Author: FishHead.Greg

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!

Atlantic Shore Wind Farm Meeting 1/28/21

Windmills are coming to Long Beach Island and the surrounding areas in NJ. This should not be ground breaking news.

Hot off the Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind Zoom meeting I figured it was right to share my feelings of the situation. This is not to detail the entire situation, project or debate fine points. There’s lots of information available with some simple searches on Google. I encourage all to do it and read up on things. Might want to start here… AtlanticShoresWind.com

The Jan 28th Recreation Fishing Meeting And Listening Session was the second of its type. It started off bumpy with tech trouble but then took off and was really good. I don’t think it could of went any better. Why? Some great public comments were made and Atlantic Shore (AS) was listening.

This is a photoshopped image modified and give a possible hint at what the windmills off Long Beach Island could look like.

The Atlantic Shore Lease is located approximately 9 to 20 miles off the New Jersey coast, between Barnegat Light and Atlantic City, encompassing approximately 183,000 acres.

Offshore Wind Farm Key Concerns:

The reason for the meeting was to list out the concerns and hear public comment/concerns from the recreational fishing community with regards to the Offshore Wind Farm (OWF) and the AS lease site. Here’s the list that was presented…

EMF
Habitat
Transit Lanes
AIS
Radar Clutter
Access
Cable Burial
Anchoring

EMF – Electro-Magnetic Fields

This is the hottest and most debatable topic and needs its own individual meeting(s). The quick and dirty… Some species of fish like flounder and sharks are affected by the EMF from the cables. The “Flounder Fence” issue is very concerning and possibly detrimental to NJ’s fisheries.

There will be a large network of cables, more on them below. There’s talk that an EMF study is being finalized but so is the plans of the OWF project. Seems like someone is putting the cart before the horse. Also there is major concern that information from the Block Island Wind Farm (BIWF) will be used to speculate about the AS lease site and project. The five wind turbines at the Block island Wind Farm are totally different than hundreds of turbines off the Central Jersey Coast. It’s like comparing apples to oranges.

Habitat

Areas were discussed and shown on a chart detailing the lease site and sensitive areas that were brought to the attention of AS by recreational and commercial fishermen. Most of the areas detailed were at the southern area of the site off of Atlantic City.

There was positive discussion about building structure around the base of each foundation to both protect from erosion and also help build a habitat to hold fish. I hope more discussions develops on this topic as it could help anglers. Possibly we could ask (who knows what they will give us) for a few (if not all) special locations which would have extra high rock piles 10-20″ tall, maybe some piling of clean construction materials (concrete) to help build small or large artificial reefs throughout the lease site.

Effect On Existing Artificial Reefs

Good news for anglers, “The Lease Area and export cable routes are planned to avoid artificial reefs and wreck sites. These artificial reefs will also be avoided during construction and maintenance of the project. If new artificial reef locations are established, these will also be included in our project design planning.”

Transit Lanes

For transiting vessels the offshore wind turbines will be placed in a uniformed grid layout that has transit corridors of no less than 1 nautical mile. The number of wind turbines and their distance between individual ones is still not known. These rows allow for safe transit of all marine traffic and will take into account existing vessel traffic patterns and hopefully will take into account recreational fishing vessels heading offshore to the deep.

A major concern to sport fishing vessels out of Barnegat Inlet would be heading to the Spencer Canyon or any waters to its south. If there isn’t a transit lane offshore sport fishing vessels will be dealing with an excessive route. Unfortunately Beach Haven Inlet vessels they will have a much harder time choosing a route with minimal detours heading to the Baltimore or any waters all the way up to the MudHole. Obviously there will be a way to get through BUT, this is an area that anglers need to speak up and voice their opinions. What are your needs for transit lanes and exactly where! To the best of my knowledge the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association is in communication with AS representatives but I did not hear a public comment. I’ll be looking for more clarification about this.

AIS – Automatic Identification System

Yes wind turbines will be marked and illuminated to meet the needs of mariners and requirements of the USCG and FAA. However that is not enough. In my opinion each turbine must have an AIS transponder for the utmost in marine navigation safety. This way each and every turbine’s position is listed or overlaid as a point on GPS plotters. At busy times marine traffic could bottle neck as vessels transit through lanes. Especially in bad weather and times of limited visibility AIS will be very helpful to mariners.

