Big 13-pound doormat fluke strikes off New Jersey coast

Get the nets ready, a 13-pound doormat fluke was caught by an ocean-going fishermen on Tuesday.

The big fluke was the first doormat of the season to be reported to the Asbury Park Press. It was weighed at the Tackle Box in Hazlet, which has hung its fair share of large fluke over the years. The angler was Randy Ciprich of Sayreville. According to Phil Sciortino at the Tackle Box, Ciprich was fishing in 50 feet of water and bouncing a Spro bucktail on a teaser rig with Gulp bait.

Creekside Outfitters in Waretown also weighed in their biggest fish of the season so far on Tuesday. The fluke weighed 8.7 pounds and was caught by Mike Moscufo, who was drifting the ocean outside Barnegat Inlet. He was not too far from the party boat Miss Barnegat Light was drifting for fluke.

These big fish are just one sign the fluke fishing is picking up the pace. Grumpy's Tackle in Seaside Park had a couple weigh ins from surf fishermen. Dominick Talarico stopped in early Wednesday morning with a 23-inch, 5.6-pound fluke for the shop scale. The day before, Jerry Fabiano caught eight fluke in 10 casts from the surf. Two of them were keeper size, the bigger was 4.75 pounds.

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A number of sharpies caught their limits of three fluke on the Jamaica II's all-day fluke trip on Monday. Capt Ryan Bogan said they had a quick drift in the morning to work with but they basically picked fish all day.

Capt. Cole Riback on the Queen Mary said the ocean was like glass Wednesday morning. He took his party out bottom fishing and reported early catches of fluke, whiting, ling and sea bass. While the daily bag limit leaves more to be desired, the sea bass are now back in season, albeit with a one-fish limit.

The bluefish have been very hard to find for over a week now. A couple for-hire captains have seen readings but no actual fish. Capt. Alan Shinn on the Miss Belmar did catch one Tuesday during fluke drifts in tight to the beach north of Shark River Inlet. The small blue weighed about a pound.

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The grunting triggerfish have returned but there haven't been many caught, if any, by rod and reel. At least none reported by the tackle shops or boats the press looked at. Surf City Bait & Tackle on Long Beach Island reported a couple of divers speared triggerfish in the inlet late last month. Surf fishermen on LBI are also catching a bunch of kingfish.

When Jersey Shore native Dan Radel is not reporting the news, you can find him in a college classroom where he is a history professor. Reach him @danielradelapp; 732-643-4072; dradel@gannettnj.com.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Big 13-pound doormat fluke strikes off New Jersey coast