<b>Atlantic Highlands</b>

A couple of anglers aboard Wednesday docked a couple of keeper fluke, and one grabbed three, and some picked up one, said Capt. Tom from the party boat <b>Atlantic Star</b>. Some landed no keepers, as always, but everybody aboard trips at least reeled in shorts, good action for all. That was pretty much how the fishing’s been in the past days, and the boat fished at Reach Channel. Shorts gave up plenty of action. Patrons fished with a variety of baits including the squid and spearing provided, and killies they brought themselves. Some used Gulps they brought, and green worked well. Sometimes anglers used New Penny Shrimp Gulps on a teaser trailing above a Spro jig. All the baits caught, and sometimes whether the angler had the “feel” seemed to make a difference. Sometimes anglers who worked at the fishing, like working a jig or bucktail, seemed to score better. But anglers who simply dragged fluke rigs on the drift also caught. Heat advisories apparently scared off some anglers from joining trips. But the weather on the waters was unlike the heat on land. One day became hot for about an hour on the waters but then cooled. Otherwise a breeze kept the weather pleasant on most days on trips. 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, 7/9:***</b> This afternoon’s trip was one of the better ones, and the ratio of keepers was improved, Tom said. Most patrons bagged a keeper, and some caught two or three, and some landed no keepers. Not a lot of people were aboard, and weather forecasts apparently kept some from coming fishing. The catch on the morning’s trip was similar to recently, but for some reason the afternoon’s was better than most trips.

Striped bass were boated, like ones bunker-chunked at Flynn’s Knoll, said Jimmy from <b>Julian’s Bait & Tackle</b>. The season was late, but they were around. Bluefish could be jigged, like blues that raced all along the ocean beaches Wednesday. Of course, bunker chunks also worked, and sometimes one will work better than the other. Blues swam the bay and rivers, too. Abundant fluke, lots of shorts, skittered along the bay and up the rivers. Ling fishing mugged catches in the ocean off a ways, and sea bass and a few cod were pumped in from the ocean. Porgies hovered along the bottom structure. Lots of crabs were nabbed.

Some better-sized fluke seemed to move into the bay, because action was hot on quality ones today on the party boat <b>Fishermen</b>, the report on the vessel’s Web site said. Several from 3 to 7 pounds were iced, and outgoing tide with a light southerly breeze created the perfect drift. John Froelich “brought his bucktail show again,” the report said, landing nine beautiful fluke, keeping no more than his limit. Last year he totaled three limits of six fish and several five-keeper trips on the boat. Bob Stemmler plowed four keepers including the 7.2-pound pool-winner. Tom Krako pelted four keepers from 3 to 5 pounds. Rigs with Spro jigs worked hot for keepers, and if anglers are unsure how to set up the rigs or the tackle to buy, ask the crew in the morning, “and we will hook you up!” the report said. Wednesday’s trip began fishing at a couple of new drops outside the bay, only to find shorts. The drift was too fast for the deep waters. So the trip moved back inside, and the fishing turned on during the late morning, after the tide changed, ending up going well for the day. Some keepers were caught, and a 5-pounder was the pool-winner. No report was posted for Tuesday, and Monday’s trip was covered in the last report on this page.   The Fishermen is sailing for fluke 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily and for striped bass and blues 3:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Fridays through Sundays. However, Sunday morning’s trip is chartered.

<b>Highlands</b>

With <b>Fisher Price Charters</b> trips pounded striped bass, believe it or not, Capt. Derek said. “We pretty much limited out every trip,” he said. The trips fished on the bay with bunker chunks, “(and) it’s like the bass just won’t leave,” he said, though waters were warm at 78 degrees. A few bluefish were mixed in but were no problem. Trips will keep fishing for the linesiders as long as the fish stick around, and Fisher Price had already started bottom fishing and fluke fishing, angling that trips always concentrate on once stripers depart for summer. Fisher Price did no bottom fishing in the past days, but previously racked up good catches of sea bass, ling and cod on bottom trips. Trips fished for fluke, bucktailing for the bigger ones at the rough bottom. Larger flatties 5 to 9 pounds started to become more abundant than before in the last days. Charters are sailing, and so are open-boat trips, but all space is booked through the weekend. Anglers can call Derek to be kept informed about the next open trips that will sail, depending on the charter schedule. Trips will likely fish for stripers, but if stripers fail to cooperate, trips will switch to bottom-fishing and fluking.

