<b>Keyport</b>

A short, 2-1/2-hour trip fluke fished off Keansburg on Tuesday, nabbing a keeper, releasing seven throwbacks, said Capt. Joe from <b>Papa’s Angels Charters</b>. The fish chomped in 13 to 14 feet on killies with squid on incoming tide. Many of flatties were 17 inches, plump, large ones, an inch under the legal size, a shame the limit was so big. Joe saw no signs of bluefish in the waters. One angler is interested in an open-boat trip for fluke on the bay on Father’s Day, Sunday, and space is available on the trip, leaving at 7 a.m. Call to jump on. Open-boat trips are sailing daily when no charter is booked on 4- or 6-hour outings leaving at 7 a.m. and on twilight outings 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. Call ahead to go. Credit card payments through PayPal are accepted for all trips.

<b>Atlantic Highlands</b>

The party boat <b>Fishermen</b> on Wednesday’s striped bass trip was first stopped at working birds, but only small blues bit, and was next motored to the clam beds and down the ocean beach, but neither of those places worked out either, Capt. Ron said in the report on the boat’s Web site. The vessel was headed to the Shrewsbury Rocks, and a huge pile of fish was read, so the boat was stopped there, and heavy chum was set out. Hundreds of drum suddenly came up, appeared on the starboard side. Drum and striped bass were hooked on a couple of drifts before the action stopped for the day. Tuesday’s trip ran north to the Rocks, back down the beach and to Romer Shoal, and two keepers were landed at Romer. Ron heard that stripers popped up in the ocean south of the Highlands Bridge, a 25-minute ride. He thought about the possibility of taking the ride and not catching, but took the chance, steaming to the area to try to bail out the day, before the trip ended. No stripers showed up, and he blew the horn three times, because time was up, the trip was finished, and he started sailing back to port, discouraged. Six minutes to the north stripers appeared all on top, and the trip “kicked some bass for a good 45 minutes!” he said. Stripers 16 pounds were bagged. “Many sad faces went to smiles … especially mine! ….” he said. “Never give up!” The Fishermen is striped bass fishing 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily and 3:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Fridays through Sundays. However, the Saturday morning trips are unavailable this month, and the trip this Sunday morning, Father’s Day, will fish for fluke. <b>***Update, Friday, 5/18***</b>: Despite 25 to 35 m.p.h. winds Thursday, anglers aboard managed to catch stripers, “a halfway decent bite for June 17,” Ron said in an e-mail. The boat twisted and rolled in seas from the winds, but the anglers picked away on each drift. Jiggable bass, big fish, chased bait under working birds at the first stop, but none of the anglers had jigs ready to fish. By the time they did, the fish were gone. A trip hadn’t jigged in 2 ½ weeks, “(but) always be prepared!” he said. The anglers clammed for stripers the rest of the trip. Check out a <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dP61qvPTF5I" target="_blank">video of Thursday’s fishing</a>.

With boating for striped bass, on one day anglers caught, and on another day they did not, said Jimmy from <b>Julian’s Bait & Tackle</b>. The fish were clubbed on live or chunked bunker on the ocean or were clammed at places like Romer Shoal and Flynn’s Knoll. But some were trolled every day off Sea Bright. Surf anglers dragged in a striper if they put in the time, and fluke were yanked from the surf. Fluke anglers on the bay pancaked lots on Wednesday. “I don’t know if that was a fluke,” Jimmy said, smiling. Bottom fishing walloped very good catches of sea bass, ling and cod.

Though fluke fishing was a little slow on Monday’s trips, catches were better on Tuesday’s on the party boat <b>Atlantic Star</b>, Capt. Tom said. Better conditions developed for the boat to fish at Reach Channel that day, and the flatties were caught there, the first time this year they were. Fluke began to spread out to more areas, and they still held from the Navy Pier to Sandy Hook Point, where the boat had previously fished. But now they also were hooked on trips at the Reach and on the other side of the pier. Somewhat of an improvement in the fishing continued on Wednesday morning’s trip, but the angling somewhat dropped off on Wednesday afternoon’s. Slow periods can happen. An incredible number of fluke flooded the waters, putting up good fishing on trips, except at occasional times like Monday, and if anglers got lucky, they bagged keepers. One angler limited out on Wednesday morning’s trip, and that was the exception but proved it could be done. Of course, some anglers on trips bagged no keepers, and others bagged one or two. But all caught at least shorts. Pool-winning fish usually weighed about 4 pounds, none huge. Some patrons fished with bucktails or jigs, sometimes scoring better. But whether that was because of the bucktail or jig or the angler was difficult to tell. The angler who limited out fished with a bucktail, constantly hooking the fish, had a touch. Spearing and squid supplied for bait on trips worked fine. Some anglers fished with Gulp artificial baits like New Penny Shrimp, but again, whether the bait or the angler was the reason they sometimes caught more was difficult to say. Some customers brought killies to fish with. Tom saw no difference in results with the killies, but sometimes killies can work better on a slow drift, because of the action of the baitfish. Tom tells anglers if they like to fish with killies, pick up a small amount like a half-pint, plenty on a half-day trip, on the way to the boat. The Atlantic Star is fishing for fluke on two trips daily 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. <b>***Update, Friday, 5/18***</b>: The keeper ratio on Friday morning’s fluke trip was the best yet this season, Tom said in a phone call in the middle of the afternoon trip. The boat fished on the bay, and the fluking was quite an improvement that day so far. On Thursday, despite strong winds, fluke were boated on the morning trip. But by the afternoon, the fishing was tough in rocky, rollie conditions.

