Seems like forever that I have sat down and have given any fishing reports or updates but here it goes.
The back bays have a solid amount of bass roaming around it’s safe confines with most of the activity seemingly after sunset. Bass ranging in sizes from mere inches to over the minimum 28″ keeper size are on hand. Bluefish are likely within a week or so away if they aren’t here already as laughing gulls have arrived about 7-10 days ago.
This year the Reel Fantasea has had an electronics upgrade with the latest and greatest technology from Lowrance! I will be running the brand new “HDS Live” which is absolutely the most high tech equipment available on the market!!
Last weekend was the first attempts out for the season and I must admit there wasn’t much to brag about other than a smattering of stripers caught to avoid a skunk but things should continue to improve on a daily basis!
I have a couple spots open for this Sunday 8am -1pm , we are still in scouting mode for this time of year but so far we haven’t been skunked [fingers crossed]. Rods, tackle, bait and fish cleaning is included, $125pp.
We will be fishing and scouting the safe confines of the bay and ducking outside for a look around the big pond if conditions allow.
Wishing everyone fair winds and calm seas,
Captain Steve Purul – Reel Fantasea Fishing Charters – 609-290-1217
Here’s a short fishing report update to supplement our recent posts. See Monday’s comprehensive fishing report update post. and Swag’s Tog Fishing Report Post. Guess what he’s out on the water today. We’ll post his report once he shares.
Only new news we can add is a striped bass report that a customer shared yesterday and a hint at a new species in the area.
A customer called in yesterday to reserved a couple dozen bloodworms. When he stopped in to pick up he reported, “My last trip out was good. I was into striped bass the whole time. They were small (biggest 26.5″) but a lot of fun catching about 10 of them. I blew through a dozen worms fast so I’m doubling up today.” He was fishing the bayside on LBI.
April/May Black Drum Fishing
While no direct first hand report, there’s chatter about a couple black drum showing up. Traditionally mid April and May are a time when these fish are active. If bait up with clam for your best chance at targeting them.
A Warning for Boaters
If you didn’t see our original post on Facebook or Instagram this is for you. A navigational hazard exists in the bay near the Causeway Bridge. Fortunately they were recently marked however, mariners must be aware that these hazards are elsewhere along the ICW too. Here’s a highlight from my time with Ted Greenberg of NBC10 News.
Here’s our original notice to mariners post on Facebook which caught Ted’s attention.
Shop ambassador @Swagmattic (Matt Sorrentino) is stoked… It’s April and the weather has broke. Better yet there’s fun fishing to be had. Swag is in love with blackfish and in on the action.
He was out on the water yesterday aboard the Osprey. Matt reported, “It was a slow but steady day. I managed one nice keeper along with a bunch of shorts. The little ones kept us active at the rail. Like always in the early season, the bite has been on clam. With it come a mix of ling and cod which add an interesting flare and good table fare. It’s still early so I’m looking forward to the season ahead.”
There’s three weeks of tog fishing up for grabs. Now’s the time to dust off and get out there. Black fishing will improve as the ocean water temperatures increase. As time progresses into April the bite and the short to keeper ratio will improve.
The Spring Blackfish Season will culminate towards the end of April at which time the season will also coincidentally close. Traditionally late April offers some of the year’s best fishing for blackfish.
The Ultimate Angler Experience
For this year we have teamed up with some great names to offer The Ultimate Angler Experience! This one of a kind fishing trip hosted by Swag and the Osprey Fishing Fleet is Saturday April 27th. Spots are filling up fast, so if you are interested secure your spot today. Spots are $199.99
More good news on the fishing front! Here’s the fishing report update for Monday April 8, 2019.
Early Season Hot Spots
This weekend the Raritan Bay went off! A body of fish moved in from the ocean and fishing was phenomenal. Expect fishing to be good for the next few weeks however the amplitude will fluctuate as waves of striped bass arrive and make way to and up the river.
These are pre-spawn so please use utmost responsible judgment and release all fish! These are the lifeblood of the stock!
