The weather is cool but the fishing is hot! Now’s a great time to get out and fish for striped bass, bluefish, fluke, black drum, weakfish and more. Memorial Day Weekend is near and the fish are here. Get out on the beach or boat and enjoy! Here’s my short report update from yesterday. For more details on recent catches take a look back at other recent report posts and be sure to follow us in Instagram!
“The beach is lit up with this approaching front! I caught 4 bass to 42″ in the last 45 minutes and a big blue too.” Report sent in from Joe Handley Jr last night. A photo he sent in is below.
The first half of May was good to anglers fishing the waters of Long Beach Island. And right now the local fishing scene is going strong! Anglers are hooking a mix of striped bass, bluefish, fluke, and even some black drum and weakfish. Clam remains the top-producing bait for striped bass off the beach, while mullet and bunker are attracting a few quality blues. There has been a surprising good number of blues caught on clam too. As per Frezza’s recent instagram story…If you are wonder if you should go… You should of already went! Get out there!!!
Waning off the full moon things lined up with consistent fishing this past week. There’s some medium large bluefish, great striped bass activity with some big bass here, fluke is on fire, a few drum being picked and weakfish are here if you know where to look. Also big game bluefin has started!
The LBI surf bite has been good! Here’s a couple notably catches…
One, American Angler Carl Hartman weighed in a chunky 10-pound bluefish at Fisherman’s Headquarters.
Other good size bluefish were reported by Aiden and Liam McInerney, Tommy Shelly as well as Patrick Socacia.
BUT none bigger than Pat Pressutto’s LBI Spring Surf Fishing Derby Bluefish leader at 12.44#. Pat caught his fish on 5/15 on bunker fishing the mid-Island surf.
On the striped bass side of things…
Andrew Losinno got a 47″ striped bass off the LBI surf. He shared, “I caught this 47″ striped bass las night on your guys BIG ASS CLAMS!”
Steve Taylor took the lead in the LBI Spring Surf Fishing Derby with his 14.56# striped bass.
Fish Heads Alumni and founder of Stack Tackle Jack Keating is having good results plugging the surf after dark. He said the Bomber is unstoppable! Any one who hasn’t fished a Bomber lures over the years should check one out. You just might get tight when all else fails.
Aaron Allison reported a nice black drum that he caught off of the surf on Fish Heads live sand fleas.
Here’s my most recent fishing report video… a foggy Friday morning fishing report update for the Long Beach Island area.
Fluke Fire Off the Surf & Bay
Fluke season started strong across the board. In the surf, inlet and bay anglers are all finding success, with notable catches. One of many great surf side fluke reports came in from Steve George of Night Strikes Guide Service. He puts in the time, working the surf and it pays off. He has limit + catches on recent trips and already a 5#+ surf fluke. Not a common feat! The surf, jetties and bayside channels are also producing well. Work the holes and bowls to score.
LBI Fishing Outlook
The second half of May into early June is historically prime time, so don’t wait. The fish are here now, the bite is on, and the clock is ticking. Whether you’re a seasoned surf caster or just getting started, now’s the time to get out and fish LBI hard! Stop in and see us at Fishermans Headquarters for you bait and tackle needs. We are here to assist and get you in the game.
Here’s a great story from Andrew Folkmann from Nashville, Tennessee. He shared…
“I made the trip up to Long Beach Island, New Jersey this weekend. The Fish Head Instagram posts and fishing reports of great fishing with giant fish is the season I booked the last minutes trip. Thanks for inspiring people to get out there and go fishing! When talking to a clerk at Fishermans Hq I asked him where I should go and where the stripers where. He said go up the street and fish along the beach. He was was right.”
“I caught a fat 30″ striped bass on clam and then a little late caught another larger bass that was 38″. Lastly I caught a gator bluefish. Awesome trips! Thanks!”
Bait Updates & Weekend Outlook
Fresh bait deliveries are rolling in every chance we can get. Both clams and bunker are both being stocked heavily here at Fisherman’s Headquarters however the bait game isn’t as easy as it sounds. Suppliers have to go out and fish to catch them and we all know fishing can be tricky. Dealing with weather, delays, timing, transport, and storage all play a part. Then there’s unknown calamity. Sometimes bait guys strike out or weather prevents them from fishing. We do our absolute best to plan according to ensure we have the best bait possible while balancing supply and demand. Many time driving all over the state to pick up the freshest baits to ensure our customers get the best.