<b>Highlands</b>

A new body of striped bass arrived up the beaches, and trips with <b>Fisher Price Charters</b> beat good catches of the fish to 33 pounds on live and chunked bunker, Capt. Derek said. Because the fish still migrated up, he expects the fishing to last another three or four weeks into mid July, and will keep going after them through then. Previously trips fished for the stripers from Raritan Bay to along the ocean beaches, depending on conditions or winds and tides. No bluefish really swam among the stripers. Lots of bunker schooled in the harbors and in the ocean, but bunker boats were on them on the ocean, scooping up lots. Open-boat trips for stripers are sold out in the coming days, but anglers can call Derek to be kept informed about when the next ones will be slated. Charters are available. When striper fishing tapers off, trips will bottom fish and will sail for fluke, bucktailing for the big flatties at the rough bottom, wrecks and channels. A bottom trip already sailed, banging out a good catch of sea bass and other fish.

Striped bass fishing seemed to slow down in the local area but pick up in the ocean to the south, said Wayne from <b>Twin Lights Marina</b>. One of the charter captains said that putting a few keepers in the box became all that he could do, and his trips clammed for the fish at places like Romer Shoal and Flynn’s Knoll. But the fish were caught to the south on the ocean on live and chunked bunker, and live bunker is the bait to use for a big one. Fluke fishing in the bay churned out lots of shorts and a few keepers, no big keepers yet. But some said mostly keepers gathered around the Oceanic Bridge on the Navesink River. Blues could be found from the ocean to the bay to the rivers. Bottom fish like cod and ling were located close to shore, because waters were cool. Live bunker, fresh clams, killies, good-sized ones, and all the frozen baits, including for fluke, including the different types of squid, spearing, Peruvian smelts, and sand eels, are stocked.

<b>Neptune</b>

With <b>Last Lady Fishing Charters</b> striped bass fishing lit up again, became red hot, Capt. Ralph said. The fish, big ones, fed on bunker in the ocean from Shark River Inlet to Manasquan Inlet, turning on during mornings and afternoons. A trip Tuesday livelined the bunker to bust the bass to 35 pounds. Individual-reservation fluke/sea bass trips will sail every Wednesday starting next week. An individual-reservation mako shark trip will fish on Tuesday, June 29. The season’s first individual-reservation, overnight trip for tuna at the canyons will sail July 20 to 21.

<b>Belmar</b>

Fishing for striped bass blistered the fish, great catches, to 36 pounds on the ocean Wednesday on the <b>Nan Sea J</b> on livelined bunker, Capt. Tom said. Good sea bass catches were burned on trips recently. Trips really did no fluking yet. Bluefish moved closer to the coast, holding on the end of the Mudhole closer to shore now. The weekly, open-boat trip for sharks every Wednesday didn’t sail this week, because of the striper charter, but next week’s will run, and a few anglers were already interested in going. Call to jump aboard the rare opportunity to fight the beasts on an open trip. Shark charters are also fishing, and sharking is Tom’s favorite angling.

Bluefish were bombed, very good fishing, on the party boat <b>Miss Belmar Princess</b> on both daytime and nighttime trips, Capt. Alan said. The 5- to 10-pounders previously gathered 20 miles offshore, but on Wednesday appeared only 10 miles off. Almost every trip sailed, except Wednesday night’s trip that stayed docked. On the party boat <b>Tropical Adventure</b>, the boat that replaced the fleet’s vessel Royal Miss Belmar, fluke fishing produced a few keepers, lots of shorts, and some sea bass on the ocean. Waters were a little cool for the angling, and the fluking should pick up, become really good, in a week or 10 days, as waters warm. The Miss Belmar Princess is bluefishing twice daily 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. The Tropical Adventure is fluke fishing twice daily 7:30 a.m. to 12 noon and 1:30 p.m. to 6 p.m.

The party boat <b>Golden Eagle</b> began running for bluefish in the past week, sailing on most trips, and good catches of 5- to 8-pounders were claimed on the whole, Capt. Greg said. Tuesday’s fishing was a little “shaky,” he said, but fine fishing for a bunch of blues bounced back on Wednesday, and a 35-pound striped bass was added to the catch that day. The blues moved a little closer to shore on Wednesday, and the fishing was “getting there,” he said. Bait and jigs socked the fish on daytime trips, and bait as usual drew the bites on night trips. The Golden Eagle is fishing for bluefish  daily 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. to 2:30 a.m.

Boaters Mohawked big striped bass on the ocean, snagging bunker from schools of the baitfish, livelining the menhaden for the hook ups, said Bob from <b>Fisherman’s Den</b>. A 48-pounder was the biggest weighed in. Surf anglers sometimes plowed big ones too, also on snagged bunker. A matter of riding and looking, Bob said. Sometimes the sharpies worked pencil poppers for a strike. Also on the ocean, good fishing for sea bass was dusted, and healthy catches of fluke were taken when winds were right. The party boats that sailed for blues mopped them up when enough anglers showed up for the trips to get out. They’ll get out every time, when schools let out for summer. Shark River’s fluke fishing was very good, and the only drawback was that 80 percent were throwbacks. But keepers were culled, including on the shop’s rental boats.  

<b>Brielle</b>

Each night trip for bluefish racked up good catches this week on the party boat <b>Jamaica</b>, an e-mail from the boat said. Limits of the 6- to 13-pounders were common on Tuesday night’s trip, and the fishing was best 17 miles to the south and offshore. Catches of blues had been poor on daytime trips Monday and Tuesday but improved lots on the boat Wednesday. That trip was on the way offshore to the grounds the boat fished at night, but big schools of 6- to 14-pounders appeared only 14 miles from port, feeding on the surface. Anglers aboard fought them on every drift on bait and jigs until noon, when the angling slowed down. At times the blues were read from the surface almost to the bottom in the 100-foot depths. Recent pool-winners were: John Sweeney, Bristol, Pennsylvania, with a 14-pound blue; Jim Delaney, Trenton, with a 14-pounder; and Brian Scott, Philadelphia, with a 13-pounder. The outlook seemed good for upcoming trips, because the blues seen lately were the most seen so far this year. Two trips are fishing for blues 7:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. daily.

