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.
If you have not heard by now the false albacore fishing is red hot… off the charts… WORLD CLASS!!! Anglers from around the world converge at Montauk and Harkers Island to tangle with “Little Tunny” and all his buddies. Right now the locally fishery stands up to these these legendary locations.
Anyone who has not experienced albie fishing should try it out. It’s a blast! Especially on light tackle and more so on the fly! Get out and enjoy. There have been some caught by land based anglers; however it is not the easiest to accomplish. For those that don’t have a boat, reach out to a friend or better yet hook up with the local charter boat captains. They are dialed in. Give them a call to get in on the action.
Today I was out on the water with Bob Bruns of upstate New York targeting the albies on the fly. After yesterday’s off the charts fishing expectations were HIGH! We started off the morning looking for bass in the dark but could only squeak out a couple blues. Before the sun poked we got on the search and found the albies boiling. The stiff westerly winds made for challenging fly fishing conditions but Bob did great putting the fly where it needed to be… in front of the speeders face. We had a blast catching a bunch of them all morning. Here’s a short clip of one bite with some some screaming drag.
On the Surf
The LBI surf striped bass fishing is still on the slow but fish are being caught. For the latest results on the LBI Surf Fishing Classic check out the Live Results Page.
Tomorrow is the ASAC sanctioned Merchantville Fishing Club Surf Tournament. Best of luck to all the anglers. We are looking forward to a great day. It will be interesting to see what species are caught. With all of the anglers fishing these tournaments really provide a great gauge on what’s present. Stay Tuned…
Other Fishing Fronts
Trolling the beaches is a very slow pick but should improve very soon. There have been a couple nice ones pulled locally on spoons. Word from up state is positive. We heard of solid fishing off Sea Girt.
The back bay is still offering great fishing. One customer buying a bunch of softbaits and jig heads said, “You don’t need luck. It’s that good.” Eeling is heating up in the bay with anglers catching bass.
Tog fishing continues to produce!
Good weather window has offshore anglers packing up and pushing off. We got a recent report from the edge that swords are on the chew. Also we heard that some scallop boats fishing the Hudson closed area are chumming up tuna in the slicks. Anglers are getting in on the action.
Piles of white bait are stretched out along LBI’s beaches, Barnegat Inlet and the local waters to our north and south. For the most part these black clouds of white bait have FALSE ALBACORE heavily feeding. There’re bluefish, weakfish and striped bass in the mayhem too. The scene is Montauk September session esque!
Today I was out on the water with store staffer’s Lou and Blake. To say the trip was sensational is an understatement. It was an all morning blast session with speedsters smoking drags.
On light tackle outfits (3000 size spinners matched up with a 7′ medium action rod) these could be one of the funnest species to target inshore, especially the fly. On spinning tackle the Deadly Dick was top producer and softbaits from Ronz, Fins and Tsunami are a close second. With that said if you can get out on the water, now is the time. Get in the game while fishing is off the charts!!!
Here’s one of many fat alberts that fell to the fly today.
More News Local Reds
Joe Hanley knows a thing or two about catching quality redfish. When he saw the report of Cutter’s LBI mullet run surf redfish on the fly he sent in a message… “Just saw the redfish post. Nice fish! I also got one last night (Tuesday) off the mid-island surf. It was a small puppy, about 15 inches. Went for a 3/8oz lead head rigged with a paddle tail. Caught two last year on November 21st on the same lure. There must be a few around.” It’s great to see these fish around! With the way seasons and temps are trending maybe one day we’ll have a solid red drum fishery! Wouldn’t that be nice?
Here’s a photo of Joe with a bull from down on the Outer Banks, October 10,2014.
Tautog Fishing Update
The tog fishing at the Barnegat Inlet only gets better! Jeff Crabtree is in the shop everyday, if not every other day. He’s dialed in with togging the rocks and recently has been doing great! Wednesday he was in for crabs in the morning then stopped back at 1pm to check weight on a 20″ white chin. Turns out it was a 5.88 pound fish. Really nice catch for a land based tog angler! Jeff said, “Yesterday (Tuesday) I had four keeper sized fish.” Fishing is good and keepers are holding. Get out and give it your best shot!
Here’s a photo of Jeff’s 5.88 pound tog!
