<b>Sandy Hook</b>

A few boaters, including the store’s boss, were fishing offshore yesterday after the weather had been too rough this week, said Vinny from <b>Michael’s Bait & Tackle</b> on Staten Island. Nothing was heard about the results yet, but previously yellowfin tuna fishing seemed good at Lindenkohl Canyon and Toms Canyon.

Capt. Brian from <b>Jersey Devil Charters</b> from the Highlands ran offshore on the Shark Byte between Toms and Carteret canyons last week on Thursday night, he said. Six decent-sized yellowfin tuna from 60 to 80 pounds and two longfin tuna were boated, and a small swordfish was released. All the fish bit at night on the chunk, and nothing hit on the troll during a couple of hours the next morning. Jersey Devil is focusing on canyon tuna.

<b>Manasquan Inlet</b>

Rough, windy weather probably kept boaters from fishing offshore this week until calmer conditions later in the day Wednesday, and even Wednesday morning was very windy, said Capt. Mike from the <b>Katie H</b> from Brielle. Charters on the boat are supposed to resume canyon tuna fishing on a couple of overnight trips today and tomorrow, but the forecast was looking questionable. Good catches were taken on the vessel so far, and Mike hoped the fish would still be there after the blow. On Sunday before the weather Mike said Hudson Canyon’s fishing turned on for yellowfin and longfin tuna on both the troll and the chunk, and the fishing at canyons farther south was still hopping, so the fish were pretty much all over. Canyon trips will be the focus for now, and lots of the charters are booked through the next month.

On the <b>Benchmark</b> from Point Pleasant Garrett Trull’s group ran offshore Friday to Saturday and walloped 17 yellowfin tuna and four longfins on the chunk, the report on the boat’s web site said. That was much better than slow chunking on a charter with Drew Hubiak and friends the previous night, but they caught a longfin and a half-dozen mahi mahi and released a good-sized white marlin. On the previous night or Wednesday to Thursday the Seven Sun Environmental charter chunked seven yellowfins and a hefty swordfish and during the day trolled three longfins. Some space was available this weekend because of cancellations.

Capt. Chip Boyle’s Paddy Whack fished Toms Canyon last Friday and trolled four bigeye tuna to 154 pounds, a half-dozen big longfin tuna and a mako shark over 100 pounds, said Dave from <b>The Reel Seat</b> in Brielle. The Pepper with Capts. Dave and Steve Matthews overnighted at the Toms last week from Wednesday to Thursday and drilled a bunch of yellowfin tuna to 77 pounds and released a blue marlin and two white marlins. At Hudson Canyon trolling was good last week for mostly longfin tuna and some bigeyes, and chunking was slow. Nobody reported tuna fishing inshore last week, just because nobody was putting in the effort, but boaters coming back from the canyons said they saw the fish on the inshore grounds.

<b>Barnegat Light</b>

Some boaters who wanted to fish offshore even by mid week, when the weather was relatively calm, seemed to be met with winds that kicked up seas, said Dale from <b>L&H Woods & Water</b> in Waretown. A crew Wednesday morning tried to head out but came back to the shop two hours later, and Dale guessed the forecast had changed.

False albacore were screaming drags at Barnegat Ridge for anglers on the <b>Hi Flier</b> from Waretown whenever the weather allowed trips to sail, Capt. Dave DeGennaro said in an e-mail. He’s got buckets of spearing he’s waiting to throw to chum up the albies, and he’s running open-boat trips to the ridge for them whenever he’s not grass shrimping for weakfish in Barnegat Bay. “Give me a call; let’s go fishing,” he said. “Don’t make me go without you, because I will!”

<b>Little Egg Inlet</b>

The <b>June Bug</b> from Beach Haven left the dock to fish Barnegat Ridge on Saturday, but the southerly winds were stiffer than forecast, and seas were 2 to 4 feet on top of a swell, and it wasn’t pleasant, Capt. Lindsay said. One keeper fluke and some shorts bit, and a bunch of skates were hooked, and no blues, bonito or false albacore showed up. But the boat will still chase the speedsters, and canyon fishing is thee main event on the vessel and was hot and cold last week. One angler told Lindsay he fished Lindenkohl Canyon last week on Thursday, and nothing bit on the nighttime chunk, but during the day a yellowfin, a white marlin, a wahoo and other fish were trolled.

An overnight trip with <b>Legal Limit Charters</b> from Tuckerton at Lindenkohl Canyon from Friday to Saturday produced yellowfin tuna from 40 to 75 pounds, some longfin tuna, a 120-pound mako shark and two white marlins, Capt. T.J. said. The yellowfins were trolled and chunked, and the mako was chunked, and the longfins were trolled. The marlins were of course trolled, and they were released and weighed up to 70 pounds. On the nighttime chunk the mako hit after an hour of fishing, and a couple of yellowfins bit around midnight, and some more bit later in the night, so the bites were spotty. The water was 74 degrees, and no big temperature breaks were found. Lots of tuna trips are booked the next couple of weeks. 

<b>Absecon Inlet</b>

An inshore trolling charter on the <b>Fishin’ Fever</b> from Brigantine battled 14 false albacore to 17 or 18 pounds on Wednesday along the 20-fathom line near 28-Mile Wreck, and the same number probably got off, Capt. Tom said. Clark spoons, Zukers and mini Green Machines were the menu, and charters will continue to fight such inshore game. Part of the boat’s main focus at the moment remains overnight tuna fishing at the canyons. Windy weather kept vessels from running offshore most of the week, but they started returning to the canyons Wednesday. The fishing was very good until the weather for quality, 60- to 90-pound yellowfin tuna caught on the chunk, mostly at night. But Tom thinks trolling might pick up again because the water got pushed around.

