<b>Brooklyn</b>

Seven anglers aboard the <b>Big M Express</b> boxed 20 keeper fluke to 5 pounds and released more than 30 shorts in the ocean yesterday, Capt. Steve said. They also fought a half-dozen monster blues to the boat and picked up a few nice-sized sea bass. The boat will keep sailing for fluke, and New York’s fluke season is open all year long, unlike Jersey’s season that closes after September 10. Open-boat trips are running for fluke every day when no charter is booked. Sea bass trips will also take place, and so will weakfishing trips, when weakfish stack up in Raritan Bay. Weakfishing wasn’t really happening yet. Eventually the boat will leave the dock for blackfish, and New York’s blackfish season opens October 1, while Jersey’s blackfishing doesn’t really kick in until November 15, when the Garden State’s tog bag limit increases to eight fish from one. The Big M Express is docked at Tamaqua Marina in Gerritsen Beach, Brooklyn.

<b>Staten Island</b>

Fluke fishing was definitely “off” on Sunday because of the windy weather previously, said Capt. Anthony from <b>Barbara Ann Fishing Charters</b>. But it should pick up again, and fluke trips will sail Tuesday and Friday. One advantage in New York is that the fluke season is open all year, unlike Jersey’s season that will close after September 10.

<b>Kayla Rose Charters</b> trolled a fistful of bluefin tuna including a 40-pound keeper at the Glory Hole and Chicken Canyon yesterday, Capt. Darrin said. Skipjacks and false albacore were also landed, and it was good fishing. Open-boat trips are now fishing for tuna either mid-shore, like this trip, or offshore every day when no charter is booked. Darrin keeps a list of anglers willing to go whenever the weather allows, and give him a call to be added. Charters are also still fishing inshore for fluke and sea bass, and weakfishing will begin when the weaks turn on.

Capt. Joe from <b>Outcast Charters</b> was away on a trip to Virginia, visiting friends, but he did fish in Virginia, he said. He and friends trolled yellowfin tuna, and the bite was slow, but they also pulled up tilefish from the bottom, and his friend boated a 48-pound golden tile, a pending state record. Tuna fishing seemed better from Staten Island than off Virginia. Outcast did run a charter early last week that produced a good catch of sea bass to 2 ½ pounds, some nice fluke to 5 pounds, and a good number of ling. Sea bass, ling, fluke and blues are a focus on charters now. Weakfish will be added to the mix if they start biting, and Joe knew anglers who were catching a few last week. Blackfishing, one of Outcast’s specialties, will begin when New York’s season opens October 1. 

<b>Bayonne</b>

Three anglers fluke fished yesterday with Capt. Akira from <b>True World Tackle</b> and <b>True World Tackle Charters</b>, he said. They began the day at buoy 19 in Ambrose Channel with lots of other boats there, and the fishing was slow. So they moved to buoys 8 and 10, and again it was low, and they headed to buoy 3, and no keepers bit. They next took the trip to the Shrewsbury Rocks in the ocean, and two keepers were boated: a good-sized, 6-pound 26-incher, and a 19-1/2-incher. Five keeper sea bass and lots of shorts were also reeled in. Lots of boats filled the water all day, and a customer said fishing at Ambrose was good the previous day or on Saturday. But another said it wasn’t. Somebody else said weakfish were beginning to hit at Reach Channel, and Akira took a trip there to find out one afternoon. He marked lots of fish on the fish finder, but couldn’t be sure whether they were weaks, and no weakfish bit the sandworm baits.

