Southern New Jersey Fishing Report
Unfortunately, this is my last report for 2025, but I wanted to wish all of the anglers and readers of OTW a very happy holiday season and New Year. Although my reports end, the fishing is still going strong through the end of 2025 with striped bass being caught by the few anglers left casting from the beaches and boats. Trolling has been the optimal choice with fish spread out; trolled Mojos or shad rigs are connecting on fish from Seaside to Atlantic City. The Atlantic City area south to Cape May seems to be the hotbed of striped bass, whale, and bluefin tuna action.
Sea bass fishing has been hit or miss at the offshore wrecks with more headboats and recreational vessels hitting similar spots. Tog fishing has been great in the southernmost parts of Jersey, mediocre for central Jersey, and better for north Jersey. Jigs tipped with cooked shrimp or white crab have been the top producers.
Show season will be upon us soon after the Christmas holiday, so start your list and hit a show or catch a seminar to up your game for 2026. I’ll be at a few of the shows giving seminars, so please stop by and show your support for the OTW crew!
Here is this week’s rundown:
Hook House Bait & Tackle in Toms River said they’ve been busy restocking bloodworms and filling reel orders over the past week. Striped bass and even better numbers of white perch are in play along parts of the Toms River and some of Barnegat Bay, with bloody-nematode-tipped rigs the offering of choice. The shop will be open with a bunch of holiday deals, so stop in.
Salty Love Sportfishing in Forked River put a wrap on the 2025 season, and the skipper and crew are already prepping for 2026. They would like to give a big thank you to all who sailed with them in 2025.
Creekside Outfitters in Waretown said it was a slower week with less angler participation at the jetties and local beaches. There are still some tautog being caught off the jetties, but the bite has been slow. Tog seemingly took a hiatus over the last few days with colder water temperatures and super scratchy bites. Striped bass are still being caught, but the action is very spread out. Some anglers stopped in the shop on their way to Cape May in search of better beach action on migratory stripers.
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Reel Reaction Sportfishing out of Waretown worked quite a few wrecks over the weekend, but had to contend with very cold ocean water temperatures, dirty water, and heavy late morning winds. The crew reported 25+ shorts being landed, but keepers were non-existent. The vessel has a few more trips booked to end the 2025 season, and there are 70 bookings for 2026 already, so give them a ring to secure your dates.
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The Super Chic out of Barnegat Light has finished up the season and the skipper was dry-docking the boat for the winter to perform routine maintenance. Capt. Ted said he will be gearing up for the May sea bass run in 2026.
Tackle Direct in Egg Harbor City said the Mullica basin has some good numbers of large white perch taking bloodworms and, if you can catch them, grass shrimp. Striped bass have been around, most of which have ranged from 18 to 24 inches. Tautog fishing at the reef sites has been slow with the best keeper action coming from the Atlantic City Reef and a few other southern reefs. Anglers dropping tog jigs to 2.5-ounces, tipped with white crabs, are finding the best white-chin action.
Tight Lines Bait & Tackle in Somers Point has all of their frozen offshore baits for sale at 50% off, so stop in and take advantage. Fishing wise, it’s been a tougher go in the backwaters with a few cooperative striped bass and better white perch action from the rivers. Anglers looking out front are finding striped bass too, but the better option has been tautog fishing with white leggers at the reef sites.
Waterfront Marine in Somers Point reported that sea bass fishing has been pretty solid on the pre-canyon, deepwater wrecks. Anglers dropping double- and triple-hook rigs down to 200 feet with clam baits were finding humpheads to 6 pounds. Togging continues to be very solid on the wrecks from Ocean City to Cape May.
Captain Brian Williams of Badfish Charters in Ocean City said he had some striped bass in the backwaters over the past week. The bass are still chewing in some of the back channels, but it has to be a slow presentation to convince them to chew. The skipper said he has some dates available to end the 2025 season, so give him a ring.
Captain Joe Hughes of Jersey Cape Guide Service in Sea Isle City said he’s not done for the season as he’s still looking for some pockets of isolated striped bass between Ocean City and Wildwood. The skipper is looking to throw white shads, plugs, and jigs at migrating striped bass. Capt. Joe said he has some dates to end the season, so give him a call to hunt for some late season stripers.
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The Cape May and Fortescue area has been fishing steady for weeks, but lately, the tautog bite is slower for anglers hitting the inshore wrecks. Tog to 15 pounds have been caught, but the action has slowed from what it was last week. Striped bass are being caught from Sea Isle to Cape May out toward the 3-mile line, but it seems most of the fish are beyond the 3-mile mark. Offshore sea bass has been excellent at the wrecks from 160 to 200 feet and a few of the headboats are sailing regularly.
South Jersey Fishing Forecast
The best bet for the weekend will be hitting the inshore reefs or wrecks for tautog out of the southern inlets. Atlantic City, Ocean City, and the Cape May areas are producing some nice tog action at their respective reef sites. If the weather and wind allows for offshore runs, the sea bass grounds are also producing excellent numbers of keepers for the deep water wrecks out to 60 miles.
The recent cold spell put the kibosh on our bay striper bites, but hopefully the rebound of mild weather will help reignite the bite. Regardless, lures need to be worked ultra slow during this time of year for holdover bass; and just a reminder, back bay striper season closes in a few weeks until March. Good luck, be safe and tight lines!