Southern New Jersey Fishing Report – August 8, 2019

The first week of August down, and the bluefin bite continues to be hot with weigh stations reporting fish to over 100-pounds. Most of the action has been occurring on the troll or jigging early morning as it’s been a 1st light bite. Bonita and Spanish mackerel are pretty thick at the Manasquan and Barnegat Ridges as angler pulling Clark spoons reported lots of action on the troll. Fluke fishing has improved in the ocean from the few days of Easterly winds and most reef sites are reporting keeper fluke along with some nice sea bass. This is the perfect time of year to target triggerfish, tog, and sheepshead off of our local jetties. Most of the shops have reported good quantities of triggerfish along the jetties in South Jersey.

Here is this week’s rundown:

Capt. Bill’s Landing in Point Pleasant Beach reported good bluefin action with the bite being very hot around the Glory Hole on 80 to 100-pound class fish. The shop is stocked with butterfish, sardines, and trolling essentials. The inshore fishing has been pretty consistent for keeper fluke from the Axel and Sea Girt reef sites.
 
Norma K III in Point Pleasant Beach reported some decent fluke being caught this past week along with nice sea bass and ling. Anglers working Gulp and bucktails have been producing the best on keepers and some of the new Gulp colors are producing. The weekend night trips have been producing good numbers of bluefish and mackerel on light tackle and the night ling fishing was outstanding with all anglers returning home with full bags of fillets.

The Gambler out of Point Pleasant Beach reported a few nice fluke being caught with Chris Bloom of Philadelphia boxing a solid 11-pounder. The fishing has been pretty good with limits being caught especially for the anglers working bucktails. The night bluefish are providing good action on 1 to 3-pounders and there has also been some mackerel caught. The boat is sailing twice daily for fluke during the week.

The MIMI VI out of Point Pleasant had good bottom fishing with lots of ling, flounder, and 2-fish limits of sea bass on most of the trips. The boat has been targeting some of the deeper water wrecks to find quality catches and they have some limited open boat trips coming up. It’s best to give them a call to reserve your spot.

Jersey Hooker Outfitter in Brick reported good fluke fishing occurring at the Klondike Bank, Sea Girt, and Axel Carlson reef sites. The bite seems to be “off” and “on” every few days with most of the keeper action coming on Gulp. The jetties are producing some nice tog, and it seems to pretty easy to box your one keeper at 15-inches. The shop is loaded with green crabs and clams for triggerfish and tog.

Want to get in on the bite? Find an OTW-approved Charter Fishing Captain for New Jersey

Charlie’s Bait & Tackle in Normandy Beach reported good fishing along the beaches for fluke and cocktail bluefish. The keepers are in the surf, but you have to work a wide area to find them. The shop has officially set the dates for the 2019 8th Annual Surf Turkey fishing tournament, so give them a ring or stop by for details.

Grumpy’s Bait & Tackle in Seaside Park reported the typical summer fishing scene with fluke, cocktail bluefish, kingfish, and some rays being reported from the beaches. The jetties have been producing some nicer sized fluke and triggerfish, along with keeper tog. Blue claws have been pretty good this past week with some nice sized ones coming in to 6.5 inches point to point. The docks bayside are still producing good amounts of blowfish and snapper bluefish.

Jersey Buoyz out of Forked River has been catching fluke and some sea bass at the local reef sites and they have a few openings in the coming weeks.

Lacey Marine in Forked River reported a pretty good bite on bonita, Spanish mackerel, and mahi along the Barnegat Ridge for anglers trolling Clark spoons and daisy chains. There has been a good amount of bluefin being caught over the past week from the areas around the Glory Hole. Fluke fishing in the bay has been slow on keepers for most anglers, but the shop has heard of a few nice ones caught near the inlet.

Creekside Outfitters in Waretown reported a very good bite on bluefin tuna from the 40 to 60 mile range from Barnegat Inlet. The shop has had several weigh-ins with tuna up to 100 pounds and most have been caught either by jigging or trolling. The local reef sites and open bottoms along the beaches have started to produce keeper fluke and most of the action has been on the squid and spearing combinations. Bay fishing is still producing fluke, blowfish, and there are even some spike weakfish around. Crabbing is still good, especially in some of the lagoons and creek areas.

Reel Reaction Charters out of Waretown and Barnegat Light reported pretty good fishing over the past week for their charters with keepers ranging from 4 to 6 fluke per 4-hour charter. Anglers have been releasing 35 to 50 fish per trip with some being close to 18-inches. Most of the action has been in the bay, but the crew did their first ocean charter and reported limits of fluke. There are some limited openings the last week of August.

Fisherman’s Headquarters in Ship Bottom reported a hot bite on bluefin tuna occurring from the Chicken Canyon and Atlantic Princess as most of the action has been on the troll and jigging. Some of the fish being weighed in have reached 90-inches. The Barnegat Ridge area has been pretty good on Spanish mackerel, bonito, and some small mahi. The shop got word that the fluke action along the Barnegat Inlet jetties has been good on bucktail or live baits. Bay fishing remains good in terms of numbers, but it has been pretty tough to find keepers for most fisherman with some of the local charters doing better. The Long Beach Island surf has lots of kingfish, fluke, and bluefish being caught and the higher tides have been producing better.

The Ocean City to Cape May areas reported good fluke fishing at most of the inshore reef sites with Little Egg, Ocean City, and Cape May reefs being among the hottest on the bite. It seems that the fish are beginning to stage as some of the inlets have had some quality fish. Townsends and Corson’s had fluke up to 7-pounds from anglers drifting live spot along the main channels. There are plenty of throwbacks to keep the young and old busy and ratios have been running about 12 to 1. Weakfish are being caught off the jetties on soft plastics and also at some of the ocean stops. Offshore action has been pretty good on yellowfin, mahi, and billfish as some of the tournaments have had good amounts of fish caught and released. The southern canyons are still producing along with some of the inshore spots for bluefin tuna. The 750 Square and Lemke’s did have some action earlier in the week.

South Jersey Fishing Forecast

The best bet for this weekend would be to fish bay and inshore on Saturday as the sea conditions will be calming down and Sunday looks like the day to run offshore for pelagics. The inshore reef sites are really starting to fire on all cylinders for fluke, but don’t be afraid to try drifting a 1/2 mile to mile in front of the sites as piles of fish are beginning to move out of our bays to station on the wrecks. You can intercept them on their way out as they will still be on the feed. Another great place to try is most of our inlets as this is where fish will begin to stage prior to the push inshore. Jetties, Bulkheads, and even buoys are holding triggerfish, sheepshead, and tog which can be caught on the slacker portions of the tide. Bay fishing is still an option for fluke, weakfish, blowfish, and crabbing as August is month when things begin to move around in preparation for the Fall migration. Good luck, be safe, and tight lines!

Want to get in on the bite? Find an OTW-approved Charter Fishing Captain for New Jersey