New Jersey Fishing Reports

Ocean trips tied into plenty of striped bass, sometimes less than good numbers, but pretty much okay, said Capt. Anthony from Barbara Ann Fishing Charters. Twilight was a little better than other times for the live bunker fishing, and that works well for the open-boat striper trips that are fishing every Tuesday and Thursday evenings. Call to reserve, and charters are also running for the linesiders. Striper trips are fishing on a 26-foot center console for the speed to reach the ocean and to chase the fish. A few sea bass charters sailed through the week, scoring well on a mixed bag of sea bass, ling and cod. Attention porgy anglers: New York’s porgy season opened Friday, and Barbara Ann is available for the scup. They’re out there, and New Jersey’s season is closed. Barbara Ann refunds bridge tolls with a receipt.

Outcast Charters banged away at sea bass on three trips Friday through Sunday, Capt. Joe said. Friday’s charter was great, tackling triple digits of keepers to 4 pounds, with ling mixed in. Saturday’s was about the same, coolering a similar amount of the lumpheads to 2 ½ pounds with ling mixed in, and an 18-1/2-pound striped bass. Sunday’s fishing was also good, clobbering somewhat fewer numbers with fewer anglers aboard on a shorter, three-quarter-day trip, and no ling bit. Sea bassing was in full swing and is a specialty on the boat.

Laurence Harbor

A couple of keeper fluke to 20 inches got iced among a bunch of shorts thrown back on a short trip this morning along the channel edges and in the channel near port, said Capt. Kyle from Evening Tide Charters. Spearing, killies, squid, rigs and Spro jigs were fished, and squid and spearing on the rigs worked best. Another trip will chase fluke Thursday. Peanut bunker already started to appear at the marina, surprisingly early. They were only three-quarters of an inch long, too small for bait, but Kyle loves livelining peanuts for large fluke when the baby menhaden grow larger. The juvenile baitfish usually begin to appear in August.

Port Monmouth

Eleven fluke were boxed among shorts tossed back with the Emkem group on Saturday with Parksea Fishing Charters, Capt. Justin said. They first fished in the shallows at Sandy Hook Bay, where charters on the boat dusted most of the flatties lately. But the population of the summer flounder started to dwindle there, so the charter moved to Raritan Bay near Keansburg, and more of the fish seemed to relocate there. On Sunday the Verrone charter fluke fished at the same place, on the same tide and in the same winds, and lots of the bottom huggers bit, but catching a keeper was tough. “Go figure,” Justin said. But they bagged three keepers to Gino Verrone’s 23-incher, and landed a couple of blues. No blues showed up on the previous day, but Rob’s been seeing bunker schools getting attacked by blues on the bay. Both trips fished with a rig made up of a bucktail on the bottom on an 8- or 10-inch dropper loop with a teaser above. A minnow with a strip of sea robin is usually fished on the bucktail, and a spearing and squid combo is usually impaled on the teaser, a plain hook.

Atlantic Highlands

Charters, instead of the usual open-boat trips, fished for fluke, instead of the usual striped bass, on both days of the weekend on the Fishermen, Capt. Ron said in the report on the vessel’s Web site. Lots of the flatties served up a ton of action, and shorts far outnumbered keepers, but the anglers were happy with the action, he said. Ron planned to try striped bass fishing on today’s open trip, and if the bite was slow, he’d switch to fluking on the open trips afterward. An open striper trip Friday was no good, and the fish were nowhere to be found. One pod of bunker was located at Romer Shoal late in the day. However, no trips will sail Tuesday and Wednesday, because of an engine tune-up. Tuesday’s forecasts looked lousy anyway. The Fishermen had been sailing for striped bass 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily and on Magic Hour Trips 3:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Fridays through Sundays. If trips switch to fluke, the daytime schedule will remain the same, except for the cancelled trips Tuesday and Wednesday, and the Magic Hour Trips for stripers will likely keep running.

Fluke catches got a little better Sunday, included a few more keepers, on the bay on the Atlantic Star, Capt. Tom said. So he hoped the trend continued. Over all, fluke fishing was fluke fishing, he said, and lots of shorts pounced on baits, and a few keepers showed up. The fishing revolved around conditions or the right combination of winds and tides creating the right drift, like fluking always does, and the boat fished at usual places, such as Reach Channel, Chapel Hill Channel, Flynn’s Knoll and at the Navy Pier. Sometimes a few fish would be knuckled in at one place, then conditions would change, and the boat would move to the next. No bait seemed to out-produce another, and neither rigs nor bucktails seemed to out-fish one another. Tom tells anglers that if they like to fish with killies, bring the smallest portion they can buy, in case they want to use them at times instead of the spearing and squid provided on the boat. Sometimes when anglers don’t bring killies, they say they wish they had, so if anglers bring them, they’ll be prepared. Sometimes during a season one bait will work better than another for a moment, but that didn’t happen lately. Tom also tells customers to bring two rods: One for a rig, and another for a bucktail. One customer on the last trips said he fished a Spro jig when winds against tides hampered the drift, so he could bounce the jig back along the bottom to create action. The Atlantic Star is fluke fishing on two trips daily 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Highlands

