Just when you might have thought we were done, well, forget it. It looks like March will start off with a bang as another winter storm is brewing potentially bringing more snow to our area. This weekend we'll see a warm up, which will melt away what's on the ground, only to set the table to be covered around the start of the new month, and the opener for striped bass season.
Yep, it's that time again. March 1st means anglers will be out on the bays and rivers in New Jersey looking for those hunkered down, and near frozen, striped bass that have wintered over. These are migratory bass but those that chose to ride out the deep freeze rather then have headed south earlier this winter. And when they wake up, or defrost, they'll be hungry.
The ads are already hitting the internet waves for bloodworms which are an early season must-have. You can forget your plugs or flies for some time as the fish are too cold to chase anything. What you'll find are anglers standing or sitting waterside soaking baits looking for the early season bite. It'll be during those days when tides and water temps come into play. Skinny water mud flats warm up on a lower tide bringing in bass rooting around for an early spring snack.
And while I'm out on tournament fishing for striped bass, well at least I used to be, the bounties are still around for the first fish of the 2026 season. But, unlike in the past when the biggest fish took home the prizes, anglers are stuck in that 28 -31" slot. So basically, those were going home for the table anyway. Is it good? Probably not, as the hammering down on just slot fish going on three years surely will deplete those year classes of fish that fall into the narrow range. But hey, I'm moving, and moving onto other fishes to obsess over, fingers crossed.
March 1st arrives this Saturday at 0000 hours. They'll be die-hards out on the sod banks during the graveyard shift looking to catch and run to their local tackle shop. Historically, the Absecon Bay Sportsmen's Center always has a stack of money and gift certificates for the first weigh ins. Guys are already buying up popcorn to sit and watch the drama of who catches what and when, and then how many posts are made from various tackle shops with the same fish. Like, a guy catches a fish up in the Hackensack, and drives it down to Absecon to weigh it in, with a stop at a few shops along the way. Yes, it happens, and will happen again. Below are this years prizes as offered by Dave Showell down in Absecon,
While my early season fly fishing has changed from the salt to fresh waters in the spring I'll still be two months away from bringing one to hand. Last year, in 2025, my first bass was caught on April 24th. That was about a month later then usual. Hopefully all of this snow, and I'm sure the monsoons are coming, will fare well for this years spawn. The fish are starting to get horny and the ones that are ready, or choose, to make the spawning runs are starting to stage, probably somewhere where the waters a tad warmer.
Let's say my fish come 120 miles upriver to spawn. If they travel 10 miles a day that means it'll take 12 days after they cross the Delaware Bay line at Cape May. Before they get to me and when they'll eat flies they'll have to make it past those irresistible blood warms soaked in the waters in and around Wilmington and Philadelphia. The striped bass's spawning journey each year is remarkable. I can't imagine how the stock would be if we all just laid off the fish, in the three big natal waters, until after the run is over. It's not just harvesting that changes a fishes behavior, but angling pressure as well.
Soon the internet and social media will be a buzz with fish pictures and all the drama that comes with them. But first we'll have at least another round of snow so keep those shovels handy and some gas in the can for that snow blower.