The recent rain and New Moon tides have definitely hampered the bite as of our most recent couple of trips, but we are still picking at keepers. Some days it’s pretty decent quality, but you have to work for them and move around to find biting fish. The fish are starting to move and I will start running Ocean Fluke charters very soon. Reminder: We run 7 days a week until September.
Over the weekend, I had Tom Duralek of Manahawkin, his dad Tom Sr. of Toms River, and my father Mike Taylor on a morning Fluke trip. This was a belated Father’s Day trip for both Dad’s and we got right on the fish. We ended with 7 keeper Fluke, with the biggest being a 9 pounds which was caught on the S&S BigEye bucktail tipped with minnow. The sizes were: 29.5, 24, 22, 21, 19, 18, 18. We landed well over 75 Fluke and enjoyed a great day on the water with a ton of laughs.
Later in the week, I had return clients Russ Johnson, Alan Gordon and his son Andrew on a 4hr Bay/Inlet charter. We started working some of the same areas as our last trip, but the bite was definitely off possibly due to the recent rains and slight change in salinity or New moon tides. We had to move around a lot to find feeding fish. The guys worked very hard to boat 30 Fluke with 2 keepers at 19 and 21 inches.
Next, I had return clients Peter AuBuchon of PA with his daughter Maria. We had tough conditions for a majority of the trip having wind against tide drifts. The tide was really ripping which made it tough for proper presentation of the jigs. But we worked hard and Pete and Maria jigged the S&S BigEyes to put 3 keepers (21, 18.5, 18) in the box. The tide was really ripping which made it tough for proper presentation of the jigs. The father-daughter team did a great job in very challenging conditions.
I had new client Nick Grimshaw of Wayne, NJ and his father Alex of Fulton, NY on a 4hr Bay/Inlet charter. We worked a variety of areas, before finally finding a halfway decent bite of fish for 2 hours. We worked S&S BigEye bucktails over deeper bottoms to produce over 35 fish with 2 keepers at 18 inches each. The bite has definitely cooled off slightly of how it was last week, but it should regain with the lessening tidal current of the recent New Moon. Nice job and look forward to seeing the guys next year!
If interested in booking a charter, book through the website (www.reelreactioncharters.com) or call/text 609-290-7709. As always, we use the highest quality gear and everything is included: gear, tackle, fish-cleaning, and ICE! It’s “no worries” fishing. Just come aboard and FISH.
Strong showing of summertime pan fish in the waters of LBI!
Fishing LBI is great! A recent wave of snapper blues arrived and tormenting the schools of spearing. Southern kingfish are and have been on the chew. We’ve also seen an uptick in weakfish and finally a couple blowfish. On top of that, fluke fishing reports are great!. Bluefish, tog, triggers and sheepshead are in the inlet too.
Local grom Grey Colston is stopping in daily load up on live boodworms and DynaBait freeze dried bloods. Grey reports lots of kings in the surf. “The past couple of days have been great on both live and freeze dried bloods! Some days we have fish on almost every cast. There’s lots of kingfish and snapper blues on the beach. Fish the low tide and walk out on the bar. You gotta reach out to them!” While Grey is fishing the Ship Bottom surf other kingfish and snapper surf reports have came in. Other areas mid-island as well as Beach Haven on the south end are producing. We can only assume they are up on the north end too. But no direct reports. Only talk about blues and fluke from the northern beaches.
Busy traffic is something we all learn to deal with on LBI during the summer time. Whether on the beach, on the water or on the street traffic is part of daily life. Most of the time traffic on the water makes a bite tough. However the bay and Inlet fluke fishing around LBI has been solid with numerous reports of 4-6 pound fluke as well as a couple 9’s 10’s and a 12!!! With the abundance of bait (specifically spearing, peanut bunker and small snappers) we remind those who switch over to strictly artificial to rethink their game. Big fluke love bait and especially large baits! Whole squid and large mackerel strips are two classic big fish bait as well as peanut bunker, snappers and live spot.
