<b>Keyport</b>

Capt. Frank from the <b>Vitamin Sea</b> took a family getaway to Cape May and Atlantic City, he wrote in an email. He’ll resume fluke fishing today, after doing none of the fishing this weekend. Fluking was a little tough during the weekend, he heard. Now that summer has been under way, fluke are spread in many areas. Finding the right body of the fish takes searching, and doesn’t always mean a home run. If a place gives up a good bite one day, it might not the next. Every day is different, and that’s what makes fishing an exciting challenge, he said. Trips are full today and Tuesday, and spots are available Thursday and Friday, and weather looks great for the two days. This coming weekend is full. If anglers want fluke, they must grab a spot as early as possible, or the spot will be taken. Come down and catch some of the best-eating fish, he said. If current allows, trips will make some drifts in the deep. Be prepared and bring heavy tackle. 

One of the marathon, open-boat fluke trips, sailing 5 a.m. to 5 p.m., fished Sunday on the Down Deep Bull, doing a job on the catches, said Capt. Mario from the <b>Down Deep Fleet</b>.  Basically, all anglers limited out, plus, he said, and a 7-pound fluke was largest, he thought. Later in the week or Thursday to Sunday were good for fluking. The Down Deep, the company’s other boat, is fishing for ling and cod. A little fewer cod bit than before, but ling fishing was solid. The Bull is fluking, and the Down Deep is ling and cod fishing. Charters are sailing, and join the <a href=" http://www.downdeepsportfishing.com/ddsf/76-2/" target="_blank">Short Notice List</a> on Down Deep’s website to be kept informed about special open-boat trips. Also see the site’s open-trips page for available dates. Open trips include 12-hour marathons for fluke or ling and cod. Up to 15 passengers can be accommodated.

<b>Atlantic Highlands</b>

A 9.2-pound fluke was a pool-winner during the weekend on the party boat <b>Fishermen</b>, Capt. Ron wrote in a report on the vessel’s website. The boat fluked on the ocean at some of his old stomping grounds in past days. Some of the spots gave up good-sized fluke, including the 9.2-pounder on Friday. A couple of fluke taken weighed 5 to 6 pounds, and shorts and sea bass were pumped in. Not hot fishing, but trips worked hard to get it done. Quality over quantity. On nighttime trips around then, fishing was tough. A few short striped bass and some porgies were claimed. The season’s first croaker came in. The Fishermen is sailing for fluke 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily. However, a charter is booked for Friday morning, so no open-boat trip will fish then. Trips are fishing for porgies, fluke and whatever bites 6:30 to 11:30 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays and 3:30 to 9 p.m. Sundays.

The party boat <b>Atlantic Star</b> fluked at the same places as before, including Sandy Hook Bay, Chapel Hill Channel and Flynn’s Knoll, and the fishing was about the same as before, Capt. Tom said. Mostly throwbacks bit, and not a lot of keepers did, but a 9-1/4-pounder was plowed on Friday morning’s trip. A 10-pounder was on Thursday morning’s trip, covered in the last report here. All anglers seemed to have a good time on trips. One angler might land quite a lot of throwbacks and maybe a keeper or two. Another might land a few throwbacks. Some very small fluke bit. Quite a number of 17- and 17-1/2-inch fluke, just under the 18-inch size limit, were released. Those were sizable fish, and might grow to keeper size before fluke season closes. All trips fished, even when forecasts called for rainstorms. No squalls or storms like that passed overhead. Even if they do, they only last 15 or 20 minutes. Anglers fished through rain aboard sometimes last week, but only rain fell, and wind didn’t blow or anything. Weather was hot on Sunday afternoon’s trip, one of the hottest days this summer so far, though a breeze helped. 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>

Fluking slowed the previous couple of days, but picked up somewhat on Sunday with <b>Fin-Taz-Tic Sportfishing</b>, Capt. Pete said. A bunch of good-sized keepers were decked on the trip, and Saturday’s trip targeted fluke, but also bagged sea bass. A few trips limited out on fluke, and anglers from all trips left with nice bags of fillets, he said. Fin-Taz-Tic plans to begin fishing a little deeper than before, and a little more on the ocean than on Raritan Bay, for fluke. Striped bass were still around, though nobody really fished for them. A charter next week wants to try for the bass at night, Pete believes, and Pete hopes the fish are still around. Charters and open-boat trips are fishing, and a few openings are available this week.

