Numerous reports of black drum in the bay. Most anglers are looking for sheepshead and triggerfish around the bayside snags are pulling drum. One customer in the shop today reported catching a 15-20 pound drum on the mid-island bayside. We recently heard about Jim Huthinson Jr’s catch… “On the hunt for Jersey sheepshead but we ambled into a nice lil backwater black drum!”
Tim Daly stopped in for new line on his surf reel today. While here he reported fluke fishing on the surf has been good. “Recently the swell has made fishing bucktails tough but I’m still finding fish using Gulp.” Once things settle down we expect surf fishing fishing to be good right into September. Fortunately this year we have some extra days to keep us fishing (hopefully into the Mullet Run).
Another customer in the shop also spooling said he got a five pound fluke today on the reef, “This fluke season has been slow for me, but recently there’s much better fishing. Finally starting to find some nice fish.”
Store staffers Kelley, Mike and Dave out yesterday and found some good fishing. Frezza won the pool with this one…
Fish Head Charters
Tuesday John and Nick jumped aboard for a four hour bayman trip (clam/crab). We started off with a slow pick of crabs but it got better as time went on. In the two hour attempt we boxes three dozen keepers, most of which were good size eaters. The clamming was also good. We filled a KB White bushell basket and called it a day. It was a fun day on the bay while the north east wind was cranking.
Wednesday return clients Tom G. and son we in for four hour early morning light tackle trip. We loaded the bases getting into striped bass, bluefish and fluke but struck out looking for a weakfish (they are around). The strongest present was made by bluefish ranging in the 1-3 pound range. Two were in the five pound class. Tom’s son finessed two striped bass; one on a bucktail tipped with a Jig Strip and one on an Daiwa SP Minnow lure.
3rd Annual Fluke-A-Mania
The 3rd Annual Fluke-A-Mania fishing tournament is this weekend. The Beach Haven Marlin Tuna Club puts on a great time!
August 24th Captain’s Meeting
August 25th Fishing Day, Awards and BBQ, Bar & band
If you are a ” what else can I catch” kinda of angler [ me] the opportunities presently on hand make it hard to decide!!
Joining our usual suspects [ striped bass, blues, fluke, seabass, tog …..] in the bay/inlet/inshore fishing grounds that have entertained Reel Fantasea’s anglers all season is an exciting mix of other species that offer more rod bending entertainment.
Sheepshead, triggerfish, are joining the wrecks, rocks and structures we commonly fish for more regular species.
Along the beaches bird plays have given away feeding southern speedsters locations such as Spanish mackerel , bonito, small mahi, chub mackerel to the delight of the light tackle enthusiast looking for some exciting sight casting opportunity.
Trolling and or chunking has really started to heat up closer to shore [ within 20 miles of the beach] for more pelagic excitement for king mackerel, Spanish mackerel, mahi, bonito and false albacore.
Sharks are also readily available for those looking for a bit more pull on the rod!!
The tide stage this week plays well for anglers looking to get a quick fix on one of our “happy hour specials” 5-8pm .
It’s on… Beat The August Heat! The sale is valid until Monday August 20 so act now and shop now online with coupon codes…
Reels 18% Off: AHEAT18
All Else 25% Off: AHEAT25
Barnegat Bay Blowfish
Blowfish popped up this past week in the bay and the action continues with good fishing this week weekend. Today (Saturday) and yesterday anglers got into very Barnegat Bay Blowfishing.
Dave Werner had his kids on the water today. They enjoyed an epic bite on the water and an awesome puffer fish fry feast for dinner.
Here’s a photo from Jeff showing some blowfish that are about to hit the fillet table.
Jeff Warford reported, “A fun day on the bay catching puffers!” He asks… how’s your day going!
Fluke Fishing Report
Right on schedule for mid-August the local ocean fluke fishing picks up. The reefs and wrecks are producing with anglers also picking fish on open bottom areas (reports from 25-70′ of water, exact locations not shared). The crew aboard the Miss Barnegat Light reported Friday was the “best day of the year so far! Lots of keeper fluke and plenty of shorts too.” There’s some nice sea bass hitting the deck too. Today (Saturday) was “slower but still good action and a great day of fishing!” The Carolyn Ann III reported Friday was “one of those you should have been there mornings. Great Fishing!”
