Here’s an update to supplement yesterday’s more comprehensive post.

We are always happy to help customers with information and guidance. That’s what we are here for and why we dedicate so much time to this fishing report blog page. It really keeps us going strong and puts a smile on our face when we get feedback from happy customers.

Ken Pescatore sent this in…

“Hey guys, I wanted to thank you! I stopped by the shop yesterday and picked up a new sand spike and a few bunker. Went up to the beach in Loveladies and caught my first quality striped bass of the season, a 40 incher! You guys always come through with the best bait!”

While the striped bass spring surf fishing season is dwindling there are some still cruising the suds.

Here’s the Fishing LBI fishing report update for Monday June 10, 2019.

It was great to see another beautiful weekend of weather on LBI. Lots of anglers got out on the water and the fishing was good despite the chilly upwell. Fortunately, the easterly blow brought back some water temps that we lost due to the previous southerly winds.

The Barnegat Bay has a lot to offer, from fluke to blues with bass, blowfish and blue claw crabs. John Lapchak of High Bar was in to get a flat of bunker. He reported the crabbing is heating up and there’s small bass and fluke around.

Store staffer Jay was on the hunt yesterday but only found some shorts.

Blowfish are roaming the bay. Anglers fishing the Ship Bottom bayside have caught medium sized one using squid. I can share a note from the north end… I was sight casting striped bass on the flats and saw three blowfish swim by. Shortly after an osprey flew by with one in it’s mouth.

It’s great to see the abundance of bay anchovies, spearing and sand eels. The fish are keyed in on it so be sure to match the hatch!

Striper Shootout Results

The High Point Vol Fire Co.’s Striper Shootout went down this past weekend. This year was light on boats with 35 boats fishing. Only 12 fish total were weighed in; three striped bass and nine bluefish. First Place was won by Captain Mike Greene on the Lucky Stripes with a 42.7 pound striped bass. Second Place went to Captain Ken Nutt on The Striper who had a 42.4 pound bass. This fish was caught by Amanda Nutt who took the Top Lady Angler Award. Junior angler award went to Babe Fanelli’s 8.9lb bluefish which was caught aboard the NoNo/Laura with father and Captain Mark Fanelli. Babe’s fish was good enough to win the “Yellow Eye” Bluefish Calcutta too.

Big Game Fishing

June is prime time for big game fishing the waters in the north east. Tuna and sharks are here. Gear up so you are ready to go on the next weather window!

After having fun on the mid-shore grounds, the crew aboard Reel Innovations reported a good first trip to the edge. Captain Jeff said, “Our first trip to the canyon saw great action with yellowfin, bluefin, longfin, white marlin, and mahi. The new Magictail HooMagic head and side tracker bars continue to fill the fish boxes!” More recently we heard more big eye tuna reports from 100-200 lb class. We heard of one 220 pounder.

Captain Deane on the Canyon Runner had a 96″ mako.

JCAA’s 25th Annual Fluke Tournament

It’s coming up quick!

This year’s Jersey Coast Anglers Association’s Fluke Tournament is June 15th, 2019. The coast wide tournament is one of the oldest and best summer flounder fishing tournaments going.

For this year there’s 7 regions which are basically tournaments within the main tournament; Jersey City, Sandy Hook, Shark River, Manasquan, Barnegat Bay, Long Beach Island, South Jersey. Each region has a $1200 cash first place prize and merchandise prizes fro 2nd-10th place. All together there’s 11 weigh stations.

Entry free is $180. Awards presentations are on June 20, 2019 at the Clarion Hotel in Toms River.

There’s also a number of calcuttas from the $50,000 Doormat (largest fish over 12lbs), regional and overall.

For more details go to www.JCAA.org

Right now in early June, the waters of Long Beach Island have a lot to offer. Good inshore, offshore and from shore fishing all make this one of the best times of year to be an angler in the area.

From Shore

Striped bass and blues continues to cruise the suds of LBI. Anglers are finding fish chunking bunker and fishing lures.

Pete Figueroa and Bob Misak put in some time on the surf this past week. Bob had an outstanding catch reeling in a cobia. He also caught a baby sand tiger shark.

