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

It’s been a pretty busy since school ended, and I have been on the water almost everyday, except when it’s blowing 20 and over.  After some careful investigating, I changed some things up in our lures and it has paid off with some nice keepers in the last few trips.  I plan on running double trips on the days when the afternoon winds aren’t howling, so don’t hesitate to call.  Here was the past few days rundown:

I had an opportunity to fish with my son Luke and my father on a quick morning trip to check out some new areas.  We ended with over 20 Fluke and one keeper to 22 inches.

I had return client Tom Clark of Waretown, and his 11yr old daughter Alexis working a variety of areas with jigs to produce a decent number of Fluke. We had a steady bite at most of the areas we worked and Alexis nailed a nice 5 pound Fluke, along with two other keepers to 20 inches. Tom was a close second with a fish at 18in and 19in. We did catch a few that were about an 1/8in shy of making it into the box. A great day on the water, and nice job by Alexis for being the high hook of the day.

Next, I had new client Doug Wainwright of Columbus, NJ and his son Doug Jr. on a 4hr Bay/Inlet trip. The father and son team had to contend with a little more wind and different tidal conditions, but they worked hard at a variety of spots to put 3 quality keepers in the boat. Two of the fish measured close to 23 inches and weighed about 4.5 pounds. We deployed all tactics to slow down our drifts allowing the team to use light jigs to nail the Fluke. Nice job by the crew on working those rods the entire time. We thank and wish Doug Jr. the best of luck on entering the U.S. Marines Corps Officer Training this summer.

Finally, I had return client Dan Unger of Long Beach Island and his son Danny on a 4hr Bay & Inlet trip with Fluke as the target. We had a tough morning with some weather fronts that came through and it blew over 20 knots. We fished a couple of areas where the current wasn’t as strong and the father & son team nailed some Fluke with some close to the 18 inch mark. After working a few of the areas hard, the two ended up with two decent Fluke at 18.5 inches and 22 inches that fell for our “new” custom teaser. The last hour of the trip had us battling 20 knot winds, rain, and tide. Nice job in some challenging conditions.

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.

Capt. Brett Taylor ~ www.reelreactioncharters.com ~ Call or Text: 609-290-7709

We had some nice weakfish this week in the bay. 15 to 17 inch fish and then we had some 23 and 24 inch weakies like this one Greg Borras of Wantage, NJ bagged on a live killie meant for a fluke. We did have a pair of nice fluke, too, 19 1/2 and 20 inch fish that were mixed in with the weakies on the east side of Barnegat Bay. We also had a two bad efforts in the same spot, so it’s not like we’re beating them up, but they are quality fish when we get them. The inlet is giving up all size blues for us lately, last night (Wed) we had 3 to 6 pound fish, a pair of 9 and 10 pounders and some short stripers. Those fish are on soft plastics and poppers. Mix in some fluking and it’s a well rounded trip.

Sailing Open Boat or Charter tomorrow (Fri) afternoon, Noon to 5 PM and two trips Saturday, 5AM to 10 AM and then again 10AM to 3PM.

The forecast looks really good for running offshore Sun and Mon so I am running Open Boat or Charter for either inshore or offshore fishing. Maybe Barnegat Ridge…Resor…Fingers….Bonita, Bluefin, Mako? I’m game! Call me for more info.

Capt. Dave DeGennaro

Hi Flier Sportfishing

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We had some improvement late last week with a decent catch of fluke and sea bass with plenty of action for a first time charter group from Lancaster, PA. The south winds cranked up from Friday on and it hurt the fishing. The water temps dropped from the upper 60’s to the upper 50’s. Once things get straightened out with some west winds it should bounce back. 
We are currently fishing for fluke everyday 8AM to 1 PM. Sea bass is closed till July 1 so they are safe for the moment. We are also sailing our nightly sunset cruise at 7 PM.

The south blow over the last couple of days cooled the water off quite a bit along the beach. Very similar to last week after  a hard south wind, the bass chewed very good early in the wash. Austin Pounds landed quite a few schoolies on bucktails this morning on the north end before the sun burned through the clouds. The fluke were picky throughout the morning but once dead low came it was just about every cast. No doormats, but respectable fish and a much better improvement size wise compared to last week. Both chartreuse and white swimming mullet were the ticket. I also ran into Steve George who was doing very well and tagging fluke for Monmouth University.  Eventually, the south wind picked up and the tide changed causing the bite to shut off pretty quickly. Fortunately, both the wind and forecast look to be in our favor over the next couple of days. Now is the time to get out and get on it! 

Tight Lines,

Dan DiPasquale

Photo: Steve George 

Fishing the offshore waters has offered up awesome action for local angler. Both the shark and tuna fishing have been very good. Here’s some recent reports from this past weekend. Let’s hope this weather clears and allows for more time out on the edge.

