<b>Staten Island</b>

An 11-pound whopper of a fluke was clobbered Saturday with <b>Barbara Anne Fishing Charters</b>, and some 6-pounders were drilled on the trip, and large flatties were consistently decked on every outing, Capt. Anthony said. The fishing was on, and charters were usually focusing on fluke/sea bass combos. Don’t have enough anglers for a full charter? No problem. Call Anthony, and he can probably schedule an individual space on a trip. Barbara Anne pays bridge tolls with a receipt.

<b>Keyport</b>

Three keeper fluke were boxed among many, many throwbacks released on a trip in the ocean off Sandy Hook with Mike Valentino, son David, 11, Tim Hogan and Tim Hogan Jr., 15 with <b>Papa’s Angels Charters</b> on Sunday, Capt. Joe said. Action was steady, and winds blew against the tide the whole time, tough conditions, but the anglers worked hard to catch, had a good time, Joe said. Shorts but no keepers gave up lots of action on a trip today in the ocean off Sandy Hook with Jonathan, Abigail, Joe and Joey Jr. Weismeth, Justin Miller and Jason Kishel. They also had a great time, Joe said, though keepers were difficult to come by. Open-boat trips are sailing 5 to 10 p.m. daily when no charter is booked, reservations required. In addition to fluke, Papa’s Angels is fishing for sea bass and porgies.

<b>Atlantic Highlands</b>

Fluking somewhat improved on Saturday morning’s trip, despite a little unsettled weather or conditions, and patrons put together a respectable catch, said Capt. Kevin from the <b>Dorothy B</b> in an e-mail. Pat Lamb from Springfield won the pool with a 3-pound 2-ouncer. Conditions failed to improve on the afternoon trip, but the vessel fished the ocean instead of the bay, and catches picked up. Several keepers were landed, and Larry Cruz won the pool with a 3-pound 1-ouncer.  On Friday morning’s trip, when the fishing was better than before but not like it had been, one angler beat four keepers, and the Winant family combined for three keepers, including Aukje Winant’s 5-pound 15-ounce pool winner. But others “were not as fortunate,” Kevin said.  Dan Ahl from Leonardo on the afternoon trip won the pool with a 2-pound 10-ouncer. On Thursday, “a lazy day with limited action,” Kevin said, Vincent Viriale won the morning trip’s pool with a 3-pound 2-ounce flattie. A 6-year-old named Adam from Brooklyn, fishing with his dad aboard the trip, bagged a 2-pound 11-ounce fluke, and it made Adam’s day, Kevin said. But the afternoon’s fishing “was a desert,” he said.  The Dorothy B is fluke fishing 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. daily. When fluke season ends, the boat will begin sailing for striped bass on ¾-day trips.

“Been pretty much the same story the past few days,” said Capt. Ron from the <b>Fishermen</b> in an e-mail. Fluke trips covered many areas, including all the channels, Sandy Hook Reef, along the ocean beaches, the snags and the wrecks. Mostly shorts chomped, but keepers were mixed in every day, and some places were better than others. On today’s trip Ken Terhune won the pool with a 6-pound flattie, and Jason Scneider nabbed the second biggest, a 4-1/2-pounder. Bob Collins was high hook with three keepers, and a couple of shots of sea bass helped provide action, along with short fluke. The day was beautiful on the waters. The Fishermen is sailing for fluke 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily and for bluefish 7:30 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. Fridays and 3:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. However, the boat is chartered this Tuesday and Wednesday, and no open trips will sail then.

Although drifting conditions were ideal, fluke fishing was tough Friday, and the fish were hooked, lots of action, but something was off, said Capt. Tom from the <b>Atlantic Star</b>. Catches somewhat improved Saturday, with a few more keepers boated. Then Sunday became difficult again, and the morning trip met poor drifting conditions near the Navy Pier, and the boat was motored to Flynn’s Knoll. The fishing there was better, but mostly shorts were hung. The trip returned to the pier, and shorts were abundant again. In the afternoon the drift was too fast on the bay, and the boat got headed to the ocean front, the only trip that fished the ocean in the past days. Action was about the same, with mostly shorts pumped up. All in all, when conditions or winds and currents drifted the boat right, the flatties were hooked. But sometimes conditions were right, but the fluke refused to feed in an area, so the vessel was moved elsewhere. Fluke 4 or 4 ½ pounds, no real big ones, were pool winners. Sometimes customers fished hard with Spro jigs, scoring better, but not always, when the drift was off. But they worked the Spros, trying hard, and fishing a Spro wasn’t a matter of using the jig passively like a sinker. For the most part, neither jigs nor rigs worked better than the other, and none of the usual fluke baits, including the spearing and squid supplied on the boat, worked better than another. The Atlantic Star is fluke fishing on two trips daily 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. to 6 p.m.