Plenty of throwback fluke and a few keepers swam from the bay to the rivers, said Wayne from <b>Twin Lights Marina</b>. Joe and Madalyn Kaulfers fluked from the bay to the ocean, probably mostly on the bay, coming up with three keepers to 9 pounds and lots of shorts. Bluefish roamed from the ocean to the bay and rivers.  Striped bass were sometimes caught, despite the late season. Tom Luciano, who works at the marina, whaled a 50-pounder from the ocean directly across from the marina on a livelined bunker. Gene Graham also pancaked some. Most stripers were probably found early in the mornings on live bunker for bait, mostly in the ocean, but probably also at Romer Shoal and Flynn’s Knoll. Bunker were abundant, and one angler saw a 30-foot whale swimming along a 3-mile school of bunker at Ambrose Channel. Bluefin tuna ran the inshore ocean, and Wayne heard nothing about yellowfin tuna farther from shore at the canyons. But boaters from the dock will probably take the season’s first trips to the canyons this weekend. Live and fresh bunker, fresh clams and all the baits, a large supply, are stocked. The new Contender/Windansea Shark Tournament at Windansea Marina, Highlands, next to Twin Lights, will take place Saturday and Sunday.

<b>Neptune</b>

Tons of fluke, a few of them keepers, bit in the ocean on Wednesday’s weekly individual-reservation trip for the flatties, said Capt. Ralph from <b>Last Lady Fishing Charters</b>. The anglers kept busy all day with the bites, and a few sea bass were snatched up, but the trip targeted fluke. Next week’s trip is full on Wednesday, so another one of the trips was added that Thursday. Sea bass catches were good when charters specifically fished for them. Shark charters will sail Saturday and Sunday, and Last Lady had a great season on sharks so far, covered in past reports. A group is looking to add one angler to a canyon tuna trip that will leave at 11 p.m. or 12 midnight Tuesday, fishing through Wednesday, returning that day. They booked the trip because the fishing was on. The season’s first individual-reservation trip to the canyons with Last Lady is set for July 21 to 22. An individual-reservation trip offshore will fish for cod, pollock and ling on July 27. The last trip filled the cooler. An individual-reservation trip inshore will fish for sea bass, ling, blackfish and maybe cod and pollock on July 22.  

<b>Belmar</b>

Three dusky sharks, two hammerheads and a blue shark were muscled up Tuesday on the <b>Nan Sea J</b>, Capt. Tom said. Waters were 78 degrees or warm, but sharks bit, and so did a couple of bluefish. Waters were clear, but a spot that was less-clear gave up all the catches. Another shark charter will sail Friday, and annual, open-boat shark trips are running every Wednesday, including this coming Wednesday. This week’s open trip stayed dock because of a Coast Guard inspection, and the vessel passed inspection. Trips also bottom-fished lately, wrangling up good catches of sea bass and some ling and cod. A couple of fluke trips fished on the boat so far this season, and fluke fishing will probably take place next week on the vessel.

Good catches of bluefish were bombed on the party boat <b>Golden Eagle</b> on the ocean, Capt. Greg said. The fishing became picky at times, but worked out by the end of trips. The 7- to 12-pounders this season were yet to swim as close to shore as in recent years, and lately they schooled even farther away. A trip Tuesday night sailed 24 miles to reach them. Jigs and bait wiped them up during daytime trips and bait bonked them during nighttime trips. The Golden Eagle is fishing for blues daily 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. Offshore tuna trips will start in September.

Fishing was mostly about fluke, and super fishing for them came from Shark River, but anglers waded through shorts to cull keepers, like everywhere, said Bob from <b>Fisherman’s Den</b>. A 9-1/2-pounder was weighed in from the river. A 10.8-pounder was checked in from the ocean off the Red Church. Flukers on the ocean also picked through shorts to get keepers. Porgies, including some keepers, could be swung in from the river, and so could a few kingfish. Bluefishing was up and down on the ocean, not always the hottest, and nighttime catches were probably best. But sea bassing was good on the ocean. Stripers were rarely drummed up. The heat this week kept crowds light at the shop.

<b>Point Pleasant</b>

One of the open-boat Fluke Till You Puke Trips with <b>Reel Class Charters</b> socked 17 keepers, good fishing, on the ocean to the north Wednesday, Capt. Allen said. One of the anglers landed twice his limit, and lots of shorts were tossed back. A 7-pounder was the biggest keeper, and a 6-pounder and a couple of 5’s were drilled. A few sea bass were hooked. Openings are available on the trips at the end of the week and beginning of next week, and check the online <a href="http://www.reelclassfishing.com/rates/open-boat-info" target="_blank">schedule</a>. A trip fluke fished on Manasquan River on Monday a short time, cranking in four keepers and a bunch of throwbacks, another good catch, from the Route 35 Bridge to Clark’s Marina. Lots of the fish hovered off the marina itself. Coming up, Reel Class will sail for bonito and false albacore in August and September on the ocean.

Bluefishing was slow on today’s trip but doled out  a steady pick on Wednesday’s trip, after a couple of moves on the party boat <b>Cock Robin</b>, an e-mail from the vessel said.  Bait out-fished jigs on both trips. On Tuesday’s trip good catches were pounded, and bait worked better than jigs. But some of the kids in Captain Jim’s Camp Cock Robin -- featuring a dedicated mate for ages 8 to 15, and all equipment, from Mondays through Fridays -- worked popper lures, blasting a few. The year’s first bonito was fought aboard that day, and a cod was claimed on the trip when an angler jigged over the wreck that was fished. The Cock Robin is fishing 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily and 7:30 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays.

