In Barnegat Bay, the influx of freshwater Read More]]> The wind shifted to out of the South last week which drove the water temperature down inshore and turned off the fluke fishing along the beach. Offshore, shark action is reaching its summer peak with some makos and big threshers being caught just 18 miles from the beach.

In Barnegat Bay, the influx of freshwater and colder temperatures had a positive effect on the weakfish as bigger fish were being found near the inlets. Despite the influx of colder water, some cobia were caught along the beach last week.
Brielle Fishing Report

In Brielle, good yellowfin action occurred over the weekend in the Hudson Canyon. Joe  trolled 10 yellowfin to 93 pounds and six dolphin in the 18-pound class. Most of the action was on spreader bars and Billy Baits.

At Hoffman’s Marina the catches coming in last week were again a combination of fluke, stripers, and sharks.

The Chicken Canyon was one hot spot for makos last week. Greg, Kurt, and Greg boated a 180-pound mako there while fishing, while Bob and crew on the Megan landed a 231 pounder. Harry on the Strike found his 148-pound mako at he Glory Hole while Mike Chap of the Renegade gaffed a 148-pound mako at the Fingers.

On the big 125′ Jamaica, Captain Howard Bogan reports bluefishing was excellent again last week on both the day and night trips. The best areas in the beginning of the week were 20 to 24 miles ESE and East of Brielle. The blues are being caught on bait or jigs while chumming and weigh from 6 to 13 pounds, with a few larger fish taking the pool. High hooks are catching their limit. Sand eels, mackerel, and butterfish are thick offshore so the blues have been staying in the same general areas. Monday the Jamaica was chumming and caught the blues on bait and jigs although jigging was the most productive method. Monday night fishing started out slow along the edge of the Mud Hole. After moving a little further offshore, Captain Dale found a large school of blues and the action turned wild. Rich did not catch his first fish until midnight but boated 13 by the end of the trip. Thursday they were chumming again and bait was the most productive method for most of the day. By noon the blues were schooled up heavily under the boat and jigs were also effective. Over the weekend bluefish were found as close as 15 miles east of the inlet. There are presently two large bodies of bluefish within a short distance of Brielle, one area to the East and another South that is moving slowly to the North. There are also schools of smaller fish 6 to 12 miles from the inlet. Prospects for this week are excellent.

Point Pleasant Fishing Report

Fluking picked up considerably in the inlet with squid/spearing combos producing the best catches. There are still weakfish being caught in the pockets though darker colors are working better in the off-color water from the rain.

According to the folks at Reel-Life Bait and Tackle there were some nice fluke caught last week both north and south of the inlet though the action slowed some over the weekend with the south wind and a drop in the water temperature. The Sea Girt Reef produced a 9.75-pound doormat for Vinny  while Ed  netted a 5.75-pound fluke drifting off Mantoloking.

On the Norma K III fluke fishing has  been  good with nice fish being caught everyday. The pool winners have been in the 4 to 8-pound class. They have been fishing in about 60 feet of water because that’s where the larger fish have been congregating. There has not been the large number of keepers this year like the last couple of years probably because of the 16-inch size limit. The bluefishing was excellent Thursday night There was action at night last week from the time the boat stopped until the time they went home.

d but not great. Captain Bill is still waiting for the big weakfish to arrive so he can start fly rodding. Bluefish are everywhere.

Toms River

At the Nautical Shop, crabbing is excellent below the Route 37 bridge and in the local lagoons. Blowfish moved into the northern end of the bay last week and fishing for fluke was better for the big ones in the ocean. Chris netted an 8.3-pound doormat while fishing in 60′ feet of water off Spring Lake.

According to the folks down at Murphy’s weakfish action picked up some in the bay last week especially down by the 42 buoy. There are also plenty of fluke around but its running about 5 out of 30 keepers. Crabbing is fantastic.

Bayville Fishing Report

Tony at Eastern Bait and Tackle reports fluking picked up in Barnegat Bay last week with decent numbers of 3 to 5 pounders being caught. There are a few bigger weakfish around but to catch them Tony recommends whole shedder crab fished early in the morning or late at night. Crabbing is very good in the back bay.

