New Jersey & Delaware Bay - Southern New Jersey Fishing Reports

Dockside Cafe and Marina reports that the bay, especially out closer to the inlet, was seeing plenty of flounder action this week. Fish were being caught on the incoming tides by anglers using strip baits, minnows and spearing. After picking through a dozen or so short fish, some anglers tell us that they finally found a keeper. Those keepers have been thick fish in the 20- to 22-inch size range. Also in the bay, but regardless of the tide phase, croakers are thick and taking clam, shrimp, bloodworms or Fishbites.

Mike at Tuckerton Bait and Tackle tells us he is getting some conflicting reports from his customers regarding this week’s flounder action. He tells us some of his regulars are coming back with limits or near limits of fish, while other customers say they “can’t even find a fish at the supermarket”. Perplexing, yes. But listening to those who are catching, an easily followable pattern exists. Those successful anglers are fishing the incoming tide, closer to the inlet (Old Coast Guard Station, Markers 124-125), and paying attention to what the fish are eating/regurgitating. One angler reported that the short fish he was catching was spitting up sand eels. Matching the hatch with thin stripped baits produced a limit of keepers to 21 inches. No doubt there are a lot of shorts to pick through, but Mike says you’ll find your keepers “if you pay attention and stick with it”. The bay is also seeing croakers and baby sea bass everywhere, and some bigger sharks have moved into the bay. In the lagoons, peanut bunker are starting to gather in larger schools and are being harassed by snapper blues in the evening hours.

Flounder fishing in the bay really picked up this week according to Justin with Allen’s Dock. Plenty of shorts just about everywhere you look, but enough keepers to keep anglers culling through short fish in order to put one in the box. The bay is also “loaded” with croakers and anglers are starting to see respectable size fish, large enough to fillet. In the Mullica, plenty of anglers are still chasing stripers and doing well in the early morning hours on schoolie size fish, mostly on live eels. The river is also giving up plenty of white perch for anyone fishing with bloodworms or live grass shrimp. The local sheepshead bite has not yet ignited, but reports from further south show the fish aggressively taking sandfleas along the bridges.

White perch action has been very good this week according to Wally at Jersey Devil Marina. The fish have been congregated in the deeper holes, usually where a creek dumps into the river, or even along the sharper bends of the creeks. Grass shrimp and bloodworms have been the best baits for putting together a nice stringer of fish. Crabbing in the river, especially below Lower Bank has been very good this week. The crabs are now both plentiful, large and heavy. Towards the mouth of the river, there are still some stripers being caught by anglers fishing with live eels.

“Stripers, perch, croakers, but mostly flounder,” was the report this week from Violet at Chestnut Neck Boat Yard. While anglers do have their choice of target species, most are opting to chase flounder in the bay. The waters are very warm and the fish are very aggressive, but keepers have been very hard to find lately. Moving out to the inlet on the incoming tides has produced more keeper size fish, especially when using larger baits like strip baits or large bucktail with 5-inch Gulp Grubs.

Absecon Creek and Bay are giving up plenty of flounder according to Capt. Dave with Absecon Bay Sportsman Center. Keeper flounder are scattered about, with some in the bay while the majority of keepers are being caught closer to Absecon Inlet. Here, larger baits like 5- and 6-inch Gulp Mullets, or live spot are taking fish to 5 pounds. The other local action has been croakers everywhere and larger sheepshead, to 9 pounds taking sand fleas under the bridges.

There are lots of short flounder being caught in the back bays of Brigantine according to Capt. Andy with Riptide Bait and Tackle. Keepers are more likely to be found in the inlet and even from the beachfront, with the exception of a 9- pounder caught under a local bridge by an angler using sandfleas for sheepshead. Wherever you fish, live minnows and Gulp Baits have been outfishing most everything else. If taking a trip to the AC Reef Site, there are more keepers to be found here but anglers report using much larger baits such as 6-inch Gulp Mullets or Grubs, or 8-inch strips of fresh fish such as sea robins or mackerel. Bluefin tuna were caught on the troll on RonZ lures, within “a short distance” of Brigantine is the intel we received.

Jersey Nutz Sportfishing reports that the offshore action is in full swing. Yellowfin, bluefin and even some longfin tuna are well within range. Charters and limited open boat spots are available.

Noel at One Stop Bait and Tackle reports that the oceanfront, inlet and bays are loaded with baitfish. All that bait has attracted large numbers of flounder and some bluefish. Keeper flounder are being caught on live minnows from the back bay bridges, inlet sea wall and oceanfront jetties. The same areas are seeing huge numbers of croakers, along with kingfish and spot coming and going with the tides. All that bait and those smaller fish have also attracted the attention of some toothy critters, including an 8-foot bull shark caught in front of Oceans Casino. Another interesting catch this week was a cobia caught from a boat not far off of Harrah’s.