Pete got some big blues off the beach. Anglers in the shop continue to report a good umber of bluefish on the suds.

Jeff C. stopped in the shop with a 24.5″ fluke that weighed in at five pounds. He reported, “The Inlet has been good. Today I caught this one and a 19″ keeper among other shorts. Some other keepers were caught too.”

Thursday was the 11th Annual Battle On The Beach, a surf fishing competition between the local High School Fishing Clubs. Southern Regional High School successfully defended their title and won taking back to back wins. Final Standings: 1st Place Southern with 556.5″, 2nd Place Mates with 88″, 3rd Place Lacey with 45″, 4th Place Barnegat with 29″. The largest fish was a 31.5″ bluefish caught by Southern Regional’s Anthony Rutler. The high hook was Southern’s Killian Horne who caught 114″ of fish.

Inshore & Bay

The striped bass, bluefish and fluke continue who offer lots of fun for light tackle. The inlet, sod banks and main thoroughfares all have fish. In the ocean the wrecks and reefs from 3-15 miles off are well stocked with sea bass.

Jerry Barnes of West Charters PA caught this monster 26.5″ fluke on Thursday fishing a live minnow working the waters near Barnegat Light Inlet.

Zach Michot got a nice weakfish while fluke fishing this morning.

Offshore

What started out as a banger just keeps going strong. Can the big game action get any better? Tuna reports are solid. The mid-shore grounds continue to produce with anglers having a blast on bluefins in all a variety of sizes. Now the canyons are lighting up and productive water is pushing even closer to home.

Store staffer Blake was out fishing the mid-shore grounds today, Friday. They boated three bluefin as well as a ton of albies. Blake reported it was a good day fishing about 30-35 miles out of BI.

Captain Dean on the Canyon Runner had an epic haul on a recent trip! The crew caught seven big eye, thirty yellowfin (many released), released one giant, charter limit of bluefins, 10 more released and a white marlin. Dean reports, “June is the best month to fish offshore!!! Gear Up & Go!”

Fish Head Charters

The past week was full of good times aboard Fish Head Charters. Early June usually means bunker, bunker, bunker; however, this year… sand eels, spearing and bay anchovies. This forage is autumn-esque but I’m not complaining. It’s much easier for “match the hatch” presentation for the light tackle and fly fishing approach.

Thursday morning local angler Steve and his buddy (in from Montana) were on. The veteran fly duo made my life as captain very easy. I put them on the fish and they caught ’em. The morning was very good with both bass and blues hamming the fly. Once again the clouser minnow was the MVP. When is it not? As the day went on things settled down. We explored the back waters of Barnegat Bay and managed to find a couple schoolies. These ones wanted the shrimp. What lives in the bay that doesn’t love grass shrimp?

Today (Friday) I had Jay Hoffman with Jim Gallasso and son on for a dawn patrol session. The crew from Fort Washington PA put the smack down on the striped bass and bluefish. The guys tried keeping count but lost track around 25-ish. From that point on they were really getting dialed in and having a blast. No question it was a triple digit day for the trio.

It’s time for slams! Striped bass, bluefish and fluke are here and the opportunity is prime. The next couple of weeks are right time to make it happen. There is an abundance of sand eels around setting a stage for an awesome summer (and fall!?!?!?!?).

LBI Striped Bass Fishing Report

Coming out of June’s New Moon, the quality striped bass are still here. Both the surf and jetty as well as boat anglers are finding some good ones. The waters are warming so these days are limited.

This morning a customer who requested to be anonymous was buying a large bag of fresh bunker. When asked, “How are you doing?” He replied, “Good!. Lots of long nights battling dog fish but there’s good fish around. I released a thirty pound class fish last night as well as two medium size bluefish.” Other customers are reporting fish but not epic fishing.

The inshore boat anglers have experienced spotty at best trips. Those that are putting in time and trolling hard are pulling on fish. Some days better than others. The snag and drop bite this year has not really came alive. Most of the action had materialized further north in the Monmouth County waters and westerly Long Island. Locally we’ve found the bunker to be few and far between inshore. The concentration has been “out of range” holding in the 5-10 mile zone. We’ve still got our fingers crossed that some bait will move in close and fire up.

