Scott's Daily Fishing Reports September 1998

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Wednesday, September 30, 1998 /\/\/\ 8:59pm

The ocean was quite a bit choppy today, so anglers stayed in the bay. A few braved the rough seas, but no good reports came from ocean anglers. The talk of the fishing scene continues to be Marshelder Channel in Tuckerton Bay. The outgoing tide is surely the better period to fish with a lot more action then the occasional Weakfish and Fluke on the incoming tide. Big Weakfish are being caught but not in great numbers for most anglers. A few of the anglers who really have the knack are really catching a lot of big Weakfish. Some of the guys in Great Bay are laughing all the way to the dock. They are catching the same large Weakfish an hour after high tide in front of Oyster Creek and Motts Creek on the live Bunkers and Bloodworms too. Deep Point in the mouth of the Mullica River will produce a nice catch of Weakfish at slack tides if there isn't a whole lot of boat traffic.

Tuesday, September 29, 1998 /\/\/\ 10:16pm

Ooohhh this fishing report is enough to make you drool! sea ya
Trip dates:September 26, 27
" Went to the Lindenkohl Canyon Saturdayfor an overnighter. We almost stayed at dock because of a worrisome Sunday forecast but it turned out to be pretty good conditions until the morning. We brought back 16 really nice dolphin and one albacore, big one about 60 pounds. Lost 3 huge big eye tuna on broken lines. On the first one the line broke when it crossed with the second one that hooked up right afterward. Naturally the big one hit on the lightest tackle and after a 45 minute battle the line broke at what appeared to be the knot at the swivel. The third big eye hit on Sunday morning on a 9.0 reel. We lost him at the back of the boat when one of the guys grabbed the line instead of the leader as we were putting the flying gaff into him. It looked as big as the 225 pounder I have on the wall, so my guess is that he went about 160 pounds. No bites at night while chunking. A lot of boats at the linkohl but I only heard one say he caught anything chunking. There were quite a few albacore caught trolling and a lot of big eye hook ups, many more lost than caught. We were bothered by a few sharks and there were lots of tinker mackerel. They didnt quite look like the boston type, I suspect they were some tropical species with a lot of green in their coloring. The dolphin were the real fun of the trip, they were in our slick all night. Michael Savage mksavage@icdc.com"

Tuesday, September 29, 1998 /\/\/\ 9:46pm

Hey, there be fishies on the catch page again! Ocean activity was good from the Little Egg Bell buoy to the Wreck Inlet area for Weakfish and Croakers. The hot spot of the Fall is Marshelder Channel for jumbo Weakfish on live Bunkers, Bloodworms and Sandworms. The fifth bridge on Great Bay Blvd continues to show plenty of Weakfish after dark. Pebble Beach on the end of Radio Road has also kept anglers satisfied by a good showing of small Bluefish. No good rumors of Stripers yet. sea ya

Monday, September 28, 1998 /\/\/\ 7:51pm

Yuck, what a project! Remind me never to take another weekend off. He He...Trying to put the store back together after the Decoy Show is sure going to be a real project. We did have quite a few phone call orders for shotgun shells already. Things are looking forward to the Fall.
I know, I know...I am rambling on about the show and not talking a whole lot about the fishing. Well, Monday is a work day and it sure seemed like everyone went to work. There wasn't a whole lot of information to gather today, well none actually. But, that's to be expected between regular fishing season and Striper season. Hang in there, I am sure there is more good news to come! sea ya

Sunday, September 27, 1998 /\/\/\ 7:59pm

Whew, that was a very tiring weekend. Hey, I would like to thank the special person who ordered this perfect weekend for the Decoy Show. I would like to also thank everyone that helped to put together and run the display's at the Scott's booth. We did a great job. It was really fun to meet some of the daily readers of the page too. Thanks all for your interest.
As for the fishing scene, we are quite a bit behind. MizMo will post the couple of pictures tomorrow. Good night all, that shower is gonna feel reel good. sea ya

Saturday, September 26, 1998 /\/\/\ 9:02pm

Can't tell you a single thing about the fishing today. Had a wonderful day at the Decoy Show in Tuckerton today. Spent most of the day working in our booth full of hunting items, but was able to sneak a small peak around the park. There is just a tremendous selection of nifty nick nack items. I'll tell ya it sure just aint ducks! Although. there are some real fabulous duck carvings there too. If you can sneak any time over to the park, it's worth the walk from no matter how far away you might have to park. Sea ya in the AM. =)

