48 replies to this topic

[dano]

thanks guys.

doc, yes all back bay.

heres a pic.

[PhillyFisherman]

Nice work as always! We found some drum on opening day instead of targeting fluke. They were 20-30 pounds but great table fare!

[flyers1kak]

is gulp that much better than live killies? i've never had ANY success fishing with bucktails and gulp minnows. maybe i'm doing something wrong..

[Tom]

is gulp that much better than live killies? i've never had ANY success fishing with bucktails and gulp minnows. maybe i'm doing something wrong..

IMO, absolutely - especially for larger fluke. I have only used bucktails (mostly Spros and ball jigs) for fluke for several years now. I will use Gulp shrimp, usually in the 3" size but tipping the bucktails with fish strips works great too,

[flyers1kak]

IMO, absolutely - especially for larger fluke. I have only used bucktails (mostly Spros and ball jigs) for fluke for several years now. I will use Gulp shrimp, usually in the 3" size but tipping the bucktails with fish strips works great too,

hmm maybe I'll give it another try, thanks tom. I've used pink and bright yellow, as well as the penny colored 3" shrimp and have never gotten anything off em. Also, downgraded the boat to a carolina skiff. Will post pics in 2 weeks once its finally in the water!

[Tom]

hmm maybe I'll give it another try, thanks tom. I've used pink and bright yellow, as well as the penny colored 3" shrimp and have never gotten anything off em. Also, downgraded the boat to a carolina skiff. Will post pics in 2 weeks once its finally in the water!

I like the white colored spro most of all. Anything in the half ounce to up 1.5 ounce should be fine in the bays most of the time. New penny is a good color, but I think the jig does the attracting and the gulp keeps them on the bite a bit longer. I stinger hook can be a good call too.

[dano]

bucktailin is the way to go for fluke action in the back bay. experiment with all types of gulp.

fished on saturday for the incoming tide and we had at least 40 fluke, 7 keepers. dad caught a nice fat 25". not as great a bite as the last few times out, but still a good session of fluke fishin.

good luck with the new skiff!

[Nick with a K]

hmm maybe I'll give it another try, thanks tom. I've used pink and bright yellow, as well as the penny colored 3" shrimp and have never gotten anything off em. Also, downgraded the boat to a carolina skiff. Will post pics in 2 weeks once its finally in the water!

+1 on the white. I only use pink or chart in stained water if the whites not working. The other advantage with using jigs, is that you have far less gut hooked fish.If you want to hedge your bets, try swapping out the weight on your killie rig for a bucktail.

[flyers1kak]

went out with dan again, didn't disappoint! learned some new fluke tactics i'm pumped to try once the boat is finally in the water
video

[Doc Watson]

Nice mixed bag Flyers !!

[dano]

nice. gotta get me one of those go pros. looks like you got a good sample of south jersey summertime back bay fishin.

i fished the incoming tides on saturday and sunday, for fluke. our results were not what we wanted but it was still a good time. a bunch of shorts and just 4 keepers each day, between 2 anglers. plus a few cocktail blue fish (good eats). had to work for them between the holiday boat traffic and dirty water.

[Nick with a K]

I went down yesterday early afternoon, looking to find some bayside fluke on bucktails. The area I fished was a thin peninsula that stuck out about a 1/2 mile, not too far from the inlet. The water was gin clear. It was about 75 degrees, with a slight breeze, and the water felt great as I waded in. I couldn't have asked for a better day. I was also greeted by several horse shoe crabs in the shallows along the beach, along with several mating pairs. Unfortunately, there was a ton of snot grass in the water, and my bucktails were pretty much rendered useless, getting fouled with seaweed on every cast.
I switched over to a carolina riggged white gulp swimming mullet, and on my first cast brought back half a gulp swimming mullet. As the outgoing tide started to pick up the snapper bite picked up as well. I decided to stop wasting wasting baits tied on a small Kastmaster. As I was tying up I noticed a school of baitfish had gathered between me and the beach. I'm not sure if they were there to feed on horseshoe crab eggs or if they were seeking safety in the shallows. After a few minutes I started to notice fish streaking past me, on all sides. A school of maruading snapper blues was attacking the baitfish with abandon. I buried my toes in the sand (I didnt want to them to be mistaken for bait) and watched the onslaught for a few minutes, before casting my spoon up on to the beach and retrieving it through the school of bait. Almost every cast was a fish.
I played with the snappers for about a half hour before the birds spotted the, and started diving. I had had my fun, and didn't feel like getting sh@t on, so I moved down the beach, and just watched for about 15 more minutes, and as quickly as it started, it stopped. It was a pretty cool thing to have had a chance to see.

