Sat July 20, Sun July 21, and Mon July 22 are the best days to go offshore. This is the “weather window” all of us have been waiting for. Light and variable winds and no storm activity. There are bluefin tuna in a few different places now. After that, my next availability for any kind of fishing is not until Tues, Aug 13. Open Boat Tuna: Sat July 20, Sun July 21, and Mon July 22, 4AM to 4PM. $450 person. 4 people max. All fish are shared. If you call on one of these fishing days to book another day, I will not be able to respond until I am back in cell range. I will get right back to you as soon as I get a signal. You can call right up until “go time” for a spot. Any of these dates are also available for your private charter.
Tues July 23, Wed July 24, and Thurs July 25 are also light winds, but the forecast has possible storm activity on those three days, so we will be fishing the bay and inlet. We just watch the weather radar closely and try to pick the best 5 hour slot to go fishing. If any storms come up while we are in the bay, we just head to the nearest dock for shelter, let it blow through, then go back to fishing. You can’t do that offshore. We are available for charter only on these inshore trips. We will be chumming for weakfish and more with ultralite spinning gear. $700 for the boat for the 5 hour bay trip
Weather windows have been few and far between for running offshore, but the end is finally near. By Friday, it looks good, and the weekend and beyond, even better. Looking at the long range forecast, from Friday on, all looks good. The wind drops out and the sea condition will be much nicer than what we have been experiencing. Now, fingers crossed with the relentless fog. Speaking of fog, we don’t leave in the fog. Yes, we have radar, but I like to see everything with my own eyes when I am on the ocean. We do occasionally get caught in the fog, that can’t be helped. We are very selective about weather and conditions. The boat is a 25 ft World Cat center console with twin motors, a very capable boat for it’s size. We have all of the safety equipment, 6 man survival raft that is maintained, an EPIRB (search and rescue satellite signal), and an onboard Garmin Sirius/XM satellite weather station that allows us to see any storm cells as they are born. With all of that, we are still very selective on what conditions we sail in. It is not beyond me to get up at 2AM, load the truck and then the boat with all the gear. Take everyone to the inlet, just to turn around and say, Nope, not today. I make these sail/no sail decisions based on prevailing conditions only, not the people’s level of disappointment. I say all this because if you only have this one date to fish and you really want to get offshore, you might want to consider booking a bigger boat. We have a great number of customers that are content with this approach, as they know it is in their best interest, as well.
I usually don’t plan offshore tuna trips this far in advance but all the models I have been looking at are in agreement that the upcoming weekend looks really good. There are school size bluefin in the 30 to 60 mile range with some bigger ones mixed in. We will be headed to wherever the latest intel directs us. Trolling, jigging, and bait fishing. Yellowfin are still further offshore, but 4 to 5 days from now is an eternity in tuna movement, so we will be looking for those fish, as well, if they move back into striking distance.
Open Boat Tuna: Saturday July 20 and Sunday July 21, 4AM to 4PM. $450 person. 4 people max. All fish are shared.
Open Boat Barnegat Ridge: Friday July 19. 6AM to 2PM. $300 person. 4 people max. All fish are shared. We have been catching bonita at the Ridge, you just have to fish through the small blues that are also there. Always a wild card, the Ridge could be holding bluefin, albacore, and more at this time of year. The bonita have been small, 2 to 3 lbs, but they are delicious!
Some good news on our bay fishing, our live grass shrimp supplier is now up and running, so we are available for charter for Live Grass Shrimp trips from here in. These are 5 hour trips in the bay, anchored, chumming with live grass shrimp. The target is always weakfish, but everything that swims in Barnegat Bay eats these shrimp. We use ultralite 6 lb spinning outfits so everything you hook is a good fight. You can see the videos of these trips and all of our fishing on our website below.
FYI: We have available dates up until, and including Thursday July 25. After that, we are fully booked until Tuesday Aug 13.
Things are about to get interesting. Hope to see you on board!
Pic: Retired USMC Andrey Elisha of Burlington NJ with a Barnegat Ridge bonita
The cold water trend continues. While my fingers are crossed it changes and gets back to “normal”, it’s most likely going to stick around some more. How long is anyone’s guess. Here’s my latest fishing report video which is mostly dominated by ocean water talk but there’s a little fishing info with some helpful tips included. I share this because it is very important to understand the dynamics we deal with as anglers on the water.
Here’s a link to a blog I wrote in the summer of 2022 about the cold ocean water and phenomenon called upwelling… Upwelling Events On LBI Explained
It’s just as relevant then as it is today. Long lasting upwelling events are not uncommon. But how long it too long? The chart below shows the number of upwelling days over a four year span. I remember that 2022 was a chilly one which is the reason why I wrote the blog. This summer (2024) definitely contends if not beats it.
The photo below is from the Harvey Cedars Beach Patrol’s social media post on July 13th sharing a notice to the public that the water is COLD! 53º is really cold.
Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association Report by Jim Hutchinson Sr.
Captain Raymond Lopez reports the “Miss Liane” is now sailing for billfish and tuna. Their last trip out was excellent as they hooked onto a white marlin and blue marlin. They are sailing every week offshore for tuna and billfish, weather permitting.
