The fish to catch this weekend
in the Great Bay is still Fluke. Anglers are just catching too many to
actually keep an accurate count. It is a lot of angling fun, though most
of the fluke are of throwback size. A boat with 3 anglers can catch as
many as 50 fluke in 
a
day with the right drifting conditions in the Inland Waterway from 139
down to the 131 marker buoys. A specific rig preference isn’t really necessary;
you need a hook with a minnow on it. For larger fluke, seek out deeper
water. The area between Little Egg Inlet and Marshelder Channel is still
giving up some nice size fish with a very limited quantity. Action at the
‘F’ and ‘E’ buoys in the Little Egg Inlet has become quiet. Anglers who
fish on the ocean agree that sixty feet of water depth is the area where
the fluke are hanging out. It doesn’t seem to matter if your port is Atlantic
City or Barnegat, just run offshore to sixty feet of water and work your
way up or down the beach. I can’t YELL enough, think BIG sinkers. Some
of the anglers are using as much as 10 and 12 ounce sinkers. Fish those
top and bottom rigs straight up and down and they will catch you more fluke.
Fish stories of the week are False
Albacore (we think, ‘cause no one can stop one) in the Great Bay around
the Coast Guard Station and the East end of Grassy Channel. These fish
are grabbing fluke baits and running like a freight train, sucking all
of the line off a spinning reel before you can reach around and tighten
the drag, SNAP! There goes the end of the line, if you’re LUCKY. Anglers
who weren’t lucky saw their rod and reel combos launch into the water in
a blink of an eye. Believe me folks, there has been several reports of
the same fish story. One angler looked around, because he thought another
boat had picked up on his line with an engine when it sped past only to
see that there was no other boat around.
Still no reports of croakers in the
area of Wreck Inlet. Several anglers gave it a quick fishing effort in
eighteen feet of water for a few minutes this week only to catch several
skates and smooth dogfish which chased the anglers offshore to search for
the Fluke in the sixty feet depth range.
There have been quite a few reports
of Tuna caught inshore this past week. Small
feathers, 1/4 ounce red and white,
and smaller Zucker feather lures seemed to be the most
productive. Small metals like the
Clark Spoons did the trick too. Think Ridges...The
Barnegat North and South as well
as the Atlantic City Ridge produced a few nice
Yellowfin as well as Bluefin Tuna.
Current Angling Category Bluefin
Tuna Bag Limits (July 29,1999)
A tuna permit is required. Make
sure you can identify different tuna species!
Northern Area (North of 38o47' N.
lat. -- New Jersey and states North):
The retention limit is ONE Bluefin
per vessel, which may be from the large school or
small medium size class ( 47 - <
73” ).
Bag limits are subject to change,
and anglers are encouraged to call
the Atlantic Tunas Information Line
at (978) 281-9305, or (888) USA-TUNA, if they are
unsure of the bag limits in their
area. Also, check the website at http://www.nmfspermits.com/
| CLASS SIZE |
CURVED FORK LENGTH |
PECTORAL FIN CURVED FORK LENGTH |
APPROX. ROUND WEIGHT |
| Large School |
47 - < 59 " |
35 - < 44 " |
66 - < 135 lbs |
| Small Medium |
59 - < 73 " |
44 - < 54 " |
135 - < 235 lbs |
Scott's Weekly Bulletin
Scott'sBait
& Tackle
