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Barnegat Inlet
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One charter this week opted not to fish offshore, because yellowfin tuna fishing was slow at the canyons, and although plenty of big bluefin tuna, 55- to 65-inchers, could be fought inshore, only one keeper could realistically be bagged, said Capt. Mike from the Tuna-Tic from Waretown. Only bluefins in the larger slot limit were around. But a charter that fished Wednesday decided to chase the bluefins and nailed them. Bluefin boaters were flocking to the Lobster Claw, but the Claw became crowded, and that ended the bite. This trip fished 8 miles south of the area, where sand eels were piled up, and the fishing turned on. A trip on the boat today was going to try fishing the canyons again. A canyon charter ran Sunday to Monday, and on the first day one of the anglers got seasick and then fell unconscious, and a medivac helicopter had to be called in. The emergency responders decided the angler was too big to lift up to the helicopter, so the boat sailed to Atlantic City to get the angler to emergency help. Then the trip sailed back offshore, and 15 big mahi mahi were fought aboard at the lobster pots at Wilmington Canyon. In the morning the anglers went after bluefin tuna at the Claw, fighting several of the big fish, keeping one and releasing a couple, and the biggest landed weighed 150 pounds. Despite the emergency, the anglers who were able to remain ended up happy and had a good trip, Mike said. Yellowfin tuna fishing had tapered off and was slow by then, but Mike expected the bite to kick in any day. The boat’s now got back-to-back offshore trips quite some time, and if yellowfin fishing is too slow, he’ll give the anglers the choice of whether they want to fish. But bluefin fishing was great, and big mahi were hitting. Tuna-Tic is running 24-hour, overnight, offshore trips, and many dates are booked in the near future, but some are open. A few spots on open-boat, make-up trips were available, including September 9 to 10, and Mike can call anglers to keep them informed when more open up.
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