LBI NJ Fishing Report – LBI Surf Fishing, Barnegat Bay & Inlet

In recent time a good wave of striped bass have migrated into the local waters of Long Beach Island. Before this most recent blow reports were strong with an abundance of striped bass in the 22-30” range. Some larger fish were caught however no where near the same numbers as weeks earlier. This is some what common for this time of the season. For details on our last report 11/16/19 post see.

Here’s a Fishing Report Update for the evening of Wednesday 20, 2019.

Theres’s realy no need to report on the striped bass fishing from the boat. Anglers who get out will find fish… it’s November! Go Fish!

As far as the surf game goes… The fish feed on the available forage. Right now that is SANDEELS! This year there’s an abundance of sandeels and striped bass are keyed in. Match the hatch to hook up. Slender profile lures are what is getting bites. As far as bait, anglers fishing clam are out doing bunker chunkers.

Since there was a large weather system which kicked off the work week we can’t share much other than today and Tuesday. Tuesday had solid swell in the water but light winds. Anglers got out and found fish on the beach.

Charlie Kulp commented on our Facebook “LBI Surf Fishing Report – November 19, 2019” post, “Lots of fish today. All on salted clam.” Another report from the surf came in today from Torr Cohen. He fished with a buddy and got a pair of bass soaking clam. Merle Van Liere got a couple fish off the south end surf too.

We heard of some peanut bunker schools to our north. Things could get much more interesting if they show on LBI. But until then stick with the sand eel state of mind!

Barnegat Bay Fishing

Still getting reports of bayside striped bass. Both boat and land based anglers are finding bass hungry on bucktails and softbaits like Kettle Creek Paddle Tails rigged on a lead head jig. Depending on temperatures, the classic haunts can hold linesiders right into December.

Tautog Fishing

The tog fishing season is wide open and fishing has been very good. A couple reports came in yesterday and again a couple today. Dante from Magictail has been dialed in on the big white chins. Today he checked in a another double digit fish. If you want to get in on the action and need to gear up… stop in now and get in the game!

Are you on Instagram? If not you should be! Go check out our Magictail Tog Jig Giveaway. Also for a limited time only… Here’s a site wide 10% Off Promo Shopping Cart Code: TOG10

Last minute cancellation and the weather looks fantastic!! 7 hour 7:30 am- 2:30 pm Call for all availability 609-290-1217Wishing everyone fair winds and calm seas,Captain SteveReel Fantasea Fishing Charters

We have an awesome stretch of W/NW winds coming from now through Monday if the forecast remains the same. This is the best wind. Flattens out the ocean and stimulates the fishing. Combine that with 40 to 50 degree air temps and this looks to be a classic bass fishing weekend. We might have to run north to catch ’em, but that’s what we’ve been doing every week. Number one rule: Fish where the fish are. We are ready    
to cast, jig, or troll. There is a big mix of fish from 20 inches to 20 pounds.
Sailing Open Boat or Charter:
Saturday Nov 23 and Mon Nov 25, 6AM to 2PM, $200 person, 4 people max, all fish are shared. 
Also sailing Sun Dec 1 and Mon Dec 2. That will wrap it up for the Hi Flier this year. 
Thank you everyone for another great season. I hope you and your families have a wonderful holiday season!
Dave

Dave DeGennaro

732.330.5674 cell

www.hiflierfishing.com

hiflierfishing@verizon.net

This past Friday 11/15, we fished the 10th Annual Stafford PBA 297 Striped Bass Tournament with Eian and Shane. The striped bass fishing was insane with an epic bite all day long. We had our 4 man limit of unders (28 – under 43”) by the time the sun came up. All morning there were birds, bait, bass, and whales all over the surface. It was all of the bass you wanted ranging from 20” to 20lbs on jigs, plugs, soft plastics, and poppers. After messing around with them for a bit we continued to troll, looking for a big fish for the tournament. We released several other fish up to 20lbs throughout the day but never found that big fish that we were looking for. Although we couldn’t find the big one, we caught tons of bass and it was a bite that most people will never forget. We had a great time and congratulations to all of the winners!

We had to cancel our trips this past weekend due to the strong northeast winds. We are hoping to make it out by midweek, weather permitting. We are booked for the upcoming weekend, but have the weekdays available for charter or open boat. With all the bait around, the fall run is in full effect and now is the time to get out and fish!