Radar Clutter

How will the wind turbines display and clutter on a radar screen? This is especially important in foul weather situations which is why AIS is crucial. I’d like to see a screen shot or hear from a mariner with experience navigating by the Block Island Wind Farm.

Fishing Access

There will be no restrictions once constructed. Fishing will be allowed right up to the piles. However vessels can not tie off. Rhodan GPS Anchors are game changers!

Here’s Captain Greg Cudnik long arming a hump head black sea bass one fall day. While it’s up for debate there is potential the AS OWF will offer structure that holds a variety of species. What species will benefit and what species will be hurt? Only time will tell.

Cable Burial

Two types of cables will be used; inter-array cables network the wind turbines and export cables will go to substations. All cables will be buried 6 ft (2m) and some areas will need rocks to protect/support the cable.

The concern about the soft sandy bottom type which is predominantly found in the area was mentioned. Sand shift with currents and especially with storms. As per AS, “All cables will be monitored for burial throughout project operation.”

Details On The Cable Were Shared

The main core of the cables will be made of up of three inner cables, surrounded by insulation and shielding. Then a chain mail armor jacket with a thick plastic outer covering. Obviously designed for the marine environment

Anchoring

Anchoring is a common practice by bottom fishermen. The topic was listed but was not discussed in detail. Will anchoring be allowed? I assume so but maybe this needs clarification.

Public Comment On Windmills Added

I felt strongly and commented that the first and foremost list of concern should be Recreation Fishing Opportunities. This three word phase is broad and wide reaching, but is the utmost importance!

Statewide Contributions By Anglers In NJ

In 2018 the American Sportfishing Association along with data from NOAA published (link here) $1.3 billion in economic output was contributed by New Jersey’s anglers and it supported close to 9000 jobs. As noted in the report from 2018 to 2020 there was a 66% increase in excise tax collected therefore 2020 contributions are significantly higher. The graphic below details some trends on the U.S. Recreational Fishing Economy published in 2016.

With regards to the high risk of the project to the states important fisheries, Bob Rush Charter Captain of the Starfish and NJ Marine Fisheries Council member commented, “If/when the fisheries are ruined as a result of the OWF will there be mitigation? Subsidies?” Not much of a reply back.

What Took Me By Surprise

This was a public meeting for the recreation fishing industry and community to air our their concerns and comment to AS. With only ~70 in attendance I thought it was a poor turn out considering the timing and convenience of Zoom. WTF!?! How was not one other tackle shop on the call!?! Pathetic! Maybe because the Orsted (another separate OWF project taking place off of Northern NJ waters) meetings went so poorly there was a lack of interest? Huge thanks to our Recreational Fisheries Industry Rep Captain Adam Nowalsky (also from Recreation Fishing Alliance) and Fisheries Liaison Officer Captain Kevin Wark (from Barnegat Light). Without these two well respected captains the situation could be a lot different.

Offshore Wind Turbine Foundation Type

The style of foundation was touched on briefly and it sounds like the exact type was not chosen yet but they are leaning towards the monopile style (single column is lowest cost). With that said the jacket style (BIWF) might not be out of the question. The jacket style’s lattice framework offers the best habitat for fishing structure.

Read Up!

I encourage all interested and concerned to read up on the OWF topic. I’m diving in to learn more as I’m new to this new world of wind. Although distinctly different information on the Block Island Wind Farm is a good start. The Dublin Array Offshore Wind Farm is another project in the Irish Sea. Construction will start soon about 10km off the coastline of Dublin Ireland.

Little Egg Reef Gets New Materials – NJ Artificial Reef News

In 1984 NJ’s Division of Fish & Wildlife officially began the NJ Artificial Reef Program. Currently today there are 17 reef sites where one quarter of all fishing trips in NJ occur.

NJ has 17 reef sites. 13 are in federal waters. Four are in state waters.

All would agree that fluke, black sea bass, tautog as well as many other species benefit from the structure and the habitat artificial reefs create. As these sites age they evolve. Some materials collapse, shifting sand covers pieces and some sink into the sand. To keep the state’s network of reef vibrant and prospering new deployments are vital.

Due to funding and staffing, the Reef Program was dormant for a number of years. Then the program started up again. Between 2015-2019 there were 209 deployment with the majority (182) focused on the souther sites (Cape May, Ocean City, Townsends, Wildwood). But the sites local to Long Beach Island have had little to no enhancements in 15 years.

