Fishing Around: If You’re Not Catching ‘Em, You’re Not Trying
C.J. Walsh with a freshly caught pair of 22-inch flounder headed for the sauté pan.
Fishing has been phenomenal, from flounder in the back bays to tuna in the offshore canyons. We should all hope that it continues through July and welcome new fishing opportunities as summer progresses.
From the first drift on opening day, flounder have bent anglers’ rods from Strathmere to Anglesea. With back-bay temperatures colder than usual, live minnows and cut bait outfished the popular Gulp! artificial baits. While the outgoing tide continues to be more productive, the Avalon Lady’s crew continues to find flounder for its fares on the incoming tide, as well. My sister-in-law, Abbey Barron, and Ryan Wirt, her brother, fished with Dad and me over Memorial Day weekend. An oncology nurse known for her careful hands, Abbey quickly learned to let the flounder pull her rod tip down before setting the hook, resulting in repeated calls for the net! In contrast, we watched Ryan, an experienced fly fisherman, aggressively set the hook like you would on a trout eating a dry fly. Like a lot of anglers, we came home with a lot of laughs and a few flounder big enough for dinner.
As you make plans to flounder fish in July, consider fishing shallower than you otherwise might and note the water temperature. Our shallow sounds host crabs, shrimp and spearing that keep flounder well fed until their shift toward local inlets and beyond. Grab a pack of 3-inch Gulp! shrimp from your local tackle shop and fish it on a bare hook. You’ll be surprised what eats it! The key to fishing these shallow sounds is to focus on the narrow sloughs that drain them as the tide ebbs. Flounder stage in these channels, knowing that the moving tide will bring them snacks. Note the water temperature with each flounder bite and see whether a pattern emerges. Flounder will move away from local inlets when southwest winds chill incoming tides. Similarly, when temperatures in shallow sounds approach 80 degrees, flounder will move into deeper waters like Paddy’s Hole and Whale Creek. Looking for more flounder-fishing tips? Local legend Bill Shillingford, better known as “Bucktail Willie,” regularly shares detailed fishing reports on his eponymous blog, which you should immediately bookmark on your smartphone.
With Gulf Stream waters pushing toward the Wilmington Canyon in early June, charter boats from New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland implored clients to take advantage of what could be the season’s best fishing, and the fishing was already good. Capt. Jim Cunningham took advantage of calm seas to help Vincent Morgan and Paul Dudek catch plenty of bluefin tuna in a local canyon. When the Gulf Stream water arrived, the fishing exploded with yellowfin, bigeye and bluefin tuna actively feeding on the millions of squid congregated where the temperature break collided with the canyon wall. Among the 40-to-60-pound yellowfin were 150-to-200-pound bigeye and 25-to-500-pound bluefin tunas. That’s not a typo – 25-to-500-pound bluefin tuna.
Between thunderstorms, Jim and Matt Roszkowski watched a sea monster inhale a ballyhoo on the long left outrigger. Twice, Matt fought the fish near the boat and, twice it took hundreds of yards of 80-pound line against 25 pounds of drag. While they didn’t catch it, both experienced offshore anglers said that the fish was easily as long as their 34-foot Buddy Davis center console is wide, proving that #bigfishhappen. Similarly, on their first trip back from the Bahamas, Capt. Joe Trainor and Shorty found two bluefin and 17 yellowfin for their customers in just 4 hours trolling the same waters.
While the giant bluefins will likely migrate north, the yellowfin and bigeyes should settle into local canyons. Because of the tunas’ squid-focused diet, trolling multiple squid spreader bars will attract them to your boat. At the Atlantic City Boat Show, I chatted with canyon fishing legend Capt. Phil Dulanie, who pioneered and still champions the 9-inch rainbow squid spreader bar above all others. However, it’s important to punctuate your trolling pattern with skirted medium or select ballyhoo, which tuna often perceive to be easier targets, resulting in more hookups. Finally, invest in a Bomber CD30 diving plug (with upgraded hooks and split rings) that you’ll pull on the flat line and build or buy a dredge teaser with dozens of plastic rainbow squids.
While the bigeyes settle into the East Notch, school-size bluefin tuna often move inshore to feed on squid and sand eels on the 20-fathom lumps off Delaware and Maryland. In our formative fishing years in the 1990s and early 2000s, Dad and I started the Chuckwagon’s loud and smoky outboard engines well before dawn, much to the chagrin of the neighbors along 20th Street in Avalon. We would decide on our final destination as we motored down the creek, often passing under the Townsends Inlet Bridge around 4am on our way south. Because of generous mentors, our proficiency in chunking for bluefin tuna improved quickly. For many years, Dick Purkiss’ Tiger was a regular on the Hot Dog and I’m still fortunate for the opportunities that we had to fish with him. I’ll never forget when I saw a 50-pound bluefin eat a live spot suspended under Purk’s new fishing kite. His penchant for White Castle microwavable sliders with pickled jalapenos made early mornings that much more fun. I worked a few trips with Capt. John German, including one incredible trip to a tiny, 12-fathom hill inshore of the Delaware Lightship. While catching plenty of small bluefin tuna on 20-pound tackle, a large dusky shark suddenly interrupted the party. On heavier gear, we quickly fed the shark a tuna filet and watched it pull our giddy guys around the cockpit until we safely released it. Finally, Capt. Bill May might be the best-connected fisherman in town. He has pointed many of us in the right direction over the years, including one hint on a flat calm July morning where Dad and I caught a 125-pound bluefin, the biggest that we’ve ever caught on the Chuckwagon. Dad stuck the straight gaff in the fish’s shoulder and held on while I traded the standup rod for a tail rope that secured our catch to the boat. That’s in my #bigfishhappen Hall of Fame.
Finally, have you ever caught a shark? Each summer, sandbar sharks from 3 to 6 feet in length invade many lumps within 10 miles of local inlets where they feed on small bluefish, sand eels and threadfin herring. You can catch these sharks with the same rods that you use for striped bass each fall, or even lighter tackle if you prefer. I use 6 feet of 80-pound mono and a bluefish chum hook as my leader system with a float and 2-to-4-ounce weights to get your baits down 15-20 feet. Your goal should be to safely and quickly catch these fish, especially given new National Marine Fisheries Service pelagic shark regulations. For this reason, the 5 inches of wire is plenty. Use a gloved hand and a sharp edge to cut the mono leader as close to the fish as you can without hurting yourself. DO NOT TAKE A WRAP on the leader; it’s an invitation to get hurt. Having said that, this fishery is an incredible opportunity to get young people on the water without the need for a predawn alarm clock. I hang a gallon of bunker chum in a mesh laundry bag. Ideally, you want to rest on the water’s surface to facilitate melting. I like the squids that come in the half-pound or 1-pound boxes. Hook the squid through the mantle (the tip) and fish it under a float. While the little bluefish gnaw at the squids, sharks will pull the floats under like you saw in “Jaws.” Your crew will love it.
A lot of readers have expressed frustration in mastering our local fisheries. As you spend time at the shore this summer, considering fishing with a great local guide to flatten your learning curve. Fishing with an expert a few times each year will show you not only where but how to catch fish in various conditions. Of course, your fishing correspondent is always available as a resource. I’m easy to find online.