With April coming to a close it’s worth a quick look back and the fishing scene and what our expectation are for the weeks ahead.

For the most part April was good to us this year. Sure the weather was awesome but it could have been worse. Plentiful school striped bass offered fun to light tackle anglers fishing the bay. Late month the surf anglers started picking at them. Those fishing the early season big fish spots (Chesapeake Bay, Delaware River and Raritan Bay) are rewarded with quality size striped bass. The black drum showed up right on time mid April just a couple days before the full moon. Tog fishing started slow but improved as the month went on was very good fishing during the final stretch. Some quality blackfish were caught! Bluefish made an appearance for the final weekend of the month letting us know we didn’t forget about them.

With May days away, we have high hopes for another great month of fishing. We expect a couple weakfish to show and maybe the bluefish will invade (all yellow-eye demons are welcome to eat here!!!) enjoy our company and kick around for an extended stay. Fluke fishing starts May 24th 3 fish at 18″. The size class on striped bass will gradually increase with the largest around the third and fourth week of the month. If bait (bunker pods) stage up it could be fireworks on Memorial Day. May 27th is only 28 days away! (at time of the post) Other happ’s on our radar… The inshore/mid-shore and offshore fishing. Tuna & Shark fishing season is here!!!

Here’s the fishing report update for Monday April 29th. Anglers enjoyed the opportunity to fish this weekend. The action continued into the work week with a number of anglers finding fish on Monday too.

Surf Fishing Report

Today was our first day with weigh ins from the surf.

First it was Paul and Hak who fished the mid-island surf in the morning with bunker to catch two ten pound bluefish. Photo above.

Then in the late afternoon Kevin Cook stopped by with a 38-3/4″ 19.74 pound striped bass. This was our first weigh in for the LBI Spring Surf Fishing Derby, however it didn’t make the leader board (top three fish). Here’s the current leaderboard for the LBI Spring Surf Fishing Derby.

More fishing reports from the Long Beach Island surf…

Store staffer Steve-o hit the mid-island surf Monday afternoon. He reported slow fishing for himself. But, an angler fishing close by caught one bass. He said it went down around the high tide on bunker.

On Sunday Ryan Armbruster got out for a surf fishing session. About 3pm on the incoming tide he caught a 32″ striped bass on clam. He also caught a 27″ bass on bunker. Ryan was fishing the mid-island surf. Photo below.

Barngate Bay Fishing Report

On Sunday Jacob Bowles reported, “A few buddies and I dumped the boat and went for an afternoon trip. We found some good water in the back bay and it paid off with non-stop striped bass action. Bluefish were in the mix. We must have caught about 50 bass all together, but nothing over 28”. Our MVP was a 1/2oz jig head with plastic, literally any kind of soft bait. There’s a ton of fish out there and it’s only getting better from here!

Tyler Leary fished a Barnegat Bay dock this past weekend and fooled a linesider. It went for a topwater lure, Stillwater Smack-It Popper.

Bluefish Report

Word on the street is bluefish moved into Atlantic City on Sunday. Some anglers got into quality action. It seems to have spread around now. Reports in our local waters are more consistent however, still mixed. A couple who hunted and found blues and some who didn’t. Hopefully they’ll show up strong.

Store staffer Jordan fished Sunday afternoon and found some yellow eyes in Daiwa SP Minnows Lures.

Here’s a report update to supplement recent posts… Report Update April 26thand Report Update April 24th

The 3rd Annual Nicole Born Memorial Surf Fishing Tournament went down on Saturday April 27th. The turn out was great with over 300 anglers. The event broke an ASAC tournament record with 41 youth anglers registered toppling last year’s record number of 35. It’s great to see the youth participation!

The tournament anglers were into productive fishing most of the day with a awesome showing (~100 fish) of striped bass in the 22-27″ range. But there was only one score-able fish, a 22-1/4″ bluefish by angler Jackie Scarrellie of Team Noodle. They won first place team and Jackie won most fish points women’s and largest fish women’s awards.

