LBI's Premier Fishing Report By Fishermans Headquarters
Author: FishHead.Greg
Greg Cudnik is a Long Beach Island native with lifelong experience fishing and navigating the local waters. He is a distinguished Master Captain—the highest level of operator licensing—holding a U.S. Coast Guard Masters 50-Ton Near Coastal License with Towing Endorsement.
Raised in and now managing his family’s bait and tackle business, Fisherman’s Headquarters (est. 1962, The Saltwater Fishing Bait & Tackle Experts), Greg is immersed in fishing on a daily basis. He is the Chief Contributor of FishingLBI.com, Long Beach Island’s leading fishing report blog, and serves as the administrator of Fisherman’s Headquarters’ social media channels on Instagram and Facebook, where he shares real-time fishing reports, conditions, and tactics. Be sure to follow along.
A local angler stopped in the shop today and checked in a 25.5″ 7.52 pound fluke that he caught fishing Barnegat Bay this morning.
Another Barnegat Bay fluke report came in from Max DeGennaro. He caught a 26″ fluke this afternoon fishing aboard Hi Flier Sportfishing with captain and dad David D.
Here’s Max D with a nice fluke today.
One customer who was in and out quick shared an awesome schoolie striped bass report. During the two minutes he was here he said, “Small bass are roaming the inlet rocks. Fish the golden hour with soft baits! I had five in less than an hour.” When the wind turned onshore out of the northeast or east the inlet comes alive. Happy to hear this angler was in on it!
The surf was very warm on Sunday. The onshore winds have pushed in some beautiful water. It’s clean (a little bit of grass in Ship Bottom) and loaded with rays.They were cruising in the waves for most of the day. The beach also has fluke during the day and sharks during the low light hours.
Bad new for the bluewater boyz trying to get back out on the tuna grounds… Tropical Depression 3 has become Tropical Storm Chris and looks to intensify for the next few days. The “professionals” are saying it will hang around the Carolinas then move out to the north east. Still lots of uncertainty. Keep your eyes on the forecasts to see how it plays out.
This might be my last fishing report update for 5-7 days; however, I will try to share some breaking news from ICAST 2018. Stay tuned to our social pages all week for the latest info from the show floor. There’s some awesome products that will be released from all the big name brands.
The Jersey Coast Anglers Association’s 24th Annual Fluke Tournament is August 4, 2018. This awesome statewide tournament is actually seven mini-tournaments in one. With tens of thousands in cash & prizes this one of the summer’s best fluke fishing tournaments!
Make sure to enter the Doormat Category (additional $25 fee) to try your luck at winning $50,000… largest fluke in excess of 12 lbs (see rules & regs that apply on JCAA website)
Regular Entry $160 per boat (if postmarked after July 23th, 2018)
For additional info, call the JCAA Office at 732-506-6565
About Jersey Coast Anglers Association
The Jersey Coast Anglers Association is a non-profit organization formed in 1981. The original objective of the JCAA was to combine a loosely fragmented group of marine sportfishing clubs in order to form and promote a united consensus on issues relevant to saltwater anglers in New Jersey. Over the years, the mission of the JCAA has remained unchanged, but now has the added goal of joining forces with organizations having similar objectives in states along the East Coast and national organizations. While the JCAA is relatively young, it has emerged as the most effective organization of its kind on the East Coast. For more information, or for information about becoming a member of the JCAA, please call (732) 506-6565 or visit www.jcaa.org.
Hope everyone had a safe and enjoyable 4th of July Holiday!
The heat wave has been real! Finally we are getting a break with a cold front sweeping in tomorrow (Friday). It looks a little hairy with thunderstorms. Onshore winds Saturday will give a nice ocean breeze and also put a building wind swell on the beach. The heat quickly sets back in with lots of sun after the weekend.
It’s great to see bait stacking up in the summer time haunts. Peanut bunker are in the lagoons and spearing are darting around the bay.
On the fishing front fluke is the main inshore species. Anglers are also working bluefish, weakfish and resident striped bass. The blues range from 1-3 pounds in the inlet and the bay is primarily filled with snappers.
Anglers are catching in the bay, inlet and ocean. We heard of good catches in Double Creek Channel on the north end as well as the Middle Grounds on the south end. Lots of customers are reporting an abundance of shorts with some finding quality.
