Tuesday, July 1, 2014

Mid-Atlantic Fishing Report - 7/1/14

Happy July everybody! Looks like this Holiday weekend may be a wash weather wise. Hopefully the storm they are predicting moves through Thurs and Fri and things calm down for the weekend. Here's to hoping! Be sure to check out my post about the SJ Sportsmen's Jamboree, taking place in Winslow NJ at Banger's Sport Shop on Saturday July 26th. There will be a huge number of hunting and fishing vendors on site, including ourselves! So stop by and say hi, mention this post and you will receive a free The Mid-Atlantic Sportsman Sticker! Check out this post for all the info! - SJ Sportsmen's Jamboree!

Offshore Ocean:

Anglers running out to the canyons are reporting decent action on yellowfins. A few boats had banner days, and a few reported skunks, but many just found one or two tuna bites. The good news is mahi and marlin are here in good numbers. Run-ins with both white and blue marlin have been reported almost daily.

Bigeye tuna are also being caught from the Washington up to the Hudson. The bigeye tuna bite last year was nothing short of spectacular in our local canyons, and it looks to be shaping up again this year. It only takes one nice bigeye to turn a good offshore trip into an outstanding offshore trip. Lets hope it is as good as it was last year!

Tilefish are also being caught in the canyons. Many boats who experience slow tuna fishing have started to switch over to tiles to add some more meat to the box.

I also received the first wahoo report of the year from The Restless Lady Crew this past weekend. Always good to see these fish show up as they add even more variety to what can be caught in the canyons (and they are my favorite to eat as well!)

Inshore Ocean:

Off of North Jersey and New York anglers are connecting on a good number of Thresher sharks while working the inshore bunker pods just off the beach.

Flounder fishermen fishing the deep water structure throughout the region are finding good numbers of nice sized flounder.

Sea bass are also being caught by boats who are targeting them and flounder fishermen who are catching them by accident.

Big bluefish have been reported up and down the 10-20 fathom lines.

Chesapeake Bay:

The striper fishing has still been great in the upper and mid bay regions. Tolling, live lining and chumming are all producing good numbers of stripers.

Bluefish have begun to invade the bay. Anglers are catching blues using the same techniques as they are using for the stripers. Trolling, live lining and chumming will all work to put some blues on the boat.

Bottom fishing is still good up and down the bay. Croakers, spot and white perch are all being caught. Some puppy drum are being caught while bottom fishing further down the bay as well.

Unfortunately I still do not have any good news on the crabbing front. Reports are very slow for this time of year. Some people are blaming the cold bottom temps we still have, some are blaming the salinity level, others are blaming the insane number of stingrays in the bay and others are claiming they are just over fished. I do not know who is right (I assume its a combination of a little of everything) but the crabbing is downright dreadful right now. I hope we see some drastic improvements in the next few weeks.

Delaware Bay:

This past week we received some great reports from flounder anglers fishing the DE Bay with good catches of keeper sized fish being caught all over the mid and lower bay. Strip baits, GULP! and minnows are the best baits for these flatties.

Bottom fishing for croakers, sea trout and kingfish has also been good throughout the bay. You need to weed through a lot of smaller fish, but the action has been very good.

Brown sharks are still all over the bay. These tackle busters will provide a great fight but can be a pain when fishing for other species.

Freshwater:

Anglers fishing local ponds and lakes are finding good action on bass with some crappies and pickerel in the mix. Early mornings and evenings are the best times to catch these fish.

Anglers fishing the Delaware River are reporting good fishing for catfish and schoolie stripers. Further up the Delaware anglers are finding a good number of smallmouth.

Tight Lines,

Dave

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