<b>Bayonne</b>

A half-dozen sizeable fluke, all in the 20-inch range, including a 24-incher and two 23-inchers, were pummeled from the 9 buoy to the 12 buoy at Ambrose Channel on a trip Monday, said Capt. Akira from <b>True World Tackle</b> and <b>True World Tackle Charters</b>. Plus the anglers were inexperienced, and Akira showed them how to use the reels and bait the hooks. Then they picked up a bunch of sea bass in the ocean. On Sunday in south winds and strong currents, difficult conditions, another charter tied into a half-dozen keeper fluke at the same stretch. Then the anglers cranked up porgies from Sandy Hook Reef. So fluke fishing was good, and porgies began to be bagged, and Akira hoped weakfish would show up soon. 

<b>Port Monmouth</b>

Drifts at the Shrewsbury Rocks dug up a dozen keeper sea bass, a keeper fluke and tons of throwbacks for the Grenavitch trip on Saturday with <b>Parksea Fishing Charters</b>, Capt. Justin said. Rich Barry’s gang on Friday hung 10 keeper sea bass, a load of shorts and large triggerfish at the Rocks. Mostly squid was fished on both trips, but clams were also dunked. Parksea will keep bottom-fishing, and catches kept getting better, but is also fluking. Kids were on the trips, so the bottom-fishing offered great action, non-stop, double-headers. Fluke trips are fishing the bay, and good catches are getting waffled.

<b>Atlantic Highlands</b>

One patron limited out on six fluke on Tuesday afternoon’s trip, and there was lots of action the whole outing, said Capt. Kevin from the <b>Dorothy B</b>. A terrific afternoon, unbelievable, he said. Lots of the fish were throwbacks lately, but good numbers of keepers were around, and anglers had a good time. Another customer on the trip totaled 35 flatties including two keepers. On Wednesday lots of action was scored, and a few keepers were boxed. One customer picked up four keepers. A couple of great days, Kevin said. A grandfather took his granddaughter on a trip, and she caught a 3-pound keeper and got treated to a tour of the wheelhouse. Trips all fished the bay at places like Chapel Hill Channel and Reach Channel depending on the tides. No one bait seemed to work better than another, and all the usual offerings did the job. 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.

Fluke fishing piled up good catches for more than a week, Capt. Ron from the <b>Fishermen</b> said Tuesday in the report on the boat’s Web site. The high hook on the trip decked five keepers, and a couple wrangled up three to four, and a 4-1/2-pounder was the pool-winning fish. Lots of action, and a quality catch of keepers. Fishing with bait worked best in the morning, and a Spro rig with a bucktail teaser did the most damage later, non-stop, including double-headers, after the change of the tide.  On Wednesday Ron had to work the throttles because winds blew with the tide, making the drift too fast, but patrons picked away anyway, until the drift screamed at 2.1 knots. Then the boat ran to Reach Channel on the bay, and the anglers picked some more. Two anglers tied for high hook with three keepers apiece, and a 4-3/4-pounder took the pool. Although these two days were productive, on Monday the bite really turned on at the channels, and a couple of anglers limited out. A few came one fish short of a limit, and a 6-1/2-pounder won the pool. On that day Ron said the fishing lately was finally what it should be. Don’t wait to come down, he said in one of the other days’ reports, because the season’s almost finished. On the boat’s nighttime, weekend trips plenty of bluefish were clobbered on Sunday, after the bluefishing was a bummer on Saturday. The Fishermen is sailing for fluke 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily. Trips are running 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.

Keeper fluke, somewhat more than before, made for improved fishing for the flatties in the past three or four days on the <b>Atlantic Star</b>, Capt. Tom said. “Pretty good,” he said. All trips fished on the bay, and lots of shorts gave up action as usual, plenty of fishing for shorts. But even when fast drifts sometimes forced 8-ounce weights to be used, or when winds against tides hampered the drift, the number of keepers and the action with shorts was surprising, compared with before. One customer limited out on Monday, and others sometimes banged out three or four keepers on trips, and others hooked none. But everybody caught at least shorts. Some anglers would bail a mess of the fish with no keepers, and others would land a handful but grab some keepers. Forecasts for rough weather sometimes kept customers from coming down to fish, but the weather wasn’t bad, and the boat kept sailing. Rains fell at times, but no bad storms lasted long enough to affect things. The boat was fortunate for the option to fish the sheltered bay, because the ocean saw rough conditions. 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.

