fbpx

2018 NJ Fluke Fishing Regulations – Summer Flounder

2018 NJ Fluke Fishing Regulations Are Set

Updated Version

Fluke – Summer Flounder

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.

Best Of Luck Fishing The 2018 NJ Fluke Season!

Fisheries News – 2018 Fluke & Sea Bass Options

2018 FLUKE AND SEA BASS OPTIONS

by Paul Haertel JCAA Board Member/Past President

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)

Sea Bass Options:

 

   Option 1:
May 23 – June 30, 10 fish, 12.5 inches
July 1 – August 31, 2 fish, 12.5 inches
October 8 – October 31, 10 fish, 12.5 inches

November 1 – December 31, 15 fish, 13 inches

   Option 2:
May 15 – June 22, 10 fish, 12.5 inches
July 1 – August 31, 2 fish, 12.5 inches
October 8 – October 31, 10 fish, 12.5 inches

November 1 – December 31, 15 fish, 13 inches

   Option 3:
June 9 – June 30, 10 fish, 12.5 inches
July 1 – August 31, 2 fish, 12.5 inches
October 1 – October 31, 15 fish, 12.5 inches
November 1 – December 31, 15 fish, 12.5 inches

Summertime Striped Bass On LBI

Summertime Striped Bass On LBI

Summertime striped bass on LBI show their stripes and hint that fall fishing is right around the corning. These resident bass are around all year but we have a recent uptick in linesider actively with the full moon.  Here’s some reports from the surf, inlet and the bay…

Frequent FishingLBI blog readers Will Kocher and his father of Camp Hill geared up at the shop this weekend. They got a pair of new Tsunami Airwave Elite surf fishing rods and put them to work quickly. They stopped in Sunday night and shared their success. “We headed up to the beach in front of our mid-island rental house and had some fun. Caught fish on both bait and lures.” They caught three short fluke caught, a shark and a skate. Will also got a summertime striped bass at sunset swimming a plug by the jetty.

A report came in from a kayak angler who shared while picking up Tactical Angler Clips and Seaguar Flourocarbon leader line. He said, “Launched off the Dike in High Bar Harbor Dike then worked the sod banks and some skinny water. Found fish chasing bait. Caught a pair of bass among a number of small blues fishing poppers and metal jig.” Other reports of bass in the bay came from anglers fishing the docks at night. These summertime striped bass are feasting on spearing and baby bunker.

Here’s Aimee Wool with a nice Barnegat Inlet resident striped bass. She caught some stripers this past weekend aboard the Reel Fantasea with Captain Steve Purul. With all of the fluke and bluefish around now is the time to get your Barnegat Bay Slam!!! There’s weakfish in our waters too, so a grand slam isn’t out of the question! Test your home run swing and take on the challenge.

Aimee Wool caught summertime striped bass on LBI this past weekend fishing with Captain Steve of Reel Fantasea.
Captain Steve on the Reel Fantasea had Aimee Wool catching summertime striped bass on LBI this past weekend.

 

Sharking continues off the Long Beach Island surf. Both brown sharks and sand tigers are caught and released. Soak a large piece of meat (mackerel, bunker, bluefish, skate, etc) and get ready to hold on!

Fluke Fishing

Here’s an article from Jim Hutchinson, Jr. at The Fisherman on the results of the 23 Annual JCAA Fluke Tournament… “For the second year in a row the top fish across the board in the statewide tournament was weighed in at Liberty Landing in Jersey City, with one of the very youngest competitors in JCAA history nabbing top honors in 2017 as 10-year old Dylan Cole of Andover, NJ brought a monster 9.69-pound fluke to the scales. All awards will be presented on Thursday, August 10 at the Clarion Hotel on Route 37 East in Toms River.

Jack McLaughlin, Tommy “The Hook”, Jumbo  and Joe fished Barnegat Light’s 14th Annual Mercy Home Foundation fluke tournament this past weekend with Captain Greg Carr of LBI Charters. The crew reported a slow bite but the boyz bounced away! They boxed five keepers with Jack getting the largest at 5.56 pounds. It was good enough to take first place in the great charity event. Nice work, Jack congrats!

Jack McLaughlin took first place in Barnegat Light's 14th Annual Mercy Home Foundation fluke tournament.
Jack McLaughlin took first place in Barnegat Light’s 14th Annual Mercy Home Foundation fluke tournament.

 

This past weekend, store staffer Willie weighed in a couple of fish his buddies brought by. Taylor and Nick fished the Garden State South and put together a good catch. Here’s a photo of the largest fluke and a keeper seabass. The classic minnow and squid combo was hot!

 

Taylor and Nick caught fluke and sea bass on the GSS reef.
Taylor and Nick put together a good catch fishing a local reef.

