New Jersey -- Northern
A complete Fishing Forecast for northern New Jersey from Raritan Bay to Barnegat Inlet.
May 10, 2012
A Supermoon is the coincidence of a full moon or new moon at its closest approach to the Earth on its elliptical orbit. This results in the largest apparent size of the moon’s disk as seen from the Earth. The technical name is the Perigee-Syzygy of the Earth-Moon-Sun system. The fishing name of this event is Tideus-screwupacus. Or, when joined with a prevailing North wind that just seems to blow without relief, the dual celestial event is referred to as Flukius Lockjaw. Read More
May 03, 2012
For kids, there is nothing like the anticipation of Christmas morning. For New Jersey anglers, the day that gets their juices flowing is the opening day of summer flounder season. That day is almost upon us and I hope you have been a good boy or girl. Is your gear in working order? Artificial baits packed in the tackle box? Have you tied up or bought enough rigs? Don’t wait until Saturday morning to start that “to do” list. If you want to get off to a good start, take a couple of minutes now and make sure everything is in order. As far as hot spots, that’s what On the Water is here for. We make sure of that each and every week; you get the latest scouting report all in one tidy package. No need to go anywhere else, we are on the job. Read More
April 26, 2012
A simple message from your report staff that carries not false hype or empty promises – with the information we have just gathered by reaching out to the largest network of on-the-scene sources in the State of New Jersey, you need to make plans to get on, in, or near the water this weekend. Read More
April 19, 2012
Attention all anglers, you are now on the clock! In two weeks, the Holy Grail for all of you New Jersey fish hounds, opens on the 2012 summer flounder season. The regulations have changed a bit but the objective has not. Unlike other species targeted by anglers, it has been my observation that most of us who target fluke, do so that it may eventually land on the menu. Nothing is better than a meal of fresh flounder, stuffed with Jersey blue claw crab and sides of big, beefy jersey tomatoes and asparagus followed with a desert of fresh New Jersey blueberries and cream. God, I love summer. But to be successful in your quest, I recommend taking a little time over the next couple of weeks to get your gear in optimum working order. Read More
April 12, 2012
Just so you always stay dialed in, the format for the New Jersey weekly fishing reports in going through a HUGE transformation over the next week. Mike Shipton & I will be reaching out to almost 30 different sources of information every week, including neighborhood tackle shops, charter Captains, back bay guides, and major headboat fleets so you have the latest, and hottest intel that is available. Read More
April 05, 2012
Here we are again, after a not so long, not so hard winter. Flowers are ahead of schedule in their bloom cycle, so don’t be surprised if you hear that some of your favorite haunts on the water are already producing fish. If you haven’t already put your gear back into fighting condition, better get a move on. Water temperatures never really got that low and the warm up is well ahead of schedule. The crabs that did dig in the mud didn’t go too deep and have been out and about gorging themselves in anticipation of their first shed of the New Year. Bunker and the now protected river herring made an early appearance, and striped bass, already stuffed from the early banquet they found, are heading out the inlets and onto the beaches. Blue fish, eager to lose their status as racers are starting to materialize in good numbers and with healthy attitudes. So make sure you have some wire in your tackle box or run the risk of losing some tackle. Read More
March 29, 2012
The saltwater fishing in New Jersey continues to be excellent. And by the end of the weekend, another hard-fighting species will once again be fair game for Garden State fishermen. Read More
March 22, 2012
The fishing just keeps getting better in New Jersey. Starting up North, the Raritan Bay is on fire. Clams fished after dark are producing good numbers of nice bass according to Ron at Fisherman’s Supply Co. Some bluefish have also showed up in the Raritan Bay. As more of these spring racers arrive, exciting topwater action will be a possibility in the next couple weeks on the shallow bay flats. Read More
March 15, 2012
Bottom fishing options are limited with tog and black sea bass currently closed, but some incidental, out-of-season catches are giving anglers hope for a productive season with winter flounder – which opens on March 23. Striper fishermen dunking clams and worms have been treated to a few winter flounder catches already, though the fish have to be released. Rich at Jersey Hooker Outfitters in Point Pleasant said he believes the warm bay temperatures could mean that the blackbacks have already spawned and are headed for the inlets and ocean. Read More
March 08, 2012
It’s tough to classify the striper fishing in New Jersey at the moment. The excellent action experienced over the past week is indicative of an early starting spring run. But, since the fishing never really stopped this fall and winter, this could also be a late-running fall run. But the anglers who’ve been catching stripers … Read More
March 01, 2012
On most years, March 1st is a big deal for New Jersey striper fishermen. It marks the reopening of the back bay striper season, and the first legitimate chance to catch a striper since winter first took hold. Not this year, however. This year, the stripers stayed in the surf (where it was legal to target them) through all of January and February, and fishermen kept right on catching. However, with the back bays opening up as well, I imagine the action there will be hot and heavy. Read More
February 23, 2012
A couple great shows and seminars are taking place in the Garden State this weekend including the New Jersey Boat Sale and Expo in Edison and the Jersey Shore Surfcasters Surf Day at the Brookdale Community College. From the sound of it, attendees will be able to take the new gear and knowledge they acquire at the Surf Day Seminars and put it to use immediately on the bass that are still feeding off the New Jersey beaches. Read More
February 16, 2012
“In 50 years of fishing, I’ve never seen anything like this.” That’s what Ron from Fisherman’s Supply Company in Point Pleasant told me in regards to the surf fishing for stripers that is still happening in Monmouth County. The fish, which have been at large as 15 pounds, are taking Tsunami sand eel imitations and Daiwa SP minnows fished slowly. Read More
February 09, 2012
There is some excellent mixed-bag fishing taking place on the New Jersey wrecks right now. Anglers boarding party boats are pulling up cod, tog, ling, purple hake, ocean pout, conger eels, pollock, dogfish and sculpins. Included in that list are some of the ugliest fish in the ocean, but some of the best tasting. Freshwater fishing is fair, and yes, there are still stripers in the surf. Read More
February 02, 2012
At the Somerset Fly Fishing Show last week, I had about a half-dozen anglers come up and show me cell phone pictures of surf-caught stripers from that week. Late January, keeper-sized, surf-caught stripers. It was all I could do not to grab a pair of waders from one of the vendors and check out this unusually good winter surfcasting. Read More