This year was an exciting year for Long Beach Island anglers, offering impressive catches alongside unique challenges. Both beach and boat anglers found rewarding opportunities during the year’s fishing seasons. Dive into this year-end fishing recap to reflect on the highlights, memorable moments, and key takeaways from fishing the LBI region in 2024.

Ya can’t say, “I fished hard all year if you don’t start on day one!” I kicked off 2024 with a good New Year’s Day tog fishing trip and landed this big white chinner in the mix of enjoyable (sweatshirt and jeans) winter tautog fishing. I tried to fish “late into the season” but pulled the boat before the January 9/10th mid-latitude cyclone that pounded the area with 68 mph winds and major flooding. I’m still in the water now so I’m hoping to score some action to kick off 2025 once the weather allows.

SPRING FISHING

March kicked off with hungry striped bass actively hitting bloodworms and small-profile lures in the back bays, rivers, and tributaries. White perch were also in these areas, eagerly biting on grass shrimp. The month started warmer than usual with high hopes for a promising spring. By mid-March, gannets moved up along the coast and WALLA! The season’s first surfside striped bass was landed by Jon Kelly fishing the Island’s south end surf. It was an exciting moment that set the tone for a strong start to the year. But the second half of the month deteriorated. Heavy rain (3rd wettest March since 1895) and stormy conditions disturbed and diluted fishing.

Stellar Spring For Bass & Drum

April ushered in better conditions and sparked up good fishing for tog, striped bass and black drum. Mid-April had more positive progression into the heart of spring fishing with warming waters. Mid to late month some bigger bass, bigger black drum and a few gator bluefish added to the excitement in the LBI surf. Also the season’s first kingfish and blowfish showed.

It all carried on into May with clam as the bait of choice! April and May delivered one of the best surfside black drum seasons in recent years, with phenomenal action in the bay as well. Striped bass fishing wasnt shabby with solid catches in the bay and surf.

On May 20th Jon Kelly had himself a stellar day in the surf… 12 black drum, two striped bass and a bluefish.

Bunker Were Hard To Come By At Times

During April and May in the coastal waters of Long Beach Island, Barnegat Inlet and Island Beach State Park area bunker (aka menhaden) did not gather in large schools like they typically do. Bunker was hard to find for bait and tackle shops as well as striped bass. This situation was advantageous for surf anglers because the game moved into the surf zone rather than staging on bait schools off of the beach in deeper water. The migrating hungry striped bass had to rummage the suds and that is where they found anglers hot to trot us fishing the cuts and troughs. Clam and sand fleas were two hot baits in the spring of 2023 spring and it repeated in 2024. Now for spring 2025… ready, aim, fire! 

Tuna Showed Early

April had some giant tuna in close off LBI. This trend played out all year. With regards to other early season offshore info, BHMTC Tuna Open (June 8-15th) had good participation and lots of fish with all five species of tuna hitting the scales; 5 bluefin over 100#, 8 big eye over 100# and 11 yellowfin over 70#.

TJ Johnson aboard the XYZ weighed in the biggest bluefin tuna ever brought to the Beach Haven Marlin Tuna Club. This 92″ 462# tuna was caught in close after a three hour battle on an 80 wide.

Early Season Fluke Fishing

The fluke season started strong with an early opening date of May 4th. Right out of the gate, store staffer Paul had a nice limit of flatties fishing the Barnegat Inlet rocks, 19” – 21.5”. Other positive reports were common with fluke up to 26” and multiple limits of fish all over 20” on Gulp, live minnows and large strip baits.

Here’s Paul with a nice haul!

Spring Yellow eyes demons

Some gators were in the surf this spring with the best of it focused around the middle of May. Then for the most part cocktail blues in the 1-3# and 2-4# range, occasional 5# and larger frequented the surf, inlet and bay. Right into summer.

Store staffers Frankie (left) and Jared (right) got into some nice blues on the LBI surf fishing the mid-May time frame.