A few trips managed to get out between the rough weather, said Capt. Bob from Sandy Hook Fishing Adventures in an e-mail. Fluke fishing was improving, and quality flatbacks to 7 pounds were sometimes socked. The Kline family charter boated scores of the flatties including healthy sized keepers 19 to 26 inches. A trip with Stan Haebeck’s crew pounded even more fluke, nearly limiting out on the fish to 24 inches, never putting the rods down. A three-man charter dubbed the Over 40 Athletes took an evening striped bass trip, limiting out on the linesiders to 38 inches, releasing several more. Full-day, half-day and evening trips are running for fluke, stripers, blues and bottom fish, and a few good dates remain.

A bunch of striped bass got livelined on bunker with Fisher Price Charters in the ocean, Capt. Derek said. Bunker schooled around, and bluefish also attacked. Afternoons seemed a little better for the fishing than mornings did. He expects to keep fishing the run of big, migrating stripers in the ocean into July, and some dates remain for charters this month, especially during afternoons, and next. Open-boat trips are sailing whenever Derek can squeeze them in.

The live bunker baits could hardly be kept in the waters on a trip Saturday afternoon on the ocean off Deal, said Capt. Brian from Jersey Devil Charters. The fishing was tremendous, one of the best-ever catches on the boat’s charters, all big bass. Catches were better in the afternoons lately. The Jamie Borenius charter fished Sunday morning, landing a 32-pound striper and another in the mid 20s, copping other bites, tougher angling, on live bunker in the ocean. But on Thursday another charter walloped stripers in the mid 20s and the 30s and a 40-pounder on trolled TGT bunker spoons in rough, 4- to 6-foot seas in the ocean, covered in the last report. On back-to-back trips Wednesday, also covered in the last report, stripers were hammered in the ocean on trolled TGT’s and live bunker in the morning, and smaller bass and some blues were knocked down near the Verrazano Bridge in the afternoon on bunker chunks. That afternoon charter fished there because the anglers got picked up in Manhattan. The schedule was busy again this week with striper trips, but openings remain for charters, especially next week. Dates are also available in July, especially for sharking.

Neptune

Striped bass fishing was very good in the ocean during weekdays for Last Lady Fishing Charters, putting the skids on the fish to 30 pounds, but on weekends, “forget about it,” Capt. Ralph said. Anglers aboard reeled up stripers during weekends, but boat traffic was too heavy for the best angling. Individual-reservation trips are sailing for stripers every Wednesday, switching to fluke on June 24. Solid numbers of fluke came up from the ocean. A sea bass trip cleaned up on the lumpheads, and that fishing is also on the menu with Last Lady. Sharks were on the prowl, and Last Lady’s first sharking of the season was currently slated on several back-to-back trips during the last week of June. Ralph’s friend who owns the Fat Cat won this weekend’s South Jersey Marina Shark Tournament with a 590-pound thresher. Ralph believed that two makos were entered that weighed about 230 pounds and 208 pounds. Two hundred was the minimum weight to enter a mako, he said.

Belmar

Ben and Donna Fischer jumped aboard with Last One Charters on Sunday afternoon to tackle blues and bottom fish, Capt. Rob said. They pillaged big blues, maybe 30 of the fish, to 16 pounds on bait while anchored at the Shrewsbury Rocks. Then they bottom-dunked for sea bass a little more than an hour, drilling lots of shorts but some keepers. The catch went well on the short, 5-hour trip. Rich, the boat’s owner, sent an e-mail saying the Marcoccio charter on Saturday waffled more than 30 blues 12 to 16 pounds, releasing a few short striped bass. The boat is also targeting stripers.

On the ocean striped bass fishing was either bad or great, said Capt. Tom from the Nan Sea J. A trip that left port Friday morning scored a donut. But on another on Saturday evening stripers exploded on the surface, pinning bunker against the side of the boat, fish bouncing off the vessel, a spectacular scene, like from National Geographic. On that morning a trip fluke fished, pumping up the flatties including a 7-pounder and an 8-pounder, and sea bass. The large fluke were officially weighed at Scott’s Bait & Tackle. A trip Sunday angled aboard five keeper fluke, lots of shorts and sea bass. The fishing was good until 11 o’clock, when it dropped off, and all the keeper fluke were taken by an hour earlier. The Nan Sea J’s second open-boat shark trip of the season, sailing every Wednesday through July, is slated to fish this week, and space is available. The trip last week fought a load of blue sharks all day long, covered in the last report. The trips are a rare chance to go after the monsters on an open basis, and charters are also sharking, Tom’s favorite fishing.

