fbpx
FISHING REPORT
CUSTOMER SERVICE
GIFT CARD
Search Account 0 Cart
609-494-5739
Subtotal
Rs. 0.00
Shipping, taxes, and discount codes calculated at checkout.
Your cart is currently empty.

Tag: tuna fishing

LBI Fishing Report 7/27/23 – Beat The Heat Fishing

The late July time frame LBI offers a variety of on the water activities to enjoy. From crabbing, clamming and fishing there’s something for everyone of all ages. Looking for guidance and help? Stop by and see us 7 days a week!

There’s no better way to best enjoy the hot “Dog Days of Summer” than on the water! Anglers from shore, inshore and offshore are beating the heat and catching many different species right now fishing LBI. Here’s the Long Beach Island Fishing Report Update for July 28, 2023.

The Surf & Jetty – Fluke & Blues +

Anglers fishing both bait and lures on the surf continue to report good action on cocktail (1-3, 2-4# class) blues. For lures, fish small metals. For bait, fish small strips or chunks of bunker or mullet.

Fluke fishing has been good with lots of anglers reporting consistent action. There is and has been an abundance of short fluke in the suds. Anglers are catching slots (17-18″) as well as the occasional over 18″ and we have even heard of some really impressive now to mid 20″ range fluke. There’s no better way to approach the surf then with Gulp and light tackle.

Steve at Night Strikes Guide Service caught this fluke recently on the surf. He has been catching fluke on the beaches all summer. If you are looking for a surf guide reach out to Steve today 609-276-6983. Rocking my “new favorite summer shirt” our fresh new Fish Heads Fluke performance hooded sun shirt. These sold out fast but don’t sweat, we anticipate a the restocking to be here soon (hopefully next week, Early August).

Other options for surf angling is soaking some meaty baits for the bigger critters (sharks or rays). Know the laws!

The Barnegat Inlet has blues, flukes, a few striped bass, sheepshead and triggerfish. Some locations in the back bay have sheeps too. John weighed in this 5# sheepshead earlier this week.

Fishing Is Water Temp Dependent

Fishing activity in the surf and at the jetty is water temperature dependent. Fluctuations due to localized winds are important to consider and important to your success. The hot summer sun warms the surface waters to a tropical temp but a hard south wind pulls the surface away from the beach and the cold bottom waters fill in. This phenomenon is called upwelling. The mix of these two, the pushes and pull can have a profound effect on the fishing, the type of fish and the activity of those said fish. To read more about upwelling events on LBI check out this detailed post… Upwelling Events On Long Beach Island

LBI Surf Temperatures
Wednesday: Cedars 75º, Ship Bottom 70º
Thursday: Cedars 72º, Ship Bottom 65º

In The Boat

Late August fishing in the bay is mainly focused around fluke and blowfish however the blow toads have been few and far between. Those trying have reported catching spot (photo below Petey E. with a jumbo spot), fluke, burrfish (a spiny puffer) and weakfish. In the bay there’s also snapper and cocktail blues as well as sheepshead. Wanna catch a doormat fluke? Drop down a small live spot! Fishing for fluke and getting frustrated with bait stealers? Some of those might be super small blowfish but the majority are most likely spot. Best way to beat them is fish live bait, Live Minnow and Live Spot!

Todd Luyber and his father Joe were out Wednesday and fluke fished the ocean not far from Barnegat Inlet. They reported a bite on fluke, catching shorts as well as their two overs, one 18.5 and one 19″. Joe also pulled this monster! It’s the biggest bluefish we have seen or heard about in some time. Way to go Joe!

Ocean fluke fishing has been good with anglers catching on the wrecks, reef sites as well as open bottom areas. The next month and right to the end of the season should be good in these areas. Here Jaime Grant with a nice 23″ fluke (her new personal best) she caught a couple days ago. Way to go Jaime!