Fluke Fishing Central Jersey Reefs

Here’s a short update on the local fishing, more specifically an update on the fluke fishing in the ocean. But first…

Public Service Announcement from Captain Brian Williams – Through education we can prevent ghost fishing and stop trashing the reefs! When snagged up, don’t cut above the water line. Break off! A straight pull will eliminate blowing up your rod. If using spinning tackle make sure the spool is down in its lowest oscillation position. This way the spool shaft doesn’t bend from excessive pressure. It’s best to have a dowel onboard for breaking off purposes. A couple quick wraps and it’s an easy pull to break off the proper way. Most of the time you’ll straighten the hook or break knot on the mono leader. This allows to gather and remove the length of braided line from the water.

Through education we can prevent ghost fishing and stop trashing the reefs! When snagged up, don't cut above the water line. Break off!

 

Store staffer Kelley Lutz fluke fishing with his lucky Hawaiian shorts.
Store staffer Kelley Lutz with his lucky Hawaiian shorts and a 23″ fluke.

Before work on Sunday Blake, Kelley and I put a couple hours in on the water. Since it was a quick trip we chose to focus on the BL reef. The site has been active with great fluke fishing the past week. We arrived, had a great drift and were instantly into bites. On our first drift Kelley got a thick 23″ fluke. For the next hour or so all of us were carefully releasing undersize fish and fighting to get through the piles of sea robins, sea bass and skates. Absolutely mowing through Gulp and natural baits! A number of the undersized were good healthy thick ones with fat bellies. About 5 five were right at the 18″ mark but went back to grow up. It would have been nice to have a full day trip on the grounds but it just wasn’t in the cards because we had to be back at the shop. Finished the day with only one true keeper fluke as well as one 15.5″ black sea bass.

Black sea bass are on the reefs but few are keepers. Here's one 15.5" sea bass that went for a live minnow.

Sonny Shepanski was on the water too. He started off in the same area and picked away. He said, “There’s tons of sea robins and skates but we managed to get five keepers in the low 20″ range. We had a strong showing of shorts. The Gulp nuclear chicken grub was the top killer. Also the classic meat strip and squid/minnow sandwich did well.”

The past week, the Carolyn Ann III has been on the meat! Were you there? You should have been! All joking aside that’s a serious spread of fluke! August is a great month for fluke fishing. Jump aboard and enjoy your day on the water.

Awesome catch fluke fishing from the boyz aboard the Carolyn Ann III.
Awesome catch from the boyz aboard the Carolyn Ann III

 

Chris Siegert sent in this photo… “Great day on the water fluke fishing with Manic Sportfishing! 20+ fish this size… Thanks for setting us up Fish Heads!”

 

Chris Siegert with one of many quality keeper fluke. He had a solid day fluke fishing the ocean.
Chris Siegert with one of many quality keeper fluke.

 

Grey Colsten reports, “Tons of small blues in the surf. They took over the suds so targeting kings is difficult. I’m only catching one or two kingfish each trip. The snapper blues are so aggressive, I can’t keep a bait set. There’s some big blues around too! Chunking bunker in search of a ray or shark… ended up getting a gator! There’s some guys fluke fishing the surf but the area I’m fishing doesn’t have a ton. Head up to the north end if you want to fluke fish the surf.”

Fluke Fishing LBI Is On Fire!

The storm last weekend produced days of north east winds. At the time only surfers jonsin’ for swell rejoiced. Right now anglers can look back and see those weather days were worth it! The onshore winds created a downwelling event. The sun warmed surface waters pushed into the shore and down into deeper areas of the ocean. This ignited the inshore fluke fishing in the local Long Beach Island area and the surrounding waters.

 

Fish are actively feeding on the local reefs and open bottom areas. Were these fish present for the past month, sluggish due to cold bottom temperatures and just not biting? Very well possible!

Two things came together; time and temperature! Time – August is when most of the summer flounder local biomass move out of the bays. On their way out fluke move into the inshore areas that offer structure or forage. Sometimes this is on the reefs and wrecks or open sandy bottoms where bait like sandeels and crabs are easy pickings. Temperature – August is the year’s warmest combined air and water temperatures. Fluke in warm waters actively feed with a quick metabolism. Best of all they are aggressive.

 

This receipt is something all anglers love and can really use more of! Looking at the forecast it might stick around… North winds Tuesday, then east Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. A lot can change so now is go time! Get out and catch fluke!!!

 

Yesterday went down as the Fishiest Fluke Friday of the 2017 season. All day the shop was filled with anglers raving on the solid fishing. Literally selling boxes of fluke rigs, hooks, bucktails, teasers, Gulp and bait! ***Make sure you stop in and get a free Flounder Sample Pack of hooks! Thanks to Eagle Claw and the NJ Fish & Wildlife for the public awareness campaign “If you can’t keep it save it!” We all need to do our part to help protect undersized fluke.fishinglbi.com/2017/07/27/come-get-free-hooks-supplies-last/

 

Now today backs up yesterday with another solid set of reports. Here’s the low down from various anglers who shared.

 

Heres Jacob Bowles with a nice fluke!        