Here’s Jim Bailey with a 22″ fluke caught in the bay on the 4th of July.
Some areas of the bay have water temps in the mid 80’s. The ocean surf is in the mid to low 60’s. With these very warm bay temps some of the anglers are looking in the ocean. We have yet to hear stella reports. BUT!!! Any day the open bottom as well as the local reef sites should get good.
Joe Medica was out on the water today with his son Tyler. They reported tons of shorts and managed this 26″ fluke, “Great day on the water!”
Carolyn Ann III Fishing Report
Here’s yesterday’s report from the Carolyn Ann III, “This morning was alot slower due to no drift at all. We were able to get a few nice fish.” Tuesday’s report was strong, “It was a good day on the CAIII today. A few real nice keeper fluke caught and some anglers caught a few sea bass. Everyone had a good time. There were a lot of sea robins, skates and sharks made the trip active and very fun for the kids.”
Here’s Ryan with a quality black sea bass caught aboard his father’s boat, the Kaley Marie
BHMTC Fluke-A-Mania
Due to poor weather forecast this weekend, the The Beach Haven Marlin Tuna Club’s Fluke-A-Mania fluke fishing tournament has been postponed. The new date is August 24-25th. These are prime dates for fire fluke fishing!!!
Offshore & Mid Shore Fishing
The bluewater fishing has been great! Both offshore and mid shore anglers are hammering tuna. So far it’s turning out to be one of the best tuna bites we’ve seen in a long time. The consistency and quality of the fish is one to remember for sure. Hearing positive report after positive report day in and day out is awesome.
While the edge is teeing off with yellowfin, the bluefin action is strong too. Don’t overlook the mid-shore tuna grounds because there’s a lot to offer. The waters are loaded with sandeels and tuna are feeding. Anglers are getting into top feeds as well as jig and troll and chunk. Areas such as the Chicken Canyon and the Barcadi put out some very good fishing.
Ghetto Sharking
Local ghetto sharking is off the hook! Usually early July is just the beginnings. But this year’s very warm water temperatures (thanks to the heat wave) has the fishing primed and cranking!!!
Monday night I had Michael Nictakis and his son from Louisiana aboard Fish Head Charters for a four hour bay shark trip. We pushed off the dock at sunset and before dark set in we were hooked up with a SCREAMER. It nearly spooled the Penn 20LD twice. After the 20 minute tug of war the fish was boat side and turned out to be a monster 6.5′ sandbar shark. The night turned out to be consistent, picking a couple more each hour. All smaller ones.
Tuesday night the Fish Head was back on it with store staffers Max and Kelley aboard. Almost the same story… minutes in a rod goes off. I pick it up, set the hook and instantly knew I was in for a ride. Ten minutes in I was down to half a spool and the fish wasn’t phased. The Penn SSVI Spinfisher Spinning reel (SSVI6500LL) did it’s job putting out 17 pounds of drag to help subdue the beast. Turns out it was another bay monster with a bowling ball sizes mouth. This was bigger than Monday’s and possibly our biggest to date. Just short of 7′ with a thick head and shoulders. We estimate it was between 150-170 pounds… a definite a contender to John Norton’s currently retired NJ State Record 168lb 8oz sand bar shark from 1987.
We took off July 4th but are heading back out again tonight. I’m looking forward to fishing with Keith Dunton from Dunton Labs and Student Lauren from the Monmouth University. The goal is to stick some radio and spaghetti tags in fish. We are looking forward to working with his team and helping in the project this summer.
UPDATE: Check Out This Short Clip From Tagging With Dunton Labs
Over the past 10-15 years it has been amazing to watching this once endanger species come back so strong. Some time ago we were super happy catching one or two a night with one big fish a season. The past couple of years on prime nights we are getting 6-12 bites a night. Being a light tackle junkie, I think they are the best near shore bite. Nothing sends a hard set drag singing louder than a good size brownie.
As with any and all fishing, please know the regulations and respect the species.
