With the summer patterns of fishing beginning to emerge, the weather settles down and fishing becomes a warm-weather, pleasant seas affair. A plentitude of species present themselves for anglers’ pleasure, both inshore and offshore. Whether one is a back-bay boater, a sod bank or bridge night owl, a Delaware Bay enthusiast or an offshore adventurer, June brings with it plenty of fishing opportunities.
Stripers on the move
Stripers are still being caught on clams, bunker and live baits in the back bays. Our Delaware Bay estuary trophy fish leave the bay during late May and early June, so now is the last shot until the fall to catch one of these beauties.
Fishing the famous Cape May rips early in the morning or just before dark and into the early night can be very productive for intercepting the big, post-spawn bass on the move. Live bait is the ticket. Use any kind of legal, reasonable-size finfish for bait. Eels also work well, especially at night. The striper’s tapetum-enhanced eyes and excellent sense of smell help them find these baits in darkness. Night stalkers can catch some trophy-size fish on the jetties with both plugs and live eels. Incoming tides on calm nights work best for boats slow drifting the inner edges of the jetties. Hang on tight when one of these fish hits the bait!
Beat some drum
The big black drum that bent so many rods in May are still around and will complete the last of their serial spawns by mid June. The new moon, on June 3, and the full moon, on June 18, will trigger the final spawning aggregations that will yield multiple hookups for anglers patiently waiting until the late afternoon spawning ritual is complete. The freshest clam that one can obtain is the ticket to catching these scent-hunting fish. Slaughter Beach on the Delaware side and the usual sloughs and humps on the Jersey side are good producers in early June. Night fishing during this time of the year invariably produces some big cow stripers for some lucky anglers as well. Some drum will remain in the bay well into the summer while others work their way up the coast of New Jersey before venturing back down south before the summer is over. These huge fish bite very lightly, so forget the rod holders, hold that rod in your hand, and set the hook on the first good tug.
Plenty of fluke
Fluke season is well underway and these fish are available in all of our waters. Anglers drifting baits on the main channels leading out of the back waters will do best as the fish are beginning to leave the warming waters of the barrier islands. Finding clean water and fishing on both sides of the flood tide are the two keys to fishing in the “skinny waters.” Spots in the Delaware Bay like the Anchorage, Brown shoal, the numbered buoys of the bay, and Cape May channel will all be productive. Time trips so the tide and wind will work in favor of producing a drift that is with the current. Offshore, the fluke will have shown up at the Cape May reef, Reef #11, and the Old Grounds. The fathom banks, like those found around FA buoy, usually hold fish at this time of year as well.
Near-shore sea bass
Anglers targeting sea bass will catch plenty of them in June. The Cape May reef, Old Grounds (particularly around B buoy) and the inshore wrecks will all load up with these tasty fish. Squid, clam, or fish strips will all entice these sea bass to bite. Most anglers will fish anchored up on wrecks or debris, either on the artificial reef sites or near-shore wrecks. Anglers not wishing to anchor will do best drifting in the northern parts of the Old Grounds and Delaware reef sites nine and 10.
Blues, bones and other pelagics
Big bluefish will be invading our waters out to 20 fathoms along with bonito and possibly some early season Mahi Mahi. Catching a few bluefish is a prerequisite to the aforementioned shark-fishing excursions that will also be taking place in June.
Early bluefin tuna, gradually getting bigger as the season progresses, can be caught by chunking butterfish or by trolling small lures. Typical spots are Sea Isle ridge, East Lump, Cigar and the 19-fathom lump. These pelagics will appear to our south at first and work their way north as the waters warm from the 60s to the 70s.
June is the primetime shark month punctuated by the big South Jersey Shark tournament, which is scheduled to take place the weekend of June 13. Thresher sharks are commonly caught at the artificial and natural reefs. The thresher is one of the first sharks to arrive as they tolerate water in the middle to upper 60s. Fishing for these sometimes very big specimens is often called “Ghetto Sharking” due to the inshore nature of these fish.
More beautiful mako sharks are caught in June then any other month as they follow the schools of bluefish and mackerel. Each year a warm-water filament breaks inshore to our south and allows the first wave of these sharks to come into our waters. Anglers targeting the 20 and 30-fathom curves and lumps will hook up some of these aerobic battlers. Wire lined mackerel, bluefish and squid are the usual baits fished under floats at various depths in the chum slick. Catching big, slammer blues, while waiting for the sharks to move in, provides some great light-tackle fishing, as well as some super-fresh shark bait. Pick drift profiles over wrecks and lumps where baitfish are present. Clean looking water and temperature breaks are other keys to finding the areas that makos inhabit. Don’t miss the excitement of hooking up with one of these fish and seeing the airborne display that makos are known for!
