This report includes web code that will be edited out soon.

<b>Staten Island</b>

Scores of sea bass to 4 pounds were boated on the <b>Barbara Anne</b> a couple of miles offshore Sunday, and fluke to 4 pounds and lots of action with the flatties was scored yesterday on a trip in the ocean, Capt. Anthony said. Charters will keep catching these fish, and sea bass will become more of a focus when fluking fades. Blackfish will become a target when the season opens in October. Open-boat trips are sailing every Tuesday, probably for fluke/sea bass combos depending on what’s hitting, guaranteed to leave the dock with a minimum of two anglers.

A charter yesterday on the <b>Kayla Rose</b> found a couple of keeper fluke, “nothing crazy,” Capt. Darrin said. The charter took place with an angler and his grandchildren, so they didn’t venture far, and the boat returned early because of the heat. A mid-shore trip was running for bluefin tuna at the Glory Hole today, and Darrin heard about a few of the tuna caught but not a lot. He was netting peanut bunker for tuna bait yesterday. Charters were also catching sea bass, but the bite wasn’t heavy. Weakfishing and porgy fishing will also take place soon, and those species should turn on any time.

<b>Frenzy Fishing Charters</b> fluke fished with a couple of anglers from Jersey yesterday, and they nailed two 4-pounders and another that was a little over 6 pounds, Capt. Tommy Verderosa said. They also pulled up a couple of sea bass, and the charter fished up and down Ambrose and Chapel Hill channels. Fly-fishing charters are also available, even for beginners. Frenzy in summer fly rods for fish like small stripers and weakfish in shallow water, and eventually fly-fishing trips will head to the ocean for false albacore and such speedsters. Tommy is a fly tyer and a rod builder, but he also specializes in bait fishing, including for trophy fluke. He competes in fluke tournaments and has won or placed a half-dozen in the past few years, including winning second in the Jim Ryan Fluke Tournament this year.

Big fluke were constantly weighed in, and two 10-pounders and a couple of 6-pounders were checked in today, said Vinny from <b>Michael’s Bait & Tackle</b>. Ambrose Channel seemed the hot spot. Cocktail blues followed bunker schools in the bay, and no major body of weakfish that anglers were expecting showed up in the bay yet. A few customers tried to catch porgies but only found small ones and practically no keepers.  Staten Island surf anglers could bag fluke, and an offshore boater today weighed in a 145-pound bigeye that came from Hudson Canyon, and no other offshore fish were seen at the shop.

<b>Bayonne</b>

Charters fluke fished in the channel north of the Verrazano Bridge on Saturday and Sunday, and the fishing was good, although it reportedly slowed this week, said Capt. Akira from <b>True World Tackle</b> and <b>True World Tackle Charters</b>. The charter Saturday bagged nine keepers to an 8-pound, 26-incher. The trip Sunday competed in a company tournament for True World Foods with about 25 boats, and most scored good fluking in the channel above the Verrazano in the morning. One of the boats totaled 12 keepers, and another totaled nine, even though the biggest in the event was only 20.3 inches and 3 or 4 pounds. A customer at the store reported catching plenty of fluke this week a little farther south at buoy 21 at Ambrose Channel. Akira also heard that porgies were biting near Keyport.

<b>Laurence Harbor</b>

<b>Evening Tide Charters</b> had a good fluke trip yesterday with a charter and his grandson, Capt. Kyle said in an e-mail. They ran to the TC buoy, and shorts and flatties that were almost keepers bit, and then they sailed to Chapel Hill Channel, and 10 fluke including six keepers were boated. By the end they had reeled in 21 of the summer flounder from 16 ¼ inches to 18 ¼ inches, including six keepers, a dozen sea robins and three sandsharks, a very nice day with a good drift and light winds, Kyle said. The 10-year-old grandson loves to freshwater fish, and this was his first saltwater trip, and he was hooked and wants to come back for weakfishing and striper fishing when those fish turn on, Kyle said. Kyle keeps looking for weaks along the channel edges, and there wasn’t much to fish for yet, but he’s anticipating the action turning red hot. He’s also looking around for peanut bunker to use for bait for weaks and fluke, because the peanuts always produce the bigger fish, and the peanuts were very small so far, but lots were there. If anglers would like to take a charter that first livelines peanuts for weaks and then switches to fluking with the peanuts, it can be a great day of fishing. 

