Author: FishHead.Greg

I can’t believe Labor Day is official here. Summer flew by. Looking back it was one hell of a summer full of great fishing and for the most part very good weather. From near shore to offshore and from shore fishing was consistently good all summer for a variety of species.

With 15 days left in the official summer season (Sept 22) and 13 days left in NJ’s summer flounder fishing season (Sept 19), anglers should be looking forward to great late summer fishing with less traffic on the road, the beach and the water. Strike now while the iron is hot!

September offers the season’s best variety with all of the traditional coastal gamefish like fluke, striped bass, bluefish, kingfish, blowfish, weakfish, sea bass, tog, drum, sheepshead, triggerfish, porgy as well as albies, cobia and Spanish mackerel. In recent days the mid-shore tuna bite has simmered down but mahi madness filled the void as well as some big wahoo.

LBI Surf Fishing Report

Today’s LBI surf temperature from Harvey Cedars Beach Patrol is 72º.

September is a great time of year to enjoy fishing the beaches of LBI. Right now there’s fluke fluke, kingfish, spot, small bluefish and weakfish on the beaches. For the kings and spot rig up with a Classic Small Hook Kingfish Rig and bait with live bloodworms and/or FishBites Bag Of Worms.

For fluke it’s hard to beat a bucktail jig tipped with Gulp with a teaser hook above with a Gulp. We’ve got teaser rigs in stock. Need help making up your own custom teaser rig?

As reported previously some mullet are moving and creeping out of their summer hiding areas. I saw a school of mullet in the surf last weekend. Yesterday we heard of a few netting off of the local surf. The mullet will be running any day. Now is the time to fish mullet on a classic mullet rig.

Barnegat Bay Fishing Report

The Barnegat Bay has a lot on tap right now. Blowfish are the far the best target species for quantity and table fare. Please harvest responsibly. Weakfish, small blues as well as resident striped bass are present AND there’s still a good number of fluke in the bay too.

Crabbing and clamming are two great ways to enjoy time on the water. They are both especially great times to take advantage of a windy day or when the ocean is rough.

A Tidbit On Weather

This weekend’s break from the heat was welcomed and very comfortable. Low dew point, low humidity and at times chilly but GREAT!!! Fall is in the air.

If you didn’t get word yet… as of today’s 11am update Hurricane Larry is a major storm moving north west at 10mph with cranking 120mph winds.

The first signs of Larry will show up on LBI’s beaches on Tuesday with forerunners arriving. Wednesday we’ll see more long period south east swell in the 2-4′ possibly five foot range but lully, smaller in the AM, larger in the PM. Thursday the beaches will be pumping 4-6’+ and favorable north west winds will have LBI’s beaches lit up with HOPEFULLY world class surf! The swell should peak later Thursday or Friday. Friday could be another great day too. Saturday Larry’s swell drops fast as the system exits our swell wind.

Why does this matter to the anglers of LBI?

Well… For sure surf anglers should expect the beaches to be packed with surfers on Thursday. Also the swell and long shore drift will force anglers to fish heavier weighs if trying to hold bottom. Boat anglers should know that Thursday powerful long period swell energy. It should be a nice day to fish however shoals and inlets could be hazardous at time.

LBI Surf Fishing Classic

Registration for the 2021 67th Annual Surf Fishing Classic is on! It kicked off today. We are looking forwards to a great event starting October 9th. SAVE THE DATE! Over the years the early part of the event was slow unless medium size blues (minimum size is 28″) showed up. Last year kingfish were added and it turned out to be a very successful and welcomed addition. They are here to stay! We look forward to the first 1-3 weeks full of kingfish action as things transition right into the bass and blues.

Rock The Dock!

The NJ Fishing Club’s Rock The Dock fluke tournament went down on Saturday September 4th with flawless weather and phenomenal fluke fishing. It was arguably the best day of fluke fishing all summer! The majority of the 24 boats fished the ocean waters; open bottom, wrecks and reef sites. The largest fish was in the six pound range and the top three fish stringer was in the fifteen pound range. We’ll have the specifics posted as soon as they are available.

