Fluke still remains “on-fire” with the Ocean producing much better action as compared to the bay. For example, we had a 3 man limit of 9 keeper Fluke to 25.5 inches in just 2 hours and 20 minutes!! Epic Fishing to say the least!! I understand some get sea-sick and have to stay in the bay, but I highly recommend running to the Ocean as there tends to be more quality fish and less short fish. The bay bite is still good for the young ones in terms of action with most trips producing a steady 30 to 40 fish, but only 2 to 5 keepers. Although we haven’t been targeting them, the jetties are still producing Bluefish, Striped Bass, and even some small Weakfish further off. Reminder: We continue to run 7 days a week until September and we are now starting to book our Fall Striped Bass trips.
I had return clients Eric Haase, his wife Mary, and their friends Craig Fordyce and his girlfriend Caitlyn Torres on a 4hr Bay/Inlet trip. We had very tough conditions with higher than predicted winds, and wind-against tide situations at quite a few spots. But the charter stuck with it and with repeated drifts the crew caught over 30 Fluke with 5 keepers to 22.5 inches on bucktails. Awesome job for a challenging day!
I had return client Tom Dillon Jr and his cousin Mike Kelly of North Jersey on a 4hr Bay/Inlet charter. Tom’s dad was supposed to go, but got caught up with work so Tommy’s cousin jumped on. We worked some of the same areas as last week’s trip and had steady activity at most of the spots. The two released over 25 Fluke with very close to 18 inches, but they were able to box 3 keepers at 18, 19, 19.5 inches. Nice Job!! I look forward to seeing them for our fall Striped Bass fishery.
I had return client Tim Murphy and his son Kevin of Jamison, PA out on a 4hr Bay/Inlet trip. With a brief discussion prior to the trip, the father-son team opted for the ocean. Great choice, as we limited out on 9 keeper Fluke to 25.5 inches in 2 hours and 20 minutes. Tim was the high hook catching the most and two biggest fish at 25.5 and 24.5 inches. All fish were caught on bucktails and were quality sized (18, 18.5, 19, 19, 20, 20.5, 23, 25.5, 24.5). Great job by the guys and look forward to seeing them in November for Striped Bass.
In the afternoon, I had return client Erik Lundbeck, his son Axel, nephew Arthur and Arthur’s girlfriend Ana Paden on a 4hr Bay/Inlet trip. We started working the inlet area, but had strong tidal current and winds which made it challenging to say the least. With success in the morning, we ran to the same Ocean area but could only muster 2 keeper Fluke (19, 21 inches) among shorts. We had much quicker drifting conditions and many more Brown sharks in the area. We did see one small, what appeared to be a 2.5-3ft Blacktip shark in the area. 10yr old Axel did end up hooking up with a 4-5 foot Brown shark that ended up hitting his short fluke on the way up. Tougher conditions, but still pretty good action for the crew!
And to close out the week, I had new client Steven Hartley, his wife Debbie Edmiston, and her son Tristan of Philadelphia, Pa on a 4hr Bay/Inlet trip. We started working some of the same bay areas as the day prior and had to weed through the shorts to find keepable fish. After some moving around, they trio found 2 keepers at 19 and 20 inches. Good job for their first time bucktailing!
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 2017 summer flounder season will be ending in a few weeks on September 5. Meanwhile, the current fluke action off Beach Haven is red hot and at its peak, especially on the inshore wrecks and artificial reefs. The boats of the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association have been returning to the dock with satisfied anglers and in many cases with limit catches of big fish.
Captain Gary Dugan of the “Irish Jig” reports the fishing has been “very good.” He has had multiple trips with limits on fluke and some nice black sea bass and blackfish for good measure. He has seen some big fish come over the rails up to 26-inchers. He has been fishing the Garden State South Reef and some of his wreck numbers.
Captain Ray Lopez of the “Miss Liane” has also been putting in some varied catches. One recent trip had good action on bottom fish early in the morning and finishing up with some bluefish on the troll. He did his fishing off Barnegat Inlet.
