New Jersey & Delaware Bay - Southern New Jersey Fishing Reports

Most of the flounder caught this week in Great Bay were short fish according to Dockside Cafe and Marina. There certainly was lots of action with these fish taking minnows, squid, bucktails, Gulp and spearing, but keepers were few and far between. Many anglers opted for smaller hooks tipped with bits of bloodworm, squid or clam and caught croakers till they tired of this drop and reel fishery. Bonus fish in the mix were snapper blues, weakfish, kingfish and some decent size spot.

Another report of excellent croaker fishing came from customers at Empire Fishing and Tackle. They tell us they were expecting the bay to be full of blowfish by now, but instead they are finding a massive amount of croakers, literally all you care to catch. Small squid strips or clam strips fished on a chicken rig not only gets you all the croaker you want, but also puts some kingfish, blues and the occasional keeper size weakfish in the box. For flounder action, most anglers are hitting up the local reefs and wrecks with strip baits or live spot and have found some fish in the 4- to 6-pound range.

Crabbing was very good this week according to Mike with Tuckerton Bait and Tackle. The crabs have been very hungry and bunker are in great demand as crab bait. The flounder fishing has been a bit “weird” again this week with wide water temperature swings between the high and low tides in the bay. The short flounder don’t seem to mind the temperature fluctuation as plenty of them are being caught, but keepers are harder to find. Croakers continue to be found all along the bay and the fish are getting bigger and your chances of finding enough larger fish to take home increases every week. Along with the croakers, some nice size kingfish and spot are being caught, all on bloodworms or clam baits. There has been a report of keeper size flounder being caught from the ocean beaches, specifically the LBI surf. Here, anglers are using white 4-inch Gulp fished either on high low rigs or on bucktails.

Better weather this weekend got lots of people out on the water according to Justin with Allen’s Dock. More flounder action is being reported in the bay, including keeper size fish. Croakers are again being caught just about everywhere and they make for great family trips as the action is constant. Stripers are still being caught in the river, but the bite has been mostly for anglers drifting live eels. Nearshore tuna action is sounding very promising with yellowfin and bluefin in range of most boaters this week.

Lots of croakers are being caught in the bay this week along with plenty of short flounder according to Chestnut Neck Boat Yard. The croakers are just about everywhere and can be taken using bloodworms, squid or clams. Anglers are also seeing kingfish, spot and small weakfish mixed in with the huge schools of croakers. Larger weakfish to 20 inches were being caught at the mouth of the river on shedder crab baits. Further up the river, both small stripers and plenty of perch were taking bloodworms.

Capt. Dave with Absecon Bay Sportsman Center tells us to fish the bay for flounder and “the worst thing that will happen is that you’ll catch a ton of croakers.” Sounds like a “win-win” right now in the Absecon Area. There are plenty of short flounder in the bay, but keepers are still being caught, including a 7- pounder this week. Live minnows, squid and spearing all took their share of fish. There are even some keepers being caught right in Absecon Creek by anglers fishing for perch. Croakers are spread out across the bay from the inlet all the way to the back bay marshes.

The back bays of Brigantine saw a nice variety of fish caught this week including lots of short flounder, croakers, spot, sea bass and stripers according to Capt. Andy with Riptide Bait and Tackle. Anglers are using spearing and squid combos as well as live minnows and squid for their shot at flounder, including a 5-pounder weighed in this week. They are picking up the croakers, spot and sea bass using clam or bloodworm baits. The stripers, which are falling in the 24- to 31-inch size range, were being caught on Gulp Nemesis fished on plain leadheads.

“Bluefin, bluefin and more bluefin” was the word this week from Jersey Nutz Sportfishing Charters. These midshore trips found the tuna stacked up and willing to bite just about everything that was trolled behind the boat. On one trip, the crew landed 14 bluefin tuna in just a half-day of fishing.

Flounder action from the jetties picked back up this week according to Noel with One Stop Bait and Tackle. Much larger fish were caught this week including several in the 4- to 5-pound range. Mr. Super Fluke Will had three keepers himself on Sunday from 3 pounds to 5 pounds, 7 ounces. Live minnows are getting it done fished close to the rocks. Lots of other fish are also in the area including kingfish, spot and croakers. Many of the kingfish and croakers are good eating size while the spot are the perfect size to pen up for bait. Bloodworms seem to be the only bait that these fish are currently interested in. The nighttime is seeing some nice stripers being caught, mostly on pink soft plastics with fish in the 20- to 30-inch size range.

