New Jersey Fishing Reports, New Jersey Fishing Charters

Phenomenal catches of bluefin tuna were walloped Friday and Saturday 50 to 70 miles from shore, according to anglers who sailed for them, said Capt. Derek from Fisher Price Charters from Highlands. Derek wasn’t asked the location, but the Virginia wreck off Long Island seemed likely. The fishing was known to go off there before the nor’easter. Located in the 30 fathoms, the wreck is 60 miles from New Jersey. The fishing sounded similar to angling for bluefins last year at the Atlantic Princess wreck off Jersey. But green waters hampered fishing there this summer. Fisher Price is fishing for bluefins on charters and open-boat trips when enough of the tuna are around.

Manasquan Inlet

After this week’s storm, trips will now sail for bluefin tuna the next two or three days, said Capt. Fred from Andrea’s Toy Charters from Point Pleasant. The fishing was good 70 miles from shore. Tuna fishing farther offshore at the canyons was hit or miss, and the tuna around Hudson Canyon began to bite more at night on bait than during the day on the troll, and trolling for them became slow. On a trip last week on Friday with Andrea’s Toy, bluefins were pounded. The trip arrived at the grounds at 7 a.m., and a bluefin was jigged within 5 minutes, and 10 were landed. The anglers were new to tuna fishing and jigging, but caught on quickly. Later mahi mahi cruised by, and a few were boxed. That was a great catch, but tuna fishing was off during a charter that attempted to catch the fish last week on Wednesday. The anglers, intending to fish both for bluefins inshore and for yellowfin tuna offshore on the trip, first stopped at the bluefin grounds. But no bluefins hit in a couple of hours. Not much was marked on the fish finder, though skipjacks and bait swam the waters. So the trip motored offshore to Hudson Canyon at the 100 Square, after first stopping at 100 fathoms between the Dip and the Hudson, finding seas too rough in winds there. At the 100 Square the trip set up for the night, but nothing bit, except two run-offs immediately on arrival. Up on the troll the next morning, one fish bit and came tight a while, but got off. The trip attempted to drift for tilefish, but there was no drift. The crew decided to look for mahi mahi to put fish in the box, and nearly a dozen were pelted. The anglers tried looking for bluefins again on the way home, but waters were dirty. “Tough, long day,” Fred said in the report on the boat’s Web site, “but (the) understanding and appreciative (anglers) made it better.” Charters are fishing, and see the write-up toward the bottom of Andrea’s Toy’s home page to check out annual, open-boat, mixed-bag trips for big game. Andrea’s Toy specializes in mixed-bag fishing for greater fun, better chances of hooking up and more variety for dinner.

A trip that a customer ran battled 20 bluefin tuna at the Virginia wreck before the blow, said Capt. Rich from Jersey Hooker Outfitters in Bricktown. Rich’s charter business, Jersey Hooker Charters, sailing from Point Pleasant’s Canyon River Club, fished at the tip of Hudson Canyon during the weekend before the weather. Tuna fishing began to turn on more at night on the chunk at the canyon, and trolling for tuna during daytime began to be slow there. Yellowfin tuna invaded the chum slick at night, and were leader shy. Light leaders had to be used that made the fish difficult to land. Rich saw no longfin tuna, but other boaters caught longfins at the canyon. A white marlin and a blue marlin were released on the daytime troll on the trip.

Absecon Inlet

Yellowfin tuna fishing, when the weather allowed boaters to sail, was best mainly in 30 to 40 fathoms during the daytime on the troll, said Curt from Offshore Enterprises Bait & Tackle in Atlantic City. The tuna this season kept moving, appearing at different places, and trips had to run over them. No huge numbers were caught lately, but anglers boated some, working for the fish. Though the fish kept moving, the tuna held toward 40 fathoms inshore of Lindenkohl Canyon for some time. Everyone seemed to pick up a longfin tuna or two on trips, and sometimes anglers ran into a mess of them. One boater ran a trip that picked up a couple of yellowfins and a couple of mahi mahi then got covered up with longfins, filling the boat with the fish. The Carly A, the shop’s offshore charter boat, kept sailing on the trips.

