Fluke, Blues & a Cobia
But first, no, not shop news, we have a public service announcement. If you dig a hole out on Island Beach State Park, please fill it in when you leave. Trucks can get stuck in these holes, or worse, trucks can be damaged in these holes or even worse than that, someone could get hurt. So please act responsibly and fill in any holes you dig on the beach.
Now shop news.
We are having a flash sale on some of the Gulp! Grubs. Specifically, the 8 inch Gulp! Grubs. They are going to be an astounding 50% off. Ray bought a lot of them and has now grown tired of looking at them. Since we are sliding into “big fluke season”, this is the perfect time to get a Gulp! bait practically designed for big fluke at a great price. The sale will run from Wednesday to Sunday and will be running in both the Online Store and Brick and Mortar Store. In the online store, just put the Gulp! Grubs in your cart and the discount will be applied automatically. In the Brick & Mortar store, whoever is behind the counter will take care of the discount.
Need a popping setting for the tuna that are popping up inshore, but don’t want to spend thousands on a custom rod? We’ve got you covered! Connor is modeling the Tsunami Carbon Shield II Blue Water Spinning Rod. Pair this with a Daiwa BG MQ, Penn Battle III DX, Shimano Saragosa or a Penn Slammer IV DX and you will have a tuna capable combo at a decent price.
How has the fishing been? Status quo mostly. The surf is still giving up some nice fluke on bucktails and Gulp! There are also some packs or marauding snapper blues in the surf. They are taking mullet or small metals.
Fluke on the reefs and wrecks are still a pick through smaller fish to find keepers. What is even more difficult to find is the sparse 17 inch to up to 18 inch slot fish. We are hearing a lot of anglers are throwing back many over 18’s looking for the two slots they are allowed to keep.
In the bay the spot, blowfish, snappers and blueclaws are keeping everyone busy.
To add to the list from our previous report of southern fish showing up around here, red drum have been seen off the coast. Still waiting on the bonefish behind Barnegat Inlet on the flats. Any day now…
Some notable recent catches:
Our cover photo: Nice showing of bigger fluke on the surf today. Here’s Tony Senatore with a nice pair of IBSP Keepers. 4.30lbs and 3.05 both caught on Gulp!
Brian Louth with a 2 pound, 19 inch fluke caught on the beach!
Tom Kowaleski with a 22 inch, 3.95 pound fluke caught off the surf, this fluke had an appetite for a delicious diamond jig, part of a complete balanced breakfast!
George Ford strikes again! 4.55 pounder coming in at 23 inches.
Brian Louth caught himself some lunch! Nice 3.05 pounder caught on Gulp!
Our online sales manager went out for tuna again. The tuna were uncooperative, but he did land (and release) his first ever cobia. This one measured 32 inches (a keeper in NJ has to be over 37 inches). They also had a 16 to 18 foot great white shark circling the boat for a few minutes. This was only about 10 miles off the beach. Think about that the next time you step into the water.
Ray and Scott recently had a night out. Ray really wanted to see the Taylor Swift Eras tour but was having trouble finding someone to go with him. That is, until he asked Scott. Apparently, the only music Scott likes more than the Misfits is Taylor Swift. We hear they had a very good time.