While most of the back bays in South Jersey are seeing anglers struggling to find a keeper flounder, Margate seems to have quite a few of them according to reports this week from Scott’s Dock. Each day, at least one keeper was brought into the shop, including a 22-incher weighing over 4 pounds. Live minnows can’t be beat, but there are plenty of smaller fish being caught on squid and spearing. There was an uptick this week in larger bluefish being caught behind Margate. We don't know if these are leftovers from the spring run or new fish that decided to stop over in the back bays for a meal. Regardless, they are surprisingly large for this time of the year with several in the 5-pound range caught by anglers fishing for flounder.

Snapper blues and croakers are supplementing the flounder action for bay anglers according to this week’s report from Waterfront Marine. While there are anglers toiling away, trying to find keeper flounder in the back bays, most are only finding short fish. Luckily, the croakers and blues have not been shy and are taking squid, clam and even minnows that are being fished for flounder. Those targeting the smaller fish are using bloodworms, small bits of clam or squid, or FishBites Bloodworm imitations. They are not only scoring croakers, but also some kingfish, spot, and the occasional weakfish.

Between short flounder in the back bays, keepers on the reef sites, plus a mix of croakers, spot and kingfish along the inlet, it was a pretty good week according to Fin-Atics in Ocean City. Lots of small flounder are in the back bays right now taking minnows, squid and spearing baits. Larger baits are the way to go if targeting keepers. The same has been true from the Ocean City and Wildwood Reef Sites where the larger baits (6- inches or larger) are getting the attention of the larger fish on the structure. Sea bass are also being caught from these reefs, with some in the keeper size range to 16 inches.

Capt. Mike with Mighty Heron Charters did it again this week, turning young arms into jelly with constant action on croakers, sea bass and small flounder in the bays. Fishing bloodworms, clam baits and Fishbites lead to non-stop action this week with 3-hour trips seeing in excess of 100 fish caught. While the sea bass and flounder were shorts, the croaker filets more than made up for that with plenty of meat going home with happy and tired customers.

Reports from Bait N’ Hook this week tells us that the sheepshead bite continues to be very good from Avalon up to Margate. Fiddler crabs were the top pick this week for anglers lining the bridges to get their shot at a sheepshead. Flounder action has been steady in the same back bay areas, but there are lots of short fish being caught on live minnows and small strip baits. Keepers are much more likely to fall for larger Gulp Baits, 6- to 8-inch strip baits, or live spot.

Pier 47 Marina reports this week tell us that there is a lot of action to be had just a short boat ride from the marina. Flounder are still being caught along the ICW behind the Wildwoods and there is lots of action, just not a ton of keeper fish. The back bay action is being supplemented by the really hot sheepshead bite with fish to 8- pounds this week caught from the bridges. There is also back bay action to be had with snapper blues, croakers, spot and some kingfish being caught on the inside of Hereford’s Inlet. Keeper flounder are being caught on strip baits and large Gulp Baits from the Cape May Reef Site all the way out to Reef Site 11 and the Old Grounds. Fish to 6 pounds were reported this week along with keeper sea bass, small weakfish and the occasional triggerfish.

Some larger flounder are starting to show up at the nearshore reef sites including the Cape May and Wildwood Sites. Hands Too Bait and Tackle tells us that anglers are scoring fish to 24 inches on strip baits and 6-inch Gulp Grubs fished on white bucktails. Delaware Bay and the ocean off of Cape May Point was giving up a mix of spot, weakfish and just a ton of croakers. Boaters fishing the Cold Spring Inlet Jetties found a few sheepshead on fiddler crabs, while the back bays were giving up really good numbers of sheeps from Cape May to Avalon. Back bay flounder action slowed down a bit this week, but there are plenty of other options including croakers, kingfish, spot and snappers being caught. The resident striper bite is also still holding on despite warmer water temps. These fish to 26 inches are being caught at night from the bridges and sod banks. Soft plastics like pink Zooms are getting the job done, but a heavier leadhead was needed this week due to the full moon tides.

The bite in the Delaware Bay was good this week despite the extreme heat according to Higbee’s Bait and Tackle. Flounder fishing has really turned on with anglers reporting keepers to 22 inches, mostly on live minnows. Miah Maull Light has been a top producer as far as locations to start fishing in the bay. The rest of the bay is full of croakers, kingfish, spot, bluefish and small weakfish for anglers fishing bloodworms, clam or squid baits. There have also been reports of short cobia, ribbon fish, black drum along with plenty of rays and sharks to keep anglers busy.