June 01, 2026 - 10:33:57
The Brigantine bite is holding up strong according to Andy of Riptide Bait and Tackle and he’s hopeful this fantastic spring run will continue through June as stripers have been non stop gobbling up Riptide Rotter clams all over the island. Some black drum were hooked this week as well and more sheepshead surprises in the surf as a handful of the convicts were caught on clam baits.
June 01, 2026 - 10:33:52
The striper and black drum bite from the Brigantine Surf was steady again this week (for the 5th consecutive week) according to Capt. Andy with Riptide Bait and Tackle. Stripers in the 26- to 38-inch size range were caught along with drum to 15 pounds, all on Riptide Rotters (surf clams). Not only is the surf producing fish, the back bays are starting to see their fair share of bass and bluefish. Here, the bite has been most productive when anglers are throwing artificial lures. SP minnows, mag darters and glide baits are taking stripers to 30 inches and have been responsible for some monster blues to 32 inches. The back bay flounder bite improved this week with several customers reporting a couple of keeper flounder to 22 inches on Gulp and live minnows.
May 26, 2026 - 10:09:29
Andy of Riptide Bait and Tackle in Brigantine voiced that the sweet spring striper bite keeps on rolling along as both clams and bunker are hanging plenty of fish out front. Most fish are over-slot in length with some slots in the mix to take home. The south jetty had a rush of some chopper bluefish hit this weekend as bunker chunks claimed some fish up to 12 pounds. Some black drum were also hooked. Andy said it’s been the best spring run in years and seems to keep moving along strong.
May 26, 2026 - 10:09:24
Not the best week of weather, but Capt. Andy at Riptide Bait and Tackle tells us that the poor weather got the stripers and blues even more active in the Brigantine area. More keeper stripers, as well as drumfish were falling for Riptide Rotters (surf clams) from the jetties and beaches. Stripers were also being caught as a bycatch for anglers trying to find flounder in the back bays. The back bays, as well as the jetty produced some big blues, to 10 pounds, mostly on hard plastics like SP Minnows.
