Author: FishHead.Greg

First things first, my apologies for the radio silence. It’s been over a month since the last update. Time got away from me. The holiday season and some big projects at the shop as well as home and posting updates took the back seat. That said, I’m back to share an update as the winter fishing show season is officially ON! But first, a paragraph on the fishing report.

The fall run really shut down after the first week or so of December. The wicked winds were brutal and the deep cold put a halt on things fast. There were very few fishable windows, but some anglers squeaked in some fishing late fall and early winter fishing. We received a couple good reports; however the majority of tog fishing was poor. With back bay bassin’ closed until March 1 the only other options is white perch in the rivers or making the trek south for tuna (which has been good) on down in the OBX.

As always, Fisherman’s Headquarters will be hitting the winter fishing tackle circuit. Come out and score great savings on fishing gear before spring!

What We’re Bringing to the Shows

If you’ve been to our booths before, you already know the deal:

• ✅ Wide selection of top catching tackle from the past season
• ✅ New tackle arrivals and fresh gear for 2026
• ✅ Overstock & clearance items priced to move
• ✅ Blowout clothing rack & rod rack

Come early… the good stuff never lasts long.

Upcoming Shows We’ll Be Attending

Mark your calendars, come say hello, and take advantage of some serious winter tackle deals.

January 18, 2026 – Lacey HS Fishing Flea Market

This Sunday is the 16th Annual Lacey Township High School Fishing Flea Market. It is one of the biggest and best fishing flea markets in the Central NJ region. Be sure to check it out and help support the great Lacey High School Fishing Club. Proceeds from the event fund fishing trips and outdoor educational experiences from student members of the Lacey HS Fishing Club.

• Doors open: 9 AM – 2 PM
• $5 Admission, Children 10 & under are free
• Address: 73 Haines St, Lanoka Harbor, NJ 08734

February 7, 2026 – Southern Reg Fishing Flea Market

The annual Southern Regional High School Fishing Club’s Fishing Flea Market is Saturday Feb 7th. There is raffles every half hour and a fishing seminar by Bayside Dave at 10am. The event is a fundraiser that helps offset the SRHS Fishing Club’s fishing trip costs.

• Doors open: 8 AM – 2 PM
• $4 Admission, Children under 12 are free when accompanied by an adult.
• Address: Southern Regional Middle School Cafeteria – 75 Cedar Bridge Rd, Manahawkin, NJ 08050

February 14, 2026 – Surf Day

A Day Dedicated to the Surfcaster – The Jersey Shore Surfcasters annual event Surf Day is the original Surf Day. Don’t be mislead by the pop up impersonators. This is the best long running surf show there is! There’s seminars all day long from the Striper Coast’s top speakers as well as a packed house of plug builders and surf fishing tackle. We have the same booth space, in the main room on the left side as entering. Be on the look out for show specials on surf fishing essentials.

• Doors open: 8:30 AM – 4:30 PM
• $10 Admission, Veterans $5, Kids 14 & Under are FREE
• Address: Brookdale Community College – 765 Newman Springs Rd., Lincroft, NJ 07758

February 25 – March 1, 2026 – AC Boat Show

The Atlantic City Boat Show is the regions largest boat show and we are heading back after a decade plus hiatus. We’ll have a small booth (#454) with the best catching tackle for 2026. We’ll also have show specials for spring outfitting.

On Thursday Feb 26 at 4:30PM I will be giving a Light Tackle Striped Bass Seminar on the proven tackle and techniques I use season in and season out.

For more info on the show: https://www.acboatshow.com/about

• Booth #454
• Address: Atlantic City Convention Center – 1 Convention Blvd., Atlantic City, NJ 08401

March 13–15, 2026 – NJ Saltwater Expo

The biggest and best Saltwater Fishing show in the East. The Saltwater Fishing Expo is the one can’t miss fishing show of the year! It’s a big show packed with fishing as well as giveaways and seminars. We doubled up our space last year and we’ll be back in the same booth this year with lots of great new fishing tackle from Quantum and Shimano as well as all of the top products of 2025 and the best catchers of 2026.

