The Scotts Bait and Tackle Weekly Bulletin

The Scott's Bait & Tackle Weekly Bulletin

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Scott's Bait & Tackle Weekly Bulletin for Thursday, June 4, 1998

I am sure that the first thing on everybody's mind is where are the BIG Fluke. Not just any Fluke or many Fluke, but really BIG Fluke. I just weighed in a 4 pound 21 1/2" fish and best that I could figure is that Fluke came from Grassy Channel area. I am pretty sure that it was caught on a 5/8 ounce white Bucktail lure. That Fluke, along with a limit out quantity of 7 others and two Weakfish (the largest being 5 pounds 2 ounces), made for a very nice catch of fish on the incoming tide. What can you do to improve your chances of catching large Fluke? That is a very good question. Some anglers try different baits. A larger strip of squid or whole small squids are popular, as well as drifting small live eels. The small eels, rather than minnows, have been known to sneak a larger Fluke out from amongst the smaller ones.

Every once in awhile, a nice sized Weakfish gets weighed in the store. At this point, most anglers are catching the Weakfish while fishing for Fluke in Grassy Channel. A few anglers have had some luck catching Weakfish along the drop-offs in the mouth of the Mullica River, but not actually up the river and they have been mostly smaller Weakies. A combination of baits are working: Shedder Crabs, Sand Worms, Bloodworms, and Squid strips soaked in Shedder Crab oil. Sales of plastic worms and jig heads have picked up this past week, too. Some anglers are catching Weakfish with good quantity/quality and are keeping it quiet. Try early morning fishing in front of Oyster Creek and Motts Creek. Little Sheepshead Creek also has some catching potential. Keep a net handy, five pound Weakfish seem to be a regularity so far this spring.

Fishing behind the house in the lagoon is a good way to pass time. Depending on your lagoons distance to the main channels of Big Creek and Roundabout Creek, the chances of catching fish are different. During the evening, Eels become more active and are likely to be caught in any lagoon. They can be pretty feisty fighters on light tackle. To fish for Eels, little pieces of Bloodworms are the best bait, but any type of bait fished on the bottom will catch them. The small Bluefish or Snappers will not be large enough to catch until the middle of July. Some lagoons(close to the main creeks) have Striped Bass, Weakfish, Fluke, White Perch and Sea Bass in them. These unlikely visitors usually sneak back into the lagoons during the night and can be caught during the very early morning before the boat traffic begins. Occasionally, some of the fish are caught during the day, too. Last year, we had quite a few keeper Weakfish brought in the store for pictures that were caught in the lagoons. Any catch is possible in the lagoons of Osborne Island section of Mystic Island, because those lagoons lead directly into the Great Bay. Bloodworms, Shedder Crab, or Sandworm bait supported off the bottom with a plastic float, fished on a number 4 hook, will provide you with the best possible chance at catching the Weakfish and Stripers. To attempt to catch Fluke, fish Minnows or Spearing on the bottom, on a plain single hook rig rather then a fancy rig meant for drifting.

The Fluke tournament of the year is this Saturday, June 6th. The goal is to catch one really big Fluke. The JCAA, Jersey Coast Anglers Association has really put together a terrific, well organized tournament. The first prize is $1,000.00 paid for 10 of the largest single Fluke weighed in at 12 different weigh-in stations. The additional two weigh-in stations have been set up to provide convenient access for anglers and the $1,000.00 first place prize will be awarded to the one largest Fluke from both weigh-in stations. Second largest fish wins $250.00. Third place prize is Raytheon/Apelco 265 depthfinder. Fourth place prize is a Penn rod and reel combo. Fifth place prize will be a Star Brite boat care package. Even if you don't catch a fish, there is still a chance to win the Grand Prize by just entering the Tournament. That prize is a boat/motor/trailer package with an estimated value of $25,000.00. Applications are available at the store or on the JCAA web sight http://www.jcaa.org and the latest entry time is at the store by 7:00pm on Friday night. Entry fee is $85.00/boat(6anglers). At the time of writing this report, 54 boats have signed

up to weigh in at Scott's Bait & Tackle.

Last week's Rick Michel Fluke Tournament organized and run by Captain Lee Webb, was a great success. The anticipated turnout of 30 registrations was even surpassed by a few. Anglers worked hard at coming up with big Fluke with the tough wind conditions last Saturday afternoon. A really nice trophy was included with the cash payouts. After the tourney, a neat little backyard barbecue was thrown for everyone who wanted to get together and tell all about the ones that got away.

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