While at the ICAST 2024 show I saw cameras and product reviews going on in every which direction. Each time I passed the Daiwa booth I saw angler after angler high sticking on their demo machine. In disbelief, I forced myself to walk by what the industry considers the best of the best professionals. On the last day of the show, I had a free window at their booth since our Daiwa rep had to leave early. After reviewing and tinkering with all of their great products I took some time to talk to Daiwa engineer Takuya Oda in from Japan about rods, reels, drag and technique. After our talk he said “shoot video please”! This is for the high stickers out there!

Proper technique and form for landing big fish on light tackle is not all about brute strength. Fish more efficiently and effectively with proper technique for MAX pressure with less effort! It’s important for anglers to learn and understand how to maintain control, increase endurance all while protecting expensive fishing gear from damage.

In the video Daiwa’s super accurate 1/10th pound scale with on screen display really allowed for some interesting looks. I played with the unit for some time. I really had my head spinning when I tried to put the same effort in at different angles. With one approach it was almost 10# and then same effort high sticking was 3.5#. Wild! Not only does the high sticking angle not put pressure on the fish it puts the rod in jeopardy every time. The key that most don’t get is utilizing the power stroke, mid and back section of the rod.

With regards to slow pitch fishing, the rods are soft and parabolic so the angler must use the drag and gearing of the reel as well as only a small portion of the rod’s butt section as the lever since the rest of the rod is soft and folds over for working the jig. As shown in the video at about the 50 second mark there is a good amount of pressure put on the fish with the under the arm approach.

Remember, I could not crank the reel and I could not (was not allowed to) adjust the drag or thumb the spool. So I could have put significantly more pressure using any of those three, but that wasn’t in the cards for this situation. It also was not what Daiwa was trying to convey with their display.

As far as proper technique, I would say whatever is the most efficient approach is the right approach. To each their own. What I have found over the years of fishing and not being a muscle man… technique is everything . Brute strength hardly ever wins. From what I see on the water, in photos and videos TOO MANY times anglers are mistakenly working against themselves and the tackle rather then focusing their efforts on the fish.

While the rod and reel on the display (machine/gauge) was a slow pitch style outfit, what the engineer and I wanted to share is how high sticking is a Major No No! It risks breaking the rod and also doesn’t help the angler. It actually hurts by putting less pressure. That is because the rod tip will never have more power than the mid and butt section. We also wanted to share that there is a proper way to rest during a long battle, while still maintaining maximum pressure on the fish but little exertion from the angler.

One other point I tried to make was how the angle and positioning of the angler changes the pressure put on the fish while not changing the effort exerted by the angler.

I really wanted to link up a stand up rod, popping rod, classic 7′ inshore rod and a surf rod to demonstrate proper technique with proof from the gauge/display. But it too was not in the cards.

All of the above is information on fighting fish without belt and harness. It would be a disservice to leave out some info on stand up fishing. So I dove back into my fishing catalog archives to share some great info from the 90’s. Here is stand up fishing info from Dennis Braid founder and innovator at Braid Fishing Products. Think Braid Stand Up Fishing Belts! Dennis first made a rod belt in 1983 and over time, took it to another level. He was one of the best stand up anglers and not a monster. Actually Dennis was a small guy but used technique to get the job done.

Stand Up Fishing

Aboard almost all sportfishing boats, you’ll find Braid fishing belts and harnesses or another brand of product utilizing the innovation from Dennis Braid. Nearly everyone utilizes the the fish-fighting tools and accessories that have made the stand-up big game angling possible. Here’s our selection of fish fighting belts, butts and harnesses.

Back in the day skippers and fishermen together learned was that parabolic glass marlin rods and primitive harnesses of the time were nearly ineffective. Too much brute strength was required to grapple with the giant yellowfin, limiting the game to body builders or salty masochists.

Demands spurred innovation and pioneers first adjusted to shorter rod lengths. Then reels with powerful lower gear ratios and two speed gearing. Certainly huge advancement in spectra line technology, and innovative bucket harnesses.

Each element, in progression, meant the fishermen could actually procure a mechanical advantage. The new shorter rods could gain needed leverage on huge fish, especially when they were ‘straight down’ below the fisherman. The lowering of gear ratios was only one step. The movement to two speed reels provided either speed or power on demand as needed, giving even more control to the anglers regardless of physical stature.

