New Jersey & Delaware Bay - Southern New Jersey Fishing Reports

Slower week on the fishing grounds but the crabbing in the smaller creeks has been fantastic according to the crew at Dockside Cafe and Marina. Big and meaty crabs have been the reward for anyone soaking bunker whether in topless traps, handlining from their boats or using commercial style traps at their docks. Other than the crabbing, anglers are finding some striper action in the river and mouth of the bay. Live eels or live spot were producing some fish between 24 and 29 inches.

I got a hold of Mike at Tuckerton Bait and Tackle on this rainy Sunday morning while he was sitting alone in the shop listening to the Eagles game. He told me that the shop was empty, I was the first person he talked to all day and worst of all, there are lots of boats being put away for the winter. Despite the slow day and signs that the season is winding down, it was a mixed week according to Mike with customers crabbing, togging, looking for stripers and finding some blowfish activity. The crabs are feeding heavily as the water temperature drops and customers are picking up nice large crabs by the dozen. Tog are being found around the bridges while blowfish are being chummed up in the northern part of the bay. Reports are that stripers are being caught from the LBI surf on clams and bunker.

Lots of stripers were caught in the river and out in the bay this week according to Justin with Allen’s Dock. Bigger fish are to the north and if we can get a little breeze in the right direction, those fish should enter Great Bay very soon. While we wait for that run to materialize, the local striper population is keeping anglers busy with fish from 18 to 30 inches most days. These fish have been feeding heavily with all the baitfish that have pushed into the bay and up into the river. Anglers are finding fish on soft plastics, hard plastics and the old reliable live eels.

White perch and stripers were both on tap this week for anglers fishing the Mullica according to Wally at Jersey Devil Marina. The perch are being found in the deeper holes on bloodworms and grass shrimp. For anglers targeting stripers, it has been a live eel fishery up and down the river, while at the mouth of the river and into the bay, anglers report larger fish on live spot. Some of the larger fish, to 32 inches reportedly have some sea lice indicating that they are fresh from the ocean.

Customers at Chestnut Neck Boat Yard are finding plenty of resident stripers all along the river according to Violet. Trolling Stretch lures and casting soft plastics are producing lots of schoolie size fish with anglers reporting up to 10 fish per trip. At night is when the larger fish start to feed more aggressively and anglers tell us they have been able to find slot keepers, bonus tag fish, and even some overs to 33 inches. The night bite has been almost exclusively on live eels with the high tides producing the most consistent action.

After a couple “exploratory” trips early in the week, Capt. Dave at Absecon Bay Sportsman Center has found some stripers in the Absecon Area. His charters are picking up fish to 27 inches on live spot and Gulp Jerkbaits. Capt. Dave tells us that this bite is “right on time” despite the nasty weather a couple weeks back. Plenty of baitfish in the water and the stripers are chasing them tight along the sod banks. In the bay, the tog are also chewing and customers are feeding them green crabs and sandfleas in order to find boat limits (one per person). Perch action in the creek is also very good and the shop is stocking live grass shrimp.

The tog are chewing on the Brigantine Jetty according to Capt. Andy at Riptide Bait and Tackle. The first fish entered for the Fall Derby was a 16-inch tog weighing just over 2 pounds, 10 ounces, caught on green crabs. We hear that there are also tog stacked up under the local bridges and sod banks.. In the back bays, there have been some stripers caught, including several fish over the 34-inch mark. Anglers have been using live eels, live spot and paddle shads to tempt these fish, mostly during lowlight conditions. Reports from the north are that there are much larger stripers making their way down the coast, and Capt. Andy has a $50 gift card for the first keeper caught from the Brigantine Surf and weighed in at the shop.

Live green crabs and live sand fleas have been flying out of the shop this week as the tog bite from the jetties has been “on fire”. This was Noel’s report from One Stop Bait and Tackle where he tells us that anglers are reporting dozens of fish per trip with lots more keepers in the mix after the nor’easter blew through. That storm also got the stripers feeding heavily, especially at night from the oceanfront jetties. Anglers are scoring on live eels, clam, fresh bunker and soft plastics with fish nearing 30 inches.

The only action this week according to the crew at Waterfront Marine was some schoolie striper activity along the back bays bridges and sod banks. Anglers tell us that this has been a night bite with very small soft plastics, in the 2- to 3-inch size range and quarter-ounce leadheads taking fish to 22 inches. The first hour of the outgoing tide has seen the fish feeding heavily in the shadow lines of the bridges.

The river and bay waters cleaned up nicely this past week, just in time for some more rain on the way according to Billy at Fin-Atics. Before that new round of rain arrived anglers found some back bay and river striper action on fish to 26 inches. Live eels and live spot both were the key to finding larger fish in the bonus tag size range. Anglers throwing soft plastics found lots of action, but on schoolie size fish, from the local bridges, especially at night.

Anglers fishing out of Pier 47 Marina report that they found some ideal conditions in the back bays of the Wildwoods this week. The water was “clean and green” on most trips and the stripers had no problem finding anglers’ baits. Especially productive during the daylight hours were bone or blue colored Mag Darters which accounted for stripers to 29 inches. At night, anglers reported bait being “crushed” at the surface by feeding stripers. Here, dark colored paddletails or smaller topwater baits were responsible for fish to 36 inches. Tog action was also very good in the bay, but many more keeper size tog to 4-pounds were being found on the Cape May jetties on green crabs.

Cape May was a bright spot for this week’s reports with Nick at Hand’s Too Bait and Tackle telling us that his customers report excellent tog, sea bass and striper action. Just before we spoke on Sunday afternoon one of his customers reported that the tog action from the local wrecks and reefs was very good with plenty of keeper size fish and one just shy of 10 pounds. Sea bass action has been very good from the nearshore to the offshore wrecks and reefs. The nearshore sites, including the Del-Jersey Site were giving up limits of sea bass to 15 inches. Customers taking the 40- mile trek offshore to the deepwater wrecks are also finding limits of fish, but these have been big knuckle heads. Cape May is also getting an early round of big stripers in the back bays. Anglers fishing the sod banks and bridges found plenty of stripers willing to take soft plastics on 3/8-ounce leadheads, including several fish in the 40- to 46-inch range, and a 48-incher. Add to this an honest bass blitz along Hereford Inlet this week and it is already shaping up to be a good fall run in southernmost South Jersey.

The creeks around Fortescue are giving up “lots and lots” of big white perch according to Cliff at Higbee’s Bait and Tackle. Bloodworms have been producing very well and once you find a school of fish, every bit of bloodworm will give you a healthy perch for dinner. A few boaters reported that the bay was still giving up a few kingfish, croakers and small weakfish.

Cameron at Boulevard Bait and Tackle gets the “honesty is the policy” award this week for his report; “whole lot of nothing going on here”. That summed up the week for anglers fishing out of Sea Isle as the weather was so poor. Some customers did give the beachfront a try this week for stripers, but they just aren’t here yet. The upcoming weather week is not looking too promising so Cam might “pull the plug” on the season, so give him a call before stopping over.

Action in Delaware Bay continues to hold on despite the poor weather this week according to Dave at Big Dave’s Tackle. There are still sheepshead being caught by the lighthouses, and a few kingfish, croakers and weakfish were found for boaters drifting the deeper channels. The creeks, like Fortescue Creek, have been producing good numbers of white perch on bloodworms. Striper activity has been limited to the back bays of the barrier islands from Ocean City down to Wildwood with anglers finding the fish in the dark of night on hard and soft plastics.