The fishing on and around Long Beach Island is moving forward. As we enter the final weekend of April there’s a smorgasbord on the menu. The variety ranges from striped bass and drum to perch and tog. Add tuna to the list and any day some bluefish could show. How strong the showing is anybody’s guess. We have out fingers crossed for an invasion of epic proportions but we’ll have to wait and see.

Striped Bass & Black Drum

Bayside docks and bulkheads are productive areas to target striped bass. Reports from both day and night anglers are good. Anglers also find bass along the sod banks and flats. These areas also have drum.

Chris Rudick stopped in Wednesday and got a bushell of live clams. He reported catching both bass and black drum. We got word of some anglers are catching drum on Kettle Creek Swim baits.

Striped Bass reports are becoming more common off of the LBI Surf. It’s right in time as Saturday is the start to the Spring Surf Fishing Derby.

Tog Fishing Report

It’s the final stretch of blackfishing this spring season. It closes at the end of the month. Tuesday April 30th is the last day to get out. Recent reports from days when weather allows were good. This weekend things did not co operate.

The Ultimate Angler Experience (Tog Fishing Trip) is cancelled due to weather (rough seas and high winds). Unfortunately we can’t reschedule as the season ends Tuesday. Keep an eye out as we are looking to host a fluke event this summer followed by a second attempt at a blackfish event in the fall.

Fluke Fishing Report

Fluke fishing season is quickly approaching and they are already here. So far this spring we’ve heard about a number of fluke that were caught from anglers targeting striped bass with bucktails and rubber swim shads.

Here’s a photo of store staffer Willie with a nice fluke he caught and released just a few days ago. The fluke had a tag on it that was pulled and reported.

Early season fluke fishing offers some of the best quality fish of the season. Now’s the time to prepare.

The NJ Summer Flounder aka Fluke Regulations are final.

Please remember, “If you can’t keep it, save it!” Take proactive measure to reduce discard mortality. It’s crucial to our fishery.

Offshore Fishing Report

Not many boats are getting offshore yet but the season is here! Two local boats got out Thursday and came back with good news.

Nick Perello stopped in, shared a bluefin tuna stake and reported, “We got one! I was out aboard the “Fun For One”. We trolled up a bite at about 11am Thursday and angler “Big Fish” Marty Mannion did work on the rod. It was a fifty pound bluefin, the first bluefin of 2019 for the Beach Haven Marlin Tuna Club.

Another report came in from our boy Flag Pole (Jim Kuhl)… “We took a shot on some water offshore and it paid off big time! Absolutely epic top water feeds all day. April tuna, it’s water’s for dinner!”

Check out our Instagram post for a short video clip of the topwater action.

With April winding down fishing is heating up. Currently there are great opportunities to get into good fishing before the end of the month when the Blackfish season closes. Here’s the Fishermans Headquarters Fishing Report Update For Wednesday April 24.

Blackfish Report

Swagmattic (Matt S.) is out every chance he gets mastering the juggling act of working like a mad man and being a crazy fishing fool. He shares this report from his recent trips with friends…

“Got out Sunday aboard the Mary M and it was good. My friend Dave I. got a juicy 13 lb tog, photo below. Monday Dave limited out (again) on the Osprey with nice fish in the 3-6 pound range. The whole boat did well. Eric M. got his personal best on a jig breaking 8 pounds.

With the end of April right around the corner blackfish season will be closing. Now’s the time to get in on the action. Anyone looking to fish and also for those looking to learn there are a couple spots left for the Ultimate Tog Fishing Experience. This Saturday’s trip is quickly approaching! Book now to secure your spot, $200.

The LBI Surf Fishing Report

The LBI Spring Surf Fishing Tournament kicks off this Saturday April 27th. Register now ($20) for the 8 week 100% payout tournament. The top three bass as well as the top bluefish win cash. Amount based on total number of anglers.