• Booth #401
• Address: New Jersey Convention & Expo Center – 97 Sunfield Ave., Edison, NJ 08837

Why It’s Worth Stopping By

The winter fishing shows are something that makes the New Jersey fishing scene special. It’s a great time to meet and network with the fishing community and see new things. Touch and feel out rather than clicking and swiping. The shows are an awesome time to check out new tackle and score pre-season pricing.

• No shipping delays
• No guessing — see it, touch it, compare it
• Ask questions and talk fishing
• Score preseason & clearance deals before spring

Whether you’re gearing up for spring striped bass, tackling tuna, reloading your surf bag or just expanding into an new fishery or technique, these fishing shows are where it happens.

See you at there!

Finally a beautiful weekend with some good weather and it provided good fishing. It feels like winter but there’s still some “fall fishing” left in the tank… winter isn’t officially here for a couple more weeks (Dec.21). Here my latest fishing report video from yesterday.

Late Fall Striped Bass

The early stretch of December has been cold and it prematurely shifted things into winter like fishing mode. The surf fishing has been slow and spotty. With the surf temps sitting around 45–46° we don’t expect anything spectacular, but a few striped bass are on tap for those grinding the cuts and pockets with lures like diamond jigs with teaser, sandeel rubbers or paddle tails and straight tails. For the entire fall run, the best striped bass fishing action has been via boat. The past couple of weeks have offered windows of solid striped bass catches north of Barnegat Inlet. Many times the northern fleet/boats were fishing down this way. This past weekend, both Saturday and Sunday played out this way again. Anglers working top water spooks, soft-bait paddle tails (NLBN Baits & Tsunami Shads) or those not looking to cast under the birds… troll 9er Umbrella Rigs for sure strikes.

Happy striped bass anglers fishing aboard Reel Fantasea Fishing Charters with Captain Steve Purul.

Wreckin’ Tog 

On the wreck side of things… the tautog bite was stellar this weekend with some standout catches from local anglers fishing the wrecks and reef sites. Expect it to be good into the new year. John Ginsberg caught a monster, a 22.8# white chin.

Dante from Magictails was aboard and shared this report, “We fished three spots and didn’t have a keeper. At noon and I said to Rich. I have a spot from 3 years ago that l never fished. We are going to hit a home run or we’ll strike out! But it can’t be worse than this! So we took the ride. The first crab I dropped down was inhaled by a 15 plus lb tog! I look over and everyone on the boat is folded over! For me watching FOUR Magictail Fishing Rods folded over made my day! In the 2-1/2 hours of fishing we caught 15 or so fish over 10# and three over 15# and a giant jumbo… 22.8 lber! We released over 20 fish over 7#, keeping some tog and some jumbo sea bass! A day we’ll never forget!!!”

Jon Ginsburg holding his 22.8# tautog at weigh in.

LBI Surf Fishing Classic

As the 2025 fall run winds down, it’s worth looking back at the Long Beach Island Surf Fishing Classic. Congrats to tournament winner Bill Tyson and to all anglers who participated and scored, including the catch-and-release standouts in the Surf Master division, Gordon Kirk.

This may be one of my final fishing reports of the year, but I’ll try to continue sharing some fishing tackle shop news as well as winter fishing tackle shows – events.

If you need gear or holiday gifts, Fisherman’s Headquarters is open daily with everything you need for the remainder of 2025 and it’s never too early to think ahead for winter fishing travel trips and the 2026 spring season. Thanks to everyone for the support! See you at the shop and at the shows.

