A Long Beach Island native with life long experience fishing and navigating the local waters, Greg is a distinguished Master Captain (the highest qualified operator license), holding a US Coast Guard Masters 50T Near Coastal License with Towing Endorsement. Raised in and now managing his family's bait and tackle business, Fishermans Headquarters (Since 1962, The Saltwater Fishing Bait & Tackle Experts) Greg is daily immersed in fishing. He is the Chief Contributor of FishingLBI.com (Long Beach Island's best fishing report blog) as well as the Admin for the shop's social media pages (on Instagram and Facebook). Be sure to follow!
Things are happening locally but for the most part it’s still on the slow side. We are on the cusp right now. Tomorrow is the first official day of spring and the waters are trending in the right direction. We are looking forward and ready for things to pop. Are you?
The local waters around LBI range from the low 40’s to the low 50º in some back bay areas.
LBI Surf Temps are in the 40-43º range.
Back bay at Waretown has ranged from a low of 45.5º to a high of 52º in the past 24 hours.
The USGS gauge at Barnegat Light Inlet shows a recent peak high of 50.7º on the outgoing tide and a low of 41.4º on the incoming.
The USGS gauge at Little Egg Inlet shows the waters there were at a recent high of 51.3º (3/17) and almost broke 50º again this evening. *Usually once the outgoing tides are at 50 there is a strong wave of activity in those waters, sparking up the spring fishery in Great Bay.
Here’s my latest video report which I took around 5:30pm today, Wednesday March 19, 2025.
Worming Is The Way!
Since the break of winter’s ice grip the calls have started, “any action on the beach?” So far we have heard nothing surf side. Expect the surf to be cold and quiet for the next couple weeks. Come April things will start up. Until then the best early season fishing takes place around back. Spring time action in the bays and rivers consists primarily of striped bass on live bloodworm and small lures. When the water is cold and the bite is slow, worming is the way!
Reports from greater region/state indicate larger fish are showing up and moving to/from to their spawning zones in the rivers and bays.
White perch and winter flounder are also options to target. Only a few winter flounder have been caught, but that might be due to the lack of trying. Very few have stopped in to specifically gear up for flatties. Chum, bloods and small hooked “spreader rigs” is all you need. I prefer adding a kernel of corn to the hook too!
As waters slowly rise in temperature, expect an uptick in activity. Historically, around mid-April the local area sees a good push of striped bass, bluefish and/or black drum.
Final Winter Tackle Show & Tackle Tariffs
This past weekend’s Saltwater Expo was a big success, closing out the winter tackle show circuit with a bang. Despite the recent market turmoil, there was a strong turnout and a lot of shoppers. Huge thanks to all who stopped by to see the Fish Heads team at Booth 401!
For anyone still looking for some new tackle for the fishing season ahead, there’s still time to score! For a limited time, DISCOUNT CODE: SWS will save 10% Off Your Next Order. It can be redeemed in store or online. NOW is the time to buy, before the 2025 tackle tariffs take effect. Price hikes are coming, some as soon as this week (Van Staal is going up 5-17%), other brands next week followed by more come April 1st.
The show of all shows is this weekend at the NJ Expo Center in Edison. It’s by far the best show in region and all fishing… no BS! We are all set up with everything and more from the top brands. We have some of the newest tackle just released as well as the must have staples and MVP from previous season. Everything is at show special pricing and select items/brands have limited supply free goods. We’ll see you at the show!
Weather is awesome today with sun and light winds so far this morning. Here at Fishermans Headquarters we are stoked to share our customers are catching fish locally in the bay on live bloodworms.
We are open daily and stocked up on bait & tackle.
Right now we have some beautiful bloodworms as well as DynaBait Freeze Dried Bloodworms, Fin-Essence Sheddard Crab Scent and Ghost Cocoon thin bait thread. If you are just now hearing about worm balls this has been the receipt for river monster catching anglers when the perch are fierce. Extend the life of the baits and put out max scent which is important when the waters are cold and stained. There’s no reason not to use these tactics in the local waters!
