The new moon had some major ocean and bay currents this past week which affected the inshore and inlet fluke fishing for most of our area. Most of the anglers and charters this past week said it was tougher than normal. Some spots of north such as the Klondike and Sea Girt reef had some great fluke action despite the currents. On the flip side, inshore tuna action has been epic this year with anglers finding action from 10 to 30 miles out and hot spots being Little Italy, Atlantic Princess, and some of the inshore ridges. Deep jigging and trolled feathers have been working during first light. The inlets have some tog, triggerfish, and sheepshead action out of most our ports.
South Jersey Fishing Report
Lacey Marine in Forked River had slower reports of fluke in the bay, although there was some nice keepers caught under the shadow of the Barnegat Lighthouse. Anglers drifting live bluefish (3 per angler allowed on board) or peanut bunker have been finding cooperative fish around the slack high. Anglers fishing the jetty rocks are finding abundant short action on tautog along with some keeper triggerfish.
Creekside Outfitters in Waretown had great reports of blowfish action on the bay with a few anglers boasting of catches over 200 in a few hours. Fluke fishing has been slower due to the currents on the keeper front, but there has been plenty of short action. The reef sites have been pretty quiet, but some boats have been running “very far” north to find keepers.
Reel Reaction Sportfishing out of Waretown / Barnegat Light was everyday over the past week and has been getting anglers on good numbers of fluke. Most trips are seeing 35 to 60 fluke with keepers ranging from 2 to 6. A few trips did some tautog fishing and caught keepers along with a 9-pound sheepshead. The crew will be focusing more on ocean fluke for the remainder of the fluke season.
The Super Chic out of Barnegat Light has been doing both bottom fishing and inshore tuna fishing over the past week. The skipper said tuna action has been excellent on yellowfin and bluefin in close. The boat also hit some bottom areas for fluke fishing with a few of their charters. Keepers have been tough, but anglers working the jig have been able to catch.
Tony’s Bait & Tackle in Manahawkin received good reports of bluefish from snapper size to 20 inches invading both inlets and just outside a few of the bars off Long Beach Island. Small metals and jigs have been working well for these fish. Fluke fishing has been fair over the past week with some anglers able to box some keepers around the inlets, but shorts far outnumbered keepers. Bluefin and yellowfin tuna have been caught within 15 miles of Barnegat inlet, but the best action has been just before sunrise.
One Stop Bait & Tackle in Atlantic City said it was “trigger” madness over the past week for good numbers of this summertime fish hitting the buckets of many anglers. Noel said they have been hitting on clam, green crab, and sand fleas. Anglers working small bucktails around the jetties are finding shorts and keepers in the mix. Snapper bluefish and some weakfish have also been caught along the jetties during the evening hours. The Atlantic City beaches are hot on kingfish, fluke, and even some croakers.
Tackle Direct in Egg Harbor City reported a solid week fishing the ICW of Ocean City to Wildwood and the short fluke are keeping anglers busy. There have been quite a few rays in the back, so watch those lines and barbs. The ocean front was a tad slower this week, but anglers have still be able to find keeper fluke off the Ocean City and Wildwood reef sites. Tuna action has been excellent for the inshore / nearshore boats and offshore has produced good numbers of tuna, mahi, and tiles for anglers deep dropping the canyons.
Tight Lines Bait & Tackle in Somers Point reported decent fishing in the bay as keeper flounder is still being landed on the high tides. Mahi, yellowfin, and wahoo are being landed inshore from Ocean City to Sea Isle on the lumps. Triggerfish, sheepshead, and small sea bass are being landed from most of the bridges on sand fleas and green crabs.
Sterling Harbor in Wildwood reported good action from the Wildwood reef site on squid and minnow combinations for keeper fluke to 4 pounds. Triggerfish have been caught off the jetties and bridges on crab or clam. There has been some schoolie striped bass around the lagoons and back-bay bridges.
Cape May Bait & Tackle in Cape May received good reports from the Cape May reef as anglers working bucktails tipped with Gulp have been landing quality keepers. The surf has been alive with tons of little kingfish, croakers, and weakfish. The CM beaches had better action on weakfish being landed with bloodworms and shedder crabs. Sheepshead and tog have been hitting shedders and green crabs.
South Jersey Fishing Forecast
The best bet for the weekend will be to target flounder in the ocean as the reef sites should begin firing on all cylinders coming off the recent New moon. 4 to 6 oz bucktails tipped with 6 to 7 inch Gulp or fresh strip baits are the best ways to put keeper fluke in the box. Anglers looking to hit kingfish or croakers off the surf should use kingfish/weakfish rigs tipped with bloodworm. If you catch and harvest kingfish, save the heads for night-time sharking off the beaches. Generally, sharks will not pass up kingfish heads cast out past the breakers. Anglers planning on working the bay should target the inlet areas as flounder have begun their staging to deeper waters and the exodus from the bays has begun. Tuna anglers not need to go far from most of the inlets, so find the weather window and hit the 10 to 30 mile range to find keeper bluefin and yellowfin. Good Luck, Be Safe, and Tight Lines!