Fishing was great over the past week.
Flounder action is picking up, some drumfish are lingering, and sea bass are still being caught despite their spring season recently ending. The next segment will start July 1, with a two-fish, 12.5-inch limit.
The Miss Avalon started June 12 off with a private charter. After June 11’s dreary weather, a pleasurable trip was needed. They ran a deepwater trip for sea bass that paid dividends for their anglers. The action was excellent, especially considering the number of throwbacks also caught. Several ling were also caught., which was a nice bonus for the fish box.
Currently, the Miss Avalon will be sailing their summer schedule, which features two, four-hour daily trips. The spring’s last deepwater trip will have been completed as of this column.
Capts. Irv and Brandon will be sailing various types of cruises, from birthdays to graduations, family reunions, or relaxing sunset cruises on the Miss Avalon and Avalon Lady. Contact them, at 609-967-7455 for booking.
The Avalon Lady is targeting flounder in the backwaters behind Avalon and Sea Isle. A recent outing supplied eight keepers, 50 short fish, and a pool-winning, 3.9-pound flounder. It sails at 8 a.m. and returns around noon on a first-come, first-served basis.
Bayhound Charters Light Tackle Sportfishing reported a limit of flounder for Pete Russo during a recent rainy outing. Then, Pete returned for an outing on a better day and caught some sea bass and sharks.
The highlight was a 5-foot Great White shark that was immediately released. This is the second of these apex predators caught recently off New Jersey, as a 7-footer was caught and released by anglers off Seaside Heights. They were trying for thresher sharks and got an interesting catch instead.
These catches are interesting but not surprising because they, too, live in the ocean, and catching them is always possible.
Another outing had Sheri and Mike Von Fischer catch nice flounder, with Sheri landing two nice keepers while Mike hooked the biggest, a 24-incher.
First Fish Adventures has been busy with many family-oriented charters. Some of the highlights included Erica’s 23-inch, 4-pound flounder and a 25-inch, 5.5-pounder caught by Dianna.
Avalon Hodge Podge weighed a nice 24.5-inch, 5.65-pound flounder for Kassidy. She was fishing in the back bay when the big fluke hit a 4-inch, pink swimming mullet Gulp. Another nice flounder, a 4.88-pound, 25-incher, was caught by an angler named “Z.” It hit a bucktail tipped with a white Gulp.
The Pequot’s crew checked in to the shop to report a successful bluefin tuna trip to Poor Man’s Canyon. Another noteworthy tuna trip was made by Dan Bowersock and his friend, Dean. They landed nice tuna recently, as they went six for seven on bluefin for the trip.
Boulevard Bait and Tackle recorded nice action from the Konczyks, each of whom reached a limit. The biggest of their six was a 4.2-pounder. Also stopping by were Pat and crew, who stopped in with eight keeper flounder for their four-man group. The biggest in their haul was 24 inches and 5 pounds.
The Sailor’s Delight is running three trips daily to the back bays. They are having plenty of action with both keepers and throwback flounder. Weakfish, with an occasional keeper, are also being caught.
Don’t forget to check out Capt. Andrew’s radio show, at 8:25 a.m. on 98.7 The Coast every Wednesday and Friday. He talks about what is happening in the local fishing scene.
Don’t forget that Grassy Sound Marina’s 15th annual Flounder Tournament is this Saturday. Registration is available online or in the shop. Also, Wednesday means free fishing on the pier for veterans.
The Miss Chris, led by Capt. Mike, reported a week with steady action. Sea bass, with a nice mix of keepers and throwbacks, provided most of the daily action. The week’s first keeper weakfish broke up the sea bass stranglehold and earned John Crane a pool during one of the trips. A West Virginia angler, Jed Tighe, got in on the drumfish action and landed his first-ever drum, which hit 65 pounds.
The Miss Chris sails daily, at 8 a.m. and 1 p.m., on four-hour trips. They also sail for drumfish from Tuesday through Saturday, with trips going from 6 p.m. until 10 p.m.
Capt. Chuck, from the Sea Star III, reported delectable seabass action recently, but with a lower keeper ratio. Some flounder are being caught while they are fishing the reefs, but the action is still slower than what is wanted. Also, the nighttime drumfish trips wrapped up for the year, and each night saw fish caught, with the largest reaching 73 pounds.
The week’s pool winners were Mike Morris, with a 1.75-pound sea bass, and others, with flounder, were Biff Pein (3.95 pounds), Bill Adams (3.10), Randy Hannings (3.25), Harry Theurer (2.65), and Chris Gardner (2.7). Drumfish trip winners were Bill Clark (37), Joey Hackett (73) and Frank Servocky, with an 18-pounder.
The Cape May Lady recently ran one of their offshore specials for tilefish. The trip’s biggest golden tile weighed 47.5 pounds. Check ahead to see what they are sailing for since they also sail for flounder.
Jim’s Bait and Tackle reported a nice 6-pound flounder for Nate, a young angler, and a nice drumfish for Erin Lewis. It was the first drumfish she ever caught – congratulations to both of them.
Mike Jung, from Peace Token Fishing Tackle, recently reeled in a 7-pound, pool-winning flounder during a trip on the Starlight Express. He was using one of his Peace Token Salt Bug Jigs sold at the store.
The 23rd annual “Brutus” Fluke Tournament was held June 12, 149 anglers participated, and 36 fish were weighed. The Adult Division was won by Harry Cattrill, who landed a 6.75-pound, 25-inch fish to claim the top prize. The Junior Division was won by Stephen Berge, with a 2.74-pound, 20-inch flounder.
Fish are here, so you just need to put your time in to catch your share. Good luck, take care, and I’ll see you around.
Submit your fishing news and photos to mrobbins@cmcherald.com.