A couple of striped bass trips with a sea bass trip in between sailed Monday through Wednesday on the ocean with <b>Fish Monger Charters</b>, Capt. Jerry said in an e-mail. The first striper trip – a charter on Monday with the gang with Joe Hanily, aka Anchor Joe – landed seven big bass to 40 pounds, keeping only four of the smaller ones, mixing in bottom-fishing, adding 53 sea bass and a couple of ling to the box. A couple of 38-pound stripers were among the bass. The trip hopped around to bunker schools to look for the stripers, livelining the menhaden, hooking up. At one point a big whale and dolphins swam with the bait between the boat and the beach, “putting on a real show!” Jerry said. The stripers turned off after morning, and then only a few blues showed up. So the charter next bottom-fished, putting up the sea bass and ling, releasing a few out-of-season blackfish. The trip Tuesday, with Eric the Mortgage Man’s group, bottom fished, “another super day of sea bassing!” Jerry said. The six anglers limited out on sea bass, good-sized keepers, before 2 p.m., bagging a few ling, releasing blackfish and a cod. The trip only had to make a few shifts, when action slowed, and bites would start all over. Fish Monger experienced some excellent fishing for sea bass since the season opened, Jerry said. On Wednesday Greg Melara’s charter sailed for stripers, blasting the fish, keeping a limit to a 38-pounder for the five anglers, releasing others, tagging those with Berkeley Striper Club tags.  The trip first made a dozen pieces of bait in bunker right outside the inlet, only enough bait to get by for a moment, because the crew heard from other captains that lots more bunker with stripers chasing them swam to the north. The boat ran north, and stripers were blowing up on bunker. Stripers bit on every drift, hanging around all morning, a big spread of the fish, menhaden and boaters catching for 2 miles. The anglers with Fish Monger easily had more than 30 bites before lunchtime. Jerry hoped the current fishing, particularly sea bassing, kept up until trips begin to focus on bucktailing for fluke where the big ones live. Both charters and open-boat trips sail with Fish Monger, and only a few spaces are left in July and August, and fall bottom-fishing trips are already being booked. “Give a buzz,” Jerry said, “let’s go fishing.”

<b>Point Pleasant</b>

On the <b>Canyon Runner</b> the year’s first tuna trip from New Jersey ran Friday to 1,100 fathoms at Hudson Canyon to the season’s first Gulf Stream eddy to move in, a report on the boat’s Web site said. On the way, waters were 64 degrees at the canyon. But the temp jumped to 67.9 degrees at edge of the eddy at 1,000 fathoms at the mouth’s southwest corner, and the rods went off. Yellowfin tuna attacked five Canyon Runner spreader bars, and two of the 45-pounders were hooked and landed. This was at 6:30 a.m., “so we were feeling good,” the report said. “Wrong feeling – not another bite the rest of the day.” The trip was a day-trolling one with a charity charter, one of a dozen that Canyon Runner donated for this year. This one was donated to St. Bernard’s School in New York City, and was auctioned to the anglers. The crew hopes this trip was the first of 120 that should sail to the canyons from Jersey this season, if the weather holds through fall. For a charter Tuesday a satellite shot showed the good waters way off the Continental Edge from Hudson Canyon, but tuna were known to be caught to the south, so the crew took the trip to the southern canyons. The trip went 8 for 18 on yellowfin tuna, first fishing at Baltimore Canyon in 68-degree waters. On arrival, more bait was read than in years, and two 35- to 40-pound yellowfins were trolled among four that attacked. The boat worked south along the Continental Edge with no more luck. At night a bunch of blue sharks showed up, “but I think we overran the makos,” the report said. By morning the boat was near Poorman’s Canyon, and the charter went 3 for 6 on 35- to 40-pound yellowfins before 6 a.m. At 10 a.m. they went 3 for 6 again, on somewhat larger, 45- to 50-pound yellowfins. A couple of other shots of tuna attacked but never came tight, before the trip had to run home. At one point the trip, a “canyon tutorial trip” or a “Seminar at Sea,” the report said, reached 135 miles from port. “Let it not be said that we won’t run to where he have to put our charters on fish!” the report said.

Striped bass, big fish, amazingly piled into waters along the coast once again in the past couple of days, said Capt. Fred from <b>Andrea’s Toy Charters</b>. The Horst Klein charter whacked nine big bass Wednesday on livelined bunker. Previously the fishing had been up and down, hit and miss, and Fred can’t imagine that striper fishing is going to last too much longer, more than a couple of weeks or so. But his trips are either chasing the bass or doing a combo of striper and sea bass fishing through about that time. When stripers pop up, the trips go after them. If the bite shuts down during a trip, the anglers can switch to sea bassing, returning to striper fishing as soon as more of the linesiders are known to pop up, and that does happen. Great catches of sea bass were made when trips fished for them. After about two weeks, trips will mostly be mid-shore, mixed-bag charters for bluefin tuna, sharks, pollock and cod, all in one outing, from 30 to 70 miles from the coast. Those trips are already sometimes sailing, and one fished last week, covered in a previous report. No bluefins were found on the trip, but the tuna should turn on any time. But a bunch of blue sharks were beaten and released, and a good catch of cod was clobbered. Somewhat later in summer, mixed-bag trips, including charters and open-boat, will run farther offshore to the canyons for tuna, sharks, swordfish, mahi mahi and tilefish, all in one outing. This is the schedule each year for Andrea’s Toy, and the boat specializes in mixed-bag fishing for greater fun, better chances of hooking up and more variety for dinner. Get on the list now for the open trips before spots fill.

