As the summer wanes and we approach the fall equinox anglers fishing the waters of Long Beach Island enjoy a good variety. During the transition there’s a smorgasbord of different species on tap. No one is stealing the spotlight, but that may change as the days continues to shorten and the weather and water temperatures cool. The full moon has sparked change and bait is moving. Here’s the Long Beach Island Fishing Report Update for Tuesday September 9, 2025. Check out my latest fishing report video from Monday 9/8/25.
Recent catches & Fishing Opportunities…
Monday morning Fish Heads Alumni Erik Hawrylo weighed in a striped bass for the LBI Surf Fishing Classic. He caught the 9.62# bass, 30-5/8″ line sider fishing the night shift. It went for a small NLBN paddle tail fished with the special E$ retrieve and twitch. His photo is part of the video thumbnail above. The past couple weeks has offered really great early seasons striped bass action for anglers fishing both lures and live eels. Here’s a link for more info on the LBI Surf Fishing Classic tournament and live results.
Keith Soycher weighed in a 5.68# sheepshead on Sunday. His photo is part of the video thumbnail above. Tog action has been good, but not a lot of keepers or bigger fish to be had. However anglers are catching and having fun using rigs and jigs baited with sand fleas or green crabs. We just got a restock on the Bottom Sweeper Jigs which are standout OG’s for their shape (many have tried to copy) and their small hook yet strong hook. They are still one of it not the best tog and sheepshead jigs.
Brandy Hillegass weighed in a 13-3/8″ 0.90# kingfish yesterday afternoon. She caught it on mullet and reported it was a great morning on the surf. “Lots of blues and almost as many kingfish, two small fluke and a shark.” Her daughter Savanah Hillegass weighed in a 17-1/4″ 1.90# bluefish on Sunday.
Another kingfish report came in yesterday from Dave Groeber who fished the mid-island suds. He too caught some nice size kingfish on small pieces of frozen mullet.
Kingfish have been spotty some days and some areas. We expect them to stick around another week or two, maybe more (fingers crossed). Pompano are still here being picked by anglers targeting kingfish. They most likely will be gone soon as the surf temperature is in the low 70’s. To catch kings while they are here tie on a small hook rig with or without floats baited with Fishbites, bloodworms, small pieces of mullet / salted clam / squid… small sand fleas also work.
Jamie Gramley shared Monday he was catching cocktail blues and fluke off the Long Beach Island surf. Fish Gulp or mullet to score these guys.
In the bay there’s snappers and cocktail blues depending on the areas. Some channels have plenty of fluke too. Store Alumni Sam shared he got a bunch of fish (40+, but few keepers) working a main thoroughfare a few days back. Blowfish action has not ramped up but there’s some around. You might get more spot and croakers than blow toads. Live bait striped bass anglers aren’t complaining as it’s a great opportunity to load up the pens for the fall run.
Albies have offered light tackle line pulling for for a couple weeks now. Spotty some days but It has been good some days and then others spotty. Expect them to be on deck for the next couple weeks chasing bait out front.
It’s about that time… Jersey Mullet Run!
Offshore – Yellowfin, Tilefish, Swords – Alec Derita shared a report from a recent trip… “I grabbed some rigged Baitmaster tentacles sword baits from you guys last minute before we ran offshore. Landed this nice pointy one.”
