Fishing Report Update 11/17/25 – West Is Best!

Fishing report update brought to you by Greg at Fisherman’s Headquarters.

Monday, November 17th delivered one of those classic “West Is Best” days on the central Jersey coast. I fished the gale with Luke and Dylan Warwick and that father and son due had nonstop action with striped bass on diamond jigs, paddle tails, metal lips, pencil poppers, and live bunker. We worked bunker schools, found bass piles in 15–30 feet of water. A surprising highlight of an action filled day was a wild runoff on a live bunker. It nearly spooled us on 50#-lb braid racing east into the rough. Most likely an inshore bluefin. I have been seeing a few crashing the bunker pods the last couple weeks.

Cold? Windy? Absolutely! Worth it? 100%!!!

On the LBI surf, things remain spotty with short windows of fish popping up in the mornings and evenings. Peanut bunker, adult bunker and sand eel imitations are the key right now…match the hatch! SP Minnows, Mag Darters, LC Minnows and diamond jigs with teasers are working.

Tog fishing continues to improve on the reefs and wrecks and we’re stocked with white and green crabs for anyone heading out. The weather has been inconsistent and dicey. There’s not many days left in the year so gear up and dress properly and fish what cards we are dealt.

And if you need gloves, bibs, boots, or cold-weather gear, swing by Fisherman’s Headquarters… we’ve got you covered!