Kyle Brewer was recently on the water drifting and dreaming around the Inlet, Dike and main thoroughfares. He reported good fishing and mentioned, “We got a bunch of shorts and some keepers. Saw a guy land a monster!” Josh Rice sent in this photo seen (below). Josh caught the 12 pound doormat bucktailing Barnegat Bay. Land based anglers fishing the rocks are picking some good fish.
Here’s Josh Rice with a 12 pound Barnegat Bay doormat!
AJ and the crew at Apex Anglers recently released this dusky shark off the surf.
It’s Shark Week and there’s no better way to enjoy the time then shark fishing. Sharking the surf and the bay is lots of fun and the bite is on! Sand tigers and brown sharks are consistently making their presence known however other species are around. AJ at Apex Anglers recently released a dusky. Our local bunker man said small black tips are here and there some threshers still around. Speaking of sharks… the ultimate sportfishing shark species, the mako gave a local boat a surprise. As reported on our last fishing report post (July 22nd) the crew aboard the Jenny Lee got a monster mako. Here’s a must read article on the catch from the Fisherman Magazine http://www.thefisherman.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=feature.display&feature_ID=1800&ParentCat=19
(L to R) Here’s Austin, Paul and Cody with a recent sand tiger release.
– Bluewater Fishing News –
Captain Jeff Warford aboard the Reel Innovations stopped in for a case of premium select Baitmaster’s Ballyhoo. While here he reported the tuna fishing is good. We are mugging them on the troll and the chunk is heating up. Other good report came in from Research and Bluerunner Sportfishing. Here’s their spreads!
Recent crew aboard the Bluerunner. Nice haul!
Bill Tallman’s recent catch aboard the Research.
With the Beach Haven White Marlin Invitational this week lips are tight. Not many willing to share locations.
Captain Bernie Hyland aboard the Mad Ludwig sent in the report… Brittany Hyland landed her first bluefin tuna aboard the Mad Ludwig on Saturday. We were fishing at Lemkes Canyon. The 36″ 22.9 pound bluefin nailed a good old Green Machine trolled behind a bird rig way back at the end of the pattern.
– Fishing LBI Tournament News –
Wednesday is Day 1 of the 48th Annual the Beach Haven Marlin Tuna Invitational. Best of luck to all the boats fishing and a huge thanks to all of the boats that geared up with top quality bait and tackle at Fish Head.
JCAA Fluke Tournament – On August 5th, 2017, the Jersey Coast Anglers Association will hold its 23rd Annual Fluke Tournament.
The Forked River Tuna Club Presents their 60th Annual Fluke Tournament.
The warm temperatures and free time of the summer months provide great opportunities for families to get outdoors and spend valuable time together on the water. In an effort to motivate parents and guardians to engage in fun fishing activities with their children and keep them away from drugs, the Partnership for a Drug-Free NJ is holding the 3rd Annual Don’t Get Hooked on Drugs Online NJ Family Fishing Tournament. This year it is from August 4-13th. For more info to participate check out their website http://www.drugfreenj.org/
The Ship Bottom surf temp today is 68 degrees. The warm waters are a comfy home to fluke and kingfish. They are in the suds. Both today (Saturday) and yesterday (Friday) customers purchasing live bloodworms gave the nod yes when asked if they are finding kings. The big blues that are around offer lots of fun too! The epicenter is the Inlet but some feisty yellow eyes are cruising the surf. Gary W. caught this 13 lbs. bluefish off of the Beach Haven surf a couple days ago. Gary got it on fresh Fish Head’s fresh bunker.
Gary W. caught this bluefish off of the surf on bunker.
Beach sharking continues to dominate the surf report. Both brown sharks and sand tigers give anglers a run for their money and test their tackle. Long Beach Island’s summertime beach shark fishing is the ultimate land based big game fishing experience. It’s a ton of fun but please know these species are federally protected! Due to the restrictions both brown sharks and sand tigers have made a major come back. Know the rules! Both of these shark species (among some others) are prohibited to be possessed. They can not be killed! They can not be landed! It’s grey but simply put landing equals possession even if there is intent to release. Fish must remain in the water. That means do not drag them up the beach for a photo. Dry sand photos are a major no no. This will ruin it for everyone.