Forked River Fishing Action

Dominick at Bay Way Bait and Tackle told us the ration of keeper fluke to shorts in the bay was running about 1 to 6 last week. Some bigger weakfish moved into the bay last week, and trolling white shad buoys north and south of the inlet is producing some slot-size stripers.

Waretown Fishing Action

Mike at Mole’s Bait and Tackle told us fluking really picked up in Double Creek Channel last week. Yes there are still plenty of shorts being caught but id stick with it sooner or later a big flattie will take your spearing bait. Joanne Butler, 12 years old, checked in with 5-pound flattie while Eric Roessner brought in a big 8.9-pound fluke. Kid’s Doormat Honors of the Week went to Rich Lofring who managed to lift a 10.4-pound summer flounder up onto the scale. Weakfish action picked up a bit last week but it still mostly smaller fish with the shrimpers scoring best. Shark action is hot at the Reasor. That’s where Gary and Rich DeMartins fished with their mom Laura and brought a 105-pound mako to the boat.

Barnegat Fishing Report

Weakfish turned on in the bay for Captain Dave. Shrimping in Meyers Hole was producing non-stop action with short fish of fish but by sticking with it you could put together a decent catch of keepers. At Dave’s “secret spot” near the inlet, shrimping produced less as far as numbers are concerned, but some big sea trout are showing there like the 6-pound trout nailed by Jeff G on Sunday.

The Manahawkin Fishing

John at Causeway Marine told us bluefish at the Barnegat ridge broke open last week with choppers from 6 to 14 pounds hitting jigs during the day and bait at night. Sea bass action on the local artificial reefs wasn’t as good last week as it was the week before and neither was the fluke bite in along the beach. This may be because of the drop in the water temperature caused by the south wind.

Ship Bottom Long Beach Island Fishing Report

Sean at Fisherman’s Headquarters told us offshore shark action is reaching its peak right now. Weakfish action chumming with shrimp picked up in the Middle Grounds last week though the fish are still on the small side. The fluke in the bay are mostly shorts but if you stick with it you’ll find some keepers. There was a big cobia caught right in the surf over the weekend.

The Latest Barnegat Light Fishing Action

Captain Sam  mixed it up again last week with big sea bass and ling on the inshore wrecks and slammer blues out around Ole’s Lump. In addition to the sea bass and ling on the snags, some nice blackfish are showing up such as Tony’s 6.5 pounder.

Terry W and his friends from Philly went night bluefishing early last week and had a total of 65 fish from 6 to 12 pounds. Friday it was Donna K and a group out bluefishing and they caught 75 blues 8 to 12 pounds. On Saturday afternoon a vacation family from Long Beach Island, went out for choppers and caught over 50, all 8 to 12 pounds.

Beach Haven Fishing Report

Captain George was on the inshore artificial reefs a few times last week and bailed sea bass to 4 pounds. Saturday a few hours fishing produced a cooler full of humpies. Fluke fishing has been fair with mostly shorts in along the beach. Captain George also mentioned that canyon dates for tuna are going fast so if you want to take advantage of discounts for early booking, call now.

Tuckerton Fishing Report
Over at Clarke’s Marine Supply the word is flounder and weakfish action in the bay was decent during the week but it slowed considerably over the weekend.

The best fishing last week was on Thursday and Friday. There are plenty of short summer flounder around but the keepers you find are big. One regular went out Friday and came back with four keepers that went 5.5, 7.5, and 9.5 pounds with one 18 incher. This was after releasing about 80 shorts. Most of the hot fluke action seems to be centered on the clam stakes in the back of the bay. For some reason the fishing tailed off on Saturday and Sunday was a blowout and washout with wind and rain in the morning. Keeper weakfish were hard find most of last week

Fishing Mullica River

Bruce  was out Thursday with some friends from West Virginia and found only a few keeper trout while fishing hard in the river and throughout the bay. Bruce went on to say that there are plenty of summer flounder in the bay but it was mostly short fish last week though some bigger flatties showed Saturday. Crabbing is very good right now in the creeks and back bay areas.