Striped Bass and Bluefish and Fluke, Oh My!
First, shop news.
Just a reminder that the bluefish are showing up, and when they do, poppers are the most fun way to target them. But bluefish tend to destroy tackle, so you don’t want to send an expensive wooden popper their way. The solution? Tsunami plastic poppers, like the Talkin’ Popper XD or the Tidal Pro iPOP. And right now, they are on sale in the Grumpys online store. This is available only in the online store but if you want to pick them up at the shop, just choose in-store pickup when choosing the shipping option.
New to the shop this week are a couple option from Ruthless tackle. Recently, we added he 9 inch Candy soft jerkbaits to the online store. We now have them in three other sizes, 5 inch, 6 inch, and 7 inch.
We have also added a lure that has been a local secret for a little while now. The Ruthless Henchman paddle tail shad. Available in two sizes and 3 colors, these soft plastics have been responsible for landing tons of bass around New Jersey. Grab some today,
The fishing in the area remains very, very good. The name of the game is still mostly striped bass in the surf. They are still primarily taking clams, though we are getting reports of some on bunker too. And the occasional report of one that took a lure.
We are still hearing intermittent reports of drum in the surf, and the bluefish are making sporadic showings in the surf too. The drum are taking clams, while the blues are hitting poppers and plastic swimmers like Daiwa SP Minnows and Tsunami Tidal Pro Minnows.
We have also been hearing from some anglers that their clam baits are being stolen, or are coming back with lots of small bite marks. These are blowfish. If you want to catch them switch to a rig with small hooks and use small pieces of clam.
Fluke season has opened and there are fluke being taken both in the back bay and in the surf. On what? Bucktails and Gulp! (and this will not be the last time I write that this year).
The bay is still giving up striped bass for those who are trying, and there are blues being taken on poppers for those who go looking.
If you are wondering when is a good time to go fishing, it’s now.
Some notable recent catches:
Our Cover Shot: The boys got out on the kayaks this morning and @swimducklures had the biggest fish at 24 1/2 inches 5.85 pounds. The Kayak game is definitely killing the fluke right now! If you’re interested in a new Kayak check out next-door @yakkityyakskayaks
@runnninerins found bass on clam Monday.
@shanecramer24 found bass Monday on…..wait for it…..guess what…. CLAM.
@shell_e._caris just came in with a shore caught Fluke
Beautiful early season Surf Fluke caught by Chris Marble! 24” 4.45lb caught on Gulp!
The girls were on them Wednesday night! @nichole_turner13 @bscarletb “Those clams did not disappoint. We ended up getting 5!”
The back bay is still giving up stripers. Our Online Sales Manager found them Wednesday night. This one took a break from eating cinder worms to take a small Vudu shad.
“One of many from the surf last night with this being a PB.” @kaleigh__rocco
@filipgere with a beautiful bass he caught on Fresh Clams
With Mother’s Day being this weekend, we would like to wish a happy Mother’s Day to all of the mothers out there. This includes Mama Ray and her favorite son Scott.
