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Scott's
Bait & Tackle
Weekly Fishing Bulletin for:August 28,
1997
Best fishing in the bay is the small fish activity, particularly
the Kingfishing. There have been small Sea Bass, a few Porgies, and a couple
of blowfish, but the Kingfish have been the only sizable fish worth keeping.
There is no size or bag limit, but most anglers agree that a Kingfish needs
to be about 12" before it is worth putting in the fish box. There are two
favorite places to fish for Kingfish. One area is in Grassy Channel on
the South side of 134 Marker buoy. Look for a deeper hole and anchor the
boat over it. The other area is on the North side of the Fish Factory.
I refer to this area often as the area of clam stakes with the orange ball.
The best fishing is in the deeper water between the sandbars just to the
East of the stakes, but not quite up to the little island. It is necessary
to anchor the boat and chum for Kingfish. Bloodworms and Clam chum are
the best bait and chum choice to entice the Kingfish to bite. A small hook
top and bottom rig we commonly refer to as a number 70 rig, with a 1 ounce
weight will catch 'em up. The preferred time to chum for anything is closest
to a slack tide, because the chum stays more concentrated around the boat.
The outgoing tide tends to push the Kingfish into the deeper holes, so
that's the best time to fish for them.
I got a lot of E-mails this week about where specific reef sights
and lumps are in loran and gps numbers. So here is a few of the spots I
have been talking about this week:
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loran td's
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gps numbers
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Atomic Lump
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26944 43100
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39 28 30
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74 15 00
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Little Egg Bell Buoy
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26954 43094
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39 27 70
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74 16 60
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Garden State South Reef
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26900 43150
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39 33 70
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74 07 00
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Little Egg Reef Sight
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26920 43100
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39 28 75
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74 10 00
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Were you out Fluke fishing this week and saw those fish jumping and
splashing in the water, and no matter what you threw at them, or trolled
through them, you just couldn't catch them? Well, you weren't alone. This
time of year there are schools of Bonito and False Albacore usually mixed
with some Spanish Mackerel that frequent our area. This past week it has
mostly been the Bonito making all the ruckus. Bonito are commonly referred
to as boo hoo's, since anglers cry and whine because they can see the fish
but just can't catch them. Trolling is the best method of catching bonita.
A size 0 Clarke Spoon tactically placed in the second wake of the boat,
trolled a little faster that if you were trolling for Bluefish will sometimes
hook one up. The sporting value of Bonita is excellent, however the food
value is poor. They are very strong tasting and usually require a good
marinating before cooking.
Some anglers continue to pick away at Weakfish just outside of Big
Creek. They start the drifts (wind/tide direction permitting) a couple
hundred yards outside Big Creek to the left, and drift back toward Osborne
Island/Pebble Beach area. A shad dart baited with a piece of Shedder Crab
seems to be doing the trick. Bloodworms and Sandworms are also a popular
bait choice for Weakfish when Shedder crabs are running scarce.
It may be worth a try to catch some Tautog along the banks opposite
the Fish Factory's burned out bulkhead this weekend. A few anglers are
sneaking a few Tog here and there and it seems likely that there could
be some good fishing in the right spot.
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The Scott's Bait & Tackle Weekly Bulletin
