<b>Staten Island</b>

Sea bass fishing on a trip Saturday wasn’t as “fast,” Capt. Joe from <b>Outcast Charters</b> said, as the angling had been, but lots of good-sized ones were snatched aboard. Many 15- and 16-inchers or 2-pounders were bonked, and a few 3-½-pounders were mixed in. The numbers were just lower than before, and the trip had to jump around more than a couple of weeks ago. A few short fluke were released. Trips will keep sea bass fishing until beginning to target blackfish when the tog season opens in October.

Anglers from ESPN sailed aboard a fluke trip with <b>Barbara Anne Fishing Charters</b> on Friday, “and what a day it was,” the Captain’s Blog on the boat’s Web site said. Plenty of fluke including a 6-3/4-pounder and several 4- to 5-pounders were wiped up. The angler with the 6-3/4-pounder moved into second place in the boat’s season-long Fluke Derby. “Great day all around!” the blog said. Barbara Anne’s fluke trips usually fish along Ambrose Channel to the Verrazano Bridge. But Monster-Fluke-a-Thons, 11-hour, open-boat trips with four anglers, fish once a week on the ocean, at rocky bottom and wrecks 15 to 20 miles from port. The first bucktail is provided, and the anglers provide the rest. A season-long Fluke Derby is being held on the boat, awarding first and second prizes to the two anglers with the biggest fluke wrangled aboard. A custom-made Lamiglas rod is the first prize. Two free open-boat trips are the second. Anyone who fishes aboard becomes eligible, and there is no entry fee. Barbara Anne successfully bid on a Research Set Aside Permit, allowing trips to fish for fluke when the fluke season closes. New York’s season will close from September 7 to May 21, and the RSA bag limit is four fluke from 17 to 20 inches per person.

<b>Bayonne</b>

The bay off the Sandy Hook Lighthouse was fished first on a fluke charter Saturday, and one keeper was bagged, and many shorts were tossed back, said Capt. Akira from <b>True World Tackle</b> and <b>True World Tackle Charters</b>. The anglers moved to buoys 9 and 10 at Ambrose Channel in the afternoon, and three keeper fluke, many throwbacks, three sea bass and many sea robins were landed. Fluking was good at the 8, 9, 10 and 12 buoys at Ambrose, though the fishing was best there earlier in the season last year. A friend on Sunday ran a trip with other anglers that belted nine keeper fluke at the 10 and 12 buoys and more than 10 keeper sea bass at the 10. Fishing for striped bass became slow from the bulkheads at Bayonne and Jersey City because of the heat. No fluke are ever really caught from the bulkheads. Most customers boated for fluke or tried for them from shore around Sandy Hook.

<b>Keyport</b>

A charter with children caught and released a bunch of throwback fluke on Friday at Reach Channel on killies and squid, said Capt. Joe from <b>Papa’s Angels Charters</b>. The group, Mike Palmer from Manalapan, his sons Steven, 9, and Christopher, 7, and their friends Matt, 9, and Matteo, 6, had a wonderful time, Joe said. The kids had fishing skill, had angled before. Joe saw no bluefish on the waters, but a few cocktail blues were reportedly around lately. Charters are sailing for fluke and are bottom fishing for sea bass. Open-boat trips are fishing for fluke twice daily from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. and from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. when no charter is booked. Call to go. Credit card payments through PayPal are accepted for all trips.

<b>Atlantic Highlands</b>

Plenty of action, plenty of keepers, kicked off Sunday’s fluke trip on the party boat <b>Fishermen</b>, Capt. Ron said in an e-mail. The trip began fishing in shallow waters, working to the deep as currents eased off. The tide would’ve been way too fast to fish the channels at first in incoming tide with the southeast breeze in the same direction. June Benson already had three in the box when she proceeded to land four more keepers, including the 5-1/2-pound pool-winner, keeping no more than her limit of six. One angler bagged four keepers fishing with sliced steak! Yes, sliced steak. “Few guys had three, and so on,” Ron said. A shot of rain fell a little but failed to ruin the day. 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 Friday and Saturday.