Case and point, today the local gill net bunker boat that supplies many of the shops around town struck out. And that was two days in a row. Friday a thresher shark ripped large holes in the net. Saturday the swell had bait scattered and the clean water had the baits seeing and swimming away. Expecting a large quantity each day which never showed left us unexpectedly short. Fortunately we have other supply channels which came in clutch. But it required hours of driving. We killed two birds with one stone and also picked up Saturday morning harvest clams too. It doesn’t get any fresher than that. Usually all shops get delivered 1-2 days after harvest. Being on the ONLY shop in the area with fresh bunker today and tomorrow shows we go above and beyond for YOU!
Fishermans Headquarters – Helping Anglers Catch More Fish Since 1962!
American Angler Grand Slam Surf Fishing Tournament
Reel in some fun and potentially some big prizes this Saturday, May 31, fishing the American Angler Grand Slam Surf Fishing Tournament on the beaches of Long Beach Island.
Compete for bragging rights and some fantastic prizes. The tournament is open to everyone with teams (up to six) and individuals.
Date: Saturday, May 31, 2025.
Time: 7 am to 12:30 pm.
Location: Long Beach Island, NJ (South end).
Registration: Starts at 5:30 am to 7 am.
Entry Fee: $90.00 team (up to 6 anglers), $100.00 day of. $25.00 Individuals. Day of $30.00, Kids $15.00. Venmo/PayPal accepted. Cash/Checks accepted day of.
Prizes: First Place Team Six $600.00 Gift Certificates and Six sets of Bajio Sunglasses.
Rules: This is an ASAC-sanctioned tournament. Rules can be found at www.asaconline.org.
Extras: Free 4×4 pass and a free light lunch with paid registration. Calcutta’s, raffles, and Individual prizes.
Contacts: Questions, contact Carl Hartmann at [email protected], or 201-481-4390
Don’t miss out on the chance to test your skills and enjoy a day of fishing with fellow enthusiasts. We hope to see you there! Prizes are subject to change.
The Long Beach Island waters are fishy right now! Our spring run really sped up over the past few days and have delivered. With the full moon behind us, the next few weeks are prime time. My favorite four weeks of the spring are the last two of May and the first two of June. It’s a great time to fish and score a variety of species on the beach and boat.
Here’s my latest fishing report video from Monday afternoon, May 12, 2025…
There’s fish up and down the island. Inlets, bay and front beach all have great fishing opportunities.
Some classy striped bass showed up in the past 5-7 days. One of the largest specimens recently caught was reported in by Captain Jon Kelly aboard LBI Sportfishing. They caught a giant, 52″ striped bass fishing off of Holgate, LBI’s south end. With all of the surf side catches (reports below and loaded on our social media accounts; Facebook & Instagram) now’s the time to work the nearshore waters. There are scattered bunker, a few schools and these baits should come together in the near future.
LBI SURF FISHING
So far this spring run has been really good. It’s stacking up in terms of quality, quantity and variety to last spring which was spectacular. CLAMS remain the top-producing bait in the surf for striped bass and black drum. Bluefish and fluke spiced up the sud more recently (more on that later). The surf side clam jam has been a treat and it’s far from over! Now we have some sour weather (Wednesday) spring fishing to conquer, but Thursday on looks great. The fish are here so it’s go time! There’s presky skates and doggies on the surf too.
More bluefish catches this past weekend showed a wave of bluefish arrived and are here now. Blues are hitting both bait (bunker and mullet) and plugs. Here’s a recent yellow eye caught by Fish Heads Alumni Jack Keating (also from Stack Tackle). Back from college, this was his first spring surf session and got tight on a Stack Tackle Quigley 4.5″ Metal Lip, shown in the photo. He shared, “They wanted the plug!” Stay tuned for the new release Screwy Head Jig drop coming soon!
A couple more drum reports today from the suds. “The drum are chewing!” Keith Soycher reported Monday evening. He sent in a drum photo (above) and then a good size bluefish. “I’m still out here! Hopefully I can get a striper and it will make for an epic night!” Both fish were caught on clam. Yup bluefish eat clam… they might eat just about anything.
LBI FLUKE FISHING
The early season fluke-in is a great fishery for both beach and boat anglers. At times the bay has offered up good hauls. Some even better catches were had by land based anglers in recent days. One of many great reports come from Steve George at Night Strikes Guide Service. He checked in a limit catch from the surf and shared, “I had my limit and then released two more keepers!”
FIRST THRESHER SHARK
The first local spring thresher shark report came in from John Beard. He reported, “It’s really awesome when a plan comes together. Soaking bait at 8:40 and hooked up at 9am. Two hours later and it was all over. 220# on the scale.” These powerful inshore big game species are around the local waters May-October and are commonly found around bunker schools.
