Everything is biting at the shore

Quick, think of a salt water fish that can be caught in New Jersey waters. Well, the odds are good that there is a great possibility you might be able to hook into that fish right now. This is one of the greatest varieties at the same time that I can recall in many, many years.

The back bay anglers are finding loads of summer flounder, along with triggerfish, sheepshead and white perch. Out front on the beach the kingfish are increasing and you surfcasters also might hook into a brown or sand shark.

Out on the artificial reefs and wrecks the seabass are more than abundant and thrown in some taug and big flounder and it is worth the trip. If you like inshore trolling you can reasonably expect to hook some nice sized bluefish, bonito, king mackerel, little tunny and chicken mahi.

Then, if the lure of the deep is irresistible to you, the canyons and large lumps are holding a variety of tuna, wahoo and billfish.

Lastly, not to be forgotten, our terrific summer of blue claw crabbing continues going great guns. I told you things are on fire, especially since we have been getting some decent weather lately.

Getting specific, one of the biggest summer flounder of the year was taken last week back by Atlantic City’s Albany Avenue Bridge. That baby weighed-in at 11.79-pounds. But, there have been others that hit the 10-pound mark. And, out on the Cape May Reef there was a 10.62-pounder caught. The biggest that ever came aboard my boat was just under 10-pounds and I had to gaff it because it would not fit into my net.

Massey’s Canyon remains one of the hot offshore sports but any of the canyons should produce yellowfin and bluefin tuna. One angler landed a 48-pound wahoo near the East Lump. Wahoo are fun because they may be the fastest fish in the sea. If you are not a fan of making the very long runs, try the Hot Dog or Hambone. These are within reach of mid-sized boats and they harbor their share of big game action.

So, if there ever was a great time to go salt water fishing, this is it. As always, no guarantees but the odds are in your favor.

I mentioned that big doormat flounder by AC’s Albany Avenue Bridge. Be wary going back there because the drawbridges have been getting stuck in the closed position because of the heat. If you are too high to get under the bridge it is a long way to get home.

As always in the summer watch the weather. Very early this past Wednesday the shore got lashed by a violent thunderstorm that seemed to come out of nowhere and without much warning. And, don’t take chances with lightning. If you hear even distant thunder head for shore immediately.

The big news coming from Delaware and Maryland this week concerns the White Marlin Open. This is a very big buck event and draws well-heeled professional and serous amateur anglers from all around the country. The final results were not available when this report is being written but so far there has been an 881-pound blue marlin weighed and that could be worth around $700,000. A 71-pound tuna is holding the lead in that category and that might be worth a cool $960,000. As of this writing there have been no white marlin weighed and those are the really big dollar fish.

Offshore it appears the troll has dried-up and almost everything being caught is on the chunk using butterfish. Massey’s has been very popular with the Delmarva boats because it is relatively close and the anglers have been finding bluefin and mahi.

The various reef sites have been loaded with seabass and some nice flounder. The Lewes Canal and IRI remain good for flounder and slot stripers..

And, like New Jersey, the crabbing is excellent.