LBI's Premier Fishing Report By Fisherman's Headquarters
Author: FishHead.Greg
A Long Beach Island native with life long experience fishing and navigating the local waters, Greg is a distinguished Master Captain (the highest qualified operator license), holding a US Coast Guard Masters 50T Near Coastal License with Towing Endorsement. Raised in and now managing his family's bait and tackle business, Fishermans Headquarters (Since 1962, The Saltwater Fishing Bait & Tackle Experts) Greg is daily immersed in fishing. He is the Chief Contributor of FishingLBI.com (Long Beach Island's best fishing report blog) as well as the Admin for the shop's social media pages (on Instagram and Facebook). Be sure to follow!
Fall in the air and in the water… the last couple days felt much different than summer. Cool breezy west winds groomed Irma’s groundswell and all positive signs in the water for a nice transition into our next season.
While spending the last two days in the boat surfing, I’m happy to have scored awesome surf and experienced bait gone wild. There’s lots of life in the water. Larger schools of spearing (with some mullet too) were pushing around. The waves had clouds of bait and at times it was frantic on top. When keyed in the cocktail blues, striped bass and false albacore had them chaotically sweeping like rain.
I first spotted a fat albert football leap out yesterday and then again the albies were busting today. Another friend surfing had a visual on them too. Speaking of visuals, I saw some anglers catching tog off of the Jetty. The night shift crew continue to report bass and weakfish fishing swim baits (rubber shad), lead head jigs and bucktails.
Unfortunately the good life in New Jersey isn’t the case for those in Florida. Irma’s power and fury is literally off the charts. All of us are praying for the absolute best outcome with this seriously dangerous storm, Godspeed.
September Store Hours: Monday through Thursday from 7am to 7pm, Friday & Saturday 7am to 8pm, Sunday 7 am to 6pm. In early October we’ll extend the hours again. During this time, if there’s anything local anglers need give us a call and we are happy to work something out in the off hours.
NJ Anglers Respond To Fluke & Sea Bass Closure
“Frustrated fishermen attend the September 7 meeting of the New Jersey Marine Fisheries Council following the Labor Day Weekend closure of fluke and sea bass, but find immediate answers hard to come by.” Read more of the story by Jim Hutchinson Jr. at the Fishermans.
Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association Weekly Report
By Jim Hutchinson Sr.
Although the weather was not very cooperative the last two weeks of the summer in Beach Haven and the New Jersey summer flounder season which closed September 5, the captains of the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association made the most of it when they could. The fluke
catches just seemed to get better and better with some very nice catches of fish going into the fish boxes.
At this point, the captains are keeping one eye on what problems Hurricane Irma might bring to the East Coast while keeping their fingers crossed for the folks in Florida who live along the coastlines.
Captain John Lewis of the “Insatiable” summed up the last portion of his summer fishing activities. “August gave us great fishing inshore with lots of fish coming over the rail and keeper fluke along with black sea bass, bluefish, squid and mackerel on every trip.” Captain John notes that he plans to be active in pushing government officials to provide more fishing opportunities as far as the seasons go and urges other captains and anglers to do the same.
For the next few weeks Captain John says he will be fishing for porgies, bluefish, and bonito inshore while looking for sharks, tuna and mahi offshore. He also has plans to continue his busy schedule of boat deliveries up and down the entire Atlantic seaboard.
The NJ Marine Fisheries Council Meeting is Thursday, September 7 at 4 p.m. at the Stafford Township Municipal Building at 260 East Bay Avenue in Manahawkin.
Please attend the meeting on to show support for the Council in taking action to open a limited fall fishery for black sea bass in state waters effective immediately.
The fluke and sea bass fishing seasons are close. This bad fisheries policy dead zone period from now to October 21 threatens anglers, charter and party boat captains, tackle shops and many other small businesses.
Attend this meeting and ask council members to introduce and pass a motion to open black sea bass in New Jersey state waters from September 6 through October 21 with a 12-1/2-inch minimum size limit and a 15 bag limit.
Here’s some updates from the local party boats fishing out of Barnegat Light.