Sharking is prime time right now, through July and all of August. This fishing is best during low light and dark hours, making it a great way to spend a few hours at night. Store staffer Willie D shares this report, “Sharking off the beach is hot right now. Keys to success? Rig up right. No weak links. Bait up with mackerel, bunker or anything meaty with some stink. Be ready for a good bite and a solid fight. Stop in the shop if you need assistance getting geared up!”
I personally prefer to enjoy the summertime sharking via boat. Over the years (15+) I’ve had a blast with friend enjoying the summer nights on the bay this way. Now that I’m a licensed captain I’m running 1-3 man bay sharking charters. If interested in going, call the shop 609-494-5739 and ask for me, Greg. If not available leave your name and phone number.
Earlier in the week I was out a couple times and we had toothy ones both trips. One trip we had a consistent bite that lasted couple hours, right into slack low tide. Everyone got their turn to battle a brown or two. At one point we had a double header. We blew through hook baits, rigs and the super warm bay ate the chum quick. The next night a stiff southerly wind maked for poor wind against tide conditions. We battled through the challenge, managed to release one and missed a couple opportunities. More recently store alumni Joni was out with friend. They released three brownies.
Shop alumni Kenny U reported good tog fishing at the Inlet rocks. He mentioned the tiggers are plentiful too! For a number of weeks now, the area has big blues holding. Anglers are having a blast hooking them on lures from bucktails to poppers. The inlet also offers great fluke fishing as the flounder slide out of the bay and take on the near shore lumps and reefs.
Bluefish offer lots of fun for all age groups but especially for kids.
Fluke fishing is solid! Anglers bucktailing the bay’s channel edges are still catching and some occasional nice fish at that. As the season progresses other areas are heating up! New reports from the inlets and ocean are strong. The consistent warm ocean temps mean one thing for late July fluke fishing… it’s on!
Howard Clark was out on the water yesterday. His caught five fish 21-23″ and dropped an even bigger fluke boatside. Howard reported quality size fluke were on the chew and everyone was stacked with squid. It’s a great sign!
The Carolyn Ann III recently reported, “Nice improvement with an upswing in the fishing. We are seeing a good catch of sea bass along with keeper fluke coming over the rail! Hopefully this upward trend continues!!! Here’s a report from Jacob Bowles who was recently fishing aboard the CA3. “We got out to the fluke grounds,had a good drift and started off picking. Got an 18″ and worked through some sea robins. Landed a 23″ 4 pound fluke which took the pool.” When asked Jacob said he was catching fish on both Gulp and bait, “Both keepers were on bait.” Sometimes you have to give them some meat!
Jacob Bowles with his pool winning 23″ 4 pound fluke.
We tend to get 90% of our reports from anglers fishing Barnegat Bay and the north end of the Island however recently some positive reports came from the southend waters. Store staffer Willie said, “Fluke fishing on the south end of the Island is pretty good. Been a better mix of keeper size fish for anglers fishing the Gulp 4” Shrimp. Those have been the go to baits for some sharpies.
Sometimes you hear about the epic fishing and just have to pack up and go. Montauk is well known for quality striped bass and fluke fishing. The reports out of Montauk have been stellar to say the least! Zach Michot took a road trip to the East End and it was well worth it! Zach reported, “Jigged up 13 nice fluke and five jumbo sea bass. All on MagicTail Jigs. It was a great day on the water aboard the Miss Montauk.”
Clamming and crabbing are a great way to enjoy LBI’s beauty and beat the heat. Here’s a photo of Archie Coen clamming away.
Achie Coen is enjoying LBI’s salt life clamming Barnegat Bay.