“Teenagers in the Association’s Junior Mates Program learned of the situation and asked what could they do. This humble beginning sparked a grass roots campaign which snowballed into an intensive campaign by the BHCFA. These efforts attracted the attention of concerned individuals and groups on the local and even national levels.” Jim Hutchinson Sr shared and continued.

“The group’s original reef replenishment goal of $100,000 was reached thanks to the efforts of the mates, local community involvement, and matching funds from the Ann E. Clark Foundation and the Sport Fishing Fund. The Sea Shell Resort & Beach Club’s Striped Bass Derby generously donated $50,000.”

Three New Vessels Added To Little Egg Reef

Finally! After two years of hard work from the captains and mates of the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association (BHCFA), there’s new materials on the Little Egg Reef.

On Thursday January 14, 2020 Captain Pete Clark (NJDEP Fisheries Biologist & Reef Coordinator) and Captain John Lewis (BHCFA President) oversaw the sinking of three vessels; a 140-foot barge, a tugboat and a push boat.

This photo shows the beginning of the deployment. All three vessels are shown in this picture. Photo courtesy of The Fisherman

The tug boat and push boat were towed up from Norfolk, Virginia on the barge. All of which were cleaned twice and cleared by the US Coast Guard prior to sinking.

The final piece sinks. Photo courtesy of The Fisherman

Now with the new substrate on the Little Egg Reef native species of epifauna and flora will grow. Soon they will be home to crustaceans, mollusks and bait fish. Once established predatory/game species will move in and support recreation anglers for many years to come.

Photo by diver Rich Galiano detailing a flourishing wreck.

Lewis gave special words of praise to the Junior Mates for the efforts and participation. “Kids today take a beating for various reasons. Our kids have adopted a ‘can-do’ approach and worked their tails off to implement their ideas and dreams.”

This article contains content provided by Jim Hutchinson Sr & Jr, the Fisherman Magazine and the NJ DEP Fish & Wildlife.

LBI Fishing Report Update 12/30/20

This will be the last fishing report of 2020. Thanks to our fishing community for following along all year and sharing reports.

We hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas and Great Holiday stretch. From the entire team at Fish Heads Happy New Year!

Off The Surf

Some anglers are still trying and a few are catching. No spectacular report but we have heard of some surf side linesiders on tin and teaser as well as bait.

Gary Thorp caught and released a 26″ bass Monday at the beginning of the incoming tide with his five year old son. Gary and son were using bunker on a hi-lo CIRCLE HOOK rig Gary reported, “I think he’s hooked on surf fishing for life!”

Camrin Ruffin sent in this photo from a recent fishing session on the surf.

Ben Morris reported on Sunday, “No better way to spend a cold late December morning. The surf was calm and clean. I pulled one about 21″ at sunrise. Had a few bumps after that catch but wasn’t able to hook up.” Joe Grey got one off the surf on Sunday too.

A number of skunked out reports came in from anglers fishing all over the LBI beach from Barnegat Light to Holgate.

Dead Whale Washes Up On LBI Surf

If you didn’t hear the news yet… there was a 32′ humpback whale that washed up on the beach in Loveladies on Christmas Eve. The southerly wind and waves moved it up to its final resting place in Barnegat Light on Christmas Day.

Word from the Marine Mammal Stranding Center is that a definitive cause of death could not be determined. Due to the size removal would have been difficult so it was buried on the beach, back away from the water’s edge and covered over with a large mound of sand.

Bottom Fishing

The hardcore bottom anglers are catching fish from tog to sea bass, porgies, ling and cod. Most of the action is taking place at the deep water offshore spots.

The tog fishing has been hit or miss. Some anglers are having a banner day followed up by a dead day. Those putting in the time are finding catches and some are putting quality fish on the deck.

Not sure if you heard yet… Angler Chris Sullivan from Waretown caught a 25.8 pound tog recently, potentially a new New Jersey State Record Black Fish. Chris was fishing out of Cape May with Captain Tom Daffin on the Fishin’ Fever. The story we got was he fished the day before out of Barnegat Light on the Mary M. They had left over live white crabs from Fishermans Headquarters so they brought them down for the next day’s trip. Baited up on a Centruy Pro Togger the bite came and Chris put the screw to ’em. Epic Catch Sully! Congrats!!!