Captain Larry Rosica had a group of five anglers fishing on the “Rascal” last weekend off Barnegat Light. The group found all the fluke they wanted as the entire group managed to limit out. John Banach boated the largest fish, a nice 24.5 inch flattie.
Captain John Lewis of the “Insatiable” reports double digit catches of fluke with a keeper ratio some days approaching 2 to 1. Captain John joined Captain Ray Lopez and Captain Jimmy Zavacky on the “Reel Determined” to take the boy scouts from Troop 112 of Jobstown on a group fishing trip. All had fun with plenty of fluke and sea bass to take home. The boys outfished their adult chaperones. Captain John also reports that the offshore yellowfin catches are coming on strong both trolling and chunking during the day time so the night chunk bite should turn on soon.
Additional information on the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association and its boats can be found at www.BHCFA.net.
Here’s a short update on the local fishing, more specifically an update on the fluke fishing in the ocean. But first…
Public Service Announcement from Captain Brian Williams – Through education we can prevent ghost fishing and stop trashing the reefs! When snagged up, don’t cut above the water line. Break off! A straight pull will eliminate blowing up your rod. If using spinning tackle make sure the spool is down in its lowest oscillation position. This way the spool shaft doesn’t bend from excessive pressure. It’s best to have a dowel onboard for breaking off purposes. A couple quick wraps and it’s an easy pull to break off the proper way. Most of the time you’ll straighten the hook or break knot on the mono leader. This allows to gather and remove the length of braided line from the water.
Store staffer Kelley Lutz with his lucky Hawaiian shorts and a 23″ fluke.
Before work on Sunday Blake, Kelley and I put a couple hours in on the water. Since it was a quick trip we chose to focus on the BL reef. The site has been active with great fluke fishing the past week. We arrived, had a great drift and were instantly into bites. On our first drift Kelley got a thick 23″ fluke. For the next hour or so all of us were carefully releasing undersize fish and fighting to get through the piles of sea robins, sea bass and skates. Absolutely mowing through Gulp and natural baits! A number of the undersized were good healthy thick ones with fat bellies. About 5 five were right at the 18″ mark but went back to grow up. It would have been nice to have a full day trip on the grounds but it just wasn’t in the cards because we had to be back at the shop. Finished the day with only one true keeper fluke as well as one 15.5″ black sea bass.
Sonny Shepanski was on the water too. He started off in the same area and picked away. He said, “There’s tons of sea robins and skates but we managed to get five keepers in the low 20″ range. We had a strong showing of shorts. The Gulp nuclear chicken grub was the top killer. Also the classic meat strip and squid/minnow sandwich did well.”
The past week, the Carolyn Ann III has been on the meat! Were you there? You should have been! All joking aside that’s a serious spread of fluke! August is a great month for fluke fishing. Jump aboard and enjoy your day on the water.
Awesome catch from the boyz aboard the Carolyn Ann III
Chris Siegert sent in this photo… “Great day on the water fluke fishing with Manic Sportfishing! 20+ fish this size… Thanks for setting us up Fish Heads!”
Chris Siegert with one of many quality keeper fluke.
Grey Colsten reports, “Tons of small blues in the surf. They took over the suds so targeting kings is difficult. I’m only catching one or two kingfish each trip. The snapper blues are so aggressive, I can’t keep a bait set. There’s some big blues around too! Chunking bunker in search of a ray or shark… ended up getting a gator! There’s some guys fluke fishing the surf but the area I’m fishing doesn’t have a ton. Head up to the north end if you want to fluke fish the surf.”
The storm last weekend produced days of north east winds. At the time only surfers jonsin’ for swell rejoiced. Right now anglers can look back and see those weather days were worth it! The onshore winds created a downwelling event. The sun warmed surface waters pushed into the shore and down into deeper areas of the ocean. This ignited the inshore fluke fishing in the local Long Beach Island area and the surrounding waters.
Fish are actively feeding on the local reefs and open bottom areas. Were these fish present for the past month, sluggish due to cold bottom temperatures and just not biting? Very well possible!
