Spring is late this year. Although warm weather is still behind schedule, some striped bass and even a few bluefish are showing in the waters around Beach Haven. The captains of the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association have been putting the finishing touches on their boats and gear getting ready. The recent dredging of Little Egg Inlet will make the passage out the inlet much easier.
Captain Gary Dugan has already had the “Irish Jig” on a striper trip in Great Bay. Despite the cold temperatures, Captain Gary said it was still great to get out on the water. They managed to boat one bass while having a couple more show interest in their baits.
Captain Lindsay Fuller is excited about the maintenance done “June Bug” this winter. The boat received a complete new paint job at its winter storage in North Carolina and is looking spiffy. Captain Lindsay had maintenance himself with a knee replacement. He is noticing improvement with his rehab and anticipates being better than ever. He is looking forward to bringing the “June Bug” north in May for a good fishing season.
“Star Fish” Captain Carl Sheppard reports he is optimistic about the new fishing regulations. He notes that a longer fluke season should help the good local September fluke fishing. Captain Carl has had the “Star Fish” through the new dredged inlet and found at least 10-feet of water the whole way to where the bell buoy used to be. He plans to get in on some of the tautog fishing before the end of April.
Captain Brett Taylor of “Reel Reaction” Sportfishing is new to the BHCFA but has been a captain for quite some time. He is a noted seminar speaker and outdoors writer while also serving as advisor to the Barnegat High School Fishing Club. Captain Brett reports his boat has had some upgrades with new electronics and is ready to get in on some solid spring striped bass fishing.
Captain John Lewis spent time this winter basking in the Florida Keys while his boat, the “Insatiable,” had some cosmetic work done. Captain John is adding sunset cruises this year along with new six and eight-hour inshore shark trips. He notes he is pleased with the new fluke regulations.
Additional information on the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association can be found at www.BHCFA.net.
I have a couple of spots still available for Friday morning 7am – 11pm and Sunday morning 7am – 11am , We will be targeting stripers, weakfish and bluefish with light spinning tackle checking around a few locations to “test the waters” for new arrivals.
All bait, tackle, rods, weather and fun included $120pp. In all seriousness the weather inland maybe warm but wind direction can cool off our locale once the likely onshore sea breeze starts.
Here’s the fishing report update for the weekend of Sunday April 8, 2018.
The early season spots are commonly producing school size bass. More of these and better size linesiders are on the move with classy fish soon to be on their tails.
This past work week our first report came in of a backwater striped bass at a location other than an early season spot. The super calm night before the midweek gale, store staffer Kevin was home at his north end bay front home. He heard activity and gave it a look. The noise turns out to be fish popping, Striped Bass Slurping! Kevin reported, “First cast and I was tight on a Tsunami Split Tail Minnow that was engulfed by a bass.” He mentioned as per his log, this was his earliest experience with bait and bass at his dock. “Years past it was always a week or so later.”
Anyone fish these baits? The Tsunami Split Tail Minnow is one of my favorite softbait when matching the hatch in early spring and early fall. These minnow style split tails resemble a bay anchovy and spearing among many other small forage.
Similar to Fin-s from Lunker City but different, they are pre rigged and weighted. Offering a unique darting action, these lures are deadly on a slow, intermittent and quick retrieve. I’ve done very good using these softbaits for a variety of species from striped bass to weakfish and especially false albacore. If you don’t have a pack you should really think about trying them.
Back to report… You gotta love hearing the promising news and what’s even better is the following days more bass were caught at the bayside haunts. Long story short, the Island’s west side has fish.
Jeff and Dan enjoying a Saturday night on the bay catching striped bass.
Dan, Jacob and Jeff had a fun Saturday night catching bass. They worked some docks and light lines with lures and got into ’em. They reported the go to lures were small Sebile Stick Shadds and Daiwa SP Minnow Lures.
It’s great seeing the schoolies roam the bay and stretch out a bit. Soon more and bigger fish will move in. Any day now black drum, weakfish and more yellow eye gators!!!
Ryan from Surf City stopped in the shop on Satursday to get new line on his Penn Conflict spinning reel. While in he shared his recent outing was a bust. He fished Tuckerton with a local charter boat. Only managed a skate. Today (Sunday) he headed up to the Raritan bay to try his luck there. No word back from Ryan but we did get a report from another anglers. “I’m on a seven day streak! After a snowy winter, the bass can’t resist bloodworms. The fish are slowly getting bigger and recently started eating lures.”
Prime time perch fishing is quickly approaching. Few reports but the ones we have got were good. Thursday evening Chris Smith reported jumbo perch. He tried but no bass.
