From the crew at Fish Heads… Merry Christmas! Hope all of our readers have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Just a heads up we are closed today but will be back open on normal hours Wednesday December 26th at 7am.
On the fishing front… Kelley and Matt got out on Christmas Eve morning with Captain Tony Pacitti. They got into good fishing putting together a quick boat limit with quality fish in the mix. This year’s striped bass action faded out much earlier than previous years; however, tog fishing is off the charts.With some of the best black fishing our local waters has produced in a number of years, this December is one to remember!
December 26th Update 3pm
Fresh LBI Surf Fishing Report just in from Todd Luyber live from the beach… “Fishing for an hour, I got two bass. The guy next to me is using a real tiny bucktail 3/8 oz. He caught over 20 bass today. His biggest was 31 inches.”
LBI Surf Fishing Report Update – December 21, 2018
Some of the Fish Head crew got out on the water aboard the Osprey yesterday. The guys reported it was a slow day compared to the past few weeks. But there was a pick of quality fish. Matt S (@swagmattic) said, “I struggled as did most of the boat. There was not a ton of life or bites.” Patience and perseverance paid off… Some five and six pound tog were caught.
Kelley got a nice fish about 7 pounds that was good enough to take the calcutta cash, photo above. A 10lb 1oz pool fish was caught by Torr Cohen of Beach Haven. This was his first trip aboard the Osprey and he made the jump from jetty jockey to party boat pool winner like a champ, photo below.
Another double digit tog was caught on a Magictail Tog Jig. Yesterday Greg Sonday fished aboard Paul Heartel’s The Angler. The crew was one fish short of a four man limit. The photo below is Greg with a good tog that ate a green Magictail Tog Jig. It weighed in at 10 pounds even.
Store staffer Nick DeGennaro is home from college for the holidays. He stopped in and gear up for tog and then got out on the water yesterday. He reported, “Went out on the First Lady out of Belmar. We had fun fishing with 22 fish between 8 guys. The jigs out fished rigs.” Photo below.
Surf Fishing Report
It’s been awhile but finally were heard some news off the beach. Remember all of those peanut bunker that were stacked up all summer long. Where did they go? From what we gathered, one day they just disappeared. Could they have all moved out one night? Possibly slid out deep in the water column and then offshore? If you know please fill us in.
We haven’t talked to one angler who saw peanuts flowing on the beach this fall until now. Well flowing would be an exaggeration but seeing peanuts and catching striped bass on them is good enough! Yesterday, I had the pleasure of speaking to Shell E. Caris about his time fishing the Tsunami Salt X Spinning Reel this fall. While chatting he shared the info about a few peanut bunker and a few striped bass. Maybe they will head down to our beaches. Maybe they will not. Time will tell.
Wishing everyone a great and healthy holiday season!
With bass fishing slow, I thought I would upload some video I never put up. This video is from fall two or three years ago. Trophy bass on live bunker. Enjoy!
Recent mild weather has allowed those with fishing on the brain to get out and enjoy.
The surf fishing reports are becoming few and far between. Today we got word from two anglers. One, Rick mentioned a dead beach. He tried but didn’t find anything. Two, Dan found some fishing this afternoon. He reported at 2:15PM, “Check my story, I’m smoking them on bucktails on the north end surf! There’s tons of whitewater and I’m getting them good.”
The tog fishing continues with solid fishing on the inshore grounds. Today the morning’s conditions were sloppy. Most boats cancelled. Reports from mid and early week were strong.
Dante at Magictail Lures was out and reported the tog bite is on fire! He said, “Now’s the time for that hog we are all looking for. Tog Jigs have become a staple of the fishery over the past couple of years. They’ve helped me land ten double digit tog in the past two fall seasons. If you are heading out stop by Fish Heads and gear up. You will be happy!”
Paul Haertel reported, “None off my friends could go today so I went solo. I had my best day black fishing of the fall. The two biggest were 7.2 and 9.67 pound.”
There’s no doubt, it takes a special breed to be eager for fishing in the cold. However, for those that are dedicated to fishing the rewards are often bountiful. Striped bass, Blackfish, Jumbo Sea Bass, Cod and plenty of other species are waiting for courageous anglers in the winter.
Keeping warm is easy…Layer up folks!
Your parents were right! Although your dad still looks goofy in those old white long johns, the old adage remains true… Layer Up! Be sure to lean heavily on that wisdom in the colder months.
