<b>Keyport</b>

Several keeper fluke and plenty of action with shorts was scored east of Ambrose Channel on Monday on Michael Valentino’s trip with <b>Papa’s Angels Charters</b>, Capt. Joe said. Fluke fishing might’ve been improving, and Joe spoke with several who agreed. Joe Lopes’ bluefish trip aboard fought cocktails on the back of Raritan Bay on Sunday on frozen bunker. Open-boat trips for fluke are available twice daily, in the morning and afternoon, when no charter is booked. Telephone to jump aboard. Space is available for fluking aboard this Saturday and Sunday mornings.

<b>Atlantic Highlands</b>

After fluking improved aboard Tuesday, serving up more keepers than before on both the morning and afternoon trips, conditions on Wednesday weren’t as good, said Capt. Tom from the party boat <b>Atlantic Star</b>. Tuesday’s fishing was covered in an update to the last report, and the boat fished Raritan Bay on all recent trips. Lots of throwbacks still bit on Wednesday’s trips, but fewer keepers did than on the previous day. A couple of anglers bagged a couple of fluke apiece on Wednesday, and one limited out on Tuesday. A trip would fish an area, and catch a few. The boat would be returned to the spot, and the fishing wouldn’t be able to be repeated, because conditions or something changed. Tom would see how the fishing unfolds now. The Atlantic Star is fishing for fluke on two trips daily from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 1:30 to 6 p.m.

Fluke fishing was tougher Wednesday aboard, but another 7-pounder won the pool, Capt. Ron from the party boat <b>Fishermen</b> wrote in a report on the vessel’s website. The boat failing to drift because of no wind or tide sometimes affected the angling. An especially large fluke was lost, and a few big fluke in the mix were caught. Just not enough for everybody.  On Tuesday aboard, good fluking lasted the whole trip. Ron Sr. whaled 12 legal-sized ones, keeping no more than his limit. Tom the Vet limited out on the fish to a 5-pounder. A 7.2-pound fluke won the pool, and two 6.8-pounders were pasted. The fishing was also good throughout Monday aboard, and a better spread of fluke seemed around in the last week or so, no longer limiting the fishing to one area. Killies just weren’t catching on the ocean, where the boat fished, so Ron encouraged anglers not to buy them to bring. Tom the Vet, on the trip he was mentioned in above, and the Jersey Boys stuck to their guns, bucktailing the whole trip, even when the bucktail bite wasn’t happening. When the bite turned on, they caught. The Fishermen is fishing for fluke 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily and for croakers, porgies and bottom fish 6:30 to 11:30 p.m. daily except Sundays.

Boaters made off with fluke on the ocean, said Jimmy from <b>Julian’s Bait & Tackle</b>. They also pitched aboard fluke on Raritan and Sandy Hook bays, at places like along the Navy Pier, on certain parts of the tide. Striped bass were still boated, despite the summer season, on the troll or chunk in mornings. Then the fish stopped biting, and the anglers switched to fluke for the day. Surf fishing beached short stripers, a keeper now and then. A 27-inch throwback was the largest heard about recently. Ling fishing was good on the ocean. Anglers on the ocean did limit out on three sea bass apiece. A few bluefish were around. Snapper blues were growing larger. Croakers, spots and a few kingfish swam Navesink River. They didn’t hold along the coast, for some reason. The shop carries the full selection of baits.

<b>Highlands</b>

Sailing from <b>Twin Lights Marina</b>, Roy, Franz, Frank and Jeff on the Table Dance boated 13 keeper fluke to 23 inches at the Rattle Snake on bucktails with Gulps, Marion wrote in an email. John, Ryan, Jay and Tracy on the Par Tee II bagged seven fluke 19 to 21 inches and three sea bass 16 to 19 inches at Atlantic Beach Reef on bucktails with Gulps. Jay and Tracy on another trip on the boat out-fished “The Other Guy,” Marion wrote, catching a 19-inch fluke and a 17-1/2-inch sea bass at Rockaway Reef on killies with squid. Greg Hanna on the Annie H limited out on fluke to 24 inches at Rockaway Reef on Gulps. Joe and John Reilly from Smith’s Tavern grabbed four keeper fluke off Rockaway on Gulps with squid. On the Sam-Jack, Frank Coolack smashed a 7-1/2-pound fluke – 27 ¾ inches long and 11 inches wide – off Sandy Hook’s nude beach on PowerBait with squid. Twin Lights, located conveniently on Shrewsbury River near Raritan Bay and the ocean, with no bridges before them, includes a marina with boat slips and dry storage, a fuel dock, and a combined bait and tackle shop and ship’s store. The full supply of bait is stocked, and the fuel dock is available 24 hours a day with a credit card. 