Friday, September 25, 1998 /\/\/\ 9:16pm

Sold live bunkers like crazy today. Drifting through Marshelder has been producing some real nice weakfish. Several anglers reported fish over 6 pounds the past few days.
The Little Egg Reef Sight produced 8 nice Fluke for one angler today. Maybe that is a good starting point for the morning.
All efforts have been spent on the Decoy show the past few days. Hope to get nice dry weather tomorrow! Sea ya

Thursday, September 24, 1998 /\/\/\ 9:22pm

From too much wind to not enough wind? Action seemed slow for the ocean going anglers today, mostly due to no drift. Or just maybe they were catching fish at such a fast and furious pace that they were unable to talk on the radio. Ha Ha =). Lots of Weakfish caught again last night from the Fifth Bridge on Great Bay Blvd. A few nice Weakies caught by the Brick Pile in Marshelder channel today. Just not a lot of news to tell, but by the fishing information I have heard the past few days, there are a lot of Weakfish around. Sea ya

Wednesday, September 23, 1998 /\/\/\ 6:22pm

Very windy today, but a few boats did venture out on the ocean. One of them was the Evelyn Ann out of Oyster Creek. He trolled North along the beach and was able to catch a few Bluefish and Spanish Mackerel. Other boats tried to fish the bay but abandoned the idea when they were faced with white caps in the lagoons and creeks. Weather sounds good for the weekend, so hang in there!
Pebble Beach surf action is still happening. It's a combination of Weakfish and small Bluefish. A couple of 20 inch Fluke have been caught from the beach too.
The fishing at the fifth Bridge on Great Bay Blvd. is also very good in the evenings. Anglers continue to catch the Weakfish and now more Herring on a Mustad Shrimp rig as well as the FinS Fish lures. It sounds exciting and surely worth a trip for any land based anglers. Sea ya

Tuesday, September 22, 1998 /\/\/\ 5:30pm

It was a drizzly day, but the wind never blew like the weatherman said it was. It was a very peaceful day on the bay and anyone who went fishing had an enjoyable day even though they got a little wet. The most active fish of the day was Weakfish. It was a matter of drifting the Brick Pile in Marshelder Channel in Tuckerton Bay with live Bunker, Mullet or Bloodworms. Back in Great Bay, finding a flock of birds was the key. Casting and retrieving lures like the finS fish lures or small poppers worked. Otherwise, anchoring and chumming in the clam stakes continues to catch 'em up. Sea ya

Monday, September 21, 1998 /\/\/\ 7:58pm

The Clam Stakes on the North West Side of the Fish Factory produced some mighty fine catches today. Keeper Fluke, good size Kingfish, lots of barely keeper Weakfish and a 5 pound 10 ounce Weakfish were caught there today. Oh yea, and some 3/4 pound Bluefish too. No Blowfish, hmm I guess you have to catch them down near Graveling Point in the Clam Stakes in that area.
Surf fishermen at Pebble Beach are still catching the Blues in in the evening. Last night, a 21" Fluke was caught from the beach too.
Late night Weakfishing from the fifth bridge on Great Bay Blvd. has been great.

Sunday, September 20, 1998 /\/\/\ 6:18pm

Fishing was as great today. Where? Well, in the Great Bay in the Clam Stakes to the South of Graveling Point, one angler cleaned up on Blowfish. His total count was 56 puffers! Clam stakes on the North West of the Fish Factory produced Weakfish, Porgies, Sea Bass, Snapper Blues, Fluke and Kingfish. Not too many big fish in that area, but plenty of action. Last night the Bluefish action at Pebble Beach as the sun went down was steady action until it got totally dark. The Blues were from 3 pounds down to Snappers. Ocean action was Croakers in good numbers at the Little Egg Bell Buoy and the Fluke action was pretty good 3 miles South East of the Bell Buoy at the WR/wreck/range buoy.(all the same thing) The Lindenkohl Canyon produced all kinds of Tuna in the past week both on the chunk and the troll. Fishing was awesome this weekend; just hope you were a part of it. sea ya

Saturday, September 19, 1998 /\/\/\ 8:34pm

Best report for the Croakers was right at the Little Egg Bell Buoy today. Fluke were caught up and down the coast in about 60 feet of water. I don't believe anyone had more then a half a dozen though. Ocean was a little choppy. Maybe that had something to do with it. Back in the bay, one angler reported a nice catch of Porgies in the clam stakes on the North West side of the Fish Factory. Sea ya