The way fluke fishing went in the past days could almost sound like a repeat from previous days, but the number of keepers bagged somewhat improved, though that depended on the day, said Capt. Tom from the party boat <b>Atlantic Star</b>. Trips fished from Sandy Hook Channel to Reach Channel and off Sandy Hook to the Navy Pier. Anglers occasionally bagged four or five keepers, one short of a limit. Sometimes an angler would bag two keepers, and sometimes one. Some landed no keepers, like usual, but everyone caught at least shorts. There was lots of action, good fishing. Small fluke like 12- or 13-inchers were around, and a fair share of 17- or 17-1/2-inchers were released, and they were beautiful fish, slightly under the 18-inch size limit. Friday afternoon’s trip was one of the better ones, maybe because of conditions or winds and tides creating the right drift. Skill probably played a part in who bagged keepers at times, but luck played a big part.  Sometimes inexperienced anglers took the keepers when experienced anglers did not. Sometimes anglers who worked rigs with a Spro jig and a teaser saw an advantage. Other times anglers working a Spro saw that anglers dragging bait scored better, so the Spro anglers switched to bait. Sometimes killies that anglers brought aboard helped. Sometimes the spearing and squid supplied on the boat worked better. But Tom saw no pattern, so predicting the bait that would work better seemed impossible, and the preference was day to day or trip to trip. He tells anglers they can bring two rods, one for a Spro and another for bait, leaving the rod not used up top. 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>Highlands</b>

Rods were bent most of the trip, and the DePalma family enjoyed a great day of fluke fishing this past week with <b>Sandy Hook Fishing Adventures</b>, Capt. Bob said in an e-mail. Dylan DePalma boated the biggest, a 20-incher, and Bob, Averal, Diane and Ann DePalma also sailed on the trip. Ken Dulan scored four keeper fluke apiece to a 5-pounder on two back-to-back evening trips, and those Magic Hour trips lately produced good catches of the flatties under the right conditions. Choice dates are available for full- and half-day charters, and open-boat trips are running when no charter is booked. Magic Hour trips in the evenings, both charters and open, are fishing seven days a week. Call for details or to reserve.

Anglers aboard reeled up 17 keeper fluke to 8 pounds, including a couple of 5-pounders and a couple of 6-pounders, mostly along the rough bottom in the ocean while fishing with bucktails and big strip baits on Sunday, said Capt. Derek from <b>Fisher Price Charters</b>. But they also fished a little, and caught, at the channels, because the trip had the conditions, or winds and currents, to create the right drift there. A sea bass trip copped a decent catch of the lumpheads to 3 pounds on Saturday. Charters are sailing for either fluke or sea bass, and open-boat trips are fishing for fluke. Derek was unsure about the date for the next open trip, but anglers can call him to be kept informed about the open schedule. He was prepping the boat for bluefin tuna fishing that will start any moment on the vessel on both charters and open trips, and he spoke with a bunch of anglers who said good catches of the tuna were plowed Sunday from the Atlantic Princess wreck to the Chicken Canyon and the Glory Hole. Forecasts looked iffy for much off this week, but he’ll shoot for the bluefins when a window opens up.

A couple of bluefin tuna trips are slated to fish this week with <b>Jersey Devil Charters</b> if the weather allows, and the fish are holding 50 to 75 miles from shore, Capt. Brian said. One of the captains who runs the boat trolled a 150-pounder and another that was probably 60 or 70 pounds. Fishing for tuna farther offshore at Hudson Canyon sounded like it turned spotty, became hit or miss, in the past days, after fishing that was more solid there previously. But that could change. Jersey Devil is fishing for bluefins on both charters and open-boat trips, and call if interested in the open trips, because the more who are interested, the easier to schedule. Charters are fishing the canyons for yellowfin tuna and other big game.

<b>Neptune</b>

Offshore wreck fishing for cod, pollock and ling couldn’t be better, “just as I said it would be,” said Capt. Ralph from <b>Last Lady Fishing Charters</b> in an e-mail. A trip Tuesday clobbered 40 good-sized cod to 20 pounds, six big pollock to 30 pounds and a mix of sizeable ling. Because of the outstanding fishing, Ralph is scheduling two individual-reservation trips to the offshore wrecks August 10 and 24. Inshore bottom fishing had been slow at the beginning of last week because of the down side of the moon. But catches picked up by the end of the week. Fluke fishing was slow during the week but was good, included a healthy catch of keepers, on a trip Saturday with anglers from the Riverside Rod and Gun Club. Individual-reservation fluke trips are fishing every Wednesday until fluke season ends in early September. Bluefishing was difficult for most boats because of the spawn. Tuna fishing is currently the best in four years from inshore waters to the canyons or 35 to 65 miles out. Because of the good angling, two individual-reservation tuna trips to the canyons are slated for August 12 and 26. To find out a special rate for inshore tuna trips, call or e-mail Ralph.

