The salt...

[martalus]

I asked chat GPT for where to find white perch in January in Monmouth county-it does say if these locations are too general, ask local baitshops for more intel

Fishing FleaMarket Bait & Tackle – Another Keyport choice with tackle and bait.

Keyport Bait and Tackle – Small tackle shop near the waterfront.

Giglios Bait & Tackle (Sea Bright) – Great stop if you’re fishing the Navesink/Shrewsbury/Sea Bright shoreline.
Angelfire

Atlantic Bait and Tackle (Middletown) – Full‑service shop on Route 36.
Fishbox

Tackle Box Fishing Co. (Hazlet) – Highly rated tackle shop with gear and bait.
Fishbox

JCP Bait & Tackle (Belford) – Convenient for the Bayshore / Sandy Hook side.

Here's a practical list of white perch access points in Monmouth County, NJ, with emphasis on shore access, parking, and winter suitability for January fishing:

1. Navesink River

Locations:

Sea Bright Waterfront & Boardwalk – Parking nearby, fish along bulkheads and piers.

Rumson Shoreline (around Oceanic Bridge) – Access near Rumson Road and small public parks.

Hartshorne Woods Park (western river edge) – Limited shore access, but good for quiet winter fishing.

Notes: Best near bridge abutments, docks, and seawalls. Winter perch often hold in deeper pockets along edges.

2. Shrewsbury River

Locations:

Highlands Waterfront Park / Bay Avenue Docks – Small public lot, docks, and piers.

Swimming River area in Middletown – Shore fishing along creeks, parking near marina areas.

Sea Bright end (confluence with Sandy Hook Bay) – Access along roadside parking and small pull-offs.

Notes: Focus on marina edges and creek mouths, especially during outgoing tide in cold months.

3. Matawan Creek / Keyport Harbor

Locations:

Keyport Waterfront & Veterans Park – Pier and dock access, street parking.

Broad Street Boat Ramp / Dock areas – Easy shore access, ideal for bloodworm rigs.

Small tributary in Cliffwood Beach area – Less crowded, tidal influence keeps water open in January.

Notes: Perch often school near docks and shallow edges; use light rigs with small baits.

4. Raritan Bay Shorelines

Locations:

Keansburg Waterfront / Fishing Pier – Street parking, piers and jetty edges.

Port Monmouth / Belford Waterfront – Limited public access, good for winter perch.

Highlands – Bay Avenue & Sandy Hook Bay shoreline – Shore fishing with tide influence.

Notes: Winter perch often hold along drop-offs, tidal flats, and near dock structures.

5. Backwater / Tidal Creeks

Locations:

Fox Hollow Creek (Matawan/Cliffwood Beach area) – Small access points, quieter in winter.

Other small tidal creeks feeding Raritan Bay – Look for roadside pull-offs, boat ramps, and creek mouths.

Notes: These are less pressured spots; schools of perch gather here in cold months.

Winter Tips

Fish mid-tide to outgoing tide for best activity.

Bait: Bloodworms, grass shrimp, or small minnows on light rigs (#6–#8 hooks).

Technique: Bobber or high-low rig near bottom, along structure.

Focus on sunny afternoons; perch will feed more actively then.

[robtf]

I don’t seem to get nearly the detailed response from chatGPT in Atlantic county, but I pretty much know where and how I’d try in the winter. Will give it a go if life ever slows down here enough.

[46er]

You have 7 bridges road, all you need, and also behind Stewarts and the Borough parking on water street.

[robtf]

Not too far but those aren’t Atlantic County

[46er]

Not too far but those aren’t Atlantic County

That is as close as I could get for easy access. Although there is the fishing per and boat ramp on the Bass River, a tad closer.

[robtf]

Yes and there are spots up the Mullica and tribs as well

Guys in my club fish all those areas by boat

Some go all the way up to batsto / sweet water, by land and sea

Off the great egg harbor river they go up the banks all the way up to mays landing, several spots by land

Near my home I’ve caught in the Nacote

Problem with all this is that they school up and it can be hit or miss in any given area

Guys who have been fishing the area longest keep logs and sort of can guess the best spots by time of year and other factors. The rest of us pick an area and camp out

It’s all good, one cold year I went out with a friend and netted up some small Minnies and grass shrimp then went down on the patcong, only a couple of hits on a windy cold day but it was good just to get out

[robtf]

Did hear from a boat angler at last night club’s meeting that the perch fishing on the Mullica and tribs has been very good, but very tidal dependent and like I wrote: hit or miss. Can be fishing for hours with barely a nibble until the tide change and then be on them like gangbusters. Local bait (shrimp specifically) has been very hard to find.

He mentioned the lack of striped bass being caught (since you can’t target them, often times incidentally when fishing bloodworms in the various holes looking for perch)…. this fellow is our club’s “perch king” as he targets them throughout the year in addition to the normal targets for most anglers.

[martalus]

As mentioned, white perch generally travel in large schools, often of similar size/age classes. I have mostly targeted them in the Potomac during spawning season and even then, you have to put your time in in the likely spots/times. Like shad (which spawn similar times and locations) it can be quiet until its not! I liked the advice about keeping a note book to catalog conditions like water temps, tides, moon phases, flows, dates, etc. Over the years you could probably fine tune when/where exactly you will find the schools. White perch are scrappy fighters, good eating, and relatively plentiful in the mid atlantic/north east. Small females lay over 20,000 eggs and larger ones upwards of 300,000 so you don't need to feel bad about harvesting them.