The anglers aboard the CAIII got into some good fishing!
Mark Spranger reported, “Another limit today on Magictail Bucktails! Some great action out there.”
Tyler Leary and Brendan Jelley fished out on the Garden State reef aboard the Jen Jen on Thursday. Tyler got a 3.52 pound fluke and Brendan get a 4.46 pound fluke.
Dave Bye shared, “I fished outside Barnegat Inlet today and got two beauties; 8.01-lb and 7.02-lbs.”
Surf Fishing Report
Fluke, kingfish and small blues are on tap. The summertime surf fishing continues on Long Beach Island with more of the same. Steve George reports, “Some really nice size kingfish continue hitting Gulp! baits on the beach.” Anglers fishing small natural baits (like cut bunker and squid) are also catching fluke and small blues. These two species are effectively targeted with artificials too.
The ultra warm (75-77 degree) and very clean bluewater that’s currently along the central Jersey coast is holding species that hardly ever appear in a surf fishing report. This has land based multi-species anglers fired up and scrambling to add these rare catches to their inventory; bonita, chub mackerel, banded rudderfish, among others in the jack/mackerel/tuna families. Yes, some of these are on the beaches and jetties.
Inshore / Mid-Shore Fishing
John Larue reports, “I had a few solid days in the blue water. Tuna on top and solid bottom fishing!”Most recent reports had similar themes… the jig and top water bites were better than the troll.
Captain Mark of Laura Sportfishing was out in the ocean today. He caught a couple of bonita and a king mackerel.
Jon Kelly was out in the boat looking along the Island’s beaches. He found some bonita.
Jon Kelly had the bonita lined up.
Mike Fitzgerald fished aboard the Reel Trouble with Captain Billy today. They got into some great fishing. Mike shared this report, “We caught fish all day. Never went 15 minutes with out hooking up. We caught a bunch and released a bunch. Good fun consistent fishing.”
Nice catch aboard the Reel Trouble.
Fish Head Charters Report
Tuesday and Wednesday night were both very good bayside brown sharking nights. Tuesday Mike and Jay from Connecticut enjoyed a fun filled night releasing about a dozen sandbar sharks. Nearly the entire night was full of consecutive bites, even during a short rain storm. Wednesday night freelance content creator Jon Coen (The Sandpaper’s Liquid Lines) and crew aboard for filming of an upcoming Just Beneath The Surface episode. Stay tuned because this episode is gonna be the best one yet! Like most fish, they were camera shy. Not nearly as many bites the the previous nights but we made the most out of what we were served. We did manage two. One of which was a good size.
Friday’s early morning light tackle trip started out with cocktail blues crushing small lures. We looked around for some bonita and mackerel but didn’t find much (other than bait with small blues) within the first 1/2 hour. We decided to head off east and see what we could find. The whole ride looked fishy. About 10 miles off we stopped in some 78 degree beautiful bluewater where flying fish were dancing and there were a few slicks on the surface. It didn’t take long to see saw mahi on top. We blew one or two quick shots at them. Then had to spend some time to find them again. Fortunately we did.
A large school with at least ten mahi were spotted and cruising down sea towards us. I picked up and casted a popper into the breeze, landing perfectly in front of the school. One pop, two pop, three pop. One came up, nudged and away while another looked from along side. Pop, pop… another mahi came in from out of nowhere and fright trained it with an explosion. A strong strip set and I was into my first mahi on a fly rod. The fish took off, cleared my line and had me into backing within seconds. I catch up a bunch of line and the next thing I know it’s tail walking. This took the excitement to another level. It makes not only the first move but then two more acrobatic dance flips. I got through the first and second but on the third the violent head shakes shook the hook. I was bummed in defeat yet stoked for the 1 minute mahi rodeo experience on the fly. While I’ve caught plenty of mahi while big game fishing this little 15 pound mahi had me amped for more bluewater fly fishing adventures.
