Stripers, weakfish running from LBI to Brigantine
Published: Saturday, October 6, 2007
The Phillies are one game away from elimination. The Eagles are 1-3.
Let's go, Flyers, and let's go fishing.
The day before today's opening of the Long Beach Island Surf Fishing Classic, striped bass were caught during the day in the surf on the north end. Josh Falcone at Barnegat Light Bait and Tackle reported 18-pound and 12-pound bass caught Friday with bunker and clam.
On the south end, stripers weighing 13 and 14 pounds were weighed by Margaret O'Brien at Jingle's Bait and Tackle in North Beach Haven. They were caught Thursday, both around 11 a.m. One was picked out of a school by an angler using a plug at Beach Haven and the other took bunker at Beach Haven Terrace.
So there are some signs of bass starting to move on LBI. Stripers are mostly small with a few keepers mixed in throughout the area.
Weakfish catches are another big story.
The bays between Absecon and Brigantine and behind Long Beach Island have weakfish.
Ray Slemmer at Absecon Bay Sportsmen Center said that this is the best weakfishing of the year in the waters off Absecon. Bill Lake of Mays Landing caught his limit to 26 inches, Dave Morris, fishing on a charter with back-bay guide Dave Showell, limited out in two hours, and two other captains reported limits.
The best-known spots for weakfish in the Brigantine back bays are Intracoastal Waterway marker 178, south of Meadow Cut, Black Point and Main Marsh.
O'Brien said weakfish are in the LBI back bays off Morrison's Marina, and at the Brickpile at Marshelder Channel. They are also being caught behind Barnegat Inlet at Meyer's Hole.
Kingfish are in the surf and in some of the back bays. Croaker are biting in the surf at night.
Small blues, some in the 4-6 pound range, are without a doubt the best action throughout southern New Jersey's inshore waters, inlets, surf and bays. Basically, if you have some mullet or other cut bait and a hook, you can catch bluefish just about anywhere.
C.J. Janiszewski, an 11-year-old from Beach Haven, caught snapper blues with frozen spearing under a bobber while fishing in the LBI back bays from the Spray Beach Yacht Club dock. Ryan Morse caught a dozen blues fishing Hereford Inlet from the Dad's Place Pier in North Wildwood.
Offshore fishing is still exciting.
The Boss Lady with Bill May and the True Passion with Bill Lloyd combined for 26 tuna - yellowfin and longfin - on a recent overnight chunking trip to the Lindenkohl Canyon, according to Tim Davis at Moran's Dockside in Avalon.
Craig Mauro of Lodi caught a 218-pound bluefin tuna and Chris Soboleski of Fairlawn got a 180-pound bluefin. Both were caught Wednesday at the Lobster Claw, and both were weighed for The Press Fishing Contest at Jim's Tackle in Cape May.
The Miss Avalon partyboat that docks at Avalon Fishing Center has shifted to a six-hour schedule sailing from 8 a.m. Friday through Monday. Davis said they are catching mostly small sea bass, tautog and porgies.
Odd catch of the week: Jim Lutz on the Nev-R-Enuf out of Avalon, while fishing in the back bays, caught a 107-pound thresher shark. Davis said he was live-lining herring. That thresher sure took a wrong turn somewhere.
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