The Miss Barnegat Light – Captain Louis shared the following information, “Now that fluke season ended we switch gears and head offshore for the next two months. This Saturday and Sunday we’ll be running for blues, bonito and albacore leaving the dock at 8AM and returning about at 2PM. We start our canyon tuna trips the following weekend. This past weekend some yellowfins and longfins were caught in the canyons, so it looks like things are starting to come together. Want to get out to the canyon for some tuna fishing this season? We will be heading offshore every Friday and Saturday leaving the dock around 3 PM and getting back the next afternoon around 1 PM. These trips are $400 per person. We rent rods for $25. ”
The Carolyn Ann III – The last info we see posted on the CA3’s facebook page is an update from Sunday… Schedule Update: Due to the weather forecast and the unknown path of Hurricane Irma we are going to delay the start of the one four hour porgy and croaker trips until after the weather clears. Please check back for updates.
Update from Ocearch
Here’s some news from Ocearch the non profit great white shark (and other large apex predators) research organization.. Tagged white shark pups are cruising along the New Jersey coast. Five foot female white shark pup Amagansett pinged just south of Toms River. Four foot female white shark pup Finn pinged just east of Belmar. If you aren’t following Ocearch on social media or through their mobile app you should be! It’s really interesting stuff seeing these tagged sharks roam around the ocean. Some (more than you would think) call our local water home. Man would it be cool to get other species (like striped bass, fluke, tuna, weakfish) tagged with data feeds like this!
One Offshore Report
Captain Dean Lambros from the Canyon Runner posted this report today. “We made a quick trip out to the Hudson Canyon today. We had 5 xl’s to 85 pounds and 8 long stars and mahi’s. Hope to see this type of action continue for all of us.I’d like to personally say thanks to our team’s hard work all season.Third place tuna and first place stringer at the Manasquan River Marlin & Tuna Club 2017 Offshore Open.”
Now that Labor Day has come and gone the dreaded day is here. Today September 5th, the New Jersey summer flounder aka fluke season closes. Fluke is the most popular summertime game fish on the Jersey Shore; however we do have other great fisheries.
“So Now What’s To Fish For?”
Quick Answer: For table fare kingfish and tog… For drag pulling quality bluefish and sharks… For those looking for a bite more of a challenge stalk weakfish… Offshore the tuna season has lots more to offer…
Bluefish hung around all summer and are present in all size classes (even pushing 10 pounds). The bay, lagoons, inlet and surf are all areas to target. We look forward to a great yellow eye transition into the fall run. Soon those eyes will be on the mullet run!
Here’s some local kids having a blast catching gators off their bayside dock.
September is a great month for kingfish and croakers. Usually blowfish are puffing around however this year reports have been few and far between. We saw a recent photo from @chrisg180
Blowfish are few and far between but there are a few around.
The shark fishing continues in the bay and surf. Kenny Nielubowics shared this photo and report, “On Sunday we caught this 75-80 pound brown shark off the dock on peanut bunker!”
Still some quality brown sharks in our local waters.
A couple tog reports came in. Nothing spectacular but they are around. The Barnegat Light Jetty gets good this time of year. Currently tog aka blackfish is one fish at 15″ until November 15th. November 16 to the end of the year it increases to the 6 fish bag limit.
Store staffer Dan fished offshore yesterday. He reported very poor sea conditions, but they caught some fish. He said, “It was a slow bumpy ride out. We found some yellowfin on the troll at the tip of the Hudson. Not many marks on the screen, they were all blind bites.” Dan mentioned the tuna were spitting up squid and sardines on the deck.
Mark Haley stopped in yesterday the shop to purchase a new Shimano Rod and Reel tuna fishing outfit. He shared his thoughts on the season so far, “The tuna fishing this summer has been awesome! The inshore bluefish hung around all summer. I’m looking forward to the last couple months of the season.”
Fishing Reports from the LBI Surf
John Parzych enjoyed the weekend fishing the surf. He reported that he was out on Holegat all weekend and had a great time. “Plenty of short flounder and there’s keepers too. The kingfish are there but it seems like they will not bite good until about an hour after low. The flood tide is best. The Holegat beach is in good shape but there are some bad spots at high tide.”
