The recent week dawned windy which slowed fishing, but then we rebounded to have some nice catches. The weather also played havoc with one of the five days of the MidAtlantic Tournament as all the entrants remained at the dock. As the weather turned favorable, anglers all over the Cape finished strong as fish came over the rails. Let’s see what developed over the week.
The 27th edition of the MidAtlantic closed on Friday, Aug. 24. The record cash purse reached $3.36 million, and the top winners in the white marlin and tuna categories also recorded single payout records. Fifty-five blue marlin, a record number, were caught. None reached the minimum weight of 400 pounds. A total of 765 white marlin were released. Two other points of interest occurred: On Tuesday, all 157 registered boats stayed in because of “brutal offshore weather,” and on Friday, the final day, the entire fleet was eligible to fish.
The top prize went to Sean O’Donnell, Captain Doug Ortlip and the crew of the “Got Game.” They cashed in to the tune of $905,408 for the 78-pound white marlin that was first in the category. They caught the fish on the final day.
The heaviest tuna was caught by Ed Dunn and weighed 116 pounds, the heaviest wahoo was caught by Ed Zajdel and weighed 71 pounds, and the heaviest dolphin was caught by Jim Rogers and weighed 43 pounds.
The Miss Avalon had a great week of hitting the local reefs. They were catching keeper flounder, big triggerfish, keeper sea bass, kingfish and even some porgies. The action was steady when the throwbacks were tossed into the mix, and that combination kept all the anglers happy. The mixed nature of the catches also made things interesting. On Monday a nice flounder won the pool, while on Thursday a big triggerfish caught by Lindsay Robbins was the winner.
The Avalon Lady, a back-bay pontoon boat and the other half of their fleet, is still pulling flounder from the water. They are in the back, or at the inlet near the Townsends Inlet Bridge. Whatever it takes. While on a recent trip behind Avalon a young lady pulled in a keeper flounder, while a few days before a young boy felt a bite, set the hook and surprised everyone on board when he reeled in a big triggerfish. It just shows that you need to get the bait in the water because you never know what’s swimming around.
Boulevard Bait and Tackle is staying busy with customers bringing in their catches. Pictures showed flounder, triggerfish and kingfish. The flounder not only came from the reefs as expected, but also from the back bays. Nick C. stopped in for two straight days for pictures with his kingfish. His total? Over 50 for those two days! The lesson passed on was, “You have to work for them; don’t put your rod in the rod holder and wait for the bite. Create the bite.”
Avalon Hodge Podge stayed busy recently. They weighed in another keeper flounder for Bob Scully who brought in a 25-inch, 5.88-pound fish. Trevor and Chris stopped in with an 82.8-pound wahoo that they landed while trolling at the Cigar. They also caught 20 mahi, with the largest weighing in at 10 pounds. They were fishing aboard the Pequod, captained by Tim McGuire.
Sea Isle Bait and Tackle checked in with word of a recent catch by an angler named Rick. He was out fishing for cobia, but instead came home with a 35.2-pound, 55-inch barracuda. They called it “the fish of a lifetime.” The fish “ate a bucktail and took over 30 minutes to land.” They also caught some more traditional flounder during the trip.
Cathy from Sterling Harbor Bait and Tackle reports that “we saw a turn-around with weather, and the fishing has turned on.” It was another strong indication of how one affects the other.
Inshore waters at the Cape May Reef and Reef Site 11 saw “improved fluke fishing.” Flounders are also being caught “just outside of Cold Spring Inlet.” Though most are smaller fish, there are some keepers mixed in.
The back bays have small stripers “all over.” She mentioned they were providing “some fun catch-and-release fishing on light tackle.”
Heading offshore, we find “plenty of white marlin” at the canyons. Mahi mahi are around and could also be joined by a wahoo, as “you never know when” one will show up. Bob McCormick and crew on the “Happy Our” had “a nice catch of mahi” with fish that topped out at 15 pounds.
The surf had snapper bluefish and double-header kingfish in North Wildwood. Evening shark fishing also remains productive.
Crabby Jack gives crabbing four claws because there are “plenty of heavy crabs to be had.”
The Sailor’s Delight was out and about in the back and in the areas leading to the local inlets. Most of the flounder have moved out from the back, but there are some still around to be caught and they are finding them. Areas near the local inlets have become the popular places to find these fish and from the pictures I’ve seen, their patrons are catching them.
The Royal Flush is hitting the ocean during their three daily trips. You can sail with them on four-hour trips that leave at 8 a.m., 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. You’ll be targeting weakfish, kingfish, snapper bluefish, triggerfish and croakers.
Catches of note went to Maria Davez, Anthony Moreno and Connor Moreno with triggerfish, Joanne Marks with a load of croakers, Renee Masters and Jeff Schneider with snapper bluefish and Dylan Foley with a nice weakfish.
Grassy Sound Marina will be hosting a “Heroes on the Water” kayaking outing on Saturday, Sept. 22. The event will run from 7 a.m. till 2 p.m. Heroes is a nonprofit organization that provides free kayak fishing for active military members, veterans, first responders and their families. The organization is asking for breakfast and lunch to be provided to Heroes and their families, approximately 50 people. If you can help, please let them know.
The Sea Star III with Captain Chuck fished the mouth of the bay early in the week due to the windy weather, then returned to the ocean reefs mid-week. Both areas were productive, as the bay provided weakfish, croakers and tasty kingfish while the ocean bounty consisted of fluke, sea bass and triggerfish.
With weights (pounds) in parenthesis, bluefish won pools for Curtis Nichols (1.5), Lisa Clark (1.75) and Julianna Joyce (1.25). A sea bass (3.15) carried Linda Lakitsky to victory, and fluke helped Kevin Nelson (3.0) and Frank Servocky (4.60), which was part of a limit, conquer the day.
The Cape May Lady has been out catching fluke, triggerfish and small bluefish on their daily trips. Recently (Tuesday, Sept. 4) they started fishing a six-hour trip that starts at 8 a.m. and runs until 2 p.m. They will be wreck fishing for triggerfish. They will also bring some crabs along so you can try for blackfish. Right now, you can keep one legal blackfish. The weekends will still have the four-hour trips. Remember that it is important to call the day before you want to go because they may have a private charter or be running an offshore trip.
Robin Jung from Peace Token Bait and Tackle had a “good” tilefish trip recently. They were also trying for bigeye tuna, but didn’t get any. Their group had some nice goldens with Simon catching a 31 pounder, while other nice 25- to 30-pound fish were caught. The biggest fish, though, went to Robin, who caught a personal best golden tilefish of 42 pounds.
Meeting notice: The New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife will hold a public hearing on proposed management changes for Atlantic cobia. This could result in the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries becoming the sole management body for this stock. The meeting will be on Sept. 6 at 7 p.m., and the location is the Atlantic County Library/Galloway Township at 306 E. Jimmie Leeds Rd., Galloway. Also, written comments may be submitted to the ASMFC by Oct. 4. The meeting follows the regular Marine Fisheries Council meeting which begins at 5 p.m.
Submit your fishing news and photos to mrobbins@cmcherald.com.
