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<b>Brooklyn</b>

A charter on the <b>Big M Express</b> sailed for stripers and sea bass yesterday and first trolled parachute rigs for a dozen short stripers that were released, Capt. Steve said. Then the anglers switched to bottom fishing for a very good mixed bag of scores of keeper sea bass, 12 big ling, 12 out-of-season, keeper-sized blackfish that were released and three out-of-season, jumbo winter flounder that were released. Open-boat trips run every morning when no charter is booked.

<b>Staten Island</b>

Capt. Tommy Verderosa from <b>Frenzy Fishing Charters</b> won second place in the Jim Ryan Fluke Tournament from Staten Island yesterday with a 5.75-pound doormat, only missing first place by 4 ounces, he said. The fluke fishing was steady all day, and his trips have been like that, and now’s the time to fish for fluke, and join Tommy for a chance at a trophy. A trip Saturday produced plenty of keepers, and everybody onboard hooked more than a limit, keeping only their quota, and lots of shorts also bit. His anglers are usually fishing strip baits, and Tommy was using a secret bait yesterday that was doing the trick. His charters are fishing upper New York Harbor and the channels, especially Ambrose Channel, and he goes for the big fluke at the channels. Trips will target fluke through August, and stripers can still be caught, and striper charters are still available. Frenzy is sailing for stripers in the ocean, swimming livelined bunker for the fish, and that’s what the linesiders want. Lots of bunker were schooling the Great Kills area, so finding bait was no problem. Chasing trophy stripers is one of Tommy’s specialties, and the opportunity to jump aboard with him for the fish is still available, but go now before the bite really does end for the season.

On the <b>Kayla Rose</b> anglers were boating plenty of fluke in the bay and good numbers of sea bass in the ocean, Capt. Darrin said. A shark charter was sailing this morning, Darrin will compete in the State Island Tuna Club Shark Tournament this weekend. Open-boat trips are available upon request on the Kayla Rose.

<b>Barbara Anne Charters</b> was catching fluke and sea bass, and ling were mixed in, and so were out-of-season blackfish that were released, Capt. Anthony said. Open-boat trips sail every Tuesday, guaranteed to leave the dock with a minimum of two anglers.

<b>Bayonne</b>

Customers were landing fluke mostly at the number 1 buoy, Romer Shoal and Ambrose Channel, and the catch seemed good and better than last year, said Capt. Akira from <b>True World Tackle</b> and <b>True World Tackle Charters</b>. Some were also targeting the area around the Verrazano Bridge, where the water is deep, but big flatties sometimes lurk. Akira fished there with a friend last week, and the friend nailed a 7-pounder just behind the bridge on a jig.

<b>Laurence Harbor</b>

<b>Evening Tide Charters</b> was boating fluke, plenty of shorts with keepers mixed in, on trips in the ocean along Sandy Hook, Capt. Kyle said. A mess of 10- to 15-pound bluefish were also hitting, and the bay was 75.5 degrees, and Ambrose Channel was 70 degrees, so the ocean was probably around the low 70s. Squid, spearing, sand eels and killies were hooking the fluke, and no weakfish seemed to be around yet, but when the trout show up, Evening Tide will go right after them. Once the weakies show up, they should stick around into September. Evening Tide is probably finished striper fishing for the season, and the bay is certainly too warm for striper fishing to pick up again this season, but the ocean could still see surges of the fish. A load of stripers appeared off the Central Jersey Coast last week, and maybe those fish will migrate up to waters close to Sandy Hook. Openings are available for charters with Evening Tide.

<b>Keyport</b>

The Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 779 charter managed a catch of fluke to about 21 inches on the <b>Lucky Carm</b> on Friday, Capt. Carmine said. None of the fish weighed a lot, but the anglers put a catch together and were Joe Kochanski, Sal Mione, Charles Murray and Frank Gilson. On Saturday morning Tom Battista’s group boated fluke to 22 inches, and Dennis Wells was high hook, and Tom grabbed the biggest. On Saturday evening Ty Govatos managed a few fluke to 21 inches, and on Sunday Juan Colan, his wife and two kids fished with Capt. Eddie Coleman at the helm and managed to land some fluke and blues. All these trips fished in the bay, and a few bluefish were mixed in during each charter, and all the fluke ranged about the same size on each. Plenty of prime dates are available this month for charters. Evening charters are available from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. or from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., and custom times in the evenings are also available. Open-boat trips are taking place 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. every day with a minimum of three anglers when no charter is booked, and call to reserve. Charters are also available at that time, and basically hours on charters and open trips are negotiable if necessary. The boat will start running sea bass charters, and sea bassing is very good, and call the crew if interested.

Angelo Fernandez and two friends from Princeton fished with <b>Papa’s Angels Charters</b> on Saturday morning and landed a mix of 10 fluke including several keepers, sand sharks and sea robins in the ocean off Sandy Hook, Capt. Joe said. Squid and killies were the baits. Open-boat trips are sailing 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. every day when no charter is booked, and open trips are running 7 a.m. to 12 noon every Wednesday, and call to reserve the open trips and for prices.

<b>Atlantic Highlands</b>

Fluke, fluke and more fluke were hooked on charters on the <b>CRT II</b>, and the fluking was going very well, Capt. Mick said. Six charters chased the flatties in the past seven days from Flynn’s Knoll to the ocean up and down the coast to Sea Bright. Sometimes the keeper ratio was a little down, but lots of keepers were hooked most of the time, and some of the fish were good-sized, such as a 5-pounder hauled in yesterday. Squid, spearing and sometimes killies did the trick. The charters were Larry Gordon’s group last week on Sunday, Alan Jefferies gang on Monday, Tom Guarcello’s crew on Tuesday, Tommy Severino’s anglers on Wednesday, another group on Saturday and Mike Cumming’s party on Sunday.