<b>Keyport</b>

A group with <b>Papa’s Angels Charters</b> reeled in a dozen fluke including seven keepers to 20 inches at Reach Channel yesterday morning with a good drift, Capt. Joe said. So the catch was good, and Martin Bartfeld, 5, boated the first fluke within minutes of arriving at the fishing grounds, and he scored the first two flatties, both keepers. The charter caught the fish on killies and squid and was made up of Martin’s mom and dad Mike and Julie, sister Marilyn and grandparents Efim and Raisa, who come from Israel and were visiting their children. The charter was the group’s first saltwater fishing, and they had a blast, Capt. Joe said, and the weather was beautiful. Openings are available for fluke fishing this Saturday and Sunday on either charters or open-boat trips. Open trips are also taking place 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. daily when no charter is booked, and so is an open trip every Wednesday morning. Call to reserve the trips and for info.

On the <b>Lucky Carm</b> charters can target fluke, blues and sea bass, and weakfishing should begin any day, and porgies, large ones, can now be bagged, Capt. Carmine said.  No weakfish filled the bay yet, but the water was 80 degrees, so they should be arriving. When fluke fishing ends, charters will switch to nighttime bluefishing. In the mean time, special 4-hour, evening fluke charters are available from 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>

Fluking was nothing great on a charter yesterday on the <b>Fishermen</b>, mostly at the channels, but some nice ones were taken, including a 7-pounder and a couple of 3- and 4-pounders, Capt. Ron said. The anglers had to wait for the flatties to start biting, and the best catches were made during slack tide to the beginning of outgoing, but the feed ended when the tide started pushing too hard. The vessel sailed on its usual open-boat schedule Monday and Tuesday. Ron said in an e-mail that Tuesday’s fluking wasn’t what he’d call good, but a few keepers were boated, and more shorts had to be released than were hooked on trips the rest of the season The trip started fishing at the channels, and there was good action but not many keepers, and then the tide flowed 1.7 knots, too fast for the drift. The boat moved south off the coast, but Ron was disappointed in what he found: no drift, little life and not many sea bass. He ran back north and close to the beach, and small fish with an occasional keeper were lifted over the rails. The boat took one last shot at the channels, and the drift was way too fast, and the weather was far too hot. A light crowd joined the open trip Monday, Ron said in another e-mail, and he guessed everyone was settling back down after the rough weather Sunday. The fishing wasn’t great but was okay, and Joe Handley hauled aboard a 9.1-pounder, and a couple of patrons totaled five healthy sized keepers apiece. Open trips are also bluefishing in the evenings from Fridays to Sundays, and the trip Sunday was very good for 5- to 10-pound blues fought offshore on bait and jigs, and two keeper stripers were bagged.  The Fishermen is fishing for fluke 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily, but the boat is chartered this Wednesday morning, so no open trip will sail then. Afternoon bluefishing trips are running 3:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Fridays through Sundays.

Fluke to 20 inches, but not a lot, were angled up on the <b>CRT II</b> on Monday, and it was tough fishing, Capt. Mick said. The charter fished all around the bay, and a few sandsharks, dogfish, skates and sea robins bit, but he heard that some anglers put together decent catches of flatties. Trips will head back out for fluke Saturday and Sunday, and Mick heard about no weakfish taken in the bay since last week, but he’ll probably scope around the bay for weaks next week and see for himself.

On the <b>Atlantic Star</b> patrons saw a little improvement in fluke fishing during the past days on some trips, but it was impossible to know whether it would last, and fishing was day to day, Capt. Tom said. Conditions were crummy for good drifts Monday and Tuesday, but the action was a little improved during mornings this week at Sandy Hook Channel until the current ran too fast. Monday morning’s trip wasn’t great but produced a couple of big fish: a 10-pounder for Al Gallo and a 7-1/2-pounder for Bob Centamore. Fluking on the afternoon trip was pretty fair with better conditions, and a better ratio of keepers was landed than before. But fishing’s been kind of crazy, and for example the boat fished the same area the previous day for a slow bite. Every day is different. On yesterday morning the boat fished in the ocean just around Sandy Hook Point for lots of action with shorts and some keepers.  Tom believed plenty of the fish carpeted the bottom of the bay, and mud covering the fluke bellies seemed to indicate the fish were parked there, not swimming away. The fishing was a matter of getting the right conditions for the fish to feed. 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.

A bunch of big fluke were weighed in—including an 11-pounder—that were pinned down from the ocean to the bay, said Jimmy from <b>Julian’s Bait & Tackle</b>. Weakfish were beginning to turn on in the bay, and the outlook seemed good for the weekend, and plenty of sandworms are stocked for the trout. Also in the bay small blues schooled the bay, and porgies were sometimes bagged. In the ocean boaters took striped bass at the Shrewsbury Rocks on fresh bunker while chumming, and surf fishers could sometimes find stripers at certain areas in the early mornings.  