The channels gave up most of the bigger fluke, but boaters pulled on fluke at Reach Channel and down the ocean beaches and other places, and baits like big smelts were popular, said Jimmy from <b>Julian’s Bait & Tackle</b>. Plenty of striped bass could be wormed at night off Breezy Point. Blues schooled the bay, and Jimmy saw them beating the waters white when coming around Sandy Hook on Wednesday. Lots of blues were around to jig on the ocean, and bait also hooked them in a chum slick. Snapper blues were getting bigger in the back waters. Jimmy heard about a few weakfish nabbed on the rivers, and small blues ran around the rivers. Porgies could be plucked around the piers and structure. Bottom fishing on the ocean turned out good catches of sea bass and porgies. So lots of fish were around, a good time of the year.

<b>Highlands</b>

A trip steamed for the bluefin tuna grounds on the inshore ocean Wednesday, said Capt. Derek from <b>Fisher Price Charters</b>. The anglers went 3 for 5 on the tuna to 70 pounds, three on the troll and two on jigs, at the Atlantic Princess wreck. Waters were packed with at least 60 boats, but just about everybody seemed to hook up on the troll, jig or bait. The trip also looked around the Glory Hole but didn’t see much except bait. Seas were flat, even though anglers on the radio talked about rough seas that kept them docked. But on the way home seas built to 3 and 4 feet within 5 miles from shore, and the storm came through. Fisher Price is now running charters for bluefins. Fluke trips are also sailing, targeting the bigger ones in the deep with big strip baits on bucktails or live snapper blues and peanut bunker. Fluking was strong, and everybody looked for them at the channels, rough stuff or along the beaches. Derek heard about a few weakfish found in the rivers but no concentration. Weaks last year pushed in to the bay in October and late September, much later than they used to show. Fisher Price goes after them if they do come in. 

<b>Neptune</b>

With <b>Last Lady Fishing Charters</b> anglers knocked the heck out of cod on an offshore trip Wednesday, Capt Ralph said. The wreck fishing’s been the best in years, and the cod this day weighed up to 28 and 32 pounds, somewhat smaller than on the last trip, but lots of 10- to 15-pounders were clobbered, phenomenal fishing. Last Lady is only fishing the offshore wrecks on charters, running no open-boat trips for them. Inshore wreck charters also pounded catches, fishing as far from the coast as possible to get on them. The inshore fishing wasn’t as great as the offshore fishing, but it was good. Last Lady was one of the few boats from the area that sailed on the rough ocean during the northeast blow today, and the trip lambasted blues at the Shrewsbury Rocks on bait. Only three more individual-reservation fluke trips, fishing on Wednesdays, remain before the flattie season closes, and a handful of spaces are left on the trips. No spaces remain this month on Last Lady’s canyon, open-boat, overnight tuna trips, and if anglers want to go in September and October, they better book fast, because trips were filling, and Ralph will run no more than the five trips that remain through the season, listed on the boat’s Web site. Those who know what they’re doing we’re catching at the canyons. A friend hammered an excellent catch of 30- to 60-pound yellowfin tuna, bigger fish, at a canyon today on the troll. Ralph wouldn’t say which canyon, not giving up the location. The waters were so crowded on his last blue-water trip that boats ran over other vessel’s lines, cutting off fish. Ralph knew someone who fought a blue marlin for 3 hours until another boat ran over the line, breaking off the fish.

