Summer to Fall Transitioning
Summer is slowly fading to fall. While it is technically still summer for a week and a day, we are seeing some fall activity. But some of the awesome fishing from summer is still holding on.
For example, the fluke fishing in the surf is STILL going on. The average size of the fish has dropped, but there are still plenty of fish willing to try to eat a bucktail and Gulp!. Here are some recent weigh ins.
Ed Zack came in with an IBSP limit of fluke up to 3.8 pounds, 21 inches long.
Wes Darcy brought in a 2.9 pound fluke he took from the surf at Island Beach State Park.
While summer is still showing it’s worth, we are seeing signs of fall. The mullet run has started, and we will have fresh mullet coming in nearly daily when the netters can get out. There are still plenty of mullet in the back coves and lagoons of Barnegat Bay, so we are hoping for a good strong run.
We also had our first weigh in of a striped bass for the fall. Joe Vagnone brought in this 30 inch, 10 pound chunker caught on a bunker chunk. Hopefully this is a good sign for the fall going forward.
We have also heard reports of stripers in the back bay hitting poppers and soft plastics like Kettle Creeks, Fin-S Fish, and Zoom Super Flukes. Low light is the time when they are cooperating.
The tailor bluefish have been invading he surf in spots in the morning, chasing rainfish and spearing. Resin jigs or metals are the way to go for them. If you want to use bait, fresh mullet is the ticket.
There are also rumors of weakfish around. No photo proof yet though.
Ray is very sad that we only have one week left of this fantastic fluke fishing. He’s beside himself. Hopefully the fall run cheers him back up…