By full utilization of the angler’s body weight, spreading out of opposing forces at the pivot point, and using all various elements of rod, reel and manpower to the fullest mechanical advantage, is the true science of fishing.

Braid’s Pro Tip: If you fish 30-pound tackle or heavier,always use a gimbal mounted rod. With the rod butt inserted in the pin of your rod belt, all your efforts are put toward managing your fish, not ‘white knuckling’ the foregrip as the rod twists and turns in your hand. And you don’t need new rods, just replace the butt caps with gimbals.

Fish Fighting Technique

You can break stand-up fighting techniques into two types: simply hip pivot or knee pivot. Hip pivot methods are associated with 50# class gear and lighter (belts and kidney harnesses), while the knee pivot method is related to the 80-130# class tackle (with bucket harness and butt plate gear). Of course, you’ll use the hip pivot at times while in your bucket harness, but only when a huge fish is not exerting its full force.

Dennis prefers this version of the hip pivot method. Stand with your feet a reasonable distance apart, knees bent. You want the weight of your body over your heels, but not so much you are truly flat-footed. You’ll want your weight distributed just enough so you can move left or right or back on the balls of your feet. In other words, you must have balance. With your left hand comfortable and high on the rod’s foregrip and your arm fully extended, keep your arm fully extended, keep your back reasonably straight. When you “pull” on the fish, you do so by pivoting at the hip. When you lean back, turn your body slightly to the left, the force is lower on your body, not up in your arms and back. The key to maximize your power is to grasp the rod as high as possible on the foregrip. In doing so, you are as close to a direct line pull as is possible with rod and reel.

The same effect can be maintained with a kidney belt and harness, as long as the rod is adjusted to approximately a 45 degree angle to the water This gives you enough play to lean forward, draw back, short stroke or lengthen your stroke as needed. Of course, when you’re connected to a harness, you won’t need your left hand to do any pulling on the rod. It rests on the reel and distributes the line on the spool while cranking.

Once you settle down on a truly giant fish with a Braid Belt and bucket harness (Power Play or Brute Busters), you’ll be able to exert maximum force on the fish and still be there at the end of the fight to tell about it. With the fish on the run, all you need to do is get into a semi sitting position, leaning back against the force of the fish. This way you counterbalance the pull and don’t over-tax your back, arms and legs. With your feet about 24 to 30 inches apart, knees bent, with one foot slightly forward or behind for balance, you can raise the rod by squatting. As you elevate or begin to stand, you take quick half to full cranks on the reel to gain whatever line you can. Repeat the squatting-to-lift, standing-to-reel pattern over and over. The bucket method allows you to put a ‘finishing’ amount of pressure on the fish close to the boat for tagging or gaffing.

It takes practice to perfect the method and it is vitally important to keep your knees braced firmly against the gunnel of the boat. Its crucial to have rod harness properly adjusted. Set up with your knees slightly bent. You want to have the rod at about a 35 to 40 degree angle so when you lean back, your rod raises and gives you lifting power. A rod adjusted too high does just the opposite. The key is to exert maximum force, with a minimum of effort… it’s what stand up fishing with Braid belts and harnesses are all about.

Anglers are meticulously tracking water temperatures to best approach each outing. In the peak of summer, cold water is the last thing anglers should be battling but that is the cards we are dealt. [For more info on the chill check out this recent post.] Fortunately the radical upwelling has subsided some so we expect fishing to improve.

The past few weeks have offered some of the best summertime striped bass anyone could ask for! Prime time fluke fishing season isn’t great but anglers are catching at the right tides and locations using the technique and baits they want. Bluefish continue to make their presence known offering light tackle fun at times in the bay, inlet and surf. Kingfish, croakers and spot round out the local panfish menu.

Tune in to my latest fishing report video, recorded after a fun Monday morning fishing charter…

Inshore & Surf Fishing

As the water temps tick back up we begin to see a rise with the inshore fishing front. The fluke fishing both on the beach and bay has been better this week than the previous few.

Fish Heads store staffer Grey had a limit of fluke which has been hard to come by this year. He was fishing the North End of the Island at the Barnegat Inlet using 6″ Pearl White Gulp Jerk Shad rigged on a 1/2oz Magictail Big Eye Jig. We’ve also had numerous reports of keeper size fish being caught in the ocean on our local wrecks and reefs fishing 45-70ft of water.