For a large group of passionate anglers, bluewater fishing is a release from the summertime land life full off hustle, bustle, traffic and noise. Those hours on the high seas are where some of life’s best memories are made. Today the crew from Jenny Lee Sportfishing weighed in a monster mako at Hoffman’s Marina. It’s possibly a pending new state record, unofficial weight at 926 pounds.
Bluewater fishing has been strong! Stop in for premium Baitmaster Ballyhoo, super popular Joe Shute Lures and top quality spreader bars! We have all the essentials and more to get you geared up and into the bite. The mid-shore and offshore action continues. Anglers fishing 30-50 miles off are into bluefin tuna on a routine basis. Some heavy weeds recently moved into a fishy area that was very productive. This makes for frustrating fishing but you never know what’s underneath. Most of the time these weedy areas have bait as well as mahi and whites. Some cobia were pulled.
Store staffer Willie Davis has a nice bluefin tuna he caught trolling the mid-shore tuna grounds
Lots of local boats are catching on the mid-shore grounds trolling bars as well as bally/shutes. It seems the larger class of bluefin that were around the past month or two might have push up out of out area. It seems a smaller class of fish are now present. Hopefully some nicer ones keep picking. Spreaderbars have been hot for these smaller class bluefin. Joe Shue trolling lures rigged up with a large or select ballyhoo is also a deadly trolling combo that tuna can not resist. Most run them on the long rigger, but some prefer them in the shotgun, way back. On the other hand there’s boats that stack the spread and run them in both positions. It seems like the bigger fish like to fall for the stealth way.
While we just got a skunk report sent in from an angler who fished the Hudson we also got an awesome report out of the same Canyon. Since it is a very large area they must have been fishing different sections. We were not told where in the Hud but we saw some solid photos of yellowfin tuna from the area.
Our current bait situation… We have fresh bunker, salted clam, live bloods, live eels and live minnow. We are low on green crab but expected on Monday. Baitmaster ballyhoo is in stock with all of the sizes from dink/peewee, small, medium, med/large, select and horse. We also have spanish mackerel, premium swordfish squid (5pk) and professionally pre-rigged ballyhoo.
I hate to bring attention to it, but the Barnegat Bay Fluke bite has been “flat-out amazing”. We have been consistently catching over 40 Fluke per trip with keeper numbers ranging from 3 to 8 this past week. I have been concentrating most of our efforts in shallow-water, but the fish are starting to move and I’m finding them in some of my honey holes. Yes, there are Bluefish at the inlet, but with the Fluke bite this good – it is game on in the backwaters. I will start running Ocean Fluke trips soon, but I’m not getting positive feedback and we will stay on the fish until the bite dies.
Here is this week’s rundown:
Amongst running charters almost everyday, I did a quick trip with my wife Jennifer and 9yr old son Luke we caught over 20 Fluke with two nice keepers at 24 and 23 inches. We only fished for about 2 hours, and it was non-stop action even in wind-against-tide conditions.
I had Eric Ebinger of Warrington, PA along with his son Chad and daughter Mackenzie on a 4hr Bay/Inlet charter. The trio wanted to concentrate their efforts on Fluke, so we opted out of the inlet Bluefish bite. We started working some shallow water areas at it was game on with the team boating over 45 Fluke with 7 keepers (24.5, 22, 21, 20, 19, 18.5, 18). Eric’s was the biggest at 24.5 inches, but a great job by all working the S&S Bigeye through the shallows.
Next, I had return clients Dan Unger of Ship Bottom, his son Danny, and Art Diebel of Jackson with his son Walter on a 4hr Bay/Inlet charter. With the Fluke bite pretty solid over the last few charters, we concentrated our efforts on the flatties. The crew caught and released over 40 Fluke, while keeping 5 solid ones for the table (24, 22, 21, 19, 18.5). We worked another shallow area with the white S&S BigEye bucktails – that’s what the keepers wanted!!
