<b>Staten Island</b>

Probably a dozen keeper fluke, the two biggest weighing 5 pounds apiece, a bunch of shorts and some sea bass mixed in were honked Saturday on the first fluke trip of the year with <b>Outcast Charters</b>, Capt. Joe said. The fishing really wasn’t good, he said, and the trip first tried the ocean, and there was no drift. The boat was power drifted, and that worked for catches a while. Then the trip moved to Raritan Bay, and some of the fish were landed there. Outcast is fishing for fluke and sea bass.

<b>Bayonne</b>

Ten fluke were totaled on two trips that both fished Sandy Hook Channel at buoys 12 and 14 and waters around the TC buoy on Saturday and Sunday, said Capt. Akira from <b>True World Tackle</b> and <b>True World Tackle Charters</b>. The anglers fished with killies, spearing and squid, and strong winds made the fishing difficult on both outings.

<b>Keyport</b>

Anglers sailed for sea bass on Al Hamer’s charter Friday with <b>Papa’s Angels Charters</b>, stopping at Sandy Hook Reef then the Shrewsbury Rocks, Capt. Joe said. A handful of keepers, a small number, and mostly shorts bit, almost all at the Rocks. A roll was on the ocean, and there was a roll the previous days, and winds began to build around noon, and seas were terrible on the ride home. Hardly any boats fished the waters that day. On Saturday two keeper fluke 19 inches apiece and shorts were reeled aboard David Woo’s trip at Reach Channel. Several open trips are sailing for fluke daily when no charter is booked: 4- or 6-hour trips leaving at 7 a.m. and twilight trips from 4 to 9 p.m. Call to go. Credit card payments through PayPal are accepted for all trips.

<b>Atlantic Highlands</b>

Took a while for the currents to build enough for a drift for fluking on Sunday’s trip, said Capt. Ron from the party boat <b>Fishermen</b> in an e-mail. “(But once) things got right, the bite was on,” he said. “Very good action on shorts and keepers.” The trip fished the ocean, and Tom Krako took the lead in the season-long pool with an 8-pound fluke on the next to last drift. Eric the Mortgage Man and Rocco Farina both clubbed four keepers. “Glad to finally see some fish in the ocean,” Ron said.  The Fishermen is sailing for fluke 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily and for bluefish 3:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. However, the morning trips are chartered this Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday.

The number of keeper fluke that were caught somewhat improved on the party boat <b>Atlantic Star</b> in the past days, Capt. Tom said. Not all trips, fishing from the Navy Pier to Reach Channel to off Sandy Hook Point, were better. But the catches of keepers increased overall for the stretch of days, and a couple of the trips produced some of the better catches of keepers so far this season. Saturday morning’s trip, for example, gave up fewer keepers than Tom would hope for, but the afternoon’s trip whaled one of the better catches of legal-sized fish. Nobody limited out on the trips, but on that afternoon trip one angler bagged five keepers, one fish short of a limit, and probably got a little lucky. Some on that trip bagged two or three keepers, and some anglers landed no keepers, like usual, but all reeled in at least shorts. An incredible population of fluke carpeted the bay. On Friday afternoon’s trip anglers probably could’ve landed fluke on a hot dog, the fish bit so much. Tons of the fish were shorts, as usual. Sometimes anglers with a little skill or better feel seemed to score better. Sometimes fishing with a Spro seemed more effective. But sometimes anglers fishing with a jig, like a Spro, or a bucktail switched to bait, because bait anglers caught more, then switched back to the jig or bucktail. Gulps worked well, and chartreuse sometimes cleaned up more catches. New Penny Shrimp Gulps also worked. Spearing and squid, supplied on the boat, also caught. Sometimes anglers brought their own killies. The trips were a short ride, 20 or 25 minutes, to the fishing grounds. 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, Wednesday, 7/21:***</b> Anglers aboard scored a bit of an improvement in fluking Monday, fishing at Reach Channel and around Sunday Hook Point, Tom said. More keepers than before were bagged, and the angling was the same on both trips Tuesday: A bit of an improvement, more keepers. Some caught only shorts, but some boxed four or five keepers. None was huge, and the fish weighed up to 4 or 5 pounds, but good-sized ones were decked. Tom hoped the better fishing continued.

