Saturday 8/10 – I fished the New Level Clothing Fluke Tournament to benefit the Wounded Warrior Project with Jess and my father. We worked a countless amount of areas trying to find some nice size keepers but it was very hard. We had our chance with a very nice fish that my dad had but it broke off under the boat before we had a shot with the net. We ended the day with 2 keepers, releasing one hoping for good karma for a bigger fish. We also had well over 40 shorts. There was definitely no lack of action, but the keepers did not want to cooperate for us. We had a great time fishing for a great cause. We were also greeted with a cutlassfish on the first drop. We have been catching them every trip recently.
Sunday 8/11- I ran an open boat trip due to a cancellation. I had Walt from Doylsetown, PA as well as Paul and his two daughters Alyson and Holly from PA out for a 5hr ocean trip. We started working the same areas as the day before and immediately put a keeper on the boat on the first drift. We picked at a few shorts but the action was not as steady as the previous day. At the end of the trip we made some very short drifts and found some new life. I stayed out later to make a few more drifts and it paid off with a nice 3.5lb fish. We ended the trip catching close to 20 shorts as well as 2 keepers, which were caught by both of the girls. They did a great job and we look forward to seeing you in the fall for striped bass!
This coming weekend I still have Sunday 8/18 available for charter. If it does not fill up I will be running another open boat trip. If you are interested in getting out please give us a call 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
The dog days of summer fishing can be tough but recent reports are good. The Barnegat Bay and Inlet as well as the Long Beach Island Surf are good places to look for fun summer fishing. The inshore, mid-shore and offshore game is strong. Here’s the Fishing LBI fishing report update for Sunday August 11, 2019.
The Long Beach Island Bayside Fishing Report
Blowfishing is still good in Barnegat Bay. Some nice size fish that are prefect for the table. Very few reports from the Manahawkin Bay and Great Bay but we can only assume there are some present.
The local groms fishing the Island’s bayside reported snappers and weakfish this weekend. One of the high hookers, Grey is consistently into weakfish. Just about every night he is catching a bunch in the lights. There’s small striped bass showing too. Fishing small plastics and bucktails is the ticket.
At the Barnegat Inlet rocks anglers reported slow fluke fishing this weekend but other species were present to “take up the slack”. Josh and Anthony from Staten Island reported, “With fluking slow for us and only a couple small blues at the Inlet and we targeted tog with crabs.” They both caught nice size keeper fish. The duo mentioned there’s a lot of small bait around. Expect the tog action to contiue right into fall when better size fish show up and dominate.
Steve from Monroe, NY stopped in this Saturday evening and reported catching two triggerfish at the Inlet rocks. There should also be sheepshead there too.
Long Beach Island Surf Fishing Report
The kingfish action along the surf has been good. Thursday and Friday were slow due to a slight chill to the water. A minor upwell occurred from the southerly blow Wednesday night. However, the light winds and long period groundswell helped let the sun warm things up Saturday and Sunday. Today (Sunday) we heard from one customer there were Spanish Mackerel on the mid-Island surf chasing bait. He caught on small metal. Another customer reported small blues, spike weakfish and two fluke on the North End surf.
Inshore/Mid-Shore Fishing Report
The inshore and mid-shore waters off of Long Beach Island are very productive. From fluke to sea bass to bonita and mackerel.
August is the right time to look towards bottom fishing the reefs and wrecks targeting fluke, sea bass and tog. Anglers putting in time on the reefs (Axel to Garden State South) are getting fluke and sea bass. The open bottom areas in close proximity to the reef sites are also holding fluke.
Captain Jeff Davis aboard Let It Fly Charter (25′ Parker Sport Cabin P: 6093771299) reported the fluke fishing was good today outside of Barnegat Inlet. He said it was a beautiful day on the water fill with with good weather and great fishing. Give him a call to go fish!
Eli Haegele fished today aboard the Doughknot and did good fluke fishing. He said, “Lots of shorts mixed with a ton of sea bass and sea robins. You have to pick your way through to find the keeper fluke.”
The mid-shore game around the Barnegat Ridge has been good all summer. Fun filled fishing with small pelagic species including Kingfish, Bonito, False Albacore and Mahi Mahi. Guys trolling with feathers and spoons are catching.
Nick DeGennaro stopped in this weekend and geared up with some things. He went out and reported lots of life outside of BI. “We trolled around and had a bunch of readings…ended up banging on the fish… mahi, spanish mackerel, false albacore, bonita and king mackerel. Cedar plugs, daisy chains, and live peanuts. It was a good day!”
Ryan Warford was out in the ocean trolling and working the bottom. He reported, “Two bonita, two kingfish, and four man limit of sea bass and ling.”
