609-494-5739 The Mullet Run Has Begun! As the bait board (on the right) shows… YES! That is correct. The green light (or tennis ball) shows fresh mullet is in stock!
As reported the mullet were schooled up and pushing around their summertime haunts. As the days get shorter and more recently cooler the bait decides to move. I spotted some schools while in the water on a recent surf but today was the first day that guys couple put twine on them from the beach. We hope to see daily deliveries for as long as the local run goes.
Last reading I got was from a couple days ago. The surf temp was 69 degrees. I had a friend who lives on the bayside say the water temp at his dock was the same. With the chilly nights we should see that drop and things really pop!
On the bait front… Currently at end of the day on Monday (we’ll start Tuesday the same way) with fresh mullet, fresh bunker, live bloodworms and live eels. Sorry no green crabs or salted clam. The bait delivery came but no crabs or clams were on the truck. We are hoping (slim chance) for a delivery late day Tuesday. The possibility is better we’ll see them on Thursday.
Fishing Report Update
Bluefish, weakfish, kingfish, tog and albies (as well as more striped bass everyday) are the main stars of the local fishing.
Today we had a weigh in from Dave Spendiff of the Village Harbour Fishing Club. He checked in a 4.6 pound weakfish that he caught fishing the Middle Grounds. As previously reported the weakfish are here and the action turned up a notch the past couple of weeks.
As previously reported the tog are in the rocks at the Barnegat Light jetty. Some anglers are doing well catching their one fat fish limit while others weed through shorts. It’s best to work around and find the nooks, crannies and caves where the bigger fish hold. Put time in and explore because it will pay off! The triggerfish are still present too.
Here’s a photo of Andrew Karp with a triggerfish he caught while tog fishing.
Kingfish on the surf continue to chew on Fish Bites and bloodworms. Two anglers in the shop today reported the blues and fluke are also present in the surf with the kings.
We got word yesterday bass (schoolies) and blues are feasting on the bait in the bay and inlet. More blues than bass but the linesiders are there. South Philly Fred stopped in yesterday and geared up with some essentials for the fall run. He reported back, “Wanna hook a big fish? Bring your light tackle, never fails… I will be wondering for awhile.” Seems a recent push of larger sized gators moved into our area. Got numerous reports of fish pushing the 8-10 pound class.
More reports of albies and bonita. The albies have been caught along the Jersey Shore Beaches, outside of Barnegat Inlet as well as miles offshore. The bonita have been in the latter.
Here’s another report on New Jersey Redfish! More red drum caught this year than we can recall. Saltwater Heart Fishing posted this photo below with the following caption, “Happy to say that we got our first NJ red drum the other night. What an awesome surprise. Still can’t believe it! It was an epic night ending up with the NJ Grand Slam; striped bass, weakfish, flounder and redfish.”
The Beach Boys are still on the sharks. They had a great summer catching a astonishing number of extra large sharks from the LBI surf. Here’s a photo from yesterday. “September 10th, We aint’ done yet… Pitch black, five foot swell, broken paddle and a rough ride out to deploy one bait… worth the concussion! Congrat Anthony on a 10’+ goliath sand tiger shark catch and release!”
Shep Green landed a big butterfly ray on the LBI surf recently, “It had a wingspan that measured 74″ tip to tip. Had to be 100 plus pounds!”
Joseph Skahan posted a photo of a monster freshwater bass, “Get your ass off the couch and enjoy God’s great creations. You’ll be surprised!” Nice lunker largemouth bass Joe!
LBI Surf Fishing Classic
As of today (Monday) the LBI Surf Fishing Classic Tournament is 26 days away… Stop In and Sign Up Now!
In a couple days the threshold will be met and at that time, t-shirts will NOT be included free with registration. They will be $20 each. Right now it’s an awesome deal to sign up and get a free custom LBI tournament t-shirt and hat as well as the options to fish the NOW 9 WEEK SURF TOURNAMENT.
These 9 WEEKS are better than ever! Why? The cash prize amounts were raised, big time! Grand Prize was $1000, now it’s $2000! Daily Striped Bass was $35, now it’s $100! Take a good look at the 2017 Rules (provided at sign-up and also available for download on the www.LBIFT.com tournament website) because other changes were made also. Get in the game and don’t miss out on an awesome surf fishing tournament.
Meeting To Talk About Bunker
Anyone recall the lack of bunker in our waters this past spring? The big boys (reduction fleet) came to town and put a hurt on the population. For a couple of months they were staged up and pounding the waters fishing out of Barnegat Inlet everyday. During the prime time run (May & June) the main forage (bunker pods) for striped bass was very hard to find.
We just got new about a local meeting taking place this Wednesday, September 13 at 6 p.m. in the Stafford Township Municipal Building. Location: 260 East Bay Avenue in Manahawkin
If you can please attend the NJ Menhaden Public Hearing. “Take action for forage fish to enjoy better days on the water! No Bait, No Fish!”