Fluking slowed a bit, but patrons on the <b>Atlantic Star</b> were still catching the flatties at places including Reach Channel, Chapel Hill Channel, Flynn’s Knoll and in the ocean a little ways around Sandy Hook Point, Capt. Tom said. There was a definite slow down, but sometimes anglers boated two or three keepers, and some bagged none. One customer landed four keepers on yesterday morning’s trip and two in the afternoon. Another took no keepers in the morning but scored three in the afternoon. No real big ones bit, but a 6-1/4-pounder was the largest of the past few days, and Mike Fiore reeled in that fish. Otherwise pool winners were probably 4 or 4 ½ pounds, still a nice fish. Even the shorts were often fat fluke by this point in the season and were often only a half-inch or so undersized. The right conditions for a good drift combined with the right place was key. Sometimes the drift might be right, but the spot might not be productive, and other times there might be hardly any drift or too fast of a drift. But the boat is fishing different places in the bay and the ocean so the bite can be found. The Atlantic Star is sailing for fluke on two trips daily from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. to 6 p.m.

The water temp dropped 6 degrees to 63 degrees Friday, and patrons picked at fluke on the <b>Fishermen</b>, but it was nothing like the good fluking earlier in the week, Capt. Ron said in his report on the boat’s web site. Winds blew against tide all day, creating no drift, and the boat did some power drifting. Fishing was tried in the channels, but nothing but dog fish bit. On Saturday winds blew against the tide again, and Ron had to work the throttles all day to power drift, but the fishing was better. One angler bagged seven nice keepers, and his group totaled 18. A 5.6-pounder was the pool fish and was hooked on the last drift of the day. The fishing still wasn’t great, but there was action nearly everyplace the boat fished.  Sunday brought a nice drift all day for a change, and patrons picked away at shorts and keepers at nearly every spot. One angler limited out and boated the pool fish, a 4-pounder. Loads of bunker were finally seen from Sandy Hook Point south, and some nice stripers were among them. The boat’s also been running bluefishing trips in the afternoons and evenings from Fridays through Sundays, and the captain who runs those trips told Ron that three stripers to 25 pounds were landed on one of them over the weekend. “Just when I thought it was over,” Ron said. “They keep trying to pull me back!” The bluefishing was also good. The boat is fishing for fluke 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily, usually in the ocean. Afternoon bluefishing trips are running 3:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Fridays through Sundays.

<b>Highlands</b>

Fluke trips sailed in the bay with <b>Knot Easy Sportfishing</b> on Friday through Sunday around the TC and SP buoys, and all three outings produced 40 or 50 flatties, but the number of keepers varied, Capt. Matt said. Friday’s trip was cut short when the boat’s starter malfunctioned, and two keepers were bagged. On Saturday anglers onboard put together a good pull of fluke to 23 inches, and lots of sea robins and skates were blended in. On Sunday seven nice keepers were boxed. Lots of good fluking is yet to come, and book now for charters at the end of July and in August.

A striped bass trip went very well with <b>Jersey Devil Charters</b> at the Shrewsbury Rocks last Monday evening, and about a dozen stripers were landed with a bunch of blues mixed in, Capt. Brian said. A striper trip also went well Friday morning that only lasted a couple of hours, and eight linesiders were reeled in, and they were smaller than on the previous trip but weighed up to about 20 to 25 pounds, and six or eight blues were hooked. Live and chunked bunker was the bait on both trips, and sharking is now very good for Jersey Devil, and the action won’t last much longer. Tuna fishing is picking up, and the boat will sail for tuna.

Bunker pods finally showed up in the local ocean, so maybe something was about to happen with striper fishing, said Capt. Derek from <b>Fisher Price Charters</b>. His charters were bunker chunking stripers in the ocean from off the Highlands Bridge to the Shrewsbury Rocks, and the catch was up and down, and one day the linesiders would bite, another day would be tough. So his anglers were also mixing it up with fluke fishing in the ocean, and the catch wasn’t bad, and plenty of shorts had to be weeded through, and probably 1 in 5 of the fluke was a keeper.

<b>Sea Bright</b>

<b>Jersey Shore Fishing Charters</b> tackled a 130-pound mako shark at the Monster Ledge yesterday morning, Capt. Jake said. Two bluefish were landed, and the water was 70.7-degrees and somewhat green, and the water’s seemed somewhat green through the season. On Saturday a fluke trip picked up three keepers to 3 ½ pounds, a ton of shorts and lots of sea robins at the 1 can in Sandy Hook Bay. Jersey Shore will keep sharking and fluking, and a tuna trip will probably sail Saturday, and charters will chase weakfish when the trout show up.

<b>Neptune</b>

Fishing was generally very good, and fluking was excellent when conditions created good drifts and not a lot of south winds cooled the water, and lots of keeper fluke were landed, said Capt. Ralph from <b>Last Lady Fishing Charters</b> in an e-mail. Fluke and sea bass individual-reservation trips are sailing every Wednesday, and openings are available. Sea bass were hooked as a by-catch on the fluke trips, and no trips targeted sea bass alone, only because fluking was so good. But charters interested in targeting only sea bass could expect to do well. And remember that anyone who wants to catch cod can land the fish from now through November on the offshore wrecks, before those pieces get hit too much. Ralph had his best cod trip in July a couple of years ago at a 65-mile wreck. Lots of bluefish were taken 10 miles offshore, except on a few nights recently because the spawn was ending. Striper fishing was excellent for big fish so far this month, and some trips had to use bonus tags. Striper anglers had to fish early in the mornings, leaving around 4 a.m., and weekends were a bust because of boat traffic. But the trips on weekdays only needed to last six hours, and good times included 3 a.m. to 9 a.m., 4 a.m. to 10 a.m. and 5 a.m. to 11 a.m. On Last Lady’s shark trips at least one mako has been caught every outing except one, and on a recent overnighter more than 20 sharks were fought, and sharking should hold through the month. A shot of 50-pound bluefin tuna showed up a couple of weeks ago, but not many were seen or heard about since then, and Ralph was all over shark fishing and saw no concentration of bluefins. Canyon tuna fishing was yet to start, and a few friends sailed 130 miles one-way and did excellent on the fish, and one hooked 28 yellowfins and a blue marlin. The warm water was pushing south, but the northern canyons should hold good water by the end of the month.