<b>Highlands</b>

Capt. Bob from <b>Sandy Hook Fishing Adventures</b> returned from helping to captain a clean-up vessel for the oil spill off Louisiana, he said in an e-mail. He’ll try to write about what the experience was like. But back at home, he took a trip Saturday with crew and friends on Raritan Bay that totaled nine keeper fluke to 20 inches and many throwbacks released. Charters and open-boat trips are fishing for fluke, a combo of fluke and sea bass or a combo of fluke, sea bass, tog and porgies. Both charters and open trips will also sail for fluke during Magic Hours in the evenings. Call Bob for info or reservations.   

<b>Neptune</b>

Finally, two good trips in a row were scored on keeper fluke! Capt. Ralph from <b>Last Lady Fishing Charters</b> said. Fishing on the ocean, the keeper ratio was 1 in 10 on a trip Saturday and 1 in 5 on a trip Sunday, even better. The fish weighed up to 3 pounds on Saturday and 5 pounds on Sunday. Sea bass to 2 ½ pounds were also boated. Individual-reservation trips for fluke are sailing every Wednesday, and kids under 12 are free. Inshore wreck fishing also walloped catches, and Rich DiGiacomo’s party on one of the trips this past week hammered big sea bass, ling, four keeper cod and one keeper pollock, an extremely good catch. An individual-reservation trip will fish the inshore wrecks Thursday, and space is available. An individual-reservation trip to the offshore wrecks is sold out next week, and more will be scheduled, and Ralph has anglers who want to go, so let him know if you’re interested, so he can coordinate. Charters are also available for the fishing. Doug Stark’s party last week on an offshore wreck trip pounded more than 30 keeper cod. Ralph knew about a trip to Hudson Canyon on another boat this weekend that knocked the heck out of yellowfin tuna 30 to 60 pounds. He also has anglers interested in individual-reservation canyon trips, and, again, call him if interested, so he can coordinate trips. The fish are here. Special, one-day trolling trips to the canyons are on tap. Last Lady also runs a yearly schedule of overnight, open-boat canyon trips, and call for the schedule.

<b>Belmar</b>

The <b>Nan Sea J</b> was bottom fishing lately, barreling up lots of ling and sea bass, some keeper cod and a few blackfish, now that one blackfish could be kept starting Friday, Capt. Tom said. He heard that fluke fishing somewhat improved on the ocean, after catches had been slow. The weekly open-boat trip for sharks will sail Wednesday. Take advantage of the rare opportunity to fish for sharks on an open trip, especially now that shark season could wind down quickly.

Ocean fishing for fluke had been slow, because of many days of south winds, probably 15 days of predominant southerlies, that cool the waters, turning off the fish, said Capt. Eric from <b>On a Mission Fishing Adventures</b>. So trips mostly sailed for sea bass, racking up good catches. Sea bass anglers tried to find a wreck or rock pile that was yet to be pressured. Then plenty of the fish, many of them shorts but also keepers, would be piled up. When trips had been focusing on fluke, they located the best catches to the north of port. Draggers hit hard one of the areas at Sea Girt Reef, putting the kibosh on the angling there. Eric scoped out the inshore ocean along 20 fathoms for bluefin tuna last week on Monday, and none of the fish roamed the area so far. They were caught in 30 to 40 fathoms, but Eric expects the schoolies and footballs to push to 20 fathoms, where his trips fish for them. The tuna usually do arrive, and the bottom was cold, and maybe needed to warm to draw them in. The surface might’ve been 75 degrees, but divers said the bottom was like 40 degrees. Big bluefish tore up the trolling spread when he looked for bluefins, and fishing for the blues is great, if anyone wants to go. On a Mission is finished striped bass fishing until fall, after charters mostly sailed for them in spring. But Eric tossed a Fin-S Fish to land a couple of stripers when he saw the fish popping along the docks when he was cleaning his boat. The bass come up to forage on spearing at night, like under the dock and bridge lights. Eric even took a trip for smallmouth bass on the Delaware River with his girlfriend. He banked two or three, and his girlfriend reeled in five or six. They tossed Yozuri Pins Minnows, a super lure for the smallies, and rubber twister tails, and also poppers at dusk, while wading.

