I have been doing some traveling with family and friends over the past three weeks, which is why I have not sent any emails or contributed any reports. My wife and I, along with some good friends, left on a cruise out of Seward Alaska along the Inside Passage to Cancouver, British Columbia. I returned from that trip, was home for one day, and drove to Maine with my son Max for our annual Smallmouth/Largemouth trip with the newest addition to the fleet, the Lo Flier. A 16 ft aluminum boat we decked out for bass fishing. The halibut trip was great and produced so many species. Also, caught my biggest largemouth in Maine, just over 6 lbs, on an imitation frog. Pics below.
Time to get back to NJ fishing. Awesome stretch of weather coming up this week. Under 10 knots of wind every day and calm seas. There are 20 to 30 lb bluefin in the 20 to 25 mile range. Mixed in are some bonita, as well. It is primarily a troll bite right now, so that is how we will be fishing. I am still going to bring bait, and we always have jigs and poppers on board, but we will be mostly trolling to try and put fish in the box. If we get lucky and get our fish early, we can spend more time drifting with bait and jigs. If I could get the right bait, we could also try bait fishing for bonita and albies with light tackle. I am careful to emphasize this, as I know we all like to catch them with a technique that offers the most sport. Right now, trolling is the most productive on these inshore fish. Offshore, in the canyons, it sounds like the jigs and poppers are killing it.
Open Boat Tuna: Thursday Aug 15 6AM to 3PM. $375 person. 4 people max. All fish are shared.
I will also be tuna fishing on Wed, so if you call or text to reserve a spot for Thursday’s trip, I won’t be able to call or text you back until I am back in cell range late afternoon on Wed. Catching me on land today (Tues) is your best shot. Calling is always better than emailing.
The ocean has settled down from Debby’s moderate swell and wind event. Fortunately the waters have warmed up and with it, fishing has picked up. We have a great run of tranquil weather this week. Now is the time to go fishing and enjoy summertime fishing the waters of Long Beach Island. With the lighter winds and also west winds, be sure to have some quality big spray on hand! Our two favorite very effective all natural bug repellants are Captain Rons and Incognito Mosquito.
Tune into my latest fishing report video from Sunday night….
The warmer inshore – nearshore waters are promising an awesome second half of August. Since this past weekend’s blow the action has been good, significantly better than the cold water lockjaw fishing many experienced at times the past few weeks.
Summer flounder aka fluke hang around the LBI surf, inlets and bays all summer long. Right now is prime time to target them from the beach or boat. Store staffer Mark Finelli Jr found solid life on the Surf City recently but nothing keeper size. Work at it and a keeper to two are in there. Open sandy bottom areas (clam beds, inshore lumps) are great places to find fluke this time of year as well as the many wrecks and reef sites.
There’s tog, triggerfish and sheepshead around most of the near shore structures. Lance Kim had a great day fishing the Barnegat Inlet rocks, landing five sheepshead.
Kingfish are biting in the surf on live bloodworms, FishBites. It doesn’t hurt to fish a combo, a small piece of both real and artificial. Just don’t crowd the hook point. Using the same small hooks/rigs and bait as surf fishing for kings will yield spot and croakers on the bayside. There’s also a shot at snappers, blowfish, spike weakies and sand perch too. The spot and croaker fishing has been phenomenal recently using sabiki rigs tipped with FishBites. Now’s the perfect time to load up on spot for the fall run and they are also great baits right now for striped bass and doormat fluke!
Store staffer Frezza and Grey got on some light tackle striped bass fishing the bayside. They caught all their fish on 3” NLBN lures. Fish Heads Alumni Bill Bassant caught this striped bass (below) fishing light tackle in Barnegat Bay.
Weakfish are being caught by anglers who are dialed in and targeting them. John Bonner caught this one the other morning.
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Public Service Announcement
Be on the lookout for a swell from an offshore storm coming up this weekend. Boaters transiting the inlets should always know the tides and current windows for safe passage. Outgoing tides with the addition of powerful ocean swells can make for a treacherous ride.
August offers a good variety of fishing opportunities to saltwater anglers fishing the Central Jersey Shore, Barnegat Bay and the Long Beach Island area. During this time of the year the waters have a large variety of species from the fluke, bluefish, striped bass and tog to weakfish, sheepshead, triggerfish, kingfish and more!