<b>Belmar</b>

Trips for fluke swiped up good catches of the flatties to 4 ½ pounds and some sea bass on the ocean the last couple of days on the <b>Nan Sea J</b>, Capt. Tom said. The number of keeper fluke increased, and trips fished for them at the rocky bottom with both rigs and bucktails. Waters were 70 degrees, cooler than before. A trip Sunday jigged a load of 1- to 2-pound blues on the ocean just off Shark River Inlet. A whiting even bit, and that was the second whiting of the season hooked on the boat. The whiting on this trip showed up in 40 feet, closer to shore than expected. Trips will keep on doing this fishing and also bottom fishing and will now begin to run for bluefin tuna, including on an open-boat trip Tuesday with space available. The open trips will keep sailing for the tuna this season on dates that are available, and call if interested. The bluefins were apparently 40 miles from shore or farther, a little farther from shore than might be preferred, but the trips will go wherever necessary. They’ll also fish in whatever way necessary: trolling, jigging or chunking. Most of the fish seemed to be trolled or jigged currently.

<b>Brielle</b>

The <b>Big Kid</b> competed Friday and Saturday in the Beach Haven Marlin and Tuna Club White Marlin Invitational, missing first place in the wahoo division by 1 pound, whaling loads of yellowfin and longfin tuna, all on the troll, Capt. Ken said. On Sunday Mike Radomski’s charter fished for a combo of fluke and sea bass, slugging endless action on fluke to 5 pounds and sea bass to 2 ½ pounds and some ling. Charters are also fishing for bluefin tuna, fishing that was off the wall, Ken said, and a trip last week hammered a catch, covered in the last report. 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.

Some fluke anglers headed to the ocean, found a pod, and caught, and others did not, said Dave from <b>The Reel Seat</b>. On some days anglers wrangled in lots of shorts and a few keepers. Fluking took work this year. But Manasquan and Shark rivers were loaded with fluke, and anglers could land all they wanted there, and keepers could be had in the Manasquan. Flatties 5 and 6 pounds were also hung from the river with regularity. Sea bass fishing was good on the ocean, and anglers fishing for them also reeled up blackfish, including good-sized ones 5 to 8 pounds. No porgies were around locally, and some of the party boats sailed for ling at night and caught. Bluefishing was spotty on the ocean, mostly giving up small ones, and big ones must’ve been offshore spawning. Bluefin tuna fishing was good along the southwest corner of the Chicken Canyon to the Atlantic Princess wreck and east of the wreck, and yellowfin tuna were mixed in. Boaters who jigged for the bluefins looked for skipjacks and some kind of big rays the bluefins hung around. Boaters who trolled for bluefins sort of searched for them blindly. Bluefin anglers also fished with surface lures, poppers and rubber baits like Hogies. Some of the bluefins were big, and Shimano rep Doug Rush released a 68-incher. Fishing was good at Hudson Canyon farther offshore during the weekend. Yellowfin tuna, lots of billfish and some bigeye tuna were caught. Anglers picked away at the yellowfins at night, too, besides landing them during the day. Dave thought action was also seen at Toms Canyon.