I had a blast fishing the tournament with Captain Jeff Warford and fellow team Fish Heads member Mike Frezza. Jeff put us on the fish right from the start and the fishing was great all morning. The tide was cranking but the Rhodan Trolling Motor helped keep up in position where the fluke were chewing. We finished the day with 26 keeper size fish. We were releasing healthy keeper after keeper, hunting for larger fish but they never came. Out of our 9 fish limit kept the largest was 4.88#.

Keep an eye out for the NJ Fishing Club’s Blackfish Tournament later this fall!

So it’s September… Now What!

With school’s firing back up, the recent mass exodus has left Long Beach Island with what feels like the most breathing room in a very, very long time. The ambiance is something that so many of us have missed and feared gone after the pandemic push but the days after Henri gave us reassurance. Fortunately summer is far from over folks! What many call “Local Summer” we call the best time of year to enjoy LBI and all of its bounty.

Here’s the Long Beach Island Fishing Report for September 1, 2021.

Many look at the September and October time frame as dead months with little to nothing going on; however that couldn’t be further from the truth. Late summer fishing on LBI is great! Aside from tropical systems, the weather tends to be good and the waters are warm. We see a great variety of species with not one star, but good supporting rolls from solid players.

Fluke / Summer Flounder Fishing Report

The NJ summer flounder fishing season closes on September 19th so get in on the final stretch now. Year in and year out late season fluke fishing the waters of LBI is arguably the best part of the season. Right now there’s productive fluke fishing in the inlet, surf, ocean (reefs, wrecks and open bottom) and even still in the bay. More on the bay listed below, Barnegat Bay Fishing Report.

Captain Jeff Warford has been on the meat each and every trip. He’s transitioning well from a big game tuna and sword killer to a flounder pounder. He reported, “Another day, anther limit of quality fish. I think I’m spending $600 a week on Gulp. I’ve got into a number of great days fluke fishing in the past ten days. A few days back I was fishing with Frezza from Fish Heads and we really go into ’em good. It was the best day of NJ fluke fishing I ever had. We kept out limit to 8 pounds and released another 20+ keepers.

Barnegat Bay Fishing Report

Finally the boat traffic on the bay has let up a little bit and more gentlemen conditions prevail. Fishing the bay is and has been great for blowfish. What started a little on the late side and slow side rally kicked into high gear the past 4-5 weeks. All reports are strong from the west side of the bay with anglers chumming and using squid and clam as hook baits. Don’t overlook Fish Bites as a great hook bait choice! There’s also many other areas where blowfish are showing up. Weakfish popped up big time in early to mid August however I’ve witnessed a slowdown. Maybe it’s because I’ve started to turn my attention elsewhere (ALBIES!). The bay is still stacked with fluke and good size ones too. Brian Davis caught a 26′ 6.2 pounder inside a few days ago.

False Albacore Fishing

Everyone loves light tackle fishing right? In my book the ultimate light tackle species (by far) is false albacore. Why? Because they are eat small baits and are fast, finicky and frustrating. The pursuit, the catch and the release are much more rewarding that many other species inshore species. The topwater crushing feeds are just icing on the cake! If looking to hunt down albies make sure your tackle is in order and be ready for a hind and go seek missions. Some days they pop up quick and then disappear like ghosts.

I’ve found over the years that my success has been attributed to my patience, preparation and attention to detail. Leave anyone of these three behind and albies will leave you in the dust frustrated and pissed off. Rigging up with a 15-20# braid on a quality smooth 3000 size spinning reel with a light, crisp and powerful rod rated in the 1/2 to 1oz range makes the perfect tool for the job. A slim line to line knot attaches 18-24″ section of 20-25# fluorocarbon and then I tie direct to my lure of choice always matching the hatch! You cant go wrong with the Hogy Epoxy Jigs. Don’t be afraid to fish them fast.

Mid-Shore Big Game Fishing

As per my last report post update under the Big Game Fishing Section, “bluefin very close, mid-shore action has been hot all summer, troll at speeds for WAHOO!” Same story now. Actually more reports of mahi and WAHOOO!!! Influx of albies in some areas which are fun on light tackle but a huge nuisance when trolling.