Tune into my latest fishing report update video for more information about what’s biting…
Here in the first week of August on the south central Jersey Shore fishing front we have the same situation as most of July. Chilly ocean water temperatures and warm back bay temps making for radical temperature swings through the day’s tide cycles. This is much more prominent and important to track and consider when fishing areas closer to the inlets. A good steady bite can go from hot to cold in a matter of minutes. The opposite can also play out.
Due to the upwelling’s chilly ocean waters anglers on the water have had a marine layer most mornings which some days persists through the day. This is advection fog. All boaters must be aware of it and know how to safely navigate the waters. Fog is challenging and will bewilder any novice operator. For your safety and the safety of others, if you don’t understand and know, don’t go out!
How long will this continue?
I see a short term break with onshore winds Wednesday and Thursday. This will hopefully offer a rebound in surf temperatures as onshore winds winds push the surface waters into shore creating downwelling (opposite of upwelling, cause of the cold). BUT! I don’t think we are totally out of the cold. Stiff southerlies are currently in the forecast for Friday and Saturday, then west south west Sunday and Monday. At that time there looks to be lighter winds in the forecast. But a lot can change especially with the remnants of Debby coming up the eastern seaboard. Keep your fingers crossed for anything but hard southerlies day after day and we will be ok.
The cold waters have resulted in a great summertime striped bass fishery this summer. There’s bass throughout the bay chasing peanut bunker (what’s left after many large large fish kills in lagoons due to low oxygen) and mullet.
Local caught fresh mullet is back in stock! Weakfish, fluke, bass and bluefish… they all eat them!
More recently fluke fishing has been better at times. I expect now until the end of the season to be strong. But anglers need to play their cards right in order to capitalize. Fish deeper areas that are consistently cold or fish shallow areas where the fluke will lay up to warm in the sun. These deeper areas could be the main channels (ICW and thoroughfares) in the bay as well as the many holes and sloughs. These shallow areas could be the many pockets in the flats or edges and table top shelfs along a channel edges as well as the rolling sandbars in the surf. Also bluefish are around the bay, inlet and surf spicing up the action.
Kenny Huff
The bay is loaded with spot and they are aggressive for their small stature. Small hooks baited with just about anything will get bites. Worm or artificial worm options are best. Many who are looking for blowfish are catching a bunch. There are plenty of areas to fish for spot from LBI’s landbased bayside access points.
Weakfish are also on tap with some nice ones around. Mostly spikes in the mid-bay with some better size class fish in the classic weakfish honey holes. Reports from the north end and south ends (around the inlets) are promising.
Owen Alquist
Fluke and tog at the Barnegat Inlet are good. There are plenty of both however primarily shorts. Some anglers are working and finding keepers. This is a prime time to find big fluke near the Inlets as they making their way out of Barnegat Bay. It seems that tog fishing has started off strong with quantity but not quality. Maybe once we progress into the month of August we see a wave of fish move in and take up residence along the jetties. Sheepshead, trigger fish are also here.
This end of July fishing report wrap up cover a quick overview of the current fishing in and around the Long Beach Island and Barnegat Bay waters. The fishing during the month of July (as well as June) was dominated by cold water temperatures. Fishing activity and success has been very dependent on working through these challenging conditions to trigger strikes when fish for the most part have been lethargic. The past week we had a warm up of water temperatures; however in the past 24-48 hours we have seen a break in the warming water trend. How low does it go? How will the fishing action be effected? Only time will tell. Right now it doesn’t look like the 30 day low will be touch so that is great news. A little more on this topic at the end of this post.
Here is my latest video report from Monday afternoon…
Currently on tap in the local fishery…
Fluke fishing has ben more active recently in all of the areas; surf, bay, inlet, open bottom ocean, reefs, wrecks. This is the time where the inlet, beaches in the vicinity of inlets and the ocean get going with quality size fluke. This year has been a weird one so it’s hard to say how things will play out. But there is no denying this is my favorite time of year to be fluke fishing. It’s a prime time and we should have a great shot at quality fluke fishing from now to the end of the season (ending Sept 25th). Yes the bay is full of fluke, primarily smaller sized fish but there are keepers if you work and weed through them. On a recent charter we earned two keepers, both on Gulp. We had more fish on live minnows but no keepers. When the water was colder the live bait excelled for me.
Below is a photo of a recent weigh in from Gavin Black… a 10.5# summer flounder.