Today we had two tog weighed in. Bill Figley of the Village Harbour Fishing Club checked in a 3.72 pound white chin. A 5.14 pound rubba’ lip went for Bob Schlachter’s (from Rutland, VT) green crab on the BL jetty.
NJ’s Black Sea Bass Season Is Almost Open
Lots of anglers are gearing up in preparation of Black Sea Bass fishing which opens Sunday October 22. It remains open to the end of the year with a 15 fish bag limit at 12.5″ minimum size. Word in the shop from commercial pin hookers is the bite has been really good with lots of big knot heads. Everyone is struggling getting clams due to a severe shortage. Unless something changes, fresh/live, salted and even frozen clams look to be a no go this entire fall. Anglers are choosing squid and meat like mackerel and bunker as a substitute. One angler purchased a couple jars of Jig Strips which are squid scented and said, “I trim them with a pair of scissors to the perfect size and add to the hook with bait. The strips are added insurance.” Jig Stripz hold up great to feisty biters!
“Fishing’s like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get!”
Here’s a story from Comanche Surfcasting’s South Philly Fred…
Every once in awhile something special happens. This story is about Cutter, a fly fishing guide from Colorado studying at Princeton. During this year’s Mullet Run, fishing a hard north east blow, I ran into a man. He looked confused and out of place. So, I introduced myself. We began to talk during the slack high tide. It turns out it was his first time fishing the NJ coast and was in search of a striped bass on the fly. A bit overwhelmed by the super tough and rough conditions, he was hesitant and asked a lot of questions. A lot of really good questions. I could tell this guy was the real deal.
A bit later into our conversation, the tide started moving by now and I noticed a curious seagull hovering over a specific area. I told Cutter, “We need to cast in that area!” Sure enough as soon as my bucktail hit the water I was tight to a striper. Next cast, another one! Third cast, another one! I looked back at Cutter and he was bowed! We were doubled up!!! I quickly released a bass I had on and ran over to assist him. Cutter said, “This is a good fish!” I leadered and pulled the fish gently towards me and I couldn’t believe my eyes… I yelled through the 20 knot wind, “IT’S A RED FISH!” Bottom line… Cutter’s first fish in NJ salt is a red on the fly… unbelievable! When you are fishing just never know what you are gonna get!
A New Jersey redfish caught recently off the LBI surf by Cutter from Colorado.
Now on to a fishing report update…
Lots of bluefish around in our waters. Anglers in the surf are mowing through bunker in search of bass, getting torn up by the yellow eyed piranha. These blues range from 1-10+ pounds
The awesome backwater fishign contiues for both schoolie bass and weakfish. Anglers are catching using hardbait lures, swimbait shads and bucktail jigs. The classic Lunker City Fin-s & Sluggos are going the trick too!
Today a customer in the shop today buying some striped bass trolling gear reported his neighbor got a pair of classy bass trolling bunker spoons off of LBI in 40 foot of water. “Both fish were 20 pound class or bigger.” Today we also got a report of adult bunker podded up off of IBSP.
There’s still some fluke hanging around the surf. Hungryforsimplicity posted a photo on Instagram with this caption, “Surf fishing LBI… There is something perfect about a beach with only a few people on it. Oh and we caught flounder, plus saw a pod of dolphin.”
LBI Fall Classic Update
The Long Beach Island surf hasn’t officially lit up but anglers are finding fish. Today closes out on day 11 of the 63rd Annual Surf Fishing Classic. So far it’s safe to say the tournament is off to a great start. With 10 blues and four bass the scales are active.
Yesterday afternoon Steve Warren was in the shop before he hit the beach. Turns out he got a nice striper shortly after leaving. Steve currently leads with the largest striped bass (and senior division) at 18.96 pounds.
Gary Grippaldi checked in a good size gator bluefish this past weekend and he sits on top holding the largest bluefish with his 14.12 pound yellow eye.
Here’s Gary with his 14.12 pound bluefish.
Chet Bojarski is putting in time and catching. He currently leads the bluefish senior division and has second place overall bluefish with his 13.16 pound racer.
It’s great to see the fishing groms getting in the game! The youth division has fish on the board. The youth bass leader is Logan Johnson (8.1 pound) and the bluefish leader is Quinn Rutan (12.52 pound). So far no fish checked in by a female angler. For more details on the current standing go to www.LBIFT.com
Here’s the youth bass leader Logan Johnson.
