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LBI – Fishing Report (Barnegat Bay)

We have been averaging 6-10 keeper fluke per 4hr charter and now that school is out I’ll be running. 6 days a week. This year we will also run some shorter evening bay sunset and ocean sea-bass sunset fishing from July 1st to August 31st.

Our most recent trip had 10 keepers for the day: We were off Monday due to the weather – but Tuesday ran a double with regular client Bob Dodds and his two PA buddies. The guys had very tough conditions due to the rain last night. We ended with 3 keepers and only about 15 shorts. The afternoon trip fared much better with new clients from California Jeffrey Lambie and his son Arthur. We worked a few different areas and put 7 keepers in the box. The father and son team released a few other keepers, but what a difference from the morning. Great job by 10yr old Arthur at catching his 1st keeper fluke!!!

FishHQ has a wide selection of fresh and artificial baits which we have been using to consistently put clients on fish so check them out.

If interested in booking a charter, book through our site (reelreactioncharters.com) or call/text 609-290-7709.   As always, we use the highest quality gear and everything is included: gear, bait, tackle, fish-cleaning, and ICE!  It’s “no worries” fishing.  Just come aboard and FISH.

Capt. Brett Taylor ~ Reel Reaction Sportfishing LLC ~ 609-290-7709

reelreactioncharters.com

LBI Fishing Report 6/27/22

Long Beach Island New Jersey Fishing Report Update: June 27, 2022

MARINE FORECAST

It’s sunny this morning,  with a low of 64º degrees and high of 74º this afternoon.  The wind is currently pumping out of the SSW at 18 mph with gusts forecasted to 32 mph.  The ocean sloppy, currently 2-4′ waves on the beaches with a dominate 4′ swell and 5 second intervals. A small craft advisory is in effect. Thunderstorms forecasted to start around noon-1pm and possibly into this afternoon. Tomorrow and the rest of the week is looking like a much better day weather wise.

SURF REPORT:

LBI Surf Temperature is currently in the mid to high 60’s. But due to the current hard south wind an upwelling is probable chilling down the water temps.

Striped Bass : Off the beachfront there are still Striped Bass to be had.  You can pull an occasional fish out of the water on the normal staples of bunker or clam, but as the water temperatures rise the fish change their feeding tactics.  With an abundance of sand fleas and calicos in the water, one can find more success matching the hatch!

The Bluefish:  Blues are abundant in the surf and inlets.  Most are in the cocktail size ranging 1-3 pounds but there are a few bigger ones too. Your best bet is running a SP minnow, Yozuri Mag Darter or Hydro Minnow, an AVA, Hopkins, bucktails. These are the standouts but any lure that matches the bait should work. Right now the local bait fish around the island are silversides, peanut bunker, minnows, small squid. Stop at the shop to see our wide range of lure selection.

Weakfish: Weakies are on the rebound in our local waters.  Although not as prevalent as the bass or blues they are being caught out of the surf, bay and inlets.  Standard bucktail while fluking tipped with gulp, or even bombers at night can produce nice fish with some tide runners being caught.

Fluke:  With the ocean water temperature currently rising to the upper 60’s the fluke bite is picking up from the surf. There are nice fish to be had.  Stop at the shop and pick up our wide array of Magic Tail Hoochies or Spro bucktails and tip them with GULP! Or other natural baits like minnows, spearing or squid.  

Northern King Fish: Kings are once again here. With the summer water temperatures the king fish bite has started.  Stop at the shop and pick up blood or sandworm, dyna bait freeze dried worms, or fishbites and get your lines wet.  As the bite continues to pick up kings can also be caught on GULP! while fluke fishing.  

BOAT:

INSHORE

Fluke is the main stay for inshore summertime fishing. This weekend reports were good from the reefs. It’s really starting to heat up as the ocean water temperatures rise. Over the past couple years jigging tight to the structure has been the best way to outproduce the fleet.  Stop in to see our Magictail, Spro and Tsunami jig selection as well as our classic fluke rigs selection. The old school frozen spearing and squid always gets the job done as well as live minnows and GULP! Right now we are stocked up on all the top baits as well as some new styles; the translucent shrimp and 8″ grubs. Let’s go catch some doormats!

Sharks and rays have arrived and making their presence know. Some big thresher sharks have been caught. So far it has been a good showing. This weekend the first black tips and spinners were seen and caught. On the ray front, the rough tail and butterfly rays arrived with the cow nose rays too.

OFFSHORE

The offshore fishing is not nearly what it was at this time last year. Most of it is due to the lack of prime water. A couple big tuna were reported in the Toms. Also some small yellowfin have been reported this weekend. Boats are also catching tilefish. No reports from the Ridge and mid-shore waters. These areas are usually good in July. 🤞 Stop in the shop to see our offshore selection and gear up so you are ready when the bite turns on.  