<b>Highlands</b>

Trips on the ocean for fluke and sea bass put the anglers aboard on good fishing, some outstanding catches, with <b>Sandy Hook Fishing Adventures</b>, Capt. Bob said in an e-mail. The Rupel family charter tried the deep waters and got rewarded with a healthy pull of keeper flatties including a 7-pounder and a 5-1/2-pounder. The Norman family charter scored a productive trip, reeling in fluke to 6 ¼ pounds and sea bass to 18 inches. Two open-boat trips also beat down quality fishing, including for a 27-inch fluke, a beauty, on a Gulp and killie combo for Hank Jameson. Time is growing short before the end of fluke season, but some dates are left for trips. Full-day, half-day and Magic Hour trips in the evenings are running. 

Although fluke bites were difficult to cop Friday, apparently because of lingering effects from the full moon, trips on Saturday and Sunday were a different story, and the anglers aboard bucktailed the flatties to 6 pounds on both of those days, said Capt. Derek from <b>Fisher Price Charters</b>. They fished the deep waters of the oceanfront on both of those days, and a few small sea bass were hooked, but fewer than Derek expected. Friday’s trip fished on the bay in the morning before moving to the ocean. But trips are usually fluking the ocean, and sea bass can be mixed in. The charters on the weekend worked big strip baits on the bucktails. Fisher Price is running special fluke charters that target the flatties in the deep with bucktails, big strip baits and live bait. The season was early for live bait, because Derek was only seeing a few snapper blues around, and no peanut bunker. Open-boat trips are sailing for the fish when Derek can squeeze them in, and the next ones will bucktail with the strip baits Thursday and Friday, running 8 hours. Call to jump aboard or to get on the list to be kept informed of the schedule. Charters are also worming for striped bass at night.

<b>Belmar</b>

Charters on the <b>Nan Sea J</b> fished every day, mostly for fluke and sea bass, Capt. Tom said. Ling were also hooked, and the anglers drifted along the rough bottom, landing all three of the fish, quality catches. Fluke to 8 pounds were hauled in during the past week. The migration of big striped bass was finished, but smaller, resident stripers could be bunker chunked at the Shrewsbury Rocks. Lots of bluefish tore up waters, and a trip for them will sail this week. Three shark trips are on the books for this week, and a trip for the monsters was very slow Wednesday for some reason. The boat drifted 6 ½ miles at the Glory Hole, and no sharks bit. But the fish were around lately, and the trips will continue. Besides charters, annual, open-boat trips are fishing for sharks every Wednesday through July. Space remains, and grab the openings before shark season ends. The open trips are a rare opportunity to target the beasts without booking a full charter, and trips for sharks are Tom’s favorite fishing.

Gus Kane’s group anchored at the Shrewsbury Rocks on Friday morning, started bunker-chunking and ploughed eight keeper striped bass, a couple of shorts and some blues with <b>Last One Charters</b>, Capt. Rob said. Then they fished a wreck in 80 feet, dialing up probably 30 keeper sea bass, releasing some shorts. On Saturday afternoon south winds honked 20 to 25, kicking up seas to 4 and 6 feet. But Rusty Johnson’s crew wanted to fish anyway, and they set up for chunking at the Rocks, bagging one keeper striper, releasing five shorts and clocking a few blues, before they decided to head in early. The stripers at the rocks are resident fish up to 32 inches, not the big migrators that now left for the summer. But goes to show stripers are there.

