Southern New Jersey Fishing Report - September 24, 2015

It’s official.  Summer is over and so is the fluke season with all of the damn wind, forgive me.  Sadly, the summer flounder season officially closes this coming Saturday, but with all of this Northeasterly stuff, last weekend may have been the “unofficial” end to the season and your last chance for fillets.  I think I hear the pleasantly plump lady singing.  With the last final week of fluke being literally “blown away” and most tackle shops, headboats, charter boats reporting severe inactivity, I just hope the fisheries management doesn’t see us overfishing this week.  Hopefully someone hears me on that one.  Just prior to the blow, it was really starting to come together:  fluke at their usual September spots, pelagics caught just off the beach to a few miles out, and the canyons lighting up on Mahi and Tuna.  I’ll end on a postive, at least the NE winds lit a firecracker under most of our resident stripers.

You may hear this a lot, “WIND”, as reported by Brielle Bait & Tackle which has claimed many of the regular anglers took a slight break from fishing.  The true hardcore salts are still catching some keeper fluke in the Manasquan River even in the wind.  While the offshore bite was good on Bigeye and Yellowfin Tuna in the 110 to 190 pound class on small, plain AVA 67’s.  The striper bite has been decent near any lighted, structured area a.k.a. Route 35 bridge.

Fisherman’s Supply reported “WIND” and some guys are still out there catching this past week.  Fluke have been bailed in the Manasquan River and Striped Bass have been caught at night on soft plastics and bucktails near the Route 35 Bridge.  Just prior to the the blow, bluefish have been hitting from Sandy Hook to Island Beach State Park (IBSP) in the 1- to 2-pound range.  They received a confirmed report on Yellowfin in the offshore canyons.

Capt. Ken of the MIMI VI made it out prior to the recent blow to fill the boat on Bigeye Tuna and Mahi at the deepwater canyons.  The boat will be sailing open boat canyon trips through October so given them a call, especially with the latest weather

The Gambler said they had great fluke fishing just prior to the heavy winds with some anglers banging fluke in the 7 pound to 9 pound range.  Most of the fluke were taken on bucktails tipped with Gulp.  The boat will be finishing out the fluke season, but call ahead to see if they are sailing due to the predicted weather.

The Norma K III had decent action through the weekend with keeper fluke being caught on bucktail and Gulp.  The bluefish bite picked up on 2 to 3 pounders mixed with mackerel.  The boat hasn’t sailed the past few days due to the weather and the skipper recommends calling ahead before coming down with the predicted NE winds.

Ray from Jersey Hooker Outfitters has been dealing out live eels to most of the hardcore surfcasters and kayakers for the recent Striped Bass bite.  The inshore pelagic bite was gaining steam on Spanish Mackerel, False Albacore, and Atlantic Bonito from the sands out to 4 miles Shark River to Barnegat Light.  Fluking is over this Saturday, but it will be very tough conditions for most.

Betty and Nicks Bait & Tackle reported WIND and Bluefish from the hardcore IBSP surf fisherman.  Brian said, “Even in the challenging conditions heavy bucktails with strips of mullet have been catching bluefish on nearly every cast.

Phil from Dock Outfitters recommended breaking out the big sticks before hitting the surf zone due to the NE winds stirring everything up.  The truly hardcore anglers have been throwing bottle darters, heavy metals, and 3-oz bucktails in these conditions, and for the baitcasters it’s about 8oz to hold.  Fluke season ends Sept 26th, but the sea conditions will hold most headboats and recreational guys at the dock.

The Super Chic was out over the weekend targeting fluke and it may have been the last fluke trip of the season due to the predicted sea conditions through the weekend.  When they could fish, the fishing was a pick on keepers with lots of shorts.  The boat will be starting it’s Tuna charters as soon as the winds and weather subside.

The crew of the Carolyn Ann III reported good fluking through the weekend and a few anglers got their five fish limit.  The fishing slowed quite a bit as the winds increased, and the boat will be looking at the sea conditions throughout the rest of the week.  Gina said to call ahead to check if the boat will be sailing.

