Author: FishHead.Greg

Happy Halloween! This morning we have small 1-2′ waves on the beaches of LBI with light winds, but it is expected to increase out of the south west direction through the day. No matter what the forecast says, with the sun and 70º temps here (80º temps in Philly) expect a strong south westerly sea breeze this afternoon. The weather has been really dry and mild. The 10 day forecast is saying it will stay that way too. So, it looks like we will have good weather rolling into November. We are looking forward to a great month of fall fishing!

Here’s my latest fishing report video from yesterday morning, Wednesday October 30, 2024.

Currently there is and has been a strong body of fish, lots of bait and consistent fishing activity in the northern Jersey waters. Large (some very large) striped bass are darn near jumping in the boat the past couple of weeks. There’s lots of sand eels stretched along the Jersey coast and there are also schools of bunker. Some days it’s Lunkers On Bunkers and others it’s Jumbos On Jigs. Get lucky and score them both!

As we enter fall’s prime time (Halloween – Thanksgiving) some of these fish are sliding down and with that come good fishing here in the central Jersey Coast. In the past week we have seen some are making the move down and a good showing today with bunker, whales and big bass off IBSP.

The surf side striped bass reports are ramping up here on LBI. We had two striped bass weighed in yesterday, both entered into the LBI Surf Fishing Classic… Jake Smith 10.12# and Dante Soriente Jr. 9.42″. For more details on these two check out the Classic’s website which has live results. While there haven’t been any trophy-sized fish caught YET (at least from what we have heard)… Now is that time! Each year some of the largest striped bass of the fall roll through the area in the last week of October and the first week of November. The next 7-10 days are prime, especially with the November new noon on Friday November 1st.

Last weekend, some quality striped bass were caught off Island Beach State Park from of boats fishing the Sea Shell Striped Bass Derby. Those were the first positive signs of movement into the local waters. Store staffer Keith fished with his uncle and Fish Head’s alumni Lee, trolling up some classy striped bass.

To score bites it is important to match the hatch. When the fish are keyed in on sand eels, there is no better choice than a classic Diamond Jig Lure. These simple and proven lures catch fish. A17, 27, 47 are the common sizes needed. If the fish are up top, the lighter sizes A17/27 fished with a quick retrieve produce. But when the striped bass are down deep and especially when there is wind / waves / current the heavier option A47 are best. Another one of my favorite sand eel imitation jigs for both striped bass and sea bass is the Hogy Sand Eel Jig.

Other great catching lures for Striped Bass to match the hatch with sand eels:

• Guides Secrete Needle Stick Needlefish
• RonZ Softbait
• Tsunami Sand Eels
• Joe Baggs Miracle Minnow Sandeel
• Red Gill Lures

On the surf side, all of these options are great choice as well as CHUNKING! This is the time of year that the doggies invade the waters but weeding through them results in classy striped bass each and every fall. Expect surf side bunker chunking to turn up a notch in the month of November!

The Barnegat Inlet is still producing good tog fishing for land based anglers. All of these catches are taken on live crabs (green crab, sand fleas) fished on jig or rig. On the inshore – midshore wrecks and reefs sea bass, porgy and tog are available. Store staffer Jared (photo below) was out focusing on tog and caught some good ones earlier this week. The tautog fishing will only get better as we get into the meat of November. On November 16th the bag limit increased from the current one fish to five fish until the end of the year. Here’s a detailed reference sheet on the NJ Saltwater Fishing Regulations, Size and Bag Limits.

The inshore – midshore tuna fishing continues to be excellent with lots of fish just about daily. Fish are being caught by boats trolling bally dressed with HooMagic and Shutes as well as casting stickbaits, worms and poppers. Stop in the shop for details on these.

Here at Fisherman’s Headquarters, we have all of the necessary gear for fall fishing, including rods, reels, lures, clothing, boots and much more. Stop by and shop our broad selection of fishing tackle as well as cold weather fishing gear; bibs, jackets, boots and gloves!

With the low tide incoming, there’s a small but powerful swell lingering on the beaches in the 2′ range. Yesterday there was significantly more energy breaking on the sand bars, all of it from the weekend’s offshore low pressure system which gave us big surf this past weekend; Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Tune in now to the Wednesday morning October 23, 2024 Long Beach Island fishing report update…

What’s Biting At Long Beach Island?