<b>Belmar</b>

A combo of sea bass, triggerfish and porgies were slung aboard Monday, and then the anglers went to work on blues the last couple of hours, said Capt. Tom from the <b>Nan Sea J</b>.  On Tuesday a trip for blues started with slow fishing, but then the angling kicked in, and slammers were nailed, all at the Shrewsbury Rocks on bait. On Wednesday a fluke trip on the ocean met strong winds that forecasts failed to predict, and an okay catch was made: some keepers, lots of shorts and some sea bass. An open-boat bluefin tuna trip might sail Wednesday, because a half-dozen anglers expressed interest, and bluefin kept giving up catches, like around the Glory Hole and the Chicken Canyon. The next two Wednesdays could be devoted to the bluefin trips, and call if interested. A friend trolled one of the tuna during the weekend and said the waters were packed with boats. Might help to go on a weekday. Tom also heard about a shot of warm waters at Hudson Canyon, serving up decent fishing for yellowfin tuna and bigeye tuna. The Nan Sea J will begin fishing the canyons for tuna with overnight trips in September.

The <b>Miss Belmar Princess</b> was the only vessel in the party boat fleet that sailed on the rough ocean in the stormy weather today, and big blues were ransacked on the trip. Capt. Alan said. Most weighed 8 to 15 pounds, and a few smaller ones were mixed in, and so were a couple of false albacore, and a few of the albies were beginning to arrive. The Miss Belmar Princess is fishing for blues 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. daily.

A bunch of fluke limits, flatties to 9 ½ pounds, were clubbed Wednesday on the <b>Big Mohawk</b>, Capt. Chris said. The angling had been slower but gaining momentum in the past couple of weeks, according to his reports, but now the fishing kicked in to high gear. Some 10- and 11-pounders were hauled up during the past week. The trips fish the rocks in the ocean, and patrons often jig for the flatties, but bait sometimes connects. An 8-1/2-pounder grabbed bait Wednesday. Tackle will be lost because of snagging in the rocks, a mess of  tackle at times, but the flatties stack up there. The Big Mohawk is fluke fishing 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily.

Quite a few keeper fluke were snatched from Shark River, said Jessie from <b>Fisherman’s Den</b>. Lots of snapper blues, 6-inchers, not big, schooled the river, and Jessie saw an angler cleaning a whole pile of porgies from the river, so porgies seemed plentiful. A few crabs, not big but keepers, were trapped on the river. The waters were never known for much crabbing compared with other areas, but some were around this year. Not much was doing in the surf, but anglers sometimes caught short stripers from the wash at night on rigged eels. One angler last week beached three stripers, including two keepers, at daybreak from the surf. Only one of the bluefish head boats sailed in today’s rough weather but creamed the catches. Others planned to head out tonight, and bluefishing was going strong in the past days. Party-boat fluking was also going well, and anglers from the vessels weighed in the flatties including a 10-pounder, an 8-pounder and a 6.4-pounder.

<b>Brielle</b>

An open-boat trip sche-lammed fluke on Tuesday on the ocean with <b>Fish Monger Charters</b>. “A day to remember for sure,” Capt. Jerry said in an e-mail. Once the six anglers knew they were going to limit out, they invited Capt. Jerry and Capt. Wayne to fish, and all eight men limited out on 48 keepers by 2 p.m. What’s more, they played catch and release afterward, letting go 21 more keepers. “Never thought I’d be saying that,” Jerry said. Nineteen of the fish weighed 4 to 7 ½ pounds. “Headed right past the local grounds (on the trip),” Jerry said, “back to the sticky areas that have been producing for us.” The fishing just seemed to keep getting better . The anglers began fishing the sticky areas in 30 feet and grabbed some keepers, then headed to 60 feet, and keepers started flying. When the action slowed, the boat was moved to another patch, and catches started all over. Four great trips in a row with limits, Jerry said. “Hope it holds up.” A handful of dates remain for fluke charters before the summer flounder season ends. Open-boat trips are also sailing for fluke. Coming up, Fish Monger will run charters and open trips for bonito and false albacore on the ocean, tackle-busting angling. Last year’s trips whaled the fish, and anglers already booked space for this year.

