<b>Staten Island</b>

Anglers with <b>Outcast Charters</b> on Saturday smoked good fishing for striped bass 15 to 18 pounds on Raritan Bay, Capt. Joe said. Bluefish were mixed in but not much of a problem in the morning. When the tide switched, starting in late morning, loads of blues invaded through early afternoon during the fishing. On Sunday, anglers aboard wanted a split trip for striped bass and bottom-fish. Sailing from Sewaren, N.J., to take advantage of Jersey’s sea bass regs, they fished for stripers 2 hours in the morning on the bay, bagging three and fighting lots of blues. Then they bottom-fished on the ocean, limiting out on sea bass, sizeable ones to 3 pounds, and also belting ling. During the striper fishing, the anglers on Saturday’s trip fished with live and chunked bunker, and those on Sunday fished with chunks. Trips with Outcast are always available either from the New Jersey port or Staten Island, N.Y.

<b>Keyport</b>

Bluefish, pretty big, dominated Raritan Bay, giving up fantastic action, Capt. Frank from the <b>Vitamin Sea</b> wrote in an email. Striped bass mostly swam the ocean, and catching them took plenty of searching, but the fish were there. A trip fluked aboard Friday, and just a few keepers came in, and throwbacks turned out great action. The better the conditions have been, the better the fluking. Angler skill also played a part, or those who were experienced at bucktailing seemed to score better, especially on keepers. “When fishing on the Vitamin Sea, we will teach you the art of bucktailing,” Frank said. Space is available on open-boat trips for fluke 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. Bring your own bucktails, or if anglers prefer to fish with bait, Gulps and bait will be aboard. If stripers are seen chasing bunker during the trips, the trips will snag and liveline bunker for the bass.  Like the Vitamin Sea’s Facebook page for real-time reports and open-trip dates. “Get your dose of Vitamin Sea!”

Dan Bruck’s anglers bluefished with <b>Papa’s Angels Charters</b> on Saturday, fighting the fish, good action, to 9 pounds on Raritan Bay on chunks of bunker, Capt. Joe said. They had a good time, and weather was perfect, he said. Space is available on an open-boat trip for fluke on Wednesday. Open trips are also available daily through Friday when no charter is booked. The open trips are for fluke from 6 a.m. to 1 p.m. and blues from 4 to 9 p.m., and telephone to jump aboard.

<b>Atlantic Highlands</b>

A few keeper fluke were pitched aboard at every place fished on the party boat <b>Atlantic Star</b>, and the trips fished Raritan and Sandy Hook bays and the ocean, Capt. Tom said. On the ocean, trips fished just around the corner of Sandy Hook Point, didn’t venture down the beach. Tom definitely wouldn’t call the fishing good, but some of the keepers were good-sized, not huge, but 3, 4 and 5 pounds, occasionally 6. Sometimes action with throwbacks was good. If the size limit were a half-inch shorter, double or triple the keepers would be bagged. Small fluke also bit, but small fish among the population is good. Drifts couldn’t really be repeated that produced the same catches. Whether the reason was that the drift caught all the fish was unknown. “We’re fluke fishing …” Tom said. “That’s the best way to put it.” The Atlantic Star is fishing for fluke on two trips daily from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 1:30 to 6 p.m.