<b>Belmar</b>

Trips on the <b>Nan Sea J</b> were fluke fishing in the ocean the past couple of days, and the bite seemed a little slow after the front last week, and the water temp dropped 10 degrees, Capt. Tom said. But flatties to 4 pounds were lifted up, and sea bass were scored when the trips fished along hard bottom. A trip Friday night got into a decent catch of stripers to 26 pounds at the Shrewsbury Rocks on bunker. No bluefish charters sailed in the past days, but the boat is also running for blues. A few openings are available for the weekly, open-boat shark trip this Wednesday and the rest of the Wednesdays in July, and book now, because the trips only last through this month. Nan Sea J is one of the few charters to offer open shark trips, an awesome opportunity for anglers without enough people for a full charter. Shark charters are also on tap, and the season is about to wind down.

<b>Brielle</b>

Ocean fluke fishing was rebounding by the weekend north and south of Manasquan Inlet after the water turned cold and put off the bite for a moment, said Dave from <b>The Reel Seat</b>. Lots of stripers had been hooked from early last week to the middle of the week in the ocean, and then the cold water also turned off those fish, but some of the linesiders were hooked by Saturday off Island Beach State Park, Seaside and Monmouth Beach among bunker pods. Bluefishing apparently wasn’t bad at the Mudhole, and nothing was heard about sea bassing. Tuna fishing was slow at Hudson Canyon, although sometimes bluefin tuna were picked up. After some of the boaters were finding tuna trolling slow, they were switching to tilefishing for all right catches. The Intrepid with owner Dr. Andrew Fanelli, sons Andy and Matt and Capt. John Krohn headed south to Wilmington Canyon on Saturday and landed two white marlin and a mahi mahi. Anglers were still shark fishing, but not much was heard about sharking. Dave had been slated to sail for tilefish and wreckfish on the party boat Voyager last night, but the trip was cancelled because forecasts for winds. But he took one of the trips a couple of weeks ago and had a great catch. The Reel Seat is now open till 8 p.m. Fridays and 6 p.m. Saturdays and opens 8 a.m. every day.

<b>The Troll Charters</b> looked for striped bass in the ocean Saturday after reports said striper fishing hit the roof earlier in the week, but stripers were nowhere to be found that day, Capt. Jack said. The bunker that also had supposedly been schooling had disappeared, so the anglers onboard switched to fluke fishing, and shorts bit, and friends were also landing only shorts. But generally larger fluke were becoming more common lately, so fluking should be good this week. A friend was livelining a bunker in the ocean when something grabbed the bait and quickly spooled the reel, so apparently a thresher shark was the culprit.

 The weekend was set aside for maintenance on the <b>Katie H</b>, but friends slammed striped bass in the ocean early in the mornings off Monmouth Beach on Saturday and Sunday in 15 to 20 feet on bunker, Capt. Mike said. Bunker were schooling, and the bite was very early and finished by 8:30 a.m. A couple of boaters from the dock sailed to Wilmington Canyon over the weekend and only landed a couple of tuna, and tuna fishing wasn’t really happening yet. 

Bluefishing was excellent the past three days on both day and night trips on the <b>Jamaica</b>, an e-mail from the boat said. Blues from 6 to 12 pounds hit bait and jigs, and most patrons dunked bait, and the fish yesterday were a little larger and sometimes weighed up to 14 pounds. Limit catches were common on many of the trips during the past week, and the best fishing was along the edge of the Mudhole in 95 to 170 feet, and the fish were spread over a wide area on both the east and west sides of the Hole. Donovan Shannon, 11, nailed eight big blues yesterday and almost won the pool, until the final fish that was weighed took the money. Recent pool winners included Mike Noga with a 14-pound blue and Dustin Ngny with a 13-pounder. Quan Beatty, Darryl Alston and many others limited out. Bluefish trips are sailing 7:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. every day. The Jamaica’s canyon tuna schedule is now available. The <b>Atlantis</b> is available for charters for groups from 18 to 120 for day and night fishing for any species available inshore or offshore. <b>Bogan’s Boating School</b> is offering the boating safety course required in New Jersey, and the test-out option is also available, and so are private classes at your own location. Visit bogansboatingschool.com for info.

<b>Point Pleasant</b>

The southerly blow before the weekend really shut down fluking, and striper fishing also seemed to suffer, said Capt. Allen from <b>Reel Class Charters</b> in an e-mail. A group of five anglers was aboard Saturday and picked away at short fluke, some keepers and nice sea bass in the ocean between Belmar and Long Branch. A north current and a light west wind made drifting difficult, not the best day for fluking. Five keepers were bagged in 6-plus hours. Allen sent photos of a 20-pound striper that Brian Arrabito landed onboard Wednesday in the ocean off Manasquan on a live bunker and a 7.75-pound, whopper fluke that Anthony D. nailed on the boat Tuesday in the ocean off Long Branch on a spearing and squid combo. Reel Class is mostly fishing for fluke on both open-boat trips and charters, and sometimes sea bassing is mixed in.

