Southern New Jersey Fishing Report - September 3, 2015

Well, we are officially into September and fast approaching the late Labor Day weekend.  The bay waters are starting to set the stage which hopefully will make for a fantastic fall.  Whoever can hear me, please be quiet on the tropical storm front.  The fluke fishing has started to fully erupt at our reef sites, and the backwaters are quickly thinning out as the keeper fish move offshore.  Fortunately there are still plenty of short fluke, blues, spot, kingfish and blowfish to keep it interesting.  The offshore bigeye bite has been borderline epic.  Although sometimes I feel like a dentist trying to extract locations from some people.

So to start off this week’s northern South Jersey report was Brielle Bait & Tackle who said there has been some good quality fluking this past week coming from the party & headboats.  Most are fishing in depths from 50 to 70ft and Greg reports that most keepers have been caught on mackerel strips as compared to Gulp baits.

Fisherman’s Supply said the reef sites were hot this past week when the drifts were good.  Bucktails tipped with Gulp or fluke bellies have been steadily producing keeper fish.  Jason mentioned if you can find some smaller debris field off the beaten path your much better off at scoring keeper flatties.  Structure and rubble piles a few miles from the inlets have been producing.

The Point Pleasant boats reported better fluking this week when the conditions were right.  The MIMI VI has been targeting fluke at the local rockpiles and debris fields to put clients on quality keepers.  The boat does have some open-boat trips available for canyon tuna that they have been booking.  October 20th/21st are available, but contact the boat for details.

The Gambler has also been targeting keeper flatties in the 3 to 5 pound range with the occassional 7- or 8-pounder making it into the net.  Anglers bouncing bucktails with Gulp have been accounting for some of the bigger fish, and there has been plenty of short fluke to keep anglers busy.

The Norma K III picked at some decent size fluke when the drift conditions were right. They have been fishing around rocks and rubble which has been holding some decent fluke this time of year.  Anglers using whole squid and bouncing Gulps have been doing the best.  The Bluefish trips have been challenging, when some trips have a good bite on 2 to 3 pound fish, while other trips have a hard time to find the bite.

Jersey Hooker Outfitters reported a pick up in the fluke fishing especially near the inlet and off the Bathing Beach off Island Beach State Park (IBSP).  Surf fisherman working bucktails tipped with spearing or Gulp in the suds have been able to keep at least two fish @ 16 inches, and there has been some nice fish weighed in.

Dock Outfitters reported that fluke are still being taken from the surf off IBSP by those wiling to keep at it.  The key is for anglers to fan-cast and to keep moving.  Bucktails tipped with white or chartreuse Gulp is still the way to go with these fish.  Remember, you may keep two fluke @ 16 inches, but it counts against your five fish bag limit (surf only).  On the crabbing front, the blueclaws slowed some with the short to keeper ratio on the rise.  Hopefully that will change with the September moons.

Lenny from Capt. n Hippos said they had keeper fluke in and around the Barnegat Inlet, especially off the rocks.  If you can cast net live mullet or peanut bunker, then your in the game.  Snappers are still in the Toms River in the 6-7inch size class, while crabbing still remains solid on the west side of the bay.  There are short fluke in the bay, but the population is starting to thin out.   The shop did get a report of some day and night Brown Sharkin’ from the IBSP area.

The Barnegat Light boats have been picking at the bottom fish over the past week.  Capt. Ted from the Super Chic reported fluke fishing increasing over the past week, especially on keepers.  He has been working open-bottom in the 50 to 60 foot depth ranges to box quality flatties for his clients.  There are also some croakers and weakfish around in the 30 to 40ft depths.  The boat has some dates available for Sea Bass/Stripers in late October and throughout November.

Gina from the Carolyn Ann III reported quality fluking with the drift conditions cooperate.  There are plenty of shorts to keep anglers busy, but they have to work hard for their keepers.  She said over the past week, the bite has been far better on mackerel than it has been on Gulp.  This might be due to the amount of mackerel that have been present in the areas.

As we move across Barnegat Bay to the steps of Creekside Outfitters, Liza reported above average fluking north of Barnegat Inlet in the 50 to 65-foot depth ranges.  She aslo mentioned that the Barnegat Light Reef has been pretty consistent on the bite.  In the backwaters of the bay, the blowfish have been doing better with most customers picking at least 10-12 per outing.  She also got a quality report of weakfish just south of the inlet in the 30 to 40-foot depth ranges, but most are spikes.  The crabbing has still been going strong in the bay, primarily south of Waretown.

