609-494-5739 With April coming to a close it’s worth a quick look back and the fishing scene and what our expectation are for the weeks ahead.
For the most part April was good to us this year. Sure the weather was awesome but it could have been worse. Plentiful school striped bass offered fun to light tackle anglers fishing the bay. Late month the surf anglers started picking at them. Those fishing the early season big fish spots (Chesapeake Bay, Delaware River and Raritan Bay) are rewarded with quality size striped bass. The black drum showed up right on time mid April just a couple days before the full moon. Tog fishing started slow but improved as the month went on was very good fishing during the final stretch. Some quality blackfish were caught! Bluefish made an appearance for the final weekend of the month letting us know we didn’t forget about them.
With May days away, we have high hopes for another great month of fishing. We expect a couple weakfish to show and maybe the bluefish will invade (all yellow-eye demons are welcome to eat here!!!) enjoy our company and kick around for an extended stay. Fluke fishing starts May 24th 3 fish at 18″. The size class on striped bass will gradually increase with the largest around the third and fourth week of the month. If bait (bunker pods) stage up it could be fireworks on Memorial Day. May 27th is only 28 days away! (at time of the post) Other happ’s on our radar… The inshore/mid-shore and offshore fishing. Tuna & Shark fishing season is here!!!
Here’s the fishing report update for Monday April 29th. Anglers enjoyed the opportunity to fish this weekend. The action continued into the work week with a number of anglers finding fish on Monday too.
Surf Fishing Report
Today was our first day with weigh ins from the surf.
First it was Paul and Hak who fished the mid-island surf in the morning with bunker to catch two ten pound bluefish. Photo above.
Then in the late afternoon Kevin Cook stopped by with a 38-3/4″ 19.74 pound striped bass. This was our first weigh in for the LBI Spring Surf Fishing Derby, however it didn’t make the leader board (top three fish). Here’s the current leaderboard for the LBI Spring Surf Fishing Derby.
More fishing reports from the Long Beach Island surf…
Store staffer Steve-o hit the mid-island surf Monday afternoon. He reported slow fishing for himself. But, an angler fishing close by caught one bass. He said it went down around the high tide on bunker.
On Sunday Ryan Armbruster got out for a surf fishing session. About 3pm on the incoming tide he caught a 32″ striped bass on clam. He also caught a 27″ bass on bunker. Ryan was fishing the mid-island surf. Photo below.
Barngate Bay Fishing Report
On Sunday Jacob Bowles reported, “A few buddies and I dumped the boat and went for an afternoon trip. We found some good water in the back bay and it paid off with non-stop striped bass action. Bluefish were in the mix. We must have caught about 50 bass all together, but nothing over 28”. Our MVP was a 1/2oz jig head with plastic, literally any kind of soft bait. There’s a ton of fish out there and it’s only getting better from here!
Tyler Leary fished a Barnegat Bay dock this past weekend and fooled a linesider. It went for a topwater lure, Stillwater Smack-It Popper.
Bluefish Report
Word on the street is bluefish moved into Atlantic City on Sunday. Some anglers got into quality action. It seems to have spread around now. Reports in our local waters are more consistent however, still mixed. A couple who hunted and found blues and some who didn’t. Hopefully they’ll show up strong.
Store staffer Jordan fished Sunday afternoon and found some yellow eyes in Daiwa SP Minnows Lures.