Bluefish were on a tear 17 miles north and offshore since Sunday night’s trip, an e-mail from the <b>Jamaica</b> said. Limits were common on the night trips since then, but day trips also put the slam on catches in the same area, mostly on bait, but sometimes on jigs. Night trips always fish with bait, of course. Everyone aboard was tackling 7- to 12-pounders. On Wednesday blues were run into where they attacked bunker only a few miles from the inlet. Recent pool winners included Bob Birchenough from Ewing Township with a 13-pounder and Giacop Dusos from Campbell, Pa., with a 13-1/2-pounder. The crew expects good bluefishing through the weekend. The Jamaica is fishing for blues on two trips 7:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. daily. Check the boat’s Web site for specials this month and to be added to the e-mail list for specials. Reservations are being booked for canyon tuna fishing that will begin toward the end of the month.

<b>Point Pleasant</b>

A Fluke Till You Puke Marathon, one of the open-boat trips with <b>Reel Class Charters</b>, whacked 18 keepers to just under 7 pounds, including 3- to 5-pounders, 60 throwbacks and nine keeper sea bass on the ocean Monday, Capt. Allen said in the report on the boat’s Web site. “The bite was pretty good, not red hot, but still a productive day,” he said. The trip first fished around rocks between Deal and Monmouth Beach, and some of the catch was landed. Then the anglers ran deeper to rocks in 60 feet, and the fluking there was even better. On a six-hour trip Tuesday with a family aboard, several quality, keeper fluke to 4 pounds, 50 throwbacks and some sea bass were mugged. “Not a bad trip!” Allen said. The anglers first fished the shallows in 30 to 40 feet between Deal and Long Branch for great action in spurts. They then tried fishing deeper, where the angling was best on the previous day, but the fluking there was no good this day. Both charters and the open trips are fluking, and sea bass can be mixed in when rough bottom is fished, and check the boat’s Web site for availability on the open trips.

Ocean fluking gained steam on the <b>Norma K</b>, and thirty keepers, including a couple that weighed more than 5 pounds apiece, were socked  on Wednesday morning’s trip, Capt. Matt said. Definitely improving, a larger population of keepers, lots more 3- to 5-pounders. A 7-1/2-pounder was the pool-winning flattie the other day. Bluefishing also took off, put out plenty of 5- to 12-pounders in the past week. Saturday’s bluefishing was slow, but the rest of the days were on. So both of the boat’s trips improved and were going well. Trips are fishing for fluke twice daily 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 2 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. and for blues 7 p.m. to 1 a.m. daily.

On the <b>Cock Robin</b> Monday’s trip first jumped on bluefish just outside Manasquan Inlet, an e-mail from the boat said. The speedsters stuck around long enough “for everyone (to join) the action,” it said. Then the boat rode north, and the anglers beat more. “Super excellent catching again,” the e-mail said about the day. On Tuesday the boat returned to the same waters, but the blues were gone. Capt. Howard from the Jamaica generously shared info about blues he found, and the Cock Robin ran to the spot, and game on: Blues were creamed. Joey Pinzka from Perkasie, Pa., won the pool with a 14-pounder. Bluefishing on the previous days was good on Friday , poor on Saturday, better on Saturday night and a slow pick on Sunday, until Monday’s and Tuesday’s catches turned back on, described above. 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.

Bottom fishing socked porgies and ling, a bunch, on the <b>Dauntless</b>, Capt. Butch said. Been a good summer for the fishing, after a healthy spring of bottom-bouncing on the boat, a productive year so far. On some days this past week some of the vessel’s anglers limited out on porgies. On other days they gained more of a mix of both, like 15 to 20 porgies and 20 to 25 ling per person. Trips usually fished for porgies in the mornings in the 20- to 40-foot shallows, then switched to ling in the deep or 130 to 180 feet. Lots of sea bass swam around, but most were small, because of warm waters. The surface was 74 degrees, and a diver on Wednesday said the bottom was 51 to 52 degrees in 70 feet. Keeper fluke were sometimes bagged in the shallows when anglers porgy fished, and cod and a few pollock sometimes came up in the deep when ling were hunted. On the boat’s nighttime trips anglers bailed blues, lots of the fish, for the past week. Patrons pumped in five to ten blues apiece, good fishing on a half-night trip. The Dauntless is bottom fishing 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. daily and is bluefishing 7:30 p.m. to 1 a.m. daily.

