Soggy Saturday Fishing Report

In recent days the striped bass migration has arrived with quality bass cruising our local waters. Still the bluefish beat down continues. Boat and beach fishing has been great. Coming off the full moon we’ll have the spring’s (possibly the year’s) biggest run of fish in the next four weeks. It’s prime time!

While the weather is sour today the ten day forecast is ripe. We are stoked  for what the coming weeks will offer.

The last couple nights were great ones to be on the Island’s surf.  The conditions were prime (clean white water) with a nice gentle sweep. The fish were present and feeding! Here’s some reports…

Todd Luber reported a solid night slinging eight ‘n bait! We fished most of the outgoing tide till about 2:30. Four bass between Brendan, Matt and I. All quality fish in the 36 to 40″ range. I was lucky enough to beach three. Brendan got one. Matt arguable got one of the biggest blues we have seen this season at 18 pounds on the boga. Missed numerous others fish and several blues in the mix. Memorable night!

Yesterday Matthew Polito stopped in the shop, got a new set up and hit the mid-island surf. We got a quick review… “I love the new setup! Shout out to Greg at the shop for helping me gear up. The Tsunami Airwave Elite matched with a Penn SSV handles great. Thanks for helping me get on the fish last night!”

Buy the Tsunami Airwave Elite Surf Rod Here

Buy the Penn SSV Spinfisher V Here

** Remember, Sunday, May 14th is the last day to use code FHQ20 on www.fishermansheadquarters.com for 20% OFF all items on our WEB STORE ONLY! **

The crew here at the shop had a fun couple of nights. The night shift two days in a row have been good. The mid-island surf is producing! Blake got a nice bass on a metal lip last night. Willie, Kelley and I were into blues. Last night I walked into the same area I fished the previous night and morning (both were productive). First cast, missed a bite. Second, third and fourth cast each had a fish. It was a really consistent bite for about an hour then it tapered off to a slower pick. My MVP was a bone white Super Strike Rattling Swimmer aka Bottle Plug.

Jimmy Nacion reported a solid night Thursday, “Fish on! Both bass and blues on the mid-island beach. Steve-o and I has bass up to 35″ and blues up to 16 pounds. The Northbar Bottle Darters were the ticket. We also got them pulling on bait. At least 30- 40 fish between the two of us.”
Buy the Northbar Bottle Darters Here

Bass fishing in the boats has been good. Once the weather clears we expect fishing to be awesome. Anglers are catching trolling spoons. Here’s some recent reports…
Captain Mike Villanova of No Limits Sportfishing said,  “Yesterday afternoon we had the opportunity to take Keith Tindall from Jerry’s Diesel out for an after work trip. The northeast wind had the ocean sloppy. The Inlet was loaded with bluefish but we decided to stick out the conditions and try for a striper. We marked lots of fish but couldn’t get anything to bite. After about an hour we finally connected with a nice one, 48” for our first bass of the season!
David DiGangi sent in this photo and report… “I caught this 45″ bass on Thursday at about 9:30 am trolling a white #4 Bunker Spoon with a complete Tony Maja rig and wire line. We were just north of the Barnegat Inlet in 40′ of water.”
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Since 1984, the Bureau of Marine Fisheries has been involved in an intensive program of artificial reef construction and biological monitoring. Artificial reefs in ocean waters along the New Jersey coast provide a habitat for fish, shellfish and crustaceans, fishing grounds for anglers, and underwater structures for scuba divers. This past Wednesday, the famed ‘Perfect Storm’ rescue ship, the Tamaroa, was sunk off the coast of New Jersey to become part of an artificial reef that is enhancing fishing opportunities off the coast of New Jersey and Delaware. Peter Clarke sat down with Bob Bostock to discuss the sinking of the Tamaroa as well as New Jersey’s Artificial Reef Program. To listen to the podcast go to this link…

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Lighthouse Sportfishing Barnegat Bay Report 5/12/17

