Fishing Line: August 7

Unfortunately, we start on a sad note with word of the passing of Captain Lew Haubois. Lew was well-known in the Cape May County Fishing Community. Through the years he owned and operated the “Dottie Lin,” the “Dottie Lin Too” and then the 46-foot “Gallant Lady.” Our condolences go out to his family. Rest in peace, Captain. 
Grassy Sound Marina gets us going with word of one nice catch for 14-year old Josh. While visiting from Coconut Grove, Florida he was able to land a “beautiful” Mahi-Mahi. He didn’t tip anyone off as to where they were fishing, but they were prepared to head out after some more. Other nice catches reported came from Brian Schaeffer who landed three keeper flounder in under an hour, Jim and Jimmy Sutton who landed a nice keeper, and 10-year old Quinn Troup who caught his first keeper flounder. The Kim family and the “local Gallo Gang” each caught some nice crabs on their outings.
Cathy, at Sterling Harbor Bait and Tackle, mentioned that “it seems like the fish are finally feeding more” as a result of “the hot weather.”
Those fishing the Cape May and Wildwood Reefs for flounder have had “a more consistent bite” while working through the “undersized fish” to get to “the keepers.” There are still nice flounder in the back bays as a 5.5-pound keeper was caught behind North Wildwood by Renee Lerro. Another nice catch was a 10.46-pound sheepshead that was caught by Justin Fesler who was kayak fishing.
Anglers trolling the Five Fathom Bank or any of the other inshore shoals were catching bluefish, Bonita, Spanish mackerel and the “occasional” King Mackerel.
The canyons still have “some tuna, plenty of Mahi-Mahi” and more White Marlin, and an occasional Blue Marlin, is starting to show. Dave Bowman went 8 for 10 on White Marlin recently while Bob Bigwood landed his first Swordfish while fishing an over-nighter in the Wilmington Canyon.
Nolan Morello caught a 4.55-pound triggerfish from a local jetty, while small bluefish are in the inlets and Cape May Point. Be prepared as you may also catch weakfish which have been reported in the mix. The surf area from North Wildwood to Cape May is also holding kingfish.
Crabbing was “very good” according to the customers who were re-loading with more bait and supplies.
The Sailor’s Delight has been catching a mixed bag consisting of keeper flounder, weakfish, kingfish and sea bass. Some of the keeper-flounder were up to 20-inches. Their patrons had fun catching some sea robins and sharks also. They have recently introduced a “Go-Pro on the Net” feature to go along with their “Go-Pro on the Rig” which shows you what is happening on the bottom. Check out their official YouTube page for more.
Peace Token Fishing Tackle passed on word of a “great day on the water” for Dave and Kristi Kerr. They were fishing at the Wildwood Reef and returned with two nice keepers that measured 24 and 26-inches.      
The Porgy IV reports that Mike and Young Jung, proprietors at Peace Token Fishing Tackle, had a nice day recently. They waited till almost the end of the day before Young caught her only keeper of the day, a 5.5-pound fluke. Mike, not to be outdone caught his only keeper of the day on the final stop. His fluke weighed 6.75-pounds and won the daily pool. Other pool winners were Rob McHugh, Kevin Campbell, Rob Campbell, and Steve Zuest and Dan Fech. We send a special shout out goes to Linda Gilmartin who landed a “nice fluke”.  
Captain Chuck from the Sea Star III reports that his week involved action consisting mainly of “some nice fluke and some sea bass.” Several fluke topped the 5-pound mark and one reach 6.70-pounds. They also had “more three fluke limits” then in previous weeks.
Pool winners, with weights, consisted of two with sea bass. They were Wayne Ryan (2.0) and Ian Kruithof (1.6). The winning fluke were caught by Mike Mowery (2.5), Ron Bowman (2.25) and Frank Servocky who won on consecutive days (5.0 and 6.70).
Captain Mike at the Miss Chris sent word that “the fishing remains steady off the Point.” That means fluke, kingfish, bluefish and “more keeper weakfish.” It’s definitely nice to see that the weakfish are showing up better this year than in seasons past. Let’s hope that continues.
Avalon Hodge Podge was busy as some nice Mahi-Mahi crossed their scales. David from Moorestown weighed in a 35-inch, 11.8-pound fish while brothers Charlie and John of Berwyn, Pennsylvania brought in one fish each that were between 33 and 35 inches in length. A 27-inch, 6.33-pound fluke, caught by Austin from Malvern, Pennsylvania, was also weighed in.
The Miss Avalon, which sails daily at 8 a.m. and 1 p.m., has been catching triggerfish, sea bass, kingfish, weakfish and flounder. They have been hitting the local reefs while fishing during the day, and running private parties and eco-tours in the evenings. The Sunday trip runs from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., and gives you 5-hours of fishing.
The Avalon Lady is fishing the inlet as well as the back bays. They have kept busy catching kingfish, keeper weakfish, and flounder. During one recent back bay trip an angler yelled the customary “fish on” and proceeded to land a 6-pound flounder. It’s good to see that there still are some nice fish in the back.
First Fish Adventures of Sea Isle had some nice trips lately. Skip Ziegenfuss and family spent their day catching bluefish and Bonita and watching “lots of dolphins.” Another outing saw Linda Zeller take a quick two-hour trip and land two keeper flounder among the “many throwbacks” that were caught. On another trip, a “Bonita bonanza” was experienced by Dave Fling and family as they took their annual fishing trip and loaded up on, well Bonita.  
Boulevard Bait and Tackle weighed in a 27.5-inch, 7.73-pound flounder for Bob and Joan who were fishing “from the reef.” Cameron also reported that Spot just showed up in the local surf. They are great bait for other fish, plus they will be a great fish for the kids to catch at this weekend’s Kid’s Fishing Tournament in Strathmere.
The 53rd Annual Yacht Club of Stone Harbor Billfish Tournament was recently held at the Canyon Club Resort Marina in Cape May. This is an all-release Billfish event. Twenty-six boats participated with Team Polarizer taking the First-place Boat Honors as they caught 14 White Marlin.
In the Team Division, consisting of three randomly joined boats determined at the Captain’s Meeting, the winners were the team of Polarizer, Tom Byrne’s Insure and CJ Eni’s On a Role which together totaled 2700 points.
Individual awards were also available with two going to Rachel Linus for First-Place Angler and First-place Female Angler, while another one of note, for the Most Outstanding Catch, was won by Tommy Belansen for his 124-pound Yellowfin Tuna. The Top Junior Angler award went to Camryn Diller. Congratulations to those three anglers.
Reminder: The Ocean City Fishing Clubs 44th Annual Boy’s and Girl’s Surf Fishing Tournament is this Saturday. Registration for this free event starts at 9 a.m. at the north end beach near the Ocean City-Longport Bridge. Boys and girls age groups are 8-10, 11-12 and 13-16 and the event will be held rain or shine.
Heroes on the Water-South Jersey are holding an outing on September 21st at Grassy Sound Marina. This is a fishing outing using kayaks for veterans, military personnel, and first responders and their family members. It provides a time to paddle and fish in a relaxed atmosphere. Call Grassy Sound Marina at 609-846-1400 for more information about participating or making a donation to the event.
A final quick reminder: The Tautog (Blackfish) season reopened on August 1. The bag limit is one (1) fish at 15-inches. The bag limit will increase to 5 fish on November 16.
Get out, get to the water, and let me know how you did.