<b>Brielle</b>

Ocean fluke fishing started to improve, and there was no drift Sunday morning, but on Saturday customers rounded up the flatties from the Shrewsbury Rocks and off Mantoloking, said Dave from <b>The Reel Seat</b>. Axel Carlson Reef and Sea Girt Reef also offered up the summer flounder, though Axel Carlson was littered with commercial pots that made the fishing difficult. Plenty of sea bass, good catches, could be pulled up from the various rough bottom. Fluke also paved Manasquan River, and tons were shorts, but keepers could be found. Surf anglers also dragged in fluke, and many of the sharpies worked bucktails with Gulps or squid. Striped bass became tougher to locate, and Dave knew about experienced anglers who looked for them at the Shrewsbury Rocks but failed to mark any. Sharks stayed on the prowl, and anglers on one boat tackled five makos on Saturday. Bluefin tuna were fought 40 miles offshore. The crew on the Intrepid beat seven of the tuna to 70 pounds while trolling ballyhoos on Ilanders and while jigging. Mike Smith ran a trip that wrestled in five of the bluefins to 50 pounds on the troll. Farther from shore, fishing for yellowfin tuna, small ones along with skipjacks, became slower than before at Hudson Canyon, and anglers had to wait for better waters to return. The better catches came from Toms Canyon and farther south. The <a href=" http://www.ssfff.net/fundraiser.html" target="_blank">Save the Summer Flounder Fishery Fund</a>, spearheading the movement to prevent the summer flounder or fluke season from closing and from harsh bag limits that are essentially a closure, very much needs the continued support of anglers. See the fund’s Web site for details and how the fund is attempting to solve the crisis.

The <b>Big Kid</b> mostly steamed for bottom-fishing trips for sea bass, cod and ling and for offshore trips for yellowfin tuna at the canyons, Capt. Ken said. Both trips punched out gangs of the fish. Sea bassing was dead-on hot, and a trip today belted the lumpheads to 4 and 5 pounds and cod to 8 pounds. Big ling could be looted when anglers wanted. Combo fluke/sea bass trips were also rolling, and a dozen keeper fluke were angled aboard on one of the trips Sunday. The tuna fishing trolled loads of yellowfins, though small ones, and the fish toward the weekend mostly gathered at Toms and Spencer canyons, and previously they honed in on Hudson Canyon. A 200-pound bigeye was waxed on the boat so far this season. Closer to shore, sharking improved a little, if anglers wanted to get after them.

Blues, loads of the fish, were blasted Saturday and Sunday on the <b>Jamaica</b>, despite choppy seas Saturday, an e-mail from the boat said. The fish were hammered on bait on the first day and on both bait and jigs on the second. Pool winners were Quan Beatty from Norristown, Pa., with a 14-pounder and Mike Sibbald from Saddlebrook with a 12-pounder. The boat fished 15 miles offshore of Manasquan Inlet, and the blues were actually moving closer to the inlet. The fleet all caught and were spread over a large area. Catches were knocked down day and night, and the outlook was ship shape for the week ahead. The Jamaica is fishing for blues on two trips 7:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. daily. A coupon is available for $5 off adult fare in July. Check the boat’s Web site for the complete schedule, including special trips, and to be added to the e-mail list for special trips. Reservations are being booked for canyon tuna fishing that will begin in late August.

<b>Point Pleasant</b>

Cranking winds prevented ocean fishing, so the crew from <b>Reel Class Charters</b> fluke fished on Manasquan River for a couple of hours Saturday, Capt. Allen said in an e-mail. About 25 short fluke were landed on jigs on light tackle, mostly upstream of the Railroad Bridge. “Some new fish moved in,” he said, and the river was a parking lot full of boat traffic. Reel Class is sailing for fluke and sea bass, including on open-boat Fluke Till You Puke Marathons. Check the boat’s Web site for availability on the open trips.