<b>Point Pleasant</b>

<b>Jersey Hooker Charters</b> gained first place with a white marlin in the Beach Haven Marlin and Tuna Club White Marlin Invitational on Friday, the tournament’s first fishable day, an e-mail from the boat said. The fish was knocked out of first by one other white on Saturday, but the crew won all the Calcuttas for the first day and the Calcutta for heaviest white in the event. After all boats sat out fishing on Thursday, the first day of the tournament, because of seas, the crew with Jersey Hooker – Capt. Rich Wilkowski, mate George Paley, Tom “Big-T” Wortmann, Kenny Burnes and “Mean” Dean Holonics – set out for the canyons on Friday for the tournament. They arrived at the grounds, meeting a 4- to 7-foot chop and occasional 10-footers, though forecasts had called for “prime fishing conditions,” the e-mail said. They started fishing when the committee boat called all lines in at 8 a.m. A 50-pound yellowfin tuna was trolled. After a little while, a white marlin jumped the spread and was hooked. The spread was cleared, and Capt. Rich backed down the boat, and the 69-inch white was placed in the fish box after 20 minutes. Seas worsened, and a couple of more whites entered the spread without biting. Lines out took place at 3 p.m. Back at the docks, Jersey Hooker was the only boat with a white marlin weighed in that day, jumping to the top of the leader board. On the next day, Saturday, the crew released one white, raised a couple and landed a good-sized, gaffer mahi mahi. Three whites were boated in the tournament that final day of the event, and the only one that qualified bumped Jersey Hooker out of first place. Joe Piscetta and five buddies jumped aboard the boat for a 4-hour Vacation Special Trip, bailing sea bass the whole time at sticky bottom in the ocean. They had to work for the legal-sized lumpheads, but boxed 30 large keepers, a porgy and a cocktail blue.

With no trip booked in rough forecasts Saturday, Capt. Fred from <b>Andrea’s Toy Charters</b> took his two sons, his dad and friends to Hudson Canyon, aiming to help the sons catch their first-ever tuna and mahi mahi, he said in the report on the boat’s Web site. They arrived at the canyon at first light, and tuna fishing was a slow pick for most of the fleet. But a shot of small, barely legal yellowfin tuna were found in a school of skipjacks, and one of the tunas was trolled, and one of the sons reeled in the fish, his first-ever tuna. A skipjack was also landed, and next another shot of yellowfins blew up on the trolling pattern, and another legal-sized yellowfin was hooked, and one of the other anglers reeled in the fish. Then the trip tried for mahi, hopping to different lobster pot buoys until the fish were found. The other son bucktailed one of the mahi, his first-ever. Mission accomplished: a tuna and a mahi landed for the two sons. The trip left the canyon at lunchtime, stopping at the Chicken Canyon to scope out bluefin tuna on the way home, but the bite was already over. So the anglers headed to the barn. Andrea’s Toy is fishing for tuna and other fish on the inshore ocean and at the canyons on both charters and open-boat trips. 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 the annual, open-boat, mixed-bag trips. Andrea’s Toy specializes in mixed-bag fishing for greater fun, better chances of hooking up and more variety for dinner. Charters closer to shore are sailing for fluke and sea bass.  

The crew warned patrons Friday and Saturday about the small bluefish that were predominant lately and sometimes difficult searching for them, an e-mail from the party boat <b>Cock Robin</b> said. Still, anglers making a trip should bring a cooler with ice, because the blues make great pan-fried fillets and stay nice and firm on ice, and the trips usually found them since Friday. Enough of the fish were located Friday so that all the anglers aboard caught them, some of the anglers better than others. Saturday’s trip was difficult, and not only big blues couldn’t be found, but neither could small ones. But on Sunday’s trip small blues, all the anglers could want, were quickly located to the north, and the trip hunted them down all day, no more than a mile from shore and no farther than Asbury Park. Numerous double-headers were whacked on jigs with teasers. The fish were again found in short order on today’s trip to the north, and chasing them took stealth, but the captain glided the boat into schools of the blues, once again feeding on bait balls under working birds, eager to smack jigs, two at a time getting hooked on jigs with teasers. “A late report of bigger blues to the north was heard on the way home,” the e-mail said. “Will tomorrow be the day?” The Cock Robin is bluefishing 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily and 7:30 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays.

