Labor Day Surf Report / Nightstrikes Surfcasting Guide Service LLC

It may be the unofficial end of summer this holiday weekend here on LBI NJ but that doesn’t mean the summer surf fishing is over and in fact it might be getting better.
Surf conditions are good with warm clean water and there is plenty of bait around to keep the fish feeding. Over the past week I have seen some of the largest Northern Kingfish being caught on small fresh baits of the summer. And finally some decent size Bluefish in the 2-3lb range have also been caught during the early morning hours.

The Fluke bite continues to be pretty good at this time but there are definitely more smaller or throwbacks in the surf then keepers compared to earlier in the summer hitting bucktails tipped with GULP! baits

The Keeper ratios should increase again as the mullet starts to vacate the back bays this month and work their way down the coastline. Make sure to to use larger baits and hooks to increase your chances to catch some late season table fare before the season closes on September 19th.
And don’t be surprised to see some of our resident Striped Bass becoming more aggressive during the cooler nights/mornings

Also at this time I would like to thank everyone that booked a surf fishing trip with me the last three months, it was so much fun fishing with you all – making it another summer to remember here on beautiful LBI

Over the next couple months I will be fishing the northern part of the state up in the Sandy Hook / Monmouth County area targeting False Albacore and Fluke -but will return back to the area when the Striped Bass return during the Fall Migration here sometime in November And December

So if your looking to book any trips during this time in these areas just reach out to me for more information / call 609-276-6983 or email Nightstrikes@comcast.net

Again “Thank You” and have a great and safe holiday Labor Day weekend.
Steve George / Nightstrikes Surfcasting Guide Service LLC 609-276-6983

Author: NightStrikes Surfcasting Guide Service LLC

My Name is Steve George (a.k.a.Nightstrikes) and even though I cut my teeth growing up along the banks of the Schuylkill River and Wissahickon Creek in Pennsylvania fishing as a child I quickly realized my real passion for fishing when I moved to New Jersey. The saltwater got into my veins very quickly and even today after over 40 years of fishing the Surf, Back Bays & Inlets of NJ the passion is still there stronger than ever. I’ve had a very important mentor back then just starting out and I have always vowed to give back to the sport that was given to me from him and others over the years. My journey really got interesting the last 20yrs or so as I started writing/reporting along with helping others during the infant age of the internet and the birth of the fishing websites/message boards like the BassBarn and StripersOnline to name a couple making many great friends over this time and lead me to become a member and officer of the Berkeley Striper Club – Seaside Park NJ. Currently I have been writing a monthly column for On-The-Water Magazine called “From the Surf” for the last three fishing seasons and it has been a great experience sharing my adventures and providing some tips and techniques to my fellow fishermen. It’s time to take to the next level of giving back as I would like to offer a variety of guided surfcasting fishing trips and private lessons to surfcasters of all ages and skill levels during the entire fishing season. Trips will be customized to every aspect of surf fishing that I do starting in April and continuing into December. Day and Night Trips will be offered from Sandy Hook NJ to Cape May NJ. Early spring trips will target resident Striped Bass and the arrival of Big Bluefish invading our waters. These trips will include safe handling Catch & Release practices and tagging these young Striped Bass for research. Come May will mean searching and catching maybe the fish of a lifetime as we will hunt Big Post Spawn Striped Bass migrating up the coastline fishing with some of today’s most sought after custom fishing lures that these Big Bass can’t resist during their journey. If you don’t have the tackle and equipment to handle and land these fish it will be provided for you. Once summer rolls around its time to fish for Summer Flounder/Fluke along the beaches daily during the open season. Again if you don’t have the tackle and equipment to catch keeper fluke I will have you covered including my favorite baits and rigs along with access to the best locations I have found over the years. And finally “The Fall Run” which is a special time that starts off looking for False Albacore in September and then looking for the migration of Striped Bass and Bluefish Blitzing our beaches shortly after during October and November into December. Again what I really want to do here is to make you a better surfcaster going forward by teaching the techniques, how to read the water, understanding the tides and moon phases and strategies that you can use year after year. I hope you come along with me on this next journey of my life and maybe someday you can pass on what you have learned to the next generation of fishermen with a passion for Surfcasting the Jersey Shore. Contact me via Email _ nightstrikes@comcast.net to book your dates for the 2020 Fishing Season or Call 609-276-6983 Thank You, Steve George View all posts by NightStrikes Surfcasting Guide Service LLC