<b>Brielle</b>

On the <b>Big Kid</b> Mike Gallo’s charter jigged six keeper fluke to 5 pounds and numerous throwbacks on the ocean off the Red Church on Saturday on Spro’s with chartreuse Gulps, Capt. Ken said. Members of the Seaside Heights Fishing Club on a trip Sunday tackled a dozen keeper fluke to 8 pounds at Sea Girt and Axel Carlson reefs. Most of the fish pounced on Spro’s with chartreuse Gulps, but the 8-pounder jumped on a sand eel with squid combo. Sea bass to 2 pounds were also clammed on the trip. More fluke trips will sail Tuesday and Wednesday. Overnight trips will sail for tuna at the canyons Thursday to Friday and Saturday to Sunday. Capt. Wally Harmstead, who sometimes runs the Big Kid, took an overnighter to the canyons Saturday to Sunday on a private boat that not only whacked 25 of the fish but caught some of them, a fair number, at night, one of the first nighttime catches this season. The 25- to 60-pounders were trolled during the day and chunked at night. Offshore tournaments available for charters include the Tuna Stakes Invitational on August 21 to 29 and the Manasquan River Marlin and Tuna Club Tournament on August 28 to September 5, open to the public for the first time. Coming tournaments that are already booked include the Beach Haven White Marlin Invitational and the Mid Atlantic $500,000.

Fluke fishing was tough on the ocean last week, for some reason, and quite a few shorts were landed, and trips bagged two to four keepers if lucky, said Chuck from <b>The Reel Seat</b>. But dynamite fluke catches were bailed on Manasquan River. He and his wife last week on Monday iced five keeper fluke, releasing countless shorts, on the river. On Thursday they also fished the river, because seas were too rough to fish the ocean, rustling up seven keeper fluke among lots of shorts let go. But the river’s fluking was tide-specific, only putting out catches from the flood to the beginning of the ebb. Good catches of sea bass were mugged at Axel Carson and Sea Girt reefs and other odd pieces. Some boats at Shark River Reef picked up cod, and Chuck heard nothing about ling. He took his first striped bass trip of the summer at the Shrewsbury Rocks, trolling a great catch of the bass to 18 pounds on shad rigs, until the party boats showed up, and the bite shut off. Bluefin tuna fishing improved considerably at the Triangle from the Chicken Canyon to the Atlantic Princess wreck to the Glory Hole. Catches included smaller bluefins and big ones. Fishing was good farther offshore at the canyons. Yellowfin tuna there shoveled up super catches on one day and slower ones on another. But the biggest news might’ve been that the season’s first nighttime yellowfin catches were made. Chuck knew about a trip that chunked the fish Saturday night east of the 100-Square at Hudson Canyon and trolled more in the morning, scoring well throughout the time. Yellowfins are always trolled during the daytime in the early season and also later in the season but don’t start biting on bait – don’t start being “chunked,” it’s called, named for the chunks of bait used for chum – at night until sometime in summer though fall. Though yellowfin fishing in general was “on” one day and slower the next, billfishing was fairly consistent at the waters. Steve Hegna clobbered an 800-pound blue marlin at the canyons.

<b>Point Pleasant</b>

Fishing was difficult on an open-boat Fluke Till You Puke Trip with <b>Reel Class Charters</b> on Friday on the ocean, Capt. Allen said in the report on the boat’s Web site. Eight fluke to 5.2 pounds and a few sizeable sea bass were bagged, “not a total loss by any means,” he said, “but it was <i>tough</i> fishing.” The five anglers ran north on the trip, fishing offshore at rough bottom and high spots. A few shorts and sea bass bit, and the drift was great, the conditions were there. So either the fluke weren’t there or weren’t biting. Allen got a call at 9 a.m. from a captain on a trip picking keepers not too far away. So Reel Class ran there. That’s where the keepers and some sea bass were taken on the trip, until winds, southerlies, came up quickly, and the drift became too fast. The trip moved inshore, fishing at a couple of places off Long Branch, picking at shorts. By 2 p.m. winds were screaming at a 20 steady knots, and the trip sailed home. “Tough day, just wasn’t our day,” Allen said. If the trip had begun fishing where the keepers were landed, a good mess of the fish would’ve been coolered.

A family trip with the kids heaved in scores of sea bass from the ocean Saturday with <b>High Hook Sport Fishing</b>, Capt. Mark said. A four person charter on Sunday dusted up more of the fish than Saturday from rocks at Sea Girt Reef in 80 feet in somewhat rough seas. Fluke fishing was slow on the ocean recently, so the crew will probably take a break from fluking a week and a half or so. They’d like to run another shark trip before shark season closes, and bluefin tuna trips are being booked that will fish the inshore ocean.

