Wahoo!

What a beautiful beginning of the week we had in South Jersey…then not!  Clear skies and nothing more than rolling seas for the most part before the storm rolled in.  Many of our anglers took full advantage of the opportunity to get out on the water and test their skills against just about every species except for the striped one that all of us are waiting for.  There is no question that the mullet run is on, but with the water temperatures still in the mid 70’s inside our 3-mile limit, the stripers are just not here yet.  Sure, there are some catches of resident fish, but there is more anticipation than action.  It will take a few days to find out if this storm was any kind of a game-changer.  By and large, the report is a little thin this week since very few have ventured out due to the present conditions.

Here is the good news; things are starting to get interesting in Montauk.  Our on the scene angler Brian Lee, NY’s East End Fishing Forecast reporter, is seeing big increases in both numbers and size of stripers being landed and sighted.  The water temp up there is moving into the 60’s and the linesiders are getting active.  Stripers are “stacked up” in the Montauk rips, and there are fish being taken from the beaches.  The big blues are mixed in and the drag screaming has begun.  Gentlemen, start your engines!

Ron at Fishermens Supply in Point Pleasant reports that there have been a couple of bass showing up at the pier in Seaside, but most of the activity is bluefish.  Fluking near the mouth of the river and in the inlet has been exceptional for size, if not numbers and if blowfish is your thing, Barnegat Bay is still holding good numbers.  The mullet are out and running, but nobody is on their tails…yet.

Rich at Jersey Hooker Outfitters in Brick was yawning when I called.  That is just the kind of couple of days it has been.  There are still a few guys tossing to snapper blues and blowfish and there was a good pick of fluke inshore before the blow.  Offshore, a “pick” is just about what those that chose to take a shot ended up with.  A pretty good showing of wahoo for the high speed trollers and spotty reports of whites and tuna.

Same scoop from Scott over at The Dock Outfitters.  Some fluke taken on the beach by guys dragging bait. Cocktail blues were around to bend the rod as well.  There is plenty of mullet…everywhere and a very occasional bass is showing up for pluggers.

I always get a kick out of talking to Val down at Oceanside Bait and Tackle because she really loves to fish herself.  Sometimes I can’t get her because she is out grabbing a few fluke off the jetty in her “backyard”, which is what she did on Sunday.  She was using fresh mullet, and the flatties had mullet and sand crabs in their bellies.  Val says the beach is hot with bluefish and she has filleted a couple 6-pounders for customers.  One of her guys, Dante, pulled a 10-pound flattie out of the suds on a bucktail tipped with a 4-inch white Gulp swimming mullet.  Speaking of mullet, that is what the blues are full of, no surprise there.

Mid-shore, Team Tackle Direct out of their huge facility on Tilton Rd. in Egg Harbor township did a great job of trolling up loads of albies and bonito, even though that was not the target species.  After having only marginal success on the deeper reefs on fluke, the target turned to wahoo.  There have been record number of these speedsters ripping up gear and dumping spools at a heart-stopping rate this season.  A Pro-staffer, out solo on his recently reconditioned Seacraft, took down an 80-pound bolt of greasy fast lightening by himself on Saturday.  Warm water and a little determination can certainly make some remarkable things happen.

The advance forecast for the weekend is looking pretty good with moderate seas and winds around 10 knots from the south.  As summer flounder season winds down (ending on a Friday this year, 9/29) those of us that want to vacuum seal that last pack of fluke fillets should get at least a couple more chances,  Nearshore water temps will drop just a little, still too high to have high hopes for linesiders, still plenty high to keep targeting mahi, ‘hoo, and little pelagics.

Best Bet for this weekend is a mixed bag.  Decent fluke catches in channels near inlets sound like a good idea since much of the reef rocking has been coming up with only shorts.  The mid-shore troll should still be a blast on albies and bonito if you are willing to lighten up the gear, but watch out for Mr. ‘Hoo… he could cost you a re-spool, but leave you with a great story!

Stay Tuna-ed!