<b>Sandy Hook</b>

<b>Sour Kraut Sportfishing</b> from Leonardo fished Toms Canyon last Friday to Saturday, Capt. Joe wrote in an email. No tuna were caught aboard, and only a few tuna – yellowfins – were managed on other boats there. “A few blue sharks and lots of mahi were boated,” he wrote. The water was 70 degrees, blue and beautiful-looking.

<b>Shark River Inlet</b>

Capt. Mike from the <b>Katie H</b> from Belmar is probably going to wrap up tuna fishing for the year, he said. This was probably one of the worst seasons of tuna fishing in a long time at canyons offshore of New Jersey. The fishing turned on for a moment until hurricanes began sliding up the coast this summer. Once the first of the storms happened, the fishing slowed. A trip aboard Saturday to Sunday fished Hendrickson Canyon. No tuna bit, but a 200-pound swordfish, a 200-pound mako shark and some mahi mahi were subdued. The water was warm at 70 degrees and good-looking, and held lots of life, including bait, porpoises and whales. Boaters a little to the east reported 74-degree water. Just no tuna were really around, and Mike didn’t know where they were, he said. He heard about no tuna from Hudson Canyon, too. Swordfish seemed caught often, lately. He knew about another boat that landed two makos during the trip. But the trip on the Katie H was good, he said, and the anglers bagged those fish. Weather was also great, couldn’t be better for October. Weather and seas deteriorated this week in a storm Tuesday and strong wind afterward. Now that sea bass season opened Sunday, trips will get after them aboard. The boat will fish for striped bass when that angling picks up and for blackfish later this fall.  

<b>Manasquan Inlet</b>

Canyon tuna fishing was tough, said Eric from <b>The Reel Seat</b> in Brielle. A few yellowfin and longfin tuna were chunked, but the angling was slow. A few swordfish were landed on the trips. Mahi mahi gathered at lobster-pot buoys in the area and seemed smaller than mahi hooked there before. Bluefin tuna just-keeper-sized held inshore or from east of the Chicken Canyon to the Bacardi wreck and the Triple Wrecks. They were mostly chunked and jigged. False albacore were picked away among large bluefish hammered at the Mudhole, and mostly party boats did that fishing.

Offshore fishing finally had the weather to sail Saturday to Sunday with <b>Mushin Sportfishing</b> from Point Pleasant Beach, Capt. Alan wrote in an email while the trip was still on the water. On Saturday, the trip scored good fishing for bluefin tuna on jigs and chunks. At night, sharks and mahi mahi were cranked in. On Sunday, the anglers were putting together a good catch of tilefish when Alan wrote the email. That angling tried Mushin’s new Shimano BeastMaster 9000 electric reels.

<b>Barnegat Light</b>

When weather was fair, <b>Tuna-Tic Sportfishing</b> from Forked River tuna fished, Capt. Mike said. The trips jumped on bluefin tuna at scallop boats just inshore of the canyons. That was very good, and tuna fishing at the canyons was slow. The tuna trips will be wrapped up after this weekend, and Tuna-Tic will fish for striped bass from Nov. 9 through 20. That’s a limited time, so take note.

A tuna trip fished relatively well that sailed Saturday to Sunday on the <b>Super Chic</b> from Barnegat Light. Four yellowfin tuna, two bluefin tuna, a swordfish and 32 mahi mahi were landed, Capt. Ted said. The bluefins were hooked Saturday on the way to farther offshore, but still 60 miles out, behind scallop boats. Then the boat pushed farther from shore to fish at night, not to one of the canyons but to 250 fathoms at a piece of water that longliners had been fishing some time. The sword was nailed at 4 a.m., and the yellowfins bit after sunrise. The bluefins, sword and yellowfins were all chunked. The mahi were pasted both at lobster-pot buoys on the way out and the way in, and at night, when a shot of them showed up, and nine were boated.  When the pots were fished, plenty of mahi hovered around the buoys. But fishing for them was tougher than usual, because seas were so calm. Seas were especially calm Sunday. Weather and seas turned rough Tuesday and since. The water on the way out and back, at the pots, was 64 ½ to 65 degrees. The water all the way offshore, where the sword and yellowfins were angled, was 69 to 71 degrees. Boats farther south in those depths reported 73-degree water.

