It's December 21st and, for the most part, striped bass fishing along New Jersey is just about done. There may be a school or two still making their way south down around the southern tip of New Jersey but most have moved on. While the annual spring and fall migrations may be predictable this year was an anomaly along the Jersey Shore. Yes, off the beaches the boat guys had early success, but the beach hugging migration and bait drawing in bass just didn't materialize.
Each year there's certain locations that are just go-to spots. Early on the staging areas before the spawning runs draw not only bass but anglers as well. Those can be near the three big spawning rivers, like those around the Chesapeake, Delaware, and Hudson Rivers. After that the move is north, up into New England during the summer months. In the fall it's Long Island and the Jersey Shore. And then in the winter it's in and outside of the Chesapeake Bay.
While the forums, social media, and tackle store postings and reports from New Jersey and parts north have been quiet, those down in the Chesapeake area are alive as that is where the bulk of the striped bass are now. It's winter for most, but those down in Maryland and Virginia are now into the end, or start, of their big fish catch and release season.
So what happens? Well, find the bait, and you'll find the bass. The bunker, what's left of them, both big and small, can be found from the entrance of the bay down near Cape Charles, Va, up to Kent Island near the Chesapeake Bay Bridge in Maryland. That's about 125 miles of a stretch. But it's go time down there.
One such charter captain that pops up on my Facebook feeds is Jamie Clough of Eastern Shore Light Tackle Charters. I don't read him to try and figure out where he's fishing, but more to understand when and where the striped bass are. And again, while for most of us we're already waiting for spring, the anglers down there are in their glory when the weather cooperates.
Captain Clough is still reporting that the bass, with water temps around the mid-40's, are still active up top and finding bird action can alert anglers to where the fish are.
The bigger fish can be found down low, which would make fly fishing for them more difficult. But screen shots from the electronics show bait with bass in pursuit. Those types of
conditions would call for dropping rubbers, jigs, and metal. I can say that trying to get a sinking line down into the strike zones at 40 plus feet, in the cold, isn't easy, and definitely not fun. But that's where the fish are.
Why are the striped bass in the CB? Again I'm no expert, but I would think it's spring pre-spawn staging. Yes, they're eating, probably fattening up before they become sluggish during the dead of winter, but their internal spawning clocks are ticking, and go-time for them to move into their natal rivers is only 90 days away.
Over the last few years I've ventured down in late February or early March to see if I could find some of those pre-spawn bass in the tributaries off the Chesapeake Bay. Some may say, "Leave them alone", but I can tell you an angler with a fly rod in waders poses no threat to those big female striped bass. With a half a dozen trips under my belt I can admit I haven't had a touch on my fly, which are usually larger herring type patterns.
But currently back in New Jersey there are some die-hards that are still fishing, and catching. Yes, there are still striped bass in and around New Jersey. You can find them in the deeper channels and tucked up in the back of the various bays. One such body of water that holds wintering over striped bass is the Barnegat Bay. I won't tell you where on the 75 square mile body of water they are, but it's pretty much well known.
Years ago the spot was the water that ran in and out, well mostly out, of the Oyster Creek. The Oyster Creek Generating Station was the first nuclear plant in the United States that opened up in 1969. I'm not scientist, but I think basically cold water came in one way and warm water came out the other. Water was used to cool the plant, and the discharge water was tens of degrees warmer than the waters of the Barnegat Bay.
With the back bays and rivers closed for targeting striped bass from January 1 through March 1 it was a place I would usually go to to start my fishing year. Like my trips to the Chesapeake, in the handful of times I visited Oyster Creek I came up blank.
The plant closed in 2018 so that late and early season fishery there shut down. Similar places like that were in Trenton and Jersey City. But parts of the Barnegat Bay still have those holdover bass. The fish below was caught this past week in one such spot.
I have fished that spot before and can tell you that on a right tide, with a longer fly rod cast, you can fish the drop-off where the bass are holding. But, if you go now, or after March 1st, of course in New Jersey, you'll have company, and lots of it, always. Find the bait, or the bass, in New Jersey, and you'll find some anglers.
Above is a pic from the same location on the same day the above fish was caught. It looks like the Salmon River or your local stockie trout stream on opening day. If you're still in the want of catching striped bass then you can get in line and fish right to left or left to right depending on the tide, or grab a buddy and head south to the Chesapeake Bay. If that is an option look up Captain Clough, he seems to be in the know and gets it done during the winter months. That's if you can handle to cold. You can find him on Facebook,
HERE, or at (443) 786- 5266.
