Southern New Jersey Fishing Report - July 9, 2015

I hope everybody enjoyed their July 4th holiday and spent some quality time with friends and family. The fluke are finally starting to chew on the local sloughs and reef sites and most boats are easily limiting out on black sea bass (2 fish limit per angler). How fitting is it that we have shark week, and the shark fishing from boats and surf has been excellent. Browns, blacktips, duskies, and hammerhead sharks have all been caught within eyesight of the local beaches. It seems like the media is jumping on shark stories, but sharks are very common when the water gets this warm and the baitfish are around. Remember, it is their ocean, not ours.

So here are the reports this week: Greg from Brielle Bait & Tackle mentioned that the headboats are doing well with fluke and sea bass at the area’s sites. Some areas to try are the Rattlesnake, Axel Carlson, and Sea Girt reef sites. Regarding the bluefish, the boats have finally found them although they are smaller than average reaching about 2 pounds.

Jason from Fisherman’s Supply reports good fluking inshore compared to the Manasquan River where mostly shorts are being picked with an occasional keeper. Sea bass continue to inhabit a lot of the area’s wrecks, but remember only 2 fish per person. There has been some good offshore action at the area’s canyons on Yellowfin Tuna, Swordfish, and Mahi.

The headboats from the Point Pleasant area have been on the fish with good catches fluke, sea bass, ling, and bluefish. Capt. Ken from the MIMI VI reports good fishing over the July 4th weekend at the area wrecks and structure points. The boat put some limit catches of sea bass along with some keeper fluke for passengers. He remarked that the boat will sail for Open-Boat offshore fishing with the target species being Tuna, Swordfish, and Mahi on July 21st and 22nd. It will be limited to 12 passengers, so call the boat for details.

The Gambler reported decent action on fluke and good action of large seabass. Most pool winners have been fluke in the 4 to 5 pound range taken on squid and spearing combos. The night wreck trips have produced Ling, American Lobster, and some squid, whereas the boat is sailing only on Saturday evenings for bluefish until the bite picks up.

The Norma K III noted an uptick in fluke fishing with fish to 7 pounds coming over the rail and the squid and spearing combo has been deadly for the doormats. Regarding night bluefishing, they have noticed a slight improvement with more 1-2 pound blues hitting smaller offerings. The Captain feels the bigger ones are not far behind.

Ray from Jersey Hooker Outfitters gave a decent report of fluke at the Red Church in 35 to 65 foot depths, and they also had a pick at the Rattlesnake to the Mud Buoy. The Sea Girt and Axel Carlson reef sites had slightly less fluke action. He noted that the crabbing is still excellent just about anywhere, and the Manasquan River has tons of short fluke with an occasional keeper. The shop is loaded to the proverbial gills with shark gear for the upcoming tournaments.

The Island Beach State Park area has had sporadic action according to Brian from Betty and Nicks Bait & Tackle. The fluke from the subs has been spotty with some keepers in the mix, but anglers must work a lot of sand to put together a catch. The area towards the Barnegat Inlet has had some bluefish near the jetty.

Dock Outfitters in Seaside Park said it’s fluke by day, and shark by night. The fluke have been hitting bucktails tipped with Gulp, and also squid and spearing combo rigs. While for the sharking clientele, it’s been wire cable attached to 7/0 hooks with mackerel or bunker to bring the toothed ones to the sand. The crabbing has been excellent just about anywhere you try.

Lenny from Capt. n Hippos reports of a spread of fluke from the BB to the 42 tripod in the bay with most be shorts on the incoming and some keepers in the mix. Mike Acquavella weighed in a nice 26-inch, 7-pound doormat caught near the Barnegat Ridge South. The shop says the throwback to keeper ratio remains abnormally high—the fish are either 22 inches or not keepable. Crabbing is on fire in the Toms River, Berkley Park, and Good Luck Point.

The Barnegat Light boats have been cashing on the fluke and sea bass this past weekend. Gina from the Carolyn Ann III said they have been having decent fluke action when the drift is right, but most of the action has been on sea bass. The pool winning fluke have ranged between 3 to 5 pounds, with spearing and squid combos taking the majority of fish.

Capt. Ted from the Super Chic has been looking for blues, but they have been spotty and smaller in the 1- to 2-pound range. The Captains have put clients on limits of sea bass and ling. He has some solid reports of tuna at the nearshore tuna grounds with the recent influx of clean, blue water. The water temperatures offshore have been in the upper 70’s and lower 80’s.