I had return client Mike Geddis and his two boys, Ethan and Nate, of Cream Ridge on a 4hr Bay/Inlet charter. We worked the same area, with the only difference being wind against tide conditions for the first hour or so. It didn’t matter in terms of numbers, as the trio still managed over 40 Fluke with 3 nice keepers (21.5, 19.5, 18). Great job by the boys!!
I had Juliann Jakeman of Waretown, her father Don Jakeman of Waretown, and her sister Dr. Allison Jakeman of Florida on a 4hr Bay/Inlet charter. Juliann and her sister booked the trip as a Father’s Day present, and Allison flew up specifically for the charter. We worked multiple areas in the bay and the trio had a ton of action catching and releasing over 50 Fluke, while keeping 8 for the table (23, 22.5, 22, 21, 19.5, 19, 18.5, 18). They did a great job and look forward to seeing them in November for Striped Bass!!
If interested in booking a charter, book through the website (www.reelreactioncharters.com) or call/text 609-290-7709. As always, we use the highest quality gear and everything is included: gear, tackle, fish-cleaning, and ICE! It’s “no worries” fishing. Just come aboard and FISH.
The Full moon and strong winds definitely affected the fishing in the beginning of the week as the bites were not like the typical ones you get. As the moon-tidal effect eased, the fish were on the bite and we did better each trip. I used a variety of methods to get the groups on fish, including fishing in as little as 2 feet. We had multiple trips where 5 to 6 pound fish inhaled bucktails in skinny water – you literally see them explode on the lure. I will start running some Ocean Fluke charters very soon but the bay bite is still pretty hot. Reminder: We have started running 7 days a week until September.
On a personal fishing note, I was able to do some kayak fishing around dinner time with my wife, Jennifer, and 9yr old son Luke. We fished a sheltered area and Luke had the hot hand jigging a solid 18.5 inch Fluke with a 3/4oz Bucktail for his first ever kayak-landed Fluke.
In the beginning of the week, I had return client Tom Clark and his daughter Alexis on a 4hr Bay/Inlet charter. With warmer bay temperatures, we opted to start at working the inlet-ocean for Bluefish. With both father and daughter throwing artificials, they quickly hooked up on 2 to 5 pound Bluefish and we worked the area for a good hour. With better conditions in the areas we have been fishing, we headed back with bucktails in hand to jig up some Fluke. We worked a very shallow area to 3 feet and had close to 20 Fluke with 1 solid keeper to show. The Full Moon definitely affected the bite as the Fluke were a little off. Nice job by Tom and his daughter Alexis!
I had new client James Saskel of Morris County, his nephew Micheal Ferraro of Brooklyn, and his grandson Ryan Raugh of Georgia on a 4hr Bay/inlet charter. We started in the same area as the morning trip, but had the start of the outgoing. Our first drift produced 3 quick fish up to 17.5 inches, and then the South winds started cranking making it nearly impossible to drift the “fishy” stretch of water. We moved around and Ryan found a solid keeper at 19 inches. By this time we had to find a different area with strong 15-18 knot South winds and a dirty outgoing tide. We worked a stretch closer to the inlet for the remainder of the trip, and Michael boxed a fat, solid 22 inch Fluke followed by a few shorts close to 18-inches. Nice job by James, Michael, and Ryan for working the bucktails the entire trip in very challenging conditions.
Towards the end of the week, I had new client John Imbrogno with his 9yr old son Nicholas and father Sonny Imbrogno on a 4hr Bay/Inlet charter. Sonny never fished before and this was Nick’s second time, but they did a pretty good job at bucktailing Fluke. We worked some shallow areas as keepers have been found as low as 2.5 feet on our last few trips. It was the same on this trip as most of the keepers were boxed in the same depths. Nick had the high hook with 10 fish and 2 keepers (18.5, 22 inch) followed by Sonny’s (21 inch) and John’s (19 inch). The 3-generational crew did a great job boxing 4 keepers, while releasing close to 25 fish. It has been pretty neat to see keeper fish hitting the lures in the shallow water.