Captain Jeff Warford aboard the Reel Innovations got into them good AGAIN! The captain and crew fished the 16th into the 17th and mo-hawked ’em. The crew headed and fished a canyon way down south (100+ miles run) where the yellowfin bite has been good. Here’s Jeff’s report from the epic trip.

“We headed out for an overnight canyon trip and was greeted with flat calm seas. Arriving on the grounds at 5pm on Friday afternoon, it only took four minutes to put the first FOUR yellowfin in the box! The rest of the evening saw much of the same action, boating 12 quality yellowfin from 35-55lbs. We set up at night in 70 fathoms and quickly had mackerel and squid in the lights. About 45 minutes in we were hooked up to our first double header of makos. By midnight we had 5 makos and 2 brown sharks before calling it quits for the night. We kept one 100lb mako for the table and released the rest. The largest was about 175lb. Up on the troll in the morning we quickly boxed another 5 yellowfin before the boat traffic took over and became too much. The guys were anxious to try some tile fishing so I decided to go to an area up the line. We planned one scouting an area on the way and boy did it pay off. After coming across what looked like nat-geo, we were back into a hot bite. Our first pass threw the area and four bluefin piled on at once. We kept our legal limit and continued on to the tile grounds. In less than an hour we had a 50/50 mix of 20 nice golden/blue line tiles. What an awesome trip!”

Captain Bill aboard the Reel Trouble reported nice fishing on the tuna grounds. Check out this round one.

Blue Runner Sportfishing reports the yellowfin tuna are here! “We recently had Greg Steinman along with Bill, George, Don, Ken and Tom out for an extended day trip. Fishing got off to a good start first thing in the morning with the very first rod in the water getting nailed 10 ft off the stern. It was steady most of the day with flurries of red hot bites. By days end we landed 43 Yellowfin (only keeping 12) and 11 Bluefin to 120lbs. We also saw our first Mahi of the season. With the weather holding out, we decided to try for a Mako before heading in. First bite was the right one and a very fat 80″ Mako hit the deck. The fish was easily 200 lbs. Got back to dock very early morning so guys could spend Fathers Day at home. Looks like we will be sitting out next few days with bad weather.”

Andrew Moody reported, “Recent offshore trip was really good. We caugth 10 big eye, four yellowfin and one bluefin. It was nuts! We had a wolfpack pile on… Four 80 pound class tuna all at the same.”

Brandon and Alan Kape fishing with Jeremy Gers got it done. “Slob bluefin and a nice 150 pound bigeye to spice it up the sushi plate the weekend!”

Angler Pete Nork aboard the Las Sofias caught and weighed in a 176 pound mako for the Beach Haven Marlin Tuna Club’s mako and tuna tournament. They were fishing the waters outside of the fingers.

While the offshore fishing stole the spotlight on this post, we would like to share info on a doormat fluke that was weighed in this past weekend. Giuseppe Rubino caught this 28.25″ 8.9 pound fatty in the bay a couple days ago. He got it on a bucktail with a live minnow.

Here’s some info from the state…

The recreational summer flounder (fluke) season that began on May 25 keeps intact an 18-inch minimum size limit for fluke, instead of the 19-inch size limit originally mandated by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC).

NJDEP Division of Fish and Wildlife biologists provided data demonstrating that the 19-inch size limit will:

– Result in excessive harvesting of breeding females that are key to ensuring a healthy and sustainable resource
– Negatively impact the fluke population by increasing the discard mortality to levels that are higher than the anticipated harvest
– Adversely affect recreational anglers and businesses, as fluke, is one of the state’ most popular sport fish

New Jersey has been found out of compliance by the ASMFC which has reported this determination to the Secretary of Commerce.  An appeal will be heard on June 20th in front of the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). In order for New Jersey to support its case for a smaller size limit, it is critically important anglers do their part to reduce the mortality rate of fish that are caught and released. This can be done in many ways including proper handling and release of fluke caught and the use of larger hooks that help reduce the catch of smaller fish (sizes 7.0 – 9.0 are recommended).

The Division of Fish and Wildlife has posted information regarding the 2017 fluke season and information on how to reduce fluke mortality at https://www.njfishandwildlife.com/fluke.htm. Information will be updated throughout the season.

Please do your part to reduce discard mortality of fluke, and ensure healthy fisheries and great fishing for the future!

Barnegat Bay and Inlet continues to offer up solid light tackle action for anglers aboard the Reel Fantasea . Blues from 2-12lbs continue to provide the best rod bending drag screaming action with schoolie striped bass holding a close second to the savvy angler .

