LBI Surf Fishing Report Update – December 21, 2018

Some of the Fish Head crew got out on the water aboard the Osprey yesterday. The guys reported it was a slow day compared to the past few weeks. But there was a pick of quality fish. Matt S (@swagmattic) said, “I struggled as did most of the boat. There was not a ton of life or bites.” Patience and perseverance paid off… Some five and six pound tog were caught.

Kelley got a nice fish about 7 pounds that was good enough to take the calcutta cash, photo above. A 10lb 1oz pool fish was caught by Torr Cohen of Beach Haven. This was his first trip aboard the Osprey and he made the jump from jetty jockey to party boat pool winner like a champ,  photo below.

Another double digit tog was caught on a Magictail Tog Jig. Yesterday Greg Sonday fished aboard Paul Heartel’s The Angler. The crew was one fish short of a four man limit. The photo below is Greg with a good tog that ate a green Magictail Tog Jig. It weighed in at 10 pounds even.

Store staffer Nick DeGennaro is home from college for the holidays. He stopped in and gear up for tog and then got out on the water yesterday. He reported, “Went out on the First Lady out of Belmar. We had fun fishing with 22 fish between 8 guys. The jigs out fished rigs.” Photo below.

Surf Fishing Report

It’s been awhile but finally were heard some news off the beach. Remember all of those peanut bunker that were stacked up all summer long. Where did they go? From what we gathered, one day they just disappeared. Could they have all moved out one night? Possibly slid out deep in the water column and then offshore? If you know please fill us in.

We haven’t talked to one angler who saw peanuts flowing on the beach this fall until now. Well flowing would be an exaggeration but seeing peanuts and catching striped bass on them is good enough! Yesterday, I had the pleasure of speaking to Shell E. Caris about his time fishing the Tsunami Salt X Spinning Reel this fall. While chatting he shared the info about a few peanut bunker and a few striped bass. Maybe they will head down to our beaches. Maybe they will not.  Time will tell.

LBI Fishing Report Update December 14, 2018

Recent mild weather has allowed those with fishing on the brain to get out and enjoy.

The surf fishing reports are becoming few and far between. Today we got word from two anglers. One, Rick mentioned a dead beach. He tried but didn’t find anything. Two, Dan found some fishing this afternoon. He reported at 2:15PM, “Check my story, I’m smoking them on bucktails on the north end surf! There’s tons of whitewater and I’m getting them good.”

The tog fishing continues with solid fishing on the inshore grounds. Today the morning’s conditions were sloppy. Most boats cancelled. Reports from mid and early week were strong.

Dante at Magictail Lures was out and reported the tog bite is on fire! He said, “Now’s the time for that hog we are all looking for. Tog Jigs have become a staple of the fishery over the past couple of years. They’ve helped me land ten double digit tog in the past two fall seasons. If you are heading out stop by Fish Heads and gear up. You will be happy!”

Paul Haertel reported, “None off my friends could go today so I went solo. I had my best day black fishing of the fall. The two biggest were 7.2 and 9.67 pound.”

LBI Surf Fishing Report Update – December 8, 2018

All anglers in the shop report catching on the surf. Small striped bass are tight to the beach offering light tackle fun. Here’s a number of reports from today and yesterday.

Dan D. was on the beach today for an sunset session.  He reported, “Light tackle fun… It was on consistent with a number of guys. Everyone was catching. I had a bunch of shorts and one keeper size fish. Super Strike Needlefish, bucktails and AVA Metals were working great but you gotta have a teaser!

A customer in the shop this evening was fresh off the beach and had a good stick of striped bass. He stopped in to get his rod tip repaired. He reported, “No keepers but a bunch of shorts throwing little light stuff.”

These small bass are also feeding on bait but you have to scale down! One customer reported, “My long rod didn’t get touched but the small chunks in close to the beach were bit.  I released three fish. One was 30″ and would have been a good one for the table.  I should of harvested and taken advantage cause no fish were checked in that day for the tournament.”

Striped Bass Boat Fishing Report

Fish Head Charters

  

LBI Fishing Report Update – December  6, 2018

So far this December things are not stacking up like last year.  We had a rock solid striped bass bite for the first part of December 2017. Take a look at our report archive. I experienced awesome fishing between the 2nd through the 8th.  Then the 11th and the 17 were stellar! My last trip out was December 21, 2017 and it was a fishy one.

