Anglers fishing in and around the waters of Long Beach Island have a variety of species to target. For the most part summer flounder are in the spot light but there’s a variety of other species that offer good fishing opportunities… Sea Bass, Sheepshead, Triggerfish, Weakfish, Kingfish, Striped Bass, Bluefish, Blowfish, +. Here’s the LBI Fishing Report Update for Wednesday July 6, 2022.

The most asked question is, “What’s biting on the Long Beach Island Surf?”

Recently catches are mostly made up of fluke and kingfish. There are some sharks and rays cruising the bars. We had a nice striped bass reported by Walter Horner.

If hitting the surf there’s a decision to make… either heavier rod to chunk via bait and weight-wait or lighter outfit to actively fish via cast and retrieve. If chunking, bunker, mackerel and/or clam would be the baits of choice rigged up on a single hook slide rig, hi/o or half bass rig. If going the lighter way use a small hook hi/lo rig with live bloodworms, Fish Bites Bag O’Worms or DynaBait Freeze Dried Bloodworms for kingfish. For fluke a hi/lo rigged doubled up with 3-4-5″ Gulp or a jig and teaser (baited with Gulp) will catch them.

Right now there is some seasonably chilly surf temperatures (low 60’s) due to a minor upwelling event. Some beaches on the island are warmer (mid 60’s) and some colder (in the mid to upper 50’s). Finding warmer water will offer better results with more active bites. I’ve found that while Fish Bites are incredible live and freeze dried worms out fish during the colder water slow day bites.

Fluke fishing is good in the bay, inlet and ocean sites. Not everyday, all day is it on but some days and times offer quality fishing. There’s still some quality fluke in the bayside waters. Ryan Warford caught this one on July 4th.

In the past week or so reports of ocean fluke fishing were good. Reports from some of the reefs have been good. There’s alos some nice sea bass to be caught.

The current Black Sea Bass regulation (July 1 – August 31) is 2 Fish At 13″.

Anglers in the know who are focusing and doing the work are catching beautiful sheepshead. Fiddlers, sand fleas and blue crabs are the best baits. Triggerfish are also here.

Here’s a link to my last video report. It’s a short one, but stay tuned and I’ll have up a more detailed report in the near future.

Offshore Fishing Report

Some yellowfin and bluefin reports popped up over the past week. A few reports from the mid-shore grounds and others from far offshore. A couple customers in the show reported a few bluefin in the area of the Barnegat Ridge. A couple reports from the AP which usually by this time of year is on fire. We heard about some action that popped up for a couple days in the area of the Bacardi and Texas Tower. There has also been some large bluefin only a few miles off the beach.

Store staffer Frezza got into some good fun deep drop fishing for tiles. Here’s a good size blue-line tilefish he caught on a recent trip.

Mako shark fishing is closed!

Effective July 5, 2022 – No shortfin mako sharks may be landed or retained in any U.S. Atlantic highly migratory species (HMS) fishery until further notice. This zero retention limit of zero in the commercial and recreational Atlantic HMS fisheries is consistent with the management measure adopted in 2021 by the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) recommendation. For more information on mako sharks, their biology and management check out this recent blog post.

I just spent the last four days on the water and finally got a chance to put a report out. Every trip has been at the inlet jetty fishing a  bobber and worms, targeting stripers. All on10 lb spinning gear. A lot of fun. Catching a few legal fluke and too many blackfish in the effort. We are using in line circle hooks as required, so all the tog are released unharmed. The bass are anywhere from 25 to 30 plus inches and we have tags to keep 24 to 28 inch fish for all on board. Any given day we are catching bluefish on lures there, too, but some days they just aren’t there. 

Running Open Boat to Barnegat Ridge for bonita and albacore Monday, July 4, 7AM to 2PM. $250 person, 4 people max, all fish are shared. I do not have any bonita reports, only albies that I have heard of, but there could be anything there this time of year, it’s just time to try. 
Also available during the week, Wed, Thurs, and Fri, July 6, 7, and 8, 11AM to 4PM for the inlet stripers and blues fishing. 

Dave DeGennaro

Hi Flier Sportfishing

732.330.5674 cell

hiflier.com

Long Beach Island New Jersey Fishing Report Update: June 27, 2022

MARINE FORECAST: 

It’s sunny this morning,  with a low of 64º degrees and high of 74º this afternoon.  The wind is currently pumping out of the SSW at 18 mph with gusts forecasted to 32 mph.  The ocean sloppy, currently 2-4′ waves on the beaches with a dominate 4′ swell and 5 second intervals. A small craft advisory is in effect. Thunderstorms forecasted to start around noon-1pm and possibly into this afternoon. Tomorrow and the rest of the week is looking like a much better day weather wise.

SURF REPORT:

LBI Surf Temperature is currently in the mid to high 60’s. But due to the current hard south wind an upwelling is probable chilling down the water temps.

Striped Bass : Off the beachfront there are still Striped Bass to be had.  You can pull an occasional fish out of the water on the normal staples of bunker or clam, but as the water temperatures rise the fish change their feeding tactics.  With an abundance of sand fleas and calicos in the water, one can find more success matching the hatch!

