Carl Polus with a big bluefish he caught in Brigantine using finger mullet. (Photo: RipTide Bait and Tackle, Brigantine NJ)

Gator bluefish stormed the South Jersey shores for a second week in a row and are providing the bulk of the bay action this week, while the Delaware Bay beaches are the place to find large 20- to 40-pound class bass.

Blackfishing remains hot, but remember that tautog season closes on Sunday and won’t reopen until July 17, when it goes to a meager one-fish limit, so if you want blackfish fillets, have at ‘em this weekend.

“Big blues came in big time off Brigantine Beach,” said Andy Grossman, Riptide Bait and Tackle, Brigantine. “There was no rhyme or reason on tide or time of day to figure out just yet, but 10 to 16-pounders were eating up finger mullet and bunker.” A couple slammers on Riptide’s list were Jon Pefankjian and his 12-pounder, Rob Alia and Chris O’Donnell with blues between 10 and 15 pounds and Rob Went with a 16-pound gator.

“The south end Jetty has been the hot spot for blues, as well as some stripers too.” Bass taken on clams near the jetty pocket have been Joe Neild with an impressive 27-pound linesider and Ralph Amato’s 19-pound striper.

“It’s been really good fishing lately for bass and blues, particularly in the surf,” said Tammy Carbohn of the Avalon Hodge Podge, Avalon. “The action was steady and towards the end of the week the bigger stripers moved in with large schools of bunker attracting big bass to the area.” Bob H fished the 8th Street Jetty with a soft plastic and weighed in a bluefish that hit the 16.54-pound mark. Bob also reported snapping off a few more big blues there.

Stripers are getting larger than the “rats” caught earlier this month. Customer Edgar from North Wildwood proved the point when he beached a 24.05-pound bass on a fresh clam bait in the surf. Last chance blackfishermen should head to the Townsend’s Inlet bridge or the 8th Street Jetty to pull on keeper tog up to 4 pounds.

John Michael with a 29" striper he caught using clams. John landed the fish near the bridge coming into Brigantine, NJ. (Photo: RipTide Bait and Tackle, Brigantine NJ)

“Bluefish are popping up everywhere with no place in particular holding them,” said Mike Cunningham, Sea Isle Bait and Tackle, Sea Isle City. “Choppers pushing 10 pounds are showing up in the inlet one day, then in the back bay the next. You just have to move around and find where they are on any given day.” Poppers, metals and bunker chunks are claiming most blues, with bankcasters finding a good amount while casting the sands at Townsend’s Inlet.

Cunningham also reports that loads of “rat” bass up to 16 inches long continue to choke the backwaters. “I’ve never seen so many small bass before. I hope this is a sign of good things to come for the fish stocks,” said Cunningham. There have also been rumors of some weakfish being plucked out of the baychannels on soft plastics during the predawn hours as Cunningham had seen photos of weakies in the 5- to 6-pound class from the Sea Isle backwaters.

If you want a shot at a trophy striper, it sounds like the North Cape May shores are your best bet as Matt Slobodjian of Jim’s Bait and Tackle, Cape May, tells of 20- to 40-pound class bass coming up for surfcasters. “Hot beaches were by the Ferry Jetty, North Cape May and Reed’s Beach, where fresh clams and bunker got hit,” said Slobodjian. “As a bonus, some puppy 15- to 20-pound black drum have also been around those beaches.”

Tog anglers looking to put the last bucktooths in the fridge are best served to head to the Cape May Reef, the Coast Guard jetty rocks and any inshore wrecks of 1 to 4 miles out.

There are definitely plenty of tog for the taking out on the reefs as I hit the Great Egg Reef this week with Captain Sean Reilly and Ed Rowell. Rough seas made it hard to stay over a spot, but when we were up and down on the wreck, we were getting a steady pull of tog up to 4 pounds on both green crabs and fresh clams. But I did have one bit of heartbreak as my green crab got walloped by a bulldog whitechinner that managed to dog me down back into the wreck and break me off, so I know there is at least one trophy tog still out there!

Enjoy the weekend and hopefully the weather will allow for anglers to fish in comfort.

Reach Nick Honachefsky at beachnut33@hotmail.com.