South winds that dropped the ocean surface temperature to 67 degrees from 80 overnight Wednesday made fluke fishing difficult the first day or two afterward, said Capt. Bob from the party boat <b>Gambler</b>. The angling never fully recovered since then, and though catches improved each day, the fluking was still somewhat slow. But some healthy-sized flatties were decked. Mike Savickie, Point Pleasant, bagged a 5-pound 1-ounce fluke on Sunday morning’s trip, and a few other sizeable ones were reeled in, and a handful of sea bass were taken. But the fishing wasn’t all that great. On the boat’s nighttime bluefish trips, big bluefish swam out of range far offshore, but smaller, 1- to 2-pound blues were hooked 10 miles from shore, and trips are expected to be able to target them until big blues move back in. On the vessel’s night trips for ling, sea bass, cod and squid, ling fishing went well and improved a little each week. The fishing on the last trip, last week on Monday, was the best so far, pummeling large ling to 4 pounds. Most of the anglers bucketed 10 to 15 ling apiece, and cod, from throwbacks to 24-inchers, none big, but quite a few, continued to be caught. Just about every angler probably bagged at least one cod, and a few sea bass were in the mix. No squid were boated on this trip, but anglers who tried for squid usually jigged them on previous trips. The anglers can keep a rod ready with a smaller, 3- or 4-inch squid jig with a little weight. Then when squid swim past, they can drop their ling rod in the rod holder, and the ling rod will fish on its own, while they jig for squid.  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 and are beginning to be booked. Tuna fishing was already going well, and Bob thinks the fishing should be good this fall.

<b>Bricktown</b>

Reports about limits of fluke bagged rolled in from Sea Girt Reef, Axel Carlson Reef and the Seaside Lump, an e-mail from <b>Jersey Hooker Outfitters</b> said. Sea bass fishing slowed, but some were plucked from the reefs. Nick Ninivaggi, Bricktown, pummeled a 5-1/2-pound whopper to the south during the weekend. Surf anglers picked fluke and at night fought sharks. The shop will sponsor an all-night demo on surf sharking with the Surf Rocket, the air cannon built to blast hooked bait far out into the waters from shore, at Island Beach State Park, starting at 6 p.m. Saturday, August 14. Stop by and check it out, and anglers can call Mr. Surf Rocket for info at 732-406-6879. Capt. Brian Sweeney ran Dave Beaton’s Hard Ways to Toms Canyon on Saturday in flat-calm seas. The boat began trolling the 79.9-degree waters, and a wolfpack of bigeye tuna attacked 10 minutes later. A 236-pounder and a 134-pounder were decked. Satisfied with the catch, the anglers headed home with the two monsters. Catch the report from Jersey Hooker Charters, the shop's charter boat, under Point Pleasant above.

<b>Seaside Park</b>

It’s August, and <b>Fishguts Inshore Charters</b> is still catching great numbers of quality-sized sea bass and blackfish, Capt. Rob “Birch” Birchmeier said in the report on the boat’s Web site. A father and son joined a trip for a combo of sea bass on the ocean and fluke on Barnegat Bay, called a Captain’s Combo, on Saturday. A stiff north breeze made ocean seas “a bite uncomfortable,” Birch said, but fishable. They began fishing there, picking good-sized sea bass. The trip moved around quite a bit, because lots of action was found, but not the number of keepers Birch looked for. Still, they iced 20 keepers then switched to tog fishing. The anglers waffled good numbers of healthy-sized ones, bagging their limit of two 6-½-pound tog. Then they moved to the bay for catch-and-release fluke fishing, having a blast with light tackle, Birch said. On Sunday three anglers jumped aboard a wreck-fishing trip for sea bass on the ocean. Conditions were nearly perfect, and the anglers enjoyed good fishing for large lumpheads, mostly 13-1/2- to 15-inchers, and only a dozen of the keepers had to be measured. They put a bunch of keeper sea bass, not a limit, but a bunch and one ling, one porgy and a 4-pound tog in the box. Ten-hour open-boat trips in addition to charters are sailing for sea bass, and the combo ocean sea bass and Barnegat Bay fluke charters, called the Captain’s Combo, will keep running.