Brielle

Catches for striped bass anglers lit up for 2 hours in the ocean off the Red Church starting at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, said Dave from The Reel Seat. Trolled bunker spoons caught, and so did jigging, and the fishing was fairly consistent there and at Spring Lake, southern Bay Head and Mantoloking. Mainly bass, not many blues, swam the areas. Party boats shellacked blues at Barnegat Ridge in the ocean Saturday night. Sea bass fishing served up lots, many of them shorts, but keepers too, maybe 1 in 3 a legal fish. Okay fluke catches were pelted off northern Monmouth County like at Elberon, Long Branch and the Shrewsbury Rocks, but fishing for the flatties was somewhat tougher closer to Brielle, like at the reefs near there, was yet to take off. But good fluking was had on the Manasquan River, and 1- to 3-pound blues started pushing into the river on the tides. Striper fishing seemed to slow down at the bridges on the river, and Dave heard little about fishing at the Point Pleasant Canal. But here’s some of the most interesting news: Capt. Dave Matthews from the Pepper with Steve Matthews and Billy Smith limited out on yellowfin tuna and decked a 37-1/2-pound bluefin tuna and a 15-1/2-pound mahi mahi Saturday at Toms Canyon and South Toms Canyon. That is the first confirmed report about a catch of yellowfins on this site this season. Shark anglers mostly wrestled with lots of blue sharks. Thresher sharks were around, fewer than this time last year, and another couple of weeks will probably pass before the population reaches that level. The <a href=" http://www.ssfff.net/fundraiser.html" target="_blank">Save the Summer Flounder Fishery Fund</a>, spearheading the movement to prevent the summer flounder or fluke season from closing and from harsh bag limits that are essentially a closure, very much needs the continued support of anglers. See the fund’s Web site for details and how the fund is attempting to solve the crisis.

Forecasts for bad weather caused a fluke trip to be cancelled Saturday, though the weather turned out fine, said Capt. Jerry from Fish Monger Charters in an e-mail. The phone rang all morning from anglers talking about striped bass catches from Bay Head to Seaside. Jerry telephoned anglers from the fluke trip, and two were still available, so he headed out for stripers with them, the boat’s mate Bruce and Capt. Wayne. They ran south to where the fishing went off that morning, and only went 1 for 3 on bass, so they sailed north. The screen lit up a mile short of the fleet, and all anglers got hooked up, and had the fish to themselves for two drifts. They ended up catching stripers to 28 pounds. A bottom-fishing charter loaded up around that time. The date was unclear, also said Saturday. The anglers got busy reeling in fish while the anchor came tight. Tons of short sea bass chomped, but plenty of keepers were taken, and fat ling were in the mix. A bottom charter Thursday was tougher, because short sea bass were too abundant, but the anglers worked hard to weed through them for keepers, some ling and two fluke, and big, out-of-season winter flounder were released. On the way home the trip stopped at a location where the crew heard about an epic striper bite earlier, but it was over. A striper trip Wednesday afternoon lambasted stripers, going about 10 for 18 on the linesiders to 35 pounds. The anglers landed their limit, but released some. Fish Monger was supposed to bottom fish the rest of this past weekend, then get back to stripers this week.

Bluefishing got into full swing, an e-mail from the Jamaica said. A massive number of 6- to 12-pounders and bait stacked up 20 miles to the south, and limit catches were common on Friday night’s trip. Saturday’s daytime trip also hammered an excellent catch. The boat that day first stopped on bunker on the way to the bluefish grounds, but no stripers turned up in the baitfish. So the Jamaica pushed offshore toward the bluefish grounds, and lots of blues and bait were read as soon as the vessel came within 2 miles of the destination. The fish were on as soon as the boat stopped, non-stop action for 3 ½ hours. The excellent fishing continued on Saturday night’s and on Sunday’s daytime trips. So the outlook was good for this week, and with so many bunker schooling along the beaches, striped bass could appear any time, and trips will look for the linesiders daily. If no stripers feed in the beginning of the trips, the boat will run offshore for blues. The Jamaica is fishing for stripers and blues 7:30 a.m. daily and for blues 7:30 p.m. daily. Check the boat’s Web site for the complete schedule, including special trips, and to be added to the e-mail list for special trips. Reservations are being booked for canyon tuna fishing that will begin in late August.

Point Pleasant

Anglers put a beating on bluefish on the Sea Devil on Saturday to the south, a fishing frenzy, Cindy said in an e-mail. Everybody caught plenty of the 11- to 14-pounders, and “we easily filled the barrels,” she said. Bait and jigs caught them equally well. The Sea Devil is fishing 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily, and Saturday night bluefish trips will kick off this week, sailing 7:30 p.m. to 2 a.m.

Bluefish got crushed on Saturday’s daytime trip on the Cock Robin, an e-mail from the boat said. Patrons fought the fish before the anchor came tight, going into catch-and-release mode early, already keeping all they could want. On Saturday night’s trip the anglers also clobbered blues, 8- to 12-pounders at first, 12- to 14-pounders toward the end. Customers on Sunday’s daytime trip also pounded the fish. So bluefishing turned incredible. “Now is the time folks!” the e-mail said. The trips fished to the south and offshore. The Cock Robin is fishing for stripers and blues 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily and for blues 7:30 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays. Wednesday Marathon Trips, leaving earlier at 6 a.m. at no extra charge, are slated to resume June 24, and afterward they’ll run every week through August. One already sailed. On Thursday’s trips customers can help donate fish to Joan Valentine House, providing meals to people. Captain Jim’s Camp Cock Robin for kids will begin as soon as schools let out. No more than 12 fisher-kids get served by a dedicated mate.

