<b>Brooklyn</b>

An open-boat fluke and sea bass trip on the <b>Big M Express</b> first fished “down east” yesterday, and a few keeper fluke and some shorts were caught, the report on the boat’s web site said. Then a few other spots were targeted for sea bass and porgies, and most of the fish hooked were shorts, but everyone ended up with a few keepers and a bag of fillets to take home. In the evening a charter sailed for blues at the Mud Buoy and got a good shot of the fish for about an hour before the blues shut right off. A bluefishing charter Tuesday jigged the heck out of blues inshore of the Mud for a few hours, keeping several for the table and releasing the rest. Open-boat trips will fish for fluke and sea bass every day when no charter is booked until New York season’s fluke season ends September 17. Afterward the open trips will sail for sea bass, and trips will also point the bead on weakfish if weakfishing turns on. The boat will also start focusing on blackfish when New York’s blackfish season opens October 1.  The Big M Express leaves the dock from Tamaqua Marina in Gerritsen Beach, Brooklyn.

<b>Staten Island</b>

Sea bassing was super with <b>Outcast Charters</b> on Tuesday, and lumpheads to 3 pounds were taken in depths from 35 to 75 feet, Capt. Joe said. The catch was also good on another charter Wednesday, though more of the fish bit on the first trip. The sea bass Wednesday were caught in the same depths and also weighed up to 3 pounds. Some fluke, but ones smaller than New York’s 19-1/2-size limit, were hooked and released, and some porgies were also landed. Outcast will keep sea bass fishing, and tog charters, one the boat’s specialties, will begin October 1, when New York’s tog season opens.

Fishing for fluke and blues was excellent right outside Great Kills Harbor, said Joe from <b>Michael’s Bait & Tackle</b>. Staten Island surf anglers also drilled those fish, and some anglers were picking up striped bass at the Shrewsbury Rocks. Weakfishing was a little slow, and Hudson Canyon tuna fishing was very good for yellowfins on the chunk.

Anglers with <b>Kayla Rose Charters</b> scored well on fluke on peanut bunker on a couple of charters in the bay this past week, Capt. Darrin said. New York’s fluke season is now closing effective September 17, although previously the season was supposed to stay open all year. Fishing for sea bass and porgies was improving in the ocean, and Kayla Rose will also chase those fish. Blackfishing trips, both charters and open-boat outings, will begin when New York’s blackfishing season opens October 1. The boat’s crew was fishing for tuna at the canyons last night when Darrin gave this report, and open-boat tuna trips are sailing every day when no charter is booked and when the weather allows. To get added to the list of anglers interested in the open trips, give Darrin a shout.

A friend saw false albacore schooling near Coney Island, although he tried to catch none of them, said Capt. Tommy Verderosa from <b>Frenzy Fishing Charters</b>. Frenzy fishes for the albies with both conventional tackle and fly rods. Tommy did no fishing in the past couple of days, but his charters have been fighting plenty of bluefish, a surprising number of large ones for this time of year, in the bay near Ambrose Channel. His clients were also pulling up fluke in the bay, and now’s your last chance to put fluke fillets in the freezer, because New York’s fluke season will close September 17. Charters with Frenzy were also having fun catching and releasing short striped bass in the waters around Staten Island, and they were even landing “slams” of blues, fluke and stripers, three of four of the main fish available in local waters. Weakfish round out a “grand slam,” and Tommy made no serious efforts at weakfishing yet, but friends landed a few. There’s still a good chance to land a slam or a grand slam with Frenzy, if anglers want to score that distinction.

<b>Bayonne</b>

At the Shrewsbury Rocks anglers aboard bagged three keeper fluke, 10 keeper sea bass and a keeper porgy Sunday, until a mechanical issue forced the trip to be cut short and the boat to be sailed back to port, said Capt. Akira from <b>True World Tackle</b> and <b>True World Tackle Charters</b>.  When he came back, he tried looking for weakfish at the Verrazano Bridge but found none, and no other boaters were hooking any. Fluke fishing seemed to be slowing down, and when fluke season ends in a few days, True World will fish for sea bass and porgies until striped bass fishing starts. Here’s some fall-like news: A friend surf fished at Sandy Hook Point on Tuesday and landed lots of blues during the daytime and plugged lots of short stripers at night. Maybe a good sign.