Rob Vallone reported the same from the south end. Rob got three keeper fluke on live minnows. His buddy also caught too.
Recent Fluke Reports
Lots pushed for the shorter size limits and along with it came a shorter season. Some leaned towards the longer season offering more days but at 19″. Anyway the cookie crumbles… the reg are the regs and we got what we got. Hopefully everyone made the best out of the season and had a great time enjoying their time on the water.
Tough conditions with some foul weather this weekend made fishing difficult. Some diehard anglers got out and fished.
@sgreene003 posted, “Successful Labor Day fishing trip” with two nice fluke to show.
Ryane Sweeney “caught some nice fluke to end the season” today. Here’s a photo he tagged us in.
Ryane Sweeney closed out the season right.
Labor Day fishing report from the Carolyn Ann III, “What a great day! Lots of beautiful fish, unfortunately there’s only one day left (today) before the fluke season closes.” Hope everyone gave it their best shot this year!
Our End Of Season Fluke Fishing Sale continues Spro Bucktail and Berkley Gulp are 25% Off. Shop online or stop in (must mention the sale to get the discount). Also check out other Discounted Fishing Tackle listed on our Clearance Page.
Here Pete U. with one of many quality striped bass he caught off of the Barnegat Inlet’s south Jetty this past spring.
Check out Episode 4 from our boys at Comanche Surfcasting. They open their plug bag and really spill the beans on what is producing best for them.
We couldn’t ask for a worst afternoon on the Saturday of Labor Day Weekend. We should all be out fishing, having a great time with cold drinks, enjoying family and friends. Instead there’s a monsoon! Tomorrow (Sunday) looks to clear up, offering a nice second half to the day. Then Monday backs it up with sunny skies allowing the end of summer celebration with grill and chill reminiscences.
Once done having a relaxing time this weekend, it’s time to open an eye to the forecast models. We all need to see where Irma is tracking in the coming days.
Here’s some recent fishing reports…
Crabbing and clamming is and has been very good this year. Jeff Sprague stopped in today to grab some bunker. He said the crabbing continues. “Last outing we had a bunch of quality size males! The family will enjoy our Labor Day Crab Off right, crackin’ and picking jimmies.” Other reports came in too. Don Brown reported, “the best softshell season in years! Come get some at the Greenhouse Cafe… breaded and fried, grilled or sauteed before they are gone!”
Don also reported lots of bait and snappers in the lagoons. Others reported bait out the ying yang too. Baby bunker, spearing and mullet are roaming around. With the fall like weather as of late it will be interesting to see when the move will take place.
NJ Fluke Season Is Coming To An End
Only a couple days left in the NJ Fluke Season! Let’s make the best of it. The fluke are here in the bay, inlet, along the surf and on the reefs. We got word Friday that the Garden State South was producing. Seems like the last couple of weeks that has been the hot spot. With the sporty weather some anglers are staying inside and finding fish. Here’s Mike Hovan with a nice pair he caught recently.
Here’s Mike Hovan with two nice fluke.
Some anglers in the shop today took advantage of our End Of Fluke Sale – 25% Off Spro Bucktails and Berkley Gulp Baits. This sale was first released to our email subscribers and is now open to all blog readers. To take advantage of this limited time sale, at checkout – you must mention seeing the sale post on the fishing report blog. If not already, be sure to subscribe (Go to our homepage, towards the bottom “Sign Up For Our Newsletter”) to get first dibs on,specials, sales and members only exclusive promotions. Note the sale is live in our webstore so you can order now. Free Shipping Over $75, Otherwise $2.99
One angler loading up on bucktails and Gulp shared this morning report, “We were out in the ocean fluke fishing and got the beat down! It was rough. Super sloppy and tight together. We tried our best but only managed a couple shorts.”
Local angler and shop regular Steve George of the Berkeley Striper Club has been on the fluke (landbased) all season long. He recently posted this photo of some carnage caused by the voracious bluefish that are in our waters. “Here’s the full story on the chomped fluke… Hooked up and started reeling in like I’ve done hundreds of times this summer. During the retrieve, halfway in my rod doubled over. It felt like it got snagged hard on something. Turns out a big bluefish pounced on it. I was able to actually fight the two of them in. Approached the rocks I could see a 30″+ demon eye bluefish hanging off the end of the fluke. He broke the surface and then bit down, turned and swam off. Pretty amazing visual and a site to see! You just never know what you might come across and see on the water.”