<b>Beach Haven</b>

On the <b>June Bug</b> anglers arrived at Lindenkohl Canyon on Saturday at 4:30 a.m., well before dawn, and began fishing, Capt. Lindsay said. Nothing bit on the troll at his usual pre-dawn spots, but an 80-pound yellowfin tuna attacked and was boated at 7:30 a.m., after the trip had moved to deep-water spots Lindsay knows. The crew discovered tuna were holding in disturbed-looking patches of waters, and another 80-pound yellowfin was trolled at one at 10 a.m. No more of the patches were seen, and a 10-foot, barnacle-covered, floating log was found at 11:30 a.m., and mahi mahi swam all around it. None bit when the boat trolled past the log, but the boat was backed down within 15 feet of the wood, and the anglers bailed the mahi while casting half-pieces of ballyhoo on spinning rods. They could’ve kept socking the dolphin but kept what they wanted to eat fresh, and that was enough. The trip began sailing home but stopped to fish at places in 40 and 50 fathoms that Lindsay knows can produce catches in the late afternoons. A white marlin was raised on a trolled cedar plug, of all things, and never chomped the plug. Then another popped a ballyhoo from the outrigger but failed to get hooked. A third white pulled on a spreader bar a moment without getting hooked. This offshore season is probably the best in 25 years, Lindsay said, and life filled the waters. If anglers are sitting on the “sidelines,” he said, they should think about going on a trip now. He understands that getting a six-angler charter together can take twisting arms and convincing, but the fishing is on. The waters in the afternoon were 76 to 77 degrees, cooler than previously, and seas were flat, with only a little northeast breeze. During the previous night 25 boats must’ve fished the canyon, and not many seemed to catch. Lindsay knew about a 150-pound mako shark landed among the vessels that night, and he heard about a 250-pound bigeye tuna boated in the area the previous evening. On the way home talk on the radio from the canyon sounded like the fishing really picked up that evening, so maybe the fish bit that night. One of the anglers on the trip turned right back around and headed to the canyon that night, and Lindsay was waiting to hear about the trip.

<b>Tuckerton</b>

<b>Legal Limit Charters</b> fished for summer flounder on the ocean through the weekend, and the fishing was spotty, but some large ones were creamed when winds or currents drifted the boat well, Capt. T.J. said. An 8-pounder was tackled on Saturday’s trip that fished in 65 feet, no particular spot, just moving around. A 5-pounder was hefted aboard on Sunday’s trip that fished in 55 feet. T.J. heard no news about offshore fishing, after the boat ran three offshore trips last week that caught tuna and mahi mahi, covered in the last report. Coming up, trips are slated to do lots of flounder fishing in the next days. Two spaces are available on an open-boat trip or shared charter for flounder Tuesday. The trips are sailing Tuesdays and Thursdays when no charter is booked and enough anglers want to go, and 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>

Better feedback than before began to come in from summer flounder anglers fishing the bars at Little Egg Inlet and the ocean from 35 to 65 feet off the southernmost towers on Long Beach Island, said the report on <b>Scott’s Bait & Tackle</b>’s Web site. The report wasn’t “touting limit catches of any sort,” it said, but a good population of the fish, including a few keepers, was around. The anglers in the ocean worked random bottom, covering ground until the fish were found, and nobody raved about a hot spot. Sea bass fishing was tough on the ocean, and a couple of customers attempted to catch white perch in the brackish rivers, but only came up with a few of the slabs, no numbers. Many who crabbed said catches of the blueclaws were great. One nabbed a few 7-inchers, fishing at the creeks off Great Bay Boulevard. Crabbers probably had to poke around several of the smaller creeks until activity was found.

<b>Atlantic City</b>

Surf anglers banked kingfish, lots of small ones, but fairly good catches on bloodworms, said Noel from <b>One Stop Bait & Tackle</b>. Many summer flounder skittered around the surf, and many were throwbacks, but some were large. A 6-pound 26-incher was checked in. Tog, small ones but some keepers, hovered along the jetties, and so did triggerfish. Croakers 12 and 13 inches swam the suds, and snapper blues came through the wash. So a variety of fish, a bunch of action, came from the waters. Spearing and minnows schooled, and a few mullet, not many, roamed. Herring were caught in the back bay, and occasional striped bass, not many, bit in the bay and surf. Bloodworms, minnows, clams, green crabs, squid and the full supply of bait is stocked.

<b>Margate</b>

Some good-sized, keeper summer flounder to 6 ½ pounds were dusted up from the artificial reefs with <b>O-Beth Sportfishing Charters</b>, Capt. Eric said. Inshore trolling trips on the ocean Saturday and Sunday socked all the bluefish to 3 pounds the anglers could want, mahi mahi to 6 or 7 pounds, Spanish mackerel, false albacore and football-sized bluefin tuna. A trip farther from shore on Tuesday trolled three yellowfin tuna to 60 pounds and two mahi inshore of Spencer Canyon. Both charters and open-boat trips are available for tuna fishing, and call if interested in the open trips.

