Not much change from the last report shared on 4/23/24… So I’ll start off with sharing and reiterating… “On the striped bass side of things we have both good bass fishing in the bay and surf as well as inlet. Anglers are targeting and catching on both lures and bait. Off the surf, the clam bite has been good.“
The clam bite on the surf has been really good with reports flooding in every day for the better part of two weeks now. We have done our best to share these updates on on social media pages (Our Facebook Page & Our Instagram Page) so if you don’t follow us there, now’s a great time to give us a follow!
Some days have been better than others with this weekend being full of action up and down Long Beach Island. Today (Sunday) we received striped bass catch reports from Barnegat Inlet, the North end beaches all the way down to Beach Haven and Holgate. Now’s the time to get out on the surf and soak some clams!
It’s depressing to say, we are in the final days of the April spring tog season but all good things come to an end. However, NJ Summer Flounder Season kick off May 5th. Crazy it’s time!!!
Here’s a quick video report update from this afternoon…
Since the last LBI Fishing Report update, we have had some new arrivals that make for a good spread of target species right now. Yesterday a couple bluefish were weighed in that were both caught off the LBI surf. We are stoked to share there are here!
Also present in the local waters of Long Beach Island; striped bass, black drum, tautog, kingfish, weakfish, blowfish and white perch. Offshore there were a couple giant bluefin caught too! Check out the latest fishing report video update from this morning to get some info on fishing, the beach, ocean weather and little more.
Bluefish & Bass Report
We weighed in two gator bluefish yesterday. Al Parente caught a 8.25# bluefish mid-island on bunker (photo shown in the video thumbnail above). Brandy Hillegass weighed in a 11.5# gator blue which was also caught mid-island on bunker. Photo below.
On the striped bass side of things we have both good bass fishing in the bay and surf as well as inlet. Anglers are targeting and catching on both lures and bait. Off the surf, the clam bite has been good. Anglers are also catching fishing bunker, worms and sand fleas. So far this season bunker has been extremely hard for us to get as out bait guys can’t find any. This might seem like a bad thing however the way I see it, this could very well help surf anglers. When the bunker is abundant most of the time striped bass moving through the area stag up on the bunker schools and feed off of the beach. With no bunker these striped bass move into the surf zone and roam the cuts and search for a mean in the wash. This is why clam and sand fleas were two hot baits last spring and it might repeat this year.
On the surf some larger class of striped bass arrived this past week – weekend. We previously heard news from further south (South Jersey, Atlantic and Cape May County) so it’s good to see them sliding up the coast. Right now it is awesome to see the bass on the beach in all size classes from shorts, slots, overs and trophies size too. Below is two photos of Gary Grippaldi’s monster he caught a couple days ago as well as another good size striped bass. Gary reported catching a bunch of other bass over the past few days fishing the surf.
Be on the look out for some swell on the beaches midweek.
Black Drum
Black drum report are still pinging but not as crazy as it once was the past two weeks. Maybe the full moon has them shifting gears and the activity will throttle up later this week??? Most years they show up in April and stick around for most of May and sometimes most of the summer.
If you are fishing for striped bass or black drum with clam and getting nibbles it is most likely blowfish or kingfish. These two notorious nibblers are here and only becoming more abundant as summer nears. Store staffer Frankie caught this blowfish on clam as well as stripers in the surf.
Tautog Fishing
Tog fishing is great both in the boat and on land. The boat anglers are catching some classy fish on the snags with crab. Below is a big tog caught by Tony Pacitti. Now’s the time to get out there. Only a few days left in the season as it closes in one week, next Tuesday April 30, 2024.
Tog Fishing Aboard LBI Charters
Anyone looking to get out blackfishing before the end of the season? Captain Greg Carr of LBI Charters is running open boat trips this Friday, Saturday & Sunday. $150PP Text 8562640318 or visit www.LBICharters.com to reserve a spot today.
For 2024 Captain Greg is running a new sled, the Kev N Ash III… a 28′ Crowley Beal Downeast battlewagon. This bottom fishing machine comfortable accommodates up to 6 anglers and eats up the sea. There’s decent weather through the weekend so it’s a good time to jump aboard and enjoy some time on the water fishing with one of the top captains in the area.