As we move towards Long Beach Island, Andy of Tony’s Bait & Tackle reported fluking definitely picking up with the flatfish on the move to their offshore grounds.  The reef sites, particularly BLR and GSS having the best concentration of quality flatties with the GSN and LE having less action.  Bay fluking is starting to wane, but the inlet areas have still been producing some keepers.  There are small bluefish, kingfish, and croakers off the surf and out to the 30ft depth ranges.

There has been an influx of small kingfish (minnow size) according to Brigantine Andy of Riptide Bait & Tackle.  Croakers and snapper blues have also been hitting the sands, along with the more spotty Brown Shark bite.  There have been short fluke in the back with the rare keeper, as most of the action has turned oceanside.

Dave from Absecon Bay Sportsman gave a nice report with scattered flounder inside and out, but the backbay fishery is peetering out.  Keeper flounder have been boxed outside on structure, while croakers, kingfish remain just outside the surf line.  Up the river, white perch are starting to turn on at the mouth of the Mullica, while striped bass remain biting at night along the sods.  Sheepshead and Tog have been landed with more consistency along the jetties and bridges.  Dave said there have been plenty of anglers picking up metals for the bigger sized bluefish frequenting the Great Bay and Great Egg Harbor Bays which have been chomping on mullet and peanut bunker.

The Atlantic City area has had rods bending the majority of the time on a variety of saltwater species according to Nowell from One Stop Bait & Tackle.  Lots of kingfish are hitting bloodworms in the surf in addition to croakers, bluefish, and spot.  The action has been the best towards Caspian Avenue along the seawall.  Nowell noted that the possibilites are endless with the amount of fish in the area, not to mention all of the mullet and spearing which provide ample forage for the gamefish.  It’s just a matter of rolling the dice and stopping down there.

The boat fishing out of Longport has had some quality fluke sorties according to Capt. Mike of Stray Cat Charters.  He has been targeting flounder boxing a few for the table on every trip.  The boat has been prying the 70 to 90-foot depths and fishing some of the skipper’s special lumps.  Bucktailing and their custom rigs have been doing most of the keeper action.

Tackle Direct reported good flounder fishing in the structured areas with bottoms approaching or deeper than 90 feet.  They also reported some nice keeper fluke to 6 and 8 pounds from the surf off the beaches south of Margate.  Striped bass action remains good on shorts, but it is mostly a night thing.  The offshore bite has remained off the hook for Bigeye Tuna and there have been “loads” of Mahi on the pots in the southern canyons.  Craig recommends getting out there early and first.  Tilefish and Barrelfish have also been good along the canyons, but look for the muddy areas.

Fin-Atics reported a typical start to the Labor Day holiday week with lots of small sea bass, bluefish, and flounder in the backwaters.  The surf fishing has slowed on the Brown Sharks and there has been some kingfish from Ocean City through Avalon.  If you want keeper flounder, then head to the reef sites or associated structure areas, with the Atlantic City reef and Townsends Inlet reef site providing the most consistent action.  Big strip baits and bucktails have been the trick to the keepers.

Mike from Sea Isle Bait & Tackle reported small kingfish, spots, and snapper blues from the surf from Sea Isle down through Wildwood.  The backwater is loaded with little sea bass, short fluke, and some mixed in bluefish.  The place for keeper flounder have been the reef sites, mainly good reports coming from the AC reef and Wildwood reef site.

And to end this week’s southernmost report is Jim’s Bait and Tackle out of Cape May.  Matt reported fluke fishing remaining about the same as last week.  Lots of shorts with few keepers, with the Cape May reef site providing the best ratios on keepers.  The inshore bite has been dead, with the green water that has continued to stay on the nearshore lumps.  There has been good action in the Canyons with the Baltimore and Wilmington giving up the best results on Marlin and Bigeye Tuna.  The surf along the Cape and DE Bay has been giving up some Croakers and Kingfish, with the occasional spike weakfish.  The rockpiles near the lighthouse and Higbee’s beach have been the best spots.

Best Bet for the Weekend

The marine forecast looks a little rough until Sunday, so your best shot as catching might be to work the inlets, especially ones that consist of rock-lined jetties.  I recommend throwing a bucktail tipped with Gulp and teaser up-current, almost parallel with the rocks and work it down current by employing this method it keeps your offering at a good lookin’ angle that will entice biting fluke.  Don’t be surprised if you box a doormat because they hunker close to the rocks.  Good Luck, Be Safe, and Tight Lines.