January 3rd, 2025 New Jersey/Delaware Bay Fishing Report with Jim Hutchinson, Jr.

In our first weekly video update for the New Year, we provide a quick update on regulatory changes between 2024 and 2025, before putting the spotlight on tautog with an interview with Capt. Kane Bounds (5:09) aboard his world-record holding Fish Bound Charters out of Ocean City, MD. With black sea bass closed until the spring, blackfish is a “best bet” heading into this first weekend of 2025 here in the New Jersey, Delaware Bay region, along with white perch in our salty rivers and canals. We also have Open Boat tips on prepping your surf gear for another spring run of stripers (14:30) which is just 56 days away at this point; remember that (20:10) our back bay striper fishery is shut down in New Jersey until March 1. Finally this week we have a cold, windy update from our Pocono Outdoors Guy (23:45) along with some rather fishy headlines (26:00) from at home and abroad.

[Deadfeat]

De Reef Site 11 is amazing. Green crab is the best bait .

[rightinsideleftistmiasma]

Im still betting Jim gets a 20lb tog this year

[surfrookie]

Not anytime soon in Delaware....Spiny dogfish are thriving.

[zizosheriff]

Is it weird I have never caught a black fish on crabs? I literally cannot and I can fish. I’ve always caught them on sand worms and clam is that weird?

[exasperatus]

Spiny dogfish going extinct? They've never wet a line in jersey! they may soon be extirpated over seas. They're welcome to come relocate ours.

[georgeniebergall]

Listen, any stocked waters such as freshwater license should be required. The ocean is not stocked by any meat by anybody you really wanna have a lot of fish stop the commercial fishing for two years watch what happens to the fishing OK the rotten real guy is the one who’s paying for it all anyway two taxes and what have you and keeping the economy alive? It is not the commercial fisherman at all. Commercial fisherman are actually ruining everything but the people that make the laws and the regulations or own trolling boats remember thatso it’s all government game, isn’t it?