We struggled on our Sat and Sun trips with 20 plus knot winds and some sporty conditions in the bay and inlet. On our Sat trip we eeked out a catch of a slot striper, a tog, a fluke, and a bluefish for Bill Fitts and his family. On Sunday we fought the worst of the weekend conditions for a bluefish and a sand shark. On Monday, the wind subsided and we had “lights out” fishing for the entire six hour trip for Dave Estey and his gang. Casting lures around the inlet jetty, they had 25 two to five pound blues. Drifting bobbers with bait into the jetty produced a 28 and 29 inch striper as well as a bunch of 2 to 4 lb tog. The tog are out of season, so we released them. We are using in line circle hooks while targeting the stripers so all of the tog have been mouth hooked and released in very good condition.
We have two spots booked and two spots available for an Open Boat trip this Friday June 24 11AM to 4PM for fishing stripers and blues in the inlet. $175 person, 4 people max, all fish are shared. Open Boat TUNA!! The weather looks really good for this Sat June 25 to head to the tuna grounds. There isn’t any mid range action yet, so we are making the 80 to 90 mile trek to where the fish are. It is all trolling right now. 2AM to 5PM. $550 person, 4 people max, all fish are shared.
Sun and Mon, June 26 and 27 are also available for Open Boat or Charter for stripers, blues, and fluke. $175 person, 4 people max, all fish are shared.
Fishing action continues in the Beach Haven area on several fronts with a variety of fish available to choose from. Although the season for black sea bass is now closed, the fluke action is picking up to take center stage. As the water temperatures continue to rise, the fluke will head toward the inlets and then to the inshore structure.
The “Miss Beach Haven” and Captain Frank Camarda has begun finding nice sized fluke right off the bat. The only head boat in Beach Haven, the “Miss Beach Haven” has a knack for finding fish for its anglers. On the year’s initial trip, Greg had the first keeper of the season which still holds as the biggest of the season weighing just under 5-pounds and measuring out at 24-inches.
Captain Brett Taylor of “Reel Reaction Sportfishing” found nice pockets of fluke just inside Barnegat Inlet this past weekend despite the high winds. Anglers Dan, Craig, and Gary fished a 4-hour light tackle trip with fighting the wind. They found a few areas with feeding fluke, and they put 12 keepers in the box with Dan’s 23-inchfish the top fish. On another trip, one of Brett’s regulars, Bob Dodds with three friends boxed 9 keepers and released over 25 short fish.
Additional information on the BHCFA can be found at www.BHCFA.org.
Sorry for the late post. I forgot to hit the publish button.
Here in mid June, we are waning off of June full moon (better known as the Strawberry moon but) called the “Hot Moon” by some native American tribes because of the beginning of the hot summer heat. The official start to the summer season kicks off June 21st, but we are already seeing the transition here in the waters of Long Beach Island. With the summer heat comes warming water temperatures and the summertime fisheries on Long Beach Island. Here’s the LBI Fishing Report Update for June 17, 2022.
Recent strong showing of bluefish ranging from 2-10# in the bay, inlet and surf. Weakfish show promise of potentially another good year. Last year was my best weakfishing in a decade. Striped bass are still here but the great spring run has faded out on the surf with the majority of sizable ones moving on with their migration. Fluke fishing is prime time! Fluke fishing in the bay, inlet and surf has been good. At times weedy conditions can be challenging. Sharks and rays are showing up and will become more abundance of the next few weeks. Expect kingfish (surf) and blowfish (bay) reports to pop back up too.
Friday we have a lingering 2-3′ easterly swell with southwesterlies swinging more westerly as the day progresses. Breezy northwesterlies will be in store for the weekend. Be prepared with The Best Bug Spray – Captain Ron’s. The winds are up for a few days but generally speaking this is the time of year where the weather systems break down and Lake Atlantic conditions prevail. Fingers are crossed for some board duration fair weather to allow everyone to get offshore and into the summertime tuna fishing.