Since the Full Moon last week, the surf side fishing action on LBI has been on the slower side. We had active blues as well as pockets of kingfish, both of which surf anglers were catching. However things changed. Saturday’s American Angler surf fishing tournament was dismal. The sold out event had strong participation BUT the 6’++ surf made for very rough conditions. The waters were full of seaweed making it nearly unfishable. No score-able fish were entered.

LBI Surf Side Striped Bass

But here’s good news on the surf side… Some striped bass were caught by anglers plugging the surf. It’s that time of year! Shop regulars Chris Masino and Greg Davis both caught some linesiders in the surf this week. It’s great to see some fish are around in the suds. With the abundance of bait (sand eels, peanut bunker, snappers, bay anchovies, +) in the area, new arrivals with stripes can’t get here soon enough!

LBI Surf Temperature

The water temperature on the LBI surf is right around 60-62º. With the recent warmer weather we have a little bounce off the recent lows, but for the most part there is a downward trend. I got out and did some awesome fishing here the last couple days. Last night I got out and fished for a few hours. It was slow but we managed three bites with one bass. Both Monday and Tuesday were beautiful days with light winds and a spaced out longer period groundswell.

Wreck Fishing – Bottom Fishing

Monday I had Chef Tom and his wife aboard for some wreck fishing. We ran out to 80′ of water and had fun sea bass and porgy fishing on clam, squid and sand fleas. We had to work for them but we caught a good cooler full of fish they both had sore arms. They brought home the groceries and had fun so the mission was a success.

I’ve heard many good reports from customers were were also out earlier this weekend. Both the reefs and wrecks have life but it seems that there is no consistency. Many spots have a mix of both shorts and keepers. For us we didn’t have any jumbos so maybe I should of fished deeper.

LBI Bayside Fishing

The Barnegat Bay and Manahawkin Bay has striped bass to target. Store staffer Emmet, Frezza and Paul are catching. Also Paul ran up north and got into that Monmouth County striped bass bite that’s rolling on up there for a couple weeks now. Hopefully those fish start sliding down. We’ll see how that goes. The stage is set as we have a lot of bait in the area. We haven’t had bunker in the shop fresh or mullet because the mullet runs sort of fading out. We hope to have a delivery of fresh bunker later today. There’s a lot of sandals stretch along the central and northern Jersey coast. Take a look at a post I just threw up on Instagram just the other morning.

LBI Blackfish – Tautog – Tog Fishing

The #1 best fishing opportunity right now for land based anglers fishing LBI is TAUTOG! The bite has been good and got better. Fish the inlet rocks with green crabs and sand fleas a have fun catching. There’s plenty of fish chewing and there’s keepers in the mix.

LBI Public Service Announcement

LBI Beach Replenishment Info – The work is currently at Holyoke Ave and they will be working in that area for the month. Be on the lookout – prepared if you are planning on fishing or driving the beach down that way.

Barnegat Inlet Dredge Project Info – The Army Corp Engineers are currently working on Barnegat Inlet, removing the shoaling east of Buoy 11, basically in the middle of the inlet. Due to the nature of the work, the dredge is restricted in ability to maneuver and thus shows the black ball/diamond/ball vertical day shape as well as red/white/red vertical lights at night time. To communicate with the dredge use VHF13.

Here in the mid-October time frame, we are waning off the full moon with water temperatures much colder than just a week ago. The run of cold nights have dropped both the bay (mid 50’s, warmer closer to the inlets) and surf temps (low 60’s). Today we had a sunny and breezy day with big surf in the 3-5’+ on the beaches. There’s a low-pressure system offshore of the region, so expect easterly swell all weekend.

There’s still some mullet around, but the activity has slowed down. With it the bluefish bite has also tapered some. There are still smaller ones around the bay, inlet and surf. Our fingers are crossed some racers start up.

Striped bass fishing is on the slower side, but common for this point in the season. We have had a few entered into the LBI Surf Fishing Classic surf fishing tournament. Here’s the live results. Recently classy striped bass arrived in NJ waters. Unfortunately for south – central NJ anglers these fish have been for the most part focused around the Monmouth County waters. But there are some creeping into Ocean County waters. It’s only time and these hungry ones will slide down some more. Be ready!

