The weather has cleared and we’re all looking forward to a great week of  prime time mid May fishing. Fish are off the spawn, hungry and on the move. Get in the game!

We heard about a couple quality fish caught in the boat off of IBSP yesterday. Again today some anglers too. We had a nice fish weighed in from frequent customer Tom. He got a beautiful 40 pound class bass off of IBSP trolling this morning. It went for a Mojo!

I had Lutzy aboard Fish Head Charters for a dawn patrol session today. Here’s one he caught at sunrise on a plug. After looking around out front we put a little time in the back waters. I managed two fish on the fly; one bass and one bluefish. Both fell for a white clouser.

Here’s a report from Carolyn Ann III out of Barnegat Light, “Looks like the short but wicked northeaster brought in some fish! Frank Decker of Port Jarvis, NY won the pool with a nice 4lb sea bass. A few limits were also made. Looks like a good week coming up, so come on fishing!”

Brian Marbut and Chris Goegelman fished the bay yesterday. Brian  reported, “We had some good blow ups on the flats. There’s some blues ripping around. Only connected with three but had lots of blow ups. Lots of fun!”

Chet Kosarek sent in this report, “Steady pick of Blues at Barnegat Inlet on Saturday, May 19. Mostly around 5 lbs. Not a blitz though. Marked a ton of bait Sunday at Meyer’s hole on my fish finder but no bites on bucktails, Sp Minnows or MoJo’s.

LBI Surf Fishing Report Update

Store staffer Steve-o got two nice fish chunking the surf late last night. Steve set up mid island on a nice section of water and soaked some bunker. He reported one rod when off right away. Both fish were in the low 40″ range.

Chris C. from Surf City fished bait (bunker and clam) yesterday. He caught 4 small bass on salted clam.

After closing up the shop last night Kelley got this bass at sunset on a bucktail.

Jeff W. of Surf City got four blues off the BL Jetty yesterday. Matt Polito was on the jetty yesterday and caught this yellow eye.

What’s that bright round thing in the sky? Finally the sun is back!!!

More reports of bass and blues today… It’s Mid May what else did you expect us to say. It’s game time. The bay, inlet, surf and ocean are all productive. Let’s get out and fish!

Chris Masino shared, “The yellow eye demonds are back!”

Dave Hershberger tagged us in a photo today and shared this report, “Awesome night on the beach with Dan. A 44″ set free to fight again and a 30″ that will be joining us for dinner.”

Matt from Barrington, NJ got this 22.9 pound bass fishing the LBI surf this monring chunking bunker.

Here’s Max Lentz with a nice fish he caught today on the boat.

Josh Severs sent in a report today… “It was a little snotty out there but better than I thought it was going to be. We marked bait consistently. Got a nice fish on a white Mojo north of the Pier at about 8:15am.

Here the LBI Fishing Report Update for Saturday May 19, 2018.

The rain and wind continue but the shop is buzzing. It’s great day to get your tackle in order and prepared for the next bluebird day. It’s also a great day to be a surf caster as these conditions are well know to put fish on the beach. Today and the last couple of days it stood up to the reputation. Anglers are catching bass and blues in the suds!

On The Water’s Striper Migration Map from May 18, 2018 shows quality fish moving into our area. It’s game time!!!

The LBI Surf Fishing Tournament now has a 30 pound class bass in the lead. Lew Halas recently got this 30.94. bass off the LBI surf.

Some blue blues in the surf  and some good size ones ranging from 8-12 pounds. John Parzych reported, “Everyone was catching around the top of the tide, mid-island surf. I got four blues on bunker and lost a few with bite offs. There was weed but it was tolerable. Fished 8-10 oz of lead.”

Thai was in the shop earlier in the day then again this evening. He reported, “I had a good two hour session in the inlet. Towards the bottom of the dropping tide, the bluefish showed up and it came alive! I was stoked to catch some fish on my new rod and reel. The new 10′ Old School GSB Lamiglas is an awesome setup.”

