<b>Sandy Hook</b>

<b>Jersey Shore Fishing Charters</b> from Sea Bright fought a 130-pound mako shark to the boat at the Monster Ledge Sunday morning, Capt. Jake said. Two bluefish were landed, and the water was 70.7-degrees and somewhat green. Jersey Shore will keep sharking, and a tuna trip will probably sail tomorrow.

On a shark trip Monday on the <b>Kayla Rose</b> from Staten Island two mako sharks and two hammerheads came into the slick, and a runoff from one of the makos was missed, and baits were pitched at the hammerheads, but they refused to bite, Capt. Darrin said. The boat fished at the Mudhole in 68-degree, kind of green water, and Darrin found blue water at the Chicken Canyon on a shark trip last week. Darrin declined to say exactly where the trip fished this week, because the Staten Island Tuna Club Shark Tournament takes place this weekend. He’s actually running the event and said that if anglers want to compete, the captain’s meeting is this evening at Michael’s Bait and Tackle on Staten Island. The event features a minimum $10,000 pay-out for first place. Darrin hopes to start tuna fishing after the tournament.

Tuna fishing was producing scattered reports and nothing consistent, but customers battled plenty of sharks at the Mudhole area and at the Three Sisters, Yankee and Lillian wrecks, said Sal from <b>Michael’s Bait & Tackle</b> on Staten Island. Makos, blue sharks and a few threshers tore up the baits.

<b>Shark River Inlet</b>

The weekly, open-boat shark trip left the dock Wednesday on the <b>Nan Sea J</b> from Belmar, bagging a mako just under 100 pounds and 5 feet long, wrestling two duskies 100 pounds and 150 pounds and boating four mahi  mahi from 5 to 15 pounds that swam into the slick, Capt. Tom said. Tom himself hooked a small bluefin tuna that was landed. One of the rods had been rigged with a jig that he tossed into the water to attempt to catch a shark that was spotted, but the tuna grabbed the jig and took off. So it was a good trip, and there was lots of life in the water, including whales and porpoises, and the water was fairly clear and not green and was 70 degrees. A few openings are left for the Wednesday trips that only sail through July, so two more trips are left. But if the sharks are still biting, and if there’s demand, more might be added. Still, Tom thinks sharking might be winding down, so July might be it. Shark charters are also sailing, and one is slated for the weekend.

On <b>Last Lady Fishing Charters</b>’ shark trips, sailing from Neptune, at least one mako was caught every outing except one, and on a recent overnighter more than 20 sharks were fought, and sharking should hold through the month, Capt. Ralph said. A shot of 50-pound bluefin tuna showed up two or three weeks ago, but not many were seen or heard about since, and Ralph sailed many miles while shark fishing and saw no concentration of bluefins. Canyon tuna fishing up north was yet to start, and a few friends sailed 130 miles one-way and did excellent on the fish, and one hooked 28 yellowfins and a blue marlin. The warm water had been pushing south, but Ralph expected the northern canyons to hold good water by the end of the month.

<b>Manasquan Inlet</b>

Tuna fishing was slow at Hudson Canyon last week, although sometimes bluefin tuna were picked up, said Dave from <b>The Reel Seat</b> in Brielle. After some of the boaters were finding tuna trolling to be slow, they were switching to tilefishing for alright catches. The Intrepid with owner Dr. Andrew Fanelli, sons Andy and Matt and Capt. John Krohn headed to Wilmington Canyon on Saturday and landed two white marlin and a mahi mahi. Anglers were still shark fishing, but not much was heard about sharking. Dave had been slated to sail for tilefish and wreckfish on the party boat Voyager Sunday night, but the trip was cancelled because of forecasts for winds. But he took one of the trips a couple of weeks ago and had a great catch.

A couple of boaters from the dock sailed to Wilmington Canyon over the weekend and only landed a couple of tuna, and tuna fishing wasn’t really happening yet for local boaters, said Capt. Mike from the <b>Katie H</b> from Brielle.

