Looks like a really good weather window tomorrow, Monday, Oct 28, so we are headed offshore for tuna. Bluefin will be the target. We are bringing 30 to 80 class gear because the size range of these fish are all over the place. We will be drifting and bait fishing. Live bait whenever possible. You’re welcome to jig and throw poppers, we will have all of that onboard, as well.
I have my sites on the Atlantic Princess to start for big bluefin and then working our way back through Little Italy for a shot at all size fish.
Open Boat Tuna: Monday Oct 28, 4AM to 4PM $450 person. 4 people max. All fish are shared.
With the low tide incoming, there’s a small but powerful swell lingering on the beaches in the 2′ range. Yesterday there was significantly more energy breaking on the sand bars, all of it from the weekend’s offshore low pressure system which gave us big surf this past weekend; Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Tune in now to the Wednesday morning October 23, 2024 Long Beach Island fishing report update…
What’s Biting At Long Beach Island?
Since the Full Moon last week, the surf side fishing action on LBI has been on the slower side. We had active blues as well as pockets of kingfish, both of which surf anglers were catching. However things changed. Saturday’s American Angler surf fishing tournament was dismal. The sold out event had strong participation BUT the 6’++ surf made for very rough conditions. The waters were full of seaweed making it nearly unfishable. No score-able fish were entered.
LBI Surf Side Striped Bass
But here’s good news on the surf side… Some striped bass were caught by anglers plugging the surf. It’s that time of year! Shop regulars Chris Masino and Greg Davis both caught some linesiders in the surf this week. It’s great to see some fish are around in the suds. With the abundance of bait (sand eels, peanut bunker, snappers, bay anchovies, +) in the area, new arrivals with stripes can’t get here soon enough!
LBI Surf Temperature
The water temperature on the LBI surf is right around 60-62º. With the recent warmer weather we have a little bounce off the recent lows, but for the most part there is a downward trend. I got out and did some awesome fishing here the last couple days. Last night I got out and fished for a few hours. It was slow but we managed three bites with one bass. Both Monday and Tuesday were beautiful days with light winds and a spaced out longer period groundswell.
Wreck Fishing – Bottom Fishing
Monday I had Chef Tom and his wife aboard for some wreck fishing. We ran out to 80′ of water and had fun sea bass and porgy fishing on clam, squid and sand fleas. We had to work for them but we caught a good cooler full of fish they both had sore arms. They brought home the groceries and had fun so the mission was a success.
I’ve heard many good reports from customers were were also out earlier this weekend. Both the reefs and wrecks have life but it seems that there is no consistency. Many spots have a mix of both shorts and keepers. For us we didn’t have any jumbos so maybe I should of fished deeper.
LBI Bayside Fishing
The Barnegat Bay and Manahawkin Bay has striped bass to target. Store staffer Emmet, Frezza and Paul are catching. Also Paul ran up north and got into that Monmouth County striped bass bite that’s rolling on up there for a couple weeks now. Hopefully those fish start sliding down. We’ll see how that goes. The stage is set as we have a lot of bait in the area. We haven’t had bunker in the shop fresh or mullet because the mullet runs sort of fading out. We hope to have a delivery of fresh bunker later today. There’s a lot of sandals stretch along the central and northern Jersey coast. Take a look at a post I just threw up on Instagram just the other morning.
LBI Blackfish – Tautog – Tog Fishing
The #1 best fishing opportunity right now for land based anglers fishing LBI is TAUTOG! The bite has been good and got better. Fish the inlet rocks with green crabs and sand fleas a have fun catching. There’s plenty of fish chewing and there’s keepers in the mix.
LBI Public Service Announcement
LBI Beach Replenishment Info – The work is currently at Holyoke Ave and they will be working in that area for the month. Be on the lookout – prepared if you are planning on fishing or driving the beach down that way.
Barnegat Inlet Dredge Project Info – The Army Corp Engineers are currently working on Barnegat Inlet, removing the shoaling east of Buoy 11, basically in the middle of the inlet. Due to the nature of the work, the dredge is restricted in ability to maneuver and thus shows the black ball/diamond/ball vertical day shape as well as red/white/red vertical lights at night time. To communicate with the dredge use VHF13.
Here in the mid-October time frame, we are waning off the full moon with water temperatures much colder than just a week ago. The run of cold nights have dropped both the bay (mid 50’s, warmer closer to the inlets) and surf temps (low 60’s). Today we had a sunny and breezy day with big surf in the 3-5’+ on the beaches. There’s a low-pressure system offshore of the region, so expect easterly swell all weekend.
