New Jersey & Delaware Bay - New Jersey & Delaware Bay Surf Fishing Reports

Danny from the Tackle Box in Hazlet said fluke are sunning themselves tight to the beach with killies and Gulp baits claiming the bulk of the fish. Spot and croaker moved into the bay hitting Fishbites, cocktail bluefish were reported near Leonardo and Laurence Harbor had guys beating up on the bass using bunker chunks still.

John of Betty and Nicks in Seaside Park stated there are still stripers around but it has slowed a bit. Fluke started to show up a bit more in the deeper cuts and some chopper 4- to 6-pound bluefish also came around to hit Hydro Minnows. John heard that some squid could be around in the surf as anglers reported seeing them.

Philly Billy at Charlie’s Bait and Tackle in Normandy Beach said striper reports continued to roll in from the local beaches as Lisa Schardien keeps cleaning up on bass with clam baits. Some more fluke were reported around the Brick area beaches with occasional 3- to 5-pound bluefish moving in and out.

Greg at Fisherman’s Headquarters in Ship Bottom said the summertime beasties are showing up as spot and striped burrfish are being caught on Fishbites off the bayside docks. Meanwhile out front, scattered stripers are still chomping on clams with an errant black drum here and there. Bluefish are sporadically showing up down at the south end of the island to hit plugs and chunk baits. Fluke fishing is still trying to get some steam going in the suds.

Jason at Fishermen’s Supply in Point Pleasant said fluke fishing picked up a bit more inside the river and off the seawall with Gulp baits claiming fish. Stripers are still swimming around in the Point surf and near the jetties north of the inlet hitting clams. Sporadic shots of bluefish are pushing in and out of the inlet and they seem to be in small packs.

At Gabriel Tackle in Brick chopper blues were reported in the Brick surf as well up in the Manasquan Inlet as 3- to 5-pound class choppers ran through to hit metals and plugs. Fluke fishing sparked up a bit more with the outgoing tides giving up warmer waters. Some stripers are still hanging around to suck up clams in the suds.

The crew of Grumpys Tackle in Seaside Park mentioned striped bass continue to root around to hit clam baits both salted and fresh with a few black drum still showing up as well. Dogfish are around on the moon tides again but real deal sharks have also moved in to hit chunk baits. Fluke fishing is still fairly slow in the suds but should pick up with warming temps. There have also been reports of some squid in the surf line pecking at baits.

There are still stripers hanging around according to Cam at Boulevard Bait and Tackle in Sea Isle City but a lot of anglers are switching over to toss bloodworms to target kingfish now. Some black drum are around to eat up the worm baits as well as clams. Occasional bluefish are moving through to attack chunk baits and fluke are being taken down near Townsend’s Inlet beaches.

Fluke off the T-Jetty really started to turn on according to Noel at One Stop Bait and Tackle in Atlantic City. Squid and minnow combos or filleted mackerel stripers are hanging a bunch of flatties off the jetty as well as the surrounding surf line. Black drum were reported caught off the seawall and stripers in the slot range continue to eat up clams and bunker chunks. A few chopper to slammer class bluefish were also milling around the rocks.

Down in Cape May at Hand’s Too Bait and Tackle Nick and Will teamed up to tell me that kingfish and spike weakfish have moved in with a couple nicer weakfish hitting at low light and clean water conditions on pink Zooms and Fin-S. Bloodworms have been hard to get lately so you can substitute Fishbites as needed. There’s been good reports of sheepshead around all jetty rockpiles with anglers floating sand fleas to get bit. Bluefish are moving anywhere off Cape May Point and the black drum finale should be legit clamming anywhere along the Bayshore to Cape May Point.

Andy of Riptide Bait and Tackle in Brigantine noted that stripers and black drum are still on the menu to gobble up Riptide Rotter clams on any given day. The bite maintains is fury up and down the island. Some more fluke were caught off the south jetty inlet rocks this week as well.

At Jingles Bait and Tackle in Beach Haven reports of more fluke have been coming in with the surf temps rising into the 66-degree range as of Sunday. The last of the stripers are hanging around as most are over-slot caliber fish eating up clams and chunk baits. A few black drum are patrolling the southern shorelines hitting clam baits as well.