Blue Claw Crabbing
Crabbing is good on the west side of the bay. Customers loading up on bunker for crab bait are having fun. Just a reminder, female terrapin turtles are active during the summers months. These critters frequently get into crab pots and drown. It’s law that any crab pots set in a body of water less than 150′ wide or any man made lagoon must be outfitted with a turtle excluder device. For those in need, this device orange (TED) is available here at Fish Heads. Due to their long history of decline, the terrapin is a very sensitive species of special concern, although not listed as an endangered species.
Flawless weather has everyone enjoying all of the best LBI and the Shore has to offer. Beat the heat and get on the water. Anyone looking to get in on the fishing fun but needs guidance… stop in for help. We outfit anglers and boats on a daily basis and are stoked with the positive feedback. Lots of customers are getting into great fishing fun. Join in!
Store staffer max got a big fluke on yesterday morning (Saturday). He fished with fellow worker and friend Dave. They got into some good fishing using Magic Tail Jigs and TS Floaters tipped with Gulp.
The BHMTC Inshore/Bay Tournament (Beach Haven Marlin Tuna Club Vs Village Harbor Fishing Club) went down Saturday June 30th. Here’s the results… BHMTC won the showdown. Heaviest Flounder was a 4.36 pounder caught by Mark Parker aboard the ABC. Mark also caught the largest weakfish was 1.8 pounds. The second biggest fish was 3.62 pounds that was caught by Tanner Johnson aboard the Shore Thing. The third largest fluke was Sweet Marlyn’s Brendan Graham who caught a 3.1 pounder. The largest bluefish was 13.16 pounds, caught by Chris Vohden aboard the Bad Buoy.
The warm weather and warm water means it’s shark time near/onshore, inshore/midshore and offshore. The recent shark tournaments have turned up some quality catches. Local anglers are getting in the fun too. Ryan Dellane was out and reported, “Great day shark fishing today with Brett Ekelmann. We ended the trip with a 6′ hammerhead shark and two little pup makos. All safely released.” A recent surf report came in from Vinnie Pena, “Hit the south end of LBI and went two for four. One brownie and one sand tiger which was about 8′.”
There’s a variety of shark species around from browns to sand tigers, makos to blue sharks as well as hammer heads and YES white sharks. This weekend local Captain Mark Finelli was out fishing and his son Babe hooked a strong creature. Once boat side it turns out to be a baby white shark! It was promptly and safely dehooked and released. One of the best parts of fishing is enjoying the water with family and friends but also the excitement that you never know what you are going to catch.
Baby white shark
Offshore bluewater fishing continues with productive waters on the midshore and offshore grounds. The weather has allows everyone (even small boats) to get out to the grounds and the reports are off the charts.
The yellowfin and bluefin bite is on with local boats putting up great numbers. Some are finding fish on top and having a blast casting lures. Here’s some reports…
Jeremy Gers reported, “Mahi, two mako, 15 tilefish, one white marlin release, 11 yellowfin up to 65lbs, five barrelfish and a grouper!”
Zach Michot was out With Dave Bently they found tuna and a shark found one of them!
Dan (@rosettostone) reported, “It’s a record year! Today (Saturday) we limited out on bluefin. It was another epic trip aboard the Linda Lee. We even got into action on spinning gear. The last two trips were the best fishing. I’m still stoked on a killer day… It’s not easy waking up at 1am to set offshore after work all week hunting these fish. It takes a lot of work and a lot more money.”
Captain Jeff aboard the Reel Innovation reported good action Saturday morning at the edge, “Nice yellowfin and white marlin!” First mate Dan D. shared, “We got covered up in nice size yellowfin tuna which made for a quick trip. Had six fish on at one time and landed five. Also raised and hooked up with a white marlin, so I got to leader my first whitie! We are heading back in the morning (Sunday) for an overnighter.” It’s great to see the crew’s hard work pay off. Their last trip out earlier in the week, one engine went down about 100 miles out. They got things fixed and quickly are back in the game.
Here’s Ilan hooked up down with a nice fish while the cockpit is loaded with flopping yellowbirds.
Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association Fishing Report
June 28 Report Update
by Jim Hutchinson Sr.
As the Fourth of July draws near, fluke fishing for the captains of the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association is domination the action.
