The floundering woes continue for a good part of our areas, but there are some locations in extreme South Jersey that are producing good numbers of keepers. Most of the locations have shown a large number of ultra short fluke, especially in the bays. The ocean bite is slowly ramping up, but it depends on the day and the winds. The best bite belongs to the niche tuna anglers as the bluefin and yellowfin bite has been red hot from 30 to 50 miles out – the Bacardi, Little Italy, Triple wrecks, Sea Isle Ridge and beyond. Yellowfin, mahi, and tilefish have been biting their fins off in the canyons. The ever-lasting southwards have kept cooler temperatures inshore and on the incoming tides which has produced decent striped bass and bluefish action along most of the 2 to 3 foot flats.
Fishing Report For Southern New Jersey
Hook House Bait & Tackle in Toms River said it’s been a good crab bite over the past week with lots of good sized jimmies coming into the net and traps. The west and east sides of Barnegat Bay have been exceptional for land-based crabbers. Bayside fishing has produced some spot, blowfish, and some kingfish. The inlets are holding short fluke, but keepers have been challenging. The south end of IBSP has some striped bass and bluefish on the colder incoming tides. The beaches are producing rod-bending action on skates, smooth doggies, and some fluke.
Creekside Outfitters in Waretown said it’s been challenging at best for bay anglers working the main channels of Double Creek and Oyster Creek. The open bay areas are producing an occasional keeper from the “42” to the “BB” tripods. Fluke fishing in the ocean has been slow to ultra slow on keepers in the cooler water, but most areas have ling and a few keeper sea bass. Tuna, tuna, tuna has been the word from shop employee and Radio host Tom P as the bite is on fire. Spreader bars, deep-dropped jigs, and cut baits are producing good number of bluefin – just remember your federal permit if you plan to target.
Reel Reaction Charters out of Waretown has been opting out of the bay to target the ocean with better table-fare success. Clients are catching some fluke, but ling and sea bass to 19 inches are getting boxed in the cooler along with some surface triggerfish. July and August are fully booked out, but some weekday afternoons are available for September which fluke, triggerfish, and blowfish will be targeted.
The The Super Chic out of Barnegat Light has been mixing it up between inshore wreck fishing on charters and some deep dropping tilefish trips. The tilefish bite at the canyons has been off the charts with good numbers of blue line and golden tiles coming over the rail. Inshore wreck fishing provided good action for anglers catching sea bass and ling, but fluking has been very slow.
Tony’s Bait and Tackle in Manahawkin said bay fluke fishing are yielding lots of short fluke with the occasional keeper. Warmer tides have also produced weakfish, spot, and some croaker with the mid-island areas showing the best results. The reefs sites off of Long Beach Island have some fluke, but you have to put in the time to get a few keepers. Surf fisherman are catching a variety of species with kingfish and croakers hitting baits during the day, while the night bite has some good sized sharks picking up bunker and kingfish heads. Crabbing remains excellent in the bays, so work the western parts of Barnegat Bay for the best action.
Tackle Direct in Egg Harbor City reported decent flounder fishing from the reef sites off of Atlantic City to Ocean City. Some nice sea bass and even some chicken mahi have been landed. The bays are producing weakfish, kingfish, and croakers along the back stretches of the ICW. The beaches of Brigantine south through Sea Isle are producing kings in the day, followed by some large sand tiger’s during the night tides. Yellowfin, mahi, and tilefish continue to be consistent at the 80 to 100 mile canyons.
Tight Lines Bait & Tackle in Somers Point recently received a new shipment of bloodworms which have been outstanding for kingfish, spot, and croakers off the surf. The backwaters of Somers Point are producing decent short to keeper ratios on flounder along with some good weakfish action on the night tides. Surf fishing was good this past week with the morning tides producing good bites on kingfish and croakers.
Badfish Charters in Ocean City put in the time with the south winds to find some nice areas of striped bass, small bluefish, and some weakfish. Light tackle soft plastics and fly action has been producing on the less windy days. The skipper has some dates available, so give him a ring.
Cape May to Fortescue areas offered excellent flounder fishing over the past week with short to keeper ratios running 10 to 1. Anglers working the deeper drops are finding some cooperative fluke and the reef sites off Wildwood and Cape May are starting to produce with more consistency. Yellowfin and Mahi continue to be a phenomenal bite with boats being able to troll up both species. Most of the canyons are showing good numbers of fish, but finding some temperature breaks has been the key. The pots or any floating debris types should have mahi on them, so give them a shot.
South Jersey Fishing Forecast
The best bet for this upcoming weekend would be to try for fluke at the ocean reef sites. The water temperatures have begun warming up inshore and the action is slowly beginning to incline in terms of catching. Large Gulp or strip baits tipped to bucktails are the way to go, but with the cooler bottom temperatures work the baits super slow. It seems some of the best bites have been occurring in the 45 to 60 foot depths on pieces of structure. The other option which is a guarantee for anglers with the means is the yellowfin bite at the canyons or the bluefin bite at the nearshore ranges. Trolling seems to work the best until you find them, then try dropping down the jig for decent action. If you want to take a break from the rod and reel, crabbing has been lights out for most of southern NJ. Good Luck, Be Safe, and Tight Lines!