LBI Bluefish Report

The bluefish are still around in good number. Areas of the bay, inlet and surf are all productive on any given day. The size range from 1-3 pound cocktails all the way up to 15 pound gators. We’ve found the beach to be best for surf rats chunking bunker, while the inlet and bay are best targeted with lures. Our top lure choices are bucktails, SP Minnows, Rapala X-Raps among many other like metals.

LBI Fluke Fishing Report

Early season fluke fishing is solid. Bay inlet and surf are all great areas to look that all are producing. Swagmattic shares this valuable info on the fluke fishing front, “I’m fishing the shallow section of the bay near major thoroughfares and sod banks. Working these spots around the top of the tide is the way to go. Slack tide has been very good to me!” It would be good to listen because he know the deal and just took some serious cash in a recent fluke fishing tournament.

Store staffer Frezza has been fluking the bay and finding them. He reports, “The shorts are plentiful with some better fish mixed in. All of my fluke are chock full of grass shrimp and crabs!”

Fluke fishing on the Barnegat Inlet Jetty is good (as well as blues and bass).

Sloanna sent in this photo of a recent pair.

The next couple of weeks would be a good on the beach

Local angler Jared stopped in and got some tackle on Monday. He reported, “I’m fishing just about every morning. It’s good. I got two keepers on Monday on large Gulp baits.”

More reports of houndfish at the Inlet.

Upcoming Fishing Tournaments

The 12th Annual High Point Vol Fire Company is coming up! The Captain’s Meeting is this Friday June 7th at 7pm. Fishing goes down on Saturday. For more info www.hpvfc.com

The state’s top fluke tournament is right around the corner… The 25th Anniversary JCAA Fluke Tournament is June 15th. Save the date! For more information go to www.jcaa.org

Big Game Fishing

Both the midshore and offshore waters are productive. It’s time to seek out weather windows and get out there! Big eye tuna have showed up in the local canyons! We got word today that Dean aboard the Canyon Runner got six big eye on their recent trip. We also heard the Ocean City boys got into big eyes in the Southern Canyons.

We heard some good word from the waters outside the Rezor today. Some medium class bluefin with a couple giants mixed in.

Linda Lee Sportfishing Report

The inshore bluefin has been very good over the past 3 weeks. The false albacore are mixed in with the bluefin to keep the action going all day. Most fish are hitting Chatter Side Tracker Bars and 5oz Joe Shutes for the bigger 80-100+lb fish. I also have spinning gear on board if the feeding frenzies start going off. The Shimano Saragosa matched up with an 8ft Star Rod handles these fish no problem. If you’re looking for those trophy striped bass there still around mixed in with the blues. The Tony Maja #4 Bunker Spoons do the trick along with Magictail Bucktails. I have Saturday 6/8/2019 open for 2-3 guys at $450 pp for bluefin or we can do a seabass wreck fishing trip in the morning and then target a trophy bass in the afternoon $150 pp up to 4 guys. Weather looks good! As long as it stays that way we’ll run off.

Give Captain Ryan A Call 609-276-8032 To Get In On The Action! 

May closed out on a high note with a great final stretch. We can’t help looking back on the fun fishing that went down this past month. From striped bass, bluefish, sea bass and fluke to tuna, fishing is and has been very good. With new species adding to the mix, the stage is set for a great June.

Jump into June on the right foot. Get out and enjoy fishing!

Here is the Fishing LBI Fishing Report Update for the local waters of Long Beach Island courtesy of Fishermans Headquarters. Since 1962 The One Stop Saltwater Bait & Tackle Store.

LBI Surf Fishing Report Update

It has been said (by numerous customers) and we would have to agree May 2019 was one of the best months of surf fishing on the beaches of Long Beach Island in a very long time. Fortunately good fishing continues with both striped bass and bluefish.

On Friday Jesse Wilson sent in this photo with a short report, “I caught this 35″ striped bass off the surf on a bunker chunk.”

