From the photos we’ve received, it’s been “so far so good” on stripers in ’25.
Delaware restricts the harvest of stripers on the Delaware spawning grounds from April 1 through May 31, while striped bass season doesn’t even open until April 15 in New York, though but ‘catch and release’ is permitted. On the Delaware River from the PA state line upstream to the Calhoun Street Bridge Pennsylvania anglers are allowed one striper per day from April 1 through May 31 at an allowable slot size of 22 to less than 26 inches; on the New Jersey side of the Delaware from the Salem River to the Calhoun Street Bridge there is no harvest of striped bass allowed in April and May.
Of course, New Jersey does not allow the targeting of striped bass in the back bay waters (west of the COLREGS) in January and February, which means once March 1 comes along it’s pretty much time for the spring kickoff at the Jersey Shore! This season, the first 28- to 31-inch slot stripers were reported pretty early on, but things really heated up in the transitional days between the end of March and early April as reports – and your photos – started pouring into my email box at jhutchinson@thefisherman.com.
Keep those pics and reports coming!
Anthony Colella – “First slot bass of the year at 29 inches. Belly full of adult bunker,” said Anthony Colella on March 30, reporting six bass on the day somewhere in the bay in Ocean County.Candace here picked up some bloodworms and clams (aka Riptide Rotters) from Andy at Riptide Bait & Tackle in Brigantine in early April and hit the front beach for this 29-incher.The Raritan started catching fire again in early April, with Adam Zalewski finding very good action aboard Capt. Derek’s Fisher Price Charters out of south Amboy by mid-month. “Lots of big fish 35 to 43 inches,” Adam reported.Jason Ross messaged me us in late March before the New Jersey spawning closure on the Delaware to report this 30-inch, 12.2-pound striper in the Salem River caught on bloodworm that he picked up at Greenhorn Outdoors.With the sheer volume of jumbo stripers up the Delaware this spring – like this catch and release beauty for John Lahm on March 28 – let’s hope we see a solid young of the year class entering the fishery.It took a while, but stripers showed up along open beaches at the Jersey Shore later in the month of April, which is when Hunter Burke took our weekly video advice and grabbed fresh clam from Grumpys for his first ever striper on April 24.Michael Clock enjoyed the peace and quiet of late March trolling up a few stripers in the backwaters of Lewes along the Delaware side of the bay. Don’t forget, The Fisherman’s Coastal Kayak Clash is back again for the 25 season!
