Since we have so much life in our bays and inlets, if you haven’t already now is the time to get the kids out of the house or pool. There are a lot of species which are easily caught by the youngsters and it will surely put a smile on their faces. We finally had a good influx of spot, snappers, and kingfish in our southern jersey waters, and most of the lagoons are teeming with young of the year bunker. These peanuts make great bait for a variety of species from fluke to mahi, so now is the time to start cast netting them. It seems from most of the shops up and down the state that “Fluking is hit or miss”. Some days are real good, while others are just spent bailing shorts and finding it hard to catch any 18 inches or over. This time of year, more than ever, is all about big baits which also tends to reduce your shorty catches. Remember, it’s about a 10 percent mortality with all shorts caught, so be careful with them and cut the line if you can’t get it out. Even though I pried and tried, unfortunately, I didn’t get a lot of offshore reports this week due to the weather and winds, so I apologize to my pelagic guys.
And to start our South Jersey reports section was Greg from Brielle Bait & Tackle who said the fluke are heavy in the Manasquan River, but unfortunately it’s a pick with the keepers. The ratio has ranged anywhere from 15 to 25 shorts per 1 keeper. Anglers tipping 1- or 2-ounce Spros with minnows achieved the best results. Meanwhile, the snapper fishing is excellent. They are “everywhere.” Crabbing has been excellent toward the upper end of the Manasquan River. The Mudhole and accompanying wrecks have been holding big ling and winter flounder approaching 24 inches—that is a doormat blackback.
The Point Pleasant area has seen some decent fishing according to Jason from Fisherman’s Supply. There has been an excellent bite on striped bass with anglers fishing the night bite. Most bass have been in the 22- to 28-inch range, and the spearing and rainfish have been stacked back there. Regarding fluke, it has been a fairly consistent bite with an occasional keeper. Earlier in the week before the blow, anglers got into decent keepers off of Seaside in about 50ft of water, even some of the northern party boats made the trek to the south for fish.
The shop did not have any reports offshore due to the recent weather.
Unfortunately the sea conditions affecting the ability for some boats to get into their Plan A’s, so most captains had good backup plans. Capt. Ken of MIMI VI had poor conditions out front so they made the most of it by working the inlet for fluke. The book caught a ton of fish, but only a handful of keepers made it over the rail. Ratios of 20 to 30 shorts to 1 keeper were the norm.
The Gambler had good keeper fluke fishing prior to the heavy wind and seas that ensued for beginning of the week. There has been a lot of action with shorts in the mix, but some of the keepers have been approaching 5 to 6 pounds. Bucktails tipped with Berkley Gulp have been the ticket to most keepers. The boat is looking for better sea conditions this week to hit the fluke grounds hard.
The Norma K III has also had to deal with the recent weather, and had poor fishing during the large swell in the ocean with only a few keepers making it over the rail. Once it settles, all hell should break loose. The bluefishing has been tough, but the mackerel fishing has been awesome. Most blues have been 1 to 5 pounds, and the bigger choppers should be here any day.
Jersey Hooker Outfitters recommends hitting up the schoolie stripers at night for the next few days due to the tide being right—soft plastics and plugs are the way to go. The Beaver Dam and Metedeconk have been excellent for crabbers with some approaching 6 inches. The fluke fishing had a flurry of activity in 60 feet of water off Lavallette with decent sized keeper, but the bite died out with the sea conditions. The Manasquan River has had lots of fluke, but the ratios approach 20 to 1. Some anglers have been hitting blackfish off Long Branch and Deal in about 40ft of water getting a quick keeper limit before heading to the fluke grounds.
Island Beach State Park has seen an uptick in fluke action according to Brian from Betty and Nicks Bait & Tackle. He mentioned that most of the fluke have been in the 12- to 14-inch range. Crabbing has still been solid in the back, and bluefish are semi-consistent at the inlet. The bay is the place to target as it has most of the life right now.
Dock Outfitters had an influx of snapper bluefish and small blowfish in the bay over the recent week. The crabbing has slowed a tad, but crabbers are still filling 5 gallon buckets with them. The key is to using bunker on hand-lines, which seem to be doing better than traps. The beach has had a lot of short fluke in the 12- to 14-inch range, and Phil mentioned that Area 15 and Area 21 has been holding small bluefish.
Lenny from Capt. n Hippos reported snapper blues in the Toms River caught on spearing and snapper-zapper rigs. Most bluefish have been in the 5 to 7 inch range, which also make for perfect doormat bait. There has been word of small stripers in the river hitting on clam, while the crabbing has been fantastic towards the west side of the bay. Backbay fluking has been short after short, followed by a sporadic keeper. There have been some reports of blowfish to 5 inches, but all occurring south of Tice’s Shoal. Shop-owner Lenny informed me that the shop is now an Authorized Repair Center for Okuma reels. So if you have an Okuma that needs servicing, stop by the shop.
