This is the final Offshore Report of 2013!

<b>Shark River Inlet</b>

A trip for tuna fished overnight Monday to Tuesday on the party boat <b>Golden Eagle</b> from Belmar, and “was not as good as the last one,” a report on the vessel’s Web site said. Only a handful were bagged, and 20 were lost, and a large swordfish was landed. Tuna were marked most of the day and night, and the fish swam through the slick, and broke water around the boat. Was frustrating to see so many but not catch many.

<b>Manasquan Inlet</b>

On the party boat <b>Gambler</b> from Point Pleasant Beach, tuna fishing was good, Capt. Bob said. Longfin tuna 25 to 50 pounds, “nice, manageable size,” he said, lots, were nailed on flat-lined squid and on jigs. Fishing for them was best from 9 to 11 a.m. A few yellowfin tuna, bigger ones from 60 to 125 pounds, were cracked. Plus, two bigeye tuna were boated this past week. One was longer than 6 feet, estimated to weigh 350 pounds. The other weighed 250, and both were caught on bait, though bigeyes are often trolled. The boat is strictly tuna fishing at least through the month, maybe longer. One trip is already scheduled for November.  See the <a href=" http://www.gamblerfishing.net/offshoretrips.html" target="_blank">Gambler’s tuna schedule</a> online.

Fifteen longfin tuna to 40 pounds and some yellowfin tuna to 70 pounds were chunked on an overnight trip to Hudson Canyon with <b>Andrea’s Toy Charters</b> from Point Pleasant Beach, a report said Monday on Andrea’s Toy’s Web site. A 20-pound bull mahi mahi was also chunked, and the charter steamed for the canyon at 6 p.m. On arrival, the trip began chunking, or fishing with bait, chunks of it, as opposed to trolling, or dragging lures while the boat sails. Chunks of bait like butterfish or sardines are fished on the hooks, or live bait is. Chunks of bait are also tossed in the water for chum. Two longfins, the first bites, were gaffed at midnight. More tuna were missed as the anglers, new to tuna fishing, “got comfortable with the fish and the gear,” the report said. A large fish, “an unreal bite,” the report said, was hooked at 1 a.m. Each of the three anglers fought the catch, but the fish wrapped the line around a lobster pot buoy, and broke off. At 4 a.m., fishing busted loose, and the rest of the longfins, 13 of them, the yellowfins and the mahi were iced. “After the dust settled,” the report said, the charter chose to sail home in flat seas. Great night, the report said.  Capt. Fred in a telephone call said he’s not even thinking about inshore fishing, couldn’t say how inshore was. That’s because offshore was fantastic, unreal, he said, and Andrea’s Toy is concentrating on that. Canyon waters were 73 degrees, and 74-degree waters were “moving down the line,” he said. “Just let them know this is it,” he said. This is the final couple of weeks of tuna fishing. Andrea’s Toy will sail inshore afterward, including for striped bass. When the dust settles. 

A friend’s trip rounded up two bigeye tuna, 16 longfin tuna and four yellowfin tuna, said Capt. Ken from the <b>Big Kid</b> in Brielle.

Tuna fishing was the best of the season, said Dave from <b>The Reel Seat</b> in Brielle. Trips fished at Hudson Canyon, chunking longfin and yellowfin tuna and sometimes swordfish at night. Both tuna also bit during daytime on the troll. One customer’s trip landed two bigeye tuna, 25 longfins and a half-dozen yellowfins. Close to shore, bluefin tuna were seen all over, jumping from waters, chasing bait.

<b>Barnegat Inlet</b>

Fishing for tuna wasn’t good on an overnight trip Saturday to Sunday, said Capt. Ted from the <b>Super Chic</b> from Barnegat Light. The trip mostly fished at night, and when daylight broke, seas were too rough to stay and fish. But the angling seemed good during daytime. The trip managed a couple of longfin tuna, a swordfish and a mahi mahi. The 56-foot boat can accommodate up to 25 anglers on inshore trips and 10 on overnight, offshore trips. The vessel sleeps 10 passengers.

From an edited e-mail from Capt. Dave DeGennaro from the <b>Hi Flier</b> from Barnegat: “I took my two boys, Nick, 15, and Max, 12, on the Gambler out of Point Pleasant Beach for an overnight canyon tuna trip (last week on Wednesday). After a slow night of fishing, we had a wide-open bite on 35- to 40-pound longfin tuna that lasted hours. We had seven between us, and the boys each added a mahi mahi. Awesome boat, awesome crew. <a href="http://youtu.be/aX0HLUNIc3k" target="_blank">Here’s a video of Max</a> doing battle with a 37-pound longfin that ate a bait he pitched on a spinning rod for a mahi mahi. It was a pretty big spinner, my Cabo 80, and he handled it like a champ.” The Hi Flier is fishing for striped bass and bluefish inshore.

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