LBI NJ Fishing Report

Centaur Jig-N-Pop Tuna Rods

Jigging and popping (casting) tuna is the most exciting way to experience New Jersey’s inshore & mid-shore pelagic fisheries. Our tuna fishing has been absolutely phenomenal the last few seasons and there’s no reason to expect otherwise heading into the 2022 season! Prepare now and be ready for the action.

Max from Fisherman's Headquarters fishes the Centaur Combat Arm jigging rod with the Shimano Twin Power 8000. — Max from Fisherman’s Headquarters fishes the Centaur Combat Arm jigging rod with the Shimano Twin Power 8000. He loves this set up for summertime jigging bluefin and yellowfin tuna on the mid-shore grounds. The outfit offers plenty of line capacity, powerful drag and gear and it’s light enough to fish all day.

Now I am by no means an expert on Tuna. On the contrary; with just about a dozen or so offshore trips under my belt. I’d very much consider myself a beginner in this realm. As someone who lacks experience, I have plenty of questions for the guys in the know. The most important of which is what equipment should I be using? I’d also like to help others in my position who need help getting into this awesome summer time fun fishery here in NJ. Below I will share some of the expert advice I’ve received from some of the fishiest folks I know.
@swagmattic – Matt Sorrentino, Author of Jigging & Popping Tuna 101

Centaur Angler’s Choice Rods

Jigging and Popping Tuna Rods are available from a number of different manufacturers. When looking for the right product, I’m choosing a company that puts serious thought and effort into construction, performance, quality control and most importantly, stands behind their products. Centaur Angler’s Choice is just that. They are not just a brand, but the manufacturer. They design, build and test their products locally for our fishery, in our fishery. All Centaur rods are made using high quality materials; most of which are sourced from Japan.

Jigging & Popping Tuna Rods from Centaur come in 3 levels and are designed to match New Jersey’s inshore and mid-shore pelagic fishery.

Best Entry Level Tuna Rod For Jig & Pop

Centaur Constellation Series Rods

The entry level Centaur Constellation is the best choice for beginners who just want to get their feet wet. At $189, this budget friendly rod will catch a lot of fish and definitely not break the bank. Constructed from high quality components these rods are built right and are super tough. They include FUJI Alconite guides, aluminum gimbles and custom reel seats, all features found on rods two and three times their price from other manufactures.

Ryan Duffy loves to fish the Centaur Constellation Jigging Rods which he has matches up with a Shimano Saragosa SW6000. This is an outfit Fishermans Headquarters put together for him to enjoy jigging tuna fish.

Best Mid Range Tuna Rod For Jig & Pop

Centaur Combat Arm Series Rods

The Centaur Combat Arm series lands middle of the road and features an upgraded double layer cross section Toray (more on this brand below) carbon blank. This technology offers increased power and increased deadlift capabilities which allow for heavier drag. The guides also have under wrappings to add extra strength and protection on those pressure points. All of this means the angler gets the added edge to fish harder. In addition all the Centaur fishing rods feature a beautiful hand painted epoxy clear coat finish. Which will protect the thread wrappings for long term durability.

The Centaur Combat Arm series of rods matches up well with a variety of reels from Penn, Shimano and Daiwa. In this photo angler Tyler Leary is stretched out tight on a nice size yellowfin tuna on a Penn Slammer reel.

Best Quality Tuna Rod For Jig & Pop

Centaur Chiron Series Rods

The Centaur Chiron is the top dog in this fight. It’s the most expensive for a reason. The Chiron Series offers anglers the best fishing rod from Centaur.

Fishing rods all start with the blank composition; graphite/carbon materials and the process in which it’s made.

The Chiron features Toray carbon fibers. Toray is the world’s largest and best supplier in advanced composite materials offering the highest performance carbon fibers for fishing rods. No compromise… the Chiron gets the best!

Here's the Centaur Chiron down and tight on a fish with angler Dan D. — Here’s the Centaur Chiron down and tight on a fish with angler Dan D.