Sam Galioto called in a report today. He was fishing the LBI surf with bunker and caught a 30″ bass. This is the first direct report; however, we did hear a second hand report yesterday. A friend of a friend reported catching two small bass off the mid-island surf.

Barnegat Bay

Store staffer Mike Frezza reported the early spots in the bay are producing and new areas are seeing fish too. A couple night back he caught small bass up to 26″ on white rubber in an hour session. Lots of other anglers are catching fishing the Island’s bayside. Hunter Dargay posted a photo of a nice bass he caught recently on the Ship Bottom bayside, photo below.

Barnegat Inlet Jetty

Reports of small blackfish up at the rocks. Small blackfish are plentiful but finding a keeper is difficult.

Fish Head Charters

With rain and stiff winds Monday’s trip was tough turning out the first skunk trip of the year. Wish we could have fished earlier in the morning because the weather was good and friends were into fish. Sometimes the schedule of weather, fish and anglers don’t align.

Tuesday was a spectacular day weather wise for redemption. Got out early and the fish cooperated. The fish were scattered but marking strong making for a great trolling method of attack; however the crew wanted to fish big plugs so we power drifted casting and retrieving plugs. Max got the first and second fish working a chartreuse and white Northbar Bottle Darter. Photo below. As the morning progressed heavy boat traffic depressed the area and forced us to join the troll. In a short amount of time we got two more bass and called it a day. We could have trolled up just about as many as you wanted. The fish were consistently showing on the sounder.

It seems like the action has subsided a bit just after the full moon and is now bouncing back. I’ll be back out tomorrow on the hunt. I’m looking forward to more fun fishing before I bring the boat back to LBI in a week or so.

Wednesday was a good weather day which let anglers get out. Most found good fun fishing. Here’s the Fishermans Headquarters Fishing Report Updated for Thursday April 18, 2019.

Striped Bass Fishing Report

Local fishing continues for anglers fishing the bay. Long Beach Island’s bayside offer good opportunities both day and night. The early season spots of Great Bay and Barnegat Bay continue. The size is small but keeper size fish are present and the class might increasing. Daytime baits like live bloodworm and clam (especially if looking to get a black drum) are best. At low light and night lures in the 3-5″ range will do the trick. We suggest minnow type swimmers like the Yozuri Mag Minnow or Rapala Xrap. Also the essentials…paddle tail swim baits Storm Wild Eye Shads Or Kettle Creek and of course you can’t go fishing with our a bucktail… Magictail bucktails.

Back Bay Striped Bass

Youth angler Carter Leary sent in a report on Instagram… Here’s my first striped bass of the spring. I caught it one a Sebile Stick Shad Lure fishing low light conditions (at a dock on Barnegat Bay).

While still on the back bay it’s worth a mention, we have NOT received one bluefish report. We have heard from some that went out on a search but came up empty. We expect to see some soon.

Surf Fishing Report

The spring surf fishing action is right around the corner! Starting to hear more talk… Just heard of a surf report from Brigantine to our south as well as Island Beach to our north. The only direct report we’ve received was from Ron M which was reported on April 13, 2019.

Reminder: The 18th Annual LBI Spring Surf Fishing Tournament starts April 27th. Registration will begin soon, $20 Sign Up Fee.

Ocean Report & Outlook

The ocean temp is still cold but creeping up. Soon we expect the local ares to start. Historically the magic number has been 48 for when they show. Then, it really gets going once it breaks above 50.

Tog Fishing Report Update

Matt Swag was on the water yesterday. We went out aboard the Osprey and got into good fishing. He reported, ” Lights out black fishing yesterday! Fish finally got on the feed for me. They were chewing crabs. Fishing was so good I was catch and releasing nice keepers retaining my four fish limit. I kept the boys and let the girls go as they prepare for their spring spawn.”

Matt gave us heads up that all fish were caught on Daiwa BG3000 spooled with Cortland Master Braid and pared with the Daiwa Back Bay Rod. Here’s a recent post by Matt about the Daiwa BG Series reels.