<b>Toms River</b>

A few more keeper fluke than before seemed to be rustled up all around, but lots of shorts continued to dominate everyplace, said Jeff from <b>Murphy’s Hook House</b>. On Barnegat Bay fluke gathered around the BI and BB markers and Oyster Creek and Double Creek channels. In the surf a few keepers were beached, and sometimes bluefish came through, getting hooked on bunker or mullet. Lots of brown sharks were muscled in from the wash at night. Ocean anglers found the flatties in 45 to 70 feet and at the Tires and the reefs, and sea bass also came from the Tires and the reefs. The only weakfish that Jeff heard about were hooked at Berkeley Island Park in the early mornings or at dusk. Jeff took at trip that trolled bonito, Spanish mackerel and skipjacks at Barnegat Ridge. Snapper blues jumped on spearing under bobbers on the Toms River. Crabbing went well, and many of the blueclaws were small, but 5- and 6-inchers were gathered up.

<b>Seaside</b>

Sharks that were banked at night and in the early mornings were really the talk from the surf, said the report on <b>Grumpy’s Tackle</b>’s Web site. Twenty to 100-pounders (!) were heard about that were cranked in, and they were taking anything in their paths, and try fishing bunker or mackerel. A wide range of species swam the local area, including brown sharks, threshers and even small hammerheads. Watch the rod, because anglers were seen losing the poles when the big fish grabbed the baits and took off. Big cownosed rays were also around that the did the same. Good fluke fishing went down on foot  at Barnegat Inlet and the inlet pocket, and bigger Gulps worked better for keepers. Small blues drove up the inlet the other day, chasing rainfish. Little was heard about striped bass in the suds, but a few small stripers were hooked on mullet rigs meant for blues one day.  <a href="http://www.grumpystackle.com/fishingreports/" target="_blank"> Click here</a> for updates.   

<b>Forked River</b>

Barnegat Bay anglers started reeling up better catches of fluke in the past week or so at usual places like the BI and BB markers and Double Creek Channel, said Dave from <b>Grizz’s Forked River Bait & Tackle</b>. Ocean boaters also started banging out better fluking than before at spots like in 50 feet off the Coast Guard Station or at the Tires or the range buoys. Nothing was really heard about weakfish in the bay, but blowfish and kingfish were yanked in from Tice’s Shoal or other shallow waters on Barnegat. Nobody really talked about blues, but blues are always around everywhere. They seemed to be scarcer and smaller than before on the bay. Spearfishers stuck triggerfish along the Barnegat Inlet rocks. Bonito and a few Spanish mackerel were fought at Barnegat Ridge. Lots of bluefin tuna were reported nailed at the Glory Hole and the Atlantic Princess wreck. Crabbing was awesome, and customers looted them at Berkeley Island Park.

<b>Barnegat Light</b>

You’ve got to love when fluke begin to turn on toward the end of summer, said the report on <b>Barnegat Light Bait & Tackle</b>’s Web site. The fluking turned on a bit, and the fish swam the “comfortable, deep, cool waters” at Barnegat Inlet, the report said. Baitfish from tinker mackerel and herring to rainfish and spearing were stacked up at the inlet, drawing in the doormats. One couple of anglers on a trip combined for 10 keepers at the inlet off Barnegat Lighthouse. Fewer fluke but large ones, 5- to 10-pounders, could be drilled at Barnegat Ridge. Anglers fishing from the Barnegat Inlet jetty could score well on fluke that hunted bait gathered along the rocks. One angler bagged five large keepers and lost an 8- or 9-pounder there. A big population of bluefish stormed the inlet at times, and herring were mixed in for a scrappy fight. Triggerfish anglers could chum up one or two of the fish to 4 pounds per day at the condo docks near the inlet. Chumming in Barnegat Bay put boaters on more kingfish than before, when they happened upon a school. A few blowfish and porgies showed up in the slick. That chumming was about to bust open by early September or sooner, and then the fishing will be pot luck for kings, blowfish, triggerfish, snapper blues, fluke, “you name it,” the report said.

