Hey everyone, I’ve been fluke fishing a lot this summer, about 1/4 - 1/2 mile off the tip of Sandy hook, near where the bay meets the ocean. I have caught a bunch of fluke, stripers, sea bass, sea robin, dogfish, a few skate, an enormous stingray, and some others.

Tonight it was choppy and I decided to head back, so i started reeling in very fast from the bottom (probably 40-50 feet). Within a few seconds, I felt a crazy tug on my line (in comparison to the fluke I was catching). This was nothing like a large fluke or even an enormous striper. This thing took the bait and ran. With fluke/stripers, regardless of size, my rod/reel/tackle allows me to crank up the drag and reel it up. This fish did not.

I fought it for about 15 minutes, and after i got it probably 10 feet from the surface, I felt it go take another run down… so I stupidly increased the drag. The fish kicked twice very hard and got off the hook. My rig was still fully intact, besides the gulp having slid off of my 5/0 hook and onto the leader.

I don’t even care about catching it, I’m just dying to know what it was or what it could have been. It did not feel as heavy as the enormous stingray I caught, but it fought hard and was heavier than anything else.

I should also mention, this exact same thing happened about a month ago, except I only had it on for about 2 minutes. but it felt exactly the same.

I know this probably isn’t possible for you guys to identify it, but based on the location/description/behavior, can we narrow it down to what it COULD be?

Thanks so much in advance!

Hey folks, my kid loves fishing. He enjoyed Mahi fishing down in Florida and I want to take him deep water fishing in NJ. This is for his birthday and we would be looking at going the beginning of August. I'm just outside of Philly and would be willing to drive to any shore point from Atlantic Highlands to any point south of that.

Looking for recommendations on boats, locations, and best time of day to go out for some good action and a family friendly vibe.

Thanks in advance.

We go to Ocean City, NJ every year in early August. We've tried fishing surf, piers, and a couple charters but nothing has been great. Is the fishing just kind of dead this time of year?