We have been in the water for a few weeks now. Slow start for us but things are getting interesting now. We are catching stripers from 20 inches to 20 pounds on bait and lures. Some 2 to 4 lb bluefish mixed in and we are also catching some fluke with a few keepers making it into the cooler. There are some bigger bass being trolled on bunker spoons and mojos.
We are available this Sunday, June 7 and Monday, June 8.
We are always watching the forecast for the perfect weather window to head offshore but the early look at this weekend does not look favorable for us to run to the bluewater. As soon as we get that perfect forecast, we are throwing the ropes.
Pic: Griffin Chrostowski of Moorestown, NJ with his first striper, a 44 inch, 26 lber taken right outside the inlet with Capt Nick DeGennaro at the helm. That fish was released. They also had a 30 incher and a 25 incher that were legal to keep with our bonus tags.
June is here and there’s no gloom. Fishing on all fronts is strong. From striped bass, blues and fluke to sea bass and sheepshead there’s a good offering for coastal anglers in the Long Beach Island area and surrounding waters. Here’s the Long Beach Island Fishing Report Update for June 2, 2020.
LBI Surf Fishing Report
Hike the LBI dunes in early June for great striped bass fishing. The past couple of weeks were good to surf anglers fishing the beach of LBI. So far June is off to a great start. Would have to say it’s one of the better springs runs we have seen in a few years. Anglers chunking bunker, fishing clam and also working lures are catching fish.
Here’s the June 2, 2020 LBI Surf Fishing Beach Check
Josh Basket hit the surf early Monday morning and was rewarded. He shared, “Good quality fish to start out the morning. The bass can’t resist Fish Head Bunker”
Early bird gets the worm! Surfcaster Josh Basket fished the pre dawn hours with fresh bunker chunks and caught this striped bass off the LBI surf on June 1, 2020.
Solid report from customers Dan, Jim and Thomas. They fished the night tide on Sunday and caught. Dan reported, “A night I’ll never forget! We went three for three… Three buddies, Three rods, Three bass! They went 33, 35, 36″ all chunking bunker on the mid-island surf.”
Can’t beat a three fish night with three friends!
Another good Long Beach Island surf fishing report came in from Mike Villez. He’s getting into them the last couple of nights on plugs on the south end o LBI. Some good ones too. He also caught. 19″ fluke on an SP Minnow. More on fluke further below.
Todd Luyber fished the Sunday evening sunset session and got a nice striped bass off the surf on wood. Todd reported, “Not just on bunker. Went for the ghost mackerel pencil popper.”
Striped bass love wood too!
Whether fishing here on LBI or down in the Caribbean fishing the waters of Puerto Rico Jonathan Price always gears up right at Fish Heads. Recently he stopped in and got set up for bass fishing the surf. It didn’t take long and he reported back… “Three great days out back on the beach!” Each trip out he’s catching good size fish off the surf. This evening we got a 50″ beast! “The boys at Fishermans Headquarters did the right thing once again. Give the guys a shout… they are on point.”
Jon Price is catching a quality striped bass every day. One a day for the past three days in a row! He’s dialed in!
Striped Bass
Striped bass reports from the boat anglers are not been epic but there’s fish to be caught. Most boats are getting out and finding fish. Some days they’re taken on live baits and others on the troll. Mike O’Grady released a 48″ bass on the troll Sunday. “Went for a Tony Maja green bunker spoon off Seaside late in the day. A lot of whales and dolphin in the areas.” Acers of bunker schools were stretched out along the beaches of LBI the past few days. Monday and Tuesday large schools were found off the south end and mid island beaches. There were also pods on the north end too.
Bluefish
Right now bluefish of all size ranges are here. Bluefish from 1-3 pounds can be found just about anywhere. They are common catches in locations like the Island’s surf, inlet and bayside channels and docks. Some area have an abundance of snapper and other areas have a few larger bluefish.
Here’s Jerry Zumpetta with a nice size bluefish he recently caught fishing bunker at a public Long Beach Island bayside dock.