The warm water offshore stayed and didn’t push out because of the weather, said Jack from <b>Offshore Enterprises Bait & Tackle</b> in Atlantic City. The weather was perfect yesterday for offshore fishing, and the <b>Carly A</b>, the shop’s offshore charter boat, has trips scheduled for this weekend, but the forecast was again looking questionable. The boat ran charters last weekend, sailing on one Saturday that was a daytime trolling trip and pinned down four yellowfin tuna and two false albacore. The other was an overnighter on Sunday that produced two bigeye tuna, two yellowfins, a mahi mahi and a swordfish, and other swords came into the slick. The store carries a large selection of offshore baits, including rigged and unrigged flying fish, cigar mackerel, large and medium ballyhoos, three sizes of rigged ballys, sardines, chum and nearly everything.

<b>Great Egg Harbor Inlet</b>

Shark fishing will start again with <b>O-Beth Sportfishing Charters</b> from Margate this fall, probably lasting October to November, so long as water temps hover around 60 degrees, Capt. Eric said. Don’t miss your second and final chance of the year to do battle, as makos and threshers make a return migration on their way south. Few charter boats offer this fishing in the fall but usually only do some sharking in spring, so this is a limited opportunity this season. O-Beth is currently tuna fishing overnight at the canyons, and the weather was too windy and kicked up seas too much for boaters to get out this week, but catches were good until then.

<b>Townsend’s Inlet</b>

The boats from <b>Over Under Adventures</b>, sailing from Avalon, N.J., and Ocean City, Md., ran overnight tuna trips from Carteret Canyon to Wilmington Canyon last week, a report on Over Under’s web site said. The week leading up to the dark of the new moon in September was once again great for overnight chunking, and trolling during the day also took a turn for the better. The main body of fish that were targeted was on the same spot as it had been for more than a month, and the amount of bait in the area was unbelievable. As long as the bait holds, so should the fishing, especially during the peak stretch from late September to early October. Chunking will be talked about in a moment, but trolling produced some great catches, including a humongous, 203-pound Allison. Trolling for white marlin was outstanding, and on the chunk, besides tuna, a good number of swordfish were taken. Overnight chunking for tuna wasn’t an all-out blitz, but it was consistently good. The best bite was 4 a.m. to 7 a.m., and on many nights the fishing was at least a pick until turning red hot toward morning, and on many the fishing was mad dog during the first part until settling down. And the fish were big and bad, averaging 70 to 75 pounds and sometimes weighting 90 pounds. Most bit on 50-pound leaders, but long fights that contributed to tangles and break-offs was the downside. Typically just as many were caught as were fought and lost, and some battles lasted more than an hour, even coming close to two hours. The fish tested angling skills, because they were very aggressive and unpredictable, and one night was very tough, and anglers on two of the boats struggled to get any tuna to the boat, because of a strong current against the wind, and that also kept bait from balling up under the boat. But even on those trips, the next morning produced a few longfin tuna and a couple of white marlin. The swordfish were getting caught on tuna rigs, and many were eventually lost because of chaffed leaders. But a 5-foot 7-incher managed to get boated with a 50-pound fluorocarbon leader after a 1-1/2-hour battle. 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.  

Capt. Joe Hughes from <b>Jersey Cape Guide Service</b> and <b>Gibson’s Tackle</b> in Sea Isle City tuna fished at Lindenkohl Canyon on Friday night with Alan Fellheimer and Mike Cunningham, Joe said. They went 5 for 5 on big yellowfin tuna from 70 to 90 pounds and boated three mahi mahi about 10 pounds apiece, all on the chunk, and more fish could’ve been caught, but the fish box was full. Four of the Allisons bit sardines, and one took a live squid. The first tuna hit a squid deep down with weight, and the rest attacked weightless sardines. The anglers fished with 60-pound, fluorocarbon leaders and circle hooks, and the fish bit on a steady pick while the crew fished from midnight to 4 a.m. on a drift from 800 feet to 300 feet. Lots of fish and bait were marked in the 75-degree, good-looking, blue water, and not a lot of squid were seen schooling near the surface, but some did. A bunch of boats fished the Lindy, and some fished Spencer Canyon. Seas were questionable when the boat left port in a southerly blow, but eventually they calmed, and they weren’t completely calm but were fishable.

<b>Hereford Inlet</b>

Trolling at the canyons last week was on the slow side, but wahoo were trolled at 19-Fathom Lump and the Cigar, said Cathy from <b>Sterling Harbor Bait & Tackle</b> from Wildwood in an e-mail. Freddy Vesper on the Diamond Girl trolled a 47-pound wahoo at 19-Fathom Lump, and Larry McGill on Dave Stetser’s Mojito trolled a 28-pound wahoo at the Cigar.

<b>Cape May Inlet</b>

Tuna fishing was excellent at the canyons on the <b>Down Deep</b> from Cape May, Capt. Bob said. The boat fished last week on both daytime and overnight trips, and the Wilson party nailed five nice longfins and a wahoo, and Charlie Kennedy’s gang battled four longfins and 15 mahi mahi from 18 to 24 pounds, big ones.

Overnight tuna fishing was pretty decent at the canyons last week and should last another four or five weeks, said Capt. Ray from the <b>Jaftica</b> from Cape May.

Tuna were chunked at Wilmington Canyon along the 100-fathom line last week on Thursday and Friday nights, said Matt from <b>Jim’s Bait and Tackle</b> in Wildwood in a fax. The yellowfins were nice sized and 60 to 110 pounds, and the tip of Lindenkohl Canyon also put out good yellowfin chunking last Friday night. Marlin fishing was best at Washington Canyon, and boaters who fished there reported landing some nice blues. Swordfish were also starting to bite at the canyons, and most were smaller, but some were checked in that weighed 200 pounds.

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