The bass fishing along the coast is on, and should only get better!
The 2022 fall run of stripers at the Jersey Shore kicked off in grand fashion on Saturday, October 8 as jumbo bass pushed bunker in tight to shore. The sustained madness continued for several days, with good fish reported from Sandy Hook to Atlantic City for those who were in the right place at the right time. While action ebbed and flowed for much of October (especially for surfcasters), we still received a ton of photos here at The Fisherman Magazine, as stripers of mixed sizes where reported out front and in the back waters, with the best of the fall action still to come.
Keep in mind that in recent years, some of the very best blitz fishing in our region doesn’t really occur until the Thanksgiving weekend hits, which is still another week away. Are we still sitting on a powder keg of striped bass action? Let’s hope!
Kirk Robinson said he snagged a bunker and transferred over to a circle hook to score this 50-inch striper aboard Capt. Parker John’s FOL out of Belmar in mid-October.
Thomas Dilkes (age 12) caught and released five stripers from 40 to 45 pounds while fishing off Beach Haven during the early October melee aboard Capt. Nick Perello’s Aqvilla.
Capt. Andy from Riptide Bait & Tackle said first mate Carolyn got her first ever striper in October while livelining spot somewhere behind Brigantine. No word on what Andy caught.
You can plug ‘em or you can bait ‘em; Bob Sofronski chose the latter on October 26 scoring this 34-inch striper on the Belmar jetty using clam on a circle hook.
Stuart Jensen sent this beautiful photo of his buddy with a striper, saying he thought it just screams “Cover shot for striper fishing edition!” Heck, this time of year Stuart they’re nearly all striper editions!
Sure, livelining works, but so does matching the hatch. Kody Williams caught this 48-inch, 40-pound striper – his new personal best – on a bunker color shad off Belmar.