<b>Barnegat</b>

Bonito and Spanish mackerel were on a red-hot bite at Barnegat Ridge, said Capt. Dave DeGennaro from the <b>Hi Flier</b> in an e-mail. Two anglers signed up for an open-boat trip Friday for the fishing, and space remains for one more. Give a buzz to go, and the trip will run 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. “We are going to catch them!” he said. The forecast was calm, and the speed demons are great sport, “and you’ll leave with a bag of some of the best loin you ever had,” he said. Charters are booked Saturday and Sunday, but more open trips will sail next week. He’s also weakfishing on Barnegat Bay, and e-mailed a photo of an angler with one of the trout, “one of only two we had, so don’t get excited,” he said. Fishing for them with live grass shrimp is a specialty on the vessel.

Ten keeper fluke on one trip and 12 on another were bagged on the ocean Monday and Wednesday with <b>Perfect Drift Sport fishing</b>, Capt. John said. The fishing was happening, and currently is the best it’s going to be before the season closes in a few weeks. Fluking becomes even better in fall in the ocean, but the season closes early these days. The trips fished off Island Beach State Park, and plenty of shorts were released. Small blues were also hooked o Monday’s trip. Fluke were spread out all along the ocean off the park, and anglers just needed to find a few and work that spot. A 4-foot brown shark grabbed one of the fluke rigs and was fought and released on the trip Monday, and another shark, probably a 3- or 4-footer, probably a brown, was seen on Wednesday’s trip. Brown sharks chased bunker along the ocean front, and a few bunker pods were around. Bonito and Spanish mackerel schooled Barnegat Ridge, and Perfect Drift  will fish for them. Bluefishing was terrible at the ridge. John heard about no arrival of weakfish in Barnegat Bay.

<b>Beach Haven</b>

Anglers on the <b>Miss Beach Haven</b> rounded up fluke from the bay to the ocean, Capt. Frank said. Getting keepers was the challenge, but lots of the flatties packed the waters, gave up action. A few sea bass were in the mix on the ocean trips, but fluke made up most of the catch.  The Miss Beach Haven is fishing the bay for fluke 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. Mondays and Tuesdays and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays through Fridays. The boat is fishing the ocean for fluke and sea bass 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. Wednesdays through Fridays and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays.

On the <b>June Bug</b> at Hudson Canyon on Monday three 30-inch yellowfin tuna and six 15- to 20-pound mahi mahi were bagged on the troll, Capt. Lindsay said. Probably a dozen throwback yellowfins were also trolled, and so was a big fish, probably 80 pounds, that bent a 12/0 carbon steel hook and got off. Lindsay couldn’t know whether the fish was a large yellowfin or a bigeye tuna. He heard about no bigeyes caught that day. The fish on the trip were hooked on the warm side of a long temperature break from 76.3 degrees to 80.4 degrees. Even the small tuna seemed unusually aggressive, making the anglers, an experienced group, huff and puff. Seas became a little sloppy at mid day but settled back down. Trips will keep fishing the canyons but will also fish inshore for bonito at Barnegat Ridge and fluke in the ocean.

<b>Tuckerton</b>

A short trip on the ocean put 11 keeper flounder to 8 pounds in the box Tuesday, releasing 20 to 30 shorts, said Capt. T.J. from <b>Legal Limit Charters</b>. The ¾-day trip fished only 4 hours, traveling during the other two, and the drift was right until the end of the day, until the drift was lost, and the fish stopped biting. The fishing was now decent, so that’s great news, he said. Space is available Monday for a shared charter for flounder, and shared trips are usually running for the fluke every Tuesday and Thursday when no charter is booked. A charter today was pushing off for bluefin tuna, set to troll 30 fathoms.