I had return client Matt Bailey with his son Jay, daughter Maddison, their friend Damionon a 4hr Bay/Inlet charter. We worked a newer area today and had solid results with multiple quality fish caught on a bucktail tipped with straight minnow. The trio boxed 11 keepers with the two biggest at close to 6 pounds (18, 18.5, 19, 19, 20, 21, 21.5, 22, 22, 23, 23.5). We really hit a pile of fish and they were all in another shallow water spot as low as 2 feet. Again, we saw fish hit the bucktails and a few times we had multiple keeper hookups. An amazing job by the group and look forward to next year’s trip.
If interested in booking a charter, book through the website (www.reelreactioncharters.com) or call/text 609-290-7709. As always, we use the highest quality gear and everything is included: gear, tackle, fish-cleaning, and ICE! It’s “no worries” fishing. Just come aboard and FISH.
Summer is in full swing on LBI. Here is the weekend recap fishing report.
The surf temps are back to normal. The surf report from Rick with the Ship Bottom Beach Patrol we’ve got a small 2′ southerly wind swell on the bars. The light onshore winds (easterly) pushed in some beautiful super clean water. Yesterday the afternoon water temp was 67 degrees at 4pm and earlier today 68 degrees. Rick said jokingly, “The Ship Bottom surf is warm and clean. No rips now. There’s dolphins cruising by. No sign of Mary Lee.”
The Long Beach Island surf fishing is offered a good variety of both quality eating fish and hard fighting drag pulling fun. If looking for good table fare gear up for kingfish and/or fluke. Small hook tipped with live bloodworm, DynaBait Freeze Dried Bloodworm or bloodworm alternative like FishBites or Gulp. Those looking for fluke should rig up with Gulp and a bucktail jig. Add a teaser for better productivity. Those in search of more exhilarating fun should turn towards chunking. You never know what you might catch. There’s still some lingering bass and bluefish that have not exited our area from the spring run. Both sharks and rays are here too. Recently some big sandbar sharks and sand tigers have been caught and released. Please note these are federally protected species and must be released and not removed from the water!
Fluke fishing the bay continues to offer fun from many. Today Kyle Brewer was out with some friends. He started fishing the waters around the BI and BB. No action there so he took a cruise over to Double Creek Channel. There we found some action with fish on the chew. The crew’s largest went 22 inches. Kyle reported other boats in the area were also catching. For fluke fisherman the pulling of the buoys was a blessing. By eliminating all large vessel transiting the area is much better off for drift fishing. It used to be a dangers area, as is any narrow channel with anglers drift fishing. Please know! Most anglers think that drift fishing boats have priority; however, they DO NOT! Both vessels are considered underway, so long as not anchored. The drift fishing vessel must keep out of the way to allow the transiting vessel safe navigation. More on that maybe in another separate blog post.
As reported previously the Barnegat Inlet has lots of fishing opportunities. There’s still bass holding over from the spring or the residents that call our local waters home year round. These bass are also offering great fun at night at some docks and bulkheads. There’s lots of bluefish feasting on mini bait that’s around. A couple days ago I had a really fun morning fishing catching the yellow eyes from 3-10 pounds on plugs. Also hanging around in the Inlet are sheepshead and triggerfish.
Offshore fishing continues to shine. We’ve heard more and more reports from both inshore and offshore. Quality yellowfin tuna fishing as well as bluefin. Some boats are getting into a really god size class of bluefin. More on that later.
Get out and enjoy the beaches of LBI as well as the beauty of Barnegat Bay. Soak a line, tread some clams or try your luck crabbing. Harvest the bounty and enjoy your own seafood medley. That’s the classic way to live the Long Beach Island waterman lifestyle also known as the Salt Life! Both crabbing and clamming has been awesome.
Are you looking forward to seeing some of the latest and greatest in 2018 fishing tackle? ICAST is upcoming week! Stay tuned to our social media pages for new posts. You can find us on Facebook and Instagram.
