Southern New Jersey Fishing Report- June 27, 2019

This past week has seen warm temperatures in the surf and clean incoming water. Porpoises have been showing up in some of the rivers and bays. Fluke fishing has been much better off the beach with surf anglers working rigs and bucktails to catch up to 15 fish per outing. Most have been in the smaller variety, but it is still a blast with 7-foot light tackle. The bay fishing has perked up with the quarter moon tides and keepers have been more prevalent. Manasquan River, Barnegat Bay, Great Bay, and Cape May Harbor have reported fluke up to 8-pounds on the bucktail. Offshore action has been very good with bluefin and bigger makos being landed 25 to 40-miles out, but the key has been picking the good weather window. As we close out June and enter July, fishing at the Jersey shore is shaping up.

Southern New Jersey Fishing Report

Capt. Bill’s Landing in Point Pleasant Beach had bluefin tuna and mako sharks being reported offshore on trolled ballyhoo and bluefish fillets. The new regulations have kept many of the Makos swimming for another day which over time should help the overall size limit as long as they don’t get picked up by long-liners. Fluke fishing remains consistent along the Manasquan Inlet with fish being caught off the jetty rocks.
 
Norma K III in Point Pleasant Beach had pretty good action this past week with a fair number of shorts and keepers being netted by the mates. Anglers bouncing bucktails tipped with Gulps are doing much better on the keeper front. Pool winners have been in the 3 to 5-pound range and it seems like a decent bite is starting to occur. The bluefish trips have been producing mackerel, small bluefish, and ling. It’s best to enjoy these fish by light tackle, so bring a light spinning rod if planning to go.

The Gambler out of Point Pleasant Beach was on the fish this past week with a decent amount of ling, fluke, and throwback sea bass being landed. Sand sharks, blues, and some bonito were also caught on the most recent trips. The keeper fluke are starting to get better with some nicer fish being caught up to 5-pounds. It should only get better as the water continues to warm through the next month. The Friday night trips have had a good mix of ling and small bluefish.
The MIMI VI out of Point Pleasant has been wreck fishing for ling, cod, winter flounder and even some fluke with the close of the sea bass season. Capt. Ken said it was an absolute banner year on the sea bass front and he hopes the fishing continues once it opens again. The boat has a limited number of charter spots available, so give them a call.

Jersey Hooker Outfitter in Brick reported great crabbing in the rivers and backwaters with many hand-liners catching buckets full of 5+ inch jimmies. Bluefish have been picking up baits of the beach along with some short fluke in the suds. Some of the beaches such as Island Beach State Park have reported sand tigers being landed in the early morning hours.

Charlie’s Bait & Tackle in Normandy Beach reported the area beaches have a good number of small fluke in the area and these can be caught on 3 to 4-inch Gulp baits. Bluefish have also been picked up off the beach for anglers casting small metals. Bay fishing continues to be good and anglers are starting to report good numbers of blowfish.

Grumpy’s Bait & Tackle in Seaside Park reported good numbers of summer species being landed off the beach. Cownose rays, sand tiger sharks, kingfish, and some bonito have been caught from the boat and off the beaches. The water has been very clean making for some decent fluke fishing off the surf. Anglers fishing Joe Baggs resin jigs are hooking up with nice bonito just past the breakers.

Jersey Buoyz out of Forked River has been catching a lot of fluke, but keepers have been very hard to find. The crew did run to the Barnegat Ridge trip catching bonito and over 50 bluefish. The skipper has some open dates for offshore bonito and fluke trips.

Lacey Marine in Forked River reported a decent bite on fluke from the BB to the BI in the 8 to 10-foot ranges on bucktails tipped with Gulp or live minnow. A few weakfish have been landed, but most are only 12 inches. Bluefish and bonito have been caught just offshore within the 3 mile line on soft plastics and small metals worked quickly.

Creekside Outfitters in Waretown reported a decent bite occurring from the research buoy south to the “42” marker on keeper fluke. There are a lot of short fluke in the mix, but some of the keepers have weighed over 8 pounds. Bucktails or rigs tipped with minnows have done the best. Crabbing is very good right now, especially around some of the western marshes and blowfish have been caught in the same areas on cut clam baits. The shark chum and baits have been flying out the door due to the good bite occurring offshore.

Reel Reaction Charters out of Waretown and Barnegat Light has been running daily charters in the bay until the fluke start moving out to the ocean. The bay bite has been very good with most charters catching 25 to 45 fluke and boxing 2 to 4 keepers per trip. Most of the bigger fluke have been in the 5 to 6 pound range and have been caught in very shallow waters. There has been some small striped bass and bluefish caught from the inlet area on white S&S Bigeye bucktails.

Fisherman’s Headquarters in Ship Bottomreported a mix of kingfish, sand tigers, fluke, and bluefish off the Long Beach Island beaches. Anglers working the south jetty of Barnegat Inlet have been catching both short fluke and bluefish. The bridges have been alive with schoolie striped bass which have been hitting soft plastics during the night tides. The bay has a good mass of blowfish from Barnegat to Little Egg and these tasty critters can be targeted in the 4 to 6-foot depths.

The Ocean City to Cape May areas have had a decent number of vessels make out to the canyons to target mahi and yellowfin tuna. Most of the offshore action has been on trolled feathers and ballyhoo. The beaches have started to report good numbers of sand tiger sharks picking up baits and if the Kingfish are around – the sharks will be there. Backbay flounder fishing has been a little challenging with large quantities of shorts and few keepers. Weakfish are still around the local bridges and can be easily targeted with soft plastics, bucktails, or shedder crab. Anglers have reported some quality sheepshead being taking on Gulp and artificials.

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South Jersey Fishing Forecast

The best bet for this week is to get out and do some type of fishing. It may be as simple as grabbing the 7-foot spinning gear and driving to the nearest beach with bucktails in hand. There is nothing more pleasurable than walking the beach and casting for fluke. If you plan on fishing the bay or inlets, boaters should target some of the 8 to 10-foot areas off-channel areas for keeper fluke but be ready to catch 15 to 20 before putting a keeper on. Bucktails tipped with live or natural baits such as spearing have been working well on keepers. Areas of structure such as pilings or bridges, especially in Brigantine to Avalon areas, have started to see quality sheepshead, so target these areas with crab or Gulp baits. Offshore anglers still have excellent opportunities to get on the bluefin and yellowfin bite depending on how far you want to run. Most of the bluefin action has been between 30 to 60 miles of most South Jersey ports with the Monster Ledge, Alantic Princess, Little Italy, and Chicken Canyon producing good bites. Anglers have reported tons of life with false albacore, whales, dolphins, and bluefin feeding on schools of sand eels. If you plan on targeting yellowfin, then be ready to run to the southern canyons with the Wilmington and Baltimore having the best bites. Crabbing seems to be hot everywhere, so grab the hand-lines, bunker, and bug spray. Most of the dock and marsh access areas are great places to crab and get the little ones started on the saltwater scene. Good luck, be safe, and tight lines!