The Chiron’s also have an added process which greatly improves the blank’s capabilities and reinforces its durability. Using a carbon ribbon outer wrapping, wrapped in X spiral pattern, an incredibly strong construction is created. This offers the ultimate in strength to weight ratio and most of all increased hoop strength, maximizing the deadlift capabilities and reducing torsional load.

The butt section is also strengthened to allow the angler to put even more pressure throughout the entire rod. This eliminates energy loss when lifting heavy loads helping you the angler better fight the fish especially in the end game!

Silicon Carbide (SIC) guides are the gold standard of guide ring material and have been for over 20 years. They are best suited for fast pulling species, heavy drag situations and big fish demands like painfully long battles. SIC is Fuji’s premier material handling high heat situations and offering unequalled hardness and polish. Its ability to prevent line abrasion is bar none.

When targeting tuna, do not under estimate the importance of top quality guides! If you can afford it always go with the rod that has the best guides. They greatly increase the longevity of your braided main line.

Centaur Angler’s Choice Jigging and Popping Tuna Rod Options

This spreadsheet outlines the rods from Centaur Angler’s Choice that we stock in the shop for Jigging and Popping Tuna.

The chart above lists the options for the Centaur Jigging and Popping Tuna Fishing Rods we stock at Fisherman’s Headquarters. The models are broken down simply. The number is the length. S for spinning and B for baitcasting/conventional. M for Medium, L for Light and UL for Ultralight. Don’t let those ratings fool you however, these are some seriously powerful rods.

Centaur Popping Rods

Who doesn’t want to see a tuna air out on a top water plug?!?! Nothing beats the exhilarating style of casting to tuna! Choosing the right rod for the size class and time of the year can make your experiences in this game way better!

Early season (May/June) we tend to see a good size class of bluefin and at this point in the season they are typically eating larger forage. It could be adult menhaden/bunker, mackerel, herring and/or hake. The Centaur 81 is the right call to fish larger lures to match the hatch.

As summer rolls in we start to see yellowfins in the mix with school bluefin feeding on the inshore lumps. It’s common for baits to begin to congregate there. The Centaur 79 is perfect for these roles casting smaller to medium size lures; poppers, stickbaits and/or plastics. This past season (summer ’21) the 81 came in handy as we had beautiful run of round yellowfin, commonly in the 50-70# class with the occasional much larger fish.

Casting lures to tuna is a ton of fun. Nothing beats watching a surface feed!

Late season (November/December) is cold and the weather gets gnarly but it can offer some of the year’s best fishing! The winter bite is known for having bluefin in the 40-65” class feeding heavily on baby hake, sandeel, sardines and butterfish! This time of year the fish can be skittish and commonly fast moving and and down. A stealthy approach with long casts is essential! Call on the Centaur 81 for this game, casting larger lures and it has the backbone needed to land these brutes.

Choosing the Right Reel For The Job

Pairing your rod with the right reel is huge. And I’ve talked to Fish Head’s shop tuna guru and Blue Runner Sportfishing mate Willie Davis (@epic_willi3) to get the low down on making the perfect combo.

Epic Willie recommends Shimano, “Fish the best quality that you can afford. There’s no better investment than the Shimano Stella and Shimano Twin Power for top of the line quality and performance. I depend on these reels and they always hold up.” Both Penn (Penn Slammer) and Daiwa (Daiwa BG MQ & Saltist MQ) also have options that produce results.

When choosing a reel two things you should consider is gearing and line capacity. Yes drag is important but now-a-days just about every reel has adequate drag.

Gearing: When jigging you want standard gearing or a reel with power gearing. When casting/popping a reel with high speed gearing is preferred.

Line Capacity: Depending on the target class fish you’ll want no less than 250yds of line, preferably 300-400yds.

Willie shares, “As far as reels for casting to tuna, the best options are the Shimano 14k and 18k reels because these have a higher gear ratio which offers a great quick line retrieval rate.” This allows the angler to pick line up much quicker to maintain contact with the lure. Remember you can’t hook a fish with slack line!

Also, the Centaur 77 and 79 matched up with a 10k reel is a great outfit for our local fishery’s demands.