Thursday our friend Pete from Comanche Surfcasting released (43# on Boga Grip – Fish Lipping Device With Scale) a hefty linesider off the LBI surf on a Chicken Scratch Daiwa SP Minnow lure. The day before (Wednesday) Todd Luber got into the blues, “I put a beat down on the bluefish up to 12 lbs. The north end surf was lit up. At times it was every cast on poppers. I was forced to leave because of the weather.”

Another bluefish report came in from Jack Keating who said, “The gators made an appearance on the LBI surf!”

Clarence Malone stopped in for some fishing guidance and how tos. He talked with store staffer Mike Frezza and got set up right. Clarence let us know, “I had a blast! Tell Frezza THANKS for the knot tying lesson this morning. There was lots of action. I released a baby sand tiger shark (see below on new arrivals), bluefish as well as skates and dogfish.”

Shop regular Paul Bandini gave us heads up, “Phenomenal two days of fishing off the surf. Perfect conditions for bluefish and bass. Southeast wind. Some whitewater. Clean and green. Big bluefish yesterday afternoon. Today, bass in the wash before first light. This afternoon, numerous blues up to 15 pounds. Nonstop action for about 2 hours before the top of the tide. Big bass mixed in. Landed one bass about 20 pounds. Dropped another. Both blues and bass were all over the green tailed AVA 17.

Steve George shared he got his first keeper fluke of the year yesterday.

New Arrivals

This week we saw the arrival of a few new species; sheepshead, sandbar shark aka brown sharks and a baby sand tiger shark. The first reported sheepshead came in from angler and spear fisherman Brian Coen. The brown shark report came in from a customer who was drifting for fluke in Little Egg Inlet. The baby sand tiger report was provided by Clarence Malone (listed above).

There’s also some nice weakfish but not a bunch. Here’s a photo of Cam with a beauty!

The Long Beach Island surf water temperatures are in the mid to upper 50’s and that means surf sharking season is quickly approaching. With small sharks already in the area the larger fish have to be here too.

Big Game Fishing Mid-Shore

Speaking of sharks the mid-shore sharking grounds are prime and ready for chum. June is the best time when big makos are ready for business. We’ve already heard of numerous makos and threshers that were recently caught. A couple makos were caught by tuna anglers on the troll. Gear Up & Go Go Go!

As previously reported the mid shore bluefin tuna action is off the charts! It continues on!!! It’s great to see so many customers in the shop raving on the good times. Some are into good top water while others are trolling. It seems the Chatter Side Tracker Spreader Bars are the ticket. Soon the Hoo Magic Trolling Lures by Magictail will be killing it for the mainstream. Until now they are in development catching a ton of fish for the field test crew.

All the action is going down on the mid-shore grounds from 15-30 miles off of Barnegat Inlet. The area is stacked up with lots of life; sand eels and squid.  Whale and big Albies are easting with bluefin in the mix.  Friday morning was again very good with some boats smoking the bluefin casting lures.

Sea Bass Fishing

It has been great!!! Captain Mark Finelli from Laura Sportfishing said that the sea bass fishing right now is at an all time high. He reported, “Fishing is phenomenal! Limiting out is an understatements. It doesn’t do it justice.”

Captain Sammy on the Mary M IV reported, “It’s great fishing! We havn’t missed a day since the season opened and we have had full boat limits on all but two trips. One day recently we managed 290 sea bass and over 150 ling.”

Mike Snape geared up at the shop and headed out on Saturday. He reported back, “We had a great day! Caught our four man limit on a wrecks not far from Barnegat Light.”

Striped Bass

Striped bass trolling was spotty this week but some quality fish were caught. The snag and drop bite has been non existent (locally, but some word about some good days in Monmouth County). Even the bait boats are struggling to find bait. Some years early June puts out great striped bass fishing along the beaches so we still have expectations of another couple weeks of good fishing. June’s new moon is Sunday June 2nd. History proves this is a big fish time.

Bayside

Crabbing is picking up and fluke fishing in areas is strong. Still lots of bluefish in the bay with some larger class reported today. Plenty of Lots of small bass in the bay.