<b>Laurence Harbor</b>

Bay fluking was good, and <b>Evening Tide Charters</b> was picking up lots, including decent-sized ones going 5 and 6 pounds, along the channel edges and holes, Capt. Kyle said. Peanut bunker was doing the trick for larger ones, and plenty of peanuts could be found. Kyle was keeping a lookout for weakfish, and he knew about a few anglers who    
landed some, but there were no large concentrations. His charters will also liveline peanuts for weaks if the trout make a decent appearance, and he loves targeting the weaks with light tackle. Usually his charters will catch weakies in the mornings before boat traffic spooks the finicky fish, and then the anglers will switch to fluking. Kyle took a run to Hudson Canyon yesterday on a private boat that he sails, and lots of blue water was found while the vessel trolled for tuna, but not much was going on. But one boater reported catching a blue marlin, and another said he caught three yellowfin tuna. The Chicken Canyon farther inshore held lots of life and looked good, and Kyle and crew stopped there a moment and trolled, but nothing bit, and Kyle said the anglers probably should’ve devoted more time to fishing there. Evening Tide Charters is sailing on open-boat trips for fluke every Saturday and Sunday, and call Kyle to reserve and for info. 

<b>Keyport</b>

A trip with <b>Papa’s Angels Charters</b> reeled in 15 fluke including seven keepers yesterday at the TC buoy, Bug Light and the ocean off Sandy Hook, Capt. Joe said. The anglers were Keith Wojciechowski, Peter Inranyi, Ben Lebowitz, Tom Hill and his son T.J. On Saturday Paul Marcello’s group put together a small pick of flatties in the back of the bay. Paul’s daughter Brianna, father Al, brother Michael and friends Flynn and Carlos were also aboard. Capt. Joe saw bluefish at times, including a mess of them at the inlet at Keyport, but the trips headed straight for fluke. But bluefish can be caught in the bay. A trip Thursday that was previously reported landed a pick of weakfish, but no more weaks showed up since then. Papa’s Angels will certainly target weaks if they appear. Space is available on an open-boat trip 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday, and open trips also take place 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. daily when no charter is booked, and call to reserve the open trips and for prices.

On the <b>Lucky Carm</b> Troy and Yvonne Grove and friend Jerry Morgan bailed 17 keeper fluke to 5.8 pounds and released about a dozen throwbacks yesterday in the bay on a birthday trip for Troy, Capt. Carmine said. Sot it was a great catch, and two 6- and 9-pound blues were also drilled under working birds quickly when the trip first started. Interestingly, the flatties only bit squid and refused spearing and peanut bunker. On Saturday evening Doug Morrison’s family battled some nice, big blues and boated a few fluke to maybe 3 pounds in the bay. No weakfish were hooked yet on trips, and Carmine’s even been searching for them on crew trips in the bay. Besides fishing for fluke and blues, the Lucky Carm is now available for bottom fishing trips, and sea bass, porgies, ling and other bottom dwellers are biting. This Saturday is available for a charter or an open-boat trip because of a cancellation. Some prime dates remain for charters this month, but dates are filling fast. Special, 4-hour, evening charters are always available 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., and call Carmine for info. Morning charters are also available, and charter times are flexible.

<b>Atlantic Highlands</b>

The fluke trip Thursday morning on the <b>Atlantic Star</b> produced a nice pick in the bay, and the afternoon trip’s fluking was quite good in the bay, Capt. Tom said. There was lots of action with shorts, a healthy number of keepers and a fast drift on that outing, but patrons adjusted. The weather was crummy Friday morning, and a few keepers and some shorts were boated, and no trip sailed in the afternoon. Saturday’s fishing was slow, probably because of the weather. Keepers plus shorts were hooked in the morning, but the bite was slow, and the afternoon was better but nothing great. Sunday’s fishing was better, an improvement, giving up a nice pick, and the afternoon was slower, but a good number of shorts bit, and keepers were mixed in. Frank Yodice on Sunday morning walloped a 9-3/4-pounder and a 6-pounder. No other big fish were landed since the weather, but the fishing was definitely improving since the storm. All the trips fished the bay, and none targeted Ambrose Channel, where the new moon tides were running strong. One weakfish was caught on the trips Sunday. The boat will probably keep fluke fishing until the season closes after September 10, and afterward trips might sail for weakies, if those fish push in. 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. 