I just got off of Sedge Island, located on Barnegat Bay behind Island Beach State Park, after spending Thursday overnight into Friday with some of my AP Environmental Science Students. Sedge Island is rich in history.  An over 100 year old hunting shack has stood the test of time and weathered every coastal storm Mother Nature has thrown at it. Babe Ruth stayed at Sedge and it is without any doubt it is the pillar to which Ospreys and Peregrine Falcons have made a historical comeback after the detrimental effect of DDT which was banned in 1972. And it was one man, Pete McLain, who had the vision and determination to bring these birds back from the brick of extinction. Knowing that hunting and conservation could co-exist, it was Pete who had the name of the New Jersey’s Departmental of Environmental Protection’s Division of Fish & Game name changed to Fish & Wildlife. Pete is no longer with us, but his legacy is remembered every year with when from the wintering grounds of South America  the first Ospreys returns to Sedge Island in March. Thanks Pete! Now with the fishing report.  It was great to see my students get into some of the bluefish action today.  They landed a handful of blues from 2-4  pounds, broke off one much bigger, and landed a schoolie bass. I had Paul Karner out earlier in the week flyfishing with no success.  Seems like the 40 deg nights put the blues off a little. With the full moon passed us the big bass are starting to show up off the beach.  All we need  is a little warming of the ocean to blow the bite wide open. I have some magic hour dates open later in the week as well as Sunday May 21st.

Screaming drags,

Capt. Alex 609-548-2511

Make An Appointment To Catch Your Big Bass. Hi Flier Sportfishing

If you want to get into some big stripers you have to read the weather windows. After the messy rain and wind blows through this weekend, the switch to NW wind is already in the forecast by Sunday/Monday. Followed by low velocity and variable winds on Tues/Wed/Thurs/Fri. It looks like from Monday on, it is going to be a nice ocean. This season, that’s half the battle….more like three quarters! Sure, it would be nice to fish the weekend with some bluebird weather but it’s not happening, so you have to “make an appointment” to be in the weather window if you’re going to get your big bass. There are 25 to 40 pound plus fish being taken every day from Seaside to Long Branch a few miles off the beach. There is no snag and drop bite yet, so we need to troll with the heavy artillery. Wireline outfits with bunker spoons and braid rods with Mojos. It’s a very effective “means to an end”. It puts fish on the line, in the boat, and on the table. Pretty soon the bite will transition into snagging bunker early in the morning and then trolling after that but right now it’s all on the troll.
The forecast is not so critical when we are staying in the bay to target the bluefish that are here in good size and numbers. We could target either or both in the same day. Catching them every day on lures and bait. Three to fifteen pound fish.
I still have Monday May 15 afternoon available 1PM to 7PM. I am considering using a vacation day on Tuesday May 16 at my day job to exploit the glaringly beautiful weather that is forecasted. Leave at 6AM and return at Noon or later. Sailing again on Tues afternoon. If I am to book Tuesday, though, I need to know today (Thurs) or tomorrow (Fri) morning the latest so I can put in for it. Keep in mind, if you are on the Tues morning trip and I don’t have the afternoon booked we are going on SAFARI! As far,and as late, as we have to go to put fish in the boat. Thurs May 18, and Fri May 19, sailing at Noon returning around 6PM. That’s all of our availability, the next day we have open is not until Thurs afternoon, May 25.
These dates are available for charter or sign on as an individual and we will make an Open Boat trip. $175 person, 4 people max, all fish are shared. $600 for the whole boat if you charter it with your own group.
Capt. Dave DeGennaro
Hi Flier Sportfishing
732.330.5674 cell
hiflier.com

Classy fish along the beach!

Some good reports off the Island surf today. Bass and blues…

Store staffer Rob was on the beach and got fish. Todd Luber reported “Decent morning chunking the surf. Got this one and dropped one. The old man got two nice bluefish.”

More fish pulled yesterday! Anglers slow trolling along the beach are catching classy fish.