Bluewater Fishing Off Of The Jersey Shore
Small boats rejoice! The mid-shore bluefin tuna bite continues on. This summer the action has been outstanding and doesn’t seem to be stopping. Mustad Moonriser and Nomad Streaker jigs are the ticket. While we are just about sold out right now we expect more soon. Gotta love when a company decides to move their warehouse, not only in the middle of the season but during a red hot bite! Early this morning the bite was good at the Princess but the boat traffic slowed things up by 8am. We heard of a smoking all out jig bite on Thursday and Friday. Saturday it was slow. Once customer shared he put a Ronz down and it did the trick! You’ll be surprised what a softbait can do!
Store staffer Pat was out today and got into a good bite on yellowfin tuna out at the canyons. They went five for five on yellowfin and reported lots of life at the Hudson. Pat said, “The bite was not stellar, most people said they didn’t catch. We found a nice stretch of water with tons of life and worked it.”
Upcoming Fluke Tournament
The JCAA Fluke Tournament (second one of the summer) is August 16, 17 and 18th. The new format fluke tournament from JCAA is a unique one. You may fish only one of the dates so you can pick the day you prefer. It’s a three fish tournament but a prize will be offered for the largest fish too. Click here for more details.
Due to a last minute cancellation I am running an open boat trip on Sunday 8/11. The trip will be from 6am-11am, targeting fluke and sea bass in the ocean. The price is $120 per person which includes all tackle, bait, and ice. Please call or text Captain Mike to reserve your spot. (609)-709-7264
Saturday 8/3 – I had Ed and his son and son in laws Bruce, Brian, and Henry out for a 6hr ocean fluke/sea bass trip. This was their first time jigging for fluke and they caught on very quick. The group was able to catch 25 short fluke which were all mainly 16-17.5”. We tried working several different areas but the keepers did not want to cooperate for us, but a great time was still had by all!
Sunday 8/4- I had Jay and Melissa out with their 7 year old son Justin for a 5hr ocean fluke/sea bass trip. Justin wasted no time putting a nice keeper sea bass in the box on his first drop followed by another keeper sea bass right after that. They also caught a dozen short fluke and sea bass as well. We had to end the trip a few hours early due to an unforeseen circumstance, but for only making a couple drifts, they were able to put a keeper fluke and 2 keeper sea bass in the box in quick time. We definitely left the fish biting. Great job today Justin! We look forward to seeing you guys out in the fall for a striped bass trip!
Saturday 8/10, we are fishing two fluke tournaments, the New Level Fluke Tournament to benefit the Wounded Warrior Foundation as well as the Holiday Beach Club Fluke Tournament. We have August 11th and 18th available if anyone is interested in getting out on the water. We are starting to get into the peak of our fluke season so now is the time to get out there and catch a doormat!
If you are interested in getting out please give us a call 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
Fish Head Greg is out of town but the fish are definitely not. Fishing on all fronts is pretty hot right now.
I’ve been hitting the fluke pretty hard and I’ve been able to find a limit every time. This week I fished down south and caught a limit to 20″ in Little Egg Inlet. Out front with some friends yesterday we boated a limit+ (ORL) to 5 pounds. Gulp and bucktails are the ticket for me, however the boat that won the tournament was dragging bait and had some bigger fish up to 7 pounds. Fluke are being caught daily from the jetty and beaches as well.
Customers have been dropping in and reporting king mackeral up to 30″ north and south of the inlet 15-20 miles. There are Mahi in the area as well.
Store Staffer Michael Frezza went offshore with Captain Dan Rossetto this week on the Sushi Grade. They had both an over and an under bluefin. Both fish were caught on a Moonriser 150.
There have been reports of both keeper and short blackfish at the jetty, with the occasional trigger fish mixed in. The shop will have green crabs in stock tomorrow.
Bay, Inlet, inshore, mid shore and offshore remains on Fire depending on your quarry !! The bay is providing excellent light tackle opportunities with a variety of species such as blowfish [ excellent eating] , snappers, fluke, and weakfish just to name a few! Bay fishing is high action and is a great way to introduce young anglers into fishing. The inlet has been providing excellent opportunities for slightly larger and sportier denizens such as stripers, bluefish, blackfish, trigger fish, and even a few surprises from Spanish mackerel and bonito from time to time. The inshore and midshore grounds are offering even more surprises on a daily basis with a host of characters such as both spanish and king mackerel, bonito, cobia, bluefish, bluefin, mahi mahi, and a variety of sharks to test tackle and anglers skills!! Larger vessels capable of reaching the Offshore grounds have seen some of the best it’s been in years [ possibly ever] . Tuna, mahi, billfish have been readily available for the big game enthusiast!! I have a last minute cancellation for tomorrow [8/4] morning for the light tackle enthusiast looking for some fun !! I also a a couple of happy hour trips available this week 5pm – 8pm for those who want a day on the beach with the family and then get out for some quick light tackle action!! Lastly – Its never to early to reserve your fall fishing date[s] as we are booking up fast!! Wishing everyone calm seas and fair winds,Captain Steve PurulReel Fantasea Fishing Charters609-290-1217
Here we go… kicking off August with a solid line up of fishing. The water has rebounded from our last report and with it the fishing on the surf has bounced back. As of this morning the mid island surf temperature is 71 degrees.
