ne of the most frequently asked questions our guide service receives at this time of year is “When can I catch a striper again?” Well, if you are a surf fisherman your chances will start to increase by the middle of April as surf temperatures begin to approach fifty degrees. On the other hand, if your fever is so high that that you need an instant remedy or cure you can give Oyster Creek a try.

Oyster Creek is located in Forked River, N.J. and is home to GPU’s Nuclear Power Generating Station. Typical of nuclear power plants a warm water discharge is pumped from the station directly into a surrounding body of water after it has been utilized in the cooling process. This warm water serves as a magnet for attracting and holding bait and fish throughout the cold winter months.

GPU’s Oyster Creek station is situated between the south branch of Forked River and Oyster Creek on Route 9 in Forked River, N.J. The south branch of the Forked River serves as the cold water in-take and Oyster Creek is the discharge or the warm water out-take. By regulation the warm water discharge can be no warmer than ten degrees above the mean ambient temperature of Barnegat Bay. So before this water is released into Oyster Creek it is monitored and regulated to meet this requirement. This increase in temperature for the Creek will hold, keep, and attract both fish and bait throughout the winter. Throughout most of the winter you will find the temperature of Oyster Creek to be in the neighborhood of 55 degrees. This is a perfect temperature for stripers to actively feed and move around. You will find a resident population of stripers, which swim circling throughout the creek. The fish average anywhere from 15 – 26 inches but it’s not common to see or hook into larger fish in the thirty plus inch range. A somewhat smaller school of weakfish also remains throughout the winter as do even a smaller number of one to three pound bluefish.

If your planning a visit to fish Oyster Creek and you are a diehard surf fisherman, needless to say you will be disappointed. The wide expanses of water and freedom to move around are not present. Neither are any of the other multitudes of stimulations you receive when working the pounding surf.

Fishing access is extremely limited to the area on the west side of Route 9. You can fish from on top of the abandoned railroad bridge, which runs over the creek or on either side of it. The creek spans a width of about twenty yards. Down by the waters edge there is room for only a couple of anglers on either side. All other access to the creek along either bank is fenced off and posted no trespassing. If you fish in these areas you are breaking the law and risk a summons or arrest. There is a small parking area on the southwest side of the creek, which can hold about fifteen cars. On the northwest side of the creek you can park along Route 9 south.

The power plant discharges warm water 24 hours a day everyday unless it shuts down for safety checks or maintenance. The outflow pipe is only several hundred yards from where you will be fishing. The best striper action right now has been later in the afternoon from 3:00 PM to just after sunset. The hot baits to use right now are pink Fin-S fish with silver sparkle, jig heads with small white twister tails, or small white bucktails. If you are flyfishing, small chartreuse or white clousers are working well.

To fish the creek you will need to cast up creek and let the current push your bait back towards you. You will need to select your leadhead appropriately so as to bounce the bottom and adjust your retrieve to prevent any slack in the line. Casting down creek will bring your bait out of the strike zone to quickly as the current brings it to the top. The flyfisherman will have to get to that spot on the southwest side of the bank just below the bridge and cast up creek and across with a sinking tip or sinking shooting head to put the fly in the strike zone.

A consistent spot to hit stripers is on the southwest side of the creek close to the blacktop-restricted walkway. Work this spot if you are there before the crowds roll in. It will get very crowded towards evening and when the fish are hitting all etiquette sometimes fails as it does anywhere.

To get to Oyster Creek take the Garden State Parkway to Exit 74. This is Lacey Road, in Lacey Township. Follow this road straight for several miles to Route 9. Make a right and head straight down the road to Oyster Creek. You will pass the Forked River State Marina on your left and will see the ominous smokestack of the plant when you are close.

You will also need to have a freshwater fishing license to fish the creek on the west side of Route 9. This is where you will be fishing because all other areas out to the bay where you do not need a license are posted. A word to the wise, don’t fish the creek without a license. The conservation officer stops there frequently.

If you don’t mind crowds or fishing for stripers like you would fish for trout on opening day of trout season than Oyster Creek will put a fish or two on the end of your hook. Don’t forget it’s all catch and release too.