ISLAND BEACH STATE PARK, NJ
Island Beach State Park is well-known among New Jersey’s saltwater anglers for excellent surf fishing for striped bass and bluefish. Other species include summer founder and weakfish. Tautog are currently snapping along the north jetty of Barnegat Inlet where a crab lowered among the rocks won’t last long.
Many start at the 4×4 entrance at Gillkens before heading south towards the main bathing pavilion but there is ample parking along the entire ten miles. What is remarkable about this stretch of beach is that deepwater troughs and cuts are tight to the beach and a short cast has a lure quickly in the strike zone unlike other beaches to the north and south. The deepest water is in the northern sector of the park before shallowing a bit towards the pocket before Barnegat Inlet. The pocket can be dynamite after a hard blow as bait is trapped in there.
Scott from Dock Outfitters in Seaside Park said, “There were beautiful fishing conditions so far this month, and bass and blues were caught all along the Island. The mullet run was very good and now George has been tying massive amounts of teaser rigs to get ready for the sand eel invasion.” Most use fresh or frozen mullet on a mullet rig, but small metals and swimmers are also a must-have. The new Tsunami and Vision sand eels have been a hot ticket for the latter forage. Always be sure to tie in a dropper loop for a teaser fly in the fall.
Surfcasting isn’t the only attraction. Boaters in hulls of all shapes and sizes home-in on the waters along the beach to take advantage of the same scenarios. Some will be working lures and jigs, while others will troll small bunker spoons and umbrella rigs with green tubes to mimic the sand eels. It’s amazing to be trolling within a long cast length of the shore and be in 25-30 feet of water. Kayak anglers will have a paddle-fest not only along the beaches but along the sedges, channels and cuts of the bayside where bass, blues and weakfish will also reside.
A three-day 4 x 4 permit is $50 while a season pass is $195. Appropriate equipment for beach driving must be carried and there are sometimes inspections, as well as plenty of times where someone needs a tow out of soft sand. Before stopping to ply park water, be sure to stop in Grumpy’s, Seaside Sam’s or the Dock Outfitters and pick up a selection of metals and plugs. Not that soaking bait in the fall won’t work, but having the mobility to run and gun with a plugging rod is key when you whip out the binoculars and spy birds working in the distance to the north or south. Even if you do not have a 4 x 4 pass, getting to the next parking area is quick and simple. Hooking up is up to you.