Jacob Bowles was on the water on Friday. He reported it wasn’t the best day out there for us but managed to get a 23” five pounder! We got out a little late in the morning and fished three hours. We worked over hard structure and managed to catch ‘em. Got the largest on a Magic Tail rigged with a big grub.”

 

Kevin Hughes was also on the water fluke fishing Friday. He reported solid fishing “We hit a two man limit in just over three hours of fishing. They want snappers!” Look at this fluke!

 

Chris O’neil got two 20” fluke yesterday with the old school high low with live minnow. He reported fishing Little Egg Inlet.

 

Many other report flowed in from the reefs and Inlet.

 

Today was the 23rd Annual Jersey Coast Anglers Association Fluke Tournament. Since the early days, Fisherman’s Headquarters has been a proud sponsor of the event and honored to be the Port Long Beach Island Weigh Station. Founded in 1981, the JCAA is one of the country’s best groups fighting for the recreational saltwater anglers of New Jersey. The JCAA offers anglers a strong voice on the state and federal level. The hard working group is responsible for many major accomplishments in fisheries management issues. One of the most important wins was achieving game fish status for striped bass in New Jersey. This fight continues today at the federal level. The JCAA also helped control commercial overfishing of menhaden, a vital forage in coastal waters. More recently and crucial to this summer’s fishery, the JCAA pressured the Mid-Atlantic Council and NOAA to reevaluation the way summer flounder are managed. The group defended NJ’s regulations and is one of the main reasons we have the season and limit this year. We encourage all anglers to learn more about the JCAA and fisheries new by checking out their website atwww.JCAA.org

 

Weigh-In log for the…

2017 JCAA Fluke Tournament Port LBI

*** UNOFFICIAL ***

 

PORT LOG – 2017 JCAA FLUKE TOURNAMENT – 08/05/2017
Port: Long Beach Island – Weigh Station: Fisherman’s Headquarters
PlaceEntry NumberRegistered Angler’s NameCaught By Angler’s NameCaught By Angler’s Hometown, StateWeight (lbs)Length (in)Weigh-In Time
1244Werner, DavidWerner, DavidManahawkin, NJ6.72024.875″4:32:00 PM
2x?xHowell, MartinFrazer, RobTuckerton, NJ5.88023.75″4:40:00 PM
3134Wolfberg, JackWolfberg, JackFort Washington, NJ5.79023.25″4:32:00 PM
494Hooven, ChristopherHooven, ChristopherMedford, NJ5.39024.25″3:14:00 PM
566Rust, EdwardRust, EdwardCherry Hill, NJ5.05022.25″2:50:00 PM
6106Cliver, KevinCliver, KevinSellersville, PA5.00023″4:15:00 PM
7124Schell, Dr.PaulMakitra, GeneBarnegat, NJ4.96022.75″4:25:00 PM
8104DePalma, VitoMcKinnon, GordonLewis, DE4.84022.25″4:25:00 PM
9217Paolella, DeanPaolella, DeanSpringfield, NJ4.79023″2:00:00 PM
1095Phillips, RichardPhillips, StevenPemberton, NJ4.34023.125″4:30:00 PM
11253Vitale, BruceVitale, BruceToms River, NJ3.83021.25″4:35:00 PM
1224Partyka, BrucePartyka, BruceManahawkin, NJ2.90020″2:55:00 PM

 

Dave and Friend with the winning fish.
Dave Werner weighed in the largest fluke today. Heres Dave and friend with the winning fish.

Dave Werner of Manahawkin fished the BL Inlet with live bait and caught 7 keepers today. His largest weighed in at 6.72 pounds and was big enough to win the JCAA Port Long Beach Island.

 

Martin Howell and Rob Frazer of Tuckerton were out on the Garden State South Reef today. They caught five keeper fluke on the bucktail and Gulp combo. Their largest weighing in at 5.88 pounds. The crew mentioned they were fishing right beside George Poveromo aboard the Marc VI. It’s nice to see George fishing our local water. Hopefully they were filming! It would be great to see another episode of George fishing the waters of LBI.

 

Christopher Hooven did very good on the BL Reef.

Christopher Hooven of Medford reported the BL Reef produced lots of shorts as well as four keeper fluke (largest 5.39 pounds) and one keeper sea bass. He said live snappers were the hot bait.

“Captain Flattie” Ed Rust got some really nice fish, 7 keepers!

“Captain Flattie” Ed Rust of Cherry Hill and Bill Rust fished the BL Reef and did good. Bucktail rigged with Gulp did the trick for the guys, catching about 50 fish with 7 keepers.

Dean Paolella caught six fish drifting Spro bucktails.

Dean Paolella of Springfield, NJ got six fish drifting Spro bucktails off of Seaside’s open sand bottom. His largest was 4.79 pounds.