Creekside Outfitters reported good fluke fishing North and East of the Barnegat Light Reef for most boaters.  The heavy fog last weekend kept a lot of boats bayside, but the ones that made it out were rewarded with nice flatties.  The past few days have had most anglers dockside and most likely will shut the fluke season down, according to Liza.  On a positive note, the Striped Bass have started to bite with the recent weather and fall temperatures.

Moving south, Tony’s Bait & Tackle reported that unfortunately the NE winds will damper the fluke fishing with most boats staying tied up throughout the week and weekend.  Prior to this blow, the bite was pretty solid out on the reef sites (Barnegat Light, Garden State South, and Little Egg).  In the back, Bluefish, Black Drum, and Weakfish are still prevalent at the vicinity of the Causeway Bridge and adjacent areas.  Small Kingfish, Croakers, Fluke, and Dogfish are hitting in the LBI surf zone.

Riptide Bait & Tackle reported that the Brigantine area has had it’s Bluefish bite ignite with the recent NE winds and some of the choppers landed were up to 9 pounds.  Among the blues, schoolie Striped Bass have also been chewing on bucktails, soft plastics, and swimming plugs.  The mullet have been thick and starting to stage for their southernly migration.  The offshore action wasn’t anything less than epic on Mahi and Tuna prior to the latest NE blow.

Dave of Absecon Bay Sportsman predicted that the Fluke season “unofficially” ended last weekend due to the week-long through next week NE winds.  “The sea conditions are dangerous out there and not too many boats are going to make it out”, said Dave.  But anglers can stay in the backwater to pick at decent sized Weakfish along the ICW in Great Bay, Main Marsh, and the mouth of the Egg Harbor river and Mullica.  There has been some action in the surf and some Mullet have been slowly making their way which should ramp up just prior to the upcoming Full moon.

Nowell from One Stop Bait & Tackle reports good togging off the jetties with greenies being the bait of choice.  It’s about 6 shorts to 1 keeper on the tog.  The surf zone just prior to the blow was giving up Kingfish, Croakers, Bluefish, and some Fluke.  “We will see how a week of NE affects the fishing, it should jumpstart the resident Stripers”, advises Noel.

Fin-Atics reported some better keeper Kingfish action on bloodworms and Fishbites in the surf.  The boats have also been getting them in Rainbow Channel.  On the flounder front, the Great Egg and Townsends Inlet Reef sites were producing prior to the blow.  Meanwhile, Striped Bass have been biting on mullet and spearing near the sods and bridges.

Mike from Sea Isle Bait & Tackle reported lots of Wind, but guys can still fish in the protected bay waters for Southern Kingfish.  Anchoring the vessel and using lots of clam chum will bring them in and bloodworms should get them to bite.  Short Striped Bass are hitting under the cover of darkness, but near any lighted structure.  Work those small bucktails and soft plastics to get them to bite.

Jim’s Bait & Tackle of Cape May rounded out this week’s windy report with the fluke bite being about the same, but Del. Reef site #11 having more keepers than most.  There was some False Albies caught off Cape May over the weekend on Deadly Dicks, Kast Masters, and Hopkins lures.  There has been an unusual amount of Lesser Amberjack caught along the beaches.  They aren’t bad to eat, but need to be kept very cold to keep the meat from getting soft.  The inshore troll bite was mainly False Albacore, Skipjack Tuna, small Bluefish, and Mahi prior to the recent winds.  Offshore had some decent action on Marlin and Yellowfin at the Washington and Wilmington Canyons.  The surf has been picking up with Bluefish feeding on mullet at the Cape May Point, and Redfish are still being picked up on mullet at Diamond Beach next to the inlet jetty and Poverty beach.

Best Bet for the Weekend

I hate to say it, but this may be the weekend to catchup on your gear and get ready for the Fall fishing to come.  For the more hardcore anglers as myself, I think the only game in town is going to be on the backwater species so use those protected bay waters.  I recommend working the night shift to hit up the Striped ones on soft plastics, bucktails, or live-mullet.  Good Luck, Be Safe, and Tight Lines.