<b>Neptune</b>

The weekly, individual-reservation trip for fluke on Tuesday began sailing to a spot where the angling’s been good aboard, Capt. Ralph from <b>Last Lady Fishing Charters</b> wrote in an email. But forecasts were wrong, and wind gusted to 20 m.p.h. or stronger. At least the wind blew from north, instead of southerly that can cool the ocean close to shore and slow fluking. But the trip had to fish elsewhere, close to shore at first, because of the wind strength. Lots of throwbacks and two or three keepers were hung.  At noon, the wind eased off, and the trip fished farther form shore a couple of hours, though not where the trip originally intended. Another eight to 10 keepers and lots of shorts came in. Kids had a great time, and besides the wind, weather was great. Frank Fleisher won “a hefty pool,” Ralph said. The individual-reservation fluke trips are sailing every Tuesday, and kids under 12 sail free, limited to two per adult host. At press time, seven spots remained for next week, and eight remained for August 12. Lots of anglers requested an individual-reservation, wreck-fishing trip, so one was scheduled for August 24, targeting winter flounder, sea bass, ling, blackfish and maybe cod, and room is available. Space remains for an individual-reservation trip for cod offshore on August 7, and another is full on August 28.

<b>Belmar</b>

Shark River seemed paved with fluke at times, but boating a few keepers was daunting, Bob from <b>Fisherman’s Den</b> wrote in an email. When the size limit was ½ inch shorter last year, lots more limits were bagged. Bob can’t see how the government will say anglers caught more than the quota this year. Rich Veisz from Allentown, N.J., decked a 9-pound 2-ounce fluke on one of the Belmar party boats on the ocean. “We also had some nice fish come out of the river,” Bob wrote. The head boats put anglers on good action with small bluefish and some bonito and false albacore on the ocean. The river’s snapper bluefishing was good. Summer’s passing fast, Bob said, and get out and have fun on the water.

On some drifts,  bluefish and bonito put up good fishing, and on others, slow catches, on Monday on the party boat <b>Golden Eagle</b>, a report on the vessel’s website said. On Tuesday, fishing aboard was excellent for blues and bonito mixed in. Wednesday was a decent day of fishing for blues, bonito and chub mackerel on the boat. Some drifts ran into good shots, and others only managed a few of the fish. The news about each trip didn’t always tell the size of the blues. But it mentioned that the blues were smaller on one of the days. The Golden Eagle is fishing 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily and 7:30 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. Thursdays through Saturdays.

Blues and bonito in the mix, good catches, were drilled today on the party boat <b>Miss Belmar Princess</b>, an email from the vessel said. The trip fished the ocean east of Shark River Inlet, like on previous outings, jigging the catches on Ava 27s. Plenty of the fish have been around, so if anglers are thinking about a trip, now’s the time. A bonito won the pool. Karin from the crew, in a phone call, said the angling’s been good for small blues, all anglers could want, and sometimes bonito and false albacore among them. The Miss Belmar Princess is fishing 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily and 7:30 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. every Friday and Saturday.  The party boat Royal Miss Belmar will fish for fluke and sea bass on two trips daily from 7:30 a.m. to 12 noon and 1:30 to 6 p.m. starting Saturday.

