Doormats in the Deep
When it rains, it pours. That could easily be the prevailing description of the last several weeks. We seem to be in a pattern of extremely hot, dry weather with brief periods of torrential rain. This can make planning a fishing day extremely difficult if not impossible at times. That is not to say the fishing has been bad. Quite to the contrary, if you put the time and effort in, it has been pretty good. If you pick your spots (and I mean that literally) and plan each outing, you have a better than average chance to put some fish on the table. That’s where we come in. OTW has the coast covered from the Delaware Bay north (and then some on occasion) which will help you in your efforts. Let’s see what our informants have to say this week.
From what I have been hearing, it’s been hit or miss when it comes to the offshore fishing. Pick the right canyon or flats and you will do real well. Pick the wrong one and the skunk could be chasing you home. Captain Rich Wilkowski and the crew of The Jersey Hooker Outfitters (Brick Township) must be allergic to skunk spray. Be it at their bait and tackle shop or their charter boat, they always seem to know where the fish are hiding. As witnessed by their performance in the recent White Marlin Invitational out of Beach Haven Yacht Club. The Hooker cashed a big check for weighing a three tuna catch in excess of 140 pounds. Way to go Captain Rich and Crew! The fish were taken at the 500 line of the Hendrickson on the troll. Ballyhoo and Sea witches were the attractant. Locally, Captain Rich informed me his customers were doing real well working the reefs. Blackfish, sea bass and fluke can all be had on the same drifts. Off the beaches, kink fish are the most abundant species with fluke and taylor blues running neck and neck. Weakfish are still being caught in the back and the crabbing has been nothing short of legendary around Beaver Dam Creek.
When I last checked in with the crew at Sea Isle Bait and Tackle, Owner Mike Cunningham was standing guard at the maternity ward. I understand that they now have a new apprentice at the shop. Welcome aboard Finn Patrick! By all accounts he is definitely a keeper. And with all that going on, Mike still had time to give me the low down on the local fishing. In the back, the bait is thick with peanut bunker and spot leading the pack. Small hook rigs will keep the kids busy with spot and kingfish. Pluggers can have fun at dusk tossing top water lures like a Rapala and have plenty of small striper hits. Fly anglers are doing well with Clouser Minnow. Out front, the most active reef has been the TI of late. Nice fluke up 10.7 pounds with a mix of smaller sea bass. Mike also let me know of the first reports of cobia in the area at the Sea Isle Lump. Buck Tails tip with squid seem to be working on the cobia. Of the beaches, if you can get through the spot hovering inside the breaks, kingfish are your best bet but there are some nice flounder to be had there as well. Once again, Congrats to you and the bride.
Dave Showell at Absecon Bay Sportsman Center has been going nonstop chasing spot to fill up his holding tanks. When he isn’t out baitfish hunting, he is usually taking a charter out in the back bay for a quest. This week, his target seems to be weakfish and flounder and he has been having success with both. The flounder have acquired a taste for spot and Dave has all your live well can handle or you can catch or net your own. He also has the Sabiki rigs and cast nets to assist you there. Weakfish have been real active, according to Dave, from Main Marsh through Meadow Cut off the ICW. Best bait is shedder crabs which coincidently Captain Dave has plenty of at the shop. Flounder fishing has been better in the inlet and at the inshore reefs. Triggerfish and some sheepshead are all over the place from the Brigantine Bridge to the AC reef. Calico crabs are the best bait for these species and green crabs as a second choice. Hell, any crab will give you a shot at them and maybe a nice Tautog as a bonus.
I always enjoy speaking to the gang at Captain Hippo Bait and Tackle in Toms River. Wish I could tell you why but most likely it’s because they always seem to enjoy themselves there. And believe me, this time of year when it’s hot and crowded, that’s not the easiest thing to find at the shore. I missed the big boss Lenny this week but did have a nice chat with Sandy as she was hand-tying some of Lenny’s Lance-It Snapper rigs which she told me were flying off the racks. I guess that means there are plenty of small bluefish in the area. Sandy gave me some tips on the freshwater scene too. Crystal Lake has been giving up some nice hybrid striped bass mostly on top water lures. Bait of choice is fresh herring but big fat minnows will do the trick as well. If you are looking for pickerel, then head west on the Tom’s and rig up some shiners or better yet, use a Mepps spinner for success. Some nice small mouth bass in there as well. Fluking in the back has been a little slow according to Sandy but much better at the inshore holes. Crabbing has been spectacular, especially around Berkely Island. Captain Hippo’s has all the bait and gear you will need for a fun day chasing blue claws, just pack your lunch.