If you are interested in getting out please contact us to book your trip. Call or text Captain Mike to get out on the water or send us a message through our website! (609)-709-7264

https://www.nolimitssportfishingllc.com/

The weather pattern we have been in blows, literally. We get a day or two of fishable conditions only to welcome the next storm. Last time out pre-storm was on Friday with good friend Capt. Dan Siegel and Bob. We trolled bass to 22 pounds. Here is a picture of your truly with a nice bass.  Saw lots of scattered surface action but stayed on the troll hoping for a trophy which never made it to the shelf. Before that I had consistent action around the inlet and back on live bait.  When the bite is on it is almost drop n reel conditions. With that, the fall bass run is fully underway so get out there. We have the bait to keep the bass coming to the dinner plate for a while in the likes of: big bunker; sandeels; Boston mackerel, and who knows what else.  Atlantic herring should make a showing soon.  Water temperatures over ten miles offshore in the upper 50’s will surly push out the low to mid 50’s along the beach thanks to the latest nor’easter. So look for the bass bite to be spot on once the ocean calms midweek. Still got days open so contact me and book soon before the run runs out.

On the nature side of things: Has anyone thought why are we seeing whales every spring and fall along our beaches??? We are seeing them for two reasons. Number one is the Marine Mammal Protection Act on 1972 which stopped the killing of most whales.  Protected under this act their populations have been come back. It takes a long time for large mammals such as whales to repopulate and increase in numbers.  Large whales like the humpbacks and finbacks we have been seeing have an 11 month gestation period and may only give birth to one. But whales can only truly come back for reason number two, increased forage (what an animal feeds on) in the likes of bunker. Our management of bunker has definitely increased this most import fish of the sea population. Being on Barnegat Bay for some 40 years now I have witnessed a lot of change. First for the worse and now for the better. Two and a half decades ago I did not see the countless schools of juvenile bunker that is now see come late summer and early fall. I did not see massive schools of adult bunker off our beaches for many months of the year like I see now. Speaking of bunker, if you are an American and a fisherman you should be really pissed off about a foreign company, Omega Protein, coming into our waters, Chesapeake Bay to be specific, and overfishing their quota and acting like they don’t give a f**k. You can read the story here: Oemega Protein Breaking the Law

Screaming drags,

Capt. Alex

609-548-2511

Lighthouse Sportfishing

Youtube Channel: Fishing Barnegat Bay

The past two days (Thursday/Friday) were on fire with all day long striped bass action! Hopefully you got in on it because today (Saturday), Sunday and Monday are blown out. These days will be great for getting gear back in order. The westerlies swing back Tuesday and stick around throughout the work week. Be ready for the fish frenzies as West Is Best!

As per our previous report update (11/13/19) the influx of small striped bass is real, “Recently a smaller class of striped bass have filtered in.” Their abundance is good offering tons of fishing fun. “Not saying the big fish are gone.” A few large linger. One really big one was just caught by Captain Vinny Vetere. He got a fish of a lifetime… 55″ monster 67.55# striped bass on a bunker spoon trolling the waters of Northern Jersey.

Long Beach Island Surf Fishing Report

Small striped bass from 20-30″ range made a strong showing this week. They are cruising the suds and anglers are catching both day and night. Right now they are best targeting them with slender profile sand eel lookalikes; AVA Diamond Jigs, Daiwa SP Minnows Lures, Hogy Epoxy Jigs & Sand Eels and soft baits like Tsunami Sand Eels, Lunker City Sluggos and Ronz Softbaits

Rob Vallone and his buddy Andy found fish on the beach on Friday. Rob reported, “We worked the bars with metal and a teaser, each catching a number of fish up to 27 inches.”

William Clark weighed in a 10# striped bass for the LBI Surf Fishing Classic. He caught it off of the mid island surf on an artificial.

When the wind is in your face the fish are at your feet. We are expecting some fish on the beach during the next few days; however a Saturday morning report came in from Mike Cucinotta, “Can’t say I didn’t try. 12 oz would not hold more than five minutes.” While those looking for classy fish are soaking bunker, it’s our suggestion to leave the bait rods at home. For one the dog fish this year are relentless and two, the fish are keyed in on sand eels. Match the hatch!

Tog Fishing

Today is the day, the New Jersey Recreational Tautog aka Blackfish limit bumps up today to five fish, still at 15″.