<b>Neptune</b>

On a fluke trip Sunday, fishing was tough, said Capt. Ralph from <b>Last Lady Fishing Charters</b>. Ling fishing was excellent on a trip Saturday. Individual-reservation trips are fishing for fluke every Tuesday, and space is available this week. Kids under 12 sail free on those outings. Space is available on an individual-reservation trip for cod on August 5 and on one of the trips that will fish inshore wrecks on August 9.

<b>Belmar</b>

Summer fishing was “setting in,” Bob from <b>Fisherman’s Den</b> wrote in an email. Fluke were targeted, and striped bass became “a thought for the fall.” Bluefishing would usually be good on the ocean, but the blues were scarcer than normal. Some big fluke, 6- to 10-pounders, were docked from the ocean on Belmar’s party boats. Fluke to 6 pounds were reeled aboard the shop’s rental boats on Shark River. Throwbacks outnumbered keepers 10 or 20 to 1. Snapper blues were seen in better numbers than before in the river, and the snappers were growing to larger size. A shark or two, 4 or 5 feet long, species unknown, chased baitfish in the river. All of this fishing was typical for summer, except the scarcer blues than usual in the ocean. That’s happened for a couple of summers now, and the reason was unknown.  

Fishing for fluke on the ocean was tough since the northeast blow, said Capt. Pete from <b>Parker Pete’s Fishing Charters</b>. Only south wind blew since, and that’s usually tough on fishing near the shore, causing upwelling that cools the water. But the keeper fluke caught were good-sized aboard, and a 9-pounder was biggest recently. Sea bass were also able to be caught on the trips. Decent-sized fluke were there, Pete knew, but conditions needed to be right to angle them. He hoped conditions improved this week, so keepers came in more often. Even in the southerly, plenty of throwbacks gave up action. They just missed keeper size, or were 17 1/2 inches or 17 ¾, compared with the 18-inch legal size. Fluke trips aboard include On the Water Seminars that teach bucktailing for big fluke in a non-threatening environment. Contact Parker Pete’s to climb aboard the outings. Charters can also book the seminars. Don’t have enough anglers for a charter? Contact Parker Pete’s anyway, about individual spaces available on charters. Jump on <a href=" http://www.parkerpetefishing.com/" target="_blank">Parker Pete’s website</a> to subscribe to the email blast to be kept informed about the spaces. Look for the place to sign up on the right side of the page, where it says Join Our Newsletter.

Customers picked at blues and mackerel throughout today’s trip, decent fishing, on the <b>Miss Belmar Princess</b>, to the southeast, an email from the party boat said. The blues seemed likely small, because previous reports from the boat talked about catching small. On Saturday’s trip, fishing for blues, small, and mackerel began as a pick, building into excellent angling, to the southeast. On Saturday night’s trip, wind blew strongly, and seas were rough, and fishing was no good, east of Shark River Inlet. Sunday’s trip ran north, because of a report about bigger blues. That failed to work out, and fishing was tough. 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. every Saturday. Family Fun Days are sailing 4:30 to 8:30 p.m. every Friday and Sunday for fluke, sea bass, blues or whatever bites. The trips enjoy a sunset cruise on the way home. One of those trips tackled some sizable sea bass and good action on throwback fluke Sunday.

Angling on the <b>Golden Eagle</b> picked at bigger blues today, a report on the party boat’s website said. On Sunday’s trip, more mackerel were picked than blues, but blues, small, were sometimes landed. Blues were swung in during Saturday’s trip, but not enough. More were seen swimming, but getting them to bite was difficult. Today was beautiful on the water, and forecasts look good for this week. Bring family and friends. The Golden Eagle is fishing at 7:30 a.m. daily. Fishing and sunset cruises are sailing at 4:30 p.m. daily, and reservations are required for those outings.