<b>Angela Rose Charters</b> was back in action after being off for two weeks because Capt. Anthony was on active duty with the Coast Guard, he said in an e-mail. On Sunday a charter was aboard for bluefishing, took a quick ride north and anchored in 105 feet in the ocean. The chum was dropped over the side, and bite-sized bunker baits were cut up, and the first bluefish was hooked shortly afterward, and the action was on. Sometimes three blues were fought at once, and it was a good, steady pick with no lulls. Another boat even motored through the chum slick, but the fish kept hitting. By the end of the day, four blues were kept for dinner, and 50 were released without being gaffed. On Saturday Les Van Pelt was on deck for his second trip of the week for a shot at striper fishing. No stripers were home in the ocean, although loads of bunker were, and plenty were castnetted, and some were used for live baits on the trip, and others were kept for future bluefish trips. Les switched to fluke fishing in the ocean, and two keepers were landed, and so were a dozen sea bass and lots of shorts of both species. On Friday night a couple was aboard for a happy hour cruise, and not much fishing was done, but about 15 short fluke were hooked in the Bath Tub area of the Manasquan River for an hour on squid and spearing. Afterward they soaked in the sites on the river, even got lucky and saw some fireworks from a house on the river bank, came back to the dock and enjoyed another 2 hours of eats, drinks and a few laughs. Les Van Pelt was aboard for his first trip of the week Wednesday morning, broke the inlet at 5 a.m., and boat traffic was already stacked up on bunker. A couple of dozen were netted and thrown in the livewell, and some were sent out on hooks, but to no avail. There were four good run-offs, but none of the hooks were sunk. By mid morning Les switched to fluke and sea bass, running south of the inlet, and two keeper fluke, a dozen sea bass and numerous shorts were again boated. In the afternoon another couple was aboard for a Fourth of July happy hour fishing and cruising trip. They started fishing the Bath Tub area of the river, and 50-plus short fluke hit as fast as baits could be dropped in the water. If the size limit were 16 ½ inches like last year instead of 17, then 10 keepers would’ve been bagged. But there was non-stop action. Later the couple sat back, relaxed and enjoyed the beautiful views of the river. At nighttime a Fourth of July fireworks cruise was cancelled because of forecasts for inclement weather, and strong winds and rains did roll in. Angela Rose is offering Happy Hour River Charters that sail Manasquan River from 6 p.m. to 9 pm. seven days a week. On Thursdays the trips are extended an hour to watch the Point Pleasant Beach fireworks at no extra charge. Customers who want to fish on the trips are dunking a line minutes from the dock, and the scenery, sunsets and fireworks are some of the best. Crabbing charters are also available that run 5 or 8 hours daily. The crabbing grounds produced a new state record blueclaw last year. Don’t worry about renting and running a rental boat, all the details and the clean up afterward, and instead leave everything to the crew from Angela Rose. They will supply everything that’s needed for a great crabbing trip.

Striped bass were still biting in the ocean in the early mornings and late evenings, said Capt. Fred from <b>Andrea’s Toy Charters</b>. His inshore trips had been mainly fluke fishing with sea bassing mixed in, and fluking and sea bassing were great in the ocean, but striper fishing hit the roof last week with loads of bunker schools in the ocean, so his anglers switched to stripers at least for the time being. But it’s assumed they’ll go back to fluke and sea bass if the striper bite isn’t prolonged. Andrea’s Toy is also sailing on mid-shore, mixed-bag, shark/tuna combos on both charters and open-boat trips, but seas were recently too rough to run those trips. Canyon open-boat trips and charters will eventually target a mixed bag of tuna, mahi mahi, tilefish and other species, but canyon fishing is still slow. Andrea’s Toy specializes in mixed-bag trips for fun and greater chances of hooking up.

Fluke fishing picked up Saturday, and many throwbacks bit, but so did very nice-sized keepers, said the fishing report on the <b>Norma-K</b>’s web site. Improved weather and westerly winds improved the catch. Nighttime bluefishing was good, producing non-stop action and large slammers. Norma-K is sailing for fluke during daytime and blues at night.

<b>Bricktown</b>

Striped bass fishing turned back on in a big way in the ocean last Tuesday, and customers R.J., Angelo and Jay weighed in seven whoppers to 38 pounds that they hooked on bunker, said Tommy Kilgannon from <b>Pell’s Fish & Sport</b> in a fax. Gary Bell Jr. of Brick, who recently returned from a second military tour of duty in Iraq, fished from a kayak and landed a 30-pound striper on a snagged bunker. Frank Richetti grabbed a 30.5-pound striper on bunker off Bay Head, and Joe Lynch subdued a 34.5-pound striper from the surf at Avon on a Storm shad. Fluking was good when anglers could find warmer water, and the bite seemed to be north for now, and spearing was the bait of choice for most anglers. The Andrews family landed plenty of fluke to 7 pounds north of Manasquan Inlet, and surf casters could also beach fluke so long as the bait was kept moving. Bob Joyce found flatties in the suds on a Spro bucktail tipped with Gulp. Barnegat Bay and the Metedeconk River seemed loaded with 1-pound snapper blues, and people were having a blast doing a combo of crabbing and snapper fishing.

<b>Seaside</b>

Fishing was spotty, and some fish were being caught—small blues and small stripers with an occasional cow thrown in—but nobody was talking, said the fishing report on <b>Betty and Nick’s Bait & Tackle</b>’s web site. Fluke fishing was up and down because of fluctuating water temps. The surf was 1 to 2 feet, 62 degrees and clean. A free reel cover worth $15 is being given away with any reel purchase while supplies last. <a href=" http://www.bettyandnicks.com/fish.shtml" target="_blank"> Click here</a> for the latest.

