609-494-5739 Here in the final stretch of June the fishing opportunities on and around Long Beach Island are plentiful. Bluefish are snapping and the fluke fishing is rocking. Also offshore tuna are on the chew. Here’s the Fishing Report Update for Sunday June 28, 2020
Two key trends to take note of right now for near shore anglers. The ocean water temperatures have been somewhat stable for the past 3-4 days, hovering in the low 70’s. There’s an abundance of small slender baits. Spearing, bay anchovies and sand eels are the primary forage for the local striped bass and bluefish. Hatch The Hatch!
LBI Bay Waters Fishing Report
In the bay summer flounder (fluke) is the main target. They can be found in the back bay (mid-Island) and in the areas closer to the inlet. Anglers are doing good fishing Gulp as well as live and natural baits. At times certain areas have grass/weed/snot which makes things difficult. In these situations pay attention. Drifting and dreaming with balls of grass isn’t productive. Simply just a waste of time. Keep your rigs clean and you’ll find fish.
Vinnie Pena got out early before the boat traffic and worked the structure and edges. He reported, “Did a few quick drifts and put a 25″ and an 18″ fluke in the box. Back home by 9.”
Store staffer Grey Colston was out on the bay this morning fishing some channels and reported catching a bunch of fluke but only one keeper.
With all the pressure anglers fishing live bait seem to be outproducing with classy fish. Most all of the fluke we have heard of over five pounds were caught on live bait.
In the bay, blowfish as well as other smaller “pan fish” critters are beginning to arrive. A couple kingfish and spot were recently reported by anglers fishing Fish Bites for blowfish. There’s also a few weakfish present.
James Walker had a good day today with blowfish in Barnegat Bay. He reported, “70 blowfish and 17 kingfish using squid in 6′ of water.”
LBI Surf Fishing Report
Fluke and kingfish are the two most abundant species on the beach of LBI. Both are great fun to catch and even better table fare. Get out on the beach and catch a fresh fish dinner!
Ryan Sherwood has been on the beach finding fish… he always does! Here’s his Sunday morning trip report, “Quick beach limit plus released another keepers this morning before the rain. The mid-Island surf has been good to me. I had one keeper yesterday and four today. I’m using a hi/lo rig and baiting up with white Gulp. Today was the best day I had on the beach so far.” Ryan said the bunker pods are still stacked up right off the beach, “They are thick but just out of casting range.” There’s striped bass, bluefish and sharks on them as well as the occasional show off dolphins and whales.
Kingfish on the surf chewing bloodworms and bloodworm alternatives. Rig up with a hi/lo small hook (size #2-#4) rig and bait up with Fish Bites, DynaBait or Live Bloods.
The sharks and rays have around so keep an eye on your rods. They can be pulled down, out and into the water in a split second. Our suggestion is to get a Quality Sand Spike to better protect your investment.
Offshore/Mid-Shore Big Game Fishing
The Jersey Shore big game fishing season is in full swing! At times the tuna fishing has been lights out. Offshore reports at the Lindy-Carteret have been good. The midshore bluefin action at the Triple Wrecks (a bit east) has been red hot for days/weeks. The sharking is kicking into gear.
Dan Rosetto was out on the Let ‘Em Run this weekend and reported great trip. “We went big eye hunting and had another epic trip. Going 3/4 on big eyes and four yellowfin. What a day with an amazing crew. We found them in the fog and mid day kept pounding them until they cam back up.”