More quality fish – The action continues to be good to excellent with most trips catching 20 to 35 fish when the conditions are optimal. We are still getting short to keeper ratios averaging about 10 to 1. Some days there are alot more short Fluke biting, but that is most likely do to water temperatures. We will start targeting Fluke outside in the coming weeks, but the bay remains the place to be. Reminder: We have started running 7 days a week until September. I was out almost everyday this past week, except when the wind has been blowing hard, so here’s our rundown:
I had Anthony Marino of Beach Haven West and his 13yr old son Anthony along with his daughter Briana on a 4hr Bay/Inlet trip. Anthony’s wife purchased the charter for his 45th birthday present, so we had some pressure to get keepers. We worked quite a few skinny-water areas to 3.5 feet in the backbay to boat some nice fish to 4.5 pounds. Young Anthony had the hot hand boating all three keepers with 2 being close to 23 inches and the third keeper at 19 inches. All three caught fish and worked the S&S Bucktails jig hard. They caught a bunch of fish just 1/2 inch shy of the keeper mark. With about an 45 minutes left in the trip, we checked some areas closer to the inlet with not much luck and the trio opted for a photo with the Barnegat Light commercial boats in the background. Nice job by the team and Happy Bday Anthony Sr!
Next, I had return client Doug Wainwright of Columbus, his son Doug, and younger son John on a 4hr Bay/Inlet charter. We worked alot of the same areas that we have been working with S&S Bigeye bucktails and Tsunami Flat Jigs. The fish were a little finicky in terms of keepers, but the crew worked very hard for two keepers one at 21 inches and the other at 18.5. Both fish were caught in very shallow water. The wind kicked up towards the end of the trip and made for some tough wind against tide conditions. The father-son team had a great time and kicked off their 4th of July with a couple Fluke in the box
.
I had new client Steve O’Neil of Morris Plains along with his wife Katie and their two boys, Aidan and Keiran, on a 4hr Bay/Inlet charter. We had some lighter winds in the 1st hour of the trip, but then it kicked up out of the NE and made for some difficult drifts. This was the family’s first Fluke fishing outing and I had the family bucktailing for Fluke. They caught a respectable 30 fluke, with the boys catching 12 a piece. Aidan caught a beautiful 5.5 pound Fluke that taped out at 23.5 inches. Unfortunately, they could only muster 1 quality keeper amongst the 30 Fluke.
Finally I had new client Steve Balon and his wife Natalie on a 4hr Bay/Inlet charter. Steve has fished many offshore and inshore charters from Montauk to the Caribbean, but he wanted to try light tackle jigging. We had light winds, sporadic drizzle, and good tide for a good portion of the trip. The husband and wife team jigged S&S Bigeye bucktails to catch over 24 Fluke including 4 quality keepers that taped out at: 19, 19, 23.5, 24 inches. Steve caught the biggest weighing over 6 pounds on the jig. Natalie worked very hard for her first time bucktailing, but could only muster several at 17.5 inches. Awesome job!
If interested in booking a charter, book through the website (www.reelreactioncharters.com) or call/text 609-290-7709. As always, we use the highest quality gear and everything is included: gear, tackle, fish-cleaning, and ICE! It’s “no worries” fishing. Just come aboard and FISH. Like Us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ReelReactionSportfishing/
With the chilly westerly breeze, it really feels like a fall day here on LBI. The Island’s beaches have a fading south east swell leftover rolling across the sandbars. Over night the water cleaned up (lost some of that chocolate tint) and fish are cruising the white water. We are dropping into low tide (on the surf) at 12:39PM. High tide is this evening at 6:52PM.
Scott Shirey from Carlisle PA just weighed in a 41″ 26.30 lbs striped bass at 11am. Scott caught the linesider off of the Ship Bottom surf on FishHead’s Bunker at about 10am.
