New Jersey & Delaware Bay - Northern New Jersey Fishing Reports

“We have been getting reports of good striped bass action in the back bay, New York Harbor and even some fish in the East River,” said Akira over at True World Tackle. Akira said fishing in March was exceptional and pier fishermen were taking bass on worms fished on the top of the tide and the first part of the outgoing water. The numbers of bass are unbelievable, and many of hefty fish have been caught and safely released. April should see the bass spread out into Raritan Bay and it looks like the migratory bass will move into northern waters early this spring, he said. Akira asked me to mention that the store is open six days a week, closed on Sundays this season,

News spreads fast in the modern age according Joe over at Fairfield Fishing Tackle. Not only did he get reports of the good striped bass fishing in the back bay but also knew about the bass hammering the bunker in the ocean for a couple days in late March. Anglers started stopping in and looking for striped bass gear and reports on the fishing really increased by the end of March. Look for the fishing to really shift into high gear in April especially if we get some warm weather to bring up the water temps in the bay he said.

Over at Ramsey Outdoors we were told they have been getting a stream of reports on the good bass fishing in Raritan Bay and surrounding waters since the second week of March. The fish really exploded the third week in March when the bass started pushing out into the bay and all along the lower side of the bay. They told us tons of bass wintered over in the back bay waters and the tidal portion of the Passaic, Raritan and Hackensack rivers. Combine these fish with the migratory bass which have also started to move through the area and they said April could see one of the biggest spring runs of stripers in a long time.

“March was on the quiet side until word of the bass fishing in upper Raritan Bay started to circulate,” said Don over at Ramsey Outdoors. Don said most of the shipments of new tackle have come into the store and is now on the shelves. “If we get the striped bass explosion in April we expect local tackle shops should get a real boost that will help make up for what they lost during the Covid years,” he said.

I spoke with Rich Yanak over at Dockside Bait and Tackle and he said he was open weekends in March and is now open daily seven days a week. Rich said striped bass fishing has been decent in the back water areas and he too heard of the bass moving up the coast chasing the bunker in the last two weeks of March. “Hopefully the weather will calm down and the water will warm up so we can have an early start to the fishing this spring,” he said.

“We are getting the boat ready for the spring striper fishing and will start fishing in early April,” reported Capt. Bob Henn of Ebbtide Fishing Charters. Bob said with all the stripers that were hitting March it’s a good bet the fishing will be a big go as soon as we do our first trip. The boat has open dates for charters starting in April so give him a call for available dates and info.

“It’s only March and the bass fishing is already on fire,” was the comment from sources over at the Keyport Marine Basin. They told us the boat ramp has been open and getting a good work out by anglers trying to get in on the bass action. The crew at the basin is already working on getting the docks and slips ready for the spring. “We will start putting boats in the water once the work on the basin is finished,” we were told.

“Striped bass action in the back bay and along the south side of the bay broke open in early March and kept on producing good numbers of mixed size bass as the month came to a close,” cited Steve Haas over at Up Front Bait and Tackle. Steve said with most of the marinas closed or just starting to put boats in the water anglers were already scrambling to get their boats in the water. Beach fishermen fishing off south side beaches at Keyport, Union, Cliffwood, and the like have been doing very well on the moving tides. He said it looks like April will be a good month, especially if bay temp climb into the 50s, he added.

Sources over at Wagner’s Marina told us they are working on getting the marina ready for the 2023 season. The ramp and marina will be in full operation starting April 10, we were told.

With the way the bass fishing exploded in March it could put an end to the talk about a striped bass shortage. “Simply put the fishing has been on fire and we have already had bass topping the 40-inch mark being reported,” said Phil over at the Tackle Box, while adding “I don’t ever remember seeing as many bass being caught in March.” Phil said he got reports of the bunker only migrating as far south as Delaware this past winter and the fact that bass were pushing schools of bunker the third week in March off Shark River seems to bear this out. “It’s going to be an interesting April to say the least and the store is now open normal hours,” Phil added.

“So far the reports on the striped bass fishing have been even better than last season and hopefully it will be another banner year of bass action,” said Capt. Joe Baumle of Sour Kraut Sportfishing. Joe said he is putting the finishing touched on the boat’s spring refit and will be back at the dock and fishing for stripers on April 15.

“You can tell something was up when more and more boats started to slide down the ramp,” said Lou over at Atlantic Highlands Municipal Harbor. Lou said it didn’t take long for word on the striper action to get around and they are seeing some of the heaviest use of the ramp in the early season ever. “It’s going to be a really interesting April,” Lou said.

The word from Julian’s Bait & Tackle was they are now open normal hours. “If the striped bass fishing in March is any kind of indication of what kind of spring we are going to have you better be ready for some world class fishing,” was the word at the shop. Jays said that by the end of March the bass action that was very good in the backwaters had spread out in the bay and should only get better as April progresses.

“The boat is going in the water the first week in April and we will be back fishing for stripers on April 6,” said Capt. Joe Occhipinti of the charter boat Little Hawk. Joe said he is looking forward to another good season and hopes it will be as good or better than the excellent fishing we had last year.

