I think this past Memorial Day weekend was one of the best in terms of fishing and weather, we’ve had over the past 10 years. The trophy striped bass bite has unfortunately slowed down to a stall with few big bass being found on the troll. However, sea bass have not disappointed with many 10-fish limits being caught from most boats and head boats. The offshore tuna bite has started with anglers catching 150-to-400-pound class bluefin from the Triple and Resor wrecks on the troll. Fluke fishing was very good for most of South Jersey as the backwaters had the best action, especially when the water temperatures trickled past 65 degrees. On one of my charters, we had seven keepers to 6-pounds and released 25 shorts, so there has been lots of action if you can find them.
Here is this week’s rundown:
Capt. Bill’s Landing in Point Pleasant Beach had anglers weighing in some nice striped bass ranging from 35 to 50 pounds which were caught on the trolling. Mojos or bunker spoons have been the “go-to” lures to pull. A beautiful tuna weighing just over 390 pounds was brought in on the Kaley Marie. Most of the bluefin action has been around the Resor and Triple Wrecks on trolled lures and surface poppers.
Norma K III in Point Pleasant Beach reported a tough start to fluke with cold bottom temperatures, but they did drift on the beach and some other sandy areas for some short fluke. The Friday and Saturday night bluefish trips were slow on blue action, but the ling and sea bass made up for it.
The Gambler out of Point Pleasant Beach reported a tough week on fluke due to cold waters, but the vessel did manage to find some nice keepers and it should only get better as the water warms. The vessel is running two trips a day plus Thursday through Saturday night wreck fishing for sea bass, winter flounder, ling and squid.
The MIMI VI out of Point Pleasant stayed on the sea bass and winter flounder this past week bring home boat limits of these bottom dwelling fish. Some of the sea bass have been “mambos” approaching 2 feet. The skipper recommends calling to reserve a spot or book a charter trip.
Jersey Hooker Outfitter in Brick reported a good mix of sea bass and ling at most of the wrecks 5-to-15 miles out. The key has been to get on them early as many boats have “opted” out of striped bass to go for sea bass instead. Stripers have been sporadic, but diehard trollers are still putting catches together from many hours spent dragging lures. The beaches have been alive with some short stripers and lots of bluefish between 5-to-10-pounds.
Charlie’s Bait & Tackle in Normandy Beach reported striped bass and smaller bluefish picking up bunker chunks. The shop did have a customer land a big hound fish off the beach on one of their chunked bunker. The shop always has a fresh load of bunker and clam baits for anglers looking to try the suds.
Grumpy’s Bait & Tackle in Seaside Park reported a bluefish invasion off the beaches of Seaside Park with choppers up to 12-pounds picking up chunked bunker, plugs, and poppers. “It’s been a fantastic bite with a lot of anglers getting involved”, said the shop’s owner. Striped bass are still a pick off the beach with the best shots before sunrise and after sunset. Sea bass fishing is still going strong for the boats working the nearshore wrecks and snags.
Jersey Buoyz out of Forked River reported a slowdown in striped bass fishing and the vessel switched to sea bass and fluke. They have been catching limits of sea bass as the bite continues to be good at most wreck sites. Fluke have been a little tougher to find, but they did manage 4 keepers to 19-inches on one of their charters. They will be kicking off the shark fishing season in the coming days.
Lacey Marine in Forked River reported a decent bite on fluke in Barnegat Bay, but anglers had to find the right water conditions as the slime has been thick at times. Some of the fluke reported have been up to 6-pounds caught on bucktails and floating jig heads tipped with Gulp or live minnows. The shop has a wide variety of floating jig heads which are “slime-resistant” keeping baits off the bottom.
Creekside Outfitters in Waretown had a variety of reports from sea bass at the wrecks to fluke in the back. Most anglers have been working the 8-to-10-foot depths on the outgoing to produce some nice fluke. The mouth of Oyster Creek and areas around the BB marker produced a decent numbers of short and keeper fluke. Anglers venturing offshore found sharks with a 303-pound thresher caught off of Seaside and bluefin have been landed from the Resor, Bacardi, and Triple Wrecks.
Reel Reaction Charters out of Waretown and Barnegat Light was out over the weekend working the bay and inlet for a combination of bluefish to 17-pounds, short stripers, and fluke to 6-pounds. The bay fluke trips have ranged 2-to-7 keepers on the S&S BigEye bucktail tipped with bait. There are a few Sundays left and weekday afternoons are available for back bay light-tackle striped bass or fluke charters, so give them a ring.
Fisherman’s Headquarters in Ship Bottom reported a good mix of striped bass being caught off the beaches off Long Beach Island on chunked bunker and clam baits to 36-inches. Boaters have been working hard to troll up striped bass to 30-pounds but be ready to put in 10-to-12-hour days for one or two fish. The Barnegat and Little Egg inlets have had a good mix of bluefish and short striped bass. The shop received word of a decent Island Beach State Park bite on bluefish to 10-pounds. Back bay fluke fishing has been tough with anglers trying to find areas providing a decent bite. Some of the local charter captains have been finding piles of flatties in the backwaters on certain tides.
The Ocean City to Cape May areas have reported weakfish on soft plastics from the bridges and jetties during the slack high tides. Pink and white on 3/8 oz plain jig heads worked slowly in the current have been providing the best results. Monster bluefish have been in the surf along the coast to Cape May and most have been landed on chunked bunker or swimming plugs. The Delaware Bay bite has been very good for big bluefish with some providing excellent action just off the beaches in 10-feet of water. Summer flounder action was very good in the backwaters of Ocean City, Wildwood, and Cape May Harbor with fish to 6-pounds landed on bucktails and Gulp. Offshore action has been good on bluefin and some nice tilefish taken in the Baltimore Canyon. The Delaware Bay bite on drumfish continues to produce some nice fish to 40-pounds on soaked clam.
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South Jersey Fishing Forecast
We are blessed with another beautiful weekend in terms of “fishable” weather, so anglers will have shots at pelagic species like tuna and shark. Trolling feathers or ballyhoo and working surface poppers have been the best way of catching these beasts as they have been busting the surface. Anglers stuck on shore have great opportunities to tangle with bluefish up to 12-pounds from Brick to Cape May as most shore-based tackle shops have reported excellent action. The incoming tide has been very good with nice, clean water providing good feeding opportunities for these gator blues. Fluke fishing has been hot on the opposite tide, so try to find warm, clean water. Half ounce to 1-oz. white bucktails tipped with Gulp or live baits have been working and don’t forget to try the Tsunami Flats jig as this has been a fluke slayer from some of the shops. Good luck, be safe, and tight lines!