New Jersey Fishing Reports

Saltwater Fishing Reports    Bay Fishing Reports    Freshwater Fishing Reports

Our New Jersey fishing reports come from all who fish the waters of NJ. We are looking for reliable information. We don't need the exact location that could threaten your favorite spot. When sending us a report include about locations, water conditions, and stage of tide (saltwater). It makes the posting of information meaningful. We believe in giving our customers an honest fishing report. Please use the below links to send us your positive or negative reports with honest information:

Submit Saltwater Report   Submit Bay Report   Submit Freshwater Report

Thank you from all of us at Fisherman Fred's LLC. Tight lines and we hope you hook that big one.


NJ Saltwater registry

                          CLICK HERE TO REGISTER       CLICK HERE TO RENEW

Rod building class -- March 5 & 6
For more information please click here.

ROD and REEL REPAIR
For more information please click here..

Fisherman Fred's Custom Fishing Rods are here!
Well we are now selling custom rods. To see information please click here. If you have questions about our custom rods you can call us at 609-570-8035.

HERRING
The Division of Fish and Wildlife to comply with Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission requirements, the change in river herring regulations now reads as below:

Effective immediately, no person shall take, possess, land, purchase, sell or offer for sale any river herring (alewife and blueback) in the marine waters of the State. Only commercial vessels fishing exclusively in Federal waters while operating a valid Federal permit for Atlantic mackerel and/or Atlantic herring may possess river herring, up to a maximum of five percent by weight of all species possessed.

Recreational Blackfish (Tautog) Limits for 2012:
Jan. 1 - Feb. 28 4 fish
Mar. 1 - Mar. 31 CLOSED
Apr. 1 - Apr. 30 4 fish
May 1 - Jul. 26 CLOSED
Jul. 27 - Aug. 31 1 fish
Sept. 1 - Oct. 17 CLOSED
Oct. 18 - Nov. 15 1 fish
Nov. 16 - Dec. 31 4 fish

Store Hours
Our store hours have changed as of 2/9/2012. They are as follows:
Summer Hours April - Oct.
On Wednesday and Friday we are closed between 5:30PM to 6:30PM.
Monday 10:00AM - 5:30PM
Tuesday 8:00AM - 6:00PM
Wednesday 8:00AM - 8:00PM
Thursday 8:00AM - 6:00PM
Friday 8:00AM - 8:00PM
Saturday 7:00AM - 6:00PM
Sunday 7:00AM - 4:00PM

Winter Hours Nov. - March
Friday we are closed between 5:30PM to 6:30PM.
Monday CLOSED
Tuesday 9:00AM - 6:00PM
Wednesday 9:00AM - 5:30PM
Thursday 9:00AM - 6:00PM
Friday 9:00AM - 8:00PM
Saturday 9:00AM - 6:00PM
Sunday 9:00AM - 4:00PM

STORE CLOSED
We will be closed Monday February 20 thru Friday February 24 for vacation. We will reopen Saturday February 25 at 9AM. This is the only vacation I get all year and I am looking forward to relaxing and getting some stuff done. We would also like to take this time to thank all of our customers for your support.

Thank you and good luck.

Saltwater & Jetty Report:

Herring is closed see the above note about it.

2/19/2012
9:30AM
What a nice day yesterday and finally there were some people out fishing. Not many reports other then the stripers off the northern jetties. Also had reports there are still some sand eels around as well. Once again I had a report that there are stripers out in the ocean some where between the Mud Hole and Shark River. He won't tell me where or if they caught any. He says that the birds are working and it is stripers under them. Mackerel and ling are still the main stay of party boats.

2/18/2012
10:30AM
Ok, finally a few reports from the beaches and jetties. Jayson reports that he fished Ortley Beach last night and had three shorts. Also had reports that stripers are still being caught from the jetties of Asbury Park, Deal, and Long Branch. So see there are still stripers to be caught. Party boaters are still into the hot ling fishing. Everything I hear is good.

2/17/2012
9:25AM
Shhhhhhhhh did you hear that? It is so quiet lately you could have heard that pin drop from the beaches. Party boats sailing for ling have been doing really good. Some are catching 100+ a trip. This is good for people who want to fish cod and pollock. The cod and pollock has not been too good because of the warmer water temps this winter. Some are going to far offshore wrecks and are catching a few but that is it. Also heard of some blackfish being caught but not many.

As a side note my heart goes out to the families of the school bus yesterday as I knew people who had kids on that bus. It has to be a nightmare to hear what happened and not know if/what happened to your kid.