<b>Point Pleasant Beach</b>

Sea bass, winter flounder, ling, a few cod, a handful of small bluefish and occasionally blackfish, a variety of fish, were scooped aboard the party boat <b>Dauntless</b>, Capt. Butch said. Anglers averaged 15 to 25 fish apiece, a variety of the species. Some were able to limit out on three sea bass, two flounder or one blackfish, and they landed ling “to spice it up,” he said. Trips fished anywhere from 65- to 130-foot depths. Water temperature there fluctuated from 64 to maybe 73 degrees. It reached 73 on Wednesday. Clams were provided for bait, and Gulps that anglers brought, different types from green twister tails to orange shrimp to some kind of large Nuclear Chicken one, also caught. Bringing any types of Gulps was worth experimenting with, because Gulps hooked all the different species. On nighttime trips on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays, mostly bottom-fish were taken. The night trips on Fridays and Saturdays usually bluefish each year, but blues currently were ¼ pound to ½ pound, so anglers weren’t interested in them. Blues were boated, including 25 or 30 on Saturday night, but the ling and sea bass bagged were bigger than the blues. The Dauntless is fishing 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. daily and 7:30 p.m. to 1 a.m. Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays.

On the ocean, fluke fishing aboard was kind of slow the past few days, not terrible, but not great, said Capt. Bob from the party boat <b>Gambler</b>. Throwbacks, not a lot of keepers, turned out a lot of action tight to shore in 25 to 35 feet. When trips pushed farther from shore, larger fluke were punched, and so were a few sea bass, but fewer fish bit there. Trips kind of split up the day, fishing close in for action, and farther out for better-sized fluke. Nighttime wreck-fishing trips were good, and on the last one, last Thursday, a good, steady pick of big ling, still some keeper cod, a few flounder and a few squid were plowed. Another one of the trips was set to sail tonight, and the trips will now fish on Fridays, in addition to Thursdays, every week. They sailed only on each Thursday previously Nighttime bluefishing trips saw good action on smaller blues 1 to 2 pounds, occasionally 4 pounds. The <a href=" http://www.gamblerfishing.net/offshoretrips.html" target="_blank">Gambler’s tuna trips</a> will be launched on September 24, and it’s time to think about booking. Click the link for the schedule. There’s still room, but don’t wait long, Bob said. The Gambler is fishing for fluke twice daily from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 2 to 6:30 p.m. Nighttime wreck-fishing trips are sailing 7:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. Thursdays and Fridays for cod, pollock, ling, winter flounder and squid. Bluefishing trips are running 7:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays.

Picky fluke fishing the past couple of days, Capt. Matt from the party boat <b>Norma-K III</b> wrote today in a report on the vessel’s website. A few keepers and some shorts were angled, but the fishing was a little tough. Shorts served up good life close to shore, but the keeper ratio “wasn’t there.” Farther from shore, decent-sized keepers were more numerous, but few and far between. “There is no lack of fish in our area – just getting them to bite is a different story,” he wrote. But this is the time of year when larger fluke start to show up, “so hopefully they will start getting a little more hungry,” he said. On nighttime bluefishing trips, the boat on Monday was sailed to where big blues reportedly showed up. The fish were read great on the scope, but wouldn’t bite. Tuesday’s bluefishing picked away at 1- to 2-pounders, a few 3- to 4-pounders.Wednesday’s bluefishing was better on the 4-pounders, and was decent. A lot more blues appeared than before, and a few bigger were spotted toward the end of the night. Matt hoped that meant it would “happen” in the next nights. More of the smaller blues were seen on the way home than before, too. The Norma-K III is fluke fishing on two trips daily from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 2 to 6:30 p.m., and is bluefishing 7:30 p.m. to 1 a.m. daily.

<b>Toms River</b>

Fishing was slow all around, but a few catches were picked from the surf, said Dennis from <b>Murphy’s Hook House</b>. Short fluke were beached on bucktails with Gulps, and Mario from the shop lifted them from the water on trips. He saw bluefish 6 or 8 inches banked on snapper poppers. Blues were there but small. A token striper came from the surf on clam or bunker. An occasional kingfish nibbled in the surf. A few blackfish were yanked from along Barnegat Inlet’s jetty. Bluefishing was a little better, not great, in the inlet, because of moving water. Around Barnegat Bay, snapper blues 4 to 8 inches swam everywhere, jumping on snapper poppers, spearing or metal. Small fluke gathered in the bay around the BI and BB markers, and probably 1 in 15 or 20 was a keeper. Tiny blowfish, babies, hovered in the bay, and the bay’s blowfishing usually picks up by mid-August. Crabbing was best from Island Heights on the Toms River to Good Luck Point and Route 37 Bridge on the bay. Murphy’s, located on Route 37, bought <b>Go Fish Bait & Tackle</b> on Fischer Boulevard in Toms River this year, and is running both shops now.

