A sweet patch of surfcasting sands exist on Brick Township’s “Barrier Island” along the Central Jersey coast. Three separate areas of public access Brick Beaches 1, 2 and 3 are located on roughly a half mile stretch on Route 35 north between South Mantoloking and Normandy Beach. Drive on access for beach buggies exists at Brick 1 along with a major paved parking lot there and at Brick 3, both with public parking. Brick 2 is a little more hidden and clandestine with a very small lot capable of handling a few cars. All three access points allow for surf anglers to hit softer sands in search of stripers and blues.
For the first time since Superstorm Sandy, the Township of Brick has made permits for operating motor vehicles on beaches available to allow beach access to vehicles from October 1 through April 30. The Brick Beaches never disappoint as with a Brick Beach Buggy permit you can officially drive all the way up to the Mantoloking line where Route 35 splits, and all the way down to Normandy Beach 5th Avenue. For more information call the Township Clerk at 732-262-1001
During spring, these beaches are the spot on the central coast where surfcasters usually catch the first wave of schoolie bass moving up in the surf. Clamming reigns supreme here with hi-lo rigs set with size 3/0 to 4/0 baitholder hooks. The key is to hold the rod in your hand as the early season surf stripers tend to hit and run and short bite the clams where a hand-held rod will ensure a quick hookset. If you miss a hookset, wait for the return strike as often a striper will come right back to the bait.
Summertime months you can avoid the beach bathers by walking a little north of Brick 1 or south of Brick 3 to cast for fluke and cocktail blues all day long. False albacore and Spanish mackerel schools were loaded up in this area in August and early September, where a long-launched slim metal ripped back to you got you into plenty of drag-peeling action. Those speedsters were penning rainbaits up into the sloughs, which happens with frequency with baitfish during the fall months as cuts and sloughs establish themselves from getting cut up from the September and October Nor’easters and remnant hurricane swells.
The fall months reign supreme here as prime time surfcasting for striped bass and bluefish is ushered in with the presence of sand eels and rainfish schools from November through December. Early morning hours casting Ava jigs hook up with plenty of stripers that can range from 23 to 34 inches on average. Bluefish can be taken on poppers and mullet chunk baits. If larger baits get stuck inside the sloughs and cuts, then large wooden swimmers or 3-ounce poppers can trick up fish from 20 to 40 pounds.
Generally by December the schoolies and rat bass of 12 to 22 inches move in providing plenty of light tackle and flycasting fun. As a side note, in December 2015 off Brick 3, I managed to reach a blitz of bass on herring and sand eels schools, launching an Ava 47 jig and a Tsunami sand eel teaser, which got whacked by the largest surf bass of my life, a 51-pound cow that I released.
Look for this stretch of coast to be hoppin’ with stripers to close out the year; it’s worth a look, but buggy or by boot!
