December 31, 2020
Tog fishing has been difficult recently due to dirty water inshore, but white perch and small stripers are keeping anglers occupied in the back bays.
“Farewell and adieu to 2020” and all of it’s issues I hope 2021 will welcome in better health and good fishing. Most anglers have been hanging up the gear for 2020, but some hardy souls continue to ply the beaches for striped bass and the headboats for wreck species. My son and I ended 2020 with an awesome trip aboard the Gambler for offshore sea bass. We landed a bunch of humpheads to 5 pounds along with dinner-plate porgies. Closer to home fishing has had some good sized tog with last week’s Chris Sullivan of Lacey catching a pending state record whitechin weighing over 25 pounds. The fish was caught off of Cape May aboard Fishin’ Fever Sportfishing.
Southern New Jersey Fishing Report – December 17, 2020
Prior to the storm, tautog fishing was productive and striper action was steady for those putting in the time.
The week was the proverbial “calm before the storm” as our mid-week Nor’easter did some serious beach erosion and churning up due to the high winds and rain. A few boats in my area didn’t make it through as failed bilges left them in a precarious situation. Our striped bass season is still hanging on by a thread, but we have to see if the latest storm gave it the one-two knockout punch. Tautog fishing has been hampered by sea conditions as bottom clarity has been brutal, making for very slow days on the water. Hopefully, we get some calmer conditions through the Christmas holidays as anglers might have the last shots for 2020.
Southern New Jersey Fishing Report – December 10, 2020
Stripers are holding tight to the beaches, tautog to 14.5-pounds, and pretty solid offshore black sea bass wreck action.
December 10, 2020
A 14.5-pound tautog caught by Aaron Edelman while fishing with Capt. Brett Taylor of Reel Reaction Sportfishing. The fish was bleeding from the hookset, but was released to grow larger.
We are winding down as the temperatures have started to dip and more boats are being stored for the season. But some anglers are still fishing the beaches, jetties, and decks in search of their last 2020 fish. The northeast had a rough weekend with some cooler temperatures and high winds, which made fishing very tough. It seems we have been hampered by winds and narrow fishing windows over the past several weeks. This upcoming weekend looks doable and the following week looks cold, but promising. Tog fishing has been good or extremely slow depending on the given day. There were some nice jumbos caught t