<b>Laurence Harbor</b>

Trips with <b>Evening Tide Charters</b> continued to get into good fluking along the channel at mid bay on live peanut bunker, Capt. Kyle said. Evening Tide started finding the catches there by last weekend after previously scoring a bunch of the flatties in the back of the bay toward Staten Island. Plenty of peanut bunker could still be castnetted for bait, and weakfish still failed to appear in the bay. If weakfishing never turns on this season, Evening Tide will reef fish for sea bass and porgies after fluke season ends in a few days and until fall striped bass fishing turns on. Bluefishing is always also an option, and Kyle was also hearing reports about striped bass beginning to appear off Sandy Hook Point and a mile off the ocean beaches, and that’s a good thing. Anglers were jigging the linesiders.

<b>Keyport</b>

Members of the Sons of Nam, a Vietnam vets’ motorcycle club from Pennsylvania, reeled in a good catch of fluke on the <b>Lucky Carm</b> in the bay Tuesday on strictly peanut bunker, Capt. Carmine said. Hank Sobolac Sr. and Jr., Al Mansfield and Chris Schwartz took the trip, and Chris boated a 4-1/2-pounder that was the biggest, and Hank Jr. was high hook. Fluke season ends in a few days, so it’s time to start getting in on bottom fishing on the boat, and charters are already booking dates. Sea bass, porgies and blackfish will be part of the catch, and bluefishing is also available, and striped bass can even be targeted. If weakfish ever show up, charters will also sail for weaks.  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.

A charter was leaving the dock this afternoon with <b>Papa’s Angels Charters</b>, Capt. Joe said. This weekend will be the last one to bag fluke, because Monday is the last day of fluke season, and the boat is available for fluke fishing this Saturday and Sunday on either open-boat trips or charters. Open trips also sail 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. every day when no charter is booked, and so do open trips 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Wednesday, and call to reserve all trips. After fluke season Papa’s Angels will fish for weakfish if the trout show up, and bluefish are always available, and bottom fishing is an option.

<b>Atlantic Highlands</b>

Fluke trips on the <b>Atlantic Star</b> were all about the same during the past several days, and the flatties were being reeled in, and most were shorts, but some were keepers, and the boat fished Reach Channel in the bay, Capt. Tom said. Catches as always were best when winds and tides created good drifts, but all trips produced fish. Sometimes an angler would bag two, three or four keepers, and other times patrons landed none that reached the minimum size, and one customer limited out Tuesday morning. Sometimes somebody would pull in eight or nine flatfish with no keepers, and other times an angler would come up with five fluke including three keepers. Luck seemed to be the factor much of the time, but sometimes customers worked for the fish and scored better. An angler might toss a Spro and retrieve the jig to create a drift when conditions provided no drift for the boat, connecting with a catch that way. Sometimes patrons provided their own peanut bunker for bait, and that made a difference at times, but not always. Spearing and squid are supplied on the boat for bait. 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 <b>Fishermen</b> started fluke fishing in the bay Tuesday morning, and there was a nice bite on a good drift until winds started pushing against the tide the rest of the day, Capt. Ron said in the report on the boat’s web site. Then he power drifted, and patrons picked away at shorts and keepers until a couple of ships put and end to the action. The trip finished up in the ocean, where Mike Hyde nailed the pool-winning fish, a 9-1/2-pounder. He and his son bagged eight keepers between them. Ron was waiting to decide what to fish for after the last day of fluke season Monday, and he said you’d think someone would’ve caught a few weakfish with all the boats fishing over the Labor Day weekend. If the weaks don’t appear, the boat might switch to bottom fishing. The Fishermen 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.  

Lots of big fluke were around, and charters on the <b>CRT II</b> will fluke fish all weekend before the final day of the season Monday, Capt. Mick said. But an opening is available for a trip Sunday afternoon, if anyone wants to give it a last shot. Mick only heard about one weakfish, a 20-incher that a friend caught, but he hopes they show up so charters can target them after fluke season. Otherwise charters will go after bluefish and probably sea bass, if sea bassing is good, until striper fishing kicks in.

