<b>Sandy Hook</b>

Sometimes everything comes together, and trips catch all species targeted, and it’s part luck, but it’s also preparation, said Capt. Freddie Gamboa from <b>Andrea’s Toy Charters</b>. A mixed-bag, open-boat, offshore trip Sunday to Monday scored all the fish that are targeted on the trips—tuna, mahi mahi, shark and tilefish—and it was great, he said. The crew as always rigged up and prepared for each species beforehand, and everything fell in place. The trip arrived at the east wall of Hudson Canyon after a 2-1/2-hour ride from Sandy Hook Point, went on the troll, and began picking at fish right away. Trolling that day scored 2 for 3 on tuna from the east wall to the 100 Square, and then a drift was set up at the 100 Square for the night. The anglers went 2 for 5 on tuna on the nighttime chunk, caught some mahi mahi and battled an 8-foot blue shark that bit a mahi head. On the troll the next morning the anglers went 2 for 2 on tuna and also trolled more mahi. Those mahi were caught by tossing chunks at lobster pots as the boat passed, and then the dolphin were hooked when the trolling spread passed. The trip finished up with a catch of tilefish on baits dropped to the bottom on 30-ounce weights. Seas were becoming stiff by then, so the boat headed home. Fish were hooked the whole trip, and the catch was made up by three yellowfin tuna to 65 pounds, three longfin tuna to 55 pounds, mahi mahi to 8 pounds, tilefish to 10 pounds and an 8-foot blue shark that was released. It was a well-rounded catch, and everybody went home with a mixture of tuna, mahi and tilefish for the dinner table. Other boaters were heard on the radio who seemed to be having a tough time fishing the canyon that day. Andrea’s Toys’ open-boat canyon trips sail once a week, and the next one takes place Saturday. Andrea’s Toys also offers mid-shore, mixed-bag, open-boat trips out to 30 fathoms, but the mid-shore bite is slow now, so those trips won’t be available yet. No bluefin tuna are mid-shore, and mahi fishing is sporadic there.

Capt. Akira from <b>True World Tackle</b> and <b>True World Tackle Charters</b> in Bayonne fished in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, for three days at the beginning of this week at the invitation of Mr. Kojika, he said. On the first day Mr. Kojika landed a 920-pound blue marlin, and on the second day he battled a 240-pound yellowfin tuna to the boat. On the third day he invited Akira to fish, and Akira nailed a 230-pound yellowfin. They also fished inshore and caught two roosterfish.

<b>Jersey Devil Charters</b> headed to the canyons last week on Thursday for the first trip on its new boat, a 31-foot Contender, and the vessel ran great, and everything went perfectly, Capt. Brian said. Four yellowfin tuna from 30 to 50 pounds were trolled at Hudson Canyon on spreader bars and ballyhoos. The trip left the dock at 2:30 a.m. and started fishing at 6:30 a.m. at the tip and then trolled toward the Bombs and then to the 500-fathom line. The water was 78 degrees, not a good color and held lots of bait plus porpoises and whales. Jersey Devil is now chartering offshore for tuna, and charters will fish for inshore tuna when that bite starts up, and inshore tuna fishing is slow so far.

Tuna fishing was good at Hudson Canyon last week but then slowed, said Joe from <b>Michael’s Bait & Tackle</b> on Staten Island.

<b>Manasquan Inlet</b>

Dave from <b>The Reel Seat</b> in Brielle heard reports of both good and bad offshore fishing last week, he said. A number of the good reports said yellowfin tuna, some longfin tuna and some marlin were hooked from Hudson Canyon to Carteret Canyon. One boater did well on tuna at night on Shimano butterfly jigs, and the night chunking bite was starting. No reports came in about tuna caught inshore yet, and that fishing’s been disappointing so far.