Patrons pounded big blues 9 to 14 pounds on the <b>Sea Devil</b> on Sunday, Cindy said in an e-mail. All caught plenty, mostly on jigs, and had a great time, she said. But anglers who fished with bait also loaded up, and Chris Groeger from Bloomingdale threw a top-water plug to connect. Sal Pignataro from Brooklyn won the pool with a 15-pounder. On Saturday’s trip customers whaled blues in the morning. Then there was a lull, until a great bite at the end of the trip. Good fishing for 7- to 12-pounders overall, and Pignataro also won the pool this day, this time with a 13-pounder. The Sea Devil is bluefishing 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily and 7:30 p.m. to 2 a.m. Saturdays. Groups of four or more can get a $5 discount per person. In addition, for groups of 11 or more, one person can fish free. Groups must arrive by 7 a.m. for the discounts, and are asked to please call ahead. Offshore tuna trips will get under way August 18, and space was already filling. See the <a href="http://www.partyboatnj.com/tuna-calendar.php" target="_blank">schedule on the boat’s Web site</a> for available dates.

Bluefishing was a struggle Friday, and the trip “ran hard and long,” an e-mail from the <b>Cock Robin</b> said, but a pile of the fish was finally found, and all the anglers put blues in the bag. A good catch was made on Saturday’s trip, and weather forecasts kept the night’s trip from running. On Sunday bluefishing came to life at the Mudhole, and lots of big blues to 15 pounds were jigged. The crew expects great bluefishing to stay there for now. Gabe Bellantoni from Brick won one of the pools with a 16-pounder. The Cock Robin is fishing for blues 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily and for blues 7:30 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays. Wednesday Marathon Trips, leaving earlier at 6 a.m. at no extra charge, are running. On Thursday’s trips, customers can help donate fish to Joan Valentine House, providing meals to people. Captain Jim’s Camp Cock Robin for kids, limited to 12 anglers, is under way for summer, featuring a dedicated mate for the youngsters.

<b>Seaside</b>

A 44-inch 29-pound striped bass was weighed in from the surf Saturday, was the only fish checked in that day, but was a beauty, said the report from <b>Grumpy’s Tackle</b>’s Web site. The striper sucked in a Grumpy clam, and the angler’s buddies beached short stripers on clams and bunker. Few anglers fished the surf,  and no other surf catches except a 3.9-pound fluke hit the scale at the shop, but the staff heard about stripers and fluke banked. Be sure to enter GarbageFish.com’s first annual Talkin’ Trash Tournament. Register for $20 at the shop or at the <a href="http://www.garbagefish.com" target="_blank">GarbageFish.com</a> Web site. <a href="http://www.grumpystackle.com/fishingreports/" target="_blank"> Click here</a> for updated reports from Grumpy’s.   

<b>Barnegat</b>

Catches of fluke picked up a little, and the best fishing for them happened in August in the ocean in recent years, said Capt. John from <b>Perfect Drift Sport Fishing</b>. Actually the best catches used to go down in fall in the ocean, until the season started closing early. But August is around the corner, and the fluking should gain steam soon. A trip Friday picked up a couple of keepers and 14 shorts in the ocean, and had to return early because of rough weather. Lots of fluke skittered around Barnegat Bay, but most were undersized. Bonito fishing could kick off any day at Barnegat Ridge, and waters were warm, clear and full of bait, primed for the fishing, and Perfect Drift will chase after them. The bay’s weakfishing usually takes off in August and September, and a few of the trout were around, but anglers had to work for them, and fish at sunup and at dusk.

<b>Beach Haven</b>

A bachelor party trip sailed Saturday on the <b>June Bug</b>, pushing to waters along the lumps and holes north and offshore of 28-Mile Wreck, said Capt. Lindsay in an e-mail. No bluefin tuna showed up, but a sizeable mahi mahi hit the long rigger way back, and the bachelor, named Andy, worked the fish to the boat. Seas were super, less than 2 feet, a beautiful, sunny day. The crew’s been noticing an unusually large amount of squid stacked up along the thermocline in the ocean from 30-foot depths to the canyons.

<b>Tuckerton</b>

A couple of bluefin tuna to 50 inches were trolled at 28-Mile Wreck on Wednesday with <b>Legal Limit Charters</b>, Capt. T.J. said. A flounder trip was slow Thursday in brutal weather with 15- to 20-knot winds from the northeast. Four keeper flounder to 5 pounds and a handful of sea bass were dusted up from the ocean offshore of Little Egg Reef. Trips Saturday and Sunday were also slow, mongering up a handful of sea bass on both days and one or two flounder on Sunday. An offshore trip will head out Tuesday. Shared charters are fishing every Tuesday and Thursday when no full charter is booked.