A canyon tuna trip was sailing today with <b>Andrea’s Toy Charters</b>, Capt. Fred said. The boat’s last trip to the canyons, a split charter, cracked yellowfin tuna, mahi mahi, a 150-pound mako shark, three blue sharks to 8 feet and skipjacks at the Hudson, covered in the last report. See the write-up toward the bottom of <a href="http://www.andreastoycharters.com" target="_blank">Andrea’s Toy’s home page</a> to check out annual, open-boat, mixed-bag trips that are running offshore for tuna and other fish. A sea bass charter sailed on the boat Monday, bouncing around to a few spots, picking away at the humpheads and seven ling, releasing out-of-season blackfish and short cod, the report on the boat’s Web site said. The first spot gave up steady action, including plenty of keepers, a couple of hours, until the tide stopped, and so did the fishing. Then the anglers moved to a few more places and caught. A flurry of keepers at the last one topped off the day. In addition to charters, open-boat trips are now bottom fishing like this with Capt. Max, a former mate on the vessel.

An overnighter arrived at Hudson Canyon on Monday afternoon on the <b>Canyon Runner</b>, basically trolling yellowfin tuna from the time the charter arrived to the time the trip left, the report on Canyon Runner’s Web site said. Not the best bite the crew ever saw, but not bad. The fish attacked immediately when the anglers began trolling that afternoon on the west wall. Doubles, triples, quadruples and more destroyed the Canyon Runner Rainbow Squid and Green Machine spreader bars and every ballyhoo dropped in the waters. The anglers were already in release mode, having kept 15, all they wanted to eat, by the time they stopped trolling that day. Nighttime catches were nonexistent, “and that was fine with them as they needed the rest,” the report said. But as soon as they began trolling in the morning, game was on. They spent 4:30 to 9 a.m. releasing 50- to 70-pound yellowfins, a bigger class that seemed to be around that morning. The trip actually started trying to avoid the yellowfins to find marlin or bigeye tuna, but the yellowfins couldn’t be shaken off. The anglers ended up with 15 yellowfins bagged and 16 released, tagging most of the released tuna.

<b>Bricktown</b>

Manasquan River definitely held fluke, and a customer limited out on six on killies and squid, 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’s Canyon River Club. Not a lot of customers were around in the heat this week. But a couple said striped bass were eeled at night on the ocean toward the Red Church. Crabbing was good on the back waters. A couple of customers returned from tuna fishing at Hudson Canyon today. Anglers on the Eagle, sailing from Glimmer Glass, went 3 for 3 on yellowfin tuna to 60 pounds at the canyon. A couple of mahi mahi were also trolled, and a blue marlin came up into the spread. The crew on the Hard Ways with Capt. Brian Sweeney from Brielle Yacht Club went 6 for 12 on yellowfins to 80 pounds, also trolling a couple of mahi and getting a shot at a white marlin, at the 100 Square.

<b>Toms River</b>

If anglers put in a day of fluke fishing, they could bag three or four among throwbacks at Barnegat Bay’s BI and BB markers, said Dennis from <b>Murphy’s Hook House</b>. The flatties also gathered at Oyster Creek and Double Creek channels, though boat traffic was challenging there. John who works at the shop tried fishing at Double Creek and boated no fluke, but saw anglers who were experienced in the area pick up six or seven fluke per drift. Spearing or Peruvian smelts and squid were probably the best baits around the channels. Okay fluke catches were hung farther north on the bay at the Mantoloking Bridge and toward the Point Pleasant Canal. Mostly killies and squid were fished there. A fair number of keepers and more shorts collected in the Manasquan River toward the canal, and the fish liked the moving waters. Ocean fluke fishing was tough, but the angling seemed a little better from the bar to 35 feet, though not many of the fish were keepers. Sand eels and squid were top choices there. A few striped bass were beached from the surf. Anthony Lavette checked in a 12-pounder he banked at Lavallette. A 35-pounder was shellacked the other day, and Dennis knew about a few others landed. An oddball bluefish showed up in the surf, and fluke skittered along the wash. Fishing for them was a little better in the pocket at Barnegat Inlet’s north jetty. A bucktail with squid will attract the flatties in the suds, and so will a 007 Ava jig dragged along the sand. Back in the bay, an occasional weakfish came from the waters at Berkeley Island Park. In the Toms River crabbing was the primary activity. But kids this week had fun with 3- and 4-inch snapper blues in the river on Corky’s Snapper Zappers. Most of the snappers were tiny, yet to grow this summer. But some were 3 to 4 inches. The severe heat kept some anglers from fishing this week, but relief began to arrive: Drizzle fell at 8 a.m. today.