Some of the crew from the shop was in on the action…
Store staffer Dan D reported light out action on Thursday (was reported in the last post). His luck continued all weekend. Dan reported, “Incredible fishing with fish up to 30 pounds.” Pat D. (Dan’s brother) was fishing in the fog Saturday and had fun with bass eating lures.
Store staffer Willie enjoyed his 21st birthday this weekend… Congrats! He too got out and caught some quality striped bass (photo below).
Store staffer Mike Frezza worked the late night hours and caught. Were you following our Instagram story? The old saying goes if your spring is off to a bad start the only way to turn it around fast is to eat a live bloodworm. Frezza went for it and wham-oo! Now he’ll be the high hook all spring… Watch Out!
Local Fishing
Some boats fished out of Barnegat Inlet this weekend. Everyone that we heard back from that stayed locally looking for striped bass came up empty. A couple boats that made the run north and scored! A couple more degrees and we’ll have things starting up.
Things are still slow in our area however progressing none the less. The nighttime bayside striped bass fishing is good. I got in on the fun Saturday night.
Fishing a 3/8oz jig head with a white grub I caught a couple school striped bass. Store staffer Kelly was in on it too. He also caught on Kettle Creek Paddle Tail Swimbaits and RonZ Slender Soft Baits. After the fishing session I took a quick ride up the Barnegat Inlet Jetty for a Milky Way photo session.
Ted Johnson and his girlfriend got into some small ones on the bayside this past weekend. Couples that fish together stay together!
Blackfishing Open For April
It’s still early with cold ocean water temperatures but it’s tog fishing time. LBI Charter’s Captain Greg Carr was on the water this past weekend hunting for tog. He reported, “Water is still cold. Fishing was slow but managed five keepers and about a dozen shorts.”
The Carolyn Ann III took their first trip out on Saturday. They reported, “Pretty good fishing considering the swell and lack of wind which made anchoring difficult. Jake Adair took the pool with a nice 5.5 pound blackfish. (photo above) The Magictail Game Changer Tog Jig did the job! Other anglers caught too. The action with short fish kept everyone busy concentrating on the bite. No limits had but some guys had one or two fish each to take home for dinner.
On Sunday Eric Mandelblatt was aboard and took the pool! Photo above
We’ve hear about a couple (but few) bigger double digit fish caught on private boats. It’s gonna get better. Get geared up and in the game.
Offshore Fishing
Canyon fishing season is upon us! A body of water looked good so a few local boats pushed out to explore. All that we heard back from struck out. It’s gonna happen soon!
Update On Bouys
So after our March 30th Blog Post and Tuesday’s April 2nd Facebook and Instagram post things kinda started happening. We got phone calls and emails. First local boaters wanting more information. Then the NJ State Police and then the US Coast Guard. Today (Monday) I got a call from Ted Greenburg from NBC10 News. He says, “I’m in town and would like to do a story on the navigational hazards. Do you have time to show them to me?” I didn’t have time but… We went out of a short trip on the boat. I showed him the three (one north and two south) that were close the the Causeway Bridge. About a week ago only one was marked. Today all three were. Hopefully soon they will all be repaired because it’s still a major problem waiting to happen. Hopefully you saw the report on NBC10’s 4,5,6pm news.
Linda Lee Sportfishing Report
Captain Ryan of Linda Lee Sportfishing reports, “As things start to heat up I’ll be running open boat charters for stripers and blues. Starting May 4th and 5th through the middle of June. $125 pp 4 people max. All fishing gear included and fish cleaned. If your looking to get in on the action give me a call 609-276-8032.
More progress this week with the hotly anticipated arrival of more striped bass. The spring fishing is really starting to strengthen both locally and the early season out of town spots.
The back waters of Long Beach Island offer striped bass action both day and night. The day time is a primarily bait (clam or worm) thing; however at night the fish are hammering artificials. On the late night shift Thursday evening store staffer Kelly and shop ambassador Swag got on it. They were both into fish using Kettle Creek Paddletail Softbaits. Also in on the night action, Professor Fish Head (Dave W.). He had some late night striped bass bites too. While most of the bass roaming the bay are small there are some better ones in the mix. Keeper size fish were caught.
