It’s a little hard to believe that we’re approaching the end of yet another summer at the shore. For those of us who enjoy the fall run of course – and quieter beaches – we’re entering what’s probably the best time of the year for fishing. Expect a good body of striped bass to arrive by mid-October, while the post Labor Day reports will consist primarily of summer flounder, midrange tuna and a few beach exotics. Looking over some of the imagery sent to me via email this summer, folks traveled from far and wide to fish the New Jersey, Delaware Bay region in 2022, scoring a few impressive – and in some cases rather surprising catches!
Harry Wissman, III of Philadelphia successfully caught and safely released this angel shark at Wildwood Reef in late June. Photo courtesy of Jennifer King.Thirteen-year-old Keiley Hawk shows off her first keeper flounder caught in Grassy Sound on her grandfather’s boat, Sweet Action. Photo courtesy of John Casey.Frankie Sabatino (age 9) caught this 41-inch houndfish while fishing for fluke on his grandpa Frank’s boat Fun4Shore in Double Creek Channel in about 6 feet of water. Photo courtesy of Karl Dahl.Jonathan Cossaboon, Jack Turner and crew caught and released a big bull shark at the Jersey Shore this summer. (All together now, “a whaaaattt?”) That’s right, a bull shark – and a big one at that!Morgan Reich came up from Virginia Beach this summer to do a little bit of fluking at Cape May Reef with Capt. Harv Yenkinson aboard his Vet Craft.