North Jersey Fishing Report- March 31, 2022

The early spring striper action took a hit at the beginning of the week, when winter returned with a vengeance. Water temperatures dropped around 10 degrees in some places.Until then, the action had been solid in the back of Raritan Bay, around Barnegat Bay and in the tidal rivers. A mid-week warming trend should get the fishing back on track.

Rick Hebert at Tackle World in Rochelle Park said the striper fishing has been good way back in Raritan Bay with worms and plugs catching fish. Folks fishing at night seem to have the edge. The freshwater bite, he said, continues to improve with nice catches of big largemouth at Lake Hopatcong and the Monksville Reservoir.

Capt. Jay Richardella of Side Job Charters out of Lockwood Boat Works in South Amboy, will be sailing for Raritan Bay stripers starting next week running morning and afternoon trips. He can be contacted through his website. 

Capt. Phil Sciortino at the Tackle Box in Hazlet said bass were being caught in the back of Raritan on Tuesday. Metal-lipped swimmers, flutter spoons, worm balls and small plugs and plastics were all working. 

Mike Pinto at Giglio’s Bait and Tackle in Sea Bright said the dip in temperatures hurt participation but the fishing hasn’t been bad. In addition to the fish up in the bay, Pinto reported bass up to 32 inches being caught in the Navesink River. Kayakers are getting them on bucktails, SP Minnows and shads. Anglers are also getting stripers up to 15 pounds from the Bayshore beaches on paddle tails, small plugs and bucktails. The shop is fully stocked for the spring run and Pinto said they just got a new shipment of Fish-On Zara Spooks. 

Mike Gleason at Tak Waterman in Long Branch said the quick freeze put a crimp in the fishing but there was still a steady pick of decent bass in the 8- to 15-pound range in Raritan Bay. Yo-Zuri Twitch baits and LC Minnows are all working as are most small plugs and shads. Gleason said it seems like a new body of fish has moved in and the shop just got a big shipment of Ben Parker flutter spoons. He also reported solid freshwater action in the local ponds and lakes and he had a report of a 7-pound largemouth landed.  

Bob Matthews at Fisherman’s Den in Belmar said the cold chased a lot of people. He’s still waiting for the winter flounder bite to pick up in the Shark River. It’s been off to a slow start. He’s expecting a lot more activity in the marina this weekend as the blackfish season opens on Friday with a four-fish limit through April 30. Most of the party boats, including the Big Mohawk and Capt. Cal II will be sailing for tog. 

Capt. Pete Sykes of Parker Pete’s Sportfishing out of Belmar said both of their boats are available for blackfish charters and the Express will be sailing open boat for tog on the weekends starting this Saturday and Sunday. 

Capt. Steve Spinelli on the Skylarker out of Belmar will be fishing for blackfish and cod in April and is available for charter. 

Steve Thomas at The Reel Seat in Brielle said stripers in the bays and rivers is the best thing going on right now but the opening of the tog season will give anglers something else to fish for. He expects the Point Pleasant Canal will be giving up some blackfish pretty soon. 

Vinny at Fishermen’s Supply in Point Pleasant Beach said things were a bit quiet this week with the cold but everyone is looking forward to blackfishing again. He did say there is a lot of bait off the beaches and he’s had reports of bluefin sightings down south. 

Capt. Kenny Namowitz on the Mimi VI out of Point Pleasant Beach will be sailing open boat for tog this weekend and there are still a few spots remaining for Saturday and Sunday. He can be contacted through his website. 

Frank Giacalone at Gabriel Tackle in Brick reported that anglers undeterred by the cold were still catching bass by the Mantoloking Bridge on Kettle Creek shads and SP Minnows. He also said there were some winter flounder being caught by the bridge on bloodworms. 

Pete Kupper at Charlie’s Bait and Tackle in Normandy Beach said the striper fishing was good in Barnegat Bay and local rivers but became a bit inconsistent with the cold weather. Small plugs and shads along with blood worms have been working. He also reported a few winter flounder caught in the bay on worms. 

Jenni Ackerman at Grumpy’s Bait and Tackle in Seaside Park said the bass bite went quiet in the bay when the frigid air arrived. Prior to that, anglers were doing very well with stripers on X-Raps, gliders, small plastics and bloodworms. 

Your Best Bets for the Weekend:

Now that temperatures are on the rise, the striper bite in the back bays and rivers should get back on track. A wide array of artificials are working, including bucktails, small plugs and plastics. Blood worms are catching fish as well. 

There’s also tog on the menu as blackfish season opens this Friday. Most of the local party boats will be sailing for them and shore-based anglers can give it a shot at the local inlets. 

If you’re looking to do something with the kids, bring them to Spring Lake on Saturday morning to help the Shark Rivers Surf Anglers stock the lake with hundreds of big trout ahead of the annual Trout Contest for Kids on April 9. Stocking begins at 9:30 a.m. and it’s really a lot of fun for the whole family.