June Reports

Capt. Dave's June Fishing Reports Archives

2000

June 26, 1 am. Another weekend has come and gone and from reports and the activity at the cleaning table it was a great one as far as the fishing went. I've got another bad case of the crabs so they got me up in the middle of the night again, at least there were plenty over the weekend to catch piles of weakfish and we look like we should be fully stocked with shedder crabs thru the 4th of July weekend. Minnows have also increased in size as the water has warmed and the constant line of customers had me going thru gallons. I have kept up well and should have some really nice sized ones for the rest of the summer so get ready to get the flounders. As far as flounders go I feel they took the control of the bay this weekend from the weakfish, but that may be somewhat that the weakfish do not put up with the incredible amount of boat traffic that was around this weekend. To prove it Freddy Green brought in a ten and one half pounder this afternoon and I"ll put up his picture now and leave you to read some e_mail reports> PLEASE SNED MORE

From: "BRUCE WISE" <CEDARSMOKE@worldnet.att.net>
To: <reports@abseconbay.com>
Subject: Fishing Report
Date: Saturday, June 24, 2000 9:52 PM

June 24: This is Bruce Wise and David Wise reporting. We were out at the
crack of dawn. We spent a few hours this morning out in the inland water
way, and ended up with 3 really nice flounder. We were using squid and
minnows on some of our home made rigs. The only bad part about this morning
was that there was not much of a breeze so the knatts were heavy. Take this
advise bring a can of good bug spray ,you will need it. On thursday we were
also out there. We stayed in the mouth of the Mullica to catch some of them
big weakies that are there. I, David, lost about a 5 to 6 pound flounder
and boated a 22 incher. My dad had a 21 inch flounder and 2 nice size
keeper weakies. You just have to catch the tides right and fish really
hard, because they are there.
Signing off,
David and Bruce Wise

From: "Lacey, Shane" <SLacey@FLEETCC.COM>
To: <david@abseconbay.com>
Subject: location
Date: Wednesday, June 21, 2000 11:27 AM

Hi Dave, First I want to commend you for your awesome fishing page, I read
it daily to keep up with the action down there. I fish out of Brigantine
with my Dad and two brothers from a Pursuit center console. I was wondering
if you could give me directions from Delilah Rd as I would really like to
stop in your store. I haven't really been able to get out that much this
year but the two times that I did I got some really nice tiderunners up to
6.5lbs and some tailor blues, but no keeper fluke. I'd like to chat with
you because I'm sure that you could offer a few good spots back in Absecon.
I have never really been back that far, I usually head north to grassy
channel and the stakes by the Mystics but would like to check out Broad
Creek and the rest of the spots in Absecon. Thanks Dave I would appreciate
it. I'm going out of Brielle for Mako on the 30th
so wish me luck and I look forward to hearing from you.
Shane P Lacey
From: "Tom W" <Absecon1@dandy.net>
To: <reports@abseconbay.com>
Subject: Fishin!!
Date: Sunday, June 25, 2000 11:32 AM

Just a little fishin report from yesterday... I hit the flounder spot with 1/2 hr tide running out to go..

The old timer was there, he hooked a fighter at the same time I hooked 1 fat 16 flatty...I rebaited and caught a short while he was still toying with...a sting ray the size of a trash can lid...tide changed, I ran around for 3 hrs, didn't catch anything else

just b4 dinner I ran out ,hit all the usual spots..hi/lo. minnow/minnow ,squid....worked my way back in to the cans..got a few good tugs...checked bait , and threw back over the same area...hit hit..bang...A dancer !

A good long minute went by, My Imagination was running rampant...It's comin up...It's a 24 " weaky ??? all that fight was a...

wait..my lines still dancing under the boat...A 27" weakfish ...2 fish , 51 inches of weak , 9 1/4 lbs... I sat down in the boat ,

looked at those fish, and thanked God I got 2 arms...TDB

From: "thomas caterina" <mvptomcat@dellnet.com>
To: <reports@abseconbay.com>
Subject: Throwing back keepers
Date: Wednesday, June 21, 2000 5:06 PM

Name: Thomas Caterina
Date: June 20, 2000
Where Fished: Lakes Bay
Weather: Sunny
Wind: less than 10 kts.
Sea Conditions: less than 2 ft.
Report: Fished "Lakes Bay" and "Risley Channel" a couple hours before & after high tide. Conditions were perfect and the fishing was hot! Caught my limit of 8 fish before noon. Found myself throwing back keepers before the day was over {that was a first}. Fished with a 4" plastic bait tipped with a squid trailer.