The bay (north, mid-island and south) are loaded with spot. These make for fun light tackle fishing from the many bayside bulkheads, docks and crabbing piers found on Long Beach Island. Now is the time to load up the pen with premium fall striped bass baits. Use small hooks baited with live bloodworms (in stock now) and/or FishBites Bag’O Worms and/or a great new product Bait Fuel GO2 Bloodworms. With this same approach an angler can fish the surf side and catch kingfish which are in the suds. With the great spot activity it is surprising that more blowfish aren’t being caught. Yes there are some around; however, not as strong as past years. There are some spike weakfish in the bay too.
Bluefish continue to race around the bay, inlet and surf. At times mini blitz feeding frenzies pop up. These cocktails are chasing peanut bunker, small mullet, spearing and bay anchovies. These same baits the resident striped bass are feeding on. Speaking of striped bass… The striped bass fishing over the past month has been great. We always have a summertime striper fishery but this past July was one for the record books, both the quantity and the size class. Tons of light tackle fun! I’ll chalk it up to the chilly water temps.
This chilly water has also kept a good body of tog in the coastal waters.
Tomorrow August 1 NJ’s Tautog Fall Season opens!
Anglers fishing the Barnegat Inlet jetty have been reporting tog all summer long, especially those looking for sheepshead (at the right location and time there are a few sheeps to be had). Store staffer Max was hunting sheepshead but all he caught was tog, one was 6#! That is a really good size one considering the time of year. Game time for tog! Tomorrow, August 1st NJ’s Tautog Fall Season opens!
August 1- November 15th: 1 Fish Bag At 15″ minimum size
Chart below shows the past 30 days of data at the Barnegat Inlet tide and temperature gauge. This shows the water temperature fluctuation from the outgoing bay waters (warmer) and the incoming ocean water (colder). The more radical the swing from highs to lows the further the bay temp is from the ocean. Moreover the large swings portray upwelling events as they come and go. It shows a large part of July had cold ocean water due to upwelling.
While at the ICAST 2024 show I saw cameras and product reviews going on in every which direction. Each time I passed the Daiwa booth I saw angler after angler high sticking on their demo machine. In disbelief, I forced myself to walk by what the industry considers the best of the best professionals. On the last day of the show, I had a free window at their booth since our Daiwa rep had to leave early. After reviewing and tinkering with all of their great products I took some time to talk to Daiwa engineer Takuya Oda in from Japan about rods, reels, drag and technique. After our talk he said “shoot video please”! This is for the high stickers out there!
Proper technique and form for landing big fish on light tackle is not all about brute strength. Fish more efficiently and effectively with proper technique for MAX pressure with less effort! It’s important for anglers to learn and understand how to maintain control, increase endurance all while protecting expensive fishing gear from damage.
In the video Daiwa’s super accurate 1/10th pound scale with on screen display really allowed for some interesting looks. I played with the unit for some time. I really had my head spinning when I tried to put the same effort in at different angles. With one approach it was almost 10# and then same effort high sticking was 3.5#. Wild! Not only does the high sticking angle not put pressure on the fish it puts the rod in jeopardy every time. The key that most don’t get is utilizing the power stroke, mid and back section of the rod.
With regards to slow pitch fishing, the rods are soft and parabolic so the angler must use the drag and gearing of the reel as well as only a small portion of the rod’s butt section as the lever since the rest of the rod is soft and folds over for working the jig. As shown in the video at about the 50 second mark there is a good amount of pressure put on the fish with the under the arm approach.
Remember, I could not crank the reel and I could not (was not allowed to) adjust the drag or thumb the spool. So I could have put significantly more pressure using any of those three, but that wasn’t in the cards for this situation. It also was not what Daiwa was trying to convey with their display.
As far as proper technique, I would say whatever is the most efficient approach is the right approach. To each their own. What I have found over the years of fishing and not being a muscle man… technique is everything . Brute strength hardly ever wins. From what I see on the water, in photos and videos TOO MANY times anglers are mistakenly working against themselves and the tackle rather then focusing their efforts on the fish.
While the rod and reel on the display (machine/gauge) was a slow pitch style outfit, what the engineer and I wanted to share is how high sticking is a Major No No! It risks breaking the rod and also doesn’t help the angler. It actually hurts by putting less pressure. That is because the rod tip will never have more power than the mid and butt section. We also wanted to share that there is a proper way to rest during a long battle, while still maintaining maximum pressure on the fish but little exertion from the angler.
