Looks like we are finally getting a break in the weather here. I am looking forward to getting out this week. We will be in the bay and inlet on the hunt for stripers and blues. We will be fishing a variety of techniques, including anchored with clams, drifting with worms, casting soft plastic and topwater lures, and trolling plugs. Throwing the kitchen sink at ’em!
We are available Wed May 22 and Sun May 26 for charter or we will be running Open Boat on those days. 6AM to Noon. $200 person. 4 people max. All fish are shared.
We also have one spot available on Friday May 24. There is a group of 3 people looking to add one more. Same hours and cost as above.
Attached pic is Bill Buckham of PA with his keeper striper that ate a worm under a bobber at the inlet jetty on a recent trip.
The first half of May was very good to the anglers fishing Long Beach Island. Both striped bass and bluefish are on the beach, inlet and in the bay. Fluke, weakfish and black drum are also great target species. Great reports flood in daily, even today in the rain. Here’s my latest fishing report update from yesterday, Tuesday morning.
Rick, the fishing musician is having a great spring catching striped bass on almost all of his trips to the beach. He is catching on clam. Today in the rain Todd Luyber reported, “Fish the slop! They are chewing!” Bobby Capri reported, “Insane night tonight! I made it to the 40 inch club this years 41 inch striped thing this evening a 36 inch a 26 inch bass and some monster blues!” Another great bluefish report came in yesterday from Chris Moffitt, “Got the birthday blues, about 10 of them on metal.”
Carl Hartman puts in much more time fishing than most and is having a hella good spring fishing the LBI surf. Yesterday he weighed in a spring surf trifecta… striped bass, bluefish and black drum! Now’s a great to fish the surf of Long Beach Island.
We will be running Open Boat trips this Tues May 14 and Fri May 17, the only days in the forecast without rain. 6AM to 1PM. $200 person, 4 people max, all fish are shared.
We will start out trolling plugs on the west side of the bay looking for birds or swirling fish to cast soft plastics and topwater lures. We will continue the hunt through Oyster Creek Channel looking for life and progressing east to fish the inlet. At the inlet we will use a combination of bait and lures. Bass and blues are the targeted species.
The fish are here and the anglers aboard the Reel Fantasea are catching! We have done pretty well with striped bass on recent trips catching on a variety of artificial and live bait. Some recent catch photos are listed below. If you are looking to get out fishing, I have one spot available on an open boat trip THI SATURDAY morning 5:30-10:30am sailing out of Barnegat Light. We will be striper fishing first and then finishing up with fluke. Call to secure the spot!
Recent days have offered great fishing for anglers fishing the waters of Long Beach Island. Both striped bass and bluefish are biting in the surf, inlet and bay. There’s also good early season fluke fishing too. Today, Tuesday May 7th we have a small yet powerful 2-4′ easterly swell on the beaches so be prepared with a little extra lead sinkers. Get out and enjoy this awesome early May fishing today!
Striped Bass Fishing Report
Striped bass have been action in the LBI suds for a number of weeks now. We are happy to share that the LBI surf continues strong. This past weekend was great and this work week and kept on going. Most reports are focused around mid-island (North Beach to Brant Beach) but that is also the more popular and convenient area to fish so more anglers mean more reports. On recent tides CLAM has been the top producer. Bunker is catching too and it’s also getting blues… more on that in the next section.
Right now there is a full size range from unders and keeper/slots to overs and welllll overs. In recent days fish in the mid to upper 40″ range were reported. Be sure your gear is in order and be sure to test your knots when rigging up. We hear too many, “I lost a big one today.” Spit hooks are one thing but knot failure is unacceptable. If you need an hand be sure to stop in Fishermans Headquarters and we can help!
The bayside while maybe overlooked now that the surf is good has been stellar. With the warming waters the bass are fired up! Small soft plastics like 3” NLBN, 4” Ron-Z and 5” Zoom Flukes have been best for matching the smaller bait profiles. Also top water poppers and spooks are teasing bass to the surface.
Bluefish Fishing Report
The front beach of LBI, Barnegat Inlet and Barnegat Bay all have nice bluefish on the chew. They first showed about 2-3 weeks ago and have since become more abundant and more spread out. This past weekend reports were coming in from all over! Carl Hartman stopped in with three nice bluefish up to 11lbs which he caught fishing frozen bunker chunks off the mid-island surf. We also had reports Monday from the rocks. There was a good bite with some good size bluefish on SP Minnows and metals on the outgoing tide.
Hopefully this trend continues and all can experience old school bluedawg beatdowns like the good ol’ days!
Fluke Fishing Report
With the rising bay and inlet water temperatures, the local fluke fishing is off to a phenomenal start! We’ve had reports of fish up to 26” and multiple limits of fish all over 20” on both Gulp and minnows. A few quality fish we’re caught on large strip baits like Bluefish, Mackerel and Sea Robbin. Fishing a big natural or live bait for fluke weeds out most of the smaller fish and increases the likelihood of a big fluke encounter. Store Staffer Paul had a nice limit of Fluke off the rocks, all over 19” up to 21.5”. All his fish we’re caught on Z-Man StreakZ and Magictail Killshot Jigheads.