<b>Seaside Heights</b>

Fishing from the fishing pier at Seaside Heights barreled up lots of fluke, said Scott from <b>The Dock Outfitters</b>. Many of the flatties congregated in the bay behind the inlets, and the fish swam thick in Manasquan River off the Point Pleasant Canal. Near the shop, snapper blues now appeared in the bay, and no kingfish showed up there, but probably swam farther south in the bay toward Barnegat Inlet. Not one weakfish was heard about from the bay or anywhere. Good catches of crabs were trapped. Brown sharks 20 and 30 pounds moved into the surf, chomping fresh chunks of bunker. Anglers must release them by law. A few blues popped into the surf, and Scott heard about a couple of stripers dragged from the suds, but no great fishing for them. Fluke, mostly shorts but some keepers, could be yanked from the surf. Fresh bunker, fresh clams, killies 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 ready to rent.

<b>Seaside Park</b>

Sea bass fishing picked up, and the lumpheads like 15- and 16-inchers, good-sized, became more abundant, said Capt. Rob “Birch” Birchmeier from <b>Fishguts Inshore Charters</b>. The fishing was already going well but amped up more. An all-day wreck-fishing trip on the ocean Monday with three anglers limited out on sea bass to 2 ¾ pounds and came in early. Two ling and a 22-inch cod were also bagged, and plenty of short sea bass, two 20-inch cod, an inch undersized, and out-of-season blackfish were released. Bottom-fishing doesn’t get much better, Birch said, and this was in shorts and T-shirts! Another wreck trip Tuesday on the ocean with three anglers limited out on sea bass by 1 p.m., and even Birch got to fish a little. The humpheads were again good-sized, including lots of 15- and 16-inchers. Five cod, including a 22-inch keeper, were landed, and a healthy number of decent-sized blackfish were tossed back. Special trips that target trophy blackfish will begin when the tog season opens July 16. On Wednesday three anglers hopped aboard for a Captain’s Combo Trip, trips that fish on Barnegat Bay for fluke and on the ocean for sea bass in one outing. They first ran to the ocean, piling up a couple of dozen keeper sea bass. Then they moved to the bay, walloping tons of action with fluke, many of them 16- to 17 ½-inch throwbacks, and a 3.1-pound 20- or 21-inch keeper, healthy-sized.  The bay’s fluking is more about enjoying tons of action with shorts on light tackle, and getting a keeper is a bonus, and trips averaged about one keeper. Anglers enjoy the fluking for sport, and they bag the sea bass on the ocean for fish in the freezer. Catching good numbers of quality sea bass close to shore through summer is a specialty for Fishguts. But trips frequently fish the bay or do a combo of ocean and bay fishing. See the <a href=" http://fishgutscharters.com/index.php?option=com_joomgallery&func=viewcategory&catid=3&Itemid=39" target="_blank">Fishguts photo gallery</a> for shots of the latest trips.

<b>Forked River</b>

Many were shorts, but fluke gave up good fishing in Barnegat Bay at spots including the BI, BB and 40 markers, said Dave from <b>Grizz’s Forked River Bait & Tackle</b>. A few blues were around in the bay, and he heard about no weakfish in the waters in a while. But blowfish were hooked in the bay when anglers anchored, chummed and fished with bits of clam. Striped bass fishing seemed to come to halt, and a customer who’s a diehard striper angler said he was probably switching to fluke or other fish for the season. A few fluke were located in the ocean around the range buoy, and a few of the flatties and sea bass loitered at the Tires.

<b>Barnegat Light</b>

Barnegat Bay, the surf and the ocean were all places drawing in fluke, said Josh from <b>Barnegat Light Bait & Tackle</b>. In the bay all the usual places held them, and none was better than another, and any ledge or change in the bottom contour was a spot to look But Barnegat Inlet, Meyer’s Hole ad Double Creek and Oyster Creek channels were some of the holes the fish favored. In the ocean 45-foot depths was reportedly an area to fish for them. Some of the wrecks attracted the fish, and fishing for sea bass was good at the wrecks. Kingfish were plucked from the surf, and striped bass were sometimes beached from the surf. A 33-pounder was busted the other day. A few boaters sailed to Barnegat Ridge for bonito, but Josh heard about none caught. Fluke and sea bass were probably boated around the Ridge. Fresh bunker, fresh clams, live spots, minnows, green crabs and more are stocked. Speaking of green crabs, a favorite blackfish bait, one of the tog will be able to be kept starting next week on Friday, July 16. Tog, including big ones, were in, including along the Barnegat Inlet rocks.