<b>Highlands</b>

Anglers with <b>Fisher Price Charters</b> continued to boat weakfish to 4 pounds in the Shrewsbury and Navesink rivers on sandworms or jigs with soft plastics, such as a 1-ounce jighead with a Berkley Gulp shrimp or a small swim shad, Capt. Derek said. Fluke were sometimes mixed in, and a trip fluke fished yesterday with live snapper blues at Sandy Hook Channel, and the catch wasn’t great, but the flatties that hammered the baits were big, including a 10-pound doormat and an 8-pounder. A few weakfish were swimming the bay here or there but were yet to show up in solid numbers so far. But they should arrive. A few openings are available for charters.

Fluking was much improved compared with the weekend, and <b>Sandy Hook Fishing Adventures</b> had a fantastic week of fluke fishing, Capt. Bob said in an e-mail. The boat limited out on 3 of 4 trips, and the fluke were very nice fish from 18 to 24 inches, fat and healthy. A 6.9-pounder was the biggest of the week, and one trip limited out in 2 ¼ hours at one spot. Bob hoped the weather was stabilizing a bit and that the action would continue. Charters are being hooked for fall striped bass fishing, and so are blackfish trips that will begin November 15, when the blackfish limit increased to eight of the tog from the current limit of one.

<b>Long Branch</b>

Surf fishing for striped bass was spotty; and sometimes the linesiders showed up at places like off St. Michael’s Church, but then they’d disappear, said Joe from <b>Jim’s Bait & Tackle</b>. Sometimes blues were also around, like at Sandy Hook, and weakfish were supposedly crawling up the Shrewsbury River. Fluke swam everywhere from the ocean to the bay to the rivers.

<b>Belmar</b>

Shark River’s fluke included lots of shorts, and rental boaters from <b>Fisherman’s Den</b> probably averaged three keepers and 10 times as many shorts per vessel, John said. Snapper blues traveled the river but were still small, and sometimes anglers clammed or sandwormed porgies at Shark River Inlet, and both baits are stocked. Belmar’s party boats fared pretty well at fluke fishing in the ocean, and lots of doormats over 5 pounds were hauled over the rails just recently. A customer weighed in an 11-pound 8-ouncer from a party boat today. Bluefishing was also good on the party boats only a few miles from shore both day and night, but night was best. Hardly anything was heard about striped bass except that an occasional one was taken from the surf. 

<b>Brielle</b>

Offshore boaters were finally fighting tuna at the nearby canyons, and the fishing was nothing red hot, but they were catching, and lots were sailing because of beautiful weather, said Capt. Mike from the <b>Katie H</b>. The boat did no fishing since the weekend, but a canyon trip might run this weekend, and a fluke charter is slated for Sunday. But the tuna came from the Hudson and Toms canyons, and they were especially trolled at the Bombs inshore of the Toms. An angler from the dock also chunked tuna in the area, so both trolling and chunking were working. Canyon charters are now available on the Katie H, and most of the tuna charters are booked for the end of the month and September, but the fishing can be good now.

Bluefishing was excellent on the <b>Jamaica</b> last night, and patrons could easily limit out, and a few striped bass were mixed in, and e-mail from the boat said. The bite was also very good on daytime trips today and yesterday, and many patrons limited out on 6- to 12 pounders. Those daytime trips also produced a good number of stripers, and George Chilmonik boated four striped bass, releasing two of them, and Erik Bogan limited out on stripers including a bonus-tag fish. The blues were schooling the same two places the entire week, and the fishing was good every day and night this week, and the outlook for this weekend seemed good. Both novices and experienced anglers were hooking up, and now is a good time to go bluefishing. The Jamaica is fishing for blues 7:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. every day. The boat’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>

<b>Andrea’s Toy Charters</b> ran two mid-shore, combo shark/tuna trips that trolled bonito at Manasquan Ridge and bluefin tuna at the Glory Hole, and fought thresher sharks within 10 miles from shore, Capt. Fred said. The bonito hit Clark spoons, and the bluefins jumped on mini Green Machines, and the sharks chased bunker schools and hammered livelined bunker. These mid-shore trips are now available on either charters or open-boat trips. Andrea’s Toy will now also start running open-boat trips to Hudson Canyon, because warmer, cleaner water finally turned on its fishing for yellowfin, longfin and bigeye tuna. Boaters were bagging two to five of the fish per trip. An open-boat canyon trip is potentially slated for tomorrow, if anyone wants to jump aboard at the last minute. One of Fred’s captains is also running fluke and sea bass trips, and catches have been good at the reefs and lumps. Fred heard that stripers bit at the Shrewsbury Rocks, but Andrea’s Toy is no longer targeting stripers till fall.

