It’s another week off the calendar and the fishing, which we would love to be as hot as the weather, is not quite up to those standards. Inconsistent would probably be the best word to describe the times on the water right now.
Yes, fish are being caught but the desire for steady action waivers from day to day. Still, though, some fish are better than none and any day on the water is better than being stuck on land. Let’s check things out.
The Sailor’s Delight is staying busy by running their fishing trips and offering their crabbing charters. Call them on the boat phone to grab a date.
The fishing outings have seen plenty of flounder, including both shorts and keepers, plus small sea bass, weakfish, sharks, and sea robins, while a Tuesday morning crab trip saw some large, tasty crustaceans brought aboard.
The Thursday morning trip produced 94 fish consisting of flounder, sea robins, kingfish, sea bass, and several sharks. The activity kept all aboard busy and happy.
Capt. Chuck, from the Sea Star III, reported “good summertime crowds” that were catching flounder and sea bass. Each trip provided some nice catches and left the anglers wanting even more. The Sea Star III continues to sail daily at 9 a.m. as they traverse the local reefs and wrecks for the next big catch.
Pool winners winning with sea bass included Joe Canonica (1.45-pounds) and Mark Spang (1.5) and flounder for everyone else. Those anglers were Randy Hannings (3.65), Pat McIntyre (3.2), John Donely (2.75), Rick Mroczek (3.25), and Rich Jablonski, with a 2.75-pound fish.
Capt. Mike from the Miss Chris reported that his patrons have been enjoying their trips fishing in the Cape May Channel. The croakers, the most “plentiful in years,” have been providing a bump in action that Rich and Nan Hogan reaped. They “teamed up” to catch 50 croakers and three kingfish.
Alyssa Martin also experienced the action by catching 12 croakers on her “first ever fishing trip.” Weakfish and kingfish have also been mixed into the catch total on each trip.
Capt. Bob, at Full Ahead Sport Fishing, has been busy recently hosting groups from Pittsburgh and the ladies from the Cape May Marlin and Tuna Club. The first group caught all their fluke “overs,” plus five slot fish, while the local ladies had a “good catch” of fluke and sea bass.
Fishin’ Fever Sportfishing Charters, with Capt. Tom, got a recent charter involved in the hot tuna bite. They experienced his “piles make smiles” motto as they caught a pile of tuna. He is also sailing for fluke and occasionally will have an open seat or two if you are interested. Check his Facebook page for any last-minute opportunities.
The Miss Avalon, with Capts. Irv or Brandon, depending on the day, have seen their patrons catching flounder, sea bass, and triggerfish on their recent excursions.
Highlighted catches went to Melissa Carson for her big triggerfish and Ed George and Dan Matkowski for their nice keeper fluke. Other anglers also caught keeper fluke, sea bass, and bluefish.
The Avalon Lady is staying busy in the backwater as many fluke are still inhabiting those areas. There are many shorts but there are also keepers scattered amongst them. Kingfish, Spot, and weakfish can also be caught while drifting along the many channels and sodbanks.
First Fish Adventures has been fishing for flounder, sea bass, bluefish, weakfish, triggerfish, and blackfish. Some trips find them in the backwater while others take them out to the ocean. One of the ocean varieties was chartered by the Mike Contecello party from Texas. They targeted blackfish and were able to catch their five-man limit. Other groups have done well with their targeted species.
The new boat arrived on Saturday that will fill in for the Starfish. Coast Guard inspections and approvals await but it shouldn’t be long until the boat can leave the dock and start to fish. As of now, the boat is named the Majesty II, so if you see a different boat in the area, you will know why. Good luck to everyone at Starfish Boats with the new vessel.
Thanks to Nick Rambo for the report and pictures about his trip on the Deez Nutz with Capt. Dillon. The quick trip to a “local reef” resulted in them being one fish shy of their two-man limit. Quick fishing and good results keep everyone happy.
The 2022 Mid-Atlantic Tournament will run from Aug. 21 through Aug. 26. Two venues, the Canyon Club Resort Marina, in Cape May, and the Sunset Marina, in Ocean City, Maryland, will, again, serve as the ports of operation for the tournament. Anglers will fish three out of the five days available, with fishing starting Aug. 22.
A “captain’s choice” format, where the captains choose which three days to fish, will be used. Visit www.themidatlantic.com or call tournament director Aaron Hoffman, at 609-884-0177, for additional information.
While we had plenty of action to report on, there was just a nagging feeling of hurry up and wait. Summer’s waning and we’re still waiting for an all-out assault from the fish. Until then, we’ll plow ahead, thankful for the action we do have. Good luck if you get out and I’ll see you around.
