<b>Keyport</b>

Fluke fishing was a little slower this weekend, Capt. Frank from the <b>Vitamin Sea</b> wrote in an email. Many throwbacks kept biting, like before, but not as many keepers did. “The full moon probably had something to do with that,” he said. But sizeable fluke were taken aboard, including 9-, 7- and 5-pounders. Charters are fishing, and the next open-boat trip is set for Saturday. “Get your dose of Vitamin Sea!”

Lots of throwback fluke, but some keepers, bit, said Capt. Joe from <b>Papa’s Angels Charters</b>. Both Raritan Bay, at places like Reach Channel and off the Navy pier, and the ocean off Sandy Hook gave them up. Bluefish were still around in the bay, and anglers just had to find areas where they gathered. A bluefish trip is booked aboard for Friday. Open-boat trips for fluke are available daily when no charter is booked, and telephone to climb aboard.

<b>Atlantic Highlands</b>

Three fluke larger than 7 pounds were creamed Sunday on the party boat <b>Fishermen</b>, Capt. Ron wrote in a report on the vessel’s website. The past week was a good one for big fluke aboard. One of the day’s anglers with a 7-pounder, Tom Krako, also cracked a 7-pounder last week on the boat. One youngster hung a 6-1/2-pounder on Sunday’s trip, and some 4- and 5-pounders were also iced on the outing.  Throwbacks didn’t bite hot like they did Saturday, but the bigger fish on Sunday kept anglers on their toes. Javan Hemmel slammed a 9.9-pound fluke aboard Friday, and his wife pummeled an 8-1/2-pounder on the trip. The Fisherman is fishing for fluke 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily and for croakers, porgies and bottom fish 6:30 to 11:30 p.m. daily except Sunday.

On the party boat <b>Atlantic Star</b>, fluke fishing, on Raritan Bay, wasn’t good, wasn’t great, but the size of some of the fluke was good, Capt. Tom said. Pool-winning fluke included an 8-pounder on Saturday morning’s trip, and a 5- or 5-1/2-pounder on the afternoon’s. Pool fluke usually weighed 4 pounds or more. Some trips fished better than others, and sometimes throwbacks bit better on a trip than on another. Conditions were pretty important. Saturday morning’s trip picked at fluke, and was probably one of the better trips for keepers. The afternoon’s wasn’t quite as good. Sunday morning’s trip wasn’t as good, didn’t produce as many keepers, as Saturday morning’s, but caught some good-sized. Sunday afternoon’s fluking was no good, and the wind came up, causing crummy conditions. A few keepers were dinged, but even throwbacks bit less than before. This morning’s trip, Tom said in a phone call aboard at 9:30 a.m., when he gave this report, at first fished at one spot, but the boat’s drift was dead. So the vessel was moved, and began drifting, and a couple of keepers and some throwbacks started to bite. Tom hoped the fishing kept up.  Whether one bait fished better than another on trips was difficult to say. A rig with a Spro with a Gulp on bottom and a trailer above with a killie sometimes fished well. Talent seemed somewhat a factor with Spros. Sometimes anglers fished a rig with a Spro on bottom and a smaller Spro or feathers on the trailer. Anglers fishing rental rods with spearing, the bait supplied aboard, also caught. Some anglers brought killies, and the baitfish seemed somewhat of an advantage most of the time. 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>Neptune</b>

<b>Last Lady Fishing Charters</b> mostly fluked now, and fluking needed south wind to stop blowing, so catches of bigger fluke surged, Capt. Ralph wrote in an email. The wind direction cools the ocean close to shore. Sea bass and ling rounded out catches on fluke trips. Bluefish hadn’t “settled in” yet. The next individual-reservation trips for fluke with space available include this coming Sunday and the Tuesdays of July 22 and 29. The trips will also sail every Tuesday in August and September, until fluke season is closed on September 28. Room is available on a shared fluke charter on July 23. Space is available on individual-reservation trips for cod on August 7 and 28, and one this week is full. Charters are available daily.

<b>Belmar</b>

Fluke were hungry, so get after them, Bob from <b>Fisherman’s Den</b> wrote in a couple of emails. An 11-year-old hauled in a 10-pound 3-ouncer from the ocean with Parker Pete’s Fishing Charters. On Shark River, Marty Westerfield from Wall bagged four keepers, and John Ernst from Dumont pasted a 4-pound 3-ouncer on one of the store’s rental boats. Fluke were the fish anglers spent time on, were the best to target. “We in the fishing business should give them a big kiss … they are paying our bills,” Bob said about the flatfish. The rivers held ample numbers of fluke, mixed sizes, enough keepers to keep anglers coming back. Fluke larger than 8 pounds were reported all last week from charter and party boats fishing the ocean. Was a great week for the size of fluke for them. Snapper blues in the river were becoming larger, and could be fun on light tackle. A few striped bass swam the surf. “Not a great amount by any stretch of the imagination,” he said. He’d stick with fluke. 

