LBI Fishing Report Update – Saturday Sept 30, 2018

Fish Head Charters

LBI Fishing Report Update – Sept 27, 2018

Well into the second full week of the Jersey Shore Mullet Run and it’s going strong. This is definitely LBI’s the best mullet run since Sandy. The weather hasn’t been pretty but manageable especially in the backwaters. While not for everyone there’s good fishing to be had. We aren’t talking big fish but really fun light tackle entertainment.

Jeffrey Fiedeldey sent in this report…”Wednesday Barnegat Inlet was on fire with cocktail blues 1-3 pounds. The afternoon low tide was good with them hitting mullet and top water poppers and SP Minnows.”

LBI Surf Fishing Report

The Long Beach Island surf is alive with bait and fish. Surf anglers are reporting lots of blues. Most are small but there are 1-3 pound cocktails around. There’s also STRIPED BASS, kingfish and other species too! Just a heads up to surf anglers fishing this weekend, extra lead will be required with rising easterly groundswell on the beaches. It arrives Saturday and will last into much of next week.

Chris O’Neill was up on the beach this afternoon and found the little blues (12-15″) were snapping. These feisty devils are taring up rigs baited with mullet and also piling on lures like

Anglers targeting kingfish are picking. Some better then others. Occasionally other species are coming up… Andre from Ohio stopped in the other day and report, “Pompano in the surf! I’m fishing FishBites in the surf at low tide looking for kingfish. I’m catching pompano.” Andre got them two days in a row so there must be a good number of them around. This isn’t our first reports of these.

Today (Thursday) we got a report from our bait guy, “You don’t see this everyday… Fluke were on the mullet in tight to the beach eating on top. They are well know for being very aggressive fish but top water fluke sightings are something special. Major bummer the season’s closed because this is the best time of year for land base flounder pounds to get into good quality flatties.

64th LBI Surf Fishing Classic – The LBI surf fishing tournament is only days away! Sign up not to take advantage of the early season sign up incentives… Free T-Shirt and Free Hat!!! Reminder the Kick Off Seminar is Saturday Oct 6th at 10am. There will be free coffee (sponsored by How You Brewin?), donuts from Crust & Crumb Bakery and some awesome giveaways.

Surfcaster’s Journal broke 50! The Surfcaster’s Journal Issue 51 is Live… check it out.

Barnegat Bay Fishing Report

The bay is loaded with good fishing opportunities. From blowfish to weakfish and striped bass to bluefish there’s fun fishing.

Mike Kelly was out on the bay today (Thursday) got 20 nice blowfish in a morning session. He also caught some kingfish and croakers. While he did not catch any spot there are some around.

Robbie Vallone was working poppers on the backwaters and found hungry bass. He said the amount of bait stacked and staged is very promising.

Fish Head Charters

With all of the foul weather, I took the opportunity to get some boat work maintenance and upgrades taken care of. Why push off something that can get done now?

I’m back in the water and off to a stellar start with fall!

Wednesday I had Brooks from Cortland aboard for some saltwater fly fishing. [Anyone who’s not familiar with Cortland… Let me introduce to you the oldest and best braider in the country! Since 1915 Cortland has been dedicated to fishing line now offering top quality fly lines, Dacron, Master Braid (great spectra braided line) and C-16 (the world’s best hollow core spectra). Best of all Cortland line is made in the USA!] We started out the morning working a number of different areas in the fog. On the hunt bait was found but no game fish (striped bass, bluefish, weakfish). All we had to show for our efforts was a boil but that was all we needed to stay active.

Fortunately by late morning (930ish) the dense fog lifted and the wind started up. Despite the super rough conditions, we made a quick decision to see what was around the Inlet. We were greeted by monster swell and acres of bait! Mullet were pushing in every which direction and fish were all over them. It was ROUGH but the bite was on like Donkey Kong! First cast and Brooks was tight with a screamer on a white deceiver. This nice striped bass in the rough conditions took him for a ride on the six weight rod meant weakfish and small striped bass. We made a couple more drifts each time hooking more fish but we were forced to call it quits when the Brooks got green. These conditions could have turn any good sea legs weak.

Today (Thursday) I was back on it. This time for first light and sure enough it was the right call. Again acres of bait scurrying for their lives with bass and blues all over them. Within 5 minutes the boat was a murder scene with blood and regurgitated bait all over the deck. The all out blitz went on for about two hours. We surprisingly caught more striped bass than I would have expected, about 10-12 all together. The largest was about a low teen size fish about 13-14 pounds. The rest were blues from snappers to four pounders. Too many fish to count with no one around!

~ Captain Greg Cudnik

Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association Weekly Report – Thursday September 27, 2018

~ Jim Hutchinson Sr.

