Capt. Gary's Fishing Report

Hello and Welcome

I like to welcome everyone to our column. I find myself trying to arrive at the reality of our weather. I can’t decide if my memory is poor, or the weather channel needs to hype the threats of mother nature for a ratings boost. It seems today’s weather is more unpredictable. I recently heard a weather forecast which included a range of sunshine, severe thunderstorms, rain, hail, and a chance of a twister. The day actually was quite beautiful and without incident.

As I write this article in late June the drum fish have shut their mouths and sort of disappeared. The flounder are still spotty with our trips mainly wreck fishing for the more cooperative sea bass. The sea bass have been fairly consistent on most days. I believe the water temperature has been lagging behind the norm. We still are catching tog in late June. The surf has been really the bright spot since early spring. Striped bass seem to have hung around in the beachfront surf for quite some time. Back water flounder fishing has been inconsistent as well. Warmer water should increase the presence of more flounder, bluefish, and weakfish. The clock is running out on the drums as the full moon at the end of the month should have them schooled up and ready to depart. Kingfish in the surf have been caught by the avid surf guys. Warm weather and prevailing season winds should push the temperature of the water up, where it should be at this time of year.

The off shore sport fishing crowd has had to be happy with fighting off bluefish 30 miles off the beach while trying to catch sharks. Some nice mako sharks have been boated. Threshers have been close to the beach. A few blue fin tuna have been caught but the main vein of fish is still down range around the Washington Canyon. The tips of the Baltimore and Wilmington canyons should light up any day now. The off shore water temperature seems more to its normal range. I am sure the mosquito fleet (smaller boats) hope for an inshore appearance of blue fin tuna.

July brings forth the whole array of species to our area. The upper Delaware Bay should get a good flounder bite with small bluefish and weakfish adding to the catch. The offshore reefs should see more flounder to compliment the sea bass. August hopefully adds croakers to the mix as well. Some more exotic species like triggerfish complete the smorgasbord.

I would be remiss to not mention the Gulf situation. My heart goes out to the many businesses who will be crushed by this situation. As a business in a seasonal resort I understand the consequences. The impact on the marine life and wetlands will take years to return to normal. Emergency planning without proper resources to carry out the plan is nothing more than wishful thinking. It would be gracious to even give BP’s emergency plans that high of a rating. I believe the Federal government response to the clean up of this oil has been extremely ineffective to say the least. I hope and pray that a miracle will rectify this calamity. We should all appreciate our blessings and the fragility to our resources in Cape May County. Take the time to join us on the Adventurer and enjoy our summer season.

Captain Gary Sloan,
The Adventurer, Wildwood, NJ