Whether you’re new to the game or an old salty dog with decades of experience dropping rigs on wrecks, there’s a lot to learn if you want to catch blackfish with jigs.
Have you tried to catch blackfish with jigs? You should! Why? At times they out fish rigs and produce really big catches. I must ask… How did anglers target summer flounder 10, 15, 20+ years ago? The majority now target them with jigs because it’s more effective. The migration to the jig occurred in the fluke, sea bass and tuna game years ago. Guess what… The tog game too!
December 6th with a limit+ of blackfish/tautog using a 2oz MagicTail Tog Jig.
Tog Jig Options
The obvious first step to catching blackfish with jigs is to pick out the jig. There are a variety of tog jigs options on the market. With all of the brand names, at some point you’ll ask, “What type of tog jig should I use?” Or “What is the best blackfish jig?” In my book, the answer is simple. It’s in the name of the jig…The Magictail “Game Changer” Tog Jig is the best jig. Whether targeting blackfish from the boat on reefs and wrecks or land based fishing. Magictail Tog Jigs outproduce!
The Magictail Game Changer Tog Jig Series was developed after years of fishing experience catching black fish on jigs. Building on the features top tog anglers demand and evolving from its predecessors, Magictail made a custom mold to offer the most innovative tog jig to date!
So far this December things are not stacking up like last year. We had a rock solid striped bass bite for the first part of December 2017. Take a look at our report archive. I experienced awesome fishing between the 2nd through the 8th. Then the 11th and the 17 were stellar! My last trip out was December 21, 2017 and it was a fishy one.
It feels like this December we’ve had much more wind and a smaller class of fish. Whatever the case, we didn’t see these large bass this year in the first week of December. My fingers are crossed that we’ll see another few medium sized one but with the abundance of small bass.
Here’s my report… Yesterday I woke up to a blown forecast. Stronger northerly wind than anticipated made the decision to bail out an easy one. Since fishing was on the brain I hit the surf. I was greeted with active birds but couldn’t reach out far enough. One angler close by got two small bass in a half hour time frame but I couldn’t make it happen. After putting in some time I made a move to another spot. First cast I was tight with a light drag puller. Only a second or two later it was on top in the face of a wave and shook off. I got one other short strike and that was it for me as the wind started to gust and the snow was falling.
Yesterday a couple other surf reports came in with a similar theme… some small bass (15-22″) on the surf biting on teasers fished with a bucktail, diamond jig or soft bait.
Last night Pete Kelly caught a 28-7/8″ 8.64 pound striped bass fishing the night shift. He got it on bunker fishing the town of Loveladies
Another striped bass fishing report came in from Steve Cammann. Tuesday afternoon after leaving the shop he got into some schoolies fishing at the Causeway bridge. He released four.
Jersey Ghosts – Inshore Mid Shore Tuna
Late November and December are prime time Ghost Hunting on the Jersey Coast. For a couple weeks now hunters are finding 50-100lb class tuna ranging from 12-30 miles off. They are in similar ares which held the summer’s smaller class of fish. Right now finding them is one thing but getting hooked up is another story.
Eight years back… this is how we rolled! Ghost busting with Captain Adam Sherer.
Tog Fishing
What we currently lack in size class from striped bass is made up ten fold by blackfish. The tog fishing reports are solid. Yesterday anglers that braved the rough conditions got into good fish. Again today reports are strong. The blackfish are hammering Magictail Game Changer Tog Jigs baited with live crab.
Store staffer Blake was out with Dante from Magictails. They reported, “Sporty conditions and good fishing.”
Today Swagmatic (Matt S.) was on the water. He got 6 keepers up to 8lb 10oz and was the high hook aboard the Osprey. He just missed pool with another angler getting a bigger fish late in the day. He said it was a good day, “My MVP was the 2oz Magictail Game Changer Tog Jigs. I fished the same jig all day and didn’t snag once.”
Big fish Bob Long got this 14 pound tog on a recent trip.
When the weather gets cold, tog fishing heats up! Now’s the time to get out there. Anyone going should try out Magictail Game Changer Tog Jigs!!!
Jigs Catch Fish!!!
Here’s guest blog about Catching Blackfish With Jigs from local tog fishing sharpie Matt S aka Swagmattic. He spills the beans and shares information about tog fishing with jigs.
Matt S. aka Swagmattic knows the finer points of tog fishing. He’s dialed in, on the meat and willing to share.
I apologize for this video up, and taking it down, and putting it up, and taking it down thing. The YouTube copyright secret service kept blocking it for copyright infringement. My friend had the radio on when I was filming and it picks up the song in the background that I evidently do not have the rights to. Like, WTF “big brother” is so far up my …. that he can see my tonsils. But wait, “big brother” should know I had my tonsils pulled when I was a kid. LOL enjoy!
And please subscribe to my YouTube Channel if you like my videos.