The tautog action continues on red hot! With the reg relaxing the next weather window will be when the real slaughter begins. Please remember these are slow growing species. Fish responsibly!

Now’s the time to gear up to be ready for your next trip. We currently have live crabs; both green crabs and “white legger” stone crabs. Stop in as soon as possible if you want them. First come first serve.

Store staffer Frezza got his first double digit white chin on Friday. He’s been hunting for one and just got an 11.4 pounder while fishing aboard the “No Moores”. It’s been a great week for the boys aboard the “No Moores” with lots of quality size fish and more than a handful of Double D’s. Magictail game changer tog jigs continue to out producing. Change your game with these proved big tog tamers! Magictail Tog Jigs

Offshore Report

Captain Jeff aboard the Reel Innovation reported a fun past couple of days. “We did one last trip to the sword grounds on Thursday with high hopes of 64-65 degree water still on the bank. Unfortunately it seems as though the bigger fish have migrated past our area.”

“Flag Pole” Jim Kuhl reported, “Awesome day on the water with my boys! Got a pre Thanksgiving butterball!”

Fish Head Charters

Had a Blast with the schoolies the past two days. Here on Long Beach Island it’s light tackle striped bass fishing at it’s finest!

I’d have to say targeting this current mass of fish trolling with heavy gear is a sin! But to each is own. For me fishing is about the fun and the challenge. Right now this body of fish keyed in on sand eels is super fun and super challenging with a light tackle lure approach. Take it one step further pull out the long rod and a fly! If you want to jump aboard and enjoy a day on the water give me a call. Depending on the day we could be blind casting and jigging. We could be sight casting to slurping fish on top!

FishHeadLBI.com Captain Greg Cudnik – Parker 21SE – Call/Text: 16093899963

Reel Innovation Sportfishing – Inshore Fishing Report

Lots of action! Jigging, casting or trolling the fall run is in full swing. Yesterday we went out trolling for the last few ours of daylight and we’re rewarded with non-stop action. Doubles and even triple striped bass on the same rig. There’s plenty of bigger fish are still around if you put the time in. The abundance of smaller bass is great and are a lot of fun on light tackle.

If you are looking to get out fishing this season, now is a great time to go! Bring the kids along and enjoy this awesome fishery. Call to schedule your trip. We have Tuesday and Wednesday available this week.

~ Captain Jeff Warford Cell: 609-377-9136 F/V 27’ Worldcat 

Due to poor weather on Saturday the 10th Annual Stafford PBA 297 Striped Bass Fishing Tournament has a change of date.

Thursday November 14th – Boat Registration between 7-9pm… Captain’s Meeting following at 9pm.

Friday November 15th – Weigh Ins from 1-5pm… Banquet and auction following at 6pm.

What a wild day yesterday! It started out a nice somewhat warm (60 degree) morning quickly got frigid. Temperatures dropped and by noon time it was snowing. Then the day finished off with a great sunset light show.

Here’s the fishing report update to pick up where our last post (Nov 8th) left off. So far this fall we’ve had a quality run of large striped bass and this cold snap has things turning on all gears. I will go out on a limb here and make the call… Coming off the full moon (Tuesday), the prime “big fish” section of fall has past. Not saying the big fish are gone, but from here on out it will be nothing like what we saw the first 10 days of the month. Hopefully we’ll have another push of classy ones in early December (like 2017), but I’m not holing my breath. Recently a smaller class of striped bass have filtered in. In our book it’s ok because the abundance of smaller fish makes for a lot of fun!

Shall We Debate… Quality Vs Quantity?

Would you rather: Go fish five trips in a row and catch one 40# striped bass or fish five trips in a row and catch 10 small mediums each trip? Leave us a comment and let us know!

Fishing LBI Fishing Report Update

Fishing this past weekend was good on all accounts. Both boat and land based angler reports were strong… striped bass, blackfish, a few straggling albies and a speckled trout! No bluefish yet. Usually the first week or two of November bluefish show. We’ve yet to see them. Heard of a couple small ones but really haven’t seen much since they were plentiful in the warmer months.

Tuna and threshers are still hanging around in close!

Hope you got out and enjoyed some fall fishing recently. The striped bass fishing has been good. Anglers trolling bunker spoons, mojos and umbrella rigs are picking fish. Those fishing sandeels imitations are producing more fish as the majority of the local striped bass are keyed in on the slender profile baits.

