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Category: Fishing Reports
~ From the Surf ~ LBI Fishing Report
June surf fishing this past week really started to heat up with the arrival of some westerly winds which resulted in us having a good amount of bait (bunker) on the beach. And with that came the arrival of some good numbers and size Weakfish hitting Fluke baits.
And speaking of the Fluke / Flounder scene that bite continues to be Hot at times but now with a influx of a lot more short size and juvenile fish feeding in the surf. So those keeper ratios are starting to go way up -but still plenty of bigger fish around if you work for them.
Bluefish in the cocktail to taylor size range are still stalking and attacking anything that moves in the Surf..
June is Prime Time for Surfcasting Long Beach Island NJ and Learning how to target & catch the multiple species present plus its alot of fun doing so. , if you are interested in booking a surf fishing trip this summer just contact me for more information.
Email – [email protected] or call 609-276-6983
Nightstikes Surfcasting Guide Service LLC / Steve George
Hi Flier Open Boat Blues and Fluke
We will be running Open Boat or charter for Sat June 17 (two spots left), Sun June 18, and Mon June 19. We have been connecting with 2 to 4 lb blues in the bay trolling plugs and casting topwater lures. We are also catching fluke in the channels jigging with Gulp. There has been a good ratio of keeper fluke this season. Everything is on light tackle.There is a chance at stripers when we are in the inlet, as well.
6:30AM to 12:30PM, $175 person, 4 people max, all fish are shared. Call to reserve a spot.
The pics below are my son Max. We took the Lo Flier (he hates that name), our 16 ft aluminum bass boat out to break in the new motor yesterday (Wed). There was a lot of bird play and blues breaking water. I am hoping that holds up through these trips.
Dave DeGennaro
Hi Flier Sportfishing
732.330.5674 cell
hiflier.com
LBI Fishing Report Update 6/13/23
Beautiful day on LBI with sun skies, a breezy west wind and 2-3′ swell on the beach. ON the fishing front LBI has striped bass, bluefish and fluke with a few other species rounding out the menu. Anglers are catching on the surf as well as the inlet and bay. Right now is a great time to take advantage of the variety on tap. It’s safe to say if you are looking for classy striped bass, don’t wait! The area has had a really strong run all spring. Things will fade as the waters warm and summer kicks in. With the warmer water we look forward to fire fluke fishing, sheepshead, trigger, blowfish as well as the offshore big fame scene. So far the offshore game is off to a great start!
Attention All Youth Anglers & Parents!!!
The Rutger Cooperative Extension annual youth fishing program, “Reel Into Fishing”, in partnership with (and funded by) the International Game Fish Association (IGFA) is on August 15-17. This free program is for youth in grades 5-10. Registration is open now! Sign up online today as space is very limited.
6/10 Lighthouse Sportfishing Reort
The Debbie M finally splashed this week after some minor medical conditions held that up but I’ve been on the water the last three days, both salt and fresh. Lots of fluke around especially around both sides of the tide. Some days shorts dominate others you can get enough keepers for a good meal. Cocktail blues are still around the bay but throwing poppers before the sun gets to high is best. Bigger blues around the inlet. I have a hunch blowfish are showing up. Crabbing is good.
While still available most days for trips this summer I willing doing a few days here and there as a naturalist for Ocean County Parks system, but free most days for fishing and nature tours. Can you imagine living two of life’s dreams at once!!!! Spending the last several winters as a park ranger at Everglades National Park, as a county naturalist, and having won the World Series of Birding you will not be disappointed on one of my nature tours.
As I get more salty I find myself getting less enjoyment out of catching fishing and more out of teaching our youth how to fish. I so love my summer family trips. About 20 years ago I became a Hooked on Fishing – Not on Drugs instructor I carry those lessons to this very day. Today I met up with my friend Marty and his three year old grandson Jack Kelly. He slayed the bluegills/sunnies. He caught a nice pickerel but would not pose for a picture without even knowing about their teeth he said “its to big”.
Screaming drags,
Capt. Alex
Season of Change LBI Surf Report June 9th 2023
Smokey Sunrises this first full week of June brought some changes to the Surf Scene
After what seemed like a steady two weeks of onshore NE Winds and Cool temperatures finally some westerly’s showed and pushed in some juvenile bunker/menhaden towards the beaches and with it a steadier pick of Bluefish from 4-10lb+ on surface poppers.
Ocean surf temperatures jumped this week into the mid-upper 60’s and has now spread out the Fluke / Flounder bite all along the island and they are becoming more aggressive.
Some prime dates/tides are available as we close out Spring and head into the Summer season. So if you would like to do a little surf fishing contact me for more information just call 609-276-6983 or email me at [email protected] – thanks Steve George / NIGHTSTRIKES Surfcasting Guide Service LLC
LBI Fishing Report 6/7/23
This fishing report video update was taken and posted yesterday but uploaded by accident as private. We just changed the setting so it’s available for your viewing pleasure. A day late but still spot on! Good luck fishing.
NJ’s Striped Bass Micro-Slot Regulation
One fish 28” to 31” slot limit – The new NJ Striped Bass regulation took effect July 2, 2023 and will last through October, most likely the entire fall 2023 season.