Bottom-fishing plundered sea bass and ling Saturday on the Katie H, and the anglers went home with lots for dinner, Capt. Mike said. Many of the sea bass were shorts, but they got picked through to land keepers, and some of the ling were big. The charter also tried fluke fishing, but waters were 65 to 66 degrees, chilly for the flatties. Lots of shorts bit. Striped bass fishing sounded mostly slow around that time, so the charter decided to bottom fish. But striper fishing should kick back in, wasn’t finished at all. Weekends were tough for hooking stripers, because of boat traffic. Evenings were best for the linesider fishing, and the charter left the dock in the morning. The boat is scheduled to sail in its season’s first shark tournament in two weekends, and Mike looked forward to sharking. He also looked forward to tuna fishing, one of the main events on the boat. Don’t have enough anglers for a tuna charter? No problem. Call Mike, and he can probably arrange a space or more on a make-up trip.

On fluke trips on the Gambler rough bottom in deep waters 50 to 60 feet gave up better fishing than the hills and bumps in shallower waters in the past days, Capt. Bob said. More keepers swam the deep than the shallower areas, and sea bass spiced up the catch from the rough bottom. The shallower areas put out greater numbers of fluke, but more shorts. The sea bass ranged from shorts to keepers, and some were hefty, up to 4 pounds. On Sunday Paul Carpenter from Middletown bagged three keeper fluke to 4 pounds, and Bill Werking from Toms River boxed three keeper fluke and a half-dozen keeper sea bass. A bluefish trip Saturday night smoked 10-pounders, an excellent catch, as good as it gets, 20 miles offshore. Nighttime striped bass trips will continue during mid week at least this week, and afterward the crew will decide whether to continue them. The Gambler is fishing for fluke on two trips daily 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 2 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.; for striped bass 7:30 pm. to 12:30 a.m. every Tuesday through Thursday at least through this week; and for bluefish 7:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. every Friday and Saturday.

All species looked for--striped bass, bluefish, sea bass and sharks--were getting caught, good fishing, said Capt. Fred from Andrea’s Toy Charters. Heads up: Andrea’s Toy’s annual, open-boat, mixed-bag offshore canyon trips are about to begin, and space is available on a first-come basis. The crew specializes in mixed-bag fishing for more fun, better chances of hooking up and more variety for dinner. The trips, unique, one-of a kind, are offered at a very reasonable rate, going after fish including tuna, sharks, swordfish, mahi mahi and tilefish, all in one outing. Two options are available, a shorter, 10-hour trip, and a longer, 18-hour trip. Check out details on Andrea’s Toy’s home page <a href="http://www.andreastoycharters.com" target="_blank"> Andrea’s Toy’s home page </a>. Back to the fishing in the past days on the vessel: A charter Sunday wanted blues, heading to the Shrewsbury Rocks, the report on the boat’s Web site said. But the tide wasn’t moving right at first, so they took a few drifts for sea bass, gathering 23 keepers to 3 pounds, tossing back lots of shorts. The tide changed, so the anglers set up for blues, and the gators ate up everything that they threw to them. Twenty were kept, and 20 were let go. No stripers showed up, but some of the baits came back whole, so stripers were around. On Saturday Mike Accordino and friends jumped aboard for a mid-day “party cruise,” a fun fishing trip, the site said. They set up at a lump at the Shrewsbury Rocks, started chunking, and nailed a 22.24-pound striped bass off the bat. Afterward gator blues to 15 pounds were fought non-stop. “The guys had a blast with the tunes rocking, and we caught some fish to boot!” the site said. A combo striper/sea bass trip Friday first motored south, looked for stripers among bunker pods, got no takers, reached the ocean off Barnegat Inlet, and moved off to deeper waters for wreck fishing. Forty sea bass and ling were cranked in for an hour. Then anglers returned to striper fishing, found no fish among bunker, and steamed north, when word came in about a bite. They hit the tail end of the action, landed three stripers to 30 pounds, and missed some, before the feed ended. The stripers were some of the anglers’ first. Another charter Thursday snagged bunker for bait just outside Manasquan Inlet, turning up no stripers on the baits fished among the pods there. Northeast winds blew, and seasickness set in, and the anglers decided to return to Manasquan River for fluke fishing. They bagged five keepers and released 15 shorts.