Jigging Rods

These rods and this style does not call for a 14k or 18k size reel! Why? The retrieval speed is way too quick to properly work a jig! For a 53 or 52; 6k, 8k, 10k is the perfect size for the jigs and class of fish we see locally the majority of the time! For 51; a 20k is perfect for this big fish rod as it has a 220-400g jig rating.

The ideal conventional (baitcast model “B”) options are listed below.

51BM; Talica 16, Speed Master 16, Ocea Jigger 4000 – This is a BIG FISH rod and should be used when hunting 65″ and larger fish.

52BL; Avel MXL, Talica 12, Fathom 30/25ld, Speedmaster 12. In short this is a great all around rod for both Bluefin and Yellowfin Tuna.

53BUL; Avet MXL/MXJ, Talica 12/10, Fathom 15ld, Speedmaster 12. This is the ideal choice for fishing the inshore to midshore grounds; ridges, lumps and wrecks.

Jigging Tuna Advice

Choosing a tuna jigging outfit is one thing. Knowing what to do with it is a whole ‘nother ball game. I reached out to Capt Justin Swanson of Just N’ Tyme Sportfishing for a few quick tips for Newbie Tuna Jigger Advice. Captain Justin is a mid-shore tuna specialist in central jersey. The majority of his trips feature new tuna anglers jigging and popping tuna for their very first time. He’s a captain who excels at teaching anglers how to catch fish properly.

Capt Justin Swanson; Just N Tyme Sportfishing

Here’s what he had to say:

Once you drop the jig to the bottom it is time to find your jigging rhythm. Quickly lifting the rod tip about 12” and reel with a down stroke and as you return the rod lower, reel with an up stroke to always keep contact with the jig.
Know where the fish are recording on the sonar and focus on that area of the water column or below.
Mix up your speed. Some days they want it very quick and other days they seem to prefer a slower lazy pace. Sometimes they want the classic yo-yo style or a couple bounces on bottom. In other words change things up until you find what they want.
Set the hook with at least 2-3 forceful hook sets; these fish have hard jaws and it takes some extra effort to sink that hook in.
HOLD ON and keep steady pressure. When the fish stops taking drag its your time to shine. Getting into a rhythm again here helps too to keep the fish coming up rather than the opposite. Focus on utilizing the power stroke of the rod and always cranking down to keep the line tight.
Do not ever drop the tip! Do not high stick! Be cognizant especially when fatigue sets in!

Pro Tip: Angler mistakes happen with sloppy technique and when fatigue sets in. Take a look at the photo below of FishHead Greg (Capt. Greg Cudnik) to point out some key highlights as he fights the end game (close to the boat). First, take note of his stable wide stance with thighs agains the gunnels. Also his shoulders are over his hips. An angler should never get over the top, extended forward, stressing the lower back. Even though it’s late in the fight and his muscles are burning, leaning back in a hero stance is not the right thing to do at this point in the fight. The fish is doing its death circles and getting very close to gaffing. Greg has the rod under arm which offers two advantages. One, it utilizes the power stroke of the rod and also prevents a high stick event. Small lifts of the rod with quarter or half turns of the handle is all that’s needed to keep the line moving in his favor. When the rod is in a deep bend like this the blank’s strongest and most powerful section (the rear – butt) is engaged and utilized. Lifting high would incorrectly use the middle and upper portion which had mush less power. Two, this technique utilizes different muscles than the classic butt on thigh/gut stance, some of which are still fresh even late in the fight. Use these fundamental ideas to better battle our next tuna on light tackle!

Fish Head Greg is tight on the jig! Using the small yet powerful spinning reel like the one here, the Shimano Saragosa SW 8000, light tackle jigging is a super fun and effective way to target mid-shore tuna in the summer months off New Jersey.

Southern Regional Fishing Flea Market

February 11, 2023 – 8 am to 2 pm

The Southern Regional High School Fishing Flea Market is February 11, 2023. Like every years the event is held at the Southern Regional Middle School cafeteria from 8:00 AM – 2:00 PM.

Southern Regional’s annual fishing show is one of the largest and best fishing shows in Southern Ocean County. Both new and used fishing gear will be on display from a variety of vendors. There’s also hourly door prizes, gift certificates from local charter boats and items donated by show vendors.