There’s still some mullet around, but the activity has slowed down. With it the bluefish bite has also tapered some. There are still smaller ones around the bay, inlet and surf. Our fingers are crossed some racers start up.
Striped bass fishing is on the slower side, but common for this point in the season. We have had a few entered into the LBI Surf Fishing Classic surf fishing tournament. Here’s the live results. Recently classy striped bass arrived in NJ waters. Unfortunately for south – central NJ anglers these fish have been for the most part focused around the Monmouth County waters. But there are some creeping into Ocean County waters. It’s only time and these hungry ones will slide down some more. Be ready!
The best striped bass fishing in the LBI areas right now has been on the backside’s bay waters. There’s striped bass hitting both artificials and live bait with anglers catching via boat in the main thoroughfares and sod banks as well as some select land based areas. In the thumbnail photo of today’s report video is angler Tom Smith who is catching striped bass in the bay. This should continue to be an opportunity for the rest of October and well into November. It’s a great shot if the ocean doesn’t tee off.
On the surf the main action has been small blues, a few kingfish and some out of season fluke. As the surf temperatures continue to decline expect both the kings and fluke to fade out and expect a better showing of dogfish and striped bass. They both usually show up in numbers around Halloween.
Tog fishing remains very good, possibly better than earlier this month. It seems like we have an uptick in size. Fish cut green crabs and sand fleas around the north end’s Inlet structure to score these fun quick hitting fish.
Remember: Blackfish aka Tautog / Tog is currently a ONE fish bag limit at 15″ minimum size. On November 16th it goes to a 5 fish bag limit. For more details: NJ Saltwater Fishing Regulations
I was out in the boat the other day and had some great fly fishing for bluefish in some challenging windy conditions. The bass eluded us. On another trip we hammered the tog and had a lot of health good size ones, very few dinks like I had on a previous trip. Wednesday late morning, I ran up the beach looking for new arrivals (bass). I found the mother load of bunker, sand eels, whales and tuna busting, all in the 30-50′ of water but no bass. I’m stoked the stage is set for a great fall!
This morning we have a fall chill in the air with a 50º air temperatures and north west winds. It’s sunny so things will warm up as the day develops. Right now at the lower stage of the incoming tide, there is 1-3’+ swell breaking on the bars. This is lingering energy from Kirk (as well as small but new pulses from Leslie too). We have incoming tide all day with high about 1pm this afternoon.
The waters are cooling and currently the Long Beach Island surf sits in the mid 60’s; 65-67º. Here on the mid-moon of October and we are transitioning out of the mullet run and into prime fall fishing. This past week a variety of fish were caught and in good numbers from anglers fishing the bay, inlet and surf. There tog, bluefish, kingfish and more striped bass everyday. Also blowfish and weakfish in the bay as well as sea bass and porgy on the wrecks. As I reported in today’s fishing report video, we have possibly the first arrivals of migrating fall run in now. Tune in for details on the fishing report and let’s go fishing!
We have received a flood of reports this week all themed around lots of bites. Bluefish and tog are the two main games right now for land based anglers. Boat trips can take advance of them too as well as Black Sea Bass and mid-shore tuna. In the bay blowfish and weakfish are also in the cards still too.
Last Saturday, the 75th Annual LBI Surf Fishing Classic kicked off with a bang. We had a large showing at the seminar. It was a full house, pushing 70+ people with standing room only. The coffee was hot and the doughnuts were tasty! Also everyone who came got some free tackle goodies thanks for AFW… rigs, mono leader, wire leader, and some terminal tackle. Myself and Bayside Dave shared details on fishing the LBI surf. If you missed it be sure to look out for the event next year. On the fishing action side of things, that too started with strong activity. Check out the live results page here. You’ll see the majority of the action is blues and tog, but there are also kingfish and one striped bass on the board. It’s time! Join today and go fish.
Last Saturday was the LBI Fishing Club’s World Series Of Surf Fishing. The 32 teams (180 anglers) competed and caught a total of 218 fish. Bluefish dominated the suds with 153 catches. The second most active species was kingfish (50 were caught). Also there were a good amount of fluke caught but because they are out of season did not score. The tournament was won by Ocean City -Blue with 40 fish totaling 489 points. Second place was American Angler – White with 27 fish totaling 363.75. Third place was Merchantville A with 20 fish totaling 233 points. Largest fish in the event was a 21.5″ bluefish caught by Bob Nowatzky. Tournament Director Barry Forgeng shared, “It was a great day with perfect conditions on the surf with wind, tide, swell as well as fish. It was a successful tournament all around.”