Friday, September 18, 1998 /\/\/\ 7:13pm

Another day where the ocean fishing outshines the bay fishing. The Croakers are still in the same place. Fluke fishing has been tough for some and great for others. Persistence and a lot of time will catch a few Fluke on the reef sights and as deep as 65 feet of water off of the Red Tower on the Southern end of Long Beach Island. Best bet for the bay in the morning....Weakfish in the mouth of the Mullica River or anchor up in the clam stakes on the North West side of the Fish Factory and catch a bunch of Sea Bass, Porgies, Weakfish and Kingfish. There will not be a ton of fish to keep, but a lot of action and fun. Sea ya

Thursday, September 17, 1998 /\/\/\ 8:54pm

Another terrific day for catching Croakers and Weakfish in 18 to 23 feet of water in front of Wreck/Absecon Inlet. Fishing just doesn't get any better then catching fish two at a time. Fluke fishing was slow with the best reports coming from the Garden State South reef sight today. Back in Marshelder channel,(don't believe where he told MizMo where he caught it) we weighed in a 6+ pound Weakfish caught on a live bunker. Good job there Bob. Also wrote the bulletin tonight, but it needs a little editing, so we will finish it up in the morning. SeA yA

Wednesday, September 16, 1998 /\/\/\ 6:19pm

The phrase of the day was just get down here and sit on 'em. What does that mean? It means get the boat to 18 to 23' of water in front of Absecon/Wreck Inlet and drop the anchor and catch Croakers and Weakfish. Clams are the bait for Croakers and Squid is what you want to use if you want too catch more Weakfish. Listening to the radio this morning was rather exciting. Anglers were having a great time catching Croakers and Weakfish one right after another.
A good batch of Trigger fish were caught on a wreck just outside the WR buoy or about 4 miles South East of Little Egg Bell Buoy. If your really close to the Bell Buoy, it might be worth throwing a few spoon lures in the shadow of the Buoy or fish some bait around the anchor of the Buoy. I'm almost positive that there are a variety of fish in that area. Don't make a special trip, just give it a shot if your close. What might be there? Triggers and Banded Rudder fish maybe...Sea ya

Tuesday, September 15, 1998 /\/\/\ 6:09pm

Anchoring for Croakers was the best decision today with the breezy weather and choppy seas. The depth was 23 to 27 feet of water just off the Blue water tower in Brigantine. It was necessary to spot the fish on the fish finder before anchoring up, but once you did, catching fish was easy.
Fluke action didn't really happen today. The wind didn't create the right fishing conditions.
A report from the jetties on Long Beach Island mentioned waves of smaller Bluefish. Action was best working the down current side of the jetties on Rebel and Yozuri lures.
Other activity included some pretty good Weakfishing in Main Marsh Thorofare. Activity was pretty good and supported at least a 1/2 dozen boats for most of the morning. Sea ya

Monday, September 14, 1998 /\/\/\ 6:41pm

All kinds of fishing activity today. Both the bays and the ocean produced fish. Best stories??? Not sure how to rate 'em. Saw a stringer of Porgies from the clam stakes on the North West side of the fish factory only a 100' from the orange marker ball closest to the fish factory. Tom said that he did not have any kingfish, but that another boat that was anchored close by was catching a few of them.
The hot spot for Weakfish and Croakers was 18 to 22 foot of water in front of Wreck Inlet/Absecon Inlet. If you got too far off the beach into deeper water, sharks and skated prevailed. Fluke were up along the beach again with the best catches still coming from the reef sights.
Other fish caught over the weekend were False Albacore, Bonito and Spanish Mackerel. These guys are best caught trolling, but sometimes they can be caught casting and retrieving metals over some type of bottom structure or wreck. Sea ya