Nick DeGennaro with a beautiful snook he caught light tackle fishing skinny water near Tampa.
Here’s a photo from store staffer Nick D. from Barnegat who’s loving life going to college near Tampa Florida. “Lots of fish eager to eat! We are having a blast catching both snook and red fish on light tackle. The Sheild Reel is awesome!” Nick is loving his Tsunami Shield Spinning Reel putting it to work this winter. Let’s hope he is keeping up with class because from all the good fishing photos we’ve seen he must be a time management wizard!
Little Egg Inlet Dredge Project Complete
Little Egg Inlet is one of New Jersey’s widest and most dynamic inlets with shifting shoals. Used by vessels to access Barnegat Bay, Great Bay and the Intracoastal Waterway the Inlet is very important. Due to extreme shoaling in March 2017, the channel marker buoys were pulled by the Coast Guard. This left mariners to navigate at their own risk in unsafe conditions.
After long debate and all sorts of hurdles, the vital Inlet dredge project and the southern LBI beach repair project were coordinated to kill two birds with one stone ($18.4 million). Move the sand from the inlet and place it a few short miles north (where it came from) on the beaches of southern Beach Haven and Holgate. They actually killed three (No Pun Intended! No Birds In Holgate Were Harmed) because of March’s historic run of swell. The Western Atlantic was alive and sent strong ground swell to the beaches of LBI for weeks. The Holgate section of the beach replenishment was an engineering master piece offering surfers a perfectly tapered sand bar point break.
Here’s a photo from one fine afternoon at Holgate in early March. The dredge equipment is staged to leave with a perfect left hander pealing off in the distance.
Soon if not already, the U.S. Coast Guard will mark the Inlet channel and business will be back to usual. That is until the sand moves down again from the Island’s souther beaches. Most of which has already eroded, so only time will tell.
This week Mother nature continued on her manic wintry demeanor with continued colder than normal temps and threats of wintry precipitation in the forecast grinding any thought of “season progression” to a “slow as molasses in winter time” pace. Tied to the dock for most of the week is where we found ourselves due to hard North West winds that emptied our bays enough to find the Reel Fantasea soft aground in her slip while testing the tensile strength of her dock lines.
Despite her best effort though the season did continue to progress and with the extended forecast looking more favorable/seasonal/reasonable the optimistic angler in me can’t help to be excited about this weeks warming trend results!
It has been my long time observation and belief that the solar altitude [ longer day – spring or shorter day- fall] is the migration’s more profound influence rather than water temperature alone . Why ? because year after year certain species of fish continue to be on a “time schedule” that conforms to calendar date rather than water temps.
With that being said I’m thinking/hoping that bluefish and weakfish will start showing/cooperating in better numbers as this weeks weather trends it’s inevitable warming momentum. As cold as the temps were today [NW wind blown 42 degrees] you could feel the immediate warming of the sun’s steeper influences when the wind laid down. Water temps also responded upwardly in just a matter of hours regardless of air temps via the suns steeper penetration [ not unlike car window heating]
I will have “Happy Hour” specials available 5pm-8pm during the weekdays and I also have Friday and Sunday mornings 7am – 11am available for open or private charter.
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Open Season from May 25th to Sept 22, 2018: 18″ Minimum Size with a 3 fish bag limit. Special Exceptions: Delaware Bay (and Tributaries) 3 fish at 17″, Island Beach State Park 2 fish at 16″.
Black Sea Bass
May 15th to June 22nd: 10 fish at 12.5”
July 1st to August 31st: 2 fish at 12.5”
October 8th to October 31st: 10 fish at 12.5”
November 1st to December 31st: 15 fish at 13”
“At the New Jersey Marine Fisheries Council meeting on April 5th, the (recreational) 2018 NJ Fluke Fishing Regulations as well as Black Sea Bass were set. However, problems might exist with the sea bass regulations as states to our north have filed an appeal with the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission. They threaten to go out of compliance. The process is pretty complicated but they are going after a portion of New Jersey’s quota. Depending on the outcome of the appeal our sea bass regulations may change. [Update: They did not change!] I will keep you posted as things develop further.” ~ Paul Haertel, Jersey Coast Anglers Association
A top priority for the JCAA was to close the gap between the fluke season close and the open of sea bass. This period of time (September) is a great time to enjoy fishing in the state of New Jersey. But government regulations in years past left inshore anglers with weeks of little to nothing. The 2017 NJ Fluke Season closed on September 5th and cut most all of the prime time inshore reef fishing. The early September close also kept surf anglers from working the suds. September is always a great month full of opportunities for fluke fishing and fortunately in 2018 NJ saltwater anglers will be able to enjoy.