Diversity arrived in June

June started off with great weather as well as the year’s first showing of cow nose rays, cobia, sheepshead and houndfish. Early June had the Long Beach Island surf water temperature in the mid 60’s and it was gin clear. Anglers caught fluke, blues and occasional bass and drum which fizzled out from the May climax. The clean and warm inshore waters had bonito and Spanish mackerel activity spicing things up early in mid June. June also produced good black sea bass fishing on the wrecks and reefs.

Father and son Tony and Anthony Butch scored a limit of nice sea bass this trip.

SUMMER FISHING

An intense and unusually early hot and humid heat wave kicked off the 2024 summer season at the Jersey Shore. Meanwhile the Long Beach Island region was heavily influenced by upwelling events, which kept the nearshore ocean water temperatures unusually cold. It eventually broadened and escalated into a full-scale regional event. Even Monmouth County waters which rarely get extreme upwellings like LBI were dealing with the chilly summertime waters. While this cold water phenomenon posed challenges for certain fisheries, it boosted others.

Challenging Summer Fluke Fishing

Fluke which started off the season strong remained a worthwhile target; however, challenging. Most would agree, the fluke season fell short of the typically robust action anglers have come to expect. Tightlines were had by focusing on the tides and temperatures as well as adapting one’s approach. I found that fishing shallow (3-8’ deep) mud bottom areas in the bay with live minnows and spearing to be my successful strategy. It was common to have slow fishing or short lived bites as cold waters disrupted and depressed the usual patterns. Not only did I focus on the shallow waters that were warmed by the sun. I boxed some nice fluke working slowly in deeper areas which remained consistently. At times the surf was productive.

Consistent Bluefishing

The consistent bluefish bite which offered good fishing in late spring waned, but the yellow eyes in various sizes were caught all summer long in the bay, inlet and surf. Weakfish too made a showing as well as a boat load of spot in July and August. However the blowfish abundance was low this summer and not nearly comparable to the recent years past.

Summertime striper fishing

Resident striped bass enjoyed the chilly waters and it sustained some of the best summertime bass fishing the area has seen in a long time. The bass bite was good all summer long offering both surprisingly great quantity and quality. Some summertime linesiders were picked off the surf but for the most part the activity was focused around the bay and inlet. It made for a very productive summertime jetty season. Despite the radical water temperature swings bass, blues, fluke, weakfish, tog, sheepshead, triggerfish and kingfish were all on tap in August.

Summer Midshore Pelagics

On the midshore grounds, bluefin tuna as well as yellowfin tuna offered good content for jig, pop and trolling. The first half of August (before Hurricane Ernesto’s large swell rolled through on top of already higher than usual tides) there were bluefin less than 20 miles from BI. For the most part the tuna stuck around all summer with bluefin in the 20-25 mile range and yellowfin 40-60.  The bonito were abundant with albies, spanish and chub mackerel in the mix too.

When the blackfish season opened on August 1st, the jetty fishing for blackfish was remarkable and it continued to deliver all fall.

September was full of onshore, easterly winds and cool, dry weather. The never ending blow did have a silver lining. It was a change in weather pattern which fixed the prolonged upwelling issue. And it got the bass and blues stoked up on the mullet that was moving.

FALL FISHING

Fall 2024 was New Jersey’s driest in 130 years and the summertime anomaly inverted. The weather patterns flipped from a semi-permanent Bermuda High (summertime south wind causing upwelling) to a semi-permanent high pressure to New Jersey’s north and northeast, parked over the North East United States and Canadian Maritimes with lower pressure to our region’s south. With this high pressure in command for six straight weeks the area was locked into warm and dry conditions with extreme drought in the area. October was BONE DRY, the driest since 1895!

Fall 2024 Mullet Run

The mullet run was sensational. What started in August poured all September, all October and into November. The whole time bluefish pestered and in the early to mid stages of the run fluke and striped bass were keyed in on the finger mullet.