Two things came together; time and temperature! Time – August is when most of the summer flounder local biomass move out of the bays. On their way out fluke move into the inshore areas that offer structure or forage. Sometimes this is on the reefs and wrecks or open sandy bottoms where bait like sandeels and crabs are easy pickings. Temperature – August is the year’s warmest combined air and water temperatures. Fluke in warm waters actively feed with a quick metabolism. Best of all they are aggressive.
This receipt is something all anglers love and can really use more of! Looking at the forecast it might stick around… North winds Tuesday, then east Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. A lot can change so now is go time! Get out and catch fluke!!!
Yesterday went down as the Fishiest Fluke Friday of the 2017 season. All day the shop was filled with anglers raving on the solid fishing. Literally selling boxes of fluke rigs, hooks, bucktails, teasers, Gulp and bait! ***Make sure you stop in and get a free Flounder Sample Pack of hooks! Thanks to Eagle Claw and the NJ Fish & Wildlife for the public awareness campaign “If you can’t keep it save it!” We all need to do our part to help protect undersized fluke.https://fishinglbi.com/2017/07/27/come-get-free-hooks-supplies-last/
Now today backs up yesterday with another solid set of reports. Here’s the low down from various anglers who shared.
Heres Jacob Bowles with a nice fluke!
Jacob Bowles was on the water on Friday. He reported it wasn’t the best day out there for us but managed to get a 23” five pounder! We got out a little late in the morning and fished three hours. We worked over hard structure and managed to catch ‘em. Got the largest on a Magic Tail rigged with a big grub.”
Kevin Hughes was also on the water fluke fishing Friday. He reported solid fishing “We hit a two man limit in just over three hours of fishing. They want snappers!” Look at this fluke!
Chris O’neil got two 20” fluke yesterday with the old school high low with live minnow. He reported fishing Little Egg Inlet.
Many other report flowed in from the reefs and Inlet.
Today was the 23rd Annual Jersey Coast Anglers Association Fluke Tournament. Since the early days, Fisherman’s Headquarters has been a proud sponsor of the event and honored to be the Port Long Beach Island Weigh Station. Founded in 1981, the JCAA is one of the country’s best groups fighting for the recreational saltwater anglers of New Jersey. The JCAA offers anglers a strong voice on the state and federal level. The hard working group is responsible for many major accomplishments in fisheries management issues. One of the most important wins was achieving game fish status for striped bass in New Jersey. This fight continues today at the federal level. The JCAA also helped control commercial overfishing of menhaden, a vital forage in coastal waters. More recently and crucial to this summer’s fishery, the JCAA pressured the Mid-Atlantic Council and NOAA to reevaluation the way summer flounder are managed. The group defended NJ’s regulations and is one of the main reasons we have the season and limit this year. We encourage all anglers to learn more about the JCAA and fisheries new by checking out their website atwww.JCAA.org
Weigh-In log for the…
2017 JCAA Fluke Tournament Port LBI
*** UNOFFICIAL ***
PORT LOG – 2017 JCAA FLUKE TOURNAMENT – 08/05/2017
Port: Long Beach Island – Weigh Station: Fisherman’s Headquarters
Place
Entry Number
Registered Angler’s Name
Caught By Angler’s Name
Caught By Angler’s Hometown, State
Weight (lbs)
Length (in)
Weigh-In Time
1
244
Werner, David
Werner, David
Manahawkin, NJ
6.720
24.875″
4:32:00 PM
2
x?x
Howell, Martin
Frazer, Rob
Tuckerton, NJ
5.880
23.75″
4:40:00 PM
3
134
Wolfberg, Jack
Wolfberg, Jack
Fort Washington, NJ
5.790
23.25″
4:32:00 PM
4
94
Hooven, Christopher
Hooven, Christopher
Medford, NJ
5.390
24.25″
3:14:00 PM
5
66
Rust, Edward
Rust, Edward
Cherry Hill, NJ
5.050
22.25″
2:50:00 PM
6
106
Cliver, Kevin
Cliver, Kevin
Sellersville, PA
5.000
23″
4:15:00 PM
7
124
Schell, Dr.Paul
Makitra, Gene
Barnegat, NJ
4.960
22.75″
4:25:00 PM
8
104
DePalma, Vito
McKinnon, Gordon
Lewis, DE
4.840
22.25″
4:25:00 PM
9
217
Paolella, Dean
Paolella, Dean
Springfield, NJ
4.790
23″
2:00:00 PM
10
95
Phillips, Richard
Phillips, Steven
Pemberton, NJ
4.340
23.125″
4:30:00 PM
11
253
Vitale, Bruce
Vitale, Bruce
Toms River, NJ
3.830
21.25″
4:35:00 PM
12
24
Partyka, Bruce
Partyka, Bruce
Manahawkin, NJ
2.900
20″
2:55:00 PM
Dave Werner weighed in the largest fluke today. Heres Dave and friend with the winning fish.