Plenty of kingfish are cruising the surf and being caught on both Fishbites Bag O’ Worms and live bloodworms. Fish the bowls and cuts with baited small hooks and you’ll find them.

Update 7/25/24 2PM: Carl Hartman from American Anglers reported a good productive morning fishing the LBI surf. He said, “I had a solid hour bite with a mix of kingfish and spot.”

A few cobia are plodding the local bunker. There too… whales and a couple TUNA! Yes, a 82″ bluefin tuna first beached in Surf City yesterday chasing bunker. Check out the video here. It then later washed up in Harvey Cedars. One lifeguard shared that bunker, whales and tuna chicks have been present. Seems like some fishy waters… How many more tuna are near shore? This time last year we had some nearshore too.

Midshore / Inshore Fishing

It took time to get going but the inshore and mid-shore fishing has ramped up. Both yellowfin and bluefin tuna are hammering jigs, casted poppers and crashing bars and bally on the troll.

The inshore / mid-shore lumps and some wrecks have bluefin ranging from school size up to 80″+ hammers. Some big 100# yellowfin have made for some epic late July tuna fishing. Areas like the Little Italy out to Lilian, Resor out to Atlantic Princess, Chicken Canyon and Triple Wrecks have had fish.

Fish Heads store staffer Grey caught this one a couple days ago on the jig fishing about 20 miles offshore.

Jigging and casting poppers, stickbaits and Ron-Z / NLBN straight tails are effective and on slow days boats are picking fish on the troll too. Side trackers and splash bars as well as the classic Joe Shute or  Hoohead over a ballyhoo is hard to beat. Season in and season out, they are top producers. 

Offshore Fishing

The canyon tuna fishing for yellowfin and bigeye has been good over the past week. Some nice water slid into the Hudson where guys have fill the fish boxes with yellowfins trolling, jigging and popping. A little ways north of the Hudson a few guys were catching bigeyes on the troll up to the 130-200lb range. On the bottom fish front, solid Golden and Jumbo Bluelines have been caught around the Hudson and Toms canyons in the 350-500ft areas.

About a week back, Tyler Wilk of E-Fish-Ent Custom rods weighed in a 23lb Blueline that was only 8oz off the world record on a 250g jig.

There’s also been a few Swordfish around with daytime fishing seeming to be more productive. Jeff Warford of Wolfpack Tackle landed two solid swords over 100lbs fishing in the daytime along with a mess of Yellowfins and a few Mahi.

Beach Haven Charter Fishing Report

Fishing report for the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association by Jim Hutchinson Sr.

The fishing in the Long Beach Island area for the captains of the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association is entering its typical mid-summer selection of fish. There is one surprise in the mix, however. After several years of absence, croakers are making an appearance once again.

There have been multiple reports of croakers in Little Egg Inlet along with various locations in the bay waters. Although these fish are on the small side, they provide great drop and reel action, the keeper sized fish make for great fish fries. This bay action is a terrific way for youngsters learning to fish.

Captain Max Goldman who works on both the “Star Fish” and the “Miss Beach Haven” has noticed these croakers in the bay and adds there are also large numbers of small fluke and baby black sea bass in those areas. On his trips to the nearby artificial reefs in the ocean he has been seeing a pick of larger black sea bass and some keeper fluke.

Captain Brett Taylor of “Reel Reaction Sportfishing” reports his trips will now be in the ocean as his bay action for keeper fluke has slowed. He has been running two trips daily for the past couple of days with his anglers averaging 20-30 short fluke each trip. His recent trip with the Michael Futterman crew managed to box a pair of solid keepers to 22-inches. Captain Brett especially complimented Jakob for a “phenomenal job on the jig.”

Captain Gary Dugan of the “Irish Jig” had a charter for fluke this week. He reports everyone caught fish. Unfortunately, even though there was steady action, none of the fish were big enough to go in the cooler.

Additional information on the captains and boats of the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association can be found at www.BHCFA.org

The cold water trend continues. While my fingers are crossed it changes and gets back to “normal”, it’s most likely going to stick around some more. How long is anyone’s guess. Here’s my latest fishing report video which is mostly dominated by ocean water talk but there’s a little fishing info with some helpful tips included. I share this because it is very important to understand the dynamics we deal with as anglers on the water.