<b>Longport</b>

Trolling the inshore ocean or 10 miles from shore piled up a mess of small blues, a few chub mackerel and some Spanish mackerel on the <b>Stray Cat</b>, Capt. Mike said. The angling held up for weeks now, and sometimes other fish or mahi mahi and false albacore bit during the time. Two of the trolling charters sailed Saturday and Sunday, and an open-boat trip for sea bass and summer flounder ran Friday. Currents ran strong, so the boat was anchored for sea bass, and a good catch to the 4-1/2-pound pool-winner was drilled. Water temps dropped a lot to as low as 68 or 69 degrees, but came back up to 70 or 71, though that was considerably lower than previously. Another open trip for sea bass and flounder will fish 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, and space is available. Two spaces are left on one of the season’s open-boat, overnight tuna trips that will leave at 2 p.m. Saturday, August 28. The two others are sold out on August 21 and 29. All the trips will also stop for sea bass in the mornings. These will be the only of these trips this year, unless the weather is clear in September. Then one more might be added. Rods will be available at no charge, and bait will be provided, and ice will be supplied for the tuna. Catch a special, low, discounted rate for charters for croakers and sea bass September 13 through 30 only.

<b>Sea Isle City</b>

Jeremy, Nicole and Deborah Miller on the back bay pumped in more than 40 summer flounder, including several almost 18 inches, on Saturday, said Capt. Joe Hughes from <b>Jersey Cape Guide Service</b> and <b>Gibson’s Tackle</b>. Walt, Walt Jr., Dennis and Alex Johnson released 35 throwback flounder on the bay Thursday. Flounder still flooded the bay, though normally more would’ve migrated to the ocean by this time of the season. Joe on flounder trips unhooked the fish and re-baited the hooks the whole time, a spectacular number of the flatties. His trips grabbed keepers at times during the past week, and working through the throwbacks to bag a keeper was possible. The trips were especially great for family fun and for kids to keep the kids catching. Joe expects that the recent cold front and northeast winds that cooled waters probably picked up striped bass fishing in the bay, both on night trips and on daylight trips that fish for them with popper lures or flies. He expects to do a lot of that fishing in the next week or so. The night trips fish with soft-plastic lures or Clouser flies at places like under the lights at docks and bridges. Two of Jersey Cape’s special shark trips were sailing today that fish the ocean close to shore. They mainly fight browns and duskies, catch-and-release angling by regulation, only 5 to 10 miles from shore with spinning or fly rods. The trips are a chance to try blue-water angling for tough, strong fighters without the long trip usually necessary for sharking. A trip is set to sail offshore for tuna and big game on Friday, and the last offshore trip was weathered out from the northeast winds. Tuna, marlin and mahi mahi swam plentiful in the waters this season.  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>