June 23, 1 am. I just got off the couch and ran a quick run thru the crab tanks which are pretty full so there are plenty of shedders and hopefully they will start busting out to softshells for the weekend. I'm half awake so I figured I better get a pre weekend report out. Today was beautiful and the fishing is great to go along with it. In the Absecon area the hot spot is around the 175 marker in the middle of Reeds Bay. Weakfish and big flounder are being caught with the best time the first couple hours of the going out. Don't hesitate to give it a try even though you will have lots of company. From customers reports, in the Mullica River Deep Point is holding big weakfish and to catch them get on the hook and fish a small read and white bucktail and keep a very slow jigging action to feel the soft bites. The report has it they are lazy biters so you have to keep on your toes. There are still lots of bass in the surf on Brigantine Island so don't give up on them yet. I had a report of a solid run of Kingfish on the Ventnor pier, but another worm dunker said that they were running a little on the small side. Fluke are just about everywhere , but keep moving until you findthe big ones. Some spots are loaded with shorts and some are heavy hitters. Just get out there and find the zone where the fish are biting.

The store is loaded for the weekend so stop by stock up on all your bait and tackle needs and My staff and myself will mske sure you get the best up to date information avaliable.

June 21, 5 am. I can't believe five dayshave pasted since I last got out a report. The fishing is here and I feel like I am the only one who isn't getting a chance to take advantage of it. The last shed ended up at the full moon and keeping a supply in stock had me really wired this weekend.I ended up selling off my biggest shedders which should have all shed out to whale softshells for bait. I hated to do it with the strong softshell market, but after all i call myself a "Master Baiter" so the bait takes the priority. So if you bought crabs Saturday or Sunday that was the reason for the price increase. Actually I started dividing my shedders into two sizes last year along with that are two prices. "Prime Shedders" are from legal 3" to 3 1/2" across the body. When these crabs are prevailant I will try to keep the price at $1.50 per Crab. "Jumbo Shedders " are from 3 1/2" to 4" and will be $2.00 per crab. When I am forced to sell the very biggest crabs "Whales" over 4" I will be charging $2.50 per crab. These sizes corespond almost exactly to the sizes the crabs will shed out to as softshells. The market value and demand for softshell crabs keeps going up which is why I must keep the price of shedders so high and why shedders are so hard to find at most tackle shops. Actually the majority of shedder crabs are immediately shipped to Maryland, Virgina and N. Carolina to be put into their shedder tanks and they never get a chance to be sold locally for bait. Anyway, the crabbers havebegun to catch a good number of shedder crabs and though all my tanks aren't full I have a good supply and they will be readily available for the weekend and with luck I should have a good supply of fresh softshell crabs available. Remember I always have frozen softshells here for the times you want a great meal and the cragbs are not cooperating.

Why the crabs, well if you want t catch weakfish in numbers and take advantage of the incredible run presently in the bay you need shedder. Sure you can finesse a few with plastics ro even luck into a few with a top and bottom rig with squid and minnow, but believe me it is mostly luck. Even the present hot lure, the green shad bass assassin with paddle tail works better with a knuckle of shedder crab. I personally have much better luck with flounder on the crabs than the minnows anyway. Speaking of minnows the water hjas finally warmed up and I havemuch better size minnows in my tanks. Some of my regular customers who never go anywhere else for bait were complaining about the size about two weeks ago, but if you do travel around you will remember that a majority of thebaitshops in the state had signs out"NO MINNOWS" I don't let that happen as I catch them myself or get my son to do it who is becomming quite a bayman in his own right. For now the sun is comming up and it is time to get back to work and check the crabs.

June 17, 1 pm. The fishing is great, but it sure is running me ragged. Especially since one of my right hand men Jonas Haws spent the last two weeks studying and successfully completing a course to recieve his Coast Guard captain's lisence. He has been one of the top fishermen out of the Absecon Creek especially for back bay striped bass and nighttime fishing in general. He is gearing up to be the best equipted back bay guide and is in the process of buying an 18' Maritime Skiff as soon as he sells his 17' Boston Whaler which is set up for striper fishing with a 115 evinrude and 24 volt Great White Riptide trolling motor on the front. e-mail me or call 609-484-0409 for more information on this boat. when he gets his paperwork done and new boat in hand he will be available for booking here at www.abseconbay.com.