It feels like this December we’ve had much more wind and a smaller class of fish. Whatever the case, we didn’t see these large bass this year in the first week of December. My fingers are crossed that we’ll see another few medium sized one but with the abundance of small bass.

Here’s my report… Yesterday I woke up to a blown forecast. Stronger northerly wind than anticipated made the decision to bail out an easy one. Since fishing was on the brain I hit the surf. I was greeted with active birds but couldn’t reach out far enough.  One angler close by got two small bass in a half hour time frame but I couldn’t make it happen. After putting in some time I made a move to another spot. First cast I was tight with a light drag puller. Only a second or two later it was on top in the face of a wave and shook off. I got one other short strike and that was it for me as the wind started to gust and the snow was falling.

Yesterday a couple other surf reports came in with a similar theme… some small bass (15-22″) on the surf biting on teasers fished with a bucktail, diamond jig or soft bait.

Last night Pete Kelly caught a 28-7/8″ 8.64 pound striped bass fishing the night shift. He got it on bunker fishing the town of Loveladies

Another striped bass fishing report came in from Steve Cammann. Tuesday afternoon after leaving the shop he got into some schoolies fishing at the Causeway bridge. He released four.

Jersey Ghosts – Inshore Mid Shore Tuna

Late November and December are prime time Ghost Hunting on the Jersey Coast. For a couple weeks now hunters are finding 50-100lb class tuna ranging from 12-30 miles off. They are in similar ares which held the summer’s smaller class of fish. Right now finding them is one thing but getting hooked up is another story.

Eight years back… this is how we rolled! Ghost busting with Captain Adam Sherer.

Tog Fishing

What we currently lack in size class from striped bass is made up ten fold by blackfish. The tog fishing reports are solid. Yesterday anglers that braved the rough conditions got into good fish. Again today reports are strong. The blackfish are hammering Magictail Game Changer Tog Jigs baited with live crab.

Store staffer Blake was out with Dante from Magictails. They reported, “Sporty conditions and good fishing.”

Today Swagmatic (Matt S.) was on the water. He got 6 keepers up to 8lb 10oz and was the high hook aboard the Osprey. He just missed pool with another angler getting a bigger fish late in the day. He said it was a good day, “My MVP was the 2oz Magictail Game Changer Tog Jigs. I fished the same jig all day and didn’t snag once.”

When the weather gets cold, tog fishing heats up! Now’s the time to get out there. Anyone going should try out Magictail Game Changer Tog Jigs!!!

Jigs Catch Fish!!!

Here’s guest blog about Catching Blackfish With Jigs from local tog fishing sharpie Matt S aka Swagmattic. He spills the beans and shares information about tog fishing with jigs.

LBI Fishing Report Update – December 2, 2018

This week saw an influx of small striped bass. Reports from the North End, Mid-Island and the South End show this young class of fish are stretched out along the drifting sands of Long Beach Island. Gear up on the light side with a teaser and then find a cut or big bar with feeding ducks. You’ll surely be into fish.

If you aren’t, stop in the shop and we’ll set you up with the right tackle. This will shut up the laughing fish and other anglers that are ten deep. All joking aside there’s millions of striped bass on the beach of LBI. Get out there and enjoy this great fishing.

Call ’em rats. Call ’em Micros.

We call ’em tons of fun!!!

These fish are feeding on sand eels so small slender bait imitations are the keys to the game. Standout Options: Hogy Epoxy Jigs, Bucktails, AVA Metal Diamond Jigs as well as hard baits lures such as Super Strike Needle Fish and Daiwa SP Minnows (size 13). Soft baits like the Tsunami Sand Eel and Lunker City’s Slug-o are top choices too.

Todd Luber fished yesterday (Saturday) afternoon and reported, “Lots of fish on the beach. They were tight and rolling at times. Numerous guys all catching. Must have seen 40-50 fish caught between the small group of anglers.”

Brendan Craig reported, “Yesterday morning was a rope session with doubles! Today (Sunday) was also super fun. Teasers are the ticket!”

Tog Fishing Report Update

The tog fishing is firing on all cylinders! The reports just get better and better with everyone into fish and most of the sharpies into numerous double digit fish each trip. Now’s the time so get out there!

Store alumni Rob Vallone always seems to be on the bite! We would like to take this time to congratulate him on his new personal best that he caught yesterday! Way to go Rob… 14lb 4oz, 28″ is one hell of a fish!