Offshore – Tuna & Tiles

Offshore anglers have had a great run of weather (until recently with the southerly blow) allowing for fair seas and good fishing… yellowfin, bluefin, bigeye, marlin and tilefish. There’s still some bluefin popping in the inshore waters as well as mid-shore grounds as well as yellowfin mid-shore 50-70NM. Store staffer Tyler got out with some friends and filled the boxes with yellowfin tuna. Tyler reported catching two on poppers and more fish on the troll. Also reports coming from anglers jigging and chunking. Their one fish got hit by the tax man. Yup, there’s plenty of sharks in the mid-shore and inshore waters too.

The local canyons are producing groceries too. Scott Sari reports, “When the tuna don’t bite, drop to the bottom!” Here’s one of many monster golden tilefish he caught on a recent trip offshore.

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.

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.

LBI Fishing Report July 17, 2017

July is a great month for fishing on Long Beach Island because there opportunity inshore, offshore and from shore.

Fish Finder Frank Folley was on the water today fishing the bay and Inlet. Frank said, “There’s still lots of bluefish around. Some good size ones too! They were crushing poppers which made for some fun fishing. We got some tog fishing crabs but no keepers. We got a couple keeper fluke bucktailing. Hooked into a monster cow nose which took us for a ride. There’s lots around so watch out!”

Jacob Bowles reported a good catch of fluke and sea bass, “Ocean water is up to 73 degrees. Fishing was great for me. Managed to get a 5 pound sea bass and a 24″ fluke.”

Dave Werner recently fished the Forked River Tuna Club’s Ladies Fishing Tournament. His girls on the boat caught 5 keepers and over 20 shorts.

Tog opened today (July 17th, one fishing at fifteen inches) and Dylan Fisher took the run to search some mid shore wrecks. He reported, “I had a blast with my uncle today wreck fishing about ten miles off. Light tackle black fishing with green crabs. We released 19 fish and kept one along with a nice sea bass. Heading out tomorrow to get back on the tuna!”

Beach Haven Marlin Tuna Club’s War of the Shore was this past weekend. The tournament’s inaugural year had a strong turn out with 70 boats. Over $3000 was raised for charity, the Childhood Leukemia Foundation in name of Parker Nork! Here is a photo of Intermediate angler Luke Wittenborn with a solid yellowfin tuna weigh-in caught aboard the Compass Rose in the tournament. Sorry we don’t have the final results.

One of the local party boats fishing out of Barnegat Light, the Carolyn Ann III reports, “Fishing has been slow all week but recently we put together some better catches. Seems like it is picking up a bit. We are keeping our fingers crossed and plugging away. Jump aboard and lets go fishing!

Numerous cobia reports floating around! We saw Nick Honachefsky’s “Jersey Cobia” post on Instagram as well as a couple others. Store staffer Kelley Lutzgave us this photo of his dad, Brett. Mr. Lutz caught the beast 76 pound cobia.

Good reports of yellowfin and bluefin tuna continue! Solid reports from anglers fishing the mid-shore grounds as well as the edge. With the somewhat calm sea conditions now’s the time to get out on the bluewater!

Fishing Transitions into Summer

As the spring season winds down and we transition into summer new fishing opportunities arise… Read On!

Crabbing has been on fire all spring and it continues! We are looking forward to an awesome summer of crabbing. Here’s a photo of Richie Southwick with one of many nice blue claw crab hauls. Richie is doing great with the feisty blue crabs.

This is the last push for Black Sea Bass! The NJ Black Sea Bass Fishing Season closes Sunday June 18th. It will reopen on July 1st with a bag limit of two fish at 12.5″

The Carolyn Ann III reports, “The last two days of fishing were pretty good. Still a lot of shorts to weed through but the keepers are there! This Sunday is the last day for us to go Sea Bassing as the season closes. Starting Monday we will be targeting everyone’s favorite flat fish, the summer flounder aka fluke. Come aboard!”

Austin Pounds shared this yesterday,”Fluke are in the wash! Toss out a 1/2oz bucktail topped with a Gulp white swim mullet and they are all over it.” Austin has been targeting and catching fluke off the surf all season. He has some really nice sized fish to show too. This surf based fishery traditionally is great all summer long. Just a heads up there’s a possibility that we’ll get some upwelling. Depending on how drastic the temp swing is with the event, it could effect things. A quick cold snap in the water temperature due to upwelling shocks fish and can lock jaw a bite like a flip of the switch.

