Southern New Jersey Fishing Report- December 7, 2023

Tautog fishing is hit or miss on the wreck and reef sites, stripers take bucktails and minnow plugs off the beaches, and midshore migrating bluefin are caught on jigs and poppers.

by Captain Brett Taylor

Southern New Jersey Fishing Report

The tackle shops in the northern stretches around Brigantine to Toms River have been depleted of most quality tuna lures with Hogy plastics, Wolfpack, and some of the S&S Madd Mantis poppers flying off the shelves.  Bluefin, bluefin, bluefin has been the word and some anglers have been regularly catching 75 to 200 pound class tunas by a variety of methods from 3 to 8 miles offshore.  Striped bass anglers haven’t had to run too far with bird play just outside the inlets and stripers off the beaches.  Brigantine and Atlantic City boaters got into multiple bird play and striped bass within the 3 mile line, but it’s been a slower pick depending on the day.  Tog fishing has been extremely challenging to say the least for the northern half of southern Jersey, but areas from Atlantic City to Cape May have been much, much better in terms of quality whitechins.  Surf fisherman have been doing much better in Ocean and Atlantic counties, compared to our southern locales.  Smiling Bill bucktails tipped with rubber worms and SP minnows were the hot lures for the surf this past week.  With the winter upon us, some of our state regulated back channels have had the markers removed, so be sure to have good GPS lines when running the backwaters. 

Here is this week’s rundown: 
 
Hook House Bait & Tackle in Toms River reported the morning and dusk bites as the best times to target striped bass off the Seaside and state park beaches.  Anglers working Daiwa SP Minnows, white swim-shads, and bucktails have been connecting with fish up to 36 inches.  The tog bite off the north jetty of Barnegat Inlet has cooled down dramatically as has the bay water temperatures at a balmy 44F.  A few humpback whales were spotted off the Coast Guard station working pods of bunker. 

Creekside Outfitters in Waretown had poor reports of tautog at the various reef sites from the Axel all the way south to Garden State South.  Anglers fishing for hours are only picking a few here and there.  Striped bass and tuna on the other hand have been off the charts according to store staffers.  The shop is having a bunch of deep sales for the Christmas holiday, so stop in and stock up!

Reel Reaction Sportfishing out of Waretown was busy over the weekend and during the week putting clients on limits of striped bass and picking at tautog from the local wrecks.  The skipper said 4 and 5 man limits of slot and bonus fish have been relatively easy with full boat limits in 20 minutes.  Stripers have ranged from 24 to 38 inches and have been all on the jig as the skipper never trolls for bass.  Tautog has been much tougher with only 5 to 7 keepers coming over the rail, despite lots of 10- to 14-inch fish. The boat will be running weekends throughout January for tautog and possibly striped bass, so give them a ring. 


The Super Chic out of Barnegat Light has been busy putting clients on jigged striped bass from Barnegat Inlet up to Lavallette.  Diamond jigs, swim shads, and flutter jigs have been catching most of the striped bass.  The boat has a few trips remaining before the 2023 season is over, so get on the schedule.

Tony’s Bait & Tackle in Manahawkin received quality reports of bluefin tuna busting on Hogy plastics and poppers around the 5 mile line.  The tuna ranged from 100 to 250 pounds.  Striped bass action has been good off the beaches of Long Beach Island, especially on the northern end of the island.  Boaters have been fairing much better from the 1/2- to 2-mile zone on diamond jigs and flutter jigs. 

Tackle Direct in Egg Harbor City said it was a busy weekend end at the store due to in-store and online orders as the tuna jigs and poppers have been flying off the shelves.  The store staff said, “It’s tuna mania” with anglers trying to connect with the migrating inshore bluefin.  Togging was better at the Atlantic and Ocean city reef sites over the past week with some nice ones being released over 10 pounds.  Anglers are having to work pretty hard for limits.  Striped bass fishing has been a pick along the beaches, but boats have started to pick a few up on jigs. 

Tight Lines Bait & Tackle in Somers Point said the togging has been very good from the wreck or reef sites.  The shop is loaded with a few tanks of white leggers for anglers looking to go for tautog.  Striped bass fishing continues to be a slower pick off the beaches and inlets, but starting to get better for the boats.  Most of the bird play and marks have been at the 3 mile line and anglers togging reported striped bass blitzes well past the line. 

Badfish Charters in Ocean City said he had some openings this week and the striper fishing has been solid on light tackle lures.  The skipper has been running outside and also along some of back rivers to find feeding fish.  

The Cape May and Fortescue area reported a decent tautog bite from the area’s reef sites with both white and green crabs working on traditional rigs.  Anglers working some of the Delaware Bay reef sites banged up some bigger tautog to over 12 pounds.  The striped bass bite has been good over the weekend and past week with some nice fish to 40 pounds landed between the 2 and 3 mile lines.  I made a few phone calls to get reports from the surf, but it seems it’s been pretty quiet on that front. 

South Jersey Fishing Forecast

The best bet for this weekend will be to work the waters or beaches on Saturday as Sunday looks like a total blowout in terms of winds and rain.  Ocean county has been the spot to be for striped bass from the beaches and boats.  Metal jigs, soft plastics and plugs are the keys for connecting on these fish.  Most of the fish have ranged from 24 to 37 inches, so be sure to bring a bonus tag if you plan on harvesting one for the table.  Anglers interested in targeting bluefin should hit the counties, but just in the 3 to 5 mile range.  The USCG has been patrolling so be sure to be up to date with your NMFS pelagic permits.  If you’re a tog fisherman and have a choice this weekend, I suggest hitting the wrecks off the southern counties of New Jersey for better fishing.  White crabs tipped on traditional rigs or jigs have been the way to go.  Good Luck, Be Safe, and Tight Lines! 

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