Here’s the fluke that fell victim to a hungry bluefish.
Here’s the Friday fishing report from the Carolyn Ann III, “Fishing was decent today. It was a little rough in the morning but it smoothed out and the afternoon was beautiful. Lots of action with shorts and some nice keepers. Only a few days let, so get them while you can!!! Now to till the end, 3/4 day trips departing at 8am returning at 2pm. Wednesday Sept 6th starts the one four hour half day trips for porgies and croakers.”
One local gill netter stopped in to drop off a small load of fresh bunker. They reports lots of sharks in the area, “Spinners, blacktips, hammerheads, browns and sandtigers.In the mix with the bunker and blues we caught a pair of nice size cobia as well as some chub mackerel.” When asked about albies or coakers, “A few coakers here, expect more of them soon. They usually hit the beaches around now. Any day the fat alberts could show.”
Still reports of redfish floating around as well as some news of weakfish. The redfish reports seem to be focused around mid-island while the weakfish are coming from the west side of the bay.
What’s the word with local dredging?
Here’s an update on dredging from Jay Mann’s “The Fish Story” Column at the SandPaper. Jay shared news on the Little Egg Inlet and Double Creek Channel dredging as well as LBI beach replenishment projects. Be sure to check out his article.
It has been too long! We can’t wait for the dredging to begin. Photo: Pamela K Spaugy
New Product – ODM Surf Belt
From the makers of awesome surf rods and great surf bags… check out this new arrival. The ODM SurfWave “Quick Release” Surf Belt! This new surfcasting belt features a unique design with an extra heavy duty build. Check out this Limited Time Promo: Buy one ODM Surf Belt (yes it comes with the carabiner clip and small utility pouch) and get a FREE Daiwa SP Minnow Lure.
The ODM SurfWave Surf Belt is the ultimate surfcasting wading belt. It’s fully adjustable and easy to put on yet super secure and heavy duty.
The LBI Surf Fishing Classic Tournament is right around the corner. Today registration began! Fishing starts October 7th and the stage is set for the best year yet!
For 2017, the 63rd Annual LBI Surf Fishing Classic has some new flare. This is in addition to the special prizes (see below).
Check out this list of changes:
It’s now 9 weeks with three segments $500 each
$2000 Striped Bass Grand Prize
66 Daily $100 Prizes
Minimum size for bass and blue is now 28″
If the extra week and increased prizes aren’t good enough. How about a free tournament hat and t-shirt… But you have to register early!
Here’s the 2017 LBI Surf Fishing Classic Tournament Hat and T-shirt. Register now while supplies last.
The first 300 registrants signed up before October 6th get a FREE LBI Surf Fishing Classic Tournament T-shirt and Hat. After the tournament starts on October 7th, the t-shirt will be $20. *While Supplies Last
Fisherman’s Headquarters Fall Derby Side Bet is an annual calcutta administered by Fisherman’s Headquarters. It is an additional $10 to join and must be done at time of tournament registration. The largest striped bass weighed in at Fisherman’s Headquarters win the cash pot. Top three fish win…
1st – 100% “Cash Pot” Pay Out
2nd – $100 FHQ Store Gift Certificate
3rd – $50 FHQ Store Gift Certificate
Are you interested in the Side-Bet? Ask to join when signing up for the Classic.
LBI Surf Fishing Classic Special Prizes
Oct 8 – $500 cash for the largest striped bass
Oct 12 – $250 cash for the largest striped bass
Oct 19 – $250 cash for the largest striped bass
Oct 31 – $500 cash to the largest striped bass
Nov 5 – $500 cash to the largest striped bass
Nov 16 – $500 cash to the largest striped bass
Nov 23 – $250 cash to the largest striped bass
For more details on the LBI Surf Fishing Classic check out the tournament website.