Long Beach Island Surf Fishing Report

The LBI surf temp is 74º today (official temp from Harvey Cedars Beach Patrol). Recent fluke action on the beach has been good for some. Case and point is Teddy’s catch report above. Kingfish are plentiful on the surfside too. We’ve heard about a few croakers and spot showing too.Some areas and times offer a few cocktail blues, and possibly a spanish mackerel or false albacore. With the warm water, the sharks are still present; brown sharks, sand tigers, blacktip, spinners and others. Check out this video captured by Karl Marquardt of blacktip and spinner sharks feeding heavy right off the beach on the south end of LBI.

Holgate Is Open!

On September 1st the gates open. We got word from a couple 4×4’s that the beach conditions were good. BUT the swell and high tides could chew the access ramp. We’ll have to see what things look like tomorrow after this blow. As always be prepared when driving on the beach. A lot of unexpected events can take place. Note: Other town beaches will be opening soon to 4×4 buggies.

Long Beach Island Fishing Tournaments Coming Up

Rock The Dock!

This weekend, Saturday September 4th the NJ Fishing Club is holding Rock The Dock Fluke Tournament! 6:30am Shotgun Start, Weigh ins from 2:30 to 3:30pm at Van’s Boats on the water in Barnegat Light.

Entry Fee for Private Boat is $125 or up to 6 anglers.

For all of those fluke anglers that are looking to fish and don’t have a spot… Jump aboard the Mary M IV! Entry Fee for individual anglers fishing aboard the Mary M is $165 (includes, fare, gratuity, pool & tournament entry). Departure 6am Return 2pm

For more details on the tournament, prize payout structure and calcuttas click here. ALL ENTRANTS MUST REGISTER ONLINE! Registration Closes Friday 9/3 at 6pm.

67th Annual LBI Surf Fishing Classic

Sign Ups Will Begin Soon! – The event kicks off October 9th and runs until December 12, 2021. Just like last year there are three primary species; striped bass, bluefish and kingfish. And a ton of prizes! For more information go to www.LBISFC.com

And we are back and better than ever! By all accounts fishing is very strong after the past weekend’s heavy rain flooded and washed out the area. Henri came up and didn’t lash us with winds but dumped buckets of rain and put some strong groundswell on the beaches. What does this have to do with fishing? Well… water temperature, water clarity and water salinity are all very important variables in the equation we call fishing! Fortunately things bounced back fast and great fishing has settled back in. Here’s the Long Beach Island Fishing Report Update for Wednesday August 25, 2021.

Baits! Baits! And More Baits!

The abundance of bait fish in the local Long Beach Island waters is really really great to see. Spearing, bay anchovies, peanut bunker, mullet, mini bluefish, juvie weakfish and even some odd ball, warm water baits up from their southern territory. Sardines aka pilchards aka whitebait… Not the usually small baits us Yankees call whitebait. Goggle eyes, Scad aka Cigar minnows, thread-fin herring aka green back aka greenies! All of these were caught and reported by anglers making bait with cast nets right here on LBI.

Yes mullet! I mentioned in one of my recent reports I saw a small school of mullet. I couldn’t miss the v-wave. Took a double take and for sure saw it. Then thinking I was crazy shared with others… ya who see’s mullet racing the white waters in August? I never have until this past weekend. I’m happy to say it was then confirmed by angler/friend who saw them too. A commenter the the YouTube post too “saw a school of mullet out of BI.” While mullet in the bay is standard issue for this point in the season the ocean IMO is wayyy too early but I’m not complaining.

LBI Surf & Jetty Fishing

Fluke fishing must own the limelight with 25 days left in the season! Summer flounder fishing is productive for beach and boat anglers and will be right into the end of the season on Sept 19th. The Long Beach Island surf and jetties are great areas to fish, especially for flounder in the later summer.

The Barnegat Inlet Jetty is a great area to fish for a variety of species right now. From fluke, blues, striped bass, and blowfish to tog, sea bass, sheepshead and triggerfish there’s something for everyone.