Dave Werner of Manahawkin fished the BL Inlet with live bait and caught 7 keepers today. His largest weighed in at 6.72 pounds and was big enough to win the JCAA Port Long Beach Island.
Martin Howell and Rob Frazer of Tuckerton were out on the Garden State South Reef today. They caught five keeper fluke on the bucktail and Gulp combo. Their largest weighing in at 5.88 pounds. The crew mentioned they were fishing right beside George Poveromo aboard the Marc VI. It’s nice to see George fishing our local water. Hopefully they were filming! It would be great to see another episode of George fishing the waters of LBI.
Christopher Hooven did very good on the BL Reef.
Christopher Hooven of Medford reported the BL Reef produced lots of shorts as well as four keeper fluke (largest 5.39 pounds) and one keeper sea bass. He said live snappers were the hot bait.
“Captain Flattie” Ed Rust got some really nice fish, 7 keepers!
“Captain Flattie” Ed Rust of Cherry Hill and Bill Rust fished the BL Reef and did good. Bucktail rigged with Gulp did the trick for the guys, catching about 50 fish with 7 keepers.
Dean Paolella caught six fish drifting Spro bucktails.
Dean Paolella of Springfield, NJ got six fish drifting Spro bucktails off of Seaside’s open sand bottom. His largest was 4.79 pounds.
Most of the weigh ins were caught in the ocean, but a couple good report came in from the bay. Kevin Cliver of Sellersville, PA got six keepers on live minnow fishing the bay. Bruce Partyka of Manahawkin caught 28 fluke with three keepers up to 2.9 pounds. Bruce said he focused on the north end of LBI’s bayside waters. He fished Double Creek and the Inlet with natural and artificial baits.
Here’s some reports from offshore anglers fishing bluewater.
Captain Jeff Warford reported an awesome trip to the edge. “On our latest canyon trip (8/3/17) we saw some of the best action in years. It was EPIC!!! It’s the only way to describe the trip. 20+ tunas in the 55-75 pound class, 36 mahi and 33 tilefish up to 21 pounds. The troll was just on fire. They were smoking spreaderbars. While hooked up the cleared lines dangling lures from the riggers were hanging yellowfin that were leaping air born. They were hanging themselves.
Another solid report came from Steve Fernandez aboard the Five Seas. “A bunch of yellowfin to 70 pounds some huge tile fish two makos and some mahi and a lone monkfish! It was an action packed trip.”
Heres Steve Fernandez with a big golden tilefish.
Store staffer Dan D split out of town to head up the Mass to get into the solid tuna bite. He went up and had a great time. He hooked an 88” slob and said, “These feeds are sites you can not even dream about!”
It has been an absolute banner year for Fluke and now the ocean is really starting to heat up. The ocean is definitely holding much better ratios of keepers to shorts and we like fishing a variety of structure to put them on the deck. The Bay is still very active, but your approaching much higher amounts of short Fluke with ratios at 15-20 to 1. I’m still waiting for the bay Blowfish bite to start as this makes for perfect trips for the little ones. But right now, it’s all about quality Fluke in the ocean. Reminder: We continue to run 7 days a week until September and we are now starting to book our Fall Striped Bass trips.