Captain Gary Dugan of “Irish Jig” Sportfishing reports steady fishing on fluke with catches ranging from 15-25 with averages of 2-5 keepers. He plans to start fishing more in the ocean on local reef sites and lumps as the fish begin their migration from the bay to the ocean. He has been finding good numbers of big blackfish also, but they must be released as they are not yet in season.
Captain Brett Taylor of “Reel Reaction” has been fishing the bay waters hard for some big catches of fluke. There are many more throwbacks than keepers, but his anglers have been going home with enough keepers for fish dinner. He recently had Bill Dodd of Beach Haven West and his son-in-law Eric on a 4-hour bay and inlet fluke trip. They worked quite a few areas with the duo releasing 40 Fluke while keeping two nice 22 inchers for the table. The pink S&S Bigeye bucktail did the trick for the keepers. Another day he had Ellington “Duke” Smith of Delaware with his grandson Marcus and girlfriend Jasmine out in difficult weather conditions. The trio caught some 15 fish with four keepers to 28-inches weighing 8-pounds. On another trip Captain Brett caught some bluefish and short striped bass in the inlet.
Thursday, June 28 marked the first class of the Junior Mates Program administered by the captains of the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association. Interested teenagers who missed the first session can see about still signing up by calling Captain John Lewis at 609-670-5980.
Additional information on the boats and activities of the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association can be found at www.bhcfa.net
Here’s the Long Beach Island fishing report update for Thursday June 28, 2018.
With fluke, bluefish, weakfish and striped bass here now’s a great time to score a Barnegat Bay Slam or better yet Grand Slam! Light tackle anglers fishing the bay and Inlet find the variety but getting to ever base is no easy feat.
Small blues dominate the surf, with fluke and kingfish also in the mix. Some brown shark and sand tigers are present on the south end.
Fluke fishing is great in the bay as well as the north end beaches but keepers are hard to find. The jetties (few of them these days) are producing too.
The offshore and mid-shore fishing is strong. Out at the canyons the awesome yellowfin tuna bite continues. The strong bigeye bite has faded but we expect that is just due to the full moon. Hopefully they will turn back on soon.
Marty Anderson was just out aboard the Waterproof and had a great trip. He reported, “Lights out epic yellowfin bonanza! By 9am we caught out limit with 35+ yellowbirds. Night shark fishing was all hammers with no makos for us.”
Here’s Marty with one of many yellowfin tuna.
Shark fishing started slow but has picked up. Anglers are catching both makos and threshers Finding a keeper with the new mako 83″ minimum size regulations is difficult.
Here’s a recent catch from our long time Penn fishing rep Jim O’Donnell. 467 pound monster thresher shark!
The 30-50 fathom midshore grounds have good size bluefin tuna. Some quality bluefin fishing went down with a few 70” plus fish caught. Anglers are trolling and getting fish on top water. The chunk and jig bite should tee off soon!
With a good stretch of weather coming this weekend we are looking forward to some great fishing.
ICAST 2018
ICAST is right around the corning! Stay tuned to our social media pages and this blog for some great fishing tackle news.
Here’s a photo of the all new Penn Spinfisher SSVI, the 6th generation Spinfisher spinning reel from Penn Reels. I’ve had the pleasure to field test this reel for the past three seasons. Nothing but great things to say.
Penn Spinfisher SSVI Series Fishing Reel – This is the bailless (6500BLS) model which will be available in tow sizes, 4500 and 6500.
The guys at Yo-Zuri America and factory direct from Japan have made numerous visits to Fish Heads in the past couple of years. While here they took notes and finally we see what they’ve been working on! We are stoked to see these new colors.
Summer is officially here! That means inshore fluke fishing and offshore shark/tuna. Both of these are firing on all cylinders!!!
Fluke fishing in the bay has been good. surf anglers are also cranking out a catch. The ocean is picking up too but shorts, sea robins and dog fish dominate. We expect the inshore reef sites and wrecks as well as open bottom areas to pick up. Usually July and August are very good out there.
The surf fishing continues with a mix of different species. Even though most surf anglers have switched over to fluke and kingfish, the occasional striped bass and bluefish catch prove they are still hanging around.
Bill Montes fished the mid-island surf today and caught a nice size striped bass on our FishHeads salted clam.
Those looking for a good pull are looking towards sharks. Both sandbar and sand tiger sharks are present.