NJ’s 2025 BLACK SEA BASS SEASON
On Saturday May 17th the 2025 New Jersey recreational Black Sea Bass season opens with a 12.5″ minimum size and a 10 fish per person possession bag limit. Sea bass fishing is one hella fun fishery and especially fun light tackle jigging. Plus they’re tasty table fair is a fan favorite.
Season Dates: May 17 – June 19, 2025
Size Limit: 12.5″ excluding tail filament
Bag Limit: 10 Fish per person
For more details on the 2025 NJ Fishing Regulations – Here is a helpful source which includes many that the state leaves out.
The bite is on! Not epic blitz fishing but the Long Beach Island surf is producing striped bass and some black drum. We have also heard a couple bluefish reports off of the surf, with many more in the bay. Also the fluke season is off to a great start with many strong reports from beach and boat anglers. Reports have come in from the north end, mid-Island and south end. There’s really not one hot spot. Gear up and fish a cut… It’s go time!
For photos check out our Facebook and Instagram pages. Be sure to follow for notifications on fishing updates. Also be sure to check back on our other recent reports.
Here’s a quick fishing report morning updated for Wednesday May 7, 2025.
The past two days brought some quality fishing to the waters of LBI with striped bass responding well to bait and lures. I’ve taken full advantage with a couple productive after work trips. Over the past two days, I managed to land a handful of nice bass fishing lures. The water is still cold but creeping up and we’ve had a solid uptick in local action. It’s not full-blown spring mayhem here yet, BUT things are trending in the right direction. There are quality striped bass here right NOW… unders, slots and 15-20-30-40+# class stripers.
Go Fish!!!
1:30PM Live Report Sent In- Jamie Gramley got a pair of striped bass on Tuesday. He reported, “Your clams caught a 23″ and a 30″ bass on the surf.” He’s on the beach today and shared, “Good day today so far! Got two striped bass and also one drum. I also lost something big on a bunker chunk.”
May Starts Off Strong With Stripers Of All Sizes On The Surf
May kicked off with a bang here on Long Beach Island, as a solid wave of striped bass fired up the spring run. Surf side anglers had an excellent weekend fishing with all size classes, from schoolies to slot fish and some larger ones showing too! Most of the action is from anglers soaking clams and chunking bunker but there are anglers catching working the suds with lures. Fishing is also good in the bay and inlet where both striped bass, bluefish and now fluke are on tap. Anglers also have a slim chance at spring tide runners (weakfish).
Looking ahead, the next few weeks represent prime time for spring striped bass fishing on LBI. May is a great time! This is the window to fish and find some of the season’s best action. Don’t wait for it to get better! Gear up at Fishermans Headquarters Bait & Tackle and get into the action now.
Greg Davis caught this 30″ striped bass off the surf on Sunday plugging. He weighed in for the Spring Surf Fishing Derby and is currently in the lead at 10.14#. More details on the spring tournament
Another plugging surf side report came in from Chris Masino. He shared, “39-40 incher on a Joe Baggs Miracle Minnow! Thank you.” A couple days prior Chris released another nice bass. If you are looking for some of these very effective Fall time lures we have them currently on sale, click the link above. As Chris shows they produce in the spring time too!
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Heather and Pat reported a nice weekend fishing the beaches of LBI. “We had ourselves a nice weekend and we are about to have an even better dinner!” Below is one of Heather’s bass and one of Pat’s.
As April ends, the Long Beach Island fishing fires up! The surf has come alive recently with striped bass hitting clam and bluefish have arrived in our waters.
This morning we got a report from Matt Compitello not long after leaving the shop with fresh clam. Sunrise striper on the surf!
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Some other recent surf side striped bass reports came in from Greg Davis who got a nice over slot striped bass and also Mike Richter’s about 40″ below.
The active black drum bite has simmered down in the bay, but there’s a good shot that we’ll see another wave of them. Will they hit the surf like last year? Got to be fishing the surf to find out.
The past couple of days a handful of bluefish reports have come in from the bay, inlet and surf. Off the surf you’ll want to fish mullet, bunker or lures for the yellow eyes. The Jetty Jockies shared this bluefish catch photo yesterday that fell for a No Live Bait Needed.
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Tom Zaboroski Jr caught a 23.75″ bluefish on frozen mullet this past weekend during the American Anglers Surf Fishing Tournament. In addition to Tom’s catch, there was one small striped bass and a blowfish pulled in. With the rough conditions and lack of catches Tom won over $2k in prizes.
