The sunny warm weather is raising the local water temperatures and with it a positive progression in the spring fisheries. Since the past report update we have seen a surge of black drum to the area as well as a number of kingfish. The spring striped bass bite in the bay continues on and the tog fishing is great. The local fishing has been good and there’s no signs it is stopping. It’s only getting better! Get out fishing and enjoy!

The drum are being caught in Barnegat Bay, Manahawkin Bay and Great Bay on clam. Kingfish were caught on clam and worm in recent days. If you are getting frustrater by mysterious bait stealers, try tossing another rod out with small hooks. Anglers fishing clam, worm and lures are catching striped bass all around the local bays. The early season spots are still pumping. Thanks to warming waters, bass are also stretching out into other areas now too. Since the last report there were a handful of surf side striped bass catches. It’s not a bad bet to try however your best fishing IMO is the bayside BUT that may transition very soon. Now is also a great time to get out tog fishing and soak some crabs as the spring season is only one month long (open only for the one month of April). Reports from both the jetty and the reefs and wrecks have been great.

Here’s my last fishing report update video which is from yesterday Monday April 15, 2024.

We finally catch a break and real Spring weather comes to town. The days of torrential rain and lots of wind were really getting old and depressing. In recent days a lot of anglers have shook off the winter dust and got fresh air and into some active fishing here in and around Long Beach Island. Here’s the Fishing LBI Report Update for April 9, 2024.

What Fish Are Biting Around LBI?

The primary target species right now are striped bass and blackfish also known as tautog or tog for short. Both of these are on great targets for land based and boat anglers. Also on tap in the April brine are species such as white perch, winter flounder, black drum, bluefish, cod, weakfish and kingfish. Now’s the time to go fishing!

Here is my latest fishing report video from Monday morning.

The chart above showing the Barnegat Bay water temperature off of Waretown shows the recent sunny warm days have the waters warming. The afternoon outgoing tides peaked at 53º 4PM Sunday and then 57.5º yesterday around the same time. It’s all about the sun! There’s no better time to fish the early spring then sunny afternoons as the warming gets the fish fired up and active. It’s very common to have a spring bite shut down like a flip of a switch with a tide/current change with the introduction of colder water. Look out for this and prepare accordingly to maximize your potential time on the water.

Early April Striped Bass Fishing Report

The surf has been quite with only a couple surf side catch reports. One catch recently and the other we shared about a month ago during that first warm break from winter. The area’s best striped bass fishing is in the bay. The bass are being caught with live bloodworm which we have in stock right now. Also some anglers are fishing salted clam as fresh have not been available to us just yet. We will have them as soon as possible. We know anglers are looking for them and the black drum are looking for them too!

Emmit from Top Notch Tackle Rigs was out this past weekend and got into some bass (photo above, right side). [We are fully stocked on his locally tied, fish catching rigs that are great for a variety of species. Be sure to check them out.] Emmit and Bobby Capri got into some good fishing catching both striped bass and black drum.

When not at the shop, store staffer Paul has been on the water picking at bass. He had a couple guides and put his clients on fish fishing worms and lures. Fish Heads Alumni Eddy (photo above, middle) has been catching too. We have had numerous other catch reports from the bay in the shop daily.

Usually we see a run of black drum and blues in April as well as surf side striped bass. This can pop off any day!

Simply Bassin’ – LBI’s Spring Fishing Derby / Tournament kicked April 6th. Sign up now for this spring fishing event. Also be sure to participate in the catch and release Spring Surf Master Division.

Early April Tautog Fishing Report

Tog season is open the whole month of April and anglers are catching. Land based anglers are catching tog on the Northend of LBI at the Barnegat Lighthouse State Park. There tog are eating crabs fished on a rig or jig. For more details stop in the shop. On the bait side of things, at the time of this post we have both greens crabs and white crabs in stock.

Finally the ocean has settled enough (still a 2-3’+ ground swell today but light winds) to let anglers get offshore and hunt the snags. Tony Butch was out fishing with Fish Head Alumni Bill Bassant and another friend yesterday and they reported a fun day on the water. Tony shared this report…

Bite wasn’t on fire, but we managed to put together a 3 man limit picking of keeper sized fish. There was spurts of good life, followed by lulls. Maybe it was due to the water being in it’s early season cold state or maybe things haven’t settled enough after the recent storms. Moving around on the structure was the ticket for us.  Biggest one I ended up catching the biggest one of the day, just over 8lbs (photo above, left side) and released it to swim another day. Hopefully that will bring some good karma for the 2024 fishing season!

