With my faded fishing hat held respectfully over my chest and a true sigh of disappointment that can only come from an NJ angler that lives about 10 minutes from the location of the previous world record catch, I offer my most sincere congratulations to Connecticut’s Greg Myerson. 81.88 pounds. Wow. I have had several conversations with Al McReynolds about his night on the jetty with Pat Erdman and the event that changed his life. I can only hope that for Greg, the story has a happier ending. I wonder what Al will have to say when I see him this fall on the beach when he once again appears in our neighborhood for the mullet run.
With the pending world record being the first order of conversation at every B&T in the Northeast this week, there was still time for our guys to report in on what the rest of our regional fishing world is up to.
Patty up at Dow’s in Lake Hoptacong has had a real bump up ni the number of stripers being caught on herring this week off the Points. Even during the dog days, fish gotta eat and they seem to be concentrating in a predictable fashion. Good for anglers, bad for the fish.
With the summer heat, things up and down the coast seem to have cooled off a little with most shops getting some weigh-ins but not like the last couple weeks.
A few minutes with Ron from Fisherman’s Supply in Point Pleasant sums most of it up; there is a first light and twilight striper bite on the beach with poppers and small plugs and there are still small fluke in the suds. The tuna bite at the Atlantic Princess has been spotty, and there is a mix of tuna and other offshore species in the Hudson.
Chris over at Harry’s Army Navy in Robbinsville says that the new 6-inch Gulp Swimming Mullet is just crushing the big fluke on the nearshore structure. If he was not selling so many of them he swears he would start a movement to get them outlawed! The simplest rig seems to work best with this big bait – a dropper loop with too much lead to pin it to the bottom with 12 to 18 inches of fluorocarbon tied off to a 7/0 Gamakatsu hook. Plain and simple is really doing the trick. For the guys that are not going flukin’ nuts, the peanuts have invaded Raritan Bay with lots of snapper blues on them for light tackle fun. This is a great way to get a kid into the game with lots of action.
The guys at Grumpy’s in Seaside have got been putting the Gulp to work on fluke in the surf. The best action is always near structure as you work the bait slowly across the bottom. Remember to work the bait all the way in to the rod, since many of the fish are trailing it into the shallows before jumping it. If you are into crabbing, by the way, NOW is the time to nail a bushel of those big #1’s.
Fisherman’s Headquarters in Ship Bottom is reporting LOTS of bait in the surf with snapper blues on them. Kingfishing is still excellent with bloodworm bits. From the scales, an 8.25-pound flattie was weighed in by Jerry Dubeau! Bust out the cornmeal Grannie, I am coming home with the goods!
Team Tackle Direct took a break from the canyons for a rare inshore week and was rewarded with some of the craziest aerial shark action that anyone has seem in years. At least a dozen spinners were putting on a show within two miles of the beach just blasting baits out of the water. The lesson learned here is a simple one – even if you are going fluking at the reef, bring along some heavier gear
Bill at Fin-atics in Ocean City had some good offshore info from the Wilmington up to the Spencer. A real good white marlin bite is going on (it is White Marlin Open week after all) with a couple of their big blue cousins being called in as well. Those starting the overnight season have been packing flats of butters and sardines and doing fairly well on the overnnight chunk. Closer to home, the reefs having been giving up some great Tog, but since you can only keep one, it hardly seems like it is worth the effort to me. Sea bass and fluke on the reefs are a good enough reason to go so bring a couple crabs just for the heck of it. You will also want to bring some peanuts from the back on your nearshore trips as there are little mahi everywhere that are just a blast to get boiling up around the boat.
Rusty at Off the Hook in Cape May has good reports as bigger fish are appearing at the Old Grounds and Reef Site 11. There have been scattered reports of tuna at the 19 and nearby southern lumps and the fish being caught are just loaded with sand eels. Rusty just got a big shipment of new Star Plasma rods in the shop if you are in the market for a great rod at a really fair price.
Best Bets for the Weekend
With southwest 10 to 15 and 2- to 4-foot waves being forecast for the upcoming weekend it looks like our best bet is to find someplace that has some of those 6-inch Gulp Swimming Mullets and take them for a boatride to the nearest reef for a test swim. Don’t forget the light tackle and a well full of peanuts for the Mahi!
Stay Tuna-ed!