 

Most of the weigh ins were caught in the ocean, but a couple good report came in from the bay. Kevin Cliver of Sellersville, PA got six keepers on live minnow fishing the bay. Bruce Partyka of Manahawkin caught 28 fluke with three keepers up to 2.9 pounds. Bruce said he focused on the north end of LBI’s bayside waters. He fished Double Creek and the Inlet with natural and artificial baits.

 

Here’s some reports from offshore anglers fishing bluewater.

Captain Jeff Warford reported an awesome trip to the edge. “On our latest canyon trip (8/3/17) we saw some of the best action in years. It was EPIC!!! It’s the only way to describe the trip. 20+ tunas in the 55-75 pound class, 36 mahi and 33 tilefish up to 21 pounds. The troll was just on fire. They were smoking spreaderbars. While hooked up the cleared lines dangling lures from the riggers were hanging yellowfin that were leaping air born. They were hanging themselves.

 

Another solid report came from Steve Fernandez aboard the Five Seas. “A bunch of yellowfin to 70 pounds some huge tile fish two makos and some mahi and a lone monkfish! It was an action packed trip.”

Heres Steve Fernandez with a big golden tilefish.

Store staffer Dan D split out of town to head up the Mass to get into the solid tuna bite. He went up and had a great time. He hooked an 88” slob and said, “These feeds are sites you can not even dream about!”

 

August Is A Great Time To Be Fishing LBI

August starts off with a bang! Good weather conditions have allowed anglers to get out and fish the waters of Long Beach Island. Positive reports are flowing from inshore, offshore and from shore anglers. Here is the update on the August fishing LBI has to offer.

LBI Fluke Fishing Report:

If looking for large fluke, this is the month! In late summer fluke stack up in the Inlets, beach fronts and near shore structures. Bottom fishing the open bottom sandy areas as well as the local reefs and wrecks are producing. Quality fishing right now from the Barnegat Inlet, the local reef sites and the waters from the Bather’s Beach to the Pier.

Doormat fluke!
Here’s a Long Beach Island doormat caught by Michael Petruzziello with Captain Alex of Lighthouse Sportfishing!

Captain Alex aboard Lighthouse Sportfishing put his client Michael Petruzziello on this 30” 10 pound 2 ounce doormat. It went for a live snappers in the Inlet. Captain Alex reported, “This is the second true doormat I have put clients on in the last three years. The last fish was a monster weighing in at 11.5 pounds which fell for a live peanut bunker.” Large fluke want big live baits!!!”

Here’s an update from two of Long Beach Island’s local party boats fishing out of Barnegat Light. After reading the recent update from both boats we all will agree now is the time to get out and go fluke fishing.

Here’s the Miss Barnegat Light’s fishing report from Captain Lou… “After the weekend’s northeast blow, the fluke fishing aboard the Miss Barnegat Light rebounded quickly. Even on Sunday, while the ocean was still settling, we had a fair amount of keepers. The last couple of days we have had great action. Some anglers are limiting. There’s a good mix of keepers to throwbacks. Seems like things are progressing nicely as we enter August. The squid and spearing combos as well as bucktails with Gulp of various colors have done the trick. So far this week, the pool winners are ranging 3 to 6 pounds.

Four large fluke caught aboard the CA3
Now those are some nice fluke. August is a great time to jump aboard a party boat and drift up some dinner.

The Carolyn Ann III reports, “The bite is on! The fishing is and has been good on recent trips. Some beautiful fish and limits to be had. Get out now while the catching is good!” Here’s a photo of a recent angler on the CA3 with two nice fish!

fluke always fall for a bucktail with Gulp!
Zach M with one of many nice fluke he caught jigging Gulp!

Zach Michot reported a solid day fishing with Capt Paul Haertel and Bill Browne, “Good day on the fluke grounds. The Magictail bucktail jigs with Gulp was the bomb! We finished the day with our three man limit of fluke and sea bass. Released a handful of keepers to catch another day!
Adrift Sportfishing reported an epic trip, “Seven fluke over six pounds largest was 8.8 pounds!”

 

The land based duo of David and Alex Ho are dialed in and on the fluke. As reported on the July 30th report, amongst other keepers David got a 28” 9.24 pounder and Alex a 23.25” 5.2 pounder. These are some serious fluke for land based anglers and a great feat for landing on the rocks. Congrats gentlemen!

 

Fish Finder Frank Foley stopped in recently and shared a report, “We enjoyed the day on the water fishing. The bluefish were snapping in the Inlet. Full on feasting on mini snappers. They were crushing poppers on top. It was crazy watching the voracious cannibals. In the area we did good with tog and fluke too.”

 

Speaking of bluefish… Grey Colston just got this gator bluefish off the surf! Good size blues are still cruising both the surf as well as the Inlet. Fluke and kingfish are also in the suds. This morning Rob Vallone tried for kingfish but got run over by snappers.

 

As per our last report resident striped bass are around. The small linesiders are hanging around the lagoons and bayside docks chasing bait. It’s plentiful with both peanut bunker, spearing, mullet and mini snapper blues. Anglers are having fun at night fishing small lures Try a small lead head rigged with a grub or split tail plastic. ¼ oz bucktails and 3” swim shads are also great choices.