“We have been doing some work on the boat and will start fishing the end of April,” said Capt. Mike Scardingo of the Mi Jo. Mike said the mild winter kept a lot of fish in close and fish like bass and bunker did not migrate as far south as they normally do so look for and early start to most of the fishing this year. On the downside Mike said he was very disappointed in the change in the sea bass regs that have been made.

Capt. Pete Wagner of the Hyper Striper said he too will resume fishing for stripers on April 8. Pete said it’s amazing how many bass are in our northern waters this early. Big amounts of fish wintered over in the back bay areas of Raritan Bay and a good amount also wintered over in lower state bays. The migratory fish did not migrate far either with a lot of fish holding off of Delaware where the bunker were holding said Pete, adding “That all adds up to another good spring run of stripers.”

“We started putting boats in the water in March and once anglers begun catching the stripers more and more boats were sliding down the ramp,” said Wayne of Twin Lights Marina. “It’s a good thing that the dredging in the marina was done before the stripers started to hit or it would have been real hectic,” Wayne said, noting the marina is in the best shape it has even been in and ready to go for the 2023 season.

I spoke with Capt. Fletcher Chayes of Two Rivers Charters who told me he will resume fishing for the season on April 8 for stripers. Anyone wanting to get in on the early season bass action can give him a call for available dates.

“We will start our spring tog fishing on April 1,” stated Greg Hueth of the Big Mohawk III. Greg said hopefully the whitechins will start moving in closer and by mid-month or earlier the fishing will be in full swing.

“The last couple of weeks in March finally started to serve up some winter founder to anglers fishing the inlet and bay,” said Tom over at the Fisherman’s De. In addition he mentioned that a couple of the party boats got in one the stripers about 2 miles off the beaches that were chasing the schools of bunker moving through the area starting around March 22. “Several party boats will start tog fishing as soon as the season opens and hopefully we will see some more stable weather patterns in April,” Tom said, adding that the shop is well stocked with winter flounder, tog and striper gear for the spring season.

As of April 1 the Golden Eagle will start bottom fishing daily for ling, cod and other ground fish. Capt. Rich Falcone said a few trips in March fared well however the last weekend in March was a washout because of the weather. On the upside the Victoria Marie, the Golden Eagle’s smaller sister ship, has been into the stripers in Raritan Bay since the middle of March and Rich said some trips see the boat max out in a few hours with mixed size bass. The Victoria Marie does have open dates for stripers if you want to get in on the early season action that is going on right now. Just give Rich a call for details.

I spoke with Capt. Justin Swanson of Just N’ Tyme Guide Service while he was fishing Raritan Bay and he told me he has been doing well with the stripers since mid-March. He too expects to see some super fishing in April and said he has dates open for charters.

“We started off the 2023 season on a good note,” said Capt. Al Shinn of the Miss Belmar Princess. Al said some exploratory trips during the third week of March found schools of stripers chasing pods of bunker only a couple miles off the beaches to the north of the inlet. A pair of trips limited out with the linesiders and that’s a good sign for the spring season. “Looks like both the bunker and stripers did not migrate too far some this past winter and this could mean an early start to the spring fishing,” he said.

“We’ve got Coast Guard inspection the first week of April and will resume fishing on April 7,” said Capt. Nick Caruso of the Ol’ Salty II. Nick said he will start the season bottom fishing and also do some striper trips once the fish show up in good numbers. Being that migratory stripers were already caught in late March in northern water it’s a good bet the striped bass fishing will really turn hot by mid-April, he added.

Another boat captain that told me he will back in the water and fishing for stripers and bottom fishing by mid-April was Capt. Pete Sykes of the Parker Pete. Pete said he is giving the boat its annual spring once over and expects to be ready to fish by mid-April. He said with all the stripers that wintered over and are already on the move April should see some excellent fishing. He also told me Nearfall Fishing Charters will move up to Raritan Bay and start fishing for stripers on April 1.

Another boat captain that told me he will resume fishing for the year on April 15 was Capt. Steve Spinelli of the Skylarker. Steve said he has been busy giving the boat its annual sprucing up for the spring and is looking forward to another good season. The boat does have dates open for the early season fishing so if you are looking to put your party into some good fishing this spring give him a call for available dates.

“The boat is ready for the 2023 season,” cited Capt. Ralph Leyrer of Last Lady Fishing Charters. Ralph told me that while the boat is ready to fish he won’t be starting the season until April 16 for blackfish. “It will take some time to get the tog moving and early April conditions are iffy at best when it comes to good numbers of fish,” he said, explaining that his trip on April 16 will be an open boat trip and there are still some spots open. He will also be scheduling more open boat trips depending on the fishing.

“As crazy as it might seem the spring bass fishing really caught fire in March,” said Nick over at Bullet Hole Annex. Anglers fishing through winter in the tidal Passaic and Hackensack rivers were playing catch and release with mixed size bass most of the winter and the fishing really broke open in mid-March. A good many larger fish also wintered over in the back waters of the bay and Raritan River and this also added to the good fishing. Nick was another person that told me he expects to see an early start to the migratory fish action as well. The store is stocked with all kinds of striper gear for spring fishermen he added.