<b>Highlands</b>

Some excellent catches of striped bass, with a couple of slow trips mixed in, in the past week on the <b>Hyper Striper</b>, Capt. Pete wrote in an email. Stripers to 43 pounds were cracked on chunked or livelined bunker. Last Monday, the fishing was tough for Rob Terisi’s party.  On Tuesday, Rick Fant’s gang tackled stripers to 30 pounds in the morning, and Jim Connelly’s crew beat the bass to 36 pounds in the afternoon. On Wednesday, Tommy Johnson’s party boated stripers to 41 ½ pounds in the morning, and Craig Nimmic’s gang nailed stripers to 37 pounds in the afternoon. On Thursday, Skip Krone’s crew smacked stripers to 39 pounds. On Friday, the fishing was tough for Scott Gallion’s party in the morning, but was excellent for the fish to 35 pounds for Tony Rocco’s anglers in the afternoon. On Saturday, Gene Alexander’s group bottom-fished, cranking in a decent catch of sea bass and a few ling and cod. Jack Wallace’s crew put up a good catch of sea bass aboard toward the end of the week. Robert Borney’s trip went back after stripers on Sunday morning, easing in the fish to 43 ½ pounds. John Fessock’s party clubbed an excellent catch of stripers to 40 pounds that afternoon. Nice fish, Pete said.

<b>Neptune</b>

Lots of ling and sea bass and some cod were scooted aboard Friday with <b>Last Lady Fishing Charters</b>, Capt. Ralph wrote in an email. Striped bass to 44 pounds were livelined on bunker Thursday on the boat. If anglers want stripers, book now. “Afternoons – no weekends,” Ralph wrote. The season’s first individual-reservation trip for sea bass, ling and fluke, sailing every Saturday, is booked this week. Space is available on the trips afterward, and kids under 12 sail free on those outings. Space was available on individual-reservation trips for cod at 1 a.m. on June 19 and July 17.

<b>Belmar</b>

On the <b>Katie H</b>, anglers bottom-fished Friday, scooping up an excellent catch of sea bass, some of them 2 to 4 pounds, and ling, Capt. Mike said. Aboard Saturday, another group bagged two striped bass and lost about three on livelined bunker. Bunker schooled thick, could’ve been walked on, Mike said. Then the anglers bottom-fished, and the angling was slower. But all in all a good day, he said. Space is available for fishing aboard Saturday, and Sunday is booked. Shark fishing is coming up aboard, including in the Mako Mania tournament. Canyon tuna trips are starting to be booked. Check the <a href=" https://www.facebook.com/pages/Katie-H-Sportfishing/1427151167547528
" target="_blank">Katie H’s new Facebook page</a>.  The 46-foot boat features speed and all the amenities.

For anglers on the party boat <b>Golden Eagle</b>, bluefishing improved on Saturday, a report on the vessel’s website said. No reports were posted for the previous couple of days. But on Saturday, blues, sometimes 8- to 12-pounders, other times 3- to 5-pounders, were picked most of the trip, on Run Off hammered jigs and Krocodiles. Sunday’s trip picked blues among good shots of the fish on most drifts. Fishing was decent for the 5- to 12-pounders on the Run Offs, Krocs and popper lures. The Golden Eagle is fishing at 7:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. daily.

The party boat <b>Miss Belmar Princess</b> sailed 20 miles east for bluefish Friday night, but only three bluefish were swung in, an email from the vessel said. The angling was slow for the entire fleet, and the boats probably totaled a dozen blues. Saturday’s trip aboard jacked 2- to 3-pound blues, sometimes 5- to 8-pounders, and a 25-pound striped bass that won the pool. Aboard that night, the trip fished east again, and the angling improved considerably, but wasn’t great. Blues were slowly picked, sometimes with shots of four and five on at once. A 12-pounder won the pool. “There were definitely a lot of fish around,” the email said. Sunday’s trip, fishing offshore, picked away at 5- to 8-pound blues on all drifts, at good readings. “But we didn’t catch what we saw,” the email said.  The Miss Belmar Princess is fishing at 7:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. daily.

An email from Bob from <b>Fisherman’s Den</b> actually sounded jaded about striped bass fishing for boaters on the ocean. “Sorry the reports are becoming a bore,” he said. “Big bass (on) the charter and private boats … not too exciting to see so many large fish on the cleaning tables … most surf anglers would like to get just one of these trophy fish a season,” Bob, a surf angler, said. “Well, enough sour grapes …” he said. Weigh-ins included Al Bridger’s 45-pound striper and Mike Bannon’s 35-pounder. Robbie Siciliano from Neptune and John Hoffman from Belford brought-in a 335-pound mako shark from a trip on the Smokin’ Reel. Fluke fishing had ups and downs, but some good-sized were bagged on Shark River. Andrew Meli from Wall iced a 4-pounder on Sunday, and the store’s rental boats are available to fish the river.  