Trips fished for fluke on the ocean Monday and Tuesday with <b>High Hook Sport Fishing</b>, Capt. Scott said. Ten keepers were bagged on the first day, fishing around the lump off the Red Church in 30 to 50 feet, and 15 keepers were totaled the second day, fishing off Belmar a mile from shore at a lump. The keepers were just keeper-sized, 18 or 19 inches. Bottom rigs with an egg sinker and killies and squid on hooks dressed with material like hair for a teaser were mostly fished. A couple of the anglers bounced bucktail jigs. High Hook is also shark fishing, and loves sharking, and will also sail for striped bass, if anglers request.

The crew from the party boat <b>Cock Robin</b> promises its daily bluefish-trip anglers that if a legitimate chance at striped bass happens, the trip will go after them. True to the promise, today’s trip tried for stripers at bunker schools on the ocean, snagging the menhaden to liveline the baitfish for a bass, an e-mail from the boat said. But no stripers bit. So the trip moved offshore for bluefish in somewhat sporty swells, and the anglers slugged good catches. The fish fed on anchovies, so they preferred jigs over bait, and only jigs with no tails or green tails worked, and no other color drew strikes. On Wednesday the one bluefish boat that sailed from the port found the fish closer to shore. “Could this be the start of the <i>real</i> season?!” the e-mail asked. Take dad fishing this weekend on the boat: To celebrate Father’s Day, dad gets a free fare this Friday through Sunday when accompanied by a paid adult, limited registration. The Cock Robin is sailing 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily and 7:30 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays.

Fluke fishing was sluggish on trips in cool waters on the ocean, but a few keepers and some shorts were angled up every day, said Capt. Matt from the party boat fleet from the <b>Norma K</b>.  The fish felt ice cold, and Matt thinks plenty are around, but waters need to warm a bit for more to bite. A few sea bass, not a lot, were picked up when trips drifted over the rough bottom. Excellent catches of 4- to 10-pound blues, with 12-pound pool-winners, were whaled on nighttime trips. Most of the anglers hooked their limits, usually only keeping as many as they wanted, releasing the rest. Trips are fishing for fluke twice daily 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 2 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. and are bluefishing 7 p.m. to 1 a.m.

Sea bass and ling, okay catches, and a few cod to 8 pounds were knuckled up on the party boat <b>Dauntless</b>, Capt. Butch said. A few more ling than sea bass chomped in the last few days, and sea bassing slowed down during the period. Both fish were healthy sized, and patrons totaled anywhere from 6 to 20 fish apiece, depending on the angler. If the angler fished hard, a good catch was scored, and if not, not as much of a catch was plundered. Stan Lanken won the pool with an 8-pound cod on Wednesday’s trip, bagging 10 other fish, a mix of sea bass and ling. Nighttime bluefish trips, sailing on Fridays and Saturdays until sailing every night starting in two Fridays, socked good-sized, 3- to 8-pound blues. The Dauntless is fishing for sea bass 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. daily and for bluefish 7:30 p.m. to 1 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays. The bluefish trips will sail every night during those hours starting in two Fridays.

<b>Bricktown</b>

Manasquan River was on fire with fluke fishing, said Capt. Rich from the tackle shop <b>Jersey Hooker Outfitters</b>, located in Brick, and <b>Jersey Hooker Charters</b>, sailing from Point Pleasant.  Some anglers limited out, some bagged one or two keepers, and some only landed shorts. Nothing much seemed to be doing with fluking on the ocean in cold waters for the flatties. But sea bass fishing pounded out hardy catches at the reefs, and Axel Carlson Reef was smoking the past couple of days. Ocean striped bass fishing turned out the catches in the mornings then petered out. A wide area held the fish from Mantoloking to Belmar, and where they would swim day to day, nobody could know. Rich neither saw nor heard about bluefin tuna on the inshore ocean, except he heard rumors some time ago about footballs seen at Barnegat Ridge, but nothing confirmed. He ran a trip trying for sharks on Sunday but scored a donut. The drift was terrible on the hot, still day, only moving 2 miles in 7 hours. Waters were chilly in the low 60s, but as high as 68, and bluefish swam the waters. Jersey Hooker Charters will compete in a shark tournament in two weekends. Catch the shop’s <b>Shark Tournament Bait Special</b> for only $99: three 5-gallon buckets of bunker chum, one flat of mackerel and five bags of ice. 

<b>Toms River</b>

One customer totaled three to four keeper fluke per trip while fishing on Barnegat Bay between the BI and BB markers three times a week, said Dennis from <b>Murphy’s Hook House</b>. The fish were 19 to 21 inches, and he mostly fished with a combo of spearing and squid. Other customers wrangled up fluke at the BI and Oyster and Double Creek channels on the bay. Some who fished at Manasquan Inlet landed 20 to 30 throwback fluke and one or two keepers per trip. Lots of the throwbacks seemed 13 to 15 inches, probably boding well for the future. A few fished at the Tire Reef in the ocean off Barnegat Inlet, picking a few sea bass and occasional fluke, a little bigger fluke 20 or 21 inches. A scattering of blowfish and kingfish held in the bay, nibbling on bits of clam or squid while boaters anchored and chummed with clam or bunker, but clam worked best. One or two weakfish per trip were hung from the bay at Berkeley Island Park, mostly on Gulps on jigs, sometimes on Fin-S Fish on jigs. Bluefish mostly 2 pounds schooled the bay from Good Luck Point to the south and were trolled on Ponytails or hooked on any plug. Blues 2 to 6 pounds consistently ran through Barnegat Inlet, swiping metal like Hopkins or Kastmasters. In the surf striped bass were beached once in a while, mostly on fresh bunker, and if anglers put in the time, they caught. Sand sharks were banked, and no brown sharks turned up yet in the surf this season, and south winds kept cooling the waters. Boaters on the ocean sometimes decked striped bass, and lots of bunker schooled the waters, and whales breached. Dennis heard about no thresher sharks terrorizing the bunker yet, but now was the time for them to move in. Fresh clams, fresh bunker, killies, spearing, Peruvian smelts and more are stocked. The smelts were becoming more popular for fluke bait and looked like large spearing.

