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New Jersey Offshore Fishing Report 10-21-16


<b>Sandy Hook</b>

When offshore boaters had the weather to sail, they found good yellowfin tuna fishing, said Chris from <b>Fisherman’s Den North</b> in Atlantic Highlands. A customer chunked the fish to 70 pounds, and Chris didn’t know where, but the customer sailed from the marina, so the fish must’ve come from local waters, maybe Hudson Canyon. The store, new this year, the sister shop to Fisherman’s Den in Belmar, is located at Atlantic Highlands Municipal Marina, down the dock from party, charter and private boats.

<b>Shark River Inlet</b>

A <a href=" https://www.goldeneaglefishing.com/tunafish" target="_blank">tuna trip</a>, the season’s final, is slated to sail Sunday for 24 hours on the <b>Golden Eagle</b> from Belmar, the party boat’s website said. A 31-hour, extended trip for tuna and mahi mahi sailed last week on Wednesday to Thursday aboard, catching mahi and several 50- to 60-pound yellowfin tuna. Tuna began to be seen in the chum slick at night, and that’s when six or seven were hooked, and some were landed. 

More fish were able be bagged than before, and <b>XTC Sportfishing</b> from Belmar resumed fishing, Capt. Scott said. The fish included inshore catches, namely striped bass that began to arrive, and sea bass, because sea bass season will be opened Saturday. But the fish also included offshore catches. Tuna fishing began to improve, or some were caught. Fishing was docked aboard for a moment previously, waiting for angling to become better. Before then, the last trip fished a couple of weeks ago, boating a catch including a swordfish and no tuna.

<b>Manasquan Inlet</b>

Reports sounded like tuna fishing began to pick up at Hudson Canyon, said Eric from <b>The Reel Seat</b> in Brielle. Yellowfin and longfin tuna were chunked there at night into morning. Some boaters also trolled the fish during daytime.

“Our last couple trips were decent,” an email from the party boat <b>Gambler</b> from Point Pleasant Beach said Monday morning. Those were apparently back-to-back, 24-hour trips Friday to Sunday, according to the schedule on the boat’ website. “The Gambler had a good canyon trip in fair seas, catching 30 to 70 lb yellowfin tuna,” the email continued. A few longfin tuna 30 to 40 pounds were also cranked in. Two anglers totaled five tuna and two tilefish. Tuna bit best from an hour before daylight until after sunrise. Fishing for tuna looks promising the rest of the month and probably into November, the email said. On a 48-hour trip for tuna last week on Wednesday to Friday aboard, fishing was disappointing, the boat’s Facebook page said. The boat arrived at Hudson Canyon and began to be drifted in 2,000 feet of water off one of the canyon walls. Four tuna were immediately hooked, and two yellowfins, big, were landed.  That looked promising, but the boat drifted up the bank of the wall, and no more bit in 2 hours. The boat was returned to the original starting place. “We let that drift go for a long time,” the page said. Some bites and runoffs were copped, “along with a few shark encounters,” it said, and bait was seen, but no tuna were caught. “We stayed put,” it said, hoping for a morning bite, but that never happened. Then the trip trolled, but that grabbed only one knock down. Next, the trip fished for mahi mahi at lobster-pot buoys. Some beautiful mahi, mixed sizes to 20 pounds, were nailed. Wind picked up, so the boat was anchored at good-looking, “lifey” water on the east wall. But tuna fishing never got rolling. Lots of tuna seemed to be swimming the water, but water temperature was about the same everywhere, only changing a tenth of a degree. Tuna seemed spread out because of that. Weather could change that for the better. See the schedule of <a href="http://www.gamblerfishing.net/offshoretrips.php " target="_blank">tuna trips</a> and reservation info on the boat’s website.

<b>Barnegat Inlet</b>

Eight big yellowfin tuna, a swordfish and a blue marlin were boated from Hudson Canyon on a trip Saturday to Sunday with <b>Tuna-Tic Sportfishing</b> from Forked River, Capt. Mike said. A couple of the tuna were chunked at night, but most were chunked in the morning Sunday. The sword was chunked at night, and the marlin was trolled during daytime. So the fishing was good. “Better late than never,” he said about the tuna catches. Tuna fishing had been slower this season.

Anglers picked at 20- to 40-pound yellowfin tuna in the morning on a trip Friday to Saturday on the <b>Miss Barnegat Light</b>, the party boat’s Facebook page said. A 200-pound mako shark “(got) a few free meals,” it said. “… It was an encouraging trip considering results so far this season.” On a trip Sunday to Tuesday aboard, the 15 anglers bagged 30 yellowfin and longfin tuna, two swordfish to 135 pounds and some mahi mahi. Most of the tuna bit before sunrise “and sporadically throughout the daylight hours,” it said. “… Conditions were never good with the boat swinging or the lines going up to the bow.” Boats scored well on tuna Tuesday night, and an overnight tuna trip was supposed to sail Thursday to today aboard before the gale arrives tonight. The Miss Barnegat Light is fishing exclusively on <a href="http://www.missbarnegatlight.com/TunaFishing.html" target="_blank">tuna trips</a> throughout the month.

A few tuna were caught somewhere around Hudson Canyon in past days, not super catches, but catches, Capt. Ted from the <b>Super Chic</b> from Barnegat Light said Sunday. That was the most recent time he gave a report for this website.

<b>Townsend’s Inlet</b>

For offshore anglers, tuna were out there, and good catches were reported from Wilmington Canyon, said Mike from <b>Sea Isle Bait & Tackle</b> in Sea Isle City. But weather was challenging. Getting a 24-hour window was difficult, but both longliners and sport anglers reported great catches.

<b>Cape May Inlet</b>

A trip on the boat across the dock took three 30-pound tuna and some mahi mahi, said Capt. George from the <b>Heavy Hitter</b> from Cape May. A buddy’s trip cracked a swordfish at night, one tuna in the morning on the troll, mahi mahi at lobster-pot buoys and a couple of wahoos on the 30-fathom line. George kept hearing about tuna catches since, and friends asked him to sail for them, but he’ll run no more tuna trips this year. Two sea bass trips slated for Saturday and Sunday will be weathered out.

A few small yellowfin tuna were boated between Baltimore and Wilmington canyons Sunday with <b>Caveman Sportfishing</b> from Cape May, Capt. John said. The barely legal-sized fish, trolled during a short, half-hour blitz, made the trip, but John’s disappointed in fall tuna fishing at waters within range of Cape May and will stop sailing for the fish now for the year. A few mahi mahi were also trolled on the trip, at lobster-pot buoys. He heard about better catches of tuna sometimes made farther north at Hudson Canyon, out of range from Cape May, recently. But quite a few boats from Cape May caught no tuna this weekend that fished for them. Fall tuna fishing used to be great from Cape May. Good numbers of good-sized tuna, yellowfins and longfins, used to show up. Canyon tuna fishing the past few years was best in June from Cape May. Most anglers currently are used to fishing for them in fall, so getting anglers to jump on the June trips has been difficult. But that was when to go lately. John was also grateful for inshore tuna fishing at places like Massey’s Canyon early this fishing season, “(or) it would have been one horrible season at least on quality tuna fishing,” he wrote on Caveman’s Facebook page.

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