Gusts to 35 knots, rain and winds that would blind you, and a roll met the trip Friday on the <b>Fishermen</b>, Capt. Ron said in the report on the boat’s web site. It was no picnic, but patrons managed to catch some very nice keepers, and actually only one fish was a throwback. Pete Gonzalez nailed an 11.3-pound doormat. The huge roll continued on the next day’s trip, and Ron’s legs felt wobbly and back hurt at the end of these two days, but some fluke were also hooked on this day. The high hook scored five keepers, and some landed no keepers, and the pool-winning flatty was 3 pounds. At first a few hard pieces of bottom were fished in winds against the incoming tide, and the anglers picked away. The tide changed, and the drift started to fly, pushing 2 knots much of the trip. By the end of the trip the tide was good and 1.2 knots while the boat fished Sandy Hook Channel, where a few short fluke bit, unlike the boat’s trip on Thursday when the bite was good at that spot. The Fishermen is fishing for fluke 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily, usually in the ocean, but charters were booked today, Tuesday, Friday and Saturday, and none of the open-boat trips take place those mornings. Afternoon bluefishing trips are running 3:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Fridays through Sundays.

<b>Highlands</b>

<b>Fisher Price Charters</b> was doing lots of fluking at the channels, and it was going fairly well, was consistent, Capt. Derek said. A fluke trip yesterday was tough, apparently because of runoff from the storm toward the end of the week. But nine keepers to 5 pounds and lots of shorts were hooked at the channels more toward the ocean than the bay. On Thursday a three-man charter limited out on fluke to 6 pounds at Ambrose Channel. Fisher Price was also searching for weakfish as the trout began to arrive in the area. Charters have been hooking the trout in the Shrewsbury and Navesink rivers for weeks, and a trip Wednesday looked for the fish in the bay. Storms and lightning rolled though that morning, and the finicky weakfish seemed turned off, but a couple were hooked at Reach Channel on sandworms during the trip.

Fluking was up and down this past week, depending on conditions, not like the hot bite the previous week for <b>Sandy Hook Fishing Adventures</b>, Capt. Bob said in an e-mail. But his trips had success on fluke to 24 inches in deeper waters at Sandy Hook Channel and Ambrose Channel and also near Sandy Hook Reef. Jeff Joy and son Mike targeted fluke on Mike’s twelfth birthday, scoring fluke to 19 inches and tons of sea robins. On the same day during the evening a charter from Kansas sailed for fluke, but the fishing dropped off during marginal conditions, and only shorts, sea robins and a star gazer bit. But another charter had better success, landing a good bunch of keepers to 20 inches, despite “shaky” conditions. Another group sailed on an evening bluefish trip, fighting blues from 3 to 5 pounds, and they tried to entice weakfish with no results. But the Vanguard group hooked weakfish to 21 inches at Reach Channel. Peanut bunker and sandworms were the weakfish baits, and sometimes the weaks could be read on the bottom but refused to bite. The fluke on the trips bit killies with squid, white or chartreuse, 4-inch grubs with killies or smelts. Only a couple of dates are left for charters this month, and September is beginning to fill. Charters will often focus on fluke until the season ends after September 10, and trips for stripers, blues and sea bass will be among the options afterward, and tog charters will begin when the bag limit jumps to eight fish November 15.

A bluefishing/striped bass fishing trip was great yesterday at the Shrewsbury Rocks with <b>Jersey Devil Charters</b>, considering the fact that it was mid August, Capt. Brian said in an e-mail. The charter tangled with 10 stripers as large as 15 to 18 ponds and at least two dozen blues to more than 14 pounds. Bunker chunks were the baits, and the fish started being hooked as soon as the anchor was dropped at 6:45 a.m., and they kept hitting until 10:30 a.m. Brian heard that canyon tuna fishing was starting to heat up a bit, and charters are now running to the canyons for big game.

