New Jersey & Delaware Bay - Northern New Jersey Fishing Reports

Weather and bait problems continue to hold back the striped bass fishing in the latter days of April according to Akira over at True World Tackle. Anglers fishing off piers in New York Harbor and the lower Hudson River continue to catch stripers mostly smaller fish with some keepers and overs mixed in mainly on bloodworms. This past week saw a shortage of fresh bunker as boats that went out could not find any local bunker. Akira said while his regulars have their boats in the water and are fishing, a good many other people have yet to get their boats in the water. Even the blackfishing has been on the slow side and very few keeper tog are being caught off the piers. “Hopefully things will turn around soon,” he said.

“We have been hearing of erratic striped bass fishing in Raritan Bay and surrounding waters,” said Joe over at Fairfield Fishing Tackle. Recent drops in water temperature shut down the lure bite and made the fishing a bait bite, he added. “Most of the bass are being caught on bunker, if you can get it, worms and eels,” Joe said.

The third week of April saw some hit or miss striped bass fishing in northern waters according to Mark over at Tackle World. He told us most of the fishermen he spoke with told him they read a lot of fish but the mid-week drop in water temps seems to have given them lock jaw. What fish are being caught are a mix of sizes on eels, worms and bunker, if you can get it. “Hopefully we will have some sunny weather this week to put some life in the fishing,” Mark added.

Most fishermen stopping in at Ramsey Outdoors in Succasunna after fishing Raritan Bay and surrounding waters for stripers have been reporting hit or miss fishing. Don told me some have seen good catches, while others not so good. Up and down water temps are making the fishery unpredictable and you simply have to be in the right spot at the right time. “Quite a difference from last season,” he said. Over at the Ramsey store Andrew said reports he has been getting told of plenty of bass still in the backwater areas, around Perth Amboy and the Triangle. He also got reports of mixed size bass being caught from the shoreline along Cliffwood and Union Beach mainly on bloodworms.

We got an upbeat report from our sources at Dockside Bait and Tackle. They told us anglers fishing the back bay waters around the Triangle enjoyed some decent catches this past week. Anglers fishing off lower bay beaches also picked up bass mainly on worms fished on the top of the tides. Here too the word on the blackfishing was hit or miss heading into the final days. The store has worms and greens and hopefully some fresh bunker this week for the early season fishing, they added. .

This past week saw some spotty bass action on most days according to sources over at the Keyport Marine Basin. Saturday’s lousy morning weather cut down on the number of anglers fishing on Saturday. Like most other marinas they got reports of boaters reading a lot of fish but picky action with the bass turning on for a shot time then shutting down just as fast.

“Wednesday proved to be our best day this past week when we were fishing just below the Verrazano Bridge,” said Capt. Victor Hartley of the Keyport Princess. Victor said the weather looks better for the final week of April, except for the cool evenings. Hopefully we will see a better bite heading into the first days of May.

“To say it has been a very strange year so far, would be an understatement,” said Steve over at Up Front Bait and Tackle. Anglers stopping by the store have been saying they have been reading tons of fish, but the water temps is back into the 40s and the fish have just stopped hitting artificials. You simply have to have bait, worms, cut bunker or eels or you’re not going to get bass. Steve told me conditions in the bay are very much improved with the exception of water temps. In addition he said the number of boats in the water is a lot less than the last few years, also because of the weather.

It was a slow week for fishing and boat traffic this past week cited Mike over at Wagner’s Marina. Mike said very few boats that went out returned with fish and only Dan Mazza, who fished on Saturday, enjoyed a good catch of stripers which were returned. Mike stated he pulled an anchor rope up and said boy did the waters got cold this past week. “Simply put all we need is some warmer weather so the tide can bring in some warmer water to get the fishing going,” he said.

“The weekend saw some fish trolled in the Reach,” said Phil over at the Tackle Box. Phil said that was a good sign since the drop in water temps seems to have turned off the artificial bite and made everything a bait bite. While worms and eels have been the top baits because due to erratic bunker supplies, it was also good to see a few bass were taken on swimmers along the lower bay beaches which have shallow water which is warmer. A few bass have also been caught on clams. Phil said it will be interesting to see if boat traffic, which has been light this spring, will pick up once the bass really turn on.

“We got out on one trip this past week,” reported Capt Joe Baumle of Sour Kraut Sportfishing on April 20. Joe said fishing was picky at best and some tough conditions on Saturday while trolling. Joe said the boat has dates open for the spring stripers so give him a call for info and available dates if you want to get in on the spring fishing.

“We saw a better number of boats go into the water this past week and weekend, but it is no where near the numbers we saw last season at this stage of the season,” stated Lou Fligor at Atlantic Highlands Municipal Harbor. Lou said the harbor is slowly filling up with seasonal boats but here too there are still plenty of openings. Catches coming back to the ramp have also been slower then last season he added, even with all the fish that boaters have been reading.

It was another up and down week of fishing for anglers stopping in at Julian’s Bait & Tackle. Steve said the shop has been having problems getting the bait they order. With water temps back into the upper 40s most of the bass action has been on worms, bunker and eels and bunker has been hard to come by. Like with most other shops the store’s regulars have been telling of reading a lot of fish, but nothing close to a steady bite is being seen. Most times the bass will hit for a short period then go off the bite we were told.

The charter boat Little Hawk got in a good week of striped bass fishing. Capt. Joe Occhipinti said he had to troll the bass on most of the trips in order to put together a catch. A pair of trips started the week off on Sunday the 14th with John and his party in the morning and the Nelson family on the afternoon trip with both enjoying a good pull of keepers. Doug and his charter on Monday and Stan and his group Tuesday morning also enjoyed a good troll of keepers and released plenty more fish. A Tuesday afternoon trip with Keith and his party kept the string of good fishing going, while a pair of trips on Friday also found good fishing. The crew finished up the week on Saturday the 20th with two more good pulls of mixed size bass.