Here’s a link to a blog I wrote in the summer of 2022 about the cold ocean water and phenomenon called upwelling… Upwelling Events On LBI Explained

It’s just as relevant then as it is today. Long lasting upwelling events are not uncommon. But how long it too long? The chart below shows the number of upwelling days over a four year span. I remember that 2022 was a chilly one which is the reason why I wrote the blog. This summer (2024) definitely contends if not beats it.

The photo below is from the Harvey Cedars Beach Patrol’s social media post on July 13th sharing a notice to the public that the water is COLD! 53º is really cold.

Happy Birthday America!!! It’s the 4th of July.  We want everyone to have a safe, happy and fishy holiday today and the entire week celebrating our independence.

Fishing lately has been a grind. Sharpies are putting together catches, but working hard to earn their bites. There’s no way to cut the mustard… fishing has not been great. It has not been easy. Last week’s rain flooded the roads at time, washed out areas (drop in salinity) and raise concerns with water quality in some areas (Ship Bottom Bay Beach & Long Beach Twp Bayview Park Bay Beach).

As of late we have had our water temperatures bounce back. Surf right now the Ship Bottom surf is 64 degrees. Let’s hope the southerly winds remain fair as they are the cause of the cold water upwelling.

The past 30 days we have had numerous upwelling events plague our waters. One stuck around for almost the entire second half of June. See the data in the graphic below. Sure the cool/cold waters help give LBI it’s break from the heat and humidity that scorches the inlands. But the radical water temp swings really effect the consistency of fishing. And it is for this reason I spend so much time focused on it.

With the prolonged cold stretch but also clean water (usually upwelling events put cold dirty – brown stained water on the beach) I’m beginning to feel that we have a more dominant Labrador Current this year than usual.  I say this because we have cold clear waters stretched along the coast and even the broader region. I’d like to get a oceanographer’s analysis of this.  

I am optimistic that things improve with tomorrow’s (Friday 7/5) new moon giving us more extreme tidal flow and a new chapter as we transition into the first full month of summer fishing.

Here’s the fishing report video update I shot earlier today.

As far as fishing opportunities and species on tap…

Surf anglers have the best shot at targeting fluke along the sandbars. Bluefish or kingfish would be another target to plan for. Also sharks and rays (more on that later). For the most part striped bass can be caught off the Island’s beaches all summer but they are few and far between unless putting in a lot of time and/or specifically set up with live sand fleas and a summertime approach. Stop in and we can share how to fish these bugs in the suds for bass.

The inlet has fluke, bluefish, striped bass, sheepshead and out of season tog.

The bay has fluke, striped bass, bluefish, weakfish as well as a few spot and blowfish.

Out front the ocean fluke fishing at the reef sites and wrecks is improving and should be good this month and rest of the fluke season. Bonita and Spanish mackerel are here. Cobia are in the neighborhood too. Further offshore we heard the good ling bite continues at the deeper water wrecks but with one fish bag limit on sea bass most aren’t making the run.

*Regulation Reminder: Sea Bass is back open for the month of July and August with a one fish bag at 12.5″ so anglers can take advantage of “bycatch” while fluke fishing. For more info on the NJ Saltwater Fishing Regulations here is a detailed listing with a convenience reference chart.

Offshore mahi, tilefish, tuna and marlin are options. Tuna mid-shore hasn’t been smoking as years past but some fish are present. It seems the best bite has been out at the Hudson and further off, outta range for most small boats. But the sporties are getting after it.

Sharks are here and anglers must know the laws to be prepared when a fishing encounter occurs. Both sand tiger sharks and sand bar sharks (aka brown sharks) are federally protected shark species that can not be landed or killed. They are illegal to posses. A landed fish is considered possession. Do not remove them from the water! Always use common sense! Fishing has been shut down in other states. Don’t be the one who will ruin it here. Chunking the beach with heavy tackle during swimming hours 10am-5pm is not the right thing to do. There have already been a couple of occurrences this summer and it blew up on social media so we can only assume backlash is coming down the pike. When fishing the surf in the summer focus on the hours outside of prime time beach traffic. For example, fish the evenings after 5/6pm or better yet fish the dark!