2/16/2012
9:30AM
Quiet from the beaches and jetties lately. I mean really quiet! Seems everybody has stopped fishing now. If there are people fishing I am not hearing from them. Only action I am hearing is that the mackerel fishing has turned back on. So with that if you are bored or have cabin fever you can always signup for our March rod building class. It will be held March 5 & 6 from 6PM to 9PM at the store. It is a great way to learn how to build and repair rods. It also gives you something to do during the winter when your not fishing. Now is the time to have those reels cleaned and lubed or repaired as well as having those broken guides replaced on that favorite rod. The longer you wait to get them to us the longer the turn around time will be.

2/15/2012
10:00AM
Reports are now very hard to come by. I have talked too a bunch of people and it seems everybody is just busy doing something else other then fishing. Beaches on LBI, IBSP, Seaside, and Pt. Pleasant have been empty, or so I have been told by some of my sources. Plus I have not heard from anybody fishing the Asbury Park, Deal, or Long Branch jetties lately. I did have one report that a customer had three shorts last week but that is it. Believe it or not I heard there could have been a state record bergall caught. It weighed in at 3.5lbs.

2/14/2012
9:30AM
Not much happening on the surf or from the boats. Did have some word on some of the choices for the 2012 fluke limits. I will post them below. A bunch of people listened to me and we have some reels to repair. I guess with this weather cabin fever has set in now. Looks like that little blast of winter has moved out as it dosen't feel too much like winter again this morning. Also looks like Fisherman Fred's Super Store will have to wait since I didn't hit the Powerball. What would you do with $336 million dollars? I would be a beach bum for sure and go fishing everyday. Ahhhhh the dreams. Ok back to the real world and fluke numbers.

18 inch @ 8 fish May 7 - September 25
18 inch @ 8 fish April 28 - October 14
18 inch @ 8 fish April 7 - September 23
18 inch @ 8 fish May 5 - October 21
17.5 inch @ 5 fish May 5 - September 23
17.5 inch @ 5 fish April 29 - September 23
17.5 inch @ 5 fish May 5 - September 29
These are some that I have been hearing. It doesn't mean they will be submited for review and other not on this list could be submited. We should know more after the NJMFC Advisors meetings.

2/12/2012
10:00AM
Ok this morning feels like winter has finally got here. With temps in the 20's and wind chills in the teens but it looks like it may not last too long. As far as the fishing reports go, we have none, nothing, zero. I didn't even hear from any boats as well. Don't worry we are almost half way through February and that means the weather will be getting better and the days much longer and before you know it you will be saying it is too hot. If you didn't see it above we will be closed February 20 to 24. We will reopen Saturday February 25 at 9AM. Yup that is the only vacation I get all year.

2/10/2012
9:45AM
Today even thou our hours have changed we will be closed at 5:30PM. Also I will be closing a week soon for some vacation. I will post when that will be. Only thing going on is from the jetties north of Belmar. Stripers are still being caught by people who are putting their time in. That's it from the surf because it looks like that is the only places people are fishing. As for boaters it hasn't been too bad lately. Ling offshore has been the best so far this year. Cod hasn't been good at all because the water temps have been too high. There are some being caught when fishing for ling. Mackerel has been pretty good too. Sometimes people are getting cooler fulls.

2/9/2012
9:30AM
Of course no one was fishing yesterday. I would say it was the weather or they are waiting till the spring striper run now. See it is February and we had some of that four letter word. Ok for those who don't know I meant snow. So I would say that nobody will be fishing today as well. But then again who knows. One thing I will say is that the die hards fishing the Asbury Park, Deal, and Long Branch jetties are still catching stripers. I hard to pull in some favors to get that out of my source. It is on small plugs and plastics from dusk into dark. Also heard that mackerel and ling is still doing very well from the party boats.

2/8/2012
10:00AM
All quiet on the beach front now. I didn't hear a peep from anybody. Not even my source that let's me know how things are down there. I guess everybody is doing something else in this nice warm winter. Oh I forgot we are suppose to get about an inch of snow later today. The Feb. rod building class went very well the past two nights and now we already have people signing up for the March one. It will be held March 5 & 6 so give us a call or send an email if you would like to attend. Also you can bring in them rods and reels that need to be repaired before the spring run gets hot and heavy.

2/7/2012
9:45AM
Only thing I have heard is that some stripers are being caught from the Monmouth County jetties. It is down to a hit or miss deal lately. It is still on small plugs and it is best during dusk and high tide or so it seems. At least something is going on as this time of year is the worst for fishing in NJ.

