The warm water that we’ve desired has arrived, and now hopefully it will stay. The action at the reefs has increased slowly, but it’s trending in a positive direction. An unusual warm-water fish, a tripletail, visited our area, while the first of a more common visitor, a cobia, was recently caught. Also, blackfish are now legal to keep, but it’s a bag limit of one and a 15-inch minimum. Let’s hope the August weather conditions allow for a summer of normal ocean fishing, with all the regular species showing up. Let’s check out the latest report.
The Sailor’s Delight has had a good run by continuing to catch some nice keeper flounder in the back waters. Capt. Stan has zeroed in on the areas that have been holding the fish sought by his patrons. Multiple keepers per each trip were recorded over the past weekend.
Capt. Chuck reported that the patrons of the Sea Star III saw an increase in activity at the local reefs. More flounder, with many being throwbacks, were being caught. Sea bass were also adding to the daily catch of many anglers.
Pool winners this week included Robert Flack who won with a 1.95-pound sea bass while others won with fluke. They were Eric Hofer (3.7 pounds), Kirsten Johansen (3.75), Ryan Wagner (4.1), and Frank Servocky twice, with 2.5- and 3.7-pound fish.
Capt. Mike, from the Miss Chris, is keeping his patrons busy. They have gotten plenty of practice while catching kingfish, croakers and weakfish. An increase in flounder catches has resulted in more throwbacks recently, but there are also some keepers included in their daily count. Joe Polinski won a daily pool with an 18-inch keeper, while Rich and Nan Hogan fished each day during a recent week and had plenty of croaker and kingfish filets for their freezer. To add to the fun, a small Thresher shark was caught recently.
The Miss Chris sails twice daily starting at 8 a.m., and again at 1 p.m. They also offer “Sunset Fishing” that sails at 6 p.m.
Congratulations go out to Capt. Tom and mate Dylan Montgomery, of Fishin’ Fever Sportfishing Charters, on their effort at the Big Fish Classic held recently. Anglers Nick and Matt Krider charted the boat and were put on some nice fish. Their totals were two Big Eyes to 187 pounds, two Yellowfin to 61 pounds, and a Longfin to 65 pounds. For their efforts they walked away with a check for almost $65,000.
The Starfish is sailing daily trips for flounder, sea bass, weakfish, and triggerfish (if they kick in) and other reef fish. They sail at 8 a.m. and 1 p.m. They also offer a five-hour night fishing trip that leaves their dock at 6 p.m.
First Fish Adventures is running charters that have produced plenty of bonitos, as well as sea bass recently. Steve K. and his daughter Sarah, as well as the captain’s lady, Donna Lee, took advantage of the situation and brought home plenty of fish.
Capt. Brandon, from the Avalon Lady, reported good trips from his morning schedule. Keeper flounder, along with throwbacks, plus sea bass, croakers, kingfish, sea robins and small sharks kept the anglers busy.
The Miss Avalon is sailing twice daily at 8 a.m. and 1 p.m., from Monday through Friday, to the local reefs. There is one trip on Saturday and Sunday that leaves the dock at 8 a.m. Make sure to show up at least 30 minutes before departure.
The recent return of warmer water has created an increase in the action resulting in keeper flounder, sea bass, and weakfish being caught so be ready to catch some dinner.
CJ, at Moran’s Dockside Bait and Tackle in Avalon, reported that anglers were returning from their trips with some nice flounder. Nice catches were made from the North Channel south through Paddy’s Hole. If you were in the ocean, then the Wildwood Reef was a good place to try. Minnows, Gulp, and mackerel strips are the baits of choice.
Kingfish are hot around the 8th Street Jetty with bloodworms or Fishbites being good baits. Bonito and small bluefish can be caught from the Avalon Shoal to the Sea Isle Ridge while the offshore canyons have white marlin and tilefish. Yellowfin tuna are around but not in great numbers.
Finally, a recent weigh-in reported by CJ, and one I personally witnessed, was a 24-pound, 13-ounce cobia that was caught by Henry Kowalski. The fish was 39-inches long and was caught at the Wildwood Reef.
Sea Isle Bait and Tackle reported on some nice catches recently, with one being an unusual one for our area.
The unusual catch went to Steve W. who caught a 2.47-pound Tripletail while the other, which is becoming fairly commonplace in our area, was a 20-inch Sheepshead that was caught by Owen G. A red sand flea was the bait of choice that the fish couldn’t resist.
Boulevard Bait and Tackle checked in to report that Capt. Mike from the Nev-R-Enuf caught a nice flounder recently while fishing a local reef. This report, plus some others, has indicated that the flounder presence at the reefs has started to increase. Hopefully, we’ll have a good August of flounder fishing.
The Ocean City Fishing Club’s 47th Annual Boys and Girls Fishing Tournament will be held this Saturday, Aug. 10. It’s a free event with registration beginning at 9 a.m. at the North End Beach near the Ocean City-Longport Bridge. You can also visit the OCFC website at www.oceancityfishingclub.com for more information and to print out any necessary forms.
Parents or guardians will be asked to sign a waiver for insurance purposes before their child/children may participate. Each child must provide their own gear and bait. Fishing starts at 10 a.m. and ends at noon and will be followed by an awards presentation. This event will be held rain or shine.
This event has three age groups, being 8-10, 11-13, and 14 to 16, with a boys and girls division in all ages. Parents of the 8-to-10-year-olds can cast the line for their child, but then the child must do the fishing. Every child that enters will be given a prize.
Thanks to Tom McCrosson for submitting the picture and report of the 28-inch flounder he caught at the Wildwood Reef while fishing aboard the “Hyak” with Capt. Scott Dickson.
The quality of fishing is slowly progressing. With blackfish now legal, a cobia being caught, a tripletail surprisingly showing up, and more keeper flounder, plus some weakfish, being in the cooler at the end of the day, it looks like we may have a nice August of good summer fishing. Good luck if you get out, take care, and I’ll see you around.
Submit fishing news and photos to mrobbins@cmcherald.com.
