A sunny spring is here this week on Long Beach Island and things are warming up fast. With it, the fishing picture is getting better by the day. With a beautiful stretch of weather, sunny skies and slowly rising water temperatures, the early season bite has expanded. Good reports are now coming in daily from customers fishing the bays and rivers for striped bass. One of the expected developments this week is the arrival of black drum. Check out our latest LBI Fishing Report video published today April 14, 2026.
The progression is positive and right on track for mid-April. The second half of the month looks promising with drum rolling in now! John Haugh caught a big black drum on Sunday fishing fresh clams he got from Fish Heads. He reported that the bite came at slack high tide. This fish was caught locally on a backbay sedge. The next couple weeks are prime time drum fishing in the bay with clam. We have fresh surf clam in the shell in stock now! For help getting geared up to target them stop in.
Our expectations are for a better second half of tog season as the waters warm. We hope to see the Barnegat Inlet rocks come alive before the month is over. So far it has been slow. The sand fleas are just now starting to show so that positive on the tog bait side of things.
This month local white perch fishing is an option too!
On the striped bass side of things, the bays and rivers remain the best bet for anglers looking to get into fish. However that may change over the next couple of weeks. Late April is when things usually begin, with the window from around April 20 through Cinco de Mayo often bringing the first real surf side activity worth talking about. The ocean water remains chilly in the mid 40’s but expect that to warm up this week.
Striped bass are being caught on bloodworms, clam and lures.
Now is the time to get geared up, get out there and take advantage of the season as it starts to unfolds. Fisherman’s Headquarters in Ship Bottom is ready with bait, tackle and expert assistance, just like every year since 1962.
