LBI NJ Fishing Report – LBI Surf Fishing, Barnegat Bay & Inlet

2017 Tide Tables now available here! As of now, we do not have printed copies in hand yet. We are expecting them in the near future!

– M. Steadman

This stretch of fishing weather continues. The onshore winds are keeping surf anglers stoked and boat anglers on the fence. Some boat guys are getting out but it isn’t the blue bird days that the majority look for. When the fish are here you gotta go!

Chris Masino got a nice bass off of the surf last night.

Still lots of bluefish in the area; bay, inlet and surf.

Reports the surf is weedy in spots today. There’s some heavy turn action. Birds are picking.  Dave Werner reported one bluefish.

Kevin Lorenz reported, “Finally got away from the blues!”

The big bass are here. The fish are on the bunker pods for the early morning bite and then the mid day troll gets them out in the deep. We bring it all and change up techniques as conditions dictate. The fish are all big, 25 to 40 plus pound bass. These are the biggest stripers of the season and the bite is in full swing. The bluefish are still in the inlet and bay to complement the action, as well. They are anywhere from 2 to 16 pounds and they are blasting our topwater lures. 
Sailing Open Boat or Charter Friday May 26 Noon to 6PM, Sunday May 28 1PM to 7PM, and Monday (Memorial Day) May 29 6AM to Noon and again from 1PM to 7PM.
$175 person, 4 people max, all fish are shared, everything is provided. You can call right up until “Go time” to see if there’s room. Call to reserve a spot.
Capt Dave DeGennaro

Hi Flier Sportfishing 

732.330.5674

hiflier.com

Sorry for the delay in reporting .  Over the weekend I ran three trips in two days. The ocean was a little sporty so we stayed in the bay.  Intel has it that the inlet is loaded with fish but I just could not safely fish it this weekend.  Saturday morning the Ernie Dellheim crew from worked hard for the blues.  Fish landed were 4 – 10 pounds and feisty.  For part of the trip I fished in close proximity to my good friend Capt. Bill of Mole’s Charters, who had better success than us boxing thee bass and releasing five others.  Nice job Bill!  Anyone that has watched George Poveromo on TV might know that George always talks about how “subtle differences” can make or break of fishing trip.  Not sure if Capt Bill was doing anything much different than I Saturday morning but Bill if you had a subtle difference, throw me a bone here buddy!  The morning trip also released a nice 20″ fluke that fell to a dead stick bunker chunk on a 9/0 hook with a wire leader. Go figure, but it even gets better from there…..On the PM trip, the Pereni family was out and worked hard to put some fish on the deck as well as back in the water.  Well…. on the same fluke slaying set up used on the AM tri p, they one upped the AM trip with a fat 6 pound fluke. Attached is a picture before it was released. I know where I’m fishing opening day of fluke season this week ;). Sunday I had a crew from Canada for a little fishing and eco-touring. Weeds were the word of the day but they did catch some fish and had a great time.  I am available Sunday and Monday, Memorial Day.  Just give me a call if you’re interested in booking one of those days.

Screaming drags,

Capt. Alex   609-548-2511      Lighthouse Sportfishing

Art of Ship Bottom fished the mid-island surf late this afternoon. His first bait got taken by a trophy striped bass.

Art said, “I hit the surf not far from my house. There was a good section of water with a nice rip. I casted out my first bait and put it right in the zone. Minutes later I was hooked up. After a nice long battle both the fish and I were beat.” Art brought the bass over to the shop and checked it in for a weight. It weighed it in, 57.4 pounds 51.75″ length with a 30″ girth. A fish of a lifetime and one of the largest ever weighed in at the shop.

Through out the day today we got other positive reports from the surf. Both bass and blues on bunker. One angler reported getting some fish on metal off the surf. It’s late May and the new moon is upon us. The big bass are here! It’s time to go fish!!!

The Fishing Musician Rick W of Ship Bottom just stopped by with a 35″ striped bass. Rick got it late morning fishing the mid-island surf. It went for a bunker chunk. Rick said, “No Grass!” That’s awesome news because the past couple of tides have been grassed out.

Recently store staffer Nick D found some blues off the surf on both bait and lures. Others in the shop reported the same.

Drew Knapp reported his after work session yesterday went exactly according to plan! “Three blues for dinner and shark bait.”