With an Ocean planned for this week, my wife Jennifer, Luke and I scouted out a couple of my choice areas. With our 1st drift, Luke boated the first keeper at 18.5 inches. We scored keeper Fluke on the next few drifts to 6 pounds. We finished in the bay and boated two more keepers to 5 pounds. Jen was the high hook catching 5 out of our 7 keepers (18.5, 19, 19, 20, 23, 23, 24). Awesome day on the water with the family!! I think the Ocean is ready for charters!
Next, I had Mike Edwards, Tom Heisroth, and Neil Ringel on a 4hr Bay/Inlet charter. We concentrated our efforts just in and just outside the inlet. Even with outgoing tide conditions, the guys released close to 30 Fluke and had 3 keepers (18.5, 20, 21.5 inches). They worked the S&S BigEye bucktails tipped with natural bait. Great job!
During midweek, I had Dan Perlman, his wife Melissa, and their 3 boys (Aaron-age 12, Brody-age 10, and Elijah-age 7) on a 4hr Bay/Inlet charter. We worked some of the same areas as the day prior and had the same tidal conditions (outgoing). With all three boys new to bucktailing and saltwater Fluke fishing, they did a pretty good job catching 23 Fluke with two keepers (18, 19.5). There is nothing better than seeing kids catch fish!
I had Matt Windover of Philadelphia, PA and Charles Jack of Limerick, PA on a 5hr Ocean charter. We started working an area close to home and only had one keeper after multiple drifts. With little to no drift, we headed out to some a few deeper snags and it was “Game On”! Matt and Charles boxed 9 keepers to 6.5 pounds. Charles caught his personal best at 26 inches and weighing 6.5 pounds. It’s not everyday that you play catch and release on keepers for the last hour. Great day on the water!
I had return client Tom Dillon and his son Tommy on a 4hr Bay & Inlet charter. We worked some areas close to the inlet and the father-son team caught close to 40 Fluke with two keepers at 3.5 pounds (20in) and 5 pounds (23in). New Jersey Fish & Wildlife was doing surveying at Bobbie’s Boats in Barnegat Light (charter pickup/dropoff location) and weighed each fish as part of their survey. All fish were caught on the S&S BigEye tipped with artificials.
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.
August starts off with a bang! Good weather conditions have allowed anglers to get out and fish the waters of Long Beach Island. Positive reports are flowing from inshore, offshore and from shore anglers. Here is the update on the August fishing LBI has to offer.
LBI Fluke Fishing Report:
If looking for large fluke, this is the month! In late summer fluke stack up in the Inlets, beach fronts and near shore structures. Bottom fishing the open bottom sandy areas as well as the local reefs and wrecks are producing. Quality fishing right now from the Barnegat Inlet, the local reef sites and the waters from the Bather’s Beach to the Pier.
Here’s a Long Beach Island doormat caught by Michael Petruzziello with Captain Alex of Lighthouse Sportfishing!
Captain Alex aboard Lighthouse Sportfishing put his client Michael Petruzziello on this 30” 10 pound 2 ounce doormat. It went for a live snappers in the Inlet. Captain Alex reported, “This is the second true doormat I have put clients on in the last three years. The last fish was a monster weighing in at 11.5 pounds which fell for a live peanut bunker.” Large fluke want big live baits!!!”
Here’s an update from two of Long Beach Island’s local party boats fishing out of Barnegat Light. After reading the recent update from both boats we all will agree now is the time to get out and go fluke fishing.
Here’s the Miss Barnegat Light’s fishing report from Captain Lou… “After the weekend’s northeast blow, the fluke fishing aboard the Miss Barnegat Light rebounded quickly. Even on Sunday, while the ocean was still settling, we had a fair amount of keepers. The last couple of days we have had great action. Some anglers are limiting. There’s a good mix of keepers to throwbacks. Seems like things are progressing nicely as we enter August. The squid and spearing combos as well as bucktails with Gulp of various colors have done the trick. So far this week, the pool winners are ranging 3 to 6 pounds.