<b>Seaside Heights</b>

Angling for striped bass was a pick for both surf anglers and boaters on the ocean, said Scott from <b>The Dock Outfitters</b>. The fish appeared off Mantoloking this morning, and a bunch showed up off Sea Girt Wednesday evening. Plenty of sea bass hovered along the ocean wrecks. The surf began to attract fluke that will pounce on a bucktail or a fluke rig baited with things like chartreuse Gulps. Fluke served up lots of bites at the inlets and in Barnegat Bay off Cedar Creek. Lots of small blues were scattered in the bay, often toward Barnegat Inlet. Weakfish were sometimes grabbed on the northern bay at the Mantoloking Bridge. Fresh bunker, fresh clams, killies, all the fluke baits and the full supply of baits is stocked. Catch Wacky Wednesdays every week, when clams are $2 per dozen. The rental boats are in the waters for fishing and crabbing, and the jet skis are at the ready.

<b>Seaside Park</b>

Two anglers aboard Monday limited out on sea bass, including big ones, on a full-day wreck-fishing trip on the ocean,  said Capt. Rob “Birch” Birchmeier from <b>Fishguts Inshore Charters</b> in an e-mail. The humpheads weighed up to 3 pounds, and seven fat ling were also creamed. Felt good to see the sea bass flying over the rails after a slower week or so when south winds chilled the ocean, making the fish sluggish. The anglers were also anxious for a good catch after winds shortened a trip a few days previously, though the angling put up a good showing of quality sea bass while they could fish. On the trip Monday, the anglers, in glass-calm seas on the 64-degree ocean, honked a good pick of sizeable sea bass at a few drops at first. Then the boat was anchored on a good read, and they started hammering the big boys. After limiting out, they decided to try for striped bass on bunker schools. Plenty of bunker swam around, but no stripers showed up. Catching good numbers of quality sea bass close to shore through summer is a specialty for Fishguts. The inshore wreck-fishing trips sail on both charters and 10-hour open-boat trips. Combo ocean-wreck and Barnegat Bay trips, one-of-a-kind outings called the Captain’s Combo, are available, fishing for sea bass on the ocean and fluke and bluefish on the bay. The trips are a great opportunity for new saltwater anglers to be introduced to the bounty of the ocean and bay in one charter. Trips that fish the calm bay for fluke and blues are also sailing. Special trips that target trophy blackfish will begin when the tog season opens July 16. Check out the Fishguts Photo Gallery from recent trips.

<b>Forked River</b>

Boaters rounded up fluke on Barnegat Bay including at the BI, BB and 40 markers, Double Creek and Oyster Creek channels, and High Bar Harbor, said Dave from <b>Grizz’s Forked River Bait & Tackle</b>. They seemed to score okay at the Tires in the ocean off Barnegat Inlet. Bluefish swam the inlet, jumping on metal. One angler hauled in a 30-pound striped bass at the inlet that bit twin spearing on a hook meant for fluke. A few stripers seemed around here and there, but Dave heard about none boated in the local ocean in a week. He heard about no weakfish taken at Berkeley Island Park, a spot where the fish sometimes gather. But a 7-pound weak was weighed in that gulped a killie. Crabbing was good, and customers bought lots of frozen bunker for the blueclaws.

<b>Barnegat Light</b>

On the ocean striped bass were boated both north and south, mostly on snagged and dropped bunker, said Mike from <b>Barnegat Light Bait & Tackle</b>. If boaters luck into a pod of bunker that stripers chase, a 30- to 40-pound bass will be pelted. Surf casters slapped fairly good catches of stripers on the beaches at night on bunker or clams. During the daytime fluke piled into the surf, attacking minnows or Gulps on bottom rigs or bucktails. Boaters knocked around lots of the flatties on both the ocean and Barnegat Bay, depending on water temperatures. Probably 1 in 10 or 15 was a keeper. A report was heard about blowfish found in the bay, but Mike didn’t know whether that was accurate. Good crabbing was had. Fresh clams, fresh bunker, minnows, eels and all the frozen baits are stocked. The shop is trying to stock live spots, will carry them as soon as the batifish are available.

<b>Barnegat</b>

Friday and Saturday is the weather window for sailing for bonito and bluefin tuna at Barnegat Ridge and surrounding area, said Capt. Dave DeGennaro from the <b>Hi Flier</b> in an e-mail. Westerly winds were predicted to blow 5 to 10 knots, and open-boat trips will run for this fishing 5 a.m. to 1 p.m. both days, limited to three anglers. Another trip will sail for the angling Sunday if the weather holds, and all you dads can use your Father’s Day leverage to tell the family you’re going fishing, and be back at the dock by 1 p.m., “and be spoiled for the rest of the day,” he said. The trips will high-speed-troll but will also jig if the fish are read. All tackle is provided, and just bring whatever food and drinks you need. Trips on the Hi Flier are also beating up loads of bluefish, 2- to 3-pounders, on popper and surface lures on the shallow flats of Barnegat Bay. Plus during the last couple of days, bay trips jigged fluke at Oyster Creek Channel. Keepers were hard to come by, and most of the fish were 15 to 17 ½ inches, but 20-inch, legal-sized fish were sometimes coolered. Jigs three-eights of an ounce were tipped with Gulps for the bites. Open-boat trips are also available daily for these fish during daytime and evenings, and call to get out.