Seaside

Surf fishing picked back up on Sunday after the angling became disappointing on Saturday, said the report on Grumpy’s Tackle’s Web site. Gangbusters catches were mauled from the wash on Friday. On Sunday with light crowds plying the surf, customers checked in three striped bass 10 to 30 pounds, four weakfish 7 to 13 pounds, two small blues and a 56-pound drum from the wash. A handful of fish were checked in Saturday, but a slew of big striped bass hit the scales Friday. Most were caught on bunker, and a few were hooked on Grumpy clams. <a href="http://www.grumpystackle.com/fishingreports/" target="_blank"> Click here</a> for updates.

Barnegat Light

Striped bass packed bunker tight to the beaches on a trip in the fog and rains Thursday with Reel Fantasea Charters, and the anglers creamed the linesiders to a 43-pounder, a fantastic catch! Capt. Steve said in an e-mail. The anglers, Wayne Salvi’s group, were doubled and tripled up with the huge bass, mostly 30- and 40-pounders, throughout the trip, limiting out and playing catch and release with more. They watched 30- and 40-pounders inhale bunker on the surface. The fog and rains kept other boats away for a while, and the anglers left them biting.

Barnegat

Big striped bass 20 to 40 pounds, sometimes larger, gorged on bunker hot and heavy in the ocean for a couple of days before the weekend, said Capt. Dave DeGennaro from the Hi Flier in an e-mail. Nick Tanzola was aboard Saturday for a trip, and the boat arrived at the grounds off Island Beach State Park by 5 a.m. Bunker were found to snag for bait, but no stripers chased them. The trip eventually went on the troll, and Nick landed his first-ever striper, a 41-1/2-pounder. Another bass was briefly hooked five minutes later and got off. Charters and open-boat trips are going after the fish, a chance at “the biggest kind of stripers, and you get to do it with live bait in 20 feet of water … it doesn’t get any better!” Dave said. Trips usually snag and liveline bunker first, switching to trolling if the bait doesn’t produce. Anglers can also be picked up at Barnegat Light, for those coming from Long Beach Island.

Tuckerton

Depths 60 to 80 feet in the ocean dished out sea bass, lots of shorts, but keepers too, said Capt. T.J. from Legal Limit Charters. Charters were able to make a decent catch. Shared charters are sailing for the bottom fishing every Tuesday and Thursday when no full charter is booked. Friends flounder fished on the bay, working through 10 shorts for every keeper, and the keepers averaged 18 to 19 inches, none big. Legal Limit’s ocean flounder charters could begin any time, as soon as T.J. hears about good catches from warming waters. His first shark charter is slated for Saturday, and word rolled around about makos sometimes wrangled up.

Mystic Island

Local striped bass catches started to be heard about, and distinguishing between rumors and facts was difficult, but some of the fish were around, said the report on Scott’s Bait & Tackle’s Web site. The folks at the shop believed a few were pulled from Little Egg Inlet today. But fishing for the linesiders with bunker snagged from pods of the baitfish was yet to happen locally, including off Long Beach Island, though catches were red hot at this time last year, and currently the fish were getting pillaged farther north. They were also drilled at Wreck Inlet. A couple of customers once again boated big stripers from the white waters of the dangerous inlet while fishing bunker chunks, after they had also drilled the catches previously. They brought their own bunker, didn’t snag it on the trip, because no bunker schooled the inlet. One couple of customers checked in seven keeper flounder to 25 inches and a weakfish Saturday and thirteen keepers to a 29-inch 9.2-pound Monday. “Wow,” is all the report could say. Previously the shop reported lots of fluke found in the bay, but few keepers. The location and baits the anglers fished weren’t entirely disclosed, but on the first day they fished the clam stakes in the bay just like everybody else. On the second day they fished Great Bay, and that’s all the site said was known for sure about location. The anglers were known to love fishing with Gulp baits, but the guess was that they had more tricks up their sleeves. Minnows, the favorite flounder bait, were scarce, running out at one point during the weekend, before they were re-stocked. The weather kept preventing the baitfish from potting well. Some anglers began to test waters for sharks at Grassy Channel on Great Bay. Big brown and sandbar sharks enter the waters toward summer, usually by the second week of June. The first few hours of dark are usually best. That’s an opportunity to battle bruisers without the hassles of running offshore, and the shop can give advice about the fishing, even carries supplies specifically for the angling, like a special rig and a small chum ball.

Atlantic City

Kingfish got plucked from the surf, said Noel from One Stop Bait & Tackle. The population wasn’t as thick as could be, ranged from fair to spotty, but plenty were nabbed, and the season for kings was probably only getting started. Bloodworms caught them, and waters needed to warm for artificials like FishBites to work. Striped bass, good-sized ones, were banked from the suds on fresh clams, fresh bunker, bloodworms and eels. Lots of flounder carpeted the bottom from the surf to around the T-jetty to up the channel along Absecon Inlet. Blues, a bunch, swarmed the back waters including toward Harrah’s, the Flagship and behind the Borgata. All the baits mentioned and more are stocked.

