Good Striper Bites Throughout the Summer
By Captain Al

Fishing for the period from July 4 to 10 has been very good. Striped bass fishing is unbelievably good but fluke fishing is still a little tough.

Striped bass fishing has gone from very good to excellent. Schools of bunker in the ocean have attracted lots of big striped bass. Most fish caught around the bunker schools in the ocean have been from 25 to 40 pounds. There are still lots of bass inside the inlet for days when the wind blows and the ocean is too rough. The average size of these fish is smaller with most in the 18 to 25 pound range but still nice fish. Live bunker are working best and the bluefish are tearing up most of the bait.

Clam chumming is also working pretty well but not producing the large fish like live bait but big numbers of smaller fish.

The stripers on the inside are holding all along the South Beach from the Lighthouse to the inlet. It looks like there will be a good striper bite throughout the summer.

On July 9 I fished with Lark Shlimbaum of Atlantique and her friends Holly and Bob. We fished a half-day and caught big bluefish and bass up to 23 pounds.

Fluke fishing is still a little disappointing. Lots of little fish but very few keepers. The spiny dogfish are making fishing in the ocean almost impossible and so very few people are fishing that area. I would bet that the big fluke are there but you just can’t get through the dogfish to get at the fluke. In the bay the ratio of throwbacks to keepers is about 50:1 in most places. West Channel at the top of the flood tide has produced some good size fluke.

Bluefish are just about everywhere and right now they are about the best bet for the light tackle or fly fishing enthusiast.

Weakfish are scattered in the Back Bay areas and I don’t know of anyone really targeting them or of any good catches in the last week.

The offshore waters are really alive with lots of sharks and tuna from 20 miles on out.

On Friday afternoon I was enjoying a day at the beach at Kismet and witnessed a pod of about 40 dolphins swimming and frolicking and heading to the west about 200 yards off the shore. It was a great sight to see these magnificent animals just having a good time so near the shore.

Tip of the Week

When fishing live bunker for bass it is not uncommon for bluefish to attack the bait and tear it to pieces leaving just the head. Do not be discouraged by this because bass love to eat bunker heads. In fact they are used to eating the heads, which the bluefish do not like. They stay below the marauding bluefish and wait for the discarded heads to settle to the bottom and then they suck them up like a vacuum cleaner. The moral of this story is fish bunker heads to catch bass when the bluefish are too thick and don’t be in a hurry to put on a fresh live bunker after the bluefish chopped off the body.

Fishing Facts of the Week

Economic output produced by American saltwater anglers: $31 billion.

Number of jobs supported: 300,000.

Number of participating anglers: 9 million plus.

Good Luck and Good Fishing!

Captain Al Lorenzetti

Skimmer Fishing Charters

(631) 661-2112

www.skimmeroutdoors.com