I had time for a quick boat ride today. I stopped at a flounder spot in the back bay for a minute and I `caught one keeper flounder. The water temperature has 74.5. The water was super clean. I am planning on spending more time fishing tomorrow. I should have more of a report.
Tag: NJ Saltwater fishing
6-27-09 Kensdock fishing report 7:00pm
Beautiful day on the water no bugs, not to hot and very light boat traffic in the area I was fishing. I did encounter a conservation officer patrolling the area in a boat for the first time. I have been fishing and duck hunting the area my entire life. We have all seen the guy that keeps all the flounder he catches regardless of size and bag limit. That person was not fishing in this area today. There was just a few boats and everybody was law abiding.I have a couple of reports, Ed T caught two keeper flounder Dr.Gary had two also, they fished from 5:30 am to 9:30 am. I fished from 11:30 am to 2:30 pm I caught 3 keeper flounder.The time of year when limits of flounder can be caught in the back bay in a few hours is now past.If you are looking for your limit of keeper flounder it is now time to head for the old grounds or any offshore structure. Myself, when I head offshore it is for big game.I will continue to poke around the back bay for flounder all season. The water temperature was 70 degrees on the top of the tide. The water was very clean.Cape May Ray is concerned about the lack of bait fish and oyster crackers in Cape May co.. Ray, I have not seen any bait fish in my area. The minnows are usually here by March. This is the first year in a life time, that the minnows are completely absent from my area. The oyster crackers aka Tot fish are being sold to the Asian market. This has been going on for a few years. The poaching is the problem. If you have the fish they have the cash! This is one reason we need a NJ salt water license! NO license no money.No money no studies and not enough law enforcement to make a difference. How much pressure can minnows and crabs take before the population drops out. Anybody can buy a commercial bait license.WE have minnow pots in every creek in the State. We have crab pots every so many feet in the back bay in the spring. Is this the problem? Ray thinks that heavy malathion spraying for mosquitoes is killing our back bays from the bottom up. NJ is one of the few States that it is legal to use this pestiside. I sure hope he is wrong. I sure enjoy life without mosquitoes. We will never know what the problem is without the money from a NJ salt water license!! Please do not misconstrue, NJ conservation officers do an outstanding job !, the problem is they are way under staffed. 
I just got a report of keeper stripers floating on top of the water in the back bay of Stone Harbor.One was dead and the other was alive, it was brown on one side and very lethargic. It had just enough energy to stay under water. I hope this is not related to the bait problem. Note:
Cape May Ray is a fishing guide that is passionate about fishing and the marine envirorment. He also catches fish.
609-884-6440
Tiderun1@aol.com
6-26-09 Kensdock fishing report 7:00pm
I left my dock at 11:30 am today to flounder fish for a couple of hours. The bite was slow but I did manage to catch four keeper flounder, Ed T and Harold caught 4 keepers, Cj had 5 keepers yesterday and one today. Wally Bachman had seven keepers yesterday. I was glad I was not fishing a tournament today as I dropped my biggest flounder over board as I was measuring it.
The hooked up II was south of the Poorman’s yesterday and found the yellowfin bite red hot. They had over 50 tuna hit their spread.
6-25-09 Kensdock fishing report
morningThe yellowfin tuna bite turned on yesterday the 51′ pez machine sportfisher boated over 40 yellowfin and dolphin to ten pounds. They were fishing the lindinkohl. They were the only boat in the area. This is the kind of situation tuna fishermen wait for!
When I woke up this morning I was tripping over myself as I was in a rush to hit my flounder spots. The spots I had time to fish did not hold any flounder at all! The water in the area I was fishing was way to fresh, due to all the rain. I ran to a spot in the inlet that I was sure would at lest hold a few keepers. The wind and surf made it impossible to fish this spot. Tomorrow I will try the incoming tide closer to the inlet.The water tempreature was 70 degrees.