This week saw an influx of small striped bass. Reports from the North End, Mid-Island and the South End show this young class of fish are stretched out along the drifting sands of Long Beach Island. Gear up on the light side with a teaser and then find a cut or big bar with feeding ducks. You’ll surely be into fish.
If you aren’t, stop in the shop and we’ll set you up with the right tackle. This will shut up the laughing fish and other anglers that are ten deep. All joking aside there’s millions of striped bass on the beach of LBI. Get out there and enjoy this great fishing.
Call ’em rats. Call ’em Micros.
We call ’em tons of fun!!!
These fish are feeding on sand eels so small slender bait imitations are the keys to the game. Standout Options: Hogy Epoxy Jigs, Bucktails, AVA Metal Diamond Jigs as well as hard baits lures such as Super Strike Needle Fish and Daiwa SP Minnows (size 13). Soft baits like the Tsunami Sand Eel and Lunker City’s Slug-o are top choices too.
Todd Luber fished yesterday (Saturday) afternoon and reported, “Lots of fish on the beach. They were tight and rolling at times. Numerous guys all catching. Must have seen 40-50 fish caught between the small group of anglers.”
Brendan Craig getting doubles on the LBI surf!
Brendan Craig reported, “Yesterday morning was a rope session with doubles! Today (Sunday) was also super fun. Teasers are the ticket!”
Tog Fishing Report Update
The tog fishing is firing on all cylinders! The reports just get better and better with everyone into fish and most of the sharpies into numerous double digit fish each trip. Now’s the time so get out there!
14-4 by Rob Vallone… must have been the lucky Fish Heads Hat!
Store alumni Rob Vallone always seems to be on the bite! We would like to take this time to congratulate him on his new personal best that he caught yesterday! Way to go Rob… 14lb 4oz, 28″ is one hell of a fish!
Above: Here’s a good fish caught and sent in by Kyle @kylelyle11
Yesterday’s voyage was the Carolyn Ann III’s last trip of the year. The boat reported, “Finally a nice day on the water. A few nice blackfish were caught. Billy Weisz of Manahawkin won the pool with a 7.3 pounder. We would like to thank everyone who sailed with us. We hope to see you next season! Have a safe and blessed holiday season.”
A few photos of the catches from the CA3’s last trip… It’s good to see familiar faces catching fish and having fun! Left to right; Mr.Vanderbeck, Bob Long, Billy Weisz.
December started off right with very good fishing today. I had Matt Polito and his dad aboard for a morning trip aboard Fish Head Charters. We kicked off the morning with schoolie bass rolling on top. The first hour was super fun fishing with light tackle. As day progressed the action slowed to a steady pick all day with bass from micro to 25″. Everyone caught a bunch of bass fishing bucktails, small metal and epoxy jigs. I got the opportunity to whip the fly around and got two in just a few casts. They were piling on the sand eel fly. By far the fly is the ultimate fun with this size fish. Hopefully everyone puts away the heavy gear and enjoys this light tackle fun!
Numerous anglers in the shop today all reported lots of small bass on the beach and the boat. It’s December and we’ve got a lot more fishing to get in this year!
November closes out on a good note with great fishing and nice weather. You could not have asked for a nicer conditions today; calm winds, Lake Atlantic, chilly but comfortably manageable. Best of all clean water!!! Thankfully the fish wanted to cooperate. There’s a large body of striped bass here albeit rather small. Both beach and boat anglers are catching. Sand eel imitations are the ticket!
Tony Cuccinota stopped in the shop this afternoon. He reported, “The mid-island surf had small bass this morning.” He was catching using a metal and teaser. Another report came off the surf from Pete Kelley. Pete said school sizes striped bass on slender rubber. Store staffer Dan fished the North End surf this evening and caught bass into sunset. He said, “They were in tight and at times rolling on top.”
I was finally able to get back out on the water today. Last trip out (Black Friday) I blew out my steering. Thanks to the gents at Hance & Smyth, I was back up and running for the next break in weather (today). We didn’t have to run far to find piles of sand eels and small striped bass staged up. Only a few miles from Barnegat Inlet and we were into bass on small lures. The go to seemed to be bucktails, slender metal jigs or softbaits with a teaser. I also had fun fishing the fly catching three spunky small ones.
Good reports from the tog grounds!
Store alumni Rob Vallone was on the water this morning and found very good fishing with friends. He said they were limited out by 9am with quality tog. Robbie said, “The biggest was 10 pounds. The fishing was so good, we were releasing some good size ones.”
Store staffers Blake and Dave were tog fishing today too. They also reported very good fishing.
Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association Fishing Report by Jim Hutchinson Sr.
Date: Tuesday November 27, 2018
As winter weather fast approaches, the end of the 2018 striped bass action for the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association nears. However, there are still fish available, and with positive reports to the north, the action should continue for another couple of weeks.
Captain Gary Dugan of the boat “Irish Jig” recently took second place in the MICA striped bass tournament based out of Mystic Island. He said he is catching stripers off Beach Haven and is eying up a prize in the Italian American Club fishing tournament this coming weekend. The tournament is also based in Mystic Island and will run from November 30 to December 2.