We had insane Bonita fishing over the weekend. We made a few drifts each day and there was nonstop action on Bonita and Albacore. Chumming with spearing and peanut bunker, none of my customers ever put a bait out. It was all on jigs. The jig didn’t seem to matter, every size, color, and shape got eaten. Definitely some bluefin on the same grounds, as we hooked a fish that dumped line at an alarming rate before breaking off. We did have some heavier gear out with tuna bait but no hookups. The good news is this area we are fishing is loaded with 3 to 6 inch sandeels. They were stuffed in the fish’s mouths when they hit the deck and the bellies when we were at the cleaning table. This is candy for the tuna.
On these same grounds, some boats were connecting with 250 to 400 pound Bluefin Tuna, both on the troll and bait. However, they were all over 73 inches, so they had to be released. The current Bluefin regs allow charter boats to keep 3 fish between 27 and 47 inches, aka: Unders, and one fish between 47 and 73 inches, aka: Overs, per boat. There are a few ways to target these Giant Bluefins. You need to get on the grounds at, or before daybreak, and troll Joe Shutes with Ballyhoo, or go on the drift with live bait. The troll effort is usually over by 9AM, whereas you can have success with drifting live bait throughout the day. Getting the right live bait is the challenge. Small bluefish, ling, whiting, or bunker are the preferred hookbaits. It’s worth spending half the trip getting the right live bait if necessary, rather than put out sub par hookbaits that never get a bite.
Here’s what I know:
The marine and traditional weather look really good for this upcoming Fri Oct 11, Sat Oct 12, and Sun Oct 13.
We will be fishing all three of these days.
I can offer any of these days as a charter or run Open Boat each day.
I have all the right bait to start a chunk line: spearing, peanut bunker, sardines. Also live spots as hookbaits. Whichever
species we decide to target, we will be fishing with bait and jigs, no trolling. The exception would be trolling for the Giant Bluefins,
I would consider that but still prefer to use live bait for those, too.
We can target Bonita, Albacore, and school Bluefin Tuna all in the same area, about a 25 to 30 mile run.
If you guys want to target the Giant Tuna, it’s a commitment. We can’t fish for anything else. We will start by hitting a wreck and trying
to catch live bait. We will put out 80 class tackle and nothing else waiting for the right bite. The 80’s I have are standup
rods, so you will have a belt and harness rather than fight him out of the rod holder. Just know, this is the most boring
fishing in the world….until you hook up, then it’s the craziest thing you will ever experience.
I am good to fish for any of these fish. It’s prime time migration, 65 degree water, they are on the feed.
Open Boat or Charter on Fri Oct 11, Sat Oct 12, or Sun Oct 13:
Bonita/Albacore/Bluefin combo $400 person, 4 people max, all fish are shared. 5AM to 3PM
Giant Bluefin $450 person, 4 people max, release only, unless we catch one under 73 inches. 4AM to 2PM
*It is possible to fish the early morning hours on the troll for a Giant Bluefin and then switch to Bonita/Albies/School Bluefin
AS I WAS TYPING THIS I GOT A REPORT ON BLUEFIN AND YELLOWFIN AT THE 50 TO 60 MILE RANGE.
IF THE OCEAN IS CALM, WE CAN CONSIDER THIS RUN AT $450 PERSON, 4AM TO 4PM
I know, a lot to consider here, but I hope that I conveyed how flexible I am on whatever we decide to target. Bonita to Giant Bluefin.
I am happy fishing for any of the bluewater fish this weekend as it is prime time.
Beautiful morning in the neighborhood with light to no winds. Yesterday was a good one too. There’s bluefish on the surf chasing mullet and the mullet run is still under way. The tog fishing is active for land based anglers fishing Barnegat Inlet. With sea bass open they are also on tap for ocean fishing boat anglers. Be ready for the striped bass “run” which may pop off at anytime now. There bass to be caught fishign the eaters of LBI and the action should only get better as the waters cool. It’s usually best Halloween to Thanksgiving timeframe. I’m looking forward to this weekend as the 70th Annual LBI Surf Fishing Classic kicks off Saturday October 5, 2024. Also tomorrow Oct 5th, I’m presenting with bayside Dave a FREE surf fishing seminar at the Ship Bottom Fire House from 9-11am. See you there!
The marine forecast is looking pretty good for Fri and Sat, Oct 4 and 5. We will be headed offshore looking for tuna, yellowfin or bluefin. The first wave of boats should get out Wed and Thurs, so we will base our destination on those reports. We will be bait fishing and jigging. Wherever we wind up, we are going to make a mess! Sardines, peanut bunker, spearing in the chunk slick and live bait on the hooks. There is nothing more exciting than day chunking!