<b>Neptune</b>

<b>Last Lady Fishing Charters</b>’ first overnight, canyon, tuna trip of the season was leaving the dock today, Capt. Ralph said.  Anglers on a trip yesterday pulled up fluke to 8.12 pounds in the ocean. Sea bassing’s been phenomenal for Last Lady, and a 20-pound dolphin was boated on a bottom-fishing trip only 4 miles from shore Thursday. Bluefishing’s also been very good for Ralph’s customers. Only four more individual-reservation fluke trips that run every Wednesday are left before the season closes after September 10, and openings are available on each.

<b>Brielle</b>

Windy, stormy weather made for a screwy week of fishing, said Dave from <b>The Reel Seat</b>. For example, the weather was horrendous or windy Saturday morning after the storm, but when it calmed later in the day, fluke began to hit in the ocean. The keeper fluke were now mostly at the rocky bottom off Deal, Elberon and Long Branch and places like the Sea Girt Reef and Axel Carslon Reef. Good-sized sea bass were also taken at such spots, and a 3.7-pounder that Katie Gentile weighed in was the biggest that Dave knew about and was bucktailed at the Sea Girt Reef. Fluking was good in the Manasquan River, and Dave heard that weakfish bit in the river at night. A customer who fishes Manasquan Inlet said yesterday morning that he had seen no weaks at the inlet in several days. Plenty of small, 18- to 25-inch stripers swam the river and hit rubber shads, Fin-S Fish and small bucktails and weren’t picky. Lots of bait or spearing, small mullet and peanut bunker also schooled the river. When boaters could sail to the canyons, they found good catches. Both trolling and chunking produced, and chunking was mostly best at the southern canyons or the Toms and Carteret. Bigger yellowfin tuna from 60 to 100 pounds were chunked. The canyons also produced bigeye tuna, longfin tuna, mahi mahi and some marlins. Bluefin tuna over 100 pounds, good-sized ones for this area, were sometimes battled on the troll at the Chicken Canyon. Smaller, schoolie bluefins were trolled closer to shore in the Mudhole, and a few mahi were mixed in. Dave took a trip on the party boat Voyager two Sundays ago and boated four tilefish to 43 pounds, and a 46-pounder that another angler caught was the biggest on the trip. Mike Paras was high hook with eight tiles to 39 pounds. Dave took one of the trips previously, and wreckfish were landed, but no wreckfish were taken on this trip.

Anglers on the <b>Katie H</b> fished the Axel Carlson Reef and crushed fluke Sunday, bagging 24 keepers to 4 pounds, and boated about a dozen nice-sized, keeper sea bass, Capt. Mike said. So it was a fantastic trip with non-stop action, and there was a little bit of a drift, but not much. The water was 69 degrees and had cooled from the storm. A charter sailed to Hudson Canyon for tuna on Thursday in rough but fishable seas. But a couple of the anglers became seasick and called the trip short. On the way home they stopped a moment at the Glory Hole, where seas were a little flatter, and trolled a bunch of skipjacks in water with lots of life, whales and porpoises. The water at the Hudson had been 77 degrees, green and not good-looking for fishing, although better looking water was starting to be found before the trip was cut short. But the next tuna trip, an overnighter scheduled for Saturday to Sunday, will probably head south for better water. The Katie H will keep fishing on inshore charters for species like fluke, but tuna trips will now begin to dominate the schedule.

<b>Point Pleasant</b>

Inshore tuna fishing picked up a bit, and only scattered reports were heard about yellowfins boated farther offshore, said Capt. John from the <b>Defiant</b>. The boat is fishing for tuna in both areas, and shark trips are also sailing. Small game charters also continue to run, and on those trips bluefishing is hot, and fluking is decent in the ocean, and scattered striped bass could still be picked up in the mornings. Open-boat trips are leaving the dock every Wednesday and Friday.