A customer in the shop this afternoon getting a big bag of bunker reported recently catching a number of blues and fluke. I got one fluke 26″ on a bunker chunk. Opening day can’t get here soon enough.”

Nick Honachefsky and “Dean Ween” Mickey fished yesterday and shared this report, “We haven’t fished in awhile and what do ya know. Neptune shines upon us! When what a crazy 24 hours. Here’s the report…. We are experiencing a stalled front here in NJ, the wind has been blowing east, north east for a couple of days. This really turns on the striped bass fishing from the surf.” Mickey went on saying, “I was on the beach for 11 hours yesterday catching striped bass. Nick Honachefsky joined me for for the second half and got a handful of pics. There were too many to count. I’m guessing 30. Nick has it around 24, but missed the first half.  This happened in my favorite place in the world and not just for fishing… the south end of Long Beach Island, NJ. NE means WET!”

Here’s a photo of a nice fish store staffer Jordan recently caught.

Local Striped Bass Fishing Tournaments

LBI Striper Cup – The 14th Annual LBI Cup Striper Invitational hosted by the Beach Haven Marlin & Tuna Club is Saturday May 26, 2018. Captain’s Meeting is 7pm Friday May 25, 2018. For More Info www.LBICUP.com

The Waretown Volunteer Fire Company’s 1st Annual Striped Bass Tournament was been rescheduled due to weather. The Captains meeting will be May 25 at 7pm at the Waretown Vol Firehouse located at 117 Wells Mills Road (Rt.532). Entry fee is $150 per boat up to 4 anglers.

Striper Shootout – The 11th Annual High Point Vol Fire Co “Striper SHootout” is Saturday June 9th. For more info hpvfc.com/fishtourn.html

Mako Mania – The 33rd Anniversary Mako Mania Shark Tournament is June 23-24th. Captains Meeting in Friday June 23rd 6:30pm. More info www.gppcba.com

The sour weather and rain continues… With trophy spring run fish in our local waters great fishing opportunities await. Fish on the beach and in the boat. It’s go time. Gear up with quality foul weather gear from Grundens and Guy Cotten to comfortably enjoy wet conditions.

All of us here at the shop are pumped for an awesome weekend of fishing. This past week was a great lead into what spring fishing is all about. Hungry migrating fish finding bait and getting on the feed! Here’s the LBI Fishing Report Update for May 18th.

Jeff Warford got into a good bite off the mid island surf yesterday late in the day. He was crushing bass plugging with Daiwa SP Minnow Lures. Here’s one photo.

JP from JJP Masonry shared this surf report, “I caught a nice fish last night on a plug. I lost a much bigger fish in the wash after a 20 minute fight. I was sick over it!” JP just got a new surf weapon and is going back for revenge. The Tsunami Airwave Elite 9’6″ matched up with a Van Staal VS150 was a great investment that will ensure a lifelong surf fishing outfit. Fish beware!

Yesterday, Randy Townsend went for a solo evening session trolling off of LBI. Late last night he shared this report… “I just got in to the dock from a great trip. Lots of bunker with big fish hitting mojos and spoons. Multiple double and triple hookups with all quality fish in the 40 pound class. All were released.”

Yesterday evening store staffer Max was on the bay catching blues, “We had them blasting poppers.”

Fish Head Charters

I couldn’t let a little rain deter hungry anglers so the Fish Head fished again this morning. Both store staffer Max and Kelley jumped aboard for a four hour dawn patrol session. One of the first casts of the morning, Kelley was tight to a striper. With the forecast calling for deteriorating conditions we chose to take a stab running down the beach as early as possible. We searched inside the 3 mile line off LBI’s mid/north end. It turns up the presence of big fish fish boomerangs (great quality marks) but little amounts of bait. After putting in an hour or two and not able to get a bite we headed back in to pick at a couple of the small and plentiful bass in the bay. After having some fun we called it a day and tied up at the dock by 9am.