LBI Surf Fishing Classic Special Prizes
Another Bonus Day Is Coming Up!!! October 19th $250 Cash Award For The Largest Striped Bass in Honor of Ric O’Brien from Jingles Bait & Tackle.
Here’s some additional prizes… Week Two Special Prizes
Sunday October 15th $100.00 Gift Certificate To Fisherman Headquarters For Heaviest Bass
Monday October 16th
Tuesday October 17th Otw Aluminum With Attached Clip & Rag. Retails For Almost $50.00 Goes To The 2nd Largest Bass Weighed In Today
Wednesday October 18th
Thursday October 19th $250.00 Cash Award For Largest Striped Bass In Honor Of Ric O’Brien From Jingles Bait And Tackle
Friday October 20th
Saturday October 21st $100.00 Gift Certificate To Fisherman Headquarters For Heaviest Bass–9 Foot Shakespeare Alpa Combo For Biggest Striper Entered By A Juvenile Angler Donated By EP Sales
Inlet Tog Fishing
The light house is a great place to fish almost year round. For the past couple moths the tog fishing has been very good. Now’s the time to gear up and get in on the fun. Anglers are catching all along park’s water front.
Here’s Torr Cohen with one of many black fish he caught recently at the Barnegat Lighthouse.
The schoolies bass continue to chew in the bay. Anglers fishing poppers soft baits. And jig are having a blast
One angler got a reddish this past weekend.
Here’s some photos of a couple recent weigh-in.
Upcoming Tournaments
Save the date for these upcoming boat fishing tournaments!
The 21st Sea Shell Striped Bass Derby (All Boat Tournament) is October 27, 28, 29th.
The Maximilian Foundation Annual Striped Bass Bash (All Boat Tournament & Fish Fry) is November 4th
The Forked River Tuna Club Fall Striped Bass Tournament is November 4th to 11th.
I just returned late last night from a quick trip out east. Blake and I made the last minute call, packed up the truck and headed to Montauk late Wednesday night. We were greeted with awesome conditions at sunrise on Thursday. But the clean rolling water water and twenty plus knots of wind in the face didn’t produce much. I got one dink and only saw one other fish caught. Fortunately we caught fish on Friday. Both the morning and evening session we found small bass on bait. The linesiders were snapping bucktails. All in all it was a good fun trip but from what we’ve heard it has been a very poor season. Some of the top fisherman are struggling. Hopefully things turn around soon.
Store staffer Dan reports there’s a variety of fishing going down. “The schoolie bass are still snapping on bait. The peanut bunker have grown in size and are schooled up. Bluefish ranging from small to 10+ pounds are offering fun. The blackfish are chewing at the Inlet and there’s some albies around. The crabbing and clamming is good too. Just heard one guy chunking bunker looking for bass and blues got a 21″ fluke.”
South Philly Fred has been getting into fish at the Inlet for the past couple weeks. Some days he’s finding bass on mullet and other days they are feeding on spearing. “It tee’d off Friday. Got into some fun fishing on lures.”
Coming into mid October moon and approaching mid month we look forward to the fall progressing in one way or another but it seems summer just will not shake loose. The southerly blow didn’t drop the surf temps much as expected. My fun (and really good) surf session this morning amazed me with nice clean surf and warm. It’s crazy how the warm temps are holding on. By feel I’d say it is in the high 60’s. Most likely between 65-68 degrees.
“Beachrunner” a local angler who wants to remain anonymous shared this report while in the shop today… “Been cruising the beaches today and yesterday. There are also tons of small blues in the 2-5 pound class. They were in the wash but the last couple days they are hanging on the bar and backside. Get metal and wing it your hardest. It’s the only way I could reach them. Might end up hooking up with a screamer (albie)! There are a bajillion of baby crabs in the wash. There’s birds are all over them. Don’t get fooled by the crab blitz. I can’t wait for the migrating bass to move in. The island’s beaches have lots of nice water! Bowls and bars throughout the island. It’s time to go pocket picking!”
Will Weikel sent in a report… “Caught about a dozen sea bass in bay near the Lighthouse on Saturday the 7th. We used cut up mullet for bait.”
