NJ Spring Fishing

[Gerry Zagorski]

Chomping a the bit to start fishing this spring... Serviced all my reels, got the list of stuff needed to be done on the boat and anxiously waiting on Mother Nature to give us some warm sunny days to get the fish feeding.

We usually start fishing in April in the bay for Flounder and switch over to Stripers once the water warms up and they become more active. Fishing this time of year requires some different tactics. The water is still very cold and the fish are lethargic. They are not going to chase trolled or casted lures and even if you see bunker, they are not going to be chasing them either. Soft baits are key this time of year as are the locations and when you choose to fish. For bait it's usually clams, blood or sand worms and for location it's shallow dark muddy bottoms on a falling tide.

The reason for fishing dark muddy bottoms is because the sun heats these areas up faster. Dark mud warms up way faster than sand. The reason for a falling tide is the bay waters warm up faster than the ocean... If you are fishing an incoming you are fishing the colder incoming ocean waters. With a falling tide the sun has had an opportunity to warm up the the water in the shallower bays.. For the same reason I don't go out of my way to get up early to fish in the spring. Mid or later in the day is best since the sun has had an opportunity to warm things up and this often triggers the fish to feed.

Flounder fishing is usually done on anchor using lots of chum and sand or blood worms. More on that here http://www.njfishing.com/NJ_Flounder_Fishing.php

Stripers usually get into gear once the Flounder fishing falls off, however they can be had early in the season but you need to fish shallow, slow and with soft baits like Clam or Sand worms. One of the best early season Striper trips I can recall was fishing in less than 6 feet of water in the mud flats of Raritan bay. We were fishing within a few long casts of the beach bailing the Stripers drifting Sand worms in middle of the afternoon. More on Spring Striper fishing here http://www.njfishing.com/NJ_Spring_S...ss_Fishing.php

Come on Spring!!

[HDMarc]

Nice write up Gerry. This winter seems to have lasted an eternity but it appears we are finally in for some nice weather. I'm hoping April produces some good blackfish being that most of February was a wash with the frigid temps. See you on the water!

[MrAC1980]

Very nice Gerry! Thanks for getting the blood flowing! Although now they are saying starting Sunday its going to be in the 20s at night for the week again! With a chance for snow on Tuesday?? Hopefully they are wrong and we actually get a warm spell that heats the water quick and we can get into some serious fishing! When are you putting the boat in? I hope to be in by early April, primed and ready to putting a hurting on some nice Tog before the damn season closes on us!

[Papasown]

Thanks for that good report Gerry. This time of year my juices are flowing, too. I get my 14 'tin boat ready first, and drag it up to your neck of the woods/ocean/bay. Flounder and inshore stripers on a sunny afternoon is great, but also along the PPCanal will be productive. This also gives me time to get the 23 Parker ready, which isn't much compared to the old days with a half wood Egg Harbor. See you on the water, guys. Enjoy these beautiful days with NO SNOW on the ground, and Catch 'em up................Papa

[Gerry Zagorski]

Marc, Anthony and Papa - Thanks for the kind words. Got my blood pumping just writing it up... Hopefully the boat will go in first week or 2 of April. I would love to get a shot at the Blackfish too. Who knows if that is going to be in the cards this year given the water temps we have now and the freezer we are going to be in next week. Season opens 4/1 and closes 4/30 and I would bet it's just going to start getting good and we will get shut down.

[stugots]

100 percent on the outgoing tide in the spring. Last year I did have a 25-30 pound bass along with 2 in the 10-15 pound range on April 15th trolling plugs in the Reach in 18 ft of water.

[Gerry Zagorski]

Nice Stu!!

Seemed to be a lot of bunker in the bay as early as March in past years but nothing bothering them until the water temps warmed up. We did have some luck anchoring and chunking Bunker early but seemed to me they did not want to chase livies until later in the spring. That's why I really never bothered to troll early. Figured the fish were too lazy to hit anything moving too fast. There goes that theory

[KevinH]

Great post! Doesn't help with cabin fever tho!

[Garone Custom Rods]

I can't wait Gerry!

[jmurr711]

By spring fishing do you mean July?????? LOl