Sunday, September 13, 1998 /\/\/\ 6:07pm

Just when you thought you couldn't beat a day like yesterday with all the Fluke, along comes a day like today. I just can't believe how many real nice large Fluke are being weighed in. It's great. Best action still has to be in the 40 to 60 feet of water off the red tower and white stand pipe as well as the reef sights. Top and bottom rigs baited with squid and minnow still do the trick and many anglers are having luck with spearing too. We also saw several Croakers in the coolers today!
Back in the Great Bay and Tuckerton Bay, the Weakfish reports are getting better. There hasn't been any mass quantity of Weakies, but there sure have been a few nice 5 plus pounders.
Here is a nice little E-mail showing that the Fluke are all along the coast, which is good news. "Daybreak2 left Canyon Club, Cape May for fluke fishing trip. Captained by John Russick and with Rube Wills, Ted North and Jim Gregory, caught 20 fluke and 10 seabass in the area of the Cape May Rips area and the Wildwood lumps. The largest fluke was 4 and 1/2 pounds, not as big as my 10 pounder on Friday. Next week, the Wilmington Canyon...John B.Russick"
Sea ya

Saturday, September 12, /\/\/\ 7:41pm

You just couldn't ask for a better fishing day. Hard Westerly winds this week laid the ocean flat. The best part of it all was FISH. Mostly everyone I talked to today caught a fair amount of fish. Some anglers did real well at Wreck Inlet/Absecon Inlet for Weakfish and Croakers and the towers and the reef sights produced enough Fluke to make most anglers very happy. The catch page for today does an excellent job of filling in the details on the Fluke fishing. It was a day of 5 & s6 pound Fluke. Sea ya

Friday, September 11, 1998 /\/\/\ 10:04pm

No doubt about it, there were some really nice Fluke caught on the ocean today. Most of the reports came from the red and white towers area, from 58 feet of water to 62 feet of water. One report also was from the Little Egg Reef sight. However, the largest Fluke of the day was caught by John Russick in Tuckerton Bay on one of our live Bunkers and that whopper Fluke was 29" long and only 1 ounce shy of 10 pounds.(pic up later)Those anglers using the live Bunker also had about 6 Weakfish in the 1 1/2 pound to 3 pound bracket in the cooler with that Fluke.
Evelyn Ann out of Oyster Creek found a good school of Bluefish just outside the bars of Little Egg Inlet this morning. He trolled most of the morning and caught some Spanish Mackerel and some False Albacore too. Other anglers brought in False Albacore in this afternoon for identification, so they are around to have some trolling fun with. The best lures are small Clarke Spoons in the size 0 and 1 . A blue and silver rebble lure can catch these fish just fine too.Sea ya

Thursday, September 10, 1998 /\/\/\ 6:19pm

Oops, It is September isn't it! Oh well..The date is fixed. He He ;). Wind, Wind...It feels like fall. Very few boats left the dock today. The few that did tried to hide someplace from the wind. One angler still snuck out the Little Egg Inlet and was able to catch Croakers and Weakfish in front of Absecon inlet. Only other activity was from a couple of anglers who fished the mouth of the Mullica River with Bloodworms and caught a few Weakfish. It wasn't great. Not too much to tell. Sea ya

Wednesday, September 9, 1998 /\/\/\ 8:33pm

Tomorrow is the last day to get those deer permits in! The state guys were by today to drop off the deer tags for the opening day of fall bow hunting.
Fishing was not happening today due to strong winds. It sure was nice to get some outside work done without sweating like crazy. Cool air has a lot of guys thinking Stripers already. The Redmen dropped off the applications to their tournament today. You can pick one up and send in the money or we can collect at the store Think calm! Sea ya

Tuesday, September 8, 1998 /\/\/\ 7:53pm

The busiest action of the day was hunting license sales. The hunters have to have the extended deer season permits mailed in by September 10 and some of the hunters are actually not waiting until the last minute!
A little chatter on the radio let me know that there were a few Fluke caught on the Little Egg Reef sight and some others in the mouth of the Mullica River. A few scattered Weakfish were caught in Marshelder Channel today. Other anglers reported a few Croakers and Weakfish a little south of the Little Egg Bell buoy. Nobody set the world on fire today, so be glad you were back to work. Sea ya