With <b>Andrea’s Toy Charters</b> a trip Sunday sailed for sea bass on the ocean, bucketing a bunch of keepers, including a 6.05-pounder, a monster for inshore waters, and a handful of ling, the report on the boat’s Web site said. One tog was also bagged, and short cod were released. The trip began fishing at snags close to port, and a good catch of sizeable sea bass, most of the sea bass bagged for the day, began to be swung aboard. Next the anglers tried tog fishing at pieces in 60 feet, and mostly shorts bit, except the one keeper, “fun nonetheless,” the report said. More sea bass, including the big one, were boxed there. On Thursday a fluke and sea bass trip began fishing for fluke on Manasquan River, because the ocean was rough, but the crew hoped to fish the ocean in calming seas later in the morning. Tons of short fluke gave up action on the river. At 9:30 a.m. the anglers decided to fish the ocean for sea bass. The ride to a snag a few miles from the inlet was somewhat bumpy, and anchoring conditions were tough, but keeper sea bass were snatched up. The trip returned to the river before a change in tide promised to rough up the ocean more, and the anglers finished the day with constant action from short fluke. Andrea’s Toy is also sailing offshore for tuna and big game on charters and open-boat trips.

The canyons were on fire again! the report on <b>Canyon Runner</b>’s Web site said. The fish were trolled during the day, but they also began to be chunked at night. Inshore fishing for bluefin tuna wasn’t bad either, it said. Two overnight trips on Canyon Runner’s two canyon boats on Saturday to Sunday whaled about 30 yellowfin tuna apiece, keeping some of the fish that the charters wanted, releasing the rest, at Hudson Canyon. Plus the biggest blue marlin of the year for the company, a 700-pounder, was released on one of the vessels, and so was a giant bluefin tuna, an 80-incher, among other fish caught. A better period of fishing might’ve never been scored with Canyon Runner. One trip left port Saturday morning, running to the bluefin grounds near the Chicken Canyon. A way-back ballyhoo was trolled on a planer, and soon the bait was attacked. “This fish was a real one,” the report said. The 80-inch giant was landed in 2 hours and released, and a 35-pound bluefin was also trolled. Then the charter headed for the 100-Square at Hudson Canyon. A good temperature break and tons of yellowfin tuna were found. Eleven yellowfins were trolled in short order, and the anglers went 1 for 2 on white marlin. The charter had bagged all the tuna they wanted, so they began catching and releasing more, tagging many of them. They landed 24 yellowfins that day. At night, because the anglers were already releasing tuna, they decided to focus o swordfishing. Only one tuna rod was set out, but five yellowfins were landed on the rod. Another yellowfin was caught and released on a popper lure on a spinning rod at daybreak when yellowfins busted the water surface all around. More interesting, anglers on a nearby boat worked hard at chunking for tuna that night, scoring well, limiting out. These were all big yellowfins, “just like the old days …,” the report said. “… so if you miss chunking yellowfin, get out there now!” The amazing fishing continued on the troll the next morning, and another 14 yellowfins were released. A total of 38 were landed on the trip, and most were tagged and released for science. The anglers in the morning actually tried to avoid yellowfins to look for bigeye tuna, but that didn’t work, and the yellowfins kept attacking. A trip Saturday to Sunday on Canyon Runner’s other offshore boat experienced similar fishing for yellowfins in the same area of the Hudson, trolling a mess of the fish the first day and next morning, a total of 30 for the trip, releasing all but 14, tagging most of the released ones. At night the anglers focused on swordfishng, but five yellowfins were chunked on the one tuna rod that was fished. In the morning the anglers tried to get away from the yellowfins to search for bigeyes or blue marlin. Yellowfins kept attacking and were hooked, but a blue marlin crashed the spread. The estimated 700-pounder was leadered, and a captain on the boat, not the captain at the helm, told the wire man not to let go of the line, and he didn’t. The leader broke in his hand, and the fish swam away strong, before the blue could be measured. But the captain who gave the order caught 175 blues in 8 years of fishing from Hawaii, and confirmed what the other two captains on board thought: that the blue easily weighed more than 700 pounds. Another trip, an open-boat outing, on Thursday landed and released two bluefin tuna 74 and 72 inches at the Chicken Canyon on the way to the Hudson. At the Hudson the trip caught 12 yellowfin tuna, all on the daytime troll except one at night, and went 1 for 2 on white marlin.