<b>Seaside Heights</b>

Seaweed gathered a lot in Barnegat Bay, and jelly fish or something filled the surf, said Kevin from <b>The Dock Outfitters</b>. That looked like white pieces of something, and he saw that today. Snapper bluefishing was good from the dock, and sometimes small fluke were hooked from the dock. Small fluke were banked from the surf. Crabbing was good on the rental boats, and was a little slow from the dock. But the blueclaws were still trapped from the dock. The Dock Outfitters, located on Barnegat Bay, blocks from the ocean surf, features a bait and tackle shop, boat and jet ski rentals, a café and a dock for fishing and crabbing.

<b>Forked River</b>

Boaters jabbed fluke, many of them throwbacks, from Barnegat Bay, said Mike from <b>Grizz’s Forked River Bait & Tackle</b>. A few bluefish were around in the bay, and snapper bluefishing was great around the docks. Two trips reported finding blowfish, only a few, in the bay. That angling wasn’t so good. Someone checked-in a 2-pound blackfish, but the location of the catch was unknown. Crabs were shedding, so a few less might be trapped. But shedding only lasts days, and crabs shed to grow. Baits stocked include killies and fresh spearing. Green crabs can be ordered. 

<b>Barnegat Light</b>

Trolling for bluefish, small ones, and bonito was still good on the <b>Super Chic</b>, Capt. Ted said. A trip beat them up well on Tuesday, and bluefish remained, but lots of bonito hit on the last two trips, for whatever reason. Trips are supposed to fluke Saturday and Sunday.  For keepers, trips, on the ocean, needed to fish structure. Lots of throwbacks were in. A bluefin tuna trip is set for Wednesday, and nothing specific was heard about the tuna, but a few bluefins continued to swim places like Chicken Canyon and the Triple Wrecks. The season’s first canyon tuna trip is currently booked for September 12 or so, but someone could book the trips earlier.

A 4-1/2-pound fluke won the pool today on the party boat <b>Miss Barnegat Light</b>, the vessel’s Facebook page said. The keeper ratio was better today than before, but the flatfish gave up less action than “we’ve been seeing,” it said. Nothing was posted about fishing on the previous couple of days aboard on Facebook or the boat’s website at press time. The Miss Barnegat Light is fishing for fluke and sea bass 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. daily.

Maybe 1 in 15 fluke was a keeper in Barnegat Bay, said Kevin from <b>Bobbie’s Boat Rentals</b>. Fishing for them was probably best off the tip of the Dike. Ocean fluke fishing seemed to start picking up. Small striped bass were knocked around along Barnegat Inlet on lures. Blues shot around the inlet. Crabbing wasn’t good locally, but clamming was. The water was about 70 degrees. Bobbie’s features a complete bait and tackle shop, a fuel dock and boat and kayak rentals. The boats are used for fishing, crabbing, clamming and pleasure. The store is known for bait supply, including live baits. Baits stocked currently include live spots, green crabs and minnows.

<b>Surf City</b>

In the surf, kingfish today “came back,” said Sue from <b>Surf City Bait & Tackle</b>. Fluke, mostly shorts, but a few keepers, scurried the surf. No blackfish were reported zapped along Barnegat Inlet’s rocks today. But they were flung in from the tip of the jetty previously. In the bay, cocktail blues schooled. So did snapper blues and tiny sea bass. Crabbing was better, was okay, at the mainland’s lagoons than along the island. Commercial crabbing was off from New Jersey to Maryland, and crab prices made that evident. The store’s annual <b><i>Free Surf Fishing Seminars</i></b>, held 6 to 7 p.m. every Sunday in the parking lot in summer, are under way. Hosted by Bob Massa, the classes are now being called Sundays with Bob. Bring a lawn chair. Like <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Surf-City-Bait-and-Tackle/207533229268619" target="_blank">Surf City Bait & Tackle’s Facebook page</a>.