<b>Brielle</b>

Easterly swells slowed fishing at mid-week, and trips later in the week tried to recover from that, Capt. Ryan from the party boat <b>Jamaica II</b> wrote in an email. Wasn’t an exciting week of fishing. But trips aboard picked some good-sized fluke to 7 pounds, large sea bass and, on a couple of the outings, a bunch of ling. Gulps on small Spro jigs caught best. Sam Glover from Philadelphia limited out on fluke and sea bass to 4 pounds. Tom Stack from Princeton limited out on fluke to 5 pounds. Luis Ferriera from Perth Amboy limited out on fluke to 4 pounds and sea bass. Half-day trips are fishing for fluke and sea bass at 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 2 to 6:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays, and an all-day fluke marathon is fishing 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. every Monday.

On the ocean, fluke fishing seemed to be improved a little, and some good-sized to 10 pounds were boated, said Eric from <b>The Reel Seat</b>. Axel Carlson Reef fished well for them, especially at the southern end. Good reports about the fishing came from the Klondike wreck. Jigs caught well, but keepers were also hung on bait. Manasquan River’s fluking was good, and lots of the fish were shorts, but plenty were keepers. Lots of bait schooled the river, including tinker mackerel and sardines. Small snapper blues swam the river. Ling fishing was good on the ocean, and an angler might total 15 to 20 or 20 to 40 in a trip. Now was a time to fill a cooler, and Shark River Reef seemed to fish best for ling. Cod, mostly throwbacks, were mixed in. Cod fishing for keepers went well from the Oil Wreck to the Triple Wrecks. Tuna anglers might want to bring clams to fish for cod on trips, if tuna fishing ends up slow. Bluefin tuna fishing was kind of up and down, or scattered pods swam. But if a trip could find the fish and stay on them, good angling could be scored, up to eight or nine of the tuna landed. Some were good-sized, too, up 70 inches, or well over 100 pounds. From just north of Chicken Canyon to the Texas Tower seemed a hot spot. The tuna were a little farther offshore than sometimes. Lots of mahi mahi hugged lobster pot buoys in the area. Bigeye tuna seemed to hold everywhere from Toms Canyon all the way to Washington Canyon, down the line. But Lindenkohl Canyon seemed the epicenter. Late evening produced. Some pods of yellowfin tuna roamed the canyons. They weren’t everywhere or were scattered, like the bluefins. Trips caught the yellowfins if they ran across the fish. A fair number of longfin tuna began to be found. Wahoos caught just began to be reported.

<b>Point Pleasant Beach</b>

An overnight trip to the offshore canyons sailed with <b>Mushin Sportfishing</b>, Capt. Alan wrote in an email. On the way to the Continental Shelf, bluefin tuna were found busting on bait at two places offshore of the Chicken Canyon, where the ocean was clean. The trip quickly trolled among the fish, connecting with four of the bluefins about 46 inches apiece. Two that size, a limit of unders, were bagged. The trip continued to the offshore canyons, and great signs for bigeye tuna were seen: 78- to 80-degree water and lots of pilot whales and bait. A 200-pound bigeye was bagged. At night, a swordfish was lost, and a half-dozen mahi mahi were iced. Up on the troll in the morning, a 35-pound mahi and a 25-pound wahoo were landed, and a mystery bite got off, an interesting combo, he wrote. After more trolling, a bigeye tuna, large, was hooked on a daisy chain and lost. Many more canyon trips are coming up aboard, including an overnighter July 25 to 26 with space available.

When conditions were right, trips picked away at throwback fluke, some keepers and sea bass, pretty much how fishing was previously, on the party boat <b>Norma-K III</b>, Capt. Matt wrote in a report on the vessel’s website on Friday. That was the most recent report at press time. “There are some nicer size fluke moving in our area, though,” he said. An 8-pound fluke led the monthly pool, and quite a few 5- to 7-pounders were bagged aboard. Weather on Thursday stirred the ocean a little, so he hoped the fish started biting better as days went on. Bluefishing was excellent for 1- to 2-pounders, fun on light tackle, and good-eating, on Thursday night’s trip. The Norma-K III is fishing for fluke 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 2 to 6:30 p.m. daily and for blues 7:30 p.m. to 1 a.m. daily.