Speaking of the Lighthouse, the blackfish bite is still good. Local angler Jack got some fish yesterday afternoon and into evening. All anglers in buying crabs reports fish are chewing. Most are struggling getting a keeper.
Store staffer Dan has been in on the schoolie bass action. His stealthy midnight light tackle game is on point.
Lots of thresher sharks in the local waters. Today we heard of a couple large ones that were caught.
Alert from JCAA – Menhaden Amendment
Here’s some important information from Paul Haertel at the Jersey Coast Anglers Association
As you probably know, the ASMFC is seeking comments on Amendment 3 of the Menhaden Fishery Management Plan. Below you will see a narrative written by Paul Eidman describing the best choices of the options offered.
It’s important that everyone submit their comments before the October 20th deadline. You may use the following electronic link (www.menhadendefenders.org) which will direct you to an easy to use submission process. It will only take a minute of your time so please do this.
Comments sent by regular mail carry more weight than the electronic comments. Send them to:
Megan Ware, FMP Coordinator
1050 N. Highland St. Suite A-N
Arlington, VA 22201
Re: Draft Amendment 3
We ask everyone to submit both electronic and regular mail comments. Please share and “Let the voice of the recreational angler be heard!”
Atlantic Menhaden
Draft Amendment 3 Comments
Dear ASMFC Commissioners,
Ecological management of menhaden and effective conservation will
improve the productivity of this resource over time, increasing
menhaden’s value to every state and stakeholder through improved
recreational fishing, commercial fishing and seafood industries, and
wildlife and tourism businesses that all depend on an abundance of
menhaden. The current approach that ASMFC uses for setting catch limits
is wrong for menhaden, because it ignores their importance to the
ocean food web and to other fisheries.
Issue 1: Reference Points
Ecological management is right for menhaden, so Option E is the best solution now. Menhaden must be managed conservatively to 75% of virgin biomass. The current management system risks huge increases in catch which could have a direct impact on the striped bass recreational fishery and potentially many other fisheries.
Issue 2: Quota Allocation
Tier 1: Option C, Jurisdictional Allocation with a Fixed Minimum, Sub-option 3 allocating a fixed minimum of 2%, is the best option on the table, but an even larger reallocation is appropriate. The current quota allocation for menhaden gives more than 85% of the fishery to Virginia, leaving the remainder of the states to split the rest. This is inherently unfair and must be fixed. Reduction fishing has been banned in every state on the E. Coast, except Virginia, so it makes no sense that the one state that still allows it gets 85%. At the same time, commercial bait harvesters outside of VA are begging to catch more fish. If option C is not possible, a reasonable alternative is a 70/30 split for
reduction/bait coastwide, and no increase in catch.
Issue 3: Quota Transfers
Quota transfers encourage horse trading of fish and they should not be allowed.
Issue 4: Quota Rollovers
Option A – No quota rollovers – is the most appropriate option.
Issue 5: Incedential Catch and Small Scale Fisheries
Option F – All catch to be included in cap.
Issue 6: TAC set aside
Option C is the best option with a 0% of TAC set aside
Issue 7: Chesapeake Bay
The Chesapeake Bay is an important nursery for menhaden that eventually migrate across the coast. Option B – Reducing the cap and set at 51,000 MT for the Chesapeake should be adopted along with Sub-option B- No rollover of unused cap. Over the preceding years, catch in the bay has fallen drastically.
This option is an opportunity to further protect the nursery.
Thank you again for doing what you did back in 2012. We have all seen
what can happen when the bunker are given just a little chance to
recover. As fishermen and concerned citizens, we thank you in advance
for voting in favor of the above conservation options in November!
Capt. Paul Eidman, Chairman
Forage Species Committee
Stiff southerly wind last night continue today with increasing swell. What’s left of Tropic Storm Nate tracks toward, over and past. Tuesday westerly winds will clean up the place. Currently the surf looks great with beautiful white water rolling through.
Today we got a report from a couple sandy anglers fresh off the surf. They fished the morning high tide and got into some fish. “There’s some small blues in the wash. Lots of small bait present. Our friend caught a 25″ bass.” There bluefish, weakfish and albies in with these bait piles.