Fish Head Charters

From an awesome fog session on Sunday to an unreal fire session on Wednesday… The action continues to get better.

Sunday I’ll remember for one of the most dense fog fishing session I’ve ever fished. See the report here, “Fish Head Charters In On The Fun”

Wednesday morning’s red fire sky started things off and then by 6:30 am a large burning building in the distance set the scene. [The five alarm fire broke out in a sushi restaurant and medical building located in Marine Park Brooklyn at about 6:30 am. The morning breeze didn’t help but fire fighters contained the four hour blaze.]

As far as fishing, things started off slow and scattered with slack high tide but as the current started moving things came together. The great jig bite continued just like on Sunday if not better. Big rubber shads from Tsunami, bucktails and Candy Bars got hammered. At times power drifting or slow trolling helped find schools of hungry striped bass. Some boats utilized the magic of Magictail Mojos (in the small weight range, 4-8oz) but we stuck to our preferred light tackle approach.

Some awesome top water feeds broke out and iced the cake making for a stellar day. Some good fish came on top water with the stand out producer the Doc Top Water Spook. Big wooden metal lip swimmers also raised fish. I was beyond stoked to visually feed a freshly hand tied bunker imitation to a hungry linesider. Below is a photo of two health striped bass from the trip. One I got on the fly and one Kelley got on a Doc spook. Look closely and you’ll see the fish inhaled the entire lure.

The fishing activity and action are picking up! More anglers are getting out and more fish are caught. Striped bass, tog, white perch and now drum are good targets. Some are looking for blues but no direct reports yet. We expect see some soon and possibly a few weakfish might show too. Here’s the Fisherman’s Headquarters Fishing Report Update for Tuesday April 16.

Black Drum Fishing Great Bay

[Previously hinted at drum] Today we got a solid report from the boyz at Magictail. Dante reported, “Mateo and I got two nice black drum this morning.” He also shared, “A couple days ago I had a good evening session. I caught a half dozen small striped bass on bloodworms the first hour. Then went one for two on black drum with clam.”

Striped Bass Fishing Report

For a couple of weeks now reports continue consistently strong. Local reports of striped bass flow into the shop from customers buying fishing tackle. Anglers fishing Long Beach Island’s local waters are finding school sized striped bass throughout the bay. While the fish range in size (some as small as an adult bunker) there are keepers around.

Brendan Hastings reported yesterday, “Dead sticking live bloodworms on the bay Saturday/Sunday produced about 10 throwbacks striped bass in the 8-16″ range and one 29″ keeper size fish. Keeping the bait fresh and in the current seemed to be the key!”

A bunch of customers are making the trek north, south and west to the early season spots for the best size and quality of fishing. The bays and river (Chesapeake, Delaware, Hudson, among many others) are full of striped bass. They moved in and feed in preparation to spawn. With April’s full moon on Friday morning the striped bass should be hunkering down and ready to do their thing.

The Raritan Bay is firing on all cylinders. Things might slow up with the moon for a short period of time but should pick up right where it left off.

Fish Head Charters In On The Fun

Sunday was a great day and I was stoked to have the Fish Head in on the action. Crazy dense fog made for a very interesting day but it was all out epic fishing. I was happy to be a part of the bumper boat session trading off blasts (fog signals) with so many. Lots of fog, lots of boats, lots of bass… what else would you expect for a spring day in New Jersey.

Fish Head Charters has a temporary slip in Keyport for a couple weeks and will be running trips on good weather days. Why not take advantage of the great fishing. It’s an hour drive from LBI but well worth it!

Four hour trips, $150 per person, maximum two anglers. Sorry these are no kill trips. As these striped bass are in the Bay to spawn therefor I can not guide anglers to fish with the sole intent to kill. At this stage of the game the striped bass need all the help they can get..

Tog Fishing Report

With ocean temperatures creeping up the tog fishing improves. April is a great time to hunt blackfish.