Another report came from Austin on the beach shark fishing. “And so it begins! They are here so gear up and soak some whole bunker. We got our season’s first sand tiger off the surf yesterday.”

Another surf sharking report came from ApexAnglers… “The 2017 NJ surf shark season begins with a bang! Two personal bests. Dan’s largest sand tiger to date measuring 8’2″. Seconds after Dan’s fish a 6’2″ sandbar shark takes the 9/0 with an eel. Then towards the end of the night a massive  7’7″ sand bar shark. The largest we’ve seen and possibly the largest caught off the surf in NJ. What a super successful early season trip. The action will only heat up from here.” Check out Apex Anglers for more details on NJ’s premier land based shark fishing guide service.

Sharking inshore/offshore has been good. We’ve heard reports of a couple large makos. Numerous customers reporting blue sharks out the wazzoo making for frustration but action non the less. In the past week we got some positive news on threshers 3-6 miles off the beach.

Like always, Joe Shute Lures are pulling tuna! These lures are about as consistent as they come. Don’t leave the dock without ’em! Store staffer Dan DiPasquale got offshore recently and has this report to share… “Our first offshore trip of the year resulted in our first bigeye. The good water we were after unfortunately pushed off making it all very difficult. Fished three different canyons with a water temp of 59-60 degrees. Took a couple hours but we finally got the right bite. It went for red headed Joe Shute. Nice way to kick off the year on the boat, still very early. There is a very good bluefin bite and yellowfin bite to the south of us right now, hopefully we get another good push of water soon!”

The striped bass bite off northern NJ as been very good this week. Lots of anglers out of the northern ports reported an awesome bite. Many local anglers headed up that way to get in on the action and had a blast. Both Waterman Charters and Shore Catch Guide Service has been dialed in on the bite. Here’s one report from Captain Gene from Shore Catch, “Last night was one for the record books! Epic cast and blast on topwater poppers. Kept one for the table and released over 20 all over 40 pounds.” Now that’s some great fishing. Below is Captain Gene boat side releasing a quality striped bass that fell for a pencil popper.


Pete Utschig wanted to share this post. The photo below is a beautiful striped bass that Pete caught one morning earlier this month. He had three nice bass that morning.

Moments like this, shared with friends, family, and even strangers is what makes it all worth while! It’s been a tough spring up and down the east coast. Besides some very spotty big fish bites the bass have been almost non existent. We need to WAKE UP!!! No more excuses or pointing fingers. We need to educate our friends and neighbors to stop killing breeder bass. We need to protect our precious resource and pastime. Until regulations change we can’t stop the endless charter boat slaughter, but if you have friends going on a fishing trips take five minutes to tell them about your love of fishing. Explain why instead of fishing in their local bay or inlet they have to steam 3 miles out to find the only body of fish we have left. Try and convince them to keep one fish per group not five fifty pound fish. We all love fishing for different reasons. I love it for the smile on a kids face when you hand him your pole on the beach and let him reel in his first fish. I love the 4am excited call from a buddy that you helped teach how to fish after he gets in on his first reel big fish bite. I love meeting guys just like me who just want to travel, laugh, (drink a couple cold ones) and catch fish. I just love fishing for the fun of it! Let’s protect our resource before we lose it forever!

With a sad and heavy heart I share the news on the recent passing of John Sweet. I had the pleasure of knowing the kind, generous man who did so much for others. He’ll be greatly missed in our community. Here is John’s obituary from Maxwell Funeral Home.

John F. “Tiderunner” Sweet, 78, of Ship Bottom, NJ passed away June 14, 2017 at his home. Born in Camden, NJ, son of Helen and John Sweet.  He moved to Cherry Hill and married Lois Zuzga Sweet who passed away too soon.  Together they had three children, Susan Lucas, Amy Smalfus, and Jane Faiola. He is survived by 9 grandchildren: Zachary and Melissa Johnson, Alexander, Nicholas and Gabriella Faiola and Rachael and Amanda Smalfus and Alexander and Victoria Duffy. He is survived by his loving wife, Joan Duffy Sweet, of 31 years, and her children, Christopher and Kathryn, who have been a great blessing to him.