If you already didn’t see it… Here’s my first fishing report video of the “spring” from a couple days ago…
The first week of spring striper season wasn’t door-busting but it did not disappoint. The weather this time of year can be brutal but for the most part the start was good. The recent sunny days have positive vibes thawing out after frigid winter. The current windy conditions looks to fade today and the 5-7 day stretch ahead shows generally sunny and highs in the upper 40’s and most days in the 50’s. The longer days and this kind of sun will provide a positive trend on the fishing front.
So far we have received a fair number of striped bass and white perch reports. Most are focused in the early season areas, the rivers and tributaries. But we got word of some local Barnegat Bay bass on bloodworms and lures.
We have had 30″+ striped bass caught in the local bays!
Mid week Fish Head’s regular Jack stopping in for some premium jumbo bloodworms. He reported, “All of the guys were jealous. Sandy caught a nice one fishing jumbo bloodworms. All of the other guys fishing got zilch when I was there.” Gotta fish good baits!
Keith Soycher is catching. One was a 33.5″ bass, a piglet for a local catch at this point in the season.
Store staffer Paul is picking some bass both day and night. He shares, “I’m catching on my spring time staples!”
All of which are in stock now at Fish Heads! I anticipate the bayside fishing to only get better as things warm up. Gear up and get in the game!
Last week I was at the AC Boat Show. Hopefully you walked the show. It was great seeing so many friends. My seminar on Thursday was packed and then the Offshore Wind Panel Discussion (which I was a panelist) was also well attended. Great times!
Right now the team and I at Fish Heads are gearing up for the Saltwater Fishing Expo. See you there next weekend at the Edison Expo Center. We are at the same spot, Booth 401. The booth space has doubled and we will have an exciting display of top tackle brands and some new show only releases.
The news is bubbling with tariff talk! But what does all of this mean with regards to fishing tackle tariffs?
Plain and simple, fishing tackle isn’t getting cheaper!
We all felt the shock on the first round, during the 2018/’19 China Trade War. Many consumer products including fishing tackle and fishing related equipment imported from China had a 10-25% tariffs imposed. Thankfully it eventually reduced to 7.5%. Some companies absorbed the costs initially, but for the most part the costs were passed on to consumers.
Over the past few years many brands have tried to shift manufacturing out of China to places like Malaysia, Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam and Indonesia (among other) as well as some near-shoring to Mexico and onshoring back to the United States. BUT, with the new 25% tariff on steel and aluminum imports, it’s uncertain how these actions may circumvent the tariff. How much of the raw aluminum is smelted and supplied from China? How might the raw costs increase?
Then and now the uncertainty surrounding the duration of these tariffs make long-term planning difficult and complicate business decisions. Moving manufacturing operations is not a simple nor quick decision. Today, China remains a major manufacturer and importer of fishing tackle; fishing reels, rods, lures, hook and other tackle.
Brace For Round Two’s Double Whammy
ONE: On February 10, President Trump signed an Executive Order that will have direct impacts on the sportfishing industry. Executive Order 10895 increases the tariff on aluminum products from 10% to 25%, including fishing reels, reel components, and landing nets. The new duty will apply only to the aluminum components of these products and will take effect March 12, 2025.”
TWO: March 4 the 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico come into effect. Also the 10% additional tariff on Chinese imports that went into effect on February 4 would be increased to 20% on March 4, 2025.
So far this past week we have received more than a handful of “updated 2025 price schedules as a result of the recent tariff increases” from multiple tackle brands/manufacturer. We expect more as fishing tackle costs very well may increase. What’s uncertain right now is how brands and manufactures will proceed with their pricing policies. Most all of the fishing tackle we sell is strictly policed through MAP policies. These same brands that are manufacturing are also now selling direct to consumers. Will the retail prices rise but MAP remain? It’s uncertain how pricing and margin challenges will stew for both manufacturers and retailers.