The crew at fish heads has been fishing hard and having a hella good time catching. Store staffer Tyler got into the tiderunners this week. He caught four fishing the Jetty using Gulp 5″ Pink Shine Grubs. Store staffer Frezza reports good fishing the past couple of weeks in the channels and shallow water areas in his neck of the woods (Tuckerton). Store staffer Jack got into some good fishing with bucktails, both striped bass and fluke! Store staffer Jared has been catching the fluke good too. Below is a recent limit catch of his from the Barnegat Inet Jetty.
Strong fluke reports from boat and land based anglers. One report came in from Mike Hovan who shared, “Fluke action was great. Got two keepers at 18.25″ and 17.75 and also caught six or seven straight at one point using Gulp 4″ swimming mullet baits. Bite was best the first hour after high tide. The water was warm and crystal clear. I saw two triggerfish cruising the lip and a cow nose ray so we are quickly entering into the summer fishery.”
We ran to the Lindenkohl Canyon early Saturday morning in search of tuna. We arrived at the spot and as Nick started letting out the second rod in our spread it got tanked by a nice 45 pound yellowfin that liked the Joe Shute ballyhoo he had just rigged minutes before. That would prove to be our only fish for the cooler. We released three others throughout the day that did not tape out to be legal size.
On Monday I had Mike Fuhrman and friends out for some inlet fishing. They caught 7 or 8, two to four pound tog that ate our striper bait, but sadly the season is closed, so they were all returned to swim another day. They also had a 29 and 31 inch striper. Everything was on 10 to 12 pound spinning gear, so the bass battles were epic. We are heavily booked through the weekend but we are adding a second slot on Saturday June 18 from 1PM to 6PM if anyone is interested in chartering the boat for that time. The possible species to target are stripers, blues, and fluke. Capt Nick will be running this one, he’s a better fluker than me, anyway. Also available Wed June 22 and Fri June 24 for afternoon trips, 11AM to 4PM. Targeting stripers and blues at the inlet jetty. We could also mix in some fluke fishing.
This is outline in which I used to prepare and present a short seminar of the LBI surf with the American Anglers Fishing Club in Saturday April 30, 2022. Hopefully you attended because the attendee questions were really good and the topics discussed got deep fast.
Do you have a problem finding fish on a regular basis? Would you like to better find fish? I promise after our this short talk we will cover some important topics that will help you better understand a proper approach to fishing the surf.
When thinking about fishing always be prepared. The wise man once said, “Fish are caught the day before.” Sharpies gear up and prepare ahead of time so they are on point to maximize their time fishing effectively.
Deciding where to go can be the most challenging and debatable the most important part. It’s a fact… the best anglers can not catch a fish that is not present. For this reason it’s important that we fish where we think fish will be. Very simple concept right? Anglers must consider what fish prefer and need.
This is mainly based with a thinking around striped bass but many of the ideas can be used for other species too. Essentially fish have to swim to eat and eat to swim so they can follow preferred water temperature on their migration, eat, digest, grow, swim against tide/current. Fish can’t swim without energy and can’t get energy without feeding.
Daily Factors To Consider
Environmental factors that are part of the equation
Water temperature
Water movements: TIDE vs Current, longshore drift (sweep, water moving parallel to the beach)
Sunlight & Time of Day – dark, golden hours am/pm, high noon
Season & Historic Trends – Month, Lunar Cycle, Moon Phase
Reading The Beach
When reading the beach, the beach profile is the first things you should consider.
From the dunes look east (at the water). How does the water look? Can you identify anything? What does the beach at the water’s edge look like?
Look north and south (up or down the beach). Can you identify points and coves, high and low areas?
Can you see the shallow waters of the sandbars where the waves are breaking? Can you see the deeper, darker colored waters? Watch the water’s movements and look for the surge in and out. Find the rips and tailing currents. You want to fish these seams. The cuts, the troughs and the bowl like holes. Fish use these features as an avenue to cruise the surf, moving in and out and to hunt.
For more on reading the beach go to 07:00 minute mark of the video.
Structure
Structure is very important to fish and anglers! Pay attention to both hard structure and soft structure.