Margate

A bluefishing trip with O-Beth Sportfishing trolled probably a dozen slammers to 10 and 12 pounds along the 20-fathom line on lures such as Pony Tails and Stretch plugs toward the end of last week, Capt. Eric said. Waters were 67 degrees, clear and in good shape for mako sharks to invade. Only a matter of time, he said. Now is prime time for shark fishing, and O-Beth loves sailing for the monsters, and already belted a mess of blue sharks on a trip last week. Some openings remain for sharking, and the fishing will only get better. In addition to bluefish and sharks, O-Beth is currently bottom fishing for a combo of flounder and sea bass at the wrecks and reefs.

Longport

Lots of flounder, a few keepers, were pounded in the ocean on the Stray Cat along with sea bass, ling and kingfish, Capt. Mike said. Most of the flatties were 14 to 17-1/2-inches, and out-of-season porgies were also reeled up and released. All fish that normally bite showed up except snapper blues and weakfish. Charters are doing the bottom-fishing, and so are open trips whenever there’s demand. Even if anglers have a small group, the crew can probably make calls to fill in spaces. Bluefin tuna roamed the 20-fathom line toward the Elephant Trunk, and sharks hunted waters, and charters are sailing for both.

Somers Point

Ships Channel on the bay was loaded with mostly cookie-cutter 16-1/2-inch flounder, and one or two in thirty of the flatties was a keeper, a fax from Dolfin Dock said. Berkley Gulps, silversides and minnows seemed the hot baits. Laura Bekier from Belmar got lucky and grabbed a 6-pound doormat in the bay off Kennedy Park. Steve and Bill King from Absecon creeled a 4-1/2-pound flounder from the bay on a minnow and squid combo. Big bluefish swam the A.C. Ridge, and blue sharks haunted the usual places, but no makos turned up yet.

Customers picked up flounder through the week in the bay at Ships Channel, Kennedy Park, Rainbow Channel and Anchorage Point, said T.C. from Brennan Marine in a fax. Bob Whiteside and gang tackled a 4.48-pound 23.5-inch flounder and more than 30 throwbacks at Rainbow Channel. The keeper inhaled a Gulp New Penny Shrimp. Small bluefish showed up in numbers in the bay, getting hooked on nearly anything including mackerel, squid, minnows and Gulps. One angler landed a striper on the bay when he tossed a clam bait off the back of his boat at Harbor Cove Marina. Other anglers caught stripers at the Longport jetty and from the Ocean City Fishing Pier. Large catches of sea bass were supposedly bailed at the A.C. and G.E. reefs. Bluefin tuna were fought at 19-Fathom Lump and the Hot Dog, and some offshore anglers headed to Lindenkohl Canyon to search for yellowfin tuna, because warm waters moved in. No results were heard by the time T.C. sent this report, but fishing for yellowfins seemed like it could start early, he said.

Sea Isle City

The weekend was excellent for fishing on the back bay, said Capt. Joe Hughes from Jersey Cape Guide Service and Gibson’s Tackle. He took his dad flounder fishing on the bay Saturday, sort of an early Father’s Day present. More than 30 flounder of mixed sizes including two keepers to 5 pounds and three blues at least 3 pounds apiece were bailed. Action was steady and had been lately on the right tides, some of the busiest in a long time. A rig with a 4-inch, white mullet on a Gulp and a minnow on a plain hook on a dropper was fished. The bigger fish chomped the bucktail, and larger numbers hit the minnow. On Sunday Jay Vonczoernig jumped aboard solo with Joe in the morning and with Jay’s son Luc, 7, in the afternoon. On the morning trip Jay decided to search for weakfish with Joe on the bay, casting Bass Assassins and Clouser flies in chartereuse-and-white and pink-and-lime, though only a few weakfish swam the waters. Three of the trout to 6 pounds were landed on both the soft plastics and the flies, and two or three blues, smaller than on the previous day but respectable, were hung. The afternoon trip with Jay and his son clammed for stripers in a short time on the bay, going 3 for 5. All three were keepers, one weighing 12 pounds, the other two measuring 28 to 29 inches. Action was fast for the short time, and the tide was perfect: the beginning of outgoing. Joe did no fishing for stripers with popper lures or flies, waiting for high tides to coincide with evenings, the best time. That’ll happen later this week, and popper fishing for the linesiders, one of Joe’s specialties, was good so far this season, and started early. He poles his flats boat on the shallows of the bay for the fishing, like angling in Florida or a tropical destination. Joe’s friend Frank Steedley and crew fished offshore during the weekend, boating a mahi mahi at Lindenkohl Canyon, then moving inshore to between 40 and 50 fathoms, whaling six or eight bluefin tuna to 40 pounds, keeping a limit of one, releasing the rest. So tuna arrived for sure, and it was good to hear that they were closer to shore than before, like when Joe caught bluefins at Baltimore Canyon on the last weekend of May. Joe encourages anglers to go tuna fishing now, not to wait, because he’s walloped some of the best catches early in the last seasons. If anyone waits for more reports about the fishing, it could be too late. Last year’s catches got hopping in June and July, then dropped off, and Joe hoped that didn’t happen this year, but catches were good now. Joe also heard about several blue sharks and small makos clocked. He’ll make an annual trip to the Merrimack River in Massachusetts June 23 to 26, offering fly charters on the outing. Remaining space is limited but available. The linesiders should flood the waters, the prime time, and the fish, 25- to 40-inchers, bite through the day, so trips are banker’s hours. Jersey Cape from Sea Isle is offering after-work special trips on the back bay from 4 p.m. to dark, a great time to fish, when nobody else is on the waters, and action can be best. Convenient, too. Joe will offer mixed-bag offshore fishing this summer, trolling for tuna in the mornings, then casting lures, bait or flies to mahi mahi in the afternoons.