The best striped bass fishing in the LBI areas right now has been on the backside’s bay waters. There’s striped bass hitting both artificials and live bait with anglers catching via boat in the main thoroughfares and sod banks as well as some select land based areas. In the thumbnail photo of today’s report video is angler Tom Smith who is catching striped bass in the bay. This should continue to be an opportunity for the rest of October and well into November. It’s a great shot if the ocean doesn’t tee off.

On the surf the main action has been small blues, a few kingfish and some out of season fluke. As the surf temperatures continue to decline expect both the kings and fluke to fade out and expect a better showing of dogfish and striped bass. They both usually show up in numbers around Halloween.

Tog fishing remains very good, possibly better than earlier this month. It seems like we have an uptick in size. Fish cut green crabs and sand fleas around the north end’s Inlet structure to score these fun quick hitting fish.

Remember: Blackfish aka Tautog / Tog is currently a ONE fish bag limit at 15″ minimum size. On November 16th it goes to a 5 fish bag limit. For more details: NJ Saltwater Fishing Regulations

I was out in the boat the other day and had some great fly fishing for bluefish in some challenging windy conditions. The bass eluded us. On another trip we hammered the tog and had a lot of health good size ones, very few dinks like I had on a previous trip. Wednesday late morning, I ran up the beach looking for new arrivals (bass). I found the mother load of bunker, sand eels, whales and tuna busting, all in the 30-50′ of water but no bass. I’m stoked the stage is set for a great fall!

This morning we have a fall chill in the air with a 50º air temperatures and north west winds. It’s sunny so things will warm up as the day develops. Right now at the lower stage of the incoming tide, there is 1-3’+ swell breaking on the bars. This is lingering energy from Kirk (as well as small but new pulses from Leslie too). We have incoming tide all day with high about 1pm this afternoon.

The waters are cooling and currently the Long Beach Island surf sits in the mid 60’s; 65-67º. Here on the mid-moon of October and we are transitioning out of the mullet run and into prime fall fishing. This past week a variety of fish were caught and in good numbers from anglers fishing the bay, inlet and surf. There tog, bluefish, kingfish and more striped bass everyday. Also blowfish and weakfish in the bay as well as sea bass and porgy on the wrecks. As I reported in today’s fishing report video, we have possibly the first arrivals of migrating fall run in now. Tune in for details on the fishing report and let’s go fishing!

We have received a flood of reports this week all themed around lots of bites. Bluefish and tog are the two main games right now for land based anglers. Boat trips can take advance of them too as well as Black Sea Bass and mid-shore tuna. In the bay blowfish and weakfish are also in the cards still too.

Last Saturday, the 75th Annual LBI Surf Fishing Classic kicked off with a bang. We had a large showing at the seminar. It was a full house, pushing 70+ people with standing room only. The coffee was hot and the doughnuts were tasty! Also everyone who came got some free tackle goodies thanks for AFW… rigs, mono leader, wire leader, and some terminal tackle. Myself and Bayside Dave shared details on fishing the LBI surf. If you missed it be sure to look out for the event next year. On the fishing action side of things, that too started with strong activity. Check out the live results page here. You’ll see the majority of the action is blues and tog, but there are also kingfish and one striped bass on the board. It’s time! Join today and go fish.

Last Saturday was the LBI Fishing Club’s World Series Of Surf Fishing. The 32 teams (180 anglers) competed and caught a total of 218 fish. Bluefish dominated the suds with 153 catches. The second most active species was kingfish (50 were caught). Also there were a good amount of fluke caught but because they are out of season did not score. The tournament was won by Ocean City -Blue with 40 fish totaling 489 points. Second place was American Angler – White with 27 fish totaling 363.75. Third place was Merchantville A with 20 fish totaling 233 points. Largest fish in the event was a 21.5″ bluefish caught by Bob Nowatzky. Tournament Director Barry Forgeng shared, “It was a great day with perfect conditions on the surf with wind, tide, swell as well as fish. It was a successful tournament all around.”

