April 29, 2021
Connor Thompson from Grumpy’s Bait and Tackle in Seaside Park got this big blue in the local surf on Wednesday.
Big bluefish are back on the menu.
The long and lean racer blues showed up in Raritan Bay, the Shark and Manasquan rivers and in the surf starting on Tuesday. Add these tackle busters to the plentiful striped bass in the bays and rivers and good freshwater fishing and you’ve got a solid spring fishery.
Northern New Jersey Fishing Report
Rick Hebert at
Tackle World in Rochelle Park said the trout fishing remains good in the streams in his neck of the woods including the Flat Brook and Pequest. The largemouth fishing is decent in lakes and ponds and will only improve as the water warms. He’s still getting positive reports on Raritan Bay stripers up to 25 pounds on plugs and bloodworms along the Bayshore beaches.
Spring fishing is gathering steam.
Trout fishing has been good since opening day in rivers, lakes and streams and anglers are catching pre-spawn bass, crappie, pike and pickerel.
The strong Raritan Bay bass fishing continues with a new body of bigger fish moving in over the last few days. And the striper bite is starting to pick up in the beaches with bait and artificials.
The bottom fishing isn’t bad either with cod, blackfish and ling coming over the rails of private and party boats.
Rick Hebert at Tackle World said there’s a bit of everything going on right now.
Northern New Jersey Fishing Report - March 25, 2021 onthewater.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from onthewater.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Nothing like a few days of warm weather to get things going.
A couple of sunny days lit up the bass bite in the Toms River and Barnegat Bay and even brought a few keeper flounder out of the mud in the Shark River.
Stripers are also hitting along the Raritan Bay beaches on bloodworms and small plugs.
There’s been better action in freshwater as well as panfish, pickerel and largemouth bass are being caught in local ponds and lakes.
Capt. Phil Sciortino at the Tackle Box in Hazlet said short and keeper bass have been caught on blood and sandworms in Leonardo, South Amboy, Cliffwood Beach and Union Beach.
A blackfish caught aboard the Norma K III out of Point Pleasant Beach on Monday’s trip.
A mid-week nor’easter slammed into the good striper fishing.
Whether the storm brought an end to the bass is a question that will be answered in a few days. But the way these fish have been hanging around, don’t bet against them.
As of Tuesday, the bite was still on in Raritan Bay and along the beaches, mostly south of the Manasquan Inlet.
Boats targeting tog will have to wait for things to calm down before sailing for them again. It’s been hit-or-miss fishing up until now but maybe the blow will have a positive impact on that fishery.