George Wilson fluke fished Manasquan River with <b>Reel Class Charters</b> Tuesday and scored well, reeling in 15 keeper-sized flatties to 3 pounds and four times as many shorts on light tackle, Capt. Allen said. George threw chartreuse Gulp twister tails on jigheads on 4-pound tackle. Lots of the fish hugged bottom and bait swam between the Route 35 Bridge and the Point Pleasant Canal, and the mud dwellers hit on both tides, but the bite slowed when outgoing started running hard, and the water dirtied. A Fluke Till You Puke Marathon, a 10-hour, open-boat trip, reef-fished yesterday in the ocean mostly in 60 to 70 feet around wrecks and structure and loaded up, filling the box with fluke, a couple of dozen sea bass including a 4-pounder and a 5-pounder and three big ling. A few tailor blues were also bucktailed, and the bottom fish grabbed bucktails with strip baits or bottom rigs with bait. The action started slowly but eventually became steady, and maybe 25 keeper fluke came up, including a couple of 5-pounders and some 3-pounders, and most were 18 to 22 inches. Probably the same number of throwbacks were drilled, a decent ratio. The catch was very good, and very few trash fish were a nuisance, and only a few skates and sea robins badgered baits. A few spaces might be available for upcoming open trips, and check Reel Class’s web site for availability. These types of trips should continue until about September 1, and then trips might focus on blues, bonito, false albacore and weakfish until fall jigging for stripers and bluefish begins.

Customers from <b>Alex’s Bait & Tackle</b> kept landing fluke from the wall at Manasquan Inlet near the shop, Kenny Palmer said. He saw small false albacore run through the inlet the other day, and snapper blues schooled the inlet, and no larger blues were heard about. Nothing was also heard about weakfish, though Kenny imagined the trout must’ve been in the bay by now. Not much seemed to be reeled up from the surf. Kenny competed in a fluke tournament Saturday in the ocean at a nearby reef with friends, and they only boated a total of five of the flatties, so local fluking seemed very slow, although that could’ve changed by this time.

<b>Bricktown</b>

Weakfish finally showed up in northern Barnegat Bay, including around the Mantoloking Bridge, and anglers were catching lots, said Ray from <b>Pell’s Fish & Sport</b>. Gulps were a favorite bait, and sandworms will always do the trick, and so will the standard Fin-S Fish and Rat-L-Traps. Crabbing was supposedly going through the roof in the back waters. Snapper blues were starting to gain enough size for kids to have fun landing them in the bay and lagoons, and spearing is the usual bait, but spearing have been scarce. But small lake smelts that the shop carries are a substitute, and those baitfish are actually convenient because they’re individually frozen, so a whole bag doesn’t have to be used like with spearing. Of course, spearing are also a favorite fluke bait, and Peruvian spearing that are stocked are a fine substitute for fluking and are bigger than standard spearing, and some anglers prefer them for fluke regardless. Fluke in the Manasquan River were mostly shorts, but a few were keepers, and sharpies could come close to limiting out. Joe Scotty checked in a 6-1/2-pound fluke that he boated at the Shrewsbury Rocks with a bunch of others. Lots of bunker schooled the ocean, and striped bass chasing them were scarce by this time, but Ray heard a couple of stories about thresher sharks marauding the schools. A friend saw bunker schools 6 or 7 miles offshore but few fish underneath. Ray’s son traveled to Barnegat Ridge two weeks in a row and Mohawked bonito, some king mackerel and a bunch of mahi mahi.

Lots of weakfish were now biting in northern Barnegat Bay, like near the Mantoloking Bridge, on sandworms, pink Fin-S Fish and Berkley Gulps, said Bob from <b>Jersey Coast Bait-N-Tackle</b>. Snapper blues filled the bay, and crabbing was very good. Surf anglers were still picking away at stray striped bass, but no big cows, and one angler actually fought eight to the beach yesterday. Anglers at Manasquan Inlet were landing fluke and blues, and ocean fluking was a source of lots of action, but boaters had to pay their dues for keepers. The fish were hooked at different places to the north and south from day to day, but they were deeper than before or in 50 to 60 feet, and as the summer heat wears on, they hold deeper.   