[GC]

Thanks for the report Nick. Definitely a thrill to be an eyewitness to the natural events that are going on around us all the time. We just need to be out there to experience them. Very cool.

[dano]

a few reports...

last weekend, I took Blaise and Ryan (my nephews) fishing for fluke. It was by far the slowest day of the season, but we still had fun. We caught about 10 fluke, only 2 keepers. We also caught some weakfish up to 18". We had a couple quality weakies hooked but came unbuttoned before we could boat em. Blaise caught his 1st and 2nd weakie ever, AT THE SAME TIME, one on the jig, one on the teaser. Blaise also hooked a mammoth southern ray that was just too much for any of us. We each fought it for a little while, it was towing the boat around, and we finally broke it off trying to muscle it. there was no chance at this fish with light tackle unless we wanted to stay on it for 2 or more hours!

this weekend, I had much better results. 2 anglers on saturday and we got a limit of keepers (10) to 22" and a bunch of shorts. Sunday had 3 anglers and we got another limit of keepers (15) to 24". i found them closer to their summer routines. and they are feeding on BIG bait! that was the key. BIG bait!

pulling the boat this week to head to Canada for vacation in the end of June. Hoping to get back to Wildwood in mid July to find the fluke full swing into their summertime patterns.

fishing is off the hook down the shore right now. seeing lots of crews at the dock with successful outings. tunas, tile fish, cod, makos, a 550 lbs thresher, stripers, drum, sea bass, you name it!!

[GC]

Thanks for the report Dano. Glad to hear you are getting your limit of keepers. When you say BIG baits, what size is BIG?

Also, I remember you mentioning on a previous thread, that you trim your bucktails right out of the box. How much do you trim off the bucktail?

I am almost over last summers traumatic skunking on my first fluke outing when I got outfished by EVERYONE on the boat. I may try again. I remember Doc suggesting I may want to change my deodorant. What brand do you recommend Doc?

[ILoveFishing]

Nice work, cant wait for vacation in july. Fluke from dawn till late afternoon, prime untouched golf course largemouth at sunset, and schoolies in the backbays at night with a few sharking attempts mixed in.

[Doc Watson]

Thanks for the report Dano. Glad to hear you are getting your limit of keepers. When you say BIG baits, what size is BIG?

Also, I remember you mentioning on a previous thread, that you trim your bucktails right out of the box. How much do you trim off the bucktail?

I am almost over last summers traumatic skunking on my first fluke outing when I got outfished by EVERYONE on the boat. I may try again. I remember Doc suggesting I may want to change my deodorant. What brand do you recommend Doc?

This one George...

Attached Files

•  Art_Paul_Schlosser_-_Dead_Fish_Deodorant1.mp3   177.66K   32 downloads

[GC]

This one George...

It just might work... at the very least it will provide me with some elbow room along the rail. Thanks Doc!

My wife and daughters would probably say I really don't need it... A ride in my van after a carping expedition provides me with quite a pleasant aroma.

[flyers1kak]

It just might work... at the very least it will provide me with some elbow room along the rail. Thanks Doc!

My wife and daughters would probably say I really don't need it... A ride in my van after a carping expedition provides me with quite a pleasant aroma.

thanks for the tips guys, been doin alright down the shore lately. anyone have any recommendations for backbay spinning gear? i need something that I'll be mainly using for striper fishing using mostly topwaters and swimbaits. I heard the shimano ci4 3000 and 4000 are nice reels, paired up with a st croix premier rod maybe 6 and a half ft. o, and here's the new ride

[GC]

Very nice new ride! Good luck and have a blast.