There really isn't anything
to report this week that is new and exciting. Mostly, anglers are discussing
the changing seasons. The closure of the fluke season on Monday, October
11 and the increasing of the tautog bag limit to 10 fish on Sunday, October
10 are the hot topics.
There isn't going to be much of a
last Hoorah! on fluke before the season closes. They just up and disappeared
this Fall. This week, an angler searched as deep as eighty feet of water
and still didn't land a single fluke. Usually, the second to third week
of September has some of the hottest fluke fishing action of the whole
year. This year, the offshore fall fluke fishery just didn't occur. One
reason may have been the set of hurricanes that stirred up the ocean floor
for three weeks straight. Maybe, there just weren't as many fluke around
as everyone thought. As I mentioned last week, the best fluke fishing still
available was in the Great Bay. A few fluke were caught by weakfish anglers
in the mouth of the Mullica River using live bunker. Better fluke action
was reported in the area of 138 to 139 marker buoy on the standard squid
and minnow baits. It is going to be tough catching these last few fluke
fishing days of the century!
Tautog, tog, blackfish, or slippery
bass, they are all names for the same fish, and no matter what you call
them, tautog are a very tasty fish. With Sunday being open season again,
anglers will attempt to catch tog on the wrecks now that it is worth the
effort. When the limit was one fish per angler, a trip out for tautog just
didn't make any sense. If wreck fishing is what you are considering for
a fishing trip, make sure you get out early. I suspect that Sunday will
be a difficult day to find a wreck close to the inlet that doesn't have
a boat on it. We have stocked up on green crabs--a blackfishes favorite
meal--and are supposed to get another batch of clams in on Friday, just
to make sure that we have enough bait for the three day weekend.
Anglers have been talking about kingfish
on the ocean beaches which means that they are still around. The problem
with fishing in the Great Bay for kingfish has been the little sea bass.
The sea bass rattle the baits as soon as they hit the bottom and don't
even give the kingfish a chance to get a bite. If you have enough patience
to pick through the sea bass, then you can still catch a few kingfish in
the bay. The North West side of the fish factory in the clam stakes is
still the best area for the kingfish.
The lagoons, bay and inlet are filled
with little bluefish. The inlet bluefish make their appearance known in
the early morning and the evening. Anglers fishing for the stripers are
frustrated by the little blues cutting up their eels. They are still fun
to catch with little strips of mackerel on a hook or by throwing some lures.
Back in the lagoons, minnows and spearing on a number twelve hook is the
best way to catch them.
Striper fishing is gaining in angler
popularity. There hasn't been very much daytime activity on the bass just
yet. Some anglers believe that the increased boat traffic spooks the fish.
Most of the stripers that have been caught so far were hooked on the outgoing
tide during the night. Anglers fishing with the small bunkers are complaining
that the bunkers are being chopped up by the little bluefish, so eels are
still the choice bait.
Scott's Weekly Bulletin
Scott'sBait
& Tackle