<b>Beach Haven</b>

On the <b>June Bug</b> a trip Saturday arrived at Lindenkohl Canyon at 4:15 a.m. in winds gusting to 20 and seas from 3 to 5, not the calm conditions forecasts predicted, Capt. Lindsay said. But the waters were blue and full of life including bait and porpoises. A hundred boats were already fishing the canyon, mostly along 100 fathoms at the edge of the Continental Shelf. The boat was first trolled there along both the high grounds and the edge where lobster pots were set up. But nothing bit, and the crew didn’t like the look of things, motoring to the deep, away from the fleet. There the waters were warmest, up to 77.3 degrees, holding a 1.8-degree temperature break with a long line stretched along it. That’s where the fish were. A pod of bigeye tuna, at least six or seven, attacked the trolling spread at 5:45 a.m.! Three were hooked, and one, a 160-pounder, was landed after a 30-minute fight. The other two spit the hooks quickly. A pod of small yellowfin tuna next swarmed all over the whole spread a short time later, and a 35-pounder was boated. Then a small group of larger yellowfins attacked soon afterward, and some 80-pounders, good-sized tuna, were landed. The action tailed off by 10 a.m., and the fish storage was full, so the anglers quit early and went home. “Another great day on the ocean,” Lindsay said. A trip the previous Saturday, the vessel’s first trip offshore from New Jersey after fishing from North Carolina since winter, also creamed the big game: some yellowfin tuna, mahi mahi and a 450-pound blue marlin, also at the Lindy, covered in a previous report. These were the first two canyon trips of the year off Jersey on the boat, and the season was off to a good start. Call Lindsay to “book your great day,” he said! Interestingly, one of the mates on this second trip, Garrett Frey, was from Indiana and came to Jersey specifically to participate in the <a href=" http://www.fishbeachhaven.com/juniormates.htm" target="_blank">Junior Mate Training Program</a> that the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association holds annually. He was off to a fine start after this trip, Lindsay said, and even gaffed the bigeye deftly on his first-ever shot at a big fish, while the first mate, Capt. Nate Figley, whose father Bill Figley is well-known for founding New Jersey’s artificial reefs, wired the tuna.

<b>Tuckerton</b>

Summer flounder fishing racked up a handful of keepers to 4 pounds and shorts tossed back on the ocean Monday with <b>Legal Limit Charters</b>, Capt. T.J. said. Open bottom, not wrecks, was fished in 65 to 70 feet, a stretch that Legal Limit normally hits. Two sea bass were mixed in. A bluefin tuna charter will fish the inshore ocean on the boat Saturday. T.J. heard nothing about bluefins in the past days, and everybody he knew by-passed the bluefins to run to the offshore canyons for yellowfin tuna. Yellowfin fishing was going well. Waters were warm, like 80 degrees, on the bluefin grounds. Legal Limit might be finished shark fishing for the season, unless someone wants to go. Sunday is available for a charter for any available species. Open-boat trips or shared charters are running Tuesdays and Thursdays when no charter is booked and enough anglers want to go. See the online <a href=" http://www.legallimitcharters.com/c-11-open-boat.aspx" target="_blank">Open Boat/Shared Charter Schedule</a>.

<b>Mystic Island</b>

Occasional larger summer flounder were scared up from the bay to the ocean, said Scott from <b>Scott’s Bait & Tackle</b>. A 10-pounder and a 6.7-pounder were weighed in Wednesday, and a 9.6-pounder was checked in Saturday. Shorts far outnumbered keepers, but plenty of the fish were stacked up from the bay to the inlet. A few seemed to be able to be found in the ocean at Little Egg Reef. The week’s heat wave kept many anglers from fishing. No bluefish were around in local waters, and nobody mentioned weakfish. No customers talked about white perch fishing, but Scott wouldn’t doubt perch schooled in usual summer hangouts like Nacote Creek and Ballanger Creek in the lower stretches closer to saltwater. Reports about sea bass fishing on the ocean were difficult to come by. Nobody seemed to try for them, surprising. Maybe the heat was the cause. But Scott assumed okay catches could be dredged up, because a handful who fished for them last week made off well. The sea bass grounds were probably un-pressured. Crabbing was good. Minnows and fresh-shucked clams are stocked. No eels, grass shrimp and bloodworms are carried at the moment. Catch the Sunshine Foundation’s Fluke Tournament on Saturday at Great Bay Marina.  

