New Jersey & Delaware Bay - Southern New Jersey Fishing Reports

There is a lot of freshwater runoff in the rivers and creeks right now according to reports from customers of Dockside Cafe and Marina. Anglers are finding stripers near the mouth of the creek and into Tuckerton Bay. Bloodworms and clam baits have been producing stripers from 20 to 30 inches. There has also been the occasional drum caught (on clams), and these fish are in the 25- to 30-inch size range. The creek is still producing perch for anglers fishing live grass shrimp or bloodworms. These fish seem to be moving farther upstream than they were just a week ago.

There are “tons of stripers around right now” according to this week’s report from Dylan with Empire Fishing and Tackle. Most of these fish have been keeper size and up, with only a handful of shorts reported. The bite is in the Mullica River, Great Bay and Little Egg Harbor Bay and most of the fish are falling for clams or bloodworms. There have even been some drum popping up in the bay, on clam baits. The shop is fully stocked with fresh baits including clams, green crabs, bloodworms, nightcrawlers, and they even have their supply of live minnows already.

“Sun is out and the wind is down,” was what Mike with Tuckerton Bait and Tackle told us on Sunday when we spoke. Basically it was the first fair weather day all week and anglers sure did take advantage of it. Most of the local action on stripers is coming from Graveling Point where anglers are catching fish on both bloodworms and clam baits. Even though the bay water temperature is still just under 50 degrees, there has been a scattering of drum fish caught, also on clam baits. As such, Mike has secured a load of fresh surf clams which will be in the shop very soon. With the “new” scarcity of bloodworms (or just their expense), many anglers are looking forward to soaking a clam for both stripers and drum.

The striper bite really heated up this week, and Sunday morning the reports were coming in fast and furious from Graveling Point. This was the word from Justin with Allen’s Dock. Bloodworms were the ticket to hooking into a striper, with fish ranging in size from shorts to overs. There are also some drum being caught in the same area, and Justin will be stocking fresh clams shortly. Perch are being caught too, but they are way up the river right now.

Live eels are taking some stripers in the Mullica according to reports out of Chestnut Neck Boat Yard. Fish have been ranging in size from 22 to 34 inches, with many of these fish caught mid-day. Fish have also been caught on bloodworms, mostly from the Graveling Point area, and these fish too have been ranging in size from shorts to slightly “overs”.

The spring tog fishery is pretty hot locally according to this week’s report from Capt. Dave with Absecon Bay Sportsman’s Center. The jetties and sea wall along Absecon inlet are producing good numbers of keeper tog for shore based anglers. Boaters are also finding this same area to be very productive, especially on the days (which were most days this week) when it was impossible to get offshore. One marina customer came back from a short trip to the inlet with his limit of keeper tog, all caught on green crabs. Striper action was good in the bays and rivers on bloodworms and fresh clams, and on soft plastics again along the inlet. Up the Mullica River, the perch bite has been very good and Capt. Dave is stocking bloodworms and live grass shrimp to accommodate these perch anglers.

The 2024 Riptide Rotter Season has officially begun at Riptide Bait and Tackle. The clam boats were finally able to get out and deliver the freshest surf clam to the shop. Now that they are available, many anglers will switch from bloodworm baits to clam baits not only for stripers, but to also increase their chance of hook up with an early season drum. The local striper catches this week consisted of short fish and keeper size fish being taken on bloodworms, clam and artificials. Nothing weighed in to shake up the Riptide Derby standings, but there were many smaller fish caught from the back bays of Brigantine. A few reports of tog on the jetties this week, and the shop has stocked plenty of green crabs for when the weather gives us a break and the offshore anglers can hit the wrecks again.

Patiently awaiting a weather window was the report from the crew of Jersey Nutz Sportfishing Charters this week. The weather once again kept them from the offshore tile fishing grounds, but just as soon as they get a break from the weather, they are ready to set sail. Summer tuna charters are already beginning to be booked by repeat customers.

Black drum, kingfish and now another first for Atlantic City as far as I know; flounder. Noel with One Stop Bait and Tackle tells us that a customer of his landed a nice size summer flounder from the Melrose Ave. Jetty on a Zoom bait this week. The zooms and other soft plastics are catching the heck out of the striped bass on all the AC jetties. Noel himself got a dozen one morning. Lots of the fish are falling in the slot range, but there are some that are well over, pushing 44 inches. Young Justin Cruz (first kingfish last week) made it to the board again this week with a nice slot striper weighing in at 9 pounds. As of Sunday, Noel was waiting for a couple of customers to check in with what they claim to be two “colossal” drum they had just caught. The tape measure and scale will tell us if they were “colossal” or not, but the fact is that the drum bite continues to improve in the back bays. Lastly, the tog bite has been nothing short of phenomenal, with plenty of keepers, including several anglers coming in with limits of tog from the local jetties. The shop’s tog ($500) and striper ($1,000) tournament runs through the end of the month. Free sign up and all the details are available in the shop.