Maintenance Matters

Here at the end of the year it’s time to clean things up and responsibly put them to rest for the winter hibernation. Now’s the time to clean and lube reels, wipe down rods (clean blank guides, grips and seats), warm water wash lures and organize things. I give a quick light spray of CRC656 to my terminal tackle boxes to prevent corrosion. A little maintenance now saves a much larger project in the spring!

We are open daily all winter long with all of the essentials for reel service and repair whether dropping off or DIY. We have parts and lubricants in stock.

Fishermans Headquarters is a Factory Authorize Penn Reels & Van Staal Service Center

LBI Fishing Report 12/21/20

LBI Fishing Report 12/19/20

Things have settled down from the recent blow. The ocean water today was still a little churned up and dirty but improving. There’s bass on the beach if you are looking to go. We did not hear many reports but we did get a couple. There’s also anglers catching fish in the boats.

Paul Karner caught his first striped bass off of the surf today, three in total. All were caught on his DIY teaser fished with a diamond jig. There’s no better way to target the schoolies off the surf right now that fishing a teaser!

Here’s Pual K with one of three striped bass he caught today off the Long Beach Island surf.

Another report came in from Paul Lindsey. “Finally back on the bass! Bunker was washing up on the beaches down on the south end of the island this morning. There’s still plenty of life here!”

Here’s a striepd bass that was caught and released by Paul L. today.

Here’s a photo from Sloane on the LBI surf a few days back.

Sloane Endick caught this LBI surf side striper a few days back, before the most recent storm.

UPDATED SUNDAY 12/20/20

Paul Michael reported, “Today was a very weak day for me. I worked from Holgate all the way up to Cedars. Only caught tone fish. My buddy Dave got two fishing the mid island surf. Only heard of a couple fish. I’m hoping Monday is better.”

Captain Steve Purul from Reel Fantasea Fishing Charters was out today for the his last trip of the 2020. “Wrapped up the 2020 fishing season with my favorite salty bunch of pirates! It was a slow start but gave way to a busy dec and action packed end to the 2020 season with doubles, triples and quadruples on every drift!”

Black Fishing

Paul Haertel reported another great day on the tog grounds with a boat limit plus to 10.39#. Store staffer Grey was aboard and reported having a fund day. Paul shared he is loving his new Rhodan Trolling Motor. He said it’s so good it’s cheating, “They should be illegal!” The Rhodan GPS Anchor/Trolling Motor is a total game changer for so many different fisheries. They really shine for locking up (virtual anchoring) over wrecks.

Black Sea Bass

Sloane stopped in the shop a geared up on Friday for a black sea bass trip. Today she was out fishing the deep water grounds with Capt Nick Perello. They murdered ’em!

Here’s our most recent video report from Wednesday Dec ember 16th…

LBI Fishing Report Update 12/9/20

LBI Fishing Report Update 12/6/20

The surf was churned up yesterday with strong winds and powerful surf. The Barnegat Light Buoy 44091 peaked at 6′ at noon. Then the westerlies took over and then it jacked up to 11′ that the night. It has settled today with lingering 1-2′ swell on the beaches today. We are entering a good stretch of westerlies this work week. With reasonably chilly temps there’s good fishing opportunities here on Long Beach Island.

West is best! Monday is the third day of the west winds. Will it play out again like last week? Gotta go to know! We’ve got good expectations for the week ahead. If you want to get in on the action before the season is over, now is the time to get out and go fishing!

Here’s the Fishing LBI Fishing Report Update For Sunday December 6, 2020.

LBI Surf Fishing Reports

Last few days anglers caught fish off of the surf. Mornings have been best but some after finding fish in the afternoons, and evenings. At times things have come together.

Some days this has been the sunrise scene for the dawn patrol anglers. This early December sunrise was captured by Paul Boardman of Barnegat Light.

Today (Sunday) Randall Swartley caught a 29″ striped bass on a AVA jig fishing the mid-island surf. Bob Dever of the American Anglers Fishing Club caught a 30″ bass on bunker mid island surf. JP from Beach Haven caught some morning stripes today too.

Here’s JP with a morning schoolie that he caught fishing a Deadly Dick rigged up with a leading teaser. This is a great way to target striped bass in the late fall off the surf.

A number of other reports came in from anglers in the shop. Josh Rosk got a 28″ bass on a Daiwa SP Minnow fishing the mid island surf. Eli Haegele got two bass on the beach fishing an AVA metal.