Better Bait and Ice in Toms River has been getting lots of reports of big crabs throughout the bay. Fluke fishing is also going well, particularly around the BB Buoy. There’s a wide variety of fish in the Bay right now, including bluefish, weakfish, kingfish and still some pufferfish and white perch. Plenty of options there for anglers, and if you want to catch them all on one trip, there’s no better way than chumming with grass shrimp. Surf fishing for fluke has been slow in the rough weather, but as things calm down, the fluke ought to return to the beach.
Head across the causeway into Seaside Heights and when you get onto the island, the first tackle shop on your right will be The Dock Outfitters. Easy to find and one stop shopping for all your angling adventures, including boat rentals, bait, tackle and even a bite to eat. It doesn’t get any easier than that! Access to Barnegat Bay and Island Beach State Park are all within a stone’s throw. Off the beaches, you have a choice of snapper bluefish, fluke or kingfish so make sure your tackle box has the right equipment for the job. Fresh cut baits or artificial lures like Berkley Gulps will help you land the big one. In the back, blue claw crabs dominate the angling arena. John Yac at the shop also reported that some customers bottom fishing off the piers have been coming up with short striped bass so I am assuming you would have good success throwing a top water lure at sunset or sunrise. I would throw one on the smaller Stillwater Lures Smack-it’s to get their attention. Farther back in the bay, I have heard some reports of weakies being caught on shedder crab or by anglers jigging metal or small leadhead jigs with pink soft plastics.
Tackle Direct may be the biggest on-line purveyor of fishing gear in the world but it also has a first class brick and mortar facility on Tilton Road in Egg Harbor Township. This week, the consensus in the shop was flounder in the Inlets and Ocean City reef will give you the best opportunity for dinner fare. Gulp, squid and mackerel strips matched with live minnows or spearing are the best attractants. If you are targeting linesiders, top water plugs are starting to work well as the water warms up. Dusk and dawn from the sod banks will almost certainly get you some action. Use metal, like Hopkins or Crocodile and a wire leader if blue fish are your goal. One to two pound tailor blues are all over the place chasing the peanut bunker and spot, just look for the commotion and cast into it. No reports of croakers in the area but there are seemingly millions of their cousin, the spot, visiting us from down south. A better flounder and striper bait you won’t find. All you need is a sabiki rig and small bait and you are set. While you are at it, look along the beaches for northern kingfish with a similar set up. Fish Bytes artificial baits or Gulp bloodworms will turn the tide for them.
America’s number one Family resort has many local attractions but in my eyes, one of the big advantages of visiting is the different kinds of angling available in the general vicinity of the town. You can hit the beaches, bays, inshore or offshore with relative ease and come home with nice table fare. Which is best for you? That’s a good question and one that you can just as easily get answered by visiting Fin-Atics Marine Supply on West Avenue in OC. I spoke with Joe at the shop to see what was going on over there this week. The majority of the flounder activity was taking place at the Great Egg and Ocean City reefs respectively. Short drifts using any combination of spot, peanut bunker, minnows and Berkeley Gulp have been putting fish up to 8 pounds on the deck of the boats. Cobias have also been reported by the boaters chasing sharks. On the sand, the best bet has been Kingfish bite. Bloodworms or artificial lures like Fish Bytes are working real well. Try Corson’s inlet or the old piers right before there. If you are looking for some quiet time with the family but still want to fish, Joe suggested that you check out the new fishing piers on the Ninth Street Causeway. There are two of them and you can access from each side of the structure. Some nice flounder have been caught there and it is a very relaxing place to put a crab net over the rail and take home some hard shell crabs for the dinner table. Not a bad way to spend a day with the kids.