Current Hours

Mon-Fri: 7AM to 7PM
Saturday: 6AM to 7PM
Sunday: 6AM to 6PM

Upcoming Fishing Shows

Jan 18 – Lacey High School Fishing Flea Market
Feb 7 – Southern Regional Fishing Flea Market
Feb 14 – JSS Surf Day at Brookdale Community College
Fed 25 – Mar 1 – Atlantic City Boat Show
March 13 – Saltwater Fishing Expo, Edison NJ

Written by Greg Cudnik, charter captain and associate at Fisherman’s Headquarters Bait & Tackle Ship in Ship Bottom, NJ. Fishing reports and local information is provided as a free resource and based on Captain Greg’s on-the-water observations and decades of local fishing experience on the Jersey Shore.

Happy Thanksgiving from all of us at Fish Heads! We give thanks. We give thanks. We give thanks for family, friends, food and fishing!

We are closing today at 1pm but we will be back to our normal hours tomorrow, opening at 6am on Black Friday. On the Black Friday and tackle sales topic… our largest sale of the season is on now… shop and score on the best tackle at the best prices... Gulp, Jigs, Lures, Hooks, Reel, Assorted Tackle, etc…

On the fishing report front, here is our latest fishing report video posted yesterday…

November’s new moon has kicked off the transition into late fall fishing and it’s shaping up to be a great stretch. There are still quality sized striped bass around and as we move deeper into the month, expect more of the small class of fish to mix in. This change has been evident this week.

Epic Week on the Water

This week delivered some of the best fishing of the season. I was out Monday fishing the gale and absolutely crushed them with only three boats out that I saw. It was nonstop action with striped bass of all size classes. We caught fish every way possible: jigging, casting and live bait.

I’m not sure how but, Tuesday was even better! In my book it goes down as a Top 10 Day. It was right up there or better than the two best days last fall which were all out nuclear, November 27th and 30th. Many large Massive schools of bait and waves of hungry striped bass pushed hard and fed for hours, foaming feeds! It was perfectly scheduled for our previously planned Magictail product shoot with owner Dante and cameraman Nate came up from South Carolina. Nate got a real good taste of Jersey striped bass mayhem. I’m hoping many who read this blog were in on the fun. I know I saw lots of friends and familiar faces/boats having a blast.

I’m looking forward to more great fall fishing ahead!

LBI Surf: Spotty But Improving

The LBI surf has produced scattered catches, but things are lining up. The surf temps are in the low 50º’s and there’s plenty of bait along the beach. With the new moon, abundant bait and the fall run’s migration sliding south, the next couple weeks look promising for the surf.

Each morning this week, anglers have picked off fish on artificials. Now is definitely the time to put in the hours.

Store staffer Emmit caught three bass from the LBI surf this morning. “Birds were working way out of reach,” he reported. “I fished a few cuts and got bites on a diamond jig with a teaser.”

For updates on the LBI Surf Fishing Classic check out the live results page. There has been some recent activity.

Here’s two recent fishing report videos. Be sure to subscribe to the channel for notifications when a fresh post is live.

Written by Greg Cudnik, charter captain and associate at Fisherman’s Headquarters Bait & Tackle Ship in Ship Bottom, NJ. Fishing reports and local information is provided as a free resource and based on Captain Greg’s on-the-water observations and decades of local fishing experience on the Jersey Shore.

Fishing is spotty but great at times. Most of the goodness is via boat; however there are some great land based catches. Now’s the time to get out and fish!

More fishable conditions the past couple of days have allowed anglers to get out and score. The fall striped bass bite along the Central Jersey coast is firing up with a variety of forage and a solid body of fish moving through. After a long hiatus I got out fishing Monday afternoon/evening and Tuesday midday. Both trips I had great fishing both on lures and livelining bunker. We tagged some nice striped bass up to 46.5” – 37 lbs.

It was scarce but the bait situation has improved recently. Right now peanut, juvie and adult bunker are schooled up in addition to tinker mackerel, sand eels, rain bait and some squid. There’s a few whales in the area and birds are working with them.

Some good size striped bass have slid down and into Ocean County waters this week. On Monday, we had a good report from Mike and Josh who trolled up two nice bass off of LBI. Josh shared, “Fishing in 40′ of water off the south end if LBI we trolled up two big striped bass.”