David Ho from Symplex Fishing has been putting his time in and finding bass on the beach. He reported, “Decent fishing pre-blow. Hope the sand eels stick around a bit longer.”

Declan Wahlers caught a bass and a fluke fishing off the surf. As the photos below show, both species went for the teaser!

Long Beach Island Surf Fishing Classic

There’s one week left in the 66th Annual LBI Surf Fishing Classic. So far December has been good with a fish entered every day this month. For more details on the leader board… Live Results

The standout is Rich Bergman’s 36″ 17.09# striped bass that he caught and weighed in on 12/3/20. Photo below…

Backside Bass

Still some nice striped bass on the bayside too. The sod banks, docks, and bridges all have produced good fishing. Some anglers took advantage of the backside’s protection and found bass.

This is one striped bass that Nick DeGennaro caught fishing light tackle working his night time haunts on the Island’s bayside. Even though it’s late fall don’t over look the potential of the bayside!

Here’s a hungry bass that Ryan Mollicone caught fishing a popper on the bayside.

LBI Fishing Report 11/30

This past weekend was a good one with great weather and good fishing. It was quite possibly the best weekend of the fall run for fishing in the LBI area. Here’s the Long Beach Island Fishing Report Update for November 30, 2020.

LBI Surf Fishing

Good vibes here on the LBI surf with action reported the past few days. Anglers are catching striped bass in all sizes (unders, slots and overs) fishing artificials and natural baits. Spiny Dogfish are still around in huge numbers and are frustrating chunkers BUT fishing through them yield bass bounty. The only way to stay away from them is larger baits or heads. Better yet switch over to lures.

Monday 11/30/20 (Today)

The week started off today windy with churned up surf. It was a rough one but some anglers got out and fish during the earlier part of the day. Lots of surf rats live for stormy surf conditions. A couple that braved the elements were rewarded.

This striped bass was caught by Alex M. off of the LBI surf on Monday morning.

Captain Alex Majewski from Lighthouse Sportfishing was on the surf this morning and shared this report from the beach, “I went one for two on the chunk at dawn. I’m on the move looking around but the weather is going downhill fast.

Jack Keating caught this striped bass on Monday in the wash fishing LBI.

Sunday 11/29/20

The adage “Third Day Of The West Wind” held true offering awesome times for a select group of anglers who were in the right spot at the right time!

Paul Lindsey was in on the action and shared this, “EPIC! EPIC! EPIC! Sunrise session this morning on the LBI beach! The bass were steam rolling sand eels. We had doubles on teasers. It was unlike anything I’ve ever seen. Even REDFISH joined the action.” MORE ON REDFISH BELOW

Jack Hanley with a sunrise striper on the LBI surf.

Jack Hanley was in on the action too and reported, “I slammed them! Hit a blitz with tons of birds and non stop bass action for 30-45 mins. Biggest bass was thirty one inch.”

Nate Kirby of Barnegat Light caught this striped bass on a DIY teaser.

Nate Kirby reported a good morning bite too. Last week Nate was in the shop picking up some essentials for a DIY teaser tying session. He got some hooks, thread, flash and hair. Safe to say the striped bass approve!

Saturday 11/28/20

Dennis Biernacki from Little Egg Harbor caught and released this 41″ striped bass fishing the mid island surf with bunker.

Lou Monteagudo said he saw a report post and it motivated him to hit the beach. He caught this (above) 37.5″ striped bass on an 8″ Tsunami Sand Eel Soft Bait.

Matt Bray caught this striped bass chunking off the mid-Island surf with bunker on Saturday. He sent in the photo and said, “Thanks for always having primo bunker!”

Youth anglers Hunter Chervony got a 29″ bass off the mid-Island surf chunking bunker. Kenny Lehmann’s son caught a 22″ bass on bunker fishing mid-island surf.

Another youth angler (and past Fish Head Team Member) JT Hille released this 45″ striped bass off the LBI surf this weekend.

REDFISH On The LBI Surf

Redfish, a somewhat common catch years ago are making a return? Could this be possible? This November, more specifically the past 5-10 days we saw numerous redfish reports. While not rare or uncommon they are very infrequent.

This weekend we heard of a handful of redfish catch reports. Two were caught by one angler.

Gregory Davis’s catch is the largest we’ve seen. He caught this redfish off the LBI surf in the mix of a bass blitz Sunday. He caught the red fishing a metal with a teaser. Mike (@mwc0420) landed one last week

Where Are The Bluefish!

