1) Long Beach Island/Great Bay
A few kingfish are in the surf, and flounder fishing is so-so along the beach. Barbara Patridge at Surf City Bait and Tackle said blowfish and flounder are in the back bays, along with small bluefish. Patridge said they just started carrying green crabs for anglers going for tautog on the Barnegat Inlet rocks. She had a customer report one keeper and two short tog while fishing there. Black drum are reported in the mouth of Mullica River, according Chestnut Neck Boat Yard in Port Republic. White-perch action continues to be good in the Mullica and surrounding streams.
2) Atlantic County
Drifting along the docks on the outgoing tide from Longport Bridge to just inside Great Egg Inlet is productive for flounder. Also, try Ship Channel from inside the Ocean City bridge to Somers Point. Fish with strips of bait such as mackerel and squid and minnows, spearing and other cut bait and Gulp on top, as well as bottom rigs or bucktails. The Fish N Fun pontoon partyboat that operates from Captain Andy's Marina in Margate reported flounder, weakfish and small blues in the Margate back bays. Captain Andy's weighed a 9.8-pound flounder caught in the bay Saturday by Dave Wehr of Margate. Anglers fishing the Absecon Inlet area like to drift off Harrah's Marina and the Atlantic City Coast Guard Station and around Mankiller Island.
3) Cape May County
Kingfish, tautog and triggerfish are gathered around the Eighth Street Jetty in Avalon. Small bluefish cruise Townsend Inlet. Kingfish take bloodworm, and tog and triggerfish will bite on clam. If you can get them, green crab is the best bait for tog. An interesting report from Avalon Hodge-Podge described one angler coming across a school of hundreds of baby, 6-inch wahoo breaking water in Towsend Inlet. In fact, one jumped right into the boat. Flounder are thick in the bays throughout. The Intracoastal Waterway and Cape May Harbor have them. Croaker are in Cape May Canal around the railroad bridge and along the rocks at Higbee Beach.
4) Delaware Bay
Old Grounds and Reef Site 11 on the Delaware side continue to have bigger flounder.
5) Offshore
Joe Pritchard on Big Game out of South Jersey Marina went to 100 fathoms of Baltimore Canyon for tilefish. The charter came back with 26 up to 36 1/2 pounds, according to charter coordinator Charlie Langan. Fish for flounder 1 to 1 1/2 miles off Long Beach Island, and at the reefs along the beachfront. Garden State South, Atlantic City, Ocean City, Wildwood and Cape May reefs have all been in recent reports for flounder. Walt Knoezuer picked a 6.9 flounder at G.S. South using squid and minnows, according to Chestnut Neck. One angler used 3-ounce Spro jig with Gulp on a top hook to catch a 10-pound flounder, among a limit, while fishing on Carolyn Ann III out of Barnegat. Chunking butterfish and sardines worked for yellowfin and bluefish tuna at Massey Canyon, Hot Dog and 19-Fathom Lump. The 30-Line has mahi and white marlin.