<b>Waretown</b>

A fluke trip was weathered out Thursday with <b>Perfect Drift Sport Fishing</b>, but a fluke trip got out Friday and fished in the ocean off the bathing beach at Island Beach State Park, and the fishing stunk, and the water temp had plummeted to 57 degrees because of southern winds, Capt. John said. He thought four shorts were hooked all day on the trip, and the water was freezing. On Saturday there was slight improvement on a trip to the same spot, and three keepers were bagged, and a ton of shorts were hooked. Big pods of bunker were around, and other boaters landed a couple of stripers among them. But lots of boats were on the fish, making it tough to try for the stripers. On Sunday a fluke trip improved some more, and 10 keepers to 5 or 6 pounds were bagged at the same place. The pods of bunker seemed more broken up that day. In the afternoon hard southern winds blew up again, so anglers would see whether that affected the fishing. Perfect Drift will probably concentrate on fluke for a moment, and when weakfish arrive, charters will sometimes fish for them. Weakfish seemed to arrive late in recent years, and they always seem to show up when croakers do. John was beginning to hear about the first croakers of the season showing up off Cape May, so they should show up in the Barnegat Bay area three weeks later.

<b>Barnegat Light</b>

Steve Santoro, executive chef from Frescos in Manhattan, and son Marco sailed with <b>Reel Fantasea Charters</b> on a 3-hour trip last Monday evening, Capt. Steve said in an e-mail. Birds were found working above bluefish, and although lots of blues seemed to be there, they were finicky, and the anglers had to work to land a few on soft plastic lures and bucktails. The blues that were landed coughed up sand eels, maybe the reason the fish were finicky. On Wednesday Joe Ritcher climbed aboard for a striper trip, and first caught hickory shad for bait behind Barnegat Inlet. Joe and Steve then moved to the inlet to look for the bass, and a hook was pulled on one. They headed north in the ocean to search for bunker schools with bass underneath in strong southern winds from 15 to 20 knots with gusts to 30. Bunker were difficult to locate, and stripers were even more elusive. On the next day Kevin Gibbons and son Mike were aboard at first light, caught hickory shad for bait and headed to the inlet.  A nice bass was landed, and a few were lost from pulled hooks. The boat sailed up the ocean beach, and stripers were searched for, and the angler ended the day with a catch of stripers, blues and hickory shad. Bill Infuma, winner of the Lacey Elks Charity Game Dinner Event, rounded out the week and got into solid action with bluefish, hickory shad, sea robins and fluke in the back of Barnegat Bay on a combo of plastics and Gulps and went home with a nice couple of dinners.

<b>Barnegat</b>

Fishing wasn’t really that good in Barnegat Bay, and a few fluke and bluefish bit, but Capt. Melanie from <b>FisherQueen Custom Bay Charters</b> was waiting for weakfish to come in, she said in an e-mail. Some weaks were around but were very scattered. Water temps were varying from the low 60s to the high 70s, and better days are ahead, she said.

Capt. Al from <b>A2Z Charters</b> and his son fished on the Fourth of July and hooked striped bass along the Barnegat Inlet jetties on soft plastic lures, and none of the bass was a keeper, but they were nice-sized for the light, 10-pound tackle, Al said. They also tossed popper lures and fought bluefish in Barnegat Bay. On Friday Mike Nelia was aboard in the bay and boated a couple of fluke on soft plastics and also tackled a gang of bluefish on poppers. Al’s got a spot in the bay that’s been producing consistent bluefishing, especially on popper lures, popper flies and Crease flies. Al also tried fishing for tiderunner weakfish in the bay, one of his specialties, on Friday, but boat traffic was heavy and even dangerous. But his trips have been catching the big weaks fairly consistently on soft plastics and flies, and the trout hit on slack tides, both low and high, at certain spots, and it’s about being in the right place at the right time. Many anglers think that the tiderunners have already left the bay for the season, but Al usually finds them at least through July. A2Z will also target the smaller, schoolie weaks that become prevalent in the bay in summer, and Al heard some stories about the weaks being found already, but it was no concrete news. He tried looking for them in the southern bay toward the Manahawkin Bridge, but the water was dirty there.

<b>Cedar Run</b>

The Roman party, a crew from the a roofing business, were aboard Friday with <b>Fish the Dropoff</b> and bagged four keeper fluke and four keeper sea bass at the reef in 4-foot seas, Capt. Fran said in an e-mail. Several shorts of each species were also reeled in, and the gang had a nice day with plenty of action while fishing on the Cousins, the offshore boat that Fran runs. On Saturday the reef was a parking lot of boats on a half-day trip for flounder and sea bass with Chris Sicker and Nick Rausch on the Cousins. Seas were flat, and the morning’s fishing was slow but picked up at 10 a.m., and the anglers ended up with one fluke and three sea bass, not bad when 100 boats are fishing there. Dan and Brett Reynolds and Bob Green were aboard The Drop Off, Fran’s inshore boat, at Little Egg Inlet on Monday for a 4-hour trip. North winds from 10 to 20 m.p.h. made seas sloppy and the day wet, and that was the reason they stayed at the inlet. They landed two keeper flounder, and one was a 7-pound, 28-inch whopper, the biggest Fran saw all season, and the other was 18 inches, and they also reeled in three short flounder, and all in all it was a nice trip. August charters are starting to fill, so book now.

<b>Tuckerton</b>

Ocean flounder fishing turned on for <b>Legal Limit Charters</b> starting Saturday in 55 to 60 feet, and flatties to 7 pounds were hooked, Capt. T.J. said. On Saturday a dozen or so keepers were bagged after a productive spot was found and after a lack of drift in the morning. On Sunday a trip produced 33 keepers. The rest of the week was often too windy to fish, but early in the week Legal Limit shark fished and drilled a 150-pound mako. This week will probably be the last week of the season that shark charters are offered, and Friday is the only day during the week that is open for a charter. The options that day are sharking, flounder fishing, bluefishing or tuna fishing, if anyone’s interested. The first tuna charter of the season is supposed to sail tomorrow.