Swag and crew took the cake today fishing The Bass River Classic. Here’s the boyz with their tournament winning spread!

Rob Vallone and his father Carl were out on the bay a few days ago hunting fluke. Carl got a 22″ fish on a pink shine gulp.

Grey Colston is finding fish on the bayside docks at night.

Fish Head Charters Report

With the great run of weather I’ve had a great time fishing everyday.

Today Saturday June 1 – I took advantage of the calm conditions and took a ride offshore in search of extra large false albacore on the fly rod. We found the tuna is the same spot we left them last night (see report below) unfortunately the albies were not on top where we were. We searched around for a couple hours and headed back in.

Friday May 30 – I had a great morning charter with Erik Hawrylo and friend Matthew. We got out early and found fish almost right away. The morning was full of light tackle action with mostly bluefish but a couple linesiders were in the day’s mix. I would have to say the highlight of the trip was an epic battle with a gator bluefish. Matt did a great job with patience and execution to play the fish boat side. After the morning charter I got some things done at the shop (work) when I got the call], “There’s one spot for a tuna trip. Boat is leaving at 2pm.” I can never turn down a trip aboard the Reel Innovation with Captain Jeff and crew. We got out to the grounds and were right away covered up with extra large albies. Weeded through we finally managed to get a bite from a 42″ bluefin tuna. It hit a Chatter Side Tracker Spreader Bar. We fished to sunset looking for a big one but the bite never came. I got home late but all I could think of was big albies busting on top. I had to head back in my boat in the morning. (report directly above)

Thursday – Got out early and had fish fish on both of my first two casts. Thinking it was game on I fished the fly for a half hour without a touch. Went back to the bucktail and was back tight again. All together only one bluefish, two handfuls of bass up to 14 lbs. Was a great day fishing solo in the fog.

Wednesday – I was out with Paul and Matt aboard the Pal’O Mine. We got into good fishing early with striped bass and then went on the troll off IBSP. Some good fish marks but little bait through out the day. Not a touch.

Tuesday – I had Eric and Bob Dodds aboard for a beautiful morning that was surprisingly empty compared to Sunday and Monday’s trips. Literally no one out for the first few hours. We had a great time catching bass and blues. After getting our fill we switched gears and took a look for a bigger class of fish. We took a look and tried but no luck.

We hope everyone enjoyed there Memorial Day Weekend. The weather was flawless and fishing was very very good. Here’s a recap of just a sliver of what went down.

LBI Surf Fishing Report

Today Monday May 27th is Day 31 of the Long Beach Island Spring Surf Fishing Tournament. There’s lots of great fishing going down right now. The tournament is on until June 23rd. Right now the largest striped bass is held by Aaron Krieg with a 38.2 fish. It was caught on Saturday May 25th from the mid-island surf on bunker. The largest bluefish is held by Kevin Laverty with a 16.34 fish (caught on 5/3). Kevin has had a great season so far. Just recently (yesterday) he caught an 18.76 striped bass on bunker fishing a mid-island beach. For more information on the LBI Spring Surf Fishing Tournament go to www.LBIFT.com

Ryan Fitzgerald fished the Harvey Cedar surf this afternoon and got this striped bass chunking bunker.

Sunday morning Tom Smith and friend Dan Sook got a paid of bass off the Ship Bottom surf chunking bunker. 

Over the weekend our regular customer Jason shared a fishing story with us. He was fishing with his buddy Craig and his A-Team Friday night. Jason said, “I was catching dog fish after dogfish chunking bunker. It got late and I needed a pick me up so I took a trip for an energy drink. I get back on the beach to find out I missed a short lived but bite. While I was gone the boys released three bass two over 40 inches.” It all went down about 11:30 to midnight.

Land Based Fluke Fishing Reports

With more anglers searching for fluke on the surf comes more reports.

Extreme Philly Fishing, Leo Sheng stopped in and geared up with some essentials. He reported back, “There’s good fluke fishing at the Jetty but no keepers. The bluefish went off with folks catching lots of 1-3 pounders. One dude caught a nice gator 10lbs+.”

