New Jersey Fishing Forecast for Jan 14-21

[Destroyer]

Once again this is a copy/paste from On The Water. www.onthewater.com

By Jimmy Fee

I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to stop swinging a shovel and start swinging a fishing rod. The good news is, conditions this weekend look favorable for fishermen whether they want to go on the ice or take a headboat on the high seas. Perch, pickerel, tog and cod were the top species for Jersey fishermen, and there’s no reason the fun winter fishing won’t continue through the weekend.

In the salt, most anglers are relying on headboats to help them fulfill their fishing desires, but a select few vessels are still venturing out on the cold seas. The Ocean Explorer captained by Bobby Quinn out of Belmar is one of the boats still sailing. Bobby was pleased with the catches coming over the rails so far this month. With the colder water, Bobby has found the tog are moving deeper, and with the boat fishing in deeper water, more cod and ling are mixing in. Some fares are even taking up to 3 or 4 keeper cod per trip, and as temperatures continue to drop, cod fishing should continue to improve. Unfortunately, this increase in cod action comes at the expense of the fast blackfish fishing of a few weeks ago. Blackfish become lethargic in the cold water and restrict their feeding. A good number of keepers are still being caught, along with some very large specimens north of the 10-pound mark. The Ocean Explorer is sailing daily weather permitting.

On the freshwater, Lake Hopatcong is still the hub of ice fishing activity. Laurie from Dows Boat Rental reports good perch action through the ice. Pickerel and bass seem to be biting best in the Woodport area on tip ups and jigs.

Best Bets for the Weekend

Even if you can’t fish this weekend, you can still check out some new fishing gear and seminars at the Garden State Outdoor Show. I’ll be there working the booth and talking fishing with anyone who stops by.

For fishing, heading out for tog with a chance at some cod seems like a lot of fun. The forecast looks good for the headboats to get out, but be sure to call ahead of time to make sure. Bring green and white-legger crabs for the tog and clams or jigs for the codfish.

On the ice, while Hopatcong gets the most press for ice fishing, plenty of other smaller lakes are iced over, so if you’re local lake has safe ice (usually 4 inches or better) it may be worth setting a couple tip ups and breaking out the jigging rod. New Jersey also has some excellent lakes for pike and muskie, so soaking a large live or dead bait under a tip-up could land you in hand-to-hand combat with one of these toothy predators.