Ashley Carr caught this tog aboard LBI Charters fishing with father Capt Greg Carr on a recent trip.
Captain Greg fished Sunday and Monday for blackfish and has had some good fishing. He reports that fishing has improved as the water cleaned up and warmed up. Earlier in the season the cold bottom temps and swell were not helping.6# and Monday 12 keepers to 8#.
The sunny warm weather is raising the local water temperatures and with it a positive progression in the spring fisheries. Since the past report update we have seen a surge of black drum to the area as well as a number of kingfish. The spring striped bass bite in the bay continues on and the tog fishing is great. The local fishing has been good and there’s no signs it is stopping. It’s only getting better! Get out fishing and enjoy!
The drum are being caught in Barnegat Bay, Manahawkin Bay and Great Bay on clam. Kingfish were caught on clam and worm in recent days. If you are getting frustrater by mysterious bait stealers, try tossing another rod out with small hooks. Anglers fishing clam, worm and lures are catching striped bass all around the local bays. The early season spots are still pumping. Thanks to warming waters, bass are also stretching out into other areas now too. Since the last report there were a handful of surf side striped bass catches. It’s not a bad bet to try however your best fishing IMO is the bayside BUT that may transition very soon. Now is also a great time to get out tog fishing and soak some crabs as the spring season is only one month long (open only for the one month of April). Reports from both the jetty and the reefs and wrecks have been great.
Here’s my last fishing report update video which is from yesterday Monday April 15, 2024.
April 11, 2024 at about 7am, I got a call from a friend, “There’s a dead whale washed up on the beach in front of my house.” I had to check it out. I took some photos and videos and stuck around for about two hours to soak in the scene. While on the beach, I saw another whale (possibly more than one) breach four times out in the distance. I pointed it out to three ladies standing near me and they managed to see one of the blows, their first ever. It was exciting for them. However these very distinct and pronounced blows sent an eerie chill down my spine. The hair on my arms stood up like a porcupine. Was that the mother?
This wasn’t my first stranding event. For me it all started on December 24, 2020 when a dead humpback washed ashore in Barnegat Light at the north end of Long Beach Island. I made a short video to document the event. (See end of post under 12/24/20 Event) Being a saltwater angler, I frequently fish alongside whales both inshore and offshore. But this event really got me thinking, reading and researching. Since then, I went out of my way to witness first hand as many local strandings as possible. Little did I know at the time that there were a lot of events coming!
In the Northeast United States, developers have spent billions of dollars on offshore wind projects to tap into the lucrative energy markets and access state-level subsidies for carbon-free electricity. However, the Bureau Of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) and the National Marine Fisheries Services (NMFS once known as NOAA Fisheries) have failed to properly assess the offshore wind industry’s impacts on endangered and threatened marine wildlife as well as the fisheries in the western Atlantic. And, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) has failed to monitor and enforce. Still today, they fail to recognize the cumulative impacts which ongoing geophysical and geotechnical survey operations have on cetaceans and other marine life.
Offshore Wind & Whales
The string of marine mammal mortality events that escalated in the winter of 2022/2023 was alarming. During the early stages of these events I closely followed these events and attended local strandings; Atlantic City 12/23/22, Atlantic City 1/7/23, Brigantine 1/12/23, Manasquan 2/13/23, Seaside Park 3/2/23. I also closely followed the activities of the many survey ships in the region. I found it disturbing and strange that the many NGO (non governmental organization) pro-wind groups were NOT hot on the topic. They were strangely quiet for a long while. It took trending social media and eventually mainstream media to get them to even speak on the topic.
When Clean Ocean Action issued a press release on Jan 9th and called for an investigation, I was taken back by the many NGO’s responses which did not concur. What’s to hide? New Jersey’s Governor Phil Murphy (a big league offshore wind advocate) quickly said, “There’s no evidence at all that these are related to the offshore wind activities.” Well at that time and still today there is no evidence they were not related. Fortunately congressman Chris Smith took action and called for “an immediate, comprehensive investigation into the environmental approval process for offshore wind projects” by BOEM & NMFS. As time went on a large movement has formed demanding an investigation and a “Pause Until We Find The Cause.”
But, neither took place. And the whale death toll rose. So… Do the many whale deaths have any relationship to the large-scale offshore wind survey activity in the region?