Admission is $4. Children under 12 are free when accompanied by an adult. This is a great family oriented event.

All proceeds benefit the Southern Regional High School Fishing Club. During the fall of 2021 SRHS-FC entered 15 students in the Long Beach Island Surf Fishing Classic. The money raised goes to offset the cost of trips for students on the fleet sailing out of Viking Village. Funds also go to providing scholarships for four year members of the club.

The Southern Regional High School Fishing Club is the perfect place for younger anglers to start out and get a good first impression of fishing. And it’s also a great place where youth anglers learn and take their fishing to the next level.

For additional show or vendor information contact
Jason Hoch, 609 597-9481 ext. 2120 jhoch@srsd.net

Nomad Shikari Lures

Let me introduce to you the all new Nomad Shikari! This super fishy lure is a standout in Nomad’s new inshore lineup of saltwater fishing lures. For those who aren’t familiar with Nomad… it is an innovative lure brand from the brain of extreme Aussie angler Damon Olsen.

Shikari ( shi-ˈkär-ē ) : a big game hunter, especially a professional hunter or guide

The Shikari is a multipurpose, long cast search bait that is built tough so there’s no better name for this new lure. The slender profile with wide shoulders puts out a sassy swimming action. It also has a very nice low pitch rattle (can be heard in the video below). The slow floating jerk bait fishes good with a slow or fast speed. It really comes alive when intermittent hard twitches are added, it darts and turns with a stunning erratic action. These lures can also be trolled where it puts out a bold wobbly saunter.

Here’s some great stand out features that belong to the Nomad Shikari fishing lures…

DURABLE – Thur-wired construction
STRONG – Super strong high density ABS plastic
TUNED & READY TO FISH – Quality BKK hooks

The lures weight transfer system has a sliding internal tungsten ball which weights the tail when casting to maximize distance. The orientation invert once the lure is swimming and the ball rolls forward for the best balanced action.

The lure is classified as slow floating. It is just a hair more buoyant than a suspending bait.

Nomand Shikari fishing lures come in two sizes and many different colors.

145mm, 5-3/4″, 1oz, swims about 3-4′
95mm, 3-3/4″, 2/5oz, swims about 2-3′

These lures are rigged up right with quality hardware, top BKK hooks, so they are perfectly tuned and ready to catch big game fish right out of the box.

The Shikari will soon be very sought. It reminds me in a great and unique way of the very fishy and under the radar Spro 65 which is no longer available. The Nomad Shakari belongs in every saltwater anglers tackle box/bag to be used when a slender shallow or surface swimming lure isn’t cutting it. Or when there’s a section of water with fish holding at 3-5′ and you want to swim a lure into their zone and slowly work with twitches and sweeps.

The great retail price of $12.99 makes this an easy buy. Once in stock a link to purchase these lures will be posted here.

Looking at the Nomad Shikari lures in this photo you can see the distinct tapered slender tail and wide shoulders with a rough sided lateral line.

Shortfin Mako Fishing Closure

One of the ocean’s fastest predator, the shortfin mako is prized by recreational anglers for their game. Sometimes skittish, but always fast, powerful and aerobatic these large highly migratory sharks are challenging to hook, fight and land. For many years big game anglers would target makos fishing the mid-shore and offshore waters in the spring, summer and fall; however those days are now over.

Mako Fishing Is Now Closed

We are all looking forward to the 2022 season; however, big game anglers will not have is mako fishing season. The mako population is and has been in decline. To reduce fishing pressure and support the rebuilding process… There is a Two Year Moratorium on the harvest of N. Atlantic Shortfin Mako Sharks.

This news will not surprise most shark anglers. The mako fishery has been down from some time. Let’s dive into some shortfin mako facts to learn how we get here and where we are going.

Fast – Powerful – Aerobatic

Mako sharks are well known for getting aerobatic after hookup. Here’s a big mako cartwheel captured by Tom Lynch. Photo: Tom Lynch, Angry Fish Gallery

Stark Facts On The Shortfin Mako

Did you know? The majority of makos sharks caught are juveniles, ages 3-10. A fishery which captures before maturity is set up for failure.