At this stage of the game it’s too early to tell exactly how everything will shake out. The America Sportfishing Association (ASA) and importers are scrambling to figure things out. It’s possible (slim, but there’s a chance) there could be exceptions for fishing tackle. The ASA is hoping to have sportfishing products removed from the list because the industry already pays federal excise taxes which deposits into the Sport Fish Restoration Fund to help support the fisheries and habitat around the country.
The Days Of Increase Tariffs
As we enter this new world. It will be interesting to see if the trade war remains focused only on Canada, Mexico and China due to what is said to be measures directed at specific countries due to concerns over border security, drug trafficking, and trade imbalances. In time will the tariffs broaden?
Right now I see it giving an advantage to the value priced reels and possibly the high end. On the value side, a 25% hike will not take them too far out of the affordable range. However mid priced reels in the $300-500 range could jump out of reach for many.
Fortunately for both Shimano and Daiwa their Japanese roots remain strong. Their highest end reels may circumvent the tariffs since most are made in Japan. But where are the aluminum part actually smelted and cast? Most reels are made of aluminum but also a lot of stainless steel, titanium, brass, bronze and alloy parts.
Could Penn Fishing Tackle Company have a Philly factory come back? The Penn International Series is still made in Philly and they have a large factory. The last time I visited it was running but at very low capacity. It would be nice to see a resurgence of other models at their domestic factory. It’s a long shot but we can dream… Can you imagine Van Staal (sister company of Penn) making reels in the USA again?
Don’t think just reels. The aluminum tariffs will cover pliers, nets and other tackle too.
Just like in 2018/2019 our buying decisions are already laser focused on pricing to pass on the best value to our customers. We remain up to date on fishing tackle tariffs, the breaking news and we are tirelessly hunting for the best brands and best pricing for you.
Here’s how some well-known brands may be affected:
1. Shimano
Shimano, a major player in reels and rods, manufactures a significant portion of its products in Japan and Malaysia, but some entry- to mid-level reels, rods and other tackle is made in China. These products most likely will be subject to tariffs.
2. Daiwa
Like Shimano, Daiwa produces higher-end products in Japan but sources many mid-range reels and rods from China as well as other areas in the Far East. Tariffs may lead to price hikes.
3. Penn & Van Staal (Pure Fishing)
Penn & Van Staal, owned by Pure Fishing, produces most all of its reels in China, so tariffs will apply, except for the Penn International Series which is made in the USA. The popular Penn Battle and Fierce Series most likely will have price increases. Van Staal released price increases ranging from 5 to as high as 17% on certain items, all which take effect March 20th.
4. Rapala (Including Storm & VMC)
Many Rapala and Storm baits, as well as VMC hooks, are made in China, so tariffs will play a roll. Rapala diversified sourcing after the first trade war so the shocks this time around might not be as severe. I don’t see all brands shifting to these alternative manufacturing locations. Moving and building new manufacturing capacity is expensive and timely so it will be exciting to see how this pays off for Normark (the parent company of Rapala, Storm, Suffix, VMC, 13 Fishing, Luhr-Jensen, among others).
Rapala USA President Marcus Twidale included this statement in his Feb 19th letter to dealers, “We have actively engaged with our factory suppliers to negotiate cost reductions. Through these efforts, we have identified opportunities to mitigate the impacts and have chosen to adsorb many of the additional costs internally. As a result we have successfully limited the overall price increase on goods from China to 10% or less. In some cases, such as with our 13Fishing brand, there will be no prive increase as a result of these tariffs and duties.
5. Zebco, Quantum, Lews (Rather Outdoors)
Many budget-friendly reels and rods from Zebco and Quantum come from China and most likely will see tariffs and price increases. The company absorbed some of these costs on the first round so only time will tell what happens to retail pricing. Rumor has it there will be a price hike come April.
