Striped bass fishing in southern New Jersey is still going strong; this past week’s low-pressure systems and high winds hopefully didn’t hurt the bite. I’m hearing the New York City area is having a great bite, so we should have another good push of fish. Most of the action has been on trolling gear from 1-to-3 miles out and on live bait around the bays and inlets. Tautog fishing has been a grind for most of central New Jersey. Anglers are heading to the wrecks and less pressured areas in southern New Jersey to get on the tog bite. Black sea bass fishing has been decent, but anglers have to run 30-to-40 miles to find sea bass, as dogfish have been a problem.
Southern New Jersey Fishing Report
Creekside Outfitters in Waretown, says trolling produced over the weekend, but it was definitely slower than the prior week. Anglers trolling shads or tubes faired the best with fish up to 40-inches. Most of the action occurred in the early morning. There were good reports of schoolie sized bass to 25-inches being caught along the beaches of Loveladies and Harvey Cedars on small Ava jigs.
Bobbie’s Boats Bait & Tackle in Barnegat Light, says there were some reports of small striped bass picking up soft plastics and live baits along the sod banks and some of the back channels. Anglers fishing crabs around the jetty are still catching tautog, but keepers are becoming harder to come by.
Reel Reaction Sportfishing in Waretown, says they were busy running trips after the Thanksgiving holiday and had anglers keeping striped bass to 27-inches while releasing up to 20 on some trips. Tautog fishing was a little slow, but a few of the charters were able to catch tog up to 9-pounds on the deck on multiple trips. They’re running striped bass or tog trips for the remainder of December, and based on the weather may, there might be trips into the New Year.
Super Chic Charters in Barnegat Light, says they’ve been jigging the area for stripers, but the fishing has been tough as there have been lots of dogfish. They did find some bass to 26-inches off Island Beach State Park (IBSP).
Fisherman’s Headquarters in Long Beach Island, says there are reports of some fish being caught along the shores of Long Beach Island on small metal jigs. Ava-007’s with sand eel teasers have been the best bet. Anglers fishing chunks were able to find a few redfish, which are a little rare for this time of year. Tautog fishing has been fair, with some better action reported down from the southern end.
Absecon Bay Sportsman in Absecon, says striped bass fishing continues to produce off the bends of the Mullica River with fish up to 29-inches. Bass fishing out front continues to get better with more fish being caught by trolling. Tautog fishing was very good from the inshore wrecks and a little tougher from the rocks. Also, there are some good reports of white perch on live grass shrimp.
Fin-Atics in Ocean City, says there are a better amount of keeper stripers being caught close to the 3-mile line while trolling umbrella tubes and shades. Tautog fishing at the offshore wrecks has been good for most anglers willing to put in the time.
Badfish Charters in Ocean City, says clients on the boat caught stripers up to 29-inches over Thanksgiving weekend. Striper fishing out front has been fair, but the backwaters have been very productive for feeding fish.
Sea Isle Bait & Tackle in Sea Isle City, says had some bigger tog caught from the inshore wrecks with the biggest going close to 9-pounds. Green and white crabs have been working well, according to anglers. Striped bass continue to provide action in the backwaters and out front with soft plastics and live bait. There were some bigger bass caught this past weekend for anglers trolling Mojos and umbrella rigs.
Avalon Hodge Podge in Avalon, says there is some good tautog fishing at the reefs. There have been fish up to 10-pounds and green crabs have been the go to bait. Also, there have been some big triggerfish caught at the same locations. Striped bass fishing has definitely gotten better for anglers trolling shads or umbrella tubes.
Peace Token Fishing Tackle in Cape May Court House, says there is good tog fishing from the Wildwood, Cape May, and the Delaware Bay reef sites. A nice 14-pound sheepshead was weighed in over the holiday weekend. Striped bass fishing continues to get better for anglers fishing the 3-mile line.
Jim’s Bait & Tackle in Cape May, says tautog fishing around Cape May has been exceptional for most of the boats. There have been many fish from 10-to-12 pounds hitting the deck.
Greenhorn Outdoors in Bridgeton, says there were reports of striped bass on bloodworms and white perch on grass shrimp or small pieces of bloodworms along the rivers and creeks. The shop has been busy with anglers and hunters stopping in.
South Jersey Fishing Forecast
The best bet for the weekend will be to prep your winter gear on Saturday as it looks like it’s going to be rainy and blustery, with gusts up to 40 mph. Unfortunately, we have been plagued with some high winds and less than ideal sea conditions this past week. Sunday is a possibility if you stay tight to the beach with the boats. Anglers working the suds and sand will have better shots and should be casting small metals tipped with sand eel-like teasers. The Tsunami Sand Eels have been fantastic along with hand-tied long surf candy flies. Tautog anglers may have to wait a day or two for the conditions to lay down.
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