Jeff Yingling’s gang set out for bluefishing at the Mud Buoy with <b>Angela Rose Charters</b> on Sunday, Capt. Anthony said in an e-mail. They arrived 8 a.m. to a full house, and half the party boat fleet seemed to fish the area. The anchor was dropped, and the chum slick was put out. A while passed before the fist blue hit the baited hooks, and then more followed until 10 were landed, and then the action died down. A couple of more fish bit but weren’t hooked, and the group decided to go for Plan B: set up for fluke and sea bass fishing. The boat motored inshore and began a drift over sticky bottom. Sea bass started coming up on all sides of the cockpit almost instantly, and a dozen of the humpheads to 19 inches, two keeper fluke to 23 inches and 30 or 40 shorts were reeled in. One of the anglers seemed to be on fire, so Capt. Anthony offered a friendly ice cream wager, and he and the angler battled it out to land the most fish. Anthony won this time, but he doesn’t always, and he scored a milkshake. On Saturday an ocean fluke trip was weathered out, but the Eileen Hannaford charter instead fished the Manasquan River in the morning. Short fluke were landed, and the charter included a bunch of children who split up into two teams to enter a contest to win ice cream for the group who landed the most fish. Capt. Anthony headed one team, and Capt. Wayne the other, and Anthony’s team won milkshakes and ice cream. Eric Brachman’s charter was aboard Thursday, his second charter of the week and sixth total. It was a Happy Hour Trip that fished the river, and fishing was slower than usual, but one keeper and 10 to 15 shorts were landed. The action was best upstream of the Route 35 Bridge but not as far down as the hospital. A fast drift didn’t help. At 8 p.m. the gang decided to secure the fishing equipment, and when the sun disappeared, the entire back deck turned blue with the boat’s custom lights. They cruised to Will’s Hole and viewed the commercial fishing fleet, and at 9 p.m. they were ready to watch the Point Pleasant Beach fireworks, but strong southeast winds caused the fireworks to be cancelled.

<b>Reel Class Charters</b> ran four trips in the past five days and fluke fished in the Manasquan River, because the ocean was a mess from the weather, Capt. Allen said. Four keepers was the average catch per trip, and the fluke were definitely moving toward the ocean, because fishing in the back of the river was dead and held more shorts. During the middle of the week the fishing on these trips was mostly done from Clark’s Landing to the Route 35 Bridge, and a trip Wednesday bagged four keepers. On Thursday the O’Brien family with mom, dad, and two kids also bagged four keepers and released close to 30 shorts on a 4-hour trip. Allen cancelled fishing on Friday because of bad weather, and David Quinn’s charter also fished the river Saturday in windy, cool conditions. Lots more fluke bit this day, and the anglers headed to Will’s Hole Channel and nailed two keepers right away. Then they picked away at shorts, moved to the Old Channel and took another couple of keepers.  Sea robins also bit on these trips, and killies and Gulps were the baits on the outings. Fluke fishing is good when trips can fish the ocean, and Reel Class will keep fluking until the beginning of September, and sea bass are mixed in along the rough bottom. Afterward Allen hopes to target blues and weakfish until the fall run of striped bass and bluefish begins.

<b>Seaside</b>

Barnegat Inlet put out major bluefish action Saturday, and the blues started to hit in the surf that day, but cranking southern winds made throwing anything to them difficult, said the fishing report on <b>Betty and Nick’s Bait & Tackle</b>’s web site. At 3 p.m. all heck broke loose with the blues at the inlet, and they were hitting anything cast. All of this was a good sign that the surf should start to give up blues. Besides the surf, the 42 buoy in Barnegat Bay was a great spot for weakfish on grass shrimp, and Oyster Creek Channel in the bay was loaded with small fluke. Barnegat Ridge was full of bonito that smacked trolled Clark spoons, and canyon fishing was on fire with huge yellowfin tuna 125 pounds and larger. The surf today was 1 to 2 feet, 75 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>