<b>Brielle</b>

Striped bass fishing was fantastic on the ocean the past couple of days, said Eric from <b>The Reel Seat</b> on Sunday morning. A good spread of the fish, many of them 30 to 40 pounds, schooled from Sandy Hook to Manasquan Inlet, and the fishing seemed best from Elberon to Belmar. Boaters trolled the fish, hooked them on livelined bunker snagged for bait, and caught the bass on cast popper lures, metal or swimming lures. A few bluefish were mixed in, but most of the fish were stripers. The stripers popped into the surf a handful of times, but not consistently, and with no rhyme or reason, he said. Surf casters had to be mobile, and ready with popper lures or snagging hooks to liveline bunker. A few stripers were clammed from the surf. Lots of blues raced the surf at Sandy Hook and Monmouth Beach, and a few stripers were landed there. Fluke fishing was fair in Manasquan River. Many of the summer flounder were throwbacks, but some were keepers. Fluking was better in the river than in the ocean, but a few fluke were bagged from the ocean. Bluefishing was pretty consistent in the river, and hickory shad showed up in the area in past days. The shad were fought at Manasquan Inlet. Not a lot was heard about sea bass fishing on the ocean, and a handful of boaters seemed to target sea bass. The fishing depended on location, and some places produced. Sometimes anglers seemed to fish too shallow for sea bass, and the fish bit out to 80 feet. Lots of thresher sharks chased bunker on the striped bass grounds close to shore. Reels had to be re-spooled and tackle repaired at the store, because of threshers hooked by mistake while anglers striper fished. But the sharks were something big that anglers could target. Sharks like makos and blue sharks were around farther from shore, at traditional places like Monster Ledge, Chicken Canyon and Glory Hole. Farther offshore, Hudson Canyon’s tuna fishing lit up, and tuna continued to bite at southern canyons, but locals sailed to the Hudson, of course. They trolled bluefin tuna, and once they reached warmer waters, they trolled yellowfin tuna, on the other side of the temperature break. The yellowfins were small or 25 to 40 pounds, but there were “scads,” he said. Usual spreader bars and ballyhoos on Joe Shute skirts were trolled. One report even said longfin tuna were caught, though longfins usually show up toward autumn. The Reel Seat’s annual surf-fishing tournament for stripers, a catch and release event for the first time this year, was held this weekend, and wasn’t finished when Eric gave this report. A 40-incher was in the lead, and seemed likely to win. The store’s next free seminar that’s confirmed will be with Capt. Jim Freda on bluefin tuna fishing at 7 p.m. Thursday, June 26. Capt. Chris Hueth from the party boat Big Mohawk, Belmar, will also give a free seminar this month, on bucktailing for fluke, and the date will be announced when confirmed.

