Wow! What a nice July 4th weekend we just had. Outside of some wind, the weather was fantastic. Even the rain, and accompanying storm, arrived in the area late in the evening and departed by the next morning.
Fluctuating water temperatures, with cooler water than anticipated for this time of the year, slowed some of the action, but not all. Let’s see what our local anglers were able to accomplish during the latest reporting period.
Capt. Mike, from the Miss Chris, reported good fishing when “the weathercooperated.” Most days were spent in the Cape May Channel, where his patrons caught kingfish, weakfish, and the “occasional fluke.” During one of the windy days, they anchored over a wreck and caught seven triggerfish.
Plumbers Local 690 had a good day fishing, as they caught some nice fluke and some throwback seabass. The sea bass are legal now and the bag limit is two per angler.
The Miss Chris sails twice daily, featuring four-hour trips that leave the dock at 8 a.m. and 1 p.m. On Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, they also sail a night trip that leaves at 6 p.m. and returns at 10 p.m.
The Sea Star III saw slower action than expected but had some quality fish, including two over 6 pounds, for their efforts. It was a quality over quantity week.
Pool winners for the week were Paul Bodkin (2.7 pounds), Harry Brown (3.1), Chris Gardner (6.10), and Matt Gawlinski, who landed the largest winner of the week, a 6.3-pound fluke. Just for good measure, but without winning a pool, column regular Jerry Rau landed two nice keepers during one of the trips.
Off the Hook weighed in their first sheepshead of the year. For the record, it registered 6.05 pounds on the scale.
Hands Too Bait and Tackle had an unnamed angler stop by with his early Tuesday morning catch. It was a nice fluke, that after measuring and weighing, went 27 inches and 6.75 pounds. It was caught in a local back bay.
Other nice catches to mention were by the angler (unidentified) who was pictured with a 37-inch, 18-pound striped bass. Striped bass were popular, as two other anglers sent in a picture of each holding nice keepers. It’s nice to see that some nice striped bass are still around.
The Miss Avalon, with Capt. Irv at the wheel, has been fishing the local reefs and wrecks. They have been catching flounder, a mix of keepers and throwbacks, some triggerfish that are arriving slowly, sea bass that are legal again, and some keeper weakfish. As the water temperatures climb and more fish arrive, the action should increase.
Joey Povio took advantage of the “mix” and caught a nice flounder and a keeper sea bass to contribute to a tasty “mixed grill.”
The Miss Avalon is sailing most days from 8 a.m. until noon and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays have a morning trip only and Sundays sail from 8 a.m. until 1 p.m., and you get five hours for the price of four.
The Avalon Lady, led by either Capts. Brandon, Trevor, or Sam, continues to catch flounder from the back bays and various creeks behind Avalon. They will slowly move towards the inlet area to fish, as the season progresses. They will also be starting their crabbing trips soon so keep those in mind. There’s nothing tastier than some fresh caught and steamed crabs.
Keepers of note during the week went to visiting Pennsylvania anglers, Bob Morgan and Todd Tiberius.
The Starfish was busy before, during, and after the holiday weekend, as their patrons were catching plenty of sea bass, flounder, triggerfish, and kingfish. These trips depart twice daily, with 8 a.m. and 1 p.m. departure times.
First Fish Adventures has been experiencing good flounder action for their clients, whether they are new to flounder fishing or young.
First-timers to flounder fishing, Rob and Tyler Hohen, had “killer” action that resulted in a keeper for each, while youngster Robert Gregory fished with his dad, Rob. After their trip, Robert posed with two keepers (none for dad), while Dad vowed to even the score on his next trip, which was scheduled for later in the week.
The Sailor’s Delight had their anglers catching flounder, including some keepers amongst the shorts, plus some weakfish that were swimming in the back. Everyone aboard is staying busy, and some young anglers are getting exposed to the thrills of feeling that tug on the line.
Capt. Paul, of the Starlight Fleet, has been putting his customers on some very respectable flounder. A highlight of note was the catch by young angler, Connor Emeick, who, while fishing with his grandfather, caught his first flounder ever, a 4.75-pound pool winner. Nice job, Connor.
The Cape May Lady will be running all-day fluke trips starting July 9. Every Friday will be a 10-hour trip that will start at 6 a.m. and return at 4 p.m. The trip will accommodate 25 anglers and reservations will need to be made.
Grassy Sound Marina recorded a nice catch of a 36-inch striped bass for Carman. He was fishing from the pier during a recent incoming tide. Nice catch, Carman.
It was another good week that included the expected flounder, sea bass, and triggerfish catches, but one that saw some nice striped bass also being caught. The cooler water that crept into our area was suspected of being to the stripers’ liking, so those catches went right in line with that. Good luck if you get out, take care, and I’ll see you around.
Submit fishing news and photos to mrobbins@cmcherald.com.