Soft Structure: sand bars, cuts, sloughs, slender vs wide, inside/outer bar, long shore sections. These features were just detailed briefly in the text above and in more detail in the video. They are very important especially here on the LBI surf.
Remember soft structure moves as the beaches change! Storm erosion events can alter in a short term way. Also littoral drift, longshore sediment transport, is a phenomenon that surf anglers need to keep track of. Here on LBI we are a unique area, one of NJ’s nodal zone is approximately Barnegat Light to Brant Beach area. LBI face slightly south and gets a lot of south winds and south swells but the historic pattern is sand moves north to south against the wind and swell. There were extensive oceanographic studies you can look up for more details on this; BUMPUS, 1965 and then HALSEY, 1968). Extreme shoaling in Beach Haven Inlet is a great current event example of the Island’s sand moving south. Also look at the chewed out areas on the down current side of jetties or other hard structure on LBI.
Hard Structure: jetty or groin, rock pile, an outflow pipe, pier, bulkhead, dock, etc. These features are permanent and both refuge and have fouling.
Where are the sections of the water and where are the ins and outs? Anglers must fish the water that is available to them.
Scouting For Potential – Spots & Life
Scouting “pre-fishing” is just as important as actually fishing. This research and planning can be done with your boots in the sand or via 4×4 and a good portion can also be done from the comforts of your home. It’s also helpful to network with friends and/or a club. Letting others do the dirty work will help you save time which is valuable because no you can dedicate more time to fishing.
But nothing is better than your own reconnaissance. Those who fish a lot can cover more ground and see more things, all the while staying up to date and in the loop with the evolving situations and more over adapting their strategies on the fly along the way.
What bait is present? Are bunker, mullet running? Do you see mole crabs or calico crabs shells in the high tide line?
What birds are present? small birds (turns, gulls), large birds (gannets, pelicans)
What fish are present?
Where are the gill netters or the rec. fleet targeting and catching?
Conclusion
Now that we have reviewed and discussed these topics, we haven’t talked about or touched upon what baits, rigs, lures to think about using. That is a whole ‘nother can of worms. No pun intended.
I am Capt. Greg Cudnik from Fishermans Headquarters. I invite you to stop by and come shop with us.
I’m happy to have shared with you. Hopefully this was valuable and helps you catch more fish. I tried to sparked your interest in a variety of topics and maybe you have some questions? If so stop in the shop and let’s talk fishing.
I have been watching this weather window for days and it is still right on the fence for what I like to sail in. The early morning looks good, but they have the wind coming up in the afternoon. I am going to keep getting ready as if we are going but there is always a chance I will cancel right up until our ride out the inlet or during our ride out to the grounds. It’s not beyond me to pull the plug if I don’t feel it’s right and I don’t make these decisions based on people’s level of disappointment. I feel it’s important to offer this information so you know what you are signing up for. You will always have a better chance of getting to the tuna grounds if you book another boat. I openly tell people that all the time. I’m not ashamed of it, I know where I am in the food chain. At the end of the day, we are a 25 foot center console. It is a very capable 25 foot, twin engine catamaran, with all the necessary safety equipment, including an inspected 6 man Viking life raft, EPIRB (search and rescue satellite beacon), on board Sirius/XM weather station that lets us track any storm cells and see new ones as they are born, redundant electronics including radar. I had all that stuff before I bought the first gold reel.
I will continue to monitor the marine weather forecast right up until “go time”. The inlet is another factor in these departures in the dark. Fortunately, we have incoming tide on both our departure and return, which always makes for calmer conditions in the inlet.
Open Boat Canyon Tuna, this Saturday June 11. 2AM to 4PM (usually later). $650 person plus tip for the mate. 4 people max. All fish are shared. We will be mostly trolling, targeting yellowfin and mahi. There is some warm water that pushed in and the boats that ran did well on good size yellowfin and gaffer size mahi. I will also have the tilefish rods and gear on board if we want to try. Sorry, no electric reels, we hand crank. Anyone interested in reserving a spot should call me on my cell below.
Things have been strong in the LBI fishing arena with a variety of species for both beach and boat anglers. The past week there was an influx of bluefish which made for drag pulling excitement. Also some of the spring’s largest striped bass were caught and released (due to the new regulations). Anglers fishing bunker on the surf have caught striped bass and bluefish among incidentals; dogfish, skates, brown sharks. Anglers fishing clam on the surf have caught striped bass and some size-able black drum. Sea bass fishing at the mid-shore and offshore wreck sites has been productive. Fluke fishing has been good but not great for most. We are hoping that improved this month. Offshore fishing is firing up with reports of yellowfin, bluefin, big eye, tilefish among others starting.
Long Beach Island Surf Fishing Report
Recent Weigh In – Glenn Curtis caught a 17.86# 37-7/8″ striped bass off the LBI surf. He was fishing bunker and clam on the north end surf. His catch came on bunker fished short, close to the beach.
Another great report came in from Jim Crane who caught a brown shark, two blues, a big black drum and a big striped bass. Lots of other striped bass and bluefish were reported the past few days.
Upcoming Fluke Fishing Tournaments
The 26th Anniversary JCAA Fluke Tournament is this Saturday, June 11th. Join in because there’s a lot to win!!!… $50,000, A Boat/Motor/Trailer, Thousands is Region & Door Prizes! Enter the doormat fluke category for $25 and if you catch the largest fluke over 12 lbs. you will win $50,000. There is also a $1200 cash prize for the largest fluke caught in each of our 7 regions. The cash prizes are guaranteed regardless of the number of entrants. There are 1st to 7th prizes for each region so just about everyone may win a prize. The awards ceremony will be at Resorts Casino in AC with registration beginning at around 5 PM on 6/17/22. For complete details go to www.jcaa.org
Fluke-A-Mania – Saturday June 24, 2022
The 7th Annual Fluke-A-Mania Fluke Fishing Tournament hosted by the Beach Haven Marline & Tuna club is quickly approaching. Register now or at the Captain’s Meeting on Friday, June 24 from 5PM – 9PM. For more info… https://www.flukeamania.com/
The new month of June is here and with it we have a great variety of fishing opportinutes here on Long Beach Island and the surrounding waters. Both beach and boat anglers are catching. In recent days we’ve had good fishing for striped bass, blues, fluke, weakfish, kingfish and black drum, among others (sheepshead, blowfish, sea bass).
As per my last report video I hinted at the great opportunity for a shot at quality fish around the new moon (5/29-5/30), with a new wave of fish and possibly the spring’s biggest striped bass. Well, for the most part played out. More blues showed and some weakfish too. A few black drum catches popped up. And some big striped bass were caught.
There was a minor upwelling event that took place from Monday night’s hard south blow but fishing has continued right through it. If anything it was a great reprieve from the heat wave. Due to this event there are large water temperature swings at the Inlet and waters in close proximity. I had waters as cold as 51 degrees on the flood tide Tuesday and as warm as 75 degrees on the flats during outgoing tide. The south wind also ripped up the snot which was growing from spring’s fertilizer run off and now it’s a hindrance at many areas on the ebb tide. Knowing of this swing should help all better prepare for a trip.
Off The Surf – LBI Surf Fishing Report
The striped bass fishing has been steady, not epic, along the beaches of LBI. This spring has been one of the better runs and it keeps on giving. Clam has been the best bait for most of the spring. Finally some bunker pods are beginning to come together. Expect a couple more weeks of surf side stripers and then they will really thin down in abundance. The bluefish made a good showing the past few days with anglers catching some good size ones off the surf. As these surf temps creep into summer more kingfish will arrive and hold in the Island’s beach structure, toughs and holes. Fluke fishing off the LBI surf is decent at the prime structures. Both kingfish and fluke will offer good fishing all summer long.
Barnegat Inlet Fishing Report
The “big three” are all being caught regularly at the Inlet rocks; striped bass, bluefish and fluke. Now’s a great time to take a shot at not only a slam but a Barnaget Bay Grand Slam. Yes there’s weakfish being caught. Randy Edwards caught a nice one on a Kettle Creek Paddle Tail. Also reported from the area sheepshead and black drum.
In The Bay – LBI’s Bayside Fishing Report
What started out as a phenomenal first couple weeks has become more challenging; warmer temperatures, grasses conditions, lots more boat pressure and boat traffic. But anglers are working and putting together some good catches. One epic catch was reported in from Gina Brenner. She caught a 12# fluke fishing the bay with live bait.
I’ve been all around the bay and have caught fish at just about everywhere I fished however finding quality fish was a different story. One day I had five keepers and one short in a two hour session. But the next day eight shorts and one keeper. I can’t seem to find any sort of consistent theme but I’m hunting and working through the paces. Mid June is when I switch over to focus primarily on fluke. Yes I sacrifice some of the best early season fluke fishing but that’s when I’m 100% focused on striped bass.
I had Marty Rodgers and his family from Ship Bottom, NJ out today for an interesting mix of fishing. We had two keeper sea bass among a lot of throwbacks, as well as a legal 21 inch cod, all at the Tires. We stopped to fish the inlet jetty on the way back and added a 28 and 30 inch striper to the cooler. Both on bunker we snagged right there at the jetty. Going to do more of the same tomorrow, Monday May 30 7AM to 1PM, Open Boat or Charter. If Open Boat, $165 person, 4 people max, all fish are shared. We could mix in the bottom fishing at the reef or just stay on the stripers the whole time. This time slot works perfect. The tide will be on the slow down and start up. The wind is light all morning and doesn’t come up until late in the afternoon. Tons of bunker right now. Call to reserve a spot. Dave DeGennaro
The weather hasn’t great but the fishing has been fire! Right now there is a great variety of species in the waters surrounding Long Beach Island. Let’s get out and go fishing!
Striped bass – Bluefish – Fluke – Black Drum – Kingfish – Weakfish – Blowfish – Sea Bass – Cod – Sheepshead and I’m sure others that are missing from the list.
The big (most popular) three striped bass, fluke and bluefish are on the LBI surf, Barnegat Inlet and Barnegat Bay, Manahawkin Bay and Great Bay.
LBI Surf Fishing Report
Now is the time to fish the Long Beach Island surf! Approaching the late May new moon on Monday (5/30) we are in the prime part of the spring run. This is your shot at a quality striped bass on the surf.
Today Chris Masino was in the shop getting some essentials before hitting the beach for an evening plugging session. He sent a message in at about 9pm, “Thanks for the AVA Jigs tonight! I got a good one on the eight footer, 41 inches.” Chris also shared that an angler fishing close by also caught a nice striped bass.
Striped Bass & Bluefish On The LBI Surf
Craig Perucki reported, “While soaking clam looking for bass I decided to cast a white Daiwa SP Minnow lure with a teaser. After a few casts I hook up! Nice hit but not a big fish. Then as I was reeling in…. BANG! Another hit. I finally reeled it into the beach and it was a bass on the SP and a bluefish on the teaser.” Photo below under “Bluefish Report” section.
Dallas Tharp caught this striped bass off the Ship Bottom surf Wednesday.
Black Drum & Kingfish On The LBI Surf
Michael Lewis caught and released a 34″ drum off the LBI surf’s south end on salted clam. Black drum have been around for a number of weeks. They are a couple drum catch reports from the surf but many more from the bay.
Yup! There’s kingfish on the surf. Theo Door posted this photo of his son with a pair of kingfish he caught off of the LBI surf on Fish Bites.
Bluefish Report
There’s bluefish on the LBI surf, inlet and bays. While it isn’t epic fishing there are good flurries of action at the right places and time. Store staffers Tyler and Paul have got into some fun fishing this past week. A number of other reports have come in from happy customers. Hunter Bunnell posted a photo on Wednesday evening of his mom with a nice Barnegat Inlet bluefish.
This bluefish was caught off the LBI surf by Chris Masino a few hours before he got his bass reported above.Craig Perucki caught this bass on an SP minnow lure and the bluefish on the teaser