It seems to me that these fish are well fed, more selective and a bit wary as they aren’t crushing lures. Maybe that changes soon. Store alumni Dan D. is working hard on his week off and has got some good ones on lures. One of his bigger recent catches is below.

It’s still slow on the surf side but reports are becoming and more consistent from the LBI surf. Tom Smith landed a nice striped bass plugging the LBI surf Tuesday, photo below. He when out again this morning with his buddy who scored a surprise fluke. They reported, “We has one big swirl but it never came tight. There was also a whale and lots of bait out of casting range. It looked good.” Today we received another report of bunker off the mid-island surf and while I was filming the fishing report video update I had a whale break a couple times on bunker.

John Sullivan caught a upper 30″ range bass on a lure fishing the south end of LBI on Sunday and submitted it to the LBI Surf Master Division of the LBI Surf Fishing Tournament. The Surf Master has had an uptick in actively the past couple of days proving we have some nice fish here right now. Once these submissions are scored they will be published on the tournament’s website. Check it out for other live results too… www.LBISFC.com

Ocean “surf” water temps are in the mid-50’s (55-56º) and the Beaver Moon has ushered in the second wave of bass our way. Yes SECOND! If you haven’t been out (like me too until this week) you missed the first wave. Now’s the time to get out and fish — the fall run is happening!

Store staffer Paul reported the bass fishing in the bay is very good on NLBN swim baits. The same came from Dante at Magictail who says he is catching every trip in the bay fishing eels with some nice size class. Jimmy Nacion who knows how to catch some big fish in the bay (did you see his big fluke after big fluke after big fluke catches this past summer?) got a big bass fishing last night with eels. Another great recent catch was reported from Sonny Markoski who caught and released this striped bass (photo below) fishing the bay the other night!

The inlet remains productive with both tog and striped bass.

November Is Prime Time On The Central Jersey Coast – GO TIME!!!

Windy & Cooling Water

It’s late October on Long Beach Island and the wind is blowing. It’s blowing all week. What else is new? Strings of unsettled weather has tied up boats for most of this month. The shorter days (longer nights) and chilly temps have dropped surf temperatures to around 60°F. The back bay is in the low to mid-50’s.

With the temp drop we have had a drastic change in the averrable species. As expected the warm water species skedaddled! Blowfish, Pompano and Kingfish rolled out! The steady small bluefish bite has faded as the mullet run wrapped up. A few stragglers may remain, but for the most part, the mullet migration has passed.

A coastal storm and gale are now in effect, bringing more rough surf and persistent northeast flow today, going easterly tomorrow (Thursday) and then westerly on Friday. The westerly, north -westerly flow sticks around for the weekend. Expect powerful swell on Friday (3-5’+). It lingers and fades Saturday (2-3’+) with much smaller surf come Sunday (1′ range).

Best Bite Right Now: Tog and Sea Bass

For anglers looking to stay active, the best bet continues to be blackfish (tog). Solid tog fishing at the Barnegat Inlet, along the rocks, bulkheads, and local docks with green crabs and sand fleas has anglers tugging on a mix of sizes. There’s keepers too.

Offshore bottom fishing is a great play when the weather allows. Sea bass and porgies as well as triggerfish are hanging around the deeper water structure. Recently the best action has been in the 90–100’+ areas. Most of the inshore reefs and wrecks have been hit or miss. There it will be a better pick of tog which will only improve as November rolls in.

Looking Ahead: The November Shift

While the surf bite is slow right now, the striped bass are not far off. November’s fall migration should fire up soon in the local waters. November is historically a month full of great fishing.

Some quality fish are staged up to out north off of Monmouth County. Anglers have been getting into some classy bass up that way fishing live bunker and bunker imitations. Think big plugs, flutter spoons and rubber swim baits.

As far as LBI beaches go, recently we have only heard of one local surf side striped bass. The 34″ over-slot was caught by Pat Gallon. Only other surf side reports are themed around no more kingfish, no blues and some pests… dogfish.