<b>Toms River</b>

Fluke were getting bailed a half-mile straight off Barnegat Inlet, said Dennis from <b>Murphy’s Hook House</b>. Rich and Keith Sleezer both limited out there on flatties to 5 pounds, and Lou Senatore and Heather Moffitt bagged 10 of the flatfish to 7 pounds in the same area. Sand eels and squid were the best selling baits for the fish. Fluke anglers farther south off the Mantoloking Pipe and Manasquan were grabbing consistent catches in 50 to 60 feet for a week. Any bunker that still schooled the ocean were mostly harassed by brown and thresher sharks. Blues were boated in the ocean at the Mudhole at night, and few were turning on during the day. Not much was beached in the surf, but sometimes fluke, sharks and an occasional striper were dragged in. Frank Giancola was trolling for bonito 20 miles off Barnegat Inlet when he came up with a 43-pound cobia. He hooked no bonito, but Bob who works at the shop trolled bonito and Spanish mackerel at Barnegat Ridge on Clark spoons, and a bluefin tuna chased one of the bonito clear out of the water, so a few bluefins were there. In Barnegat Bay weakfish were nearly nonexistent locally, but a few were picked elsewhere including near the Mantoloking Bridge. One customer caught his first weakfish of the season, a loner that bit in the bay at Pelican Island, and he fishes there a couple of times a week. Snapper blues to 6 inches schooled the bay and the Toms River, hitting spearing or small pieces of sand eel. Crabbing was very good, and the bay around the Rouge 37 Bridge was best, but the river at Island Heights was decent.

<b>Seaside</b>

The report on <b>Betty and Nick’s Bait & Tackle</b>’s web site said on Tuesday that fluke were hitting in the ocean off Barnegat Inlet but a little north in 30 to 40 feet, where a customer said he limited out on the flatties. And then on Wednesday the site said another customer and crew reported boating 10 of the fish right at that spot. Fluking was heating up, but nothing was heard about catches south of Barnegat Inlet toward the Harvey Cedars area. 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>Barnegat Light</b>

The water was warming, and fluke and weakfish were turning on, and it was nice, said Josh from <b>Barnegat Light Bait & Tackle</b>. Ocean fluking was probably best in 30 to 35 feet both north and south but also farther offshore at the wrecks and Barnegat Ridge. Surf fishers also plucked fluke, mostly shorts but some keepers. In Barnegat Bay, Double Creek Channel gave up the flatties, and lots of weakfish were now showing up in the bay at Meyer’s Hole and other spots. Chumming and fishing with grass shrimp or maybe tossing pink Fin-S Fish was the ticket, and the shop is carrying live grass shrimp. A customer caught and released a 33-pound striper that he bunker chunked in the surf last night at Barnegat Light. Eeling for stripers at night at the jetties was still producing, and the fishing was nothing crazy, and lots of the fish were shorts, but it was fun. Barnegat Ridge was really holding bonito now, and Josh heard about a 15-pound king mackerel and a few bluefin tuna sightings from there. But most of the tuna were still farther offshore. No specific canyon tuna reports were heard, but boats including the Pez Machine were fishing the grounds today.

<b>Brighton Beach</b>

The surf produced a run of small bluefish almost every day, and sunup and sundown seemed best, said Christian from <b>Oceanside Bait & Tackle</b>. Surf anglers could sometimes drag fluke from the wash, and kingfishing was spotty from the beach. Christian heard about no big fluke nailed in the bay, but enough could be caught for dinner. Weakfishing was in full force farther north at Meyer’s Hole, and 3- to 5-pounders hit consistently, but they turned off once boat traffic picked up in the morning. Olley’s Lump was home to a full-fledged population of bluefin tuna and mahi mahi, so they should move closer to shore at Barnegat Ridge soon if they hadn’t already. Baits carried at the shop include fresh bunker, live spots, live eels, minnows and al full assortment of frozen baits and artificial baits. Fresh clams sold out but were expected to be re-supplied soon. Oceanside opened Memorial Day weekend and is located at 8201 Long Beach Boulevard on the southern end of Long Beach Island. The store’s owners are the same as from Barnegat Light Bait & Tackle.

<b>Beach Haven</b>

A bruiser, 600-pound blue marlin was battled on the <b>June Bug</b> while the boat competed on charters in the Beach Haven White Marlin Invitational last Thursday and Saturday, Capt. Lindsay said. The boat fished at the canyons both days, because Lindsay was concerned that boat traffic would be too heavy at the inshore lumps, where everybody seemed to be headed for big bluefin tuna that had been biting. The bluefins, large ones to 180 pounds, ended up biting anyway. But the June Bug on Thursday set a course for the Toms Canyon, because Lindsay saw a satellite chart showing warm water moving into the area. The anglers scored a couple of 60-pound tuna, some mahi mahi and pulled the hook on a white marlin at the boat. The warm currents were found, but no bait was there, and that’s unusual in such eddies. Lindsay also saw warm currents moving into the Lindenkohl Canyon, so the boat headed there on Saturday in the tournament, but again bait was absent, except in one area where mahi mahi were boated at the lobster pots. Another white marlin was also fought but threw the hook, and the June Bug began edging toward home. In 40 fathoms the anglers started picking up the rods to run to port, because the tournament only lasted 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., and the finish that day was approaching. One single rod was still out when the line snapped off the outrigger with a loud pop, and the fight was on. A 600-pound blue marlin, a huge one, started battling, jumping into the air more than Lindsay had ever seen. Beautiful, royal-blue and gold colors lit up as the monster put the two novice anglers on the charter to the test on only a 130-pound white marlin leader. At 6 p.m., past the tournament closing time, a hand was placed on the leader, but then the line broke, and the fish was gone. It wouldn’t have been eligible for the tournament anyway because of the time of day. June Bug’s canyon season is in full swing, and inshore charters are also fluking and trolling for fish like bluefish and bonito. Barnegat Ridge was loaded with bonito, and spots between the AC Ridge and 28-Mile Wreck also held areas of plenty of the fish.

