Well, as the heat and humidity continue unabated, the weather is not the only hot subject. From the information I’ve received, it seems that the white marlin bite was through the roof, even being described as “epic.” Fluke fishing also turned on at all the known spots. Sheepshead, another large Rabbitfish and a wahoo also made the cut this week. Let’s get started and see what went on.
Cathy from Sterling Harbor Bait and Tackle gets us going. The fluke fishing has shown improvement, with “decent reports” arriving from the Cape May Reef, Reef Site 11 and the Old Grounds. A couple of nice examples are the 7 pound, 2 ounce fish caught by Jim Messina, and the 7 pound, 7 ounce entry from Scott Wheeler. Both fish were caught on Scott’s boat, “Big Bone,” while fishing at the Cape May Reef.
Offshore, the white marlin bite is summed up with the phrase “as good as it gets.” Cathy also mentioned that a record number of white marlin were caught during the recent Ocean City, Md. Marlin Open.
Mahi-mahi are at both inshore and offshore locations ranging from the East Lump out to the Canyons. Roy Lucadema and daughter Ashley Bakley of Dias Creek went two for three on mahi while trolling the East Lump area.
The tuna bite at Massey’s Canyon has slowed but tuna can still be caught on the troll, as some recent Big Eye catches have shown.
The beachfront provides kingfish, snapper bluefish and sharks while the inshore boats are boating small weakfish and flounders, plus kingfish.
Crabby Jack says, “The crabs just keep getting bigger,” and consequently gives the week’s crabbing a score of four claws.
Matt at Jim’s Bait and Tackle reiterates the good flounder reports. Yes, the wind kept some boats tied up, but some fishermen on the 8 hour boats got their limit. The most active area was Reef Site 11, but the Old Grounds did well also, with Arthur Begeley catching an 8.66 pounder among three friends who caught 11 keepers.
Trolling inshore proved good for mahi-mahi. Spanish Mackerel were also reported while trolling. Captain Steve Spagnola ran to Massey’s Canyon and was rewarded with two white marlin. Later, while chunking, they got four yellowfin tuna while three others broke off the light leaders.
Matt says that the white marlin bite was “epic” with many boats reporting double digit releases. Through the week the bite moved from Tom’s Canyon, then to the Lindenkohl, before ending in the Spencer. A few spotty reports of bigeye tuna trickled in from the Wilmington, while the yellowfin aren’t providing much action in the canyon’s as only a few are being picked. Tilefish have provided a good option during slow offshore trips. The Toilet Seat area of the Wilmington and its soft mud bottom are a good place to look. If you fish for 10 minutes “and don’t have a bite,” then move around to find them.
The surf is good for small fluke, kingfish and sharks, plus some croakers. The Cape May Point beaches have small weakfish and bluefish.
Captain Chuck from the Sea Star III starts by reporting “much better fluke action this week.” The size has been “the most impressive so far this year.” Fluke controlled the pool winners this week. The winners, listed in pounds, are: Doug Facchine (7.25), Chris Gardner (5.35), Frank Servocky (5.24, plus an additional 3.55 fish), Doug Miller (4.70), Don Fagan (4.5) and Mike Hemsarth (4.0). It’s good to see some nice fluke consistently coming over the rail.
The Royal Flush continues its weekly catches of sea bass, weakfish, kingfish, snapper blues, triggerfish, croakers and even a few porgies. Some good catches this week went to Warren who caught a “giant” Rabbitfish, while Luciano Munson, Dave McDonald and Kathy Batot caught triggerfish. Sea bass went to Tim Reiss, Thom Barrons and Wendy Walsh, while Roman Carpenter and Gerry Malton got weakfish.
Boulevard Bait and Tackle had a good weekly report of flounder, culminating with a trip for Cameron and crew that brought in over 100 fluke that led to 16 keepers to 25 inches. Others who stopped in were Charlie N. with four keepers to 25 inches and 5.65 pounds, and Raeanne with a 21.5 incher taken from the inlet.
The Fishin’ Fever with Captain Tom had some good flukin’ recently as it returned to the dock with a nice load of fish that included a 10 pounder for Lee Vincent. The next day they changed gears, went after tuna and returned with seven nice yellowfin. One fish (report) that slipped by me, but not the angler, was a 10.25 pound fluke caught by Christian on a recent charter. Another Utsch’s Marina boat, the Full Ahead with Captain Bob, has also had success with recent fluke trips. A third boat from the marina that has been making its popular bluefish and bay shark combo is Cape Queen Sportfishing Charters. They head out after blues, 37, 6 and 30 on recent trips, then they switch to shark fishing that has resulted in specimens, including a bull shark, weighing from 125 to 175 pounds. A butterfly ray, estimated at 125 pounds, was also caught. All sharks are released at the boat.
A couple of big sheepshead were reported recently as Adam Sneathen and Gus Fellenbaum each got nice fish. This is nothing new for these guys, especially Adam who caught a 14 pounder, among many others, back in July.
On Tuesday, August 16, a 44-pound wahoo was caught on the F/V Double Nickel. The anglers aboard were Jarek Gomola, Mike Cox, Steve Fletcher and Steve Grasch.
Finally, I just wanted to give a shout out to Spring Garden Marina for having the flares when I needed them, plus the trailer lock, that at the last minute I didn’t need when my daughter found the one that “disappeared” in the truck. Thanks for your help, guys.
Till next week, keep on fishing.
Submit your fishing news and photos to mrobbins@cmcherald.com.