Let me be clear. I’m not a whale expert. I'm not a scientist. I am a recreational fishing stakeholder that has dedicated far too much of my life monitoring the offshore wind developments, reading all ofBOEM's offshore wind documents as well as many peer reviewed documents on the vast topics. I have attended far too many offshore wind meetings (both public and private). And I’ve read far too many news articles with regurgitated verbiage from state, fed and pro-wind NGO press releases. I wrote this, Part 3 of NJ’s Offshore Wind Fiasco - Offshore Wind & Whales, to share my deep concerns with others. I DO NOT support the industrialization of the oceans. I DO NOT support the fast tracking of offshore wind. Offshore Wind is not solving any existential threats which proponents claim. It is only creating a multitude of major problems in the marine ecosystem and these are only the early stages.
What’s going on with the whales?
In 2017, NOAA declared an active unusual mortality event for Humpback whales along the East Coast. Experts say they don’t totally know why whales are dying at higher than normal rates. Some seem scared to speak up and go against their own environmental community, most of which wholeheartedly support offshore wind.
Humpback whale strandings, Maine to Floirda 2011-2023 (‘23 through August).
“risks occur at varying stages, including construction and development, and include increased noise, vessel traffic, habitat modifications, water withdrawals associated with certain sub-stations and resultant impingement/entrainment of zooplankton, changes in fishing effort and related potential increased entanglement risk, and oceanographic changes that may disrupt the distribution, abundance, and availability of typical right whale food (e.g. Dorrell et al 2022).”
“However, unlike vessel traffic and noise, which can be mitigated to some extent, oceanographic impacts from installed and operating turbines cannot be mitigated for the 30-year lifespan of the project, unless they are decommissioned.”
Dr. Sean Hayes
That is some really serious verbiage! Nonetheless, in this Jan 18, 2023 NOAA press conference on East Coast whale stranding (which I attended), Lauren Gaches (NOAA Fisheries Public Affairs Director) stated “to date, no whale mortality has been attributed to offshore wind activities.” But the entire presentation FAILED to clearly state that without a doubt offshore wind survey activities have absolutely NO direct or NO indirect association to any of the whale deaths. She basically spoonfed the national press who are not well versed on the topic and not willing to take a deep dive.
The waters from Cape May to Montauk have NEVER seen this many cetacean deaths (whales and dolphins) in such a condensed time frame. EVER!!! These same waters have NEVER EVER had this extent and duration of geophysical and geotechnical survey activities. EVER! There is a suspicious correlation with the surge in whale deaths with the increase in offshore wind survey activity.
Noise Pollution – Whales Are Sensitive to Sound
As I published (August 23, 2022) NJ Offshore Wind Fiasco P2, there are concerns with regards to offshore wind noise pollution. Sound is critical for marine mammals to navigate, communicate, feed, reproduce and much more. Whales are acoustically sensitive and evidence shows sound affects their behaviors. Humpback whales are disrupted by survey activity, and thus merits further attention and study, and potentially conservation action. (Cerchio Et al., 2014) But studies on large whales have not been done because few members of these species occur in the wind energy areas in European waters. (Kraus Et al., 2019)
Whales are vulnerable to harm from offshore wind energy, especially Baleen whales which use low-frequency sounds. According to San Diego State University biologist, because of their bone conduction, baleen whales (14 species including humpback, rite, fin, sei, minke) are particularly susceptible (4-10X more sensitive) to negative effects from noise pollution. The majority of local strandings have been humpbacks.
As per Sea World’s All About Baleen Whale Communication, “The repertoire of baleen whale sounds includes very low-frequency (20–200 Hz) moans, grunts, thumps and knocks; and higher-frequency (above 1000 Hz) chirps, cries, whistles, and songs. Humpback whales also produce a series of repeating units of sounds (up to 8,000 Hz) that are classified as “songs”.
While baleen whales do not possess the advanced echolocation abilities of toothed whales, they still use echolocation to some extent. Baleen whales emit sounds and listen for the echoes in their environment for communicating.