<b>Mystic Island</b>

Boaters found Little Egg Reef’s flounder fishing decent but hit or miss, and for example yesterday was tough with no drift in the morning and a drift that was too fast later, said Scotty from <b>Scott’s Bait & Tackle</b>. Over the weekend one group from a boat bagged 11 keepers, and another put nine keepers on ice, and others took none. The season’s first report about a good catch of flatties from Little Egg Inlet, five keepers boxed, rolled in yesterday, and one report doesn’t make a fishery, but maybe it held promise. The bay was loaded with flounder but few keepers. Scotty heard a good report about the bay’s brown shark fishery Monday night, and that action was certainly not finished. Customers take down the sharks to 6 feet at night along the Intracoastal Waterway at Grassy Channel in Great Bay with rigs made up with a 9/0 hook and a 4-foot steel leader. One favorite rig is usually stocked at the shop, but others are also carried. Weakfish were sometimes boated at the mouth of the Mullica River, but the fish seemed 10 inches, and shedder crab was a must. No shedders were being carried at the store, but Cape Horn Marina stocks them. Fishing the bay for a potpourri of kingfish, blowfish, porgies and baby sea bass usually kicks in by the second week of August, and it wasn’t happening yet, but things seemed to be moving in that direction, and a customer reported landing two kingfish yesterday. Crabbing was poor, and there was a ton of the blueclaws, but they were all small. Crabbers had hoped that the shed on the last full moon would’ve produced a substantial number of keepers, but it didn’t, and they were looking forward to the next full moon in several weeks. Still, the number of small ones seemed promising for plentiful keepers in the fall.

<b>Absecon</b>

Bay anglers reeled up flounder, but keepers were becoming scarcer, and the bigger ones now held around Absecon Inlet and in deeper water, said Ray from <b>Absecon Bay Sportsman Center</b>. Weakfish were starting to show up locally in the bay, and previously they were only found farther north around Great Bay. In local waters anglers who found a pod of the weaks could limit out, but some also found none. None was huge, and Ray saw some up to 4 or 4 ½ pounds. Locals usually prefer Gulps for weaks but sometimes use shedder crabs, and Great Bay anglers usually dunk shedders. Bluefish in the bay were biting one day and were gone the next.  Crabbing was pretty good. Some anglers target striped bass all summer long in the back waters at night, such as plugging small ones along the sod banks. One customer said he bailed 30 but no keepers. At the inlet at night stripers sometimes keyed in on eels, and other nights they preferred spots, despite if that can seem unusual. Surf sharpies could also connect with stripers at night, and plugs were probably a good bet. But live spots or live mullets would also score, and castnetting for bait was a good idea for surf fishers, because the water was full of life. Everybody kept saying the beach front was full of life, including threadfin herring and bunker, and also sharks swimming everywhere. Surf anglers drilled the sharks, but so did boaters. Brown sharks and blue sharks attacked bunker schools, and apparently so did spinner sharks, even though spinners are a southern fish. But a number of people reported seeing the blacktips. Small, 1- to 2-pound blues also supposedly hit the surf. Ray heard about no bonito caught in the inshore ocean, but one angler said he trolled false albacore 10 miles from shore. Another said he found bluefin tuna not far from shore. King mackerel were probably around, and Ray was expecting hear about cobia caught any day. The shop carries a large variety of baits, including live spots, some live mullet, eels, shedder crabs, and minnows, and live peanut bunker will probably be on hand by the weekend, because the peanuts have arrived in the back waters.

<b>Margate</b>

Flounder fishing was pushing toward the inlets and ocean beach front, and the fish were on the move from the back bay, said Capt. Jay from the 65-foot, ocean-going <b>Jessie O’</b> and the 45-foot, back-bay pontoon boat the <b>Fish N’ Fun</b>.  The Fish N’ Fun is targeting the flatties on two 4-hour trips daily, and the catch lately included tons of shorts with keepers mixed in. The Jessie O’ had been mostly fishing the ocean reefs but will probably also start chasing the flounder along the ocean beaches. The Jessie O’ also runs open-boat trips every morning when no charter is booked and is now offering Magic Hour evening, open trips from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. on weekdays. Jay heard confirmed reports about a few croakers arriving along the beach front like the hardheads do each year, and he’ll keep an eye out for weakfish that usually show up in those waters each year. Reservations are being accepted for the Thunder Over the Boardwalk Trip from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, August 15, 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. Lots of party cruises are also sailing with a DJ and catering available.