The circle hook (inline, non-offset) mandate remains in effect when targeting striped bass with bait. Learn more about Fishing For Striped Bass With Circle Hooks. Also it is illegal to gaff a striped bass!
The NJ Striped Bass Bonus Tag Program remains status quo. Anglers with permit may keep a striper at 24″ to less than 28″ from May 15 until December 31st.
On May 2, 2023 the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Council (ASMFC) took emergency action mandating a coast-wide one fish length slot at 28 to 31 inches. States were to “implement compliant measures as soon as possible and no later than July 2, 2023.” These measures must remain in place for 180 and can be extended for up to a year. I heard through the grapevine these measures are expected to be extended until the 2024 assessment is released.
Why? The action addresses a handful of issues that striped bass face…
ONE: We must remain on track to rebuild female spawning stock biomass (SSB) to the target level of 235 million pounds by 2029. Remember SSB currently has an overfished status with a 2021 value of 143 millions pounds.
TWO: The MRIP (Marine Recreational Information Program) 2022 data (F2022) stated recreation harvest nearly doubled from 2021 (F2021). Let’s face it, we had a banner year fishing in 2022. Lots of anglers participated in the fishery, both catch and release as well as harvesting. A lot of striped bass were caught and handled.
THREE: New projections took the F2021 probability of 95% and flipped it to 15% with F2022. This is far too low to responsibly move forward, especially knowing that so far 2023 has been a very good year of fishing. Expectation would reasonably point at possibly another large MRIP number for F2023.
FOUR: We must reduce harvest of the 2015 year class which was the 4th largest young of the year (YOY) on record. These fish are currently 8 years old and in the 31-32” range. Recent years were below average making rebuilding dependent on the 2015 year class. The YOY study dates back to 1954 and tracks the reproductive success in the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries which are the primary spawning and nursery area for 70-90% of the Atlantic coast stocks of striped bass.
Important Considerations
- 90% of the coast wide striped bass fishery is caught by recreational anglers and only 10% by the commercial sector.
- Of all recreational live releases, there is a 9% assumption of release mortality. Recreational catch and release mortality actually exceeds recreational harvest. In 2020 release mortality was responsible for 54% of total striped bass removals.
We all must recognize our footprint and do everything in our power to decrease our release mortality.
The Striper Situation & Outlook
For the past couple of seasons New Jersey has experienced great striped bass fishing. Last fall the Jersey Shore had great weather, great conditions with bait and the striped bass migration and as a result great surf fishing and boat fishing. There was an abundance of striped bass in the area. There were some really big fish too, most likely due to the 2020 slot regulations prohibiting the take of larger striped bass. But this great fishing doesn’t mean there isn’t a problem looming on the horizon.
What it boils down to is, our effort, desire and love for striped bass fishing exceeds the current stock resource and forecasts. Our fishing pressure is enormous and nature just isn’t making enough of them. It is very hard to rebuild a species that has poor recruitment. For this reason emergency action now was important to hopefully protect the good striped bass fishing for the next decade and beyond.
Hindsight is always 20/20! It’s the same with fisheries science too because there’s just too many complex variables to forecast. Looking back it is easy to say “could of, should of, would of.” But that’s where assessments come in and tell what happened previously and where the stock sits.
Fortunately we have the 2024 stock assessment to provide updates and projections on the rebuilding process and how things look in regards to the 2029 deadline.
Do you love striped bass fishing? How much do you know about the striped bass situation? Read more about bass… http://www.asmfc.org/species/atlantic-striped-bass
Here’s youth angler Anthony Butch with his first striped bass and his dad Tony. This was one of many striped bass that were caught and released with Capt Greg Cudnik aboard Fish Head Charters.
Hi Flier Fluke and Blues Open Boat
We will be targeting fluke and bluefish on our next two Open Boat trips. Thurs June 8 and Mon June 12. We will be drifting the east and west sides of the bay for fluke and throwing surface lures for blues on the shallow flats.
Thurs June 8, 11AM to 4PM
Mon June 12, 7AM to Noon
$150 person, 4 people max, all fish are shared. These dates are also available for your private charter.
Dave DeGennaro
Hi Flier Sportfishing
732.330.5674 cell
hiflier.com
LBI Fishing Report 6/4/23
There’s striped bass, fluke, bluefish, a couple black drum and weakfish being caught here on Long Beach Island. It sounds like a broken record but the same great fishing continues when weather allows. The current north east blow which has made conditions challenging the past 48 hours will fade out later today. Now is a great time to enjoy some time on the water fishing LBI.
Capt Zach from Flyway Charters reported, “Conditions couldn’t be better and the flats came alive. All the way from Texas Mason saw a side of NJ that many doesn’t know exists.” Gotta love the Barnegat Bay flats in the spring and summer. This year has been a banner one with great light tackle and fly fishing for striped bass and bluefish in the skinny.
On The Surf
Chris Eckardt reported catching a 42″ striped bass Saturday about an hour before high tide fishing salted clam. Tony Viscardi caught a 36″ on salted clam too. Many other striped bass reports are and have come in from the surf side on clam as well as bunker.
Carl Hartmann caught this keeper fluke on LBI surf Friday.
Saturday morning Fish Head staffer Paul reported catching a bunch of bluefish, “The bluefish took over! They were chomping so hard, just about every cast. I couldn’t get a bass.