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Scott's Fishing Bulletin
June 7, 1996

Express Index, May Tide Table, Previous Issues of Scott's Newletter
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Scott's Bait & Tackle
28-4 Radio Road
Mystic Island, NJ 08087
(609) 296-1300
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Sea Robin Invasion

It's the robin invasion! Be prepared to catch Sea Robins this weekend. It is easiest to remove these sharp finned critters with a rag, so keep one handy. Yes, they are good to eat. Only keep large Sea Robins though, because the smaller fish have very little meat. The white meat on a Sea Robin is on his back, pretty much the same as a blowfish. After it has been breaded and fried, it tastes very much like Sea Bass. If it wasn't for the shape of the fillet, one might not be able to tell the difference! Once you have convinced yourself to try this very tasty fish, it will be unlikely that many will get thrown back.

Fluke

The fluke fishing is the same old story. A few fish here and there with a few boats limiting out now and then. Most boats are only catching about three to five keeper fluke per trip, with good numbers of throw back fluke to keep things interesting. Squid and minnows are still the choice baits. No, I'm not going to send you back to139 buoy, although I am still receiving reports of fish from that area. Better fishing is over in the area from 134 buoy back towards the Fish Factory. If you drew a straight line you would be mostly up on sand bars. Fish in deeper water, back towards the center of the bay. There have been a few clammers working in this area of the bay this week, stirring up the bottom and this may be the reason the fluke are being caught here.

Fluke Tournament

Chestnut Neck Boat yard is holding their Fluke tournament this Saturday. Many times this week I have been asked where the large fluke are. Larger fluke always seem to be caught in deeper water. I would fish the area of 126 buoy and the bars across from the Coast Guard Station in search of Moby Fluke. Little Sheepshead Creek is also worth a try. Very small quantities of fluke will be caught in these areas, but most likely there will be a showing of good quality fish.

Bluefish

Bluefish are still around, but not in any great quantities. We weighed in a 12+ pound fish from a surf fishermen this week, who was fishing off of Pebble Beach. Most of the blues are the good eating variety, from 1 1/2 pounds to 3 pounds. Look for activity of birds, then cast and troll small yellow tube ava jigs or your favorite color 16 series bomber lures.

Shedder Crabs -- The Magic Bait

Is there a magic bait? Yes, I think there is. It's called shedder crab. Shedder crabs are regular blue claw crabs that are hours, days, or a week away from shedding their shells and becoming soft shell crabs; people bait! The shedders can be caught in crab traps and off the marsh banks with a net, as well as purchased at a local bait and tackle shop. There are many methods of determining when a crab is entering the shedder state. The differences between a regular crab and a shedder crab are called signs. The easiest sign to read works for immature female crabs only. If you were to turn an immature female shedder crab upside down and look at an area commonly referred to as its crown, it would be dark purple. A fully mature female has a rounder crown and does not show the same sign. On the males, the crown does not change color. Another sign is a red or orange spot that appears on the joint of the large back swimmer fin. This spot is difficult to pick out, so don't be disappointed if you can not easily recognize it. By handling the crab, you can check the large back swimmer fin for swelling or puffiness by squeezing it with your finger and thumb. The swelling is the newly developed soft shell swimmer fin inside the soon to be discarded shell. An easy way to find shedders is to look for double back crabs. A male crab will piggy-back a female shedder crab to protect her through the very vulnerable soft shell stage. The bottom crab is always a female and is always a shedder, or a just recently shed, now softshell crab. There is a brief period when the shell is as soft as human skin and this is called a soft shell crab. After about six hours, the shell takes on a tinny vinyl texture and is no longer considered good food. Back to bait. A shedder must be approximately six to ten hours from busting out of its shell. During this final period the shedder is considered bait ready. A bait ready shedder can be peeled from its shell (hence the term peelers, which is another name for shedders) and cut up into small pieces of bait. A shedder crab that is not bait ready is called a green crab; not the same crab bait we use for blackfish bait though. Most shedders must be ripened into bait ready crabs. To do this, leave the crab in the water and nature will continue to take its course. We check our crabs every 12 hours. A bait ready shedder will split by lightly squeezing underneath the crab's top shell points. A close to bait ready crab will bend, but not actually split, and goes back into the water for a later check. Ok, now you have a bait ready shedder. An average size shedder can be cut up into 17 baits. Two baits out of each claw(4), 1 bait out of the bottom crown, 2 baits off the top shell, and one bait from each leg socket and claw joint(10). What makes a shedder crab such a great bait? It's the pheromones. Pheromones are a chemical substance secreted by crabs and other creatures to attract each other.

The shedder crabs pheromone signature also draws every fish in the sea, specifically weakfish. Once a crab sheds and becomes a soft shell, it is still good bait, but it looses its pheromone potency and does not work as well as a bait ready peeler. Only a small piece of shedder crab is required for bait, because you are fishing with pheromones rather then meat. Since a fresh piece of shedder will have more scent, it necessary to change the bait regularly. This is also true with other kinds of bait. The easiest lure to work with shedder crab is a bucktail or shad dart. The most common rig is a jig head with a plastic worm of almost any variety. The 1/8 and 1/4 ounce weights are the most popular because they bring the lures down close to the bottom, but do not necessarily drag the lures on the bottom, making them a little more visible to the fish. This brings us to the question of where to fish.

Where to Fish

Grassey Channel and Little Sheepshead Creek are prime weakfish catching areas, but are not the big producer areas yet. When I get some reported activity in these areas, I will surely go into more detail. For now, the best reports on the few weakfish that are being caught have been from the mouth of the Mullica River where it meets Great Bay. This area is also referred to as the area between Deep Point and Graveling Point. The key to fishing this area so far is to anchor and wait for the fish. It is necessary to fish at slack tide; the period of time the water moves the least. An hour and a half before the change of tide is usually good enough to catch slower moving water. Pick a spot not to far off the east bank of the river to anchor the boat. Look for water depth from 12 to 20 feet. Cast the lures down current, and slowly work them back to the boat. Use heavier lead heads or bucktails during periods of faster current. Have a top and bottom rig baited with shedder hanging off the side of the boat in an out of the way rod holder. This technique of fishing is called dead sticking; just letting the boat hold the rod! Some days the dead stick can become the high hook on the boat, so always keep the boat working too.

Tautog

Tautog are being caught on the banks across from the Fish Factory. They must be fished at an hour before high tide for best fishing conditions. Small green crabs cut in half with the legs, claws, and back shell removed are putting tautog fillets on the dinner table.

Jet Skiers

Attention Jet Skiers: There will be an open house walk-in test at the Southern Ocean Cycle Center on June 10, from 5:00 to 8:00pm. The store is approximately one mile north of Southern Regional High School on Route 9. The fee is $17.00 to take the test. If more information is required, give the good people a call at 597-6044. Good luck.

Summer hours:

Monday through Thursday 5:30am to 8:00pm
Friday 5:30am to 9:00pm
Saturday 5:00am to 9:00pm
Sunday 5:00am to 6:00pm

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