Southern New Jersey Fishing Report
We finally have some east winds but unfortunately that’s associated with tropical system Debby moving up the east coast. Fluke fishing has been sub-par for most, but when anglers can find warmer pockets in the ocean some keepers are showing. Sea bass fishing remains excellent as the water temperatures have been in the low 60s at a large portion of the reef and wreck sites. Tog fishing began last week and most of the shops are reporting excellent numbers off the inlet rocks, jetties, and some of the Southern Jersey bridges. Although it’s been a rough go lately with higher winds and seas, the canyons are popping with yellowfin, mahi, and even some marlin. I heard of a few local charters getting action from blue and white marlin. The surf and back bays have a good influx of croakers, kingfish, and some blowfish showing up.
Here is this week’s rundown:
Hook House Bait & Tackle in Toms River reported short fluke and some keepers being caught off the Seaside and Island Beach State Park beaches. There are kingfish and blowfish along parts of the ICW, mainly from the “BI” to the “BB”. Anglers working the north jetty of Barnegat Inlet are finding excellent success on blackfish. Crabbing still remains solid from Berkley to Toms River on both the west and east sides of the bay.
Creekside Outfitters in Waretown reported a slow-go on bay fluking with some shorts being caught and just a handful of keepers. Ocean fishing has been a tad better when anglers can get out, but overall it’s been a slow week. The best action has been coming from the Seaside area, pipe, and Axel Carlson reef site. Tog fishing off the inlet rocks has been phenomenal for anglers trekking rod and crabs down the rocks. Tog jigs are fairing better on keepers. Canyon action has been excellent when boats can make it out: yellowfin, bigeye, marlin, and mahi are being landed with some consistency.
Reel Reaction Sportfishing out of Waretown worked both bay and ocean trips over the past week with ocean fluking slow on the keeper side. The crew has been hitting some choice structure with sea bass to 20 inches along with ling to put some meat in the box. Bay trips faired slightly better with 30 fish averages and up to 3 keepers.
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The Super Chic out of Barnegat Light reported tough fluke fishing during the week with a pick on fish over long drifts. The skipper did drift a few wrecks to put some sea bass over the rail. The weekend trips have been concentrating on inshore and offshore tuna with some good numbers of pelagics coming over the rail.
Tony’s Bait & Tackle in Manahawkin had reports of some bluefish and a few weakfish being caught along the local bridges. Anglers working the rocks with green crab are finding success on tog to 19 inches. Fluke fishing was slow in the ocean and bay over the past week due to the heavy southernly winds. The midshore tuna bite continued to be very good on bluefin along with some nice cobia. Atlantic Princess, Little Italy, and the Bacardi are just a few locations anglers should point the bow too.
Tackle Direct in Egg Harbor City said fluke fishing the inside from Atlantic city to Ocean city was lots of throwbacks with only a handful of keepers. One local charter reported 58F water in some of the west spots which impacts the bite considerably. Canyon fishing for yellowfin and mahi remained the hottest bite, but the winds have impacted the fishing windows. The shop has been selling lots of tog jigs and rigs as the bite along the rocks, especially Atlantic City has been exceptional since the August opening.
Tight Lines Bait & Tackle in Somers Point received shipments of ballyhoos and bushels of fiddlers as both the canyon and rock/bridge bites have been on fire. The bridges are showing excellent numbers of tautog along with some beautiful sheepshead to 10 pounds. Anglers working the bluewater have been coming home with solid number of pelagics: mahi, yellowfin, and even a few wahoo.
Badfish Charters in Ocean City has been fighting through the southernly winds and a challenging backwater fluke season, but his charters have brought mixed results. They’ve had to work for keeper fluke with plenty of short life to go around, along with spending some time targeting sheepshead to keep things interesting. Give the skipper a call to get in on some flatfish action this week.
Cape May to Fortescue areas have been producing very good numbers of keeper flounder this season and the bite continues. Several boats and charters reported good flounder fishing in the bay this past week, especially around the Banana Peel and Tussey’s Slough as well as the reef sites. Brown sharks and some sandbars were being caught and released off the beaches during the night tides. The daytime beach bite produced croakers, kingfish, some short fluke and cocktail blues. Surf anglers should bring a variety of gear when working the suds. Offshore canyon fishing is in full swing with excellent life along the Gulf Stream eddies, but hopefully Debby does not mess up the bite.
South Jersey Fishing Forecast
The best bet for this upcoming weekend will be to hit some of our local tackle shops for sinkers, tog jigs or rigs, and green crabs. The bite has been on fire with a ton of shorts and steady rod-bending action. As of now, Saturday and Sunday look like a go for fishing with Sunday the better day for boaters looking to get in the ocean. Fluke fishing will be the big question as Debby passes and the winds turn-back to 40 mph south on Friday. Hopefully she’s enough for a jump-start to a better ocean and bay bite. Unfortunately, most of the season has been like a vinyl record stuck on the same line, the needle finally may jump to a new line with Debbie. Let’s hope for better flounder fishing for the month of August and beyond. Good luck, be safe, and tight lines!