The end of August is here! It’s crazy how fast time flies. Here’s an LBI fishing report update for August 31, 2017.
The black sea bass fishing closed today, August 31st. It reopens October 22 with a 15 fish bag limit. It’s the last hoo-rah for fluke! Got five days to give it hell. Fluke season closes on Tuesday September 5th.
Currently we have a Labor Day Weekend – End of Season Fluke Sale! Order online or mentioned this post to take advantage of the sale in store. What’s on sale? The limited time sale is for only Spro bucktail jigs, Berkley Gulp Baits and and Fluke rigs are all 25% off.
Tomorrow’s September 1st and that means Holgate is open! The Island got pounded with swell the past four or so days but as far as we know the entrance held strong. When asked, Long Beach Township mention, no bulletins about a closure were posted.
Fishing reports the past couple days have been few and far between. The blow early week really put a damper on things. That with the combination of school starting has much less participation on the water.
Reports from anglers fishing the ocean for fluke and sea bass reported a very slow day. We heard most of the boats out struggled. Some boats got a couple fish but they are saying where.
Liz Weidenhof got this fluke today fishing aboard the Tightlines with Captain Jeff. Yes that’s Liz, the sister of John (Yonni) & Zach. Clearly this photo proves she is the best angler in the family!
Captain Jeff Warford was out on the water today with his friend Liz. She got this 19.5 inch fluke bucktailing with Gulp. Jeff said, “Fluke fishing was slow so we switched it up and targeted blues. “We crushed them casting plugs. Both Guppy Pencil Poppers and SP Minnows were working! The blues were feeding hard on snappers.” These cannibals are crazy!!! So much fun to see feed and even more fun light tackle catch and release on lures.
Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association Weekly Fishing Report
by Jim Hutchinson Sr.
As with much of the northeast coast, high winds and extremely large swells kept boats at the dock in Beach Haven. The captains of the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association used the forced time off to tend to various items on their boats that might have needed attention. With the summer flounder season in New Jersey closing on Tuesday, September 5, the captains hope the weather conditions subside and the fish are still around that were present right before the nasty weather.
Last weekend Captain Ray Lopez had the John Doe party out for a trolling trip at the Barnegat Ridge on the “Miss Liane.” The group managed to boat multiple false albacore and one nice Bonita. Captain Ray also had the Jamie Cusmano group out on the “Miss Liane.” Sporty conditions mandated fishing inside in the area of the Barnegat Inlet. There was plenty of action there as multiple black sea bass, fluke, sea robins, and sand sharks were caught.
Just before the ocean became roiled up, Captain Carl Sheppard had a group of eight avid anglers out on the “Starfish.” Fishing structure in the ocean, the group reeled in the first triggerfish of the season and ended up with four to take home. Also going in the cooler was a nice 20-inch fluke. Captain Carl remarked the whole group did well with the youngsters aboard maybe even out-fishing their parents.
Captain Gary Dugan of the “Irish Jig” reports he is optimistic and keeping his fingers crossed that the fluke are still around this weekend. Once that season ends he will turn to wreck fishing until the stripers arrive.
Additional information on the captains and boats of the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association can be found at www.BHCFA.net.
Our thoughts and prayers are with those affected by Hurricane Harvey. The photos of the catastrophic flooding are unbelieveable. Even after living through the wrath of Sandy, I couldn’t imagine the situation the Texans were dealt.
A post shared by Fisherman's Headquarters (@fishermansheadquarters) on
“Ridiculously warm water is adding to the elements of surprise in our area.” Brian Coen said, “I shot this solid black drum and added one more species to my list. It was the first black drum I’ve seen while diving. Now if we could just get some clear water who knows what we will have here in the next month.”
Redfish!!! As reported in a previous post some puppy drum are around. They’ve been in our waters for a couple weeks with numerous confirmed catches. A couple reports came in from friends of the shop but all demanded to remain anonymous and wouldn’t let their photos loose.
Finally an angler reported and didn’t mind sharing. Captain Mike Greene from Lucky Strips Charters, the man well known for his striped bass accomplishments and expertise (his tournament resume speaks for itself), got one. Greene reported, “They are around. Been after them every night with crab but we are catching sheepshead and drum. Fluke fishing Saturday we got the redfish on a live minnow. We took a photo and let her go, hoping for a new fishery!”
