Scott's Daily Fishing Reports September 2002
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The weakfish weren't hot and heavy in Marshelder Channel, yet anglers found the occasional three pounder. Better catching was in Main Marsh Thoro fare. The action there might be due to warmer water draining out of Brigantine.
Sea Ya
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Best news of the day was of pre-dawn catching activity off of Pebble Beach at the end of Ohio Drive, which is about a half mile east of Graveling Point along the same bank line. Charlie Sitar weighed in a keeper striper, 7 pounds 8 ounces 25 1/2" and also had four weakfish for his mornings catch. Clams were the bait that did the trick.
Anglers are leaking more news about stripers each day. The catching is far from fast and furious, but there is activity out near Sheepshead Creek along the bank on the Holgate side and there are folks working the rips in the Mullica River too. There always seems to be a couple of boats working the rip on the falling tide where the Bass River meets the Mullica River.
Sea Ya
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Snapper fishing in the lagoons is providing a lot of entertainment for the kids. The little bluefish are getting to be decent size and may yank a light weight unattended fishing rod off of the dock. Just cast a bobber and hook baited with a spearing, little minnow or a peanut bunker into the water and wait and watch. Every once in a while a weakfish will be caught too.
Sea Ya
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Sea Ya
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Today was a good day for anglers to sling "it". A few made fishing trips, but reports are slim.
The weakfish fishing at the end of Dock Street in West Creek is doing fairly well. The bait of choice is still shedders(Tonneson B&T in Beach Haven West has 'em), but bloodworms and little bunkers will catch them too. Anglers fishing from the bulkhead are catching not big numbers, but fairly nice weakies up to thee pounds. Dawn and dusk hours are usually the best. Once again, where there are numbers of people in an area, there is a small percentage that are JERKS. It's not the word I want to use, but this is a family page. The just don't get the idea...KEEP IT CLEAN. If you make the trip there please bring a little bucket or trash bag and while your waiting for the next bite, pitch in and pick up a little. Thanks...Scott
Sea Ya
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There are still some fair size weakfish in the Great bay too. The mouth of the Mullica River is the ever popular area, but anglers are finding fish out in the middle of the bay too. Bloodworms are a favorite for bait, but many anglers are using plastics and lures to bag their catches.
Tomorrow looks to be a washout with wind and rain. It might get heavy at times too. Give the boats a quick check to make sure batteries are charged and that debris isn't clogging pump screens and pump out areas.
Sea Ya
E-mail Reports:
:"
Scotty, Bobby Schmitt of the "Other" My Jeanee, BHW. Blowfish, blowfish everywhere. 122 blows in the box today, Monday the 23rd. Yesterday 63 and Saturday 111 blowfish respectively. All down south drifting with small squid strips and pieces of clam. The secret is skinny water. Find it and give em hell.
By the way, Norton One; haven't heard from you lately. Hope all is well.
"
~Bobby Schmitt Jr.
Sunday, September 22 2002:" Started off early in the morning. Took off from bivalve, NJ marina. fished Delaware Bay. Winds 10 to 15 mph, seas 1 to 2 feet. We drifted with the tide flow, fishing for fluke and croaker. Caught a beautiful 7lb fluke and a nice 6lb 5oz fluke. Also got some croakers. Caught a 3lb northern stargazer, a skate, a sea robin, some some small sand sharks. We caught these fish off brandywine lighthouse. When the wind direction changed we went left. We were in a 21 ft maritime skiff. " ~Brandon
9/23:" Had to fight through blues to get a couple weaks in marshelder channel on peanut bunker. Should using a bobber embarrass me so? Figured out you have to keep bunker cold to keep them alive, my apologies to the guinea pigs. Cast netted what i'm fairly certain was a baby (5in) jack crevalle in the lagoon. Anybody know if that's normal? " ~Jason Common to start catching all kinds of jacks/pompanos this time of year, so highly likely that's what it was.