Stepping back and taking a look, it’s great to see the same size and bag as last year. While three fish at 18″ isn’t a perfect world, it is a regulation that most can live with. What’s important to everyone is the additional days. The majority are very happy except some from the southern portion of the state who expressed disappointment. South Jersey fluke anglers really want an earlier start and you can’t blame them! The early season offers great backwaters fishing and anglers want to get in on the action.
Here’s J. Bailey with a pair of quality fluke he caught fishing the backwaters of Barnegat Bay in 2017.
Long Beach Island is unique and sort of caught in a pickle. Being centrally located we call ourselves South Jersey but technically we are South Central Jersey. LBI shares features of both its North Jersey and South Jersey coast neighbors yet still holds unique prowess. With both vast backwaters, two inlets, great surf fishing beaches and a strong network of inshore reefs, LBI’s surrounding waters offer some of New Jersey’s best fluke fishing early, mid and late season. The area is well known year in and year out for trophy doormats.
Dave Auger with a pool winner fluke he caught aboard the Carolyn Ann III fishing out of Barnegat Light in 2017.
We are looking forward to the 2018 Fluke Fishing Season and hope you are too. Now’s the time to prep. The last couple of years bucktailing for fluke has exploded. For many many years sharpies were dialed in and out catching the fleets. However, in recent years more anglers learned and adapted the tap dancing technique. I would be willing to guess three quarters or more of fluke anglers bucktail.
Fluke love Spro Bucktail Jigs especially when tipped off with Gulp and fished activly.
Those looking to learn about bucktailing fluke (very different from targeting striped bass on bucktail lures) should stop by the shop and ask a Fish Head team member. We are here to help and share information.
The past few years our best selling (and out producing the imitators / competition) bucktail was the Spro Prime Bucktail Jig that we stock in a great assortment of fishy colors and in more sizes than possibly any tackle retailer in the country. We have Spro Bucktials from as large as 8oz for anglers working deep water or those fishing rough or heavy drift conditions to as light as Spro’s Baby and Mini Bucktail which go as light as 1/8 and 1/16oz. These little bucktail jigs have accounted for many double digit fish when rigged as a teaser.
For all of those DIY rig tyers, we have a large selection top quality hooks from Gamakatsu, Owner and Mustad as well as all of the hard to find components that are sure to set your rigs off from the rest.
Below are the options for fluke and sea bass that the New Jersey Marine Fisheries Council will consider at their next meeting on 04/05/2018 at 5 PM at the Bay Ave Community Center located at 775 East Bay Ave, Manahawkin, NJ 08050. The public will have an opportunity to give their opinions before the council votes on which options to adopt.
A top priority for Jersey Coast Anglers Association (JCAA) is to close the gap between when fluke season ends and sea bass season begins. We certainly don’t want to go seven weeks with little to fish for inshore as we had to do last year after fluke season ended on 09/05/2017. I will post the final regulations on the JCAA Facebook page on Thursday evening. Please “like” our page to keep abreast of the regulations and other important fisheries news.
Here’s a group of happy youth anglers who fished aboard the Carolyn Ann III this past summer (2017). Fluke and sea bass are great summer time fishing species that offer fun for the whole family.
Fluke Options:
1.) 5/25 – 9/22 3 fish 18”
2.) 5/22 – 9/20 3 fish 18”
3.) 5/15 – 9/16 3 fish 18”
(The special regulations of 3 fish at 17” for Delaware Bay and 2 fish at 16” for Island Beach are expected to remain the same)
Striped bass continue to provide fun and busy light tackle action while utilizing both artificial and natural baits with tidal stages seemingly dictating which to employ.
The resident bass population is seeing larger specimens join in the activity or migrating larger fish are starting to show with some bass approaching the 28″keeper size. Our first keeper bass of the 2018 fishing season could be caught on the next outing!
Presently our striped bass catch and release landings are just shy of 100 stripers in half dozen trips for this young season. With these numbers I’m excited to look forward into our Spring and early Summer bass fishery as it develops.
Anglers have also been entertained observing diving and feeding ospreys and eagles dining on bunker, winter flounder and even our beloved striped bass [ booo!] .
On another note check out April’s edition of “The Fisherman” magazine for tips, techniques and all things fishing with a familiar face on the cover. As a long time reader of the magazine it’s a real honor to have made the front cover!