Several bonito were in the mix during bluefishing Sunday on the party boat <b>Golden Eagle</b>, a report on the vessel’s website said, and blues, bonito and mackerel were fought the previous couple of nights aboard. The bonito might be the first reported on this site this year. The bluefishing Sunday was good for smaller ones. All the trip’s fish were jigged on hammered jigs, Krocodiles and teasers. The nighttime fishing was “still not what it should be,” the report said. On Saturday’s daytime trip, jigging for blues was decent for smaller fish, and some anglers landed as many as 30 to 40, keeping no more than a limit. On Friday’s daytime trip, bluefishing was frustrating. A few were picked on some drifts on jigs, and on other drifts, the fish were seen, but wouldn’t bite. Fishing in afternoons aboard “has been a lot of fun with fluke and sea bass and a few blues,” the report said. The Golden Eagle is fishing 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily and 7:30 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. Thursdays through Saturdays.

<b>***Update, Tuesday, 7/15:***</b> Bluefishing on Monday aboard was sporadic to say the least, an email from the party boat  <b>Miss Belmar Princess</b> said. On some drifts, the angling was slow, and on others, anglers picked away at small blues. The trip fished to the east, like Sunday’s did. On that trip, “those that turned the handles and worked hard caught their fill” of small blues, the email said. On the previous night’s trip, Saturday night’s, also fishing east of Shark River Inlet, a slow pick of small blues and some big mackerel were clubbed. During Saturday’s daytime trip, fishing for small blues was good on some long drifts. Some anglers caught their fill, and others only picked away. The location of the fishing wasn’t mentioned in the email, and Friday night’s trip fished a couple of areas east of the inlet. Lots of life filled the water, and tons of small blues and mackerel were seen, and a few were pitched aboard. Big sharks swam the chum slick. The Miss Belmar Princess 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.

Fishing for fluke, on the ocean, was tough in the south wind that dropped the water temperature, said Capt. Pete from <b>Parker Pete’s Fishing Charters</b>. The ones bagged were sizeable, though, including 6- to 8-pounders aboard. Plus, an 11-year-old smashed a 10-pound 3-ouncer aboard Saturday on a bucktail with squid. Wind blew from southeast, and the trip was just fishing open bottom, trying at least to hook shorts for action for the family. Pete himself reeled in a 6-pounder the next day, Sunday. The water  was 58 to 62 degrees on the outing, and trips recently hooked ling in 25 feet. “So if that doesn’t tell you it’s cold,” Pete said. Westerly wind could be used to warm the water. Pete heard nothing about bluefin tuna fishing on the mid-shore ocean, wasn’t paying attention while focusing on fluke. But trips aboard will sail for the tuna. Friends scored a great catch of yellowfin tuna, bigeye tuna and white and blue marlin on a trip farther offshore to the canyons.  Here’s an opportunity: Parker Pete’s this season is hosting “on the water seminars” on bucktailing for fluke. An email about that said: “Are you tired of reading reports of people catching big (fluke)? Do you usually ‘drag’ bait and hope for the big one? Are you being out-fished when you go out fluking? Are you ready to get hooked on bucktailing in a non-threatening way?” The next of the trips, inexpensive, will sail on Wednesday and July 22, 29 and 30, and August dates will be announced. Email Pete for more info. Don’t have enough anglers for a charter? Jump on <a href=" http://www.parkerpetefishing.com/" target="_blank">Parker Pete’s website</a> to subscribe to the emailed newsletter to be kept informed about last-minute, individual spaces available to fill in charters. Look for the place to sign up on the right side of the page.

<b>Brielle</b>

Warmer water, pushing into the 60 degrees, was finally found on the ocean toward the end of the week, and fluke fishing improved a lot on the party boat <b>Jamaica II</b>, Capt. Ryan wrote in an email. Some of the keepers were bigger than before, and considerably more throwbacks bit than previously, good action. Sandra Larocca from Philadelphia’s 8-pound 2-ounce fluke was the biggest aboard Saturday. She wasn’t in the monthly pool. “Too bad,” Ryan said. Dan Weeks from Trenton and Brian Phelder from Washington, N.J., both limited out on fluke to 5 pounds. Ryan hopes the catches continue, and they should, if the water temp holds, he said. More south wind was forecast. When the boat drifted slowly, buckailing caught best, and when the drift was fast, dragging bait did. The Jamaica II is fishing for fluke 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 2 to 6:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays and 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. every Monday.