One other point I tried to make was how the angle and positioning of the angler changes the pressure put on the fish while not changing the effort exerted by the angler.
I really wanted to link up a stand up rod, popping rod, classic 7′ inshore rod and a surf rod to demonstrate proper technique with proof from the gauge/display. But it too was not in the cards.
All of the above is information on fighting fish without belt and harness. It would be a disservice to leave out some info on stand up fishing. So I dove back into my fishing catalog archives to share some great info from the 90’s. Here is stand up fishing info from Dennis Braid founder and innovator at Braid Fishing Products. Think Braid Stand Up Fishing Belts! Dennis first made a rod belt in 1983 and over time, took it to another level. He was one of the best stand up anglers and not a monster. Actually Dennis was a small guy but used technique to get the job done.
Stand Up Fishing
Aboard almost all sportfishing boats, you’ll find Braid fishing belts and harnesses or another brand of product utilizing the innovation from Dennis Braid. Nearly everyone utilizes the the fish-fighting tools and accessories that have made the stand-up big game angling possible. Here’s our selection of fish fighting belts, butts and harnesses.
Back in the day skippers and fishermen together learned was that parabolic glass marlin rods and primitive harnesses of the time were nearly ineffective. Too much brute strength was required to grapple with the giant yellowfin, limiting the game to body builders or salty masochists.
Demands spurred innovation and pioneers first adjusted to shorter rod lengths. Then reels with powerful lower gear ratios and two speed gearing. Certainly huge advancement in spectra line technology, and innovative bucket harnesses.
Each element, in progression, meant the fishermen could actually procure a mechanical advantage. The new shorter rods could gain needed leverage on huge fish, especially when they were ‘straight down’ below the fisherman. The lowering of gear ratios was only one step. The movement to two speed reels provided either speed or power on demand as needed, giving even more control to the anglers regardless of physical stature.
By full utilization of the angler’s body weight, spreading out of opposing forces at the pivot point, and using all various elements of rod, reel and manpower to the fullest mechanical advantage, is the true science of fishing.
Braid’s Pro Tip: If you fish 30-pound tackle or heavier,always use a gimbal mounted rod. With the rod butt inserted in the pin of your rod belt, all your efforts are put toward managing your fish, not ‘white knuckling’ the foregrip as the rod twists and turns in your hand. And you don’t need new rods, just replace the butt caps with gimbals.
Fish Fighting Technique
You can break stand-up fighting techniques into two types: simply hip pivot or knee pivot. Hip pivot methods are associated with 50# class gear and lighter (belts and kidney harnesses), while the knee pivot method is related to the 80-130# class tackle (with bucket harness and butt plate gear). Of course, you’ll use the hip pivot at times while in your bucket harness, but only when a huge fish is not exerting its full force.
Dennis prefers this version of the hip pivot method. Stand with your feet a reasonable distance apart, knees bent. You want the weight of your body over your heels, but not so much you are truly flat-footed. You’ll want your weight distributed just enough so you can move left or right or back on the balls of your feet. In other words, you must have balance. With your left hand comfortable and high on the rod’s foregrip and your arm fully extended, keep your arm fully extended, keep your back reasonably straight. When you “pull” on the fish, you do so by pivoting at the hip. When you lean back, turn your body slightly to the left, the force is lower on your body, not up in your arms and back. The key to maximize your power is to grasp the rod as high as possible on the foregrip. In doing so, you are as close to a direct line pull as is possible with rod and reel.
The same effect can be maintained with a kidney belt and harness, as long as the rod is adjusted to approximately a 45 degree angle to the water This gives you enough play to lean forward, draw back, short stroke or lengthen your stroke as needed. Of course, when you’re connected to a harness, you won’t need your left hand to do any pulling on the rod. It rests on the reel and distributes the line on the spool while cranking.
Once you settle down on a truly giant fish with a Braid Belt and bucket harness (Power Play or Brute Busters), you’ll be able to exert maximum force on the fish and still be there at the end of the fight to tell about it. With the fish on the run, all you need to do is get into a semi sitting position, leaning back against the force of the fish. This way you counterbalance the pull and don’t over-tax your back, arms and legs. With your feet about 24 to 30 inches apart, knees bent, with one foot slightly forward or behind for balance, you can raise the rod by squatting. As you elevate or begin to stand, you take quick half to full cranks on the reel to gain whatever line you can. Repeat the squatting-to-lift, standing-to-reel pattern over and over. The bucket method allows you to put a ‘finishing’ amount of pressure on the fish close to the boat for tagging or gaffing.