Five trips fished offshore on two different boats from <b>Over Under Adventures</b> from Friday to Sunday, audio reports on the Over Under’s Web site said. A day trip on Friday began fishing inshore of Lindenkohl Canyon in sloppy seas, but the crew didn’t like what they saw at the waters, deciding to move to Spencer Canyon for the rest of the day, a decision that turned out well. A good-sized blue marlin was hooked and landed in 80 fathoms at 9:30 or 10 a.m. Yellowfin tuna jumped the trolling spread a half-hour later, and three out of four were landed. Seas continued to be sloppy, and the trip decided to fish inshore on the way home. Four yellowfins bit, and two were landed, in 55 fathoms inshore of the west wall. The catches went well on the trip, totaling five yellowfins and the blue landed, among the other bites. The crew expected trips to fish to the north next. Tuna seemed to be filtering down from Hudson and Toms canyons to Carteret Canyon and maybe as far south as Spencer Canyon. An overnight trip on Friday to Saturday was probably Over Under’s best of the season so far, and fished at South Toms Canyon. Nine yellowfin tuna, sizeable ones 65 to 80 pounds, were trolled in 45 fathoms in 3 hours on Friday afternoon. The trip moved deeper toward the Continental Edge to spend the night chunking, beginning to drift in 650 feet. Only two rods were set out, and action was non-stop on yellowfin tuna. Three were kept, and the rest were released, and the anglers decided to begin sailing home at 1 a.m. They stopped at lobster pot buoys on the way, landing 25 or 30 mahi mahi. A day trip on the other boat left for the canyons at 1 a.m. Saturday, and began fishing at daybreak at South Toms Canyon in 45 fathoms where the tuna were trolled on Friday afternoon on the other boat. But not much tuna action was happening there this morning, despite pretty, blue waters. But the anglers got on a slow pick of two single yellowfin tuna that bit and were caught and two white marlin landed. The fishing around this time seemed to become best in the afternoons. The boat was trolled to Carteret Canyon with a little time left to fish. A bite had been taking place there that afternoon but now was mostly quiet, and one yellowfin was trolled in the middle of the fleet, before the time came to go home. Anglers should take the longest possible trips, like the 22-hour trips Over Under offers, to increase the odds of catching, covering more grounds, right now. On Sunday a day trip left at 2 a.m., motoring to Carteret Canyon, where the afternoon bite was happening for the fleet the previous afternoon. In the morning the trip came upon whales, porpoises and working birds, “a wild kingdom,” the report said, 15 miles inshore of the Carteret, so the anglers tried fishing there. But no tuna bit, and the afternoon fishing again seemed key. A yellowfin tuna was picked at 8 a.m. on the troll. Later in the morning a sheet of floating plywood was found, and the boat started making trolling passes at the plywood. A 55-pound yellowfin was boated, and a couple of white marlin jumped off. Another white was then missed, and so was a tuna. A big blue marlin next came all out of the waters, totally missing the lures, never returning. Mahi mahi came up next but were never hooked. The anglers fished the plywood 1 ½ hours, caught the one tuna, but missed opportunities for the other catches. The crew decided to return to the life seen that morning, and some boats there picked fish, but the trip got no bites. So the trip ended up with three yellowfins and shots missed at the other fish. Charters and   <a href=" http://overundercharters.com/index.php?page=opendates" target="_blank">open-boat trips</a> are fishing offshore.

<b>Cape May</b>

Most trips, 4- and 6-hour outings, trolled the ocean 10 miles from shore, beating mostly steady, good catches of 2- to 3-pound blues and occasional mahi mahi, Spanish mackerel, bonito or false albacore, said Capt. Bob from the <b>Down Deep</b>. But a trip Saturday ran 78 miles offshore, trolling a few yellowfin tuna, raising a couple of white marlin that got off. In the past days most yellowfins came from Lindenkohl Canyon, and most whites came from Baltimore Canyon. Lots of summer flounder were around to be caught near Cape May, but maybe 20 shorts were landed for every three keepers, and a few sea bass were around. But inshore charters lately chose to troll for the blues and other fish, because that was the best angling.

Capt. George from the <b>Heavy Hitter</b> ran a trip offshore for friends Anthony and Heidi Berenato from Mohawk Farms, Hammonton, on their boat, George said. Two 50-pound yellowfin tuna, their first-ever tuna, were trolled, and they were tickled, he said. They fished in 40 to 50 fathoms, short of the canyons, and two mystery bites also attacked the spread but never came tight. One ripped a ballyhoo from the outrigger but was never hooked. George later saw the line bouncing on the same rigger, picked up the rod, dropped the line back in free spool, but the fish was gone. Life including whales and porpoises filled the waters, and so did lots of boats. George talked with people who said some boats got covered up with tuna all at once, getting a shot at four or five the anglers had to capitalize on. Carteret Canyon gave up a solid bite Saturday, but George knew about a couple of private boaters who returned there Sunday, catching nothing. Whether they were experienced was unknown. Good fishing was happening offshore, and call if interested in heading out. Inshore trolling for all the blues anglers could want and other fish mixed in like false albacore turned out good catches 8 to 10 miles from shore, and the Heavy Hitter is also sailing for them. A charter on Thursday wants to fish for summer flounder. Flounder swam waters around Cape May, but anglers had to wade through plenty of throwbacks. Not many keeper sea bass were around.   

Back to Top