<b>Tuckerton</b>

Bluefish were the intended target on a trip today, but bluefin tuna showed up instead, smacking the trolling spread somewhat south of 28-Mile Wreck, said Capt. T.J. from <b>Legal Limit Charters</b>. One of the 30- to 35-pound footballs, all cookie-cutter-sized, was kept, and five were released, a good day, he said. Trolled ballyhoos caught them. Charters are fishing for bluefins, and the season’s first shark trips are slated for next week. Legal Limit is also sea bass fishing, and is summer flounder fishing on the bay. Mostly short flounder were around, but anglers could weed through them to bag four to six keepers in a trip. None was big, measuring up to 20 or 21 inches at most. Open-boat trips are fishing every Tuesday and Thursday when enough anglers want to go, and no charter is booked. Call to join the trips.

<b>Mystic Island</b>

Summer flounder were mostly netted on the Mystic Island side of the Fish Factory between the clam stakes and the boat rentals at Rand’s and Captain Mike’s, said Scott from <b>Scott’s Bait & Tackle</b>. But talk was heard about catches of the flatties turning up again at Grassy Channel, after that angling had slowed a moment. Most of the flounder around were shorts, and some anglers couldn’t scrape up a keeper, but others scored okay, and success changed from day to day with no rhyme or reason. Stripers and drum that previously roamed Grassy departed. Schoolie bluefish occasionally popped up at Little Egg Inlet but with no consistency. A few anglers, none of them customers, scared up weakfish at the mouth of the Mullica River, but they were experienced, and shedder crabs were a must for bait. No shedder crabs are stocked, because demand is low with the one-fish bag limit for weaks. Any fish including stripers and bunker in the ocean close to shore disappeared once south winds chilled the waters. Scott heard about temperatures like 56 degrees, and the waters had previously plummeted to 53 or so, and he heard the bottom had been in the high 40s. The cool waters caused the ocean reefs to give up small sea bass more often than larger ones. But larger ones swam the deep. White perch in the brackish rivers gathered closer to saltwater, instead of upstream, like normal as the weather warms. Places like Roundabout Creek, Ballinger Creek and probably even the Wading River should hold them downstream. Bloodworms, grass shrimp, shedder crabs and Fishbites artificial worms will hook them. Gulp artificial worms don’t work so well. Crabbing shoveled up great catches. Fresh, shucked clams, minnows and bloodworms are stocked. Live grass shrimp ran out but will be re-stocked when Scott gets a moment to catch more.

<b>Absecon</b>

Many back-bay anglers seemed to bag one or two keeper summer flounder among shorts tossed back per trip, said Curt from <b>Absecon Bay Sportsman Center</b>. But Ray from the shop axed five keepers today, saying he worked hard for them, fishing all day. Curt didn’t hear about many blues around in the bay. Most striped bass seemed to migrate north that had previously gathered in the ocean and along the surf. But a few stragglers were around, and sometimes bunker continued to be seen in the ocean. Resident striped bass could occasionally be plucked at places like along the surf jetties, but anglers had to fish early in the mornings or in the evenings. Not a lot was heard about striper fishing at the bridges, only because live spots, the favorite bait, were out of stock. But the shop is trying to stock spots and will as soon as the baitfish become available. Live eels didn’t seem to catch the bass much at the bridges. Curt, a white perch angler, hooked the slabs on the Mullica River closer to the saltwater now, and the fish normally move closer to the salt as the weather warms. He did no fishing for the few weakfish that are known to gather at the mouth of the Mullica, because of the one-fish bag limit on weaks, and because fishing was better for the perch, and other catches like small tog and small, 1-pound blues were mixed in. But when the perch eventually drop down toward the mouth, he’ll fish for the whities there and get his shots at the weaks at the same time. Crabbing picked up, and the blueclaws were just beginning another shed, and that is a good time to catch them, because they’re the meatiest then. When crabs first shed and grow a new shell, the shell is somewhat larger than the body, allowing the body to grow into the shell. They become meatier as they grow into the shell, becoming the meatiest just before they’re about to shed again. Fresh clams, minnows, bloodworms, eels, all the frozen baits, a large supply, and shedder crabs are stocked. The shedder supply was limited at the moment, and that depends on when the crabs molt.

<b>Brigantine</b>

A 90-pound drum, a big one, that was hauled in from the surf on 20-pound line, a catch covered in the last report, turned out not to be a world record, because the catch was made on braided line, said Capt. Andy from <b>Riptide Bait & Tackle</b>. The International Game Fish Association only recognizes catches hooked on monofilament. Eric Fluck landed the fish at the island’s south end jetty on a Riptide Rotter clam, one of the slightly old clams the shop sells at a discount. Some anglers say the Rotters catch better than fresh. Boaters who fished the ocean checked in big striped bass that swallowed bunker the anglers snagged from schools and livelined. Tom LaPera Jr. weighed in a 43-1/2-pounder, and John Rinky brought in a 38-pounder. Kingfish bit in the surf on bloodworms or Fishbites artificial worms. Summer flounder fishing turned up fairly good catches in the back bay. One trip on a charter boat today boxed seven keepers among 27 of the fish landed. Stop by the shop for a great deal on tackle. A rep from Team America Tackle will be on hand to match for free the same number of any of the company’s tackle such as swivels, fishing rigs, fish-finders, jigs and spoons that customers buy at the shop. Buy 10 swivels, get 10 free. Buy 100 swivels, get 100 free. And so on. This is a great chance to stock up. The annual Hooked on Fishing, Not on Drugs event is set for Saturday, July 17, at Brigantine, and the first meeting about the day will take place Monday at Town Hall. The children’s event features a free rod and reel for the first 100 kids entered. The kids fish from 9 a.m. to 12 noon, and every child receives a prize, and food like hot dogs and chips are served afterward. Check out the new Web site BigFishNJ.com, dedicated to holding fishing tournaments with prizes throughout the season. Riptide is a weigh-in station, and Andy thinks the site is the best idea in a long time.