Justin with Scott’s Dock (formerly Ray Scott’s Dock) checked in to let us know that they are open for the season. Already a few reports have come into the shop of small stripers in the back bays from the sod banks and bridges. Larger stripers and a good tog bite were reported from the Longport and Atlantic City Jetties this weekend.

Very few boats got out this week according to Waterfront Marine, but those that did get out found the tog chewing. A steady bite on fish to 5 pounds was had on Tuesday, as it was the most fishable day. Green Crabs and clam baits both produced fish. The shore based angler found tog in the Longport area. Also behind Longport, anglers reported catching stripers to 30 inches on clam baits fished from the bulkheads, and on artificials fished around the bridges and docks.

Fin-Atics is open and ready for your business (despite the road work going on right outside the shop). Green crabs are in stock and the anglers who tog fished this week found some fish on the 9th Ave Pier and the Longport Jetty. The action was not fast and furious, but a few good fish were caught. Anglers who managed to get offshore found the fishing biting very well on the wrecks with fish to 6 pounds reported. Very large stripers, in excess of 44 inches were caught this week in the river on bloodworms and clam baits. Many fish are also being found at the mouth of the river, in the bays and just behind the inlets. These fish are reported to be “just right”- not too big and not too small: slot fish. Even more exciting is that these fish are almost exclusively taking artificials Rubber shads, Zoom jerkbaits, and Slug-Gos (up to 8 inches) are taking a good number of these fish. Other anglers are throwing hard plastics including the ever popular Long A Bomber, Yo-Zuri MagDarters, and we have even heard a few fish caught on topwater poppers.

Captain Mike with Mighty Heron Charters reports another blowout week, and Saturday was also a wash as the winds were relentless. Making the most of the day, Capt. Mike participated in the Clean Ocean Action Beach Sweep in Longport. The few anglers that did get out to fish this week, reported good tog action on the local wrecks. The boat is at Seaview Harbor Marina in Longport and there are still two weeks left in the tog season.

Customers of Bait N’ Hook were split this week between tog fishing and striper fishing. The toggers headed for the hot action off the Atlantic City Jetties, while most of the striper anglers fished both the Mullica and the Delaware Rivers. There was a third set of anglers that told us they did some tog fishing on the jetties during the day, and then were throwing soft plastics for stripers in the evening hours. Lots of keeper tog and stripers on the jetties they tell us. But up the Delaware is where the big girls are. This week, there was again a run of big stripers in the 40- to 46-inch range, caught exclusively on bloodworms.

Reports out of Pier 47 tell us that the back bay striper bite was pretty decent this week in spite of the weather. Anglers had to “dodge, duck, dip, dive….and dodge” the winds this week when fishing between Cape May and Stone Harbor. With all the islands, channels, creeks, bridges and wind breaks, anglers found respite from the wind and also found aggressive stripers. Action ranged from the sod bank drop offs to the deep water bridge pilings. Artificials took most of the fish, and again this week, all shades of green soft plastics from 4 to 6 inches seemed to work best. These fish are not huge, with most falling into the 20- to 26-inch range and are presumed to be resident fish. However, there are also some fish in excess of 30 inches which, based on their bright-shiny sides and dark lines, appear to be migratory ocean run fish.

The deeper water wrecks are holding tog according to Nick with Hands Too Bait and Tackle. Several anglers were able to make it offshore this week and reported back that there is plenty of life on the wrecks, with Reef Site 11 especially productive. The Delaware Bay is dirty due to the wind and rain this week, but there are stripers being caught on the Jersey Side, and there are also rumors of some drum being taken on the Delaware side of the bay. The back bays continue to produce smaller stripers, mostly on soft plastics.

Each day this week, even the days when the wind blew 30-plus knots, anglers found stripers on Fortescue Beach. Higbee’s Bait and Tackle reports that bloodworms are the go to bait and the demand for these baits exceeds the supply on many days. Call ahead to make sure you can get bait before heading down to the beach. The fish are here in good numbers and a lot of them are falling into the keeper slot range, with the larger fish were pushing the 43-inch mark this week. Some perch were caught as well right from the beach, and a couple of drum in the 25- to 28-inch range also sucked up bloodworms intended for stripers.