Public Service Announcement – Anglers Must Join The Saltwater Angler Registry Prior To Fishing!

Over the last couple of days we have learned from customers that enforcement is out and about checking for NJ Saltwater Registry compliance. It looks like they are done with warnings as we’ve heard about numerous fines for non-compliance. So here’s a helpful heads up. Please share with others!

Did you know? NJ saltwater anglers must register annually to fish the marine waters of New Jersey. It was introduced and mandated by law since May 2011.

Sign Up For Free Now: dep.nj.gov/njfw/fishing/marine/saltwater-registry/

New Jersey does not have a saltwater fishing license; however, it mandates all anglers register before fishing marine waters. The NJ Saltwater Recreational Registry Program is free and easy to do.

The registry is an important tool that policy makers utilize for recreational fishing effort data. It is meant to solve the age-old battle about bad data which is in turn used to account for the impacts of saltwater anglers on ocean ecosystems and coastal economies.

If you haven’t already, sign up now.

It’s hot and humid with a heat index pushing 100 and it’s sticking around. Authorities say, drink plenty of fluids, stay in an air-conditioned room, stay out of the sun, and check up on relatives and neighbors. We say… Get Down To LBI and Go Fish!!! A cold body of water upwelled and is hanging around the coastal waters. It’s making the sea breeze cool, breaking the temps down. Here’s the first fishing report of summer!

The recent upwelling event doesn’t seem to stop as today the southerlies were kicking and Sunday too. Also a note of importance, some of the largest surf (waves) in weeks is coming. It’s far from large but 3-4′ waves are expected to show and stick around Sunday and Monday. Also the recent “Strawberry Moon” full moon of June has given us extreme tides the past few days making for some extra low water at times. This made clamming awesome! On the other side of the shellfish game, crabbing is also good.

Right now we have a variety of species; fluke, bluefish, striped bass, weakfish as well as a few kingfish, sheepshead, black drum. Some info on these is shared in the video report. If you are in need of tackle for these species be sure to stop in and talk to the team at Fish Heads today. We’ll get you hooked up and having fun.

We haven’t heard many striped bass catch reports on the surf the past couple days but with the water cooling off from what it was there’s a good chance at surf side stripers for another week or two. Last week soaking the trenches along the LBI surf the Jetty Jockeys found some good fishing.

9th Annual Fluke-A-Mania Captains Meeting June 28, Fishing June 29th

Save the date for this great tournament hosted by the Beach Haven Marlin and Tuna Club, next weekend and help raise funds fishing for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

We hope all the rad dads and fishy fathers had a awesome weekend and an even better Father’s Day. Let’s keep the dream alive and rock all summer long!

I mentioned and showed it on the last video report and it has remained… we have beautiful CLEAN & CLEAR waters in the surf along the beaches of LBI. Father’s Day was a good one. A little breezy late morning and afternoon but it was a fresh northerly sea breeze with no flies and no humidity. It laid down later in the afternoon for the Blessing Of The Fleet.

Here’s the updated fishing report for the Long Beach Island area on Monday June 17, 2024.

LBI Surf Fishing Report

Striped bass surf reports have slowed down significantly as the month of June ticks on. We did get word from Michael Wolfschmidt who enjoyed Father’s Day on the beach. He caught a 31″ bass off the mid-island surf on salted clam.

Fluke fishing on the surf is and has been consistently good. That’s mostly due to the waters temperatures staying mildly warm and clean. There’s still some schools of blues racing through. If looking for blues in the suds, most of the time one or more feisty terns will tip you off to where the small bait is which both the terns and blues are chasing. While I was filming today’s report video there was a small but goo bird play with what looked like blues and bonita busting through.

With the warm “summer” surf be on the look out for kingfish in the suds for the next couple months. Also some whiting! They look like a kingfish but they don’t have the stripes. Whiting are also called a sea mullet by the boys down on the OBX. Here’s a photo of one caught this past weekend by Dan Schmechel.

Also in the surf, dogfish are eating meaty boats and pulling line as well as rays and some toothy critters.

LBI Bayside Waters & Inlets

Blues and fluke are two primaries at the inlet right now as well as striped bass and weakfish at the right times. Also there’s out of season tog at the rocks. The “Bucket Guy” Dave reported catching a nice fluke fishing the south end inlet on Sunday. On a trip he had a nice weakfish.