Captain Gary Dugan has been fishing the “Irish Jig” while spending more time fishing the nearby artificial reefs as the fluke have begun their move to the ocean. He is also avoiding the greenhead flies in the bay. His bay fishing trips resulted in keeper fluke along with a healthy number of bluefish. He is now fishing for fluke on the reefs along with other bottom fish.
Captain John Lewis reports he has just moved his new boat, “Insatiable” to its berth at the Beach Haven Yacht Club. He has a few more items to take care of and will be sailing for fish very soon.
Captain Max Goldman reports the “Starfish” has been catching some nice black sea bass fishing various structure in the ocean. Although the daily bag limit is just one fish per angler, his anglers are also catching a variety of other bottom fish.
Captain Brett Taylor of “Reel Reaction Sportfishing” has been fighting the winds recently and maintains fishing is better when those strong south winds shift to the northwest. He had a recent four-man party fishing a 4-hour bay trips and released a grand total of 112 short fish while keeping four to 23-inches. He is taking care of some routine maintenance on his skiff while enjoying the Fourth of July weekend with his family. He will be back at it on Monday.
The Junior Mates Program for the BHCFA is now in full swing with an avid group of youngsters eager to learn the details of fishing. Captain Max passed along the current accomplishments of some former Junior Mates. Max is now a full captain along with Nick Perello and Jonathan Kelly. Marlyn Graham is working toward her nursing degree while Nick Haws is studying naval architecture at SUNY.
Another former Junior Mate, Liane Lopez, is also a captain and has graduated from the University of Miami. She has been guiding parties in the Miami area and helping her dad Captain Ray Lopez on the “Miss Liane” while in New Jersey.
Additional information on the captains and boats of the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association can be found at www.BHCFA.org
Happy Birthday America!!! It’s the 4th of July. We want everyone to have a safe, happy and fishy holiday today and the entire week celebrating our independence.
Fishing lately has been a grind. Sharpies are putting together catches, but working hard to earn their bites. There’s no way to cut the mustard… fishing has not been great. It has not been easy. Last week’s rain flooded the roads at time, washed out areas (drop in salinity) and raise concerns with water quality in some areas (Ship Bottom Bay Beach & Long Beach Twp Bayview Park Bay Beach).
As of late we have had our water temperatures bounce back. Surf right now the Ship Bottom surf is 64 degrees. Let’s hope the southerly winds remain fair as they are the cause of the cold water upwelling.
The past 30 days we have had numerous upwelling events plague our waters. One stuck around for almost the entire second half of June. See the data in the graphic below. Sure the cool/cold waters help give LBI it’s break from the heat and humidity that scorches the inlands. But the radical water temp swings really effect the consistency of fishing. And it is for this reason I spend so much time focused on it.
With the prolonged cold stretch but also clean water (usually upwelling events put cold dirty – brown stained water on the beach) I’m beginning to feel that we have a more dominant Labrador Current this year than usual. I say this because we have cold clear waters stretched along the coast and even the broader region. I’d like to get a oceanographer’s analysis of this.
I am optimistic that things improve with tomorrow’s (Friday 7/5) new moon giving us more extreme tidal flow and a new chapter as we transition into the first full month of summer fishing.
Here’s the fishing report video update I shot earlier today.
As far as fishing opportunities and species on tap…
Surf anglers have the best shot at targeting fluke along the sandbars. Bluefish or kingfish would be another target to plan for. Also sharks and rays (more on that later). For the most part striped bass can be caught off the Island’s beaches all summer but they are few and far between unless putting in a lot of time and/or specifically set up with live sand fleas and a summertime approach. Stop in and we can share how to fish these bugs in the suds for bass.
The inlet has fluke, bluefish, striped bass, sheepshead and out of season tog.
The bay has fluke, striped bass, bluefish, weakfish as well as a few spot and blowfish.
Out front the ocean fluke fishing at the reef sites and wrecks is improving and should be good this month and rest of the fluke season. Bonita and Spanish mackerel are here. Cobia are in the neighborhood too. Further offshore we heard the good ling bite continues at the deeper water wrecks but with one fish bag limit on sea bass most aren’t making the run.
Offshore mahi, tilefish, tuna and marlin are options. Tuna mid-shore hasn’t been smoking as years past but some fish are present. It seems the best bite has been out at the Hudson and further off, outta range for most small boats. But the sporties are getting after it.
Sharks are here and anglers must know the laws to be prepared when a fishing encounter occurs. Both sand tiger sharks and sand bar sharks (aka brown sharks) are federally protected shark species that can not be landed or killed. They are illegal to posses. A landed fish is considered possession. Do not remove them from the water! Always use common sense! Fishing has been shut down in other states. Don’t be the one who will ruin it here. Chunking the beach with heavy tackle during swimming hours 10am-5pm is not the right thing to do. There have already been a couple of occurrences this summer and it blew up on social media so we can only assume backlash is coming down the pike. When fishing the surf in the summer focus on the hours outside of prime time beach traffic. For example, fish the evenings after 5/6pm or better yet fish the dark!