From Shore Fishing Report
The fishing from the shores of Long Beach Island have a lot to offer. Kingfish and fluke are the go to targets on the surf. Live bloodworms, DynaBait Freeze Dried Bloods or the artificial alternative… Fish Bites are catching kingfish. For fluke… hands down Gulp is the most effective. Stop by the shop and check out some of the new Gulp colors. The fire tiger, blue fuze, and salmon are red hot colors.
Fluke, weakfish, small blues and striped bass present chances for fun. The inlet has fluke, triggerfish and tog to delight rock hoppers with fun fishing and tasty table fare.
NJ’s Tog season opened August 1 with one fish bag limit at 15″ minimum size. Today we received our first tog report. Frequent flier jetty jockey Jeff got a 19″ 4lb tog today.
The fishing musician Rick W. stopped in and reported getting into a grand slam on the LBI bayside. He caught a five pound weakfish, 17″ fluke, a small bluefish and a sea bass. That’s a epic fishing trip with feet on the ground. No boat needed for him.
Back Bay, Nearshore & Inshore
The blowfishing in Barnegat Bay continues strong. The fluke fishing is also consistence but finding keepers is a challenge.
The waters coastal inshore waters are clean and warm. The reefs and wrecks hold life and will be rocking for the next two months. Recent reports from a couple customers talked of fluke, sea bass, porgy and sharks. In the waters from the reef sites out 15 miles mahi, king mackerel, spanish mackerel, chub mackerel and bonita were caught.
One report came in from Bill Figley who fished Friday morning about 10-15 miles out of BI. He reported king mackerel were just about jumping in the boat.
NJ Artificial Reef Program
Speaking of Bill… A new “patch” reef was just named the William Kane Reef in honor of the first New Jersey Artificial Reef Coordinator, William “Bill” Kane Figley. A caisson gates (heavy steel wall like structure which was a part of an old dry dock) were sunk July 27th and rest at the following coordinates: North 40* 08.033′ x West 073* 56.431′
This deployment will serve as habitat for up to 150 various types of marine species for the next 75 years or more. This project was sponsored in its entirety by the TheSportFishingFund.org.
Mid-Shore Off-Shore Fishing Report
Bluefin! Bluefin!! Bluefin!!! The mid-shore grounds are lit up. I was out Thursday morning fishing with the boys aboard the Reel Innovation. We had Brooks from Cortland on for his first tuna hunt. Turns out we went two for four on the jig. Some boats trolled up some fish early and others chunked a few up. For the most part the jig was the way to go but it’s a lot of work. Get out there and get those jigs moving!
By far the best jigs are the Nomad Streakers and the Mustad Moon Risers. These were proven to outfish the fleet the past month. Expect these to be the stand outs the next few weeks. Boat opting to troll are picking most of their fish on Chatter Side Tracker Spreader Bars and Joe Shute or Magictail Hoo-Magic Heads rigged with Ballyhoo.
Fishing is firing on all cylinders, inshore and offshore. Bluefin tuna, bonita, spanish mackerel, weakfish, and stripers are all on the feed. We also had a Spinner, Atlantic Sharpnose, and a big Dusky Shark just 4 miles offshore on Friday on spinning tackle. I struck out on tuna at the 30 mile spot Saturday, as did the small fleet that was there, but that’s just a day in the life of tuna fishing. On the way back we stopped at Barnegat Ridge and put out some light rods. It didn’t take long and we had bonita and spanish mackerel bending the rods. For those of you that are unsure about the edibility of these two species, they are both excellent. You can prepare bonita, technically bonito, any way you prepare tuna including as sashimi. The spanish mackerel fillets are white, sweet, and delicate. Cook them the same way you do flounder or weakfish. There’s a lot of confusion here with these two fish because south of Jersey, from the Carolinas to Florida, they call what we know as false albacore….bonito. Which are so bloody and full of red muscle inside, they are inedible. The mackerel part of Spanish mackerel has a lot of people put off because of our locally caught Boston mackerel, which are not that high on the edible scale, though people eat them. I returned to Barnegat Ridge Sunday with Chris Lang of Barnegat Light and his brother Phillip who was visiting from San Diego, as well as Chris Soukatis of Staten Island. We boated six nice bonita and a pair of two foot Spanish mackerel in some sporty conditions. We decided to head into the bay and try some light tackle action. Using shedder crab we connected with 15 to 16 inch weakfish and fluke. Monday I had Wayne Hopkins of Kutztown, PA and Jim Soch of West Milford, NJ for a bay/inlet combo. We only managed one weakfish for the cooler along with some action with fluke and sand sharks. When that slowed up we decided to try the inlet jetty and it was on fire with schoolie stripers. These two guys caught and released a dozen bass between 22 to 27 inches. A great finale. Here’s a clip of Wayne with one of his stripers: https://youtu.be/L_EyKqrrWdM Thursday August 1 and Friday August 2 has light winds forecasted, so we are running Open Boat Barnegat Ridge trips for Bonita and Spanish Mackeral. 10AM to 4PM. $150 person. 4 people max. All fish are shared. Sunday we are headed to the Mid Range Tuna grounds or the Canyons in search of mahi, tilefish, and billfish. Pics: 1. Cutting table with our mix of bonita, Spanish, and weakfish on Sunday 2. Wayne Hopkins of Kutztown, PA Dave DeGennaro Back Bay Adventures 732.330.5674 cell www.hiflier.com
Here we are winding down the month of July with great fishing on Long Beach Island. It’s the heart of summer! Get out on the water and enjoy. Here’s the Long Beach Island Fishing Report Update For Monday July 29, 2019.