This study (BOEM Report No. 5586) states avoidance behavior of grey whales (a Baleen whale) began at sound exposure levels of around 110dB and levels of 180db produced nearly complete avoidance of the area. The study found whales changed course to avoid noise in their migratory path. Will other Baleen whales react in a similar way? In the case of NY Bight geotechnical and geophysical survey operations, emissions levels were/are at or in excess of 140-150dB.
In regards to the NY Bight, so far only pre-construction surveys have taken place. But if the irresponsible fast tracking of development is left unchecked, one day in the not so distant future pile driving noise could be a new major stressor for whales in the region. University of Rhode Island’s (URI) Dr. James Miller shares that construction is VERY loud, “sound is detectable 50+ miles from the site.”
This noise pollution even with sound mitigation techniques called bubble curtains can displace marine mammals 10km+ range from the construction site. The idea is for the bubbles to absorb and reflect the sound energy. But as per James Miller (bioacoustics export at URI) it only reduces the sound energy by about 10dB. Because developers know this isn’t enough and there is still a huge risk to marine life, a hydro-sound damper system was developed (shown). This is a photo I got from Vineyard Wind, but I could not find any details about them, their use or their sound reduction capabilities.
There are major concerns with regards to pile driving. And just like the survey stage, as construction sites expand and fill out the region, there is an IMMENSE CUMULATIVE IMPACT!
“It is absolutely ridiculous allowing international companies to blast our coastline, with no benefit for local communities or regard for marine life. The onus should be on the proponent to prove no harm, and the precautionary principle should be implemented until that is the case.”
Ally King, Surfrider Tasmania
This is a great quote from Surfrider Tasmania President Ally King but in this case King was talking about survey activity for oil. Surfrider whole heartily supports Offshore Wind in NJ/NY Bight with none of these “precautionary principles” of concern.
What Survey Work For Offshore Wind Was Done?
Survey work (off NY/NJ) for engineering and environmental purposes is characterizing the sea floor and the immediate sub-bottom profile. The exact work that each vessel was and is conducting and the exact equipment being used is somewhat unknown (to me, but must be documented somewhere) but this document details Geophysical & Geotechnical (G&G) Investigation Methods.
Geophysical Operations
These surveys use sensors that are mounted under and/or towed by a vessel to map the seafloor, identify physical objects and characterize bottom habitats. This equipment also collects information of soil type on and below the seafloor. Equipment used ranges from multibeam depth sounders, gradiometers (magnetic intensity measurement), side scan sonar (seafloor imaging), pinger/chirp (shallow penetration sub-bottom profiler, 0-5m below seabed), and chirps/ parametric profilers/sparkers (medium penetration sub-bottom profiler, down to 100m below seabed). “Geophysical surveys are expected to use several equipment types concurrently in order to collect multiple aspects of data along one transect.” The document goes on to spell out, the High-Resolution Geophysical “survey equipment produces sound that has the potential to result in harassment of maine mammals.” As per Table 2 (found in the document linked to above as well as included below; yellow highlight risk, orange highlights higher risk) Sparkers (0.25-5kHz) and Boomers (0.1-20kHz) operate within the frequency range which Sea World lists are within the vocalization frequency range of baleen whales.
Geotechnical Operations
These surveys collect soil samples from the seafloor and seabed to analyze and determine the composition of sediments in specific locations. This work, which is and has been active, includes seabed CPT (cone penetrometer testing) and types of drilling – boring work which requires equipment that is affixed to the seabed which captures samples.
While there was chatter on social media about seismic blasting and more extreme testing, these methods are not listed as being used. A double-plate boomer was used to survey the Virginia Wind Energy Area (Fugro, 2013) and recorded over 400ms (two-way travel time) of data which corresponds to approximately 350 meters below the seafloor. Another method, the Sparkers (Dura Spark 240 UHD Unit) puts out 200dB+ and penetrates deep (100m-1km) into the bottom.
Get Out Of Jail Free Card?
When an activity may reasonably anticipate an incidental take of marine mammals, an Incidental Harassment/Take Authorization (IHA/ ITA) under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) is applied for. And that is what the developers have done. For these ITA’s level B harassment (behavioral disturbance) is anticipated and authorized; however, no (level A harassment) injury and no mortality is permitted.