Beautiful morning in the neighborhood with light to no winds. Yesterday was a good one too. There’s bluefish on the surf chasing mullet and the mullet run is still under way. The tog fishing is active for land based anglers fishing Barnegat Inlet. With sea bass open they are also on tap for ocean fishing boat anglers. Be ready for the striped bass “run” which may pop off at anytime now. There bass to be caught fishign the eaters of LBI and the action should only get better as the waters cool. It’s usually best Halloween to Thanksgiving timeframe. I’m looking forward to this weekend as the 70th Annual LBI Surf Fishing Classic kicks off Saturday October 5, 2024. Also tomorrow Oct 5th, I’m presenting with bayside Dave a FREE surf fishing seminar at the Ship Bottom Fire House from 9-11am. See you there!

This fall there was some confusion circling which all seemed to have stemmed from a clerical typo and confusion between public works, police and administration. No matter the case, now that it is October 1st all of LBI’s beaches are officially open to 4×4 beach buggy access with proper permits. Here’s a link to a detailed LBI 4×4 Beach Driving Access Guide.

More unsettled weather with Nor’easterlies in the forecast for this week with E-ENE swell on the beaches of LBI. Right now it look like later in the work week things finally settle down wind wise and the sun comes out for the weekend, BUT the surf stays up right through the forecast period.

On the fishing front, anglers getting out and roughing the conditions are primarily targeting and catching striped bass, bluefish and tog. That three way play will be prime for the entire month of October aheads so I suggest putting focus on those. There’s also weakfish and blowfish. The mullet run has slowed down to a trickle the last couple of days. With the new moon on October 2nd, I’ll go out on a limb and say this is the final innings. Maybe another wave or two, then some scattered pieces but I wouldn’t hold your breath. Please let time prove me wrong! 

Tune into my latest report video which I recorded and published on Saturday later in the day…

Greg Davis report… “I caught my first surf side striped bass of the 2024 fall. Thanks Paul at Fish Heads for the recommendation on the mullet colored Yozuri Long Cast Hydro Minnow.”

Many other striped bass reports came in this weekend from angler fishing the bay, inlet and surf. We were stoked to heard another great report from Randy Edwards, “Pretty decent bite fishing metal lips and top water. Had 8 fish total but only landed three. Both striped bass and blues doing acrobatics on my popper. It was a fun day!”

Tog fishing has been a consistent opportunity that lots of anglers have taken advantage of. We are fortunate to have such a robust, fun fishery with lots of public access, especially areas to fish that are protected from the wind. Haha, funny, not funny! I don’t want to sound like a broken record but the wind just keeps going.

The NJ Summer Flounder fishing season came to a close this past Thursday (Wednesday 25th was the last day). And with one season closing another opens. NJ Black Sea Bass fishing opens on October 1 (same 12.5″ minimum length all year) with a 10 fish bag. Then come November 1st the bag increases to 15 fish. For more details on the NJ Saltwater Fishing Regulations, here is a convenient pdf download.

Next weekend is the start of the 70th Annual LBI Surf Fishing Classic, Saturday October 5th. The surf fishing tournament runs for 9 weeks with lots of prizes. For more details www.LBISFC.com.

Don’t miss out on the opening day Surf Fishing Seminar! It is a FREE EVENT at the Ship Bottom Fire House hosted by me, Greg from Fisherman’s Headquarters and Bayside Dave where lots of surf fishing info will be shared. Also there are free doughnuts (Crust & Crumb Bakery), free coffee (How You Brewin’) and free goods aka door prizes from American Fishing Wire. We will also give away a couple reels from Penn, another key sponsor of the event. If you have attended in the past, you know this is a great low key fun event. It’s a perfect opportunity for new anglers to get involved and also intermediate and expert anglers to network and meet new faces.

See you there, this Saturday October 5th from 9-11am.

A persistent low pressure has meandered off the East Coast for awhile now and with high pressure to our north over Easter Canada the wind machine is (and has been) on from the north and northeast directions. From the look of things the nearly two week blow isn’t stopping anytime soon and the run of easterly swell will stick around most of the week ahead.

No one is happy at the way the weather patterns have played out for the majority of September clamping and cramping many of the hot local fisheries, but it’s FALL!!! Time to play the cards that are dealt and get into some fun fishing the waters of Long Beach Island.