Did you know? If mako shark fishing was closed / stopped immediately it would take about 50 years for the population to recover.

Shortfin Mako Biology

Mako sharks are very slow growing and can live up to 35 years old. They have late age maturity and low fecundity. Their growth, size and age at sexual maturity are very different between males and females. Male mako sharks reach 50% maturity at about 8 years which is approximately 71″ weighing 140#. Female mako sharks reach 50% maturity at about 21 years which is approximately 110″ weighing 600#. Then they only produce 12 pups on average every two to three years.

The Mako Stock Status & Management Measures

The 2012 International Commission or the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna (ICCAT) Shortfin Mako Shark Stock Assessment overestimated stock size and underestimated fishing mortality which lead to and allowed steep stock declines from 2010 to 2017.

In 2017, the updated assessment showed the stock was overfished with over fishing occurring. This was the time for strict management measures. ICCAT recommendations were to promote live release of makos caught across all fisheries and established minimum sizes of 71” for males and 83” for females,

In 2018, there was emergency action; increased recreational minimum size from 54” to 83”, mandatory release of all live specimens in commercial longline fishery, Retention only of dead animals

In 2019, Amendment 11 to the Atlantic HMS Fisheries Management Plan introduced new measures; recreational anglers must have HMS permit with the shark endorsement, mandatory circle hook use and sex-specific minimum size limits (71” for males, 83” for females)

The 2019 update was the same, overfished with overfishing occurring. Here’s some stark facts pulled from the ICCAT 2019 Shortfin Mako Shark Stock Assessment Update Meeting… which are based on future productivity assumptions for the stock.

The mako shark stock is in bad shape and it will continue to decline until 2035 even with no fishing (closed season)!
A ZERO total allowable catch will allow the stock to be rebuilt by 2045 with a 53% probability.
A 300 ton catch or less ends overfishing and achieves 60% probability of recover by 2070.
A 500 ton catch results in a 52% probability of rebuilding the stock by 2070.

Who & How Are Makos Managed?

The International Commission or the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna (ICCAT) was established in 1972 and has 53 member nations with three delegates from each assisted by experts and advisors. On an international level ICCAT is responsible for the study of the populations of tuna and tuna-like fishes as well as other species exploited in tuna fishing in the Convention area. The Convention area is shown below in blue. ICCAT regulates fisheries with recommendations which are binding.

ICCAT conducts research and stock assessments on bluefin, yellowfin, albacore, bigeye, skipjack, swordfish, blue marlin, white marlin, and pelagic sharks (blue shark, shortfin mako, probeagle). They set international quotas and monitor international landing and fishery statistics.

NOAA’s Highly Migratory Species (HMS) Management Division has jurisdiction in the US federal waters in US Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean. Their responsibilities are to set domestic regional quotas (some based on ICCAT), monitor landings and to report statistics to ICCAT.

Develop and implement fishery management plans in cooperation with the HMS advisory panel
Implement domestic requirements of ICCAT and support international negotiations for ICCAT, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
Issue permits for commercial and recreational HMS fishing and scientific research.
Monitor commercial and recreational catches to ensure compliance with domestic and international quotas and/or catch limits.

Here’s a short write up from The Fisherman on the mako closure…

ICCAT TAKES A BITE OUT OF MAKO FISHING – NO HARVEST RULE FOR 2022-2023

Data Source Credits: Dr. Jeff Kneebone, Research Scientist
sapientia.ualg.pt/bitstream/10400.1/14858/1/83_Natanson_etal_2020_Shortfin-mako_reproduction_FishBull118.pdf

Philadelphia Fishing Show and Hi Flier TV Episode

Hey Everybody,
I wanted to let you all know about my upcoming event: the Philadelphia Fishing Show, Feb 18-20 at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, PA. phillyfishingshow.com

This is a pure fishing show. Charter boats, party boats, guides, and lodges from all over the world. Great deals on tackle. Exhibits include lure builders, apparel, art, boats, and so much more. Our attractions include: the Hawg Trough, a 5,000 gallon freshwater gamefish aquarium, a fully stocked trout pound where you can actually catch a fish at the show, a Fly Casting Pond where you can either learn or practice with a seasoned guide, and the Great White Shark Challenge that features a 3,000 lb replica Great White. You can get strapped in to a harness while an angler in a fighting chair tries to reel you in!