Final Stretch For NJ Fluke Fishing Season
The New Jersey Summer Flounder Fishing Season closes on Tuesday September 5th. Those looking to get in on some fun fishing should try for the next weather window. Hopefully that is this upcoming weekend. The next few days aren’t looking too hot with a small craft advisory in effect.
Recently the fishing has been very good. This past weekend positive reports flowed into the shop. Word from anglers on both Friday and Saturday was “the Garden State South is GOOD!” We got details from four separate anglers, all limited out. Similar theme… bucktailing!
Here’s Amanda Nutt with a nice fluke caught aboard The Striper with her father Captain Ken Nutt! Ken reported, “Saturday we got three nice keeper fluke including a new season record 7 pounder. We also caught some nice sea bass.”
Ryane Sweeney tagged us in a photo today with this caption, “Great day on the water. Got a 6.5 and a 4.5 pound fluke.”
Carolyn Ann III reported, “Sunday’s morning trip was a good one with some nice fish. Saturday was a good one too with a beautiful weather day and successful fishing.”
Action on the LBI Surf
Fluke and snappers are on the beach! Some anglers are trying for kingfish but can’t get through the ferocious snapper blues. The ocean is going to get churned up the next few day. Time will tell how things pan out.
Action in on the Bayside
Bay is full of bait. Spearing and baby bunker are staged up. The other day at my dock there were small schools of mullet v-wakin’ around. At times the bluefish and bass are teeing off slurping them down.
Lots of people asking about weakfish and blowfish. Sorry we haven’t received direct reports.
This weekend’s looking great with sun and low humidity. The inshore marine forecast is calling a stretched out (on the longer period side of things) 2′ or less ocean. Now is the time to enjoy what’s left of the quickly diminishing summer fishing on LBI because we have some weather coming.
High pressure is in control this weekend with light onshore winds. Sunday starts light to moderate then increasing later in day and into the new week. Then we’ll have churned up seas for the new week when a nor’east blow locks in. Keep an eye out as things progress.
That’s a quick run down of the weather. Here’s an update on the fishing…
Fishing the Water Offshore Of LBI
Shore Catch Guide Service reports “To say this inshore yellowfin fishing is as good as it gets would be an understatement. Fishing 35 miles off the central Jersey Coast fishing is phenomenal. We are hand feeding these fish. It’s ridiculous!!!”
Thursday JC the 5′ white shark pup tagged by Ocearch pinged close to Banegat Inlet. As per Ocearch, JD recertly traveled 210 miles in the last week and a half.
Here’s a short report from Jim Hutchinson Jr at the Fisherman Magazine…. Offshore tournament crews from all along the Atlantic Coast are gathering this week in South Jersey and Maryland for the 2017 Mid Atlantic as 151 boats compete for a share of $3.24 million in prize money. While some of the region’s bigger sport fishing boats press offshore in the hunt for tuna, wahoo, and marlin, inshore variety is exploding with the recent spike in ocean water temps. Many anglers are turning to fish identification books (as well as social media) with banded rudderfish, chub mackerel, smooth puffers and an abundance of triggerfish turning up at the end of coastal lines. Cobia are still being taken along inshore waters, and yet another redfish confirmation comes in this week’s video report from North Jersey waters.
LBI Surf Fishing Report
“The surf fishing is on fire!” Joe Medica reported, “Thursday the kids were really into fish. They caught 20+ fluke and 10+ blues from the beach. The water is clean and warm making it lots of fun for the kids. We had them surfing and fishing together. It doesn’t get much better than this!”
Lots of small snappers still popping in the surf. Grab a light action plugging rod and cast out a small metal (1/2-1oz). You’ll have a blast with these little guys on small tackle.
Steve George reports, “Another tag return! Up to 5 already since the start of fluke season. They aren’t moving too far. I’m seeing a significant pattern already from June into July/August. I know where they want to be.” Steve mentions, now is the time to submit for your 2017 striped bass bonus program tags.