We had some nice fish weighed in yesterday from Carmine Tocci. He checked in a good one (41 pounder) that went for a green Tony Maja bunker spoon. Carmine was trolling off of IBSP.
Fish Head’s Alumni Yonnie got out for an after work sunset session. Yonnie said, “Bass reports bass are here!”

Bill Tallman and Jack Reynolds got em good yesterday…  Bill reported, “What a night it was! A little sloppy out but me and Jack found some fish quickly. After working some marks we put the first fish of the year on the deck. The marks disappeared, so we moved looking for more. Found what we were looking for… Double header! Two fish pushing 50 pounds at the same time.” Check out the two photos below.

Coyle Brains reported, “The big bass have moved in on most of the inshore lumps.” Fishing aboard Drop Off Sportfishing they landed a pair of 30 pounders.
Here’s a couple photos from the More reports of blues and bass off the surf and in the bay.
Chris Masino got a racer off the surf.
John Delsordo got a full moon bass, bunker chunking.
Darren Hutchinson got his new personal best last night. He wanted to give a shout out to store staffer Blake for the hook up on a custom Blake Darters!
Looks like the drum bite picked up some stream on the full moon. Marc Taggart got a good one. “Not a bad way to spend a couple hours.”

Another report came from Wes Bouchelle, “Thanks to Big Nasty Nate for showing me the drum grounds. Got my first over 60 pounds from the scale.”

Here’s an update from Stew Hitchner, the former captain/owner of the Pez Machine. Stew and family packed up and headed out to Hawaii. It looks like they are enjoying them selves. Check out the photo below of Allison & Stew “On the meat… Three for four on ahi tuna yesterday. What a fun day!”

Public Service Announcement

Just a heads up, the lane in front of the store which was once a shoulder is now a through lane. No idea who at the Dept of Transportation thought it was a good idea but it has proven to be very  dangerous. There has already been a couple accidents.

Today or tomorrow (May 11-12) the speed limit will be lowered on county roads (Long Beach Blvd and Central Ave) Barnegat Ave is always 25mph. May 22 the traffic signals will be turned on across the entire island.
As always drive with care. Keep your eyes out and pay attention. Watch out for those who are not.
Info from NJ Fish and Wildlife on the State’s Striped Bass Bonus Program…
The Striped Bass Bonus Program will reopen on September 1, 2017.  Applications for individuals and party/charter boats are currently being accepted. For more information, including application forms and instructions, visit https://www.njfishandwildlife.com/bonusbas.htm on the NJDEP Div. of Fish and Wildlife website.

Positive Vibes!

Positive vibes are in the air (along with heavy amounts of pollen)! The fishing on LBI is ramping up into the prime spring season.

Classy bass arrived in our local waters and will be here for the next few weeks. Mid May and June is an awesome time to target trophy striped bass on and around Long Beach Island.

Reports off the boats today were good from the waters off LBI and IBSP. Captain David D. of Hi Flier Sportfishing got a good one, mid-thirty pound class. See his report posted separately. Mike Messler of DocksideDiner also got into some good fish trolling too. Mike was fishing off of LBI with Reed Johnson yesterday. Reed recently geared up at the shop and yesterday he put the tackle to work with some really nice fish. This has been the best first hand report we’ve got this spring. It’s time to get in the game! Three nice fish on the troll; 35lb, 34lb and 20lb. Mike reported, “Some bait balls deep, nothing on surface. We roped ’em on a White #4 Tony Maja Bunker Spoon from Fisherman’s Headquarters!”

BUY MAJA SPOONS HERE

Chris Degennaro got a couple nice bass on the troll yesterday. Here’s a pair he pulled.

There was talk in the shop about a nice fish that was caught late afternoon off the surf. An customer buying bunker reported an angler near by caught a good size bass.

