We are doing well with the stripers and now there are blues to target. Most of the bass are 28” to 36” fish. Great sport on light spinning tackle. Mostly we are throwing lures at the inlet jetty for the bass. Anchored up with clams has been producing a few bigger fish like the 30 lber the the two guys below are holding. That fish measured 43 inches and ate a clam bait, flatlined with no weight on the very beginning of outgoing tide in Oyster Creek Channel. The blues are on the west side of the bay. All different sizes, casting topwaters or on the troll.
We will be sailing Open Boat or charter this Wed, Thurs, Fri, May 24, 25, 26.Wed 11AM to 5PMThurs 11:30AM to 5:30PMFri Noon to 6PM$175 person, 4 people max, all fish are shared. Pics: Al Hare of Lumberton NJ (Orange shirt) with a 33 inch bass he caught on a lure at the Barnegat Inlet jetty Ron Pullen of Browns Mills NJ and Wayne Malinosky of Lumberton holding Ron’s 30 lb striper that ate a clam Rob and Taylor Turrisi of State College PA with Taylor’s 29 incher he caught on a lure at the inlet.
May has treated us well with good fishing! Waxing out of Friday’s New Moon, we would expect the spring’s best action to fire up now or in the coming days. Usually late May and early June offer the best of spring fishing for the area. However this year got off to a very early start and has been very good. It’s hard for me to imagine an uptick from here but anything is possible. Whatever case plays out, I have no doubt that the next couple weeks will offer fun fishing here on and around Long Beach Island. Here’s the Long Beach Island Fishing Report Update for Sunday May 21, 2023.
Bluefish and striped bass here are biting regularly in the bay, inlet and surf. The surf side consistency is something we have not seen in years, making this spring’s beach bite one to remember with slot and over slot striped bass day and night. These fish are holding in cuts, rips, and holes from Barnegat Light to Beach Haven. Most of this action is on bait with clam and bunker; however there are lure anglers plugging up good catches. Productive plugs on the surf include, Daiwa SP Minnows, Super Strikes, Gibbs Metal Lip Swimmer, Yo-Zuri Hydro Minnow, Tsunami Shad and jigs live an AVA (diamond jig) or bucktails.
Jamie Gramley is dialed in, having himself one hell of a spring! This morning he struck into a couple more striped bass fishing clam on the surf, “45” released and a 33″ for dinner.”
Rob Murray reported his best nigh fishing LBI in many years, “What a great night tonight (Friday Night). Fished mid-island surf on the incoming tide. Four striped bass up to 40″ and eight bluefish up to 30″. All four striped bass were on bunker heads and all the bluefish we on chunks. Tried salted clam when I ran out of bunker bit nothing touched it.”
Chris sent in the report, “CJ reeled in his first striped bass Saturday morning fishing the Beach Haven surf.” Huge congrats CJ!
LBI Surf temperature is in the mid-fifties (54-57º), the Barnegat Bay ranges from 60º to almost 70º in areas all depending on the distance from the inlet, the tide and the time of day.
Bluefish in a wide size range from cocktails to gators are here and pushing through the bay, inlet and in the surf. A good number were reported this weekend. SP minnows, hydro minnows, pencil poppers, smack-it poppers and AVA jigs are standard lures for the yellow eyed demons. Sunrise and sunset are the best for the topwater action.
Fluke fishing has been ok with Barnegat Bay and Inlet producing. Store Staffer Grey and his friend Ryan had a double limit of fluke up at the rocks on Friday. Pink Shine grubs in 4” and 5” were producing best, also the 3” New Penny Shrimp did damage as well. At times the main thoroughfares (Double Creek and Oyster Creek Channels) have had good fishing. Down on the south end and Great Bay area store staffer Frez has been picked keeper fluke fishing 5” Gulp swimming mullets and jerk shads. He said, “Shallow water in the 4-9’ range has been most productive.”
It’s prime time spring fishing here on LBI with big striped bass here now. This past weekend was full of the same great reports that flooded in all work week. A lot of anglers are doing great bait fishing the surf. There’s also good fishing on the jetty and in the bay with fluke, bluefish, drum, weakfish and blowfish all present.