Avalon

Waters off New Jersey and Maryland started to draw in plenty of bluefin tuna in the last week, an e-mail from Over Under Adventures said. The fish seemed to show up earlier each season and stay later, and the current population of the fish seemed to promise another exceptional season of the fishing. There was no better time to target them than now, because they just arrived, and fishing fleets were yet to hammer them. To make news more interesting, reports about quality numbers of yellowfin tuna rolled in from the canyons. In past years, the crew suggested fishing for yellowfins in late summer. But during last year the best catches were nailed in June and early July. So there’s no reason to wait. If anglers were looking to take a tuna trip, the fish were here now. The angling could become better in late summer and fall, and that would be terrific, but the fish were here, and fishing pressure was light. Bluefins could be gone after on 12-hour, day-long trips. But to reach the yellowfins, an overnight trip that allows the extra distance and fishing at dusk and dawn was the deal. Over Under will offer special, 28-hour, overnight trips for the rest of June and in early July for the same rate as 22-hour trips, giving 6 extra hours to allow precious time for trolling. Sharks could also be fished for at night, and bluefins could possibly be hunted inshore as an extra. The season’s first open-boat trip, a 12-hour leaving at 4:30 a.m., will sail Friday or Saturday, limited to six people. Call to get aboard.

Wildwood

Flounder gobbled up baits along the bay stronger than ever, said Mike from Canal Side Boat Rentals. About 20 of the fish including three keepers were yanked in from one of the rental boats Saturday. Many of the flatties in the bay were only a ½-inch or a ¼-inch short, and strips of mackerel fillet got most bites for customers. Minnows were scarce for bait at this time of year, and unavailable at the shop. But the fish in no way keyed in on minnows, and all the traditional baits like mackerel or spearing got pounced. Small blues 1 to 2 pounds, the size that’s best to eat, sometimes got hooked. Practically nobody fished for weakfish and striped bass, no matter whether some might be around. Everybody concentrated on flounder. Crabbing was slow, but the season was early, and the number caught was better than two weeks ago. Baits stocked include frozen, whole and filleted mackerel, several types of frozen squid including big trolling squid and various colors of Pro Cut squid that’s pre-cut, fresh-frozen clams, salted clams, Pro Cut clams, live shedder crabs and frozen mullet and bunker, including for crabbing. Canal Side rents canopy boats and kayaks for fishing, crabbing and sightseeing. Call ahead during weekdays to make sure Mike will be on hand, until the shop definitely opens at the usual 7 a.m. daily once the season gets going. For now, he’ll probably be there at 8 a.m. on weekdays, but customers can call and get him to come in at 7 a.m. On weekends the shop will open at the usual 7 a.m.

Cape May

A 125-pound mako and a 125-pound blue shark were beaten on Steve Bush’s shark charter Sunday in 150 to 160 feet 35 miles offshore, said Capt. George from the Heavy Hitter. Waters were 67 degrees, and not a single bluefish showed up, though extra heavy chum was set out, because the charter wanted additional chum. John Stonick’s charter angled in flounder to a 7-pound 3-ouncer from Delaware Bay on Saturday, after he decided to cancel drum fishing on the bay, the original plan, because George said drum departed for the season. The flounder fishing was okay, George said, and Mike, Al and Riley were the other anglers on the trip. George’s friend nailed two bluefin tuna to 40 inches at the southern grounds Sunday. Another friend ran a bottom-fishing trip that day that put the anglers on 25 keeper sea bass, lots of shorts, a cod and a few ling. The Heavy Hitter is up for all of this fishing, and bluefishing was the only type of trip that seemed tough at the moment but would normally be happening by now. Blues reportedly tore up waters to the north but seemed scarce close to Cape May.

Delaware Bay’s drum fishing wound down, and trips will start fishing for flounder instead, Capt. Bob from the Down Deep said in a phone call on the waters on what was probably his final drum charter for the season Sunday evening. Anglers aboard stuck a few drum through the week. Decent flounder fishing was had on Delaware Bay, so the boat’s flounder angling will begin there. But fishing for sea bass, sharks and tuna was already possible, and charters for those fish will get under way any time. Sea bass littered the wrecks, and plenty of sharks--lots of blues, big threshers around 400 pounds and a few makos--got subdued during the weekend, and bluefin tuna arrived on the inshore grounds, seemed to swim around the Elephant Trunk.