LBI Shark Fishing Report:

The local warm summer waters are full of sharks! They are literally everywhere from the inshore waters and surf zone as well as the bay. We suggest not swimming in murky water especially if you have an open wound. It’s said that swimming with jewelry isn’t the best idea either.

 

While these brown sharks (sand bar shark), sand tigers and black tips are plentiful they are not out hunting humans. They’re just cruising and enjoying the waters of LBI like everyone else. If interested in catch and release fishing the largest game possible from shore or near shore this is the ultimate fun!

 

Monday night I had father and son team from Montreal out for a bay sharking trip. The session was slow due to wind against tide. We unfortunately missed two bites but adjusted and worked through the difficult conditions. We finally got a bite that took the hook and it put up a nice fight. The 14 year old Canadian enjoyed his time battling the bruiser like a champion right to the end with a successful release.

large brown sharks love eels
Here’s a monster brown shark that had a serious set of shoulders and was pushing 7′ in length.

Tuesday night’s bay shark fishing trip was different. The conditions were prime and it panned out to be a flawless summer night! Not only did we get a number of bites (released four nice size toothy ones)… we caught our largest brown shark to date. We met Momma Bear the bay monster! She put up an epic fight. The trip will go down as one of our best.

Anyone looking to get out and go shark fishing should go asap! Stop in the shop and we can assist gearing up. You can hit the beach or boat and soak some baits! If looking to get in on a Four Hour Night Bay Shark Fishing Charter with Fish Head Guide Service reach out now by calling or texting Captain Greg at 609-713-9299

 

Midshore & Offshore Fishing:

The relatively calm ocean waters has anglers heading off and most return with meat. Bluewater fishing is solid with a variety of opportunities. Most reports are from anglers pulling fish on the troll however good action has come on the chunk and jig/pop. We heard some boats were heading to the Hudson to fish a promising stretch of water along the west wall. South of there fish were caught at the Toms. The Chicken Canyon and the waters further off around the Baccardi produced. Further south lots of boats are fishing Lemkes and the Cole. We heard one day was smoking hot then the next day was slow.

 

Store staffer Dan was out on Tuesday and beat on the fish. Dan said the jig bite turned on and some boats were into them casting on top. He shared his story about fighting a good size yellowfin but breaking it off near the boat after an hour battle.

 

tuna and wahoo
Tuna and wahoo are being caught mid-shore on the 30 fathom line.

 

Earlier this week, Tom Bernat and Gil Dilts fished with Captain John Rimmer aboard the Old Grandad. The crew boated two yellowfin and a 50 pound wahoo on the troll fishing the mid-shore on the 30 fathom line.

this wahoo went for a joe shute trolled way back
This beautiful 50 pound wahoo caught by Tom went for a Joe Shute trolled way back in the spread.

The crew aboard the Canyon Runner hit the dock yesterday with a solid catch of yellowfin. Captain Phil and Kevin reported, “The fish are all up on top in multiple schools with some yellowbirds up to 70 pounds. Both the chunk and troll are producing.”

 

Captain Mark from Bluerunner Sportfishing & Waterproof reports, “Fishing is great! We loaded the boat with yellowfin, Bluefin, mahi, tiles and mako. Solid fishing shaping up for late summer and fall.

yellowfin tuna caught on the troll
Tuna on the deck!

 

– Fishing LBI Tournament News –

  • The JCAA Fluke Tournament is this weekend! August 5th, 2017, the Jersey Coast Anglers Association will hold its 23rd Annual Fluke Tournament.
  • The Forked River Tuna Club Presents their 60th Annual Fluke Tournament on August 12 to 19th Check out their website for more details.
  • The LBI Surf Fishing Classic is right around the corner! This year’s event is now 9 weeks running October 7th to December 10th. The one extra week was added and the format was modified slightly to offer larger cash prizes. There’s other great new things offering an awesome value… tournament collectable hat and shirt to early sign ups (first 300 before October 7th).  For more details go to LBIFT.com where tournament news will be added. Prizes and special tournament days are still not finalized. Once done the info will be posted.

LBI Fishing Report July 30th

It’s settling down and the sun is out. The Barnegat Light Buoy is fading and the trend will continue to ease.

