Fluke continued to produce for fishermen in Northern New Jersey over the past week. Though the fish have been easy to locate, keepers aren’t common and shorts are far more likely to be on the end of the line.
Parker Pete’s has been having success, frequently pulling in double header shorts when the conditions are good, and even keepers upwards of 8 pounds have been brought onboard in the past week. The crew reports that water temperatures are steadily improving and getting towards where they would hope they would be at this point in the summer.
The guys at Skylarker Sportfishing have been turning away from the fluke fishery saturated with shorts and have had success with cod. To the despair of New England fishermen, cod have been solid in northern Jersey, with the Skylarker catching them locally in the area of wrecks within 25 miles. Some of these fish are even attaining considerable size tipping the scales at 20+ pounds.
Keyport Marine Basin has been reporting some fluke of serious size, including a 10 pounder out of Reach channel, as well as a lot of action coming from the area surrounding Buoy 13.
Notable fish reported by Tackle US in Laurence Harbor include a 200 pound thresher shark and a massive 13 pound fluke. Interestingly, cow-nosed rays have been everywhere just off the beaches, so life is in the area.
Harry’s Adventure Outfitters reports solid action with fluke, sea bass, and blackfish at the local reefs, with squid being a heavy-hitter as well as Gulp grub (particularly 6”, nuclear chicken coloration)
Giglio’s Bait and Tackle in Sea Bright has been seeing the same sort of fluke situation as everywhere else in the area, but with the added bonus that some short stripers are in the mix. Both fluke and striped bass are slamming squid, particularly for the kayak fishermen just off the beaches. Also noted by Giglio’s is that the size of snapper blues in the area is increasing, as well as that of the crabs.
According to Julian’s Bait & Tackle, the fluke fishing has slowed down somewhat in Atlantic Highlands. Keepers are still around at the Mud Buoy and some more distant reefs, but it’s mostly shorts in most areas of the bay. Other than fluke, Julian’s has reported roaming schools of porgies in the area, as well as success going for ling and sea bass.
The Miss Belmar Princess found good action with big bluefish early in the week, but on Wednesday, the bluefishing was spotty, so the boat switched over to sea bass and fluke and did well.
The Shark River inlet continues to produces solid catches of fluke, though the size may be lacking, as reported by The Bait Shop in Bradley Beach. The area is flooded with finger mullet, peanut bunker, and spearing so live bait is key if you want a bite. Unfortunately the beach hasn’t been as successful as from a boat outside the inlet and even with that you are still looking at a short to keeper ratio of 20:1. Further into the river, small snapper bluefish are becoming common, but nothing crazy yet.
The Suzie Girl out of Belmar has done well in the fluke, sea bass, and ling fisheries, but has not been as successful with bluefish as they would hope at this point in the season. Cooler water temperatures than normal have slowed the arrival and distribution of bluefish in the area, though some are still definitely around.
Best Bets for the Weekend
Fluke fishing is providing great action, and even though most of the fish are shorts, it can still be a fun day on the water. Try using larger baits to weed out some of the small fish, and fish tight to structure, where the larger fluke will hold.