Yesterday John Stravalle from Newburgh, NY stopped by for a weigh in. He caught two black drum off of the north end surf using clam. Both fish were teen size fish. Over the Harvest Moon period we heard of a couple others but this was the first direct report. Maybe some others are chewing too.
Long Beach Island Surf Fishing Tournament
The 63rd Annual LBI Fall Surf Classic kicked off Saturday. Hope everyone that attended the Saturday’s LBI Surf Fishing Classic Seminar enjoyed and learned something new. The anglers from Team Mullet always put on a great learning experience.
As we creep deeper into October we expect the surf fishing to turn on soon. So far there are two bluefish on the board. For more details check out the Live Results Page.
Backwater Water Fishing
Whole lotta life in the bay right now. Anglers are gearing up with soft baits and lead heads as well as poppers. Some in the shop have reports of very good fishing from the bay. One customer in the shop today reported catching three bass on his last outing, “The scholies are whaling lures! I’m getting them on the fly rod and spinning tackle.” Another customer said the bass fishing in the bay is on fire in the kayak.
Stan Slachta of Greenlane, PA was on the bay with his family this weekend looking for blowfish. They caught a bunch of small sea bass as well as some spot and porgies. They also got a handful of lizard fish! No blowfish. Chumming with clam using squid for hook bait. Have you ever caught a lizard fish? Most definitely an odd creature!
Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association Weekly Report Update October 5, 2017
by Jim Hutchinson Sr.
Beautiful fall weather has finally arrived for the captains of the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association. As they look forward to the arrival of schools of striped bass from the north and the re-opening of the black sea bass season on October 22, there are several current options available for fishing excitement.
Although the summer flounder season is done for the year and black sea bass are out of season until October 22, there are still targets for inshore structure fishing. There have been some schools of weakfish traveling along the coast. Most are on the small side, but there are keepers mixed in. There are good numbers of bluefish in the ocean and inlets. These fish range from snapper size on up to some pods of fish over 10-pounds. On the reefs, there are tautog, triggerfish, and porgies on the bite.
Recent strong winds have made trips offshore a bit risky, but now that the winds have finally settled back to normal, there are tuna, mahi, and sharks in the offshore canyons. In addition, boats making trips midway to the canyons have been finding bonito, false albacore, and bluefish.
The striper migration is still to the north of the Jersey coast, but there are bass active in the bay waters. Anglers tossing plugs, especially around the sod banks have been finding hungry bass. In addition, there is a decent night time bite around the LBI Causeway and various docks, especially those with lighting. These are mostly throwbacks, but some keepers have been caught on occasion.
As the fall winds on, there are quite a few striped bass tournaments coming up for anglers fishing from boats. In recent years, those fishing the ocean have been making a good showing. Some of the captains of the BHCFA make themselves available for charters for anglers wanting to make a good showing in these tournaments.
The 63rd Annual Long Beach Island Surf Fishing Classic begins this Saturday. The nine week surf fishing tournament is set and ready for a great fall fishing season. This year more than even offers surfcasters the opportunity to compete and win thousands of dollars in prizes.
Enjoy Opening Day Morning on the beach then make sure to stop by the Ship Bottom Firehall for the Kick Off Seminar at 10 am.
For more information check out the tournament website at www.LBIFT.com
Week 1 Special Prizes
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 7TH – $100.00 GIFT CERTIFICATE TO FISHERMAN HEADQUARTERS FOR HEAVIEST BASS
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 8TH – $500.00 CASH AWARD FOR THE LARGEST STRIPED BASS & $100.00 GIFT CERTIFICATE TO FISHERMAN HEADQUARTERS FOR HEAVIEST BASS
MONDAY, OCTOBER 9TH – FARIAS SURF & SPORT TIKI TOSS GAME & A FARIAS HAT RANDOM DRAW FROM ALL REGISTERED JUVENILE ANGLERS
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 10TH – $25.00 GIFT CERTIFICATE TO WOODY’S FOR BIGGEST BLUEFISH WEIGHED IN TODAY
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 11TH – GOODY BAG DONATED BY EP SALES FOR LARGEST FISH ENTERED BY A SENIOR ANGLER TODAY
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 12TH – $ 250.00 CASH AWARD FOR LARGEST STRIPED BASS IN HONOR OF ROBERT “ JINGLES “O’BRIEN FROM JINGLES B & T
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 13TH – FARIAS SURF & SHOP 2X LONG SLEEVE SHIRT & FARIAS HAT TO THE FIRST FISH WEIGHED IN TODAY
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 14TH – SUB Z 48 QT COOLER FILLED WITH GOODIES FROM NJ POOLS & SPAS OF LONG BEACH ISLAND RETAILED AT MORE THEN $300.00 FOR THE LARGEST STRIPED BASS & $100.00 GIFT CERTIFICATE TO FISHERMAN HEADQUARTERS FOR HEAVIEST BASS
Who else loves this time of year? Awesome weather… 4×4 beach cruising… BLINKING Traffic Lights!!! It’s so nice to travel up and down the Island in a reasonable time frame with no congestion.
