This week, I went out to check the bay and Little Egg Inlet by boat. Thanks to Captain Rick of Boat US and Connor Smilon, we were able to get around and make sure all is right with the world. We left just after low tide on an incoming tide. There was nothing of note departing Morrisons. Marker 110 is shoaled up to the west side, as usual, but the shoaling seems somewhat worse this season. The rest of the ride to LEI was not noteworthy.
We decide to go out through the channel and return via the north cut. From the inlet buoy to marker 11, the depth ranged from a max of 45’ to the shallowest being 23’. Just east of marker 11 it was 22’. From marker 11 to marker 8 there were no problems. At marker 8, the north side is bad as usual. South of marker 8 it was 30’. To marker 6 we found the shallowest was 20’. Heading to the middle of markers 5 and 4, we went form 30’ to 17’ at marker 4. Then on to markers 2 and 3, we saw 17’ and lastly to marker 1, 12’. All in all, the channel appears fine.
Sand island is now HUGE it runs almost to Brigantine and is now very wide. We saw a dead porpoise washed up and beached the boat and walked over for pictures. It was deep, right up to the island, just as in years past.
The north cut was fine the entire way. The tip of Holgate is bigger and it sticks out further than last year, so rather than watching last years tracks, use your eyeballs to traverse the cut. 9’ was the shallowest we saw. Captain Rick and I went to the brick pile with no problems and Connor and I ran around the fish factory, again with no issues, other than a wayward marker that was across from the fish factory, just before Little Sheeps Head creek, heading west.
All is good and ready to fish!