Good fluke fishing came from Manasquan River, said Dave from <b>The Reel Seat</b>. Small striped bass always swim the river this time of year, and hickory shad and bluefish popped up in Manasquan Inlet in evenings. On the ocean, fluking was tough locally, but better in northern Monmouth County, because of warmer water flowing from the bays. Bluefishing started to pick up on the ocean the last few days, after slower angling for them. The blues currently were smaller, but at least blues were around. Ling fishing was good on the ocean, and the big winter flounder on the grounds this time of year, and an occasional cod, were mixed in. Bluefin tuna were boated in the Chicken Canyon area the last few days, and were definitely trolled. Farther from shore, trolling for tuna was good at the canyons the past four or five days. A bigeye tuna bite turned on at Hudson Canyon on Saturday. At Toms Canyon that day, yellowfin tuna, sometimes longfin tuna and plenty of marlin, mostly whites, but sometimes a blue, were nailed on the troll. Capt. Chris Hueth from the party boat Big Mohawk, Belmar, will give one of the shop’s free seminars, this one on jigging for fluke on the ocean, at 7 p.m. Thursday. Dave himself will give one of the seminars on tilefishing, and the date will be announced. He gave one on tilefishing previously this year, but will do one again, because of popular demand. Dave is an avid tilefisher, and sometimes hosts party boat trips for the fish that anglers can join. The last time he was asked, the trips were booked in the near future. Check out  The Reel Seat’s custom tilefish rod.

<b>Point Pleasant Beach</b>

Mixed results over the weekend, Capt. Matt wrote about fluke fishing aboard the <b>Norma-K III</b> in a report on the vessel’s website. On Saturday, throwbacks and good-sized keepers kept customers busy on both the morning and afternoon trips. Pool-winning fluke weighed 5 to 6 pounds during the weekend, and south wind returned on Sunday, slowing down the fishing. Throwbacks and a few keepers bit, but the angling was slower. Lots of fluke currently swam, and Matt hopes the fishing becomes more consistent. On Saturday night’s trip, bluefishing was picky. Anglers in the stern picked away at 1- to 2-pounders, and the rest of the anglers caught one here and there, and chub mackerel. The water’s been crystal clear on the bluefishing grounds, farther from shore, and Matt hopes that draws in bigger blues soon. The Norma-K III is fluke fishing on two trips daily from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 2 to 6:30 p.m., and is bluefishing 7:30 p.m. to 1 a.m. daily.

<b>Seaside Heights</b>

Fluke were the No. 1 target, John from <b>The Dock Outfitters</b> wrote in a report on the shop’s website. That included in the surf, and anglers know that surf fishing for striped bass and blues was more difficult this time of year. But fluking from the beach was more predictable, depending on how much effort an angler spent. Someone couldn’t just walk onto the beach, pick any spot, and expect to bag a fluke. “Not that this could never happen,” he said. To locate fluke in the surf, look for cuts, holes and drop-offs where fluke hold to ambush forage. Island Beach State Park’s 16-inch minimum size limit for fluke, compared with 18 inches in the rest of the state, can increase the odds to bank a keeper. Fluke under 18 inches must be checked in at the park, at a station about a mile before the exit, before leaving to be legal.  On Barnegat Bay, snapper blues were played from the dock, while customers crabbed. Crabbing was especially good, very good, on the mainland side of the bay, around the mouth of Toms River and Good Luck Point. 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>

The cold ocean hampered fluke fishing last week a few days on the party boat <b>Miss Barnegat Light</b>, the vessel’s Facebook page said. The fish bit, but only a few were keepers. Sea bass were added to the catch, but not enough. The water temperature increased somewhat by Friday, and the fluking improved slightly. “Saw some keeper sea bass as well,” the page said.  The angling became slower on Saturday, and the boat wouldn’t drift, so working the bait back to the boat was the ticket. So were Gulps, and the pool-winning angler bagged three fluke. The Miss Barnegat Light is fishing for fluke 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. daily.