<b>Highlands</b>

<b>Fisher Price Charters</b> was doing lots of fluking while the season was open a few more days, Capt. Derek said. Good days of the fishing sometimes took place at Reach Channel, and flatties to 6 and 7 pounds were landed on live peanut bunker. But the Reach was slow yesterday, so Fisher Price headed to lumps in the ocean for a pick of bigger fluke to 8 pounds with a bunch of sea bass mixed in. Charters on the boat did no weakfishing, but other boaters put together good catches of the trout in the rivers the other day. Derek’s been able to mark weakfish in the bay, but they weren’t biting. The bay’s weakfishing last year started the first week of September but blew wide open September 10 for three or four weeks until a nor’easter, according to Derek’s logs. So weakfishing could still turn on, and with all the bait around, Derek wouldn’t be surprised. A bunch of dates are available for charters, and fall striped bass charters are starting to fill. Fisher Price mostly eels for fall stripers, but Derek also likes to jig for them when possible. 

<b>Sea Bright</b>

A trip with <b>Jersey Shore Fishing Charters</b> had just started fishing off the breakwater at Atlantic Highlands when Capt. Jake gave this report last evening, and a 19-1/2-inch, keeper fluke was already bagged, and three shorts were released, he said. After the final day of fluke season Monday, charters will continue sea bass fishing and will start striper fishing. Sea bassing’s already been good for Jersey Shore. The boat headed to Hudson Canyon from Sunday to Monday and went 7 for 8 on longfin tuna to 60 pounds and 2 for 5 on mahi mahi in very blue, 72- to 76-degree water. Five of the tuna that were landed were trolled, and the other 2 and the one that got off were chunked.

Big fluke had been biting in deep water in the ocean through Saturday for anglers with <b>Two Rivers Charters</b>, but the fish disappeared yesterday, Capt. Fletcher Chayes said. He hoped another school would come in, and Two Rivers was finding striped bass and blues at Flynn’s Knoll under working birds. What’s more, the fish were eating sand eels, a good sign, and Fletcher was surprised to see them so early. The fish were jigged, and one of the stripers was a 32-inch keeper, and the rest were shorts. “Hear anything about weakfish?” Fletcher was asked. “Yeah, they’re not around,” he said. But the Shrewsbury and Navesink rivers held decent numbers of sub-legal weaks. A friend tuna fished between Toms and Lindenkohl canyons Sunday to Monday, landing yellowfin tuna, longfin tuna, mahi mahi and a 100-pound swordfish. Another friend tilefished in 600 feet off Cape May and took a while to find the tiles but finally hooked a bunch at one of the canyon edges.

<b>Long Branch</b>

John from <b>Jim’s Bait & Tackle</b> nabbed two small striped bass in the surf at Sandy Hook on a top-water plug this morning, and those were the first he hooked in a while, he said. He saw another angler land one, and John’s got a feeling the fishing’s going to start soon with the cooler nights and fall approaching. Early mornings and evenings are probably the best bet. He saw no bluefish in the wash, but snapper blues were going crazy in the Shrewsbury River, where crabbing was also good. Quite a few fluke were biting all over, but none was large.

<b>Neptune</b>

A shark charter with <b>Last Lady Fishing Charters</b> on Sunday tackled a 125- to 150-pound mako, Capt. Ralph said. A shark charter a couple of weekends ago also pinned down a 100-class mako. Bluefishing trips over the weekend bailed the speedsters, and a 29-inch, keeper striped bass was also bagged among the mayhem. A fluke trip Saturday put together a pick of the flatties to 7 pounds, and one final, individual-reservation fluke trip of the season will leave the dock this coming Monday, the last day of fluke season, and space is available. Those trips had been sailing every Wednesday, and after the final trip, Last Lady will probably run special bluefish and striped bass trips. Anglers were already booking fall striped bass charters. Friends who targeted sea bass this weekend scored good catches. Canyon tuna fishing was very good on both the chunk and on the troll for boaters who knew what they were doing and were also able to sail between the strong winds. Only a few openings remain on Last Lady’s open-boat canyon trips, and the openings are on overnighters from October 2 to 3 and 16 to 17. Not a lot of dates are left for canyon charters, so book now if you want to go.

<b>Belmar</b>

The <b>Nan Sea J</b>’s first tuna charter of the year boated 14 nice, big yellowfins, all about 80 pounds, at Lindenkohl Canyon from Monday to Tuesday, very good fishing, Capt. Tom said. All were hooked on the chunk and mostly at night, but three bit on the chunk around 8 a.m. Two of the tuna slammed butterfly jigs, and most grabbed butterfish chunks, though maybe one or two inhaled sardines. Eight or nine tuna were also lost, and the anglers fished with 80-pound leaders. The boat trolled an hour when it first arrived in the 73-degree water, but no fish showed interest. A charter Sunday targeted bluefish at the Mud Buoy, and the action was a slow pick. A couple of fluke charters also sailed to the Klondike recently, and one was decent, and the other was so-so. A big, humpbacked, 5-pound 4-ounce sea bass was also landed.