Mike Nini was out land based fluke fishing and reported lots fish, “It was good, almost every cast.”

Sean Booth weighed in an 8lb fluke yesterday afternoon. He got it fishing with his feet on land using a bucktail tipped with Gulp.

Striped Bass Fishing Report

The troll bite for striped bass isn’t epic but daily there’s a pick of quality fish. Pulling spoons and mojos are the way it’s done. Rick Bragg got a big bass today trolling off IBSP.

Greg record fishing Junior angler Greg Kopenhaver III caught this 45.3 pound striped bass aboard Yahoo Fishing during the LBI Cup this weekend. It’s a pending Beach Haven Marlin Tuna Club junior angler Record Catch!

Captain Ken Nutt aboard the Striper reported good fishing this weekend trolling striped bass. Jake and Mike Turner got in on a great trip with quality size fish. Their largest was 56.9 pounds, a new board best!

Sea Bass Fishing Report

Captain Mark Finilli of Laura Sportfishing reported very good fishing for black sea bass, “Sea bass fishing is hot. We are pounding limits and having a blast!” Anyone looking to get out and fishing with Captain Mark should book a data asap. Call 856-341-6562

Black Drum Fishing

The drum fishing seems to slow from the prime time late April to early/mid May action, but they are here none the less. Today Mark Borsellino caught this one jigging a bucktail near Little Egg Inlet. Looking for fluke he got a drum!

Barnegat Bay Fluke Fishing Report

Store staffer Max reported his father and grand father enjoyed the holiday on the bay hunting fluke. He said they fished the bay, getting seven flounder, two keepers, “It was good on the outgoing tide with Gulp Shrimp but it got windy.”

Small blues are roaming the bay popping up in different areas. The small turns (birds) give them away. Lots of fun for the kids and also a blast on light tackle. Speaking of light tackle…

Saltwater Fly Fishing Report

Bob Bruns a passionate fly angler enjoyed the weekend fishing the fly on the waters of Long Beach island. He jumped aboard Fish Head Charters on Friday and caught both striped bass and blues with Captain Greg. On Saturday he wade fished some bayside areas and found bass and blues again. Then on Monday (today) he was on with Greg again. The fishing was much slower but both bass and blues were on the menu. A ton of fun on the fly rod!

Any fly anglers looking for information or some essentials should stop by the shop. Anyone looking to get into fly fishing we would love to introduce you to the fun subsection of fishing. Learning a new technique is game changing.

Big Game Fishing

The early season tuna bite continues and sharks are showing too. It’s time to get out there and do battle!

Dave Bertam was out fishing about six miles out of Barnegat inlet with some friends Brian Tart and Jeremiah Douglas this weekend. They tangled into this monster thresher shark that took over two hours to reels it! It weighed in a 303 pounds.

Chris Degennaro and crew got a 392 bluefin tuna, “After getting the skunk last weekend we worked a miracle. After a 2.5 hour battle on a Penn VISXS30 we landed a big bluefin.

Store staffer Pat fished about 30nm offshore of Barnegat Inlet on Saturday with his dad Mike and his buddy John Kelley. Pat reported, “The area had tons of whale and small bait. Went on the troll and marked scattered fish. It was a long day, but patience paid off! It took until 3pm for the bite and it was a good one on a blue/white Joe Shute rigged with a large ballyhoo. An hour and a half battle and the 81″ bluefin tuna was on the deck.

Dan Rosetto and friends fished the midshore grounds (only 23 nm out of Barnegat Inlet) and found whales all over with bluefin under them. They limited out with two unders and one over. Biggest was 56″. All the action was on Chatter Lures Side Tracker Bars.

The 57′ Jersey Nuts made its debut offshore this weekend and it did not disappoint! Captain Cody took the Gibson party to the edge and fished by themselves all day keeping their limiting of under bluefin and releasing many more. Cody reported, “Fishing was so good, it was a tough day to keep count. All fish ranged from 30-55 pounds. Nothing better than getting the first blood on deck.” 