<b>Point Pleasant Beach</b>

A 250-pound bigeye tuna and lots of yellowfin tuna were crushed at Hudson Canyon on Sunday with <b>Mushin Sportfishing</b>, emails from the crew and a report on Mushin’s website said. About two dozen yellowfins, some of them just legal-sized, were landed, and eight were kept that weighed 30 to 40 pounds. The trip left port at 11 p.m. Saturday, arriving at the canyon at 4:45 a.m. The trip trolled to search for bait, finding it at 6:30 a.m. A bluefin tuna jumped on but threw the hook at boatside. Soon multiple yellowfin tuna began to attack the trolling spread at once, over and over. The fish were watched invading the spread, popping the lines. The crew started to wonder whether four dozen ballyhoos were going to last for bait. Others on the radio reported similar fishing for bluefins, yellowfins and bigeyes in the same area. The trip had planned to fish for tilefish and mako sharks in addition to tuna, but decided to find a bigeye, hopeful because of 72-degree, bluish water, and all the bait, whales and tuna chicks. After hours of trolling “big stuff” for bigeyes, one of the big tuna was marked, and a fish exploded on one of the riggers. The 250-pound bigeye was bagged. Tuna fishing’s been great in June for several years, and seems to be happening again. The fishing could also be good later, like in August and September, but don’t wait because of “tradition.” Charters are fishing, and a few <a href=" http://reports.mushinsportfishing.com/
" target="_blank">individual-reservation tuna trips</a> are posted on Mushin’s website in the reports section. They’re filling steadily, so contact the boat to book. A charter on Saturday morning fished for striped bass on the ocean aboard. Flurries of the bass were run into, and stripers to a 38-pounder were decked on livelined bunker snagged for bait. The fish and bait moved quickly, “(and) it pays to explore and find them, then keep up with moving schools,” one of the emails said. A charter with Capt. Jay from Mushin on another boat fished for stripers Saturday evening on the ocean. Boat traffic was heavy, but the trip went 3 for 6 on good-sized stripers at the lumps off Asbury Park on livelined bunker. Mushin means a relaxed state of readiness. The crew pride themselves on sharing the concept on outdoor adventures.

The ocean kept warming every day, and fluke fishing finally started to improve on the party boat <b>Norma-K III</b>, Capt. Matt wrote in a report on the vessel’s website. Throwbacks gave up more action than before, and keepers were mixed in, not great fishing, but improved over last week. A good population of sand eels seemed to hold fluke in the area. Bucktails with pink and white Gulps seemed to catch well, but squid and spearing on plain hooks worked just as well. Brad Kaas from Beachwood was in the lead in the monthly pool with a 5-pound 10-ounce fluke. “There are bigger ones out there,” Matt said, “so come on down and join us.” On nighttime trips, bluefishing aboard was a little tough this weekend. Plenty of the fish were read, but were difficult to catch, for some reason. Lots seemed around, so Matt hopes they settle down and bite well again, like before. The Norma-K III is fishing for fluke twice daily from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 2 to 6:30 p.m. and for blues 7:30 p.m. to 1 a.m. daily.

<b>Seaside Heights</b>

The spring run continued, John from <b>The Dock Outfitters</b> wrote in a report on the shop’s website. But just a little slower, he said. Bluefish dominated the surf, but sometimes keeper striped bass were beached. Fluke, mostly throwbacks, scurried the waters. But a 3- to 5-pounder was banked every now and then. Small to medium-sized bluefish schooled Barnegat Bay, and a few more keeper crabs than before were trapped from the dock each day. The Dock Outfitters, located on Barnegat Bay, blocks from the ocean surf, features a bait and tackle shop, boat and jet ski rentals, a café and a dock for fishing and crabbing.

<b>Barnegat Light</b>

Bluefishing was tough Saturday on the party boat <b>Miss Barnegat Light</b>, a report on the vessel’s website said. The trip searched a bunch of ocean, it said, and Sunday’s trip returned to a place where a previous trip caught. Lots of bait but no blues were found at first, and the trip was moved north, and caught well the rest of the time. Blues 6 to 12 pounds were jigged, and the trip tried fishing bait, but the blues wouldn’t stay in the chum slick. The Miss Barnegat Light will begin bluefishing at 8 a.m. daily on Saturday. Trips previously bluefished on weekends.