The stretch of good weather and good fishing along the LBI surf continues! The suds are alive and consistent producing striped bass of all sizes on clam. There’s also a few bluefish and black drum. Now’s a great time to fish the Long Beach Island surf.
Not much change from the last report shared on 4/23/24… So I’ll start off with sharing and reiterating… “On the striped bass side of things we have both good bass fishing in the bay and surf as well as inlet. Anglers are targeting and catching on both lures and bait. Off the surf, the clam bite has been good.“
The clam bite on the surf has been really good with reports flooding in every day for the better part of two weeks now. We have done our best to share these updates on on social media pages (Our Facebook Page & Our Instagram Page) so if you don’t follow us there, now’s a great time to give us a follow!
Some days have been better than others with this weekend being full of action up and down Long Beach Island. Today (Sunday) we received striped bass catch reports from Barnegat Inlet, the North end beaches all the way down to Beach Haven and Holgate. Now’s the time to get out on the surf and soak some clams!
It’s depressing to say, we are in the final days of the April spring tog season but all good things come to an end. However, NJ Summer Flounder Season kick off May 5th. Crazy it’s time!!!
Here’s a quick video report update from this afternoon…
Since the last LBI Fishing Report update, we have had some new arrivals that make for a good spread of target species right now. Yesterday a couple bluefish were weighed in that were both caught off the LBI surf. We are stoked to share there are here!
Also present in the local waters of Long Beach Island; striped bass, black drum, tautog, kingfish, weakfish, blowfish and white perch. Offshore there were a couple giant bluefin caught too! Check out the latest fishing report video update from this morning to get some info on fishing, the beach, ocean weather and little more.
Bluefish & Bass Report
We weighed in two gator bluefish yesterday. Al Parente caught a 8.25# bluefish mid-island on bunker (photo shown in the video thumbnail above). Brandy Hillegass weighed in a 11.5# gator blue which was also caught mid-island on bunker. Photo below.
On the striped bass side of things we have both good bass fishing in the bay and surf as well as inlet. Anglers are targeting and catching on both lures and bait. Off the surf, the clam bite has been good. Anglers are also catching fishing bunker, worms and sand fleas. So far this season bunker has been extremely hard for us to get as out bait guys can’t find any. This might seem like a bad thing however the way I see it, this could very well help surf anglers. When the bunker is abundant most of the time striped bass moving through the area stag up on the bunker schools and feed off of the beach. With no bunker these striped bass move into the surf zone and roam the cuts and search for a mean in the wash. This is why clam and sand fleas were two hot baits last spring and it might repeat this year.
On the surf some larger class of striped bass arrived this past week – weekend. We previously heard news from further south (South Jersey, Atlantic and Cape May County) so it’s good to see them sliding up the coast. Right now it is awesome to see the bass on the beach in all size classes from shorts, slots, overs and trophies size too. Below is two photos of Gary Grippaldi’s monster he caught a couple days ago as well as another good size striped bass. Gary reported catching a bunch of other bass over the past few days fishing the surf.
Be on the look out for some swell on the beaches midweek.
Black Drum
Black drum report are still pinging but not as crazy as it once was the past two weeks. Maybe the full moon has them shifting gears and the activity will throttle up later this week??? Most years they show up in April and stick around for most of May and sometimes most of the summer.
If you are fishing for striped bass or black drum with clam and getting nibbles it is most likely blowfish or kingfish. These two notorious nibblers are here and only becoming more abundant as summer nears. Store staffer Frankie caught this blowfish on clam as well as stripers in the surf.
Tautog Fishing
Tog fishing is great both in the boat and on land. The boat anglers are catching some classy fish on the snags with crab. Below is a big tog caught by Tony Pacitti. Now’s the time to get out there. Only a few days left in the season as it closes in one week, next Tuesday April 30, 2024.
Tog Fishing Aboard LBI Charters
Anyone looking to get out blackfishing before the end of the season? Captain Greg Carr of LBI Charters is running open boat trips this Friday, Saturday & Sunday. $150PP Text 8562640318 or visit www.LBICharters.com to reserve a spot today.
For 2024 Captain Greg is running a new sled, the Kev N Ash III… a 28′ Crowley Beal Downeast battlewagon. This bottom fishing machine comfortable accommodates up to 6 anglers and eats up the sea. There’s decent weather through the weekend so it’s a good time to jump aboard and enjoy some time on the water fishing with one of the top captains in the area.
Ashley Carr caught this tog aboard LBI Charters fishing with father Capt Greg Carr on a recent trip.
Captain Greg fished Sunday and Monday for blackfish and has had some good fishing. He reports that fishing has improved as the water cleaned up and warmed up. Earlier in the season the cold bottom temps and swell were not helping.6# and Monday 12 keepers to 8#.
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!
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