Probably the best catch of sea bass so far this season was socked on Saturday morning’s trip on the party boat <b>Gambler</b>, Capt. Bob said. Lots of big lumpheads, including a couple of 5-pounders, a deckhand told Bob, were looted on fluke baits or spearing and squid. Phil Valone, Toms River, won the pool with a 5-pound 8-ounce fluke. Fishing was slower on Sunday morning’s trip, and fewer sea bass chomped, but big fluke were pancaked. Most of the fluke hooked were keepers, and Jeff Toth, Toms River, shellacked a 9-pound 5-ounce fluke that was the biggest on the boat so far this season. His father, Rich Toth, from Beach Haven if Bob remembered, axed a 7-pound 5-ounce fluke a few minutes later. The trips fished straight off Manasquan Inlet at rough bottom in 65 to 75 feet. On Friday night’s bluefishing trip, catches were slow in lots of winds. On Saturday night’s trip for blues, catches started slowly but ended up well, slugging plenty of 8- to 12-pounders. The trips fished 20 miles from shore, an hour-long sail from port. On the boat’s nighttime trips for ling, sea bass, cod and squid, fishing was going okay, not great, but making catches. On Sunday night’s trip for them Bob planned to fish a new area, hoping for big ling, some cod, some squid and whatever else turns up on the grounds. Fluke trips are sailing twice daily 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 2 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Bluefish trips are running 7:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays. Trips for ling, sea bass, cod and squid are fishing 7:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. Sundays and Mondays. <a href=" http://www.gamblerfishing.net/offshoretrips.html
" target="_blank">Canyon tuna trips</a> will begin in mid September.

<b>Bricktown</b>

A half-day bottom-fishing trip with <b>Jersey Hooker Charters</b>, sailing from Point Pleasant’s Canyon River Club, knocked out drop-and-reel fishing for sea bass on Friday, Capt. Rich said in an e-mail. Twenty-five keepers to 3 pounds were nailed in the 3 ½ hours of actual fishing, and more than a hundred shorts and a couple of short fluke were released. Special vacation trips, fishing for 4 hours for a combo of fluke and sea bass, are on tap for a good rate. Several reports about fluke fishing rolled in at <b>Jersey Hooker Outfitters</b>, Rich’s tackle shop in Bricktown. One captain ran a trip that landed keeper fluke to 7 ½ pounds at Axel Carlson Reef. Another customer found non-stop action on fluke offshore of Sea Girt Reef. He was able to fish with lighter tackle, a ¾-ounce Mega Strike Shaky Head Jig, because of conditions. A pink head with either a pink or Nuclear Chicken jerk shad worked best at first. Afterward a chartreuse head with a chartreuse jerk shad worked better. One regular customer took a trip that waffled six keeper fluke and great action on the flatties on the ocean a couple of miles south of Manasquan Inlet. In the surf, Ken Jelnicki from Surf Rocket, the cannon that blasts bait far out from shore for surf anglers, took advantage of the sharking in the suds available this time of year. He pulled an overnighter Saturday to Sunday at Island Beach State Park. The fishing was a slow pick during the night, and only dog sharks bit. But at first light his reel screamed, and a 6-foot thresher shark was hooked! The monster leapt from the waters a few times, and Ken fought the shark 45 minutes. Just as he began to drag the fish into the white waters, a slap of the shark’s tail broke the line, and the fish was gone. Bittersweet! Rich said.

<b>Seaside Park</b>

Capt. Rob “Birch” Birchmeier from <b>Fishguts Inshore Charters</b> was away from charters during the weekend, he said in an e-mail. But a trip fished Friday for sea bass, and the angling looks like it will hold up all summer. Better-sized humpheads kept moving in, and Birch always caught good numbers of quality-sized sea bass in summer, but he’s never been able to limit out the boat on nearly every trip like this season. “This fishing is amazing for any time of year, let alone the middle of summer,” he said. “All we need now is for the weather to hold and let us get our trips in.” Rains and winds didn’t create the best weather last week, but fishing was outstanding, the report on the boat’s Web site said. Winds were forecast to blow on Friday’s charter, so Birch took the two experienced anglers to a different area than he previously was fishing. The area was loaded with sea bass, and the anglers limited out, before winds forced them to move to Barnegat Bay. The quality of the sea bass was impressive, and many were 14 to 15 inches, and the biggest was close to 3 pounds. One blackfish could be kept per angler starting this day, but building seas prevented the anglers from making a drop for the blackfish. They made a quick stop on the bay that produced non-stop action with throwback fluke on light tackle. Fast action – about as good as it gets for light-tackle angling, Birch said – calm waters and a short sail to the fishing grounds make fluking on the bay perfect for young or new anglers. Charters and 10-hour open-boat trips are fishing for sea bass. Fishguts specializes in catching good numbers of quality sea bass close to shore in summer. Combo trips, called a Captain’s Combo, that fish the ocean for sea bass and Barnegat Bay for fluke, in one outing, are also running. Other types of trips are also sailing, and anglers can call or e-mail Birch for info.