Fall officially arrived this week, and recent cooler temperatures have the captains of the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association starting to think about the arrival of the area’s greatest inshore sport fish, the striped bass.

Just like “snowbirds” heading down to Florida when winter arrives, the striped bass on their way south for the winter stop by local waters looking for food. When they find abundant food, they have been known to remain for quite some time. Right now with a good supply of mullet and bunker, they will be sure to stop in to fill their bellies.

To commemorate the presence of striped bass in the fall, there are several local striped bass tournaments, most for boats only. To mention a few-the Sea Shell Club, the Maximilian Foundation, the Stafford Township PBA, and the Red Men Lodge in Tuckerton all have e vents set for this fall. Most of these are for charitable causes and come with cash prizes, calcuttas, and various parties replete with good food.

Fishermen do not have to own a boat or be an expert to be competitive in one or more of these tournaments. Some of the captains of the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association are available to take anglers out to compete in these events. A good boat and expert captain can make a difference in coming home with fish or empty handed.

To see how fishing with one of these experts might be accomplished, go the association’s website at www.BHCFA.net and get in touch with one or more of the captains to see what can be worked out.

LBI Fishing Report Update

Update: Saturday, September 22, 2018

Today was the 72nd World Series Of Surf Fishing Tournament hosted by the Long Beach Island Fishing Club. For anyone who was on the island or better yet the beach… the place way jumping. There were 52 teams and a total of 283 anglers fishing (23 women and 27 youth anglers under 18). All together there were 425 fish caught; 320 bluefish, 10 king fish, two fluke.

Harvey Cedars ASAC Tournament Results

1st Place: 35 Fish – 435 Points – SJ Surfcasters A
2nd Place: 27 Fish – 335.75 Points – Anglesea – A
3rd Place: 30 Fish – 316.50 Points – RH Custom Rods A
4th Place: 29 Fish – 225.5 Points – NJ Beach Buggy Ass
5th place: 18 Fish – 185.75 Points – Merchantville FC – C

First place largest fish men’s went to Dave Bosch for his 19″ Fluke. First place largest fish women’s went to Lisa A for her 13.5 ” bluefish.

Alex Thaler got the largest fish youth (14-17) with a 15.75″ bluefish. Brett Clark got the largest fish youth (13 & Under) with an 11″ bluefish.

Most Fish Men’s – Bob Rienir with 159.75 points, 12 Bluefish plus one other. Most Fish Women’s – Lynda Greaves with 57.75 points, 5 blues plus one other. Most Fish Youth (14-17) – Alex Thaler with 64.25 points, 5 bluefish. Most Fish Youth (13 & Under) – Brett Clark with 11 points, one bluefish.

Other Reports From Today

Dennis and Elise Fortuna from Runnemede, NJ had a fun day off the surf today. They fished the mid-island surf and caught a number of kingfish. Dennis reported, “Kingfish were chewing on Fish Bites. Elise got a pompano too. We fished a mullet rig with fresh mullet but it didn’t get a touch.”

Some anglers down on the south end reported lots of small blues and a few fluke on the beach in Holgate.

Swagmattic Matt S. was aboard the Carolyn Ann today for the last day of fluke. The boat fished the Garden State North. It was good fishing early then it turned off. Matt was fishing live snappers and got a five pounder. It was a nice fish but not enough for the pool. However it was enough to take top honors in the South Jersey Saltwater Anglers Fall Fluke tournament weigh in. Matt took the top a 5.12 pound fluke.

I have a few spots open for Sunday morning 630-1130am will be targeting weakfish [ grass shrimping] , stripers and blues [ live bait and artificals ] . There has been plenty of light tackle action and fun for all the above.

LBI Fishing Report Update

Update: Sept 21, 2018

Fluke season is coming to a close tomorrow on Sept 22th and like every year it’s prime time fishing. Good reports coming from the from the surf, inlet, ocean and bay. Be sure to get out and enjoy the last of it. Don’t over look to power of live mullet… fluke love them!

We had a five pound fluke weighed in today from a boat angler who was working the Barnegat Light Reef. He said it was rough but full of life, catching about forty shorts.

Herb Weikel of Ship Bottom stopped in the shop for some fresh mullet and shared he found good fishing this week, “Fluke and blues are chewing cut mullet! A few days ago I got some some keepers near the Inlet. Wednesday only shorts.”

On the bayside blowfish continue in good numbers. Anglers having fun with them are also getting a couple weakfish and spot.

Anglers fishing the Barnegat Inlet are into tog on live green crabs. The bite is strong and has been for a couple weeks. We expect this to continue right into October mid possibly later. Gear up with live crabs and hop some rocks. The NJ Recreational Limit for Blackfish aka Tog is one fish at 15 inches until November 15 when it goes up to a five fish bag. Speaking of regulations, in a couple weeks we will have Black Sea Bass… Oct 8th to Oct 31 is 10 fish 12.5″ and then in November it bumps up to 15 fish.

