Southern New Jersey Fishing Report
Full moon rising as we hit the end of July and welcome in our August fisheries with inshore pelagics starting to show up. Bluefin tuna are jumping on jigs and topwaters off the inshore lumps north of Barnegat Light and the yellowfin bite has been on fire at the canyons.
Inshore fluke fishing at the reef sites and wrecks are producing much better results as compared to the bay bite which has been loaded with short fish with only a sparse amount of keepers being landed. Gulp baits are producing the best results at the inshore grounds.
Surf fishermen are picking up some croakers, large rays, fluke, and some cocktail blues during the day. The night time surf angling has been the hot bite on social media, with sharks as well as our normal inhabitants being landed, but the bigger news has been some bull sharks and a very large tiger shark (est. 12 feet) caught off the northern New Jersey sand. The catch couldn’t have been timed better with Discovery Channel’s annual airing of Shark Week.
Here is this week’s rundown:
Hook House Bait & Tackle in Toms River said the fluke fishing off the surf on Island Beach State Park has been hit or miss with some areas having action for an hour or so. There have been a few small cocktail blues around the inlet area as well as a few schoolies caught on bunker baits. Crabbing on the bay has been very good, though you have to pick through some of the smaller crabs.
Creekside Outfitters in Waretown said bayside fluke fishing has been a tad challenging of late for keepers, although there are plenty of short fluke, skates, and croakers to keep anglers busy. The better bite for keepers has been the ocean with anglers working the local reef sites with Gulp and squid baits. The recent south winds have put a few striped bass on the feed along parts of the Barnegat Light inlet. The offshore bite has been “on-fire” at the canyons for yellowfin, mahi, and tilefish on the deep drop. The shop has a variety of offshore baits, so call ahead and reserve as they sell out fast.
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Reel Reaction Sportfishing out of Waretown worked the bay for most of the week as the winds kept their afternoon ocean charters in the bay. The action has been excellent with 45 to 70 fish being caught in a 3- to 4-hour time period, but the keepers have been very tough with ratios running 40 shorts to 1. Ocean charters have been excellent with higher quantity and quality of keepers.
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The Super Chic out of Barnegat Light has been running quite a few trips with weekday inshore wreck fishing seeing a mix of fluke, some sea bass, and a few ling. The Friday through Sunday trips have been for tilefish when the seas and weather cooperate, but the deep drops have not disappointed with coolers full of tiles.
Tackle Direct in Egg Harbor Township reported the Brigantine and Atlantic City areas have some good fluke action on Gulp and minnows, though you have to pick through a lot of shorts. Some of the bridges and jetties are holding better-sized fluke along with sizable sheepshead. The hottest bite has been the pelagics with canyon yellowfin hitting trolled spreaders as well as chunked butterfish or cut sardines.
Tight Lines Bait & Tackle in Somers Point had a few fish weighed in from the bay that topped 5 pounds, but the shop said the best action for flounder has been at the inshore reef sites, where bucktail-Gulp combinations are the ticket. Offshore action continues to be excellent for yellowfin on the troll with spreaders as well as the night time chunk. Most of the bridges along the bay are loaded with sheepshead and even a few triggerfish which have been caught on fiddlers. The crabbing has been red hot along some of the western parts of the bay on both hand-lines and cages.
Waterfront Marine in Somers Point reported the hot news being the offshore yellowfin tuna bite with the Spencer to the Toms producing good numbers. The deep drop golden tilefish bite has been excellent over the past week. Flounder fishing remains best in the ocean with wrecks from 55 to 90 feet producing good results on keepers. Bay fishing has been tougher with more shorts, but there has been some nice sheepshead caught on bay structure.
Captain Brian Williams of Badfish Charters in Ocean City had solid reports of good flounder action in the bays as well as ocean side. The recent heavy south winds did dirty up the water a bit, which has made ocean fishing a tad better. The recent upwelling may give a shot at some local striped bass.
Captain Joe Hughes of Jersey Cape Guide Service in Sea Isle City has been extremely busy working the waters for flounder and said there have been some nice-sized ones to 5 pounds. The captain said there are plenty of shorts around to work through in the bay. Ocean-wise, the crew has been working hard for the toothy critters catching up to 150-pound spinner sharks on the fly rod.
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The Cape May and Fortescue areas had solid reports of keeper flounder from the Wildwood, Cape May, and DE bay reef sites. There have been quite a few fish in the 8-pound range landed from Reef site #11 over the past week. The Delaware Bay has some weakfish, croakers, and small bluefish caught off the beaches and around the ferry terminal. Sheepshead are hitting sand-fleas at some of the bridges and bay obstructions. Night surf fishing has been producing brown and some sand-tiger sharks on croaker heads.
South Jersey Fishing Forecast
The best bet for the weekend will be to jump aboard a vessel to hit the inshore reef sites for keeper fluke, but don’t count out the surf or jetties near our South Jersey inlets as there are some larger fluke in these areas. Fan-casting a small bucktail tipped with fish bellies or Gulp will give the best shot at catching. Anglers looking to hit the deeper waters should have excellent shots at yellowfin and mahi at the canyons or deep drop baits for golden tiles. Good luck, be safe, and tight lines!