I have this Thursday 10am – 2pm, Friday 8am – 12pm, 1pm -5pm, Sunday 8am -12pm
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It’s that time again. What time do you ask? Time to go fishing. With the Debbie M still under wraps I jettisoned out in stealth mode aboard the MOS (my kayak). With some worms and plastics, I was well prepared for my pre-Easter big breakfast assault on the local schoolies. For the most part, it was slow but I did manage a few feisty bass to about 22”. All on sandworms. One thing that always blows me away when catching fish from a yak is how strong fish really are. One schoolie bass I was fighting actually was strong enough to pull my grapple style anchor out of the mud and set me adrift. No joke.
On the nature side of things: While kayaking I witnessed two environmental success stories in one fell swoop, literally. I watched an adult Bald Eagle swoop down to the water’s edge and pick out an adult bunker to bring to the breakfast table. The first story is the eagle which was brought back from the edge of extinction in the lower 48 states. I’ll make the story quick. Industrial revolution spawns DDT. DDT gets into our environment and is nothing but bad news to every living thing. In 1962, Racheal Carson publishes Silent Spring telling of the dangers of DDT which starts the environmental movement. Now 1970, the Feds create the Environmental Protection Agency and NJ has one known nesting pair of eagles. In 1972 the US bans the use of DDT. Ten years later NJ still has only one pair of eagles nesting, and the egg shells are still thin and have to be removed so the parents do not break them. The DDT ban, combined with restoration and management efforts by NJ’s Endangered and Nongame Species Program, brings the number of nesting pairs to 23 in 2000. Flash forward to the end of 2017 and there are 178 nests being monitored by the State.
Now onto the bunker, the most important fish in the sea. Have you read Franklin’s book The Most Important Fish in the Sea? If you care one iota about how the ocean’s ecosystems are balanced off our coast you must read this book. We completely decimated the bunker stocks decades ago. Native Americans showed us how to use bunker as fertilizer. Then during the industrial revolution, bunker oil was used for grease, replacing whales as the source for of industrial lubricant. Now bunker is used for bait, fish oil, fish meal, omega 3 fatty acids. Now get this, one company, one company, did I say one company?, Omega Protein (BTW: it was purchased last year by Cooke company.) gets 90% of the annual allowable harvest of the bunker in the US. Now for even more news, Omega Protein, employees only around 1,100 employees. So do the math, Omega with a little over 1,000 employees gets 90% of the most important fish in the sea. So for 1,000 US jobs, we disrupt marine ecosystems from Maine to Texas that could be giving tens of thousands of jobs to the to the US. Another example of how the rich get richer……Now on to the somewhat success story, in my close to 40 years on Barnegat Bay I have seen the bay go from no bunker anywhere through the eighties and nineties, to some fall peanut bunker, to now adult bunker in late winter / early spring and peanuts showing up earlier and in greater numbers than ever. Mother nature is resilient and will bounce back, she just needs some time and a little help from you.
Screaming drags,
Capt. Alex 609-548-2511
Lighthouse Sportfishing
https://www.youtube.com/user/LHSportfishing
The early season action has been good. About one month into the “season” it’s safe to say it’s going good. Early season bass, winter flounder, perch and a couple bluefish. Soon we’ll see real fish migrating move into our waters.
Reports from the river rats are good! Bass are chewing live bloods. Further up shad fishing is in full swing.
Anyone looking to get their rods and reels serviced for the spring run should bring them in ASAP. We were caught up; however, recently lots of tackle in need of service has flooded in. First in first out so if you want your gear repaired in time for the first showing of real deal fishing now is the time!!!
Today’s open boat witnessed the season continued progression with slightly larger striped bass , bald eagles, ospreys, and even the first laughing gulls!! Presently our bay is also full of adult bunker that will soon be welcoming our newly arriving game fish into our home waters. The abundant bait that we have on hand could possibly be a real game changer for our Spring run!!
Although we are only 2 days earlier than last year with the arriving laughing gulls it’s still the earliest that I have ever seen them. Over the years I have always looked forward to their arrival as they usually will herald the migration of soon to be arriving stripers and blues within 10-14 days, they have yet to fail me in their prognostication .
Today 3/30 was an on boat with regulars who were joined by The Fishermen Magazine’s Jim Hutchinson Jr. hoping to tag some bass for research purposes . Not only did we succeed in our goal in tagging striped bass but we used up all the tags that were brought aboard! Regular Jay Simmons once again earned Bass Master honors scoring 15 striped bass before trips end. Hutch not to be out done scored the biggest bass of the day at the buzzer.