Kingfish activity has been good on the surf. I’ve found they don’t like swell but sometimes when thick they will feed right through it. Case and point was this past weekend. Anglers fishing live bloods reported catching kingfish while the Fishbites were getting slower action. Now that the swell is gone and surf temperatures have stabilized at 70 degrees (official surf – ocean water temp by the Harvey Cedars Beach Patrol 8/25) the artificial bite should get back going again.

Weakfish are somewhat of a common catch the past couple of weeks for anglers fishing the north end surf as well as the inlet and bayside areas. Nick Brewer reported catching one as well as a fluke on his new Tsunami Trophy II 8’6″ combo.

Near Shore Fishing Report

This section titled “Near Shore Fishing Report” could help both beach or boat anglers and should really catch the attention of light tackle enthusiasts. There was already mention of bait abundance but not much said about what’s cashing them. Well!!! Today was kind of the first solid day our local near shore area has been a good false albacore bite. This morning a handful of albie reports came in. One came in from Jim Potter, “Little solo mission.” Another came in from a local angler Dan who caught over a dozen, “It was good fishing early fishing all by myself.” Another angler Luke caught one too. There’s also Spanish mackerel feeding and a million, maybe a billion or trillion 1-2# blues feeding too.

Barnegat Bay Fishing Report

Barnegat Bay blowfishing is really good. Honestly it doesn’t get much better than what we’ve had going for the past couple of weeks. Consistent drop and reel fishing in many different areas; open heart of the Barnegat Bay to the west side as well as the holes littered around the bay and reports have been strong from spots near the inlets too. There’s a very dominate showing of blowfish from very small to good table size. There’s no state regulation/limit… Please fish responsibly.

Fluke fishing is very good out front on the wrecks and reef site but there’s still great flounder fishing in the bay too. On Tuesday Sam Weisenski reported, “We stayed inside and caught 46 fluke this morning with five keepers. A lot of blowfish too. Done by 10/11am because it’s just too hot!”

Big Game Fishing

The reported of bluefin very close to the beach continue. Some reported and catching footballs and others 70″+ round ones. The reports from the edge have been lack luster the past day or two. Few epic reports as of late but maybe that will change soon. BUT! Look on the bight side… the reports from the mid-shore grounds are solid. Today we heard of some boats getting a couple and top boats into double digit fish. This action has been hot all summer and it keeps on keeping on!

Today we heard of anglers picking a couple fish on the troll which also drummed up albies and for those pulling at speed… WAHOO! Those that put the work in and jigged hard pulled on some and also the chunkers raised some nice ones. We also heard of mahi on the pots with one customer catching 12, mostly smaller ones but two nice fish were in the bunch.

Great summertime fishing rolls on with anglers catching a variety of species from the beach and boat. Hopefully you are getting in on the summer fun! Be on the lookout for powerful long periods of swell this weekend from Henri. Here’s the fishing report update for Thursday August 20th, 2021.

Barnegat Bay Fishing

Blowfish, Weakfish, Fluke, Blues and even cobia! The waters of Barnegat Bay have so much to offer right now in mid-August. Hopefully you are getting in on the summer fun. Fluke fishing is still strong but finding keepers is hard. Blowfish invaded a couple weeks ago and their presence is well know. If targeting them they are quick easy catches. If not targeting them you know they are present by their distinctive small curved bites. The weakfish are here in good numbers to in the 12-16″ range with some larger fish being caught.

Long Beach Island Surf & Jetty Fishing

The surf and jetty of LBI has offered good fishing all summer. By far the best fishing off of the surf is kingfish. Fluke fishing is also and it would be proper to expect surf side fluke to be strong right to the end of the season.

Barnegat Inlet offers great variety with fluke, blues, blackfish, weakfish, sheepshead, triggerfish. Be on the lookout for powerful long periods of swell this weekend from Henri. Venturing out on the rocks could be and will be hazardous.

NJ Offshore Reports

The great tuna fishing rolls on and seems to only get better. With Henri coming, be on the lookout for powerful long periods of swell. I was out fishing the 40miles range lumps on Wednesday and got into a great yellowfin bite. It started out with store staffer Max getting a top water hook up on his second cast of the morning. He then switched to the jig and got his second hook up on his third drop. Saying he started the day with a hot hand is an understatement. From there the rest of the crew started hooking up too. We finished the day with an awesome 1-2 hour top water foaming session. For me it was my best trip of the season. When time allows I’ll post some photos and videos from the day.

