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New Jersey Offshore Fishing Report 7-15-16


<b>Sandy Hook</b>

A charter from the docks sailed for tuna to the offshore canyons but found none, said Jake from <b>Dockside Bait & Tackle</b> in Sewaren. The shop, located on Smith Creek, a tributary of the Arthur Kill, north of Outerbridge Crossing, is accessible from land and from the water at the fuel dock.

<b>Manasquan Inlet</b>

Fishing for bluefin tuna to 100 pounds was good, especially at the Triple Wrecks, but usual haunts in 30 fathoms also held them, said Eric from <b>The Reel Seat</b> in Brielle.  Trolled ballyhoos, rigged singly or in chains, seemed to hook them best. Sometimes the tuna were jigged or popper-plugged. Big enough concentrations were found. Farther from shore, yellowfin tuna were sometimes boated from Toms Canyon through Spencer Canyon on the troll, mostly on spreaders, a few on ballys. A few white marlin bit to the south, no great shakes yet.

<b>Mushin Sportfishing</b> from Point Pleasant Beach was possibly going to fish for tuna inshore today from Cape May on an open-boat trip or a charter. Bluefin and yellowfin tuna were getting crushed less than 2 hours from the dock on the chunk and on jigs, Capt. Alan wrote in an email. The vessel is fishing from Cape May for the month.

Bonito were sometimes in the mix on nighttime trips for bluefish on the <b>Norma-K III</b> from Point Pleasant Beach, a report said on the party boat’s website. Mackerel bit on the trips, too.

<b>Barnegat Inlet</b>

From an edited email from Capt. Dave DeGennaro from the <b>Hi Flier</b> Barnegat: “Fishing … for Something?!” the subject line said. “So, it only seems right that if I'm going to post my open-boat and charter trip availability here, I should give the report, good or bad, right? It was bad. I shrimped the bay and the jetty with nothing but sand sharks to bend the rods. I ran out to Barnegat Ridge, and though the water was 74 degrees and bluish-green, there was no life. No birds, no readings and no hits. I pushed out a little farther toward the Resor Wreck, but halfway into that ride, the water was an ugly green color. So I spun it back into the better-looking water, but was rewarded with only small blues terrorizing my bonita and tuna lures. What does all of that mean for this weekend of fishing coming up? Absolutely nothing. It's going to heat up eventually. I'm thinking about mixing it up a little this weekend. We’re going to offer some inshore shark fishing. Head out 5 to 10 miles with a few cans of chum and a flat of mackerel. Put out a slick on the drift, and see what we can find. Not likely that we’ll catch the edible species like mako or thresher, but I hope we could catch and release some brown, blacktip or spinners. A lot of fun on light tackle. If the bay is more your thing, we could cast the 1- to 4-pound blues that are resident in the inlet these days under birds, mixed in with a few hours of fluking. I'm not giving up on the Barnegat Ridge either. A week is an eternity in fishing, no matter what you’re targeting. If you guys are game, so am I. In fact, we could start at the ridge and switch to sharking. The forecast is for very light winds and calm seas. Charter or open-boat Saturday through Monday. Call for rates and availabilty.”

<b>Great Egg Harbor Inlet</b>

Bluefin tuna and yellowfin tuna seemed to school places like Massey’s Canyon inshore, said Collin from <b>24-7 Bait & Tackle</b> in Egg Harbor Township. But they also seemed to swim everywhere, like offshore at Lindenkohl and Wilmington canyons. Local boats maybe had no need to sail farther offshore, because they could catch closer in, so less seemed reported about farther off.  <b>The company also owns 24-7 Bait & Tackle in Marmora</b>.

Bluefin tuna and yellowfin tuna bit at Massey’s Canyon, about a 50-mile, 2-1/2-hour run from port aboard, said Capt. Mike from the <b>Stray Cat</b> from Longport. Two new engines recently installed make the boat sail a little faster. A buddy tried for tuna at the Cigar and the Misty Blue wreck Wednesday but didn’t do much.

Tuna anglers chunked and jigged bluefin and yellowfin tuna at Massey’s Canyon, said Pat from <b>Fin-Atics</b> in Ocean City.

<b>Townsend’s Inlet</b>

Fishing for tuna, mostly bluefins but some yellowfins, was good at 19-Fathom Lump and Massey’s Canyon, said Capt. Joe Hughes from <b>Jersey Cape Guide Service</b> from Sea Isle City, affiliated with <b>Sea Isle Bait & Tackle</b>. A trip aboard was supposed to fish for them today.

Tuna fishing was outstanding in the Massey’s Canyon neighborhood for bluefins and yellowfins, said Mike from <b>Sea Isle Bait & Tackle</b> in Sea Isle City. Mahi mahi were also caught, and the tuna were mostly chunked and jigged, and not much was reported about trolling. Someone trolled a wahoo from the waters, though.

<b>Cape May Inlet</b>

Three bluefin tuna, including two that were kept, were landed on an inshore trip for them Tuesday on the <b>Heavy Hitter</b> from Cape May, Capt. George said. The other was released, and several other bluefins pulled the hook on the outing. The bluefins were sizable, and the ones bagged measured 51 inches and just under 47. The one released was 55 inches. All the tuna were chunked, except one was jigged. The anglers jigged during the chunking. The one jigged was the first-ever tuna for a daughter of the one of the anglers. She reeled the fish right in, in 45 minutes. Yellowfin tuna, good-sized or 50 pounds, not 25, have been swimming the same waters, and a bunch swam around the boat during the trip, but mostly refused to bite. One was hooked but broke off when the angler thumbed the reel spool. The next trip for the tuna is supposed to fish Saturday.  Trips aboard last week on Thursday and Friday boated bluefins and yellowfins inshore on the chunk. The fishing was canceled Saturday aboard, because the angler couldn’t make the trip, and none of the fleet fished Sunday in wind. Thursday’s trip, with Jim Thatcher’s charter, bagged three: two bluefins and a yellowfin. Friday’s trip, with Ryan Moore’s charter, bagged six: three bluefins and three yellowfins. The trips also pulled the hooks on tuna. The lost tuna included a big that the anglers fought an hour, some of them twice, until the hook pulled. The trip also saw two large mahi mahi that were finicky and refused to bite. The anglers cast to them, and one of the mahi was hooked briefly and got off. The bluefins bagged on the trips were four unders and one over. The bluefin bag limit for charters is three of the tuna 27 inches to less than 47 and one of the fish 47 to less than 73 per day, per boat or trip. The limit for recreationals is two of the unders and one over. The yellowfin bag limit is three tuna 27 inches or larger per angler, per trip or day, for both charters and recreationals. The length is measured from the tip of the mouth to the fork of the tail.

<b>Caveman Sportfishing</b> from Cape May was headed on an inshore tuna trip Sunday night, Capt. John said before the trip, the most recent time he gave a report to be posted here. The fishing, for bluefins and yellowfins, was the best he’d seen in years. The fish held 40 miles south of Cape May, in 20 fathoms, and were chunked and jigged, but especially chunked. The only drawback was that light leaders needed to be fished that could easily break off and lose the tuna. The best yellowfin fishing John knew about was off Virginia in 20 fathoms, he said that night. Some trips reportedly landed 17 or 18 of the fish. But that was 80 miles from Cape May, and there was no reason to sail there, when trips could sail 40. John didn’t hear the size of the yellowfins off Virginia.

Tuna were on the bite solidly at 19-Fathom Lump, almost all on the chunk, said Joe from <b>Hands Too Bait & Tackle</b> in Cape May.

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