A rather slow week in terms of fluke fishing with the passing of Dorian off our coast as the bite definitely was affected by the ground swell and stirred bottom. It has been getting back to normal but has taken some time as boat’s have been reporting catches of 8 to 10 pounds. Kingfish and weakfish have been picking up baits off the beaches and the backwaters have started to fire up on striped bass and small bluefish. There are tons of peanut bunker and mullet in the bay and the movement has started. It’s been tough offshore, but there should be some tuna around as the rest of this month and through October are usually lights out for canyon action.
Here is this week’s rundown:
Capt. Bill’s Landing in Point Pleasant Beach had good reports of lots of blackfish hitting green crabs in the Point Pleasant Canal and there have been some keepers in the mix. The Manasquan Inlet does have some keeper fluke hanging around the edges and bluefish to 3 pounds were picking up metals this past week. The shop has a full line of artificials for bluefish, bonita, and the albies when they arrive.
Norma K III in Point Pleasant Beach reported a nice improvement in the fluke fishing the past few days with some better sized flatties coming over the rail. The morning and afternoon trips have been seeing fluke to 10-pounds and some anglers have been getting their 3 fish limit. The boat is sailing for bluefish on Friday and Saturday nights and will switch over to porgies and blackfish when the fluke season ends.
The Gambler out of Point Pleasant Beach reported quality fluke, but slow fishing in terms of quantities mostly due to last week’s storm. The night bluefish trips have been very good with lots of bluefish coming over the rail. The crew still has some room left on a few of the offshore canyon trips which target tuna.
The MIMI VI out of Point Pleasant reported a little tougher on the bottom-fishing after the recent brush with Dorian, but it has been slowly improving. The crew has some openings and will target flounder, fluke, ling, and triggerfish, so give them a call.
Jersey Hooker Outfitter in Brick reported fluke still biting at the Axel Carlson and Sea Girt Reef sites, but some anglers have been doing better at wrecks a little further offshore. The Point Pleasant Canal is loaded with tog and there are some keepers in the mix. The beaches have had a variety of fish from bonito to fluke as September is a great time of year to target the suds.
Charlie’s Bait & Tackle in Normandy Beach reported slower fishing off the beach with some fluke, bonito, and bluefish being caught. Anglers are getting some keeper fluke on bucktails tipped with Gulp. The shop has signups for its 8th annual 4-day surf tournament in November, so stop by and enter to win.
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Grumpy’s Bait & Tackle in Seaside Park had some quality reports of Spanish mackerel hitting epoxy jigs and metals on the Island Beach State Park surf. Anglers also reported good numbers of 1 to 3-pound bluefish picking up mullet off the suds. Although a little more challenging, there have been some keeper fluke hanging in the deeper cuts in the surf zone. Don’t forget this Saturday is the shop’s St. Croix Rod Demo Day, so stop by and try them out.
Lacey Marine in Forked River reported tog picking off green crab baits at the inlet and around the jetties. There are triggerfish handing around the areas and these fish are excellent table-fare. The backwaters have been pretty good on short striped bass to 18 inches on live peanut bunker, mullet, or soft plastics. The fluke bite has been a little slow due to the recent bottom-stirring storm, but the shop did get some reports of anglers landing flatties to 10 pounds.
Creekside Outfitters in Waretown reported a slowdown in the fluke action over the past week, although some anglers did find them to 6 pounds. Most reports from the ocean were slow due to the recent storm. Anglers are still finding keeper fluke in the bay as most have been caught around the inlet. There has been some Spanish mackerel and bluefish hanging off the Island Beach State Park and Long Beach Island beaches. Metals are the best way to target these southern speedsters.
Reel Reaction Charters out of Waretown and Barnegat Light has switched over to weekday trips starting at 3pm and weekends as the skipper is back to teaching high schoolers. They did fish right after Dorian and his charter had relatively slow action out front with short fluke, short tog, and 5-pound fluke on the bucktail.
Fisherman’s Headquarters in Ship Bottom reported a slowdown in the ocean fluke with anglers only reporting a pick from the GSS, GSN, and BL reef sites. The bite did pick up towards the middle of this week as the bottom has started to clean up. The mullet run is in full swing and the shop is selling them fresh for big fluke and beach bluefish. There has been some small striped bass caught along the sedges during the top of the tide and most have been picking up live Peanut Bunker or soft plastics. The Barnegat Light area is the place to be for blackfish as most areas of the jetty have them picking up green crabs or Asian shore crabs.
The Ocean City to Cape May areas reported good kingfish action off the surf from Brigantine to Wildwood along with some Spanish mackerel being landed off the metal jig. The reef sites were hopping prior to Hurricane Dorian and the bite has begun to slowly get back to the pre-storm bite. All of the reef sites from Little Egg south through Cape May have reported good bites on quality flatties. Whole squid or Gulp jigging grubs tipped on bucktails have been the hot baits to use. The backwaters, especially around the tidal creeks, are teeming with small striped bass to 18 inches and these have been great on soft plastics.
South Jersey Fishing Forecast
The best bet for this weekend will be to target bluefish, tog, or triggerfish off the inlets and jetties on Saturday as the weather forecast does not look do-able for most vessels. Mullet for the blues and green crab for the tog and triggers. Sunday looks much better for the boaters, so I would recommend hitting the inshore wrecks and reef sites to target keeper fluke as the season is almost coming to a close. The backwaters are another area to get the rod bent with striped bass, tog, weakfish, and even some fluke around the area’s bridges. The great thing about our bay bridges is that they are easily targeted by boat, kayak, or by land. If you can cast net live peanut bunker or mullet, then it should be game on for fluke, striped bass, or bluefish.
Remember, there is only one week left for summer flounder. Good luck, be safe, and tight lines!
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