6-24-09 Kensdock fishing report
The flounder bite has been slow behind Avalon and Stone Harbor the last couple of days. I have not been out in a couple of days. I am sure there is still some nice keeper flounder to be caught in the back bay.At last report Dr. Gary had 2 keepers on the morning tide and 2 on the evening tide. Everyone else had only short flounder. If you have been fishing the ocean structure and not catching big flounder you need to reassess your rigs,bait and the time of the tide you are fishing.I can tell you that the 7 pound class flounder bite is on in this area. Reef 11 has been producing.If you know of any unmarked structure just off the beach that would be a good bet for filing the cooler with big fluke. The water temperature at my dock is 70 degrees and it is over cast and raining.
After a poor showing of mako sharks at the scales of the South jersey Shark tournament and other major tournaments along the east coast there has been much discussion of increasing the size limit on mako sharks. Many Captains are calling on a complete closure for a couple of years. I think the idea of one Mako shark per boat recreational and commercial per year is the best option.
6:00 pm update:
I just talked to a few fishermen that flounder fished today. The ocean structure and the back bay produced keeper flounder today with the ocean holding the bigger fish. Everybody I spoke with had at lest 2 keepers today.
6-22-09 Kensdock fishing report
I was standing on my dock today about 11:00 AM, I decided to take boat ride to see how the water looked. It was dirty but not as bad as yesterday and a lot cleaner than I expected.I had 10 minutes to fish. I caught two keeper flounder. A good sign considering the water condition. The water temperature was 67.3.
6-21-09 Jim’s Bait and tackle Mako tournament
Congratulations to the winners of Jim’s Bait and Tackle Mako Tournament! The crew on the Lora Mae had the heaviest Mako 165.5 pounds. The crew on the Warden Pass was second with a 162 pound Mako. Miss Edna Jane crew was third with a 160 pound Mako. If you weighed a shark in at Jim’s Bait and Tackle during the tournament let me know.,
If you are thinking of flounder fishing tomorrow forget it. The water is very dirty and the flounder are not feeding! It is going to take a week of no rain to clear the water up in the back bay.The water temperature was 67 degrees today.
6-20-09 12:10 am Kensdock fishing report
We flounder fished the first hour of the out going tide today. I headed to a spot behind wildwood that has produced some nice fish in the past. We only caught two keepers in this area. It is approaching the time of year that it becomes harder to catch keeper flounder in the back bay. Most years the flounder bite is over by July 15 in the back bay. I have caught limits of flounder in the back bay in August but it takes a lot of time and luck. I have boated more keeper flounder already this year {79}, than I did the entire season last year { 68 } .
6-16-09 11:00 pm Kensdock fishing report
Today it felt like late October not June! I had a long john short on with long pants, I was chilly the entire time I was fishing. We did have an excellent 2 hours of flounder fishing in the back bay. It is imperative that we back troll in the area we fished today, not usually a problem but with 20 knot NE wind it made for a wet fishing trip. I figured it would be wet, I also was confident that the flounder would be stacked up in this small area under these conditions. We boated ten keeper flounder and left before the bite ended! Weakfish? Tex caught a ten pound weakfish in the back bay recently. If you are willing to put the time in it is still possible” to catch a weakfish in Cape May co.. The ASMFC will meet in August to review the weakfish management plan. If, they choose to close commercial and recreational fishing for weakfish for just a short time, I am confident that the weakfish population will improve. I can also assure you that if they choose not to close the weakfish harvest we will see the weakfish on the endangered species list.
6-15-09 Kensdock fishing report 11:00 pm
Flounder fishing in the back bay was on tap today. We fished about two hours today. We did more hunting than fishing today as I was looking for a new hot spot. The new flounder hot spot was not located. I did manage to catch four keeper flounder more than enough for Elise’s fish tacos. Dr. Gary caught two keeper flounder today. George S.had two keepers in his boat today.To reiterate from yesterday,the offshore flounder sharpes are catching limits of 7 pound class flounder! Mike C. and crew were offshore sharking today they caught a 71 pound Mako and 15 blue sharks.
Ken's Dock 