The season’s first open-boat tuna trip on the 77-foot <b>Bandit</b> pointed the bow offshore Sunday for a good catch on the overnighter, Capt. Scotty said. Tuna started slamming baits 15 minutes after the vessel anchored 103 miles from the coast and kept biting all night. The fish, big 80- to 100-pounders, put a strain on tackle, and Scotty stressed that anglers should bring strong, 80-class, high-quality outfits or rent them from the boat, because too many fish were lost from outmatched rods and reels. Three swordfish were also hooked but lost. The next spaces available on the open trips are the week after next, and then openings are available afterward. The trips are limited to 15 passengers, run 28 to 30 hours and leave 10 or 11 a.m. The departure time allows anglers to fish the bite toward the end of daylight as well as through the night and part of the next morning. Bandit will keep hitting the tuna hard, but inshore trips will also target bluefish and sea bass, now that fluke season is nearly closed. The boat will also fish for tog for the winter from Delaware starting Black Friday, especially allowing anglers to tog fish when Jersey’s bag limit is reduced. Bandit also fished for tog from Delaware last winter.

Fishing for fluke was very good Monday on the <b>Big Mohawk</b>, and it dropped off Tuesday because of lack of drift, but the bite was improving yesterday, Capt. Chris said. The fish were being found anyplace from near the beaches to 70 or 80 feet, and they were moving out of the bays fairly heavily, so their location from day to day was difficult to predict. The boat’s 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily trips will keep targeting fluke through the last day of the season Monday, and afterward sea bass and porgies will be the focus.

Shark River’s fluke fishing was still pretty good, and lots of the fish were small, but the flatties were still there, said Mike from <b>Fisherman’s Den</b>. He expected a good end to the fluke season, and it’s a shame it ends so early. The fluke did seem to be moving out, because ocean boaters were finding them in deeper water around 65 or 70 feet. The fishing there wasn’t putting out a ton, but the ones that were biting were large. The river also offered snapper blues and porgies, and a few kingfish were mostly around Shark River Inlet. No news was heard about any croakers biting, and weakfish have been a dead issue in the area for a number of years. Striped bass were starting to move in the surf, and some small ones were beached, and that action should get better as the weather cools. Bluefishing was still good in the ocean, and tuna fishing was off to an excellent start offshore. Mike heard about no tuna trips that landed none of the fish so far. He saw yellowfin tuna from 50 to 100 pounds that were caught, and lots of bigeye tuna were fought, especially on the troll. He heard about bigeyes boated that weighed 250 pounds, and he weighed in one that was 165 pounds. Swordfish were also bagged, and Mike knew about two trips that connected with the billfish.

<b>Brielle</b>

On the <b>Reel-Ality</b> anglers had planned to sail for bluefin tuna around the Mudhole yesterday, but seas were too big, despite a forecast for calm conditions with 5- to 10-knot winds, Capt. Larry said. They even attempted to run to the ocean along the coast for fluke but soon turned back from seas that blasted the boat. So they fished Manasquan River instead and fought a load of 40 or 50 blues from 1 to 2 pounds, probably 40 fluke including three keepers, two throwback stripers to 4 pounds, a bunch of sea herring, some kingfish and  a mess of sea robins. Fish sometimes busted all over the surface, and the anglers cast jigs with Berkley Gulp shrimp. After the last day of fluke season Monday, charters on the Reel-Ality will keep fishing for blues and such in the river and also sea bass in the ocean, and anglers onboard will also target bluefin tuna around the Mudhole at every chance. Larry was hearing nothing specific about bluefins in the past days, except a second-hand report that some were supposedly hooked at the Glory Hole. Reel-Ality will target the fall run of striped bass and blues in the ocean when the migration kicks off.