Behind… When’s high tide? What are your hours? This is the most common question here… Where Are The Bluefish?!?! In the past week or two few were reported. They were caught by anglers trolling for striped bass. This weekend we heard of a couple small ones showing up on the Barnegat Inlet. We shared in a previous report that some blues were reported by anglers fishing the deep water wrecks 30-60 miles out. This weekend many reports came in with a similar theme…. the Barnegat Ridge has bluefish in the 5-10 pound range. Our fingers have been crossed tight all fall. We aren’t loosening up yet. Will they show on the beaches this fall?

Inshore Fall Bluefin Tuna

Some really nice fish were caught recently in the 6-20 mile range. Anglers are catching bluefin on the troll and casting lures.

Inshore Bottom Fishing

It’s prime time tog fishing and the local wrecks and reefs are producing good umber and good size. Get crabs and get out there. We are doing our best ot have live white crabs and green crabs in stock for the rest of the year.

Sheepshead Surpries

Fish Heads Ambassador Swagmattic was out wreck fishing this past weekend participating in the Forked River Tuna Club’s tog tournament. They put together a nice catch but wasn’t enough for the win. However Swag got a big sheepie!

LBI Fishing Report 11/24/20

The fish are here and anglers are catching on the beach and boat. Get in the game!

John Bell stopped in the shop this afternoon to gear up for an afternoon fishing trip on the surf. He sent in a couple photos just a few hours later.

John caught this schoolie bass at sunset fishing a Hogy lure. Then after the sun went down…

He caught two more in the dark chunking bunker.

Michael Chugranis got a double header this morning on the mid-island surf. He was fishing green tube AVA Diamond Jig with a teaser ahead of it. This is a great way to present a small profile a long distance out to the back side of the bar or into deeper water.

Happy Thanksgiving

May you and your families have a safe and health Thanksgiving filled with the warmth and happiness.

Upcoming Hours

11/25/20 Wednesday: 6am to 8pm (Normal Hours)
11/26/20 Thursday: 5am to 2pm
11/27/20 Friday: 5am to 9pm
11/28/20 Saturday: 5am to 9pm (Normal Hours)
11/29/20 Sunday: 5am to 7pm (Normal Hours)

Get Reel Bass Fishing Visits LBI

Paulie Spikes from Get Reel Bass Fishing came down and visited the LBI area last week. While here he stopped into the shop before heading out to fish. Here’s a Vlog from trip which includes a trip aboard Fish Head Charters… Check It Out!

LBI Fishing Report Weekend Recap 11/22/20

This past weekend was a GOOD ONE! Saturday was an awesome day! Great Fishing & Great Weather! It was great to see a crazy number of boats on the water and most were catching fish. There were a crazy number of surf anglers too but unfortunately the bite was not as good for them. BUT some caught fish. This weekend might have been the best three days for surf anglers all fall so far. With the ocean and surf temps in the mid to lower 50’s (52-54 degrees) it’s prime time fishing here on LBI.

If you’ve pulled out and wintered the gear for the year there’s no doubt you are missing out on a ton of great fishing opportunities. Now’s the time to get out and enjoy all the LBI and the surrounding waters have to offer. Let’s Go Fish!

Here’s a quick Fishing LBI video fishing report from Saturday evening on the Long Beach Island surf at about 4pm.

LBI Surf Fishing

The Long Beach Island surf has not offered epic fishing; however, it has produced fun fishing for many anglers. Lots of mixed reports but one thing is for sure… right now is a good time to get out hunt down striped bass.

Since Halloween the invasion of dogfish has made bait fishing the suds challenging. However some of those that weed through and adapt are rewarded with quality striped bass. Some anglers have abandon bait fishing all together and they are scoring fish on lures. This weekend we heard through the grapevine of a 42″ striped bass that was released on the south end of the Islands. We also heard about scattered reports of short striped bass on metal/ teaser combo early in the mornings. Keeper striped bass were also caught. Here’s some details…

Sunday morning Tom Smith enjoyed the beautiful conditions (sunrise, north east winds, low tide) on the North End surf and caught a healthy striped bass for the dinner table. The 33″ striped bass went for a fresh Fish Heads bunker chunk.

Here’s Tom with his morning catch that was properly bled at time of catch to ensure the best possible quality table fare.