<b>Surf City</b>

Kingfish started to be tugged from the surf somewhat more often, but that depended on water temperatures, said Barbara from <b>Surf City Bait & Tackle</b>. When temps were right, they began to chew. Then temps would fluctuate, and the bites would disappear for a moment. Bloodworms caught them, and so did Fishbites Bag o’ Worms. A special kingfish rig with circle hooks that the shop carries worked well, usually hooking the fish in the mouth for an easy release if the kings were too small to keep. Fluke could be found in the surf, and Joe from the shop pulled a 21-incher from along the jetty at Barnegat Lighthouse on a 4-inch chartreuse Gulp. The Gulps worked great on fluke in all different waters. A 33-pound striped bass was hauled from the wash at Surf City on Saturday. In the bay fluke fishing went well, and a friend bagged three keepers, releasing six shorts, on a short trip at the osprey nest at Beach Haven. Crabbing was excellent and had slowed but came back on during the weekend. Baits stocked include bloodworms, minnows and fresh bunker. The bunker could be used if anglers wanted to try for a striper in the surf, though fewer stripers are around in the waters in summer. Still, that 33-pounder was caught. The bunker also works for all different fish, including sharks that are swimming the surf.

<b>Tuckerton</b>

Summer flounder, none too big, but maybe up to 3 or 4 pounds, a decent catch of he flatties, were wrangled up Thursday with <b>Legal Limit Charters</b>, Capt. T.J. said. Two trips on both T.J.’s boats netted a pick of flounder and sea bass Saturday. All the flounder fishing on the trips took place in 60 feet. An open-boat or shared charter might fish Thursday, and see the online <a href=" http://www.legallimitcharters.com/c-11-open-boat.aspx" target="_blank">Open Boat/Shared Charter Schedule</a>. A tuna charter is set to sail toward the end of the week.

<b>Mystic Island</b>

Not a ton was heard about fishing, partly because a storm Saturday morning kept many anglers off the waters the rest of the day, and Friday afternoon’s weather was a blow out, said the report on <b>Scott’s Bait & Tackle</b>’s Web site. But one angler saved the day Sunday, reporting catching a few keeper summer flounder at Little Egg Inlet, totaling nearly 40 of the fish, the rest of them throwbacks. On Friday the shop’s report said occasional keepers were boated between the islands off the Fish Factory and at Marshelder Channel and from the 114 on Tuckerton Bay to the southern tip of Long Beach Island. Ocean fishing for the flatties sounded like slim pickings, including because of lack of drift Saturday. A local charter captain on Thursday came up with three keeper flounder on the ocean at likely structure and lumps after lots of effort and miles covered. Nobody mentioned bagging a tog since one of the blackfish could be kept starting Friday. No word was heard about weakfish.

<b>Atlantic City</b>

Surf casters pulled in summer flounder like crazy, lots more shorts than keepers, but a considerable number of keepers, said Noel from <b>One Stop Bait & Tackle</b>. They plucked tog, none big but keepers, from along the jetties, and one per person could be bagged starting Friday. Triggerfish were also yanked from along the jetties. Croakers and weakfish were dragged from the wash, and many of the weaks were throwbacks, but at least they started to be seen. Lots of action greeted surf anglers. No blues were seen from the beach, but they should move in any day. All the baits including minnows, bloodworms, green crabs, clams, spearing, squid and more are stocked.

<b>Margate</b>

A few trips fished for summer flounder on the ocean and bay with <b>O-Beth Sportfishing</b>, Capt. Eric said. Anglers on both waters pummeled lots of throwbacks and a few keepers. A few sea bas were bagged on O-Beth’s trips, and a few blackfish will now be able to be mixed in, since one tog could be kept per angler starting Friday. Open-boat trips are sailing for tuna either inshore or offshore, and check <a href=" http://www.obethfishingcharters.com" target="_blank">O-Beth’s Web site</a> for info.