Open Boat Tuna:
Fri Oct 4 5AM to 3PM and Sat Oct 5 5AM to 3PM
$450 person. 4 people max. All fish are shared.
We are also available any day for bay fishing or bonita/albacore depending on the forecast.
This fall there was some confusion circling which all seemed to have stemmed from a clerical typo and confusion between public works, police and administration. No matter the case, now that it is October 1st all of LBI’s beaches are officially open to 4×4 beach buggy access with proper permits. Here’s a link to a detailed LBI 4×4 Beach Driving Access Guide.
More unsettled weather with Nor’easterlies in the forecast for this week with E-ENE swell on the beaches of LBI. Right now it look like later in the work week things finally settle down wind wise and the sun comes out for the weekend, BUT the surf stays up right through the forecast period.
On the fishing front, anglers getting out and roughing the conditions are primarily targeting and catching striped bass, bluefish and tog. That three way play will be prime for the entire month of October aheads so I suggest putting focus on those. There’s also weakfish and blowfish. The mullet run has slowed down to a trickle the last couple of days. With the new moon on October 2nd, I’ll go out on a limb and say this is the final innings. Maybe another wave or two, then some scattered pieces but I wouldn’t hold your breath. Please let time prove me wrong!
Tune into my latest report video which I recorded and published on Saturday later in the day…
Greg Davis report… “I caught my first surf side striped bass of the 2024 fall. Thanks Paul at Fish Heads for the recommendation on the mullet colored Yozuri Long Cast Hydro Minnow.”
Screenshot
Many other striped bass reports came in this weekend from angler fishing the bay, inlet and surf. We were stoked to heard another great report from Randy Edwards, “Pretty decent bite fishing metal lips and top water. Had 8 fish total but only landed three. Both striped bass and blues doing acrobatics on my popper. It was a fun day!”
Tog fishing has been a consistent opportunity that lots of anglers have taken advantage of. We are fortunate to have such a robust, fun fishery with lots of public access, especially areas to fish that are protected from the wind. Haha, funny, not funny! I don’t want to sound like a broken record but the wind just keeps going.
The NJ Summer Flounder fishing season came to a close this past Thursday (Wednesday 25th was the last day). And with one season closing another opens. NJ Black Sea Bass fishing opens on October 1 (same 12.5″ minimum length all year) with a 10 fish bag. Then come November 1st the bag increases to 15 fish. For more details on the NJ Saltwater Fishing Regulations, here is a convenient pdf download.
Next weekend is the start of the 70th Annual LBI Surf Fishing Classic, Saturday October 5th. The surf fishing tournament runs for 9 weeks with lots of prizes. For more details www.LBISFC.com.
Don’t miss out on the opening day Surf Fishing Seminar! It is a FREE EVENT at the Ship Bottom Fire House hosted by me, Greg from Fisherman’s Headquarters and Bayside Dave where lots of surf fishing info will be shared. Also there are free doughnuts (Crust & Crumb Bakery), free coffee (How You Brewin’) and free goods aka door prizes from American Fishing Wire. We will also give away a couple reels from Penn, another key sponsor of the event. If you have attended in the past, you know this is a great low key fun event. It’s a perfect opportunity for new anglers to get involved and also intermediate and expert anglers to network and meet new faces.
See you there, this Saturday October 5th from 9-11am.
We are catching weakfish, kingfish, and blowfish on the west side of Barnegat Bay. Anchored up chumming with clam and also using live shedder crabs. Fishing between the BI and BB Buoys. Light tackle, six pound spinning outfits. Not catching the weakies and kings every trip. We didn’t have any today, but we had quite a few jumbo blowfish, I call them “whales” at that size. We also had sand sharks, grunts, spots, fluke, and striped burrfish in the mix.
The highlight today was a huge blowfish, technically a Northern Puffer, that I caught and weighed in . It weighed in at 1.21 lbs, making it a pending IGFA All Tackle World Record for that species. It was 11 inches long and 18 inches in circumference when inflated. I kept it in the livewell while we were on the boat, then transferred it to a bucket with an aerator for the weigh in. Once we left the scale, we took her to the bay for a live release and she swam away happy:
Available every day for bay charters. Great way to get fishing while waiting for these relentless ocean conditions to subside. Once things calm down, we will be back on the hunt for bonita, albies, and tuna.
Pics:
Vinny Laprete from Roselle Park, NJ in camo
Max DeGennaro from Barnegat, NJ in black shirt
Dave DeGennaro from Barnegat, NJ in burgundy sweatshirt