9/21-9/22 " Ran out to Lindenkol and trolled goose eggs. At 11pm we had a short bite and went 2 for 4 on yellowfin. The big one was 80 LBS. Also picked up several nice Mahi, one @ 22 Lbs. Flat seas , full moon, and schools of Dolphin kept us company.......Great times..........SF " ~Steve Filoramoi
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Some kingfish and trigger fish were caught down near the dredge that is working the inland waterway. Night time anglers are carefully working the dredge area for weakfish as well.
Some anglers who wanted to try something different then not catching fluke have been fishing along the banks for tautog/blackfish. They are catching a few shorts and the occasional keeper (14") in the Great Bay. The Blackfish season doesn't re-open 'till October 10, so currently the limit is still one tog per angler.
Sea Ya
E-mail Reports:
9/22" SHAD DARTS AND SQUID WERE BIG AT THE 117 BUOY, SOME NICE SEA BASS , BLUES AND WEAKS " ~??
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Thanks to Chris for stopping by this afternoon to report some exciting fishing. The spanish mackerel are going to end up on a grill this evening as the trolling from the WR2 buoy to the Little Egg Reef site provided a fun fishing experience. Action was steady and a lot more entertaining then the occasional fluke.
Crabbers are still reporting nice catches of crabs. This is usually the best time of the year for the really big ones. Beware, if it is calm and your anchored up in your favorite small creek you are likely to need bug spray as the gnats are out in force again.
Sea Ya
E-mail Reports:
9/:" We were out fishing yesterday in the bay and we went into Oyster Creek Inlet by the power plant...we caught some little fish like snappers but the had a yellow V-fin and and they had a yellow strip going down the middle side and by the back fin the yellow strip was protruding out just so slightly and felt spinny they were only about 6 inches long. It felt like you were catching snappers...anyway...what kind of little fish were these...thanks for your help...new to saltwater fishing... " ~Stacy Sounds like small pompano, not sure which type without seeing them~ MizMo
9/21:" Fished friday for fluke and had a great day, 14 keepers, all real nice fish, 1 @ 8.2 pounds, 1 @ 5pounds and a few around 3 pounds. Went back saturday and only got 5. Fished in 65-80 feet of clear water. The water is green until you get about 6 miles off then it clears up. Hope to get one more trip in before the season closes. " ~Scott
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Sea Ya
E-mail Reports:
SATURDAY SEPT.14,02" HEY SCOTT, WENT OUT ON "TAILCHASER" CHARTERS WITH CAPT. GEORGE PALEY. WE DID A NICE JOB ON THE YELLOW FIN TUNA AND CAUGHT A FEW SHARK AS WELL. WHAT A GREAT TRIP. TUNA WERE IN THE 65 TO 110 LB. RANGE,THE SHARKS WERE ABOUT 120-150 LBS. IF ANYONE IS INTERESTED IN A CHARTER, CALL CAPT. GEORGE @ 732-288-1930 THE BOAT IS DOCKED IN WARETOWN, NJ GOTTA GO! FISH ON... " ~JERRY MALANGONE
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OK. It's a fluke-a-fishing we must go. It's the last hurrah and weather or not you catch the flatties, you at least have to try. Mixed reports show light hope of having a fair catch. Some anglers worked 12 miles off of the beach in 90-100 feet of water and put together a catch when the wind was just right. Others caught their few fluke in the surf or just outside the surf 18-20 feet of water along the beach. It is possible that the schools of blues chopping up peanut bunker and spearing along the beach has created a natural chum slick that has rounded up some fluke.
Break out the trolling lines and work the WR2 buoy area with hopes of pulling some bonito and albacore and spanish mackerel. No one has done it yet, but someone has to be the trend setter. Trolling small clarke spoons has always been the favorite in the past.