The Barnegat Light boats had to deal with the same ground swell that the other boats had to deal with this past week. Capt. Ted of the Super Chic reported slow fluking this past week due to the swell and worked the inlet on one of the trips. The action has been full of shorts with few keepers mixed in. Most ratios have been 15 to 20 per one keeper. The skipper said that the bite should dramatically improve as the swell drops off.
Gina of the Carolyn Ann III reported a slow fishing week due to the heavy ground swell, which probably stirred up the bottom and had them in lockjaw mode. Of the trips the boat made it out, they saw good short action with an occasional keeper making over the rail and in the pail. The skipper feels as the ground swell diminishes, the bite should get much better.
Evan from Creekside Outfitters reported good bay fluking with anglers catching 20 to 40 fluke per trip with 1 or 2 keepers. The inlet area has had most of the action especially along some of the sandbars and cuts. Crabbing has been good near Oyster Creek Power Plant and the west side of the bay. Unfortunately, the shop did not receive any offshore reports due to the heavy seas.
Tony’s Bait & Tackle reported excellent fluking in the bay towards both ends of Long Beach Island and he advises anglers to work the deeper channels for keepers. The reef sites have had a lot shorts, but not too many keepers hanging around. The shop mentioned that the blowfish have been numerous from the BI to BB markers, but only in the 3 to 5 inch variety. Crabbing has been picking up especially along the marshes.
As we move down to the Brigantine and Atlantic City area, Riptide Bait & Tackle reported that the kingfish have showed up in force along the beaches. Butterfly and Cow-nose rays have also been caught in the suds from surfcasters. The spot have been showing up in the back, along with some spike weakfish. Most kingfish and spot are caught on a combination of bloodworms and Fishbites. Crabbing in the back has been good along any marshy areas, just make sure you have the bug spray to combat the greenheads.
Dave from Absecon Bay Sportsman reported a good catches out of the ICW up to 6lbs among the short fluke. With the heavy swell, most boats were forced to fish the backwaters and had lots of action on fluke. Dave mentioned that the crabbing should hit it’s stride with the summer peak coming in the next few weeks.
The Atlantic City has had a lot of consistency this season according to Nowell from One Stop Bait & Tackle and this past week was no exception. Fluke to 5 pounds have been recently landing from the T-jetty and areas around rocks. The shop’s fluke candy rig tipped with Gulp and minnows have been wacking most of the keepers. The kingfish have made it onto the beaches and anglers baiting up with FishBites or Bloodworm have had the greatest success.
Capt Mike from Stray Cat Charters has been on the fluke and throwback sea bass lately. He has been targeting areas in the 90-foot depth ranges with snaggy structure. Some of the keepers pulled this past week approached 6 pounds. The skipper said the boat has a few spots open, so give him a call if you want to get in on the action.
The TackleDirect team reported good back bay fishing this week from Ocean City to Wildwood with not that many boats making it out front due to the swell. The shorts have outnumbered the keepers 20 to 1, but there is plenty action for anglers of all ages. Frank mentioned that local jersey boats Pez Machine and MJ’s got into money with catches of tuna in the recent White Marlin Open.
The Fin-Atics shop reported fishing to be consistent in the backbay, but most keepers being bagged in deeper water channels close to the inlet. There are lots of shorts to go around, and keeper rates range from 20 to 25 short per keeper. There have been schoolie striped bass along the sod banks at dusk which can be easily targeted using soft plastics or poppers. The only outside action with consistency has been the Ocean City and Wildwood reef sites prior to the swell. After a few days of calmer seas, it should return to the pre-swell bite.
Mike from Sea Isle Bait & Tackle reported a tough week outfront due to the weather. The conditions were only conducive to the backwaters where anglers lit up the snappers. The snapper have officially invaded the backbays and should keep some of the bigger fluke around. Crabbing remained excellent, while the kingfish were much more consistent in the surf this week for anglers using bloodworms and Fishbites. The real action was the good night bite occurring on schoolie stripes along the sods.
Jim’s Bait & Tackle rounds out our Cape May report good fluking at the Old Grounds and also in the backwaters. The shop suggests trying the deeper channels in Cape May Harbor and around the commercial vessels. Regarding inshore action prior to the swell, the shop got good reports of skipjack, false albies, and spanish mackerel on the East Lump. The offshore action has remained Bigeye territory with the Wilmington having the hot bite. It seems that the canyons are teeming with both blue and white marlin. Most blue marlin have been in the 200 to 300-pound range. For the surfcasters, Cape May Point has been the hot spot on Croakers, Kingfish, and a lot of short fluke around the rockpiles near the Cape May lighthouse. The surf shark fishing scene has slowed up due to the recent full moon.
Best Bet for the Weekend
Since the variety of species has been along the beaches and bays, it seems trying the surf for kingfish and the bays for snapper blues would be the most surefire tactic. If you have a chance, take a kid fishing, both of these species are fun to catch for kids. Bloodworms and Fishbites would be the way to go for the kingfish, while small spoons or small baitholders hooks tipped with spearing will work. Good Luck, Be Safe, and Tight Lines.
Super information,THANKS!