Anglers continue to pick bass and blues off the surf. Today shop regular Sam checked in a nice linesiders off the surf. Arnold Manresa recently reported bunker has been working in the suds. Got another two fish as well as skates and sharks. Hooked up on something else but after a three minute fight the hook came out. All of my action has been before work on the morning tide (5-7AM). Another report came in from Aaron Ho, photo below. He caught and released his first keeper sized striped bass of the year off the LBI surf recently. Simply Bassing, Long Beach Island’s Spring Surf Bass Tournament is on and currently led by Jeff Crabtree at 18.86 pounds.

Still some nice perch in the tidal creeks and lagoons. Store staffer Willie got a couple nice ones last night off his dock.

I fished yesterday morning on the bay with Blake. We got into some blues. The wind was light so I had to pull out the fly. It was a blast getting them on the white gamechanger.

A couple solid reports from the south end of the Island bayside. Word is it’s hot with with large and aggressive blues. One gental man stoked on the awesome fishing stopped in the shop to gear up. “I gotta get em on the fly. I have so much fun fly roding steel head, I’m gonna turn on the blues.” We out fitted him with a phenomenal saltwater setup that will be very universal for bass and blues among other species too. The unit was made up of the G.Loomis Cross Current one piece 8’10” rod and a Hatch 7 Plus Finatic fly reel. After spooling up, he was off to flag down the angry ol’ yellow eyes with the fly.

There was a time when the local demand disappeared; however, there’s a resurgent in the area. So for this year, after a long intermission we brought back a small selection of premium fly fishing gear.

For me, the past fall was off the hook and this spring has been a great start. I’m looking forward to catching a bunch more fish on the fly this year and I’m especially looking forward to gearing up others to get in on the fun. For those that live for fooling fish on artificials this is the ultimate. While not the easiest is isn’t rocket science and it is so rewarding!

Any one looking to gear up and smash them on the fly stop in and see us. We have a selection of premium made in the USA fly reels by Hatch, rods by G.Loomis and line by Cortland. We are also a St. Croix rod dealer so special ordering a St.Croix fly rods is a quick turnaround.

Dave Spendiff of the Village Harbour Fishing Club found some monster blues in the bay.  Yesterday he weighed in a 18.84 pound gorilla! Shown below

Jacob Bowles got five to 15 pounds recently bunker chunking the bayside.

Chris O’Neill sent in this photo and this short report, “34 inch gator caught in Great Bay yesterday on bunker.”

Here is a report from Gianni Marano, dated May 8, 2017: My father and I were fishing in Barnegat Inlet Sunday around 12pm from our boat. We were working the outgoing tide with swim shads. On my third cast a 34″ 9 pound bluefish slammed on and I was hooked up on lite tackle. Unbelievable fight! We also saw people reeling in blues from the IBSP rocks and other boats drifting next to us.

It looks like we have a developing low pressure with increasing wind and swell this weekend… so now is the time to poke out and fish! If you can’t swing it, the long range looks promising. Next weeks looks to be an awesome stretch of weather. Lets hope it pans out.

Got Em! 34 lb Striper on Hi Flier Yesterday (Mon) Afternoon

IMG_0943After weeks and weeks of relentless wind, the NW finally let us sneak out the inlet to go troll some spoons. Had friends Johnny O’Kinsky (left) and Brian Ewan (right) on board for a spontaneous (Thanks to Johnny) “Let’s shoot out for a couple of hours” trip. We started off the Bathing Beach (Where else?) and had no luck so I ran north of Lavallette where I had heard of a “guy who knew a guy” sort of report that he caught the day before. Nothing. On the way back, we let them out in 60 feet of water off of Seaside Piers and while I was preparing the deck for the ride home, Brian screams: “There he is….That’s a bass!” referring to the rod that was dumping line. He was right. 34 pounds on the Boga Grip. One hit, one fish, and after another short troll we headed for the dock. Didn’t get that hit until 4PM. He went for a #4 white Tony Maja bunker spoon.

