Southern New Jersey Fishing Report- November 30, 2023

Stripers pile in along the ocean beaches, boats join the action jigging metals and swim shads, and bluefin tuna blitz beneath birds from 2 to 10 miles offshore.

by Captain Brett Taylor

Southern New Jersey Fishing Report

“It was like fishing in a barrel.”  Stellar, epic, amazing, or phenomenal: these were just some of the adjectives that were used to describe the striped bass and bluefin bite which occurred throughout Thanksgiving weekend and the days that followed.  Schools, schools, and more schools of blitzing striped bass from the beaches of Lavallette south through parts of Brigantine.  The epicenter of the action has been between LBI and Seaside and they were hitting everything thrown at them.  Pencil poppers, needlefish to swim shads and Ava jigs were the top lures for fish from 24 to 35 inches.  The bluefin bite was on from 2 to 8 miles out with anglers hooking up on Shimano Stella laced poppers and trolled Joe Shute setups.  Fish from 48 to 92 inches were reported with some fights lasting over 2 1/2 hours.  Togging was tough due to the hard winds and stirred up water.  The jetty bite that was going bonkers took an immediate 180 degree turn.  I heard from a few togging boats the southernmost reef sites have been the best bet and you’re looking at reefs from AC to Cape May.


Here is this week’s rundown:
 
Hook House Bait & Tackle in Toms River said another solid week of striper fishing, especially from the surf of Seaside Park and Island Beach State Park.  Ava’s, swimshads, bucktails, and plugs were all working equally over the past week.  Bass were under birds and most of the fish ranged from 20 to 34 inches.  There were large numbers of fish up and down the island.

Creekside Outfitters in Waretown had similar reports of non-stop striped bass action over the weekend for surf fisherman off IBSP and the northern parts of Long Beach Island.  The jetties have been much slower for tog lately as the colder bay water has pushed the tog to some of the inshore wrecks.  Bluefin fisherman didn’t complain as the bite was excellent from IBSP south to Ship Bottom off LBI.  Anglers in the 3 to 9 mile range found busting bluefin on birds.  The shop has some post-Thanksgiving sales slated, so stop in.

Reel Reaction Sportfishing out of Waretown had a busy week with charters catching over 100 stripers in a few hours time for each of the trips.  The skipper ran double charters each day limiting out with slot fish and bonus tag fish for each client.  A few of the trips finished with a 1/2 dozen keeper tautog.  In the coming weeks, the crew is fully booked with tautog trips for December, but openings for the first few weekends in January are available.

The Super Chic out of Barnegat Light was busy working the striped bass bite over the Thanksgiving weekend.  Most anglers aboard had their limit of slot fish plus a bonus tagged fish.  The crew said jigging metals and swimshads produced the majority of the bites. 

Tony’s Bait & Tackle in Manahawkin reported excellent striped bass fishing from the oceanside over the past few days off both ends of Long Beach Island.  Most fish have been caught on jigs, plugs, and trolled umbrella rigs.  Tog fishing has been good from the Atlantic City Reef and the Little Egg reef, but pretty lifeless from our other reef sites.  A few anglers caught a few striped bass off the mid-island bridges, but the water temperatures have dropped over the last few days.

Tackle Direct in Egg Harbor City had good jigging striper reports over the past few days as some decent sized schools have moved off of the coast.  2- to 3-ounce AVA’s or metals have been working with anglers dropping to the bottom and “yo-yo” jigging.  The back bay bite has slowed a tad with colder water moving in.  A few anglers reported excellent bluefin tuna action from the 5 to 10 mile line

Tight Lines Bait & Tackle in Somers Point said the striper fishing got better over the past week with several boats making a run a few miles north to get in on blitzing fish and bird conditions.  The shop received a shipment of white leggers, which have been hard to come by, and had positive reports on the tog bite from the reef sites.  There were a few bigger fish to over 10 pounds caught and released.  Anglers have been stopping in the shop for some of the holiday deals.

Badfish Charters in Ocean City was tough to get in contact this past week as the skipper was busy with family obligations and hunting down striped bass.  He had some good action in the back, but also said out front recently lit up with some nice slot striped bass.

The Cape May and Fortescue area reported better striped bass fishing with some nice schools staying within the 3 mile line.  A few of the larger charters reported stripers from 25 to 40 inches being caught on live spot, jigs, and trolled umbrella rigs.  Anglers looking to score a bass off the beaches have the best shot chunking bunker or casting plugs in the early morning or dinner-time hours.  Surf fisherman reported a few striped bass being caught along with some spiny dogfish.  Tog fishing has been the better fishery with quite a few being landed on green and white crabs from several of the numbered reef sites, the Cape May, and the Wildwood reef site.  Jigs and traditional double hook rigs have been working equally well.  The rivers dumping into the Delaware Bay have been pretty consistent on white perch and some schoolie striped bass.

South Jersey Fishing Forecast

The best bet for this weekend will be to hit the Atlantic, whether it’s by vessel or by sand, for striped bass as we are probably at the height of their southern migration.  Full moon, cold temperatures, and gorging bass makes for “epic” fishing days for anglers.  Seaside Park south to Ocean City would be the best places to try and I would recommend packing:  white swimshads, metal jigs, white bucktails, sand-eel jigs, metal-lipped swimmers, and a few needlefish.  This assortment will have anglers pretty much covered for any bass and parts of the water column.  Tog fishing will also be in play, but I would expect the bite might be a little tough coming off the full moon.  Finally, bluefin are also on this weekends itinerary as long as you have the correct setups – nothing better than chasing the ghosts of November & December! Good Luck, Be Safe, and Tight Lines!

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