Sea Ya
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The occasional fluke is being captured on the ocean. Some reports indicate shallow water and others continue to recommend sixty to seventy feet. Anglers have landed a few in the WR2 buoy, AKA Wreck buoy area as well. Landing one keeper per hour is actually considered a good catch since the North East storm on Labor Day.
Schoolie blues are still around the bars of the Little Egg Inlet. It's fun throwing metals on light spinning tackle.
Sea Ya
E-mail Reports:
9/18/2002:" Hey Scott, Went fishing yesterday and caught 5 keeper fluke and many shorts. All fish were in 80 to 85 feet of water. Yes I did say 80-85 feet. Fluke seemed to have moved into deeper cleaner water. Nothing but croakers in the 30-60 foot range. " ~Rob
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Still no fluke to report....
Back in the bays, anglers found weakfish, porgies, white perch in the mouth of the Mullica River on bloodworms. The Marshelder channel area is still turning out a fair share of weakfish too. A few anglers have been able to land some weakfish off of Dock Street in West Creek, which is common this time of the year. The good news is that the Dock Street weakies are pushing three pounds.
Sea Ya
E-mail Reports:
:" Scott, Bob Schmitt Jr. of the My Jeaneee, BHW. Fished Saturday down south in the bay with Charlie Chicken. Popped 62 big blowfish in no time flat. Nothing new, ha? The catch is, they all were caught on the drift with small pieces of squid. This was the second trip out of three days that was productive. We didn't fish Friday, because conditions were not congruous with fishing. On Saturday late morning, the boats showed up and set anchor all around us. Yes they were chumming, but after a few conversations and visual inspection the only thing they had to show for their efforts were a bunch of palm sized porgies. They eventually moved or left. I can't explain it. We drifted around them and continued with our pick of blows. This is the first time ever that I have caught blowfish consistently on the drift instead of the usual anchoring scenario. Thought I let you know. In the mean time we are going to stick with what is working. See you on the drift. " ~Bob Schmitt Jr.
9/16/02:" Scott, after spending the morning catching peanut bunker in the rain , I started fishing at the mouth of the mullica river where I caught 1 fluke and 2 blues, as the weather cleared I headed off to 40ft to 50ft of water in between the red and white towers and I caught 3 fluke 8 croakers and 3 weakfish. The weakfish were 3lb to 5lb, the fluke were 18in to 20in and the croakers were maybe 1 to 2lb, I caught the fluke and weaks on live bunker and the croakers on squid. the conditions were choppy, but worth it " ~Steve
9/14/02 :" Went on our annual charter with Pete's Bar on the Hunter out of Barnegat Light. Caught lots of sea bass and some nice size porgies on 9/14. Stole the pool with a 9lb. blue and few others. We all had a great time (as usual) and everyone caught fish. Top notch captain and mate, if anybody is looking! " ~Bill Simon
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Another dreary day that turned out very nice, 'cept a lil heat and humidity; it's still Summer.
Weakfish seemed to bite pretty well early this afternoon in Marshelder Channel. Specifics are sketchy, due to the lack of multiple reports. Bloodworms were the bait that edged the weakfish into biting.
Sea conditions were not favorable and I don't have any reports from outside, good or bad.
Sea Ya
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Today proved the weathermen can be right now and then. Rain and wind kept most anglers at the dock. Some went out into the river to see if they could get a perch to bite or maybe a weakfish, but didn't report back.
Black drum in Grassy Channel? There have been a few around this week. The reports are about puppy drums in the 3-5 pound bracket caught on clams. Will it turn into a fishery? or are they isolated catches, guess we will see over the next week how many folks get into them.
Sea Ya
E-mail Reports:
9-14-02 :"
Hi Scottie/Mo,
Fished aboard the Great Escape II with Marty today at the Atomic Lump
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Sea Ya Tomorrow
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Enjoy fishing tomorrow. Don't worry about putting flatties in the fish box. Break out the light tackle and go fish for the little bluefish in and around the Little Egg Inlet.