Flounder are being caught everywhere according to this week’s report from Scott at Scott’s Dock. From the piers and ICW behind Margate out to the reefs, and everywhere in between, customers are reporting lots of flatfish action. The reefs have been giving up keepers to 6- pounds while the back bay is loaded with short fish. Case in point, one trip this week on the Captain Robin resulted in over 100 fish being caught. Of those 100 or so fish, clients managed to find a half dozen keepers. Not a great keeper ratio, but plenty of action for everyone on board. Rental boaters and private boaters echo this sentiment, with lots of action but it is hard to find a keeper fish unless fishing in the ocean. The back bay does have one species that the open ocean lacks, and that is sheepshead. Anglers tucked up under the bridges found a great bite this week on sandfleas with fish nearing the 10-pound mark.

The crew at Waterfront Marine in Somers Point tells us that there has been a “little bit of everything” this week according to their customers. First the crabbing has been very good all along the shallow back bay flats. Crabbers are finding dozens of keepers per trip. Keeper flounder on the other hand have been harder to find, even though short fish are everywhere. Keeping anglers busy are fish from 12 to 16 inches spread out along the back bay ICW, into the bay and out along the inlet. Just about any bait; squid, minnows, spearing, Gulp, drifted in the correct direction will probably result in a day of double-digit catches. With the flounder come many skates, dogfish, sea bass and croakers stealing bait. The croakers are getting bigger and some anglers are starting to target them with small pieces of squid, clam or Fishbites Bloodworm alternatives.

“There are still some keeper flounder in the back bays” according to this week’s report from Fin-Atics. They tell us you have to pick through at least a dozen short fish before coming across a keeper, but the keepers are there. The best tides have been the incoming, especially two hours before high tide. Baits of choice have been minnow/squid combos, spearing or any curly tailed Gulp product. Out at the Ocean City Reef Site, the bite was slower this week, but the keeper ratio was much higher with reports of limits of fish for many anglers. Here, curly tailed Gulp was also working, but word is that your offering has to be large in order to deter the smaller fish. Customers report that 5- to 6-inch Gulp Grubs and Gulp Mullets fished on a bucktail produced fish to 6 pounds. Pink shine, nuclear chicken and pearl white were all popular colors.

Pier 47 Marina reports that the back bays from Cape May to Stone Harbor are “loaded” with flounder. Anglers are telling us that they are catching anywhere from a dozen to three dozen flounder per trip with the incoming tide most productive. Live minnows have been the best baits followed by strip baits and 3-inch Gulp Mullets fished on top and bottom rigs. Keepers, few and far between right now in the back bays, but those making it out to the Wildwood and Cape May Reefs found keepers to 5 pounds. The Old Grounds and Reef Site 11 were even better choices giving up some limits of fish to 7 pounds. Other back bay action includes croakers along the deeper pockets of the ICW, and sheepshead seem to be stacked along many of the bridge abutments.

There are plenty of flounder around Cape May according to Nick at Hand’s Too Bait and Tackle. Keepers are hard to come by, so many of his customers are taking the ride to the local reef sites where they have been able to put a few fish in the box along with sea bass and a few ling. The deeper sites such as the Old Grounds have been much more productive for keeper flounder with fish hitting the scales this week topping 7 pounds. Back in the bay and along the beach and inlet, anglers are having lots of fun catching croakers, spot and some kingfish on bloodworms, clam and Fishbites.

Dave at Big Dave’s Tackle reports that the flounder fishing was off the charts this week. Customers were catching them in the back bays, around the inlets, from the oceanfront beaches and from the reef sites. It seemed like the further you went out, the bigger the fish got. Mostly short fish with an occasional keeper in the back bays and inlets. More keepers are showing up along the oceanfront and at the deeper reef sites, including fish up to 6 pounds, plus the Delaware Bay is seeing more keepers in the 20- to 22-inch range. There are also plenty of spot and croakers moving into the inlets and bays. Delaware Bay, just off of Cape May is littered with croakers. Most of the local bridges are seeing good sheepshead activity on sandfleas, shrimp or fiddler crabs. Several trophy fish hit the scales this week including a 10-pounder and a 12-pounder.

There is a decent flounder bite taking place right from the inlet surf on bucktails and Gulp according to this week’s report from Boulevard Bait and Tackle. Keeper size fish seem to have moved to the inlet and oceanfront beaches this week. Back bay is absolutely loaded with short fish, dozens per trip, but keepers have been ghosting many anglers. The back bay is seeing lots of croaker action, plus some good size bluefish to 4- pounds being caught as a bycatch by flounder anglers. Kingfish have recently made a strong showing, both in good numbers and quality size fish. Catches have been mostly in the inlet on the incoming tides on bloodworms and Fishbites.

Dave at Big Dave’s Tackle reports that the flounder fishing was off the charts this week. Customers were catching them in the back bays, around the inlets, from the oceanfront beaches and from the reef sites. It seemed like the further you went out, the bigger the fish got. Mostly short fish with an occasional keeper in the back bays and inlets. More keepers are showing up along the oceanfront and at the deeper reef sites, including fish up to 6 pounds, plus the Delaware Bay is seeing more keepers in the 20- to 22-inch range. There are also plenty of spot and croakers moving into the inlets and bays. Delaware Bay, just off of Cape May is littered with croakers. Most of the local bridges are seeing good sheepshead activity on sandfleas, shrimp or fiddler crabs. Several trophy fish hit the scales this week including a 10-pounder and a 12-pounder.