Until the surf comes to life, striped bass local to LBI can be found in the bay and inlet. JP stopped in the shop this week and reported great fishing in the bay this past weekend using Tsunami swim shads (rubber swim baits) catching under, slot and over size striped bass.

Gear up for the fall now here at Fisherman’s Headquarters open daily and fully stocked up with fishing rods, fishing reels, fishing tackle and we also offer full service fishing rod and reel repair. If not close by shop online at FishermansHeadquarters.com.

The multi-day nor’easter hammered the coastline and pushed in some serious flooding and powerful swell. LBI is still drying out and the ocean is slowly settling. Today was a beautiful day and felt really great after the relentless stretch of foul weather. We are also turning the mid-October corner and getting into a more chilly fall feel.

Long Beach Island’s surf temps have slipped below 70º where they were hanging for weeks. Today the LBI surf was 64-65º. The water also cleaned up a lot from yesterday’s chocolate milk stain, but surprisingly clean except for lots of debris at the highest tide line and wash overs. Residual swell energy remains in the water the next few days and expect possibly rebuilds a bit from a Canadian Maritime low spinning up some easterly ground swell over the weekend.

Fishing Report Details

The fishable days have been few and far between, but those anglers fishing the breaks in weather are capitalizing. It’s a great time to work the surf and jetties.

Today store staffer Max and Swagmattic (yes he still fishes) hit the north end for some tog. They reported back that the bite was on, “We had a pretty savage bite going between 4-6pm. We each caught about 20 tog and a handful of keepers on green crabs. Bruce from Illinois was fishing near us a got a big one… 22″ 5#+!” That’s a monster for land based tog fishing standards!!! Now that the bay water temps have dropped to the golden 60º mark it seems the tog turned on. They should be crushing crabs for the next several weeks.

With the cooler bay temps expect striped bass fishing to spark up on the Island’s many bayside areas as well as the main channels, sod banks and bridges.

On the sandy surf side, there’s small blues, kingfish (both northern and southern) and even still a few surprise pompano (expect them to exit soon if not already). No direct LBI surf side striped bass reports yet but they will be soon. The mullet run is in the final innings (possibly over) but on the bright side there is some bunker schools near. These bait balls have been missing the past couple season. We received two fresh bunker deliveries in the past week. That’s more than we had all of August and September. Fresh bunker has been tough for us the past year or so. Maybe that changes this fall.

October 11th was Merchantville Fishing Club’s 8th Annual LBI Surf Fishing Tournament. The weather was tough but fish were caught, mostly kingfish (northern and southern) and blues. The final standing are below. Congrats to Ocean City Fishing Club on the win!

When there was a couple windows to fish the ocean both inshore and offshore caught. The sea bass should be stacking on structure in 70-90′ range. The yellowfin chunking bite was rocking. Let’s hope it rolls into late fall.

Young Of The Year Striped Bass Data

Today, Maryland DNR released the 2025 Young-of-Year striped bass survey results and while there’s a slight improvement, the news remains concerning. The juvenile index came in at 4.0, up from the last few years but still well below the long-term average of 11. This makes seven consecutive years of poor recruitment in the Chesapeake Bay, which is the main nursery for the Atlantic striped bass stock. More details

VIMS also released information today. They published, “Preliminary results from this year’s Juvenile Striped Bass Seine Survey suggest an average year class was produced in Virginia tributaries in 2025, with a recorded mean value of 5.12 fish per seine haul. The 2025 value represents an improvement over the previous two years of below-average recruitment. The historic average of 7.77 fish per seine haul.” More details

Notice To Mariners: Active Dredging In Local Bay!

The $6.2 million project will restore channels to a safe navigable depth. Over the next couple of months dredge operations will be working around the clock, 24-7. Work will be at the following eight channels; Holiday Harbor, Skippers Cove, Waretown Creek, South Harbor, Double Creek Mainland, Double Creek, High Bar Harbor, Barnegat Light Stake.