Chet Kosarek sharred this report, “Fished the rocks at Barnegat Inlet Saturday. Saw one small blue caught on a white bucktail. Sunday was weedy. Caught nothing and saw nothing. There were a bunch of boats fishing boats by the dredge spoil islands behind Barnegat Inlet. No one seemed to be catching although the fish finder marked some fish.”
White Bucktails Here!

The traffic lights are on! Drive with caution and stay alert.

The LBI Cup hosted by the Beach Haven Marlin Tuna Club is Saturday May 27th. For more details go to www.LBICUP.com

The Striper Shootout hosted by High Point Vol Fire Co is Saturday June 10th Go to www.HPVFC.com for more details

The anglers aboard Reel Fantasea Fishing Charters continue to enjoy solid light tackle action with a mix of bass and blues with certain tides working better for each species.

By Jim Hutchinson Sr.

As spring finally starts to arrive, the fishing action in the Beach Haven area continues to heat up. Several captains of the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association have been putting their time in on the water and coming up with some positive results.

Captain Gary Dugan of “Irish Jig Sportfishing” usually will pull the plug when weather conditions make it too uncomfortable for his anglers. On a recent trip, he termed it “like an episode of Deadliest Catch.” The group had to take the trip that day or no trip at all. Captain Gary managed to find some protected areas of Great Bay and provided them with some action on big bluefish.

Captain Tom Masterson had a great day on the bay with the Pat Lavanga party aboard Captain Carl Sheppard’s “Starfish” with bluefish being the request of the day. The group had some great action catching 15 big bluefish trolling Rebels and spoons between the inlet and Great Bay.

Captain Matt Curtis of “Olbarney Guide Service” reports “crummy” weather slowing action down a bit but when he can get out he has managed a good mix of keeper striped bass and black drum to 35-pounds in the bay. Outside the inlets, he hears the striped bass bite is underway a little north of Beach Haven with 30-40-pound bass taking Mojos and spoons. Last Sunday he had a bay trip that had non-stop action on big dog fish and plenty of blues along with a 50-pound drum that was released. He managed to pick up one 28-inch striper that made its way into the fish box.

Captain Jimmy Zavacky of the “Reel Determined” and Captain Ray Lopez of the “Miss Liane” will be donating their time on June 3 to participate in a fishing event for “Project Healing Waters.” Sponsored by the Holiday Beach Club in Waretown, this is a day of fishing for injured veterans. Both captains are to be commended for their efforts to pay back to those who have served our country.

Additional information on the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association can be found at www.BHCFA.net

For the most part the local troll bite has been quality with some really nice fish coming up. We’ve got the spring’s largest fish here now!!! Go fish! Randy Townsend got a good one on the troll yesterday. He was working the waters off IBSP when this large striped bass ate a Tony Maja #4 two-tone green bunker spoon.

Reports from this morning were slow; however, Jeff Warford went out this afternoon and found them. He got a good one among others pulling spoons.

Looks like another wave of bluefish flooded our area. Yesterday afternoon we got some great reports of medium to large size blues. The racers are in the bay, inlet and the surf. We got positive reports from the mid-bay yesterday and the Inlet late in the day. The surf was good in the afternoon too on both bait and lures. Blake and I went out for a couple hours last night looking for bass, only pulled blues. I pushed back out in the morning and went on the search but couldn’t find bass. Stumbled on some small packs of bunker deep. Snagged a couple but no takers. Ended up trolling around for an hour or so then resorted to Plan B, the Inlet. Hammered the blues on lures. Among the mediums, I managed to get a couple good size teen gators fishing an extra large pencil popper. The schools of blues racing around the popper and the hooked fish was cool.

Fluke…
They are here! Ed Sisson was recently fishing the surf and had his bunker chunk inhaled by a 22″ fluke. It must have hurt to let it go! 

On the fluke front, we’ve got a lot of emails and calls asking about the fluke regulations. After this past weeks fluke meeting, the NJDEP Commissioner Bob Martin approved, the measures for NJ’s recreational summer flounder fishery. There’s only one speed bump or potential brick wall, the Commerce Department, but a little birdie says they aren’t planning on stopping it. So here it is, as confirmed via email from the NJ Fish & Wildlife email…

The 2017 NJ Summer Flounder “Fluke” Recreational Regulations…

For all NJ coastal waters:
18-inch minimum size limit
3-fish possession limit
Open season May 25 through September 5

For Delaware Bay and tributaries:
17-inch minimum size limit
3-fish possession limit
Open season May 25 through September 5

For Island Beach State Park (Shore Mode only)
16-inch minimum size limit
2-fish possession limit
Open season May 25 through September 5