Now those are some nice fluke. August is a great time to jump aboard a party boat and drift up some dinner.
The Carolyn Ann III reports, “The bite is on! The fishing is and has been good on recent trips. Some beautiful fish and limits to be had. Get out now while the catching is good!” Here’s a photo of a recent angler on the CA3 with two nice fish!
Zach M with one of many nice fluke he caught jigging Gulp!
Zach Michot reported a solid day fishing with Capt Paul Haertel and Bill Browne, “Good day on the fluke grounds. The Magictail bucktail jigs with Gulp was the bomb! We finished the day with our three man limit of fluke and sea bass. Released a handful of keepers to catch another day!
Adrift Sportfishing reported an epic trip, “Seven fluke over six pounds largest was 8.8 pounds!”
The land based duo of David and Alex Ho are dialed in and on the fluke. As reported on the July 30th report, amongst other keepers David got a 28” 9.24 pounder and Alex a 23.25” 5.2 pounder. These are some serious fluke for land based anglers and a great feat for landing on the rocks. Congrats gentlemen!
Fish Finder Frank Foley stopped in recently and shared a report, “We enjoyed the day on the water fishing. The bluefish were snapping in the Inlet. Full on feasting on mini snappers. They were crushing poppers on top. It was crazy watching the voracious cannibals. In the area we did good with tog and fluke too.”
Speaking of bluefish… Grey Colston just got this gator bluefish off the surf! Good size blues are still cruising both the surf as well as the Inlet. Fluke and kingfish are also in the suds. This morning Rob Vallone tried for kingfish but got run over by snappers.
As per our last report resident striped bass are around. The small linesiders are hanging around the lagoons and bayside docks chasing bait. It’s plentiful with both peanut bunker, spearing, mullet and mini snapper blues. Anglers are having fun at night fishing small lures Try a small lead head rigged with a grub or split tail plastic. ¼ oz bucktails and 3” swim shads are also great choices.
LBI Shark Fishing Report:
The local warm summer waters are full of sharks! They are literally everywhere from the inshore waters and surf zone as well as the bay. We suggest not swimming in murky water especially if you have an open wound. It’s said that swimming with jewelry isn’t the best idea either.
While these brown sharks (sand bar shark), sand tigers and black tips are plentiful they are not out hunting humans. They’re just cruising and enjoying the waters of LBI like everyone else. If interested in catch and release fishing the largest game possible from shore or near shore this is the ultimate fun!
Monday night I had father and son team from Montreal out for a bay sharking trip. The session was slow due to wind against tide. We unfortunately missed two bites but adjusted and worked through the difficult conditions. We finally got a bite that took the hook and it put up a nice fight. The 14 year old Canadian enjoyed his time battling the bruiser like a champion right to the end with a successful release.
Here’s a monster brown shark that had a serious set of shoulders and was pushing 7′ in length.
Tuesday night’s bay shark fishing trip was different. The conditions were prime and it panned out to be a flawless summer night! Not only did we get a number of bites (released four nice size toothy ones)… we caught our largest brown shark to date. We met Momma Bear the bay monster! She put up an epic fight. The trip will go down as one of our best.
Anyone looking to get out and go shark fishing should go asap! Stop in the shop and we can assist gearing up. You can hit the beach or boat and soak some baits! If looking to get in on a Four Hour Night Bay Shark Fishing Charter with Fish Head Guide Service reach out now by calling or texting Captain Greg at 609-713-9299
Midshore & Offshore Fishing:
The relatively calm ocean waters has anglers heading off and most return with meat. Bluewater fishing is solid with a variety of opportunities. Most reports are from anglers pulling fish on the troll however good action has come on the chunk and jig/pop. We heard some boats were heading to the Hudson to fish a promising stretch of water along the west wall. South of there fish were caught at the Toms. The Chicken Canyon and the waters further off around the Baccardi produced. Further south lots of boats are fishing Lemkes and the Cole. We heard one day was smoking hot then the next day was slow.