Booking now for the month of July summer flounder/ Fluke surf fishing trips on the beautiful beaches of LBI

The weather this weekend Saturday and Sunday is looking perfect and I do have some availability if you’d like to get out this weekend, but I’m also opening up my July calendar and if you would like to book a trip in advance if you’re going to be staying on the island this coming month just contact me for some additional information and we can discuss setting up a trip for you.

The action has been heating up and we’ve had some pretty decent trips so far when mother nature cooperates. With clients catching their limits and fish up to 20 inches so some nice fish are around and biting.

you could contact me at nightstrikes@comcast.net or call 609-276-6983

Steve George ~Nightstrikes Surfcasting Guide service LLC

LBI Fishing Report June 23, 2022

It’s officially summer and the fishing here on Long Beach Island is good. Daily anglers are catching fluke and blues. This action is taking place on the surf, in the bay and the inlet. Talk at the shop today was some good action the past couple of days in the bay and also the ocean fluke bite is beginning to materialize. There’s still a surprisingly good showing of striped bass and the weakfish are around too!

Today (Thursday) store staffer Jared got a nice weakfish off the jetty. Checking back on the recent reports we have shared a number of other weakfish catches. Triggerfish are around and we expect them to become more abundance in the coming weeks. Let’s go fishing!!!

Hi Flier Stripers Blues……Open Boat Tuna and Open Boat Stripers and Blues

We struggled on our Sat and Sun trips with 20 plus knot winds and some sporty conditions in the bay and inlet. On our Sat trip we eeked out a catch of a slot striper, a tog, a fluke, and a bluefish for Bill Fitts and his family. On Sunday we fought the worst of the weekend conditions for a bluefish and a sand shark. On Monday, the wind subsided and we had “lights out” fishing for the entire six hour trip for Dave Estey and his gang. Casting lures around the inlet jetty, they had 25 two to five pound blues. Drifting bobbers with bait into the jetty produced a 28 and 29 inch striper as well as a bunch of 2 to 4 lb tog. The tog are out of season, so we released them. We are using in line circle hooks while targeting the stripers so all of the tog have been mouth hooked and released in very good condition. 

We have two spots booked and two spots available for an Open Boat trip this Friday June 24 11AM to 4PM for fishing stripers and blues in the inlet. $175 person, 4 people max, all fish are shared. 
Open Boat TUNA!! The weather looks really good for this Sat June 25 to head to the tuna grounds. There isn’t any mid range action yet, so we are making the 80 to 90 mile trek to where the fish are. It is all trolling right now. 2AM to 5PM. $550 person, 4 people max, all fish are shared.

Sun and Mon, June 26 and 27 are also available for Open Boat or Charter for stripers, blues, and fluke. $175 person, 4 people max, all fish are shared. 

Dave DeGennaro

Hi Flier Sportfishing

732.330.5674 cell

hiflier.com

BHCFA Report 6/22/22

Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association

Jim Hutchinson Sr.

Fishing action continues in the Beach Haven area on several fronts with a variety of fish available to choose from. Although the season for black sea bass is now closed, the fluke action is picking up to take center stage. As the water temperatures continue to rise, the fluke will head toward the inlets and then to the inshore structure.

The “Miss Beach Haven” and Captain Frank Camarda has begun finding nice sized fluke right off the bat. The only head boat in Beach Haven, the “Miss Beach Haven” has a knack for finding fish for its anglers. On the year’s initial trip, Greg had the first keeper of the season which still holds as the biggest of the season weighing just under 5-pounds and measuring out at 24-inches.

Captain Brett Taylor of “Reel Reaction Sportfishing” found nice pockets of fluke just inside Barnegat Inlet this past weekend despite the high winds. Anglers Dan, Craig, and Gary fished a 4-hour light tackle trip with fighting the wind. They found a few areas with feeding fluke, and they put 12 keepers in the box with Dan’s 23-inchfish the top fish. On another trip, one of Brett’s regulars, Bob Dodds with three friends boxed 9 keepers and released over 25 short fish.

Additional information on the BHCFA can be found at www.BHCFA.org.

LBI Fishing Report June 17

Sorry for the late post. I forgot to hit the publish button.

Here in mid June, we are waning off of June full moon (better known as the Strawberry moon but) called the “Hot Moon” by some native American tribes because of the beginning of the hot summer heat. The official start to the summer season kicks off June 21st, but we are already seeing the transition here in the waters of Long Beach Island. With the summer heat comes warming water temperatures and the summertime fisheries on Long Beach Island. Here’s the LBI Fishing Report Update for June 17, 2022.