Today is the last day of New Jersey’s one month spring Blackfish / Tautog / Tog fishing season. For the most part the water was cold and the weather was windy. There were some windows, but just like last year the final 7-10 days were the best of it.
As one season closed another opens… this Sunday May 5th is opening day for NJ Fluke Fishing! For a full overview of the 2025 NJ Recreational Fishing Regulations, Seasons, Size & Bag Limit Laws… Here’s a chart I’ve updated and compiled for many years which the state’s “attention angler” graphic leaves out and I also include the hard to find ones too. Most Google and AI searches pull up bad results! You’ve been warned. Printable PDF Here
Tune in now to my latest fishing report update video from Monday. Please drop a comment with your report or latest catches. LBI Fishing Report 4/28/25 – LBI Surf Wakes Up As April Wanes: Striped Bass, Drum & Blues Are Here!
Just put the boat in the water last week. Getting her all loaded with gear and ready to fish.
We usually start out hunting the west side of the bay for stripers. Casting soft plastics and trolling plugs on spinning rods are our go-to methods. All the while looking for bird play and bait. A few more degrees and there should be some blues in the mix.
Next, we head to the inlet, where we will be casting lures and using bait for stripers. Even though we are targeting bass, we usually hammer away at the blackfish on the bait.
Open Boat and Charter trips will be departing at 6AM and returning at 11AM Wed April 30, Thurs May 1, and Fri May 2. After Fri May 2, our next availability will be Mon May 12. By then we will be targeting blues on topwater lures in the back bay, as well. Open Boat: $175 person, 4 people max, all fish are shared. Charter rates are available on our site: hiflier.com
The spring fishing season here in the Long Beach Island region is good with anglers catching a few different species in a variety of locations. It’s great to see fishing in the region stretching out. Here’s my latest fishing report video from yesterday…
LBI Surf Fishing Report
On the surf, the ocean is cold 46-47º but it’s creeping up. Once that warming trend gives us 48-50º things will pop. Yesterday afternoon we heard of the first direct report with a photo of a surf side striped bass. It was caught by Ship Bottom Beach Patrol’s Tom Smith. He puts a lot of time fishing all year long and it pays off! Congrats Tommy!!! His photo is included in the fishing report video thumbnail above, but his report came in after the video was published so it didn’t make the cut.
The LBI Spring Surf Fishing Tournament is underway. Sign up now and participate in this fun spring fishing event. There are prizes for striped bass and also the largest bluefish. There’s also a catch and release division. More info here.
Barnegat Bay – Manahawkin Bay – Great Bay Fishing Report
In the bay, striped bass and black drum are the two primary games. At times the bite has been excellent. Both of these are taking clams in a many different areas from the Island’s west side street ends, bulkheads, bay beaches and sod banks to the mainland’s many public access points. Bloodworms are also a great bait for striped bass as well as winter flounder (no reports but now’s the time to target them). As the waters are finally back up from another round of chill, striped bass on artificals has improved.
Late April and May offer great light tackle striped bass in the bay.
The black drum fishing since this past full moon (4/12) has been good. They tend to trend in waves and the prime days/tides were outstanding. In the fishing report video thumbnail above you’ll find team Fish Head staff Max (left) and Tyler (right) each with big drum they recently caught and release fishing clam on the bayside at night.
Barnegat Inlet Fishing Report
At the Barnegat Light State Park, Barnegat Inlet tautog (tog – blackfish) are on tap. Fishing is not epic but it is an opportunity to take advantage of while the season is open. It’s only open for the month of April, 4 fish bag at a 15″ minimum. [Soon striped bass, bluefish and fluke will spice up the scene!]
Fishing crabs (green crabs, mole crab – sand fleas) on a simple single hook rig or a tog jig around the rock jetty and/or bulkhead to score. Anglers working the inshore wrecks and reefs are also catching. The bite has been on the slow side due to unseasonably cold ocean waters but there’s fish to catch. We expect the water to warm and the fishing to improve just like last year. The last stretch of the season is always the best.
Looking ahead, the weather looks good for the next few days. It’s time to get out and fish.
We are looking forward to some bluefish showing up and also summer flounder fishing season kicking off May 4th!
Fish Head Alumni Sam scored a good day on the water flounder fishing where he lived now in Virginia. He reported, “Here in VA the flounder season is open all year. I got out and caught 22 with 8 keeper size. All on Gulp and minnow. The bite was best on the outgoing tide’s warmer water.” Can’t beat that for a first trip of the year! I can’t wait for my first flounder trip of 2025.
