Posted on August 14, 2019 State record cobia in South Jersey A state record cobia was caught Friday around McCrie Shoal by Len Andalis. As best I can piece together the article which appeared in the Atlantic City Press, the angler was fishing for fluke on his Franchesca Rose and cast a 6-ounce Spro jig to the fish which was probably spotted.  It took the jig as soon as it hit the water and ran uff 100 yards. The fight went on for 1 1/2 hours. The cobia was weighed at Canyon Club Resort Marina in Cape May, and at  90.6 pounds was clearly larger than the listed record of 87 pounds. Ironically, the state spearfishing record for cobia was also broken on Sunday with a 74.5-pounder speared three miles off Sea Isle City. Speaking about summer surprises in N.J., there was another cutlassfish caught. Alvin Trotter was fluking off Belmar, not far from the inlet, when he hooked the long, flattish silvery fish with a mouth full of sharp teeh. He e-miled me a request to identify it, and even before seeing the photo I knew what it was as several have been caught lately. As previously noted. I caught many of those odd fish while fishing the piers of the U.S. Naval Station in Trinidad, West Indies while serving as a Navy officer there from 1961-1963 — but only at night under the lights.  They are an important market fish in many tropical countries, being caught in great depths at night where swordfish feed on them, The photo below was supposed to be of the cutlassfish, but Word Press has been inserting different photos than selected on a few occasions lately. I’ll try the cutlassfish tomorrow.  Worst of all, I couldn’t match that shot at Manasquan this morning. I didn’t raise a thing on a popper, and know of only one bass caught under good conditions. I switched to Fisherman’s Choice squid strips soaked in shedder crab oil to release two short fluke up to 16 inches. Bob Matthews, at Fisherman’s Den in Belmar Marina, says ocean fluking has improved. Gianna Murphy of Lake Como weighed a 6-pound, 5 ounce fluke she caught off the Trade Winds on a strip of salmon belly.  There are plenty of fluke in Shark River, but keepers are hard to come by. Kingfish plus small blues and stripers are in the surf, and inlet anglers are catching snappers while getting some shots at Spanish mackerel. Kingfish were abundant Monday afternoon when Nick Honachefsky of Saltwater Underground fished the Lavallette surf to release over 20 up to a relatively large 13 inches. Spanish mackerel were jumping, but wouldn’t hit. Paul Haertel of the JCAA submitted the following notice: LAST CALL FOR JERSEY COAST ANGLERS ASSOCIATION NEW FORMAT FLUKE TOURNAMENT 8/16-8/18 – YOU MUST BE ENTERED BY 11:59 PM ON THURSDAY 8/15. YOU MAY DO SO ONLINE UNTIL THAT TIME OR YOU MAY CALL 973-943-8201 TO PAY BY CREDIT CARD OR FAX YOUR APPLICATION WITH CREDIT CARD INFO TO 732-506-6975. The Jersey Coast Anglers Association’s is second fluke tournament this summer on August 16th, 17th and 18th. The weather looks good and the fluking is finally picking up. Now is the time to start filling your freezer and perhaps win some cash!  We are going to try an exciting new format and see how much interest it generates. For seven years in a row, we have had bad weather or a bad weather forecast on the day of our tournament. Therefore, this tournament will run for three days with hope that we will have good weather on at least one day. We realize that not everyone can fish two or three days, so to be fair to everyone, each boat will be limited to fishing only one day. However, each entrant will be able to choose the day they fish. The other major change is that the 1st through 5th place prizes will be based on the total weight of each entrant’s three largest fluke. This will take some of the luck factor out of the tournament and we are also limiting the number of anglers to 4 per boat to keep it a level playing field. Based on a minimum of 250 boats, 1st place will be $5000, 2nd place $2500, 3rd place $1500 and there will be gift certificates from our sponsors for 4th and 5th place. Additionally, there will be a $1000 prize for the largest fluke in caught in the tournament. We will also have $50 and $100 three fluke Calcuttas, $50 and $100 single fluke Calcuttas and even a $50 single seabass Calcutta. This tournament is being run on short notice so there will only be four weigh-in stations this year, located in central part of our state. The weigh-in stations will be Fishermen’s Den in Belmar, Capt. Bills Landing Marina in Manasquan, Creekside Outfitters in Waretown and Fisherman’s Headquarters in Ship Bottom. However, if this new format works, we will add more weigh-in stations to the north and south next year. We hope to take the best features of both of our tournaments and combine them into one really good tournament next year. The awards ceremony and Country Style Barbeque will be held at the Brick Athletic League Building from 5-9 PM on August 18th. Barbequed chicken, pulled pork, sausage & peppers, baked beans, corn on the cob, coleslaw, macaroni salad, soda and water will be served and you can BYOB as well. We will have a 50/50 and live entertainment will be provided by Ken and the Escorts! Entry fee per boat (up to 4 anglers) is $150. The entry fee includes two admissions to the Awards Ceremony/BBQ but additional tickets may be purchased in advance for $25 each. Extra tickets will not be available at the door. You may sign up online until 11:59 PM on 8/15. For complete details and to print and application or to register online go to www.jcaa.org ,visit our Facebook page or call Paul at 973-943-8201. CALL FOR JERSEY COAST ANGLERS ASSOCIATION NEW FORMAT FLUKE TOURNAMENT 8/16-8/18 – YOU MUST BE ENTERED BY 11:59 PM ON THURSDAY 8/15. YOU MAY DO SO ONLINE UNTIL THAT TIME OR YOU MAY CALL 973-943-8201 TO PAY BY CREDIT CARD OR FAX YOUR APPLICATION WITH CREDIT CARD INFO TO 732-506-6975.