<b>Brigantine</b>

A trip to Massey’s Canyon with <b>Fishin’ Fever Sportfishing</b> yesterday went 1 for 2 on bluefin tuna, landing one about 50 pounds, and caught a 15-pound mahi mahi, Capt. Tom said. The bluefin hit a ballyhoo on a planer, and the mahi took a bally on a rigger, and the boat was only trolling ballys and no plastics, because Tom was looking for bigger bluefins that he heard were around. He heard that a couple of 100-pound-class bluefins were hooked Saturday and that the tuna bite was very good that day. It kind of fizzled out on Sunday, and two tuna was the most Tom heard that anyone caught. The water was 73 degrees, clear and a little off-color or green. Inshore tuna fishing is good now, and get in on the action while it is, and some bigger bluefins are supposedly roaming around. Two friends both hooked 175- or 185-pound bigeye tuna farther offshore, and Tom believed that was at Baltimore Canyon, and canyon fishing should break loose soon. Sharking was dropping off, but makos could still be fought. In addition to charters, Fishin’ Fever offers open-boat trips, and call if interested, and Tom will either tell you dates available or let you know if anyone might be able to join a trip on your dates.

<b>Atlantic City</b>

Kingfish finally started turning on well in the surf, and bloodworms or grass shrimp got the bites, said Noel from <b>One Stop Bait & Tackle</b>. Fishing for flounder and bluefish was strong from the suds to the back bay, and the flatties took minnows, Gulp and mullet, and the blues crashed lures. Tons of herring were landed by the bucketful. A 32-inch stripers was weighed in Saturday, and a woman who was flounder fishing nabbed the linesider on squid. Baits stocked include bloodworms, grass shrimp, spearing, bunker, butterfish, filleted mackerel, Pro Cut squid and green crabs. Tog can be hooked on the green crabs, but the one-fish limit is putting a damper on the effort.

<b>Margate</b>

<b>Fine Line Fishing Charters</b> took a trolling trip yesterday and landed five bluefish from 3 to 4 pounds at the Ham Bone, Capt. Dave said. The boat also fished at the Cigar, and Clark spoons, cedar plugs and Stretch 30 plugs were among the lures trolled, and Green Machines were also dragged in an attempt to attract bluefin tuna. The water was 67 degrees 15 miles from shore and was 70 degrees at the Cigar. Charters are available for inshore trolling for bluefish, bonito and such, inshore tuna fishing, flounder fishing and sea bassing.

A shark trip with <b>O-Beth Sportfishing</b> last Monday battled a 165-pound mako that was kept and two 4-foot makos that were released, Capt. Eric said. The fish were found in 20 fathoms, and O-Beth’s been having a great year for sharking, and the water was supposedly still in the high 60s, a prime temp for makos, so the fish should still be around. Tuna charters will begin in about two weeks, and flounder charters are on tap. Flounder fishing hasn’t been great in the ocean so far, but Eric hoped it would kick in within the next week or so.

The first of some nice-sized flounder were showing up along the ocean reefs on trips on the <b>Jessie O’</b> this past week that produced good mixed bags of flounder, sea bass, bonito, small bluefish and porgies, Capt. Jay said in an e-mail. Tom Dodds won a pool with a 4-pound 14-ounce flattie, and other pool winners included Tony Derosa with a 3-pound 8-ounce flounder and Matt Swystunow with a 2.1-pound sea bass. The boat is running open-boat trips from 8 am. to 4 p.m. from Tuesdays through Thursdays and is also offering charters. On Jay’s back-bay boat, the <b>Fish N’ Fun</b>, flounder fishing was up and down, and Megan Boughton won a pool with a 4-pound 8-ounce doormat. The Fish N’ Fun sails for flounder in the bay on two 4-hour trips daily. Both boats sail from Captain Andy’s Marina in Margate.

<b>Longport</b>

Sea bass and lots of porgies and triggerfish were boated on the <b>Stray Cat</b> on Thursday 12 miles from shore, and the porgies were absolutely all over and were nice, 9- to 14-inchers, Capt. Mike said. His anglers use smaller hooks to grab the porgies. A trip Friday did the same thing, and a trip Saturday fished the same general area and scored seven keeper fluke and probably three times as many shorts in the morning, and then produced lots of porgies and triggers. Open-boat tuna trips are running Friday, July 20, and Sunday, July 22, and openings are available, and open tuna trips will start running every Sunday. The trips sail from 4 a.m. to 4 p.m. and are limited to six passengers. Inshore tuna fishing was good over the weekend.

<b>Sea Isle City</b>

Fishing was slow on a trip to Baltimore Canyon yesterday, and some small, 30-pound yellowfin tuna were boated, but the bite wasn’t like previous trips, said Capt. Joe Hughes from <b>Jersey Cape Guide Service</b> and <b>Gibson’s Tackle</b>. The fish were found in the deep at the Alligator Bight, and the water was a fairly uniform temp from 71.9 degrees to 74.3 degrees, offering no abrupt breaks where fish would concentrate, and no breaks were seen on a satellite shot. A few boaters seemed to run across some groups of fish, but it was nothing solid. Fishing sounded better between the Baltimore and Poorman’s Canyon. Joe’s fish hit spreader bars, and he also trolled ballyhoos but with no bites. Closer to shore, Jim Rislin and son Jacob were aboard in the back bay Thursday evening and battled more than 20 bluefish, 2 and 3 pounders or somewhat larger than usual, behind Townsend’s Inlet on popper lures. Joe was somewhat surprised to see the blues turn on like they did, but it goes to prove that you have to get on the water to connect. The anglers believed they’d hook up, and they did. They also tried dunking clams for stripers, but the tide was low or the last of outgoing, and high tide is best, and only sharks were hooked, but they were 20-pounders. Striper fishing is still good on the high tides, especially when the tides coincide with dawn and dusk. Joe’s anglers are often catching them on popper lures, great sport, and summer is the time to do that, because the fish will hit surface lures in warmer water. Joe plans on doing a lot of fishing for them early in the mornings this week from dark until early daylight. The striper bite was slower toward the end of last week, because high tides took place mid day. Joe saw the stripers, but they were lazy and reluctant to chase a lure. Flounder could still be hooked in the back bay.