A father and son charter fished on the <b>Canyon Runner</b> last week from Wednesday to Thursday, the report on the boat’s web site said. They headed to Carteret Canyon, because good water that had been at the Toms Canyon appeared to slide south. Yellowfin tuna busted the surface on the afternoon troll into dark, but just one longfin tuna was boated at 9:30 p.m. They set up on the chunk, and a yellowfin was quickly caught. Then nothing bit, and the boat was about to move to where Capt. Mark DeBlasio from the Canyon Runner was fishing on his boat and nailing yellowfin tuna. But then a ton of mahi mahi came around the boat, and the father and son decided to stay and play with the mahi for the next three hours, catching all they wanted, while the crew was chomping at the bit listening to DeBlasio’s reports about loading up on yellowfins. In the morning the charter got on the troll and into a very nice pick of 40- to 80-pound yellowfins, putting nine on the deck on Canyon Runner Mini-Mamba spreader bars, ballyhoos and Melton jets. DeBlasio, who runs his boat, the Hooked Up II, with the Canyon Runner’s overflow charters, had non-stop action on the night chunk at the Carteret starting at 10 p.m., ending up with 16 yellowfins. Nothing was caught on the troll on the Hooked Up the previous afternoon, but four yellowfins were picked on the troll on the boat the next morning.

On the <b>Benchmark</b> Andy VanOrden’s charter headed offshore and limited out on yellowfin tuna from 45 pounds to 75 pounds while chunking at the east wall of Hudson Canyon early last week, Capt. Nick said. Scott Hutchinson’s group headed right back to the same spot the next day, but the fishing was slow, although tons of bait and life filled the water, including porpoises and whales. One yellowfin tuna was caught at night, and so were sharks. Trolling in the morning produced no luck, and then the anglers tile fished and caught four or five tiles.

<b>Barnegat Inlet</b>

Fishing at the canyons has been hit or miss, with some boats doing well, and some not, said Brian from <b>L&H Woods & Water</b> in Waretown. John Meyer, the owner of the store, trolled a couple of yellowfin tuna offshore Wednesday, and Brian thought he was at Toms Canyon. Brian himself fished Hudson Canyon last week from Wednesday to Thursday and did very well on yellowfin tuna. He and the crew were at a spot all by themselves, and tuna were busting the water surface. The yellowfins hit both on the troll and on the chunk, and chunking was good until blue sharks showed up. Tuna fishing was best in the morning on the troll. The water on the trip was ugly and very green, a color that John would’ve thought would hold no fish, and the water temp was 74 degrees where the fish were, and John saw temps as low as 73 and as high as 78. The farthest areas north at Barnegat Ridge North gave up bluefin tuna Wednesday, and lots of bonito were still at the ridge.

<b>Beach Haven Inlet</b>

Open-boat offshore trips will take place the next two Saturdays on the <b>June Bug</b>, and spots are available, Capt. Lindsay said in an e-mail. Nobody fished offshore earlier in the week because of strong winds, but the weather was expected to settle by the weekend. Tuna offshore are mostly getting caught on the troll and not while chunking, though not many boats are chunking overnight yet. A good many billfish are getting landed, and large numbers of mahi mahi are being boated. On the June Bug’s most recent offshore trip, eight yellowfin tuna to 120 pounds were nailed. Five anglers per trip will sail on the two open trips, and three spots were available on each, and the weather and fishing will determine the kinds of trips that will run, but the boat will most likely leave the dock at 12 a.m. both Saturdays and fish day trips. Otherwise the boat will head out at 10 a.m. for overnighters that return around noon the next day.  The June Bug sailed on an inshore trip in the ocean Sunday, first fishing at the A.C. pots, but the king mackerel that had been there disappeared, and so did the big bluefish. One free-swimming mahi mahi was caught, and three or four other mahi followed the fish and took a pass at a bait hanging from a rigger but then were gone. The boat headed inshore to a couple of miles off the inlet, and frigate mackerel and a load of 1- to 3-pound blues were landed.