Charters and open trips will eventually run to Hudson Canyon for mixed bags of tuna, mahi mahi, sharks, swordfish and tilefish, but the canyon fishing is definitely slow so far, said Capt. Fred from <b>Andrea’s Toy Charters</b> from Point Pleasant. Mid-shore charters and open-boat trips are sailing for a mixed bag of sharks and bluefin tuna, though none left port this past week. A couple sailed during previous weeks, and sharks including makos were boated, and bluefin tuna were jigged 60 miles from shore on one outing. Andrea’s Toy specializes in mixed-bag trips for fun and greater chances of hooking up.

<b>Barnegat Inlet</b>

Bluefin tuna were appearing at the Fingers, said Christian from <b>Oceanside Bait & Tackle</b> in Brighton Beach. Reports were being heard about lots of makos and threshers caught.

Nothing was heard about offshore fishing in the past days, and previously sharking was good at places like the Fingers and the Glory Hole, but some anglers also shark fished and caught none, said Dale from <b>L&H Woods & Water</b> in Waretown. One customer shark fished four times with no success. Water at the canyon was cold, offering no tuna potential. Usually bluefin tuna are at least biting by now, and scattered reports rolled in about bluefins landed, and shark fishers sometimes reported seeing them, but no reliable concentration of the fish was around.

<b>Absecon Inlet</b>

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

The <b>Carly A</b> from Atlantic City s was running an open-boat tuna trip today, and a number of open tuna trips are slated, said Jack from Offshore Enterprises Bait and Tackle in AC. The owner of the store also owns the boat. Call the boat if interested in the trips.

<b>Great Egg Harbor Inlet</b>

Open-boat tuna trips with <b>Stray Cat Charters</b> from Longport will leave the dock July 20 and 22 and August 12 and will also sail every Sunday, running 4 a.m. to 4 p.m., limited to six passengers, Capt. Mike said. A 24-hour, open tuna trip will take place September 2 and will also be limited to six.

Tuna swam the deep of the Spencer and Wilmington canyons, and bluefins were drilled at the Hambone and 28-Mile Wreck, said Dan from <b>Fin-Atics</b> in Ocean City. Some of the bluefins hit Shimano Butterfly Jigs, and the jigs, rods and reels are carried. Offshore baits in stock include butterfish, ballyhoos, mackerel and chum.

<b>Townsend’s Inlet</b>

Fishing was slow on a trip to Baltimore Canyon Sunday, and small, 30-pound yellowfin tuna were boated, but the bite wasn’t like previous trips, said Capt. Joe Hughes from <b>Jersey Cape Guide Service</b> and <b>Gibson’s Tackle</b> in Sea Isle City. The fish were found in the deep at the Alligator Bight, and the water was a fairly uniform temp from 71.9 degrees to 74.3 degrees, offering no abrupt breaks where fish would concentrate, and no breaks were seen on a satellite shot. A few boaters seemed to run across some groups of fish, but it was nothing solid. Fishing sounded better between the Baltimore and Poorman’s Canyon. Joe’s fish hit spreader bars, and he also trolled ballyhoos but with no bites. He planned to run offshore again this weekend.

The Low Profile, a boat from <b>Over Under Adventures</b>, is making its way to Avalon to fish for big game for the rest of the summer and fall after fishing in the Bahamas since winter. The vessel arrived in Ocean City, Md., and is fishing there for a moment before reaching Avalon next week. Several of Over Under’s boats are fishing from OC for the entire season, and a charter on one of them, the Justified, nailed 12 bluefin tuna from 44 to 46 ½ inches, keeping a limit of one, on Tuesday, a report on Over Under’s web site said. The fish bit trolled ballyhoos, mostly on way-backs and planers. Over Under’s boat Pretty Work was also fishing that day from OC and got into a dozen bluefins, and two were over 47 inches, so a full limit of one bluefin under and two over 47 was bagged. On Monday on the Pretty Work a charter bailed a mixed catch of six yellowfin tuna from 30 to 50 pounds and eight mahi mahi in 30 fathoms. The best concentration of yellowfins seemed 20 miles from the best concentration of bluefins, making it difficult to target both in the same day. Still, both species were a short ride from port from Maryland.  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>Hereford Inlet</b>