Saturday Ron Rett was aboard with 11 year old his daughter and her friend for a half and half trip (fishing and clamming). We started off right with a cocktail blue on the initial cast. The first hour was fun catch and release light tackle fishing. After having fun with blues we switched gears to fluke and picked at some short fluke then went clamming. Turns out clamming was really good and for size quality it was the best trip of the summer. The girls found a good section of small to medium size clams and we all put in a great effort. In about 2 hours we scored a two person limit 300; 1/4 smalls, 1/2 mediums and 1/4 large. We are all having a clam feast!
Upcoming Events
3rd Annual Fluke-A-Mania was rescheduled and the tournament date is quickly approaching. … August 24th Captain’s Meeting…. August 25th Fishing Day, Awards and BBQ, Bar & band
Long Beach Island Fall Classic – The LBI Fall Surf Fishing Tournament Classic is right around the corner… 49 days away. Save The Dates: October 6th to December 9th. For news and updates be sure to check the Tournament website at www.LBIFT.com as well as the Tournament Facebook Page.
Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association Fishing Report
Update: Aug 16, 2018
by Jim Hutchinson Sr.
Beach Haven has long been a retreat for visitors seeking relief from hot summer temperatures as they head east looking for cool ocean breezes. Late summer weather also brings with it an amazing assortment of different varieties of fish that normally inhabit warm waters. The captains of the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association especially look forward to these fishing opportunities.
When you think of tropical type fish, the thought is you must travel far offshore to the canyon waters where the Gulf Stream influences are felt. What makes the arrival of these different fish exciting is that some of them are being caught not that far off the beaches of Long Beach Island.
Naturally, most of these fish are being caught on the troll, but a goodly number are being caught by boats anchored up or drifting either casting metal lures or using fresh bait. Catches of mahi-mahi up to 20 pounds are being reported as close as 15 miles off with smaller mahi being caught around the artificial reef sites just a few miles from shore.
Other pelagic fish such as bonita, Spanish mackerel, and albacore are similarly close by. There are reports of big triggerfish and sheepshead on the bottom around structure both at the reefs and jetties and even in some of the deeper holes of the bay waters. Chum slicks along with large fresh baits are magnets for a variety of sharks.
This is not to say that the native species are still not around in good numbers. Captain John Lewis of the “Insatiable” reports a busy week of trips with lots of fish coming over the rail. Most days had double digit counts with several days with more than 30 fish on 4-hour trips. The best news is that the fluke numbers are increasing and so is the size. Captain John notes that he picked up his first kingfish and blowfish of the season to add to the variety of fish being caught.
Complete information on the boats and captains of the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association can be found at www.BHCFA.net
Long Beach Island Fishing Report Update – August 15, 2018
Fun summer fishing on LBI continues. Anglers enjoy their time on the water fishing inshore, offshore and from shore with a variety of species available to target.
Anthony Smith recently stopped in with a Jetty Slam!!! Fishing crabs he caught one keeper tog (2.5lb, 16″), a trigger (4.5lb, 19.5″) and a sheepshead (4.2lb, 17″). He dropped another solid sheepshead too.
Anothony Smith knows how to fish the Jetty!
On the surf most target bluefish, fluke, kingfish and sharks. Snapper blues offer entertainment for all ages with an abundance of these quick hitting critters. Here’s a photo of Patrick Henry’s first catch. Target these small yellow eyes with small metal or small hooks tipped with meat (bunker). Evening surf anglers are catching and releasing sharks regularly. Also on the surf… BONITA! It’s rare but they are cruising the beaches.
Pat and Dad Jay Henry had fun while visiting their home town of Ship Bottom.
This past weekend was the Hooked On Fishing Not On Drugs (HOFNOD) kids fishing tournament. It was another successful year with 170 kids participating. About 50 scored with fish included bluefish, kingfish, sharks and skates.
In the bay some new faces are showing up. Recently a few blowfish reports popped up! Dave Werk stopped in and got a new light tackle Penn spinning reel for fishing the back bay. He reported, “The south end bay is producing some great eating fish! Both blowfish and trigger fish! I had about a dozen blowfish last trip out. Also lost a sheepshead.” We’ve heard a couple other blowfish reports from Barnegat Bay too.