There are three seminar rooms hosted by The Fisherman Magazine with the best guides and captains in fresh and saltwater sharing what they know about the sport they love. These seminars are continuous throughout the show and are FREE with your admission. FREE parking, as well. Food and refreshments are available. Hope to see you there!

This week the Hi Flier was featured in an episode of Saltwater Underground with Nick Honachefsky. The show combines two different trips in September where we targeted bluefish at the Barnegat Inlet jetty and live grass shrimping for weakfish and the ultralite mixed bag in Barnegat Bay. It was so much fun to fish with Nick, my son Nick, and Austin Perilli. Nick Honachefsky does a great job with this show that shares some tactics and is fun to watch whether you are a fisherman or not. Look for his show on the Sportsman Channel. Our episode aired this past Sunday, and will air again Fri Jan 21 at 10:30 AM and Sun at 4:30 AM and 4:30 PM. Set your DVR! Channel 605 on Direct TV and Channel 736 on Comcast.

Look forward to seeing everyone on board in 2022!

Thank you,

Dave

Dave DeGennaro

Hi Flier Sportfishing

732.330.5674 cell

phillyfishingshow.com

Is Poaching At An All Time High?

After attending the NJ Marine Fisheries Council Meeting on Thursday January 6th 2022, it’s safe to say that poaching is a serious problem. This fall it was at an all time high in New Jersey waters. Thankfully we have a great group of conservation officers doing their best to control it. It’s just a shame how they are somewhat crippled by the courts. Judges are not looking seriously at fisheries violations due to other priorities and overcrowding issue.

NJ Striped Bass Poachers Busted

Conservation Officer (CO) Snellbaker’s presentation started, “It’s the worst it has ever been. The spring was very bad. April 8 to 11th we wrote 67 summonses for over $15,000 in fines. But this fall was unprecedented. In a small area on the western shores of the Raritan Bay we wrote up 500 bass with 200 tickets. All in one week.” He mentioned that some were only written once but could have had numerous violations. Also due to the lack of CO staffing, the numbers aren’t showing the full picture. They could have issued a lot more fines.

Striped Bass Black Market

There’s a large (how large is yet to be determined) issue with anglers exploiting striped bass and potentially selling them on the black market. “There’s anglers, there’s runners and there’s transporters. It’s an organized ring, ” said Snellbaker.

Striped Bass Are Game Fish In NJ

Striped bass are classified as a gamefish in New Jersey; therefor, no commercial sale of any kind is allowed. With prices of fish sky high right now it’s a lucrative opportunity. More than likely the fish are sold under other names (grouper/snapper) at inner city markets where anything is possible. In 2013 Oceana (an ocean conservation group) found that 1/3rd of the seafood sold at retail did not match its label.

These short striped bass are the essential juveniles that are the key to the striped bass stock. All of them would soon to be first year spawners.

NJ Tautog Poachers Too

Snellbaker also mention another issue, the poaching of tautog. “This fall CO’s issues 200 tickets in two months with some violations having 20+ fish or more. From September 1 to December 1st CO’s issued more the 95 summonses in Barnegat Light alone for undersized, over daily bag limit (some 1 over, some several dozen over), mutilation of fish to prevent identification and interference with an office among others.”

While most anglers might have seen or heard about poachers, who knew it was this bad? The NJ Marine Council board was not aware of it. But they are now and from their comments will come up with a plan to take action.

Some ideas that were where mentioned…

Issue a state saltwater license (it’s coming one day)
Increase fine
Confiscated Gear & Vehicles
Close a hot bed area or close part of the season

We’ll have to see how it all plays out. Unfortunately good guys will be hurt in the end.

Big Thanks!

A big thanks to all of those conservation minded anglers for following the rules. And a huge thanks to all of NJ’s Conservation Officers for putting in the hard work. This year I feel like the enforcement stepped up from previous years. I saw CO’s on the water and at land based spots in the spring summer and fall. A presence that I have not seen in previous years. It’s very good to see and I hope their presence continues in 2022 to keep everyone honest.