<b>Seaside Heights</b>

Snapper blues and blowfish were hooked from the dock, a report said on the website from <b>The Dock Outfitters</b>. Crabbing was a matter of picking through throwbacks, a bunch, for a couple of dozen keepers. Fluke were beached from the surf during daytime, and brown sharks, required to be released, and rays were banked from the surf at night. 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. Baits stocked currently include killies, fresh bunker, fresh clams and locally caught, frozen spearing.

<b>Barnegat Light</b>

Throwbacks dominated, but some good-sized keepers were netted, Sunday and most of the past week on the party boat <b>Miss Barnegat Light</b>, a report on the vessel’s website said. Trips are fishing for fluke and sea bass 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. daily. The angling slowed Friday and Saturday, because conditions were tough.

Anglers on the <b>Super Chic</b> have been limiting out on two sea bass apiece and catching ling and, on some days, bluefish, Capt. Ted said. Trips have been putting a catch together, and no bonito have showed up during bluefishing aboard yet this season. The water was a little dirty for that, but mackerel were in the mix sometimes. The season’s first fluke fishing is supposed to sail on the boat this weekend. Fluking seemed improved the last few days on local boats. Many throwbacks bit, but some bigger seemed to be moving in. The fluke were found fairly shallow, “so that’s good,” he said. A trip Tuesday aboard is supposed to fish for bluefin tuna inshore. Nothing was heard about bluefins in past days.

<b>Mystic Island</b>

The ocean fished better for summer flounder than the bay, “from what we heard,” a report on <b>Scott’s Bait & Tackle</b>’s website said. The better reports rolled in from deeper water or 70 to 110 feet. Lumps around the Gloria wreck, 6 ½ miles from Little Egg Inlet, gave up the fish well. Little Egg Reef fished better than Garden State Reef South for the fluke. The latter reef’s fluking was hit or miss. The Gloria wreck is offshore of Little Egg Reef. But flounder fishing was still alive in the bay, and decent reports came from the Brick Pile to the old Coast Guard Station, from deeper water. Good reports came from off Little Beach, when conditions drifted the boat “down the bank,” instead of across the inlet. A 40-inch cobia was caught in Grassy Channel on Wednesday. One blackfish could be kept starting on Friday, and blackfish season was closed previously. Charter captains said the ocean was loaded with the tautog, before one could be kept. No reports about the tog were posted afterward on the site. But if trips “did it right,” an angler could potentially bag a limit of five fluke, two sea bass and a blackfish in a day.

<b>Brigantine</b>

In the surf, brown shark fishing was great, a report said on <b>Riptide Bait & Tackle</b>’s website. Browns are required to be released, and kingfish swam the surf. Anglers just needed to cast beyond the second break to reach the kings.

<b>Longport</b>

The <b>Stray Cat</b> fished at Wilmington Canyon on Sunday, Capt. Mike said. It was a fantastic day, he said, and a white marlin was fought a while and got off. Mahi mahi, skipjacks and small yellowfin tuna were reeled in. The boat chased a blue marlin that porpoised ahead, but could never get in front of the fish. At first on the trip, 87-degree water was located. The trip got away from that hot water, and fished 82- to 83-degree water at the bight. All kinds of temperature breaks were around, in the low 80 degrees. A big weed line formed just outside the west wall. The trip was a day troll, and left the fishing grounds before bigeye tuna could be targeted in the evening. Mike looks forward to another one of the trips next week, and if anyone’s interested in making a trip like this, come on, he said. The boat is also fishing closer to shore, on half-day, 5-hour trips, loading up on bonito, blues and sometimes a mahi mahi. Four mahi heavier than 10 pounds apiece were bagged so far. A mahi isn’t landed on every trip, but at least one strong pull is happening on each. The ocean was 84 to 86 degrees on those grounds, and looked gorgeous. Flying fish were seen all over, and needlefish held in the water. No cobia were seen in a week, but surely cobia were there. A few spots are available for an open-boat trip Thursday for summer flounder. The boat’s fishing 80-foot depths at rock piles in the ocean for the flatfish. If conditions aren’t bad, and drift the boat decently, some good-sized fluke like 3 pounds can actually be bagged. 

