It’s July, but the water temperature feels like late May. The fishing is steady, but could be better if the water was warmer. With the wind blowing hard on occasion, some captains have resorted to fishing the bay which has provided a nice option and some steady action. The heavy boat traffic over the weekend meant that you needed to find a secluded spot if you wanted to fish the back waters. Fish were still caught, and reports made, so let’s see what the results were.
The Sailor’s Delight was busy fishing and working around the boat traffic, as the local waterways were very busy.
The anglers aboard caught Spot, Croakers, Porgies and Fluke, while the Combo Crab/Micro trip also produced those species, plus plenty of blue claw crabs. One recent trip ended with 61 keeper-sized crabs being caught.
The Sailor’s Delight sails at 8 a.m. daily with a 10-person max. Reservations are strongly advised, but walk-ons are welcome if room exists. Afternoon trips, sailing at 1 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. are also available.
The Starlight Fleet is sailing daily at 8 a.m. and 1 p.m., while also sailing an evening trip at 7 p.m. from Tuesday through Saturday evenings. You can book online at starlightfleetnj.com or call 609-729-7776, ext. 2. The trips have been producing kingfish, croakers, and some weakfish.
The Cape May Lady is sailing daily at 8 a.m. and 1 p.m. from their berth along Rio Grande Avenue in Wildwood. They are catching sea bass, flounder, kingfish, and weakfish.
Grassy Sound Marina has been busy lately recording some nice catches. Sheepshead were most notable as 8-year-old Gabriel Scheffey caught a nice one that had to be pushing 8 to 10 pounds, while Vince Marino weighed in a 13-pounder.
A first-keeper fluke was caught by 10-year-old Wes Unger who was fishing with his uncle. The fish was 22-inches long and weighed 3.9 pounds. Congratulations, Wes!
Capt. Mike, on the Miss Chris, reported that his patrons fished the Cape May Channel during the past week. They caught croakers, kingfish, and also had some flounder mixed in. Highlights went to Alyssa Smith who won a daily pool with a big croaker, one of 15 for her on the day, Vince Borgia who caught 12 croakers and four kingfish, and to Jimmy Matthews who won a daily pool with an 18.5-inch flounder.
Capt. Chuck reported that the Sea Star III was fishing around the weather recently. Calmer days meant trips to the local reefs resulting in catches of fluke and sea bass. The windy days drove them to the Delaware Bay where they caught kingfish, croakers, weakfish, “and even a few drum fish.” The bay allowed for a “nice change of pace.”
The pool winners’ species varied this week as Sherri Lachica won with a kingfish (1 pound), Andrew Young won with a 2.25-pound sea bass, fluke carried John Panvini (3.25), Mickey Gray (2.5), and Jim Hornbach (3.35) to the winners circle and finally George Schoell won his trip’s daily pool with an 18-pound drum fish.
Cape May Bait and Tackle reports that the surf anglers are catching kingfish, small weakfish, and croakers on Fish Bites or bloodworms, while throwing metals, or mullet chunks, have produced some snapper blues. Gulp or spearing added to a bucktail, then thrown into the surf and retrieved slowly, has resulted in some flounder being caught.
They also mentioned a slow flounder bite at the reefs, but they feel that an increase in the water temperature will get the bite started again. We all like the sound of that.
Hands Too Bait and Tackle had a good report as a young angler named Jacob stopped by to show off his 29-inch striper.
The Miss Avalon is sailing twice daily, at 8 a.m. and 1 p.m., Monday through Friday. There is one trip at 8 a.m. on Saturday and one from 8 a.m. till 1 p.m. on Sunday. The five-hour Sunday trip cost the same as a four-hour trip, so you are getting a free extra hour of fishing.
Sea bass, weakfish, blue fish and flounder can all be caught on your trip to a local reef so be ready to set the hook and reel in your catch.
The Avalon Lady is also sailing now. The captain and crew are sailing the back waters and both sides, bay and ocean, of Townsend’s Inlet. Flounder, kingfish, weakfish and blue fish are always possibilities when fishing those areas.
The Avalon Lady is sailing their summer schedule which is daily from 8:30 till 11:30, with an afternoon trip from 1:15 till 4:15, Monday through Wednesday. A night trip from 6 to 8 p.m. happens each Wednesday, while crabbing happens on Thursday from 1:15 to 4:15. Finally, a new trip to mention is a Friday BYOB Happy Hour Cruise from 2 to 4 p.m. All trips are offered on a first-come, first-served basis.
The Starfish sails twice daily at 8 a.m. and 1 p.m. They are fishing for fluke and sea bass, but others such as weakfish and croakers would be more than welcome to bite the hook. Call ahead because trips are subject to the winds and weather.
Capt. Zig, at First Fish Adventures-Sea Isle City, had a recent morning trip where “the three PBs” had a good time catching bluefish and bonitas.
You can book a similar trip, or maybe set up one targeting some flounder, but you’ll need to give Capt. Zig a call at 609-602-9004 to make your reservation.
Sea Isle Bait and Tackle reported that Joey J. caught a 22-inch weakfish during a recent afternoon outing.
Boulevard Bait and Tackle reported that nice flounder are still in the back waters as an angler named Joe stopped in with a nice keeper, while Ed, a kayak angler, stopped in to offer more proof, as he showed off the three keepers he caught.
Other nice catches went to Wes, who actually recorded two visits to the shop. His first visit was to check in with two nice sheepshead, while his second visit was to weigh in another nice sheepshead that he caught. That fish weighed in at 10.16 pounds. He caught that one while doing a little night fishing.
Whale Creek Marina has reported that the crabs are out and Ludlam Bay has some really big ones. Head to the marina, get your gear, and get crabbing.
A lot of nice flounder have also been caught but the best recent catch went to Mark S. who weighed in a 7.9-pound, 26-inch fluke that he caught behind Strathmere.
Thanks go out to Len Fennimore about his report and picture from his recent trip on the Fishin’ Fever. His nephew’s son, 8-year-old JJ, landed a keeper fluke during their family outing with Capt. Tom. Other fluke, and a boat limit of sea bass, rounded out the day.
Despite the varying water temperatures, the windy days, and the occasional thick fog, fish are being caught. If all the variables aligned in a good way, and stayed like that for a while, most feel that positive, consistent fishing would follow. Good luck if you get out, take care, and I’ll see you around.
Submit fishing news and photos to mrobbins@cmcherald.com.