Townsend's Inlet

A long day trip left at 2 a.m. Thursday, sailing offshore, returning at 6:30 p.m. with Over Under Adventures from Avalon, Capt. Trey said in an audio report on Over Under’s Web site. The crew planned to look for tuna around 210 feet inshore of Lindenkohl, Carteret and Spencer canyons, where the fish bit recently. But the fishing was slow, and six or seven boats worked the waters thoroughly up and down the line, had the area covered. A couple of mahi mahi were boated with Over Under in the morning at the Lobster Claw, the first area fished on the trip. The area gave up the best tuna fishing most recently. The trip ended up fishing at the 40-Fathom Fingers and Spencer Canyon, and four mahi were hooked at the lobster pots at the Spencer. The boat began motoring back inshore, and chick birds and bait were seen 7 miles southwest of the Claw in 160 feet, the only good-looking area that was seen on the trip, though waters there were green and dirty. The trip stopped to fish the area 45 minutes, but nothing bit. Trey heard about no tuna bite anywhere, except for a few short bluefin tuna caught on one boat. “Oh boy,” he said. “What now?” A trip today would sail south to the Wilmington and Baltimore canyon areas. Charters and open-boat trips are fishing offshore.

Cape May Inlet

Waters anywhere from 30 fathoms to the canyons gave up yellowfin tuna, but trips had to find them from day to day, said Capt. George from the Heavy Hitter from Cape May. No place held them consistently for long, and the tuna might hold in one location one or two days, or might not. Plenty of mahi mahi were around. George knew one angler competing in a tournament who got the lines out of the waters when a mess of mahi were spotted, until the trip passed through the area. Some wahoos swam offshore.

Last Week's Report

Sandy Hook

A friend motored out for bluefin tuna Tuesday in rough, 6- to 8-foot seas, said Capt. Derek from Fisher Price Charters from Highlands. Waters were dirty and green all over, until beyond 60 miles from shore. Then the ocean cleared, and the trip went 1 for 4 on bluefins on jigs and 0 for 2 on yellowfin tuna on bait. He found tuna, but said the fishing was off. Derek heard about a few anglers who sailed for bluefins on Sunday, finding green waters and a slow bite. Fishers Price is fishing for bluefins on charters and open trips so long as the angling is productive.

A double charter last week on Tuesday sailed for bluefin tuna 50 to 60 miles offshore with Jersey Devil Charters from Highlands, Capt. Brian said. One of the groups fished on his boat, and the other fished on his friend’s boat,. Clean waters were difficult to find among dirty, green waters, but good waters were finally located. One of the boats went 1 for 3 on bluefins, and the other boat ran across no tuna, but stopped at a wreck, catching big pollock to 34 pounds and large cod. On the next day, Wednesday, Jersey Devil’s boat returned to the same numbers, and waters were full of life including bait, porpoises and turtles, and two gaffer mahi mahi were decked, and no bluefins showed up. Starting that Thursday strong easterly winds, big seas and rough weather closed in through the weekend, and nobody Brian knew sailed to the grounds then. Charters and open-boat trips are fishing for bluefins. Call if interested in the open trips, because the more who are interested, the easier to schedule. Charters are also fishing for tuna and big game farther offshore at the canyons.

Manasquan Inlet

No reports were posted on the Canyon Runner from Point Pleasant’s Web site since last week. That was unusual and maybe because the crew competed in the offshore tournaments, keeping details about the fishing hush. But nighttime fishing for tuna finally came together on a trip last week on Wednesday to Thursday, a report on the site said. The trip left at 6 p.m. Wednesday, arriving at Hudson Canyon in the dark, and the anglers began fishing. Yellowfin tuna began to be picked at midnight, and the anglers went 10 for 13 on the fish. Seven of the tuna landed were good-sized and kept, and three were small and released. On the troll the next morning the trip worked back toward the tip of the canyon, and the charter “had the bite they were looking for,” the report said. The head of the charter, from Point Pleasant, had traveled the world, looking to catch his first-ever blue marlin. “Well, he only had to look in his own back yard,” the report said. He landed and released a 375-pound blue after an hour fight. The fish, biting a ballyhoo on a blue-and-white Ilander, was Canyon Runner’s seventh blue “of the young season,” the report said. An overnight trip last week on Tuesday to Wednesday was slower at the Hudson, producing two yellowfins trolled in the afternoon, no fish at night, and two yellowfins trolled in the morning. The trip began fishing at the tip among plenty of life including whales, porpoises and working birds. An open-boat trip that Monday at the Hudson pummeled seven big yellowfins, a wahoo and some mahi mahi on the troll at the west wall for 4 hours as soon as the boat arrived. But nothing bit at night and the next morning.