Long Beach Island in the center of the state is another of the fine vacation resorts that keeps the economic motor of the state purring along. But without a boardwalk, one sometimes needs to scramble to keep the activity rolling along. Luckily, it is also close to some of the best indhore and beach fishing in the state as well. And when I am in the area, I always stop in Tonys Bait and Tackle in Manahawkin for the best info on local conditions. The way I see it, any family owned shop that has been around since before the Great Depression must know every nook and cranny of the island. I ‘m rarely disappointed with their directions. And the shop is one of the best stocked on the coastline. On the island this week, there have been reports of brown sharks and cow-nosed rays all along the beaches. So pack up your heavy gear and don’t forget the wire leader. Fluke are still being caught off the beaches but the keeper to throwback ratio has definitely gone up. Barnegat Bay has been the best place to track down a keeper fluke of late. We are also hearing of anglers targeting weakies and have terrific days in the Great Bay. Best bait available is shedder crab according to the customers at Tony’s. You didn’t hear it from me but the area around Newman’s Thorofare in GB could be a secret spot. Just Saying! Crabbing has been good in the Oyster and Double Creeks and you might want to give fluking a try there as well. It was hot earlier in the season but the fluke bite has cooled off a bit of late. Inshore reefs have been good with some reports of nice fluke. Don’t forget to try some smaller hooks on the reefs as there are Sheepshead and plenty of trigger fish around for a while now. Be sure to stop in Ton’s for all your bait needs before you head out. If there is a better place in the LBI area for fresh or artificial baits, I haven’t tracked it down yet.
I think I finally figured out why they call it Two Chums Bait and Tackle in Sea Isle City. Every time I call there, Lou is in the midst of fixing up his famous “secret sauce” which is added to their bait packages. So when I called today, I was not surprised to get the skinny from Joe at the shop. The beaches are loaded with spot and kingfish. From 14th street north seem to be the best producers. Snapper blues all over the place, use small metal and light tackle for some real fun. Fluking has been decent, more so out front at the reefs than in the back. However the inlets are fiving up decent fish and the jetty hounds are scoring with the occasional tog taken on green crab. Townsend’s Inlet area has been good. Joe also told me that their rental fleet has been very busy with summer folk heading out for blue claw crabs and coming back with nice catches. Nothing can top a plate of hard shells and a cold beer on a hot summer evening.
It wouldn’t be a fishing report for south Jersey if I didn’t mention the Delaware Bay. But it has been a tad slow in the bay itself according to Chuck Hinchcliffe of Off the Hook Bait and Tackle in Cape May. Croakers and the occasional keeper flounder are the talk around the docks. For real action, the pros are pushing to the reefs for sea bass and keeper flounder. The Ben Franklin has been doing well but be warned, it’s a rig thief. Make sure you have plenty and a good set of clippers because you almost certainly re going to need them eventually. Chuck also told me he has had reports of cobia as well. No specifics but if memory serves me, when they are around, the area around Hereford’s Inlet is usually a good place to track them down. Buck tails and eels is the old timer’s prescription for success but long strip bait can be just as effective. I have heard more reports of cobia this week than in the past five years combined.
Best Bets for the Weekend
There is more bait around then I can ever recall. Plenty of peanut bunkers, loads of spot all the way north to Manasquan. And now I am hearing reports of baby croakers. With that much bait around, you are going to need to do two things in my opinion. One, match the hatch! Your best baits will be those that the target fish are feasting on. Spot and peanuts are great flounder bait and I have talked to anglers that are having great success using spot strips on weakfish. The second must is to fish the deep holes front or back. Water temperatures are averaging around 78 degrees. So I would find the deepest holes I could and present the best baits for their review. The big fish are all hiding in the cooler water. In addition, I would change up a bit. Make sure your arsenal includes hooks for tog, triggers and sheepshead and appropriate baits. Calico or green crabs are a must. If you are fishing deep, you have shots at all these species. I have personally seen fish up to 15 pounds taken by prepared anglers. In the back no less! And make sure you have a rod rigged for cobia. Not only is it a fun fish to catch but a great fish to dine with. Looking for the sure thing? I suggest crabbing (almost anywhere in the back) or kingfish (almost anywhere off the beaches or jetties). Whatever you do, have fun and stay safe. You only get so many days in the game, spend them wisely. See you on the incoming.