Fishing Forecast - December Full Moon

It’s hard to believe the last fishing forecast article of 2025 is already here. As the second half of November is upon us, winter is starting to show its teeth, and the season is finally winding down locally. There are still fish to be caught if you’re willing to get cold, though. The tautog bite is still on fire and the bass bite is firing as well. The hardtails have fizzled out over the last couple weeks, but what a great season – and boy did we need it after last year. The tog and bass bites should both continue over the next couple weeks. Don’t hang up the gear just yet, there’s still fish to be caught! As we look ahead to December there are still a handful of ways to scratch that itch and get salty. Just dress warm and be safe.

Bass and Macks

Late November fishing for striped bass can be very different depending on who you talk to. Some guys continue to hit the surf out front and grind out some slow fishing for a handful of great nights. Others will swap the wetsuit for waders and hit estuaries, rivers, and salt ponds. If you’re out front, Needlefish, Swimmers/Minnow Plugs, and Paddletails are all good bets. It’s not a bad idea to throw something you can fish nice and slow this time of year. There are good numbers of mackerel around right now, which is plenty to fuel some decent bass feeds and good reason for them to be fired up for a plug. There is also a lot of small bait, namely bay anchovies. This is where the fly teaser becomes a fish magnet. Tie a Striper Fly a few feet above your plug and just watch how many fish choose to eat the fly over the plug. It works like a charm and it’s a great late season tactic to keep the rod bent. The Red Gill is another classic teaser. As far as the backwater bass fishing goes, fish small Paddletails and Straight tails on light jigheads like a Z-Man HeadlockZ HD or NLBN. When you’re fishing soft, dark bottom during the cold months it’s a good idea to let your jig settle in the mud during your retrieve. The puff of mud is a natural presentation and sometimes that’s what it takes to get finnicky, cold bass to bite. You should still be able to get some action on Swimmers/Minnow Plugs very late into the season as well.

Henri with a nice surf-caught bass on a homemade fly teaser.

If you’re interested in fishing for the mackerel that are around, luckily, they’re not very finicky. Any small Metal/Epoxy will do the job. You can really throw anything small enough to fit in their mouths, as long as it casts decent. The Yo Zuri Hydro Monster Shot would be a great option. If you’re looking to fill up a bucket, throw a Sabiki Rig and when you hook one, retrieve it slowly to give the rest of the school a chance to jump on. It can be a lot of fun and it’s a great way to bend a rod late into the season.

Tog

The tog bite is still excellent locally. It seems like the shift to deeper water is underway, but you can still get on some good bites right on the rocks if you’re patient enough to build a bite. Whether you’re fishing from shore, a kayak, or a boat, the 20 minute build-a-bite rule applies. When you pull up to a spot and start dropping crabs, give it 20 minutes. That’s long enough to tell you if it’s worth your time or not. As a kayak fisherman, I see it all the times with boats – pull up, drop crabs for 5 minutes, and leave because they’re unimpressed. That’s a recipe for burning gas and not catching many sizable fish. Give it 20 minutes and if you’re really struggling for a bite, then you can justify leaving. That may mean moving just 100 feet and all of a sudden the bites start coming. I’m also more apt to give bigger pieces of structure more time. I love small structures, for example, a small hard-bottomed hump in the middle of nowhere that can hold fish. On small structures, you’re more likely to get those bites right away, so if you don’t, they may just not be there. The benefit of fishing bigger structures is the flexibility to make small moves that can totally change the bite.

The Author with a quality rock donkey from just a few days ago. Caught in about 25ft on a 1oz Tsunami Tog Treat.

As far depth goes, like I mentioned, you can still do well in less than 15ft right on the rocks. You may be more likely to run into smaller fish, but the action should be decent. I’d expect the shallow bite to fizzle out within the next couple of weeks, but for now, it’s still relatively good. If you can get just a bit deeper, you should find a better mix of quality and quantity. The 25-45ft range is still great for both action and the occasional big fish. I stumbled into a nice double-digit fish in about 25ft just a few days ago. I prefer to fish Tog Jigs at these shallower depths for the best control and feel for the bite. As you get into 50+ft, the Tog Rigs become more handy as they let that crab sit right off bottom even in heavy current and lots of water. The deep-water bite should stay strong right up to the end of the year, so if you have the means to get out there, there’s still some good fishing to look ahead to!