<b>Mystic Island</b>

Some good turnouts of customers showed up for summer flounder supplies, and some of the fish were checked-in that were 20 to 24 inches, a report on <b>Scott’s Bait & Tackle</b>’s website said. That was after weather hampered fishing most of last week, and most of the flounder checked-in came from Little Egg Inlet. The water might’ve started to clear up by Saturday, because customers often bought white Gulp mullets for the fishing, after chartreuse was popular in dirty water earlier in the week. Some good catches of flounder also came from the ocean, at places like Garden State Reef North and South, and Atlantic City Reef. Some of the flounder weighed-in came from Little Egg Reef in the ocean, too. In Great Bay, bluefish 1 to 2 pounds  were found around Graveling Point. Croakers, blowfish and maybe spots were picked up toward Graveling. A couple of photos were seen of boats limited out with flounder from Barnegat Bay, farther north.  A customer trolled a 30-pound striped bass from Mullica River on Saturday. Goes to show the stripers are always around, the report said.

<b>Brigantine</b>

Surf fishing was getting back to normal, a report on <b>Riptide Bait & Tackle</b>’s website said on Sunday. The cold ocean, because of southerly wind, had affected the angling previously. Plenty of reports started back up about kingfish plucked from the beach. Big brown sharks, required to be released, returned to the water. A photo of an angler with a sizeable brown was posted with the report, and the angler lost another even bigger, it said. “Starting to get exciting again,” the report said. The store was loaded with bloodworms, both regular-sized and jumbo, for the kingfishing.

<b>Longport</b>

Weather was too calm for summer flounder fishing on the ocean, so a charter Saturday fished for sea bass at ocean wrecks, cleaning up on the fish, Capt. Mike from the <b>Stray Cat</b> said. The fish were good-sized, and the pool-winning sea bass weighed almost 4 pounds, and several topped 2 pounds. Sea bass fishing previously slowed a moment, and now turned back on, but anglers had to fish for them in 70 to 90 feet. When conditions were right, flounder fishing was good in 60 feet. Places including Ocean City and Great Egg reefs held them. Flounder anglers complained about cold water close to shore recently. But the water that far off remained warm, good for the angling, and open-boat trips are fishing for flounder daily when no charter is booked, even with one angler. Bluefin and yellowfin tuna are swimming 30 fathoms. The angling had to put in time, or the fish didn’t come instantly, but tuna were to be had. A couple of open-boat tuna trips are sold out in the next weeks, but one was added for Saturday, and space is available. Mike is trying to put together another for Saturday, August 9. The anglers will also deep-drop for tilefish, if conditions allow.  

<b>Ocean City</b>

Fishing on the party boat <b>Captain Robbins</b> limited out on sea bass, and pounded lots of ling, Saturday and Sunday, Capt. Victor said. A sea bass won the pool on Saturday, and a ling did on Sunday, and the angling was phenomenal during the two days, he said. The Captain Robbins is fishing for summer flounder and sea bass on two half-day trips daily 8 a.m. to 12 noon and 1 to 5 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, and on full-day trips 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. every Saturday and Sunday. Victor hopes the party boat <b>Miss Ocean City</b>, the company’s new vessel, will begin fishing at mid-week, for summer flounder on the back bay. The boat will sail on three trips daily from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m., 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. and 4:30 to 7:30 p.m.

<b>Sea Isle City</b>

<b>***Update, Tuesday, 7/15:***</b> Capt. Joe Hughes was jamming with trips, he said, but took a moment aboard today to give an update over the phone. He sailed for tuna with Jay Von Czoernig and buddies on Thursday, and the trip went 2 for 5 on bluefin tuna to 70 pounds. The angling would’ve gone 5 for 5, Joe said, but three of the tuna were hooked at once. When the fish are sizeable, “sometimes there’s nothing you can do,” he said. That day was the first when weather finally broke, became calmer, after winds and storms previously throughout the week. On Friday, Lindsay Clarkson fished for tuna aboard, and a 40-pound yellowfin tuna, a 50-pound bluefin and a mahi mahi were socked. Both trips trolled the fish in 30 fathoms. On Saturday, Jim Serrill’s family bailed a bunch of summer flounder, none keepers, on the back bay. The bay’s flounder fishing’s been great, and just the size has been under 18 inches, the legal size. In the afternoon, Mike Spaeder and son also drilled throwback flounder, all an angler could want, all trip long. A trip today was going to fish for sharks inshore, but sailed for flounder on the bay, because of wind. The flounder fishing began slowly, but began to pick up, started to become good, when Joe gave this report at 12 noon aboard. The inshore shark trips should still be great, like previous ones aboard, covered in past reports. The trips catch and release sharks like browns, duskies, spinners and blacktips, some of them required to be let go, usually within 10 miles from shore, on bait on conventional rods or chum flies on fly rods. The trips are a chance to fight big fish without the long trek offshore. Fishing for striped bass with popper lures and flies should be good on the bay, like it was last, when ideal tides, high tides at dusk, come around next, probably next week. The tides coincide with the time of day about every two weeks, and the fish can be poppered-up at other times, but that’s ideal. Trips stalk the bass on the shallow flats, while Joe poles a flats boat, like in a tropical destination, in summertime. Keep up with Joe’s fishing on <a href="http://captainjoehughes.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Jersey Cape’s blog</a>.