Another report came in from Jaime Wovkanych Grant, “Caught this 40″ striped bass off the mid-Island surf on LBI today.”

Matt Heckman got a good one off the surf!

Steve Traut fished the north end and caught two short bass chunking fresh bunker.

Gavin Kowalski got two striped bass on green tube tail AVA Diamond Jigs rigged up with a teaser ahead of it. This is an old and effective trick to get the smallest presentations (little flies/teasers) way out a long distance. Diamond jigs and other metals cast like rocket ships.

Willy B – “Hey thanks for the help this week Had a great day. Lots of fish casting deadly dicks and AVA jigs. All fish were around 27″!”

Cole McCamy sent in a photo of a 42″ striped bass from the surf.

Greg Eller from Deptford caught this one from the surf this weekend.

Long Beach Island Surf Fishing Classic

It’s Day 44! Today (Sunday November 22, 2020) at 6pm the Second Segment ended and we are currently in the third and final segment of the LBI surf fishing tournament. So far there are 562 anglers participating. no bluefish, 37 kingfish and 16 striped bass. There have been a number of over and under legal slot (28-<38″) fish that were caught and released.

Today Steve Roderick weighed in a really nice fish for the LBI Surf Fishing Tournament… a 22.92# 37 7/8″ striped bass just before the 6pm (5:46pm) cut off. This fish unofficially qualifies as the winner of the second segment. Steve caught the bass fishing bunker on the south end of LBI at about 5pm.

What’s special about the LBI Classic is even though there’s a large fish on the board that will be very hard to beat (due to the new NJ state striped bass fishing regulations) there’s still lots of great fishing and competition ahead.

We’ve got a whole new segment full of great prizes. Get geared up and get out there! For The Live Results Page & More Info www.LBISFC.com

Bayside Striped Bass

Usually striped bass hang around our bays all year long and this year seems so far like that will be the case. Usually we see striped bass active in the back bay waters into December (depending on weather and temperatures). So far we continue to get positive reports from the bay.

Konrad recently picked up some essential fly tying materials at the shop to tie up some flies now and over the winter. He sent in this photo…

Last fish of the year for me. Stoked to have it on the fly I tied.

Striped Bass Out Of Barnegat Inlet

The striped bass fishing the past couple weeks has been nothing short of phenomenal. Recent days have kept the level very high. Even with the oodles of boats on Saturday the fish chewed. Sunday was rough but some went out and they caught. This week ahead doesn’t look the best but there will be some windows to get out.

Ryan Duffy geared up Friday night at fish heads and shared this report, “Had a productive day with 15 total striped bass keeping one 30″ for the table. Lots of boats were working the 3 mile line, I found a nice stretch of bass at the 1.5 mile area closer to the bottom and they were chewing 9ers shad umbrella rigs and sand eel umbrellas. About 9am we found the birds and had top water boils catching on needle fish lures and SP minnows. For the volume of boats it was a good day. Shout out to Greg Cudnik. and Fish Heads for always putting us on the fish with intel and the right gear!”

Fish Head Charters

All recent trips have been very good! It’s light tackle striped bass fishing at its finest. I’ve been out every single good weather day I possibly can and even some sour days too. The abundance of striped bass is phenomenal. I expect we’ll have a couple weeks of great fall fishing so long as the weather allows.

So far I have not had the need to break out the trolling gear. All action has been on light tackle spinning gear or the fly. Catching striped bass on top water boat side is exhilarating to say the least.

If you want to jump aboard send a text or call as there are a couple dates still available. Reach out to Captain Greg at Fish Head Charters Today 16093899963

LBI Tog Fishing

Tog fishing is good right now and should be right into the end of the year and beyond. The local reefs and wreck sites are producing. For land based anglers the Barnegat Inlet Jetty is still holding tog and anglers are catching with live crabs.

As of November 16 there is a five fish bag limit with a minimum size of 15″ (same all year)

Saturday Store staffer Frezza went out fishing aboard the Gabagool with Fish Head Alumni Dave DeFeo. They got into a great bite and were limited out by 9am.

Zachary Ellwood reported, “I was out fishing the Lighthouse and caught a lot of small stuff and nailed two keepers! It was a beautiful dead with the sun shining and not a lot of wind. I was in my t-shirt for most of the day!”

Paul Lindsey reported, “Probably caught close to 60 fish the last couple of days. All of the fish are fat and fun fighters.”