The past week was a scorcher with hot and humid days BUT the fishing on and around LBI was even hotter! The variety of species in the local waters are at the widest offering beach and boat anglers amazing fishing opportunities. Here’s the Long Beach Island Fishing Report Update for Sunday August 15, 2021.

The smorgasbord is served!!!… Fluke, bluefish, sea bass, tog, striped bass, blowfish, weakfish, triggerfish, sheepshead, blackdrum, sharks, mahi, tunas, marlin, swordfish, tilefish… the list goes on!

Midshore Tuna Fishing

The midshore tuna bite so far this summer (well over a month) has been great. There’s a great showing of yellowfin in the 60-80+++ class at the 40 mile range (out of Barnegat Inlet) chewing chunks, jigs and lures on top. Closer in bluefin are holding steady at the “inshore” lumps and ridges. This action is great for boats of all sizes to tangle with big game fun.

Mullet Outdoors Adventures shared, “I had bluefin 7 mile out off Brigantine. Had 1 around 30in and 4 under 27″. Also caught tons of false albacore.”

52nd White Marlin Invitational

Did you know, the oldest white marlin fishing tournament in the world is home to Long Beach Island’s Beach Haven Marlin Tuna Club? This year’s 52nd White Marline Invitational was a banger, better than ever! With 51 boats register there was a good angler turn our and with the addition of Marlin Fest it was a huge community event at Dock Road’s public dock area. Going into the final day Captain Tim Irons and the crew aboard the Smoking Again were in the lead with a 109# yellowfin. With the scales closing at 8:30pm on the last day of fishing the Crazy Tuna came in with a buzzer beater… at 8:20pm a 182# big eye tuna. It was a very exciting story line that made for a suspenseful finish. There were no qualifying marlin just some releases. For more specific details check out the tournament site. Congrats to all of the participants, sponsors, volunteers and most of all the BHMTC!

If you would like to check out the weigh in here’s a link.

By all accounts this summer’s fishing has been great.   From offshore to back bay and everywhere in between anglers are getting out, catching and having a hella good time doing it. If you haven’t found the time to get out and enjoy summertime fishing the waters of LBI here’s a reminder… Let’s go fishing!

Today Friday August 6th the sunrise was at 6am, a tell tale sign that the days are getting shorter by a little bit every day. While I don’t want to think about it yet, I’m already seeing signs of fall… Peanut bunker are stacked up at my dock (it wasn’t that way a few weeks ago). I saw a school of mullet for the first time this summer. This is also the time we need to start tuning into the NHC for tropical developments.

Recent updated and trends I can share…

The local area has seen a big uptick in weakfish and blowfish in the past 7-10 days. I reported a few days back that I was inundated with blowfish during a recent wreck fishing trip and I questioned were these fish leaving or moving in. I think it’s safe to say they have moved in big time. Also the weakfish too!

Collin and Shawn from Surf city were out fishing today with Captain Jeff Warford. They had a blast fishing. Capt Jeff said, “Blowfishing is really, really good right now!” Chumming with clam chum and fishing classic blowfish rigs baited with clam bites is the way to go.  Anchor up in Barnegat Bay and in join a summer day catching.

The inshore, midshore and offshore medium game and big game fishing has been stellar. Last year’s yellowfin run was one for the books. This year is very good too, but different in it’s own unique way. The exact spots are changing, more or less rotating every couple days with chunk, jig, cast, troll all producing on their given day.  There’s both bluefin and yellowfin in a variety of size classes brining exciting variety to each trip.

On the surf it’s the same solid story just another day… kingfish, fluke, occasional bluefish, rays and sharks. One customer asked, “What’s the best baits to use on the surf that catch the most fish.” My answer…

To catch the most fish quantity wise I would suggest targeting kingfish. For kings you’ll want to rig up with a small hooks baited with live boodworms, DynaBait and/or Fish Bites. If you see small birds (terns) working or roaming the area chances are there’s small bait present and there could be bluefish from snapper size up to 4/5-lbs present. Cast a small jig. I prefer a 7/8 to 1-1/4oz Hog Epoxy Jig but you’ll need a light rod to cast it. A Deadly Dick, AVA diamond jig, Acme Kastmaster or Hopkins are all proven lures in this scenario too.