Fishing wise, it's hard to imagine how it could get much better. Whatever your choice of fish, weakfish, fluke or striped bass, they have been showing up in force in the back bays. The stripers are turning into a night time adventure if you really want to get serious. Eels are catching plenty in the night time rips, but the real fun is throwing plugs and poppers along the sod banks. It is unlikely that you will experience a blitz like Frank Bruce and partner did in Crosstides at dusk on Tuesday evening with a total of 12 bass aqnd four to take home, but if you sneak quietly and cast to every steep cut bank you will be rewarded with plenty of crashing strikes to break up thedarkness of the night. But if you do see bird activity don't asume they are snapper blues, because there are prowing schools of stripers with wide shoulders which will do their best to stretch your line and straighten your hooks.

Weakfish are staying big and getting more confusing as time goes on. There is at least one school along the inland waterway which will even turn up their noses at shedder crab, but go nuts for green shad bass assassins. At least that is what happened on the last two mornings. Tin Boat John had them yesterday and Bill Lake followed his example and loaded up with slugs this morning. Anyone fishing for weakfish is catching fish in the six pound range. James who can be found frequently floating around broad creek in his 17' Aquasport had 12 tiderunners to himself wednesday with five topping six pounds. He is a die hard shedder fisherman and has found floating soft heads the best way to present it.

Fluke continues to improve, but the very best catches are comming at all the ends of the channels atthe edge of the shallow water. Any of the Branches off broad creek where they flow into Reeds bay are super hot and Joe Albin from Sayerville and the North Jersey Commie crew have been limiting out on fat fluke from the shallows the last three days. I even got into the act on Wednesday and took my charter to all the spots. The wind was northeast and the tide was low, but we brought home about 10 nice fluke from 2 to 5 lb and threre fat weakfish. They all wanted shedder and a very small piece on a fin-sor assassin seemed to be the best. I believe I have my labor situation more in order, and al.so am severely lacking shedder crabs until I can GET SOME FROM Delaware bay which hopefully will be this afternoon, or tomorrowe at latested. Anyway, keep droping in and I will do my best to keep the reports current.

From: "thomas caterina" <mvptomcat@dellnet.com>
To: <reports@abseconbay.com>
Subject: Harrahs Dock
Date: Wednesday, June 14, 2000 11:34 AM

Name: Thomas Caterina
Date: June 14, 2000
Where Fished: Brigantine
Weather: Rain
Wind: 10-20 kts.
Sea Conditions: less than 2 ft.
Report: Fished by boat in front of "Harrahs Dock" with some fresh shedder crab. Caught 4 weakfish weighing 2 to 3 lbs each. Also caught a couple of throw back flatties. Only fished a couple of hours due to the inclimate weather. Tight lines everyone . . .

From: "Ralph Simone" <si369@bellatlantic.net>
To: <dave@abseconbay.com>
Subject: tournament
Date: Wednesday, June 14, 2000 10:04 PM

The Atco Hookers Fishing Club is sponsoring a Fluke tournament at Great
Bay Marina, Saturday July 22nd. Entry fee is $60 per boat, 4 anglers per
boat. Top prize of $1000, based on 60 boats being entered. Call Ralph
609-561-7840 or the marina for more info..

June 12, 7 pm. Fluke and Weakfish, big fish and lots of them. Great summer fishing is here and we still have a week or so until the actual date arrives. It was a very buzy weekend, and the new ramp was put to a good test. there are some engineering problems I have been hearing about, but it is a 1,000% improvement over the old one so don't be afraid to try it at any tide. The best news is that everyone who tried caught fish, and I never saw so many weakfish from 5 to 8 pounds and fluke in the same size range. The shedder crab has accounted for the vast majority of the weakfish and a lot of the fluke. I really don't have any specific spots that are hot, you just have to fish hard. Don't forget that the stripers are biting extremely well on the sod banks and at the bridges. I also have had reportsof almost constant striper bite on the beaches, especially the north end of Brigantine. For now I am exausted and hope to get much more detailed and consistant real soon. I have some pictures of some great catches by some lucky youngsters I want to post.

