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.