<b>Atlantic City</b>

Small bluefin tuna were stacked up at places like the A.C. Ridge, 28-Mile Wreck and the Cigar, said Curt at <b>Offshore Enterprises Bait & Tackle</b>. One trip a customer ran smoked 15, and others pillaged 18 or 13, and some only landed two or three. They released all but their limit of one on private boats and two on charters at the legal sizes. Most of the fish were 30 inches, but occasional ones were larger, and anglers had to hunt for the bigger ones. An 80-pounder was weighed in. The smaller bluefins will attack on the troll up to the prop wash. But the bigger ones are wary, and anglers looked for them by trolling ballyhoos on skirts like Ilanders or Sea Witches far back with line like 30-pound fluorocarbon. Curt and crew use wind-on leaders like that, even if that was overkill, he said. Plenty of mako sharks were fought in 30 fathoms, a little out from shore. The <b>Carly A</b>, the shop’s offshore charter boat, remained at Oregon Inlet, North Carolina, for big-game trips, but will return to New Jersey for trips when offshore fishing at the canyons heats up from Atlantic City this summer. Closer to the coast, big, migrating striped bass swam north for the season. Surf casters banked a bass from time to time on fresh bunker or fresh clams. Sea bass fishing seemed better, seemed to give up bigger fish, in the deep like 80 and 90 feet. In the back bay summer flounder paved the bottom, and 1 in 10 or 15 was a keeper. The best ratio Curt knew about was one keeper out of seven flounder landed on a short, half-hour trip he took with his daughter. Plenty of cocktail blues swam the bay. Big blues schooled offshore, the last Curt heard, but heard little about them, since boaters out there began concentrating on bluefin tuna. But boaters will focus on blues this weekend for the Ladies Invitational Bluefish Tournament, and participants in recent years ran to Barnegat Ridge up north for better catches. Live spots, eels, minnows, a limited supply of fresh clams, now that demand dropped off, fresh bunker when available, all the frozen baits for inshore like squid and mackerel, and all the frozen baits for offshore like flats of the different baitfish  and shark chum, are stocked.
 
<b>Margate</b>

Lots of summer flounder packed the back bay, and many were small, but some good-sized ones were tied into, and many were 3-pounders, said Capt. John from the party boat <b>Keeper</b>. The fishing wasn’t bad at all, he said, was pretty good, and bluefish were occasionally hooked. Patrons pelted the fluke on minnows and mackerel supplied on the boat, sometimes on Gulps they brought themselves. White or chartreuse swim minnows or shrimp worked. The Keeper is fishing for summer flounder twice daily 8 a.m. to 12 noon and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.

<b>Longport</b>

A bluefin tuna had already spooled a 4/0 reel and kept on going when Capt. Mike from the <b>Stray Cat</b> gave this report over the phone on the trip at 8 a.m. today. The fish hit 9 miles from shore in 88 feet on a No. 1 Clark spoon on a planer meant for bonito. He hoped more showed up, and will try to give an update that would be posted here later today. Most of the bluefins swam 15 miles from the coast, and private boaters cleaned up on them. Ten- and 12-hour charters are common for the tuna, but the fish were close enough for 8-hour trips. Charters are fishing for bluefins, bonito and bluefish on the inshore ocean in such areas, and the tuna are in. A trip to the waters two weeks ago caught the first bonito of the season on the boat and blues, covered in a report then. Shark charters are also fishing the blue waters. Charters are also sea bass fishing, mugging good catches of them, a few summer flounder and some snapper blues 10 miles from shore, including on Wednesday. The 66.5-degree, gin-clear waters were crammed with sand eels and butterfish, looked good, and lots of terns and gulls worked the bait. About 40 or 50 keeper sea bass were clocked per trip. Space is available for a charter on Father’s Day on Sunday. Some Sundays are available in the near future, but no Saturdays are left in July. A few Saturdays are left in August.

<b>Ocean City</b>

The Cigar, 28-Mile Wreck and A.C. Ridge all attracted gatherings of bluefin tuna, said Bill from <b>Fin-Atics</b>. Closer to shore, sea bass held on all the reefs and any wreck.  Kingfish and striped bass swam the surf, and so did dog sharks. Thresher sharks began to push bunker right up on the beaches. Tons of summer flounder carpeted the back bay, and the keeper ratio improved to 1 in 20, compared with 1 in 40 previously. Schooling bluefish turned on in the bay during mornings and evenings just before and after slack tides. Lots of crabs were trapped in the back waters.

<b>Sea Isle City</b>

After a lull, surf angling for kingfish started to pick up again Tuesday, and should bounce back, said Ryan from <b>Gibson’s Tackle</b>. Bloodworms were the main bait to fish, and striped bass in the surf mostly migrated away to the north for the season. But big schools of bunker were seen schooling off 11th to 13th streets. More reports about keeper fluke started to roll in from the back bay. Most anglers on a trip landed four to six, including maybe one keeper. One customer said he pumped in 10 including a keeper. Stripers and blues swam the bay, and sea bass hovered in the ocean in 50 to 100 feet.