<b>Absecon Inlet</b>

Jeff from <b>Offshore Enterprises Bait & Tackle</b> in Atlantic City fished offshore Sunday at the Fingers and at the Lobster Claw, and fish were marked all over, but nothing would bite, he said. The water ranged from 75 degrees and green to 83 degrees and blue, but no sudden temperature breaks were found, and the uniform temps so far this season offered no areas for tuna or other big-game to concentrate. Capt. Jon, the store’s owner, fished offshore Sunday on his boat the Carly A and hooked one small yellowfin tuna and three or four small dolphins, and Jeff thought he fished at Wilmington Canyon.

<b>Great Egg Harbor Inlet</b>

A few boaters said tuna fishing was excellent offshore on Sunday for lots of quality yellowfins on the troll from early morning to 10 or 11 a.m., said Capt. Mike from <b>Stray Cat Charters</b>. They hooked no fish at night, and one fished at Baltimore Canyon, and two fished at Carteret Canyon. Stray Cat is flounder fishing in the ocean through Monday and then will take a course offshore for tuna and dolphin. Special canyon charters are available that sail 3 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Ron Kovler on the Next Case headed offshore to Spencer Canyon and caught five longfin tuna, three yellowfin tuna, a white marlin, a blue marlin and two dolphin last week, said T.C. from <b>Brennan Marine</b> in Somers Point in a fax. Bill Haas Sr. and Jr. and Paul Sodaski fished Carteret Canyon last week on the Rose Lee and chunked a yellowfin tuna at night and trolled four other tuna to 70 pounds during the day.

Katlyn Cummings, 7, her brother and her dad trolled up a king mackerel at the Hambone, and Paul Harkins fished the Hambone to troll a 13.37-pound dolphin, said a fax from Rob and Joan Barrett from <b>Dolfin Dock</b> in Somers Point.

Yellowfin tuna and bluefin tuna were bagged at the Spencer, Wilmington and Baltimore canyons, and lots of big bull dolphin 30 pounds and larger were there, said Bill from <b>Fin-Atics</b> in Ocean City. King mackerel, Spanish mackerel and small bluefin tuna could be trolled at places like the south end of Sea Isle Ridge and the 750 Square.

<b>Townsend’s Inlet</b>

Capt. Joe Hughes from <b>Jersey Cape Guide Service</b> and <b>Gibson’s Tackle</b> in Sea Isle City trolled a 40-pound longfin tuna and some dolphin on a trip to Carteret Canyon and Lindenkohl Canyon on Sunday, he said. All the fish were hooked at 500 fathoms at the Lindenkohl at a temperature break with good-looking, blue water, and some yellowfin tuna were also short-striking the baits there, so was life around. The water was generally 77 to 79 degrees, and when Joe first arrived offshore, the water wasn’t as nice as he had hoped, but he did eventually find the productive spot. He had heard about yellowfin tuna chunked at the Carteret and Lindenkohl canyons last week, but it turned out that water had pushed away by Sunday. A nighttime chunking bite on yellowfin tuna was supposedly developing at the Hot Dog last weekend. Joe tuna fished at the Hambone at the beginning of last week, and nothing was caught on the chunk, but he trolled yellowfin tuna in the morning. By the middle of this week Joe heard that yellowfin tuna to 75 pounds were trolled at 50 fathoms at the Spencer and Wilmington canyons. Nighttime chunking for tuna wasn’t consistent yet, and sometimes it was great and sometimes terrible. Marlin were boated outside Wilmington and Baltimore canyons at 1,000 fathoms, and dolphin this year have been plentiful from 20 fathoms out.  Joe will sail offshore this weekend, and he’s gearing up to compete in the Mid Atlantic $500,000 tournament next week. He was heading out with a charter yesterday to target brown sharks in the inshore ocean, if the weather held, and the weather’s been inconsistent lately.

