Toms River

The tidal Toms River empties into the west side of Barnegat Bay, and for anglers with cabin fever it's usually the first place to find action each year. White perch bite in the dead of winter, resident stripers wake up in March, and the river's public parks and piers make it easy to fish from shore.

When to fish

• January and February: white perch.
• March and April: the first stripers of the year, mostly short fish with a few keepers, often best on the outgoing tide and at night.
• March to May: winter flounder, especially in the warmest part of the day.
• April to June: big bluefish in some years.
• Summer: stripers at night around dock lights and the Route 37 bridge, fluke near the river mouth, blowfish, and plenty of blue crabs.

Where to fish

• The river mouth at Barnegat Bay: early-season stripers, summer fluke, and winter flounder by May.
• The public pier at the Island Heights gazebo: a top spot for spring winter flounder, and for casting to bluefish.
• Huddy Park and along Water Street: shore access for flounder and bluefish.
• The Route 37 bridge: bluefish run back and forth between here and the mouth, and stripers feed under the bridge lights on summer nights.

How to fish it

For early stripers, slowly drag soft-plastic paddletails or swimming plugs, or cast bloodworms or sandworms on a two-hook rig with small floats from the bank. For winter flounder, use a two-hook flounder rig with small grubs and bits of worm or clam and drag it back slowly to find fish; boaters can chum with clam along the channel edges. Bluefish crush plugs, poppers and metals. On summer nights, cast small paddletails and swimming plugs around the dock lights.

Getting there

Public shore access includes Huddy Park in Toms River and the gazebo pier in Island Heights. Anglers 16 and older must register with New Jersey's free Saltwater Recreational Registry.