<b>Mystic Island</b>

Little Egg Inlet’s summer flounder fishing was so-so, said Brian from <b>Scott’s Bait & Tackle</b>. Anglers fished for them deep, and the fish bit best on incoming tides. Two customers joined two different trips for flounder that fished Little Egg Reef on the ocean on a day. The catches were terrible in the morning on one, and good later in the day on the other. Lots of small flounder, sometimes a keeper, carpeted Great Bay, but maybe 1 in 30 was a keeper. Plenty of croakers schooled, and blowfish started to appear, in the bay off Graveling Point. Nothing was heard about kingfish. Brian found a spot in a castnet during the weekend, and Scott from the shop and his dad landed a sizeable spot on a trip. Short, 11-inch weakfish swam the mouth of Mullica River. No blackfish were reported, like from along the banks of the bay. Chris from the store and family on an ocean trip cranked up six of the tautog two weekends ago.  Different results were heard about crabbing. One lagoon would crab well, and another wouldn’t. Crabbing was okay in the lagoon behind the store. 

<b>Absecon</b>

Summer flounder fishing was basically as good as it’s been all year on the back bay, said Capt. Dave from <b>Absecon Bay Sportsman Center</b>. More throwbacks were in than keepers, but more large fluke were weighed-in during the last couple of days than all season. Two larger than 7 pounds were checked-in yesterday, and a 7-pounder was today, and lots of 4- to 6-pounders were recently. Total catches of keepers weren’t huge, but practically all trips brought back some. Throwbacks, from hand-sized to 17 ¾ inches, gave up lots of action. Dave ran a trip today that only bagged four keepers, but that included a 5-pounder. It’s pretty good fishing, he said. Fish kept being felt tapping on baits on the trip, and one of the anglers jigged a decent-sized croaker. Then a kid on the trip began fishing a rod that’s always kept aboard for white perch, with a top-and-bottom rig, with beads and spinners. Shedder crab was fished on the rod, and kept hooking croakers, including double-headers. The hardheads weren’t huge, but were edible, and anglers could load up on them. Flounder fishing was also good on the ocean, but strong wind that’s forecast, from south, will probably limit fishing to the bay this weekend. The shedder crabs had been stowed aboard Dave’s trip in case weakfish showed up. The weakfish population was a little thin, but a few of the trout gathered at river mouths, and this was about time for weakfishing to begin. Lots of bait in the water was “starting in,” Dave said, and that should bode well for weakfishing, too. Stories were heard about bluefish in the bay yesterday. Only one bluefish, a big snapper, was hooked on the trip today. Not many bluefish have been around. Blackfish, including good-sized,  loitered at places like Brigantine Bridge. But anglers jumped on them when one blackfish could be kept starting earlier this month, and mostly lost interest since. No news was really available. Kingfishing was good in the surf, and lots of bloodworms were sold, and that was the indication. Not a lot of customers usually talk about kingfishing. No spots were really heard about, but if the run of spots is normal this year, sometimes they don’t show up until mid-August.

<b>Brigantine</b>

The surf swarmed with kingfish all over, said Capt. Andy from <b>Riptide Bait & Tackle</b>. They bit bloodworms, not Fishbites artificial bloods, because of cool water. Sharks weren’t really seen from the surf, after they were previously. A 64-inch butterfly ray was landed in the surf on the island’s north end on a mackerel head. Fred Higgins beached a 3-pound summer flounder from the surf today, and flounder weren’t a common catch from the shore, and anglers would see whether more bit now. In the back bay, flounder anglers had to pick through throwbacks, but some keepers were there. Plugging for striped bass was pretty good along the sod banks at sunrise and sunset on yellow Bombers that swam 2 to 4 feet deep.

