The Fishing Line: June 26

I want to start with the news that reached me not long before my deadline. It’s with a heavy heart that I report the passing of a young girl named Hannah. Longtime readers may remember a story I wrote about her a couple of years ago. An organization that fills the wishes of ill children provided a trip to our area so she could fish for “flat fish,” or what we call flounder. She and her family fished with First Fish Adventures-Sea Isle City, Captain Zig, and his wife, Donna.  Hannah, who was from Idaho, had Batten’s Disease, which consists of a rare group of nervous system disorders. She was 14.     
Boulevard Bait and Tackle had a good weekend, particularly Saturday, as two quality flounder catches were recorded. Early Saturday morning was the good time for Dan Erdie as he got to his back bay spot, ahead of the wind, and crossed paths with a 24-inch, 5.65-pound flounder. Saturday also saw Mark S. stop in with a 4.4-pound flounder. This was his ticket to a first-place finish for the local port in the JCAA Tournament. Good job, Mark.
Monday had word of a “limit at the reef” for Frank Locke and Doug Biemiller. An interesting observation went with the report. “The wind lies down and the fish start biting!” How very true.
First Fish Adventures had some good weekend action despite the wind. Saturday saw Steven, Sarah, and children Ryan and Emily catching and releasing flounder and sharks. Emily, 8, had a keeper that put lunch on the table.
A Father’s Day trip provided fun and action for Louis Odell and family as they caught a number of flounder and a small weakfish. Everyone in the family caught fish and went home happy.
The Starfish has been running two daily 4-hour trips. Those trips have been peppered with catches of triggerfish, kingfish, and sea bass.
The Avalon Lady had to work hard like any other boat due to the windy weather, but they were able to put some keeper fluke in the cooler. The weekend was tough, but the action increased as the wind decreased. Keepers from the weekend were joined by four more on Tuesday morning as over 60 short fish were also caught that morning.
The Miss Avalon has been busy hitting the reefs and wrecks off the coast. They have been catching triggerfish, kingfish, bluefish, sea bass, and porgies. They are sailing two trips daily at 8 a.m. and 1 p.m. Call 609-967-7455 for information.
Cathy checks in from Sterling Harbor Bait and Tackle reporting that despite the windy conditions, flounder were caught in the back bays. They got there first reports of flounder elsewhere as Scott Wheeler and the crew on the Big Bone “reported six nice keeper fluke from the Old Grounds”.
Weakfish can be caught from the areas around the jetties on light bucktails tipped with rubber baits. The inlets around the jetties are providing “scattered bluefish” so that gives you another option to zero in on.
A quick glance offshore finds plenty of tuna, but the anglers need to be able to get out. A little cooperation by the weather and things should be good.
“Crabbing was excellent over the past week.” That is as long as you were crabbing during the normal currents. The faster currents over the weekend made it more of a challenge. Watch for “improved crabbing” on we’re on the other side of the full moon.
Stop in the shop to grab a registration form for the 26th Annual Duke of Fluke Tournament on Saturday, July 13th, and while there check out the new Hobie Passport kayaks.
The Sailor’s Delight had a “busy” Father’s Day. They caught a lot of flounder that day with a lot of “great people.”
The Monday trip had action that was just as good, but with better keeper totals. The final tally was 4 keepers up to 21-inches. As mentioned before, the calm weather of Monday provided better fishing results then we had seen previously.
Don’t forget that the 13th Annual Grassy Sound Marina Flounder Tournament is this Saturday, June 29. Register in the store or online at www.grassysoundmarina.com. The reigning champion, Joe Romano, is registered so if you’re feeling up to the challenge you need to do the same.
Charlie and Gene Shields had a tournament-worthy catch as they came back to the marina with a 7.5-pound, 28-inch “doormat” fluke, while young anglers Regan and Myles had a note-worthy trip. Regan took her first boat ride and caught her first keeper while Myles caught his first keeper of the season.
The Sea Star III, despite the “uncomfortable” conditions, was able to bring fish over the rail during the past windy week. Those catches included fluke, sea bass, and even a couple of weakfish. Captain Chuck concluded by saying that “I hope this weather gives us a break soon.”
His pool winners were Frank Servocky with a 1.5-pound weakfish, Nancy Tomins and her 2–pound seabass, and Tyler Theurer with a 2.25-pound fluke.
The Miss Chris had fun heading out and targeting sea bass and flounder. The catches of both species increased as the wind lessened after the weekend which made for satisfied anglers. At the beginning of the weekend, John Guerin was the pool-winner as his sea bass took home the prize. They sail 4-hour trips daily at 8 a.m. and 1 p.m.
The Porgy IV had a busy time as flounder were being caught, limits recorded, and pools were won. John Bielskiss, John Gift, Matt Lamelza, and Ken Minett won daily pools. Of those winners, Ken had the largest flounder which topped out at 5.5-pounds and was also part of his limit that day. Other limits went to Brian Pichalsky, Mike Wolf, Dave Thompson, and Karl Zeigler.
Off The Hook Bait and Tackle registered a nice catch this week as Roy Trainor stopped in to measure and show off his 6.93-pound flounder.
The Hooked Up II started their offshore season with “a great tuna trip.” They went 16 for 18 on Yellowfin tuna. Since they did so well, they were rewarded “with a few bonus Mahi-Mahi.” Give Captain John a call at 609-425-1970 for additional information about booking a tuna trip.
Libation Charter had a quality trip on Wednesday as they caught and released a white marlin, boxed two Yellowfin tuna, then finished off with a 194-pound “collared” Big Eye tuna which they figured weighed around 230 to start with. Call Captain Franz at 610-960-0894 to set up a trip.  
From the mailbag: Congratulations to Brian Collings, of Cape May, on his 22.5 inch flounder and thanks for sending in the report and picture. Also, a new tournament, The MidAtlantic Blue Marlin Cup will occur on July 4th. It is a one-prize, winner take all format that awards a cash payout for the heaviest blue marlin. Several weigh-stations from Sandy Hook to Virginia Beach will be used for this event. Fish from any port and go anywhere you want as there are no boundaries. Tournament fees, rules and participating weigh stations can be found at www.SouthJerseyTournaments.com or by calling 609-884-0177.
As you can see, we have many options of fish to pursue. Let’s hope the wind stays down and we get to do some fishing. If you do, let me know how you did. Take care and I’ll see you around.
Submit your fishing news and photos to mrobbins@cmcherald.com