It takes practice to perfect the method and it is vitally important to keep your knees braced firmly against the gunnel of the boat. Its crucial to have rod harness properly adjusted. Set up with your knees slightly bent. You want to have the rod at about a 35 to 40 degree angle so when you lean back, your rod raises and gives you lifting power. A rod adjusted too high does just the opposite. The key is to exert maximum force, with a minimum of effort… it’s what stand up fishing with Braid belts and harnesses are all about.
The past few weeks have offered some of the best summertime striped bass anyone could ask for! Prime time fluke fishing season isn’t great but anglers are catching at the right tides and locations using the technique and baits they want. Bluefish continue to make their presence known offering light tackle fun at times in the bay, inlet and surf. Kingfish, croakers and spot round out the local panfish menu.
Anglers are meticulously tracking water temperatures to best approach each outing. In the peak of summer, cold water is the last thing anglers should be battling but that is the cards we are dealt. [For more info on the chill check out this recent post.] Fortunately the radical upwelling has subsided some so we expect fishing to improve.
The past few weeks have offered some of the best summertime striped bass anyone could ask for! Prime time fluke fishing season isn’t great but anglers are catching at the right tides and locations using the technique and baits they want. Bluefish continue to make their presence known offering light tackle fun at times in the bay, inlet and surf. Kingfish, croakers and spot round out the local panfish menu.
Tune in to my latest fishing report video, recorded after a fun Monday morning fishing charter…
Inshore & Surf Fishing
As the water temps tick back up we begin to see a rise with the inshore fishing front. The fluke fishing both on the beach and bay has been better this week than the previous few.
Fish Heads store staffer Grey had a limit of fluke which has been hard to come by this year. He was fishing the North End of the Island at the Barnegat Inlet using 6″ Pearl White Gulp Jerk Shad rigged on a 1/2oz Magictail Big Eye Jig. We’ve also had numerous reports of keeper size fish being caught in the ocean on our local wrecks and reefs fishing 45-70ft of water.
Plenty of kingfish are cruising the surf and being caught on both Fishbites Bag O’ Worms and live bloodworms. Fish the bowls and cuts with baited small hooks and you’ll find them.
Update 7/25/24 2PM: Carl Hartman from American Anglers reported a good productive morning fishing the LBI surf. He said, “I had a solid hour bite with a mix of kingfish and spot.”
A few cobia are plodding the local bunker. There too… whales and a couple TUNA! Yes, a 82″ bluefin tuna first beached in Surf City yesterday chasing bunker. Check out the video here. It then later washed up in Harvey Cedars. One lifeguard shared that bunker, whales and tuna chicks have been present. Seems like some fishy waters… How many more tuna are near shore? This time last year we had some nearshore too.
Midshore / Inshore Fishing
It took time to get going but the inshore and mid-shore fishing has ramped up. Both yellowfin and bluefin tuna are hammering jigs, casted poppers and crashing bars and bally on the troll.
The inshore / mid-shore lumps and some wrecks have bluefin ranging from school size up to 80″+ hammers. Some big 100# yellowfin have made for some epic late July tuna fishing. Areas like the Little Italy out to Lilian, Resor out to Atlantic Princess, Chicken Canyon and Triple Wrecks have had fish.
Fish Heads store staffer Grey caught this one a couple days ago on the jig fishing about 20 miles offshore.
Jigging and casting poppers, stickbaits and Ron-Z / NLBN straight tails are effective and on slow days boats are picking fish on the troll too. Side trackers and splash bars as well as the classic Joe Shute or Hoohead over a ballyhoo is hard to beat. Season in and season out, they are top producers.
Offshore Fishing
The canyon tuna fishing for yellowfin and bigeye has been good over the past week. Some nice water slid into the Hudson where guys have fill the fish boxes with yellowfins trolling, jigging and popping. A little ways north of the Hudson a few guys were catching bigeyes on the troll up to the 130-200lb range. On the bottom fish front, solid Golden and Jumbo Bluelines have been caught around the Hudson and Toms canyons in the 350-500ft areas.
About a week back, Tyler Wilk of E-Fish-Ent Custom rods weighed in a 23lb Blueline that was only 8oz off the world record on a 250g jig.