The past weekend was full of great weather and great fishing.
Barnegat Bay Fun Fishing
A great assortment of species await! Blowfish are plentiful in the main area of Barnegat Bay. Reports from the mid-island were ok but much slower. Fluke fishing is going strong. Small blues roam the waters and savvy anglers are playing catch and release with striped bass and weakfish.
The abundance of spikes (small weakfish) is awesome to see. One customer reported catching seven up to 17″ on an LBI west side spot.
Long Beach Island Surf Fishing Report
The Long Beach Island surf has been really warm and consistently warm this year. That is until the recent southerly blow. The southerly blow has put a good chill in the water which slowed the surf bite. Both fluke and kingfishing were very good going into the weekend.
Fortunately, it wasn’t a huge upwelling events like some that can be a week long. We have onshores Thursday thru Monday so we expect things will be bounce back quick.
Mid Shore Fishing
Lake Atlantic conditions prevailed Friday and Saturday allowing boats of all sizes to get out and reach the bluewater. Some did very well. From bluefin (30-50 miles out of BI), cobia and mahi to king mackerel, bonita and spanish mackerel the inshore and midshore waters have lots of life. That’s not even accounting for the plethora of sharks.
The bluefin jig bite continues… Some state it’s the best two month run we’ve seen in years!
Rosetto Stone reported, “I couldn’t be happier! Got one of my best friends up from Florida and on to this crazy jig bite. Thanks for the jigs! This one was on the new Mustad Moon Riser Sardine Jig.”
Brett Ekelmann sent in this report, “Awesome weekend jigging bluefin. I picked up some jigs on Friday and that new Mustad Moon Riser out fished everything else we had in the water. Thanks for the heads up!”
Fish Head Charters
It’s been awhile since my last update. Hasn’t been for a lack of fishing, just lack of time. Here’s a recap of recent days on the water.
Thursday (7/25) morning I had three time (three years in a row) return clients, father Tom and son aboard. We had a great sunrise session with bass and blues on light tackle.
Friday I ran the Pal O’ Mine out to the tuna grounds for a fun day with some friends. It was a beautiful but sort of frustrating day. There were lots of boats and much less fish feeding activity then Thursday (that was a really good day). Looking back we kinda bobbed when we should have weaved. Hind sight is always 20/20. The entire crew worked together and stayed on point all day long. Finally late in the day our bite came. I dropped a Mustad Moon Riser Jig (very similar to the very popular Nomad Streaker Jig, same slender profile but slightly heavier in the same length) on a couple marks, some quick speed jig pumps and bang! A short 5 minute fight and it was gaffed boatside. It never felt so good to get a boat bloody. The brand new Grady White 27 Canyon loved every minute of it.
Saturday night Scott T and his wife were aboard for a bay shark fishing trip. The tide and water temp were perfect but the abundance of grass made fishing difficult. We regularly cleaned the rigs and managed to get three bites in the 3-4 hour trip. Two were released boatside, the third was a run off but it offered a great screaming fight before it spit the hook. I feel the night would have been much more productive with less grass and a lighter wind. A stiff south never helps. Only a few hours after cleaning up…
Sunday early morning I jumped aboard the Reel Innovation to go on the hunt for tuna. We fished the same areas where fishing was good but we found very little life. Just a few scattered marks. We jigged like all hell but didn’t get a bite. Went on the troll for a little while, with no results. Other boats reports slim pickings.
609-494-5739
