New Jersey & Delaware Bay - Central New Jersey Fishing Reports

?Striped bass has been very good,? was the report from the 125? Jamaica on Sunday as the boat is out again as of Monday. ?Stripers are biting and there are a number of bonus fish and keepers in the mix,? they noted. On striped bass trips the boat sails at 6:30 a.m. returning around 2:30 p.m.

Capt. Joe said the Jamaica II and passengers found good fishing on Friday with plenty of porgies and a few sea bass and blackfish. Saturday started out decently but a big southerly swell showed up in the afternoon and shut down the action after a few limits were boated. Sunday the boat didn?t sail due to the weather. The Jamaica II is sailing weekdays at 7 a.m. for blackfish, and Saturday (3 a.m.) and Sunday (5 a.m.) for sea bass and porgies.

Matt at the Reel Seat said there was an uptick in striper size the past week along the local beaches. ?It seems that weather snap where water temps started to cool down the tautog started snapping,? Matt said. Plenty of bluefin off the beach, TN Heads, ballyhoo and RonZ on the troll, the 4X Tuna heads from NLBN and 8-inch straight tails for casting. Whether bass or bluefin, the action has been good by boat, and folks are amped for chillier weather and an improved tautog bite at the reefs and wrecks.

Jason at Fishermen?s Supply said there was still very consistent action on the beach from Sandy Hook to Island Beach, a good mix of sand eel bite to peanuts on the beach. ?Any soft plastic, thin profile with a teaser, then when the peanuts come in the bass will hit just about anything,? he said. There?s been a decent nighttime bite on stripers in the river, plus some solid togging along the canal wall. On the boats, some folks are slamming the tautog at certain pieces, others are working hard for a pick. As temps drop the action should level out. The big story out along the Central Jersey coast has been the inshore tuna action. ?The bluefin fishing was pretty spectacular from the Manasquan Ridge south on horse ballyhoo and RonZ lures,? Jason said of the bluefin trolling action.

?We decided not to fish today due to weather conditions,? said Capt. Bob aboard the Gambler on Sunday, though the day prior he said they found great fishing again with striped bass from 20-inchers to 40-inchers and loads in between. Fish were caught on 4-ounce jigs with tails, shads and spoons. ?Working birds and breaking fish were spread out for miles, so there was no need for boats to be on top of one another,? the captain said, while also reminding folks not to worry about the stiff offshore winds when fish are in this tight to the beach. ?If the wind forecast is calling for Westerly, even up to 35 knots, don't let it keep you home. It will not be rough, due to the lee of the land (and because we will be inside of 3 miles). Stripers love to chomp on a west breeze,? he said.

For an offshore canyon hunting crew like Capt. Cody and the Jersey Nutz Sportfishing team, the idea of doing a combo tuna/striper trip is simply incredible. Cody said bluefin are right offshore, just across the line, and the bass bite is super good inside right now. On Friday, December 1, they had a charter aboard starting with a few blackfish. Then it was inside for the striped bass, boxing up a bonus fish on the first drift before finding amazing action with plenty of catch and release jumbos with a bit of a topwater bite as well.

It was bluefin and bass for the Mushin Sportfishing crew on Saturday, as Capt. Alan Lee said Ariel, Marinette, and Anthony were aboard for a striper trip, but they couldn?t pass up the opportunity to head off in search of tuna first. Capt. Alan said they landed a nice 60-inch bluefin, and then ran inside for stripers on jigs and spoons until the tide dropped out. ?We trolled as many as we wanted,? Alan said, adding ?Fishing continues to be incredible.?

The Norma K III is now sailing 3/4-day blackfish every day. Waters have been mostly on the warm side keeping a lot of tautog inshore, but dropping air temps should kick the action into gear quite well in the coming days along the reefs, wrecks and snags. And as temps continue to fall (in the 20s to start Wednesday morning) the Norma K III?s heated railings will come in handy!

I spoke with Frank at Gabriel Tackle on Sunday who said the striper fishing has been outrageous. ?Bluefin fishing has been outrageous too, about 8 miles out,? he added. As Frank and I were on the phone he said someone came in the shop to report that Brick Beach was blowing up at that moment. If heading to the beach this week plan for both peanuts (metal lips and swim shads) and sand eels (avas and teasers). Tog action was still good in the canal, keepers and all, with a few big fish caught offshore at Axel Carlson. Stripers are still in the canal as well which is a good sign for the action out front along the beach later this month.

Tautog up to 13 pounds reported over the weekend at Jersey Hooker Outfitters where at last check this weekend a bushel of greenies was going for $65. Still plenty of stripers out along the local beaches near the shop, where Yo-Zuri twitch baits have been hot when bass are on peanut bunker, while thin metals will get it done most mornings in the sand eel bite.

Pete at Charlie?s Bait & Tackle said the surf fishing was really good over the weekend, even in the Sunday rains. Surfcasters are throwing everything at the fish too, some days it?s swim shads, other day the topwaters, while the sand eel bite in between is keeping the Avas and Bill Hurley?s flying off the shelves. Of course, by boat things are pretty solid too off the beach, and not just the stripers. ?The inshore tuna bite is crazy right now,? Pete said of that bluefin action.

In his Monday morning report, John at Betty & Nick?s said there were very light northwest winds at sunup, ?absolutely perfect.? There have been plenty of fish and occasional blitz conditions for a week down that end of the Ocean County stretch, and folks were picking away at bass in the northeast as well on Sunday. ?Water is a little stained,? John said to start the week, adding ?but today should be phenomenal.?