<b>Atlantic City</b>

Surf casters sometimes plucked kingfish while dunking bloodworms for bait, said Noel from <b>One Stop Bait & Tackle</b>’s son. Triggerfish hugged the rocks including at the T-jetty, sucking in clam. Flounder gathered along the surf, pouncing on minnows and squid, and weakfish  began to appear in the suds. Both could also be found along the T-jetty. Small striped bass, not many, sometimes popped up in the surf, and so did a few small blues. All the baits mentioned and more, a full supply, are stocked.

<b>Margate</b>

Trips to the ocean reefs were piling up good fishing for flounder and sea bass, said Capt. Eric from <b>O-Beth Sportfishing Charters</b>. Flounder to 24 or 25 inches were angled in during every trip, and sea bass to 3 and 4 pounds were socked. On some days flounder made up most of the catch, and on other days sea bass were dominant. Single-hooked bottom rigs with minnows and squid were fished. Shark fishing, one of O-Beth’s favorites, was still happening, although more anglers wanted flounder and sea bass lately. Two more trips for the flatties and lumpheads were sailing today and Tuesday. Bluefin tuna fishing was starting to kick in at the inshore lumps, and catches of yellowfin tuna and bigeye tuna were beginning farther offshore at the canyons, and should only get better. O-Beth is targeting all of this fishing.

<b>Longport</b>

On the <b>Stray Cat</b> flounder, sea bass, porgies and triggerfish were bucketed at wrecks 8 to 12 miles offshore, Capt. Mike said. Not a lot of the flounder were large, but quite a few 6-pounders were coolered. Some of the porgies were big, and out-of-season tog bit, and one of the blackfish per person will be able to be kept starting Thursday. A trip toward the end of the week looked for bluefin tuna at the Cigar, and none was found, but a 20-pound mahi mahi was clubbed, and some mystery bites, from not too large fish, got off, and the anglers stopped to tangle with small bluefish 20 miles from the coast on the way home. Maybe three tuna were boated in the whole fleet around the Cigar, and waters were beautiful, and 20 turtles, 10 sunfish and a couple of sharks were seen. Winds kicked up in the afternoon, but the vessel was already 20 miles from shore, on the way in, and seas were fine. Two or three spaces are available for an open-boat, canyon tuna trip that will fish during the second or third week of August. Call for the date if interested. Open-boat, offshore, wreck-fishing trips will begin to sail when the fluke season closes after September 7.

<b>Somers Point</b>

“Fluke fishing heated up like popcorn (in) a microwave,” said a fax from Rob and Joan from <b>Dolfin Dock</b>. Anglers and their catches of the summer flounder from the back bay included: Al Rocks, Egg Harbor Township. 9.84-pounder, Ships Channel, Gulp; Keith Trust, Nassau, N.Y., 7.17-pounder, Ship’s Channel, pink Gulp shrimp on a bucktail; Joe Angelo, Somers Point, 6.2-pounder, Corson’s Inlet, mackerel on a pink bucktail; Bob and Brent Maure, 6.19-pounder and 5.9-pounder, on the bay at Ocean City; Matt Dieter, Pittsburg, 14, 5.71-pounder, Ships Channel; Walt Gregory, Somers Point, 5-pounder, Ships Channel, squid and minnow combo;  Glen Quenzer, Pennsylvania, 5-pounder, Ships Channel, Gulp; and Shawn Withman, 16, 4.11-pounder, Ships Channel. Wayne King from Somers Point fished an offshore reef, slamming a 9.23-pound flounder on a Spro with a minnow. Cory Nolan, 9, Wayne, Pa., hauled in a 9-pound sheepshead at the Ocean City Bridge.

