Fishing in the South Jersey area has been very good, especially in the bays for fluke. The only challenge has been catching keepers, as there are tons of shorts, but keepers are hard to come by. The average ratio for most of the charters has been 15 to 20 shorts to one keeper. The bays also have lots of life, especially any of our South Jersey bridges, with blackfish, stripers, weakfish, and sheepshead hanging out. Ling fishing on wrecks has been absolutely bonkers with many boats loading up on the tasty bottom dwellers. The bluefin tuna bite fired up early, but it seems most are heading out farther for yellowfin.
Southern New Jersey Fishing Report
Capt. Bill’s Landing in Point Pleasant Beach had anglers heading out to the Carteret and Lindy for decent size yellowfin. Beach anglers have been able to get into small bluefish early and late in the day on small metals. Sand tiger sharks have been caught by surf fishermen as far north as Seaside. A spear-fisherman also weighed in a nice 4.7-pound triggerfish which could be a pending state record.
Norma K III in Point Pleasant Beach has been picking at the fluke with a few keepers in the 4-pound range making it over the rail. Sea bass have been a common bycatch, keeping anglers busy at the rail while they wait for keeper fluke to bite. The night trips over the weekend were a slow pick for bluefish, but ling filled in the gaps with most anglers going home with dinner. The boat will be doing its annual July 4th cruise, so be sure to call for reservations.
The Gambler out of Point Pleasant Beach reported that the half day fluke trips have been progressively improving. Higher numbers of keepers up to the 6-pound range and more action for anglers fishing bucktails tipped with Gulp. The night trips have been steady with lots of decent-sized ling and small bluefish. The boat runs every day, so give them a call if interested in a trip.
The MIMI VI out of Point Pleasant has a busy schedule booked with ground fish charters, but the skipper said there are a few open trips available for sea bass, flounder and ling. They have been doing well on the wrecks with plenty of fish making it home for dinner.
Jersey Hooker Outfitter in Brick reported good action off the beaches and around the Manasquan Inlet for short fluke and bluefish. It seems the bays and rivers have been better for fluke and the shop recommends targeting the 10- to 15-foot areas.
Charlie’s Bait & Tackle in Normandy Beach reported good crabbing in the bays, docks, and marshes with lots of keepers making it home to the steamer. The fishing front has been consistent off the beach for anglers casting metals in the surf. Small bluefish, bonito, and a few mackerel have been reported. The shop recommends gearing up with light leader and small metals or epoxy jigs to target bonito and Spanish mackerel from the surf.
Grumpy’s Bait & Tackle in Seaside Park reported an amazing amount of life in the surf with the ocean waters super clean. Tons of bait have been around which have kept small bluefish and fluke on the feed. Anglers working bucktails tipped with Gulp or mullet in the surf have been catching fluke. There has been a decent number of bonita and Spanish macks in the area also. The evening bite has been all about the sand tigers, so stop by the shop and gear up for these hard fighting beasts – just make sure you release them quickly.
Jersey Buoyz out of Forked River has been targeting the Barnegat Bay for good action of short fluke with a few keepers up to 21-inches in the mix. The boat has a good number of openings for July and August.
Lacey Marine in Forked River reported decent crabbing in the Forked River and most lagoons as the shop has been busy selling crabbing supplies. Fluke fishing has been picking up with anglers reporting good action from the “BI” to the “42”, but you have to pick through a fair number of shorts to find keepers.
Creekside Outfitters in Waretown reported a superb blowfish bite in Barnegat Bay and anglers can easily catch over 100 in a few hours. The shop said to look for the 5 to 7-foot depths near the eel grass beds to find the best action. Fluking has been tough for most working the backwaters in search of bigger fish. Bucktailing seems to be the best method to catch the bigger fluke. The tuna bite has been decent offshore, and boats are running to the Atlantic Princess and Chicken Canyon in search of bluefin. The further canyons have been reporting good yellowfin action.
Reel Reaction Charters out of Waretown and Barnegat Light has been running bay charters every day to average 50 fluke per trip with 3 to 6 keepers. The boat had some nicer fish this past week close to 25 inches on the bucktail. The skipper has some openings in July and will start targeting ocean fluke towards the end of the month.
Fisherman’s Headquarters in Ship Bottom reported tons of sand tigers off Long Beach Island and anglers are kayaking bunker or mackerel baits into the deep to “sand” 5 to 7 sharks per night. Fluke fishing has been good off the surf, especially near the Barnegat Light area in the vicinity of the old south jetty. Bay fisherman have been getting great action with a large amount of fish to 17 inches in the bay. The bridges are alive with striped bass and small bluefish at night and blackfish during the day.
The Ocean City to Cape May areas have been getting large number of sand tigers and some dusky sharks right off the beaches during the afternoons and late nights. Weakfish have been steady during the 3:00 to 5:00 a.m. tides with anglers catching them on jigs tipped with shedder crabs or soft plastics dipped in shedder oil. Fluke fishing has been tough, but better around the jetties, bridges, and rock piles. Some of the inshore reef sites are starting to report keeper fluke, so it may be worth a shot.
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South Jersey Fishing Forecast
The best bet for this week is to enjoy the water responsibly. Fluke fishing is consistent in most of the bay areas, but target the deeper 12- to 15-foot holes for the best shot at a keeper. I recommend white bucktails tipped with Gulp baits. Spearing, minnows, and shedder crab has also been working. Offshore anglers have been picking up yellowfin at the canyons, and I have received reports from both the northernly and southern canyons. I would recommend calling your local shop to get the most up-to-date intel as the tuna can cover large distances in a single day as they follow bait and temperature breaks. Inshore fisherman have another option with sea bass now open to two fish per person, so keep your limit as bycatch when targeting the inshore reef sites for fluke. Good luck, be Safe, and tight lines!
I guess getting a real south jersey fishing report seems difficult…try Somers Point, OC, Sea Isle, Avalon, and to CM. Maybe someday hopefully – thanks in advance for listening to us in SJ!
Ol’ nacky been wacking the fluke! No limits in Manahawkin.
I’m frequently on the water with charter customers and don’t mind taking MY TIME to write a report; however, some magazines (not sure about OTW) want charter captains TO PAY to write a fishing report. I know, because on company just asked me to pay, even though they practically skip all of South Jersey! The guy told me a report is advertising. Maybe. I think it’s good PR and a valuable public service. Trust me, there’s no flood to jump on a charter because you read a fishing report. Right? You might trust the guy, though. Also, paying to write a report probably encourages embellishment and exaggeration of catching. (I found one bait/tackle shop to give BS reports all the time- to bring people into their business.) A few years ago, one on-line NJ fishing report site’s editor told me I couldn’t contradict one businesses bogus fishing reports because that shop paid money to write it. I told the editor his “fishing reports” were BS and ripping off innocent fishers that believed, wasted their days off, spent money on tackle and bait, for fish that really weren’t there, just based on pie-in-the-sky reports on his website. I realized then, it’s all about money. It would be nice to read a good ol’ fishing report with no strings attached.
South Jersey? How about some fishing reports for the southern most part of NJ., after all your article is supposed to be about south NJ. You skipped the southern 40 miles!