Well, welcome to June. While I’m getting this particular column together, at the end of May, the weather is very cool and windy. Not exactly what you would expect, but since I’m a cool weather person, I won’t complain. But as far as the wind, well, that’s something we just don’t need. But we’ll accept it and move on.
There are plenty of fish around, so we just need to get a nice stretch of weather, and, as some captains have said, some warmer water and we should be fine. Let’s check out what’s been transpiring.
Capt. Chuck, from the Sea Star III, has been extremely busy as he has been doubling up on sea bass trips, followed by drum fish outings.
Of those, the sea bass fishery has seen better activity lately. There are plenty of keepers, and, of course, short bass, being caught.
Looking at the good side finds several anglers who caught their limit plus even more who missed by a couple of fish. Those numbers will keep the crew cleaning for a while.
Pool winning sea bass went to Randy Hannings (2.5 pounds), Tony Koska (2.05), Chris Gardner (1.9) and George Schoell (1.7).
The drum fishing was a little slower, with a few fish each trip. Still, though, some nice-sized fish claimed the pools. Those went to Gary Agness (50.06 pounds), Brian Kerr (45.44) and Matthew Ballerini with a 60.42-pounder.
The Miss Chris sails daily at 8 a.m. and 1 p.m. on their four-hour trips for sea bass. They’ve been putting their patrons on some tasty bass, which means everyone is smiling.
They are also sailing four-hour drum fish trips that leave the dock at 6 p.m. These trips run on Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Check out the link to their schedule on their Facebook page.
Capt. Irv on The Miss Avalon reports good trips for sea bass. Shorts are providing plenty of action while some nice keepers are finding their way to the coolers aboard. A little reprieve from the wind would be welcome.
The Avalon Lady, sailing daily every day except Tuesday, has been catching a steady mix of flounder. The ratio favors throwbacks, although a nice portion of keepers are mixed in. Warm water in the back should go a long way to increasing the daily tally.
The Sailor’s Delight is busy fishing for fluke behind the Wildwoods. Capt. Stan has been searching for any secluded area that might offer a slight break from the wind. They’re tough to find but in the meantime, he has been finding some nice “flatties.” The wind isn’t quite an annoyance if you can catch some fish, and the folks aboard have been doing that.
The Cape May Lady has been sailing for drum fish during the week. Check ahead to get their up-to-date schedule.
Boulevard Bait and Tackle was very busy over the weekend. Bluefish, stripers, drumfish, weakfish and flounder filled the weekend while keeping the scale busy.
Congratulations go out to Bobby, who caught his first striper. He was using clams and fishing at low tide.
Two nice weakfish were caught by Eric (4.7 pounds) and Bob (3.8), while Paul caught a 34-inch black drum and Joey caught a good-sized bluefish.
The Parker boys reported seven out of nine possible flounder, while Art caught a 25-inch, 6-pound specimen.
Striped bass ruled, and the biggest, a 46-incher, went to an angler named Joe. Other catches to mention went to Tony (32 inches), Mark (35), Jim (29), John (30, 9 pounds), Joe and Tommy (31 and 23 inches), Anthony (36.5), Brendon (42), Tony (42), John (34, 13), Danny (37, 18), Luis (28.5) and Rob who caught a 38.5-incher.
Jim Cannon also beached one, but no size was listed. The final two anglers who were fishing together, Zach and a friend, caught 16 stripers, of which five were legal and three were released.
As you can see, the fishing was great. Many of these fish were caught in the evening during low tide. Clam was the top bait of choice.
Sea Isle Bait and Tackle reported a nice striper, a 35-incher, for a young angler named Luke. He was fishing from the surf and was using salted clam.
Some nice flounder were also reported. Those of note were the 20-incher caught by 9-year-old Daulton H., who was fishing behind Sea Isle, a 5.65-pounder weighed in by Jackie W. and a 6.06-pound flattie that was brought in by Mason. He was fishing in the backwaters over the weekend.
Whale Creek Marina had a busy stretch as they saw plenty of nice keeper flounder being brought in. Joining them were some striped bass and bluefish.
It was another good week with plenty of fish to fill your cooler. The pre-summer variety of fish swimming in our local waters should have everyone excited for the months ahead.
But we just need a break from the wind and an increase in the water temperature. If we could get all the components working together, the fishing could really take off. Good luck if you get out, take care, and I’ll see you around.
Submit fishing news and photos to mrobbins@cmcherald.com.
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