Be aware and alert for the pipeline, buoys, dredge and other marine construction equipment during the project. Boaters should proceed through dredging zones with caution and at no wake speed. Use VHF Channel 4 to contact the contractor for meeting/passing arrangements.

For more details

What Last Sunday’s Inlet Rescue Can Teach Every NJ Boater

During the late summer and fall, boaters in New Jersey must keep an eye on the marine weather as well as the tropical weather forecasts and live buoy data. This is the time of year when distant storms can quietly send long period ground swells toward our coast. Even when skies are clear and winds are light, that hidden energy can create deceptively hazardous conditions in the inlets and shoals. What looks like a great day to fish or transit offshore very well may be, BUT it can quickly turn treacherous when groundswells collide head on with a strong ebb tide in a shoaled inlet.

Sunday, October 5, 2025, was one of those days.

The weather was great: light winds, warm, sunny and clear skies. Just a stunning Indian Summer day! There was long-period swell energy lingered from offshore (sub)tropical systems Imelda and Humberto. The Barnegat ocean buoy was reading 3.5–4 feet at 12–14 seconds. It was also the full moon and maximum ebb tide (the strongest part of the outgoing current) peaked at 12:30 pm. This was the worst part of the day’s tide cycle that was also even more extreme due to the moon. This combination produced a dangerous setup at Barnegat Inlet’s East Bar which even on the average day isn’t a nice place to be.

The timing could not have been worse!

At approximately 12:45pm a good samaritan reported on VHF16 a vessel overturned outside Barnegat Inlet. Numerous assets responded to assist. Jet skiers in the area rescued the two victims from the water. Tow Boat US Barnegat Light & Beach Haven was able to transfer the passengers onto there boat from good samaritans on jet skis. From there they transferred them to a USCG 47 MLB who took them back to U.S. Coast Guard Station Barnegat Light to awaiting EMS crews. Sea Tow Central New Jersey assisted Tow Boat with the recovery of the 24-25′ vessel from the line of breakers just outside the inlet. This was another excellent example of multiple agencies working together; Tow Boat US, Sea Tow, US Coast Guard Barnegat Light, Barnegat Light First Aid, NJ State Police Marine Unit. Source: Sea Tow Central NJ

Barnegat’s East Bar: A Hidden Trap

The east end of Barnegat Inlet has long been an area to avoid. There the Aids to Navigation (ATON) are misleading and guide unaware boaters straight toward one of the most hazardous zones in the area. Transient captains running the coast looking to duck into Barnegat Light to ride out weather or make a quick pit stop are set up for failure if they follow the channel markers leading to the inlet. The #3 & #4 direct inbound traffic right towards the shallow East Bar area. It’s treacherous when there’s swell and especially during outgoing tide.

No commercial vessels working out of Barnegat Light use that passage. They all know better and it has been this way for years. It has only got worse. Yet the ATONs remain in place. The solution isn’t complicated. Either removed or reclassify as white danger buoys to clearly identify the shoaling hazard.

Until that happens, local knowledge is the only defense. When transiting in or out of Barneget Inlet alway take the North Cut just off of the North Jetty’s monument’s #6 Red Day Marker. Always follow the classic maritime rule… Red, Right Return. Do not pass on the west side of #6. There’s rocks running from the beach in a straight line all the way to #6. The outer/ eastern half is submerged. Two white danger buoys to the north of the inlet properly identify the rock jetty. The Barnegat Inlet North Jetty is also detailed on every GPS plotter.

This aerial photo taken on 10/2/25 details the Barnegat Inlet during a recent swell event. The whitewater helps identify the shoaling outside of the inlet as well as off the beaches of Barnegat Light.

A: Barnegat Lighthouse
B: Barnegat Inlet
C: North Cut – Deep water safe passage around the North Jetty
D: East Bar
E: Hazardous Channel Markers leading through the East Bar
F: Barnegat Light Shoals

The Role of the Moon

The moon’s gravitational pull drives the rise and fall of sea level called tides. Around the new and full moon cycles, that pull strengthens. These times have more extreme highs and lows as well as stronger currents during both ebb and flood.