Offshore fishing seemed to be hit or miss this past week. Some customers reports a whole lotta nothing however a few boats got out and found some life. Chris DeGennaro reported, “Wahoo, Marlin, Mahi and water spout. What else can I ask for… Maybe a tuna? Not my day!” Dan and Jeff aboard the Reel Innovation did good their past couple of trips. It seems like they are always on the meat! Captain Jeff reported, “We found some life away from the fleet. Everyone on board was welcomes into blue water fishing right catching a tuna on their first trip. They held up their end of the bargain and jumped into the water to celebrate!”
Here’s store staffer Pat D. with a nice tuna he caught aboard the Reel Innovation!
There is some really nice water about 3-5 miles off the beach. What I mean by nice is canyon blue. And with that nice water comes fish that don’t usually venture in this close to LBI, like this nice 15 lb. Mahi my friend Dan got Sunday about 5 miles off the beach. This AM I ventured out into the nice water for a bit. The buoys in contact with this tropical water are holding pilot fish, banded rudderfish, and Amlaco jacks. You really need to be on you fish ID A game when trying to correctly identify these southern visitors. Small lures or pieces of bait are the way to go when targeting them. Unfortunately, I did not connect with any of the southern speedsters like kingfish or Mahi this morning when trolling. There are even loosely connected Sargassum weed lines in the nice water.
Still feisty blues in the 2-4lb range mixed in with schoolie bass to be had when the conditions are right around the inlet. Some of these blues I cleaned recently are getting ready to spawn. The bottom around the inlet seems to be paved with short fluke at times with catch rates of 10-15 fish an hour not uncommon. The keeper fluke has been a little shy my last few trips. I think it was due to the New Moon that just past. The current was rip-roaring most of the time and the back bay was flooded at high tide. I usually do better with bigger fluke during times of slower current which is now. Here is also some picture of a trip where there were three, that’s right three, people with the name Alex on board the Debbie M. First time ever and talk about confusion. Every time someone said Alex, three heads turned. I tapped out after five minutes and told those on board to address me as Capt Alex to minimize the confusion
I have Friday and Saturday open if you want to come on board and have some light tackle fun!
Also doing 2-hour kayak ecotours through LBIF around Cedar Bonnet Island on Thursdays.
The past few days were beautiful especially in the mornings! Fair winds and seas allowed anglers to get out and fish. Even the small boats reached out and got on the inshore bluewater hunt.
Al Stella was out Friday inshore-midshore trolling again (See August 7th Report), “No kingfish like last trip but I did score a real nice mahi that hit a green / yellow Zucker. Also had a few Bonita too. The water was 79 degrees and full of flying fish. Heard there was early bite on the Kings but I missed it.”
Here’s Al Stella with a nice mahi!
Chris O’Neill and friends pushed off in search of life and found it. “We fished about 15 miles off LBI. The water temperature was in the upper 70’s. Got two 50″ mahi, one bonita and four king mackerel. All on the troll. Anything green in the spread was good.”
Chris O’Neill and crew with a good haul!
Other customers in the shop restocking his fishing tackle shared bonita at the Ridge.
Max Lentz was out on the water and put a nice catch together on Friday… sea bass, fluke and a mahi!
We had a weigh in on Friday from Matt Sorrentino. He was out on the bay today working the waters of Great Bay. He caught a nice 19″ 4.04 pound triggerfish. He also reported loosing a good sheepshead.
LBI Late Summer Fishing Outlook
Summer’s in full swing and the local waters have A LOT to offer. It’s awesome to see all of these species here; banded rudderfish, black sea bass, blueclaw crabs, bluefish, bonita, cobia, fluke, kingfish, mahi, marlin (white and blue marlin caught offshore), sheepshead, spanish mackerel, striped bass, tog, tuna (yellowfin, bluefin and big eye), triggerfish, wahoo, weakfish and all sorts of sharks. Now’s the time to get out and enjoy the smorgasbord on tap.