An overnight tuna trip on the <b>Katie H</b> once again limited out on yellowfins somewhat south of Lindenkohl Canyon, Capt. Mike said. The charter fished Tuesday to Wednesday and returned to the dock by 9 a.m. by the anglers’ choice. A charter Sunday to Monday limited out at the same place and returned early, and the tuna on both trips were around 60 pounds. The tuna on this most recent trip all bit at night in the 74-degree water, and trolling during daytime in the area was slow, though Mike was unsure whether the trip, which his partner ran, did any trolling. Reports sounded like trolling at Hudson Canyon became decent for longfin tuna in the past several days, when good water rolled in. A boater from the dock fished there and trolled 11 or 12 longfins during the day and chunked only three at night. But most of the action lately was at the southern canyons, so the Katie H will probably keep fishing there for now. Inshore charters are also sailing, and after fluke season ends Monday they’ll probably fish for sea bass and bottom fish. Striped bass charters will begin when the fall migration takes off, and tog trips will begin November 15, when the tog bag limit increases to eight from the current limit of one.

<b>Point Pleasant</b>

Fluke fishing around Manasquan Inlet fell apart after the last storm, said Kenny from <b>Alex’s Bait & Tackle</b>. Snapper blues sometimes pushed up the inlet, and anglers just needed to be there when they did. Croakers fishing was going very well in the surf on sandworms and clams, and both are stocked. That was about all that was going on at the moment, and things were kind of slow until fall fishing kicked in soon.

Capt. Fred from <b>Andrea’s Toy Charters</b> was away the past few days, but he said fluke fishing was winding down, and false albacore and bluefish were sometimes running along the beach, and canyon tuna fishing was pretty good. Andrea’s Toy fishes the canyons on both charters and open-boat trips, and after the last day of fluke season Monday, inshore trips will do a lot of bottom fishing until fall fishing for stripers and blues begins.

<b>Bricktown</b>

Ocean fluke anglers had to work for the fish, putting in the time to find them, and open ground didn’t seem to hold the flatties, said Ray from <b>Pell’s Fish & Sport</b>. The right drift as always mattered, and he fluke fished yesterday at the Mantoloking Pipe, and at first the drift was screaming, and forecasts for calm conditions were wrong. At first he picked up a good number of shorts around 15 and 16 inches, but winds started to shift, and the boat began to drift parallel to the pipe, and conditions were calming, and a bunch of better fish started to bite that lay along the pipe. He kept eight that made the legal size, and four weighed well over 4 pounds apiece. Bill Bonham and son Jim limited out on fluke to 8 pounds in 70 feet off South Mantoloking, and Bob Casale caught fluke to a 5-pounder and kept the location to himself. Manasquan River was loaded with short fluke, and 10- to 12-pound blues stormed the surf Saturday, but the suds seemed quiet since then. Two customers said they were only landing small dogfish and some sea robins in the suds since then. Ray heard nothing about weakfish biting in the waters near the shop around northern Barnegat Bay. He fished yesterday and Friday and saw only one boater trying for weaks at the mouth of the Metedeconk River, and normally that area would be full of boaters when weakfish are there.

Anglers were starting to show interest in surf fishing, and a few striped bass were pulled from the wash, said Bob from <b>Jersey Coast Bait-N-Tackle</b>. The shop resumed carrying fresh clams on a 24-hour honor system, and it’s that time of year. Fluke were boated in the ocean, and plenty of snapper blues filled the back waters, and weakfish bit in Barnegat Bay and the lagoons.

<b>Toms River</b>

Snapper blues jammed the Toms River at Island Heights and were eating spearing, said Dennis from <b>Murphy’s Hook House</b>. Some weakfish were hooked there on Rat-L-Traps, pink Fin-S Fish or sandworms drifted under a bobber, but participation was slim. A few weaks were also boated at the 40 buoy, the BB and off Berkeley Island Park in Barnegat Bay on sandworms drifted along the bottom or Fin-S Fish. Several boaters were hooking weakfish on the northeast side of the Route 37 Bridge in the bay, mostly on Fin-S Fish in the evenings. A bit of blowfish activity seemed to start in the bay, and one angler landed eight, his first of the season, at the channel a little east of the BI marker while anchored and chumming with clams. Anglers fishing the bay with worms also picked up a variety of kingfish, small black drum and such fish. A handful of croakers but not many were reported taken in the bay. Barnegat Inlet produced 1- to 3-pound blues, and a couple of fluke and stripers could also be found in the area, but fishing for none was really good. A couple of guys boated stripers in 30 feet of water in the ocean, and that’s a good sign, and usually stripers show up in deeper water first and then move in. Crabbing continued to go very well.