Shop regular Jeff is always fishing hard. He has been on the Jetty regularly and Friday he caught his first keeper of the season. It was a 17″ fish that he got on green crab. Jeff said, I saw others caught too.” He’s back out fishing today.

Here’s a recent boat catch on a Magictail 2oz White Legger Gamechanger Tog Jig… 18 pound slob!

Here’s a weekend fishing report update! Our first weekend with a full selection of live bait… live clams in the shell, live bloodworms and live green crabs. It’s time!

Friday was also another first for 2019… the first catch report from the Barnegat Inlet. Ron Mon from West Point PA fished the north end’s Jetty. He reported catching about a dozen school bass on white paddle tail.

As far as the LBI surf reports… nothing from the beach/surf. Soon!

I went out for a look Thursday night and had some small bass. Store staffer Kelley was fishing along side and managed one nice fish… 29″ on a Jighead with a split tail white plastic.

Swag was out tog fishing Thursday aboard the Ocean Explorer. He reported a slow day on the boat but he got two out of the three keepers of the boat.

Dan D. headed out in the rain this morning (Saturday). He reported, “Good fishing! Raritan bay last weekend was good and this weekend it’s still going down. Lots of bunker, gannets and striped bass. Big rubbers were killing it!”

Store staffer Max got out today with Swag and Captain Justin Swanson. At the time of this report they had couple mediums and a jumbo. They are having a fun day on the water.

JCAA Fluke Tournament

Save The Date… The 25th Annual JCAA Fluke Fishing Tournament is June 15, 2019

Here’s a short fishing report update to supplement our recent posts. See Monday’s comprehensive fishing report update post. and Swag’s Tog Fishing Report Post. Guess what he’s out on the water today. We’ll post his report once he shares.

Only new news we can add is a striped bass report that a customer shared yesterday and a hint at a new species in the area.

A customer called in yesterday to reserved a couple dozen bloodworms. When he stopped in to pick up he reported, “My last trip out was good. I was into striped bass the whole time. They were small (biggest 26.5″) but a lot of fun catching about 10 of them. I blew through a dozen worms fast so I’m doubling up today.” He was fishing the bayside on LBI.

April/May Black Drum Fishing

While no direct first hand report, there’s chatter about a couple black drum showing up. Traditionally mid April and May are a time when these fish are active. If bait up with clam for your best chance at targeting them.

A Warning for Boaters

If you didn’t see our original post on Facebook or Instagram this is for you. A navigational hazard exists in the bay near the Causeway Bridge. Fortunately they were recently marked however, mariners must be aware that these hazards are elsewhere along the ICW too. Here’s a highlight from my time with Ted Greenberg of NBC10 News.

Here’s our original notice to mariners post on Facebook which caught Ted’s attention.

Shop ambassador @Swagmattic (Matt Sorrentino) is stoked… It’s April and the weather has broke. Better yet there’s fun fishing to be had. Swag is in love with blackfish and in on the action.

He was out on the water yesterday aboard the Osprey. Matt reported, “It was a slow but steady day. I managed one nice keeper along with a bunch of shorts. The little ones kept us active at the rail. Like always in the early season, the bite has been on clam. With it come a mix of ling and cod which add an interesting flare and good table fare. It’s still early so I’m looking forward to the season ahead.”

There’s three weeks of tog fishing up for grabs. Now’s the time to dust off and get out there. Black fishing will improve as the ocean water temperatures increase. As time progresses into April the bite and the short to keeper ratio will improve.

The Spring Blackfish Season will culminate towards the end of April at which time the season will also coincidentally close. Traditionally late April offers some of the year’s best fishing for blackfish.

The Ultimate Angler Experience

For this year we have teamed up with some great names to offer The Ultimate Angler Experience! This one of a kind fishing trip hosted by Swag and the Osprey Fishing Fleet is Saturday April 27th. Spots are filling up fast, so if you are interested secure your spot today. Spots are $199.99

More good news on the fishing front! Here’s the fishing report update for Monday April 8, 2019.

