# Cape May area in July?



## PAcatfisher

What could I catch there in July? From the surf preferably, I mainly fish for catfish here so I have a few rods that would probably work. An 11' ugly big water with an okuma abf 80 Bait feeder 25lb big game mono, two 9' MH whuppin sticks with Penn fierce ll 6000 live liner's 20lb big game mono. And a couple 9' ugly gx2 rods with Mitchell 300s spooled with 10-15lb mono. And one ugly tiger 7' H with a fierce 7000 and 65lb braid

Hooks from #1 octopus up to 7/0 with a lot of mustad 3/0-4/0 live bait hooks.

Weights from 1/4oz-1oz eggs, 1oz-5oz flat no rolls, and some 3oz pyramids.


My plan so far is to drive 4-4.5hrs buy some various baits (not sure what kinds can be bought there) and cast them into the water...

I'd be happy with catching anything, rays, skates, sharks, dogfish, blues. Almost anything but crabs that is.

Also willing to fish at night if that'd be easier to find a place without worrying about so many swimmers


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## firstcatch

You are most likely to catch Bluefish or Fluke in July. Though the usual plethora of what we in Nj know as 'junk fish' as well which includes the dogfish, skates, and serobins will also be in the mix.
Unfortunately, for Surf Fishing July is one of the worst months in NJ. You may be better off jumping on a pier to fish instead. 
This link has a list of NJ piers.
http://njsaltfish.com/index.php/nj-saltfishing-piers.html


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## PAcatfisher

I'm mainly looking to catch something of size, I can change when I come out too. I'm not fishing while on vacation, it's a fishing day trip.

Biggest thing I've caught so far is a 19.5lb flathead catfish. Lots of channel catfish in the 7lb-10lb range.

A dogfish wouldn't be too bad because they kind of look like a shark, and I'd rather not have to deal with teeth. I get bit enough by walleye and pickerel.


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## PAcatfisher

And if by junk fish you mean not good for table fare that's fine for me because I don't eat any fish or keep any, everything is catch and release


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## firstcatch

Interesting enough, many people are starting to eat 'junk' fish as more and more the NJ Regulations are keeping people from Keeping anything. Good luck on your trip.


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## PAcatfisher

Another question, one of the guys that I work with started me on trying to surf fish. 

He said he used to fish cape may while visiting relatives in that area and would catch "sand sharks" about 3-4' long, said they had no teeth. And only used squid for bait.

Also on the bluefish, should I just run wire leader or could I get away with 25-30lb mono without being bit off on every one?


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## phillyguy

PAcatfisher said:


> Another question, one of the guys that I work with started me on trying to surf fish.
> 
> He said he used to fish cape may while visiting relatives in that area and would catch "sand sharks" about 3-4' long, said they had no teeth. And only used squid for bait.
> 
> Also on the bluefish, should I just run wire leader or could I get away with 25-30lb mono without being bit off on every one?


Sandsharks=dogfish. no teeth

Sandbar Sharks aka Brown Sharks= Teeth. Plentiful around Cape May in the warmer months. In high summer you can't fish on guarded beaches while the guards are there but at night you can fish anywhere. Also Sand Tigers are around in the summer and they have serious teeth (google it), Saw a 6 footer caught off the beach near the lighthouse last summer, but unless you are specifically targeting them with the proper gear you'll just get bit off. Blues are not wire shy, so if they are thick you may want to use it. In 
july, the most fun is tying a 1/2oz jig head or bucktail tipped with gulp swimming mullet and jig the shoreline for fluke. Most will be under sized but still fun on a light 7' rod and 10lb. test. Some other fish you can catch are pompano, kingfish, (on bloodworm), and if your lucky, weakfish. Just be prepared to catch a lot of very small sharks. They spawn in the Delaware bay in the spring and the little bastards torment surf fisherman all summer.


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## PAcatfisher

I will probably try a pier during the day and play tourist with the girlfriend.

After dark I'll try to hit some surf and see what I can catch. I highly doubt that the gear I have would handle a sandbar or a sand tiger.

Heaviest thing I will be using is 25lb mono and 30-40lb steel leaders. Unless I bring my ugly tiger 7' with 65lb braid.

Even though it'd be a lot of fun I won't try and tangle with a large shark without someone who's done it before and can do it safely for the shark.


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## PAcatfisher

Looks like I will not be making a run in July, a lot of things popped up on the calendar.

So should I shoot for June or August as my next attempt?


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## phillyguy

In early June you might run into the tail end of stripers. After that, you will be targeting fluke primarily with most of them being of the throwback variety. Small blues are almost always around in summer. Interestingly the last few years have seen a slight uptick in the number of puppy drum seen around Cape May, but not enough to target. Other than that be prepared to catch a lot of small sharks and big rays, if you are soaking bait on the bottom.


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## PAcatfisher

Looks like the weekend of June 17th I will be heading to the area, I did pick up a few "double hook bottom rigs" 

Heavy mono with a snap on one end a swivel on the other and two wire loops which I believe are for the hooks. Also picked up some fish bites squid strips too. 

When I come out I'll stop at a tackle shop for other odds and ends, and probably some bait


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