Angling really began to pick up for flounder and offshore fish, said T.C. from <b>Brennan Marine</b> in a fax. Keith Zaid and Wayne King on Keith’s Plastic Cloud plundered 30 of the fish, a flounder bonanza, including nine keepers to 29 inches and three that topped 5 pounds, at several inshore lumps on Pro Cut squid, minnows and Gulps. Bob Whiteside and Ron Wiggleworth loaded up on flounder and sea bass at GE Reef on Saturday. All the flounder were shorts except one, a 3.42-pounder, and a dozen of the sea bass were sizeable keepers to 21 inches. Bob Travis tricked up a 3.51-pound 23-1/2-inch weakfish that inhaled a Gulp peeler crab from the bay at Somers Point.  Several anglers reported battling bluefin tuna at 19-Fathom Lump, and Dave Fiocca and crew on Daves Poppy’s Cruiser stuck a 40-pounder at Lemke’s Canyon. Karl Smollinger and crew on his Night Moves ventured past the 750 Square to fish in 385 feet toward Lindenkohl Canyon, boating two 50-pound yellowfin tuna. Bill Haas and gang on his Rose Lee ran into huge schools of small yellowfin tuna, more of the tuna than he’d ever seen, and  as many as they could handle, 100 miles offshore, finding two keepers, 50-pounders, among the fish. If the small ones gain 10 to 15 pounds during the next month or so, the yellowfin season could be one to remember, he reportedly said.

<b>Sea Isle City</b>

Bob Veverka fly-rodded more than 20 striped bass to 27 inches Wednesday night under the bridge lights along the Intracoastal Waterway on Clousers on a sinking line, said Capt. Joe Hughes from <b>Jersey Cape Guide Service</b> and <b>Gibson’s Tackle</b>. Now was the time of the year for chasing the linesiders in the dark with flies or soft-plastic lures, and Joe’s charters do both. Still, Joe with friend Capt. Chris Goldmark clammed stripers to 26 inches on the bay during the daytime the next morning, and they fly-rodded small blues on the trip. On Friday Joe had wanted to fish offshore for tuna, but the weather was rough, so he flounder fished on the bay instead, pelting 20 of the fish including three keepers on a rig with a bucktail on the bottom an a trailer above. A Gulp was fished on the bucktail, and a minnow was fished on a plain, gold hook on the trailer. Most of the fish hit the minnow on the last couple of trips, but their preference goes back and forth between the two. Sid Miller, daughter Lauren, 7, and niece Lindsay, 8, were aboard Saturday, and first they flounder fished, reeling up 20 including a 3-pound keeper, while fishing the same rig that Joe used the previous day. Again, most of the fish hit the minnows. That was especially a lot of the fish for the middle of a Saturday in July, when the bay gets busy with boats. The flounder population’s been thick. Then they clammed for striped bass, especially because Sid had never landed a striper before, and wanted to try. Mission accomplished: A 12-pound 33-inch striper was nailed. Five dog sharks also bit during the trip, always fun for kids. On Sunday morning Tino Ricci jumped aboard for popper fishing for striped bass on the bay, spanking four of the linesiders, missing a couple of others, on Skitter Pop lures. The best tides, high tides coinciding with daybreak or dusk, were a little off, but popper fishing, a specialty on the boat, both with lures and flies, was picking up, and the tides were starting to come around in the next days. Poppers offer exciting, explosive visual attacks on the bay, while Joe poles his flats boat like in a tropical locale, but right here in South Jersey. Jersey Cape is offering after-work special trips on the bay from 4 p.m. to dark, a great time to fish, when nobody else is on the waters, and action can be best. Convenient, too. One space remains on an open-boat tuna trip slated for Tuesday afternoon, and call to claim. Joe will decide whether to go after bluefin tuna at the inshore lumps or yellowfin tuna offshore, or maybe both. Depends on what’s biting and where. The open trips usually sail on Wednesdays but sometimes on other days, depending on the weather and when anglers want to go. Call for info. The trips, sailing on a 26-foot Regulator, will fish either inshore for bluefin tuna or offshore at the canyons for yellowfins. Joe won’t limit the options, and he just wants to catch, he said. If that means pushing out to the canyons, he’ll do it. The trips are a learning experience. Joe will offer mixed-bag offshore charters this summer, trolling for tuna in the mornings, then casting lures, bait or flies to mahi mahi in the afternoons. The mahi fishing was beginning to heat up, and peanut bunker, used for chum, were becoming available, so those trips are ready to sail. Offshore trips fish on either the Regulator or a 42-foot Liberty, depending on the number of anglers and type of fishing, like angling with conventional tackle or fly gear.

