Southern New Jersey Fishing Report- October 12, 2023

Stripers in the 40-inch range chase bunker out front, sea bass fishing holds steady and yellowfin tuna are caught on chunk baits and butterfish in the canyons.

by Captain Brett Taylor

As we cruised through the Columbus Day weekend, the bigger bass have arrived off our southern Jersey beaches on schools of bunker.  Several anglers posted pictures of 40- to 44-inch stripers caught and released off Island Beach State Park and Long Beach Island.  There were also some bigger bass caught bayside behind Brigantine to Ocean City, but most of the action has been at night on live eel or spot.  There was more action north, so hopefully it remains as a similar pattern to last year’s epic run.  Sea bass fishing continues to produce good numbers of fish, but the main issue has been the weather as we have been getting more bad days than good days.  Yellowfin are at the canyons with mahi and shops have been selling out of butterfish and sardines, so you know there is a tuna bite happening somewhere.

Here is this week’s rundown: 
 
Hook House Bait & Tackle in Toms River received some good reports of striped bass hitting during the early morning and late evening.  Plugs, poppers, and darters worked off the IBSP surf produced some action to fish in the 40 inch range.  There are also small bluefish around the inlets and backwater flats.  The blowfish bite remains solid for bigger fish, but numbers have been down with the cooler water. 

Creekside Outfitters in Waretown reported a “mad-dog” blowfish bite from the BI to BB buoys and some areas off of OCC and Waretown.  The magic number has been 5 feet of water for most anglers.  Sea bass fishing was solid at some of the northern wrecks and reef sites, but it’s getting harder to pick it out a limit of keepers.  The shop had to make two trips to their bait supplier as butterfish flats have been flying off the shelf with bluefin 8 to 12 miles out and yellowfin in the canyons.  

Reel Reaction Sportfishing out of Waretown took the weekend off to enjoy some much needed family time in Chincoteague, Virginia as they attended the 50th annual oyster fest.  After the brief vacation, the skipper ran a 4 hour sea bass afterschool trip to box keeper sea bass and some porgies for clients.  There are only about 4 dates remaining for the 2023 season, so give them a call if you want to get on the water. 


The Super Chic out of Barnegat Light had tuna trips booked, but the weather has been playing havoc with the schedule.  The crew has been running sea bass trips and doing well on keepers and porgies.  The skipper is poised to get out to the tuna grounds as the yellowfin bite in the canyons is going off.  

Tony’s Bait & Tackle in Manahawkin said the Barnegat rocks have been the place to be for tautog action with some keepable fish in the mix.  Green crabs are the bait of choice tipped on 3/4 to 1oz tog jigs.  Sea bass remained solid at the reef sites and surrounding wrecks, but anglers are starting to have to pick through smaller fish.  Sardines and butters have been the baits of choice at the canyons for hungry yellowfin.  

Tackle Direct in Egg Harbor City received excellent reports of yellowfin action as the Toms, Lindy, and Spencer over of the past week.  Night-time chunking has been solid for 40 to 60 pound yellowfin.  Inshore sea bass and tog fishing has been steady with shorts in the mix.  The key is to bring plenty of bait due to the constant short life.  Bayside has bass attacking plugs, poppers, and flies, especially around the night tides.  Anglers drifting spot or eels around the bridges are finding more keeper action.  The shop wants to remind anglers that stripers have to be between 28 to 31 in, so be sure you’re taping them out right.  

Tight Lines Bait & Tackle in Somers Point had nice reports on stripers, sea bass, and tautog.  The best striped bass action has been in the bay for anglers drifting spot around the deeper channels and bridges.  The marshes have a good number of short bass for anglers to tangle with.  Sea bass fishing on the wrecks via personal or headboats continued to be productive for keepers, porgies, and a few triggerfish.  The October tautog bite has been outstanding for action with green crabs and clam leading the way on the bait side.  Bridges, pilings, and any rockpiles are producing fish. 

Badfish Charters in Ocean City has been plying the backwaters for very active striped bass with the cooler bay temperatures.  The skipper has been finding success on soft plastics, small plugs, and saltwater flies.  Capt. Brian’s striped bass trips are almost booked out for October, but some dates remain for November. 

The Cape May and Fortescue region has been the striped bass bonanza for the bayside backwaters with anglers catching up to 30 striped bass per evening tide.  The marshes and adjacent sedge banks have been the place to be with topwater poppers and shallow swimming plugs.  Live spot is also working for boats drifting the deeper channels and most bass have been between 20 to 29 inches.  Sea bass fishing continued to be more of the same over the past week with good catches at wrecks in the 80- to 110-foot range.  Some of the smaller pieces on the reef sites are producing solid numbers of fish.  The canyons have been all yellowfin with some mahi and the chunk bite has been the top producer.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    

South Jersey Fishing Forecast

The best bet for the weekend looks like Saturday will be the day to get out and try your luck on the salt.  At the time of this report, the morning seas look very doable for sea bass or a short run for bluefin if your within shot of Seaside.  Some of the bigger wrecks have been picked over, but with the bad forecast for Sunday it may help with new batches of fish moving in for the following week.  Clams have been the ticket for sea bass and anglers are also getting some nice ones on jig, especially with Nomad’s Squid-Trex jig.  Tog fishing is another viable option that will not disappoint and the bite has been extremely consistent, so it’s perfect to try to incorporate some youth in the fishery.  Simple tog rigs tipped with cut green grabs and dunked along any of the South Jersey rock jetties, inlets, or bridges will produce bites.  Striped bass action recently exploded on the backwater, so pick up a few plugs, poppers, or spot to hit the bridges or marshes at night.  Good Luck, Be Safe, and Tight Lines! 

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