The amount of bait in our waters is an amazing sight to see. The variety and abundance is promising. The bay is full of baby bunker, spearing, anchovies and snappers. In the ocean bunker is podded up and there’s clouds of bay anchovies and blankets of sandeels. The stage is set for a rocking fall run.
Fish Head Charters
The anglers aboard the Fish Head enjoyed fun fishing this week. With a variety of species there’s all sorts of fishing opportunities. From bucktailing fluke to fly fishing schoolie striped bass… light tackle bluefish to quick hitting sea bass… even night time toothy bayside brutes (brown sharks).
Resident striped bass continue to make their presence know with awesome light tackle game. Cocktail bluefish crash the party adding to the excitement. Fluke fishing is great on quantity but there’s no denying the quality isn’t where we would all like it to be. Some days putting together a catch of keepers is difficult especially with no drift.
Friday I had Mike Fitzgerald aboard today for a morning 5 hour power trip. We pushed off the dock at 5am, made bait (line baby bunker and snappers). Before the sun poked, Mike was into active fish casting lures. The top water feed put on a great “top of the morning” visual. After catching a bunch of cocktail blues from 1-4 pounds and bass, we switched gears. With four nice keepers yesterday, we set our sights on the same reef site. First drop produced a keeper sea bass. It was full of life with short fluke and sea bass with little to no garbage. [I managed to hook an unexpected catch… a bonita on a Gulp! tipped jig. With 76 degree pretty bluewater only five miles offshore you never know what’s around.] As time went on the drift slowed and even power drifting couldn’t outwit. With only a little time left in our session we decided to run back and give it a few drifts in the bay. We picked more a handful of fish in a couple short drifts but no quality. Everything considered it was a great day on the water with lots of fish caught and released.
Hot New Products
Jersey Fluke Belly
Jersey Fluke Belly is a 6″ soft plastic scented bait. It’s ribbed “ribbon” texture that looks and fishes like real fluke belly and it’s saltwater buffet scent attracts and makes fluke hold on. Unlike some soft baits, Jersey Fluke Bellies do not dry out. They stay soft forever in the jar or even on the hook when left out. Be sure to check them out to increase your fluke game!
Jersey Fluke Bellies are a hot new product. Check them out today.
NorthBar junior Bottle Darter
Please welcome the Northar Bottle Darter’s little brother. If you are looking for a small-medium sized lure that attracts big fish this is it!
The all new Northbar Junior Bottle Darter fills a huge need in anglers lure bags offering the same great casting, incredible action and durability, just in a smaller size and weight (1-5/8oz, 6″ long).
Here’s Larry at Northbar showing off his new Junior Bottle Darter.
Devastation Down In Florida
I’m sure most have seen the devastation photos on social media. If you haven’t… sorry to be the bearer of bad news. The destruction is not from any storm but from water pollution. The fish kill caused by it is horrific and not localized.
Florida anglers are accustomed to red tide events. But no one has seen a bloom of this magnitude. Decades of fish stocks have been slaughtered. From bait fish to large game fish as well as marine mammals a diversity of species affected is astonishing.
For information about the problem check out this video from The Everglades Trust and be sure to follow Captains For Clean Water.
We have been spending all of our time fishing in the ocean. Sunday we ran offshore about 60 miles to the southeast. We stumbled on a slick with chick birds hitting it. Great readings. Set up on the anchor and started chunking. Put out a few rods with bait and handed Matt Tebaldi a jigging rod with one of my favorite jigs. He and his wife Tess, from Manahawkin NJ were on their first ever offshore trip. After about 10 minutes of jigging, Matt said “I got something “. It was apparent to me that it wasn’t a tuna, but nonetheless, let’s see what you got. He reeled in a 16 inch Illex squid. Nasty looking creature. I stuck a hook in him and put him out at 50 feet under a balloon. Five minutes later the reel was screaming. After a long fight on medium light drag, as we only had him on 40 lb flouro leader, Matt and Tess tag teamed an 80 lb bluefin tuna. Put him in the box and got a call from Brian Ewan on the Dora Lee that the troll bite was going off only six miles from where we were. We ran over, put out the spread and trolled two nice 40 and 50 class yellowfins. Here’s a video clip of Matt on one of those trolled fish: https://youtu.be/5R7LLc_4Tyc
Returned the next day (Mon) and added a pair of yellowfin in the 20 to 30 lb class amongst a huge pod of whales and porpoise.