Tune in now to my fishing report video update from yesterday Saturday September 21, 2024…

The full moon of September really got things moving especially with this persistent blow. Coming down off the backside things got interesting with both lots of bait and game moving. The mullet marathon rolls on. Check out this video from our friends @JettyJockeys. This past week we have seen significantly more striped bass activity in the bay, inlet and surf.

Randy Edwards had himself a great Saturday morning plugging the north end. He reported catching a handful of striped bass with some slot and over slots bass hamming metal lips and darters. Randy shared that his Firmanator metal lip swimmer was the ticket.

For more details on how to take full advantage of the mullet run right now, here are some NJ Mullet Run Tactics. Anyone looking for a new metal lip or two, we have a limited run of Firmanator custom woods lure by Joe Firman in stock now. They are all one off customs so we do not list online for sale. They can be purchased in store or via phone.

Tog fishing continues to offer good fun action fishing crab on jig or rig. Both sand fleas and green crabs are catching. Get up to the north end of LBI and enjoy these quick hitting bulldogs.

The local inshore fishing has been solid even with the windy conditions. In the final days of the 2024 fluke fishing season (ends Wednesday Sept 25th), get your last hura fishing the bay, inlet or surf. The back bays and bridges are also loaded with bass feeding on smaller baits like spearing, grass shrimp and rain bait. The most effective method for this application is small soft plastics like a 3” NLBN and bucktails ¼-3/4oz range tipped with a curly tail or jig strip in white, red or yellow. Store staffer Frez reported over a dozen bass from 18-26” fishing 3” NLBNs bayside this past week. He also had a few fluke (no keeper size) and some bluefish to 4lbs. He was just missing the weakfish for the inshore slam!

Before the blow, the canyon chunk bite was happening with some sizable yellowfin coming over the rail. Store staffer Tyler fished an overnighter a couple days ago in a marginal weather wind and scored 8 Yellowfin on the chunk. He reported, “They all ate butterfish both freelined and weighted baits. Tyler said the mahi were jumping in the boat and the tilefishing on both squid was good too. I got a couple tilefish on the jig too.”

PSA1: Coastal flooding continues as the persistent onshore winds stack up waters in the back bays. Yes that water in the streets and roadway flooding (at times of bayside high tide) is the bay backing up through the storm drains. Don’t be a ying-yang and blast through it!

PSA2: Something is brewing down in the Gulf… developing, strengthening and moving north. Keep an eye on the models.

Awesome September weather rolls on! With schools back in session the broader area is significantly less congested and fishing is just as good, if not better! The mullet run continues strong and the beach, inlet and bay are bustling with well rounded variety.

Tune in my latest fishing report video from this afternoon…

With the mullet run in full effect here are some NJ Mullet Run Tactics for fishing right now!

And for more on plugging this time of year…

For specifics on other approaches right now take a look at my previous report blog from 9/5 (link below) where I detail solid suggestions on targeting inshore hard tail pelagics (false albacore, bonito, spanish mackerel), back bay blowfish, spot and weakfish as well as a couple options for the surf. There blues, kingfish and fluke on the beach. And some big fluke as Dave Werner and his class showed us! See the report video for details.

Public Service Announcements

PSA1: The beaches are opening (some already are) to 4×4 access. Stay tuned for a detailed LBI 4×4 Beach Buggy Access Info blog coming in the next few days.

PAS2: Oyster Creek dredging which started in mid August continues, but is schedules to wrap up any day. The work is being done to clean up the shoaling in the Buoy 38 – 40 area in the western area of Oyster Creek Channel. Boaters have run over the dredge pipe so if you are unaware, please slow down and proceed with caution. The dredge monitors VHF 13 if needed hail.

PSA3: Another round of beach replenishment is coming to LBI this fall. Equipment is already moving into position and sand will be pumping most likely later this month. First on the south end, Beach Haven and Holgate, and then up to the north end; Harvey Cedars as well as some of Loveladies and North Beach. I started writing a blog on the topic of beach replenishments a couple years ago which I never finished. Earlier this summer, when I learned about this fall action, I resurrected it but haven’t found time to complete. I’m hoping to find some time and post sooner than later. Maybe before the end of the year. Be on the look out.

PSA2: The Ship Bottom Wawa is currently closed for renovations. It is scheduled to reopen on Friday October 4th. If plan be is hit the 7-Eleven just a stones throw away… think again as it closed in the fall of 2022. Plan accordingly.