Two anglers aboard summer-flounder fished a couple of hours on the back bay Monday, tugging up 15 throwbacks and two keepers, said Capt. Joe Hughes from <b>Jersey Cape Guide Service</b>, affiliated with <b>Gibson’s Tackle</b>. Joe’s trips flounder fish on the bay with a rig with a Gulp on a bucktail and a minnow on a plain hook on a trailer. Flounder fishing’s been good on the bay. Joe’s father fished with him that evening for a short time on the bay with Rapala Skitter Pop lures, landing two stripers and a bluefish, missing several other fish. Now was the time for popper fishing on the bay with spin and fly tackle with Jersey Cape. But stripers and blues also blitzed on spearing at times on the bay. Then Joe’s anglers fish with either small soft-plastic lures or Clouser flies to match the hatch. Tides weren’t ideal for that angling the last couple of days, but the tides, high tides, will come around again. Stripers began to be more predominant than blues on the bay, typical for the time of year. The blues for a while in spring dominate the waters, until they begin to depart for the ocean for summer, though some blues stay in the bay all summer. Striper fishing in the bay historically stays good throughout summer. During the extreme heat of summer, the fishing can become best at night, and Joe’s trips fish for them along the lights at the bridges and docks with plastics and flies. But daytime fishing, including popper fishing, was in full swing now. Brown sharks that roam close to shore and can be caught and released in summer will probably become abundant toward the end of the month, and Joe’s trips fish for them. Bluefin tuna were reportedly on the bite in 20 and 30 fathoms on the troll, and Joe is getting ready to start tuna fishing, maybe within the next days. Farther from shore at the canyons, good waters that probably held tuna pushed south and departed that Joe had seen on satellite charts. He’ll run canyon trips like always this summer. Keep up with Joe’s fishing and photos on <a href=" http://captainjoehughes.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Jersey Cape’s blog</a>.

<b>Wildwood</b>

Good days and slower days were served up on sea bass trips on the party boat <b>Adventurer</b> on the ocean, Capt. Gary said. Winds sometimes blew this week, making the angling tougher. A few throwback summer flounder jumped on baits, and not much was heard about better catches of flounder, except at the Old Grounds in the ocean off Delaware, too far for the boat to sail. But trips will eventually focus on flounder when waters warm, and the flattie fishing kicks in. As waters warm, trips begin taking a drift or two to test the flounder angling. When enough keepers bite, trips begin concentrating on them. But even then, when winds and tides hamper the drift, the flounder trips switch back over to sea bass for the day. Trips are sailing for sea bass 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily. 

On the back bay good catches of summer flounder, lots of shorts, but some keepers, were swung aboard, said Mike from <b>Canal Side Boat Rentals</b>. The population of the flatties lived in the bay at this point, and, for example, a charter captain wasn’t bothering to fish for them on the ocean, because they were all in the bay. Minnows on top-and-bottom rigs worked well, and Corky rigs, Fin-Strike rigs and Aqua-Clear rigs were popular. Bucktails also coaxed bites. Small bluefish, not many, sometimes came through, unpredictable, ever on the move. Crabbing was good, and the season seemed to be shaping up for a healthy one on crabs. One crabber today trapped two-dozen sizeable keepers, tossing back another dozen undersized ones, an excellent ratio that seemed promising. Canal Side rents canopy boats and kayaks for fishing, crabbing and sightseeing. Baits stocked include minnows and frozen squid strips, whole squid, spearing, mackerel fillets, mullet, clam strips and packaged clams. Live crabs for eating are carried, currently $9 per dozen for No. 2’s and $15 a dozen for No. 1’s. Later in the season, when the crabs are bigger, the 2’s are $12 and the 1’s are $18.

<b>Cape May</b>

Summer flounder were nabbed best in the Cape May Canal, doling out fairly good catches, said Nick from <b>Hands Too Bait & Tackle</b>. One customer bagged four keepers there on mackerel. Minnows with squid or bucktails also caught the flatties for anglers. Not a ton of the fluke seemed to move to the back bay yet, and they seemed to hold in the canal but maybe also along the Intracoastal Waterway. No customers mentioned boating flounder in Delaware Bay locally, and maybe the bottom needed to warm. Some were headed to the Old Grounds and Reef 11 for flounder but never reported back. An occasional striped bass was beached from the surf, but as waters warmed, they were moving out. If anglers try for them in the surf, clams were the bait. Nick had heard about a few weakfish plucked from along the surf jetties some time ago, but not lately. Those fish are usually hooked on bloodworms on a float rig. Crabbing began to pick up in the back bay. Fresh clams and fresh bunker are usually stocked. Minnows and all the frozen baits like squid and mackerel are on hand.

No trips fished on the boat in the past several days, and this was sort of an in-between period after Delaware Bay drum trips ended last weekend – because the fish mostly departed – and trips for bluefin tuna, sharks, sea bass and summer flounder were beginning. But a charter will compete in Jim’s Bait & Tackle’s shark tournament this weekend, said Capt. George from the <b>Heavy Hitter</b>. He was anxious to sail for the tuna, because they were around. The boat is running a special on the trips, and call for info, and now was the time to hunt the bluefins. Boaters during the weekend banged up well on the tuna in 20 fathoms, as close to shore as tuna generally come, a shorter ride to the grounds than tuna trips to the offshore canyons that happen later in the year, therefore a more economical trip. Shark anglers this weekend also saw the bluefins, jumping and chasing bait, settled down in the waters to feed, no longer schooling while traveling and not eating. The tuna were trolled, not chunked. The only anglers George knew who caught flounder well were ones who fished at the Old Grounds in the ocean off Delaware. He heard about healthy catches there on private boats during the weekend. Inexperienced anglers could luck into flounder at the Old Grounds, an area of rough bottom that attracts populations of better-sized flounder. But the area is large, and locating the bite takes know-how.

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