I always wondered and marking too many big fish than I am willing to admit today’s trip got me thinking. What’s a striped bass’s digestion speed/rate? How often does a bass feed per day or per week? How long can a striped bass go without eating?

I can only assume they are like us. It differs based on energy needs. Sometime we want to eat a proper day’s three meals of breakfast, lunch and dinner, however some days we go wild. Looks to me they went wild last night and had indigestion this morning.

LBI Surf Fishing Reports

Todd Luyber reported, “I fished the outgoing last night. Thick with sharks and skates. I managed to put one bass on the beach. Was 25 on the boga. Released.” Fish photo below.

Greg O’Connell reported, “Felt good to be out working the night shift for the first time this spring. Fish were hungry and chewing.”

Austin Pound and Ryan Fredrickson were fishing the mid-island surf last night and found some good bass action. “We had them good. Fish up to 41 inches.”

Boat Fishing Report

Offshore Big Game Report

Get out to the edge for some early season fishing. Bluefin tuna reported on the last weather window in the local northern canyons. Some boats had them chunking and trolling. It’s game time!

Fishing Report Feedback

Mid May… New Moon… Right on time nice bass are showing.

Scott Shirey sent in this report, “We got into bass on the surf. Small bass on bucktails and big bass on fresh Fish Heads bunker. Chunks did the trick. Also hooked into a couple blues and fluke. All on the mid-island surf on the back half of the incoming tide.”

Scott’s largest bass was this 43″ bass that he released. “It felt good to watch her swim back into the suds so she could fight another day. By the way, we had just gone back to Fish Heads for fresh bunker.  I told my buddy that is new to surf fishing that the fresh bait would make all the difference in the world.  It wasn’t 10 minutes later that this girl took the bunker chunk. Great fish! Great Times!”

Store staffer Jordan found some fish on the surf this morning… “I got three bass and 20-30 blues in the 4-10 pound mid-island. All on Daiwa SP Minnow Lures. Bunker were getting worked a little beyond the breakers. Left them biting.”

Ryan Matthews fished the storm last night and got into great fishing. Check out the four photos above. “The storm was fun but it was snotty. Lots of nice fish caught up to 27 pounds chunking with 12oz of lead. Lost a real nice fish at my feet on a bucktail.”

Store staffer Willie was out this morning in the boat. His report, “Holy gnar dude! Seven fish over 35lbs.” Epic fishing went down! Check out this photo of the three amigos all with trophy bass. Right as they are taking the photo another rod doubles over screaming!

Avet Fishing Reel Sale

Looking for a new fishing reel? Avet Reels offer dependable, compact, powerful and smooth fishing reels that are Made In The USA! If you have not put an Avet in your hands try one today. You’ll quickly see why they are our most popular selling compact lever drag reel for the past five years.

Dan D. and Kelley jumped aboard Fish Head Charters for a four hour session this morning. We pushed off at 6am and worked the waters of the Island’s North End.  It wasn’t long before Kelley hooked up on his MVP Daiwa SP Minnow. Shortly after he released another on the same lure. I managed one striper on a bucktail tipped off with a Jig Strip. With the wind cranking we switched gears and took a look along the sod banks. Turns out some small bass were active. Only minutes in I had a striped bass follow my fly right to the boat but would commit. Next drift I got this little guy to eat. Super stoked to watch it eat a clouser i tied last night right beside the boat!

Here’s some other fishing reports….

Lots of school size striped bass are hanging around with some larger bass showing too.

Today is Day 25 of the LBI Surf Fishing Spring Derby. First place bass is held by Patrick Presutto with a 22.64 pound striped bass. Patrick caught the 37.5″ striped bass on bunker fishing the mid-island surf this morning. First place bluefish is still held by Kurt Horensky’s 12.7 pounder from May 5th. For more details on the tournament go to www.LBIFT.com

We also head talk of another 20 class bass off the LBI beach today.

Don Ingling was in the shop today getting some hooks and tackle. He reported catching a keeper bass off the mid-island surf on a plug yesterday.

