New Jersey & Delaware Bay - Central New Jersey Fishing Reports

“We had a pretty good day ling fishing on Saturday,” was the report from the helm of the Big Jamaica, reporting that high hook had 15 ling and everybody caught some. Pool winner was Matt Mitchell from Milford. She was offshore on a tilefish trip Saturday night into Sunday as of this report.

Capt. Joe said the Jamaica II finished up their blackfish trips with good action. Ling and cod have been keeping anglers busy at the rails and adding to their coolers.

Tony at Paramount Deep Sea Fishing said the weather turned out to be beautiful for their last pick at blackfish. Good numbers of ling kept things interesting. Thursday, they went out for ling and cod with some whiting showing up. The morning action was better than the afternoon. On Friday the Paramount picked steadily at ling with a handful of whiting on board. They updated their schedule and will begin sea bass fishing on May 17th.

Nick at the Reel Seat said the fluke season started off strong in the bay. A lot of anglers reeled in fish around 18 inches. There are plenty of shorts to keep folks busy. Bluefish are biting good in the river. Bluefin slowed down.

Capt. Adam at Canyon Runner Sportfishing said the 2024 tuna season started early for the Canyon Runner Coaching Service with giant bluefin first showing up off of OCMD the middle of April and members were on the bite for two weeks. Success was enjoyed by many of the members culminated in the last day of the open trophy season where a couple members – and Capt. Jeff Warford – one of their Pro-Staff, boated tunas from 90 inches to 94 inches. Capt. Jeff caught his fish on a Wolfpack Tungsten blue and white head and ballyhoo combo. NOAA Fisheries ended the trophy bluefin fishery has of May 3, and while there will likely be a lull in the action, by Memorial Day Weekend there should be red hot fishing on our doorsteps.

Jason at Fishermen’s Supply said the bluefish are back in town! Topwater and soft plastics are getting the job done.

Capt. Bob on the Gambler said their last few blackfish trips were decent. They managed some cod and ling as well. This weekend they started searching for fluke and went the distance for some tilefish.

Cody at Jersey Nutz Sportfishing said they had great giant bluefin and tilefish action this week. They have two remaining tilefish trips on May 11th and 12th with spots available.

Capt. Alan Lee of Mushin Sportfishing said they went out with Matt P and friends for morning striper fishing. They caught some fish and had fun doing it finding some great action.

Capt. Danny said the Norma K III said they started out the week with a good pick of ling and some blackfish before the season closed. They had their first tile trip with a full boat limit of goldens and beautiful weather.

Anthony at Sligo Sportfishing said the river is producing solid bluefish action. Bluefin were biting in the shipping lanes off Asbury. Fluke fishing in the river is good. Striped bass action is picking up off Sandy Hook.

Frank at Gabriel Tackle said the bluefish bite remains hot in the Manasquan, canal, and bay. The time of day doesn’t seem to matter, they are biting day and night. The bay is producing a good striper bite on bait and lures. The action on the surf is kicking up with plenty of stripers landed on clam.

Rich at Jersey Hooker Outfitters said customers did very well in the Manasquan River for fluke. Anglers had to follow the tide change but managed lots of limits. He didn’t hear of anything gigantic though. Plenty of bluefish were landed but it seems like those on boats are doing better than shore-based anglers. Bass continue to be caught in the canal. A few stripers were caught in the ocean by trolling.

Billy at Charlie’s Bait & Tackle said the surf is offering stripers on clams, bloodworms, and sand fleas. Bluefish are biting in the bay by the Mantoloking and Seaside bridges. A few black drum were reported in the bay. Stripers and blues started to hit artificials off the beach.

John at Betty & Nick’s said there was decent fishing on Monday with multiple bass and big blues reported. On Tuesday, there wasn’t much action, likely due to the southeast wind. Wednesday was great day with a lot of bass caught. The wind shifted and got things going again. It’s possible another body of fish migrated north. Lots of big bluefish were reported in the bay and around the back. Thursday morning a customer came in off the beach with three bass to 30 inches. There were less anglers out on Friday but most of them caught bass. As of Saturday, the blues are loaded in the bay. They have clams in stock as of this report on Sunday.

Our friends at Grumpys Bait & Tackle said the surf is hot with striped bass. Clam is getting the most action but some folks got a nice slot fish with SP Minnows. Even when the fog rolled in, bass were chewing in the suds! One angler got out Saturday morning and landed six bass off IBSP with shads. The largest exceeded 40 inches, all released. Bass are biting in the back as well. One customer caught a fluke as a by-catch on clams just before opening day. A nice bluefish was caught off a mullet chunk in the back bay. Some stray black drum are still lingering.

Mario at Hook House Bait & Tackle said there is good bass action in IBSP on clams. Kevin W landed a nice 40-inch bass earlier in the week.

Capt. Ray Lopez of Miss Liane Charters announced that the boat is splashed and ready to sail. Ray said he plans to target bluefin tuna, tilefish, and black sea bass this spring, and noted he does have some summer openings.

Capt. Joe Rizzo of Barnegat Bay Fishing Charters said he went out opening day of fluke but had difficulty getting into the action with the tide against the wind. He got one keeper but there was no real bite and no bird play. The water is still cold, but he believes the bite will kick off as it warms up.

Tom at Creekside Outfitters said the bay fishing continues to be hot. Bluefish and stripers are chewing away. Frank Casale of the Hooks and Anchors fishing club caught his daily double on the last day of blackfish season. He weighed in a 10.15-pound striper and a 3.76-pound blackfish. Fluke season is now open, and Tom suggests starting out with Gulp shrimp or swimming mullet on a jighead or bucktail. There have been some reports of fluke out front.

Capt. Sam Rescigno of the Mary M IV said they finished the blackfish season strong and and gearing up for sea bass. All signs are pointing to a good sea bass season, so he is eager to get out there and drop a line.

Greg at Fisherman’s Headquarters said the stripers are chewing away in the surf. Clam is doing best. He also had some good reports on bunker. Small diamond jigs, poppers, SP Minnows, and Mag Darters are working well if you prefer lures. Blues and drum are bending rods in the wash as well. The bay has some drum around.

Steve at Jingles Bait and Tackle in Beach Haven said the surf is crushing it for nice size bluefish and stripers are still being weighed in using clam and bunker. Opening day of fluke was a hit with a fair amount of big fluke weighed in from the back bays.

As members of the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association we’re gearing up for this past weekend’s fluke opener, we heard of a couple of trips for Capt. Brett Taylor of Reel Reaction Sportfishing, one with Lou Sigillo and his friend Murph who worked some ultra shallow areas to release eight stripers to 39 inches keeping one 29-incher to take home. Capt. Brett also had Bob Dodds and his cousin Joe on a 4-hour bay skiff charter where the two cousins - 79 and 80 years old respectively - released close to a dozen striped bass in skinny water. Capt. Gary Dugan made his inaugural trip last Monday aboard his Irish Jig sneaking in one last tautog trip before the April fishery closed. Gary said there were many fish about 13 to 14-1/2 inches in length along with some nice black sea bass which had to be released.

Capt. Steve Palmer of the Miss Beach Haven said she had her maiden fluke voyage for the year and anticipate a productive fluke fishery.

Tom at Surf City Bait and Tackle said fluke started off good with multiple keeper fluke pulled off Barnegat Jetty and a few near the shop off the beach. Tog season ended but it was a success. Bluefish are going crazy in the surf and the bay. They are all large gators, no snappers yet. Striped bass slowed a bit but still biting off the surf on clams and bunker. Kingfish are slowly coming in.