The Fishing Musician Rick happily reported his magic shad was his ace, “Got a weakfish, fluke, bluefish and a sea robbin. The blowfish were also present and taring me up.” Rick’s land based fishing adventures have been good all summer. He’s looking forward to soon switching gears to the fall striped bass run.

Store staffer Kelley is finding fish at night on soft plastics. There’s tons of snappers but if you weed through them there’s bigger fish. Got a nice fluke, some striped bass and bigger blues.

Hot New Products

The all new Heavy Duty Bullet Jig Head from Magictail is finally in. This is the jig head for anglers who demand a heavy hook jig head. Whether targeting gamefish in heavy water or big pelagics these are the go to jig head. Great for rigging Lunker City’s Slug-go, Ronz and Megashads among many other softbaits. Check them out today!

Today we received a monster delivery of Grundens All Weather Gear. We are stocked up and ready for the fall weather. Are you? Stop in to check out our selection of bibs, jackets and much much more.

Beach Haven Charter Fishing Fishing Report Update

Update: September 20, 2018

by Jim Hutchinson Sr.

Beach Haven was spared Hurricane Florence, and the strong winds and large seas which have been present for over a week have begun to subside. The captains of the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association are ready to catch fish despite the closure of the summer flounder season on September 22.

A recent uptick in bluefish action has been stirring interest the past few days. Naturally, the bay waters are filled with snapper blues, some grown to a pound already, but good numbers of bluefish in the 2-6 pound class have been making their appearance in the ocean.

Captains choosing to troll in the waters not that far off the beach have been finding some pretty good action on these bluefish, Spanish mackerel, albacore, bonita, and small mahi-mahi.

The reports coming from the offshore waters indicate that there is a decent bite on tuna when the ocean conditions permit boats to make it there. Captain Lindsay Fuller of the “June Bug” reports some of these fish can be caught on the troll, but he recommends overnight trips to the canyons with a combination of trolling and chunking through the night hours.

A plethora of bait in the bay and inlet waters is a positive sign, and eyes are already looking to the north awaiting the arrival of the fall run of striped bass. There are small, “schoolie” sized bass in the bay which are being caught casting lures around the sod banks, especially during the hours of low light.

Complete information on the boats of the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association can be found at www.BHCFA.net.

Although fall is 5 days away, Mother Nature has shown enough signs to signal the fall run is about to begin. Bait from micro ¼” fish fry to 5” peanut bunker and mullet. With the weather not so ideal to fish around the inlet and ocean recently, I have spent some time in the back bay creeks targeting small blue and schoolie bass. Though these fish are small and young, I can tell you they are surely wise. For example, the other evening my BFF and I watched schoolie bass consistently blowing up with the feed bag on. While it looked like it was going to be like catching fish in a barrel, it was far from it! Throwing everything at em we could not connect. Even live peanut bunker drifted in the tidal outwash drew little attention. They were feeding on the smallest of small fry. Think about the smallest Sabiki rig you have seen and that is how small the fish were that the bass and blues were feeding on. Wait a minute……….Maybe I should have used a Sabiki rig! Next time.

I was out with the Tindall gang Saturday. First off, making bait was hard to do. The bunker were all down in the lowest part of the water column making it impossible to get a cast net on them. We fished the back creeks to the bridges to the Island Beach sedges and came up with a snapper and a small blue. Hey, that’s fishing sometimes. The incoming water was dirty and warm. Most of the bay was still a little turbid although we found some spots with clear water mid bay.

With the downtime I was able to get back to the video editing room and put together this video from 9/7/18’s magic hour trip. We slayed the blues that night and the magic hour lived up to its name. You can view the video here Bluefish Slayfest

If you like please subscribe to my YouTube Channel.

On the nature side of things: this past weekend some unfortunate person lost their life when attacked by a great white shark in Cape Cod. What is going on here is, we are seeing Mother Nature rebound from decades of over-harvesting species to the brink of extinction. Once hunted to almost extinction, our seal population is finally coming back. Their comeback is attributed to the protection granted under the Mammal Protection Act of 1972. Well, once the seal numbers started to increase so did their primary predator, the great white shark. Predator/prey relationships, it’s ecology 101.

With the best fishing of the year about to unfold, if you are thinking on getting on board the Debbie M you better think quick as my days a filling in.

Screaming drags,

Capt. Alex 609-548-2511

Last weeks weather was a solid mix of miserable[s] in the way of foggy , overcast, wind driven rain for most of the week turning our waters into a murky off color broth and froth. With the weather settling back down and conditions returning to a bit of a normal pattern [ for now] we cleared the line and got back to business .