Flounder fishing already hitting its peak in Jersey
Summer flounder fishing suddenly began to peak last week, in spite of a couple of stormy days. A number of area anglers headed out in search of ol’ flattie and most were well rewarded for the trip to the shore.
Our friend Capt. NormHafsrud took out quite a few locals from his dock in Ocean City but the highlight had to be Anna Schlegel from the Reading area. The twelveyear-old Anna was escorted by her dad, John, and she showed the older folks how it was done. Her total included a 20-inch and a 25-inch flounder. Not a bad day on the water for a pre-teenager.
The following day Norm had a party led by Jason Schmidt of Boyertown. This group had plenty of action on shorts but they did manage to get some keepers for dinner. Capt. Norm, a retired Boyertown High School teacher, noted that the number of keepers to throwbacks has been getting better and better.
Bill Mendenhall, Kevin Smith and Skip Van Lew from the Downingtown area are regular visitors to the back bays of Margate, which they have pretty well mapped out.
Roger and Patrick Campbell and John Burkey, all from Devon, also fished behind Margate and the result was a trio of keeper flatties and a pair of mid-sized blues. Down the shore from Fogelsville came the father and son team of John and John Visco. They had some flounder around 22-inches.
It seems this good flounder bite is spread around. There are excellent reports from the Long Beach Island area all the way down through the Wildwoods. And, some of the offshore partyboats also are in the running. One Cape May based boat reported 28 keep- ers from the Cape May Reef last weekend.
Striped bass fishing is steady all along the coast, both in the back waters and out in the surf. I have not heard of any of those trophy 50-pounders lately, but I would settle for a 30 or 40-pound fish
The black sea bass regulations in New Jersey have me perplexed. The season closed last weekend and will reopen again on July 1 when the bag limit goes from 15 fish down to two fish. It then closes again August 31 before reopening for the remainder of the year October 22 when the bag limit returns to 15 fish.
Elsewhere, kingfish activity is improving but the bluefish catch is dwindling. Black drum also are beginning to spread out, everywhere from inside Delaware Bay up to LBI.
I know many of you love crabbing, me included. Well, the blue claws are booming. Flounder drifters tell me they are getting more crabs than fish, although most seem to be females and they should be returned to the water. You actually can get quite a way off the beaten track and find excellent crabbing conditions without having to stand elbow-to elbow. A couple of my favorite haunts include the remains of the old bridge at the Holtz Boatyard on the Tuckahoe Road and the railroad bridge over Cedar Swamp Creek on Route 50, both in Upper Township, Cape May County. Beware, the rail bridge is active so if you hear a loud horn, pack up and get off in a hurry.
Offshore, the Wilmington and Lindenkohl Canyons are awakening. Yellowfin tuna are providing the bulk of the action, with a few mahi thrownin. There is much better activity, but that is far south in the Washington and Norfolk Canyons.
As you probably know, the lower and middle sections of Cape May County really took a hit from severe thunderstorms and possible tornadoes last Tuesday. The clubhouse of the Villas Fishing Club was seriously damaged when the roof blew off. At least one member was inside at the time but was not injured.
ACROSSTHEBAY
There is a lot going on the Delaware and Maryland waters. I have to say the flounder action is not as good as it is in Jersey but there is plenty more to keep an angler occupied.
On the beaches there is a pretty good run on small sharks, short stripers and plenty of kingfish. One fellow fishing the canal was catching legal stripers when what he said was an 8-foot shark came up and devoured his bait box. Bluefish are a bit spotty but it looks like Canary Creek has been the best in the past week.
Out in the ocean both reef sites 10 and 11 and the Old Grounds have been good.
None of the flounder are doormats, with many measuring in the low 20-inch range.
Since the Norfolk and Washington Canyons have been producing the most offshore action, it is obvious most of the big boats have been heading in that direction. The first verified report of a wahoo has come out of the Washington. It weighed 48-pounds. A few bigeye tuna have shown up but most of the tunnus family members are yellowfins. Always keep some light tackle ready in case you come across some bit of floating debris or pot markers. The odds are good there will be some mahi hiding out there. And, just to make things very interesting, one boat hooked into a great white shark. The captain estimated its weight at about 140-pounds. Remember, “Jaws” is a protected species so let it go. Besides, who wants that in your cockpit!