Remember: If you see something say something!

Call: 877-WARN-DEP Hotline [18779276337]

Happy New Year LBI Fishing Report

What an awesome year it was! We had great fishing with some surprising and controversial catches. Check out the photo below for our Top 9 2021 Posts on Instagram. Thank you to all of our customers for a great year! Since 1962 it has been and continues to be our pleasure and passion to help anglers catch more fish and help anglers enjoy fishing to its fullest. Happy New Year! Tight lines in 2022!

Without question Jake Kline's Barnegat Light tarpon catch and kill was one of the most hot topics of summer 2021. The grounding of the Bear was also a very popular one. It didn't get any less weird in early December when a surf angler on the LBI beach got a bluefin tuna. — Without question Jake Kline’s Barnegat Light tarpon catch and kill was one of the most hot topics of summer 2021. The grounding of the Bear was also a very popular one. It didn’t get any less weird in early December when a surf angler on the LBI beach got a bluefin tuna.

Here’s the first Long Beach Island Fishing Report of the year!

Long Beach Island Fishing Info

Anglers are still enjoying fun striped bass fishing here on and around LBI. That’s right… the broken record repeats. With flip flopping colder and mild temps ahead things might change. But right now the fishing is and has been surprisingly good for this point in the year.

LBI Surf Fishing Report

The Long Beach Island surf fishing is not epic but anglers are catching on both lures and bait (clam & bunker).

Joe Handley Jr fished on New Years Eve and reported great fishing on the south end of LBI fishing. “There’s still lots of fish pushing down!” He reported, “I was thinking of hangin it up till spring but not after what I saw today. Don’t quit yet! I had good striped bass fishing from Spray Beach down into Holgate. Not a major blitz but I followed the birds and caught fish along the was as they pushed in and out. Got 6-7 bass from 16-37′. The fish wanted metals and larger bucktails worked slow. They ignored paddle tails, poppers, Redfins and SP minnows.”

Lee Saxton reported fishing NYE too but his trip was slow with three spiny dog fish and one 25.5″ bass at about 10am. His father in law caught one bass 23″ at about 1pm and then another one about 22″ an hour later.

Reports From The Boats

Boat anglers fishing out of the local inlets (Barnegat & Little Egg) are targeting and catching striped bass and tog. Few but very strong striped bass reports spoke of great striped bass activity feeding under bird plays over herring. It doesn’t get any better than that for this time of year!

Jake Kline was out in the fog and got into them really good. Other reports came in too.

Jon Coen (above) had a blast chasing striped bass on his skiff on December 30th. He reported, “50º, no wind, all along and they bit on everything we threw!”

Trever Jones and son recently got into some good late season striped bass fishing out of Barnegat Inlet. — Here’s a recent catch from Trever Jones and son.

On The Tog Scene: Fishing seems to be what what inconsistent right now. There’s some anglers reporting good fishing one day and then slow the next but that’s fishing! There are some nice ones being caught. Right now is a great parts of the season to get after them fishing white and green crabs.

Here's Dave Moores with one of many quality tog he caught, tagged and released in 2021. — Here’s Dave Moores with one of many quality tog he caught, tagged and released in 2021.

Just a reminder now that it is January…

Striped Bass fishing in the bay and rivers is closed. Fishing for striped bass from the ocean shores 0-3 nautical miles is open year round.

Also Black Sea Bass fishing is closed! Expect the season to open back up in mid May.

Jason Sari got out this week before the NJ Black Sea Bass season closed and got into some quality fishing. Here's one of many big ones he caught fishing Lake Atlantic conditions. — Jason Sari got out this week before the NJ Black Sea Bass season closed and got into some quality fishing. Here’s one of many big ones he caught fishing Lake Atlantic conditions.

LBI Fishing Report 12/28/21

The local fishing in the Long Beach Island area keeps rolling on. Reports from the beach and boat are positive.

With this great late season mild weather… How long with things push into winter? Right now there’s no end in sight. Only time will tell!

LBI Surf Fishing

Striped bass continue to be caught on the beaches of LBI. Most are in the smaller size class however there’s always a shot at a keeper fish.

