Barnegat Bay Striper Fishing Reports

The Classic had 28 new fish entered into it this past week with 4 of them being bluefish. This week we had rain and winds from the east at 30 which made for a good fishing day for those using 10 ounces to hold. Still more bass coming from the north end. The leading blue fish 19-5 was caught throughout the rainy day and was caught in Beach Haven Park were as the biggest bass of the week 44-10 was caught the night before the blow in Harvey Cedars. Again the weekend was calm with no fish entered on Sunday. There are now 60 bass and 10 blue fish and there are 652 anglers$. (jinglesbaitandtackle.com)

The Oyster Creek Power Generating Station’s temperate water discharge attracts and holds bait and fish year-round. Though restricted access, Oyster creek is loved by stripers, weakfish, bluefish, winter flounder and anglers. In the cold of winter Oyster Creek hold hungry striped bass. The hot bait is typically bloodworm and the hot lures are small bucktails and soft plastics also as small swimming plugs. Fishing is productive from the top of the east side of the bridge, but there is not much room so it may be busy and at times crazy. Don’t fish the west side! And don’t wonder around on the west side of Rt. (fishermansheadquarters.com)

From the license line to the New York state border. Spawning takes place in the lower river up to the path 1 Bridge in Trenton. Ship anglers dominate the river south of Trenton as it’s large, tidally influenced, and deep. It’s believed that the striped bass that continue to migrate farther up river are feeding on a spawning population of river herring and American shad that precede them. Big stripers have been caught in the Delaware River well up into New York State. From Trenton north, wading, shoreline fishing also as fishing from a ship are all used to pursue stripers. (stripers247.com)

Fluke may be caught in the inshore waters as early as March with many astute anglers aiming at and releasing them well before the season opens where fluke may be retained. Fluke will feed in the backwaters and bay waters from them till the water temps rise too high in the summer. In spite of the abundance of bait in that venue, a most of the fluke 1st shift to deeper pools and channels, then towards the inlet, then out to the oceanic feeding stations. A need for all species of fish to stay in their water temperature tolerances is a main driver of species migrations. Some big fluke, but, will continue to feed in the backwaters well into the summer and fall. (njsaltwaterfisherman.com)

Over at Fisherman’s World I spoke to Jeremy this week and he said that there’s still a pretty good herring bite taking place in the Harbor. The fish are showing a slight preference for smaller Sabiki rigs he suggested size 6 hooks for your best shot. Otherwise the striper bite in the Housy is still a viable choice but the bite is tough. The fish are schooled up in the deeper water as projected in February an this is when they begin to get a sever case of lock-jaw. On occasion a warm snap like the one predicted for this week can trigger them into feeding so this may be a good call if you are wanting to wet a line in the next few days. (thefisherman.com)

We have had a busy week now that the ship is back in the water and things have returned to normal. On Monday I had Chip Harter with son John and son-in-law Mike out on his yearly summer fluke excursion. After picking away at some shorts in tough wind against tide conditions, a fast trip to the inlet put the guys on blitzing 4-5 pound bluefish before we rounded out the day by anchoring up in the back bay for a couple hours of continuous action on fat blowfish and kingfish. Tuesday brought Jerry Bailey down from Monroe NY with grandson Daniel exactly for blowfish, and the guys proceeded to fill the big cooler with fat puffers and some of the biggest croakers I have seen in a long time. (barnegatbayfishing.com)

To access the Lower Bay you may be able to enter from any of the western creeks or rivers like the Forked River, Oyster Creek, Double Creek, Cedar Creek, or Silver Bay. The other choice is to enter from the oceanside through Barnegat Inlet. You may also take exit 63 on the Garden State Parkway and head east on path 72 over the Causeway into Ship Bottom. From here make a left onto Long Beach Boulevard and follow this road north until the end of the Island into the town of Barnegat Light. There you’ll find a public ship launch at the north end of town on 10 Street. This will put you directly in the Bay near Meyers Hole. (flyfishingconnection.com)

Sunday’s action tough Saturday.  November 2015 was the best Striper month in years!  Water temps are warm and lots of fish are North of us on there way down the coast.  We can get some more weeks in maybe fish to New Years.  Hi-hook was Bert with 12+ Bass plus some Blues.  Many had their keeper under 43 fish plus a bonus tag fish.  Only some shorts released as most were Bonus or Keeper size today.  Again the Tsunami Swim Shads 5 – 7 worked best!  be sure you pick some up before heading down. Weather looks tough Monday, so NO SAIL MONDAY!  Thursday & Friday look best this week. (newjerseyshore.com)

Gierach also drives and camps lots in this book which are both actions I can relate to.   On a lark in the winter a friend of his convinces him to go on an overnight trip to a new stream in Wyoming.  They get skunked at their 1st spot, and When we went to attempt another spot, the pickup would not start.  and what follows is EXACTLY what I thought from my somewhat restricted experience with cars that means corroded terminals if you are lucky, a dead battery if you are not.  They have some fishing friends close and they camp together, and of the next morning Geirach writes I’d come to fish and I’d get around to it sooner or later, however the real reason for the trip was simply to get out of the house in the winter and there I was, so there was no rush. (alexistevealexie.blogspot.com)

Ok so today I have a hands on fishing report for everyone as I was onboard to experience the day! Today was pretty much as the weatherman predicted with light winds and calm seas. There were some nice catches of fluke today with some guys having four or five keepers still others had none. People there’s some skill obliged with the fish and I propose doing a little research on Youtube to see some of the methods others use to enhance there catches. I didn’t catch the name of the pool winner as of still but he had a nice 6 to 7lb fluke. I’ll post his name as early as I learn. Shame on me for now on I’ll carry a note pad when I come aboard. (missbeachhaven.com)