By now one can assume everyone has heard about Jake Kline’s tarpon. If you have or if you haven’t here’s a great piece put together by Jim Hutchinson Jr at The Fisherman.

The inshore, offshore and back bays offer good fishing right now. Long Beach Island and the surrounding waters have a lot going on with the warm and clean tropic waters. Here’s the Fishing LBI Fishing Report Update for Thursday July 22, 2021.

Fluke Fishing LBI NJ

Mid to late July is a phenomenal time to fluke fish the waters of Long Beach Island. Fluke fishing is good off the surf/jetty and at the reef sites, wrecks and even some open bottom areas. Some spots have a lot of sea robins but there’s quality fluke to be had.

Berkley Gulp is one of the tried and true methods to out catch the fleet but it must be fished properly for best results. We’ve found over the years fishing jigs, the lightest possible for the given conditions, is most effective. Rigging up with a teaser above or trailing helps improve catch however some sharpies opt to fish a single jig for two reasons. One, it allows for fishing the absolute lightest weight for the conditions at hand. Two, it reduces the chances of hanging up on snags.

On The Surf

Yes there was a white marlin spotted and documented on the Jersey Shore Surf! Here’s a arial view short clip.

Now is a great time of year to fish the surf and cool off from the summer heat. There’s a few different edible options to catch; fluke, kingfish, blues and Spanish mackerel. There also a very slim chance (but a chance) at catching a striped bass (@mkesinn sent in a photo of a small striped bass he caught off the surf today), weakfish (@daniellistor sent in a photo of a nice weakfish that was caught on a bunker chunk of the LBI surf last night), black drum (recently caught by local angler Andy), bonita, croaker, spot, pomano and some bigger chrondo critters (more on that below). It’s best to set up for your target species and then search down a good looking piece of beach structure. [For more info on reading the beach check out Surf Fishing 101 Part 1 – At 07:00 there’s a section on Finding A Spot To Fish “Reading The Beach”].

Chrondo Critters – Sharks & Rays

The abundance of chrondo critters, rays and shark continue. [Rays, skates and sharks belong to the class Chondrichthyes. In Greek, chrondro means cartilage fish.

We’ve got some really big rays.. rough tail, southern rays, butterfly rays and cow nose rays. There’s also a verity of sharks calling our waters home; sand bar, sand tiger, spinner, black tip among others. All anglers must know the laws! For the specifics always use the proper resource. Page 12/17/18 of the NJ Marine Digest details Sharks.

Mid-Shore Fishing

Recent weather (aside from Wednesday’s afternoon squall) has allowed for a lot of boats to get out and access the tuna grounds. Whether it’s mid-shore or offshore anglers are catching.

The mid-shore grounds (lumps, ridges and wrecks) in the 15-50 mile range has been very good. Bluefin and yellowfin are in range for small boat anglers. Some days have been a parking lot scene so this report should come as breaking news to most.

By far the jig bite has been best using slender pencil style sand eel jigs like the Chatter’s or Nomand’s Streaker jig. A fair amount of boats have focused on chunking with butterfish and sardines to raise quality tuna too.

On a recent trip out we got a small mahi. Other reports of mahi seem to be on the uptrend. Hopefully these beautiful and sometimes finicky fish will be more abundant this summer. Just a heads up bluefish are making their yellow eyes known in some areas. At times they are a nuisance, destroying trolling rigs and breaking off assist hooks and jigs.

Small boat anglers looking to get out on those perfect summer weather days to expand their horizons should take a look at Captain David D’s (from Hi Flier Sport Fishing) blog post from last year, Fishing the Barnegat Ridge.

2021 NJ Cobia Regulations

The NJ recreational cobia regulations for 2021 have changed to one fish per vessel per trip with a minimum size of 37 inches with no seasonal restriction.  These changes have been made to comply with the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission fishery management plan for Cobia. We first reported the news on March 4th right after the NJ Fisheries Meeting. For more information on other details from the meeting check out the blog post NJ Marine Fisheries Meeting March 4th.