Recent strong showing of bluefish ranging from 2-10# in the bay, inlet and surf. Weakfish show promise of potentially another good year. Last year was my best weakfishing in a decade. Striped bass are still here but the great spring run has faded out on the surf with the majority of sizable ones moving on with their migration. Fluke fishing is prime time! Fluke fishing in the bay, inlet and surf has been good. At times weedy conditions can be challenging. Sharks and rays are showing up and will become more abundance of the next few weeks. Expect kingfish (surf) and blowfish (bay) reports to pop back up too.

Friday we have a lingering 2-3′ easterly swell with southwesterlies swinging more westerly as the day progresses. Breezy northwesterlies will be in store for the weekend. Be prepared with The Best Bug Spray – Captain Ron’s. The winds are up for a few days but generally speaking this is the time of year where the weather systems break down and Lake Atlantic conditions prevail. Fingers are crossed for some board duration fair weather to allow everyone to get offshore and into the summertime tuna fishing.

The crew at fish heads has been fishing hard and having a hella good time catching. Store staffer Tyler got into the tiderunners this week. He caught four fishing the Jetty using Gulp 5″ Pink Shine Grubs. Store staffer Frezza reports good fishing the past couple of weeks in the channels and shallow water areas in his neck of the woods (Tuckerton). Store staffer Jack got into some good fishing with bucktails, both striped bass and fluke! Store staffer Jared has been catching the fluke good too. Below is a recent limit catch of his from the Barnegat Inet Jetty.

Strong fluke reports from boat and land based anglers. One report came in from Mike Hovan who shared, “Fluke action was great. Got two keepers at 18.25″ and 17.75 and also caught six or seven straight at one point using Gulp 4″ swimming mullet baits. Bite was best the first hour after high tide. The water was warm and crystal clear. I saw two triggerfish cruising the lip and a cow nose ray so we are quickly entering into the summer fishery.”

Simply Bassing ends on June 26th – Here’s the current leader board.

Fluke-A-Mania coming up on June 25th

JCAA Heavy Hitters Fluke Tournament is coming up on 8/4-8/7. More details coming soon.

Hi Flier Fishing Report

We ran to the Lindenkohl Canyon early Saturday morning in search of tuna. We arrived at the spot and as Nick started letting out the second rod in our spread it got tanked by a nice 45 pound yellowfin that liked the Joe Shute ballyhoo he had just rigged minutes before. That would prove to be our only fish for the cooler. We released three others throughout the day that did not tape out to be legal size. 

On Monday I had Mike Fuhrman and friends out for some inlet fishing. They caught 7 or 8, two to four pound tog that ate our striper bait, but sadly the season is closed, so they were all returned to swim another day. They also had a 29 and 31 inch striper. Everything was on 10 to 12 pound spinning gear, so the bass battles were epic. 
We are heavily booked through the weekend but we are adding a second slot on Saturday June 18 from 1PM to 6PM if anyone is interested in chartering the boat for that time. The possible species to target are stripers, blues, and fluke. Capt Nick will be running this one, he’s a better fluker than me, anyway. 
Also available Wed June 22 and Fri June 24 for afternoon trips, 11AM to 4PM. Targeting stripers and blues at the inlet jetty. We could also mix in some fluke fishing. 

Dave DeGennaro

Hi Flier Sportfishing

732.330.5674 cell

hiflier.com

Finding Fish On The Surf

This is outline in which I used to prepare and present a short seminar of the LBI surf with the American Anglers Fishing Club in Saturday April 30, 2022. Hopefully you attended because the attendee questions were really good and the topics discussed got deep fast.

Do you have a problem finding fish on a regular basis? Would you like to better find fish? I promise after our this short talk we will cover some important topics that will help you better understand a proper approach to fishing the surf.

When thinking about fishing always be prepared. The wise man once said, “Fish are caught the day before.” Sharpies gear up and prepare ahead of time so they are on point to maximize their time fishing effectively.

Deciding where to go can be the most challenging and debatable the most important part. It’s a fact… the best anglers can not catch a fish that is not present. For this reason it’s important that we fish where we think fish will be. Very simple concept right? Anglers must consider what fish prefer and need.

This is mainly based with a thinking around striped bass but many of the ideas can be used for other species too. Essentially fish have to swim to eat and eat to swim so they can follow preferred water temperature on their migration, eat, digest, grow, swim against tide/current. Fish can’t swim without energy and can’t get energy without feeding.

Daily Factors To Consider

Environmental factors that are part of the equation

  • Water temperature
  • Water movements: TIDE vs Current, longshore drift (sweep, water moving parallel to the beach)
  • Water clarity: turbidity, tint, weedy
  • Waves: direction, size, period/spacing, surge
  • Weather & Wind – barometric pressure, wind speed and direction, sunny, cloud cover
  • Sunlight & Time of Day – dark, golden hours am/pm, high noon
  • Season & Historic Trends – Month, Lunar Cycle, Moon Phase

Reading The Beach

When reading the beach, the beach profile is the first things you should consider.

From the dunes look east (at the water). How does the water look? Can you identify anything? What does the beach at the water’s edge look like?