<b>Brigantine</b>

A trip with <b>Fishin’ Fever Sportfishing</b> went 2 for 7 on bluefin tuna to 70 pounds at the inshore grounds south of Cape May on trolled ballyhoos with Islanders last week on Wednesday, Capt. Tom said. Last Thursday the boat trolled the same rigs off AC Ridge and went 1 for 1 on bluefins, including a 60-pounder that was landed, and some blues bit on the 12-hour trip. Canyon fishing for yellowfin tuna was slow, and the boat ran a trip to the canyons Saturday with no bites. The water was the right temp and color, and bait was there, so all the conditions were in place, but no tuna showed up. Tom can’t know why the canyons were slow, but he guessed the fish hadn’t found the bait yet, and he thinks the canyons will give up the fish in a couple of weeks. But inshore tuna fishing was good for some very nice bluefins, such as a 169-pounder and a 165-pounder that a friend caught to place in the Beach Haven White Marlin Invitational. Trolling was producing higher quality ones, and chunking was catching more bluefins but smaller ones. Fishin’ Fever will continue to target bluefins until canyon fishing takes off. Charters are available, and open-boat tuna trips take place every Saturday when no charter is booked. The next open trip is slated for August 11, and space is available. Flounder charters are also available, and flounder can be found. Inshore trolling charters for blues, bonito, Spanish mackerel and such fish are also offered. Lots of blues seemed to swim 20 fathoms, and bonito swarmed the lumps 10 to 20 miles offshore near Brigantine. Spots like the AC Ridge produced.

<b>Atlantic City</b>

Flounder could be hunted and picked around Absecon Inlet and along the jetties and surf, and a few kingfish roamed the surf, but no substantial numbers, said Jack from <b>Offshore Enterprises Bait & Tackle</b>. Weakfish and stripers could sometimes be wrestled up on live spots or live herring along the bridges and rocks on high tides. Offshore fishing was kicking butt. Well, actually he said it was kicking a**! Apparently it was good :). Bluefin tuna swam everywhere like the Cigar, 28-Mile Wreck, the 750 Square and the 19-Fathom Lump, and yellowfin tuna were sometimes whacked. Jack heard about decent-sized mahi mahi bagged 25 miles from shore. The <b>Carly A</b>, the shop’s offshore charter boat, trolled Baltimore Canyon on Monday and caught a bluefin tuna and caught and released a 250-pound blue marlin. In addition to charters, the vessel is running open-boat trips, and call for availability. Offishore baits at the shop include butterfish, sardines, mackerel, ballyhoo, trolling squid, herring, rigged and unrigged flying fish, Spanish mackerel, chum and nearly everything. Inshore baits include live spots, all types of squid, spearing, big, fat minnows, and salted clams. Listen up: The shop is now renting a 17-foot Angler sport-fishing boat for angling on the bay and surrounding area.

<b>Ocean City</b>

Weakfish reportedly bit along Flat Creek behind Strathmere, and try dunking shedder crabs to catch them, said Dan from <b>Fin-Atics</b>. Shedders are in stock, and the back bay served up small flounder, some blues and a few striped bass, but the stripers were nothing to go searching for. Surf casters could reel in kingfish on bloodworms, also stocked, and they could also run into bluefish. Lots of brown sharks were attacking bunker schools tight to the beaches. The owner of the of the store nailed at least 35 brown sharks while boating close enough to the surf to be concerned about keeping safe. He fought the sharks off 34th Street, and squid, mackerel and bunker drew the bites, but squid worked best. At the offshore grounds yellowfin tuna were boated at the Spencer and Wilmington canyons, and white marlin and sometimes blue marlin were fought at the Wilmington and Baltimore. Bigeye tuna were found farther north at the Hudson, Toms and probably the Lindenkohl canyons. But all the big game was deep or in 1,000 to 1,500 fathoms. On the inshore grounds bluefin tuna put up battles at places like 19-Fathom Lump, Massey’s Canyon and the Ham Bone, and some still gathered at the Cigar.