<b>Avalon</b>

<b>Over Under Adventures</b>’ boat the Low Profile is on its way to Avalon to fish for tuna and marlin for the rest of summer through fall after fishing from the Bahamas since winter. The boat has made it as far as Ocean City, Md., where it will fish through this weekend, and it’ll arrive in Avalon the following weekend, and e-mail from Over Under said. Several of Over Under’s boats are already fishing from OC, and they were averaging six to seven tuna per trip last week, and the fish were a mix of yellowfins and bluefins. But once again the bite dropped off on the weekend because of boat traffic. Saturday’s trips were least productive, and two of the boats combined for only three fish that day. Friday was the best day, and three boats totaled a whopping 31 tuna, including a 115-pound bluefin that was the largest of the week. The news of the week was that larger bluefin tuna arrived, and most were 45 to 46 inches, and the daily limit is one bluefin under 47 inches and two over 47 inches. But Over Under’s boats managed to find a good number of larger ones. The run to the fishing grounds was only 30 to 35 miles, allowing for lots of fishing time. Check out Over Under’s schedule of <a href="http://overundercharters.com/?page=opendates" target="_blank"> open-boat trips</a>, and more dates will be added as groups call and ask about splitting costs with other anglers. 

<b>Wildwood</b>

Flounder fishing was still good in the back bay, and flounder reports were vague this past week at <b>Sterling Harbor Bait & Tackle</b>, because anglers were anticipating competing in the shop’s 14th Annual Duke of Fluke Tournament this coming Saturday, Cathy said in an e-mail. But good reports about fluking rolled in from Reef Site 11 and the Old Grounds on Saturday, and anglers said they hooked flatties to 5 pounds at those spots. Flounder along with sea bass also came from Cape May Reef, and flattie fishing in southern Delaware Bay was slow over the weekend, but some of the fish were landed along the edge of the shipping channel near 14-Foot Light and Miah Maul. Bluefin tuna fishing was good at Massey’s Canyon, the Hambone and the Cigar, and the best reports came from those who jigged Shimano Butterfly Jigs or diamond jigs. But chunking with butterfish also worked. Sharking was still productive, mostly for makos and dusky sharks. Bill Stull on the Nauti Buoy tangled with a 6-foot hammerhead near the Misty Blue wreck, and Pete Sokolowshi weighed in a nice-sized mako he boated on Capt. Bill Atahs’ My Little Buddy. Be sure to check out the Duke of Fluke Tournament on Saturday with a big party with live music, a pig roast and lots of prizes. Who will be this year’s Duke of Fluke?

<b>Cape May</b>

Charters on the <b>Down Deep</b> were trolling plenty of bluefish all week in the inshore ocean, and no bonito or Spanish mackerel or such fish were hitting, although they’re usually mixed in with the blues by this time of year, Capt. Bob said. But lots of blues were schooling, and on a trip yesterday Jill Barr scored a 15-pound mahi mahi after taking a ride after catching blues. Small bluefin tuna started showing up at some inshore spots, and places like Massey’s Canyon were holding a few bigger ones. Canyon fishing was good for yellowfin tuna and mahi, and Bob heard about no wahoo smacking trolled lures yet. Charters are available for all these species that are biting, and no flounder trips are sailing yet, and flounder fishing is improving in the ocean, and a few are being landed. Down Deep usually flounder fishes in the ocean.

The <b>Canyon Clipper</b> ran to the Elephant Trunk on Wednesday, and a 34-inch bluefin tuna was landed, and a smaller one was released, and both smacked Green Machines, Capt. Stan said. Skipjacks and big bluefish were also hooked on trolled feathers. Fishing at such inshore spots was just beginning, and sand eels were just starting to arrive, and the better fishing was farther offshore at the Baltimore and Poorman’s canyons. It’s time to fish the canyons for tuna, mahi and wahoo. But the inshore bite was hot at some spots like the Cigar and the Trunk, and scallop boats were working the Trunk. Stan tried trolling at a scallop boat on the trip, and one bonito hit. A sea bass charter Friday bagged 3-, 4- and 5-pounders at Cape May Reef, and a few flounder were mixed in, and the boat’s trips also hooked a few flatties at the Old Grounds. Lots of flatties were actually biting at such spots, but many were an inch short. The Canyon Clipper was doing no flounder fishing in Delaware Bay, but anglers onboard were sometimes croaker fishing in the bay, and loads of the hardheads were being caught at night. Charters are available for all of these types of fishing and also for trolling for bluefish, bonito and such in the ocean.

<b>Jaftica Sportfishing</b> was doing lots of inshore trolling that produced a bunch of bluefish, including some nice ones over 10 pounds, and bonito and sometimes mahi mahi, and tons of bait was piled up along the surface, Capt. Ray said. Tuna trolling trips were awesome, and no keepers were boxed yet, but Ray expected to bag some in the next days. Most boaters were trolling tuna, but some were beginning to connect on the chunk. Some big tuna were apparently also around, and Ray heard an unconfirmed report about an 80-incher caught. The boat did no flounder fishing or bottom fishing in the past days, but charters are available for that fishing and all the fishing mentioned in this report. Jaftica is raffling off a striped bass charter through summer to benefit the recovery of one of the boat’s mates who was injured in an accident. Raffle tickets are $5 apiece or $20 for five, and see the boat’s web site for info.