Yesterday’s voyage was the Carolyn Ann III’s last trip of the year. The boat reported, “Finally a nice day on the water. A few nice blackfish were caught. Billy Weisz of Manahawkin won the pool with a 7.3 pounder. We would like to thank everyone who sailed with us. We hope to see you next season! Have a safe and blessed holiday season.”

LBI Fishing Report Update – December 1, 2018

December started off right with very good fishing today. I had Matt Polito and his dad aboard for a morning trip aboard Fish Head Charters. We kicked off the morning with schoolie bass rolling on top. The first hour was super fun fishing with light tackle. As day progressed the action slowed to a steady pick all day with bass from micro to 25″. Everyone caught a bunch of bass fishing bucktails, small metal and epoxy jigs. I got the opportunity to whip the fly around and got two in just a few casts. They were piling on the sand eel fly. By far the fly is the ultimate fun with this size fish. Hopefully everyone puts away the heavy gear and enjoys this light tackle fun!

Numerous anglers in the shop today all reported lots of small bass on the beach and the boat. It’s December and we’ve got a lot more fishing to get in this year!

LBI Fishing Report Update – November 30, 2018

November closes out on a good note with great fishing and nice weather. You could not have asked for a nicer conditions today; calm winds, Lake Atlantic, chilly but comfortably manageable. Best of all clean water!!! Thankfully the fish wanted to cooperate. There’s a large body of striped bass here albeit rather small. Both beach and boat anglers are catching. Sand eel imitations are the ticket!

Tony Cuccinota stopped in the shop this afternoon. He reported, “The mid-island surf had small bass this morning.” He was catching using a metal and teaser. Another report came off the surf from Pete Kelley. Pete said school sizes striped bass on slender rubber. Store staffer Dan fished the North End surf this evening and caught bass into sunset. He said, “They were in tight and at times rolling on top.”

I was finally able to get back out on the water today. Last trip out (Black Friday) I blew out my steering. Thanks to the gents at Hance & Smyth, I was back up and running for the next break in weather (today). We didn’t have to run far to find piles of sand eels and small striped bass staged up. Only a few miles from Barnegat Inlet and we were into bass on small lures. The go to seemed to be bucktails, slender metal jigs or softbaits with a teaser. I also had fun fishing the fly catching three spunky small ones.

Good reports from the tog grounds!

Store alumni Rob Vallone was on the water this morning and found very good fishing with friends. He said they were limited out by 9am with quality tog. Robbie said, “The biggest was 10 pounds. The fishing was so good, we were releasing some good size ones.”

Store staffers Blake and Dave were tog fishing today too. They also reported very good fishing.

BHCFA Fishing Report Update

Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association Fishing Report by Jim Hutchinson Sr.

Date: Tuesday November 27, 2018

As winter weather fast approaches, the end of the 2018 striped bass action for the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association nears. However, there are still fish available, and with positive reports to the north, the action should continue for another couple of weeks.

Captain Gary Dugan of the boat “Irish Jig” recently took second place in the MICA striped bass tournament based out of Mystic Island. He said he is catching stripers off Beach Haven and is eying up a prize in the Italian American Club fishing tournament this coming weekend. The tournament is also based in Mystic Island and will run from November 30 to December 2.

Captain Ray Lopez had a striped bass charter Black Friday on the “Miss Liane.” Michael Jackson and his group were very happy they chose fishing over shopping. Despite 13-degree weather and salt spray freezing on the deck by the minute, the hardy group from Philadelphia had steady action on various sized bass. The next day the Ian Miller group from Cherry Hill, arrived early to get in on the early morning striper bite. From capturing beautiful sunrise photos to reeling in a monster striper, they had a spectacular time on the water.

The captains of the BHCFA recently held their annual membership meeting, and one of the first orders of business was recognizing outgoing president Captain Jimmy Zavacky. He was presented with a plaque citing him for his contributions to the association his commitment to local fishing.

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

Last Chance At Cyber Monday Fishing Deals

Last Chance Shop Now!

If you didn’t already take advantage of our Black Friday and Small Business Saturday… Shop now for the last chance at our Cyber Monday fishing deals.  It’s your last chance at the year’s best pricing here at Fisherman’s Headquarters.