The inlet is producing fluke, striped bass and triggerfish.
Those looking to get out and enjoy the water and all that Long Beach Island has to offer should get out on Barnegat Bay. Go crabbing! Or if you are into other shellfish… head to the state’s website and purchase a shellfish license. Get out and go clamming! We’ve got all the essential crabbing and clamming supplies.
Speaking of shellfish and the bay… I had a blast last weekend clamming with the family. We had a great haul. Between four of us, in two hours we got almost 300 hard clams in a good assortment of sizes.
On Wednesday got a request to help out the Chamber with an oyster farming media project featuring Forty North Oysters. Went out to the “farm” and learned a lot about these tasty bivalves. The group was the first to sample the exclusive Parker’s Pearls for Beach Haven’s Parker Garage. For those that watched our live Instagram feed… I hope you enjoyed. There was a lot shared and I learned a ton about the amazing value oysters potentially offer to our waters. An adult oyster filters about a gallon of water per hour!
Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association Fishing Report
by Jim Hutchinson Sr.
Black sea bass season is temporarily on hold, but fluke fishing action continues to remain steady for the boats of the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association. A few bluefish are around the inlets, and offshore reports are very good for both yellowfin and bluefin tuna. Sharks are also making their presence known offshore.
Captain Ray Lopez and mate Liane Lopez on the “Miss Liane” reported some great family type fishing for black sea bass on inshore structure. The Occhipinti family celebrated Father’s Day in great style with “drop and reel” action.
Captain Carl Sheppard reports he too has been running family trips of up to 12 anglers on mostly half-day trips. His groups have been averaging 25 fish per trip. He has been blaming cool water for the slow action but anticipates increased action as the water has starting warming. On one recent inshore trip Captain Carl had bluefin tuna breaking water around the boat, but he was unable to coax any to his lines.
Captain Brett Taylor of Reel Reaction Sportfishing reports a definite improvement in his fishing trips over the past few days. As the water temperatures have warmed, the slime grass on the bottom is leaving, making fluke drifting much easier. Weather conditions made fishing touch recently for Ian Habich and his wife Tracey. Using bucktails, they managed to put 3 keeper fluke in the box up to 5.5 pounds along with a catch and release short striper. The finished the day with 3-6 pound bluefish caught in the inlet. Other trips resulted in 20 short fluke along with one keeper and another with five keepers to 22-inches. The bluefish in the inlet have been completing his trips.
This is a good time to book an offshore tuna trip. The weather is decent and the fish are there. For information on tuna fishing and the boats of the BHCFA go to the website at www.bhcfa.net.
Lots of great weather paired with lots of great fishing reports. The offshore season continues to fire on all cylinders with anglers coming in with solid catches.
Captain Cody Melton aboard the Heavy Metals out of Barnegat Light, “We got the first Big Eye in the boat yesterday, paired with some yellowfin it was a great trip.”
Captain Jeff aboard the Reel Innovations out of Harvey Cedars had another great trip to the edge! He reported, “We had a great time on our Father’s Day Canyon Trip! On the way we came across a lots of life on the inshore tuna grounds. Bluefin were boiling on top and we hooked up right away. Got a few fish in the boat and they got back on track to the edge. It turned out to be an awesome time… five big eye tuna, eight yellowfin tuna and multiple bluefin!”
Store staffer Kelley and Dave fished the surf for fluke this morning. They did good quantity wise but only a couple keeprs.. Kelley said the bite was consistent on Pink Gulp.”
Chet Kosarek sent in the report, “Steady pick of mostly undersized sea bass and fluke at Barnegat Reef Saturday. A lot of sea robins to pick through too. Spoke to guys who did well with tuna at the canyons. Fished the surf mid-island Sunday, nothing.”
Duncan Adrift
On Saturday June 16th while fishing offshore about 50 miles out from Atlantic City, Jay Weinberg met Duncan Adrift! Duncan is currently in the early stages of his trans Atlantic row in support of WaterAid (International non-profit advocate for clean drinking water and sanitation.) Four days in rowing a self built clinker style skiff, he’s made great progress but still has a long way to go on his journey from New York to Lochinver Scotland. Go to our Instagram Page for a short video clip.