The summer sun is scorching and the fishing is even hotter! There’s a smorgasbord of opportunities for anglers fishing the waters of Long Beach Island. Beat the heat and get on the water!

Right now in mid July there’s a variety of avenues for an enjoyable time on the bay, surf, near shore and mid-shore/offshore waters.

Barnegat Bay Fishing Report

Crabbing and clamming are two great ways to enjoy the Barnegat Bay and enjoy a tasty harvest. Fluke fishing is good and should be all summer however a large body has moved out. Weakfish are being caught occasionally as bycatch by flukers and those targeting them are catching. Blowfish do not seem to be as abundant as last year but there’s some around. We’ll have to wait and see if it tee’s off again. There reports of spot (in strong numbers) being caught in Delaware… will they show up here this summer? It has been a few years since we’ve seen big waves of them.

Long Beach Island Surf Fishing Report

The LBI surf is warm and with the summertime surf species; fluke, kingfish, weakfish, small blues, sharks, rays. Just this week the cow nose rays have showed in large numbers. There’s also still a couple straggler stripers (in addition to the small residence)…

Here’s a report shared by Joe Handley Jr. a LBI angler and long time friend of Fish Heads… “Fifty years of fishing, I’ve seen and been part of many crazy and almost unbelievable catches. Tonight might have taken the cake. A quick after work session before dark I was targeting large fluke from the LBI surf. Interesting enough I was consistently catching 12-13″ weakfish and also caught a herring. Not long after sunset, I hooked and landed my personal best striped bass. It taped out at 52.75″, roughly 58-lbs crushing my previous 51” 49-lber. It was caught on a Magictail bucktail. Thanks Date at Magictail for making great products. In New Jersey, mid July, 70-ish degree water… Doesn’t get any crazier! There were sand fleas washing up all over. I was thinking I should be pompano fishing or targeting Spanish mackerel since the water was so clean and warm. Low and behold there was a large striped bass, apparently very lost striped bass.

Nearshore & Inshore Fishing LBI

The same species listed above in the bay and surf report section fall under the near shore section here. The primary star of the current inshore fishing is summer flounder. Right now is the time to fish the inlets, near shore open bottoms as well as the wrecks and reef sites. Black sea bass offer fun fishing in the right areas of structure in addition to triggerfish and sheepshead.

Central NJ Midshore & Offshore Fishing Report

This past week NJ’s offshore angers had great fishing from mid shore to offshore and areas in between. We’ve hear great reports all week from the waters 20-50 miles out of Barnegat inlet with anglers catching bluefin and yellowfin tuna on the troll, jig and pop. I was fortunate enough to take advantage of the great forecast/conditions Wednesday and Thursday. I got out there and didn’t necessarily get into epic fishing but was in the mix of good fishing and caught. Further offshore at the edge, there was talk in the shop of a very good bigeye tuna bite.

Another beautiful day in the neighborhood here on Long Beach Island. Anglers are getting out and catching fish on the beach and boat. From kingfish and fluke on the beaches to tuna and sharks in the mid-shore and offshore waters, there’s a lot of great fishing going down right now! Here’s the Long Beach Island Fishing Report Update for Sunday July 11, 2021.

On the beaches today there was soft lingering surf in the 2’ range. This will be the scene through Tuesday. Finally the water has warmed up. Today the official ocean temperature on the Harvey Cedars surf as per the Harvey Cedars Beach Patrol was 68°. That’s a big improvement from what we’ve seen for the past week.

Warm surf temps means kingfish, small blues, and fluke are active in the suds as well as sharks and rays. If fishing meaty baits be prepared and know the state regulations!

Over the past few days kingfish reports were scattered with catches from Loveladies to Beach Haven. There isn’t one area (that we have heard about) which that is out producing. Traditionally mid-island and south offers better kingfish action. Live bloods, Fish Bites Bag O Worms and DynaBait Freeze Dried Worms are the way to start catching.

