LBI Fishing Report Update – September 15th, 2018

LBI Fishing Report Update

Updated: September 15, 2018

Finally things have settled down and it’s a big weekend for surf anglers on Long Beach Island. Today September 15 is the day beach access opens to four wheel drive beach buggies in Ship Bottom and Beach Haven (permit required). The rest if LBT as well as Harvey Cedars opens October 1st. Due to the recent north east blow and powerful swell some beaches might be closed due to erosion. As always drive slow with caution.

The Holgate Section of the Edwin B Forsyth Wildlife Refuge is open today and access is allowed all the way to the point! This is great news because most the section has been closed since the main entrance gates opened on September first.

One step closer to fall this week… blinking lights on the north end! The trek from shop to Light only takes 10 minutes.

Now’s the time to enjoy Long Beach Island… It’s better in September!!!

News On The Fishing Front….

The rough seas have kept most boats tied up for too many days. Still ground swell from the combination of the week’s Nor’easters and Flo’s rage have the beaches churning. The white water is a beautiful sight (especially if it was late October or November) for surfcasting but also demanding 5-8 ounces of lead to hold.

The mullet run is on! As reported on the September 11th, 2018 Fishing Report Update mullet are active and on the move. Everyday fresh baits are arriving. These baits are prime for targeting bluefish and fluke. Resident striped bass are also on the bait but best targeted using lures.

In recent days few anglers have worked the surf. Most have opted for the more protected areas like the bayside and inside section of the Inlet. There anglers are putting together good catches. This entire week the Inlet has been loaded with small blues ranging from snappers to cocktail size with an occasional bigger ones ruling the roost. Anglers fishing lures (small metal, poppers, bucktails, swimming plugs) as well as cut mullet are having lots of fun.

Other good reports from the Inlet spoke about fluke, striped bass and tog. One anglers that purchased a new Penn reel stopped back with a 20″ fluke from the rocks that went for a chunk of mullet. Maybe due to the wind and swell, the trigger fish reports have disappeared.

Rich Beverley was in the shop today and shared a report from the inlet. He got into good fishing this morning, “The tog bite was on. I caught a bunch of blackfish and some how managed to loose a five pound fish.” The heart break is real! While here he raved on his recent trip to Matapedia Quebec. He caught his first Atlantic salmon and had a great fishing trip.

Boat anglers fishing the bay are catching great numbers of blowfish. Also weakfish are present.

Side Tracker Spreader Bars by Chatter Lures

For the offshore anglers… The Side Trackker Spreader Bars from Chatter Lures took the offshore trolling market by storm this summer. It was impossible to keep up with the demand. Finally now that things slowed we’ve been able to stock up. If you haven’t seen or fished one of these you are missing out. Here’s info about the bars and the advantage they offer.

Just a heads up we expect the all new 36″ Side Tracker Spreader Bar from Chatter to be in this upcoming week.

Upcoming Events

72nd Annual World Series Of Surf Fishing – This tournament hosted by the LBI Fishing Club is on September 22, 2018. The tournament is open to individual ($25) and team anglers ($100). Register now for this great event! For more info call Frank at 856-904-3062

64th Annual LBI Surf Fishing Classic – This 9 week surf fishing tournament event is 21 days away, October 6th. Join and have fun fishing for daily, weekly, segment, grand and special bonus day cash prizes. Registrations has begun! For more information www.LBIFT.com

Fall Classic Striper Side Bet – Be sure to join the Fish Head’s shop side bet! It’s an additional $10.

Surf Fishing Seminar

The LBI Surf Fishing Classic Opening Day Surf Fishing Seminar is 9am Saturday October 6th at the Ship Bottom Firehall. This is a great learning opportunity and a perfect place to network with other surf anglers.

Everything from the basics of Surf Fishing 101 to diving deeper into the specifics of reading the beach, when/where to fish, lure talk, and much more. There will be hands on demonstrations as well as a segment on the beach (weather dependent).

Complimentary Coffee Sponsored by How You Brewin.

Pre-registration is recommended for this FREE event Email: patatnj@aol.com to let us know you are coming. See you then!

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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