I got some fun surf this morning before the lifeguards came out. While walking up the beach one drift I stopped and talked to an anglers soaking a line. He reported a little bit of weed (most was up on the beach), snappers stealing bait and two kingfish. He mentioned that 4oz was rolling with the low tide sweep.
Grey Colston stopped in this morning and shared he was into fish before the blow, “I hope it continues. The inlet was consistent with tog and fluke and the surf had kings.”
David Ho got a good size fluke today. He said, “Fishing was good. The water was chocolate milk but the fluke are on the chew. I got a new personal best, 28″ fluke! Alex (23.5″) and John (20″) both caught too.”
David cuahgt this 28" fluke fishing the BL Inlet
David Ho caught this 28″ fluke off the rocks today.
Rich Beverley also reported fluke on the rocks. Here’s a photo of a 19.5″ flattie he got bucktailing.
Barnegat Inlet Fluke Fishing
Rich got this keepers bucktailing the inlet.
Still some good blues around… “Not a bad way to end my six week vacation!”  Mike Hovan reported. Here’s a bluefish he recently caught off the surf.
LBI surf fishing for bluefish
Still some bluefish cruising the surf.
And a couple bass! Dave Hershberger posted this photo of a resident schoolie. “Lagoon striper!”
Kids love striped bass fishing.
Fishing is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you are going to get.
Reminder, the JCAA Fluke Tournament is next weekend.
Here’s some recent photos from the Miss Barnegat Light!

Fishing LBI Waters – Surf & Boat Fishing Report Update

Strong showing of summertime pan fish in the waters of LBI!

Fishing LBI is great! A recent wave of snapper blues arrived and tormenting the schools of spearing. Southern kingfish are and have been on the chew. We’ve also seen an uptick in weakfish and finally a couple blowfish. On top of that, fluke fishing reports are great!. Bluefish, tog, triggers and sheepshead are in the inlet too.

Local grom Grey Colston is stopping in daily load up on live boodworms and DynaBait freeze dried bloods. Grey reports lots of kings in the surf. “The past couple of days have been great on both live and freeze dried bloods! Some days we have fish on almost every cast. There’s lots of kingfish and snapper blues on the beach. Fish the low tide and walk out on the bar. You gotta reach out to them!” While Grey is fishing the Ship Bottom surf other kingfish and snapper surf reports have came in. Other areas mid-island as well as Beach Haven on the south end are producing. We can only assume they are up on the north end too. But no direct reports. Only talk about blues and fluke from the northern beaches.

Dynabait Freeze Dried Bloodworms

Busy traffic is something we all learn to deal with on LBI during the summer time. Whether on the beach, on the water or on the street traffic is part of daily life. Most of the time traffic on the water makes a bite tough. However the bay and Inlet fluke fishing around LBI has been solid with numerous reports of 4-6 pound fluke as well as a couple 9’s 10’s and a 12!!! With the abundance of bait (specifically spearing, peanut bunker and small snappers) we remind those who switch over to strictly artificial to rethink their game. Big fluke love bait and especially large baits! Whole squid and large mackerel strips are two classic big fish bait as well as peanut bunker, snappers and live spot.

Kyle Brewer was recently on the water drifting and dreaming around the Inlet, Dike and main thoroughfares. He reported good fishing and mentioned, “We got a bunch of shorts and some keepers. Saw a guy land a monster!” Josh Rice sent in this photo seen (below). Josh caught the 12 pound doormat bucktailing Barnegat Bay. Land based anglers fishing the rocks are picking some good fish.

 

Here’s Josh Rice with a 12 pound Barnegat Bay doormat!

 

AJ and the crew at Apex Anglers recently released this dusky shark off the surf.

 

It’s Shark Week and there’s no better way to enjoy the time then shark fishing. Sharking the surf and the bay is lots of fun and the bite is on! Sand tigers and brown sharks are consistently making their presence known however other species are around. AJ at Apex Anglers recently released a dusky. Our local bunker man said small black tips are here and there some threshers still around. Speaking of sharks… the ultimate sportfishing shark species, the mako gave a local boat a surprise. As reported on our last fishing report post (July 22nd) the crew aboard the Jenny Lee got a monster mako. Here’s a must read article on the catch from the Fisherman Magazine www.thefisherman.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=feature.display&feature_ID=1800&ParentCat=19
(L to R) Here’s Austin, Paul and Cody with a recent sand tiger release.

 – Bluewater Fishing News – 

Captain Jeff Warford aboard the Reel Innovations stopped in for a case of premium select Baitmaster’s Ballyhoo. While here he reported the tuna fishing is good. We are mugging them on the troll and the chunk is heating up. Other good report came in from Research and Bluerunner Sportfishing. Here’s their spreads!
Recent crew aboard the Bluerunner. Nice haul!
Bill Tallman’s recent catch aboard the Research.
With the Beach Haven White Marlin Invitational this week lips are tight. Not many willing to share locations.

 

Captain Bernie Hyland aboard the Mad Ludwig sent in the report… Brittany Hyland landed her first bluefin tuna aboard the Mad Ludwig on Saturday. We were fishing at Lemkes Canyon. The 36″ 22.9 pound bluefin nailed a good old Green Machine trolled behind a bird rig way back at the end of the pattern.