A recent daytime bait report was sent in, “Kevin Shearer got into some fun striped bass fishing with live bloodworms on the mid-island bayside.”
The out of town early season spots are kicking into gear and bound to light up. Store staffer Dan D. was out on the water Thursday fishing the Raritan Bay. He reported a great trip with lots of catch and release fun.
The ocean is slowly warming up. We don’t have an exact temperature but after a surf session on Wednesday I would guess it is about 45-46 degrees. Things will break open soon. For me the magic number to start hunting is 48 degrees.
For a solid week now reports of heavy bird activity continue daily however, no catch reports locally from the surf or boats in ocean. We do know of a few that went on the search but only found bait and birds. It’s only time. There’s no way all of these birds and all this bait and no fish. It’s impossible. I’m 100% positive we have fish swimming by us (might not be on the beach) heading up to the Raritan Bay on their way up the Hudson. I don’t have the time yet but soon Fish Head Charters will be on the hunt.
Grundens Ankle Boot – New Product Alert
Awesome new from products from Grundens arrived this week. We have the new Grundens Ankle Boot and Slip On Shoe in stock now. Stop by or buy online.
Fishing The Delaware River
Anglers on the Delaware River are enjoy both striped bass and shad fishing. Jeff Warford was recently out on the River and did a number on big shad. The striped bass fishing further down is good. Anglers are catching on bloodworms and plugs.
Winter Flounder Reports
Winter flounder reports have been few and far between due to very little participation. With the awesome weather yesterday, one recent report did some in from the northern Barnegat Bay region. Kevin Lorenz said, “They were hungry in the afternoon. My buddy buddy George Miller and I got our two man limit.
White Perch Fishing
Perch fishing is improving which traditionally is very good in April. Expect fishing to be good the next couple of weeks. Speaking of perch… The Red Men Lodge’s 12th Annual Spring Perch Derby is on Saturday, April 27. This charity event festivities begin Friday at 7pm with the Captains’ Meeting at Red Men Lodge #61 in Tuckerton – 145 West Main St. Tuckerton, NJ 08087. The fish fry and awards ceremony is on Saturday. Entry fee is $50 for a 2man team. More Info call James at 609-709-6528.
The last stretch of March was good weather wise and the fishing continued to improve. As water temps rise more fish show in the back bay. More bunker sightings in the bay too and a solid showing of gannets have the stoke level high.
Here’s a photo from Matt R of action off the south end surf on Friday. For a look at the short video go to Our Instagram Page.
Fish Baits Like Worm & Clam
Winter flounder reports are few but striped bass reports are plentiful. Local anglers are getting out and finding fish here on LBI as well as local mainland spots. Worming and clamming bayside locations will produce.
Anglers fishing Mystic Islands, Great Bay and Mullica River river continue to have fish. Rich Beverly stopped by the shop and said hello yesterday. He reported just fishing earlier in the day, “This morning I was out and caught a bunch of cats, one striped bass and a big perch.
Store staffer Jordan was out the other night and got his first bass of the season this weekend.
Swagmattic Is Feeding Striped Bass Late Night Snacks
Fish Heads Ambassador Swagmattic (Matt S.) was out late Friday working the night shift. He found a couple good size striped bass that were hungry. For a late night snack he fed them white Kettle Creek Swim Baits. Here’s a photo of one catch. Notice he’s using his Daiwa BG reel. He said it best, “The Daiwa BG Spinning Reel is the best saltwater fishing reel at the $100 price range. From striped bass and bluefish to tog and fluke the Daiwa BG does it all in the NorthEast. Going south? Reds, Snook, jacks, small tarpon… you name it the BG has you covered. It’s also a great surf casting reels in the 4-8000 size.”
Store staffer Dan was on the fish with weekend. He reported, “Things are getting better in the bay. There were bunker at a couple spots I looked. I put in some time and caught bass.”
Word has it there’s a couple small bluefish around. We are hoping these guys show up in force soon for a gunshot start to the fishing run.
Those making the drive to early season areas are rewarded. The Delaware is heating up with bigger fish moving in. Anglers fishing worms are doing it. The Rapala X-Rap are also getting love. Any day the Raritan Bay is gonna tee off.