Fish Head regular Joe Handley is down in OBX and scored some fun fishing with bluefish. Hey Joe, once you get your fill, please send some up this way!
Sorry about the hiatus. GoDaddy sent me on a wild goose chase. It all started back in August and has been a lingering. Finally it’s all cleared up and I expect smooth sailing from here on out. My apologizes.
And if not already done… Please subscribe to our YouTube channel for updated fishing report videos. Jump over there now! Here’s my most recent fishing report video…
Before jumping into the fishing report, I must mention a few announcements…
We extended our hours as the spring fishing season is well underway. We open daily at 6am. Monday thru Thursday we close at 7pm. On Friday and Saturday we stay open until 8pm and on Sunday we close early at 6pm.
Premium Baits In Stock – For the holiday weekend we have a smorgasbord of the premium baits… Live bloodworms, live surf clam, live green crabs, live eels. We had both live minnow and live sand fleas but sold out, hoping to get more soon. AND this week we packed our one walk in freezer with quality offshore baits. We have Baitmaster ballyhoo both rigged and unrigged, as well as some new rigged swordfish baits; rigged eels, rigged squid and rigged tentacles. You gotta check these out! They are all sitting pretty at -10°. Every year we sell out so now’s a good time to pick up some packs.
LBI Spring Surf Fishing Tournament – For all of those surf fishing anglers… the LBI Spring Surf Fishing Tournament (formally the Simply Bassing event) is running until June 22nd. The event is $20 to sign up and there are prizes for striped bass (first, second, third largest) and bluefish (largest).
LBI Fishing Report April 18, 2025
The weather broke open and the fishing in the bay kicked into another gear this week. Striped bass and drum are chewing in many spots around the Barnegat Bay, Manahawkin Bay and Great Bay. These two can be targeted by land based anglers or via boat. For the black drum fish whole surf clams. Anglers are catching stripers fishing live bloodworms, clam and on lures.
The surf has been empty with the cold surf (~46º) but we expect some action in the coming days as the waters warm up a few degrees. We heard about one small surf side striped bass. It’s a start. Once the surf hits 48º and then 50º and remains there, we will be rocking!
Striped Bass Fishing Report
The bays and rivers are where the action is right now. For timing, the best is fishing the warmer outgoing tide and preferably on a sunny afternoon. When the tide and weather line up, these days are best. This time last year fish were present in the LBI suds. Anyday and the surf will be turning on!
Bloodworms are still a great bait and CLAM is producing too. For more help with fishing these soft baits check out these tips and tricks – How To Fish A Worm Ball…
Black Drum Fishing Report
A nice push of black drum arrived on the full moon last weekend. We’ve had a number of nice reports. There are many different areas that can be fished both on the LBI bayside as well as the west side of the bay and Great Bay areas. Last night store staffer Max got a big one fishing clams. He shared, “The Magictail 9′ rod paired with the new Quantum Strive 5ooo was awesome. It handled the dinosaur with no problem. The reel outperforms it’s price point.” Fish Heads alumni Erik was soaking some bait for bass and got a good size drum a couple days back. Also store staffer Tyler has been into drum on a number of trips this past week.
Black Drum Love Surf Clam!
Tautog Fishing Report
The first half of April’s tog season was not stellar. Cold windy weather dominated the schedule. With the better sea conditions and a settling ocean the wreck report are improving. Tony Butch and Fish Head’s alumni Bill Bassant were on the water today and caught their two man limit. We heard other reports of good fishing but no reports of big tog. Let’s see how the rest of the month plays out. We are looking forward to the second half of this April’s tog season to be better than the first half and just like last year… hammer time on the back stretch.
Land based tog fishing is only getting better too as the water warms and the fish become more active. Jared Zaum reported that he caught two tog fishing the Inlet rocks today, “One 15.5″ and the other 16.5″ – The Magictail 8′ 1-4oz rod matched up on the Tsunami SaltX-2 4000 is great.” He just received it yesterday from UPS and is already putting it to use. That’s what we like to see!
White Perch
Rivers and select lagoons have perch on tap. A number of customers have reported great fun fishing for white perch in the Mullica River. The last couple weeks of April is when a white perch bite materializes in select lagoons in the area.
Winter Flounder Fishing Report
Fishing reports of winter flounder are few and far between, but now is the time to target them. This somewhat of a lost fishery has little to no participation in recent years. Maybe it’s the regulations or maybe it’s the style of fishing.
We are hopeful that some bluefish and weakfish show soon.
