New Striped Bass Regulations

Posted on May 2, 2023May 2, 2023 by Admin

Lots of news in the fishing world this week. Dead dolphin, new striped bass regulations and fluke season kicks off!

It’s been a busy few weeks getting the marina up and running but Captain Mike’s is now open full-time!

May 2nd kicks off fluke season and we’re looking forward to another prosperous season down in Great Bay.

Reminder on Fluke Regulations: 2 fish 17″ and only one 18″+ are permitted this season.

Give us a call at 609-296-4406 to book your rental boat!

Deceased Dolphin Washes Up Near Captain Mikes

Deceased dolphin found in Great Bay

Unfortunately, Tim found a dead dolphin in Great Bay while scanning the sod banks.

According to the Marine Mammal Stranding Center of NJ, the deceased dolphin had been found floating a week before and the recent onshore wind brought it in.

There’s a lot of speculation if the government’s Offshore Wind Project is to blame for the recent influx of deceased dolphins and whales.

However, nothing has been proven at this time.

What’s Causing Whales & Dolphins to Wash up Dead?

Again, while no one knows for certain there are a currently a few theories swirling around:

Offshore Wind Project – The sonar and sonic blasting used on survey ships is harming their ears.
Disease – A deadly disease is spreading and killing sea mammals
Ship Strikes – The whales food has migrated into shipping lanes causing them to be struck by boats

There’s lack of evidence because when the carcasses arrive to shore the ears have been too decayed to get a proper sample. Also, ship strikes could occur post mortem so it’s been difficult to put a finger on it.

Regardless of what the cause of these recent deaths, it’s a shame seeing these beautiful creatures perish.

If you have any comments/questions please contact the Stranding Mammal Marine Center center at 609-266-0538

New Striped Bass Regulations for New Jersey

New Striped Bass regulations coming July 2nd.

The NJ Striped Bass slot just got a little smaller with the maximum harvest of 31″.

Anglers will only be able to harvest one striped bass between 28″- 31″ once the rule goes into effect on 7/2/2023. For more info on regulations on local species.

No doubt most anglers will be up in arms over this move, especially spear fisherman who have a tough task identifying slot fish as it is.

Regardless how it makes us feel, we can only hope this will help replenish the stock that has been trending in the wrong direction for the past few years.

New Jersey Striped Bass Fishing Reports

50″ 45lb striped bass caught by Tim’s Nephew Shawn O’Mara

Barnegat Bay Fishing Report: Big Striped Bass

Speaking of Striped Bass, the bass are here and in large size and numbers.

Tim’s nephew Shawn was fishing the inlet with a few friends and caught a few decent bass throughout the week. All well within slot range the largest was probably about 38″ or so.

Seemingly out of nowhere, Shawn hooked into a 50″ striped bass on a cotton candy Yozuri hydro minnow plug (seen below).

Yo-Zuri R1322 Hydro Minnow LC Lure - Pearl Candy

Yozuri Hydro Minnow

The striped bass put up a helluva fight and took nearly 10 minutes to reel in on his 5k and nearly swam into the rocks of Barnegat Inlet last Tuesday.

When the fish was brought to the boat he was only hooked by a single hook out of 2 trebles! After a little photo shoot the trophy striped bass swam away strong.

Shawn reported Barnegat Bay sod banks have been productive on poppers and big white docs.

The Barnegat light inlet is beginning to show signs of blue fish working their way in too.

Fishing Report in Great Bay: Stripers and Drum Fish

Striped Bass are still thick in the Mullica River however, some can be found out front now.

Anglers are still finding success at Graveling point. Black Drum fish are also being caught in Great Bay as well.

It seems like up north is proving more productive than our local waters.

Luckily fluke season always seems to be better in Great Bay!

Fishing Report for Raritan Bay: Stripers & Blue Fish

Anglers are slamming bass and bluefish in the Raritan Bay.

This spot will be productive until about June once the water temperatures warm up and the migrants keep heading up north.

Wild Week for Weakfish

Posted on July 11, 2022July 11, 2022 by Admin

A nice weakfish and Ollie does a photobomb

The last week at Captain Mikes was a wild week for weakfish.

Many anglers who fished the Sunshine Tournament reported a good showing of weakfish. Unfortunately, there wasn’t a Calcutta for them!

There was even a 7lb bluefish weighed in! Safe to say Great Bay is still producing although, historically the bite will move out toward the ocean.

Inshore Fishing is Slow but Offshore Fishing is Heating Up

Anglers are finding their most success in inlet, especially with weakfish.

The fluke that are out in the ocean are sluggish as the bottom temp is in the mid fifties still. It seems the water quality is cleaner with more opportunities for bluefish, weakfish, and even some fluke.

If you’re going offshore for pelagic species, now’s the time. Most of the anglers going offshore are returning with coolers full of yellow fin and blue fin tuna. Make sure to check the weather before you go!

There are also tons of cow nose rays closer into Great Bay. So if your drag starts screaming it might not be that elusive Cobia but a cownose ray.

Best Bet: Head to the inlet and poke around by the stink house to target some weakfish.

Plenty of Fluke Left to Catch!

May be an image of 3 people and outdoors

Justin, Gino, and Austin had a great day

This trio still managed to bring some keepers home for supper!

While the fluke fishing is trending more towards the inlet and ocean.

There are still opportunities to target fluke in the bay. One of our slip customers Victor caught a 3lb fluke in Great Bay.

The weather looks terrific this week!

Call 609-296-4406 to book your rental.