The Bluefish:  Blues are abundant in the surf and inlets.  Most are in the cocktail size ranging 1-3 pounds but there are a few bigger ones too. Your best bet is running a SP minnow, Yozuri Mag Darter or Hydro Minnow, an AVA, Hopkins, bucktails. These are the standouts but any lure that matches the bait should work. Right now the local bait fish around the island are silversides, peanut bunker, minnows, small squid. Stop at the shop to see our wide range of lure selection.

Weakfish: Weakies are on the rebound in our local waters.  Although not as prevalent as the bass or blues they are being caught out of the surf, bay and inlets.  Standard bucktail while fluking tipped with gulp, or even bombers at night can produce nice fish with some tide runners being caught.

Fluke:  With the ocean water temperature currently rising to the upper 60’s the fluke bite is picking up from the surf. There are nice fish to be had.  Stop at the shop and pick up our wide array of Magic Tail Hoochies or Spro bucktails and tip them with GULP! Or other natural baits like minnows, spearing or squid.  

Northern King Fish: Kings are once again here. With the summer water temperatures the king fish bite has started.  Stop at the shop and pick up blood or sandworm, dyna bait freeze dried worms, or fishbites and get your lines wet.  As the bite continues to pick up kings can also be caught on GULP! while fluke fishing.  

BOAT:

INSHORE

Fluke is the main stay for inshore summertime fishing. This weekend reports were good from the reefs. It’s really starting to heat up as the ocean water temperatures rise. Over the past couple years jigging tight to the structure has been the best way to outproduce the fleet.  Stop in to see our Magictail, Spro and Tsunami jig selection as well as our classic fluke rigs selection. The old school frozen spearing and squid always gets the job done as well as live minnows and GULP! Right now we are stocked up on all the top baits as well as some new styles; the translucent shrimp and 8″ grubs. Let’s go catch some doormats!

Sharks and rays have arrived and making their presence know. Some big thresher sharks have been caught. So far it has been a good showing. This weekend the first black tips and spinners were seen and caught. On the ray front, the rough tail and butterfly rays arrived with the cow nose rays too.

OFFSHORE

The offshore fishing is not nearly what it was at this time last year. Most of it is due to the lack of prime water. A couple big tuna were reported in the Toms. Also some small yellowfin have been reported this weekend. Boats are also catching tilefish. No reports from the Ridge and mid-shore waters. These areas are usually good in July. 🤞 Stop in the shop to see our offshore selection and gear up so you are ready when the bite turns on.  

The weather this weekend Saturday and Sunday is looking perfect and I do have some availability if you’d like to get out this weekend, but I’m also opening up my July calendar and if you would like to book a trip in advance if you’re going to be staying on the island this coming month just contact me for some additional information and we can discuss setting up a trip for you.

The action has been heating up and we’ve had some pretty decent trips so far when mother nature cooperates. With clients catching their limits and fish up to 20 inches so some nice fish are around and biting.

you could contact me at [email protected] or call 609-276-6983

Steve George ~Nightstrikes Surfcasting Guide service LLC

It’s officially summer and the fishing here on Long Beach Island is good. Daily anglers are catching fluke and blues. This action is taking place on the surf, in the bay and the inlet. Talk at the shop today was some good action the past couple of days in the bay and also the ocean fluke bite is beginning to materialize. There’s still a surprisingly good showing of striped bass and the weakfish are around too!

Today (Thursday) store staffer Jared got a nice weakfish off the jetty. Checking back on the recent reports we have shared a number of other weakfish catches. Triggerfish are around and we expect them to become more abundance in the coming weeks. Let’s go fishing!!!

We struggled on our Sat and Sun trips with 20 plus knot winds and some sporty conditions in the bay and inlet. On our Sat trip we eeked out a catch of a slot striper, a tog, a fluke, and a bluefish for Bill Fitts and his family. On Sunday we fought the worst of the weekend conditions for a bluefish and a sand shark. On Monday, the wind subsided and we had “lights out” fishing for the entire six hour trip for Dave Estey and his gang. Casting lures around the inlet jetty, they had 25 two to five pound blues. Drifting bobbers with bait into the jetty produced a 28 and 29 inch striper as well as a bunch of 2 to 4 lb tog. The tog are out of season, so we released them. We are using in line circle hooks while targeting the stripers so all of the tog have been mouth hooked and released in very good condition. 

We have two spots booked and two spots available for an Open Boat trip this Friday June 24 11AM to 4PM for fishing stripers and blues in the inlet. $175 person, 4 people max, all fish are shared. 
Open Boat TUNA!! The weather looks really good for this Sat June 25 to head to the tuna grounds. There isn’t any mid range action yet, so we are making the 80 to 90 mile trek to where the fish are. It is all trolling right now. 2AM to 5PM. $550 person, 4 people max, all fish are shared.

Sun and Mon, June 26 and 27 are also available for Open Boat or Charter for stripers, blues, and fluke. $175 person, 4 people max, all fish are shared. 

