No bay fishing this year?

[joshpio]

Every single trip on the inside has been a disaster this year. Shark river great bay doesn't seem to matter. Everyone I talk to is having the same luck. June is usually red hot fishing in the bay. Not always keepers but plenty of shorts to keep u busy. Fish for hours and catch zero or maybe couple shorts if lucky. We drove by hundreds of boats today and no one was catching any fluke. What in the hell is going on? Ay ideas?

[bulletbob]

Even in the best years fluke fishing in June can be spotty.. A few days of west wind and warm temps, and the water temps rise into the 60's and fish seem to be everywhere, and biting.
Then a few days of strong south wind along with some heavy rain, and the water temps drop and the salinity in the bays and tidal rivers decreases, and you would swear there wasn't a single fish alive.. Even the sea robins stop biting... June was never really my favorite month for fluke fishing.. Others may disagree.... bob

[joshpio]

Water temp was well into the 70s everywhere we fished. That's what I don't understand.

[bulletbob]

So many variables.. Cold fronts will shut any type fishing down fast.. Nice day, nice water temps, but somehow or other the fish can "feel" the atmospheric pressure change and just shut off... Salinity too. Lots of rain in upstate areas winds up in the bays, tidal rivers, and near shore ocean, and can have negative effects on fishing... I have seen a LOT of great reports here on this site past few weeks, and a bunch of bad ones as well, so it depends on the day you go, where you go etc.. Water in the 70's and fluke should be biting IF they are present in decent numbers in the area you are fishing.. If conditions are good, fish are there, and all other variables are positive, who knows why they won't bite... If the areas you fished were flush with a food source the fluke were keying on,and was easy for them to catch, you may have been drifting over masses of feeding and aggressive fluke that simply were eating something other than what you were offering..

Your problem is a common one... It happens to all of us... Before long, we all happen to be at the "right place at the right time"... It doesn't happen enough, but it winds up there sooner or later..

[klark2008]

Yea this year has been hard on me also. Ive been out at least once a week since opening day each time with 2 or 3 people and not a single keeper between us. Giving it everything we got.nit giving up yet though

[HighHook94]

Every time i've fished in shark river in my kayak the past two weeks, I've done very well with fluke up to 6 pounds in the back bay. I've heard they're catching more in the river part though. And based on what i've been seeing, everyone else is catching fish too.

[DEEP POCKETS]

It's tough to generalize for so many back bay areas but I think it all depends on the conditions.

One area we fish in south jersey was producing 10-15 with high of 17 keepers one trip between 3 guys fishing over the course of the last 3 weeks. Conditions were right, warmer water temps close to 70 with areas closer to inlet in high 50s. My uncle fished the same stretch one day when it was blowing hard north east and raining, no keepers. We went back 2 days later with calm winds and sunny skies and caught 10 nice keepers most 20-2 inches with one over 7 lbs.

Reason why I mention all this is fluke fishing is all about the right conditions with drift speed being the biggest factor and makes all the difference if you have success and catch vs mostly throwback action.

Stick with it and fish around the top of the tide and wish you luck..

[MrAC1980]

Opening day weekend Barnegat bay was on fire! Blues and fluke everywhere, now today its a ghost town! Had one keeper fluke today thats it, not even any shorts.

[fishunt]

i fish shark river at least 2x a week from a boat rental or i fish shore bound spots and after this past northeaster it has been on fire for me. just keep trying and it will all come together for you!:)

[kurtisb]

My two favorite charter boats don't fish for fluke until July, for this same reason.

[Bucktailboys.com]

Yea this year has been hard on me also. Ive been out at least once a week since opening day each time with 2 or 3 people and not a single keeper between us. Giving it everything we got.nit giving up yet though


Klark,
Couldn't agree more! We were out today for 6 hours, 2 shorts WTF. I just read some reports that they are doing well in the ocean :confused:

[klark2008]

yea I heard the ocean is giving up some nice fluke. I dont have access to a boat to take through inlet. and I am not a big fan of party boats but I think I may have to do a party boat trip this weekend. I think i have a better chance of finding big foot than catching a keeper in the bay as of latley. I know shark river is doing well also have a few friends that rent boats and fish shark river that have showed me some nice keepers. the channel heading to doubles creek from bobbys marina has been PACKED with boats every weekend and didnt see one person get a keeper.