Blowfish in the clam stakes on the Mystic Island side of the old fish factory is the best bet for Great Bay fishing in the morning. Chum pot and clams are necessary to get the fish in feeding mode.
The occasional weakie is still being caught in Grassy and Little Sheepshead Creek and Marshelder Channel. Bloodworms are the bait of choice and are out producing the peanut bunker. However, larger weakfish are being caught on the live bait.
A good supply of large bait eels are in stock for the anglers that want to push the striper fishing into play. Many stripers have been caught the past couple of weeks by anglers that were fishing for weakfish or white perch. Largest of the bass reported was 34", with most of the keepers just inching over the 24" minimum size limit.
On the note of striper fishing, trolling anglers should stock up early on the shad umbrella rigs; quite a few wise anglers have already. They were a very hot item last fall and good colors were in short supply. We just got another couple of dozen in this afternoon and a new color bubblegum has been added to the selection.
Sea Ya
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Better news is that I just had the Ciecwisz crew come in after a quickie fishing trip with some decent fluke. Largest of the half dozen keepers was caught by Eric Blasneck and weighed in at 6 pounds 5 ounces, 26". They were fishing in the area of the Little Egg Reef site in 56 feet of water.
The mouth of the Mullica River is producing white perch, herring, stripers up to 26" and weakfish on bloodworms. Drifting the baits until you hook up is one way of locating fish. Once you find where the fish are lying, swing the boat back around and drop anchor. Concentrate your drifting efforts between Deep Point and the next point up the Mullica River, Swim-over Point.
Sea Ya
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North West 20-30 as Gustav pushes past and away had all anglers wise and moored safely to the dock.
Fishing reports are just not available today. Weather looks good for morning as North West winds drop off to 10mph. The ocean is likely to be flat. Anglers out tomorrow morning will be starting from scratch once again as Gustav surely has stirred things up.
Sea Ya
E-mail Reports:
9/9:" Took Joe Cincilla and pals Chris, Bret, Chris Witczak and James from Oklahoma to the Hudson arriving Sat. night at 6:30. I put up their names so their wives/girlfriends know where they were. Caught two albies out four immediately on the troll, just show them this website. Took two of three yellowfin on the chunk. Had more in the slick but could not get them take anything. Even tried live mullet, squid, and peanut bunker, down to 30# fluoro. Got 1 mahi-mahi, a sting ray deep, and two more albies on the troll in the morning. Every canyon boat in NJ and NY must have been there Sat. night, hundreds. Just one more note to the boats in Tuckerton Creek up by the Wildest Dream, collar your fish out in the ocean or take the carcasses back out to the bay. Tuna and big blues float up to top the next day and its two miles to float out to the bay. Saw a big smelly albie carcass float by my boat today looked like there was another one a little further up too. Most of us go back to work on Monday, but if you hang around you will see what I am talking about. Thanks. " ~Michael Savage
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Todays fishing activity is pretty much a repeat of the past several reports.
Sea Ya
E-mail Reports:
9/8" Hi, Fished Saturday and saw dead bunker floating all over the Little Egg Reef reef area. Did someone drag a net thru there and hank it up?What a waste. Wonder why the sea gulls would not eat them? Anyway caught one nice fluke 70 foot of water northeast of the wreck buoy and a second in Fifty feet of water right around the Red Tower area. Loads of croaker there, along with spike weakfish and an occasional keeper weakie in the same area. Used squid strips marinated with a little shedder crab oil. " ~Fishdeem@aol.com
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Schools of bluefish, up to two pounders,were working the Little Egg Inlet this morning and provided the best fishing activity. Anglers caught them trolling and by casting and retrieving metal lures.
Some nice weakfish were taken in 30 feet of water in front of Wreck Inlet yesterday. They were mixed with croakers and were under schools of working bluefish. These type of fish groups are always on the move and are best found by locating working birds picking bait off the surface of the water. If the birds are flying fast and furious, the best fishing action is still on. If you see birds resting on the surface of the water, it's usually a sign that the feeding frenzy has slowed up or is over. Either way, fish it hard just to make sure.