Early Season Hot Spots

This weekend the Raritan Bay went off! A body of fish moved in from the ocean and fishing was phenomenal. Expect fishing to be good for the next few weeks however the amplitude will fluctuate as waves of striped bass arrive and make way to and up the river.

These are pre-spawn so please use utmost responsible judgment and release all fish! These are the lifeblood of the stock!

Some of the crew from the shop was in on the action…

Store staffer Dan D reported light out action on Thursday (was reported in the last post). His luck continued all weekend. Dan reported, “Incredible fishing with fish up to 30 pounds.” Pat D. (Dan’s brother) was fishing in the fog Saturday and had fun with bass eating lures.

Store staffer Willie enjoyed his 21st birthday this weekend… Congrats! He too got out and caught some quality striped bass (photo below).

Store staffer Mike Frezza worked the late night hours and caught. Were you following our Instagram story? The old saying goes if your spring is off to a bad start the only way to turn it around fast is to eat a live bloodworm. Frezza went for it and wham-oo! Now he’ll be the high hook all spring… Watch Out!

Local Fishing

Some boats fished out of Barnegat Inlet this weekend. Everyone that we heard back from that stayed locally looking for striped bass came up empty. A couple boats that made the run north and scored! A couple more degrees and we’ll have things starting up.

Things are still slow in our area however progressing none the less. The nighttime bayside striped bass fishing is good. I got in on the fun Saturday night.

Fishing a 3/8oz jig head with a white grub I caught a couple school striped bass. Store staffer Kelly was in on it too. He also caught on Kettle Creek Paddle Tail Swimbaits and RonZ Slender Soft Baits. After the fishing session I took a quick ride up the Barnegat Inlet Jetty for a Milky Way photo session.

Ted Johnson and his girlfriend got into some small ones on the bayside this past weekend. Couples that fish together stay together!

Blackfishing Open For April

It’s still early with cold ocean water temperatures but it’s tog fishing time. LBI Charter’s Captain Greg Carr was on the water this past weekend hunting for tog. He reported, “Water is still cold. Fishing was slow but managed five keepers and about a dozen shorts.”

The Carolyn Ann III took their first trip out on Saturday. They reported, “Pretty good fishing considering the swell and lack of wind which made anchoring difficult. Jake Adair took the pool with a nice 5.5 pound blackfish. (photo above) The Magictail Game Changer Tog Jig did the job! Other anglers caught too. The action with short fish kept everyone busy concentrating on the bite. No limits had but some guys had one or two fish each to take home for dinner.

On Sunday Eric Mandelblatt was aboard and took the pool! Photo above

We’ve hear about a couple (but few) bigger double digit fish caught on private boats. It’s gonna get better. Get geared up and in the game.

Offshore Fishing

Canyon fishing season is upon us! A body of water looked good so a few local boats pushed out to explore. All that we heard back from struck out. It’s gonna happen soon!

Update On Bouys

So after our March 30th Blog Post and Tuesday’s April 2nd Facebook and Instagram post things kinda started happening. We got phone calls and emails. First local boaters wanting more information. Then the NJ State Police and then the US Coast Guard. Today (Monday) I got a call from Ted Greenburg from NBC10 News. He says, “I’m in town and would like to do a story on the navigational hazards. Do you have time to show them to me?” I didn’t have time but… We went out of a short trip on the boat. I showed him the three (one north and two south) that were close the the Causeway Bridge. About a week ago only one was marked. Today all three were. Hopefully soon they will all be repaired because it’s still a major problem waiting to happen. Hopefully you saw the report on NBC10’s 4,5,6pm news.

Linda Lee Sportfishing Report

Captain Ryan of Linda Lee Sportfishing reports, “As things start to heat up I’ll be running open boat charters for stripers and blues. Starting May 4th and 5th through the middle of June. $125 pp 4 people max. All fishing gear included and fish cleaned. If your looking to get in on the action give me a call 609-276-8032.