Here’s what we have to offer…

40% Off – All Sunglasses
35% Off – Terminal Tackle
25% Off – All Rods & Reels (Select Items Even More)
15% Off – Grundens Products
15% Off – Guy Cotten Products
15% Off – Stormr Products

Fishing Report Update – November 26, 2018

With the November full moon sand eels are active along the beaches of the Central Jersey Coast. Striped bass and small bluefish are feeding on them. Once the weather lets up boat anglers will be able to get out and get after them. But until them surf fishing is the only out. Anglers fishing slender lures and metals are catching.

Rob Vallone was on the beach this morning with his buddy. He reported good fishing. “We smoked the bass (up to 26″) on metal. Black tube AVA jigs were the ticket. We were catching fish all morning and left them biting when the rain started!”

Jack Keating stopped by and got a new surf setup. He just sent in this thanks! “Thank you for the surf tips and the new rod and reel. I went fishing off the LBI surf yesterday and hooked up on a metal.”

LBI Fishing Report Update – November 24, 2018

Black Friday’s Arctic Blast Was No Joke! The morning’s frigid temperatures, stiff northerly wind, freezing spray and dicy seas kept a lot of boats tied up at the dock. It was enough for a lot of others which made the attempt to turn around. Those that got out and braved the conditions were rewarded with a good pick of striped bass! Fortunately for those tough souls, conditions improved as the day went on. The mid day and afternoon session had beautiful conditions with little to no wind and lots of sun.

I had Matt Rand and his father aboard Friday. I notified them of the extreme cold days earlier in week but they wanted to fish. Due to wind and cold, the night before I checked in again and asked if they would like to cancel or reschedule. They wanted to fish! It was cold and rough so we took it slow.  Once our lines were in, it only took about 15 minutes for the first bite. From then on the blood was flowing and we all warmed up with a consistent troll bite all day. The 9er Shad Umbrella Rig was the MVP! We finished the day going 12 for 16 on bass up to 17 pounds. Every fish we caught was on the same rod and rig!

Store staffer Dan DiPasquale was out Friday and got into some awesome fishing late in the day. Fishing further up the beach than most, he found a large body of bunker that eventually came alive with quality bass. Dan shared, “Crazy snag and drop bite this afternoon. Endless bites fishing into dark, not another soul around. We chased bird plays all morning and in the afternoon we found the mother load.”

Saturday’s conditions were much warmer but not pretty. A lot of boats went on the hunt and some did good. Captain Billy aboard the Reel Trouble found some nice fish today. Got three up to 40″. They also dropped a few more fish. Rick Bragg marked a bunch but only got one bass trolling an umbrella. He said it got real sporty so the trip was cut short. Store staffer Pat DiPasquale was out and got a couple bass on white Magictail Mojos.

Miss Barnegat Light caught a boat limit today. Mate Captain Kevin Carr stopped in and reported, “The trip started slow but finished strong. Late in the day the birds came together and a jig bite came alive. With fish feeding on sand eels, diamond jigs were working. go 38”. We had a good amount of keepers (up to 38″), bonus fish and throwbacks. We’ll be back out tomorrow at 7am! See you aboard.

LBI Surf Fishing

Good, not great reports of small bass along the surf. The sand eels are around so if fishing lures you’ll want to target accordingly. Our top lures are Super Strike Needlefish, Diamond Jigs and Hogy Epoxy Jigs (in store only). Rigging up with a teaser will greatly increase hookups especially with smaller fish!

LBI SURF FISHING CLASSIC UPDATE: Two striped bass were checked into the tournament today. Both were caught on bunker. For more details: www.LBIFT.com

Tog Fishing

The fishing on the tog grounds has been very good. Now’s the time to get our and enjoy this great fishery!!! Don’t pass up an opportunity to jump on a boat. If you can’t find one the land based fishing still is productive.

Today Austin Pounds caught three keeper blackfish working the Barnegat Inlet rocks.

Yesterday Dante from Magictail got out on the water with Jeremy aboard East Coast Hooked. He reported, “We crushed them fishing structure in 50-60′ of water! The Magictail 2oz tog jig was on fire. I caught 35 keepers! This included a 13, a 10 and ten 8lb fish. All of these were caught on the Magictail Tog Jigs baited with live crab.” Dante suggested, “Use big baits and make sure you leave the legs on. I bait up my tog jigs inserting the hook through a leg socket and out another socket. Gotta have the bait on securely and the hook exposed.

Anyone looking for live green crabs and white leggers should call asap. We have a limited supply.