So if your bored and need to get out of the house and do something fishing wise, then why not sign up for the March rod building class. If you are intimidated by it, there is no reason to be. Everybody I know who builds rods had to start someplace. You can also start out cheap and if you get into it then you can slowly build up the equipment. When I started out I built some nice cheap rods that turned out to be some great rods. So if you want to give it a try give us a call. Also it would be a nice time to bring your reels and rods in for repairs.

2/6/2012
12:30PM
As I said no one left the house yesterday to go fishing. Made they did leave to go pick up some food or snacks for the football game but that is it. Did some digging to find out there has been a few plugging LBI and the IBSP/Seaside area, but they said no stripers were caught. No word lately from the Monmouth County jetties lately either. Only good thing I am hearing is that the offshore ling fishing has been great while cod, pollock, and blackfish has been hit or miss. We will be having a rad building in March so sign up now.

2/5/2012
9:10AM
Don't think too many will even leave the house today as they get ready for their big Super Bowl parties. No word from any of the beaches yesterday. Was told Seaside as well as LBI was a ghost town. I also had no word from any of the northern beaches or jetties. You just because the groundhog saw his shadow doesn't mean you have to hide in the house. As for boats it is still pretty much mackerel and ling. There have been a few cod mixed when people are fishing ling. Well the time frame for reel repairs is now getting longer. So the longer you wait to get them here the longer you will wait to get them back. Also if you want that rod repaired or a custom rod built now is the time to get that order in. We also have a few spots still open for the rod building class that starts tomorrow. If you want to get in on it call us so we can get you on the list. If you want to attend the March one the sign up list has already started.

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Bay Report:

2/19/2012
Great day yesterday and had a couple of reports from the bays. A couple of winter flounder were caught but returned to the water because the season is not open yet. That is right they were of keeper size already. They were caught while fishing bloodworms for stripers. Yeah some people are probing the bays for stipers already to see if they will be around on March 1 when the season opens. Looks like it could be a nice spring for fishing this year.

2/17/2012
Don't forget that striper season in the bays opens March 1st. Are you ready? Last year there was some good fishing in March. The first striper was caught on March 1st last year out of Oyster Creek. Who and where will be the first this year? Will it be you? Smaller plugs or bloodworms is the way to go this early in the year.

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Fresh Water Report:

BUY NJ FISHING LICENSE ONLINE CLICK HERE

Herring is closed see the above note about it.

2/19/2012
Whole bunch of people out fishing yesterday. Reports of a few bass, a bunch of pickerel, and some crappie were caught. Seems almost all the local lakes had some type of fish caught. Looks like another nice day today so maybe you should wet a line if you have cabin fever.

2/18/2012
Some people must be getting cabin fever because they were out fishing yesterday. The nice day didn't hurt either. Reports of a few bass along with some crappie and pickerel were caught from AMC, the three Assunpink lakes, Miry Run, and Etra Lake. I also heard some muskie are being caught out of Lake Mercer. Looks like the 2012 fishing season is off to a good start. Don't forget that March 19 to April 7, 2012 at 8 a.m. some waters are closed because of trout stocking.

2/17/2012
Couple out fishing with reports AMC, White City, and Miry Run had some pickerel caught on shiners. Other then that it was pretty quit yesterday because of the rain.

2/16/2012
A bunch out fishing yesterday. Getting reports of pickerel, crappie, and a few bass being caught. Only thing is the reports are not saying where from. Did hear of some catfish being caught out of the Delaware River around Trenton as well.

2/15/2012
Few out fishing but no reports came back. Looks like today could be a wash.

2/14/2012
Believe it or not some went out fishing on Sunday. Even had a couple of reports that pickerel and a couple of bass were caught. Pickerel was on spoons or shiners and the bass was on fatheads. AMC, Miry Run, and the two smaller Assunpink lakes is were they were caught. Also had a couple of people in that are fishing trout up north. The Delaware has been producing some walleye from around Washington Crossing as well.

2/10/2012
Some out fishing and had a few reports of pickerel being caught but wasn't told where. I guess they don't want that crowd of people there.

2/8/2012
Few out fishing the nice day. Had a couple of reports that Miry Run and AMC had pickerel caught on shiners. Alos was told that some of the smaller ponds are producing some bass. Make sure you are fishing slow and if you think you are then slow it down even more.

2/5/2012
Some out fishing but didn't hear too much back. AMC and Miry Run is producing catches of pickerel and a few bass. Pickerel is on shiners and bass on fatheads.

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Fisherman Fred's LLC.
2222 State Highway 33 Hamilton, NJ 08690
Phone: (609) 570-8035 Fax: (609) 570-8036

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