On an offshore trip Friday to Saturday on the <b>Miss Barnegat Light</b>, two small swordfish were caught at night, and mahi mahi were hooked after sunup at lobster-pot buoys, a report said on the party boat’s website. The trip first fished on a drift offshore of the Continental Edge, where the swords were landed. Next the trip anchored along the edge, but nothing was doing. The trip then moved north a canyon or two, and made a drift offshore of the edge, but nothing was happening. On a trip Saturday to Sunday, a few tuna hit but broke off at 5 a.m., when big schools of tuna were marked, and mahi were drilled at pots to finish up. The trip fished on a drift offshore of the edge, at a great-looking temperature break that went from 69 to 73 degrees in a half-mile. “Weird stuff” showed up at the boat, including pilot whales “communicating with each other off one side of the boat,” it said. “Saw some nautilus and some very interesting types of jellyfish…,” it said. “Did have a few mahi come around,” it said, and two blue marlin “fly-bys,” including a 500-pounder. That fish was scared off when a butterfish was pitched toward it. The year’s final <a href="http://www.missbarnegatlight.com/TunaFishing.html" target="_blank">tuna trips</a> will fish this weekend, and a few spaces are available. “Never know what you could catch or see,” the report said.

An edited email from Capt. Dave DeGennaro from the <b>Hi Flier</b> from Barnegat: “I don't do nearly as much canyon fishing as I used to,” he wrote. But on Saturday morning, when he had too few anglers to fish open-boat on the Hi Flier, Dave realized he had time to make an overnight canyon trip with his friend, Capt. Johnny O’Kinsky on Johnny’s charter boat Inspiration from Toms River. Johnny wasn't expecting him, “but I loaded the truck with all my gear and whatever food was in the house for rations,” Dave wrote. “I figured if he had room, I would jump, and if they were too heavy with crew, I could always drive home. I got lucky, and they were four guys looking for a fifth. We threw the ropes at 9 a.m., and Johnny explained our float plan. Head for the warm-water break in the Toms Canyon, troll till dark and set up for the overnight chunk. (Next), troll to the Hudson Canyon, and drift for tilefish. On the way back, check out the scallop boats for bluefin tuna. Upon arriving at the Toms, we trolled two small mahi. The overnight chunk yielded no tuna, but we still had fun jigging squid and catching 5- to 8-pound mahi on light tackle. When the mahi stopped hitting even live bait, I was able to free gaff three of them. Around 5 a.m., we saw a fish break water behind the boat, and I noticed glow sticks right next to it. Turned out to be a legal sword that ate the deep-rigged squid 200 feet down. The sword had charged to the surface with the rig, without making a sound on the reel's clicker. Soon after boating the sword, we trolled to the Hudson, with no bites. Johnny set everybody up with tilefish rods and rigs. We dropped squid, herring and sardine baits down 500 feet with 2 pounds of lead. We boated a bunch of 5- to 8-pound golden tiles. On the second drift, I set up on a tile that maxed out my 30-class outfit like I had never before seen it torqued. This fish was taking runs and head shaking all the way. I loosened the drag three times in fear that I would break it off. I had him on adequate gear, an Avet LX loaded with 65 braid on a Shimano Trevalla 80- to 200-class rod. After 25 minutes, the fish came belly up on the surface, and Johnny gaffed my new personal-best, 43-pound golden tile.” Watch a <a href="https://youtu.be/ZqLTE3PFUeE" target="_blank"> video of Dave landing the tile</a>. “On the way back, we stopped on the scallop boats,” he continued, “and caught five 30- to 40-class bluefins. If we had sailed with the one- or two-dimensional plan of a typical canyon trip, we would not have enjoyed the success we did with Johnny's aggressive, multi-faceted attack. Well done captain! So glad I jumped on for this one.” The Hi Flier is fishing for striped bass on charters and open-boat trips on the ocean and at Barnegat Inlet. False albacore are abundant on the ocean, and the trips are also casting small metal on light spinning gear to them.

<b>Great Egg Harbor Inlet</b>

False albacore swam all over the ocean during sea bass fishing on the <b>Stray Cat</b> from Longport, Capt. Mike said. Trips fished for sea bass 15 miles from shore in 70 and 80 feet of water. Trips also tried sea bassing 20 miles out, in 100 to 120 feet, but the angling was better in shallower water.

<b>Townsend’s Inlet</b>

Lots of false albacore sped around the ocean, said Capt. Joe Hughes from <b>Jersey Cape Guide Service</b> and <b>Sea Isle Bait & Tackle</b> in Sea Isle City. He recently returned from annual traveling charters to Montauk aboard that mugged albies, and this was like that fishing continued. Charters will fish for the albies from Sea Isle with Jersey Cape.

<b>Cape May Inlet</b>

A trip tried daytime swordfishing with <b>Fishin’ Fever Sportfishing</b> from Cape May the other day, Capt. Tom said. The trip did score a sword bite that was missed, and bagged a 125-pound bigeye tuna while swordfishing.

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