Incidental Take Authorization for Atlantic Shores – As per the application, “Because Atlantic Shores proposes to use survey equipment that will operate below 180 kilohertz (kHz) we are requesting an Incidental Harassment Authorization (IHA) for the taking of marine mammals by Level B acoustic harassment as defined by the MMPA”
Incidental Take Authorization for Ocean Wind – As per the application, “Both NOAA and BOEM have advised that the deployment of HRG survey equipment including the use of sound-producing equipment operating below 200 kHz (e.g., sub-bottom profilers) has the potential to cause acoustic harassment to marine species, in particular marine mammals.
If you have made it this far along, it’s safe to say you are interested in the topic. I assume you too agree… We have a problem! The details are damning and offshore wind survey activity must be scrutinized and investigated.
I again commend Clean Ocean Action for standing up and raising awareness to the topic early on and staying on top of it. Too many well funded NGO’s continue to boast their blanket statement in an attempt to sweep it under the rug. They proclaim “No Link, No Evidence, No Connection” putting the blame on climate change, vessel strikes/shipping, plastics and entanglement (commercial fishing gear), all known causes of whale deaths. But they will never consider survey operations as a potential contributing factor of one or more of the events. If they aren’t a factor why request for IHA’s?
When evidence of a ship strike (blunt force trauma) is present, they want everyone to believe that is the definite sole cause of death. Failing to consider the other factors which very well may be the root cause of many mortality events is irresponsible.
The circumstantial evidence is alarming, BUT without ear bone samples/biopsies to determine auditory damage to the ears, the necropsies may never directly link. So yes the claim is true, “NOAA Fisheries has stated no whale deaths have been attributed to offshore wind activities.” But the absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.
What a radical environmental narrative to take over the oceans by way of offshore wind and soon… The New Blue Economy! Yes, massive scale aquaculture is in their plans and it is quickly coming down the pike. It’s not a conspiracy. It’s no longer secret and they are rewriting the laws to support the scheme.
Also coming at us point blank…
NOAA Fisheries is proposing limiting speeds for all vessels 35 feet or longer to 10kts off the Atlantic Coast from Massachusetts to Northern Florida. The speed limit would last up to seven months in some parts of the Atlantic coast and would extend up to 90 miles offshore. It’s terrible news for offshore anglers, but fortunately the American Sportfishing Association and NMMA is active on the topic. We commonly run to the canyons and fish with whales frequently. Healthy whale strikes are exceptionally rare. Also NOAA is pushing hard on a new proposal called the Hudson Canyon National Marine Sanctuary which is part of the bigger push, 30×30. An effort to conserve and possibly close 30% of America’s land and water by the year 2030. While it sounds like there are good intentions, misguided groups are calling for anglers to be denied access. To learn more here’s 10 30×30 Sportfishing Articles.
This all seems like a bad dream but it’s the new reality!
At the start of this, I shared it all began for me on December 24, 2020 when a dead humpback washed ashore in Barnegat Light. After taking some photos and video I made the edit and posted on YouTube but my story did not end there. It took a couple years and lots of digging to learn there were things going on offshore in the area.
After reviewing USCG documents I found, the M/V Fugro Enterprise conducted geophysical survey operations mapping the seabed as well as sub-bottom profiling during the month of December 2020. These operations for offshore wind energy development were done 9-20 miles off of the NJ coast between Barnegat Light and Atlantic City.
In the image below… The black dot is the location of the humpback stranding which washed up December 24-25, 2020. The blue lines are the vessel tracks of the Fugro Enterprise in the 10 days leading up to the stranding event.
I’m almost certain, but I can’t prove it, the Fugro Enterprise killed this whale during its survey operations. The circumstantial evidence in this particular event as well as many other stranding events is alarming.
It’s unclear which exact geophysical methods the Fugro Enterprise used. But it should be of particular concern because in many occasions, the Fugro Enterprise is operating in the areas in the day leading up to stranding events. Why no investigation?
We finally catch a break and real Spring weather comes to town. The days of torrential rain and lots of wind were really getting old and depressing. In recent days a lot of anglers have shook off the winter dust and got fresh air and into some active fishing here in and around Long Beach Island. Here’s the Fishing LBI Report Update for April 9, 2024.
What Fish Are Biting Around LBI?