Here’s the LBI Fishing Report Update for Friday night, June 15th. This past week the weather settled out and the weekend is set for flawless fun on the water. With lots of sun, reasonably light winds and fair seas, the shop has been slamming. Inshore, offshore and from shore anglers are gearing up and fishing hard. It’s game time.
June’s new moon was on Wednesday 13th and this dark side continues to produce! Fluke, Striped bass and bluefish reports continue from the LBI surf. The surf striper action has slowed slightly but we should have another couple of weeks. Yellow eyes are with them and also those anglers chunking bunker are encountering other toothy ones. Both brown sharks and sand tigers are here.
Shop regular Pete stopped in the other night with some line issues. After a long one on one with store staffer Blake, Pete was back on track. He stopped back yesterday and reported, “I released one nice brown shark and dropped one better fish.”
The inshore sea bass fishing is good but small fish ruling the roost. Hopefully you can find a spot that isn’t picked out. Most all reports are themed around lots of small throw backs. The striped bass troll bite is a slow pick at best. We heard a few skunk reports recently. One positive through the grapevine report today of a 25# class fish on an Mojo.
Bay fluke fishing is good and has been strong. Earlier in the week we had some solid fluke weighed in. The biggest was 7.08 lbs, taping out at 25.75″ and the smallest was 3.16 lbs.
Also fishing hard this past week, Store Staffer Max is on the fluke. He was on the bay couple mornings and reported good fishing. Max says, “Good weather and great fishing. Get out there!”
John Delsordo enjoyed the day on the water with his wife Danielle today and they got into some nice fluke. John shared, “(I’m a) proud husband! She pulls up this 25″ fluke all casual.”
Other species like striped bass, bluefish and weakfish are in the bay too.
Ryan Matejik reported striped bass on a great top water popper bite with flat calm back bay conditions.
Fish Heads Alumni Sam Wiesnewski stopped in the shop and gave us a solid report on the weakfish. He reported they are here roaming Barnegat Bay and some good quality size fish too! “Weakfish in the 3-5 pound range are here in strong numbers. Working a small lead head jig rigged with a rubber softbait and you’ll get them. Here’s one of many that he caught and release fishing with his friend the other morning.”
This weekend weather has the offshore boyz pumped and heading east! Sharks and tuna are waiting… Go Get Em!
These patented Side Tracker Spreader Bar feature a Chatter Lures exclusive multi-directional keel rudder which takes the splash bar out and away from the boat. The keel rudder adjusts in seconds so the same bar can be fished on port or starboard. These innovative fish killers are a huge help to small boat anglers, especially center consoles (well know for having limited space and tight spreads) heading offshore trolling without outriggers.
The side tracking ability of these elite spreader bars help anglers by effectively doubling the width of ones spread and more over tracking out into clean water way from the boat’s wake and prop wash. These are already well known in offshore circles for concsistently being the first to get bit. Professional rigged with top quality components in the USA. Check them out here at Fisherman’s Headquarters today.
Chatter Lures Side Tracker Spreader Bars are innovative fish killers. In the photo you’ll see the 19″ wide Ti-Bar with two, two plus one bird drops and a mainline three plus one hard head bullet interchangeable stinger(aka Green Machine). At the center of the bar you’ll find the magic, a Chatter Lures Side Tracker Bird which features an adjustable keel rudder. Please note this photo shows the bar upside down. Don’t worry! In the water when flipped, this bar rights its self auto correcting to the proper position.
Availability Info – Our first delivery of the Chatter Lures Side Tracker Spreader Bars arrived today June 15. For now only two colors (green and zucchini) with green birds. We expect in the next week or two we’ll see some yellow birds as well as some black and purple which are made with purple birds. Eventually word has it white will be one of the later colors to be made.
Fluke-A-Mania Fishing Tournament
Save the date! The 3rd Annual Fluke-A-Mania Fishing Tournament is July 7, 2018. Hosted by the Beach Haven MArkin Tuna Club, the tournament is to benefit The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Last year the even raised $3000. The Awards Dinner on Saturday July 9, 2018 will have live entertainment, cash bar, complimentary BBQ dinner and raffles. For the $100 registration fee this is by far the most bang for your buck tournament wise.
Register Online Now!