<b>Absecon</b>

Great fishing for summer flounder was creamed in the back bay, but the majority weren’t quite big enough for keeper size, said Capt. Dave from <b>Absecon Bay Sportsman Center</b>. One customer today hooked 71 of the fish, including no keepers. In Dave’s 40 years of fishing, the number flounder that could be caught in the past was never a quarter of the number that could be landed now. The fish were spread nearly everywhere throughout the waters, but fishing the bay toward the inlet increased the chances of catching a keeper. Dave and his wife fished 3 hours on Monday, after the holiday boat traffic died down, landing three keepers to 3 ½ pounds and more than 20 shorts. A customer said anglers ransacked a mess of bigger flounder on Delaware Bay. Not much was heard about flounder caught on the ocean, and Dave guessed the waters were cold. Mid-sized blues ran the back bay, holding in the back of the bay on low tides, and moving onto the shallow flats, waters that most boaters avoided, on high tides. Birds working the waters sometimes gave away the blues. A few small weakfish swam Main Marsh Thorofare, showing up at about the normal time during the year, though few will probably fish for them in the one-weakfish bag limit. Striped bass bit at night along the Brigantine Bridge on livelined eels and spots, and eels were an especially good bait for them. Striper fishing also began to turn on at night along the sod banks on popper lures. Spots are stocked and are currently small but are sold at half price at $2 apiece or $20 per dozen. A few bigger ones, sold for $4 apiece, are on hand, and more of the bigger ones are expected to arrive Monday, especially for tuna fishing. The smaller spots can be good bait for flounder fishing, though the odds of catching a keeper might be no better. Kingfishing seemed to keep improving in the surf, and especially produced farther south, like at Ocean City. But the population in the surf locally seemed to grow each day, and the sizes of the fish seemed to amp up daily. No substantial population of kings moved into the bay in a long time. White perch fishing was good on the brackish rivers. Spots – mostly smaller ones until bigger ones probably arrive Monday (see the prices for spots above) – eels and minnows are stocked. Minnows are abundant this year, so the shop is offering them at $5 a pint, a reduced price. Check out <a href="http://www.abseconbay.com/abseconbay/Photos%202009/minnows/minnows.htm" target="_blank">how Dave and son catch minnows</a> for the shop. Shedder crabs are usually in solid supply at the store, and softshell crabs are on tap. Call ahead to confirm availability. More baits, a large supply, are also on hand. Dave’s new <a href=" http://www.fishguatemala.com/FishGuatemala/fishguatemala.htm
" target="_blank">Guatemala charter service</a> is up and running, and he was in the process of refining package deals for anglers. But trips are already available, and Dave and crew can completely help anglers with everything needed for a vacation to the awesome fishing destination.

<b>Brigantine</b>

Kingfish, good-sized ones, loaded the surf, said Capt. Andy from <b>Riptide Bait & Tackle</b>. Anglers could bank 20 or 25, and bloodworms worked to catch them better than Fishbites artificial worms did. Christian Luskowski slammed a 14-pound blue from the surf, and a couple of others talked about seeing blues in the wash, but not ones that big. Blues seemed somewhat to arrive. Back-bay anglers could boat as many summer flounder as they wanted, picking through them until they bagged a keeper. Waters off the Coast Guard station held lots of the flatfish. Dave Holmes weighed in a 9-pound 4-ounce flounder that pounced on a mackerel strip. Joe Horan and Veronica D’Souza checked in three keeper flounder to 4 pounds. Joe Manali Jr. and wife Marci plucked a keeper fluke and a 9-pound striped bass from the bay.

<b>Atlantic City</b>

More throwback summer flounder flooded the back bay than an angler could believe, said Curt from <b>Offshore Enterprises Bait & Tackle</b>. But locating a keeper was tough. Flounder also hugged bottom in the ocean. “I’m not saying they’re all out there,” he said. One customer bagged a few flounder on the ocean without much effort. Another caught eight on the ocean including two keepers. Striped bass were occsionally tugged in from the bay, and small blues sometimes blitzed the waters. One angler tried bluefishing on the ocean but failed to find a hot population. Kingfish had been pulled from the surf, but Curt heard about none in the past few days. Small fluke scurried along the surf. Bluefin tuna fishing went really well on the inshore ocean, and they were scattered at usual places, but were really parked on the Lobster Claw. The Lobster Claw is a big area, and the trick was to get away from other boats. The fish were scattered at other places such as the 750 Square, the Cigar and Lempke’s Canyon. Yellowfin tuna fishing started going off farther offshore at the canyons. Four to eight per boat were trolled on average, but some trips plundered them in the teens. The fish were better-sized this year, compared with the small yellowfins in recent years. This year they were 40 pounds. Many said they were 65 pounds, but Curt saw them, and they were usually 40. The <b>Carly A</b>, the shop’s offshore charter boat, will return to begin fishing in New Jersey next week, after fishing from Oregon Inlet, North Carolina.

<b>Margate</b>

An incredible number of summer flounder packed the back bay, more than Capt. John from the <b>Keeper</b> ever saw, he said. Not many were keepers, but the legal-sized fish were substantial-sized: 2- to 3-pounders. The patrons kept returning from trips happy, he said, and they landed loads, sometimes a keeper. Minnows and mackerel are supplied for bait, and some anglers brought their own Gulps, and all three wiped up on the catches. A few schools of small, 1- and 2-pound bluefish were seen working the waters, though none was reeled aboard, and trips concentrated on flounder. 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>

Ocean sea bass and summer flounder fishing “was actually pretty good,” said Capt. Mike from the <b>Stray Cat</b>. “Very happy,” he said. Trips on the vessel fished for them 11 or 12 miles from shore and a little to the north in 73.9-degree waters, and all patrons came home with dinner. “Fresh, wild-caught sea bass,” Mike said, and some bagged flounder. Lots of the flounder were shorts, but some were keepers. The bay held a similar ratio of keeper flounder, about 1 in 30, and small sea bass. On a bottom-fishing trip on the ocean today Mike planned to throw in trolling for pelagics. No Spanish or king mackerel had been around yet, but the trip would look around for such fish. A few snapper blues were around. A charter Saturday will fish for yellowfin tuna at the offshore canyons. The tuna fishing was already hopping, somewhat early in the year, and Mike thinks the angling will last all summer, but it was happening now. Only one Saturday was probably left for charters in August. Book preferred dates.