<b>Longport</b>

Tons of small bluefish and a few small little tunny were trolled on trips 8 miles from shore on the <b>Stray Cat</b>, Capt. Mike said. “Lots of blues,” he repeated. The fishing was so good that there was no reason for trips to bottom fish for sea bass, though sea bassing was good on the last trips for the lumpheads. Charters could fish for sea bass or whatever they’d like, but blues were where the action was. That best bang for the buck, he said. Plus anglers never knew what other fish might smack the trolled lures. “There’s always a kicker,” he said. Trips will concentrate on sea bass again once the blues depart. Mike put together the schedule for open-boat, overnight tuna trips that will leave the dock at 2 p.m. August 21, 28 and 29 for only $285 per person. The trips will also stop for sea bass in the mornings. Rods will be available at no charge, and bait will be provided, and ice will be supplied for the tuna. Call Mike for details: 609-391-9630. 

<b>Ocean City</b>

The ocean was fished on a couple of trips with <b>Fish Tale Charters</b> in the past days, Capt. Craig said. A few sea bass were bagged on each, and small blues were also trolled on the second trip on small Clark spoons. A few summer flounder, shorts, were released on the trips. Lots of trips on the bay are coming up in the next week, and anglers seemed to hear about good action with flounder on the bay, probably thinking they had a shot at a keeper, and they did. Many, many flounder filled the bay, and finding the fish was the first important step on a trip. Then anglers had to be patient and wade through the shorts and hope for a keeper. Rods are constantly bent on the trips: good action.

<b>Sea Isle City</b>

On the back bay Jay VonCzoernig, son Luc and daughter Ella bagged a big, 6-pound summer flounder and a sizeable, 3-pound flattie, tossing back more than 30 throwbacks on a trip Saturday, said Capt. Joe Hughes from <b>Jersey Cape Guide Service</b> and <b>Gibson’s Tackle</b>. They only fished a few hours, and the number of flounder flooding the bay is incredible. Jay and kids were hooked up on triple-headers probably six times, non-stop action. The fish are a variety of sizes, but fish like the 6-pounder show that the bigger ones are among them, and anglers just have to work through the catches to find the healthier sized fish. Chad Sharber and family took several different types of trips on board during the past week. On Saturday they landed a bunch of flounder on the bay. On Friday his wife, Kristin Sharber, and their children Jacob and Jackson sailed on one of Jersey Cape’s special inshore shark trips. They went 8 for 13 on brown and dusky sharks and a blacktip reef shark, releasing all caught. The sharks weighed up to 60 pounds, and the blacktip was rare, a southern species. Mostly browns and duskies are landed on the trips and must be released by law. The trips, running 5 to 10 miles from shore, are a unique opportunity to try blue-water angling for big, powerful fish without sailing far. On a trip Wednesday night Chad Sharber fly-rodded a striped bass on a chartreuse and white Clouser fly on the bay. Jersey Cape is fishing for stripers on the bay at night at places like under the lights at bridges and docks with spinning and fly rods. With spinning rods the trips fish lures like soft plastics. During the heat of summer the linesiders can respond best during the cooler nights. Many might think stripers can only be located in spring and fall, cooler seasons. But Jersey Cape catches them straight through summer. Joe is also fishing offshore on charters, and yellowfin tuna fishing remained good in the waters, and white and blue marlin catches stayed excellent in the area, and mahi mahi also bit there.  Keep up with Joe’s fishing and photos on <a href=" http://captainjoehughes.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Jersey Cape’s blog</a>.