Reel Fantasea Fishing Charts

Captain Steve Purul has been in the shop a lot over the past couple weeks gearing up for the spring fishing season. He is in the water, fishing and catching like he always does. He shared this report…

I got our first scouting trip of the year and though it was a bit more scouting than catching we did manage to avoid the shutout with a nice scrappy 26” striper. It clobbered a Tsunami Split-Tail on a well appointed Fish Head’s light spinning tackle. We did have a few other hits that we missed. The sonar indicating a few more tight lipped spectators below. With the weather improving with both temperatures and less precipitation as well as the return of recent seasonal visitors (dolphins, laughing gulls and ospreys) I think this week will translate into a much better jump in local action! I have this weekend available for private or open boat fishing opportunities if you find yourself needing to get back out on the brine!
Captain Steve 609-290-1217 – Reel Fantasea Fishing Charters

Striped Bass Season was pretty much in gear since Day 1, very productive fishing and action each trip out with good quality Bayside Schoolie Stripers from 25”-30” attacking artificial presentations.
Mother Nature provided good weather conditions around the Moon and it was Fish’On.

Pictured Here: is a good fish that just recently smacked a Yo-Zuri Twitch Bait that I bought at Fishermans Headquarters LBI NJ

So the NJ Striped Bass season is off to a great start and will only get better as we now head into April.

“ April Showers brings Big May Stripers”

Nightstrikes Surfcasting Guide Service LLC 609-276-6983 / Email: Nightstrikes@comcast.net / For More Info

From all of us at Fish Heads… Happy Easter!

The striped bass remain active, a little less active than earlier in the month, but both bait and lures are catching day and night. The early season areas remain the epicenter, back bays, rivers and tributaries. Here on Long Beach Island there has been good fishing the entire month of March on the Ship Bottom bayside as well as the Causeway Bridge access points. We expect this to continue for all of April. A bigger class of striped bass have moved into the greater region with classy fish recently in the Delaware River and Raritan Bay. April is always a great month and we are looking forward to it.

Monday April 1st is opening day of New Jersey’s blackfishing season opens. Right now we have both green crabs and white crabs as well as all top tog tackles. Stop in and gear up today for this short but awesome one month season!

Just a heads up we are closing early today but will be back on Monday.

For the most part targeting wahoo in the region has been an underground thing. In the past couple years wahoo have become a more popular target species and the demand for info and specific tackle has increased significantly. Captain Dave Adams (from Tormenter Tackle, base out of West Palm Beach Florida) shared his plan for a couple fishing seminars in the north east and asked me to help.

Save The Date! This Saturday April 6th we are having a Wahoo & Tuna Fishing Seminar at the Beach Haven Marlin & Tuna Club House. Bring a friend, enjoy the seminar, ask questions, network with other anglers and talk fishing with an ice cold beverage.

This event is free and open to the public. Cash Bar. There will be door prizes, tackle raffle, giveaways and special sales. Also Tormenter is offering an opportunity to participate in a chance to Win A Trip To Cabo.

When: Saturday, April 6th from 5:30PM to 7:30PM
Where: BHMTC – 420 N. Pennsylvania Ave., Beach Haven, NJ 08008

Even with the recent chill, heavy rain and windy conditions, striped bass fishing continues to be good in the back bays and rivers. Today, Monday March 25th is the full moon of March which was named by the Native Americans, the Worm Moon. So far the early spring fishing has been good and things look promising as we approach Easter. We are looking forward to more fun striped bass fishing as well as perch, winter flounder, black drum and in the not too distant future… weakfish and blues! {Fingers Crossed}

Right now we have a beautiful batch of live bloodworms available at the shop, both regulars and jumbos. These are the best baits option to catch both striped bass and perch. We also have small jars of preserved grass shrimp which are fantastic for white perch too.