Happy belated Father’s Day to all the dads out there.  I spent most of the day with my family but did slip out before they got out of bed.  By 6 AM the south wind was already blowing 15+ and the outgoing current started earlier than predicted. Fluking conditions were tough, to put it mildly.  I picked up a few shots before calling it a morning.  The ocean has just been down right angry the last few days and not many boats have been able to venture out.  The inlet still has lots of fish but fishing conditions are difficult.  This south wind has dropped the ocean temp which means one thing, well maybe two.  The closer you are to the inlet the less likely you are to catch fluking on the flood, look for warmer water condition to increase your success. Fishing 101.  The other thing is bass in the normal June haunts will be chewing around high tide.  I hope to get at them to give one of them their invitation to dinner.  As it stands I am booked Tuesday and Friday morning.  Other times including magic hours, except for today Monday are open.

On the nature side of thing/PSA: it is diamondback terrapin egg laying time. Keep an eye out when driving around close to the bay.  Females exist the bay to lay their eggs on higher, sandy ground.  Terrapins are the only brackish water turtle in the world. Also, remember if you are using Maryland style crab pots you must adhere to the following laws:

• Purchase on $2.00 crab pot license
• Your license number must be on your floats.
• When deploying them in a water body that is 150’ wide or less you are required to have turtle excluding devices (pictured below).  Terrapins need to breathe air and when they enter a Maryland style/commercial style crab pot they most often die of drowning.

Screaming drags,

Capt. Alex 609-548-2511

The action has been pretty good for the most part as far as bay Fluke fishing and I have started to work some of my spots.  The only factor has been the wind and remaining slime in the water.  On certain tides, the Fluke really have been cooperating with multiple fish per drift.  Reminder: We have started running 7 days a week until September.

With my job as a full-time school teacher officially ending for summer this past Thursday, I started running 7 days a week on Friday.  I had new client Philip Mack of New Hope, PA, his daughter Ali Mack of Abington, PA and her two 10yr boys Rogan and Eoghan on a 4hr Bay/Inlet charter. We worked hard fishing multiple spots through the periodic fog and drizzle. The twins wanted to go fishing for their birthday and they struck first catching 2 keepers (18, 19) on the same drift. Phil landed another at close at 19.5 inches. The crew had steady action for most of the trip jigging bucktails and boxing 3 for lunch/dinner.

Next, I had new client Scott Loreaux of Manahawkin, NJ and his brother Jeff Loreaux of Duxbury, MA on a 4hr Bay/Inlet charter. The charter was purchased for Scott’s Birthday and the two did a decent job at fishing through short Fluke to find a couple of keepers. We fished several areas and a few areas produced much better results than the others. There was a lot of joking around between the brothers and I think they tied on the amount of fish caught, although Scott’s keeper was the biggest at 19.5 inches! Great job!

I had Dave Caruso of upstate NY, his son Casey Caruso, Kyle Christian, and family friends Brian Gaw and Shannon Gamble of Colorado on a 4hr Bay/Inlet charter. The crew had very tough conditions with steady 20 knot winds plus some higher gusts and good tidal current, which made for “super-fast” drifts. You know it’s fast when power drifting with a wind sock doesn’t help. We worked incredibly hard today and pounded a ton of areas, but with the drift conditions the crew could only muster a few shorts and 1 nice keeper taping over 21 inches. With a wind sock and power drifting in a narrow area, Brian landed the keeper on a S&S Bigeye bucktail. Good job on a tough day!!

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.

Capt. Brett Taylor ~ www.reelreactioncharters.com ~ Call or Text: 609-290-7709

Spent almost my entire day on Barnegat Bay and I have a lot to say.  After sun up I deployed my two “Maryland style” crab pots baited with fresh frozen bunker. Yes, that is an oxymoron. After that, I fluked before picking up my first trip of the day which was an eco tour.  Releasing two short on short notice I picked up the Rubin party.  I took them back behind Sedge Island and Gull Island to name a few.  Lots of things to see, and as always, I told lots of stories. Just ask any of my students. After that, I picked up my now annual fishermen from Pennsylvania Amish County. I find it interesting to learn the about the diverse cultures of those that make up the fabric of the United States. With the inlet a little dicey we chose to go to the back bay.  Working hard to put them on fish, I found the right conditions and the fluke were chewing.  They must of C&Red 20 fish in under an hour. Running all the way across Barnegat Bay and some 5,000 miles from Dutch Harbor, the Debbie M was on the crab! With about a 10 plus hour soak, the pots were loaded with crab.  From two pots I filled a four-gallon bucket with Jimmies, many of them big and full.  Bottom line, crabbing is excellent. I still have still have some openings for this upcoming week so give me a shout if you are looking to head out.