 

 – Fishing LBI Tournament News –

  • Wednesday is Day 1 of the 48th Annual the Beach Haven Marlin Tuna Invitational. Best of luck to all the boats fishing and a huge thanks to all of the boats that geared up with top quality bait and tackle at Fish Head.
  • JCAA Fluke Tournament – On August 5th, 2017, the Jersey Coast Anglers Association will hold its 23rd Annual Fluke Tournament.
  • The Forked River Tuna Club Presents their 60th Annual Fluke Tournament.

Weekend LBI Fishing Report – July 22, 2017

The warm temperatures and free time of the summer months provide great opportunities for families to get outdoors and spend valuable time together on the water. In an effort to motivate parents and guardians to engage in fun fishing activities with their children and keep them away from drugs, the Partnership for a Drug-Free NJ is holding the 3rd Annual Don’t Get Hooked on Drugs Online NJ Family Fishing Tournament. This year it is from August 4-13th. For more info to participate check out their website www.drugfreenj.org/

The Ship Bottom surf temp today is 68 degrees. The warm waters are a comfy home to fluke and kingfish. They are in the suds. Both today (Saturday) and yesterday (Friday) customers purchasing live bloodworms gave the nod yes when asked if they are finding kings. The big blues that are around offer lots of fun too! The epicenter is the Inlet but some feisty yellow eyes are cruising the surf. Gary W. caught this 13 lbs. bluefish off of the Beach Haven surf a couple days ago. Gary got it on fresh Fish Head’s fresh bunker.

Gary W. caught this bluefish off of the surf on bunker.

Beach sharking continues to dominate the surf report.  Both brown sharks and sand tigers give anglers a run for their money and test their tackle. Long Beach Island’s summertime beach shark fishing is the ultimate land based big game fishing experience. It’s a ton of fun but please know these species are federally protected! Due to the restrictions both brown sharks and sand tigers have made a major come back. Know the rules! Both of these shark species (among some others) are prohibited to be possessed. They can not be killed! They can not be landed! It’s grey but simply put landing equals possession even if there is intent to release. Fish must remain in the water. That means do not drag them up the beach for a photo. Dry sand photos are a major no no. This will ruin it for everyone.

Sharking is prime time right now, through July and all of August. This fishing is best during low light and dark hours, making it a great way to spend a few hours at night. Store staffer Willie D shares this report, “Sharking off the beach is hot right now. Keys to success? Rig up right. No weak links. Bait up with mackerel, bunker or anything meaty with some stink. Be ready for a good bite and a solid fight. Stop in the shop if you need assistance getting geared up!”

I personally prefer to enjoy the summertime sharking via boat. Over the years (15+) I’ve had a blast with friend enjoying the summer nights on the bay this way. Now that I’m a licensed captain I’m running 1-3 man bay sharking charters. If interested in going, call the shop 609-494-5739 and ask for me, Greg. If not available leave your name and phone number.

Earlier in the week I was out a couple times and we had toothy ones both trips. One trip we had a consistent bite that lasted couple hours, right into slack low tide. Everyone got their turn to battle a brown or two. At one point we had a double header. We blew through hook baits, rigs and the super warm bay ate the chum quick. The next night a stiff southerly wind maked for poor wind against tide conditions. We battled through the challenge, managed to release one and missed a couple opportunities. More recently store alumni Joni was out with friend. They released three brownies.

Shop alumni Kenny U reported good tog fishing at the Inlet rocks. He mentioned the tiggers are plentiful too! For a number of weeks now, the area has big blues holding. Anglers are having a blast hooking them on lures from bucktails to poppers. The inlet also offers great fluke fishing as the flounder slide out of the bay and take on the near shore lumps and reefs.

Bluefish offer lots of fun for all age groups but especially for kids.

Fluke fishing is solid! Anglers bucktailing the bay’s channel edges are still catching and some occasional nice fish at that. As the season progresses other areas are heating up! New reports from the inlets and ocean are strong. The consistent warm ocean temps mean one thing for late July fluke fishing… it’s on!

Howard Clark was out on the water yesterday. His caught five fish 21-23″ and dropped an even bigger fluke boatside. Howard reported quality size fluke were on the chew and everyone was stacked with squid. It’s a great sign!

The Carolyn Ann III recently reported, “Nice improvement with an upswing in the fishing. We are seeing a good catch of sea bass along with keeper fluke coming over the rail! Hopefully this upward trend continues!!! Here’s a report from Jacob Bowles who was recently fishing aboard the CA3. “We got out to the fluke grounds,had a good drift and started off picking. Got an 18″ and worked through some sea robins. Landed a 23″ 4 pound fluke which took the pool.” When asked Jacob said he was catching fish on both Gulp and bait, “Both keepers were on bait.” Sometimes you have to give them some meat!

Jacob Bowles with his pool winning 23″ 4 pound fluke.

We tend to get 90% of our reports from anglers fishing Barnegat Bay and the north end of the Island however recently some positive reports came from the southend waters. Store staffer Willie said, “Fluke fishing on the south end of the Island is pretty good. Been a better mix of keeper size fish for anglers fishing the Gulp 4” Shrimp. Those have been the go to baits for some sharpies.