<b>Wildwood</b>

Back-bay fishing was strong for flounder, lots of fish, plenty of shorts, but a decent percentage of keepers, said Mike from <b>Canal Side Boat Rentals</b>. One rental boater reeled in 10 or 12 of the fluke, all shorts, some of them close to keepers, but action. The flounder run was thick this year, and the fishing stayed about the same this past week as it was before. Boat traffic increased, especially on weekends, and anglers should try to fish during weekdays if possible. Minnows were well stocked, after the baitfish previously were difficult to obtain when the rains and the weather made them scarce in springtime. Some big ones were carried, too. Once in a while a customer hooked a short striped bass when drifting for fluke, but not many other fish besides flounder chewed, besides an occasional blue. Anglers who were experienced weakfishers were able to search out a few, but not many swam around, and the weakfishers kept quiet about the fishery. Mike’s friend nabbed them on Fin-S Fish. None of the small sea bass were around yet that usually come in during some point in summer. Crabbing was fair, somewhat under par, affected by the rainy spring, but the blueclaws were caught. The boats averaged two dozen keepers, and lots of throwbacks scurried around.  In addition to minnows, the shop is stocking frozen, whole and filleted mackerel, several types of frozen squid including big trolling squid and various colors of Pro Cut, fresh-frozen clams, salted clams, Pro Cut clams, live shedder crabs and frozen mullet and bunker, including for crabbing. Live crabs for eating start to be carried some time during the season, and Mike wasn’t asked whether they arrived yet. Canal Side rents canopy boats and kayaks for fishing, crabbing and sightseeing. The shop is open 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily.

Flounder fishing was “as good as it gets,” said Cathy from <b>Sterling Harbor Bait & Tackle</b> in an e-mail. Sizeable ones were grabbed from the ocean at Cape May Reef, Reef 11 and the Old Grounds, and a bunch, though plenty of them shorts, were hooked in the back bay. The fishing for the bigger ones seemed perfect timing for the shop’s 16th annual Duke of Fluke Tournament this past weekend. But first, other news: Schoolie striped bass swam around the bridges, docks and sod banks and could be clammed or plugged on top-water lures, and bluefin tuna were trolled during the weekend at Massey’s Canyon and 19-Fathom Lump. Now the results of the Duke of Fluke Tournament:
<br><br>
<b>Single Heaviest Fluke:</b><br>
1st Place: Duct Work, Capt. Scott Pierce, 11.86-pound flounder<br>
2nd Place: C-Bob, Capt. Chris Lowrey, 8.10-pound flounder<br>
3rd Place: Freaky One, Capt. Ed Adams, 7.85-pound flounder
<br><br>
<b>Five Heaviest Fluke Division:</b><br>
1st Place, Stars & Stripers, Capt. Paul Tripodi, 27.31 pounds<br>
2nd Place, Duchess, Capt. Craig Goss, 26.50 pounds<br>
3rd Place, Adam Bomb III, Capt.  Adam Crouthamel, no weight given<br>
<br><br>
<b>Kayak Division:</b><br>
1st Place: Justin Fesler, 2.86-pound flounder<br> 
2nd Place: Matt Ebbecke , 2.24-pound flounder<br>
3rd Place: Ellen Fox, 2.04-pound flounder
<br><br>
<b>Duchess Award:</b><br>
Melissa Jastremski , 7.79-pound flounder aboard the Adam Bomb III, Capt. Adam Crouthamel
<br><br>
<b>Junior Angler Award:</b><br>
Jack Hausman , 5.07-pound Flounder aboard the Tag & Release, Capt. John Hausman, Sr.
<br><br>
<b>Heaviest Sea Bass:</b><br>
Mike Bascome , 3.79-pounder aboard the Size Matters, Capt. Mike Bascome
<br><br>
<b>Heaviest Bluefish:</b><br>
Collin Hondros , 2.09-pounder aboard the Shore Beats Workin', Capt. Pete Hondros

