The Dog days are Barkin’
Things have generally fallen into a solid mid-summer pattern without a couple of the high points that we usually count on this time of year. Offshore, the tuna bite has slowed considerably with a couple of the major tournaments not really making strong showings at the weigh-in docks. Lower numbers of white marlin releases than usual and smaller blue marlin high up on the leaderboard.
Getting pretty much the same story from those that hang closer to home than the Edge. Brandon at 46 Bait & Tackle in Palisades Park has anglers hitting the bluefish over by the Crab House for action, but for stripers he suggests further down river near Jersey City.
Chris at Crabbys Bait & Tackle is reporting that it appears a whole new body of fluke have moved into the bay. Nice sizes and numbers. Anglers working 1 to 3 miles off Keyport around 11A are putting together good catches of flatties as well. The really encouraging news, as you will continue to read throughout the North, is about the weakfish. Sandworms, or squid strips soaked in shedder oil are the tools to bring along. For light tackle action there are plenty of cocktail and snapper blues cruising the harbor.
Kevin at Bait Your Hook in Atlantic Highlands says his boys are hitting the fluke real well. The Romer Shoal and out between the sticks is a good place to get started. In the bay there have been some surprising weakfish catches, which is music to everyone’s ears. Fish over 10 and up to 12# have been reported near Upper Reach channel. It might have been 2005 since I heard a report like that! Ling fishing continues to be great out at the Mudhole and the Mud Buoy is producing lots of chopper blues.
Ernie at Giglios in Sea Bright had a real nice 6.6# fluke weighed in by Mike Pinto of Bound Brook. Mike was fishing the Sea Bright Beach with a Gulp-and-spearing combo and dragged the flattie out of the suds. The first reports of Albies came in this week, with two good runs of them in the past week. Crabbing continues to be good both in size and numbers and there are plenty of snappers in the river and the ocean. Sharpies are picking them up on poppers and then dropping them down for fluke.
Steve at Red Bank Marina has had lots of his guys filling the baskets with nice sized crabs. With the new moon they are starting to hang. Putting together a half a bushel of 5- to 6-inches in a 4-hour pull is not unusual. Fluking has been a little spotty but there are plenty of snappers in the river to play with.
No surprise that Kevin at Long Branch Bait & Tackle is singing the same tune. Grab some crabs, and while your soaking toss some light tackle for snappers. If you want to feel sand between your toes you can switch gears and hit the kingfish near any structure on the beach. Bloodworms or Fish Bytes will turn the trick and you can check out the summer scenery.
Jack at Surf Side Bait & Tackle in Long Branch is another member of the summertime chorus. There have been some catches of bonito, fluke, triggers, cocktail blues and undersized weakies, but overall things are a little slow. Mark Egan from Freehold did bring a nice 7.5-pound fluke in to the shop to weigh that he took from the beach. Pink Gulp was the killer bait for Mark.
Word from The Bait Shop got better while we were on the phone! Jim Wilson walked in with a 5.6-pound fluke that he just caught on the beach in the wash. Jim is a member of the Bradley Beach Surfcasters and had weighed in a 3.6-pounder earlier in the week. Looks like he is trading up! Flurries of bonito or albies blew through a couple times this week but no reports of hookups. They do move pretty quick. Kingfishing has slowed but they are still there and crabbing is dynamite.
If catching sharks is up your alley, stop in at Harrys Army Navy in Robbinsville and ask for Chris. He has been dialed in on nice sized browns and reports “bigger and better” species showing up on the surface for guys that are fishing for fluke in the ocean. Just another reminder to be totally prepared when you go out this time of year to run into just about anything. Water temps are sky high and you should not get caught with a toothpick in a gunfight. Decent fluking on the Sea Girt Reef and when this east wind turns around the surf has the possibility to light up.
Dave at The Reel Seat in Brielle has had some good reports, and a couple nice yellowfin steaks, from the Hudson. An overnight troll-chunk-troll yielded a couple very nice 60- to 70-pound yellowfin and raised two swords. Mid-range, there have been picks of yellowfin and bluefin with the bluefin seeming to turn on the jig more than other options. Inshore trolling is fun again with some bonito, spanish and squid shredding bluefish for those that don’t want to go too far. The ling bite is still a good plan, and if you want to bring a bucket of chum along, you are going to find some real solid brown sharks to pull on.
All in all it has been kind of a mixed bag week. No question you can find something to chase this upcoming weekend. Seas should stay under 4’ with most inshore areas seeing 2-3’s and really moderate winds. The water temperature is way up so being prepared for almost anything is a good idea.
Best bet this weekend is to go hit the ocean structure for fluke. Pick your times carefully so you don’t get stuck at slack tides on the reefs and bring some live bait along. Snapper blues, spot, or a live well full of peanuts will totally make a difference for you. Unless you get solid intel on an offshore bite you may want to hold off on going long and save the fuel, even though the sea conditions look totally manageable.
Stay Tuna-ed!