<b>Sea Isle City</b>

A family aboard tugged in a 5-pound 24-inch summer flounder and a bunch of shorts from the back bay Saturday, said Capt. Joe Hughes from <b>Jersey Cape Guide Service</b>. Another family released a mess of throwbacks, no keepers, but lots of action, Thursday on the boat. Three trips fished for inshore sharks throughout the weekend with Jersey Cape. One of the trips released 25 spinner, brown and dusky sharks. One of the sharks was also a hammerhead, and one of the trip’s sharks was fly-rodded. The rest were hooked on bait on spinning rods. The next one of the trips released 15 spinners, duskies and browns, and a small mahi mahi, on bait. The next let go 25 spinners, duskies and browns, including a couple on fly rods, the rest on bait. The sharks on each trip weighed up to 100 pounds, and these were tremendous numbers of the fish caught. The angling, usually within 10 miles from shore, was peaking. Many of the shark species that can show up, like browns and duskies, are required to be released. The fishing is a chance to fight big fish without the long sail offshore.  Next week, high tides will coincide with dusk, ideal for striped bass fishing on the bay with popper-plugs and popper -lies, a specialty aboard in summer. The tides come around every two weeks. The fish smash poppers along the surface, a visual attack, great sport. Keep up with Joe’s fishing on <a href="http://captainjoehughes.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Jersey Cape’s blog</a>.

<b>Avalon<b/>

Three to four dozen summer flounder were landed from the back bay on a trip Thursday, said Capt. Jim from <b>Fins and Feathers Outfitters</b>. The fish were throwbacks, but the anglers had fun. The trip attempted to fish the ocean, and did at buoys close to shore, until strong wind forced the trip back to the bay. But the bay’s flounder fishing seemed better than the ocean’s, once the trip fished the bay. Flounder fishing wasn’t good at Cape May Reef on the ocean on another trip. An angler from Jim’s campground was interested in fishing for bluefin tuna, saying he heard about the tuna caught. Any bluefins seemed to be located at places like the Hot Dog, but not closer, like at the East Lump, where Fins and Feathers sails for pelagics like that or mahi mahi and wahoos. An angler sent a photo to Jim of a 30- or 40-pound mahi, one of two mahi the angler’s trip landed at the Hot Dog. The trip also broke off a big fish that seemed a bluefin.

<b>Wildwood</b>

Trips with <b>Fins & Grins Sport Fishing</b> have been fishing for blues at Cape May Rips about an hour and then sharking up Delaware Bay, Capt. Jim said. The fishing’s been good, catching blues 2 to 3 pounds. The sharking’s been tagging sand tigers, required to be let go, and other sharks for NOAA, and releasing the fish. The sand tigers weighed up to 250 and 300 pounds. Sometimes a shark will be hooked that’s allowed to be kept, by law, and the fish will be steaked up, if anglers want. The fishing’s a chance to fight big fish without the long trip offshore. A few summer flounder began to be bagged from the ocean, and Jim was changing the big sign in front of the boat to flounder fishing from sharking. He’ll start running flounder trips. Things are looking up, he said. Trips are also trolling blues at ocean shoals, and occasional mahi mahi, bonito and Spanish mackerel can be mixed in. Anglers never know what might grab the line. Even cobia could. Special trips can target cobia, casting eels to buoys that cobia gather around. Fins sails for any species available or whatever events passengers would like, such as bachelor parties. Fins fishes every day, and reservations aren’t required but suggested. Telephone for availability.

<b>Cape May</b>

The <b>Heavy Hitter</b> was supposed to sail for tuna today, Capt. George said. Anglers who fished on Sunday reported the catches, and the tuna weren’t big. But the angling, for 30-pound yellowfins, sounded pretty good in 20 to 30 fathoms on bait or on the chunk. A trip on the Heavy Hitter on Saturday trolled 1- to 3-pound bluefish at 5-Fathom Bank. Summer flounder fishing reportedly gave up lots of throwbacks, not a lot of keepers. The Heavy Hitter usually fishes for flounder at ocean reefs. Telephone if interested in any of this fishing. Triggerfishing has also been an option aboard. Recent trips piled up plenty from ocean wrecks on the boat.

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