We had an excellent week in terms of fluke fishing as we approached the new moon phase, but the bite slowed with the stronger tides and heavy rains (freshwater influence) mid week. For ocean anglers, we had a nice uptick with more fish being caught at the 40-55 foot wrecks and reef sites. Tuna fishing was excellent on the moon with a good number of yellowfin being landed at the Baltimore and Wilmington canyons. Most of the tuna have been in the 40 to 60 pound range and spreader bars have been working the best as compared to overnight chunking. The last quietly active report has been the amount of WEAKIES caught from the bays. We are definitely seeing more, but anglers are still hush-hush to specific locations. Jetties, bridges, and deepwater marshes are popular spots if you hit them early and small jigs tipped with shedder crabs are working also.
Fishing Report For Southern New Jersey
Hook House Bait & Tackle in Toms River received good reports of fluke being caught from Manasquan Inlet south to Island Beach State Park. Pink Gulp and squid strips have been the hot baits of the week for anglers working the suds. Boaters started to pick some keeper fluke from the Barnegat Reef site and around the inlets. Crabbing has been excellent along parts of Barnegat bay and marsh areas.
Lacey Marine in Forked River had quality reports of good flounder action in Barnegat Bay with some nice ones caught from the “BB” to “BI” buoys. Most of the action has been on jigs and Gulp. Some anglers did have a few weakfish picking up jigs meant for fluke. The inlet had a decent number of small bluefish and school striped bass on the incoming tides. The shop did receive a few offshore reports of yellowfin caught from the southern canyons in the 40 to 60 pound class.
Jerzey Buoyz Sport Fishing had some routine maintenance performed this week as the skipper was out of town on a family vacation. The crew will be back at it this upcoming week for bay and ocean trips.
Creekside Outfitters in Waretown had solid reports of crabbing over the past week for dock, bank, and boat fisherman. Liza said bunker has been the hot bait especially around the sod banks. Anglers working fluke had a decent week from most of the bay spots with keepers to 7 pounds being caught.
Reel Reaction Charters out of Waretown and Barnegat Light was out nearly every day and the charters have been averaging 6 to 10 fluke per 4hr trip. The bite has been excellent coming off the New moon and should continue into this week. The crew will begin running some ocean fluke trips in the coming weeks when the ocean temperatures begin to ramp up.
The Super Chic out of Barnegat Light finished the sea bass season and will work the bottom for fluke and bluefish. The skipper has a canyon troll booked tomorrow and will get me a report over the weekend on offshore action.
Tony’s Bait and Tackle in Manahawkin had another solid week of reports of good fluke fishing from the middle grounds and south of Little Egg inlet. The reef sites have produced some keeper fluke, but the bite slowed down with the cooler water temperatures. The mid-island bridges have had some small striped bass and weakfish. Crabbing was good this past week around the western parts of Barnegat Bay.
Tackle Direct in Egg Harbor City reported an onslaught on sheepshead from the bridges from Somers Point to Sea Isle. Fiddler, sand crab, and Asian shore crabs have been the best baits to use. Flounder action was good for depths in the 8 to 15 foot ranges and short to keeper ratios have been running 10:1. Offshore action has been best at the southern canyons with good numbers of 40 to 60 pound yellowfin being caught on trolled spreader bars. The Mullica River and some of its tributaries have been producing excellent white perch action.
Tight Lines Bait & Tackle in Somers Point received a fresh shipment of shedder crabs which have been perfect baits for quality fluke and weakfish the past week. The shop received lots of angler reports of weakfish around the bridges and sedges. Fluke have been weighed in at the shop up to 5 pounds and there have been some nice drum caught off the beaches. Offshore action has kicked into gear with some nice yellowfin caught in the canyons.
Badfish Charters in Ocean City has been working hard for fish in the backwaters and his crews have been catching striped bass, weakfish, flounder, and bluefish. The skipper will also start targeting sheepshead as the bite has begun.
The Cape May and Wildwood areas had a decent fluke bite from the reef sites this past week with lots of keepers hitting the deck. Anglers working the jig tipped with 6-inch grub tails worked the best according to various tackle shops. Weakfish are still being caught along the Delaware Bay jetties along with some triggerfish around the bridges. The offshore scene has been heating up over the past several weeks.
South Jersey Fishing Forecast
The best bet for the weekend will be to hit the inshore wrecks and reefs for fluke as more positive reports were received this past week. The 40 to 60 foot depth structured areas have been producing over fluke with ease and should be key areas for anglers to target. 2 to 4 oz bucktails tipped with squid strips and Gulp should work for these flatties. Another viable option for parts of southern New Jersey would be to hit the bridges for sheepshead. I would recommend going early or at times with the boat traffic is least. Small crabs dropped 5 feet at a time until you reach the bottom is the best way to find them. If you get tog, drop down further as sheepshead will tend to be under the tog. Finally, surf anglers should have excellent shots at flounder around the cuts and holes. Working a small bucktail tipped with Gulp or artificial tails should produce some bites. Good Luck, Be Safe, and Tight Lines!