<b>Seaside</b>

Not much was going on around Seaside Park, and the staff at <b>Betty and Nick’s Bait & Tackle</b> was taking a breather after the busiest-ever Labor Day Weekend at the shop, but some blues supposedly bit to the north, the fishing report on the store’s web site said. Anglers also seemed to take a break after the weekend. But earlier in the week big bluefish crashed the local suds. The surf was 1 to 2 feet, 72 degrees and clean. <a href=" http://www.bettyandnicks.com/fish.shtml" target="_blank"> Click here</a> for the latest.

<b>Barnegat Light</b>

Fluke, blues, stripers and weakfish came from the surf, and the action was okay, said Josh from <b>Barnegat Light Bait & Tackle</b>. One angler pinned down five or six keeper fluke from the beach yesterday, and striper anglers in the suds were tossing bunker or clams, both in stock. Customers were occasionally talking about big run-offs in the wash, so maybe false albacore were around. Fluke in the ocean bit in 65 feet, and Barnegat Bay mostly gave up good weakfishing, and live grass shrimp are available for bait. A few snapper blues also schooled the bay. Barnegat Ridge put out lots of blues, and Josh assumed bonito were still there. Nobody reported offshore fishing. Fishing was pretty steady, and fall action will start to pick up soon.

<b>Waretown</b>

Barnegat Bay’s weakfishing was still very good on grass shrimp, shedder crabs, sandworms and pink Fin-S Fish, said Dale from <b>L&H Woods & Water</b>. The shop carries fresh grass shrimp and the rest of those baits. Croakers, blowfish and kingfish also swam the bay, and some anglers caught decent catches of good-sized croakers, and it was difficult to say how many blowfish and kingfish were around. Some anglers targeted them and caught none, and other people found them in their crab traps. “So go figure,” Dale said. Fluke fishing was pretty much dead in the bay, and fluke were already being landed in the ocean in 60 or 70 feet, but even those catches weren’t so hot lately. A bunch of schoolie stripers were now hitting along the sod banks of the bay, and lots of finger mullet, peanut bunker and spearing were schooling the area. Nothing was really heard about surf fishing, and customers who surf fishing in the mornings weren’t really starting to fish yet. Customers were doing well on tuna at the Toms and Lindenkohl canyons, though sometimes the grounds were crammed with boats. Not a lot was heard about Hudson Canyon, but customers usually fish those other canyons. One angler last week reported fishing around the Cigar and drilling three wahoos and a bunch of small bluefin tuna. The only word heard about Barnegat Ridge was that a bunch of skipjacks were caught. Crabbing was very good, and crabbers bought 300 pounds of bunker bait in 1 ½ days last weekend.

<b>Brighton Beach</b>

Fluke fishing was kind of spotty, and a few keepers, but not many, were reported caught in the bay, but most of the action came from 55 to 65 feet in the ocean, said Christian at <b>Oceanside Bait & Tackle</b>. But kingfishing was good in the surf both north and south on Long Beach Island. A few striped bass were plugged around the island, and lots of weakfish bit in Barnegat Bay along the north end on grass shrimp or shad darts tipped with sand eels early in the mornings or in the evenings. A bunch of cocktail blues and sea herring ran Barnegat Inlet. Bonito could apparently still be trolled at Barnegat Ridge, and big blues could supposedly be fought there, though news about the ridge was scarce. Offshore fishing was phenomenal for yellowfin tuna, sometimes bigeye tuna and longfin tuna as well. A couple of reports were heard about wahoo battled at the Cigar. Baits stocked include fresh bunker, fresh spearing, live clams, sandworms and bloodworms, and fresh mullet should be stocked by tomorrow. Full selections of frozen and artificial baits are also on hand. Oceanside opened this spring and is located at 8201 Long Beach Boulevard on the southern end of Long Beach Island. The store’s owners are the same ones from Barnegat Light Bait & Tackle.

<b>Tuckerton</b>

<b>Legal Limit Charters</b> tried targeting flounder and sea bass, but fishing for both was slow, Capt. T.J. said. Flounder were now farther offshore than before, holding in 70 to 80 feet, and small ones bit. Lots of the sea bass were also small, and the water will need to cool to attract larger ones. But tuna fishing was supposedly red hot, and Legal Limit will tuna fish this weekend if the weather allows. Yellowfin tuna were being taken from the Toms Canyon to the Spencer. Tuna charters will continue to sail this fall, and after the last day of flounder season Monday, the boat’s inshore trips will drop down lines for sea bass, blues and croakers. Croakers were appearing near the ocean beaches, though the fishing was very spotty so far.