Memorial Day Weekend Recap

Posted on May 31, 2022May 31, 2022 by Admin

Jim caught a 7.5lb doormat

We got quite lucky with weather this Memorial Day Weekend at Captain Mikes. Anglers were able to enjoy Great Bay without worrying about any storm cells rolling through.

Jim (pictured above) caught a 26″ fluke on his trip out on his rental boat Sunday afternoon. Surprisingly enough Jim was fishing right out front of Captain Mikes Marina using gulp!

Plenty of fluke fisherman went home happy after fishing the Great Bay this weekend.

Beware of Terrapins Crossing Great Bay Boulevard

Slow down! The Terrapins are nesting again

You might want to slow down during your next trip down Seven Bridges Road. Several volunteers of The Great Bay Terrapin Project reported terrapin turtles crossing the boulevard over the weekend.

During May and June, many pregnant females search for safe places to lay their eggs. These females lay their eggs in a sand/gravel mixture where it is easy for them to dig and cover their eggs, like sandy dunes and in scrub-shrub habitat along road edges.

Unfortunately, many females are accidentally killed motorists each year. The Great Bay Terrapin Project has helped raise awareness and protected countless Terrapin turtles by placing signs and raising fences along the road to prevent them from crossing.

If you ever happen to see a Terrapin crossing the road, please move them to the other side of the road that they were walking towards.

Captain Mike’s is a proud partner of The Great Bay Terrapin Project. The project is entirely funded by donations, if you wish to volunteer or donate to help the cause you can sign up here.

Jim’s Seem To Catch More Fish

Jimmy Allen caught a 24″

If your name is Jim and you were fishing in Great Bay over Memorial Day Weekend, there’s a good chance you caught a doormat fluke! If not, sorry but you are the weakest Jim!

Jimmy Allen managed to catch this beautiful fluke right off the Fish Factory, sorry if you were trying to keep that a secret Jim!

Plenty of fish were caught by rental boats this weekend. Scroll down to check out more photos from the long weekend. It’s great that summer is finally here. Get after it, get geared up, and let’s go fishing!

Call (609)-296-4406 or email us at info@captainmikes.com

Quick Weekend Report: Nice Fluke

Posted on May 24, 2022May 3, 2023 by Admin

Ken Counts caught a nice 5.3 lb Fluke

This weekend’s report kicks off with Ken and his jumbo 5.3 lb fluke.

Many rental customers reported back limiting out on fluke, mainly fishing in close within great bay. Although some customers are unhappy throwing back the extra 18″ overs “for someone else’s dinner” as Ken Counts put it on our Facebook page.

Just in case you needed a refresher on regulations for 2022, we got you covered.

No photo description available.

New Fluke Regulations Facing Crisitism

Moreover, many critics of the new fluke regulations believe once summer gets in the swing of things more anglers will begin to report smaller fish outside the slot range. It will be interesting to see fluke catch size throughout the summer.

However, at Captain Mike’s were a glass half full kind of a bunch especially with Great Bay’s quick tide turnover, giving anglers plenty of opportunities.

Speaking of the bay, Bluefish were caught caught in Great Bay this weekend. It was reported cocktail size blue fish were wandering into the bay from the inlet over the weekend.

For more reports, scroll down below to see our Facebook feed. Plenty of fish being caught in Great Bay. Call (609) 296-4406 to book your rental or to inquire about bait and tackle in-stock.

Finally, lets get after it and let’s go fishing!

Terrific Fishing Continues in Great Bay

Posted on May 18, 2022May 20, 2022 by Admin

Victor braved the elements and got rewarded with a 22.5″ over and a nice 17″ slot fish.

The Nor’easter came and went, we’re back with excellent weather and fishing all this week at Captain Mikes.

Victor (pictured above) decided to brave the elements towards the tail end of the storm and managed to catch a beautiful 22.5 inch over and a 17″ nice slot fish as well.

A quick note: We have limited minnows in stock. Please arrive early tomorrow or prepare accordingly with artificials if you plan on targeting fluke.

Back Bay Fishing Reports

The Great bay has been pretty good fishing wise this week considering the blow last week. Hugh Brown had a nice day fishing, he caught a 24″ fluke this week.

It appears the NE winds from the Nor’easter brought in some warm water. We heard some reports of bluefish being caught in Little egg inlet. However, they disappeared as soon as they arrived.

Our rental boat customers did some damage today!

Everybody who ventured out this week caught plenty of fish, no matter what they were targeting. George, of R&R Marine, was out catching minnows and he reported some bird action diving all around him. Unfortunately for him, he left his rod and reel at the bait shop. Tough luck for George.

We got some reports of anglers catching drum fish in the grassy channel anchored up while chumming with clam. A couple striped bass were also caught in the grassy channel using the same technique.

The LBI surf has been very productive this week as well. Our friends at Fisherman’s Headquarters have reported plenty of 40-50lb striped bass caught on the surf. Most anglers have reported success with fresh clam, opposed to bunker. If you’re a surf angler, your best bet is to chunk some clam, find a nice rip current to set up camp.

If you’re on the boat this weekend, it may be worth a try trolling up and down the beach with some stretch 22’s and mojos. We haven’t heard any reports but you never know!

Get Out There!

The bay has all the bluefish, drum fish, striped bass, and fluke you could want (within regulations). Strike while the iron is hot! Don’t waste another weekend sitting on the couch drinking stale beer.

We have rental boats available for tomorrow. Give us a call at 609-296-4406 to book your reservation.

Get outside and let’s go fishing!