<b>Cape May</b>

All the blues charters could want were trolled and jigged in the ocean at the inshore lumps on the <b>Down Deep</b>,  and because the speedsters were so abundant, the charters usually flounder fished at the ocean reefs afterward, Capt. Bob said. The flounder fishing was excellent, and flounder could also be bagged on Delaware Bay, but the reefs were closer to the bluefish. Bluefin tuna fishing began to kick into gear, and most who fished for them met success. Rich Savage’s charter on Wednesday landed two 60-pounders, keeping one. The Hambone and 19-Fathom Lump held bluefins, but so did all the lumps in such areas. The boat did no fishing for yellowfin tuna at the canyons so far this season, and tuna charters were concentrating on bluefins. Space is available for trips for any of these fish, and give a call if interested.

A trip for flounder fished the Old Grounds on the <b>Fishin’ Fever</b> on Saturday, putting a half-dozen keepers in the boat, probably among 35 to 40 throwbacks, Capt. Tom said. Some flounder also got off, and probably six were keepers, and the bucktailing for the fish took some practice. Tom on the trip heard about big numbers of bluefin tuna waffled at the inshore lumps that day, and angling for them started going off recently. He heard an unconfirmed report that a party boat hooked close to 20 of the fish. The bag limit is fewer, but anglers on a trip like that will catch and release, too. He ran a trip last week that hammered bluefins including a 111-pounder, covered in the last report. Good-sized mahi mahi roamed 20 to 30 fathoms, and Tom heard about some to 35 pounds gaffed. He also heard about three white marlin leadered in 20 fathoms so far this season. Farther from shore, yellowfin tuna, lots of small ones but some to 40 and 60 pounds, swam up and down the line at the canyons. The larger ones seemed to be getting more populous. No temperature breaks were anywhere, so the fish gathered around structure, and when anglers found them, they could lambast the catches at times.

Capt. George from the <b>Heavy Hitter</b> mated on a couple of trips in the past days, he said. One of them was on a party-boat sized charter boat that ran an overnight trip for bluefin tuna in 150 feet.  Six of the fish to 40 or 45 inches were landed, and a limit of two were kept, among others broken off. Two mahi mahi were also decked, and a small hammerhead shark was landed. The boat trolled when it arrived and the next morning, and at night it drifted while the anglers fished sardines. They hooked the fish when they dropped the baits to the bottom and reeled up a few cranks. The other trip was on a charter boat that put the anglers on triggerfish at a wreck and bluefish to the southeast. The Heavy Hitter is sailing for bluefins and flounder, currently trolling for the bluefins. Mahi mahi are sometimes mixed in with the tuna. Good catches of flounder could be claimed from the ocean, but decent angling for them was also possible off Cape May Point. Call if interested in a trip.

Fishing for flounder held up well, and a population of keepers started to flood the Cape May Rips and McCries Shoal, said Matt from <b>Jim’s Bait & Tackle</b> in a fax. Short flounder and a few keepers paved bottom at the drift areas of Cape May Reef, and the bigger flatties gathered around the bridge rubble and the wrecks. They lay tight to the structure, so the fishing was tough, but some big doormats were there. The south Old Grounds was another spot for big ones. Capt. Steve London and Jeff Glenn weighed in a 9.03-pound flounder and an 8.59-pounder respectively after a trip to Cape May Reef on the Stanley Rose. Matthew Broderick won the pool on a Cape May party boat with an 8.14-pounder. Flounder were banked from the surf at Alexander Avenue and along all the jetties at Cape May Point on squid or Gulps on slowly retrieved bucktails or jigheads. Croakers began to appear in the surf, and anglers racked up some of them on Saturday morning. Bluefin tuna fishing started to turn on at the inshore lumps on the troll. One captain reported boating two bluefins, three gaffer mahi mahi and a white marlin at the lumps inshore of the Elephant Trunk. Dan Fabri and crew landed six bluefins and some sizeable mahi while trolling lumps on the 20-fathom line. At Massey’s Canyon reportedly 20 of the tuna were hooked and six were landed on the Bodacious, and it’s assumed no more than the boat’s limit was kept. Offhore fishing produced at Baltimore Canyon on Thursday and Friday. On Thursday five yellowfins 50 pounds apiece were taken on the Salty Susan, and two blue marlin and two white marlin were raised.

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