<b>Atlantic City</b>

Croakers, kingfish, sometimes good-sized summer flounder and a few snapper blues were banked from Absecon Inlet, said Noel from <b>One Stop Bait & Tackle</b>. That included off the Flagship and Madison Avenue and from the sea wall at Gardner’s Basin. Fishing was pretty good at the sea wall this week. Blackfish and triggerfish were socked at the T-jetty, at the ocean end of the inlet, on green crabs, clams and head-on shrimp. Bloodworms and clams were fished for some of the other fish. Minnows, spearing, squid and filleted mackerel were soaked for the flounder. The snappers were hooked on spearing, and snappers could also be livelined for bait for big flounder. Green crabs are $4 per dozen or three dozen for $10. Minnows are $8.50 a pint, and bloodworms are $10.75 per dozen. Baits stocked also include fresh bunker, fresh clams, all the frozen baits, like mackerel, mullet, head-on shrimp and all the different types of squid for flounder fishing, and more, a large supply. A vending machine dispenses bait afterhours. One Stop, at 416 Atlantic Avenue, also owns a shop with the same name at Atlantic City’s Gardner’s Basin that stocks the same baits and also rents rods. Sign up for the DO/AC Beach N Boat Challenge, set for August 22 to 24, for free, by using the number 5072. Without the number, entry is $20. The tournament will award $1 million if an entrant breaks the New Jersey record for largest summer flounder, and will award exceptionally lucrative prize money for the rest of the heaviest fish caught from Atlantic City. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2RSNjwOrUJk" target="_blank">Watch a video about the DO/AC Beach N Boat Challenge shot at the shop</a>, including footage of Noel in the shop and at the counter.  <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/One-stop-bait-tackle/362952943747080?rf=151870514855225" target="_blank">One Stop on Facebook</a>.

<b>Margate</b>

The back bay shoveled up lots of throwback summer flounder, and keepers were a little scarce, on the party boat <b>Keeper</b>, Capt. John said. Three flounder larger than 4 pounds were iced on Wednesday morning’s trip. Some quality ones remained, but a few keepers might be tapped into on a trip, and might not. Otherwise, the angling wasn’t bad – there was action. Baby sea bass began to bang up mackerel baits pretty well, like starts to happen in summer. Sometimes mackerel in summer will stop being provided aboard, to avoid the sea bass, but that didn’t happen yet. Minnows were also provided, and Gulps caught well that anglers brought. Junk fish like sea robins sometimes chomped. Birds were seen working bait, and maybe bluefish chased the bait. Blues should invade this season to chase the bait, growing bigger in summer, attracting predators. The Keeper is fishing for summer flounder twice daily from 8 a.m. to 12 noon and 1 to 5 p.m. The trips are only $25 for adults, $20 for seniors and $15 for kids, because the fishing is near port, and the pontoon boat is economical on fuel.

<b>Longport</b>

Trolling whacked blues and bonito, non-stop action, on the <b>Stray Cat</b>, Capt. Mike said. Small mahi mahi were trolled at the lobster pot buoys. Summer flounder fishing was pretty good aboard in 80 to 90 feet, and keepers averaged 3 to 5 pounds. Good catches of bluefin tuna came from the Cigar and the Lobster Claw. Good catches of bluefins and yellowfin tuna came from the Claw and the 40-Fathom Fingers. The fish smacked Tuna Clone feathers in black and red or black and white.

<b>Ocean City</b>

Many summer flounder were scattered just about everywhere in the back bay, and they even hugged the surf, but lots were small, said Pat from <b>Fin-Atics</b>. The bigger ones liked deeper holes and inlets. Bigger Gulps and baits zonked the larger flounder. Flounder fishing wasn’t consistent at any of the ocean reefs, but the catches were reported from Ocean City and Great Egg reefs. Good catches were even reported from Wildwood Reef.  A few sea bass were in the mix at reefs. Tons of snapper blues schooled the bay, but were quite small, 3 to 5 inches. They’ll grow, though, and striped bass were played along sod banks and bridges on soft-plastic lures and popper plugs, mostly in mornings, for some reason. Stripers were also played at night under lights. In the surf, kingfishing wasn’t as great as last year, but was okay. Bloodworms and Fishbites artificial bloods nabbed them, and not one spot fish was mentioned from the surf.

<b>Sea Isle City</b>

A 4-hour trip with Mike Clark’s family tugged in 30 summer flounder, including one keeper, from the back bay on Wednesday morning aboard, said Capt. Joe Hughes from <b>Jersey Cape Guide Service</b>, affiliated with <b>Sea Isle Bait & Tackle</b>. A trip the previous morning with three anglers reeled up a bunch of flounder to a 4-1/2-pounder. They fished on the bay and the ocean, and the 4-1/2-pounder came from the ocean. Ocean flounder fishing was steadily improving, and a better number of larger flounder was growing there. But trips aboard were still landing more flounder on the bay than on the ocean. Another trip on Wednesday, with Jim and Connor Jackson, released 10 sharks, mostly duskies, and a few browns, to 60 pounds on the ocean. A family aboard the previous evening, Tuesday evening, let go 13 duskies to 60 pounds on the ocean. On Monday, Jeff Fisco’s family released four duskies, including a 100-pounder and an 80-pounder, on the ocean. These were some of the inshore shark trips aboard that catch and release sharks like duskies, browns, spinners and blacktips, some of them required to be let go, close to shore, usually within 10 miles from the coast, on mackerel fillets or chum flies. These trips fished with mackerel. A trip today aboard was supposed to fly-rod for mahi mahi and maybe other pelagics on the inshore ocean. Jersey Cape is also fishing offshore for tuna, billfish and mahi, and Joe heard nothing specific about the angling in past days, but the fish were still there. This was a tournament week for offshore fishing, so anglers kept quiet. Keep up with Joe’s fishing on <a href="http://captainjoehughes.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Jersey Cape’s blog</a>.