Now on to fishing… It sounds like a broken record, but it’s worth stating… The tog fishing at the Barnegat Inlet State Park continues. Load up with live crabs and get in the game! The white chins are snapping.
On the bait front, the area has lots in a panicky state of mind. Piles of peanut bunker are staged up and mullet has made moves the past few days. Smaller white baits (spearing and bay anchovies) are also in the local waters. Yesterday (and Monday) the false albacore jumped on them.
Dave from “Dave’s Out Fishing” sent in a photo (see our Instagram feed on the rightside bar of this page) and a report from yesterday. He said, “False albacore were blitzing for hours. It was an awesome afternoon day.” Another report came in yesterday from our bunker man… “The albies were off of mid-island about 3 miles out. As the day went on, they moved in and were about a half mile off the beach at sunset.” Now’s the time for surfcaster’s to try their luck at these speedsters.
Dante from MagicTail Bucktails and Magic Man Guide Service posted a photo of a nice weakfish on a dock at night. His caption, “Lots of nice weakfish around! It’s great to see them coming back in good numbers. Captain Alex of Lighthouse Sportfishing is into the weakfish too. He stopped in the shop today with a solid report. He’s catching them land based on the night shift using softbaits.
A customer by the name of Mark stopped in today for some clams and chum. He reported catching a couple dozen blowfish as well as a trigger fish on his last trip out. Mark mentioned he is fishing the bay on the south end of the island and added, “small resident bass are exploding on poppers!” Anglers fishing mid-island and also up on the north end are getting into the fun too.
One local angler purchasing some plugs said, “There’s plenty of healthy fish around. Most are small but I got one in the upper 30″ range.”
REMINDER: The LBI Surf Fishing Classic kicks off this Saturday October 7th. Sign up and don’t miss out on the annual opening day surf fishing seminar. The free event is Saturday morning at 10am. Location: Ship Bottom Fire Hall.
What’s being talked about in the surfing circle as “The September To Remember” will go down in fishing log books as a month full of hindrances… swell on top of swell. Fortunately for anglers, September’s chain smoking tropic systems have extinguished.
Some local boats headed offshore on Friday night to take a look at the edge and discover what the beautiful temperature break is holding. The weather window turned out to shut down much sooner than forecasts called. Some boats got into tuna at the Hudson and the Lindenkohl chunking and trolling. Reports from boats fishing the same areas also were dismal. Here’s a photo from Dan D. who ran into some crazy weather. They put some fishing time in but called it off early due to weather.
Here’s a Hudson Canyon waterspout captured by Dan D.
Tog fishing at the Barnegat Inlet Jetty continues to offer really fun fishing. Shop regular Armondo has been in on the action. He reports, “There’s lots of fish but most are shorts. We are having a blast catching and releasing.” All repeat customers getting live green crabs say they are catching. Some are picking sea bass, triggerfish and sheepshead too. When asked about keepers tog… “few and far between.” One angler today said, “Zero for 80, but heading back to try some more.”
Public Service Announcement: Be sure to properly measure your fish! If lucky enough to get a nice fish, lay it out and make sure it makes and exceeds the 15″ mark. The “L-Style” measuring board is a must have. If using a tape, it is very important to get a straight line measurement with the mouth closed. Fish and Game Officers were checking this weekend and warnings were issued. Sounds like some are keeping undersized fish and some over their bag limit. When fishing keep an eye out and if you witness a violation, report it to NJ’s Operation Game Thief (24/7) 1-855-OGT-TIPS. It’s confidential.