He lived Medford, NJ with Joan for 18 years just prior to Ship Bottom where he resided for the last 14 years. His passion for fishing was well know, and he served as President and Treasurer of the Long Beach Island Fishing Club.  John initiated a fishing program for the LBIFC for wives, children and significant others called the Powder Puff Derby.   He was an active member of the LBIFC for over thirty years and served in many other capacities: teaching fishing at the Surf City Library, teaching casting and fishing at the Hooked on Fishing Not on Drugs and participated in numerous fishing tournaments throughout his life.  He has many “winning plaques” because of his knowledge of the surf and the correct fishing gears to use.  He leaves a huge emptiness in the countless lives he has touched.  He was an active member of the Ship Bottom Fire House, and served as a Fire Police.  John volunteered at Southern Ocean County Medical Center for 8 years where he helped out in the Same Day Surgery Department.  In addition, he was an active member of the Kiwanis and participate in their many events.  John was active in St. Francis of Assisi Church serving as a Eucharist Minister as well as assisting the Secular Franciscans in their activities.  John was loved and respected by all and he deeply changed many lives for the better.  He always wanted to be remembered “as doing his best for everyone.”

A Memorial Mass will be held at St. Francis Church, 4700 Long Beach Blvd., Long Beach Twp., NJ 08008 on Thursday, June 22, 2017, 11AM.  Relatives and friends may greet the family from 10AM to 11AM in the church.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the St. Francis Food Panty at the same address as the Church.

 

 

 

 

LBI Fishing Report June 12th

Fishing LBI offers lots of options for anglers both from the beach and boat.

Prime time beach sharking is quickly approaching! Now is the time to prepare and gear up for the season. We’ve got all the essentials from hooks to wire and cable as well as the terminal tackle and accessories to make simple rigs as well as tournament style – kayak deployed versions. The year’s first land based brown shark and sand tiger reports just came in!

Store staffer Willie said, “The surf is warming up and surf sharking has begun!” Here is a photo of him and a couple friends with a small sand bar shark aka brown shark they just caught. Willie mentioned they lost a sand tiger in the wash.

Kenny Depierro caught this sand tiger off the surf this past weekend. Kenny was chunking bunker in search of a linesider when this toothy one picked and ran.
Striped bass fishing continues to be slow through what normally is a very good section of the season. Participation is way down but those putting in the time are finding fish. We’ve got reports from the beach and boat. Anglers are catching the occasional bass trolling. Those fishing the beach and inlet are finding striped ones.

Rich Beverley of Cedar Run earned himself a new personal best striped bass off the LBI surf yesterday. He caught it in the morning fishing bunker off of the mid-island surf.
The local summer flounder fishery is prime with action in full swing. For bay anglers the areas of Double Creek and Oyster Creek Channel as well as the waters around the 42, BI, and BB are producing. There’s been some good size ones. We’ve heard of and seen numerous fish over four pounds. Bucktails tipped with gulp, live minnow and or spearing are getting it done!

Mark Spranger reported a good day fluke fishing today. His biggest was a 23″ 4.5 pound beauty!

img_4167
For land based anglers fluke fishing off the LBI surf continues to crank with some outstanding catches.
Willie “Hits” Kayhart has the touch! On his first trip to the beach this past weekend he pulled this 21″ flatty.

img_4108
Jon Kelly shared a photo today with a comment, “Who needs a boat? Got this 20″ off my beach today.”
Austin Pounds reported, “No boat needed! The beach has fluke everywhere.”
Chris Bender reports the weakfish are in. Here’s a photo of a small one.
img_4105
Crabbing is solid! Now’s the time to soak some bunker. Here’s a photo from Matt Cornman.

The NJ Recreation Sea Bass Fishing Season Closes Monday June 19th. Now’s the time to get in on the sensational bite!

“Sea bass fishing is crazy right now.” Jacob Bowles reports, “The offshore wrecks are loaded with active fish. Today we had them good. You had to work through the shorts to find the larger fish. I got six keepers to just under five pounds. My largest was big enough to win the pool!”