Ocean summer flounder fishing was the best bet, Mike from <b>Sea Isle Bait & Tackle</b> guessed, he said. Quite a few flounder larger than 5 pounds were docked form Townsend’s Inlet Reef in the ocean this week. Five-inch, green Gulp swimming mullets seemed to catch best. Lots of small flounder hung in the back bay. High tides at dusk or dawn, ideal for striped bass fishing on the bay, were about to come around at the end of this week. That angling’s been good this summer. Blackfish were pounded along rocks, the inlet and docks near the inlet, once one blackfish could be kept starting earlier this month. Anglers now had to weed through throwbacks more, but caught some keepers. The surf doled out kingfish, nothing great, but catches that were definitely picking up. Tuna in the ocean were scattered all around. Tons of mahi mahi swam from 10 miles from shore on out. Crabbing was excellent.

<b>Wildwood</b>

Lots of throwback summer flounder filled the back bay, and sometimes a keeper was latched into from the water, said Mike from <b>Canal Side Boat Rentals</b>. The angling seemed no better in the ocean, or seemed as productive in the bay as anywhere. That will change, when most of the bay’s flounder begin to migrate to the ocean. But some boaters currently traveled to the ocean for flounder, and seemed to run over fish to reach fish, or results of those trips seemed no better than trips on the bay. Mike wondered whether the boaters just liked the traveling, and that could be understandable. One trip traveled a long distance on the ocean to Reef 11, 17 miles away, off Delaware, and did return with seven large flounder to a 9-pounder. Two of those fish were 18 inches, the legal minimum size, and the rest were whoppers. News from Reef 11 is usually scarce, because of the distance. Boaters on the ocean usually fish closer reefs. Around the last major storm, about two weeks ago, especially large flounder were seen from the bay several days. A surprising number of the fish to 5 and 7 pounds were docked. Afterward, the bay’s temperature’s been rising. Some anglers think big flounder still swim the bay, because the anglers bag a sizeable one once in a while. Big flounder seem to feed less often than small ones during water temperatures that are other than moderate, including a little warm. Those anglers believed the fish were still there, didn’t migrate to the ocean yet, but weren’t as active, biting less often, than smaller flounder that kept biting. Crabbing improved a little, not a lot, on the bay for customers. Some decent catches were seen, like two dozen of the keeper blueclaws. Croakers were around from the surf to the bay. One person saw them at his dock. Baby sea bass seemed yet to arrive in the bay that hold there in summer. Nothing was heard about striped bass and weakfish. Blackfish were hooked along the surf jetties, but were generally small. Baits stocked include minnows and frozen herring in three per pack, great-looking spearing, peeler crabs, mackerel fillets, whole mackerel, mullet fillets, whole bunker, bunker fillets, salted clams in quarts and pints, bags of fresh-frozen clams, all the different types of squid, like tube squid, trolling squid, strips of unscented and scented squid, green strips, pink strips and more. Canal Side rents boats for fishing and crabbing and kayaks. <b>***<i>Get a $5 discount</i>***</b> on a rental boat if you mention Fishing Reports Now. Crabs, both live and cooked, are sold for eating, and picnic tables were set out this year to enjoy them. The crabs were currently from Maryland, and crabs remained scarce from New Jersey suppliers this year. Crabbing was slow locally for commercial crabbers. The live crabs were currently $28 to $36 per dozen, depending on size and market price. The cooked crabs were currently $6 additional for the first dozen, and $4 additional for each additional dozen. Mike was thinking about changing that price to only an additional $4 across the board.     

