Well, as has been the case recently, the bad weather, and sometimes just the threat of it, slowed down some of the people who wanted to go fishing. But not all, as we will read about. One constant is that the fluke fishing is getting better as the weeks go by. This applies for both ocean and back bay boats and their patrons.
The Royal Flush was on the ocean this past week and anglers caught up with some sea bass, flounder, weakfish, kingfish and even some snapper blues. As the week progressed, so did the action. Notable catches went to Roger and Faith Thomas who caught keeper sea bass and flounder, and Anthony Carr from Illinois who caught a nice keeper weakfish.
Get in on the action of either of The Royal Flush’s two daily trips. They sail at 8 a.m. and go till noon, then leave the dock for a 1 to 5 p.m. trip. Call (609) 522-1395 for any information you need.
Captain Andrew from Sailor’s Delight Back Bay Fishing is pleased to report that “fishing has been consistent, with the fish being more of quality over quantity.” On a recent trip, they had two “nice thick flounder” come over the rail. Those fish were in the 23- to 24-inch range. That trip also produced the first “big bull blue claws” of the season. Other nice fish in the 20-inch plus range were caught with one angler getting himself two. Thursday, a picture showed a young angler who pulled in a 22-inch keeper. Captain Andrew and crew are running open boat trips and are also available for charters. The night-time trips (5-9 p.m.) will start soon as part of their “Three Trips Daily” offering. Call (609) 827-8309 for details.
Sterling Harbor Bait and Tackle has announced the date of the 25th Annual Duke of Fluke Tournament. It is scheduled for July 14, starting at 7:30 a.m. and wrapping up at 10 p.m. The later time is to accommodate the awards ceremony, Pig Roast BBQ and live music show. The Captain’s Meeting will take place on Friday, July 13 at 7 p.m.
Grassy Sound Marina sent pictures of three nice recent catches. Tyler West caught a 4-pound fluke from the pier, while Jim Boyle caught a nice fluke Wednesday morning while fishing in Turtle Creek. Thursday belonged to Becky Maegerle, who out-fished her dad by landing a 25-inch, 5.5-pound flounder.
Don’t forget the 12th Annual Grassy Sound Marina Flounder Tournament is Saturday, June 23. There are Boat, Kayak and Pier Divisions. Great prizes, giveaways, a live band and a barbeque round out the day. Register at grassysoundmarina.com or call the shop at (609) 846-1400.
Mike Jung got out recently for “a great tilefish trip” on Sunday, June 10. The pool-winner was “Stanley from New York” with a big golden, but Mike also did well by adding a 55-pound bluefin tuna to his tilefish catches. Mike also reported “almost everyone limited out” with golden and blueline tilefish.
Captain Ray and the Tide Runner Charters lost a few trips to the weather, but were rewarded on the trips they were able to make with some nice striper action. While fly-fishing in the ocean, the offerings of Clousers on sinking lines worked well. Intermediate line with Clousers was the best item in the back waters. The light-tackle anglers did well with top water and swim plugs. All the stripers were returned to the water to swim another day.
Matt from Jim’s Bait and Tackle reports that the tuna bite “really turned on this week in the canyons.” The good water moved to the Wilmington on Saturday. “Good numbers” of yellowfin, bluefin and bigeye were caught through the weekend.
If you’re looking for drum fish, then point your boat to either Tussey’s Slough or the lower Bayshore Channel. The bite has “slowed down a bit,” but they are still being caught.
Nice fluke is being caught “from the artificial reefs.” It’s “not great yet,” but some nice fish are being caught on the party and charter boats that are hitting those areas.
Small bluefish and weakfish are around the rock piles in the “early morning and again in the evening.”
A slow surf fishing scene did provide “the first few kingfish” from the Point, while a 4.23-pound, 22-inch fluke was caught by George Barnard at Sunset Beach. The fish hit a bucktail and squid trailer combo.
Captain Chuck from the Sea Star III reports that they are still catching drum fish during their night-time excursions. Their days belong to sea bass and fluke. This past week represented their “best showing of fluke so far this year.” Drum fish pools went to Jon Niski (26 pounds) and Justin Simpson (36 pounds). Gary Agness won a sea bass pool while fluke winners (weights in pounds) were Butch Lenbeck (3.75), Neil Boyle (3.5), John Unger (3.85), Frank Servocky (3.5) and Brandon Liberati (2.75).
Cape Queen Sportfishing Charters has been hitting the water for sea bass trips and drum fishing charters. Sea bass outings were enjoyed by the Glover and Talley families in a joint trip and by Chris Stone and friends. Hamid Basbous booked a drum fish trip, with party member Kris Kolea getting on the board with a 35-pound drum. Finally, the Leider family had an eight-hour trip over the weekend. Group members brought in 35- and 45-pound drum fish. The pictures were full of smiles as everyone had a good time.
Off The Hook Bait and Tackle sent word of a special catch. Congratulations go out to 5-year-old Ryan Trainor who caught his first flounder, a 23-inch, 4.28-pound specimen. Also getting attention was the yellowfin and bluefin tuna caught by Matt Minix and his crew during a recent trip.
The Avalon Lady is having a good, bountiful time in the back bays. They have been catching lots of flounder, with a nice number of keepers mixed in. The pictures I saw showed a lot of keepers and included the biggest flounder so far this year to cross the rail: a 4.5 pounder.
The Miss Avalon reports that “fishing has been great.” They had one trip that brought in 147 sea bass, a few ocean flounder and a “nice tog.” It went back for another day. Get out and get into those sea bass, and while you’re at it, catch yourself a flounder.
Avalon Hodge Podge reported and sent in a photo of a nice tuna caught by Captain Tim McGuire. He caught it by trolling a ballyhoo. More reports of tuna are rolling in, so we should hear of more being caught.
Boulevard Bait and Tackle had a little of everything that’s in the local waters. Bill Owen caught a 43-inch, 27.6-pound striper, and was joined by Joe who got his own keeper striper from the beach. Bill hooked into a 13-pound bluefish, Nate and Mary brought in a bluefish and a 3.3-pound weakfish, respectively, Chris found two “big summer flounder in the back bay,” and John and TJ grabbed some bunker and “found the crabs hot and heavy.” Lots of variety is a good thing to have.
First Fish Adventures of Sea Isle City, led by Captain Zig, has been getting their patrons into flounder and crabs. Two families from Pennsylvania had successful outings, while a family from Long Island also got in on the fun. One of the keepers, a 22.5-inch flounder, was caught by a young man named Jeremy. Job well done, everyone.
A thank you goes out to Michael Higgins, Sr. for sending in a picture of his son Michael with his first flounder of the season. It was 18 inches, caught on green gulp, and “very tasty.”
Another submitted report had Frank Costobile catching a 28-inch striper in the waters behind Wildwood.
Correction: A recent submitted report had an angler listed as Ed Twiggs. The angler’s correct name is Ed Teise, and his catch was a 7.57-pound, 27-inch weakfish. Thanks for reading the column, Debbie and Ed, and keep on fishing.
Finally, I want to send out congratulations to my son who recently graduated from Cape May Tech and will be heading to college in the fall, and to my daughter who swam the three-mile open water swim after jumping off the Cape May-Lewes Ferry during the recent Escape The Cape Open Water Classic. She was third amongst females, and 10th overall of 50 finishers in the three-mile Non-Wetsuit Division.
Take care and I’ll see you around.
Submit your fishing news and photos to mrobbins@cmcherald.com.