Bluefin tuna fishing was good at Massey’s Canyon, the Hambone and the Cigar, and the best reports came from those who jigged Shimano Butterfly Jigs or diamond jigs, said Cathy from <b>Sterling Harbor Bait & Tackle</b> in Wildwood in an e-mail. But chunking with butterfish also worked. Sharking was still productive, mostly for makos and dusky sharks. Bill Stull on the Nauti Buoy tangled with a 6-foot hammerhead near the Misty Blue wreck, and Pete Sokolowshi weighed in a nice-sized mako he boated on Capt. Bill Atahs’ My Little Buddy.

<b>Cape May</b>

Capt. Gary from the <b>Sea Fox</b> from Cape May competed in the Ocean/Viking Showdown yesterday with friends, he said. They went 4 for 7 on bluefin tuna at the inshore lumps, and Gary believed a 57-1/2-pounder was the biggest his crew weighed in, and they released a larger one. A considerably larger one pulled the hook and was lost. The bluefins hit horse ballyhoo both skirted and non-skirted in the trolling-only event, and a couple of fish hit in the morning, but the real bite took place mid day. The water was 73 degrees, and seas were rough and 3 to 5 feet or maybe 4 to 6 in northeast winds at first, but winds switched to westerly later, and seas calmed down.  On Saturday Gary joined his boat’s mate on the mate’s vessel, and the two fished Massey’s Canyon, going 2 for 3 on bluefin tuna to 30 pounds early in the morning. Feathers, jets, and ballyhoos were trolled, and the water was 72 degrees and a little dirty. Big bluefish were also hooked, and lots of turtles and porpoises but no whales swam around. A bunch of boaters were hooked up with tuna.

The tuna trip headed out Saturday with <b>Copacetic Sportfishing</b> from Cape May and trolled bluefins to 50 pounds only 30 miles from shore, Capt. Mike said. The tuna bite dropped off by late morning, and then the boat ran to the inshore lumps for bluefishing. Most of the blues were smaller or 4 pounds, and no fish like bonito or Spanish mackerel were among them. Friends landed a few such fish, but those types of species seemed scarcer than usual so far this season.

A friend trolled Massey’s Canyon on Monday and nailed five bluefin tuna, keeping one, said Capt. George from the <b>Heavy Hitter</b> from Cape May. The friend said clouds of bait filled the fish-finder screen, so sand eels were thick. George heard about a few bluefins hooked on the chunk, so chunking was starting. George was competing in the Ocean/Viking Showdown yesterday on a friend’s boat, but he gave no report about that trip yet. On Saturday Al Munger and Sean Trout shark fished on the Heavy Hitter at the Cigar and wrestled to the boat a 150-pound dusky shark and a 70-pound dusky, and a brown shark got off, and another brown came into the slick but attacked no baits.

Offshore fishing was decent Saturday, and Robert Ford, 15, on the Reel Optimistic fought his first yellowfin tuna at Wilmington Canyon, and the crew got into the fish pretty much all day long, and nice dolphin were also landed, said Matt from <b>Jim’s Bait & Tackle</b> in Cape May in a fax. Tuna also came from Baltimore Canyon last week, but the bite was spottier there, and most of the tuna were hooked under schools of porpoises. Small squid bars and splash bars worked best at the canyons then, and the fish were short-biting ballyhoos. Also that week, waters around the Arlene Wreck produced yellowfins on the troll, and bluefin tuna started to be caught at Massey’s Canyon, the Hambone and the Hot Dog, mostly on the troll, but boaters also dropped down baits to hook up when tuna were marked deep.

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