One angler in the shop said he measured one tog at 15.25″ and put it in the pale. Turns out he got checked and the officer measured it to be just a hair short. The angler used a tape and the officer (as always) used a L-Style board. He could have been fined, but was given a warning. Lesson learned.
Fishing The Backwaters Of LBI
Weakfish continue to offer action in the bay. Anglers targeting the tiderunners are having trouble with bluefish. Anglers are catching using live peanut bunker as well as softbaits like the classic Fin-s and Storm Shads. Anglers on the bay have reported a strong showing of resident bass schooled up on the flats and sod banks. With the abundance of bait in the back these linesiders are eating good! Word is Storm Chug Bug Poppers and Stillwater Smack-In Jr Poppers are top producing lures.
Surf Fishing On LBI
Finally true to season… cool, crisp fall like weather. This beautifully dry, no/low humidity air breaths surf fishing weather. The surf fishing has been on the slow side with little reports due to the large swells. Those looking to enjoy a day on the beach fishing should look to target small to medium sized blues and the occasional kingfish. Fish mullet, cut bunker or if looking for the latter live bloodworms, DyanBait freeze dried bloodworms or FishBites.
Here’s some information from last weekend’s 71st Annual World Series of Surf Fishing Tournament. These details help other surf anglers gauge what’s cruising the local sandbars. 43 teams fishing as well as 16 individual anglers catching a total of 99 total fish. 53 bluefish, 25 kingfish, 21 fish which fell into the other category.
ASAC RESULTS
1st Place Team – Merchantville Fishing Club “A” (80.25 Points)
1st Place Team – New Jersey Beach Buggy Association (80.25 Points)
3rd Place Team – South Jersey Surfcasters (73.50 Points)
Largest Fish Male – Kevin Eichman (19.50” Bluefish)
Largest Fish Male – Dave S (19.50” Bluefish)
Most Fish Male – Mike Vishoric Sr (37.0 Points)
Largest Fish Female on a Team – Rita Bennett (16.50 Point)
Most Fish Female on a Team – Pat Searby (28.25 Point)
Largest Fish Youth – Ryan O’Connell (16” Bluefish)
Most Points Youth – Ryan O’Connell (32 Points)
Long Beach Island Fishing Tournament
The LBI Surf Fishing Classic kicks off next Saturday October 7th. Sign up now while the free hat supplies last. The annual opening day surf fishing seminar is Saturday morning at 10am. Location: Ship Bottom Fire Hall.
News On Barnegat Bay Dredge Project
It’s been a long time coming… Finally pipe is staged and work is in motion. Here’s some information we got from the state’s press release…
Barnegat Bay Inlet area dredging begins in October. The work is part of an $8.7 million dollar project to dredge State channels in Forked River and Barnegat Bay. This portion of the project will include the following channels: Double Creek Mainland, Double Creek Inlet, High Bar Harbor and Barnegat Light Stake. Double Creek Inlet Channel has been closed, and commercial, sailboat and general recreational traffic had been severely limited in some locations since Superstorm Sandy. This project will ensure renewed safe navigation, and maintain these Barnegat Bay Channels in a state of good repair.
Channel use may be limited where the dredge is in operation and where the pipeline is carrying dredged material to its placement locations. Channel closures are not expected, although this is subject to change.
Mariners should be advised that State Aids to Navigation (ATON) will be removed as necessary for the duration of the project. Updates to the Local Notice to Mariners should be expected as the project progresses.
The public is advised to be aware of and stay alert to the pipeline, buoys, dredge and other equipment during this time. NJDOT asks that no one approach the pipeline, dredge or any related project equipment under any circumstances, whether or not active dredging operations are observed.
Pipelines can often be difficult to see on the water, and boaters should proceed through dredging maintenance and construction zones with the utmost caution. No wake speed should be observed in active work zones throughout the project duration.
Here’s some additional info from Kimberly at the Barnegat Light Taxpaters’ Association…
Due to environmental restrictions, (to safeguard young flounder and submerged aquatic vegetation) work was set for after summer. Dredging is going to take place from October through December
The four channels to be dredged are: Double Creek Mainland Channel starting at East Bay Avenue, Barnegat; Double Creek Inlet; High Bar Harbor Channel; and Barnegat Light Stake Channel, located off the municipal boat ramp in Barnegat Light.