Memorial Weekend Is Finally Here! We are all happy for this holiday weekend. Let’s enjoy the good weather and great fishing with family and friends. But let’s not forget what it’s all about! Remember and honor all of those past and present who have sacrificed the most and served in the Armed Forces. Thank You!

Right now is prime time fishing on the waters of Long Beach Island. The opportunity is there for a variety of species inshore, offshore and from shore.

It’s On Fluke Season

Gary Adair, Kirsten Holloway and Dante from Magictails got out today for opening day fluke and found fish. Dante reported, “The morning was slow. Late morning I picked up Gary and went back out for another look. The wind picked up and the tide started coming in. It got good from 11 am to 2pm.” The crew limited out catching 9 keeper fluke. Gary said, “The 1oz Magictail Hoochies tipped with chart or nuclear chicken Gulp was the ticket.” Dante shared, “First trip of the year was a beat down with 20-30kt NW winds but we limited out in a couple hours. The water was dirty and white was not producing like it usually does.”

LBI Surf Fishing Report

It’s all about striped bass and bluefish fishing the beaches of Long Beach Island Bass. Reports are plentiful from both bait anglers and those casting lures. Reports of blues up to 15 pound class and striped bass up to high 20# (however there are much bigger fish). Now’s the time to get in on the action.

Wes Darcy sent in a report yesterday, “I stopped in this morning and got some really nice baits. The bunker was fresh! Found bluefish everywhere 8-12 pounders. I looked all over but couldn’t find a bass.”

Kristi Cooper reported yesterday, “About 11am we found ourselves in the midst of a bluefish feeding frenzy in Beach Haven. We had two rods going and just kept getting hooked up. It was insane. Couldn’t keep up. It was a great day to remember!”

Inshore Fishing Report

The inshore waters are lit up with black sea bass. The majority of reports from the inshore wrecks and reefs are positive.

The striped bass grounds offer a spotty pick of striped bass on the troll. Some days are good and other days are frustrating with consistent marks of lock jaw linesiders.

Big Game Fishing

Tuna!!! The early season tuna action has been red hot. Boats fishing the mid-shore waters of the 30+ fathom line line are hooking up with quality beasts. The main canyons and also waters inside are producing.

The great mid-May fishing continues. Anglers are finding bass and blues on the bay, inlet and surf.

Dave Iacono hit the LBI surf last night and got a nice bass.

Kevin Laverty from the LBI Fishing Club sent in this photo of a big bass today.

Today the troll bite continued off the boats. Bob and Jeff Haines of South Hampton caught two nice bass trolling off IBSP this morning. They said all of the action was before 10 am on Mojos.

Sloane Endick was out fishing with Captain Jeff Warford today. She reported a great day getting her new personal best just shy of 40 pounds.

Coming down off May’s full moon the inshore, offshore and from shore fishing is great.The inshore waters is all bass! Striped bbass and black sea bass offer anglers lots of fun.

Striped Bass Fishing

Solid weekend of striped bass fishing with anglers catching really big fish in the boats. The troll bite is good along LBI and IBSP beaches. The number of fish caught from the mid 30’s to UPPER 50’s is spectacular. Some of the fish checked into the weekend’s Waretown Fire Company Fishing Tournament were impressive. Jim Brady and crew took the cake with a 59, 53, 43. That’s a series three pack.

Here’s a photo sent in from Colin Fitzpatrick of his friend Katie Barron with a health striped bass she caught and released out of BI this Sunday.

Just a heads up there’s some squid around the near shore waters. Here’s John Fay with a big squid that was snagged while trolling a mojo with Scott Lapsley north of BI.

Black Sea Bass Fishing

Black Sea Bass season is cranking with the majority of the reports being very strong.

Swagmattic and the South Jersey Saltwater Anglers fished Sunday aboard the Mary M. out of Barnegat Light reports fishing was absolute phenomenal. “It was drop and reel from the beginning to end. All the sea bass and ling you could catch as well as a couple tog, mackerel, bluefish and cod. It was a really good trip!”

The Carolyn Ann III reported yesterday (Sunday), “A nice day fishing today. The bite was Sea Bass fishing is strong. A few limits and everyone caught fish. One nice cod about 7-lbs and quite a few ling were caught.”