Moving around the Barnegat Bay to Creekside Outfitters where Liza reported very slow kingfish and blowfish action even with heavy chumming. The fish are just not in good quantities. The shop had some recent weigh-ins of bay doormats to 10 pounds from both the Oyster Creek and Double Creek channels around the sailboat wreck. Offshore action has Bigeye tuna to 175 pounds in the Tom’s and Wilmington canyons, while Mako sharks have been hooked at the Fingers and Tom’s canyon. Crabbing has remained exceptional in the surrounding bay, but it is important to fish the incoming.

Andy from Tony’s Bait & Tackle reported a slow pick of fluke fishing with some keepers, but you need to put in a full day to get close to a limit. Most are fish are being caught from the BB to the 42 and also at Holgate inlet but you need to pound the areas. Spearing, live minnows, and Gulp have been the go-to baits. Sea bassing is very good at the area’s wrecks, but anglers may only keep 2 fish per person.

Riptide Bait & Tackle reports “brownies” in the surf and the fishing remains epic. Andy says the shark fishing is becoming synonymous to the spring bluefish bite that the area had. It’s just that easy. The water temperatures continue to rise to 76 degrees which should bring in even bigger sharks to the shore.

Dave “the Rave” Showell from Absecon Bay Sportsman reports flounder, croaker, and weakfish in the backwaters. The weakfish have been an early morning or dusk adventure with anglers connecting on pink Fin-S soft plastics. The school stripers are also being caught on small plugs worked during the same time frame. While fluking in the back remains average with a high ratio of throwback fluke. The shop is low on sheddar crab, so if you want them you will need to call the shop. The offshore scene has had some decent Mahi at the Wilmington, Toms, and Spencer canyons.

“There are fish down here,” says One Stop Bait & Tackle owner Nowell. The shop continues to report good action of the T-jetty and his shop’s flounder candy setup has been taking some nice fluke. The rig consists of a bucktail and floating jighead combination which can be tipped with Gulp and live minnow, and the proof is in the weigh-ins. Recently, Wilfredo Martinez nailed a solid 8.8 pound monster on the shop’s setup, which comes in 15 different colors. Kingfish, croakers, and triggerfish have also been taking baits from the T-jetty with an occasional striper.

            Tackle Direct reported high ratios of throwbacks to keepers in the backbays with Gulp doing most of the catching. There are weakfish and stripers along the marsh edges when you fish at the twilight hours with the slack tides. The fluking has been good behind Margate, but anglers will need to fish through the myriad of shorts. On the bluewater front, it has been Bigeyes at the Wilmington canyon with a mix of yellowfins and mahi. The Hot Dog lumps have produced some bluefin as the bite is starting to pick up.

Fin-Atics of Ocean City reports good action at the Lindenkohl and Wilmington canyons on Bigeyes and Yellowfin, while bluefin are being caught at the Hot Dog, Elephant trunk, and 19-fathom curve. Paul Zgalick picked up a nice 157.6 pound Bigeye at the Wilmington. The inshore fisheries have been slowly heating up with fluke being a pick of keepers on the reef sites. Anglers filuking the reef sites have also reported Brown sharks and Hammerheads. Anglers fishing the backbays have also had a pick of keeper fluke on minnows and Gulp from the Longport Bridge channels.

Mike from Sea Isle Bait & Tackle mentioned that the surf sharking has been absolutely off the hook. He recommends a simple setup with a three power swivel, 24 to 30 inches of cable, 7/0 hook, and a nice piece of Mackerel fished at dawn or dusk. Just offshore, boaters are catching and releasing Spinners, Dusky, Brown, Hammerheads and some Blacktips. He even reported of his buddy battling a 100 pound shark on the fly – that is simply AWESOME!! Flounder fishing in the back from Ocean City down through Wildwood remains slow with more shorts than keepers. The shop has seen an uptick on ocean fluke from the Townsends Inlet reef site.

And rounding out our South Jersey reports is Matt from Jim’s Bait & Tackle who reports of the tuna bite starting to approach “en-fuego” proportions at the Hambone, South Dumpsite, Massey’s Canyon and the Hot Dog lump. The fluke fishing has remained the same at the area reef sites with the Old Grounds and Reef site #11. He recommends to jig the structure aggressively with bucktails, but you need to hold the boat over the snags. The triggerfish are starting to show up at the rockpiles, and kingfish can be caught at Crow Shoal and in the Cape May rips. There aren’t a boatload out there, but at least they are there.

Best Bet for this Weekend

I hate to feed into the media craze but sharking the surf is probably the best bet for surf anglers, but since all of these critters are “toothy” practice the upmost respect and care when handling them. Depending on the size of your craft, boaters basically have two viable options troll offshore for tuna or try the inshore lumps and structure for fluke. Good luck, be safe, and tight lines.