Fluking was tough over the weekend, and the weather was too nasty Saturday to fish the ocean, so a trip stayed in Barnegat Bay, and only a ton of shorts bit, said Capt. John from <b>Perfect Drift Sport Fishing</b>. Those who did fish the ocean took a beating and only landed a few, and it wasn’t worth it. Sunday’s fluke fishing was also tough, but Perfect Drift bagged six keepers and released maybe 20 throwbacks at the Tires in a strong current in the ocean. The most successful anglers seemed to boat five or six flatties that day, and everybody else seemed to get skunked or bag one or two. Winds blew hard toward the end of the week, and that probably stirred up the water and put down the bite, but it should pick up again, and Perfect Drift will be back fluke fishing this week. Previously the fishing was good.

<b>Barnegat Light</b>

Loads of weakfish continued to bite in Barnegat Bay on grass shrimp or jigs, and a host of other characters, including blues, fluke, hickory shad, blowfish and kingfish, were also appearing, said Capt. Steve from <b>Reel Fantasea Charters</b> in an e-mail. His charters catch the weaks either while chumming with grass shrimp and fishing with shrimp on hooks or shad darts or while targeting deeper water like channels with jigs tipped with soft plastics like Fin-S Fish or Bass Kandy Delights. He recently took the family on vacation to the Outer Banks in North Carolina and said the fishing down there had nothing on Jersey. “Oh there is no place like home!” he said.

<b>Tuckerton</b>

The storm churned up the water and turned off flounder fishing, said Capt. T.J. from <b>Legal Limit Charters</b>. A catch on the boat was pretty good Thursday, and a charter Friday produced a dozen or so keepers to 7 pounds. The weather kept the boat docked Saturday, and a trip Sunday mostly spent the time looking for the fish. Charters have been flounder fishing in the ocean near the reefs but not on the reefs. Charters are also tuna fishing.

<b>Atlantic City</b>

Bank anglers fishing Absecon Inlet were landing flounder at Hackney’s and Atlantic Avenue on minnows, squid and filleted mackerel, and maybe half the fish were keepers, said Noel from <b>One Stop Bait & Tackle</b>. Tog were plentiful along the rocks and structure, and although only one can be kept until the bag limit increases in November, tog fishers could choose their keeper, and must dunked green crabs. Triggerfish were biting on cut bait, clams, bloodworms and squid. Croakers were finally starting to show up in the surf, hitting clams, squid and bloodworms. The back bay also held many of these fish, and One Stop carries all the baits mentioned.

<b>Margate</b>

The ocean’s fishing was livening up, said Capt. Jay from the <b>Jessie O’</b>. Patrons on the boat were catching sea bass, small bluefish, and keeper and short fluke in the ocean, and more and more keeper flatties were appearing. Irv Lee won the pool with a 2-1/2-pound flounder Sunday. The Jessie O’ runs open-boat trips every morning, and Magic Hour, open-boat trips recently began sailing 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. on weekdays, and charters also take place. Jay’s other boat, the <b>Fish N’ Fun</b>, is flounder fishing in the back bay on two 4-hour trips daily, and patrons were into action with shorts and weeding through to bag keepers. Reservations are still being accepted for the Thunder Over the Boardwalk Trip from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. this Wednesday for the best seats in the house for the Atlantic City Airshow. Performances include those by the Army, Navy, Air Force, National Guard, Coast Guard and civilians. See the Air Force Thunderbirds, the U.S. Army Golden Knights parachute team, the 177th Fighter Wing, world-class civilian acrobatics and much more. Lunch is included. Lots of party cruises are also sailing, and a DJ and catering are available.

