Welcome to the year's first Offshore Report!

<b>Shark River Inlet</b>

Fishing aboard will compete in Mako Mania the final weekend of the month, said Capt. Mike from the <b>Katie H</b> from Belmar. But shark trips aboard will probably fish before then, too. Yellowfin tuna were boated at the canyons before this long stretch of rough weather, and the crew will look at fishing for them in the next week or two, before Mako Mania. That would be the year’s first tuna fishing on the boat.

<b>Manasquan Inlet</b>

A customer fought blue sharks and brown sharks and broke off a large mako shark during the weekend, said Dave Arbeitman from <b>The Reel Seat</b> in Brielle. That was 30 miles from Manasquan Inlet, and the water was a beautiful clarity and 68 degrees. Yellowfin tuna were crushed during the weekend, mostly at Toms Canyon and farther south. Dave’s first tilefish trip of the season was good last week. Greg Hueth caught the biggest, a 47-pound 9-ouncer. Mel Deak decked a 40-pound 2-ouncer, and Dave heaved in a 40-pounder. Those were the three biggest, and probably a half-dozen of the trip’s tiles weighed in the 30 pounds, and about eight weighed in the 20s. Dave, an avid tilefisher, sometimes books party-boat charters for tilefishing that anglers can join. The next with openings is on July 7 to 8, and anglers can telephone the shop for details and reservations. The store’s next free seminar will be on shark fishing at 11 a.m. Saturday with Dave Schunke from the television show Fish Mavericks. Schunke used to appear on an ESPN2 east versus west fishing show, and is a shark tournament winner, including locally. 

<b>Barnegat Inlet</b>

A kid said he joined a trip on the Tuna-Tic that landed three mako sharks, bagging a 220-pounder, and three blue sharks late last week, said Kyle from <b>Grizz’s Forked River Bait & Tackle</b>. All shark baits including mackerel and butterfish, and bunker chum for the fishing, are stocked.

<b>Beach Haven Inlet</b>

Fishing from Beach Haven will begin in a week on the <b>June Bug</b>, Capt. Lindsay said. The boat was returned to the port on Saturday from its winter home in North Carolina. Bigeye tuna had been clobbered offshore of Oregon Inlet, N.C. Boaters landed one to six of the fish, big, up to 280 pounds, per trip. The tuna now began moving north. Plenty of yellowfin tuna swam the canyons off New Jersey. “There’s (tuna-attracting) water out there,” he said. The June Bug will fish for the tuna and just about all species available.

<b>Great Egg Harbor Inlet</b>

Before the week’s blow, yellowfin tuna 20 to 40 pounds, no bluefin tuna, were reported from the canyons as far north as past the Lindenkohl, said Capt. Mike from the <b>Stray Cat</b> from Longport. Three boats from the docks fished for them. One went three times, catching each trip. One, a green-stick boat, limited out in 1 hour 40 minutes, catching on both the stick and flat lines. Sharks hunted the 50-fathom line, just inshore of the canyons. The Stray Cat is fishing for both.

Nobody fished offshore in the week’s weather, said John from <b>Fin-Atics</b> in Ocean City. Yellowfin tuna, mostly 30 and 40 pounds, had been trolled at Spencer and Wilmington canyons previously. Boaters had caught sharks closer to shore, before the seas.

<b>Townsend’s Inlet</b>

Capt. Joe Hughes from <b>Jersey Cape Guide Service</b> from Sea Isle City wanted to fish offshore for tuna, but seas were bumpy, he said. Good trolling for yellowfin tuna was had at different canyons including Baltimore, Wilmington and Lindenkohl, previously. 

<b>Cape May Inlet</b>

Jim’s Bait & Tackle in Cape May’s annual shark tournament is this weekend, said Capt. George from the <b>Heavy Hitter</b> from the town. He heard nothing about sharks, except a few subdued toward Wilmington and Baltimore canyons. Boats from Cape May fished for tuna at those canyons during the weekend, but caught none. A few yellowfin tuna were supposedly trolled a couple of weeks ago.

A 200-pound thresher shark was reported caught during the weekend at Cape May Reef, said Nick from <b>Hands Too Bait & Tackle</b> in Cape May. A few other threshers caught, even bigger, were known about. Yellowfin tuna were trolled at Wilmington Canyon, when boats last fished offshore. A white marlin was boated at Spencer Canyon.

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