Mid September Fluke Report
First, shop news…
Orders are flowing into the shop, and we have been adding items nearly every day.
We got in a big shipment from Bill Hurley lures. Bill makes some of the best fish oil impregnated plastics available. His sand eel imitations are killer, as is his tuna stuff. He added a new item to his list of offerings, so we added it to what we carry. Introducing the Bill Hurley ABB Bait. While that stands for Albies, Bonito, & Bass, we also think this lure will work for fluke, weakfish, redfish and other gamefish that like feed on spearing, sandeels or similar slender baitfish. Pick up a 3 pack and check them out.
From our big order from Tsunami last week, we have added more Stainless Steel Wire Leaders. We now have 10 packs available in addition to the 3 packs. With 30# and 45# test available in 3 different lengths, we will have the right leader to keep you from losing your lures to toothy bluefish. Be prepared for when the bigger blues start to show up in October.
Also, a product announcement. There has been a change to the immensely popular Bait Locker Products. Don’t worry though, the product itself has not changed. It is still the best leak-proof way to store your Gulp! and other liquid baits. But, to avoid a conflict with a similarly named product, Bait Locker has changed its names to Baitmule.
As far as the fishing goes, the fishing hasn’t changed drastically. The mullet are still running. We still have small blues and fluke in the surf, and there are the occasional albies and Spanish mackerel crashing the beaches.
The boats are still getting fluke our on the nearshore reefs and wrecks, and they are occasionally running into false albacore or Spanish mackerel.
In the back bays, the blowfish are still cooperating for those who are chumming and fishing Fish Bites, clams, or squid. There are also blackfish being caught on green crabs and White chin wreckers if you know where to go. We have green crabs in stock if you want to try, and Scott will likely tell you where to go if you ask nicely. And if you really know where to go, the small striped bass have made their presence known in the back bay and rivers.
Here are some recent notable catches:
Wayne Woodland with a 22 inch, 4.5 pound fluke on an S&S Bucktails Fluke Nukem tipped with Gulp!
Adam Caris with a nice fluke Sunday morning!
Jerry Fabiano still taunting Shel E by taking a picture of a nice 4.45lb surf fluke in front of Shel’s window. With fluke season winding down, who do you think will be victorious in their (probably unknown to them) "Fluke King Of Island Beach State Park" challenge?
Peter Musse with a 17 3/4 inch, 1.85 pound fluke taken with pink shine Gulp on Island Beach State Park. Perfect size fluke for fish sandwiches.
A unicorn has been captured. Bailey Cafone with a boat-caught 24.25 inch, 4.6 pound weakfish that fell for Gulp!
We are two weeks into American Football season, and anyone who knows Ray knows he is a big fan of the sport. He is also, inexplicably, a big fan of the team from Washington DC now called the Commanders. This team is the cause of a lot of highs and lows on poor Ray’s emotional roller coaster. This year is no different, as they have won a game, and lost a game. You can see Ray’s emotions shift from pure joy to utter heartbreak if you look close enough in the animation below. (To answer your questions, yes he wears a blonde wig when he watches football. No, we don’t know why…)