Aside from some reports of weedy, eel grass presence in some areas, the recent surf side fluke reports were great. The past couple of days might be responsible for the biggest surf caught fluke of the season so far! Here’s some really good size ones…

In addition to Brendan’s catch/weigh-in we also got word of some big land based fluke from Jimmy Nacion. He caught a pair of quality ones. There is a short clip of them in the video report posted above. Mike Hovan also sent a photo of a nice keeper fluke photo from the LBI surf.

1st Annual Beat The Fleet Fluke Tournament

This weekend was the first Annual “Beat The Fleet” Fluke Fishing Tournament hosted by the NJ Fishing Club. Fishermans Headquarters was one of the central NJ weigh stations and we had about 10 teams/boats check in fish. A common theme reported was slow fishing. Maybe it was because Elsa stirred things up? Who knows? Some teams worked hard, covered ground and pounder productive areas to earn a catch. For detailed results on the tournament and to learn more about the club… https://www.njfishingclub.com/

FYI: The NJ Fishing Club has a Fish Of The Month Challenge offering a $500 purse!

Mid-July Means The Heat & Meat Of Summer

Approaching middle of July with warming waters means summertime is in full swing. With it come the summertime species… Today Dan D. from Barnegat Light caught a big hound fish working a Yo-zuri 3D Twitch Bait Lure. A clip of the catch is in the fishing report video above.  There’s also sheepshead and trigger fish as well as cobia. 

Father and son, Mark and Luke Haley caught this unicorn while out on the tuna grounds hunting tuna on the jig. Yup! This monster cobia ate a Nomand Streaker Jig!

Tuna fishing has been and is on fire!!!  Boat caught and are catching from as close in as 15nm (maybe closer) on out to the edge.  Both bluefin and yellowfin are chewing on the troll, chunk, jig and casting poppers. Everyday is different with many different areas holding fish. It seems the jig bite bas been most consistent and best most days.

Marine Layer Haze Or Smokey Skies?

Did you notice the hazy marine layer in the sky last week? Well this time of year a marine layer is very common however this time it was actually smokey skies, possibly a combination of both. Here’s some info from the National Weather Service, “Have you noticed the smokey skies the past couple of days? Or the red sun rise and sunsets? That’s not smoke from the fireworks. It’s smoke from the wildfires out west.”

Here’s some comments sent in on social media as well as a question…

Nik Mar – “I caught two keeper fluke from the surf this morning (Wednesday). Thanks for doing all of these reports.”

IFeelFishy comment on our last video report post, “I’ve been putting in about 2 hours a day on the front sand of LBI for fluke over the past week. I have NOT been disappointed. I’ve been catching fish every trip. Largest so far has been 22″ (Thank you’s are deserved for the crew at Fish Heads and Magic Tail jigs). Jig em up!!”

Question: Are there fluke in the ocean yet?

Answer: There’s always fluke in the ocean it’s just a matter of location and if they are feeding. Fluke migrate to the outer continental shelf to spawn in the winter. A large portion come into the coastal waters and bays in the spring and early summer. Right now there’s fluke in the bays and inlets as well as on the inshore and offshore wrecks and reef sites. With many areas producing, it’s time to get out and fluke your favorite spots!!!

Reports of fluke are still promising in the bay. Just a few days back there was a 28″ doormat caught in the Barnegat Bay. We’ve also heard about some fat fluke from Barnegat Inlet. The ocean waters are dialing it up too. Fluke were caught on the wrecks and reef sites in June but nothing special. It has improved since then with the warming waters. July and August is the best time for fluke fishing the wrecks and reefs. Recently we’ve received good reports from every local reef site from the Axel down to the Little Egg Reef. Get out there and catch ’em… be prepared for sea bass, triggers and possibly porgies.

Question: Michael Borum asks… Did the bluefish arrive in the back bay?

Answer: The spring bluefish run this year was not all that we hoped for. There were spurts of fun fishing but nothing like the spring runs of the previous five years. However with that said there are and have been small bluefish present this season. Most are in the 1-3# cocktail class. The past couple weeks anglers fishing the waters of LBI have caught them fishing the inlet, bay and occasionally on the surf. In recent days I caught some of the largest (not large by any means) bluefish of my year so far. Some chubby ones pushing to 4-5# range.