Austin Pounds and the Beach boys are still in on the beach sharking action. “We are catching!” Austin told. “Last night (Thursday night) we released a sand bar then something big peeled off about 100 yds of line then popped off. Recently we caught and released brown sharks, sand tigers and a dusky shark. A hammerhead was spotted locally. Some big rays around too. The water is warm and the fish are here. We have high hopes for the next couple of weeks.”
Fishing the Inshore Waters Off LBI
“The two ounce magictail bucktail jig does damage!” Luc Hackel said. “Tipped off with a white Gulp! nothing stands a chance.” Luc recently caught two nice size fluke (a six pound and a four pounder) amongst lots of other fluke.
This is one of many fluke Luc Hackel caught recently.
Captain Ken Nutt aboard the Striper reports, “Always a great trip with the Tilton’s! We caught keeper blackfish, sea bass and fluke. The biggest flounder was 6 pounds.”
Ocean fluking off LBI is good right now. Anglers are producing working the local reefs and wrecks especially the three main reef sites; Barnegat Light Reef, Garden State North and Garden State South. Sea bass and tog are also present. We got word from a local captain that the sharks are on the reefs too. He was picking tog but the toothy ones were chewing them on the way up. He said, “We couldn’t stay away from them.”
Remember the Summer Flounder Season Closes September 5th so get out while it lasts.
I headed out early Thursday morning to do some catching up. [I was out of town for a couple weeks vacationing on the west coast.] We decided to target bluefish cause the crew wanted to cast lures and catch something that would pull some drag. Got out at sunrise and first cast fish on!
It was drag screaming fun all day. The inlet’s 68 degree flood tide was full of bait and predators. It offered absolute mayhem with blues from snappers to 12 pounds. Most were in the 4- 8 pound range and on the feed. All of them were spitting up 3-4″ squid tubes. Some had bay anchovies and spearing in their vomit. The gators (larger blues) were feasting on snappers. These cannibals were turned on! Stillwater Smack-It Poppers, SP Minnows as well as bucktails were working. After catching one after the other of plugs, Matt Rand switched over to the fly. He managed well over a dozen blues fishing poppers and clousers. Here’s a clip of the action… Blues & Bass Feeding On Bait
Here’s one 8-10 pound yellow eye that Matt Rand fooled on the fly.There were resident bass in the mix too.
Fishing the Backwaters Waters of LBI
The crew here at Fishermans Headquarters has been into fish the past few nights. With lots of bait in the lights, bass are on the feed in the bay. Some docks are lit up! Nick and Max found fish on the south end one night and Dan got them on the north end. Dan reports, “Worm hatches have been producing mental fishing. Same date and time as last year. Broke the century mark on night three. Local summer hatches don’t get any better!”
Schoolie bass love swimming plugs that mimic a small wounded bait fish.
Todd Avery got a beast brownie recently. Check out this nighttime toothy creature that was roaming the sod banks…
Monster sandbar shark aka brown shark caught and released by Todd Avery.
Traveling Anglers Report
There’s lots of bait present with resident fish on the feed. Word on the street is quality fish continues from Cape Code to Rhode Island to Block Island. The stage is set and Jersey coast anglers are looking forward to the fall season that is right around the corner. Some just can’t wait…
John Allen recently purchased a new surf rod outfit. He went with a beast 11′ rod matched with a Daiwa Dogfight Spinning Reel. John headed north and fished with David Burleigh up at the Cape Cod Canal. They reported, “We slammed the bass! At Least twenty five striped bass over twenty pounds. The Daiwa Dogfight is an absolute beast. Super smooth and super powerful!”
Store staffer Blake and Luke were out at Block Island this past week. They both reported an awesome trip. “Fishing was great. Nothing huge, but we had good number of fish. It was a lot of fun!”
South Philly Fred was recently fishing up in Rhode Island with Pete U. They were into quality bass fishing eels. Hopefully these fatties show up on our beaches this fall!
The New Jersey summer flounder season will be ending on Tuesday, September 5. It appears that the captains of the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association will be catching their share right up to the final bell.