There’s also been a few Swordfish around with daytime fishing seeming to be more productive. Jeff Warford of Wolfpack Tackle landed two solid swords over 100lbs fishing in the daytime along with a mess of Yellowfins and a few Mahi.
Beach Haven Charter Fishing Report
Fishing report for the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association by Jim Hutchinson Sr.
The fishing in the Long Beach Island area for the captains of the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association is entering its typical mid-summer selection of fish. There is one surprise in the mix, however. After several years of absence, croakers are making an appearance once again.
There have been multiple reports of croakers in Little Egg Inlet along with various locations in the bay waters. Although these fish are on the small side, they provide great drop and reel action, the keeper sized fish make for great fish fries. This bay action is a terrific way for youngsters learning to fish.
Captain Max Goldman who works on both the “Star Fish” and the “Miss Beach Haven” has noticed these croakers in the bay and adds there are also large numbers of small fluke and baby black sea bass in those areas. On his trips to the nearby artificial reefs in the ocean he has been seeing a pick of larger black sea bass and some keeper fluke.
Captain Brett Taylor of “Reel Reaction Sportfishing” reports his trips will now be in the ocean as his bay action for keeper fluke has slowed. He has been running two trips daily for the past couple of days with his anglers averaging 20-30 short fluke each trip. His recent trip with the Michael Futterman crew managed to box a pair of solid keepers to 22-inches. Captain Brett especially complimented Jakob for a “phenomenal job on the jig.”
Captain Gary Dugan of the “Irish Jig” had a charter for fluke this week. He reports everyone caught fish. Unfortunately, even though there was steady action, none of the fish were big enough to go in the cooler.
Additional information on the captains and boats of the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association can be found at www.BHCFA.org
Sat July 20, Sun July 21, and Mon July 22 are the best days to go offshore. This is the “weather window” all of us have been waiting for. Light and variable winds and no storm activity. There are bluefin tuna in a few different places now. After that, my next availability for any kind of fishing is not until Tues, Aug 13. Open Boat Tuna: Sat July 20, Sun July 21, and Mon July 22, 4AM to 4PM. $450 person. 4 people max. All fish are shared. If you call on one of these fishing days to book another day, I will not be able to respond until I am back in cell range. I will get right back to you as soon as I get a signal. You can call right up until “go time” for a spot. Any of these dates are also available for your private charter.
Tues July 23, Wed July 24, and Thurs July 25 are also light winds, but the forecast has possible storm activity on those three days, so we will be fishing the bay and inlet. We just watch the weather radar closely and try to pick the best 5 hour slot to go fishing. If any storms come up while we are in the bay, we just head to the nearest dock for shelter, let it blow through, then go back to fishing. You can’t do that offshore. We are available for charter only on these inshore trips. We will be chumming for weakfish and more with ultralite spinning gear. $700 for the boat for the 5 hour bay trip
Weather windows have been few and far between for running offshore, but the end is finally near. By Friday, it looks good, and the weekend and beyond, even better. Looking at the long range forecast, from Friday on, all looks good. The wind drops out and the sea condition will be much nicer than what we have been experiencing. Now, fingers crossed with the relentless fog. Speaking of fog, we don’t leave in the fog. Yes, we have radar, but I like to see everything with my own eyes when I am on the ocean. We do occasionally get caught in the fog, that can’t be helped. We are very selective about weather and conditions. The boat is a 25 ft World Cat center console with twin motors, a very capable boat for it’s size. We have all of the safety equipment, 6 man survival raft that is maintained, an EPIRB (search and rescue satellite signal), and an onboard Garmin Sirius/XM satellite weather station that allows us to see any storm cells as they are born. With all of that, we are still very selective on what conditions we sail in. It is not beyond me to get up at 2AM, load the truck and then the boat with all the gear. Take everyone to the inlet, just to turn around and say, Nope, not today. I make these sail/no sail decisions based on prevailing conditions only, not the people’s level of disappointment. I say all this because if you only have this one date to fish and you really want to get offshore, you might want to consider booking a bigger boat. We have a great number of customers that are content with this approach, as they know it is in their best interest, as well.