Look north and south (up or down the beach). Can you identify points and coves, high and low areas?

Can you see the shallow waters of the sandbars where the waves are breaking? Can you see the deeper, darker colored waters? Watch the water’s movements and look for the surge in and out. Find the rips and tailing currents. You want to fish these seams. The cuts, the troughs and the bowl like holes. Fish use these features as an avenue to cruise the surf, moving in and out and to hunt.

For more on reading the beach go to 07:00 minute mark of the video.

Structure

Structure is very important to fish and anglers! Pay attention to both hard structure and soft structure.

  • Soft Structure: sand bars, cuts, sloughs, slender vs wide, inside/outer bar, long shore sections. These features were just detailed briefly in the text above and in more detail in the video. They are very important especially here on the LBI surf.

Remember soft structure moves as the beaches change! Storm erosion events can alter in a short term way. Also littoral drift, longshore sediment transport, is a phenomenon that surf anglers need to keep track of. Here on LBI we are a unique area, one of NJ’s nodal zone is approximately Barnegat Light to Brant Beach area. LBI face slightly south and gets a lot of south winds and south swells but the historic pattern is sand moves north to south against the wind and swell. There were extensive oceanographic studies you can look up for more details on this; BUMPUS, 1965 and then HALSEY, 1968). Extreme shoaling in Beach Haven Inlet is a great current event example of the Island’s sand moving south. Also look at the chewed out areas on the down current side of jetties or other hard structure on LBI.

  • Hard Structure: jetty or groin, rock pile, an outflow pipe, pier, bulkhead, dock, etc. These features are permanent and both refuge and have fouling.

Where are the sections of the water and where are the ins and outs? Anglers must fish the water that is available to them.

Scouting For Potential – Spots & Life

Scouting “pre-fishing” is just as important as actually fishing. This research and planning can be done with your boots in the sand or via 4×4 and a good portion can also be done from the comforts of your home. It’s also helpful to network with friends and/or a club. Letting others do the dirty work will help you save time which is valuable because no you can dedicate more time to fishing.

But nothing is better than your own reconnaissance. Those who fish a lot can cover more ground and see more things, all the while staying up to date and in the loop with the evolving situations and more over adapting their strategies on the fly along the way.

  • What bait is present? Are bunker, mullet running? Do you see mole crabs or calico crabs shells in the high tide line?
  • What birds are present? small birds (turns, gulls), large birds (gannets, pelicans)
  • What fish are present?
  • Where are the gill netters or the rec. fleet targeting and catching?

Conclusion

Now that we have reviewed and discussed these topics, we haven’t talked about or touched upon what baits, rigs, lures to think about using. That is a whole ‘nother can of worms. No pun intended.

I am Capt. Greg Cudnik from Fishermans Headquarters. I invite you to stop by and come shop with us.

I’m happy to have shared with you. Hopefully this was valuable and helps you catch more fish. I tried to sparked your interest in a variety of topics and maybe you have some questions? If so stop in the shop and let’s talk fishing.

Hi Flier Open Boat Canyon Tuna, this Saturday June 11

I have been watching this weather window for days and it is still right on the fence for what I like to sail in. The early morning looks good, but they have the wind coming up in the afternoon. I am going to keep getting ready as if we are going but there is always a chance I will cancel right up until our ride out the inlet or during our ride out to the grounds. It’s not beyond me to pull the plug if I don’t feel it’s right and I don’t make these decisions based on people’s level of disappointment. I feel it’s important to offer this information so you know what you are signing up for. You will always have a better chance of getting to the tuna grounds if you book another boat. I openly tell people that all the time. I’m not ashamed of it, I know where I am in the food chain. At the end of the day, we are a 25 foot center console. It is a very capable 25 foot, twin engine catamaran, with all the necessary safety equipment, including an inspected 6 man Viking life raft, EPIRB (search and rescue satellite beacon), on board Sirius/XM weather station that lets us track any storm cells and see new ones as they are born, redundant electronics including radar. I had all that stuff before I bought the first gold reel. 

I will continue to monitor the marine weather forecast right up until “go time”. The inlet is another factor in these departures in the dark. Fortunately, we have incoming tide on both our departure and return, which always makes for calmer conditions in the inlet.  

Open Boat Canyon Tuna, this Saturday June 11. 2AM to 4PM (usually later). $650 person plus tip for the mate. 4 people max. All fish are shared. We will be mostly trolling, targeting yellowfin and mahi. There is some warm water that pushed in and the boats that ran did well on good size yellowfin and gaffer size mahi. I will also have the tilefish rods and gear on board if we want to try. Sorry, no electric reels, we hand crank. Anyone interested in reserving a spot should call me on my cell below.

Dave DeGennaro

Hi Flier Sportfishing

732.330.5674 cell

hiflier.com