Dave Noetzel’s group busted out to the ocean for a shark trip Thursday with Schmedley Charters, Capt. Joe said in an e-mail. Four blue sharks, sizeable ones 120 to 140 pounds, were muscled in, and a big thresher was lost in the 63-degree waters at the North Pacific wreck. On Saturday and Sunday John Stetz’s gang competed in the South Jersey Marina Shark Tournament with Schmedley at the Elephant Trunk in 65-degree waters. On the first day they smoked a whopping two makos, including a 120-pound keeper that they bagged, and nine blue sharks. On the second day they wrenched in seven blue sharks, and a mako entered the slick but refused to eat. Although none of the fish was entered in the tournament, those were three great days of sharking, Joe said. A cancellation opened up a charter on the boat to compete in Jim’s Bait & Tackle’s annual shark tournament from Cape May this weekend, and call to get on deck. The crew saw and heard about bluefin tuna in the area while the trips shark fished, so enough seemed to be around, but hardly anyone got after them yet. Schmedley is looking forward to a good tuna season. Space is available on a shared charter to compete in the Mid Atlantic Tuna Tournament on July 16 to 18 from Cape May. Two anglers already committed. Don’t wait to book. Closer to shore, the reef churned out steady action with sea bass, including lots of shorts. Fairly decent flounder catches, one keeper for every six or seven shorts, were pulled from Delaware Bay. Don’t’ wait to book any of these trips.

Sharks, including large makos, threshers, blues and duskies, were pounded during the weekend, despite boat traffic from the South Jersey Marina Shark Tournament, said Capt. Ray from Jaftica Sportfishing. Bluefin tuna moved in to the inshore grounds, and shark anglers started to see them. Sharkers are always the first to spot the tuna during the season, but Ray heard about a 400-pounder caught. A crew trip will probably scope out tuna fishing soon. Yellowfin tuna were sometimes run across at canyons like the Poorman’s and the Washington. Flounder, a healthy number, got rounded up from Delaware Bay and the ocean, like at the deep-water reefs. The flounder season looked like it would be productive. A sea bass charter will fish this weekend.

Mako sharks and big threshers got slammed, said Capt. Tom from the Fishin’ Fever, so good sharking was under way. A population of 100-pound bluefin tuna now pushed in to the southern, inshore lumps. Small yellowfin tuna, but keepers, traveled up and down the 100-fathom line. Flounder, including 20- and 24-inchers, got tugged aboard from the ocean, and catches will only improve. Flounder also hugged bottom in Delaware Bay, but charters on the Fishin’ Fever will fish the ocean for the fluke. Big bluefish held along the 20-fathom line.

Jim’s Bait & Tackle was a weigh station for the weekend’s Jersey Coast Anglers Association’s Fluke Tournament, Matt said in a fax. Most of the biggest fluke entered were hauled from the Old Grounds in the ocean, but some came from the back-waters. The top anglers and catches were: 1st place, Mark Christopher on Andy Shapiro’s Clean Sweep, 6.33-pound fluke, Old Grounds; 2nd place, Jeff Whalen, 5.92-pounder; and 3rd place, Carl Haines, 5.74-pounder. Even the 10th place fish was a respectable 4.71-pound summer flounder. Jim’s Bait & Tackle’s 27th Annual Shark Tournament will take place Saturday. Shark fishing went fairly well, and big threshers and quality makos were weighed in. Carlo Santucci and crew tamed a 322-pound thresher, six blue sharks and a brown shark at the Lori Dawn wreck. Art Cambrilla and gang knocked down a 166-pound mako and four blue sharks. Sea bassing improved at Cape May Reef, with more keepers beginning to move in. Drum fishing slowed down on Delaware Bay, and only a few boats picked up two or three fish apiece. Daytime surf fishing for striped bass also tapered off, and now the better catches usually happened at night. Weakfish were around in the surf, but not too many. Most were hooked along the inlet jetties, but a few were found along the jetties at Cape May Point and Higbee’s Beach.

The crew from the Fat Cat won the prize for heaviest shark in the two-day South Jersey Marina Shark Tournament this weekend with a 590-pound thresher, an e-mail from the marina said. The crews from the 114 boats who entered weighed in 39 sharks, mostly threshers, makos and blue sharks. The crew from the Hot Works nailed a bigger thresher, a 631-pounder, but had lots of difficulty getting the beast into the boat, causing them to miss the weigh-in time, the e-mail said. But the catch was being submitted to be considered the new state record thresher, it said. The other winners for heaviest shark were: second place, 567-pound thresher, Common Sense; and third place, 537-pound thresher, Good Times II. Heaviest makos were: first place, 232 pounds, 100 Proof; and second place, 212 pounds, Miss Edna Jane. No mako was entered for third place, and 200 pounds was reportedly the minimum weight, according to other sources, although the e-mail didn’t mention the minimum. The heaviest blue shark was a 265-pounder clubbed on the Re Joyce. The entrants competed for a total purse of $298,670. <a href=" http://www.southjerseytournaments.com/" target="_blank">Click here</a> for more info.