The New Jersey Mullet Run is a distinct segment of Jersey’s Fall Run. It’s the starter fluid that fires up the Shore’s inlets and beaches. As summer winds down the days get shorter, less sunlight and cooler nights get the air and water temperatures trending colder and the weather starts to turn. This transition it when things flip on and the Jersey Mullet Run comes alive.

The run can be short, so get after it and strike right away when the mullet start moving. Some of the fall’s best fishing can take place during the season’s first couple Nor’easters so surf anglers should be comfortable, ready to fish and able to capitalize in stormy conditions. It’s also important to point out that Mullet Run Tactics can be effective even when the mullet run is over.

There are basically two different NJ Mullet Run Tactics than anglers can choose… Bait Up & Soak or Pack Up & Plug!

Bait Up & Soak

Mullet can range in size from finger muller (small baits ranging from 3-5″) up to corn cobs (large baits weighing a pound or more). Cast net your own bait or buy fresh / frozen from the bait shop. Mullet can be fished a variety of ways; whole, chunk, strip.

A classic skewer style mullet rig is the most popular way to fish a whole mullet in the Jersey surf. These have a 1/0-5/0 size double hook which has has a slot for the rig’s stiff wire skewer to be attached or detached. This allows the hook to be fixed at the tail of the bait which is where bluefish tend to strike. Some of these rigs also have a float added for attracting color and also bring the bait up off the bottom, away from the crabs and gets it to swim in the current.

TIP: When rigging be sure to slide the mullet back down and either settle the hook as deep as possible into the bait (as shown in the photo above) or put one of the two hook into the tail. Be sure to always have at least one hook exposed for best hook ups.

Other popular rigs are the classic bluefish chunk rig (shown above with a half of mullet chunk) as well as the Doodle Bug, Fire Ball Rig and a Hi/Lo or One Drop rig. These rigs can be used to fish a whole mullet, a chunk of mullet or a strip of mullet. Below shows a strip of mullet fished on a simple hi/lo rig with 3/0 hooks which is perfect when small cocktail blues are present. These rigs will also catch fluke when cast and slowly retrieved off the surf.

Mullet is awesome fished live on a plain hook and it can also be deadly fished live off a popping cork on top or a small egg weight on bottom. It all comes down to what the situation calls for.

Pack Up & Plug

Plugging (casting lures) during the mullet run is very effective because mullet tend to swim in tight to the beach and they are a small-medium size bait. This makes it east for anglers to match the hatch.

Match the hatch!

• Size: 3-5+”
• Profile: Big head for their size
• Colors: White, Silver, Blue, Grey
• Movement: Distinct v-wave,
• Depth: Tends to hang around the surf line in shallow water

Mullet move in a unique way, in schools on the surface, commonly in tight to edge. Their wide nose puts out a v-wave on the surface. Some perfect matches are wake bait – metal lip swimmers and Red-fins as well as floating poppers, Bomber Wind-cheater, light swim baits and darters.

Rather than diving into specifics here , I’ll reference a detailed blog on the best mullet run lures. For more on top producing fishing lures for the Jersey Shore Mullet Run check out this blog article…

Game Species

A lot of game species chase mullet. The main game here are striped bass, bluefish, fluke, weakfish and occasionally speckled trout and redfish. Yup Jersey surfcasters get a mini window each year.

School sizes striped bass that are mostly made up of residents striped bass that have hung around the area all summer long. There’s also a better class occasionally with fish in the 30″ but rarely in the 40″ range during this part of the run.

Bluefish love mullet and get active during the run. Commonly small class ranging from the year’s young (snappers) ranging up to cocktails in the 2-4# range and occasionally there’s times where bigger blues can show up to the party.

The 9th Inning of fluke normally coincides with the mullet run. It’s one of the best time to fluke fish the surf and inlets in search of large class fluke.

Fishing the jetty’s is a great option to find exiting mullet. But if creeping the rocks… Be Careful!!! Rocks are slippery but there’s more to consider. This time of year the region gets long period tropical swell energy. What look like a calm flat ocean can sometimes have very spaced out inconsistent wave action. The lully set waves can easily catch an angler off guard.