Sea Ya
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Lots of fun is the name of the game when casting metals into the schools of blues that are working just over the bar on the Southern most tip of Long Beach Island. Metal lures from 1 to 2 ounce of any style are landing these blues. Slammer blues are being caught by anglers who are snagging bunker in the schools of bunker and letting them settle through to the blues working underneath.
Sea Ya
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Early anglers fished just outside the Little Egg Inlet and had a ball casting into bluefish. The sky was white with bird play which helped anglers locate them.
Croakers were plentiful to the anglers who found them. Just up off the white tower on the Southern most end of Long Beach island is just as good as any for a starting point in the morning.
Fluke have been scarce. Occasionally one ends up in the cooler, but there isn't a "Hot Spot " to send everyone to in the morning.
Seas are supposed to be 1-2 feet in the morning. It looks like it's going to be a nice weekend.
Blowfish and porgies are the best bet for anglers who are staying in the Great Bay. The area South of 134 marker just off of the Inland Waterway has really been producing nice size fish. This fishery requires a chum to draw and get the fish working.
The occasional weakfish is still being caught in Grassy Channel. Live peanut bunker and blood worms are the choice bait now that shedder crabs have become scarce.
Sea Ya
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Still not much fluke activity on the ocean today. Anglers searched hither and yon but only caught the occasional flattie.
Many were lured by the activity to catch fish and went croaker hunting. The Garden State reef was alive with croaker activity. Other anglers caught croakers inshore in front of the white water tank and folks who fished deeper water in the white water tank caught larger croakers.
Every once in awhile there was a weakfish caught too. I didn't get a report of numbers of weakfish like there were yesterday.
Great Bay anglers are having a good time with blowfish and porgies in the area of 134 marker. Get the chum flowing and enjoy a fun day of light tackle fishing.
Sea Ya
E-mail Reports:
"
Click here: White Marlin
FYI- just happened yesterday.
"
~Walt
Link to forum discusing White Marlin at www.thebassbarn.com
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Schooly bluefish had birds working just up the beach from Little Egg Inlet. The blues provided the best activity of the day.
Weakfish showed up along the beach too. Smaller, but keeper size weakfish were caught in the traditional fall way; a top and bottom rig baited with long slender strips of squid. Fish a heavy weight so that you can do a little jigging and that puts more fish in the fish box.
Croakers were along the beach too. Locating pods of croakers is easier said then done. Today, they were in about thirty five feet of water out in front of the white water tank on the Southern end of Long Beach Island. Clams still hold first place as a bait choice on a 1/0 pompano style high low rig.
Fluke were a hit and miss. Only an occasional one was caught that I heard of. Anglers agree, we need just one more day for the seas to settle to get the fluke back into a feeding disposition.
Best news of the day was finding the Federal Posting of the recreational fluke regulations where the law is stated as defaulting to the states regulation. So, fluke season is open on the ocean outside three miles as well as inside, with a possession limit of eight fluke at 16 1/2".
Sea Ya
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Forecast looks sunny and bright for Tuesday, but then follow it up with Tropical Storm Edouard which is down off of Florida. Edouard has the potential of making rough seas and more rain toward the end of the week and next weekend. It looks as if it is going to be an inshore low pressure system and not develop into a coastal hurricane. But one never knows with mother nature, so keep an eye to the weather channel once in a while this week.
Sea Ya
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Yesterday, folks went crabbing. Today, folks got an instant case of cabin fever. Hiding in the house was really the only option. Occasionally, a quick dock trip in the light drizzle to throw a new bunker in the crab trap was about all the big news of the day.
The store still had plenty of foot traffic. Folks were in a chatty mood and laid back. Many still used the fishing down time to refresh gear, make repairs and think ahead to fall striper season.
Sea Ya