We just had another beautiful weekend, with plenty of fishing opportunities. Some anglers were able to capitalize, while others gave a good effort but came up a little short. Some flounder are being caught, but overall they still remain rather elusive.
Sea bass limits, through the end of August, were easily met but are now off-limits till the first of October. The next segment starts then, and the bag limit increases to 10 fish per angler.
Let’s check out what occurred recently.
Captain Mike, from the Miss Chris, reported that more fluke were showing up through the past week. Those better numbers allowed for Rich Hagen (18.5 inches) and John Cummings (18 inches) to each claim a recent daily pool.
The Sea Star III, with Captain Chuck, saw an increase in water temperatures, and a resulting bump in flounder activity. Sea bass action remained steady, as it has been recently. Chuck noted that this past weekend was “the best action for fluke in a while.”
Pool winners, all with fluke, were David Ehroich (2.8 pounds), Brandon Mulligan (5.6), George Schmidt (2.7), Frank Servocky (3.95) and Mark Gellert (4.4).
The Miss Avalon has seen a steady pick of sea bass on its trips through the end of August, as well as a few keeper flounder on most trips. One of those flounder proved to be hefty enough to claim a pool for an angler named Ed. Also, some cobia were spotted swimming near the boat, but couldn’t be enticed to chase any offerings that were tossed in their direction.
The Avalon Lady’s patrons are enjoying the fishing variety in the back bays. Nice keeper flounder are still being caught, plus croakers, weakfish, sea bass and spot have kept each trip exciting.
After the Labor Day holiday, the Avalon Lady will be switching to a morning-only schedule. For a look at the schedule, go to missavalon.com.
The recent trips of First Fish Adventures, with Captain Zig, have been enjoyable.
One trip to the reef produced nine flounder for the group aboard. A couple days later the opponents were mahi. The Black family landed five tasty fish, with young Paul Black III catching a nice “small gaffer.”
Moran’s Dockside Bait and Tackle reported that flounder are finally waiting. Anglers Jon, Bobby and Trevor all had the touch, as each had a flounder that cleared the 5-pound mark. The ICW and Stites Sound gave up those fish. Croakers, spot and sea bass are also being picked up regularly in those areas.
The local reefs are also giving up some keeper flounder to those using live minnows, squid or mackerel strips or gulp.
Offshore you can find Atlantic bonito and false albacore on the lumps from Five Fathom Bank to Avalon Shoal.
Mahi are being caught in 120- to 150-foot-deep water by trolling or by fishing around the pots. Rigged medium ballyhoo, unrigged ballyhoo, live minnows or boxed squid for chunks are available at the store.
Boulevard Bait and Tackle weighed a 5.36-pound, 24.5-inch flounder for an angler named Joe. It was one of his three-fish limit he recently caught in the back. Another catch to note was the 5.68-pound flounder that Joey G. caught. When cleaned, the fish had a 7-inch croaker in its stomach.
Cameron was one of five anglers who took a trip to the reefs. They ended two fish short of their boat limit, with three of the fish weighing in at more than 5 pounds. The largest was Cameron’s 6.32-pounder.
Sea Isle Bait and Tackle had good action to report on recently concerning fishing from the reefs and the rocks.
Rob M. stopped by to weigh in a 3.47-pound flounder he caught during a trip to a local reef. Other reports show that the action has been “more consistent.” That’s welcome news for all anglers. Also, helping to back that up was Brian B., who caught his limit of flounder (up to 4 pounds), plus his one sea bass.
Wes had a good morning of fishing as he landed three sheepshead, with the largest weighing 6.14 pounds. He also had a nice blackfish to complete his outing.
The Sailor’s Delight remained busy as its patrons were “chasing the flatties.” Weakfish, croakers, kingfish, plus sea robins, skates and small sharks, have contributed to the daily action.
The Cape May Lady will be sailing for tilefish on Sunday, Sept. 8. Reach out to them for the cost and availability of a spot at the rail. Reservations are needed. Also, six-hour fluke trips are now sailing daily.
Grassy Sound Marina reported that anglers Norm and Bob caught some good flounder recently, while young angler Chase landed a nice bonita. Also worth noting was the first sheepshead that Andrew Simmons ever caught. He accomplished this milestone while he was fishing with Rocco.
The MidAtlantic recently concluded its weeklong tournament, with the most exciting action being on the final day.
The big draw that day was the 795-pound blue marlin that was weighed at the scale in Cape May. Chris Carr was the angler who made the catch while fishing from the Deadicated, a New Jersey-based boat owned by Matt Asplundh and captained by Bryan Boyle.
The big blue marlin was weighed in shortly after Dem Boys, based in South Carolina, weighed in its big catch of the day, a 760-pounder. This fish was weighed in at the Sunset Marina in Ocean City, Maryland. It serves as the satellite marina for this tournament. The winning crew took home a check for $1,139,248.
The top money winner in the tournament was the 81-pound white marlin caught from Bill Haugland’s Lights Out, which is based in Bishopville, Maryland. That fish was worth $1,416,891 and was a tournament record payout for a white marlin category winner.
As flounder season enters the final three weeks this year, it’s now or never if you want to catch a few more. It’s nice to hear of more flounder activity, and with some cooperation from the weather the final few weeks should be a good time to get out and enjoy some time on the water. Good luck if you get out, take care. And I’ll see you around.
Submit fishing news and photos to mrobbins@cmcherald.com.