I usually don’t plan offshore tuna trips this far in advance but all the models I have been looking at are in agreement that the upcoming weekend looks really good. There are school size bluefin in the 30 to 60 mile range with some bigger ones mixed in. We will be headed to wherever the latest intel directs us. Trolling, jigging, and bait fishing. Yellowfin are still further offshore, but 4 to 5 days from now is an eternity in tuna movement, so we will be looking for those fish, as well, if they move back into striking distance.
Open Boat Tuna: Saturday July 20 and Sunday July 21, 4AM to 4PM. $450 person. 4 people max. All fish are shared.
Open Boat Barnegat Ridge: Friday July 19. 6AM to 2PM. $300 person. 4 people max. All fish are shared. We have been catching bonita at the Ridge, you just have to fish through the small blues that are also there. Always a wild card, the Ridge could be holding bluefin, albacore, and more at this time of year. The bonita have been small, 2 to 3 lbs, but they are delicious!
Some good news on our bay fishing, our live grass shrimp supplier is now up and running, so we are available for charter for Live Grass Shrimp trips from here in. These are 5 hour trips in the bay, anchored, chumming with live grass shrimp. The target is always weakfish, but everything that swims in Barnegat Bay eats these shrimp. We use ultralite 6 lb spinning outfits so everything you hook is a good fight. You can see the videos of these trips and all of our fishing on our website below.
FYI: We have available dates up until, and including Thursday July 25. After that, we are fully booked until Tuesday Aug 13.
Things are about to get interesting. Hope to see you on board!
Pic: Retired USMC Andrey Elisha of Burlington NJ with a Barnegat Ridge bonita
The cold water trend continues. While my fingers are crossed it changes and gets back to “normal”, it’s most likely going to stick around some more. How long is anyone’s guess. Here’s my latest fishing report video which is mostly dominated by ocean water talk but there’s a little fishing info with some helpful tips included. I share this because it is very important to understand the dynamics we deal with as anglers on the water.
Here’s a link to a blog I wrote in the summer of 2022 about the cold ocean water and phenomenon called upwelling… Upwelling Events On LBI Explained
It’s just as relevant then as it is today. Long lasting upwelling events are not uncommon. But how long it too long? The chart below shows the number of upwelling days over a four year span. I remember that 2022 was a chilly one which is the reason why I wrote the blog. This summer (2024) definitely contends if not beats it.
The photo below is from the Harvey Cedars Beach Patrol’s social media post on July 13th sharing a notice to the public that the water is COLD! 53º is really cold.
Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association Report by Jim Hutchinson Sr.
Captain Raymond Lopez reports the “Miss Liane” is now sailing for billfish and tuna. Their last trip out was excellent as they hooked onto a white marlin and blue marlin. They are sailing every week offshore for tuna and billfish, weather permitting.
Captain Gary Dugan has been fishing the “Irish Jig” while spending more time fishing the nearby artificial reefs as the fluke have begun their move to the ocean. He is also avoiding the greenhead flies in the bay. His bay fishing trips resulted in keeper fluke along with a healthy number of bluefish. He is now fishing for fluke on the reefs along with other bottom fish.
Captain John Lewis reports he has just moved his new boat, “Insatiable” to its berth at the Beach Haven Yacht Club. He has a few more items to take care of and will be sailing for fish very soon.
Captain Max Goldman reports the “Starfish” has been catching some nice black sea bass fishing various structure in the ocean. Although the daily bag limit is just one fish per angler, his anglers are also catching a variety of other bottom fish.
Captain Brett Taylor of “Reel Reaction Sportfishing” has been fighting the winds recently and maintains fishing is better when those strong south winds shift to the northwest. He had a recent four-man party fishing a 4-hour bay trips and released a grand total of 112 short fish while keeping four to 23-inches. He is taking care of some routine maintenance on his skiff while enjoying the Fourth of July weekend with his family. He will be back at it on Monday.
The Junior Mates Program for the BHCFA is now in full swing with an avid group of youngsters eager to learn the details of fishing. Captain Max passed along the current accomplishments of some former Junior Mates. Max is now a full captain along with Nick Perello and Jonathan Kelly. Marlyn Graham is working toward her nursing degree while Nick Haws is studying naval architecture at SUNY.
Another former Junior Mate, Liane Lopez, is also a captain and has graduated from the University of Miami. She has been guiding parties in the Miami area and helping her dad Captain Ray Lopez on the “Miss Liane” while in New Jersey.
Additional information on the captains and boats of the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association can be found at www.BHCFA.org
609-494-5739 