Another customer in the shop had small bass today fishing salted clam. He was in late morning and then back again around lunch time to rebait.

Carl Vallone called in a report this afternoon. He said, “Last night I caught some fish. Had a bunch of blues. No bass. Bait fishing the surf.”

Torr Cohen got into some bass off the south end surf yesterday. He reported, “Funny how things work… every time you have too much bait there are never fish. When you take a few clams for a cast they start hitting. This session I ran out of bait quick. I give thanks to this beautiful morning on LBI.

One of the Comanche Surfcaster’s Darren reported his girl friend (@miss_stonian) caught her first bluefish.

It’s Mid May and the some bigger fish are showing up!

Store staffer Blake was on the surf this morning and got a nice size bass on a wood swimmer. Here’s a link to the landing video.

“I finally put a reel on a rod yesterday and hit the beach. I didn’t see a sole for 8 miles. Bite was on! 20 bass from dinks to 40” and 10 blues from 3-8 pounds. All out bucktial bite, 1oz white with a curly tail. Why does no one fish anymore? Get to Fish Heads and pick up some Magic Tail bucktails and get on the beach. Stop waiting for the reports the fish are out there.  Here’s a video from sunday afternoon.

Kenny Nielubowicz was on the beach yesterday and caught his first surf striped bass. “Thanks Fish Heads for the killer fresh bunker!”

This work week was LBI’s best stretch of spring surf fishing action. Striped Bass and Bluefish are here and cruising the Island’s beaches. Anglers caught fishing meat (bunker and clam) as well as using lures. For more details see the week’s previous posts; Thursday May 10th, Wednesday May 9th, Tuesday May 8th, Monday May 7th.

Here’s the LBI Fishing Report Update for Friday May 11, 2018…

Another beautiful day in the neighborhood! This morning was flawless and it continues through the afternoon. While no local spectacular bite was reported, fish were caught.

I had store staffer Kelley aboard the Fish Head for an early morning session. We couldn’t buy a bluefish but saw a couple caught. Kelley was high hook managing two keeper size bass and one short.

Here’s some recent reports…

Andrew Hayes shared with us on Facebook, “I caught a big bluefish this afternoon (yesterday) on an SP minnow.”

Anglers are counting down the days to Sea Bass and Fluke Fishing! Sea bass opens May 15th at 10 fish with a 12.5″ minimum length. Fluke Opens May 25th at three fish with a 18″ minimum size.

Speaking of fluke… our local waters are stacked with quality fluke right now. Dan D went on the hunt today for bass and blues. With no luck he switched over to catch and release fluke fishing. Dan reported, “Got a bunch of fish, biggest was 20″. They were chewing!”

Floating Jig Heads By Tom Scibek

After the On The Water (Angler’s Guide New Jersey May 2018) Floating Jigheads write up by Don Kamienski the Floating Jig Heads by Tom Scibek have been hot sellers. A once underground item used by a select few, now Floaters are main stream! This is the one and only real deal saltwater floating jig head with a good quality hook and long bucktail hair.

As detailed by Don, he fishes them on an 18″ leader off of a Tsunami 3-Way Rolling T-Swivel.  I’ve found this to be very effective when fishing larger baits and especially live baits like live minnow, peanut, mullet and spot. Floaters are lights out in the bay baited with sheddard crab. My personal favorite way to fish Tom’s Floaters is to rig them on a 4-6″ dropper loop that is fished about 20″ above a bucktail jig. When fishing deeper situations it’s a hi/lo style vertical presentation. Standard issue… bucktail and teaser = lots of fluke!

Where these Floaters outproduce for me is in our shallow water bay fishery. Contrary to common line “control rules” I fish this hi/lo bucktail teaser with some extra scope. This horizontal presentation shines when tap danced. The floating jig head comes alive and fluke can’t resist.

Either way you choose to rig Tom’s Floaters, one thing will be consistent… they catch!