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Mar 23, 2024

Back bay, inlet fishing remains strong: Shep On Fishing

Shamus McDonald shows a fish he caught Aug. 11 in Ocean City. His winning catch was a 27-inch summer flounder that went 8.5 pounds. The annual youth tournament featured 99 boys and girls who combined

Shamus McDonald shows a fish he caught Aug. 11 in Ocean City. His winning catch was a 27-inch summer flounder that went 8.5 pounds. The annual youth tournament featured 99 boys and girls who combined to catch 209 fish in two hours.

A scene from the youth tourney hosted by the Ocean City Fishing Club on Aug. 11. It was the 46th edition of the popular event.

Fishing columnist Michael Shepherd

Ryan Fritz, of Egg Harbor Township, recently weighed in a 7-pound summer flounder caught in Absecon Inlet.

Ten-year-old Ty McDermott, of North Wildwood, and grandfather Ken McDermott hold the trophy the boy won for catching the heaviest fish, a 5.4-pounder, at the Grassy Sound Flounder Tournament on Saturday.

Luke Callihan, 12, of Pennington, shows one of the nice black drumfish catches he made June 18 in the Brigantine surf. It was released alive back into the ocean.

Jim Quinn caught a 9-pound, 5-ounce summer flounder in the back bays off Somers Point last week.

Ann Fox holds the fish mount alongside Karen Flynn, right, while Beth Flynn holds a broom to signify the team’s sweep in summer flounder tournament over the June 3-4 weekend in Margate.

Fishing reports have been strong around the region. This weakfish was brought in to Moran's Dockside in Avalon.

Ginger Ricciotti shows a summer flounder she caught during the first week of the season in Margate. She and Anne Fox, both of Margate, had catches of 21 and 19.5 inches.

Isidro Valentin shows the 37-inch striped bass he caught recently from an Atlantic City jetty.

Doug Taylor, of Millville, caught a 55-inch striper on the Delaware Bay on April 10. Taylor released the fish alive and watched it swim away.

We have some good reports from the back bays and inlets, but the ocean action was almost a blowout.

The Starfish party boat out of Sea Isle City went out into the ocean for its morning run Monday and hardy customers caught triggerfish, summer flounder and one black sea bass.

John Nigro, the dock master/DJ for the Starfish, said they got “beat up.”

Sounds as though the ocean was not the only thing heaving.

“It is what it is!” he said.

The Monday night ocean run on the Starfish was canceled.

John said one of the recent highlights on the Starfish is that they have had a number of young fishers on board who caught their first fish, including three Sunday. He said they had a blast.

Back-bay and inlet fishing have been good. Summer flounder are hanging in there with tautog, triggerfish and bluefish. Spot and croaker are plentiful in the surf with some kingfish.

Striped bass also have been reported caught by fishers casting plugs.

When ocean conditions allow, it sounds as though dorado — aka mahi or dolphin — have moved to around the pots off South Jersey.

Noel Feliciano reported from One-Stop Bait and Tackle in Atlantic City that local fisher Greg Goff picked off a 35-pounder.

Plus, pompano have arrived from southern waters. Andy Grossman from Riptide Bait and Tackle in Brigantine said some were caught in a net tossed into Absecon Inlet.

Summer flounder seem to be a surprise as keepers continue to show in the back bays.

Ray Scott Bonar, known as Scott, said Monday that well-known local Tony Tabasso brought two keepers back to Scott’s Dock in Margate with one going 4.4 pounds. Both were caught in the back bays.

Scott described fishing as “more of the same,” with tog and flounder, and that plugging for striped bass continues. And he said crabbing is decent.

Feliciano provided a report from one of his rock stars who hooked into 12 bluefish. We are allowed to keep three blues per person.

Returning to the theme of youth in fishing, the Strathmere Fishing and Environment Club had its 19th kids contest Saturday on the beach there.

Tournament director Ed DiMarcantonio reported that they had 122 contestants who caught more than 100 fish.

This was a catch-and-release event, and they caught summer flounder, kingfish, spot and sand sharks, plus a few crabs.

Mason Laine had a 12.5-inch summer flounder, and Christian Lundselt reeled in a 12-incher.

This Sunday, One-Stop Bait and Tackle will sponsor the Casting for a Cure event. Feliciano said it will be a family day of fishing and breast cancer awareness from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. with music, food and giveaways.

Special T-shirts are available for purchase, and money raised from those sales plus donations will be used to improve breast cancer awareness. Call 609-348-9450 for details.

Another new contest is the Battle of the Back Bays headquartered at Absecon Bay Sportsman Center in Absecon.

Dave Showell said it offers $10,000 and will be held on Veterans Day. Details to come on that one.

And, the sign-up sheets are scheduled to be dropped off at the weigh stations by Labor Day for the Atlantic County Pat Erdman Memorial Surf Fishing Derby that starts Sept. 25.

Follow Shep at Facebook.com/ShepOnFishing

Michael Shepherd is the retired sports editor of The Press. His column typically appears Mondays online and Tuesdays in print.

Contact Michael Shepherd: 609-350-0388. [email protected]

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