Small bluefish make for great fishing fun… especially for kids. Now’s a great time to get outdoors and leave the crazy world behind fro a few hours while on the water fishing. Keep America Fishing by introducing new anglers to the sport. By sharing your love for fishing with a child, friend, neighbor you might gain a new fishing buddy and possibly spark a new life long passion for someone.
Kids love catching bluefish! Photo: Craig Hotter
Fluke
Fluke fishing is strong and by all accounts we anticipate it to keep cranking the whole month of June. Lukey got a nice the flukey! Luke McCann caught this 24″ fishing Barnegat Bay on Monday.
24″ summer flounder caught by Luke McCann fishing Barnegat Bay on Monday June 1, 2020Tanner Johnson caught this fluke fishing the bay on Monday.
With striped bass, bluefish and fluke all chewing now is a great time for a Barnegat Bay Slam! Better yet… Try your luck at a Barnegat Bay Grand Slam! The weakfish are here.
Sea Bass Fishing
Sea bass fishing is strong with boats catching limits on a consistent basis. Fishing 7-20+ miles offshore. Grey Colston went sea bass fishing and loaded up. Shop Ambassador Swagmattic was out on Sunday and said they hammers ’em, but due to weather conditions they couldn’t get out as far offshore as they would have like to in search of the big knuckle heads.
Offshore Fishing
This is the time where the mid-shore and offshore waters heat up. Right now there’s cold water stretched over the grounds but that should change soon. Be ready for sharks and also the tuna action should break open again.
It has been a rough ride to the start of the season with everything going on, but we have been busy and out on the water! Sorry that this is our first report, but here is a recap of what’s been going on since the governor allowed us to start chartering again.
Jess and I made it out for sea bass (the day before we were allowed to run charters) and easily boxed our limit in under an hour along with a bonus ling. Sea bass fishing has been phenomenal and still continues to be excellent. Now is the time to get out and fill the freezer with these tasty fish before the season closes on June 22.
Memorial Day Weekend
Due to storms and wind we had to reschedule 2 of our trips and were only able to make it out on Memorial Day Monday. We had Dan and his wife Alyssa along with surprise guests, our good friends, Forrest and Nicole, out for a 5hr fluke trip in the bay. The northeast wind didn’t cooperate. Conditions were less than favorable and the water was 10 degrees colder than Saturday. We put our time in and worked several areas but were only picking away at small fish. In overtime on the last drift of the trip, we were able to box a solid 21” keeper. Although fishing wasn’t the best, everyone still had a good time.
We ran a couple afternoon fluke trips during the week and were rewarded with a limit one day as well as a solid 5lber the following day. We caught between 15 and 30 shorts on each of the trips as well.
Saturday 5/30, We had return client Mike Lombardi (who also joined us on one of the afternoon fluke trips), along with his friends Will and John, out for a sea bass trip. The trio wasted no time boxing double header keepers as soon as we stopped. They quickly put their limit in the box at our one and only stop of the day. Along with their limit of sea bass, Will caught a jumbo 3lb porgy to add to the box as well as Mike’s nice ling. Great job today guys we look forward to our next trip!
Sunday 5/31, We had Dj, Gabby, their almost 4 year old son Spencer, along with Ryan and Dave out for a 5hr bay fluke trip. To say that fishing was tough would be an understatement. We had a strong wind vs tide all morning. It was Spencer’s first time ever on a boat and we also managed to catch him his first fish! We only had one shot at a keeper but lost it right before it got next to the boat. Spencer also took the wheel and sailed the boat the whole way in to the marina. Happy early birthday Spencer, next time we will work on getting you a keeper!
We have some weekend dates available throughout the summer as well as weekday afternoons available. There are many options of species to fish for right now including fluke, sea bass, striped bass, bluefish, and blowfish. If you are interested in getting out please contact us to book your trip. Call or text Captain Mike to get out on the water or send us a message through our website! (609)-709-7264
609-494-5739 