6. Avet, Accurate, USA Made Tackle
It’s our hope that both Avet and Accurate, two long time American made reel companies, come out on top as a result of the tariffs. This could be the only silver lining on this while tackle tariff topic. We have supported both of these brands from their early days; however they have struggled to compete with the bigger brands. Both Avet and Accurate have always made great products but importer’s pricing has kept their growth suppresses.
Navigating the Future of Fishing Tackle Tariffs & Pricing
As these new fishing tackle tariffs take hold, the tackle industry as well as the global economy faces a lot of uncertainty with unknown policy specifics, shifts and supply chain adjustments. While some brands may absorb costs or find alternative sourcing, consumers should prepare for potential price increases. Let’s hope that this works as planned and creates opportunities for American made brands to gain competitive traction in the market place. But only time will tell.
For the angling consumers, staying informed and making strategic buying decisions will be key. We’ll continue to track these developments and work hard to bring you the best tackle at the best value—because no matter what happens with trade policies, the passion for fishing never changes.
Worms are great spring time baits! Just about everything love them. Early season striped bass, winter flounder and perch can’t resist worms. In the summer worms are great baits for kingfish and blowfish The challenging part of the worm game is getting them and keeping them alive.
There’s no denying the price and quality of live worms has been an issue for the past few years. Worms have gotten expensive and their size isn’t what they used to be.
Are you looking for a convenient, long shelf life worms for bait? Try out Dynabait – freeze dried 100% all natural sustainable farm raised worms. These can be used as is or with your favorite scent/oils. Savvy anglers use live worms and Dynabait in tandem to stretch their live worm supply and fill the hook or make worm balls for striped bass.
For 10+ years Fish Heads has stock both bloodworm and sandworms with 1000’s of happy customers. At $5.99 a pack they are a must have in every tackle bag. Stop by and check them out or buy online now.
Anyone around the water this past week has witnessed a very low water level. I’m calling it the “Great Blow Out Of Feb 2025”. There were many sand bars exposed, dry docks and some lagoons could be walked across. I posted a couple photos and shared details about it to inform. It got wings and the topic has trended, but many posts I see are loaded with jokesters and misinformation.
A tsunami is not coming. The NJ Forest Service did NOT pump the bay dry to water the Pinelands which are in a sever drought. It’s an epic time for clamming! Also a great time to inspect a bulkhead and clean up a dock slip. But I’m sure that cell phone you dropped in last summer is trash.
Why does Barnegat Bay has no – low water?
Here’s some information on the extremely low Barnegat Bay water level phenomenon that is rare this extreme but not uncommon.
Bill Purdy @fairwindsphoto captured this photo on the LBI bayside. It would normally be waist deep where his daughter stands. A “blow out tide” is a phenomenon as a result of extreme west- north/west winds.
Barnegat Bay Blow Out Tide
Plain and simple… It’s called a blow out tide! This low water event is primarily due to the wind…
The wind’s direction – West, North / West Winds
The wind’s speed – Powerful Gale / Tropical force winds
The wind’s duration – 36-48+ Hour Duration
The wind’s area/distance – Large Surface Area
It’s the recipe for a very large, broad and powerful fetch which pushed the water out. Just the opposite happens during coastal large storms when coastal storms create a very large fetch that pushes water in creating flooding events (and also generate large waves/surf).
Another factor is the barometer and barometric pressure gradients. Without getting too far into the weeds. Wind is created by pressure differences with air moving from areas of high pressure to areas to low pressure. But ALSO high pressure can cause lower water levels (and low pressure can raise the water level) compared to the predicted tides for a specific date.
Nearly Hurricane Force Winds
The evening of Sunday February 16th and most of the day Monday (2/17) were very windy. A powerful low pressure system with gale force (39-54mph) – tropical storm force west winds (39 to 73mph) moved through the area Sunday. Behind it was strong high pressure. The large gradient between the two created a board area of strong offshore winds. For clarification, west winds aka offshore winds, come from the west and blow in the direct of offshore.
Sunday and Monday the area had sustained 30MPH+ winds with gusts to 50MPH++!
Atlantic City Airport: 71MPH!!! 74MPH is Cat1 Hurricane!
