Stone Harbor - Cape May, NJ Fishing Report on 22nd Jul, 2023

What a fun day! I had the pleasure of guiding CJ, Kim, Chase, and Lucia. We ran out into the ocean to see if we could spot some dolphins. It was a bit on the choppy side ( again), but manageable. Chase and Lucia were laughing their heads off enjoying the wild ride. CJ was a bit worried the kids wouldn't enjoy the ride, let alone the fishing. We had planned on going for two, maybe three hours. Suffice to say, we made it a bit over four. I offered the opportunity to fish one of the near shore wrecks, to see how the kids might like it. We spot locked over some structure and dropped our lines down. We were marking fish, or my sounder is a massive lying twat. We couldn't get them to bite though. They'd steal the baits, but you never felt a touch. We moved around to different pieces, but it was always the same. The wind kicked up a bit more and Kim decided it was time for us to head into the back to see what we could find. We drifted a few different areas and again encountered bait stealers. I put a Brown Dog Bomb kingfish rig on one of the rods and we finally broke the ice. Lucia, and then Chase hauled up a croaker each. And just that fast the bite turned off in that spot. We hit another area and drifted a sod bank. We started catching again. Lucia pulled up a few little sea bass, as did Chase. Then CJ finally kept his bait on long enough to pull up a flounder. It was short, but he had bragging rights for biggest fish. It was short lived. Chase hooked and landed a bigger flounder! It was about an eighth of an inch short of keeper size. There were a few more sea bass and croakers in the mix. But Chase ended up as the high hook on the day. The fishing wasn't stellar, but the fun and memories were beyond worth the time spent on the water. Lucia and Chase will be pestering mom and dad for a boat for sure. I hope they get one. They'll enjoy it for years! Tight Lines!