Even on calm ocean days, a hard outgoing tide in Barnegat Inlet can make choppy and rough conditions.

When a strong ebb tide (outgoing current) meets long period swell at Barnegat Inlet, the physics of the ocean turns against boaters. The powerful swell collides head on with the tide and compresses the energy. This steepens the waves forcing them to stand up, stack up, double up and break. The result is a turbulent washing machine like sea state. Instead of predictable rollers and chop boaters face commonly in open seas, these chaotic waves appear and commonly hold up in a stationary fashion forming whats referred to as a standing wave. These wave heights can double or even triple up.

At times the combination of swell and tide produces conditions capable of swamping or capsizing small vessels.

That’s exactly what was happening around 12:30 p.m. on October 5. Maximum ebb current during a full moon, with long-period swell present.

Seamanship Starts With Weather Awareness

Boating safely isn’t just about navigation and knowledge of a vessel’s systems… Understanding not only wind and tides, but also swell direction, period and current interaction as well as geographical features and relationships is fundamental seamanship.

For an angler fishing inshore out of Barnegat Light transiting to a fishing area to the north, a south west wind 10-15 kts isn’t the best but very well may be fishable. And on the ride home you might choose to run into the beach and hug the shoreline for a better ride back. But if transiting to a fishing area to the south in a south west wind, 10-15 kts could be very rough. Long Beach Island has a much more southern facing beach than IBSP and offers no protection in a south west. Now this exact scenario is mirrored in a hard northwest or north north west wind. Fishing north off IBSP could be very rough while fishing off LBI could be much nicer and offer a better ride back in tight to the beach.

Mariners must check wind, tide and swell reports carefully to best prepare and be aware. Understanding, uncertainty, judgment, vessel, experience, crew and risk tolerance all play a role.

Modern weather apps make it easy to glance at colorful graphics, but remember those forecasts come from raw computer models that are updated roughly every six hours. There’s no human interpretation. That’s why many times different apps disagree especially the further in the future forecast period you look. The truth lies in the details and in your ability to interpret them.

Nothing beats looking at the flag at the dock as well as checking the NOAA Barnegat Buoy 44091, located about 15 nautical miles east of Barnegat Light for live swell height and period data before leaving the dock. You can find it here: NOAA Station 44091 – Barnegat Buoy

When you open that page, look for the blue conditions box showing the most recent data (time-stamped in UTC). For deeper insight, click the small graph icons on the left side to view the past 3–4 days of recorded swell, wind, and temperature trends. That historical context can help you anticipate how the inlet will behave before you even untie from the dock.

Also, don’t overlook NOAA’s text forecasts. They may not be flashy, but they often spell out crucial details that can make or break the day on the water.

Since the term long period was used, I’ll include…

Understanding Swell vs. Chop

Sea state depend on swell and wind. The wind is important to the surface conditions however a mariners should never overlook the waves height and the wave period. Wave height is how big the waves are. Wave period is the interval or time between peaks which reveals the swell’s power.

Swell Height – Wave Height = vertical distance between the wave crest (top) and trough (bottom), size of the waves

Swell Period – Wave Period = spacing between wave crests, time between waves, longer interval swell has more energy and moves faster

• Long-Period Swell (10+ sec) – Long period swell sometimes referred to as ground swell is deep wave energy that travels hundreds of miles from distant storms. These are often observed as smooth rollers with spaced out sets in the open ocean but the swell jumps up and walls up in shallow water. *4-6′ long period swell at 14 seconds on a sunny light wind day could be beautiful.

• Short-Period Waves (<10 sec) – Short period swell sometimes referred to as wind swell or wind chop is tight together and many times a more confused sea state with waves not having a defined direction and pattern. This type of swell is created from short term more localized wind/storm events. These are rough on small boats. *2-3′ wind swell at 5 seconds on a sunny light wind day, although relatively small, could be bumpy, uncomfortable and rough.