<b>Ocean City</b>

A bunch of kingfish nibbled in the surf on bloodworms and Fishbites artificial worms, said John from <b>Fin-Atics</b>. Summer flounder swam numerous in the back bay, but 1 in 35 was a keeper. Occasional striped bass could be plugged on swimming or top-water lures along the sod banks or the docks in the bay. Customers stopped in the shop today who had just returned from Lindenkohl Canyon, boating two yellowfin tuna over 50 pounds apiece, saying good fishing for them was going on during the trip. John heard about a few bluefin tuna rounded up closer to shore at the Cigar and the Lobster Claw. He heard about nobody shark fishing, and customers switch to tuna once that angling takes off like now.

A 21-1/2-inch summer flounder and a 19-incher were coolered on a back-bay trip today with <b>Fish Tale Charters</b>, Capt. Craig said. About 48 of the flatties were landed total, and the rest were throwbacks. But the fish were larger than before, and quite a few were just under the legal size of 18 inches, or were 17 or 17 ½ inches. Rods were bent start to finish, lots of action. Tons of shorts, lots of action, were angled up on a trip Wednesday, but no keepers turned up. Locating keepers was a matter of finding the fluke first, then being patient to work through the undersized fish for a legal one. Both trips fished with minnows, mostly on plain hooks, but sometimes on hooks with a few beads to rattle. Craig ties the rigs himself, and sometimes he’ll add flash or hair, but not for these two trips.  Another flounder trip will fish the bay Friday, and anglers aboard Saturday are scheduled to fish for sea bass on the ocean. Forecasts potentially called for thunderstorms, so Craig will see whether the trip will be able to sail. Sea bass fishing was producing a few keepers among shorts in the local area. Short flounder were also in the mix, and none was a keeper so far. But the bay’s population of flounder will eventually move to the ocean later in summer, when the bay warms more. The bay’s flounder fishing was really the best action around at the moment, constantly bending the rods, and the fishing, again, was a matter of being patient to work through the shorts for a keeper. Fish Tale ran no trips for bluefin tuna, but the angling sounded hit or miss to Craig. A friend who’s a captain specializing in tuna took a trip that trolled all over for the fish without a touch. If the tuna specialist could sail without a touch, that tells Craig bluefin angling was at least hit or miss. Another angler from the docks tried for bluefins, scoring one, the only knock down during the trip. The area’s bluefin fishing usually lasts from the end of the June until early August, and Fish Tale sails for them. Afterward bluefins become a possible catch, but trips to the waters then with Fish Tale become about trolling for fish like bonito or small mahi mahi with the chance at an occasional tuna.

<b>Sea Isle City</b>

The back bay harbored a big population of summer flounder, and the inlets also held them, and the fish were moving toward the ocean, said Wes from <b>Gibson’s Tackle</b>. Minnows, spearing, squid and mackerel drew the nibbles, and the amount of mackerel sold was surprising, because the meat is usually a popular early-season bait for the flatties. The fish were beginning to be seen in the ocean, but none was weighed in from the ocean yet. Striped bass jumped on popper lures at night in the bay. Good catches of kingfish were banked in the surf on bloodworms.  In the ocean many brown and dusky sharks roamed close to shore, and fishing for them is closed, but some anglers catch and release them. Bluefishing was solid 5 to 20 miles from shore. Fish like Spanish mackerel, bonito and false albacore might be able to be trolled in the inshore ocean. Bluefin tuna fishing on the inshore ocean seemed best toward the areas farther from the coast, because bluefish were too abundant closer. Scattered reports were heard about yellowfin tuna boated farther from shore at the canyons. Crabbing put up lots of blueclaws for some people in the back waters, but only from boats. Crabbing from land was slower, and the areas crabbed were the same each year. Crabbers who put in the effort and grabbed a boat could be successful. 

Rich Linus and Scott, Ryan and Kristin Whitney fished Tuesday on a trip for summer flounder on Delaware Bay by special request, instead of fishing for the flatties on the back bay, said Capt. Joe Hughes from <b>Jersey Cape Guide Service</b>, affiliated with <b>Gibson’s Tackle</b>. They decked five keepers to 5 pounds, releasing quite a few throwbacks. Excellent catches of flounder were served up on the back bay lately, lots of the fish, including good numbers of keepers, good family fishing, Joe said. The angling had lasted well into summer, and the fluke and sea bass also bit in the ocean at Townsends Inlet Reef and Cape May Reef. Also in the back bay, stripers were hammered at night under the dock and bridge lights. Joe’s anglers fish for them with soft-plastic lures and Clouser flies. He was taking a trip today for brown and dusky sharks that swam thick in the ocean 5 to 10 miles from shore. The fishing, restricted to catch and release, is a blast, offering tough fights with long runs without the long trip offshore that other sharking requires. A trip Wednesday ran offshore to Lindenkohl Canyon with Dustin Laricks and Jay VonCzoernig, and Dustin released a white marlin. Tuna fishing really began to take off at the canyons, and fishing for white and blue marlin was also good in the waters, and mahi mahi swam the area. A blue came up to the spread on this trip but wouldn’t bite, and another blue was seen. Joe did no fishing for bluefin tuna closer to shore, but heard about bluefins dusted at the 750 Square, the Lobster Claw and other usual spots. 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>