“We have been reading a lot of fish, however fishing has been very picky with some days giving up good catches and others finding spotty fishing,” reported Capt. Pete Wagner of the charter boat Hyper Striper. “We need some steady good weather to push the water temps up and get the bass on the heavy feed,” Pete said.

“Striped bass fishing has been day to day with some days finding good action on jigs while other days we had to troll the fish,” stated Capt, Chad Hacker of Tagged Fish Charters. Chad told us the baitfish have started to move into northern waters and the boat will start chunking this week.

Wayne over at Twin Lights Marina brought up a good point when I was talking with him over the weekend. He said this is the first spring we have the 3-inch slot limit on the striped bass. “Last season that limit was not in effect in the spring and we had trouble handling all the boats going in the water,” said Lou, adding “this spring we have had a plethora of weather problems and combine this with the 3-inch slot limit of one fish we are seeing the results of the crazy regulations.” He said the weekend of April 20-21 saw a handful of boats go out of the marina to fish for stripers despite all the fish in the bay and surrounding waters. Sure makes sense to me; only time will tell I guess!

“We got out on several trips this past week and found decent action in the lower bay and lower sections of the Shrewsbury and Navesink rivers,” said Capt. Fletcher Chayes of Two Rivers Charters. Fletcher told is all his fish were caught on shads and swimming plugs. He said he did not see any schools of bunker like there was in the area a few weeks ago and only saw scattered baitfish pods.

“We are almost finished with our refit and expect to resume fishing for the season on May 1,” said Capt. Matt Quinones of BeastMode Fishing. Matt said he had many delays with the weather this spring and hopes the weather will settle down once he starts fishing again.

“The boat got out early in the week and on Saturday and found some better fishing on Saturday,” reported Greg Hueth of the Big Mohawk III. Greg told me he will be fishing the boat for blackfish right up until the final bell, and then make a decision on what he will do for the 17 days we can’t fish for sea bass. Hopefully some migratory stripers will make an appearance in our waters.

I spoke with Marty over at the Fisherman’s Den and he told me the store has been getting reports of some stripers being caught in the local surf. One good sign is that anglers have started buying Sabiki rigs and catching sea herring in the inlet. This is usually a sign that baitfish populations have started to move into the inlet and forage fish attract other fish. On the blackfishing front fishing on the boats and at the jetty fishing has been hit or miss with some days seeing fair to good catches while other days seeing slow fishing.

It was an off and on week for the Golden Eagle and Victoria Marie. Capt Rich Falcone said both boats had days when the caught some fish and days when fishing was tough. The big boat got in a few days in between the weather. The smaller boat found overs in the back bay on a couple of trips early in the week and some keepers and smaller fish later in the week. “We need a week of good hard sunshine to jumpstart the fishing,” Rich said.

“We had a decent week of fishing for ling and tog,” reported Capt. Al Shinn of the Miss Belmar Princess. Al said most tarps see the ling dominate the catches however some nice tog have also come over the rails. Al told me he will be staying with the bottom fishing for another week or two or when the migratory stripers start showing up.

Another person that told me he found off and on fishing with the stripers this past week was Capt. Joe Paton of Nearfall Fishing Charters. Joe said when he was able to get fresh bunker the fishing was very good. We did an evening chunking trip that was very successful and plans on doing two or three evening chunking trips a week for a while. The boat has some days open this week so if you want to get in on the action give Joe a call for details and dates.

The Ol’ Salty II got in on her first trip of the season with Pat and his party. Capt. Nick Caruso said the group caught plenty of short blackfish and a few keepers, along with a couple cod and ling with Alex taking the pool. Nick told me the highlight of the trip was when another boat hooked up with a 718-pound bluefin which every one on the boat enjoyed watching from a distance. “The boat will continue to fish for tog until the season closes,” Nick added.

“We spent the week in the boat yard for our annual sprucing up,” said Capt. Steve Spinelli of the charter boat Skylarker. Steve said with the crazy weather and picky fishing we have been seeing we just figured it was a good time to get things done.

“Blackfishing has been getting better as we get deeper in April on the days we have been able to get out,” reported Capt. Ralph Leyrer of Last Lady Fishing Charters. Ralph said it’s too bad the season ends on April 30. Ralph said he has a limited amount of trips until the season ends so now is the time to get on the boat for blackfish. The migratory stripers should be getting closer to our area and the boat will be targeting them in May and June. Open boat dates for April are April 24, 27, 28 and 30. “Our first open boat striper trip is May 4 and sea bass May 17,” Ralph said.

“We got in a trio of trips this past week,” cited Capt. Robbie Siciliano of Smokin’ Reel Charters. Robbie said the fishing has been very picky because of the cooler water temps and most of his fish are being caught on cut bunker. Rob told me he intends to stick with the stripers and blackfish and hopes the weather will turn around and jump start the striper fishing.

Reports coming back to the store this past week told of a lot of fish being read on sonar by boats that were fishing, but very pick action with some days good and some days slow, according to Nick over at Bullet Hole Annex. Nick said that while the waters have cleaned up and settled down from the recent weather problems, water temps have been up and down. “The only way that is going to change is for the northern coast to get a good week or more of sunny weather,” he said.

“We got in our first trip of the season on Sunday,” reported Capt. Phil Bouchard of the Misty Morn on Sunday the 21st, adding “After finding the bass had lockjaw we switched to bottom fishing and caught a few tog.” Phil noted, “Need some warmer water and better weather.”