The primary target species right now are striped bass and blackfish also known as tautog or tog for short. Both of these are on great targets for land based and boat anglers. Also on tap in the April brine are species such as white perch, winter flounder, black drum, bluefish, cod, weakfish and kingfish. Now’s the time to go fishing!
Here is my latest fishing report video from Monday morning.
The chart above showing the Barnegat Bay water temperature off of Waretown shows the recent sunny warm days have the waters warming. The afternoon outgoing tides peaked at 53º 4PM Sunday and then 57.5º yesterday around the same time. It’s all about the sun! There’s no better time to fish the early spring then sunny afternoons as the warming gets the fish fired up and active. It’s very common to have a spring bite shut down like a flip of a switch with a tide/current change with the introduction of colder water. Look out for this and prepare accordingly to maximize your potential time on the water.
Early April Striped Bass Fishing Report
The surf has been quite with only a couple surf side catch reports. One catch recently and the other we shared about a month ago during that first warm break from winter. The area’s best striped bass fishing is in the bay. The bass are being caught with live bloodworm which we have in stock right now. Also some anglers are fishing salted clam as fresh have not been available to us just yet. We will have them as soon as possible. We know anglers are looking for them and the black drum are looking for them too!
Emmit from Top Notch Tackle Rigs was out this past weekend and got into some bass (photo above, right side). [We are fully stocked on his locally tied, fish catching rigs that are great for a variety of species. Be sure to check them out.] Emmit and Bobby Capri got into some good fishing catching both striped bass and black drum.
When not at the shop, store staffer Paul has been on the water picking at bass. He had a couple guides and put his clients on fish fishing worms and lures. Fish Heads Alumni Eddy (photo above, middle) has been catching too. We have had numerous other catch reports from the bay in the shop daily.
Usually we see a run of black drum and blues in April as well as surf side striped bass. This can pop off any day!
Tog season is open the whole month of April and anglers are catching. Land based anglers are catching tog on the Northend of LBI at the Barnegat Lighthouse State Park. There tog are eating crabs fished on a rig or jig. For more details stop in the shop. On the bait side of things, at the time of this post we have both greens crabs and white crabs in stock.
Finally the ocean has settled enough (still a 2-3’+ ground swell today but light winds) to let anglers get offshore and hunt the snags. Tony Butch was out fishing with Fish Head Alumni Bill Bassant and another friend yesterday and they reported a fun day on the water. Tony shared this report…
Bite wasn’t on fire, but we managed to put together a 3 man limit picking of keeper sized fish. There was spurts of good life, followed by lulls. Maybe it was due to the water being in it’s early season cold state or maybe things haven’t settled enough after the recent storms. Moving around on the structure was the ticket for us. Biggest one I ended up catching the biggest one of the day, just over 8lbs (photo above, left side) and released it to swim another day. Hopefully that will bring some good karma for the 2024 fishing season!
Reel Fantasea Fishing Charts
Captain Steve Purul has been in the shop a lot over the past couple weeks gearing up for the spring fishing season. He is in the water, fishing and catching like he always does. He shared this report…
I got our first scouting trip of the year and though it was a bit more scouting than catching we did manage to avoid the shutout with a nice scrappy 26” striper. It clobbered a Tsunami Split-Tail on a well appointed Fish Head’s light spinning tackle. We did have a few other hits that we missed. The sonar indicating a few more tight lipped spectators below. With the weather improving with both temperatures and less precipitation as well as the return of recent seasonal visitors (dolphins, laughing gulls and ospreys) I think this week will translate into a much better jump in local action! I have this weekend available for private or open boat fishing opportunities if you find yourself needing to get back out on the brine! Captain Steve 609-290-1217 – Reel Fantasea Fishing Charters
Striped Bass Season was pretty much in gear since Day 1, very productive fishing and action each trip out with good quality Bayside Schoolie Stripers from 25”-30” attacking artificial presentations. Mother Nature provided good weather conditions around the Moon and it was Fish’On.
Pictured Here: is a good fish that just recently smacked a Yo-Zuri Twitch Bait that I bought at Fishermans Headquarters LBI NJ
So the NJ Striped Bass season is off to a great start and will only get better as we now head into April.
“ April Showers brings Big May Stripers”
Nightstrikes Surfcasting Guide Service LLC 609-276-6983 / Email: Nightstrikes@comcast.net / For More Info