This is going to be short and sweet, Capt. Trey from <b>Over Under Adventures</b> said in an e-mail. The best canyon tuna fishing in a long time was going down, and three boats from Over Under were sailing to the waters from Avalon and Ocean City, Maryland, on charters and shared charters. A trip Tuesday, when Trey sent the e-mail, trolled 19 yellowfin tuna, 45- to 75-pounders, in only a few hours, incredible fishing, doesn’t get any better. If you want tuna, now is the time. Don’t wait! he said. Call to jump aboard.

<b>Wildwood</b>

Customers at <b>Canal Side Boat Rentals</b> probably reeled up a keeper summer flounder for every 12 hooked from the back bay, Mike said. That’s a better ratio than many places in the state, and they hooked plenty of the flatties, had action. Mike was kind of surprised at how many of the fish swam around, because water temps were high. A commercial crabber said Delaware Bay was 86 degrees. A kingfish was clocked once in a while from the back bay, and no large population of kings ever enters the waters. Baby sea bass that always move in arrived a couple of weeks ago in the back bay. Not a lot, but some. None is ever a keeper, but some anglers enjoy catching and releasing them, and bits of clam work best for bait.  Not many blues were around, and snapper blues will show up in late August in the back bay. Larger blues that are more abundant toward May in the waters will return to the bay from the ocean in September or maybe sooner. Crabbing was strong, and this will be a good crabbing season. Currently the boaters averaged a couple of dozen keepers and said they could easily bushel out of they wanted. Plenty of the blueclaws were small, and crabbing should be banging in August, and September is always the best month. 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, and currently No. 2’s are on hand for $12 for the first dozen and $10 for each additional dozen. No. 1’s become more plentiful later in the season, and when they’re available, they’re stocked.

<b>Cape May</b>

Keeper summer flounder became somewhat more abundant than before, and yellowfin tuna fishing lit up at the canyons, and anglers better cash in on the tuna while the angling is on, said Capt. George from the <b>Heavy Hitter</b>. Two trips sailed for flounder this week, and the first, a charter, bagged five from 19 ½ to 22 inches, releasing a bunch of shorts. The second was a fun trip George took on a friend’s boat that totaled six keepers, releasing plenty of shorts. Both trips fished off Cape May Point, and that seemed the local place to be for the flatties. All the party boats fished there, and boats that would normally fish for flounder on the ocean at Reef 11 and the Old Grounds also fished there. Flounder fishing at the Old Grounds, located off Delaware, never really kicked in so far this year, and trips there would come back with a keeper or two, that’s about all. The fishing off the Point seemed better than recently, and previously tons of shorts but practically no keepers seemed to fill the waters. Now some keepers were in the mix. Bluefish returned to the inshore ocean, swam in a heavy population, after they had disappeared before. So bluefish charters became an option again, and false albacore were mixed in. The canyon fishing for yellowfin tuna turned dynamite, and George saw lots at the docks, and the tuna were larger than last year’s that were all small. George cleaned nine yellowfins that weighed 50 to 60 pounds that a friend caught during the weekend. Anglers better fish for the tuna now if they want to catch. The yellowfins could remain all summer in the waters, but they could also depart immediately. The yellowfins on trips seemed to be caught in quick shots when a mess attacked the trolling spread at once. Anglers had to capitalize on the brief opportunities. Trolling, not bait-fishing, nailed the tuna. Bluefin tuna gave up decent catches closer to shore on the inshore ocean, if anglers want tuna on a shorter trip that therefore is also more economical. Plus the Heavy Hitter is running a special on bluefin trips this season, and call for info. The bluefins were also only trolled.

Catches improved for summer flounder anglers, and the Cape May Rips on the Delaware Bay side tossed up some of the better fishing for them, said Dan from <b>Hands Too Bait & Tackle</b>. The sizes of the fish seemed to become somewhat larger, but the numbers of the flatbacks probably went down. Bay Shore Channel and 20-Foot Slough were some of the other places anglers found them. Big flounder were sometimes raked up from the ocean at Reef 11 and the Old Grounds. Fishing was slow at Cape May Reef. The back bay held lots of flounder, but lots of small. Kingfish gobbled bloodworms in the surf at Cape May Point. Tuna roamed plentiful at the offshore canyons.

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