The Fishing Line: ForTUNAte Fishing

Lots of good reports and great pictures to share with you. Remember, though, that on any given day, fish will ignore you. “That’s why they call it fishing and not ‘catching,” a wise man reminds me.
Frank’s Boats is on board today with a fine report and some great pictures. They tell me fishing remains good for most anglers, and very good for some. Keeper flounder are being caught on minnow, spearing, gulp and squid. Most of the larger flounder have been caught in the deeper water of the back-bays. Inner coastal markers 328 to 330 are a good place to start your drift.
Stripers in the back-bays have been caught chunking with clam or bunker along the sod banks. Crabbing has been a hit or miss situation, one day it is good, the next, just ok.
Frank sends a reminder for those fishers who aren’t familiar with saltwater fishing: drift fish for flounder and anchor up for striped bass. When drifting, be aware of your surroundings and pay attention to your channel markers. If you are in an area without markers, avoid the shallow waters. You can usually spot them because they are lighter in color.
Tuna? You bet. Yellows, blues, even a big eye. Out of South Jersey Marina, the Raging Bull, Hooked Up II and Foray, have brought in everything from a 20-pound dolphin to a 47-pound yellow fin tuna. Heaviest catch was the 202-pound big-eye that was caught on the Gold Rush with Captain Avena. The Easy Rider released two white marlin; Super Crew also released 1 white marlin. These fish are reported to be biting strong in the Wilmington Canyon. The marlin bite is quite decent for this time of year with some action reported in the Spencer.
As for inshore fishing, the Cape May reef and the Old Grounds have been the destination for good flounder and black sea bass fishing. This week on Murders Row the Cape Queen, Common Sense and the Big Game all had flounder and black sea bass, reporting that fishing was going well.
Sterling Harbr reports kingfish in the surf along the Wildwood beaches with Wildwood Crest down to the Inlet best. An occasional striper is still being caught in the surf. In the back- bays there are still plenty of flounder, lots of shorts, but some nice keepers being caught, too.
There is good founder fishing in the Delaware Bay along the shipping lanes near Miah Maull. Flounder reports from the refs were sketchy but fish were caught at Reef Site 11 and the Old Grounds. There are still quite a few throwbacks, but also reports of fish up to 7-pounds being caught.
Fly fishing was a bit slower but captain Ray was still able get stripers and bluefish for spin and fly anglers; had to work harder. All fish were caught in the back bayarea as the water around the inlet and beach front was cold. Smack-it-jr popping plugs provided explosive surface action for spin anglers and steroid gurglers and popping flies did the job for fly anglers.
Bill (bucktail willie ) Shillingford fishing out of Whale Creek Marina has had a steady striped bass bite behind the barrier islands with bass from 23 -34-inches. The bite slowed a little as a result of the colder water staying around. Fluke are thick and almost everyplace you stop to fish but the legal size fish are hard to come by. If you work through the shorts you will get a couple of legal size fish.
The Strathmere Fishing and Environmental club held their annual flounder tournament on June 26. Eighty-six men, women and children participated. A total of 101 pounds of flounder was weighed in and another 25-30 pounds caught that were legal but not large enough to be in contention for a trophy. Again, minnows seem to work best, followed by gulp and squid. Crabbing continues to be okay for this time of year.
SFEC Tournament Winners:
Age 11 and under: Joey Owens and Bud Casper tied with a 4-pounders each; Ages 12-17: Matt Schad, 3-pounds; Women: Grace Garrity, 3.25-pounds; Men: Randy Magdin, 4.9-pounds; Seniors 65 & up: Herb Hollinger Sr, 3.5-pounds. Mike Owens won the overall trophy with 3 fish totaling 10.5-pounds.
Send your fish stories and photos to cmiller@cmcherald.com. All photos submitted will be posted online at SeeMyBigFish.com.