October is here and we are kicking off the month with beautiful weather and great fishing conditions! The first weekend of October looks perfect with sunny skies, light winds and plenty of fishing options. Get out and make the most of this early October window. Gear up at Fisherman’s Headquarters on your way out.

Ocean Conditions & Weather

October started windy with big swell from offshore hurricanes Imelda and Humberto. Thankfully, both systems stayed out to sea and only delivered rough surf and minor beach erosion. They’ve also given us a prolonged groundswell which is finally starting to settle.

Right now, the surf is running 2–3′ by powerful. Yesterday there was a bit of eelgrass and cabbage weed mixed into the wash. The weekend forecast looks excellent, with the swell dropping, lots of sun and light winds.

LBI Fishing Report

September’s solid fishing rolled right into October with a variety of options both inshore, offshore and from shore.

Sea Bass Season just opened with a 10-fish bag limit at 12.5 inches, and there’s plenty of life on local reefs and wrecks in 50–60+ feet of water. Expect great action as the ocean calms down. Many of these areas are also still holding triggerfish left over from the late summer bite. Today we received two good sea bass reports from anglers who fished yesterday. John Rhodes said yesterday was drop and reel fishing in 80′ with sea bass big triggerfish were chewing too. He said the wind was light but there was a lot of swell. A similar report was shared by Captain Greg Carr aboard LBI Charters, “I wasn’t sure what to expect given the crap weather. Lots of nibbles. The guys had a boat limit of sea bass and a trigger.”

Along the surf, anglers are finding small bluefish (mostly snappers and cocktail size fish) and some out-of-season fluke still tucked tight to the wash. The blues can be targeting and caught on mullet or small lures. The kingfish bite continues, not red hot but it has been steady and dependable. With surf temps still hovering around 70°F, there’s still a shot at seeing a pompano or two mixed in. The bigger kings are coming on small mullet strips, while bloodworms and Fishbites are also producing.

Tautog (blackfish) are a great option right now and should remain prime through October. Reports have been mixed, with some better bites at the inlet rocks more so than the bayside area but that can change day to day. Fishing green crabs and sand fleas. in or near riprap will get the job done. This morning Wayne Smith was out fishing and reported catching a bunch of tog at the rocks and he also saw some keepers caught. He said inside it was ok but not as good.

As for summer species, blowfish are tapering off, and spot are likely exiting soon. We’re shifting quickly into full-on fall fishing mode as October progresses.

Bait & Fall Migration

The fall transition is in motion. Thanks to shorter days and cool nights, the bay is cooling faster than the ocean, now sitting in the low to mid-60s. The surf remains near 70°F.

Resident striped bass are still around, feeding on mullet and peanut bunker in the bay and inlet. Few to no striped bass are on the surf but we expect that to change very soon. Some mullet have made the move out front, are scattered along the surf zone. This past week when surfing I had mullet in the waves and on the bar but I did not see them in the trough or tight to the beach lip. That tells me that at that time they were moving and comfortable. Usually when predators show they stress and move in tight to the beach for added protection.

You’ll also find rain bait, bay anchovies and spearing which can spark feeding frenzies when bluefish find ’em. Also it could draw false albacore on their trip south. Albies were active a few weeks ago and we have a good chance at seeing another shot of them before Halloween… so keep epoxy jigs and small metals ready just in case they pop up frothing.

LBI Surf Fishing Classic Update

The 71st Annual LBI Surf Fishing Classic is rolling strong! This year’s earlier September start was a great call. There’s already a full month of catches on the board with anglers weighing in striped bass, bluefish, kingfish, tautog and before the 9/25 end of season closure fluke.

Entry is $40, and there are LOTS OF PRIZES TO WIN throughout the event.

Visit www.LBIFT.com to see the live weigh-in results, leaderboards and much more info.

LBI 4×4 Beach Access

All LBI beach towns are now open for 4×4 vehicle access as of October. Each township issues its own permit, so be sure to check requirements before driving on. You can find details and links for each town’s permits here: