Captain John Lewis of the “Insatiable” reports he has been catching more and bigger fish on every trip. Catching 30-40 fish per a 4-hour trip is not uncommon. He terms August as usually the best fishing of the summer and is looking forward to the Beach Haven White Marlin Invitational Tournament this week. BHCFA Junior Mates will once again be on hand volunteering their services to help things rolling smoothly.
Captain Gary Dugan of the “Irish Jig” has been finding top-notch fluke action fishing his usual locations. Everyday has been producing good action topped by the “Earley Boys” who limited out on a total of 12-fluke.
Captain Brett Taylor of Real Reaction Sportfishing has been busy on trips, often two in one day. He had Jesse Blake, wife Melissa, 6-year-old daughter Brianna, and father-in-law Walter on a quick 4-hour bay fluke trip. The family caught close to thirty fluke with two nice keepers at 20 and 22 inches. Brianna ended up catching the biggest of the day.
Captain Alex Majewski announced he has officially retired from working his jobs in science and education and is now “living my childhood dream of being a fulltime professional saltwater fishing guide.” In addition to his bay and ocean fishing trips, he conducts environmental and sightseeing trips in both his boat and kayaks.
BHCFA’s NJ Reef Building Updates
The BHCFA captains and Junior Mates are continuing their efforts to build up the area artificial reefs. Captain John Lewis has announced the state boat that deploys reef balls is available in August and September as well as January and February. Captain John says it might be advisable to buy 30 existing reef balls which could be shipped to NJ in about two weeks and deploy them from the State boat at no cost. The pre-made balls will cost about $11,000 including delivery to the boat in Forked River.
The BHCFA also has plans to make a number of reef balls with volunteer help to greatly reduce the cost. It is estimated that more than 100 balls per year could be added to the four reefs off LBI, the most underdeveloped reefs in New Jersey. Once again, donations of financial help are gratefully accepted for the reef replenishment. Contributions are tax deductible.
Additional information on the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association can be found at www.BHCFA.org .
By all accounts this summer’s fishing has been great. From offshore to back bay and everywhere in between anglers are getting out, catching and having a hella good time doing it. If you haven’t found the time to get out and enjoy summertime fishing the waters of LBI here’s a reminder… Let’s go fishing!
My latest report video was posted on Tuesday August 3rd. As I mentioned, summer is flying!
Today Friday August 6th the sunrise was at 6am, a tell tale sign that the days are getting shorter by a little bit every day. While I don’t want to think about it yet, I’m already seeing signs of fall… Peanut bunker are stacked up at my dock (it wasn’t that way a few weeks ago). I saw a school of mullet for the first time this summer. This is also the time we need to start tuning into the NHC for tropical developments.
Recent updated and trends I can share…
The local area has seen a big uptick in weakfish and blowfish in the past 7-10 days. I reported a few days back that I was inundated with blowfish during a recent wreck fishing trip and I questioned were these fish leaving or moving in. I think it’s safe to say they have moved in big time. Also the weakfish too!
Collin and Shawn from Surf city were out fishing today with Captain Jeff Warford. They had a blast fishing. Capt Jeff said, “Blowfishing is really, really good right now!” Chumming with clam chum and fishing classic blowfish rigs baited with clam bites is the way to go. Anchor up in Barnegat Bay and in join a summer day catching.
The inshore, midshore and offshore medium game and big game fishing has been stellar. Last year’s yellowfin run was one for the books. This year is very good too, but different in it’s own unique way. The exact spots are changing, more or less rotating every couple days with chunk, jig, cast, troll all producing on their given day. There’s both bluefin and yellowfin in a variety of size classes brining exciting variety to each trip.
On the surf it’s the same solid story just another day… kingfish, fluke, occasional bluefish, rays and sharks. One customer asked, “What’s the best baits to use on the surf that catch the most fish.” My answer…
To catch the most fish quantity wise I would suggest targeting kingfish. For kings you’ll want to rig up with a small hooks baited with live boodworms, DynaBait and/or Fish Bites. If you see small birds (terns) working or roaming the area chances are there’s small bait present and there could be bluefish from snapper size up to 4/5-lbs present. Cast a small jig. I prefer a 7/8 to 1-1/4oz Hog Epoxy Jig but you’ll need a light rod to cast it. A Deadly Dick, AVA diamond jig, Acme Kastmaster or Hopkins are all proven lures in this scenario too.
By now one can assume everyone has heard about Jake Kline’s tarpon. If you have or if you haven’t here’s a great piece put together by Jim Hutchinson Jr at The Fisherman.
We are running an Open Boat Tuna trip this Wednesday August 4, 9AM to 5PM. $350 person. 4 people max, all fish are shared. It has been a very steady bite at the 25 mile range on 30 to 60 lb bluefin and yellowfin. We are catching all our fish on bait while drifting and chunking. Day chunking tuna is very exciting. The hits are violent! Give me a call to reserve a spot. Also sailing Open Boat this Sat and Sun, Aug 7 and 8, 4AM to 3PM. $450 person, 4 people max, all fish are shared.
The Sea Crest II (a 34′ Tollycraft Tri-Cabin) came aground about 9/10pm on Sunday July 25. The vessel was in route from Martha’s Vineyard to Florida when it encountered bad weather and mechanical failure. The Captain, Bob Mackey from Kentucky/Florida, reported that after loosing one engine making way in the windy conditions was very difficult. He tried to navigate to a safe harbor but failed to reach Barnegat Light.
While talking with Bob on the dunes overlooking the beached ship he shared the story….
Bob and his wife Ruth were transiting a newly purchased boat for a friend.
“We left Martha’s Vineyard to a very calm, flat ocean but after a few hours it turned. The wind was blowing. It became very rough and the waves were tight together. We lost one engine and in turn lost ability maneuver and stem the sea head on.
Taking blow by blow, it was a boxing match. Everything was coming loose; refrigerator, coffee maker and even the anchor. The anchor was not properly secured and it ripped off the bow. Then, the electronics were knocked out. There wasn’t much I could do other than slowly make way limping 3-5kts, navigating my best off a paper chart of the area. When I got in sight of land it was dark. We heard the surf and saw the beach front lights. I was way too far south of Barnegat Inlet. If I had the anchor I could have sat on the hook overnight but that wasn’t an option. We ended up on the beach.”
While talking it was said the Sea Crest II might have been better off reaching the Harvey Cedars beach than risking the Barnegat Inlet in the dark, with little maneuverability.
In conclusion, after 22 hours aground, the Sea Crest II was re-floated. Both Ruth said, “Thanks to the amazing crew from Lighthouse Marina for the help.”
Coincidental Odd Fun Facts
On this day in 2016 (July 26th) another boat wash ashore on Long Beach Island.
July 26, 2016 – The Mel Rae, a Silverton cruising yacht, mysteriously found its way onto shore at 57th Street in the Brant Beach section of Long Beach Township on Monday, July 25, confounding beachgoers and local officials.
The bite is on!!! Day tuna chunking is as good as it gets right now. We had bluefin from 30 to 100 pounds and a solid 15 pound bull mahi. All fish were caught in the last 48 hours, less than 30 miles offshore, all on bait, with 30 class outfits. Tons of fun!
We Are Sailing Open Boat Trips… $350 person, 4 People Max, All fish shared
Wednesday July 28 – 4AM to 1PM
Tuesday July 29 – 4AM to 1PM
Captain Dave DeGennaro – Hi Flier Sportfishing Cell: 732.330.5674 – – www.hiflier.com
The inshore, offshore and back bays offer good fishing right now. Long Beach Island and the surrounding waters have a lot going on with the warm and clean tropic waters. Here’s the Fishing LBI Fishing Report Update for Thursday July 22, 2021.
Here’s a report from July 20, 2021 – While it is a couple days dated it is still very valuable to anglers fishing the Long Beach Island area.
Fluke Fishing LBI NJ
Mid to late July is a phenomenal time to fluke fish the waters of Long Beach Island. Fluke fishing is good off the surf/jetty and at the reef sites, wrecks and even some open bottom areas. Some spots have a lot of sea robins but there’s quality fluke to be had.
Fish Heads team member Jared Grady had an awesome night of fishing with quality fluke and a beautiful sunset tonight (Thursday). He caught his limit and his girl friend got a bait of nice fluke too.
Berkley Gulp is one of the tried and true methods to out catch the fleet but it must be fished properly for best results. We’ve found over the years fishing jigs, the lightest possible for the given conditions, is most effective. Rigging up with a teaser above or trailing helps improve catch however some sharpies opt to fish a single jig for two reasons. One, it allows for fishing the absolute lightest weight for the conditions at hand. Two, it reduces the chances of hanging up on snags.
Fish Heads alumni Kelly Lutz was out fishing today on some open bottom sand areas. He reported good fishing with some fat ones in the mix. Here’s Kelly holding up the largest catch of the day a thick 26.5″ flounder that ate a Magictail jig tipped with… you guessed it GULP!
Now is a great time of year to fish the surf and cool off from the summer heat. There’s a few different edible options to catch; fluke, kingfish, blues and Spanish mackerel. There also a very slim chance (but a chance) at catching a striped bass (@mkesinn sent in a photo of a small striped bass he caught off the surf today), weakfish (@daniellistor sent in a photo of a nice weakfish that was caught on a bunker chunk of the LBI surf last night), black drum (recently caught by local angler Andy), bonita, croaker, spot, pomano and some bigger chrondo critters (more on that below). It’s best to set up for your target species and then search down a good looking piece of beach structure. [For more info on reading the beach check out Surf Fishing 101 Part 1 – At 07:00 there’s a section on Finding A Spot To Fish “Reading The Beach”].
Fish Heads team member Tyler Leary fishes hard and it shows with his catches year in and year out. This photo of Tyler is a recent catch from a surf session earlier this week. Tyler caught this Spanish mackerel off of the LBI surf fishing a sand eel jig. Take note that a light tackle set up (G Loomis E6X) allows him to quickly and efficiently work the surf line with small jigs to match the hatch. The thin Cortland Master Braid line allows him to get long casts and is super strong. His Penn Slammer reel holds more than enough line and it has smooth strong gearing and drag. Yup! Pompano on the LBI surf. Here’s Joe Handle with one of two pompano he caught off the Long Beach Island surf. This one is 12.5″ 1.38#. For some pompano on the Jersey shore is a rarity however not for Joe. he takes his surf casting experiences from OBX and uses them here to catch ’em.
Chrondo Critters – Sharks & Rays
The abundance of chrondo critters, rays and shark continue. [Rays, skates and sharks belong to the class Chondrichthyes. In Greek, chrondro means cartilage fish.
We’ve got some really big rays.. rough tail, southern rays, butterfly rays and cow nose rays. There’s also a verity of sharks calling our waters home; sand bar, sand tiger, spinner, black tip among others. All anglers must know the laws! For the specifics always use the proper resource. Page 12/17/18 of the NJ Marine Digest details Sharks.
Grant Johnson hooked into a monster butterfly ray while fishing the surf for fluke. He was working a bucktail on light tackle and got a very different flat doormat than what he was hunting for. He carefully landed the monster ray in order to safely remove the hook. After snapped a fast photo, it was quickly released it.
Mid-Shore Fishing
Recent weather (aside from Wednesday’s afternoon squall) has allowed for a lot of boats to get out and access the tuna grounds. Whether it’s mid-shore or offshore anglers are catching.
The mid-shore grounds (lumps, ridges and wrecks) in the 15-50 mile range has been very good. Bluefin and yellowfin are in range for small boat anglers. Some days have been a parking lot scene so this report should come as breaking news to most.
By far the jig bite has been best using slender pencil style sand eel jigs like the Chatter’s or Nomand’s Streaker jig. A fair amount of boats have focused on chunking with butterfish and sardines to raise quality tuna too.
On a recent trip out we got a small mahi. Other reports of mahi seem to be on the uptrend. Hopefully these beautiful and sometimes finicky fish will be more abundant this summer. Just a heads up bluefish are making their yellow eyes known in some areas. At times they are a nuisance, destroying trolling rigs and breaking off assist hooks and jigs.
Small boat anglers looking to get out on those perfect summer weather days to expand their horizons should take a look at Captain David D’s (from Hi Flier Sport Fishing) blog post from last year, Fishing the Barnegat Ridge.
2021 NJ Cobia Regulations
The NJ recreational cobia regulations for 2021 have changed to one fish per vessel per trip with a minimum size of 37 inches with no seasonal restriction. These changes have been made to comply with the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission fishery management plan for Cobia. We first reported the news on March 4th right after the NJ Fisheries Meeting. For more information on other details from the meeting check out the blog post NJ Marine Fisheries Meeting March 4th.
It looks like the weather window is there for Friday to run to the tuna grounds. We have been catching a mix of yellowfin and bluefin tuna from 30 to 50 pounds. The best part is we are not trolling. All of the action has been on jigs and bait. Very exciting way to connect with these amazing fish.
Running Open Boat Tuna Trips: Friday July 23 9AM to 4PM $300 per person 4 people max. All fish are shared.
Pics: Mike Sedor of Norristown PA (Blue shirt and Hi Flier hat) Steve Ondrof of Rockaway NJ (Dock shot)
The summer sun is scorching and the fishing is even hotter! There’s a smorgasbord of opportunities for anglers fishing the waters of Long Beach Island. Beat the heat and get on the water!