Absecon Inlet

Okay tuna catches were boated, and the fish held closer to the coast than before, said Curt from Offshore Enterprises Bait & Tackle in Atlantic City. The fish were found in 30 to 40 fathoms, and previously were located in 40 to 50. Anglers who sailed all the way offshore to the canyons found none of the fish. Customers from the shop mainly fish at Lindenkohl and Carteret Canyons, so the waters in 30 to 40 fathoms between there and Atlantic City were where they found the tuna. Some nailed yellowfin tuna, bluefin tuna, white marlin and blue marlin all in one trip in the area, like in 200-foot depths. The fish were sometimes big, like a 77-inch bluefin one customer landed. Catches were all made during the day on the troll, and none was made at night on the chunk. Only mahi mahi were caught at night. The Carly A, the shop’s offshore charter boat, was scoring well, running quite a few trips.

Townsend’s Inlet

Capt. Joe Hughes from Jersey Cape Guide Service and Gibson’s Tackle in Sea Isle City competed in Cape May’s Mid Atlantic $500,000 offshore tournament this week, he said. The competition was still taking place, and so far he had fished on two of three days entrants could choose. A trip Monday went 0 for 1 on white marlin, 0 for 1 on blue marlin and landed six gaffer mahi mahi. A trip Wednesday went 1 for 2 on whites. Joe was asked about no details while the tournament was ongoing.

With Over Under Adventures from Avalon, a trip sailed to lumps inshore of Lindenkohl Canyon in 220 feet, about 35 fathoms, at 7:30 a.m. Wednesday, the audio report on Over Under’s Web site said. The area gave up yellowfin tuna on the past three trips for Over Under, and did again this time. The trip arrived at the grounds and began trolling at 10:30 a.m., and started picking the tuna right away. Apparently the fishing turned on earlier at 7 to 9 a.m., slowed and came back on by the time Over Under arrived. Eleven good-sized yellowfins to 50 pounds were boated by the end of the trip. The anglers had to pick through shorts and barely legal ones, probably 15 of them released. Bait filled the waters everywhere, and birds worked the bait, and the fishing was great. Mostly singles bit. The anglers tried chunking starting at 6:30 p.m. One yellowfin was landed at 8 p.m., and the trip decided to give chunking until 10 p.m., and see what happens. Chunking failed to hook more tuna, and the trip headed home. A great day of fishing. A short trip, scheduled for 14 hours, ending up 11 hours, fished Tuesday at the same lumps, rounding up great fishing for yellowfin tuna again. The anglers went 8 for 13 on the tuna on the troll in a mile-long stretch of waters. Five of the fish kept weighed 50 to 70 pounds, and three weighed 25 pounds. The boat began fishing at 8:30 a.m., and mostly singles bit. Not much life was seen, and only a little life including a few whales was spotted, but obviously the tuna were there. Happy with the catch, the trip headed home at 12:30 p.m. Charters and open-boat trips are fishing offshore.

Cape May Inlet

John DeRosa’s charter on the Down Deep from Cape May ran offshore Sunday, boating sizeable yellowfin tuna to 60 pounds and a 40-pound wahoo, Capt. Bob said.

Capt. George from the Heavy Hitter from Cape May mated on the charter mentioned above, he said. He said four yellowfin tuna, a wahoo and a bunch of false albacore were trolled at waters inshore of the canyons.