<b>Mystic Island</b>

Keeper flounder catches picked up on the ocean, exciting news, but Scott from <b>Scott’s Bait & Tackle</b> said something like this: that he didn’t want to get overly excited, but the keeper population did increase. Where they came from, nobody knows. But a charter captain said a tremendous number of the flatties filled the ocean, and enough keepers were around to make customers happy. Anglers nabbed keepers at the Atomic Lump and Little Egg Reef, and 55- to 60-foot depths, both at structure and along open bottom, was a magic depth. Customers who fished at the Rutgers Buoys said they only reeled up shorts. Plenty of flounder, mostly shorts and very occasional keepers, swam the bay, mostly toward the inlet in 18 to 25 feet. But the fishing was active, and anglers could have at it. The mouth of the Mullica River and the creek mouths attracted ¾-pound blues that attacked baitfish like peanut bunker that got washed out with the outflows. Bait like the peanuts caught them, and so did small lures like little Gotchas or metal jigs. Several anglers reported tearing up the waters with nighttime shark fishing at Grassy Channel on Great Bay. Big browns and large sand sharks haunt the waters in summer, and the fishing was going well. Anglers anchor up from around dusk to 10 p.m., create a chum slick, toss out baits like mackerel fillets, and hold on. The fishing is an opportunity to fight big fish, like browns to 5 feet, without sailing offshore. The shop carries a special shark rig and a chum ball perfect for the bay sharking, and can give advice. Nothing much was doing with weakfish, and the bay’s population of kingfish and blowfish was yet to build up to be fishable. Nobody mentioned white perch fishing, and Scott’s was no longer carrying live grass shrimp, the favorite weakfish bait, because waters were too warm to catch and keep them. Nobody talked about tog fishing, and the heat killed the shop’s green crabs, the favorite tog bait, but more were arriving today. Crabbing was great, and moving, oxygenated waters were key, because of the heat.

<b>Port Republic</b>

Customers looking for flounder sailed more to the ocean than the bay now, said Steve from <b>Chestnut Neck Boat Yard</b>. Shorts remained abundant, but a few 18- to 20-inch keepers were taken. A few weakfish were scattered around places like the mouth of the Mullica River but also other pockets here or there. Again, many were shorts. Plenty of white perch schooled the river and other waters, and nobody mentioned running into blues. Crabbing was good. Shedder crabs, minnows, bloodworms and frozen baits, including salmon belly, are stocked. The salmon, silver on one side and pink on the other, is a new bait stocked at the shop this year, is popular and works for nearly any fish.

<b>Absecon</b>

Some anglers started to talk about more flounder showing up in the ocean, like off Absecon Inlet, but the flatties kept holding in the bay, too, said Curt from <b>Absecon Bay Sportsman Center</b>. He wouldn’t call the bay fishing hot, but the flatties continued to be boated. Weakfish were sometimes claimed from the Inland Waterway, usually in the early mornings, before boat traffic began. But sometimes they kept hitting until 9 a.m. or 10 a.m. Pink or chartreuse Gulps tipped with shedder crabs gained strikes. Capt. Dave, the shop’s owner, ran charters that wrestled in large weaks one day and smaller weaks but more of them on another. Striped bass were responsive at night around the structure like under the bridge lights or at the jetties. Live eels and spots caught them. Drifted eels or spots also picked up stripers along the sod banks at night. Plenty of tog and a few triggerfish were lifted from along the structure like bridges, jetties and the sod banks and also from the inshore wrecks. Decent numbers of small striped bass and white perch could be dialed up from the rivers. Curt heard about a few mahi mahi beginning to be played on the inshore ocean like along the lobster pots when waters were clean and warm. Shedder crabs are stocked, and soft shell crabs are on hand for eating, because the shop raises them. Live spots are carried, and Capt. Dave looked for peanut bunker a couple of times to begin stocking, but the peanuts needed to grow. Eventually peanuts and mullet will be kept in the livewells. Just about all other baits are on hand, and the shop carries one of the larger selections around.

