With the second moon of June behind us (new moon was Wednesday) and the recent extreme record breaking heat and humidity, summer is here and the recent fishing reflects it. It was so hot, the USGS Barnegat Bay Water Temperature Station at Waretown broke! Take a look at the screens hot below. The beaches and waterways are more congested now then at any point this year and it’s only getting busier as July is a few days away. Join the pack and get on the water to enjoy the great summer ahead. Here’s the LBI Fishing Report Update for Friday June 27, 2025.
With summer in full swing and the waters warm, the fishing is diverse making it perfect for anglers looking to mix it up. The mainstay of fluke, bluefish, striped bass are joined by triggerfish, sheepshead, cobia and houndfish among others. Surf anglers are starting to see kingfish show up, hitting bloodworms and synthetic baits like FishBites. This is a great time for lighter tackle action, especially when the wind lays down and the swell is mellow.
Summertime’s spotlight is always fluke (summer flounder) which offer great fun fishing in the bay, inlet, surf and inshore waters. Most fluke action is coming on Gulp and jig combo. Savvy anglers are keying in on the areas of structure, drop-offs, bowls of water, funnels and gutters and deeper channels where fluke love to stage. I’ve had a good week of fluke fishing. Below is a photo of Fish Head store staffer Emmet with his limit catch from our HOT trip on Wednesday.
Bluefish, which were aggressive all spring, remain a great fun target species. Currently cocktail blues (1-3# range) are around the bay, inlet and surf at times chasing small bait. It’s common to find the yellow eyes under the terns and laughing gulls which are eating the small forage too. There is a possibility of getting larger fish but they are few and far between.
Striped bass fishing on Long Beach Island has been spotty off the SURF the past couple of weeks. The push of migratory fish has passed. Looking back, we never saw a mid June wave (possibly missing now due to stock status?). As previously shared in other recent reports, the bay and inlet offers resident striped bass fishing all summer long. This will be a dawn or dusk approach with lures as bait fishing will most likely result in bluefish, skates and dogfish. Live bait fishing is possibly the easiest and most effective way to target summertime striped bass. Here’s a nice striped bass that was caught yesterday off the mid-island surf. Fish Head’s alumni and co-founder of Stack Tackle Jack Keating scored this 33″ linesider on a Stack Tackle Screwy Jig while fluke fishing the suds.
The triggers and sheepshead are present around structure with fouling… think rocks, wrecks, bulkheads, pilings, etc. Rig up with small but strong hooks baited with crab (sand fleas are the easiest to get right now).
Crabbing and clamming. This past week offered phenomenal lower low tides due to the new moon phase, making it a prime window for clamming. Everyone who got out scored. Crabbing is also a great activity to enjoy Barnegat Bay’s bounty which has noticeably picked up in the lagoons and creeks.
The ocean was mellow and the winds were light earlier this week… And the tuna bite turned on. We received a bunch of great reports from boats fishing out of Barnegat Light making the 60 mile run south. We also heard of some big mahi in the area too. Let’s hope these fish stay put or slide up the thirty fathom curve and set up for the summer. Anyone looking to get geared up for big game fishing “we have the meats”!
Here’s my most recent fishing report video…