In the bay fluke fishing which isn’t great is one of the most popular targerts. There’s a good showing of bluefish in a range of size. Also savvy anglers are catching striped bass and weakies. Some sheepshead arrived last week and should stick around all summer. We look forward to this species for the next couple months.

Bottom Fishing Report

The final days of the 2024 Spring Black Sea Bass fishing season are here with this Wednesday June 19th being the last day. Come July 1 through August 31 there is a “bycatch” one fish bag limit at 12.5″ season. For a detailed listing of the NJ Fishing Regulations check out here.

The first bonita report came in last week (Wednesday) from Tony Butch while sea bass fishing. As time as went on, we have heard a few more and some that far off the beach.

Ocean fluke fishing for some isn’t bad. The way I see it there’s a nice body of fluke along the inshore coastal waters and along the surf. Some of these fluke are moving into the bay. Fingers are crossed with have a good open bottom and fluke wreck fishing summer season. Here’s a photo of Ian Medford with a good one from a recent ocean fluke fishing trip aboard LBI Sportfishing with Captain Jon Kelly.

Offshore Fishing Report

The Beach Haven Marlin Tuna Club’s Tuna Open was this past week. The 4th Annual offshore fishing tournament has grown fast and is becoming one of the best spring offshore fishing events in the region. This year 78 boats fished and caught some good fish… 5 bluefin over 100#, 8 big eye over 100# and 11 yellowfin over 70#! It seems each year bigger fish are hitting the scales. There would have been some big bluefin however the larger class fish is closed right now. Congrats to all the anglers who scored a payday. Brendan Graham reported, “All four species of tuna were weighed in (bluefin, big eye, yellowfin, longfin) and that’s what it’s all about.”

June has started off with great weather and the same great fishing from May rolls on. Striped bass, bluefish, fluke and weakfish are here making right now a great time to try for a grand slam! Sea bass fishing on the wrecks and reefs has improved and ocean fluke fishing is warming up. As we approach summer, the warmer water species are showing up. The cow nose rays arrived this past week. We also heard of the area’s first cobia and sheepshead. They are here!

Here’s my latest fishing report video from Monday…

There’s beautiful weather in the neighborhood and a lot of different opportunities for saltwater anglers fishing the waters of LBI from the beach or boat. There really isn’t one stand out; however, there is a great variety. Here’s the Fishing LBI Fishing Report Update for Thursday May 30, 2024. Directly below is my latest video report. Enjoy!

On tap near shore and from shore, bluefish, striped bass, fluke, drum, weakfish, with some more kingfish, blowfish and spot showing up. Bottom fishing the offshore wrecks producing sea bass, ling and hake. Further offshore the tuna bite has been slow but tile fishing has been great with good size golden and blueline.

Bluefish Fishing Report

Right now in terms of catching the best bet is blues. We have bluefish ranging from 1-3#, up to and over 10#. They are around and making their presence known offering some strong drag pulling fun and others frustration re-rigging. The blues are biting off lures and rigs of anglers bass and drum fishing the surf with clam as well as jig and rigs of anglers fishing for fluke in the surf/inlet/bay.

Here’s father and son Brian Pollock (L) and Hudson (R) with a pair amongst MANY bluefish they caught fishing aboard Fish Head Charters Wednesday May 29. The team also caught five striped bass up to 32″ on Rapala X-Rap lures.

Fluke Fishing Report

So far it seems the best fluke fishing for both catch consistency and size has been off the surf and inlet. The month of May hasn’t offered up a banner fluke fishing season kick off. But there are some good catches by anglers putting in the time and working for it. We recently had a 6# fluke weighed in from Alex who was fishing the surf, photo below right. Randy Edwards reported good fluke action a few days back, photo below left. We also have heard a couple good size fluke were caught by anglers fishing live spot for striped bass and a few nice ones speared.

But based on a conversations with a commercial fisherman friend, “There is a body of fluke moving.” He said they are a little late this year so my fingers are crossed things pick up soon.

Striped Bass Fishing Report

Off the surf right now the striped bass action is slower than it was but there are still plenty of fish present. Based on previous years trends we expect action for the first half of June and possibly into July. That all depends on water temperature and bait. Here’s recent catch photo of Greg Davis who caught this bass plugging off the surf. Greg’s report is just one of many from customers the past few days.

