<b>Sandy Hook</b>

Was good tuna fishing during the weekend on the <b>Hyper Striper</b> from Highlands, Capt. Pete wrote in an e-mail. The Bob Williams party smoked a mess of longfins aboard.

<b>Shark River Inlet</b>

The season’s first overnight trip for tuna is slated to fish the canyons this weekend on the <b>Katie H</b> from Belmar, Capt. Mike said. Most boats that fished the canyons this weekend had just returned or were still returning when he gave this report Sunday evening in a telephone call. But all canyons seemed to produce the fish recently. A bunch of longfin tuna and a few bigeye tuna were trolled during daytime. At night, a fair number of swordfish were cranked in. Not many tuna seemed to be landed at night, but the nighttime fishing seemed to be just starting. He knew about a good bite last week, at Lindenkohl Canyon, he thought. Nobody really fished for bluefin tuna closer to shore recently.

<b>Manasquan Inlet</b>

Weather was too rough for offshore fishing after the weekend with <b>Andrea’s Toy Charters</b> from Point Pleasant Beach, Capt. Fred said. But anglers aboard steamed late Saturday afternoon, after winds calmed, on one of the boat’s mixed-bag trips to the canyons, a report on Andrea’s Toy’s Web site said. “First stop was all we needed,” it said. The charter started landing fish right away. Good-sized yellowfin tuna were axed, and sharks started to appear, “till the right one showed up,” the report said. A 70-inch mako, a “beast,” it said, was caught. Then a 50-inch swordfish was bagged. A few more yellowfins, 70-pounders, were pasted through the night. At daybreak, a half-dozen longfin tuna to 30 pounds were nailed. The anglers decided to “switch gears,” the report said, and try for more species. They tilefished, and wind against tide were difficult for the angling, “but got into blueline (tiles),” the report said. Then the group fished for mahi mahi. A patch of the fish was found, and a 15-pounder was iced. A few were lost, then the dolphin scattered. The trip got back to port by lunchtime Sunday, “and beers at the dock with a great crew,” the report said. Annual mixed-bag trips offshore like this, both open-boat and charters, are sailing. Andrea’s Toy specializes in mixed-bag fishing for greater fun, better chances of hooking up and more variety for dinner. Telephone if interested.  

A few bluefin tuna were probably around in the inshore ocean, but nobody seemed to fish for them anymore, said Dave from <b>The Reel Seat</b> in Brielle. Farther from shore, good trolling for longfin tuna was boated, and a couple of yellowfin tuna were decked at times. Catches of mahi mahi seemed slower than before, because anglers kept targeting them. A couple of bigeye tuna from Toms Canyon were the only heard about locally, but bigeyes were taken farther south. The ones that had been roaming Wilmington Canyon seemed to slide south to Baltimore Canyon, and bigeyes were still caught at Washington Canyon like before.

<b>Barnegat Inlet</b>

From an edited e-mail from Capt. Dave DeGennaro from the <b>Hi Flier</b> from Barnegat: “We are still hammering away at big bonita and albacore at Barnegat Ridge. Both the north and south Barnegat Ridges are giving up fish. Seventy-degree, bluish water and lots of bait. Mostly sand eels. We are trolling our small, 20-class conventionals, and once we find a productive spot, we put some 10-pound spinning rods in the spread, with either a feather or a spearing hooked through the lips. You hold these rods, instead of using the rod holders, so you feel the violent hit. A lot of times this one doesn't get hit until one of the traditional lures gets whacked first. Then as I slow the boat down, the other lures do a slow sink, and that's when you wind up with multiple fish on. If you watch the wake right behind the boat, you can see the fish crash the lure. Small, 5-inch cedar plugs and little squid daisy chains are providing most of the action for us. Sailing open-boat to Barnegat Ridge 6 a.m. to 12 noon Saturday and Monday. Three person max per trip. All fish are shared. Call to reserve a spot.”

<b>Townsend’s Inlet</b>

A few bigeye tuna caught were about all that was heard about from offshore, said Mike from <b>Sea Isle Bait & Tackle</b> in Sea Isle City. But bigeyes did apparently roam the waters.

<b>Cape May</b>

Not many tuna were bagged at the offshore canyons in range of Cape May this season, said Nick from <b>Hands Too Bait & Tackle</b> in the town. When anglers couldn’t catch enough tuna to eat, not as many boaters fished offshore, no matter whether other big game could be fought. That could change quickly, especially this time of year, when seasons are changing. Fall can be great.

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