The crew at Grumpy?s Bait & Tackle said there?s still a lot of great fishing to be had along the Central Jersey coast between Point and Island Beach. They reported on Monday that the sand eel bite has been hot with everything from Bill Hurleys, Joe Baggs, Avas, teasers, and many other imitations working well, but there are also signs of bunker again after that swell from this past weekend. According to the NOAA Marine weather forecast there?s a good bit of W/NW to start the week which should clean things up very nicely after the storm on Sunday, leading to some pretty solid conditions in the surf.

Dennis at Hook House Bait & Tackle said guys fishing north of the Casino Pier at sunup on Monday were doing well with Avas and teasers. As for colors, everyone?s got a favorite. AVA-17 1-ounce and 1-1/2-ounce are selling well. Often white gets the nod, but having a color array in your bag just in case. Anywhere from rats to keepers, a whole bunch of mixed sizes. ?There are fish all over the place, even in the Toms River at this point,? Dennis said. If things slow down out front, Dennis plans to have bloods available for river bass and perch later in the week.

Capt. Ray Lopez of Miss Liane Charters has been finding all the striped bass his anglers could want. In addition to keepers to take home for dinner, his anglers are getting tired from reeling in oversized linesiders heading out of Barnegat Inlet.

Mike at Creekside Outfitters said stripers are there from the inlet north to Seaside Park for those jigging and dragging lures. Tautog are snapping a little better now, and Mike feels the white legger bite is starting to turn on over the greenies. He also noted how bluefin are chasing baits along the inshore waters were Wolf Pack, Hogy and vertical jigs are all getting the nod.

I spoke with Capt. Sam Rescigno of the Mary M IV on Monday morning and he said tog fishing is still mostly a pick, but the striped bass action is simply off the charts heading out of Barnegat Inlet. ?Excellent striper fishing, best I?ve seen in 35 years,? he said while reporting anything from 20-inchers up to 40-pound fish still in the area. In the deeper water he?s mostly turning to the jigs, while once he?s up in shallower water just off the beach the swim shads seem to score better.

Capt. Lenny of Miss Barnegat Light said they?ve been having some terrific action on striped bass outside Barnegat Light jigging fish. ?High hook was about 40, no I?m not kidding 40,? he said nothing many anglers along the rail were well into double-digit fish, with jigs and swim shads getting it done.

Greg at Fisherman?s Headquarters said the great striped bass and tuna action is continuing right into December, and he reported over the weekend that he expects it all to roll on for another week or two. ?The LBI surf is not boiling like some of the beaches to the north however there are fish spread out along the Island?s bars and striped bass are being caught,? Greg said on Sunday. Fresh bait always gets a little harder to secure this time of year, and he said anglers fishing salted clam have picked some bass and also anglers fishing lures are catching too. ?There?s peanut bunker, sand eel and a few herring around too. Match the hatch accordingly,? Greg added noting how nine out of the 29 fish entered into the LBI Surf Fishing Classic?s Surf Master Segment were caught in the past week.

Carole Ann at Jingle?s Bait and Tackle said things were a bit slower on the south end beaches at LBI, a few undersized fish reported back to the shop. ?Everyone is saying they are still to the north,? she said, though there was one report of a good-sized bass plugged and released from Holgate last week. Could be worth a drive along the beaches this week in the westerlies to see if bass are on bunker and sand eels.

According to the captains and crews from the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association the current striped bass fishery off Long Beach Island is as good as it has been for a number of years. Some of the Beach Haven captains are fishing into December and have some outstanding catches to show for their efforts. Capt. Dave Wittenborn of the Benita J sums up the action on a recent trip saying, ?I?ve had many good days in the 25-plus years I?ve been running striper charters but none better than today.? He termed the action for the Steward group was ?nonstop insanity? the whole trip. After limiting out in 35 minutes they played catch and release for 4 hours, releasing over 100 fish. At the north end of the island, Capt. Brett Taylor of Reel Reaction Sportfishing had a solid morning this past week which he said, ?doesn't get much better for striped bass.? He had Herman Diaz and nephew Zack aboard and after breaking Barnegat Inlet they found fish everywhere. After boxing their boat limit of six bass to 31 inches, they caught and released quite a few more and turned to blackfish. Despite a slow bite, they worked on a few pieces of structure, managing six keepers to take home.

?Fishing picked up pretty good for striped bass on Thanksgiving Day and stayed decent until Tuesday the 28th on both baits (salted clam and bunker) and Ava jigs, bucktails and teaser rigs with both of those as there were a goodly number of sand eels about,? said Tom at Surf City Bait and Tackle on Sunday, adding that he had a number of customers up along the beach and working the jetty for tautog. ?Blackfish has slowed down but is still okay,? he said, adding that some nice keepers were caught Sunday by several different anglers. This of course is the final week of the 69th annual LBI Surf Fishing Classic, and he plans on continuing the final tournament day tradition with free hot dogs and coffee on Sunday, December 10 from about 11:30 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. ?Also, next Sunday on the 10th we will be having a 10% off sale on gift cards, 10 on the 10th,? he said. Buy any amount gift card valued at $25 or more and get 10% off of its value amount (example: buy a $100 gift card - you pay $90).