Here’s the YouTube clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BzckMkpjzRE

Open Boat or Charter trips running tomorrow (Wed) May 10, Thurs May 11, and Fri May 12. Leave at Noon, return around 6PM (probably later). All three days have 5 to 10 knot winds making for a nice ocean, giving us the option to go troll spoons for the big stripers and/or cast light tackle at the blues in the bay. There is a mix of size with the blues now. There are still some gators mixed in but there are a lot of 3 to 5 pound fish now, too. We can do whatever you guys want. Don’t be afraid to check availability right up until “Go time”. A lot of times we will sail with less than a full boat just to go fishing. Best way to communicate with me is on the cell. I’m available from 6AM to 9PM every day. $175 person, 4 people max, all fish are shared. Also available every Sat, Sun, and Mon for morning and afternoon trips. Charter or Open Boat Trips.

Capt. Dave DeGennaro
Hi Flier Sportfishing
732.330.5674 cell
hiflier.com

 

 

 

 

 
 

 

Feels Like Fall

With the chilly westerly breeze, it really feels like a fall day here on LBI. The Island’s beaches have a fading south east swell leftover rolling across the sandbars. Over night the water cleaned up (lost some of that chocolate tint) and fish are cruising the white water. We are dropping into low tide (on the surf) at 12:39PM. High tide is this evening at 6:52PM.

Scott Shirey from Carlisle PA just weighed in a 41″ 26.30 lbs striped bass at 11am. Scott caught the linesider off of the Ship Bottom surf on FishHead’s Bunker at about 10am.

 

Store staffer Dan was out on the water yesterday (Sunday) searching. He fished the three mile line off Island Beach State Park. Dan said, “Trolling was slow, with little to no bait. We did come across a deep pack or two of bunker (photo below).  This time last year we found some good fish. We’ll get ’em soon.” Water temp was 52 degrees. We heard through the grapevine there were a couple fish pulled this weekend. This is the start!

 

Here a photo of the surf and rainbow 🌈 from last night off the Surf City beach. Thanks to Melanie Cassie Photography for the photo

Lighthouse Sportfishing and Birding Report May 7, 2017

Well my team worked hard and had fun but the hard work paid off as we took 2nd place in the Level 1 Division – Limited Geographic Area of the World Series of Birding. Have one spot open for tomorrow magic hour trip 4:30 to dark for monster bay bluefish and striped. Cost is $135 and this is a special as on this trip you would only be sharing the boat with one other angler.

Screaming drags,

Capt. Alex 609-548-2511

Reel Fantasea Fishing Charters – Another Epic Week Of Fishing Barnegat Bay!!

 

Another Epic week of Light Tackle action found all in the safe confines of Barnegat Bay continued to entertain anglers aboard the Reel Fantasea this week! Some Trips returned early from just plain old fatigue with sore arms and backs from “The Catchin”!!

Even after torrential rains and high winds that turned the bay into a giant fresh water run off catch basin and stained the clarity muddy brown we found the action right where we left off RED HOT!!

Big Burly blues well into the teens have continued to keep our anglers rods down and tight and drags screaming with little rest between bites. Striped bass have also spiced the catches for some of our savvy anglers as well to keep things interesting.

I’m looking with great anticipation to this week with weather looking a bit more timid with westerlies forecasted and a waxing moon. I think the bass action is going to blow wide open along our coast!!  

I have a few Happy Hour Specials available this which are running 530-830pm for either open or private charter . Incoming and outgoing tides have scored heavily including the dreaded slack !

Please join us on Face Book and Like and share our daily reports.

Wishing everyone fair winds and calm seas,

Captain Steve Purul

Reel Fantasea Fishing Charters

609-290-1217

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Open Boat Stripers/Blues Tomorrow (Mon) May 8

West winds again tomorrow. Should flatten that ocean out to allow us to go try a shot at trolling bunker spoons for big stripers. Not that there’s been any reported but its time. Depending on the sea condition and what you guys want to do, we can also fish the bay for bluefish which has been steady. $175 person, all fish are shared.  6AM to Noon (or later).

Capt. Dave DeGennaro  Hi Flier Sportfishing  (732)330-5674   www.hiflier.com