Sometimes you hear about the epic fishing and just have to pack up and go. Montauk is well known for quality striped bass and fluke fishing. The reports out of Montauk have been stellar to say the least! Zach Michot took a road trip to the East End and it was well worth it! Zach reported, “Jigged up 13 nice fluke and five jumbo sea bass. All on MagicTail Jigs. It was a great day on the water aboard the Miss Montauk.”

Clamming and crabbing are a great way to enjoy LBI’s beauty and beat the heat. Here’s a photo of Archie Coen clamming away.

Achie Coen is enjoying LBI’s salt life clamming Barnegat Bay.

For a large group of passionate anglers, bluewater fishing is a release from the summertime land life full off hustle, bustle, traffic and noise. Those hours on the high seas are where some of life’s best memories are made. Today the crew from Jenny Lee Sportfishing weighed in a monster mako at Hoffman’s Marina. It’s possibly a pending new state record, unofficial weight at 926 pounds.

Bluewater fishing has been strong! Stop in for premium Baitmaster Ballyhoo, super popular Joe Shute Lures and top quality spreader bars! We have all the essentials and more to get you geared up and into the bite. The mid-shore and offshore action continues. Anglers fishing 30-50 miles  off are into bluefin tuna on a routine basis. Some heavy weeds recently moved into a fishy area that was very productive. This makes for frustrating fishing but you never know what’s underneath. Most of the time these weedy areas have bait as well as mahi and whites. Some cobia were pulled.

Store staffer Willie Davis has a nice bluefin tuna he caught trolling the mid-shore tuna grounds

Lots of local boats are catching on the mid-shore grounds trolling bars as well as bally/shutes. It seems the larger class of bluefin that were around the past month or two might have push up out of out area. It seems a smaller class of fish are now present. Hopefully some nicer ones keep picking. Spreaderbars have been hot for these smaller class bluefin. Joe Shue trolling lures rigged up with a large or select ballyhoo is also a deadly trolling combo that tuna can not resist. Most run them on the long rigger, but some prefer them in the shotgun, way back. On the other hand there’s boats that stack the spread and run them in both positions. It seems like the bigger fish like to fall for the stealth way.

While we just got a skunk report sent in from an angler who fished the Hudson we also got an awesome report out of the same Canyon. Since it is a very large area they must have been fishing different sections. We were not told where in the Hud but we saw some solid photos of yellowfin tuna from the area.

Our current bait situation… We have fresh bunker, salted clam, live bloods, live eels and live minnow. We are low on green crab but expected on Monday. Baitmaster ballyhoo is in stock with all of the sizes from dink/peewee, small, medium, med/large, select and horse. We also have spanish mackerel, premium swordfish squid (5pk) and professionally pre-rigged ballyhoo.

Jersey Coast Anglers Association (JCAA) – 23rd Annual Fluke Tournament

On August 5th, 2017, the Jersey Coast Anglers Association will hold its 23rd Annual Fluke Tournament. This year there will be special cash prizes for early entrants (enter by 7/24) who catch the largest fluke, 1st place – $1000., 2nd place – $500 and 3rd place – $250.  We will also have a doormat fluke category with a $50,000 cash prize for the largest fluke over 12 lbs.  There will be nine ports (weigh-in stations) with identical 1st to 10th place prizes for each port. First place for each port will be $1200 cash which is guaranteed regardless of the number of entrants. For 2nd – 10th place, valuable merchandise prizes will be awarded from Canyon Reels, Costa, The Fisherman Magazine, Fuel Ox, Tica, Tony Maja and others.  Ports will be located at Liberty Landing in Jersey City, Gateway Marina in Sandy Hook, Fisherman’s Den in Shark River, Hoffman’s Marina in Manasquan River, South Harbor Marina in Barnegat Bay, Fisherman’s Headquarters on Long Beach Island, Great Bay Marina in Great Bay, Fin-Atics Marine Supply in Ocean City and Jim’s Bait and Tackle in Cape May.

Additionally, there will be $50 and $100 port Calcuttas and $50 and $100 Overall Calcuttas. The awards ceremony will be held at 7:00 PM on August 10th at the Clarion Motel in Toms River. Rooms will be available at a discounted rate for tournament participants provided that reservations are made in advance. There will be free cheeseburgers, hot dogs, mozzarella sticks, soda, coffee and tea at the ceremony. There will also be plenty of door prizes at the ceremony and a huge 50/ 50. To top everything off there will be a Grand Prize Drawing for a Starcraft boat, Yamaha engine and a Yacht Club Trailer.
The early entry fee is $130 per boat (up to 6 anglers) if paid by 7/24. After 7/24 the fee is $160. For complete details and/or to register online visit www.jcaa.org or call the JCAA office at 732-506-6975. Details will also be available on our Facebook page where tournament results will be posted as soon as possible after the conclusion of the tournament.

Paul Haertel JCAA Board Member / Past President