Start with a moisture wicking base layers. Ditch the old cotton waffle thermals for performance fabric underwear like the Grundies Long Sleeve Shirt and Grundies Pants. These are a best seller go to choice! Another great option is Guy Cotten’s Denali Pant and Denali Crew Shirt.
These two layers are worthless without an outer shell that is waterproof and windproof because staying dry is the real challenge. Frigid winds and sea spray can easily turn an epic day of fishing into a horrid nightmare. Your shell is something that you do not want to cheap out on.
More than once, I found myself fishing in wind, rain and snow! It was cold, but because I prepared and dressed appropriately I was warm enough to stay at the rail and keep on fishing.
Here’s what I use to keep dry and warm winter fishing in New Jersey.
We’ll start from the feet and work our way up.
My feet are warm and dry thanks to my Xtratuf Tall Insulated Boots. Designed for commercial fishing in Alaska, they’re flexible, warm and comfortable for an all day, everyday wear.
Grundens… Seriously… You do not own a pair of Grundens Bibs?Eat fish, Wear Grundens.It’s an actual rule.There are plenty of bibs options and anyone will make your day much better. Bib pants (sometimes called waterproof overalls or slicker plants) block the wind, they are waterproof so stay dry. When you take them off at the end of the day, you are clean and don’t smell. The Grundens Hercules Bib Pants are a classic choice but I wear the Grundens Neptune Bib Pant. They are durable, lightweight, have a little bit of stretch for comfort and they are only $69.99. The cargo pocket and interior chest pocket are also very helpful.
I finish my top layer with a Stormr Strykr Series Jacket.They are heavy but nothing offers the warmth of a Stormr neoprene jacket. It’s a fantastic choice that you’ll appreciate in the early spring and late fall/winter. The company might not be the best at spelling, but they’re experts in keeping you warm and dry! Knowing some are allergic to neoprene another great choice is the Grundens Balder Jacket or the fleece lined Grundens Neptune Thermo Pullover.
When it comes to gloves, it’s more of a different strokes for different folks kind of thing.There are plenty of gloves that will keep you warm. Some like ultimate warmth and the easy on and easy off of waterproof Atlas Freezer Gloves. These are great when you need to keep your hands dry but they are difficult to fish with. When fishing, I can’t lose “touch” with the line. Maintaining that “feel” is key for me.So I go with a flip-mitt glove like the Glacier Glove Cold River Flip Mitts. I also like the Glacier Stripper/Fighting Glove fingerless glove but a whole you’ll need a lot of hand warmers in your pockets.
Don’t forget the sunscreen either folks.. that sun can still do some damage in December! I hope this helps you stay warm! Good luck fishing.
All anglers in the shop report catching on the surf. Small striped bass are tight to the beach offering light tackle fun. Here’s a number of reports from today and yesterday.
Dan D. was on the beach today for an sunset session. He reported, “Light tackle fun… It was on consistent with a number of guys. Everyone was catching. I had a bunch of shorts and one keeper size fish. Super Strike Needlefish, bucktails and AVA Metals were working great but you gotta have a teaser!
A customer in the shop this evening was fresh off the beach and had a good stick of striped bass. He stopped in to get his rod tip repaired. He reported, “No keepers but a bunch of shorts throwing little light stuff.”
These small bass are also feeding on bait but you have to scale down! One customer reported, “My long rod didn’t get touched but the small chunks in close to the beach were bit. I released three fish. One was 30″ and would have been a good one for the table. I should of harvested and taken advantage cause no fish were checked in that day for the tournament.”
Todd Luyber stopped in the shop and picked up some lures yesterday afternoon. He was on the surf and shared this report, “Another good session with Brendan tonight. Steady pick with each of us catching about 6-8. Needles with teaser and the old school Vision Sand Eel got it done.”
Striped Bass Boat Fishing Report
With both fewer fish and much less participation, the striped bass reports from boat anglers have slowed. In the past day we’ve hear about some skunked out trips but did hear some boats found some fish.
Chris O’neil caught one 30″ fish today trolling on a white mojo.
Captain Billy on the Reel Trouble reported, “Good end to a good season with a good crew. Threw back some shorts in 45′ of water. Then moved out to 60′ and picked at a few more fish fish. Managed a few keeper size fish just over 30″. Quit at noon.”
Fish Head Charters
As this fall season creeps to a close I can’t help take a look back on my phone’s fall run photo album. What a ride it’s been!!! While this day was not the best numbers wise, nor size wise… it was special. I had the honor to introduce Matt a young avid angler to his first striped bass. Thanks Mr. Lutz (Chris) for giving me the opportunity to take you guys fishing!
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.