Captain Gary Dugan of the “Irish Jig” boasts “the fishing has been on fire aboard the “Irish Jig.” He has been fishing the local lumps and reefs to fill the coolers. He has had seasoned fishermen and families with children alike having great success while enjoying their trips.
Captain John Lewis of the “Insatiable” reports strong fluke fishing with double digit catches each day. The keeper ratio varies from day to day, but they find fish to take home every trip. The Prigge family caught their share of fluke in addition to sea bass, bluefish, dog fish, sea robins, and two surprises-a squid and a brown shark that was over three feet long.
Captain Dave Kreines of the “Byte Me” had a pair of fluke trips recently. He had the Pelenski family out to the Little Egg reef for a half day of non-stop action with fluke, two keepers, Fluke and Sea Robins. Two days later, the O’Briens – grandfather, father, and daughter- started out in the inlet where they found a couple of shorts, and then ran out to the Little Egg reef for a slow but steady pick of Fluke resulting in a pair of keepers along with the ever present Sea Robins.
Additional information on the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association can be found at www.BHCFA.net.
Now that Gert passed and the swell has faded out things are getting back to the normal summertime shuffle. But keep an eye out! There are tropical systems staging up. Earlier this week reports from anglers had the same main characters and scene. Fluke, blues and tuna as well as some others assisting the summertime fishing fun. Here’s an update on the Long Beach Island fishing.
Fluke fishing in the bay, inlet and the ocean is a good bet. Many anglers moved on and aren’t targeting the bay; however, there’s some nice fish that have yet to leave. Ryan Magee sent us this thank you message, “Thanks guys for fixing my fishing rod. I was able to get back out there and find some fish!” Ryan sent in this photo of a nice fluke and said, ” My elbow is fractured but atlas the wrist still works. I found some nice fish like this one as well as a five pounder. Shallow water fishing in the back bay is very productive. I’m doing better there than out front.”
A busted elbow can’t keep Ryan Magee from fishing!
Recent reports from the reefs and wrecks aren’t what they were; however good fishing is available. Those keying in on the right spots and actively fishing bucktails and/or live bait are outproducing. Many locations have anglers battling through sea robins and sea bass. Work through it and reap the reward!
Grey Coleston caught a 28″ 7.5 pound fluke off the North End surf. He got three keepers offering strong evidence there’s fluke are hanging along the Island’s surf.
While on the topic of land based fluke fishing from the shores of LBI… Steve George starred this post recently, “I’ve been throwing a lot of undersized fluke back this summer. Best part! I enjoy tagging them and have already received return data submitted on recaptures. They are healthily moving around and fattening up! It’s going to be interesting to see them grow up and if they will return to the same locations.”
Steve George tagging summer flounder!
We got word about redfish in the bay. Yup! REDFISH!!! Some of the shop staff got direct reports from friends who caught and released more than one. It would be interesting what a morning flats session might turn up.
Brown sharks and sand tigers are consistently plentiful in the local waters. Shark fishing off the surf and in the bay continues to be very good.
Tog fishing the inlet rocks is steady but keepers are hard to find. Those targeting them are having a blast with these quick and hard hitting fish. Also present… triggerfish and sheepshead. Mike Greene sent in this photo of a nice 25″ sheepshead he caught the other night.
Summertime Sheepshead Are In The Local Waters!
On Tuesday before Gert’s ground swell arrived, store staffer Dan D. fished with Captain Jeff Warford on the mid shore tuna grounds. Captain Jeff said, “The weather was beautiful and the fishing was on fire!” The crew beat up on the tuna (both bluefin and yellowfin) trolling, chunking, jigging and they even had the fish on top! Dan reported, “Incredible feed with fish up to 65 pounds. The Ron-Z lures were again the MVP! Tuna absolutely love to eat them like candy. We’ve been on this body of fish for over a month now. It’s awesome they are now staged up and feedings on the 30 line close to come. Looking forward to the end of summer action.” Dan got out again today after the Gert well dropped out. He reported green water slid into the area where they previously caught, “There’s fish there just not on the chew like they were. We got into some mahi-mahi which made the trip.”
Dan D with a solid catch of tuna! MVP Award goes to Ron-Z!