<b>Mystic</b>

Flounder pushed far off the coast to 75- to 90-foot depths, and that’s several miles offshore of Little Egg Reef, said Rusty from <b>Scott’s Bait & Tackle</b>. No news was heard in the past days about fishing along the beach front, but mostly croakers should be there, though the croaker population was falling short of the numbers expected at this time of year. Weakfish were unlikely to be there. Small fish—kingfish, blowfish, porgies, small sea bass and such—that normally fill the bay by now were yet to appear. Chum sales were almost nonexistent, and if any of those fish were biting, that wouldn’t be the case. A few kingfish grabbed baits, and one customer landed seven or eight, but he fished four hours and used three quarts of chum, not good fishing. Spike weakfish were still hooked at the mouth of the Mullica River in the early mornings or in the evenings, when no boat traffic spooked them. Crabbing might be something to brag about in a week or two, after the summer crabbers take their pots from the water and leave the blueclaws for the remaining crabbers.

<b>Absecon</b>

Weakfish could be picked up in the back bay by anglers who worked for them, and weekenders could typically have a hard time finding them, but the fish were there, said Ray from <b>Absecon Bay Sportsman Center</b>. He and a friend landed some to 2 ½ pounds in a couple of hours, and Gulps were the ticket, but Ray likes to jig ½- to 1-ounce metal for the trout when he knows they’re there, and the metal will often grab the bigger ones. They also fought 1- to 3-pound blues. Keeper flounder could still be found in the bay, even if more were now in the ocean, and a couple of customers reported bagging a few apiece in the back. Joe Fetchitola hooked a dozen nice flounder at Great Egg Reef on Sunday despite winds, and the flatties in the ocean were in about 50 to 70 feet.  Marty Canon nailed a 23-pound striper Saturday night at the bridge on a 7-inch Gulp jerk shad, and he took an 18-pounder another night off Venice Park behind Atlantic City. The bigger bass were around the bridges, but small ones could be plugged along the sod banks. Perch fishing was turning on in the Mullica River the past couple of weeks, and most anglers were dunking shedder crabs for them. Croakers with weakfish, but few keeper weaks, schooled 50-foot depths in the ocean. Surf fishers said they got into pretty good kingfishing at Brigantine the past couple of days. Ray heard little about sharks beached in the wash lately, but surf casters were picking small stripers, and exotic species like pompano always come up this time of year. The Atlantic City Surf Fishing Derby takes place soon, and entrants get a courtesy pass to drive on the Atlantic City beaches, the only time that’s allowed, and Ray believed they might also be allowed to drive the sand at Ventnor and Margate. Crabbing was starting to turn back on after a late shed, and catches were hit or miss and a matter of the right place at the right time, like 90 percent of fishing. The guy from Sea Tow said he saw 25- to 30 pound tuna at the lobster pots, and he didn’t know what kind they were, but acres and acres schooled. The shop carries a large variety of baits, including live mullet, peanut bunker, spots, mullets, eels and shedder crabs. Shedders will probably be available another week, and fresh clams will probably arrive tomorrow, and anglers are starting to want to fish with clams.

<b>Atlantic City</b>

Kingfish, kingfish, kingfish, said Jack from <b>Offshore Enterprises Bait & Tackle</b>. Kingfish were in, hitting bloodworms in the surf, and the shop sold out of the bloodworms and kingfish rigs today, but more were arriving tonight. Spike weakfish sometimes chewed baits in the suds in the mornings, and the weaks were even beginning to move to the back bay. Stripers also sometimes got hooked in the surf. Bluefish were everywhere, and bait including mullet, peanut bunker and herring was abundant. Offshore fishing was a little slow during the first part of the week but was picking up. Trolling for tuna offshore was mostly unproductive, and chunking was the way to go. Offshore fishing was probably best at Lindenkohl Canyon, Carteret Canyon and Toms Canyon. Boaters caught yellowfin tuna, longfin tuna, some wahoo, mahi mahi, white marlin, a few bigeye tuna, and a few 400-pound blue marlin. The <b>Carly A</b>, the shop’s offshore charter boat, was fishing today, and no fishing trips on the vessel took place the previous few days. Its last trip picked up six yellowfin tuna and two mahi, and a small swordfish was released. A full selection of offshore baits is stocked, including butterfish, sardines, medium and large ballyhoos, rigged ballyhoos in different sizes, Spanish mackerel, squid for marlin trolling and “you name it,” Jack said. Inshore baits include minnows, squid, spearing, mullet, bunker, mackerel, bloodworms and salted clams.