Captain Ray Lopez had a striped bass charter Black Friday on the “Miss Liane.” Michael Jackson and his group were very happy they chose fishing over shopping. Despite 13-degree weather and salt spray freezing on the deck by the minute, the hardy group from Philadelphia had steady action on various sized bass. The next day the Ian Miller group from Cherry Hill, arrived early to get in on the early morning striper bite. From capturing beautiful sunrise photos to reeling in a monster striper, they had a spectacular time on the water.
The captains of the BHCFA recently held their annual membership meeting, and one of the first orders of business was recognizing outgoing president Captain Jimmy Zavacky. He was presented with a plaque citing him for his contributions to the association his commitment to local fishing.
Additional information on the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association can be found at www.BHCFA.com.
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Fishing Report Update – November 26, 2018
With the November full moon sand eels are active along the beaches of the Central Jersey Coast. Striped bass and small bluefish are feeding on them. Once the weather lets up boat anglers will be able to get out and get after them. But until them surf fishing is the only out. Anglers fishing slender lures and metals are catching.
Rob Vallone was on the beach this morning with his buddy. He reported good fishing. “We smoked the bass (up to 26″) on metal. Black tube AVA jigs were the ticket. We were catching fish all morning and left them biting when the rain started!”
Jack Keating stopped by and got a new surf setup. He just sent in this thanks! “Thank you for the surf tips and the new rod and reel. I went fishing off the LBI surf yesterday and hooked up on a metal.”
Hi Folks ,
Been on the water for 3 straight weeks with little rest until today . The weather has been the biggest obstacle this Fall but when the weather and stars align Reel Fantasea Fishing Charters has been in the game with stripers while employing a mix of artificial and live baits. Trolling Tony Maja spoons and Mojo’s have scored our bigger fish while artificial and live baits have accounted for our smaller class of fish when conditions are challenging closer to home.
I have this Saturday and Sunday available for anyone looking for to jump aboard before the winter winds send us to the hard ground for the 2018 season!
This Fall has been very tough from beach out to the 3 mile line. The jetty has also been very tough which pretty much zero Striper life – most of the action has been from trolling. Of course, there have been anglers playing catch-n-release with them outside the line, but the USCG has been on them – flying daily to spot anglers fishing for Stripers beyond the 3 mile mark.
Here’s the rundown from some of our most recent charters (most recent 1st):
Yesterday, I had return clients Doug Wainwright, his sons Doug Jr. and John on a 5hr Striped Bass charter. We started working the same area as the previous trip, but the fish were much slower on the bite. We had to grind it out and were finally rewarded with a 27inch and 36inch Striper. The guys went 2 for 3 before the conditions got a little too sporty with building seas. The waves were 4 to 5 feet with 3-4 seconds between waves. A tough day, but we boated a couple.
Over the weekend, I had return clients Mike Pollina, John Lucas, and John Krause on a 5hr Striped Bass charter. We started working some areas that we had fish the trip prior, but after an hour without a touch – we moved. The move paid off as the trio went 7 for 10 on Striped Bass 36 to 42 inches. Great job by the guys!
Earlier in the week, I had return client Rich Sanborn and his son Ryan on a pre-Thanksgiving charter. We worked with another charter captain Mikey Villanova and got right on the fish as we got got a late start. The father and son duo ended going 8 for 11 with Striped Bass up to 38 inches. They kept 4 Stripers, including a 25-inch SBBP tagged bass and released the rest which averaged 32-34 inches. We worked close to the beach for the last few hours of trip to find some of the tag Bass, but unfortunately only had a few bites from Bluefish on live Spot. The guys had a great time and all of the Stripers were caught on the Mojo’s and Bunker Spoons.
We had a relatively tough week as the Striped Bass bite has been very spotty. You have to put your time in trolling as there hasn’t been the usually jetty bite or jig bite that we typically get. We worked areas as far north as the Axel Carlson, and we had some Tog but most were in the 14 to 14.5 inch range. Mike Pollina’s charter scored a solid 25 pound bass, and then we finished the trip Tog fishing which Mike brought up a nice 8 to 9 pound Lobster which let go as it hit the surface. Another charter had short Tog and Striped Bass to 22 inches caught on the jig. We trolled for 3 hours without a touch, it seems the morning trips have had more action as they have been shutting down in the afternoon. It can only get better!
I do have a few dates remaining as I plan on running charter for the rest of the month as long as the weather and fish stay good!
If interested in booking a charter, book our site (reelreactioncharters.com) or call/text 609-290-7709. As always, we use the highest quality gear and everything is included: gear, live spot (20-30 per charter), tackle, fish-cleaning, and ICE! It’s “no worries” fishing. Just come aboard and FISH.
Capt. Brett Taylor ~ www.reelreactioncharters.com ~ Call or Text: 609-290-7709
