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LBI Fishing Report Update – August 18, 2018

LBI Fishing Report Update – August 18, 2018

Fishing Tackle Flash Sale!!!!

It’s on… Beat The August Heat! The sale is valid until Monday August 20 so act now and shop now online with coupon codes…

Reels 18% Off: AHEAT18
All Else 25% Off: AHEAT25

Barnegat Bay Blowfish

Blowfish popped up this past week in the bay and the action continues with good fishing this week weekend. Today (Saturday) and yesterday anglers got into very Barnegat Bay Blowfishing.

Dave Werner had his kids on the water today. They enjoyed an epic bite on the water and an awesome puffer fish fry feast for dinner.

Here’s a photo from Jeff showing some blowfish that are about to hit the fillet table.

Jeff Warford reported, “A fun day on the bay catching puffers!” He asks… how’s your day going!

Fluke Fishing Report

Right on schedule for mid-August the local ocean fluke fishing picks up. The reefs and wrecks are producing with anglers also picking fish on open bottom areas (reports from 25-70′ of water, exact locations not shared). The crew aboard the Miss Barnegat Light reported Friday was the “best day of the year so far! Lots of keeper fluke and plenty of shorts too.” There’s some nice sea bass hitting the deck too. Today (Saturday) was “slower but still good action and a great day of fishing!” The Carolyn Ann III reported Friday was “one of those you should have been there mornings. Great Fishing!”

The anglers aboard the CAIII got into some good fishing!

Mark Spranger reported, “Another limit today on Magictail Bucktails! Some great action out there.”

Tyler Leary and Brendan Jelley fished out on the Garden State reef aboard the Jen Jen on Thursday.  Tyler got a 3.52 pound fluke and Brendan get a 4.46 pound fluke.

Dave Bye shared, “I fished outside Barnegat Inlet today and got two beauties; 8.01-lb and 7.02-lbs.”

Surf Fishing Report

Fluke, kingfish and small blues are on tap. The summertime surf fishing continues on Long Beach Island with more of the same. Steve George reports, “Some really nice size kingfish continue hitting Gulp! baits on the beach.” Anglers fishing small natural baits (like cut bunker and squid) are also catching fluke and small blues. These two species are effectively targeted with artificials too.

The ultra warm (75-77 degree) and very clean bluewater that’s currently along the central Jersey coast is holding species that hardly ever appear in a surf fishing report. This has land based multi-species anglers fired up and scrambling to add these rare catches to their inventory; bonita, chub mackerel, banded rudderfish, among others in the jack/mackerel/tuna families. Yes, some of these are on the beaches and jetties.

Inshore / Mid-Shore Fishing

John Larue reports, “I had a few solid days in the blue water. Tuna on top and solid bottom fishing!”Most recent reports had similar themes… the jig and top water bites were better than the troll.

Captain Mark of Laura Sportfishing was out in the ocean today. He caught a couple of bonita and a king mackerel.

Jon Kelly was out in the boat looking along the Island’s beaches. He found some bonita.

Jon Kelly had the bonita lined up.

Mike Fitzgerald fished aboard the Reel Trouble with Captain Billy today. They got into some great fishing. Mike shared this report, “We caught fish all day. Never went 15 minutes with out hooking up. We caught a bunch and released a bunch. Good fun consistent fishing.”

Nice catch aboard the Reel Trouble.

Fish Head Charters Report

Tuesday and Wednesday night were both very good bayside brown sharking nights. Tuesday Mike and Jay from Connecticut enjoyed a fun filled night releasing about a dozen sandbar sharks. Nearly the entire night was full of consecutive bites, even during a short rain storm. Wednesday night freelance content creator Jon Coen (The Sandpaper’s Liquid Lines) and crew aboard for filming of an upcoming Just Beneath The Surface episode. Stay tuned because this episode is gonna be the best one yet! Like most fish, they were camera shy. Not nearly as many bites the the previous nights but we made the most out of what we were served. We did manage two. One of which was a good size.

Friday’s early morning light tackle trip started out with cocktail blues crushing small lures. We looked around for some bonita and mackerel but didn’t find much (other than bait with small blues) within the first 1/2 hour. We decided to head off east and see what we could find. The whole ride looked fishy. About 10 miles off we stopped in some 78 degree beautiful bluewater where flying fish were dancing and there were a few slicks on the surface. It didn’t take long to see saw mahi on top. We blew one or two quick shots at them. Then had to spend some time to find them again. Fortunately we did.

A large school with at least ten mahi were spotted and cruising down sea towards us. I picked up and casted a popper into the breeze, landing perfectly in front of the school. One pop, two pop, three pop. One came up, nudged and away while another looked from along side. Pop, pop… another mahi came in from out of nowhere and fright trained it with an explosion. A strong strip set and I was into my first mahi on a fly rod. The fish took off, cleared my line and had me into backing within seconds. I catch up a bunch of line and the next thing I know it’s tail walking. This took the excitement to another level. It makes not only the first move but then two  more acrobatic dance flips. I got through the first and second but on the third the violent head shakes shook the hook. I was bummed in defeat yet stoked for the 1 minute mahi rodeo experience on the fly. While I’ve caught plenty of mahi while big game fishing this little 15 pound mahi had me amped for more bluewater fly fishing adventures.

Saturday Ron Rett was aboard with 11 year old his daughter and her friend for a half and half trip (fishing and clamming). We started off right with a cocktail blue on the initial cast. The first hour was fun catch and release light tackle fishing. After having fun with blues we switched gears to fluke and picked at some short fluke then went clamming. Turns out clamming was really good and for size quality it was the best trip of the summer. The girls found a good section of small to medium size clams and we all put in a great effort. In about 2 hours we scored a two person limit 300; 1/4 smalls, 1/2 mediums and 1/4 large. We are all having a clam feast!

Upcoming Events

3rd Annual Fluke-A-Mania was rescheduled and the tournament date is quickly approaching. … August 24th Captain’s Meeting…. August 25th Fishing Day, Awards and BBQ, Bar & band

Long Beach Island Fall Classic – The LBI Fall Surf Fishing Tournament Classic is right around the corner… 49 days away. Save The Dates: October 6th to December 9th. For news and updates be sure to check the Tournament website at www.LBIFT.com as well as the Tournament Facebook Page.

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Author: FishHead.Greg

A Long Beach Island native with life long experience fishing and navigating the local waters, Greg is a distinguished Master Captain (the highest qualified operator license), holding a US Coast Guard Masters 50T Near Coastal License with Towing Endorsement. Raised in and now managing his family's bait and tackle business, Fishermans Headquarters (Since 1962, The Saltwater Fishing Bait & Tackle Experts) Greg is daily immersed in fishing. He is the Chief Contributor of FishingLBI.com (Long Beach Island's best fishing report blog) as well as the Admin for the shop's social media pages (on Instagram and Facebook). Be sure to follow!

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