After a gnarly Nor’easter hammered Long Beach Island with big surf, flooding and serious beach erosion, things finally settling down a few days back… And what a difference a few days can make! Now kicking off October today with some great weather and good post storm fall fishing here on Long Beach Island. Here’s the updated fishing report for Long Beach Island and the surrounding waters. Directly below is my most recent fishing report video from Monday September 28, 2026 and then below the video is a text fishing report to recap the fishing activity over the past couple of days.
Pre Storm Fishing Info
Before the worst of the storm arrived, we had encouraging signs of the fall fishing. Mullet were moving around Barnegat Inlet and Fish Head staffers Emmett and Paul were catching bass on metal lip plugs. Dante from Magictail also got into fish with a buddy, and South Philly Fred (below) reported some nice striped bass catches too. There were also a few bluefish. The inlet was the place to be but not for the faint of heart! Rough and dangerous!
The storm was a doozie! It took a big bite out of dunes in many towns and reshaped our summertime sandbars. Here in Ship Bottom, we have a pronounced outer bar now with a long shore trough inside of it. It looks like a classic Ship Bottom winter beach profile which can offer great fishing.
Ship Bottom Beaches are open to 4×4 access with permit. The current beach conditions in Ship Bottom are good given the severity of the storm. The beach is surprisingly flat and hard. The ramps at 5th, 11th and 17th look good. Here’s more details on LBI 4×4 Beaches Access.
Post Storm Fishing Report Update
This work week started out slow but reports got better each day. Many of those who got out found fish.
As shared in the video report, the ocean temp dropped from the summertime warmth. On Monday the Long Beach Island (mid-Island, Ship Bottom) surf temp was 64.7°F at the water’s edge. This was a major change from the 70+ degree water we were fishing just a week ago. The storm churned things up and also the days are getting significantly shorter. It’s exactly what we needed to get the fall fishing fired up! Looking ahead it seems like we will get a quick cold snap after the weekend. Tuesday morning I’ seeing a low of 46 degrees. Usually by mid October we have some great striped bass opportunities. Are you ready?
Here’s a nice bayside striped bass catch from Dante Jr. He went out Tuesday after school with his dad.
August and much of September were disappointing on the rocks compared to the past couple of years. But the recent the temperature change has also helped to wake up the Barnegat Inlet tautog bite. Store staffer Steve-o scored on a quick strike mission to the North End bulkhead. He caught a 2.8# tog on green crab and took the led in the LBI Classic Tournament. More on the classic below…
Yesterday (Wednesday) Dante from Magictails (was out after school again) and his son caught four keeper size tog in less than an hour window. All on green crab.
So far post storm mullet run as been dismal. There’s still time for another trickle. If not this year’s mullet run was a bust. Only time will tell. I’m optimistic we’ll see some moving one of these days.
Sea Bass fishing is good right now. We got a few reports from customers fishing 50-70′ of water both bait (clam & sand fleas) and jigs.
LBI Surf Fishing Classic
The Long Beach Island Surf Fishing Classic is rolling through Week 5. There’s fish on the board and anglers are wining great prizes while having fun fishing. If you want to join there are lots of prizes to win during the 13 week event. For the live results, leader board and additional info…. https://www.lbisfc.com/lbi-fall-classic-surf-fishing-tournament
