Zeroing in on Summer Flounder
It almost seems like the same thing happens every year. First there are three or four months of arguing about what the summer flounder dates, bag limit and size will be. Then a week or two of getting all cranked up for opening day. A monster catch day doing “recon” the day before the opening ( I had 5 fish over 22 inches that Friday) and then a really tough two day weekend of more fishing than catching. Oh yes, let’s not forget that for some reason, the wind kicks up North at 25 on opening day like clockwork.
There were some real nice fluke that hit the deck on the first weekend, but this past weekend really opened things up. I don’t know if it just takes a little while to dial in, or it takes a few outings to get your “touch” back, but the flukin’ is super right now. You should really take advantage of these big flatties in the backyard before they move out to the reefs and wrecks.
The North Jersey guys, once again, are in the beginning of what will turn out to be a huge mauling of big stripers off the bunker schools from all the way up into N0Y Harbor down to the LBI area, but the summer floundering up there is actually.. floundering. I covered the North Jersey report last week (Mike Shipton and I alternate zones, in case you had not noticed) and even though there were a couple of big fish weighed, the average guy went home smelling like the skunk.
The recipe for a win in the Southern area back bays, based on a poll I did among about 80 anglers that boated two or more keeper fluke, rolls out like this:
It was a toss-up between a bucktail jig and Berkley Gulp and a bucktail jig and a strip bait for the top-scoring combination (33 to 29 respectively). Surprisingly, only 10 guys surveyed used bucktail, Gulp and a strip bait as opposed to one or the other. I use all three myself. Why not?
Most prefer to fish the top of the tide to the mid-outgoing by a ratio of almost 3:1. Even more surprising was that almost an equal number of those that target the outgoing, just go without caring about the tides at all. These guys can’t possibly be regular readers of mine, because I never stop stressing that.
Let’s screw both of our eyes over to one side of our heads, and think like a fluke for a minute. When in spring feeding mode, where most of the forage is little critters being flushed off the flats, we want to score the easiest grub possible. We lay on the bottom, facing up-tide on a slope or a depression, and wait for something to come within our short, lightening fast, striking range. Now even though we are truly cross-eyed little ambushers that can see in all directions, we really are focused dead ahead since that’s where most of the low-hanging fruit, or maybe shrimp, are coming from. Agree? Good, because that will bring up our next key point. You want your bait to come straight down the tidal line as possible, not sweep across it. That is the way most of the forage is coming. This means that you should position your boat and use your crazy vessel maneuvering skills to offset the effects of the wind as much as possible. Run your engine when you can drift? Waste all that fuel? Throw all that cash away? Yes. If you were pricing out what you caught by the pound you would be too sick to eat it anyway so you might just as well toss caution to the wind and play the game right. This past Sunday we put three keepers in the box in 15 minutes doing this in the middle of a fleet of boats that were basically doing nothing except get blown around and tossing back a few shorts.
OK, square your eyes back where they belong, and let’s go around the horn with the shop reports.
Rich and the Jersey Hooker guys in Brick are in on what is going to be another banner year of banging bass. From Asbury on the beach and all around Long Branch from the sand out to 60’, the bass bite is on. I know it hurts when you read this on a weekday, and you have to wait until the weekend to cash in, but believe me, you have good reason to be in pain. It really is on!
Andy over at Tony’s Bait & Tackle in Manahawkin drops t he “A” plan to put bass on your menu. If you are north of B.I. along Island Beach live-lining bunker is your “go-to”. Head further north about 5 miles and you should be pinging for 60 feet of water and dragging either bunker spoons or shad umbrella rigs. Both are really producing well. The back bay, unfortunately, has that good news/bad news thing going on. The good news is that the temps are really starting to move up, the bad news is that the snot grass has moved in. By the way, if you are looking for a really reasonable wire line combo to to give bunker spoons a shot, Andy has a few sets made up ready to walkout the door.
Team Tackle Direct was out in flukin’ force this weekend, both Saturday and Sunday. Two fat 5-pound fluke hit the bucktail/Gulp/mackerel combo that was being offered and there was a major Mother’s Day feast in the works with keepers for everyone on board. Sunday’s crew (I’m just a little tired Mom, I will be over later this afternoon!) put 3 nice keepers in the cooler with another 5-pounder to top off the pile on the fillet table. If you need to restock on those bucktails, or just want to drool over the stuff you have on your wish list, check out the huge new showroom on Tilton Rd in Egg Harbor Township.
Bill at Fin-Atics in Ocean City reports that the harbinger of spring has finally arrived. No, it’s not a bird, it the kingfish! There has been some crazy kingfish action on the beach in OC this week with guys putting together real nice stringer of the tasty critters. The striper bite is pretty good off the beach, especially around structure, and the bigger fish are still taking bait… a few to 40 inches! If you want to give it a shot at night, stop by the shop and ask for a couple tips. They also have those classic Fin-Atics sweatshirts on special.
But even though it may still be sweatshirt weather, it is totally the beginning of mako weather! That’s what Taylor from Off the Hook Bait & Tackle reports out of Cape May. Capt. Fred Dirsh of 3D’s Sportfishing had a long day of smelling bluefish chum on the Sea-Esta, until Steve Spagnola buttoned up with a big runoff. It never gets dull when there are makos in your crosshairs, and this was no exception. Not long afterwards, a beautiful, snaggletoothed 147-pounder was hanging from the scales at Hinches Marina. Other news from the southern tip has the striper bite still strong in the northern part of the bay and a drum bite gearing up too.
There is no doubt that if for some reason or another you have been “waiting”, the wait is over. Fluke fishing down south is going strong, even though the number of shorts being caught seems to be increasing radically, the striper bite on the beach on bait and plug is no longer just a dream, the kingfish are here in numbers, AND there are toothy beasts ready to give you a thrill that will make you permanently forget the winter chill.
Best bet this Weekend:
If the tide is right, hit the back for fluke. If you are starting at dawn or dusk, popping stripers in the back or plugging the beach makes real good sense. If you are going to camp out on the sand for the day, throw one rod with clam for stripers and a lighter rig for kingies. If you are ready to do battle, it is shark on inshore and confirmed rumors of the first few yellowfin from the Wilmington. Go Fishing!
Questions and comments to Capt. Ed at FmTuna@aol.com