Monday, September 7, 1998 /\/\/\ 4:40pm

Still not a whole lot of bay action to write about. There was a Kingfish caught in the clam stakes on the North West side of the Fish Factory today, but that is only an indication that there may still be hope that the Kingfish will show up this year. A few Weakfish were caught in Little Sheepshead Creek this morning and the boating traffic really didn't give mouth of the Mullica River anglers a fair chance at catching Weakies.
One really big Fluke was weighed in this afternoon. This 8 pound 2 ounce whopper was caught by Paula Emond on the Little Egg Reef sight using live minnows for bait.
Here's a few e-mails that help fill in the details of what is going on.
9/6/98
"Hello. Sorry to write up this report so late. It was a very busy morning let me tell you. I always read your daily fishing reports. Today your report said that there weren't large numbers of fish caught today only some reports of large fish. Well, today I'll have to honestly say that it's been my best fluking trip this season. We fished the ocean off the Judge's Shack in about 50-55ft of water. The shack is just north of the Coast Guard Station on Island Beach State Park. With a green fluke rig with a spinner rigged with your regular combo; long strip of squid and spearing, we hooked up 23 keepers in about 2 1/2 to 3 hours. We only had about 5 or 6 throw backs. Honestly All nice size fish averaging about 17" to 18". Also picked up one 6lb 25" fluke in the same area. THE FLUKE ARE BACK! Bill Baillie"

09/05/98
"Hi Scott, My best fluke day this year in 55 to 60 ft of water off the white(light green) tower. Two 23", one= 21" and five 18" or better. It was the first time I was throwing back 16 inchers. Have a happy.
GEORGE KARCHER.....GGKARCHER@AOL.COM"
Sea ya

Sunday, September 6, 1998 /\/\/\ 8:45pm

Yes, there were fishies caught today. From the Little Egg Bell buoy South, anglers caught Croakers and Weakfish. From the Southern most water towers on Long Beach Island to the North in sixty feet of water, anglers caught Fluke. There weren't any large numbers of Fluke, but there were sure enough large Fluke caught to keep things interesting.
Whew! In the middle of all the busy running around, we added two new gondolas today, and started putting out hunting supplies. The store is getting smaller inside! Is summer is over??? (sigh). Think deer!
P.S. Just 4 more days until those permits have to be mailed in.
Monday, Labor Day hours 5:00am 'till 5:00pm. Sea Ya

Saturday, September 5, 1998 /\/\/\ 9:23pm

A few anglers came home happy with their Fluke catches today. High hook was eight fish with a six pounder topping that list. Heaviest Fluke weighed in today was a seven pound two ounce whopper. Sixty feet of water seemed to be the depth of the day. One angler searched for Fluke in fifty feet of water and only caught short Fluke. That little bit more depth and little bit further offshore made a difference.
Back in the bay, a few Weakfish were caught. Action was far from hot and heavy today. Some anglers anchored up in the clam stakes on the North West side of the fish factory and caught bunches of little Sea Bass for entertainment.
Snapper Blue fishing in the lagoons really picked up this week. All of the Snappers I caught were about five inches long and my largest fish was about a seven inch Weakfish. Sea ya

Friday, September 4, 1998 /\/\/\ 9:55pm

Fluke fishing is still slow. A few folks ran way up the beach to fish on the Brant Beach lump to get a 1/2 dozen Fluke. Other anglers picked around the red and white tower areas and caught a few Fluke too. All in all not a great Fluke catching day. A mixed bag of Weakfish, Croakers, and Fluke are what most anglers are putting together for a catch.
Wrote the Weekly Bulletin a day late, so you might want to check it out for other info. Sea ya

Thursday, September 3, 1998 /\/\/\ 8:53pm

Fluke fishing continues to improve daily. The magic number seems to be 60 feet of water on the ocean. There is a mix of Fluke, Weakfish and Croakers in that water depth. I am not sure why they are there or even where the Croakers came from. The Fluke and Weakfish rigs baited with squid or clams are catching the Croakers just fine. If you wanted a specific rig for Croaker fishing, a smaller hook Blackfish rig would be a great choice.
I did not write the weekly bulletin tonight, just plain ole ran out of energy. Sea ya

Wednesday, September 2, 1998 /\/\/\ 7:38pm

It wasn't a very busy day on the fishing scene. Anglers worked over the ocean and caught a few Fluke. High hook was nine Fluke and if that was true, then it's worth the trip again. I heard one angler talk about three short Fluke on the Atomic Lump 3/4 of a mile North East of the Little Egg Bell Buoy and that was his entire catch of the day So,reports are mixed on the Fluke. Sea ya

Tuesday, September 1, 1998 /\/\/\ 11:57pm

I still got three minutes to do an update today! Well, took most of the day off and went to Wildwood New Jersey and wandered the boardwalk for the last 12 hours. What a great day with the family!
Rough ocean with NE winds kept most anglers back in the Great Bay again today. The clam stakes on the North West side of the fish factory gave up a few 2-3 pound Weakfish. I was pretty much out of the fishing scene today, so I just don't have any good info to post. Sea ya (yawn)