Need some fluking help.

[shkbilly]

My grandfather, father and I used to fish the Raritan Bay for fluke only. Now that he has a house in Silverton, we keep the boat there and are trailering, just the 2 of us. However we are a bit clueless to say the least in the spots down here. I've been doing my best to research some but to no avail, so this is my request for some help.

We aren't professional fisherman either, so some things that may come naturlly to some of you, may not come at all to us. We were out yesterday in Upper Barnegat. We tried the mouth of the canal across the channel there, north and south of the Mantoloking bridge, near the Metedeconk, and found nothing. Is it the wrong time of year?

We were thinking of launching in the Manasquan next and trying there. The other issue is, being novices, the canal and the ocean have yet to have been conquered. We have enough boat I think, just not the experience. Its a 20ft Grady White w/ a 150 horse Mercury.

I have read about some spots in the Manasquan and they seem to make sense on a chart, but I'm still not confident. If someone could give us some tips on how to plan our days down here and where to find at least some fish, we would be very grateful. Thanks.

[Luna Sea 5]

i am not familiar with the area, but.. close to the inlet or beach front, in channels or wrecks will always score.  If your too far up in the bay, your chances of catching larger fish will be less.  Drifting along the beaches are usually good this time of year.  The fluke will start to migrate into the ocean soon. Fluke are all over, but scoring keeps will be the difficult part. 

[rossg]

The secret to getting keeper fluke is working a bucktail 4-6 ounces with a teaser one foot above.
I no longer drag bait and only fish this rig.A white bucktail(spro) and a half ounce spro or teaser above
Squid strip on both hooks and just keep jigging
I have a 6lber and 8lber in the last two weeks fishing this rig
The best fluking is coming up get your jigs going
Ross
The Lady J
Belmar

[Hotrod]

This is a GREAT Topic Billy.   Afew Must haves IMO

A chart.. Inside and outside, Learn your channels before navigating them.
A GPS to run trails in the channels to keep you in tune of where your next set of buoys will be.
A Gps to Log your drifts.  If you hit Fish. and the bite falls .  re-drift the same location.

Looks like this is the chart you want for outside.  It will show you structure and give you GPS #'s to the reefs.
http://www.homeportcharts.com/chartinfo.php?id=chart16

Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

Sea Tow or boat US.  best 125$ Piece of Mind you will ever spend.

I know there are a couple Reefs right inshore there.  off hand I don't know what they are..  Many do and I'm sure they'll chime in.

Welcome to the Site.

Rod

[ped579]

Welcome Aboard shkbilly,

I can understand your feelings about the canal it can be intimidating but not impossible.  The trick I learned the hard way is that the best place to be in the canal is close to the bulkheads.  Thew water seems to run less hard there.

But if you are running out of Silverton why not try some good spots in the bay like Good Luck Point at the southern point where the Toms River meet the bay.  That area has always produced good fish.  Plus the hole in the wall both sides.  It is the small bridge that connects Pelican Island with Seaside Heights.

Hope this helps and the advice above is all good.

Happy Catching

Paul

[wb]

Welcome. 20 Grady plenty of boat for canal and nearshore ocean. In the canal if the tide is ripping and the boat traffic excruciating you will need to be a little faster than "NO WAKE" to keep steering but everyone else will be doing the same thing. Keep an eye to the sky and an ear on the weather radio.

All of the tips posted by others above will work given the right conditions. What worked today may not tomorrow. Seek out lumps and holes that may hold bait and flatfish. Experiment and HAVE FUN.  I try a bunch of rigs from hi-los to spros to fishfinders even some nice honking striper bunker rigs have caught fluke--dragging all kinds of bait both real and artificial. Don't get discouraged if there are less than stellar days; there always are. Believe me I know.... 

[Hotrod]

Nice Post Wb

[shkbilly]

Thanks guys, this is just what I was looking for. We'd like to be able to fish as many spots as we can learn about. My father took a run past the canal today and said it was calm with no traffic. So thats next hurdle.

Ped, you mentioned Good Luck Pointe, that makes sense but the hole in the wall on both sides? Can you be a little more specific? Like I said, very much a novice here.

Hotrod, the electronics are a little on the weak side. The fishfinder is on its way, as for now all we have is a 197* Lowrance Depthfinder and our handheld VHF! Seatow is on the list as well, we just got started this season and its almost over. We're hoping to at least learn the bay and the river as much as we can in the short time we have so well be prepared for next year.

Thanks again guys, anymore spots I can check out in Upper Barnegat, Manasquan, or just outside the inlet?

[ped579]

Hi shkbilly,

The hole in the wall refers to the small underpass between Pelican Island and Seaside Park.  If you look at a map or chart look for Rt 37 and follow it to where it meets the barrier island.

The best thing would be to go to Google Maps and type in Pelican Island, NJ make sure it is on satellite view.  You will see a small bridge between the island and Seaside the water is deeper there and you never know what you will pick up there.

Make sure you fish the edges...

Happy Carching

Paul

[shkbilly]

With some help and a blessing from you guys on here, we made some big steps this wknd.

Thurs we launched in Mantoloking and hauled ass up the canal. Very little traffic and a light current. Not a problem. Fished the 6/7 and Clarks Landing. Took in 4 kingfish and 2 fluke. So there are fish in these water as well!

Then we moved towards the inlet near Gull Island and fished the chennel there but with heavier boat traffic we moved back to the original location. Though the inlet did look tempting...

Came back and nabbed 2 more fluke and called it a day.

Today we launched again in Mantoloking and hauled ass up the canal once more having lost the fear we had previously. Fished the same spots and caught mostly shorts. Decided it was time to hit the ocean.

So we aimed for the inlet and got stock between 2 30 somehting footers moving slower than I would have liked. We got knocked around some but I kept the RPMs cranking and pushed on. Just as we were escaping the inlet, we caught a nice 8 foot wave and went just about straight up, and then straight down. The boat didnt even flinch.

Fished just outside the inlet and managed 1 keeper. After some more drifts we decided to go back inshore and didnt have much doing so we headed home. Not many fish today, but big steps for us and the boat.

All in all a very good weekend. Thanks guys!

[IrishAyes]

Good job on the catch and your new area adventures. Stay safe. 

[Hotrod]

Great Job!.  remember.  no need to speed thru the inlet.  take it as you can working the waves as needed  

[Pfishingruven]

Great post!!  The more you go out, the more you will get familiar and feel more comfortable out there!!

 

[captainbailey]

Sea Tow or boat US.  best 125$ Piece of Mind you will ever spend.

I agree. My father needed a new power-head two years ago while in the marina. Got someone to tow the boat about 100 yards out and called seatow to tow him to the dealer 10 miles away. 

[shkbilly]

Is there a preffered way to navigate larger chop? My best knowledge tells me to hit the wave dead on and climb it, then cut the throttle so as not to fly off the top. Seemed to work OK on Monday, but maybe I just got lucky?

Also, on my NOAA chart, is the Sea Girt Reef the "fish area" that is marked? I was told 3-4 miles at 90* from the inlet and that seems like it.

I'm going to look into the Home Port charts that you mentioned Hotrod seeing as out NOAA charts are in need of an update. Do they list the fishing spots using their nicknames on the cahrts? Half the battle is figuring out what you guys call these spots!

[captainbailey]

I was always told to take on-coming seas at a slight diagonal. It's cool to see porpoises when out at sea, but not when its your bow