<b>Sea Isle City</b>

There was good news and bad news, said Capt. Joe Hughes from <b>Jersey Cape Guide Service</b> and <b>Gibson’s Tackle</b>. Bad news first: Warm, stale water shut down striped bass fishing in the back bay for the first time this season. For the first time, trips sometimes produced no stripers. Nighttime fishing might give up bites, but Joe only fished during the day, though he’ll surely give night a try. The bay was 80 degrees, the high end of the temp range for striper fishing, but that wasn’t the whole problem. The problem was still, stale water with no turnover, no oxygenation. Joe catches stripers in water as warm as 80 degrees but when the water is clear and pushed around from weather or other conditions. The fishing isn’t finished, and the fish are certainly there, but the water needs to get mixed up to get the stripers to bite again. Previously Joe’s charters had been landing plenty, especially on top-water popper plugs and flies, great action that’s available during the warmer months when the fish will jump on poppers. But the good news was great: Joe drilled a 34-inch, 23-pound bluefin tuna and lost a bigger one yesterday afternoon in the inshore ocean on his flats boat. He declined to name the place he found the fish, because that fishing will end if too many boats show up, but he scored the hits and a half-dozen bonito in only 2 hours 45 minutes of fishing on a trip from 2:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. The bluefin that was landed was reeled in on a spinning rod among a spread of trolled Japanese feathers. The bigger one that was lost was nailed on a fly rod while Joe chummed with peanut bunker. The fly line itself broke, an unusual occurrence, maybe because of a nick. The bonito hit the feathers on the troll, and Joe made the trip to look for tuna, and the results were very cool. He joked that he must’ve set some kind of record for the least amount of fuel burned to catch tuna off Jersey, probably 7 gallons per tuna hooked. It was impossible to know whether the tuna fishing would last, but he hoped it would. The tuna don’t always stick around consistently so close to shore every year, and Joe had a consistent bite a few years ago, and sometimes it happens. Joe might head farther offshore for tuna this weekend, but he’ll definitely compete several days next week in the White Marlin Open from Ocean City, Md., like he does every year. He heard that white marlin were fought along the 1,000-fathom line at Poorman’s Canyon in the past days, and friend Dusty Laricks fished the 19-Fathom Lump this week and caught a 55-pound bluefin tuna, a 38-pound, female mahi mahi, probably the biggest female Joe ever heard about, and a 15-pound mahi. An advantage of the warm, August water was that it was creating lots of good mahi fishing and holding bluefins at the Cigar, 19-Fathom Lump, Hambone and such inshore spots.

<b>Avalon</b>

Gotta give the bad with the good, and fishing stunk Saturday, the report on <b>Over Under Adventures</b>’ web site said. Usually reports roll in more frequently, but it was unknown whether the fishing was still slow or whether nobody simply gave an update for some reason. But Over Under’s boats found poor tuna fishing that day, and generally the fishing on Saturdays, hampered by boat traffic, seemed to be getting worse and worse. The fleet’s four boats, with one fishing from Avalon and three sailing from Ocean City, Md., probably totaled five or six bites and landed maybe three fish. Low Profile, the vessel running from Avalon, nailed a 50-inch bluefin tuna, and one of the boats from Ocean City hooked a yellowfin and a small bluefin. Another had no bites, and the results from the remaining vessel were unknown at the time. Lots of ground was covered, and the boat with the yellowfin and bluefin trolled from 40 fathoms to 300 fathoms at Poorman’s Canyon and all the way back to 20 fathoms, picking up the yellowfin at 40, missing a wahoo at 150 and landing the bluefin at Jacks Spot. 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>Cape May</b>

Flounder fishing in southern Delaware Bay like around the 9 and 10 buoys and the concrete ship seemed to come to a halt, but the fish seemed to move a little north, and lots of anglers were trying to catch them around 14-Foot Light, said Nick from <b>Hands Too Bait & Tackle</b>. Lots of skates and sharks were biting at places like the 9 and 10. Some croakers were around, and a few weaks could be picked up from the beaches including Higbee’s Beach and under the bridges and other areas in the back bay behind Ocean City and Sea Isle on bloodworms. Weakfish that had been hitting near the concrete ship disappeared.  Lots of small flounder were the catch in the back bay and also along the reefs including Wildwood Reef and Cape May Reef. A few decent flounder were starting to be pulled from the reefs, but the fishery wasn’t really happening yet. Stripers can always be found in the back bay in the early mornings on poppers, clams or eels, but anglers have to hunt them. Tuna fishing was good on the troll at 19-Fathom Lump and the Elephant Trunk, and chunking produced the fish at the Tea Cup.

Tuna, mostly bluefins and a few yellowfins, kept biting, and lots of people said flounder fishing was picking up, said Capt. George from the <b>Heavy Hitter</b>. The flounder seemed to be swimming southern Delaware Bay, and some were supposedly holding at the Old Grounds in the ocean off Delaware. A flounder charter is slated for Saturday, and bluefish could be trolled in the inshore ocean, and not many bonito seemed to be mixed in near Cape May, but tons were hooked last year at this time.

Back to Top