New Jersey & Delaware Bay - Northern New Jersey Fishing Reports

Chris at Bayonne Bait and Tackle told us that he plans to be open as of this first week of March, just give a call to the shop before heading over in search of bloodworms.

“People are anxious to get out,” said Cheryl from Fairfield Fishing Tackle. She said a bunch of folks tried for pike last week from the Passaic River, but noted that all the ponds and lakes are still frozen up her way. That said, be careful with the thought of venturing out on the hardwater. “I haven’t seen anyone ice fishing at Hopatcong or Musconetcong over the past week,” Cheryl said.

Mark your calendar for Saturday, March 21 when the folks from Tackle World are holding their grand reopening event just down the road a bit from their old location, the new shop being located on the other side of the highway at 461 Route 17 in Paramus.

When calling around for updates heading into the March printed edition, Steve Haas at Up Front Bait and Tackle told us that he has moved the store’s opening from March 1 to March 6.

“The first striped bass of the season was caught by our buddy Grant Dietz on a NLBN in the wee hours this morning,” was the Sunday morning report from Phil from the Tackle Box. “With this winter and all the ice we have had but the holdover fish are there and they are hungry,” Phil added.

“While we sustained some damage from the ice that made a couple of slips unusable but we should have the damage repaired in a couple of weeks,” is what Wayne at Twin Lights Marina reported for our March edition, with Wayne noting how ice pulled a few pilings up but he hopes to have them back in place quickly.

Tommy from Fisherman’s Den said guys have started fishing from the Shark River for winter flounder. He told me on Monday morning that a handful of anglers stopped in for bait and tackle, including chum to bring those flatties to the bulkhead, but he hasn’t heard back from anyone as to how the bite was. Figure if more folks are chumming there on a daily basis as air and water temps increase, it’s only a matter of time before those winter flounder find the buffet line.

“The ice is starting to go now, and it should be mostly all gone by next week after this warmer weather,” Nick at Bullet Hole Annex. He said a few guys are fishing the lower Passaic, and he expects to hear some pike reports soon enough. The big story last week of course was the pending state record muskie caught out in Greenwood Lake that taped out at 52-1/8 inches with a 27-inch girth weighing in at 45.03 pounds. Nick also added that folks throwing small white Keitech soft plastics have reported on a couple of stripers in back bay estuaries as of Sunday, March 1.