<b>Cape May</b>

Capt. Frank from <b>Melanie Anne Sport Fishing Charters</b> had just gotten back from offshore fishing when he gave this report at 8 p.m. Wednesday in a phone call, he said. Two bigeye tuna 171 and 160 pounds, a 90-pound yellowfin tuna and a couple of mahi mahi were trolled at Wilmington Canyon. No white marlin showed up, though trips aboard usually hooked a white or more lately, and many boats targeted whites at the canyon during the day, because of tournament fishing coming up. Ballyhoos, lures, spreader bars and a splash bar were trolled, and the water was good-looking. Seas were a little snotty inshore on the way out but improved offshore. Another trip was supposed to sail for bluefin tuna inshore aboard today. <b>***Update, Friday, 8/1:***</b> The trip Thursday fished for bluefins at 19-Fathom Lump and the Elephant Trunk, and actually trolled two yellowfin tuna, Frank said. The trip also totaled five large, bull mahi mahi 20 to 30 pounds that were trolled, and the final mahi was caught near the East Lump, while the trip trolled back to port. The water was 77 degrees almost everywhere, and seas were 4 feet, but not bad.

A trip fished for triggerfish at the reef Wednesday on the <b>Heavy Hitter</b>, Capt. George said. The anglers, the Keith Johnson family, loaded up on the fish, keeping 18, releasing probably three or four times as many. They were big fish, and the trip caught more fish than a summer flounder trip probably would. Trips aboard are slated to fish for flounder on Saturday and probably triggerfish on Sunday. Another trip might flounder fish on Friday. Trips that flounder fished at the Old Grounds probably caught in past days. Bluefish schooled off Cape May Point and 5-Fathom Bank. A few bonito reportedly showed up at the bank. Nothing was heard about tuna fishing, but the boat is also tuna fishing. Tuna trips aboard were covered in recent reports.  

A few good-sized summer flounder were eased aboard Wednesday on the party boat <b>Porgy IV</b>, at the Old Grounds on the ocean, Capt. Paul said. But conditions wouldn’t drift the boat, so the fishing was tough, though a big crowd fished aboard. They fished hard, and some bagged a few keepers, but many didn’t pick up a keeper. When the lines hang straight up and down, many of the anglers understand that there’s no drift, knowing that slows the angling. Anglers kept saying what a beautiful day it was. But the fishing couldn’t help but be troubling for Paul. He saw anglers sometimes catching better on private boats that day, and one boat that scored a good drift that caught on the day. Still, a few flounder were bagged on every trip on the Porgy IV, and some days fished better than others. Tuesday’s trip fished the reef on the ocean, and hardly any flounder bit at first. But the anglers picked at some by the end of the outing. No trip sailed on Monday because of weather. Weather was rough in the morning on Sunday’s trip, so a small crowd jumped aboard. A few flounder were belted at the reef. The Porgy IV is sailing for summer flounder at 8 a.m. daily.

Fishing for summer flounder sounded good at the Old Grounds in the ocean, good reports rolling in from there, said Nick from <b>Hands Too Bait & Tackle</b>. Flounder were also boated at Cape May Reef in the ocean, and the ocean fishing seemed to begin improving. Flounder were boated on Delaware Bay at the 9 and 10 buoys and Miah Maul.  Flounder, lots of throwbacks, but a few keepers, still bit in the back bay, along the Intracoastal Waterway. Tons of croakers crammed the back bay and surf. Kingfish chewed in the surf, and a few weakfish did in the surf at Cape May Point and along the jetties on Delaware Bay. Bluefish sometimes popped into the surf at the point, and schooled off the point, where boaters could get into them, and off Cape May Inlet. Cape May Channel should hold a mix of kingfish, croakers, flounder and spike weakfish that usually gather there in summer. Back in the surf, blackfishing was okay along the jetties, and a few triggerfish stuck around the jetties. In the ocean, 5-Fathom Bank was home to blues and lots of life, including bonito, mahi mahi and skipjacks. Offshore fishing appeared pretty good for bluefin tuna and sometimes yellowfin tuna at the Hot Dog and Massey’s Canyon. The bluefins were mostly chunked, and the yellowfins were mostly trolled.  

Back to Top