With the weather settling out and the water clearing, this weekend holds a lot of promise for South Jersey fishermen. Reports this week were excellent, especially for anglers looking for a variety of species.
At the top of the tide, when the water is at its clearest, the flounder bite has been very good reports Dave at Absecon Bay Sportsman Center. Each storm seems to shut down the flounder bite for a little, Dave explained, but with the weather looking stable for the weekend, the flounder fishing should really improve. Dave said the stripers are still around. During the days, live spot are the best bet for fooling stripers. After dark, lures are working well. The hot spot lately has been in front of Harrah’s after dark. Weakfish action keeps getting better as well.
Ocean City Fishing Report
The crew at Fin-Atic’s Marine Supply in Ocean City is reporting excellent fluke fishing. Two of the hotspots include Rainbow Channel and 17th Street. The keeper ration has been fantastic, and anglers have been able to take a few keepers home each trip.
Bluefish are biting well, with cut bait working during the day, and lures working after dark. The bluefish seem to be most concentrated around bridges in the back bay, especially after sundown.
Dunking clams along the 9th Street Bridge has resulted in some keeper stripers lately, with fish as large as 34 inches coming in. On the beach, bunker has been working for stripers, especially at the south end of Ocean City.
Also in the surf, kingfish are taking bloodworms, sandworms and bloodworm imitations, all available at Fin-Atic’s. Head to Corson’s Inlet for the best shot at weakfish. Pink soft plastics, , Mirr-O-Lures and bloodworms are working there.
Sea Isle City Fishing Report
Nice kingfish are running in the Sea Isle surf according to Mike from Sea Isle Bait and Tackle. The kings have been joined by weakfish, spot, blowfish and even croakers, making it a guessing game as to which species is going to take the bait next.
Sea Isle Bait and Tackle suggests Townsends Inlet is the current hot spot with stripers feeding there at night, weakfish biting at dawn and fluke and bluefish being caught during the day.
In the ocean, there hasn’t been too much talk of flounder, but the sea bass fishing has been excellent on the wrecks. Some wrecks have been picked over by heavy fishing pressure, but Mike said most are still holding big numbers of sea bass.
The back bay flounder bite has been great according to the crew at Two Chum’s Bait and Tackle in Sea Isle. One lucky angler caught a 23-inch doormat in one of the Two Chums rental boats. Plastic baits like Berkley Gulp and Zoomhave been best.
Weakfish are biting well on shedder crabs in Sea Isle’s back bays.
Cape May Fishing Report
The southern tip of New Jersey is still producing good weakfish catches. The weaks have been averaging 4 pounds according to a report from Hands Too Bait and Tackle in Cape May.
There have been a few kingfish off the Cape May beaches, and mixed in with them have been blowfish and spot. Bloodworms are the best bait for all of these species. On the inlet jetties some triggerfish have moved in as well. These fish are great fighters and bite well on squid or clams.
Hand’s Too reported some croakers moving into the Delaware Bay also. These fish move in big schools, so once you find one, usually you can count on catching a bunch of them.
The fluke hotspot, according to Hand’s Too, has been the ICW, but more flounder are being caught out front each day.
Best Bets for the Weekend
It would be a crime to let this beautiful summer weekend slip by without catching at least a couple of the species swimming through South Jersey’s waters right now.
If I had to choose one location, it would be Townsend’s Inlet. Start there at 2:30 or 3:00 looking for stripers around the bridge lights and shadowlines. As the horizon starts to lighten, I’d tie on a pink soft plastic and a 3/8-ounce jighead and begin working the sodbanks and bridge pilings looking for a weakfish. When the sun gets a little higher, I’d switch to a small spoon to look for bluefish, or a bucktail and Berkley Gulp to bounce bottom for fluke.
If only stripers are in your sights, the 9th Street Bridge in Ocean City or the waters in front of Harrah’s in Atlantic City both seem like good bets. Just remember, for summer stripers, nighttime is the right time.
If you can hop on a boat, the fluke bite seems like it’s getting ready to pick back up in the backwaters as the water clears up. For lots of action, the sea bass at the wrecks are the right call. Bring some clams and top and bottom rigs.
You also can’t go wrong dunking a piece of bloodworm on a high-low rig with small hooks off the beach. This could tempt any number of species, with kingfish being the most likely. Keep a couple kings for the frying pan after a relaxing day on the beach.