“Flag-Pole” Jim Kuhl agrees  the sea bass fishing is very good on the reefs and wrecks. He said, “We limited out by 9am!”

Dave Werner the advisor of the MATES Fishing Club shared a solid sea bass report from today. Dave said, “We had an awesome trip today aboard the Carolyn Ann III. There was lots of action so the kids had a blast. We caught about 50 keepers and a crazy number of throwbacks. The pool winner was Jake (photo below). There were also some ling and tog as well as one winter flounder caught. A huge thanks to Gina on the Carolyn Ann III for the awesome trip.”

Carolyn Ann III would like to share a schedule update… On Monday June 19th they are going to start fishing twice daily (2x four hour trips). Since sea bass will be closed the target species will be fluke. Sailing in the mornings 8am to 12pm then the afternoon 1pm to 5pm. The price is $45 for adults and $25 for children under 12. Rod rental is $7. Credit Cards are accepted.

Captain Jeff Warford aboard the Reel Innovations out of Barnegat Light was offshore over the weekend with the crew. Here’s their report… “Good as it gets! The tunas just couldn’t resist piling on. We fished four hours then headed in with a crew full of sore arms. Here’s Kyle with our over bluefin!”

LBI Fishing Report June 5th

Good fun Jersey fishing in early June with anglers catching both inshore and offshore.

Mary Lee stopped by for some fresh bunker this morning!

 

It’s the same story here… Good fun Jersey fishing in early June with anglers catching both inshore and offshore. The main target species inshore are fluke, sea bass, striped bass and bluefish with the occasional sharpie stalking weakfish. The offshore guys are sharking and tuna fishing.

Here’s some info to supplement the recent posts.

Some nice bass are around! Captain David D on the Hi Flier caught a nice bass trolling off IBSP today.

John Hildreth got some Penn Reel parts from us last week. He sent in an email with a photo, “Perfect timing. I just got the reels fixed and got this one!”

J-Bird and Greenie got first place in the Beach Haven Marlin Tuna Clubs striper tournament this past weekend. Here’s J-Bird double fisted with a pair of bass. He reported, “Catching bait was a struggle and fishing was a slow pick. There’s nice fish around but you gotta work for them!”

Jim and Rich from Waretown aboard the 50/50 had a great week and weekend. They started off with a 60 pound bass then finished up the weekend with three more nice classy bass. They reported, “We are fishing the three mile line off of IBSP and the waters north of the Bathers Beach. Trolling Mojos is working best for us.”

There bass on the beach too. Yesterday, Jason Hoch weigh in 25.94 pound 42″ bass.

The blues are trending smaller but there are a couple good size ones still around. Store staffer Luke got this bluefish off the LBI surf after work today. Luke said there’s some bass mixed in up to 15 pounds.

Doug (@dremluk_d) got this bluefish this weekend fishing the Inlet.

 

Charles Mosley sent in this report today, “Caught some blues on the Inlet Jetty yesterday early morning.”

Carman sent in this report yesterday, “I caught a 22″ flounder in the Barnegat inlet using a high – low rig and cut squid for bait. That was the highlight of the day! I’m sure you can guess what’s for dinner tonight!”

Robbie Vallone and his father Carl fished Oyster Creek Channel today. They had multiple fluke with the biggest 21″ 5.9 pounds on Gulp! Here’s a couple other fluke reports…

Drew Knapp tagged us in a fluke photo post, “First fluke of the year and the first for Luey. Beauty of a day on the water!”

Store staffer Dan D. reported, “Scored big time tonight right before the wind set in! Caught some fluke and managed a quality weakfish. All fish released.

Shop alumni Sam Wisnewski won the Captain’s Cove Flounder Tournament (eastern shore of VA) this past weekend with a 4lb 121oz fluke. The master bucktailing flounder pounder still has the magic touch!

Nick Perello on the Pension Plan of the Beach Haven Marlin Tuna Club had a epic day on the water yesterday. The crew went four for five on bluefin tuna. Two 20 pounders and a double header! Released giant and kept this 224 pound fish. New personal best.

Chris Degennaro on the Kaley Marie went out and had a great trip yesterday too. Chris reported, “Great first canyon trip this weekend. We went six for six on bluefin up to 100 pounds and got a big eye!”