Right now in mid July there’s a variety of avenues for an enjoyable time on the bay, surf, near shore and mid-shore/offshore waters.
Barnegat Bay Fishing Report
Crabbing and clamming are two great ways to enjoy the Barnegat Bay and enjoy a tasty harvest. Fluke fishing is good and should be all summer however a large body has moved out. Weakfish are being caught occasionally as bycatch by flukers and those targeting them are catching. Blowfish do not seem to be as abundant as last year but there’s some around. We’ll have to wait and see if it tee’s off again. There reports of spot (in strong numbers) being caught in Delaware… will they show up here this summer? It has been a few years since we’ve seen big waves of them.
Long Beach Island Surf Fishing Report
The LBI surf is warm and with the summertime surf species; fluke, kingfish, weakfish, small blues, sharks, rays. Just this week the cow nose rays have showed in large numbers. There’s also still a couple straggler stripers (in addition to the small residence)…
Here’s a report shared by Joe Handley Jr. a LBI angler and long time friend of Fish Heads… “Fifty years of fishing, I’ve seen and been part of many crazy and almost unbelievable catches. Tonight might have taken the cake. A quick after work session before dark I was targeting large fluke from the LBI surf. Interesting enough I was consistently catching 12-13″ weakfish and also caught a herring. Not long after sunset, I hooked and landed my personal best striped bass. It taped out at 52.75″, roughly 58-lbs crushing my previous 51” 49-lber. It was caught on a Magictail bucktail. Thanks Date at Magictail for making great products. In New Jersey, mid July, 70-ish degree water… Doesn’t get any crazier! There were sand fleas washing up all over. I was thinking I should be pompano fishing or targeting Spanish mackerel since the water was so clean and warm. Low and behold there was a large striped bass, apparently very lost striped bass.
Nearshore & Inshore Fishing LBI
The same species listed above in the bay and surf report section fall under the near shore section here. The primary star of the current inshore fishing is summer flounder. Right now is the time to fish the inlets, near shore open bottoms as well as the wrecks and reef sites. Black sea bass offer fun fishing in the right areas of structure in addition to triggerfish and sheepshead.
Central NJ Midshore & Offshore Fishing Report
This past week NJ’s offshore angers had great fishing from mid shore to offshore and areas in between. We’ve hear great reports all week from the waters 20-50 miles out of Barnegat inlet with anglers catching bluefin and yellowfin tuna on the troll, jig and pop. I was fortunate enough to take advantage of the great forecast/conditions Wednesday and Thursday. I got out there and didn’t necessarily get into epic fishing but was in the mix of good fishing and caught. Further offshore at the edge, there was talk in the shop of a very good bigeye tuna bite.
The Fluke fishing got back on track this week as surf water temps jumped into the 70’s after last week’s drastic cool down that got as low as the upper 50’s. More good news is the fact that the eelgrass invasion earlier in the week has also come to a end and the fish have really been cooperating with still plenty of shorts providing fun action and keeper size fish also in the mix up to 20”.
Jerry & Son all the way from Arkansas catching some LBI Fluke Just perfect conditions today for summer fluking on LBI
So if you would like to book a trip with me I still have some great dates / tides available to wrap up the month of July offering Surfcasting lessons to beginners and also for more advance anglers looking to improve their skills targeting Fluke/Summer Flounder off the beach here on LBI N.J.
For more information please email me at Nightstrikes@comcast.net or call me at 609-276-6983.,, thank you. Steve George/ Nightstrikes Surfcasting Guide Service LLC
Here is Kyle & Ryan who had a really good trip this past week with 4 keeper size fluke for dinner
The tuna are here and it is very exciting. We have been running 25 to 30 miles for 20 to 40 lb bluefin tuna on jigs and bait. Saturday and Sunday we never had to put the trolling rods out to put tuna in the cooler. We are using 20 and 30 class outfits to keep it sporty. Slicks, chick birds, readings, lots of life. Blue-ish green 71 degree water. Getting quite a few king mackeral bite offs, too. I was tired of getting bit off so I put a few circle hooks on and wound up fighting a 5 foot hammerhead to the boat before cutting him off. If you want to catch tuna but don’t like to make the long trek of 60 to 90 plus miles, this is a unique opportunity. No telling how long it will last. Forever…..I hope!
Pics are: Dave Flood of Mantua NJ (green cargo shorts and visor) Jim Hutchinson, Editor of The Fisherman magazine, Brick NJ (Light blue shirt, blue hat, blue lenses)Fabian Colonna of Matawan NJ (dark shirt, red hat)