Fished the last two days trolling Barnegat Ridge and sharking. Both days we clobbered the sharks. Today (Thurs) I had Michael Fuhrman of Cherry Hill, Steve Karl of Loveladies, and Erin Foose of Altoona, PA on board. We had a bunch of sharks, mostly 3 to 4 foot Atlantic Sharpnose but Steve brought a 200 lb class Dusky Shark to the Boat and a little while later Erin bested a 120 pound Dusky just four miles off the beach. Here’s a video clip of Erin and her Dusky: https://youtu.be/hfRKiRQv52E The Ridge has been giving up bonita, spanish and king mackerel.
We are available for Open Boat or Charter this Sat, Sun, and Mon, August 11, 12, and 13. Inshore sharking and trolling for bonita and spanish mackeral at Barnegat Ridge. We can do both in the same trip. If they relax the thunderstorm predictions for any of these three days we can also make the 60 mile run to the tuna grounds. The Ridge/Shark combo trips are 6AM to 1PM, $175 person, 4 people max. The mid range tuna trips are 3AM to 5PM, $350 person, 4 people max. All fish are shared on all trips. Call me to book a spot on any of these trips. You can always try us right up until our departure time to see if we have a spot.
Pics: Matt Tebaldi with 50 lb Yellowfin Tuna and Tess Tebaldi with 80 lb Bluefin
Capt Dave DeGennaro
Hi Flier Sportfishing
732.330.5674 cell
Barnegat Bay Slams- [ stripers, blues, fluke] ! continue to be very obtainable with the most novice anglers not only scoring them but some of the more veteran anglers scoring multiple slams on the same outing!!
Summer Striped bass continue to be the main interest for our light tackle enthusiasts and their interest have been rewarded with some anglers scoring well into the double digits catches!!
Fluke fishing is non stop with too many fish too count ! When targeting these flatties it’s is actually hard to stay up with baiting and netting at the catch pace we have seen. This is mostly and catch and release due to the high volume of shorts but keepers are hitting the ice as well.
Bluefish have been more hit or miss strangely and are some times the harder part of the Barnegat Bay Slam [ striper, fluke, bluefish] but are running in sizes from 1-4lbs.
Seabass and tog are also readily available on the inshore wrecks, snags and rocks with more “drop and reel” action.
It’s not too early to start thinking about your Fall Striped bass fishing trip! Don’t delay ! Reserve today!!
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Here’s the Long Beach Island Fishing Report Update for Tuesday August 7, 2018.
The first half of summer is in the books and the second half is raging on. Today was the first sunrise in the six o’clock hour. Thursday will be the last sunset in the 8pm hour. With only 27 days to Labor Day now’s the time to get out on the water and enjoy fishing in the Long Beach Island area.
High pressure over the Wester Atlantic offers a good stretch of quiet weather. Get out and enjoy!
Inshore Fishing
LBI’s summertime inshore fishery is primarily made up of bottom fishing for fluke and sea bass. Rightfully so… they are both good eats! Right now the local reef sites are heating up and producing both species. The past weeks has offered good fishing for the anglers that are dialed in. With the August new moon on Friday we expect to see more fluke push out and onto the structure.
Here’s Ryan Weaver with a nice couple he caught aboard the Linda L with Willie Davis. Keeper sea bass and fluke are on the local wrecks and reef sites. Get out there!Here’s a health keeper fluke caught by Ryan Degraw aboard the Linda L
Store staffer Willie was out today fishing with some friends. He reported, “It started off slow with shorts and trash. Later in the morning we had a better drift and more consistent bite. Found a spot in 70′ of water holding nice fish. Most were caught on pink Gulp and large natural baits. The largest fluke was 26”.