On Saturday (Christmas) Jamie Gramley reported two fish so far… 22″ and a 26″ on bunker, both released. He got the 26″ on his first cast.

Chris Masino shared a photo on Christmas Eve of a striper catch. His went for a teaser fished ahead of a Kettle Creek Paddle Tail Lure. Photo shown above.

On Sunday, Dennis McNamara reported catching one 17.5″ striped bass that went for a Daiwa SP Minnow lure. He tagged and released it. Jamie Gramley reported he also caught a bass, a 23″ fish that went for a frozen bunker chunk.

Tommy McCann caught this (shown above) 23″ striped bass fishing Monday (12/27/21) off the LBI mid-Island surf using bunker.

Also on Monday Jonathan Marinari reported a surf side striper on a softbait. Looking at the photo (below) brings back memories of the legendary Vision Sand Eel. Unfortunately they are no longer made but a great substitute that is a proven fish catcher is the Tsunami Sand Eel.

Jonathan Marinari caught this striped bass off the LBI surf on a sand eel softbait imitation.

Boat Fishing

We’ve heard a number of reports from the past few days of boat anglers catching along the beaches of IBSP and LBI on the troll and by anglers actively working lures.

Kip Patterson caught this striped bass fishing the waters near shore to Long Beach Island on Tuesday December 28. Thank Kip for rocking the Fish Heads Beanie!!!

Kip Patterson reported striped bass action today fishing in the ocean near shore to Long Beach Island. Dave Werner was out (different boat) and reported finding and catching striped bass. Dave also had great action on Friday morning (Christmas Eve).

Here's Eli Haegele with a nice striped bass he caught fishing with Nick Perello on Monday. — Here’s Eli Haegele with a nice striped bass he caught fishing with Nick Perello on Monday.

Here is my most recent video forecast… from 12/26/21

Not included… reports from boat anglers working the wrecks and reef sites for tautog has been good. Also the inshore bluefin tuna bite continues on with anglers still catching nice fish.

Captain Nick DeGennaro (r) jumped aboard with the Side Chick Fishing crew yesterday and got one bluefin tuna at 48.5". — Captain Nick DeGennaro (r) jumped aboard with the Side Chick Fishing crew yesterday and got one at 48.5″.

LBI Fishing Report 12/19/21

The unseasonably warm week came to a close and more realistic December weather is here. But we are happy to see the brutal Arctic is staying away for now. Anglers fishing the local waters of Long Beach Island are catching fish. Some are reporting really good things. They way things are going we expect the local fishing to roll right through the holidays and into the new year. We’ll see! Here’s a quick Long Beach Island fishing report update for Sunday December 19, 2021

Here’s the latest fishing report video posted yesterday evening…

Both yesterday and today we received positive fishing reports from anglers fishing in the beach and boat. We are still getting reports of bass in the bay too.

Today Sunday December 19, 2021 Jamie Gramley caught this 25″ striped bass. He reported, “This this one at low tide. They are definitely still here.”

Rob Swift reported in, “I just saw a guy pull a nice fat 31″ bass in on a paddle tail. I tried the same but no luck.”

From the boats, striped bass fishing was very good the past two-three days. Great reports came in from numerous sources (direct) from both the waters on the north end and south end of Long Beach Island.

Dave Werner was fishing the north end waters reported, ” This morning was the best jig bite I have ever experiences! I had 20+ fish to 38″ without another boat in sight!”

Zach Michot was fishing the south end waters and reported, “Really good bites went down this past week. One day we had them off Brant Beach and another day we worked south out of Holgate. We got them really good in 45′ of water off Brigantine.”

It’s prime time tog fishing right now and anglers are rightfully catching good size fish. Also NJ’s Black Sea Bass season only has a few days left. It closes at the end of the year.

LBI Fishing Report 12/14/21

We can’t complain about the cards dealt this late fall. This week we’ve got mild weather and today is a beautiful sunny mid December day. Anglers are still catching fish on the boat and beach in the local LBI waters. Yesterday afternoon was good for some surf anglers on the south end of the island. Here’s a fishing report update for Tuesday afternoon December 14, 2021.