Store staffer Dan was out on the water yesterday (Sunday) searching. He fished the three mile line off Island Beach State Park. Dan said, “Trolling was slow, with little to no bait. We did come across a deep pack or two of bunker (photo below). This time last year we found some good fish. We’ll get ’em soon.” Water temp was 52 degrees. We heard through the grapevine there were a couple fish pulled this weekend. This is the start!
Here a photo of the surf and rainbow 🌈 from last night off the Surf City beach. Thanks to Melanie Cassie Photography for the photo
I presented at the Atlantic Boat Show this past Friday and had close to 40 people attend my seminar on the”Basics of Striped Bass Fishing”. I love fielding questions and hopefully help more anglers improve their opportunities of catching. It was nice to see a lot of anglers and walking the isles of the boat show. I did get to speak with the Recreational Fishing Alliance (RFA), who feels that New Jersey will most likely stay “status quo” on Fluke regulations as 2016. Again, we will have to wait to see what the higher ups/state/federal level decide, but hopefully it’s our way.
We are only a few weeks away from splashing the “Jenny Lynn” for another season and have already started booking our May Striped Bass trips. We have kept the rates the same as last year!
If interested in booking a charter, book through the website (www.reelreactioncharters.com), or call/text 609-290-7709 . As always, we use the highest quality gear and everything is included all gear, tackle, fish-cleaning, and ICE – it’s “no worries” fishing. We troll as last resort, as light tackle artifiicials and live bait take precedent. Just come aboard and FISH.
I hope everybody has enjoyed a very mild winter for our region which should translate into some early Striped Bass action. I’m putting some finishing touches on the vessel for the 2017 season and will have it serviced over the next couple weeks so that it’s ready for an early splash. It’s tentatively looking mid to end of March. Fluke season is up in the air as we are waiting to see if the state of NJ will comply or not comply with federal recommendations/mandates. It looks as it will either be 18in or 19in minimum, but would could really stink is a reduced season in terms of days. Regardless, I’m still prepping the light-tackle Fluke gear for some of the fantastic backbay action in that occurs every May & June. I have made several upgrades over the winter season, including a bunch of brand new Penn Spinfisher V 4500s added to our arsenal. Fisherman’s HQ has them in stock – great reels for the price!!
The Atlantic City Boat show starts next week (March 1 through March 5) and I will be presenting a 1 hour seminar on Striped Bass fishing on March 3, 2017 at 4pm, so hope to see some of you there.
We are only a few months away from the arrival of our migratory Striped Bass, and I already have a couple dates booked in May. If interested in booking a charter, book through the website (www.reelreactioncharters.com), or call/text 609-290-7709 . As always, we use the highest quality gear and everything is included all gear, tackle, fish-cleaning, and ICE – it’s “no worries” fishing. Just come aboard and FISH.
Capt. Brett Taylor
Reel Reaction Sportfishing LLC
www.reelreactioncharters.com
cell: 609-290-7709
In the beginning of the week, I had return client Tom Clark and his daughter Alexis on a 4hr Bay/Inlet charter. With warmer bay temperatures, we opted to start at working the inlet-ocean for Bluefish. With both father and daughter throwing artificials, they quickly hooked up on 2 to 5 pound Bluefish and we worked the area for a good hour. With better conditions in the areas we have been fishing, we headed back with bucktails in hand to jig up some Fluke. We worked a very shallow area to 3 feet and had close to 20 Fluke with 1 solid keeper to show. The Full Moon definitely affected the bite as the Fluke were a little off. Nice job by Tom and his daughter Alexis!
I presented at the Atlantic Boat Show this past Friday and had close to 40 people attend my seminar on the”Basics of Striped Bass Fishing”. I love fielding questions and hopefully help more anglers improve their opportunities of catching. It was nice to see a lot of anglers and walking the isles of the boat show. I did get to speak with the Recreational Fishing Alliance (RFA), who feels that New Jersey will most likely stay “status quo” on Fluke regulations as 2016. Again, we will have to wait to see what the higher ups/state/federal level decide, but hopefully it’s our way.