Shore Catch put their clients on the tuna this weekend with their first trip to the tuna grounds. Shore Catch reports, “The bluefin are here and we’ll be on them every chance we get. Get in on it!”

Blue Runner Sportfishing is off to a great start for their 2017 offshore canyon fishing season. They caught their first mako and bluefin in NJ on May 11th. Now their first bigeye tuna of 2017 on June 3.” As always Captain Mark and crew are dialed in!

Lots of boats went out sharking fishing this past weekend. Most all reports we heard back were blue shark, blue shark, blue shark. These local boats fishing 20-40 miles off were covered up in bluesharks. We heard of a couple big makos from anglers fishing waters south of our area. Lets hope the makos flood our waters soon.
14th Annual 2017 Berkeley Striper Club C&R Spring Tournament Results
  By Steven Perna

Our tournament and its C&R format was once again a huge success thanks in large part to the generosity of sponsors like Fisherman’s Headquarters. With the changes we made this year to the tournament we were excited to be able to maintain participation levels equal to prior years as we continue to be responsible stewards of the resource.

One hundred percent of the monies raised through this tournament will once again be used to fund the BSC Fisheries Defense Fund which is designed to fund efforts that focus on effective management of striped bass, help provide a clean and productive habitat, and to protect important forage fish in the goal of enhancing our recreational fisheries. We are particularly proud of our continued financial support of ongoing striped bass research through donations to the Marine Biology Departments of Monmouth University/University of Massachusetts Amherst and Rutgers University Department of Marine Science. All told, we have donated over $50,000 in the past 13 years to organizations and research dedicated to the preservation of striped bass.

This years tournament went off without a hitch. The results, listed below, show the winners of the competitive divisions. In addition we also had 6 lucky participants who won one of the “Grand Prize Packages” supplied through the fabulous donations of our sponsors. The fishing during the 5 days of competition was challenging and we received a total 31 fish submissions during the tournament all released to fight again……

Surf Division:
1. Shawn DeVenchenzo 42″
2. Zolton Egyed 40″
3. Bruce Caporale – 38″

Boat/Kayak Division:
1. Sean Seraphin 44″
2. Bob Andersen 43.5″
3. Phil LaGrossa 43″

Once again your efforts have shown your commitment to being a conservation minded member of the fishing community. Thank you for your continued support and generosity.

 

What an awesome weekend

This weekend was one to remember!

Saturday was Surf Day X and it was the best one yet with record attendance. We had a blast at the show meeting everyone. It’s great so see and talk to all of the people who make up the core surf fishing industry all under one roof. For those that attended and shopped at our booth thank you. We enjoyed being there and talking to everyone.  From what we were told the seminars were awesome. Wish we could watch them, but there’s too much shopping mayhem at our tables to walk away. For those who have thought about going and didn’t… you missed out. Be sure to attend next year if for nothing else then the seminars. If you want to get peak inside surf day check out our Surf Day Live on our Facebook page.

Today (Sunday) was a treat! The beautiful weather had everyone thinking SPRING! I spent most of the day in the driveway unpacking from Surf Day. I could not have asked for a better day. The number of classic cars and motorcycles passing by was impressive!

On the fishing side of things… We had lots of customer in the shop and while most were gearing up in prep for spring there were a number who were going fishing. Why not take advantage of the awesome day? Most took clams to soak on the beach, but no reports came back. The only game in town is the early season hot spot which is technically off limits until March 1st. Kinda shocking that it’s only a few days away!

Fishermans Hq ambassador Jeff Warford headed down to the OBX Wednesday night to take advantage of a good weather window. He fished Friday, Saturday and Sunday out of Oregon Inlet. Over the three days the boat he fished on caught 5 bluefin and 7 yellowfin tuna. Friday morning we got two. All day Saturday was dead and made for a long slow day, but a bite late in the day made it worth it. Today (Sunday) they got two at dawn and then another on as the day went on.” Jeff said, The fish were spread out. There’s good numbers down there and when they settle in… it’s gonna tee off.” Be ready for March Madness!!!