Land Based LBI Tog Fishing

The Barnegat Light Inlet Jetty has been very productive for land based anglers. It’s been going strong for a number of weeks and we expect it to be good right into Thanksgiving. Anglers are catching good number and finding keepers regularly. The white chins are loving green crabs! Anglers fishing rigs and jigs are going good.

The NJ Tog aka Blackfish Season’s Regulations expanded, opening up on Nov 16 (from one fish) to 5 fish.

From The Boat – The tog bite is off to a great start this season. The big fish are on the chew and it looks like the stage is set for a great back half of November and an even better December.

Cow Alert! Gary Adair caught this 12# tog on a 1-1/2oz Magictail Tog Jig.

Here’s a recent monster catch by Dante at Magictail, maker of top quality Mojos for striped bass and Game Changer Tog Jigs. Just one of those days you could do no wrong. Fishing With Dave from Patriot Plumbing aboard the No Moores. Got into a mad dog bite landed a 29″ a little over 17#, a 11#, a 10# and three 9’s along with 20 or so more fish from 5-8 pounds All on Magictail Tog Jigs baited with crab.

Fish Head Charters

Saturday November 9th I had Joe C (father and son) aboard from North Jersey. We got on a few fish right away. The morning bite was good but short lived bite. We went on the hunt for bigger size but after an hour of looking we switched gears and set up for tog. The fishing was good and Joe’s 8 year old son had a bent rod for the rest of the day.

Sunday November 10 morning was a fun day on the water. I had Paul in from Philly. The early morning light show (sunrise) was awesome but fishing was slow. Ran around and found some life. As the wind kicked up the action heated up. We got into good top water action with bass flipping out on bait with birds crashing. Below is a photo of the largest fish of the day.

Monday November 11th – Return client Matt Polito was aboard for a combo bass/tog trip. We started the day drifting bird plays catching a wide range of striped bass from 25″ to 25#. The first hour was best for us then the fish became finicky with the higher sun. We found our albie style approach worked; scaling down tackle, light line/leader and small lures (Hogy Epoxy Jigs & Sluggos rigged on a 1oz jig head). The second half of the trip was good with steady tog fishing. In about an hours time we caught five keeper size fish.

We are bundled up for an Arctic blast and looking forward to fishing Thursday and Friday. Then it’s time to lash down for a coastal blow that looks to stick around for a number of days. Tuesday’s season’s first snow has realization setting in that the end is near. We’ve only got a few more weeks to fish. Now’s the time to get on the water and enjoy some great fishing. If you want to fish (1-2 anglers) give a text/call 6097139299.

Here’s the November 12, 2019 Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association Fishing Report Update by Jim Hutchinson Sr.

The stripers are coming! The stripers are coming! The captains of the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association have been saying these words for a while, and it appears the cold weather may do the trick.

Up until recently, the best bass fishing has been from Barnegat Inlet up north all the way to Raritan Bay. With ocean temperatures dropping, those fish are making their way south. When a wave of these fish appears, stripers in the 30 to 30-pound class are being trolled up. In addition to the bass taking bunker spoons and Mojo’s, plentiful schools of bunker and other baitfish have been producing some exciting topwater action on smaller bass. This is a cast and retrieve type of fishing with some jigging also going on.

Captain Carl Sheppard of the “Star Fish got in on some of the action trolling off the beach in the area of Seaside recently when he picked up two nice bass for a party of happy anglers.

Captains Brett Taylor of Reel Reaction Sportfishing and Alex Majewski of Lighthouse Sportfishing are school teachers as well as charter captains. Having last week off from school they fished the waters of Barnegat Inlet almost every day last week, sometimes with two trips a day. They reported good action on smaller bass with a few keepers every trip.

Captain Gary Dugan of the “Irish Jig” has been catching some smaller bass in Great Bay waters and up the Mullica River and is awaiting the push of fish from the north. A recent trip had a large thresher shark take one of his spoons and keep the angler busy for quite a while until finally breaking off.

This striper action will be lasting at least until the end of November.

In other fishing news, Captain Nick Perello had a daytime swordfish trip recent with a 140-bigeye tuna and a 150-pound swordfish to show for his efforts. Captain Nick says he is encouraged by the number of swords he has been seeing and says he plans to run daytime swordfish charters next year.

Additional information on the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association can be found at www.BHCFA.net