Get out there!

WOW! I am just returning from running two out of the last three days out of Margate for tuna with another TackleDirect Pro staffer and I can tell you that if you did not do the same thing, you are going to be bumming.

There is an EPIC bluefin tuna bite going on in the southern tuna grounds that is just simply off the hook. If cameras still used film (for those of you in your 20’s, film is something we used to take pictures of the Flintstones with), Kodak stock would be through the roof (Kodak?)! On the troll, on the jig, on the chunk.

On almost a daily basis the bite has moved around from the Hot Dog to Masseys to the 19 Fathom lump, but the entire body of water down there is simply teeming with life. Whales, huge mats of bait on the surface, and tuna chicks hovering so densely that they actually look like surface bait from a distance. Under the telltale signs, beautiful bluefin in decent numbers and decent size. I’ll take a guess-timate that they average right around the over/under size which put’s them around 70# although fish in the low hunnies have been collared as well. Add to the mix in the almost 80 degree water, some small yellowfin, an occasional wahoo, and on our trip yesterday a Mako that fought the good fight for 45 minutes and won that would have clocked in at somewhere over 300#. Lost less than 30 yds from the boat, this dinosaur cleared the water for a triple flip almost 250 yards away on hookup. After wrecking our spread it finally chewed through the leader while making a straight line dash towards the boat that pushed up a wall of water close to a foot high. Did I mention there was only two of us on board? Get the pic?

Not enough excitement for you? There is more. The southern canyons are holding Big Eye, and they are eating too. The overnight yellowfin bite in the Washington has had some very seasoned charter skippers saying they were on their way home from their best overnight trips ever… these guys do not use that term lightly.

You toss in that the seas have been dead flat for the last 36 hours (writing this Thursday morning) and you have what may have been a couple of days to talk about for seasons to come. The other show has got to drop, right? Right.

The wind goes Southwest again, and even the inshore is showing building seas from 2’ at dominant duration of “it doesn’t matter” seconds to 4-6 into the weekend. Even worse than no fish, is plenty of them and you cannot get there. That’s the news I just had to share. Send your hate mail to Mike Shipton’s email as he is better at dealing with irate readers than I am.

Ron at Fisherman’s Supply in Point Pleasant has good news from the local party boats out working the nearshore reefs for fluke. The flatties have begun chewing out there as they make their transition from the back and coolers are getting filled. Anglers on the beach are fluking up a storm as well with the new GULP SQUIDO being a new twist in the equation. Offshore at the AP, there are bluefin, so go get one.

Connected with Rick from Jersey Hooker in Brick and the action on flatties has been pretty good. Squid & Killie combos off of Heron Island has put together some good catches and the water off Asbury, about 35’ seemed to be the number, was a hot spot for keepers. The Jersey Hooker ran an open boat and put 16 in the box up to 7.7#. The Point Pleasant Canal is still giving up some bass on swim shads and the crabbing over by Beaver dam Creek has started to really produce.

Jake over at Pell’s Fish & Sport in Brick backs up the fluke moving off a little with good catches off Seagirt Reef. There are still a few stripers in the river and the snappers have grown up to perfect fluke bait size, about 4”.

I was lucky to get Jill on the phone from Reel Life in Point Pleasant (not that I wouldn’t prefer to talk to one of the guys there….much). She reports that fluking in the river is still a good bet using GULP or a GULP Killie combo. The Manasquan Ridge is a great place to get your gear torn up by bluefish, and there are reports of smaller bluefin in the Glory Hole area.

Moving a little further South to Tom’s River Dennis from Murphy’s Hook House is all about the crabbing. He dropped 2 pots for a 24 hour soak and ended up with just over 50 beauties. Water in the river is up to 84 degrees and that has slowed down the fluking a little but there are still croakers and spot in the mix to be played with, especially by the 37 bridge. Taylor blues are running the inlet if you want to throw off the jetties and there are still some blowfish by the BB. Couple of small bass reported on clam off of the beach.

Also in Tom’s River, Chris at Better Bait & Ice has news of the blowfish still hitting it near the power plant. Some smaller blues in Tom’s River and there was a pretty good fluke bite in the evening near Casino Pier.

Cruising down the Parkway to around Exit 63 we take a turn to port to Tony’s Bait & Tackle in Manahawkin. Kevin tells us that the blow fishing in the back is still good if you chum them up heavy. A good by product is that the flounder and some weakies will come in on the slick as well. Speaking of fluking, the cooler incoming tide water seems to be sparking the bite so pick your spot. Offshore, news of some small to medium yellowfin at Lemke’s. They are barking up squid when they hit the deck just in case you were interested.

This is where I usually do my weekly TackleDirect report. Instead of re-writing the top of this week’s column for you , let me just remind you all that I was out at ICAST last week on their behalf and shot 90… NINETY, product videos of all the latest gear and apparel from the biggest sport fishing show in the world. You can check out my handsome mug and all that pretty new bling in the video library at TackleDirect.com.

In Ocean City, it is Fin-Atics for the scoop and Jake was ready with it when I called. There has been a pretty decent backwater fluke bite going on as the fish transition out to the nearshore reefs. A few local boats had nice catches at the Ocean City Reef the past couple of days, which is great to hear. Once they set up out there it will be a weekend parking lot but non-warriors should have good midweek action. The beaches are still giving up kingies and spot and the occasional keeper fluke for those dragging a bucktail with your meat of choice on it. The offshore bite is the talk at the counter though, with the Big Eye at the Washington we spoke of earlier at the top of the list.

Mike at Sea Isle Bait & Tackle is stocking up all that new space he has since the expansion. He did steal a day this week to fish and hit the reefs for some nice sea bass and a killer tog dinner. Be sure to check out all his new supplies if you are in the neighborhood.

Talk to anyone in Cape May and they are going to be talking tournaments. It is that time of year again and I will be keeping you up to date on what is happening or what just happened on the latest episodes of “Trolling for Dollars” as the biggies get underway over the next couple of reports. Stick with me and stay in the loop.

Best Bets for the Weekend

Best bet for this weekend, with the seas looking uncooperative (although you might just have to buy an 82’ Viking to get to the tuna with reports like this), is to work the back and work it hard. There are still fluke, spot, kingies, and some schoolie bass in the backwaters if you time and pace your tides and daylight hours properly. I really do not think it is going to be an offshore weekend unless you have a really big boat and indestructible body parts. Bar that strategy it is, after all, July. Maybe a kingfish rig and a personal bikini contest?

Stay Tuna-ed!