Beach Haven peaked at 56MPH
Island Beach State Park 65MPH
These winds pushed the water out of the bay and each ebb tide only helped drain the bay. These same winds blocked the subsequent flood tides, preventing the incoming water.
What is tide?
Most all anglers (should) know about tides but or those who don’t… The tide is the vertical elevation of water, the rise and fall of seawater that is caused by the moon’s, and a less part the sun’s (further away) gravitational pull. The normal everyday water elevation tidal change is about 1.5′ for most locations in our local area.
Local Observations
Taking look at the USGS Tide Elevation Gauges in the area you’ll see the super low tide elevations recorded at both the Waretown and Barnegat Light locations. The water level was about 2.5-3.5′ below normal.
Waretown Tidal Elevation: The west side of the bay location recorded a low of -2.42′ on 2/18/25 at 8:30PM. Statistics based on two years of data from USGS share the mean to be -0.17′.
Barnegat Light Tidal Elevation: The east side of the bay, near the Inlet location recorded a low of -3.73′ on 2/18/25 at 5:24PM. The location’s 22 year mean is -0.23′. Looking at this chart you will see more tide range due to the location.
Some say the event, “is because of neap tide” or “it’s because of spring tides.” That is not the case. This blow out event occurred at mid moon phase ~50% so the moon had little to no effect. The moon’s effect on tides is greatest, most extreme at the new 0% and full 100% phases and weak at the 50% stage.
Neap Tides have the smallest tidal range, less extreme, resulting in lower high tides and higher low tides.
Spring Tides have the largest tidal range, most extreme, resulting in higher highs and lower lows. Spring tides have nothing to do with the season we call Spring! It happens during new moon and full moon phases of the lunar cycle.
The King Tide is the year’s highest tide. It’s the largest spring tide of the year. It occur when a new or full moon coincides with the moon’s perigee (closest to Earth in its orbit).
Additional Factors
An additional factor that did not cause but certainly didn’t help is the current drought. There’s little to low/no, flow out of the many creeks and rivers which drain into the Barnegat Bay. The entire Barnegat Bay watershed and broader area/state is in a sever/extreme drought. New Jersey and especially South Jersey is experiencing one of the driest periods of the 10-15 years. There has been little rain since this past August. If you read my end of year 2024 LBI Fishing Recap then you should know that this issue isn’t new, “October was BONE DRY, the driest since 1895!
Remembering Back
What a crazy blowout! One of the lowest and longest duration blow out tide in a long time! This event beat the last extreme blowout we can remember in early Jan 2108. Then we had a blowout in the frigid cold. The west wind blew out the tide and then it seemed like the hard freeze kept rom coming back in. Once it did a lot of pilings were lifted and docks damaged. Here’s a photo (below) from Jan 7th 2018.
Do you recall a super low extreme blow out tide? Share you memory.
Surf Day 2025 is quickly approaching this weekend -Don’t miss out on the year’s best surf fishing show!
Who: The Jersey Shore Surfcasters (JSS Fishing Club)
What: Surf Day 2025
When: Saturday Feb 15, 2025 from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm
Where: Brookdale Community College at 765 Newman Springs Rd, Lincroft, NJ 07738
This pure surf fishing show run by JSS, a group of die hard anglers, is well known in the North East. Many have tried to copy the format and ideas however none come close. This original and long standing show is a must attend for surf casters.
The seminar schedule looks great this year with top speakers lined up… Dave Anderson, Jenni Ackerman, Nick Honachefsky, Frank Goncalves and Bill Wetzel! These will all be worth attending.
While the seminars are the backbone of the show, the special part is seeing the surf fishing community all under one roof. The networking and knowledge shared is second to none. Whether a rookie, novice or veteran Surf Day is for you.
The crew here at Fisherman’s Headquarters is looking forward to the show. We’ll be at the same booth we have had for the last ten years… located in the main room on the left side upon entering. We’ll have a full spread of surf fishing tackle, equipment and supplies from A to Z… all at Show Special Pricing. Stop by and say hello!