<b>Longport</b>

Water temps dropped from northeast winds, and sea bass fishing took off as a result, and some fluke also started biting, said Capt. Mike from the <b>Stray Cat</b>. Previously the bottom fishing was slow, and trolling for bonito was good in the ocean a few days ago until the temps took a dive. But bottom trips in the past days produced good numbers of sea bass to 3 pounds, some fluke and a couple of triggerfish 9 miles from shore, where water temps had decreased to 70 degrees from 78 to 79 degrees previously. Open-boat, 12-hour, tuna trolling trips are all sold out now, and overnight tuna trips are mostly sold out, so act fast if you want to go. It’s also a good idea to book spots on the boat’s open-boat, fall wreck-fishing trips, because spaces are beginning to fill. Sea bass will be the target at first, and blackfishing will kick in when the bag limit increases to eight of the tog on November 15. Stray Cat had a great blackfishing season last year at the South Jersey spots that are less pressured than farther north.

<b>Sea Isle City</b>

Striped bass fishing picked back up in the back bay after it had slowed down a moment, said Capt. Joe Hughes from <b>Jersey Cape Guide Service</b> and <b>Gibson’s Tackle</b>. The large, new moon tides seemed to get things going a bit after the water previously was stagnant from summer conditions. Joe’s trips hooked the bass mostly on popper lures and popper flies, tossing them in the bay toward the inlet, where the water was cooler. Stripers can shut off at times in summer, and Joe’s seen it happen during different months, whether it’s June, July, August or whenever. A few small blues roamed the bay, and flounder could be found at the inlets. “But it’s August,” Joe said. A bunch of bonito and a few false albacore bit at Sea Isle Ridge, and sometimes mahi mahi could be caught from the ridge on out. A few bluefin tuna swam the inshore spots, but they were here today, gone tomorrow. Joe competed in the White Marlin Open at Ocean City, Md., last week, and seas were very rough every day except Tuesday. Fishing was tough for many boats in the event, and billfishing is difficult in 6- to 8-foot seas, because it’s difficult to see the fish come up and bite, so the angler can set the hook. Tuna fishing was also less than good, because water temps at the canyons were mostly even, or no eddies with temp breaks rolled through to make the fish gather at one place. Joe did hear about decent tuna fishing at Spencer Canyon, but that was beyond the boundaries of the tournament. He expects to fish offshore again in the coming days.  

<b>Wildwood</b>

Flounder seemed to move out of Delaware Bay and into deeper water in the ocean and were bagged at Cape May Reef, Reef Site 11 and the Old Grounds, said Cathy from <b>Sterling Harbor Bait & Tackle</b>. Matthew Bell, 8, weighed in a 6-1/2-pounder that came from Cape May Reef. Trollers at South Shoal and 4-Fathom Bank boated blues, bonito, false albacore and small mahi mahi on small feathers and spoons. Bluefin tuna fishing continued to be good at Massey’s Canyon and 19-Fathom Lump on the troll, the chunk and jigs, and smaller bluefins were picked up at the East Lump and along the 20-fathom line. Surf anglers were beaching small bluefish at North Wildwood.

<b>Cape May</b>

Charters on the <b>Canyon Clipper</b> were scoring well on flounder, including doormats to 20 inches, at Cape May Reef, Capt. Stan said. Some were also biting at the Old Grounds, but Cape May Reef was really the spot to find the flatties in the past week. Nice-sized sea bass were pulled up at the Old Grounds, and Stan was supposed to leave on a tuna trip to Massey’s Canyon at 1 a.m. today. Chunking for bluefin tuna’s been good on the boat at 19-Fathom Lump, and the fish seemed to be down deep at 80 feet lately. They were also finicky, biting only at certain times, like early in the morning and maybe once in the afternoon. All fish seemed to be mostly biting down below recently, and few were hitting on the surface. For example, trolling the inshore ocean for bluefish was less productive than usual. Here’s one of the firsts of the season: It’s time to start booking striped bass charters, because fall striper fishing is right around the corner. Music to the ears! Book now to reserve preferred dates, and striper trips do become unavailable for those who delay.