We have announced two Open Boat Tuna trips over the last two weeks. The first one did not sail as we did not fill all the spots. This past Friday, we had a full boat and ran north to where I heard the life was, the west side of the Mud Hole. Upon arriving, we had two square miles of fresh slicks with chick birds picking at them, a good amount of finback whales, and nonstop bait ball readings on the machine. We beat that piece of water up for three hours, trolling Joe Shute/Ballyhoo’s and Chatter Side Tracker bars. Never had a sniff. I switched to the drift and we tried bait and jigs for another hour and a half but it only yielded one small shark. On the way back south we stumbled on some shearwaters, a nice size bluefin that aired out, and a pair of humpback whales that put on quite a show. We tried the poppers but no takers.
Not good, I know but we are looking to sail again Tues and Wed, July 2 and 3, 4AM to 4PM, as those days are the weather window to run offshore. We plan on running east this time in search of life and tuna. We will be ready to troll, bait fish, jig, and pop. It’s a beautiful forecast with light winds and calm seas. After that it blows up for a while. Hoping to get some intel on what happened today or we will be off to check out the usual haunts. I really would like to see what is happening at the Resor-Atlantic Princess area.
$450 person, 4 people max. All fish are shared. You don’t need anything except food and drinks, we have everything. If you have a favorite rod or two, bring it.
Fishing inshore for blues, fluke, and whatever swims in the bay and inlet whenever we are not headed offshore.
Just got some good intel on two different spots within our range to go tuna fishing. Whales, bait, chick birds, nice water and surfacing fish. It’s not my information to give, so please don’t ask. That’s how the information pipeline works. If I find them on my own, I can tell whoever I want, but when it is gifted to me, it’s sacred.
Hoping to find bluefin and maybe one other desirable species, some of you may have already heard.
Sailing Open Boat Tuna tomorrow, Friday June 28, 4AM to 2PM, $450 person. 4 people max. All fish are shared. We plan on trolling, bait fishing on the drift, and jigging.
There is a chance we will do the same trip on Saturday June 29, but the forecast is on the razors edge for my liking with that South wind coming up for the last part of the trip and the ride home. If the forecast shapes up for the better, we will go.
Still fishing the bay and inlet on the days we don’t run offshore.
Public Service Announcement – Anglers Must Join The Saltwater Angler Registry Prior To Fishing!
Over the last couple of days we have learned from customers that enforcement is out and about checking for NJ Saltwater Registry compliance. It looks like they are done with warnings as we’ve heard about numerous fines for non-compliance. So here’s a helpful heads up. Please share with others!
Did you know? NJ saltwater anglers must register annually to fish the marine waters of New Jersey. It was introduced and mandated by law since May 2011.
New Jersey does not have a saltwater fishing license; however, it mandates all anglers register before fishing marine waters. The NJ Saltwater Recreational Registry Program is free and easy to do.
The registry is an important tool that policy makers utilize for recreational fishing effort data. It is meant to solve the age-old battle about bad data which is in turn used to account for the impacts of saltwater anglers on ocean ecosystems and coastal economies.
It’s hot and humid with a heat index pushing 100 and it’s sticking around. Authorities say, drink plenty of fluids, stay in an air-conditioned room, stay out of the sun, and check up on relatives and neighbors. We say… Get Down To LBI and Go Fish!!! A cold body of water upwelled and is hanging around the coastal waters. It’s making the sea breeze cool, breaking the temps down. Here’s the first fishing report of summer!
The recent upwelling event doesn’t seem to stop as today the southerlies were kicking and Sunday too. Also a note of importance, some of the largest surf (waves) in weeks is coming. It’s far from large but 3-4′ waves are expected to show and stick around Sunday and Monday. Also the recent “Strawberry Moon” full moon of June has given us extreme tides the past few days making for some extra low water at times. This made clamming awesome! On the other side of the shellfish game, crabbing is also good.
Right now we have a variety of species; fluke, bluefish, striped bass, weakfish as well as a few kingfish, sheepshead, black drum. Some info on these is shared in the video report. If you are in need of tackle for these species be sure to stop in and talk to the team at Fish Heads today. We’ll get you hooked up and having fun.
We haven’t heard many striped bass catch reports on the surf the past couple days but with the water cooling off from what it was there’s a good chance at surf side stripers for another week or two. Last week soaking the trenches along the LBI surf the Jetty Jockeys found some good fishing.
Screenshot
9th Annual Fluke-A-Mania Captains Meeting June 28, Fishing June 29th
Save the date for this great tournament hosted by the Beach Haven Marlin and Tuna Club, next weekend and help raise funds fishing for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.
After a slower start to the charter season, we’ve had some outstanding flounder fishing on my recent trips. Our local reefs are teeming with fluke, ranging from numerous shorts to some impressive keeper fish. Most of our catches have been on bucktails tipped with squid and mackerel, with gulp also proving effective. Availability for fluke trips is filling up quickly. I offer 4-hour and 6-hour trips for groups up to six people, departing from Holgate Marina.
Below are some fish caught on this week’s trips. I look forward to having you on board!