Two trips wreck-fished Saturday and Sunday, piling up good catches of sea bass and ling, on the <b>Super Chic</b>, Capt. Ted said. An equal number of each species was clubbed, and a trip bluefished Saturday night, and that wasn’t so good. Bluefish were wrestled that night farther north, too far from port, but were caught closer to port the next day, Sunday. The next four trips aboard are slated to bluefish starting Friday, so long as blues stick around or show up. Ted hopes they will, and plenty of bait schooled to attract them. Space is available on an open-boat, overnight tilefish trip offshore Saturday to Sunday, July 5 to 6, and the angling was good on all the trips through the past year. Striped bass fishing was okay on the ocean in past days, Ted heard. Boaters who snagged bunker and livelined them for bait seemed to catch the bass, and trolling for the fish sounded slower. A couple of friends nailed the fish, on bunker, Ted thought. A few fluke, not a lot yet, bit in the ocean. Ted didn’t hear about Barnegat Bay’s fluking recently.

<b>Mystic Island</b>

Good reports about summer flounder fishing rolled in from bays last week at <b>Scott’s Bait & Tackle</b>, a report said Thursday on the store’s website. That was the most recent report, and one customer limited out on the fish at the stakes in Great Bay that week. Z-Mans were one of the artificial baits that anglers said worked well on the fluke, and some said they could fish one Z-Man a few hours, and the bait still had scent. Bluefish bit at Graveling Point for shore anglers that week, and a blue larger than 10 pounds was weighed-in from the fishing. Quality catches of sea bass were made at wrecks in 70 to 90 feet, “for people who don’t mind making the run,” the report said. Sea bass anglers said Tsunami Facet Jigs worked well on the fish, and anglers can stop by the store, and the crew will show how to fish the jigs.

<b>Brigantine</b>

Angling was slow, but some fish were caught, a report on <b>Riptide Bait & Tackle</b>’s website said. That apparently meant surf fishing was slow, but some striped bass were beached. The store’s Hess Plumbing Striper Bounty was up to $180 and growing. The cash is awarded to the next entrant to weigh-in a 43-inch striper or larger from Brigantine’s surf. Entry is $5 and must be made 24 hours before entering a catch. The money for entry is all paid out in the prize. Summer flounder fishing gave up steady catches on the back bay, and anglers who put in the time seemed to cop good-sized ones.

<b>Longport</b>

On the <b>Stray Cat</b>, sea bass fishing was ridiculously good on Friday and Saturday, Capt. Mike said. Lots of big fish, and pool-winners weighed more than 3 pounds. Ten to 15 per day weighed 2 ¾ to 3 ¼ pounds lately. Friday’s and Saturday’s trips fished in 80 to 100 feet, and four in 10 sea bass hooked were keepers on the outings. Open-boat trips fish daily for sea bass, even with one angler, when no charter is booked. Lots of large ling were also looted on both trips, and some of the ling were used for bait on a shark trip aboard Sunday. Three blue sharks and one brown shark were landed in about 80 feet. Water clarity and temperature, 68 degrees, almost 69 at spots, were perfect. Bluefin tuna were seen pushing waters along the inshore edge of the Cigar three times on the trip. They popped up and were gone before any effort could be made to fish for them, but the tuna were there. Plenty of dates are available for tuna charters, and two charters are slated to sail for tuna and tilefish farther offshore this weekend. Tuna were belted at Spencer, Wilmington and Baltimore canyons the past two weeks, and fishing for them seemed to be shaping up to be some of the best in some years. Shark trips include special night trips this year from 6:30 to 11:30, a 5-hour outing, if anglers want to shark after work. 

<b>Ocean City</b>

Fishing was good for ling and sea bass through the weekend on the party boat <b>Captain Robbins</b>, Capt. Victor said. Some of the sea bass were sizeable to 20 inches, and Nolan Green, Bridgeton, won the pool Saturday with a 4-1/2-pound ling. The Captain Robbins is fishing for sea bass 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. daily. The <b>Miss Ocean City</b>, the company’s other party boat, will start fishing right after Fathers’ Day for summer flounder daily on the back bay, Victor hopes.

<b>Sea Isle City</b>

<b>Sea Isle Bait & Tackle</b> sponsored Team Pirasea on the Relentless in this weekend’s South Jersey Shark Tournament from Cape May, the shop’s last report mentioned here. The team won with a 338-pound mako! the store’s blog and Facebook page said. See photos on <a href=" http://seaislebaitandtackle.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Sea Isle Bait & Tackle’s blog</a>. The team entered the fish on the second day of the three-day contest.