Bluefish Crusing The Local Waters

Blues are still around in force. The size ranges from small cocktails in the one to two pound range all the way up to ten plus pounds. Anglers in the bay, inlet and surf are catching.

Bill from Village Harbour Fishing Club weighed in a 7 pound bluefish today from Great Bay. He reported catching multiple bluefish.

Anglers in the inlet are having fun. Some days are better than others. One thing is for sure you gotta be there to get in on ’em.

Fluke Fishing

The NJ Summer Flounder aka Fluke Fishing season kicks off this Friday. Early season you’ll want to look towards the inlet and bay for the best early season action. Anglers fishing the shallow waters will catch best.

Zach Michot was out this weekend on a commercial fluke fishing trip with his buddy. They reported great fishing. Zach got his new personal best bay fluke at 8.57 pounds. He got it on a 1oz White Magictail Bucktail Jig tipped off with a White Gulp Swimming Mullet Grub.

Offshore Big Game Fishing

Most boats that fished this past weekend got ’em!

The boys on the Reel Innovation reported staying inside the canyons to hunt for biggins. They hooked up with the right one but after a solid battle pulled the hook. They worked hard and put together a catch. Got a 50lb bluefin and a couple big barrel fish.

Dylan Fisher aboard the Reel Fishers made their first trip of the season offshore this weekend. He reported, “No giants but caught our limit and had a great time.”

Rick Bragg was out with some friends and reported lots of big albies as well as three bluefin tuna up to 60lbs.

The great fishing continues… If you can get out and go now is the time!!!

Here’s the On The Water Striper Migration Map updated yesterday May 17th. Right now Long Beach Island is the epicenter of the run.

Big bass are roaming the inshore waters and the Long Beach Island surf. Surfcaster Lee Hales checked in a 44″ 34.5 pound striped bass. He got this on the mid-island surf.

Anglers fishing spoons and mojos are finding large fish. Here’s a photo of Paul Solon with a 42lbs bass he got this morning.

Some nice blues in the bays. Here’s a photo of a ten pound toothy one that was caught by Dave Werner’s daughter.

BHCFA Weekly Report

by Jim Hutchinson Sr.

The fishing scene in the Beach Haven, NJ, area is starting to break open. This is the time of the year when the bite for spring fish is going strong while the summer fish are already arriving. This makes for a wonderful combination, and the boats of the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association are taking advantage of it.

The run of big migrating striped bass is within easy reach for trolling along with a range of varying bluefish sizes. Black seabass season has just officially opened, and the inshore structures are loaded with limit catches. Boaters who have ventured further offshore have found hungry bluefin tuna. It is just one week until the long-awaited summer flounder season opens for the icing on the cake.

BHCFA Captain Larry Rosica of the “Dreamliner” went on a short prospecting trip this week just north of Barnegat Inlet and found a nice pair of bass. One was taken while trolling a white bunker spoon and the
other on a plug.

Some of the BHCFA Junior Mates ventured out recently with Tucker Blanchard, Jon Kelly, and Raymond Stack finding some good action on bluefin tuna. Another day Maxwell Goldman and Tucker Blanchard had a great day bottom fishing with close to 25 keeper sized black sea bass to 3-pounds.

Captain Brett Taylor of Reel Reaction Sportfishing recently had Rich Sanborn and family out looking for bass despite some strong winds against the tide conditions. The group worked through the conditions with the Minn Kota trolling motor setup helping produce good drifts. They managed a dozen short bass to 25-inches along with a 26-inchblue. A large bass was on for a while near the end of the trip but could not be brought to the boat.

In other news the BHCFA presented their plans to the Beach Haven Borough Council regarding the reef re-nourishment project started by the Junior Mates Program. Also addressing the Council was Junior Mate Liane Lopez who described the deterioration of the current reefs and the need to maintain them.

The evening went well as the Council issued a proclamation supporting the project which will be sent to the other towns on Long Beach Island urging their support for the program.

Additional information on the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association can be found at www.BHCFA.net