Southern New Jersey Fishing Report- June 15, 2023

Sea bass fishing holds steady as the season closer approaches, keeper fluke are caught on the beach and in the bays, and schoolie stripers bite well along the jetties and bridges.

by Captain Brett Taylor

The past week had good fishing, especially for thresher shark as several were weighed in from Point Pleasant to Cape May.  Most of the action has occurred from the 1 to 5 mile line and finding nervous bunker schools was the key.  Sea bassing continued it’s “epicness” over the past week with calm sea conditions and wrecks loaded with sea bass.  The only issue has been the amount of short life at the wrecks as anglers complained about going through tons of clam.  It wasn’t great, but there was a few yellowfin tuna landed over the past weekend.  Most of the action was at the Spencer and Baltimore canyons.  There was some positive action on keeper fluke off the suds with pink and white Gulp working the best. 

 

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Here is this week’s rundown: 

Hook House Bait & Tackle in Toms River said bluefish are biting on the backside of Tices shoal and along the “BI” to “BB”.  Striped bass action has continued to be good along the beaches of Island Beach State Park and south towards the inlet.  Striped bass have been 24 to 28 inches along the jetty and hitting soft plastics.  Fluke have been biting between the “BB” and “BI” on bucktails tipped with Gulp. 


Creekside Outfitters in Waretown reported some spotty fluke fishing over the past several days, but some fish to 6 pounds have been landed.  Most anglers have been having a tough time at putting catches together.  On the other hand, sea bass fishing has been excellent with a good number of keepers at the 6 to 9 mile wrecks.  The yellowfin tuna bite has started at the Spencer and Wilmington canyons.  Surf fisherman working the beaches of LBI are finding keeper fluke and the north end of the island has been the better areas to work. 

Reel Reaction Sportfishing out of Waretown has been consistently putting clients on good numbers of quality fluke to 6 pounds.  The skipper has been using his custom lures and most clients are able to box 4 to 9 keepers per 4 hour trip.  With school ending, the crew will be fishing 7 days a week until September 1st, so give them a ring. 

The Super Chic out of Barnegat Light continued to put anglers on good numbers of keeper sea bass at the offshore wrecks along with a couple of fluke.  The skipper said they will begin to sail charters for ocean fluke as the temperatures begin to warm. 

Tony’s Bait & Tackle in Manahawkin reported excellent crabbing along parts of Manahawkin and towards the west side of the bay.  Fluke fishing has been solid north of the bridges, but much better at the southern spots along Tuckerton.  There has been a mix of small striped bass and bigger weakfish in the mix.  Some of the weakfish have been to 6.5 pounds.  The offshore action is slowly heating up at the canyons with the Spencer having good action on yellowfin to 50 pounds.  The shop has a large variety of offshore baits for the pelagic season.  There were a few nice threshers caught over the past week on bunker, and most were within 5 miles of the beach.   

Tackle Direct in Egg Harbor City said it was yellowfin at the southern canyons over the past week as boats trolling feathers and ballyhoo caught some in the 40-50 pound range.  Summer flounder fishing in Great Bay has been pretty good as well as parts of the “ICW” and anglers have been reporting fish in the 8 to 10 foot depths.  Jigheads and bucktails tipped with minnows are providing most of the action.  Soft plastics and shedder crabs worked off the deeper channels have been producing some nice weakfish to 5 pounds, but anglers have been tight-lipped on specific locations. 

Tight Lines Bait & Tackle in Somers Point said some anglers were doing well on summer flounder on bottom sweeper jigs tipped with natural baits.  The bridges and any drop-off along the shallows has been holding fish.  Anglers hitting the wrecks for sea bass are putting quite a few in the box, and it seems that most wrecks are loaded.  The beach scene has been good with bluefish and fluke being landed, while striped bass are around during the night tides. 

Badfish Charters in Ocean City has been picking up striped bass along the shallows and the skipper has been sight fishing for bass.  Some of the points and sedges are holding large numbers bass to 26 inches.  Capt. Brian’s charters are also picking up some nice fluke in the mix. 

The Cape May area has been all sea bass over the last week with excellent numbers being caught at the 110 to 150 foot wrecks.  Anglers dropping down flutter or AVA jigs are finding some of the bigger humpheads.  The reef sites have started to see some fluke being caught in the keeper range, but a few shops said the water is still pretty cold based on the fish’s temperature.  The backwaters are still the better locations for flatty action as the temperatures have been between 65 and 72.  The offshore action was the talk for most offshore boats with the southern canyons being the spots to go for yellowfin. 

South Jersey Fishing Forecast

The best bet this weekend looks to be sea bassing at the reef and wrecks, but you make sure to bring plenty of clam baits as there has been a large number of shorts.  The inshore reefs, especially the shallower ones, might be worth a try for fluke with the NE winds and warmer water pushing in. 3- to 4-ounce bucktails tipped with Gulp should do the trick and probably will even land a few nice sea bass.  Anglers wanted to hit the sands have excellent opportunities at fluke, striped bass, and bluefish.  Small 1/2- to 1-ounce jigs worked slowly along the beach cuts are the best way to find fish, but the key is to keep moving and cover lots of ground.  The bite at the canyons slowed down a tad, but it should begin to ramp up.  It may be worth taking a peak at the offshore currents to find any temperature breaks.  Good Luck, Be Safe, and Tight Lines!

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