<b>Avalon</b>

A short trip – too short, really, the report on <b>Over Under Adventures</b>’ Web site said – sailed for yellowfin tuna toward Wilmington Canyon on Thursday. The short trips are designed for bluefin tuna trips closer to shore, but bluefins were scarce, so the anglers ran the extra distance to the Wilmington, started fishing in 45 fathoms toward the west wall, working toward the notch. Action was scored off the bat, and a white marlin was jumped off. Then a blue marlin dumped three-quarters of the line off a reel in a heart beat. This was a big fish. But the blue threw the hook. More white marlin were seen here and there afterward, but refused to bite, and a couple of mahi mahi were landed. Bait was scarce, and nothing that would hold tuna was seen, unlike a few days previously. Lots of white marlin were attracted to the waters, if anglers wanted them. The crew heard about a few tuna boated on the east side and at the tip, but no good reason to travel there for the fish. These shorter trips were becoming difficult for catching tuna, only able to travel 40 to 60 miles off the coast. The crew hopes tuna fishing improves in 40 fathoms, but the previous report said 14- and 16-hour trips at the moment were better than the 12-hour trips meant for bluefins, and 22-hour trips were most productive. The crew after this trip was waiting for weather to clear to get back out again.  A couple of open-boat trips were added to the schedule: Either a 16-hour or 22-hour tuna trip this Thursday to Friday, depending on the fishing and the interest; and a 16-hour tuna trip on Saturday that will compete in the Jersey Shore Classic. If available for either trip, let Over Under know, “and we’ll take it from there,” an e-mail from Over Under said. <a href="mailto: info@overunderadventures.com" target="_blank">E-mail</a> or call 866-682-8862. For more open-boat dates, see the <a href=" http://overundercharters.com/index.php?page=opendates" target="_blank">Over Under’s open-boat schedule</a>.

<b>Wildwood</b>

Non-stop summer flounder, mostly shorts but a few keepers, were smoked on the back bay, and the fish began to migrate to the ocean, as the bay warmed, said Cathy from <b>Sterling Harbor Bait & Tackle</b> in an e-mail. Joe Walters weighed in a 7-pound 14-ounce flounder from a trip at Grassy Channel on Bob Gingher’s Wish It Was Bigger. Michael James Hooker, 5, checked in a 4-pound 2-ouncer from a trip at Grassy on John Hooker’s Macy Sea O. James Pierce on his Hobie Mirage Outback Kayak landed more than 60 flounder, including two keepers. Flounder were hooked off Cape May Point at places including the Cape May Rips. The flatties were also boated on Delaware Bay at buoys 9 and 10 and on the ocean at Cape May Reef, Reef 11 and the Old Grounds. Croakers began to appear in Delaware Bay. Back in the back bay, small striped bass swiped plugs and soft-plastic lures, mostly near the sod banks, docks and bridges, mainly in the evenings and at night. An occasional small striper was beached from the surf, usually toward the inlets. Plenty of kingfish nibbled in the surf on bloodworms or Fishbites artificial worms. Yellowfin tuna, mahi mahi and white marlin were fought offshore, and waters from Wilmington to Spencer canyons were best. Crabby Jack gave crabbing five claws out of five, saying crabbing was excellent.

<b>Cape May</b>

Some trips rounded up summer flounder, with keepers mixed in, at the reef, and others trolled bluefish 10 miles from shore, said Capt. Bob from the <b>Down Deep</b>. Those were the two types of trips charters took through the past week. A few false albacore previously had bitten on the bluefish trips, but the albies were gone this past week. One never knows what fish will show up along with blues like albies. A tuna trip was cancelled because of the weather Sunday that was going to fish at the canyons.

An offshore trip for tuna was weathered out Sunday because of seas and winds, said Capt. George from the <b>Heavy Hitter</b>. A friend fished the waters during the weekend, finding 6- to 7-foot seas. Good catches of yellowfin tuna, healthy-sized ones that were all 40 to 60 pounds, were waxed lately, all on the troll. Anglers seemed to need to locate the fish, suddenly getting covered up with them, loading up on a catch all at once. Not just one or two usually bit, but a wolfpack would come through, maybe attacking everything in the trolling spread. Some boaters stopped at areas that looked full of life and caught them. Others stopped at such areas and caught none. Luck was a factor, and searching out the fish was key. The tuna were mostly belted from Lindenkohl Canyon to Wilmington Canyon but a bit inshore from 40 to 60 fathoms. A decent population of white marlin seemed around, and mahi mahi were around, and they were all larger fish 10 pounds or bigger. The friend who fished offshore during the weekend trolled three mahi including a 22-pounder. George heard about a few wahoos boated. A 4-hour trip on the Heavy Hitter on Saturday trolled lots of 1- to 3-pound blues 10 to 12 miles from shore. A few false albacore swam the area, but none jumped on the trolling spread. More albies held farther from shore, beyond where a 4-hour trip would fish. Some were taken at the East Lump. A trip on the boat will fish inshore waters on Wednesday, and another will fish offshore for tuna on Saturday.

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