Store staffer Dan was out on Tuesday and beat on the fish. Dan said the jig bite turned on and some boats were into them casting on top. He shared his story about fighting a good size yellowfin but breaking it off near the boat after an hour battle.
Tuna and wahoo are being caught mid-shore on the 30 fathom line.
Earlier this week, Tom Bernat and Gil Dilts fished with Captain John Rimmer aboard the Old Grandad. The crew boated two yellowfin and a 50 pound wahoo on the troll fishing the mid-shore on the 30 fathom line.
This beautiful 50 pound wahoo caught by Tom went for a Joe Shute trolled way back in the spread.
The crew aboard the Canyon Runner hit the dock yesterday with a solid catch of yellowfin. Captain Phil and Kevin reported, “The fish are all up on top in multiple schools with some yellowbirds up to 70 pounds. Both the chunk and troll are producing.”
Captain Mark from Bluerunner Sportfishing & Waterproof reports, “Fishing is great! We loaded the boat with yellowfin, Bluefin, mahi, tiles and mako. Solid fishing shaping up for late summer and fall.
Tuna on the deck!
– Fishing LBI Tournament News –
The JCAA Fluke Tournament is this weekend! 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 on August 12 to 19th Check out their website for more details.
The LBI Surf Fishing Classic is right around the corner! This year’s event is now 9 weeks running October 7th to December 10th. The one extra week was added and the format was modified slightly to offer larger cash prizes. There’s other great new things offering an awesome value… tournament collectable hat and shirt to early sign ups (first 300 before October 7th). For more details go to LBIFT.com where tournament news will be added. Prizes and special tournament days are still not finalized. Once done the info will be posted.
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.
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.
July is a great month for fishing on Long Beach Island because there opportunity inshore, offshore and from shore.
Fish Finder Frank Folley was on the water today fishing the bay and Inlet. Frank said, “There’s still lots of bluefish around. Some good size ones too! They were crushing poppers which made for some fun fishing. We got some tog fishing crabs but no keepers. We got a couple keeper fluke bucktailing. Hooked into a monster cow nose which took us for a ride. There’s lots around so watch out!”
Jacob Bowles reported a good catch of fluke and sea bass, “Ocean water is up to 73 degrees. Fishing was great for me. Managed to get a 5 pound sea bass and a 24″ fluke.”
Dave Werner recently fished the Forked River Tuna Club’s Ladies Fishing Tournament. His girls on the boat caught 5 keepers and over 20 shorts.
Tog opened today (July 17th, one fishing at fifteen inches) and Dylan Fisher took the run to search some mid shore wrecks. He reported, “I had a blast with my uncle today wreck fishing about ten miles off. Light tackle black fishing with green crabs. We released 19 fish and kept one along with a nice sea bass. Heading out tomorrow to get back on the tuna!”
Beach Haven Marlin Tuna Club’s War of the Shore was this past weekend. The tournament’s inaugural year had a strong turn out with 70 boats. Over $3000 was raised for charity, the Childhood Leukemia Foundation in name of Parker Nork! Here is a photo of Intermediate angler Luke Wittenborn with a solid yellowfin tuna weigh-in caught aboard the Compass Rose in the tournament. Sorry we don’t have the final results.
One of the local party boats fishing out of Barnegat Light, the Carolyn Ann III reports, “Fishing has been slow all week but recently we put together some better catches. Seems like it is picking up a bit. We are keeping our fingers crossed and plugging away. Jump aboard and lets go fishing!
Numerous cobia reports floating around! We saw Nick Honachefsky’s “Jersey Cobia” post on Instagram as well as a couple others. Store staffer Kelley Lutzgave us this photo of his dad, Brett. Mr. Lutz caught the beast 76 pound cobia.
Good reports of yellowfin and bluefin tuna continue! Solid reports from anglers fishing the mid-shore grounds as well as the edge. With the somewhat calm sea conditions now’s the time to get out on the bluewater!
609-494-5739
