Southern New Jersey Fishing Report- July 27, 2023

Ocean bottom fishing produces keeper fluke, sea bass and triggerfish, surf anglers catch fluke and kingfish, and cobia continue to move in from points offshore.

by Captain Brett Taylor

It was another solid week with lots of life in the Atlantic and almost all species have been in play depending on your angling preference.  Bluefin have been inshore as close as 5 miles feeding on squid and sand eels, while yellowfin and mahi are biting at the canyons.  The inshore wrecks are peppered with good numbers of fluke, sea bass, and some grey triggerfish.  Boaters have been reporting several cobia sightings on the inshore reefs and as close as a mile off the beach.  Surf fisherman picked up good numbers of fluke in the surf as well as kingfish, croakers, and some cocktail bluefish.  The bays have some fish, but to a lesser extent as far as keepers with the majority of anglers struggling to put a 3-fish limit together.  Crabbing has been excellent for most of southern New Jersey this past week.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

Here is this week’s rundown: 

Hook House Bait & Tackle in Toms River reported some nice blowfish action around the Route 37 bridges, Seaside Park docks, and Good Luck point.  The action around the “BI” to “BB” buoys has been slow.  Surf fishing off Island Beach State Park was good for anglers working small bucktails or jigs tipped with squid, Gulp or mackerel.  The shop said working the beach by fan-casting produces the most bites on fluke.  There has been some small bluefish around which have been picking up small metals in the morning and evenings. 

Creekside Outfitters in Waretown said a much slower bite for blowfish over the course of the past few months.  Anglers are getting a few here and there, but nothing in terms of large bodies of fish.  Bayside fluke fishing has been providing lots of action on short fish with an occasional keeper being landed.  Live mullet, peanut bunker, and minnows has been the trick in the main channels and areas from the “BI” to “BB”.  The lighthouse area has produced some nicer fluke to 11 and 12 pounds over the past week as several shops on Long Beach Island had fish weighed in.  Crabbing was a sure-fire bet with large jimmies being caught on hand-line and traps. 

Reel Reaction Sportfishing out of Waretown reported a solid week of fishing as most bay and ocean trips have been averaging 6 to 9 keepers.  All of the fish have been caught jigging and on some of the crew’s custom teasers.  The crews have been easily boxing limits of sea bass to 17 inches.  There are a few afternoon and sunset charter openings in August, but all of the mornings have been booked out. 

The Super Chic out of Barnegat Light has been working the pelagics and bottom fluke during the week as the boat has been out nearly everyday targeting one species or the other.  The skipper reported excellent action on both bottom species and yellowfin tuna.  The crew will continue targeting both species, but be sure to get on the schedule for September and October yellowfin tuna as the boat’s schedule is already filling up.

Tony’s Bait & Tackle in Manahawkin said it was bluefin at the 4 mile line for anglers trolling and working live squid with balloons.  Most of the action has been from the 4-mile line out to the 15 mile line in the clean, bluewater.  Several boats reported fish from 40 to 75 inches being landed on tuna setups.  Fluke fishing at the local reef sites continued to be excellent over the past week with the Garden State North and South reefs producing some quality fish.  Anglers working the inlet rocks are picking up bluefish to 20 inches, fluke, sheepshead, and triggerfish.  Crabbing was excellent along parts of the west side of Barnegat Bay from Manahawkin to Barnegat. 

Tackle Direct in Egg Harbor City reported some beautiful mahi being caught inshore off the ridges.  The canyons have also been very productive on yellowfin, tilefish, and mahi over the past week.  The inshore reefs had good numbers of fluke from shorts to keepers in the 27 inch range.  Great Bay and south have been a little slow on keepers inside, but solid with action on short fluke and lots of sheepshead from the bridges.  Surf fisherman working the suds and inlets have been picking at keeper fluke.

Tight Lines Bait & Tackle in Somers Point had flounder up to 6 pounds being weighed in at the shop.  Most of the keeper flounder have been caught from the inshore reef sites, bridges, and inlets.  The inlets have also had good numbers of triggerfish and sheepshead along the bridges.  The surf has been alive with fluke, kingfish, croakers, and toothy critters in the evening.  Anglers trolling for yellowfin did well at the 40 to 65 mile areas along with some nicer cobia to 60 pounds. 

Badfish Charters in Ocean City reported plenty of action in the backwaters from small dogfish, fluke, bluefish, and weakfish.  The skipper has been running daily trips and finding a variety of species for his clients. 

The Cape May area reported a solid flounder bite at the Cape May reef site, triggers along the rocks and some of the local wrecks, and bluefish off the beaches.  The beaches have also been good for croakers, kingfish, and small flounder.  The bridges and sod banks have some small striped bass and weakfish during the early morning high tides.  In addition to weaks and bass, sheepshead have made a good showing off the bridges which can easily be targeted with sand fleas or fiddlers tipped on a tog jig.  The offshore scene has been all yellowfin, mahi, and tilefish with most of the action at the mid to northern canyons.  The southern canyons have been better for white and blue marlin. 

South Jersey Fishing Forecast

The best bet for the weekend would be to hit the canyons for pelagic species such as yellowfin and mahi, or deep drop for tiles and swordfish.  The water has been amazing out there based on the reports, and hopefully should continue into August.  High speed trolling for tuna should also work for billfish, which have also been present.  Anglers looking to work inshore should be able to find good numbers of fluke at the local reefs and it seems pretty much any color of large Gulp is working tipped on 3- to 6-ounce bucktails.  Triggerfish are also excellent table-fare, so bring clams and sea bass rigs when working the reef sites.  Another option would be to target large sheepshead in South Jersey along the areas bridges with small crab baits.  Small jigs tipped with sand fleas and fiddlers will work.  It’s a great time of the summer as there are so many options for anglers hitting the beaches, boats, or inlets.  Good Luck, Be Safe, and Tight Lines! 

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