Chase Kneeland and daughter on Saturday reeled in summer flounder to 4 pounds on the back bay aboard, said Capt. Joe Hughes from <b>Jersey Cape Guide Service</b>, affiliated with <b>Sea Isle Bait & Tackle</b>. On Sunday, Mark and Bonnie Rumfeld and friend Bob hooked a bunch of flounder, throwbacks, aboard the bay. Grass had started to settle into the bay, and the fishing got off to a slow start, Jersey Cape’s blog said. The angling picked up on incoming tide in clearer water. On Friday evening, Joe and family members boated flounder to 3 or 3 ½ pounds on the bay. The fishing’s been good, he said, and the bay was 68 to 71 degrees, warming up. Joe hopes to fish for striped bass with poppers on the bay in the next evenings. His trips cast popper lures and popper flies to the fish through summer for explosive, visual attacks, along the water surface. Inshore shark trips are slated to begin at mid-month aboard. The fishing catches and releases sharks like blacktips, browns and duskies, usually within 10 miles from the coast. That’s a chance to fight big fish, without the long trek offshore. Joe’s friend won this weekend’s South Jersey Shark Tournament with a 338-pound mako. Sharks like that are biting farther from shore, so the inshore sharks should chew. A buddy landed a thresher shark, and Joe knew about other threshers and also blue sharks that were wrestled. Another friend trolled several yellowfin tuna and a bluefin tuna at Baltimore Canyon.  Keep up with his fishing on <a href="http://captainjoehughes.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Jersey Cape’s blog</a>.

<b>Cape May</b>

<b>Melanie Anne Sport Fishing Charters</b> shark and tuna fished in past days, and is starting to do lots of offshore fishing, Capt. Frank said. The shark trips competed in the South Jersey Shark Tournament this weekend. Catches on the trips included a 7-1/2-foot mako, a 6-footer and a couple of 5-footers, and the fishing was good. The trips fished in 57- to 59-degree waters, and entrants who fished in warmer waters, like 62 and 63 degrees, seemed to catch smaller makos, like 4-footers. The trips with Melanie Anne started sharking 57 miles from shore. The tuna trip jumped on bluefin and yellowfin tuna fishing that turned on at the Tea Cup, trolling the fish. An 85-pound yellowfin was largest with Melanie Anne. In other news, summer flounder started to bite at places like Reef 11, and waters jumped into the 60 degrees. Frank knew about a couple of trips that boated the fish at the reef, and previously flounder only bit in back bays. Melanie Anne will fish for them and is also fishing for drum on Delaware Bay. Drum fishing somewhat slowed recently, maybe because of the new moon, but the fish swam abundant.

The <b>Heavy Hitter</b> drum fished on Delaware Bay on Saturday and Sunday, Capt. George said. The fishing wasn’t great, but one 50-pounder apiece, good-sized drum, was hauled aboard each charter. Drum were heard booming under the boat on both trips, and the fish were found. Lots of drum were around, but weren’t feeding, for some reason. Big rays were hooked. Winds came on later on Sunday’s trip, roughing up seas against the tide, so the trip headed home. Charters will start to fish for sea bass and tuna. If anyone wants to get in on the good tuna fishing that’s going on, jump aboard. Trips seemed to need to sail to the canyons or 50 fathoms for tuna. The South Jersey Shark Tournament was held from Cape May this weekend, and a boater from the dock’s trip reeled in two makos. The angler said lots of blue sharks were around. George knew a few anglers who fished for summer flounder on the ocean during the weekend, and some reported okay catches, and others decked only a few. But flounder managed to be caught from the ocean. The Heavy Hitter usually begins flounder fishing in July on the ocean, when the angling seems to pick up in warmer waters. 

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