Are you enjoying this awesome spring weather and amazing spring fishing? If not, now’s the time to regroup and go fish! Here’s the LBI Fishing Report Update for Monday May 15, 2023.
We are still connecting with good size stripers on our trips to the inlet jetty. We are also catching blues on the west side of the bay. Running Open Boat or Charter Sat May 13 and Sun May 14, 5AM to 11AM. We are using lures and bait. Also running Tues, May 16 10AM to 4PM. All trips are $175 person. 4 people max. All fish are shared.
Call or text to reserve a spot.
Here is a pic and short video of Wayne Hopkins of Kutztown, PA, landing his bass that hit a surface plug yesterday (Thurs) at the inlet: https://youtu.be/b8RqGeRGoFY
The 2023 Summer Flounder / Fluke Season is off to a Hot Start. Some serious size fish have been caught already and its only going to get better. Whether you like to fish the Bays,Inlets or Surf now is the time to target these great fighting fish and fantastic table fare. The week of May 15th- thru May 21st I have openings on LBI and the tides are setting up nicely for a early morning bite. Full set- up & tackle provided and bring all your questions about SurfCasting LBI NJ
So if you are looking for a fun and educational Surf Fishing experience contact me for more information > Call 609-276-6983 or email me at Nightstrikes@comcast.net
“Lets Go Fishing”
Steve George Nightstrikes Surfcasting Guide Service LLC 609-276-6983
We had a good couple of days striper fishing in Barnegat Inlet. The bite is dictated more by tide than the time of day. They have all been good size fish, 30 to 36 inch bass. Lures and bait have both been producing. We are going to run afternoon trips designed to fish the peak times this Wed-Thur-Fri, May 10-11-12.
Wed 10:30AM to 3:30PM, Thur 11AM to 4PM, and Fri 11:30AM to 4:30 PM. $160 person, 4 people max, all fish are shared.
Four for six on 34 to 36 inch stripers on the FishHead spinning rods. Such a blast floating bait on bobbers to the jetty. Back for more Mon May 8, 6AM to 1PM. Open Boat or charter. $175 person, 4 people max, all fish are shared. Call to reserve a spot.
I have a ton of bait lined up for this weekend. We will be running Open Boat or Charter for stripers and blues this Fri, Sat, Sun, and Mon.
Friday, May 5 10AM to 4PM. Anchoring up with clams on the beginning of outgoing tide for bass and then switching to lures or drifting bait for bass and blues at the inlet jetty and possibly the west side of Barnegat Bay. $175 person. 4 people max. All fish are shared.
Sat May 6, Sun May 7, and Mon May 8 we will start at 6AM to target the stripers on the west side of the bay by trolling plugs on light spinning gear or if we have some visual life, we will switch to casting lures. Each day we will time our effort to catch that outgoing tide with the clams, so depending on our success, we will move on to bait and lures at the inlet jetty and/or the bay for bass and blues.
6AM to 2PM each day. $175 person. 4 people max. All fish are shared.
The new striper regs that just came out today allow us to only keep fish in the 28 to 31 inch slot, so that is the target size. Once we hit May 15, we should also be able to keep our Bonus Slot fish, 24 to 28 inch fish.
I have been hearing about bluefish coming into the bay recently, so this could help round out the action.
I am aware that the 6 hour trip and the 8 hour trip are priced the same. That is because the overhead for each trip is almost the same. The bait costs more than the fuel these days.
Striped bass fishing continues and bluefish have come on strong. May is off to a good start and our expectations are for a great month ahead with bass, blues and fluke! Here’s a quick May 1st Fishing Report update for the Long Beach Island area. Remember NJ Tog fishing season closed at the end of April BUT NJ Fluke season open tomorrow May 2nd! Not only are the big three (striped bass, bluefish, summer flounder) here right now, but also weakfish and black drum. Anglers have recently caught all five of these species in the surf, inlet and bay. Now’s a great time to get out fishing!