If you are looking to fish artificials… 3 and 5″ NLBN and Kettle Creeks are my go to producers.  Also minnow swimming plugs such as the Guides Secret Slim Twitchy (formerly called the Skinny Minnie), Daiwa SP Minnows (size 13/15), Yozuri Mag Darters (in the smaller sizes) and Rapala X-Rap Jerk Baits (in the smaller sizes) are great option.

Spring Tog Fishing!

The one month long spring tog fishing season is almost here!  On April 1, the nj recreational blackfish – tautog – tog season opens. For more info on the NJ Fishing Limits, Seasons & Regulations check out this detailed post.

 We have all the tog jigs and tog rigs ready to pick up.

Also if you are looking for a new rod or reel for this season we are stocked up with great options in a variety of price points all at competitive prices. Stop in at Fisherman’s Headquarters to get geared up.

Beautiful weather has really turned on the early spring fishing here in the Long Beach Island area. Recent days have offered good fishing for striped bass in the bay with bloodworms. Some days bait was hard to get but, this afternoon we got a nice delivery of bloods and we expect more tomorrow so we should be stocked up for the weekend.

Be sure to check out the Saltwater Fishing Expo this weekend… Friday, Saturday, Sunday! We will be at booth 401. Stop by and say hi. Click here for more info on the show.

By now we hope you have seen either the gannets in person or the videos we have been sharing on social. For a number of days, we have had a lot of gannets hammering on bait. This afternoon we got our first striped bass report from the LBI surf… here is a link to a short video.

This week with the opening of back bay striped bass (on 3/1/24) we expanded our hours a little bit. In a few more weeks we will extend some more.

Right now we are Open 7 Days A Week At 7am. Monday thru Thursday we close at 6PM, Friday and Saturday 7PM and Sunday 5PM. Stop in and gear up for the season.

Live Bloods & Grass Shrimp

The two best early season baits for striped bass and white perch are live bloodworms and grass shrimp. Right now we have both and will do our best to have both all spring.

Stay tuned for a bloodworm blog that will be published soon. On the grass shrimp side of thing… We are now carrying preserved grass shrimp. They come in a small dish like container at $8.99. See photo below.

Grass shrimp are a killer white perch bait and work great for many other species like weakfish, fluke, winter flounder, striped bass, snappers and blowfish. Everything eats grass shrimp! They are small baits so scale down with a small hook and light leader.

NJ Saltwater Fishing Expo

Reminder: Saltwater Fishing Expo is next week, March 15,16,17th! Be sure to stop by and See Us At Booth 401. Show Hours: Friday 12PM-8PM, Saturday 10AM-6PM, Sunday 10AM-5PM. It’s the best show of the year by a landslide so don’t miss out on the great event packed with informative seminars and demos. Explore fishing tackle hands on from A to Z.

Also, Sunday is family Day! Children 11 and under are free when accompanied by a paying adult and the first 100 kids 11 and younger will receive a Daiwa rod/reel combo!

The New Jersey back bays opened for striped bass at on March 1st. There were chilly westerly winds but some anglers got out and fished. We received catch reports from locally here in the early season spots of Barnegat Bay as well as others in the state. We had one weigh in from Carl Hartman who checked in a keeper striped bass which was caught out of town.

UPDATE: Added March 3 fishing report video…

The water clarity is murky and in the 40-43º range in the bay mid island. We got heads up from a friend who was moving his boat yesterday. “Down in Tuckerton Creek the water was 47º. But it dropped fast once I was in the bay. Most of the bay running up to Beach Haven West was 43º.”

For the next month or more with the cold water temperature live bloodworm will be the best bait.

At times the right lures will get the job done too. Great spring time bass lures are soft plastics such as 3-5″ NLBN’s, Kettle Creeks Paddle Tails, Z-man and Tsunami shads. Hard baits like the smaller size Rapala X-rap jerk baits, as well as the Guides Secret Slim Twitchy and Mucho Minnow are awesome small profile lures that stand out in the back bay spring fishery. All of these and much more are available in store or online at Fish Heads.

Reports of white perch continue at the local lagoons as well as rivers and tributaries. One customer reported that the perch have been in his lagoon since the last warm stretch before the snow. Others are catching in the Mullica.

Stop into see us at Fisherman’s Headquarters and get geared up with early season essentials. ~ Tight Lines!