounds.
Fisherman’s Headquarters in Ship Bottom reported striped bass action occurring along the Barnegat Inlet on soft plastics, bucktails tipped with grub tails, and live bait. Some of the bass have been over 28 inches, while most are in the slot size range (20 to 27 inches). Anglers who prefer trolling have been picking them up on mojos and spoons near the 3-mile line from the Axel Carlson to the Seaside wheel, but you have to put in your time. Blackfish have been biting off the inlet rocks, north and south jetties, and some of the distant wrecks with anglers reporting bigger fish from the Garden State North and Garden State South wrecks. A few speckled trout were caught on poppers near the inlet during the early part of the week.
Brigantine to Sea Isle City still has some striped bass in the backwaters to 30+ inches, but most have been in the 20 to 27 inch range. There are still lots of bait that are flushing out of the backwaters and these fish can be caught on 5 to 6-inch soft plastics, bucktails, and poppers. The best bite has been on tog as most of the jetties and shallow water obstructions are still holding good numbers to 5 pounds.
Jim’s Bait & Tackle in Cape May reported some nice speckled trout and red drum caught around the inlet jetties with soft plastics. Tog fishing has been insane from the jetties and rock-walls from North Wildwood to Cape May with green crabs fished traditional or on jigs as the best ways to catch. Striped bass are starting to trickle in as there has been some keepers caught off the beaches. Sea bass and porgy fishing remains good, but you have to fight off the spiny dogfish in the 110 to 140-foot depths.
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South Jersey Fishing Forecast
The best bet for this weekend will be hunker down and regroup as the weather does not look favorable with NE winds predicted to over 30 knots. In fact, Sunday’s waves are forecasted to be 9 to 11 foot. I would say most inlets will be un-fishable, but the backwaters are still in play if you want to deal with the wind. In general, most areas will get an influx of striped bass into the bays with a few days of strong NE winds. Areas that are close to the inlet, but yet sheltered are great places to start dragging live baits or working bucktails. Jetties or bridges are still in play for Tog, but the bite will really depend on the water clarity. Good luck, be safe, and tight lines!
Are you still printing your stripper name?