Tog are also an option (as of August 1st, 1 fish at 15″). The only reports we’ve received were from the Barnegat Inlet Jetty. Blackfish are present but no positive word on keepers. Expect the size to be small with the summer residents, but as time goes on and the waters cool the larger ones will pop in. Traditionally we can get a good jetty tog bite in September and October.
Al Stella enjoyed fun fishing with his wife on Monday. They pushed off looking for bonita. About 10 miles off they found 76 degree bluewater and went on the troll with feather chains and Clark Spoons on planers. They caught some KING MACKEREL as well as bonita! Here’s Al with a pair of Kings!
You don’t see kingfish like these too often! Here’s Al Stella showing off two of many king mackerel he caught recently.
Surf Fishing
The surf fluke fishing continues with consistent fluke catches on the staple, bucktail jig tipped with Gulp. Anglers fishing live minnows have the advantage on slower days. One customer in the shop reported catching two shorts while another angler fishing close by had six in the same hour but on live bait.
Small blues and kingfish are also along the surf with occasional reports stretching the entire island. For those looking to fish the beaches right now, we suggest going early in the morning and/or late in the day to beat the heat and the beach going traffic. Targeting either Barnegat Light on the north end or Holgate on the south end might help but not much. Hunting down an open stretch of beach may be difficult but not impossible. When walking we suggest talking to the lifegaurd on duty. Introduce yourself and let them know your plans. It’s good when you’re on the same page. Hey you never know… they might tell you where they recently saw other anglers catch.
Offshore Big Game Fishing
The offshore and mid-shore big game fishing this season is very good. Recently the chunk bite turned on and took it to the next level! Anglers fishing the tuna grounds are getting bloody with solid reports from the canyons as well as the 40 fathom line areas about 50 miles off of our local area. Pick your poison… all methods (troll, chunk, jig) are catching.
Captain Jeff on the Reel Innovation shared this report, “Bigeye, white marlin, blue marlin, tilefish and yellowfin rounded out our trip! The word is out about the yellowfin chunk bite as well as the big eye bite. Over a hundred boats were stacked up Monday morning. We fished hard and got the bites we needed.” First mate Dan added, “Marlin, tuna and tile action during the day and then then yellowfin tuna on the chunk and jig at night!”
Howard got this round tuna on the jig.
Howard Clark was out on the mid-shore grounds recently. He reported lots of life and good fishing, “Whales breaching and blankets of sand eels… tossed a jig in and got hit right away.” It was a good one! Another angler Justin Swanson was fishing the same area reiterated the bite was on, “We got out there early and it was game on! Only three boats working the area and we were all into fish. By 9am more showed up and came in. I stayed on my original morning’s mark and had action the whole time.”
Here’s Justin with a nice tuna.
Our Penn Reels sales rep Jim O’ was out at the canyon recently and smoked ’em! “We got 15 yellowfin!”
Jim Perkins recent offshore trip was a success. He and crew hauled in three big eye tuna up to 130 punds!
Dan Rosetto reported a great day offshore with the boyz with both mahi and yellowfin in the box!
Fish Head Charters
I had Jake and Joe aboard for a Monday morning charter. We started off with a productive light tackle dawn patrol fishing small plugs (mostly Daiwa SP Minnows). Fish Heads introduced Jake to striped bass putting him on his first. After catching a few linesiders and some bluefish (up to 5lbs) we switched gears and headed off to a local reef. Our first drift produced a couple short fluke and two keeper sea bass. Our next drift a keeper fluke and another keeper sea bass. Then it slowed down. We fished a couple hours and headed in. Others in the area reported good things early too.
Here’s Joe Uhland with a 16″ sea bass.
Today (Tuesday) Fish Head regular Bob Bruns was on deck for an early morning fly fishing session. It turned out to be one of the best morning’s of the summer. Consistent action all day with both striped bass and bluefish hammering the fly. Clousers, deceivers and epoxy fly foil anchovies all made by yours truly! It was game on. Catching on double digit striped bass on the fly in August with not another boat around is a special day.
Bob Bruns showing off a beautiful bronzini with the Olive/White Half & Half (Clouser/Deceiver) that fooled this hungry striped bass while he was looking for breakfast.
