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April Is Finally Here

The month we’ve all waited all winter for… April Is Finally Here!

It’s funny (not really quite depressing) how right when a season opens King Neptune decided to get angry. Lost days can’t be made up so please tell him to turn the wind machine off!

Here’s the FishingLBI Fishing Report Update dated April 3, 2020.

Fishing Long Beach Island

As of this report (Friday Night, 4/3/20) the beach of Long Beach Island are open to walking, fishing and surfing. HOWEVER, any groups/gatherings are forbidden! All MUST maintain proper Social Distancing practices following the CDC’s guidelines.

Here’s a statement from Long Beach Township Mayor Mancini as published in a recent article by author Jon Coen in The SandPaper, “I don’t want to close the beach. I understand that people have to get outside. There’s a lot of space on the beach(s).” Don’t fish, surf or walk in a group or you will ruin it for everyone! Show up at a spot and see others already there? Don’t join and mug ’em! Find another spot. Practice Strict Social Distancing!

Now on to some fishing report news…

The very mild winter has things progressing and happening much sooner this year. When compared to other years we are without a doubt a couple weeks early. Sure enough one of the better springs in a long time and bam! The world turns upside down.

The surf temperature is just hitting the 50 degree mark. That and the abundance of recent bird plays tell us striped bass in the surf. However we expect slow fishing until the water temp hits the 54 degree range. That is when the surf kicks into gear striped bass wise.

The best action right now for striped bass is in the early season spots. They are abundant in local bays. Adult bunker are also in the bay. Speaking of bunker we just got our season’s first delivery of primo frshies. If you want to try a chunk bait, we have bunker. Get out and enjoy fishing BUT be sure to Practice Strict Social Distancing!

Just a reminder – As of April 1, 2020 the new New Jersey recreational striped bass regulations are in effect. It is one striped bass 28″ to less than 38″.

Winter Flounder no recent reports other than from those who caught more small striped bass than flatties. One anglers shared that striped bass were stealing the worms on the small flounder hooks. When the hook size was scaled up they were catching striped bass one after the other.

White Perch get worms or shrimp and go! April is a great time for them.

Toggy Time!

Blackfish season is open the entire month of April… 4 Fish at 15″.

Anglers are going and catching keepers. Land based angler, Anthony Gagliardi got bait a couple times from us and reported today, “So far I’ve caught 7 keeper tog on crabs.” His recent outing he limited out!

Soon the weather will settle down and then we expect tog fishing in the ocean to be good. We’ll post reports when we get them!

Update from the Shop

We are cranking daily (8-5pm) on a skeleton crew taking extreme precautions with extreme cleanings and no public access… curbside pickup and web/mail order only. If you want line or reel service give us a call to let us know you are dropping off. Looking for a new reel? Call us and we are happy to hand a few off for you to review curbside in the parking lot. We are here and happy to help you with the same great products and customer service we’ve offered since 1962. Thanks for all of you support over the years!

Just a heads up… our ship times on web orders are on point! So if you need tackle and aren’t close by or can’t make the trek… let us know and we’ll get it to you fast. Before shopping elsewhere online you might want to inquire about ship times. We’ve got word from two customers recently their online orders (purchased from competitor) were “unknowingly delayed” and “still after 10 days not delivered when promised delivery in two days.” These are uncertain times but we are transparent. Call us and we will tell you if the product is in stock or out. If it’s in stock you’ll have it fast. Please Support Small Local Business!

PS: We just got in the long awaited restock Tsunami SaltX 4000 Reels in both Silver and Black. If you are looking for a Tsunami SaltX… here’s a video of a couple of the guys from the shop having fun with a SaltX.

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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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