Two different “beach projects” caught my attention this past weekend. One I shared previously on Instagram 1/18/25 showing a before and after at the Lighthouse Jetty.
Dredge Spoils At Lighthouse Jetty
The Double Creek & High Bar dredge work wrapped up but the project is far from over. The dredge spoils were hydraulically dredged and transported via pipeline to the state park. But the situation there has turned into a public safety nightmare. I first shared information about the public safety hazard with a before and after video on January 18th via Instagram. I predicted a larger problem existed and thought it would play out overtime. I didn’t think it would happen so fast.
This is not the first time bay dredging maintenance was placed by the Lighthouse. It has been done numerous time over they last ten years. However, in my opinion, this time there was major oversight, failure of the plans and/or supervision over the shoreside part of the project. The failure to understand the dynamics of the area was negligent. Black geo-matting was used in the past and should of been used from the start. But this go around either no matting was used or not used properly.
There are very large sinkholes caused by the tide fluctuations sucking the sand underneath the concrete walkway and through the rock jetty. It has gotten worse with each tide cycle. Thankfully there is safety netting now to keep people away from the sink holes.
When filming this video I found large rolls of black geotextile matting (MIRAFI N-Series non-woven polypropylene geotextile) which looks to be staged and ready to use. This material allows for high water flow rates, excellent soil retention and long lasting durability. Hopefully this will be installed soon. But WOW! Talk about a waste of time, money and public safety risk not putting this down first. Now we have more sand shoaling up in the inlet that adds to the hazard. Are “they” paying to dredge the sand out of the inlet?
A little more info on the project is shared at the end of this blog post.
Barnegat Light’s New Piping Plover Beach Project
Here’s a first look at the second questionable beach project on Long Beach Island’s North End. How they are linked if at all is unknown to me. Is it just a coincident they occurred within a tight time window? Possibly but I assume the shoreside equipment and operators were used. More below.
The Barnegat Light dune excavation and removal of vegetation and maritime forest seems extreme. So much for the DEP’s protection of the dunes, fragile habitat of Seabeach Amaranth and other beach plant species! There was serious discussions as recently as last year that threatened shutting down beach access in order to protect this plant.
I heard about the activity a couple days ago and saw a couple photos from Tim Brindley and Joy Ludke. They blew my mind! It looked like somebody went a little crazy. Like a kid in a sandbox playing around with some Tonka trucks but on a much larger level. I was shocked and had to take a look to see it first hand.
Take a look for yourself as I walk through the 7/8th street beach access trail and pan through the area. I also show the erosion of beach at the Old South Jetty and the fish bowl cove leading towards the Sea King’s mast and “The Point” aka “The Bar” to the south.
Info On The Lighthouse Dredge Material Placement
A simple search pulled up this public notice from 2015 which details the purpose, location, activities and more about what I believe to be the same project. If that is the case, in my unqualified opinion, the recent activities grossly exceeded the designated 3.2 acre “sand stockpile area” shown below.
Wish I had more, but I’m not going through a public records request route.
More On Plover Beach
After I recorded the two videos I ended up diving in more to the topics. As assumed the two events are part of the same project that’s “made possible through collaborative efforts and funding from a number of partners, including Conserve Wildlife Foundation of NJ, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, New Jersey Fish and Wildlife, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. and Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey.” Here’s a link on the collaboration…
Don’t miss the 15th Annual Fishing Flea Market hosted by the Lacey Twp High School Fishing Club. It’s going to be packed with great deals on all kinds of fishing tackle. We will have hot deals on best selling gulp, reels, braided line, lures and much more.
When: Sunday, January 19, 2025 Time: 9 AM – 2 PM Admission: $5 at the door Location: Lacey Township High School – Forked River, NJ 73 Haines St., Lanoka Harbor, NJ 08734-2115
All proceeds support the hardworking student anglers of the club. See You There!
609-494-5739