Dave DeGennaro

Hi Flier Sportfishing

732.330.5674 cell

hiflier.com

Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association

Jim Hutchinson Sr.

Fishing action continues in the Beach Haven area on several fronts with a variety of fish available to choose from. Although the season for black sea bass is now closed, the fluke action is picking up to take center stage. As the water temperatures continue to rise, the fluke will head toward the inlets and then to the inshore structure.

The “Miss Beach Haven” and Captain Frank Camarda has begun finding nice sized fluke right off the bat. The only head boat in Beach Haven, the “Miss Beach Haven” has a knack for finding fish for its anglers. On the year’s initial trip, Greg had the first keeper of the season which still holds as the biggest of the season weighing just under 5-pounds and measuring out at 24-inches.

Captain Brett Taylor of “Reel Reaction Sportfishing” found nice pockets of fluke just inside Barnegat Inlet this past weekend despite the high winds. Anglers Dan, Craig, and Gary fished a 4-hour light tackle trip with fighting the wind. They found a few areas with feeding fluke, and they put 12 keepers in the box with Dan’s 23-inchfish the top fish. On another trip, one of Brett’s regulars, Bob Dodds with three friends boxed 9 keepers and released over 25 short fish.

Additional information on the BHCFA can be found at www.BHCFA.org.

Sorry for the late post. I forgot to hit the publish button.

Here in mid June, we are waning off of June full moon (better known as the Strawberry moon but) called the “Hot Moon” by some native American tribes because of the beginning of the hot summer heat. The official start to the summer season kicks off June 21st, but we are already seeing the transition here in the waters of Long Beach Island. With the summer heat comes warming water temperatures and the summertime fisheries on Long Beach Island. Here’s the LBI Fishing Report Update for June 17, 2022.

Recent strong showing of bluefish ranging from 2-10# in the bay, inlet and surf. Weakfish show promise of potentially another good year. Last year was my best weakfishing in a decade. Striped bass are still here but the great spring run has faded out on the surf with the majority of sizable ones moving on with their migration. Fluke fishing is prime time! Fluke fishing in the bay, inlet and surf has been good. At times weedy conditions can be challenging. Sharks and rays are showing up and will become more abundance of the next few weeks. Expect kingfish (surf) and blowfish (bay) reports to pop back up too.

Friday we have a lingering 2-3′ easterly swell with southwesterlies swinging more westerly as the day progresses. Breezy northwesterlies will be in store for the weekend. Be prepared with The Best Bug Spray – Captain Ron’s. The winds are up for a few days but generally speaking this is the time of year where the weather systems break down and Lake Atlantic conditions prevail. Fingers are crossed for some board duration fair weather to allow everyone to get offshore and into the summertime tuna fishing.

The crew at fish heads has been fishing hard and having a hella good time catching. Store staffer Tyler got into the tiderunners this week. He caught four fishing the Jetty using Gulp 5″ Pink Shine Grubs. Store staffer Frezza reports good fishing the past couple of weeks in the channels and shallow water areas in his neck of the woods (Tuckerton). Store staffer Jack got into some good fishing with bucktails, both striped bass and fluke! Store staffer Jared has been catching the fluke good too. Below is a recent limit catch of his from the Barnegat Inet Jetty.

Strong fluke reports from boat and land based anglers. One report came in from Mike Hovan who shared, “Fluke action was great. Got two keepers at 18.25″ and 17.75 and also caught six or seven straight at one point using Gulp 4″ swimming mullet baits. Bite was best the first hour after high tide. The water was warm and crystal clear. I saw two triggerfish cruising the lip and a cow nose ray so we are quickly entering into the summer fishery.”

Simply Bassing ends on June 26th – Here’s the current leader board.

Fluke-A-Mania coming up on June 25th

JCAA Heavy Hitters Fluke Tournament is coming up on 8/4-8/7. More details coming soon.

We ran to the Lindenkohl Canyon early Saturday morning in search of tuna. We arrived at the spot and as Nick started letting out the second rod in our spread it got tanked by a nice 45 pound yellowfin that liked the Joe Shute ballyhoo he had just rigged minutes before. That would prove to be our only fish for the cooler. We released three others throughout the day that did not tape out to be legal size. 

On Monday I had Mike Fuhrman and friends out for some inlet fishing. They caught 7 or 8, two to four pound tog that ate our striper bait, but sadly the season is closed, so they were all returned to swim another day. They also had a 29 and 31 inch striper. Everything was on 10 to 12 pound spinning gear, so the bass battles were epic. 
We are heavily booked through the weekend but we are adding a second slot on Saturday June 18 from 1PM to 6PM if anyone is interested in chartering the boat for that time. The possible species to target are stripers, blues, and fluke. Capt Nick will be running this one, he’s a better fluker than me, anyway. 
Also available Wed June 22 and Fri June 24 for afternoon trips, 11AM to 4PM. Targeting stripers and blues at the inlet jetty. We could also mix in some fluke fishing. 

Dave DeGennaro

Hi Flier Sportfishing

732.330.5674 cell

hiflier.com