<b>Avalon</b>

A trip on Delaware Bay aboard Saturday landed two dozen summer flounder at least, was fantastic, said Capt. Jim from <b>Fins and Feathers Outfitters</b>. A legal-sized, 38-inch cobia was also caught, and Jim had heard that short cobia were around. Sharks including dog fish were also pumped in. Just a great mixed bag, he said, and the anglers, a bachelor party, fished at the Miah Maul rips, the stakes nearby and on the Delaware side of the Maul. Then the trip sailed south, fishing the Horseshoe and Punk Grounds. Mostly bloodworms on the top hook and Gulp with a minnow on the bottom were fished on a two-hooked rig. But strips of squid and Gulps were also dunked. Jim likes to use big trolling squid, cutting that into large, 7- or 8-inch strips to fish, instead of the smaller, pre-cut squid. Weather was finally calm, after windy weather much of last week, though wind kicked up later in the day. Wind returned on Sunday, when a trip aboard attempted to fish on the ocean, but changed plans after poking out a moment. Seas were too rough, and children were aboard. So the trip fished the back bay along the Intracoastal Waterway, tugging in a couple of flounder. Even there, a drift sock had to be used, and the engines had to be run in reverse, to slow the boat’s drift. A trip is supposed to fish the inshore ocean for catches like bluefin tuna, mahi mahi and wahoos this coming Saturday. Fins and Feathers fishes from Delaware Bay to the back bay near Avalon to the ocean, and offers a variety of outdoor adventures, including duck and goose hunting, during the waterfowl seasons. Sometimes anglers can even enjoy a combo of striped bass fishing and duck hunting on Delaware Bay over a series of days in fall. Fins also fishes for salmon and steelhead on upstate New York’s Salmon River from Jim’s lodge, and fly-fishes for trout on Pennsylvania’s streams like the Yellow Breeches.  

<b>Cape May</b>

Bluefin tuna were boated on Saturday and Sunday on the <b>Heavy Hitter</b>, Capt. George said. On the charter Saturday, with Nick and crew, two bluefins and four mahi mahi were bagged, and a couple of bluefins were missed. On Chris Troy’s charter on Sunday, two bluefins and a couple of mahi were kept, and a couple of bluefins were released. Most of the fish were trolled on the trips, but some were chunked. Two bluefins pulled the hook while one of the trips chunked, one on a jig, the other on a chunk of butterfish. One of the mahi was also chunked on that trip. Many of the tuna were 34 or 35 inches on the trips, and one on each trip was 46 inches, about 60 pounds. Those were the biggest, and the trips fished offshore of the Hot Dog, past the 30-fathom line, along hills and humps. The water was 77 degrees on the fishing grounds and 66 along the beach. Seas were rough on the way home on Sunday’s trip, but wind blew harder at the dock than on the fishing grounds. In other news, summer flounder fishing sounded like it improved, was decent, in past days at the Old Grounds on the ocean and on Delaware Bay, around the 19 buoy. The Heavy Hitter is also flounder fishing. 

Two trips fished offshore Saturday and Sunday with <b>Melanie Anne Sport Fishing Charters</b>, Capt. Frank said. The trip Saturday limited out on three bluefin tuna, two unders and an over. The unders were about the same size, 45 pounds. The over was just over or 50 inches, and the trip trolled the fish between the Hambone and the Hot Dog. Sunday’s trip sailed right back to that spot, but the angling wasn’t so good. One boat the crew talked with was chunking the fish there, but Melanie Anne was trolling. So the trip moved to the 40-fathom line, including around the Tea Cup, and then the 50 line. A white marlin and two gaffer mahi mahi were trolled at the 50. The trip moved out to the canyon, working the wall to the tip. Two more whites were trolled. At the tip, toward 100 fathoms, two bigger bluefin tuna were hooked on the troll. One broke the hook, and the other was landed. Another offshore trip is slated for Saturday. A trip was supposed to fish for summer flounder inshore today, but was cancelled, because of weather forecasts. That might be rescheduled for Thursday, and flounder fishing was good in past days. Good catches were decked at the Old Grounds on the ocean, though the fishing took work. Good flounder fishing suddenly took off on Delaware Bay toward the 19 buoy. The fish were sizeable, and anglers talked about all the keepers.

Back to Top