<b>Hereford Inlet</b>

Tuna fishing seemed to slow down last week, but white marlin bit great at Wilmington Canyon, said Cathy from <b>Sterling Harbor Bait & Tackle</b> in Wildwood in an e-mail. Michael Bulifant, 16, trolled a 23-pound wahoo near the Misty Blue wreck on the Big Bully II.   Scott Wheeler and crew on the Reel Classic phoned in a report on Sunday about going 2 for 4 on white marlin and catching two bigeye tuna while trolling Baltimore Canyon.

<b>Cape May</b>

<b>Jaftica Sportfishing</b> was chunking for bluefin tuna, but the action seemed to be slowing down, and lots of undersized bluefins shorter than 47 inches bit, so charters will start to fish farther offshore for tuna on the troll, Capt. Ray said. Trolling offshore seemed good for longfin and yellowfin tuna. Trolling closer to land at the inshore lumps was still good, and charters were hooking bonito and mahi mahi there, and a couple of schoolie bluefin tuna were also caught there on Ray’s trips.

On a charter on the <b>Top Shelf</b> on Sunday the anglers were originally going to tuna fish, but after trolling to the tuna grounds, they became bored and decided to head back inshore for bluefish and limited out on blues, Capt. Bill said. On the Bob Carhart charter Friday a 41-inch bluefin tuna and a 40-inch bluefin were trolled. A trip a day or two previously hooked a 40-pound bluefin at 5-Fathom Bank after trolling a limit of blues and then putting ballyhoos in the spread.

Tuna fishing’s picking up, and plenty of dolphin bit offshore, and Steve May’s party on the <b>Down Deep</b> boated a 50-pound yellowfin tuna Sunday, Capt. Bob said. Trolling on the boat in the inshore ocean remained good for bonito, Spanish mackerel, king mackerel, all the blues anyone could want, and even tuna.

A trip last week on Thursday on the <b>Sea Fox</b> tuna fished at the Hambone and broke off a couple of the speedsters on light leaders and trolled several nice-sized, gaffer mahi mahi at Massey Canyon on the way home, Capt. Gary said. One of the tuna was on awhile but went nuts when it approached the boat and spit the circle hook on a 40-pound leader. Spots and ling were the ticket, and the anglers tried jigging, but nothing hit the jigs. Gary heard that yellowfin tuna bit at the Hot Dog earlier that day at night, and an angler at the dock said yellowfin tuna and longfin tuna turned on at the tip of Wilmington Canyon Saturday night.

No fishing trips left the dock on the <b>Heavy Hitter</b> since the weekend, and the weather was lousy with lots of wind, Capt. George said. The boat will run offshore on a tuna charter Saturday. George heard about good tuna bites lately at the canyons, and small, undersized bluefins were hooked inshore.

Chunking for tuna held up pretty well last week, and the Hambone was the best spot, and the fish turned on 1 hour or 1 ½ hours before daybreak, and the fish were mostly bluefins in the 100- to 150-pound class, said a fax from Matt from <b>Jim’s Bait & Tackle</b> in Cape May. The Hot Dog held both bluefins and yellowfins that hit on the chunk that week. Spencer Canyon was hot for fishing last week, and Wayne Reichle and Dan and Kevin Olsen fished there and bagged eight longfin tuna, and Kevin landed his first white marlin. Later in the week some bigeye tuna were nailed at the Wilmington Canyon. South Poorman’s Canyon produced beautiful white marlin catches last week, and some boaters released as many as 12 whites in a day.

Bluefin tuna from 90 pounds to 125 pounds continued to be battled at Massey’s Canyon, the Hot Dog and the Hambone last week when the weather cooperated, said a fax from Capt. Fred from <b>Harbor View Marina</b> in Cape May. Fishing for white marlin with yellowfin tuna and dolphin was best at Wilmington Canyon that week. At 4-Fathom Bank bonito, false albacore and some dolphin were mixed with small bluefish.

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