Tog fishing was outstanding for land based anglers fishing Barnegat Inlet. But the traditional inshore hot spot snags (wrecks and reef) were not loaded. Some spots produced. Some days better than others. There is no doubt in my mind, tighter tautog regulations are needed NOW! Actually they were needed when I first tried to wake up the NJ Marine Fisheries Council five years ago. That fell on deaf ears. Tog fishing was extraordinary and lots of new participants joined the hot fishery. More participation and pressure, but moreover advanced technologies (specific tackle, precision GPS boat positioning trolling motors, HD sonar, HD bathymetric charts/ imaging, etc.) make our recreational efforts exponentially more powerful and effective! Managers have no handle on the status of the fishery and action is needed now before what is still good is gone.

The first week of November was really warm both air and ocean temp wise. Surprisingly the ocean water was warmer the first week of November than it was for most of June and July. 

Boat bassing all November was exceptional. Phenomenal early month striped bass fishing was had by those that made a northern trek. Lunkers on bunkers and Jumbos on jigs was the mantra. As the month went on, the fish slid down making a short commute for local boats running out of Barnegat Inlet. Sand eels and bunker ranging from adults and juvenile lollypop to peanut bunker were present and harassed just about daily. Some days the gorging was spectacular!

But a big frigid cold front moved in around the 30th (11/30) and stuck around. For the most part this cold snap closed the door. The surf temps dropped fast and the fish that were staged up along the beaches seemed to move off towards deeper, more consistent temperatures. Some also headed to their local back water wintering grounds. December can be an awesome month for striped bass fishing but not this year. 

It was not a good fall run on the beaches of LBI. However there were opportunities and successful catches. John Bonner was a stand out, winning the catch and release LBI Surf Master Division hosted by the LBI Surf Fishing Classic. His three fish stringer scored 141 points/inches; 50, 46, 45. All were caught waxing out of November’s new moon (11/1) during the month’s first week.

Tuna Kept Coming

The midshore / inshore tuna bite that kept going all summer exploded to biblical proportions in the fall! The bite rolled on month after month and rocked right to the end of the year. At times there were bluefin busting on bait along the beach. The consistent catches came from the Manasquan Ridge, down through the Separation Zone to the Barnegat Ridges. Hook ups came on lures and bait fishing, but trolling ballyhoo dressed with a Joe Shute pulled down on planers was the most dependable and consistent method. It’s kind of hard to believe it’s still rocking now at the end of the year.

Gio DeMarco scored this bluefin tuna fishing in mid November.

CONCLUSION

As 2024 comes to a close, it’s clear lots of great fishing memories were made. From early-season striped bass and black drum fishing to a phenomenal tuna run and surprising summer stripers, anglers have a lot to celebrate. Here’s to building on this year’s successes in 2025. Tight lines and a Happy New Year from all of us at Fisherman’s Headquarters! We wish you all the best in the new year.

In celebration of New Year’s Day the store will be closed, Wednesday January 1, 2025. On Thursday we will be back at the helm on our winter hours; 8AM to 5PM for now but that might be cut back another hour or two so stay tuned or call to confirm.

REMINDER: With Each New Year Comes Changes…

• 2025 Fishing Regulations (2024 rolls over until updates are finalized)
  • Tog / Tautog / Blackfish is now at a 4 fish bag limit, Jan 1- Feb 28th, then closed until April
  • Black Sea Bass season is now closed, May 17th opens at 10 fish bag limit with 12.5” minimum length
  • Striped Bass fishing is now closed in the back bays and rivers until March 1st. Only the surf and ocean is open to striped bass fishing.
• NJ Striped Bass Bonus Program is now closed. Logs are due by 1/15/2025
• Remember to renew your recreational saltwater fishing registry! New for 2025 the process is done through the NJ Fish & Wildlife licenses and permits web portal.