Notice To Mariners
Attention Barnegat Bay Boaters a navigational hazard has been found and brought to our attention by Captain Adam Sherer of Sherer’s Boat Basin. All boaters should be aware, share with others and as always navigate with caution.
“There are several unmarked hazards near the ICM from the Causeway bridge south to Beach Haven. It appears that the ice flow over the winter has cut the old steel pylons (Channel Markers) off right at the water line. While these are able to be seen on a low tide in daylight they become near impossible to locate at mid tide or higher or in low light or dark conditions. Some of the hazards are marked by buoys but some of the buoys are located 25-50ft from the submerged hazard posing a major threat to boater safety. The answer is for the USCG to remove these navigational hazards not mark only some of them with a buoy with considerable distance between the hazard and buoy. I have spoken with several other Marina owners and managers as well as those constantly on the water and they all have voiced concern about these ghost navigational hazards. Please share with anyone that is regularly on the water in this area.” ~ Captain Adam
Last night’s and tonight’s lows are cold but the 10 day looks good! Things are looking up and up.
Today (Wednesday) we received a nice delivery of primo live bloodworms. Unfortunately the Monsta Bloods were not available but the regulars are very good.
Monday morning the bay was a sheet of glass allowing any and all movements to be visible. Numerous eyes spotted life. One my way over the causeway bridges I saw what looked like bunker flipping. Another report came from a customer in the shop who saw small fish popping. Then a another report was sent in from Mary Egan who also witnessed the same things.
It’s great to see adult bunker in the bay. It’s my guess they are here doing their thing which will result in another peanut bunker plentiful summer. I checked in with one out our bunker guys who knows the deal and he said there’s bunker in the northern Barnegat Bay too but… He contradicted my idea. He said that I was wrong. Then enlightened me… “Bunker aka menhaden spawn in the ocean, inshore where the eggs hatch and the larvae drift into the bays eventually making their way into the rivers and creeks of our coastal back bay system.” While it sounds like a long shot I believe him.You learn something new everyday!
Alittle on the fishing front….
Some small bass and winter flounder were caught recently near the Causeway Bridges. Speaking of the Bridges… They have always been a great area to fish. And now they now offer a new updated facility. With the bridge construction, new walkways and railings were installed. They are a big improvement over the old sink holes lined with poison ivy. One complaint from us…The railings are very high and too close to the edge. It’s difficult to fish over and you can’t fish in front of them. Kids need a cooler to stand on in order to get height.
Anglers fishing Raritan Bay are starting to pick small fish. Soon they will have some great fishing. The Spring showing on the bay can be very impressive.
Off the surf one customer reported no luck fishing worms but he did see gannets dive bombing further off. One year I smashed bass bucktailing early April when the herring moved through It was light out. Maybe we will get a little taste of that again.
LBI Spring Surf Fishing Tournament
The 18th Annual Long Beach Island Spring Surf Fishing Tournament aka “Spring Derby” is coming up…. April 27 to June 23, 2019. Registrations ($20 Sign Up Fee) will begin in a couple weeks. More details will be posted in the near future. Save The Dates!
Looking to join a fishing club? The Village Harbour Fishing Club is welcoming new members. Why Join A Fishing Club? Why not! Learn, share, network, socialize and so much more.
Meetings are held the second Friday each month, April thru November at 7:45 PM in Manahawkin CC 775 E Bay Ave. 2019 Meeting Dates: Apr 12, May 10, Oct 14, Jul 12, Aug 9, Sep 13, Oct 11 & Nov 8. Hope to see you at the next meeting!
$40 Annual Dues Yield Great Rewards ● 8 Meetings with Guest Speakers, Latest Fishing News and Member Reports ● Over $1000 in Multi-Species Monthly Contests ● Monthly Newsletter April thru November ● Discounts from Club Sponsors ● Informative VHFC Website vhfishingclub.com ● July Fluke Tournament & BBQ (Spouse Included)
About the Village Harbour Fishing Club
The Village Harbour Fishing Club (VHFC) was started in 1989 as a non-profit organization to bring together those anglers wishing to further their knowledge of sportfishing in our area of the New Jersey shore. Whether it is bay or ocean fishing that boils your blood, the VHFC has members that will share your enthusiasm! We support the conservation of our precious fishing resources as well as our inland and oceanic waters and adjacent lands. We also support the NJ Artificial Reef Program. We strive to promote the best interests of recreational angling, and to establish sportsmanship and fellowship.