<b>Ocean City</b>

The boss from <b>Fin-Atics</b> reeled in a striped bass from the surf Thursday, and a customer landed one from the beach this morning, and the fish were shorts probably 25 or 26 inches, Dan said. Reports came in today about kingfish that bit in the suds from 77th Street to Atlantic City. Tons and tons of brown sharks swam around the beach from 31st Street to 38th Street, and one angler landed a brown at Corson’s Inlet. Croakers and spike weakfish held in 20 to 25 feet in the ocean, and GE Reef and OC Reef were the spots to boat sea bass and flounder. Nothing was heard about false albacore and such fish, but if they were anywhere, they were speeding around from the AC Ridge to the AC Reef. Tons of small blues swarmed the back bay and around the bridges at night.  Perch were pulled near the Beesley’s Point Bridge, and maybe an occasional weakfish showed up there, but weaks were mostly in the ocean. Crabbing was good at the Beesley’s Point Bridge, and some were taken at 12th Street, and it’s best to avoid the current.

<b>Sea Isle City</b>

Plenty of striped bass bit in the back bay, and the fishing will only pick up as high tides start to coincide closer with sunset this week, said Capt. Joe Hughes from <b>Jersey Cape Guide Service</b> and <b>Gibson’s Tackle</b>. His charters are throwing popper lures and flies to the stripers, and the fish will bang the top-waters for a while yet while water temps are warm enough. Lots of bait including mullet and peanut bunker filled the bay, and bluefish also hit in those waters, sometimes in mini blitzes. Many of the blues were small, but some were bigger and 2 pounds, and they swam throughout the bay and not just at inlets like they sometimes do, because of all the bait in the bay. Flounder covered Reef Site 11, and Townsend’s Inlet Reef and Wildwood Reef also held the flatties. Mostly croakers and a few small weakfish could be hooked in 30 to 50 feet off the ocean beaches, and croakers will start to be the “thing” after the last day of flounder season Monday. On the offshore grounds tuna fishing was good at Lindenkohl Canyon on the chunk at first light, and when anglers scored, they fought the fish all at once. A lot fewer tuna bit on the troll at the Lindy, and a batch of good water moved into the 40-Fathom Fingers and produced white marlin and mahi mahi. 

<b>Cape May</b>

Cape May Reef’s flounder fishing started picking up again, and Reef Site 11 and the Old Grounds also gave up good catches at times, and sea bass were sometimes reeled in at these spots, said Nick from <b>Hands Too Bait & Tackle</b>. Croakers could be found off Cape May Point and the concrete ship, and not much was heard about weakfish, except a few shorts taken once in a while. Mullet were running, so bluefish and sometimes stripers were chasing them up and down the beaches, but anglers had to work for them. Baitfish in general were abundant, and a customer reported seeing lots of peanut bunker in Delaware Bay while he was crossing on the ferry to Delaware. News about Delaware Bay’s fishing was scarce, though. Tuna fishing sounded good at the canyons including Baltimore Canyon.

The season’s first overnight tuna trip on the <b>Heavy Hitter</b> returned to the dock Monday with six good-sized yellowfin tuna and a bunch of mahi mahi that came from Wilmington Canyon, Capt. George said. Four other tuna pulled the hook, and all the fish were boated at night, but a tuna got off on the troll during daytime. Plenty of squid swarmed past during the night, but no bait was really seen during the day. The water was 75 to 76 degrees and held clumps of weeds here and there. Many boaters in the area seemed to find slow fishing, and some did so-so, and others didn’t even find a bite.  A friend was catching nothing when George called him in, and then the friend ended up boating 11 tuna. Closer to shore, a heavy weed line was at the Elephant Trunk, but some boaters trolled there and picked up no fish.  George heard that tuna fishing was good at the northern canyons like the Toms and the Spencer. In other news, plenty of flounder, and lots of small ones, were biting at the reefs, and Monday is the final day of flounder season. After flounder season closes, the Heavy Hitter’s inshore charters will chase sea bass, blues and croakers. The Cape May Rips held lots of blues, and a bunch of croakers swam mostly along the beach front but were also found at the rips and the reefs. The boat’s striped bass charters usually begin the third or fourth week of October, and the fish are sometimes caught earlier in October, but the end of the month is most reliable.

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