How’s this for a catch!!!???!!! Sloane Endick caught this monster striped bass while fishing the surf for fluke with pink shine Gulp!

Black Drum Report

The epic black drum bite has dwindled off the May full moon. There was a one to two week stretch in mid April (leading up to the full moon 4/23) when in the Barnegat Bay in rhythm with black drum. Then we saw another really good 7 day stretch with lots of black drum on the LBI surf waxing into May full moon 5/23. Both of these periods offered the area some historic black drum action! The hot bite dropped off after the moons in both occasions and since only a couple here and there were caught. If you are looking for a big black drum it’s safe to say, “you should of been here yesterday” but there’s no harm in trying. All of June and even occasionally in the summer months (July and August) a few drum are caught off the surf on clam. Only time will tell.

Striped Bass Out Front

We’ve finally had some nice easy west winds set up the past few days. We were hoping the bunker schools would FINALLY stage up but so far that hasn’t happen. My fingers are crossed hoping a large body of bunker move in and pod up to give a taste of the good ol’ days spring bassin’ in the boat. Until then trolling along IBSP and LBI is slow put there’s a few bass picking to be had.

There was a post on the Barnegat Bay Fishing Report Facebook page, “(Is the) spring striped bass ocean run a thing of the past for us in Barnegat? (It) seems (the) spring (is) becoming more and more unpredictable out front. This year (the) water is still plenty cold but (there’s) little bait. (The) fall run is later and later. Thoughts?”

My take on things and what I posted as a reply…

Here at Fishermans Headquarters we have had a very good spring with positive catches coming in from customers. It has been a phenomenal spring run along the SURF here on LBI. Not so much “out front” in the boat. I don’t want to speak for IBSP [Grumpy’s Tackle – Ray’s reply to me “The fishing this spring in the IBSP are has been excellent. Since April we’ve had consistently good bass fishing with clams. The drum bite has been phenomenal and we have also seen a good number of medium to large bluefish. Overall I’m very pleased with how this spring has turned out so far. The drum bite in the bay was a bonus two weeks!] or Brigintine [Riptide Bait & Tackle – Andy’s reply to me “The last three to four years has been crazy good fishing for us here in Brigantine from the surf. Big bass, big drum and monster blues. But in the fall it hasn’t offered as much fun. Not much out front for the boaters but the boat anglers fishing in the bay are hitting big blues and stripers as well as big drum. Who knows why and how long it will last but we are enjoying responsibly while it is happening! On the bait side we have had little bunker and only a couple deliveries of small ones but 95% of the action has been on clams. Salted, frozen or in the shell it hans’t mattered.] but maybe they do?

For LBI, one of the best in a decade. [Take one look at the LBI Spring Surf Fishing Tournament live results and be sure to look at the catch and release devision too.] The bass have been in tight to the beach and anglers have caught most of April and all of May. A great size range too from trophies to slots and shorts. While management and scientists say bunker is abundant and wintering off NJ in large strong numbers our anecdotal reports do not agree. [Us NJ anglers have known for years that bunker winter off NJ] I would point to the lack of adult bunker as the main reason why we don’t have a strong boat fishery [right now] along LBI and IBSP like previous years. I would point to the fact that we have had little to no west wind (bunker filter feed and swim into the wind) until recent, the past couple days. There’s times we would have a week or more of west winds, bunker pods on the beach and bass feeding with boats, live bait or lure fishing and others trolling, all catching.

I’m not saying there are no bunker in the region, however there is little bunker near shore. Little in terms of both size and abundance. The local bait guys are having one of their worst year ever. Struggling to say the least. Maybe some are doing good but my two long time sources are not. Also don’t overlook management and data shows a decline in the striped bass stock. For those who don’t attend meetings and follow the fisheries data updates, their on the water fishing experience gauges how good or poor the fishery is. When management says there is a problem or a potential looming, many don’t agreed based on their great anecdotal catch “data”. That doesn’t account for recruitment, shrinking spawning stock biomass, spawning area water quality issues, invasive species, migratory path changes and the list goes on and on. While I don’t want to say the sky is falling, there are significant problems with the striped bass fishery. Unfortunately some of these issues are a bit too complex to dive into here with text. It would could and should be a book. But hopefully this explains a little bit of my take on it.