The action is picking up! Store staffer Jordan reports, “Some bass and winter flounder in the back bay are chewing on bloodworms.” The early season spots are best however things are beginning to spread out.
As most know live bloodworms are hands down the best early season bait. Fish warming up from their long winter hibernation demand an easy to digest meal. Bloodworms are easy for fish to find and slurp. Key in and match the hatch. Right now we have some beautiful baits left from our recent delivery. If you stopped by and got some you scored some MONSTAS! Some of the biggest bloodworms we’ve seen in years. We are expecting more in a couple days.
Those anglers choosing to fish artificial are catching too. Reports are becoming more common with striped bass taking artificial baits. Small lures in the 3-5″ range are best with choices like little Yo-zuri and Rapala X-Rap plugs being the way to go. In the soft bait category the best baits are the Kettle Creek paddle tails rigged on a jighead. Also a Magictail bucktail tipped off with your choice trailer (jig strip, curly tail, Ron-Z) is a sure bet. Another stand out is the DartSpin (Patrick Sebile’s new bait from his company A Band Of Anglers) which is proving to be a hot new product that is catching fish. If looking for great versatile soft plastic check these out in store, soon we’ll have them listed online.
The best time to wet a line is 1-2 hours before low, fishing all the way out and then some. This will be the warmest water and help fish get a little more active.
Word from the Delaware River has been good. Before the rain things were getting good. It sounds like on Sunday things were starting to settle but a little more time is needed to fix up and settle after the storm. The majority are smaller bass but some classy ones were caught and more are moving in. Steve Polidore has been into consistent fishing working the banks with bloodworms. One recent day he caught over 15 bass. Reports of some classy fish moving into the rivers. We saw a photo from another angler who caught a 20 plus pound bass.
Store staffers Kelley and Frezza hit a lake Saturday evening and reported their local fresh water honey hole is producing, “The water is still cold so we are fishing the shallow waters and using a slow motion approach. We each caught a few small bass on plastic worms.”
White Perch fishing in improving. It will only get better.
Well over a month ago Punxsutawney Phil did not see his shadow. As the legend goes, winter will give way to an early spring. We would have to say the rodent was on to something this year. The recent weather was very spring like; however we aren’t out of the weeds yet.
There’s a coastal storm brewing up and a small craft advisory is in effect for Thursday. With southeast 20kts winds gusting to 30kts things will be churred up. Being only a couple days off the full moon (with a +1.62′ tide) there’s a coastal flood advisory for Thursday night. The bay’s high tide at the Causeway Bridge is at midnight so fortunately the worst will be in the overnight. Friday & Saturday are windy with cold night lows. Chance of snow Tuesday; however things warm up again to finish off the month with spring like weather.
We are looking forward to more good days like recently because fishing opportunities await. The more sunshine, the better it will get. Striped bass, winter flounder and perch. It’s firing up.
The early season spots (rivers, creeks, shallow mud flats) are the first places to look every year for striped bass. Few are participating but a couple reports of winter flounder from the deep bay. We suggest fishing the areas around the bridges live bloodworms. The upper reaches of creeks with brackish waters will produce perch March and April.
Store staffer Dan was out fishing with some friends on Monday. He reported good fun fishing with small bass chewing small plugs. “I caught a bunch. The small Yo-zuri Mag Darer was working.” He was back out Wednesday for a sunset session with store staffer Frezza. They reported much slower fishing but they caught a couple.
I dunked the boat on Tuesday and took a look at a few spots. The general areas were cold with water temperatures in the mid to low 40’s. A couple areas I wanted to look at were just about dry. The full moon’s super low tide shut off access to the flats however it roamed around and looks at some new water. The trip was a valuable scouting mission because a lot has changed. I’m looking forward to getting back out again soon for some recon and hopefully some fish!