From: "thomas caterina" <mvptomcat@dellnet.com>
To: <reports@abseconbay.com>
Subject: Fished Lakes Bay
Date: Friday, June 09, 2000 7:33 PM

Name: Thomas Caterina
Vessel: The Keeper
Date: June 9, 2000
Where Fished: Lakes Bay
Weather: Sunny
Wind: 10-20 kts.
Sea Conditions: less than 2 ft.
Report: Fished with Capt. John Herron aboard "The "Keeper" on the afternoon trip. The action was steady with quite a few nice fish being caught. I boated my personal best, a 5.36 lb flounder using a 4" plastic bait with a strip of squid trailer. Tight lines everyone . . .

CRABS,CRABS,CRABS,CRABS,CRABS,CRABS,CRABS,CRABS,CRABS, CRABS CRABS

June 8, 6 pm, I started writing the June 3rd report during one of the few times I didn't have my hands in the crab tanks, but I fell asleep at the first line. Now I have the crabs semi - under control, but I must make this short so I can make another round of the tanks.

The Big news is that the Absecon Municipal ramp is finished and now we have one of the finest facilities in the state on Absecon Creek. So if you are a trailer boat fisherman drive on in and give the ramp a try. When you do please be sure to stop by the store and see the selection of bait and tackle we have ar reasonable prices. Until then take a look at the ramp with these pictures to find us and the ramp check out this map.

Fish wise whenever the wind stops it is really turning on. The shed is comming to an end, so I am forced to raise the price of shedder crabs, but they wil;l be worth it as the weakfish have a taste for crab, and the natural supply is running out. Today I saw lots of good sized fish on the cleaning table and the fluke are just the same. AS I slowly get my mind back I promise to get back to the daily reports and pictures. I do have an assortment of good fish pictures that I got during the "CRAB WEEK". I hope to get a softshell crab page together real soon.
CRABS,CRABS,CRABS,CRABS,CRABS,CRABS,CRABS,CRABS,CRABS, CRABS CRABS

June 3, The fishing is here, but as you can see I definately have a case of the crabs.

May 29, CRABS,CRABS,CRABS,CRABS,CRABS,CRABS,CRABS,CRABS, That is about how crabby I feel and the shed has only just begun. Getting all my tanks set up has already taken a toll on my sanity and has kept me away from the computer as I had predicted. However I seem to be winning the battle and have all my tanks running and if a couple more crabbers can fight this wind this afternoon on the tide I will just about have them filled with shedders. That will be about 15,000 crabs which is a lot of crabs to watch and pack out when they shed. They have Started to shed out very well and I now have plenty of Jumbo and prime softshell crabs available. If you want the best softshells fresher by days give me a call and I will give you current prices. As soon as the market stabilizes I will post current prices on my home page
Back top fishing when the wind has stopped it has been great I got my first day for weakfish last friday making another episode of FISHING THE EAST with Bo Higbee and in reality we were blownb out, but we did manage to get ahold of a few nice flounder and I caught a weakfish so we will have a new show on the air June 6. I've seen a lot of fish a whole lot better than mine comming in over the Memorial day weekend, even with the windy wet weather weve been having. The BIG stripers are here if you want to catch a cow you better get around the inlets ans beachfront to find them. Jonas Haws and Bob Scull are a couple of the anglers fishing structure after dark to fight the big ones. I have a couple pictures on the catch of the day page so give them a look. Big weakfish are also eating the shedder crabs I've beeen seeing them over 6 pounds every day and a couple 8 1/2 pounders showed upnwhich is a good fish anywhere. Tog are still hiding under the Brigantine Bridge and I will have Green Crabs and Fiddlers until the 1st when they go back to a one fish limit when I will release my bait back into the wild. Harry Rabbiger and Paul Steelman have been throwing poppers into theback waters to fool bass and get loads of action on bluefish in the three pound class. Lots of big fluke have been showing up, even if I didn't catch them friday. My neighbor Jim Winks had a 6 1/2 pounder backed up with a couple four pounders yesterday and on Saturday little Raymond Slemmer Jr. had a six and1/2 pounder himself that really looked big along him. Now its time to go back to the CRABS,CRABS,CRABS.