A couple of flounder trips scored well with <b>Copacetic Sportfishing</b>, and a tuna trip produced bluefins, Capt. Mike said. One of the flounder trips sailed Friday and landed a decent catch of flatties to one that was about 23 inches or 5 pounds in deep, 70- to 90-foot water, and the other trip fished Sunday at the same spot and also pulled up a decent catch of flatbacks to 21 or 22 inches. Copacetic’s been flounder fishing in the ocean at structure like at the reefs and also at debris like old ship ballast at the Old Grounds. The tuna trip left the dock Saturday and trolled bluefins to 50 pounds only 30 miles from shore. The tuna bite dropped off by late morning, and then the boat headed to the inshore lumps and did real well at bluefishing. Most of the blues were smaller or 4 pounds, and no fish like bonito or Spanish mackerel were among them. Friends landed a few such fish, but those types of species seemed scarcer than usual so far this season.

Al Munger and Sean Trout shark fished on the <b>Heavy Hitter</b> on Saturday at the Cigar and battled a 150-pound dusky shark and a 70-pound dusky, and a brown shark got off, and another brown came into the slick but attacked no baits, Capt. George said. He said he asked the anglers if they wanted go tuna fishing, because a good bluefin trolling bite was going on at spots like Massey’s Canyon and the South Paw. A friend hooked 11 bluefins Saturday, and some boaters from the docks landed a couple. George heard little about tuna biting on the chunk yet, but one person did say he knew someone who caught tuna on the chunk, and chunking will probably turn on in a week. George heard someone on the radio say there was a good yellowfin tuna bite along the 30-fathom line, and that fishing usually starts around now. A flounder charter is slated for the weekend in the ocean, and the boat is also available for sea bassing. Lots of blues can also be trolled in the ocean, if anyone’s interested. The blues are small but plentiful. Tuna fishing is also on tap on the boat.

Capt. Gary from the <b>Sea Fox</b> joined his boat’s mate on the mate’s vessel, and the two fished Massey’s Canyon on Saturday and went 2 for 3 on bluefin tuna to 30 pounds early in the morning, he said. Feathers, jets, and ballyhoos were trolled, and the water was 72 degrees and a little dirty. Big blues were also hooked, and lots of turtles and porpoises but no whales swam around. A bunch of boaters were hooked up with tuna. Gary thinks chunking should begin soon, and he heard unconfirmed reports already about tuna caught on the chunk. Two boats at the dock returned with yellowfin tuna and mahi mahi, and it’s getting to be that time of year for these big-game trips, and only two months are left before the weather starts getting dicey for offshore trips. Tuna charters are available, and so are trips for flounder, sea bass and bluefish trolling. Gary will compete in the Viking/Ocean Showdown this week and in the Duke of Fluke Tournament on Saturday. He’s placed in the Duke of Fluke in the past.

Patrons on the <b>Miss Chris</b> were pulling up flounder to 6 pounds on trips 8 a.m. daily, a fax from the boat said. Morris Lanly bagged three to 6 ¼ pounds, and Frank Hildon took four to 5 ¾ pounds and Tony Pastrioni boated four to 4 ½ pounds. Night trips were producing lots of croakers on trips 7 p.m. daily. On the <b>Lady Chris</b> mixed bags of fluke and small blues were the catch on 4-hour trips.

Flounder fishing was spotty, and most of the nicer fish came from the Old Grounds, said Matt from <b>Jim’s Bait & Tackle</b> in a fax. The flatties there were tight to the structure, so short drifts were a must. Some flounder could be hooked at the lower end of Bayshore Channel at the top of the tides and in the Cape May Rips. Reports were sometimes heard about flatties taken in Delaware Bay at Brandywine Shoal, but lots were throwbacks. The bay held pretty good number of croakers. Surf fishing was mostly giving up croakers with a few stripers mixed in early and late in the day and the occasional flounder and weakfish. The Higbee’s Beach jetty and Sunset Beach were best. Offshore fishing was decent Saturday, and Robert Ford, 15, on the Reel Optimistic fought his first yellowfin tuna to the boat at Wilmington Canyon, and the crew got into the fish pretty much all day long, and nice dolphin were also landed. Tuna also came from Baltimore Canyon, but the bite was spottier there, and most of the tuna were hooked under schools of porpoises. Small squid bars ad splash bars worked best at the canyons, and the fish were short-biting ballyhoos. Waters around the Arlene Wreck produced yellowfins on the troll. Bluefin tuna started to be caught at Massey’s Canyon, the Hambone and the Hot Dog, mostly on the troll, but boaters also dropped down baits to hook up when tuna were marked deep. The Cape May Marlin and Tuna Club’s Kids Tournament took place, and Greg Maccarone won the flounder division with a 5.92-pounder. Frank Hineline won the sea bass category with a 2.03-pounder, and Demi Dougherty took the bluefish honors with a 9-pound slammer.

Anglers found flounder at Reef 11, the Old Grounds, the 9 and 10 buoys in Delaware Bay and the back bays, said Capt. Fred from <b>Harbor View Marina</b> in a fax. Small blues could be caught at Cape May Inlet and at Cape May Point. Decent numbers of stripers, mostly shorts but some keepers, could be hooked at the inlet and in the back bays on squid heads and fresh clams. The waters off Slaughter Beach in Delaware Bay put out good numbers of croakers. Boaters trolled bluefin tuna and mahi mahi at the Cigar, 19-Fathom Lump, Massey’s Canyon and Baltimore Canyon on cedar plugs and Green Machines.

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