The <b>Down Deep</b> ran a few tuna trips in the past week, and the anglers onboard trolled bluefins, though other boaters also chunked the fish, Capt. Bob said. Charters also caught bluefish, bonito, flounder and croakers. The Rob Eppolige party limited out on bluefin tuna, released a couple and trolled wahoos. D.J. Laborite’s gang also limited out on bluefins and nailed wahoos and a dolphin. Ben Cohen’s group also limited on bluefins and put the brakes on some wahoos. An inshore trolling trip with Ted Kariess’s charter produced bluefish and a half-dozen bonito. So bonito could be caught near Cape May, but not in the big numbers like last year, for some reason. Dave Houghtalinger’s charter fished southern Delaware Bay for a pull of a number of nice flounder and croakers. Some openings are available for charters.

 A charter on the <b>Heavy Hitter</b> reeled in lots of croakers and small sea bass in southern Delaware Bay on a 4-hour trip yesterday, Capt. George said. The trip fished for those species because George heard that trolling for bluefish wasn’t so great recently. Dave Kawash and son David Jr. were the anglers. On Saturday a charter fished for bluefin tuna at the inshore lumps. Seas were very rough, but the anglers wanted to fish anyway, and they lost one tuna when the line hit a trim tab. Seas started to calm on the way home and were only 2 feet, and Chet McIntyre and son in law were the anglers. The Larry Moore family on Wednesday trolled a load of bluefish, mostly 1- to 4-pounders but sometimes larger ones, and bottom fished for flounder to 19 inches, six keeper sea bass and a bunch of throwbacks of both species. Charters are available for bottom fish, inshore trolling for bluefish and other speedsters and tuna fishing.

On the <b>Sea Fox</b> Clyde Mumford’s party pulled up more than 30 flounder to 24 inches in Delaware Bay, Capt. Gary said. Strip baits and minnows were the offerings in the 78-degree, warm water during outgoing tide. Scott and Susan Adcock were aboard yesterday and tried for bluefin tuna at the inshore lumps, chunking two different times and trolling three times, but nothing bit. So they switched to bottom fishing and landed “all kinds” of fluke to 20 inches and sea bass to 16 inches at Cape May Reef. Bottom fishing, inshore trolling for blues, bonito and such species and tuna fishing make up the current menu on the Sea Fox.

Flounder fishing was turning on at Cape May Reef, and the Ben Franklin Bridge rubble was the best spot, said Matt from <b>Jim’s Bait & Tackle</b> in a fax. But the fishing there is tough, and anglers have to keep lines straight up and down or get hung up. Pete Kelley fished the reef and tackled a 10.95-pounder, and Padraic Donovan fished there and drilled an 8-pounder. Eugene Diabundo also hit the reef and hauled in a 6.79-pounder. Flounder fishing was also going quite well at the Old Grounds and Reef Site 11 for big flatties. A couple of unusual catches were checked in: Tony Sabo’s 8.26-pound smooth pufferfish and Steve London of the Stanley Rose’s 46-pound Atlantic cutlassfish. Closer to shore, the best option was striped bass fishing in the back bay around any of the Ocean Drive bridges on slack tides. In the surf, fishing was slow, but croakers, small weakfish and flounder made up most of the catch. Bluefin tuna fishing continued to be very good, and Rick Olson and crew on the Jenny O fished the Ham Bone and limited out on bluefins, released others and had enough and went home at 10 a.m. Massey’s Canyon also held a load of bluefins, and fishing at both spots was best on the chunk at first light. Trolling also produced throughout the day, and the trick seemed to be to get the baits down in the water column. The weather kept lots of boaters from running to the canyons. But the fishing was hot along the 700-fathom line at Spencer and Wilmington canyons. The crew on the Wish You Were Here went 1 for 3 on blue marlin and had a white in the spread. Anglers on the It’s All Greek boated three yellowfin tuna and a wahoo at the 50-fathom line inside Baltimore Canyon. Boaters fishing the White Marlin Open had no choice but to fish the canyons during the weather.

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