First and foremost, Happy Thanksgiving to all and hopefully after spending quality time with the family you’re able to get out on the water. The striped bass bite has been very solid from Manasquan to Sea Isle City with a variety of sized fish being landed. Pencil poppers, needlefish, Ava jigs, and Tsunami Sand eel soft plastics have been the hot lures of the past week. The fish seem to be in a variety of different depths from 0 to 3 miles out and anglers working the line have been doing well on mojos and spoons. Tog or blackfish have been very good as many boats are catching limits or “close-to” limits. Some of the white chins have been in the 10 to 15-pound class with white leggars and green crab working equally well.
Here is this week’s rundown:
Capt. Bill’s Landing in Point Pleasant Beach had a very successful blackfish tournament this past weekend and the top team “Boat-No Moores” had a combined 6 fish bag of 61.8 pounds and the biggest solo fish weighed 13.8 pounds. The shop said it was a great tournament for their 1st one in the blackfish species and many thanks to S&S Bucktails.
Norma K III in Point Pleasant Beach reported days varying between slow and decent with some fish in the 15-pound range. Most anglers have been able to box a few fish on every trip and some limited on blackfish to 6 pounds. The boat expects as the water cools the bite should pick up on some of the choice wrecks.
The Gambler out of Point Pleasant Beach had another gorgeous day on the water with lots of good action on small striped bass, slot bass, and some nice ones over 32 inches. The boat has been seeing lots whales and bait around. Sand eels and bunker have been the main baits and snag-n-drop is working on some days. AVA’s and sand eel replicas or flies are working great on jigging fish.
The MIMI VI out of Point Pleasant has been doing well on blackfish to 10 pounds and the boat has been using both white leggars and green crabs. The crew is running open boat blackfish trips and will be running Thanksgiving morning with a 6a.m. departure.
Jersey Hooker Outfitter in Brick has received excellent reports from the Sea Girt and Axel on green crab and white leggars. The shop has both of these in stock along with blackfish jigs. The bass scene has been more trolling than jigging, but there have been some nice jigging days off of Seaside.
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Gabriel Tackle Company in Brick reported the striped bass bite continues to be producing on Mojos and Spoons, but umbrella rigs are doing the best especially with the amount of sand-eels around. The bass have been ranging from 20 to 36 inches and are being landed from Manasquan to Long Beach Island. The shop said don’t forget about the backwaters as there are plenty of schoolies around the Route 35 bridge and the Point Pleasant Canal at night.
Charlie’s Bait & Tackle in Normandy Beach reported a good start with their 8th Turkey Surf Day Striped Bass classic having close to $1500 for first and $1000 for second. The shop is still signing anglers up for the tournament which starts on Thanksgiving.
Grumpy’s Bait & Tackle in Seaside Park received quality reports along the beach with fish biting in a variety of spots. Some of the surfcasters have reported over 40 stripers off the suds with most in the 20 to 30 inch range. The past few days there have been some nicer fish in the 40-inch range hitting the shop. Another straight week with the fish coughing up sand eels, so the hot lures are; skinny metals, sand eel teasers, and Tsunami swim shads. The shop recommends bringing a wide assortment of lures as each day changes.
Creekside Outfitters in Waretown reported good trolling at the 3-mile line off of Island Beach State Park on Mojos and Spoons. Some anglers reported an additional bass bite for fish to 36 inches on the troll off Lavallette in 60 to 70 foot of water. Togging has been very good at the Barnegat Light and the Axel Carlson reef sites. Anglers making the run north have been limiting on tog to 7 pounds.
Reel Reaction Charters out of Waretown and Barnegat Light has been running combination striped bass and tog trips with good success. The bass have been ranging from slot 24 to 30 inches and all of the fish have been caught on jigging Tsunami Swimshads or working live bait. The skipper continues his “No-Troll November” by finding schools of jig-able bass. Tog fishing has been steady with some limits boxed to 8 pounds. The skipper plans on keeping the boat in until Christmas and beyond, or until the lagoons freeze over.
Fisherman’s Headquarters in Ship Bottom reported a steady pick of striped bass on the troll off the Governor’s Mansion (IBSP) and off of Ship Bottom with snag-n-drop. Some of the bass have weighed over 30 pounds for anglers drifting snagged bunker or bump-trolled live bunker. Tog fishing continues to be very good for all three reef sites, but there are some days where you will have to grind it out to put a catch together.
Brigantine to Sea Isle City has also been hot for tog off the inshore wrecks, rockpiles, and jetties. Atlantic City, Wildwood, and Cape May had another great week of tog success for the jetty hoppers but be sure to wear those spikes or “korkers” as a few anglers have reported injuries off the slick rocks. There was a very good striped bass bite off of Sea Isle City on live bunker (snag-n-drop) and a solid troll bite on the 3-mile line off of Wildwood/Cape May. South Jersey is definitely in full swing for both species. Sea bass anglers are having to run far to the 150ft wrecks to find quality keepers. The backwater sedges continue to produce good quantities of short striped bass.
Jim’s Bait & Tackle in Cape May reported a solid troll bite on Mojos with fish weighing over the 50 pound mark. Most of the action has been at the 2 to 3 mile line and anglers have to work the areas thoroughly. The Tautog bite has still been “epic” off the jetties and shallow water wrecks with anglers catching some decent pigs to 10 pounds. The backwaters of Cape May and Wildwood are still holding good numbers of schoolies which cooperate on the incoming tides. Live spot or worked soft plastic lures are the choice tackle for those backwater bass.
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South Jersey Fishing Forecast
The best bet for this weekend will be either to hit the beaches or boat for striped bass as it looks to blow northwest. I recommend bringing the trolling and jigging gear as there has been a wide variety of size classes the past few weeks. Anglers have a pretty good shot at hooking up on stripers from Manasquan to Cape May, so get out there. If bottom fishing is more your thing, the inshore blackfish bite has been very good for anglers working the reef sites. I would like for your higher profiled wrecks and if you can find ones with big “holes,” you may find a pig hiding. I prefer fish to turkey, so good luck, be safe, and tight lines!