<b>Brigantine</b>

The catch on a canyon trip on Wednesday on the <b>Fishin’ Fever</b> included two yellowfin tuna to 55 pounds and four mahi mahi 20 to 25 pounds, Capt. Tom said. The trip also went 2 for 4 on white marlin. All the fish were trolled along the 100-fathom line, mostly on ballyhoos, and Tom was keeping the location quiet. But waters were 77 degrees, clean and blue. A friend went 1 for 2 on whites and missed a blue marlin in the area that day. Lots of billfish were around this season, and the 100 line was a place to find them. Tom was heading right back out on another canyon trip at 2 a.m. today. He moved the boat back to Brigantine, after fishing from Cape May a while, and the vessel can sail from either port, giving trips a wide range of choices to fish the canyons, wherever the bite is best. For example, if Hudson Canyon, out of range from Cape May, was the place to go, Brigantine gave that option. Inshore trolling trips cleaned up on bonito, Spanish mackerel, king mackerel and blues. Flounder trips clobbered catches on the ocean. The boat’s flounder trips mostly fish the ocean, but could hit Delaware Bay, if anglers wanted or if trips were shorter, and the bay was full of the fluke.

Beach anglers pumped in flounder, mostly shorts, plenty of them, from the surf, said Fred from <b>Riptide Bait & Tackle</b>. A father and son totaled 12 shorts, no keepers, on Brigantine’s north end Wednesday afternoon on mackerel strips. Other baits like minnows, squid strips and Gulps will also work. FishBites, known for making artificial worms, is making scented paddle tails and shrimp that are less expensive than Gulps, and the shop began carrying them, “and initial reports were good,” Fred said. Boaters drummed up flounder at Absecon Inlet, and four anglers who boated the inlet Wednesday bombed eight keepers. But that was a lot of keepers, more than usual. Probably one keeper for every 15 or 20 shorts was typical. Sharpies picked at kingfish, not the normal amount, in the wash. Blues sometimes tumbled into the suds, and tog and triggerfish were found along the south end jetty. Sharks haunted the surf, and anglers would catch kings or blues from the waters and toss them back out for shark bait. Brown sharks were caught and released, and one angler showed off photos of a 4-foot sandtiger shark beached and released. Another said he landed a dusky shark and let it go. A few ocean boaters talked about catching flounder at the ocean lumps off Brigantine or wherever they could find structure. Fred played with 2- to 3-pound blues that chased bunker in the ocean within two miles off the inlet. Lots of bait, including bunker, swam the ocean.

<b>Margate</b>

A gazillion flounder carpeted the bay, and most were shorts, but some were keepers, said Capt. John from the <b>Keeper</b>. Legal-sized flatties were creeled on the boat on most days, and a ton of shorts always gave up action. All patrons at least tackled shorts. A few 1- to 1-1/2-pound blues were sometimes landed. The population of blues seemed to be building, and John saw two or three flocks of birds working the waters above them at Absecon Inlet on Wednesday on the boat. Lots of bait including silversides filled the waters, and the bait will draw in more and more blues to the bay, and John was glad to see the blues arriving. Trips will sometimes stop on the blues to spice up the catch. The bay was coming to life, like with the bait and the blues, and maybe the bait that blues chopped up would attract more big flounder to follow the schools, eating up the scraps that fell. Peanut bunker were able to be thrown in the livewell for flounder bait once or twice through the week, and John will keep the baitfish aboard whenever he can toss a net on them. Minnows were kept aboard for bait and worked well, but strip baits and Gulps also did the trick fine. The Keeper is fishing for flounder on two trips daily 8 a.m. to 12 noon and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.

<b>Ocean City</b>

The bigger flounder were found at the ocean reefs, giving up okay catches, a few fish to bring home, said Bill from <b>Fin-Atics</b>. The back waters including the bay still held flounder, but the inlets were the better place to lock in to keepers. Lots of small sea bass, sand sharks and such skittered around the bay. Flounder could also be banked from the surf by those who knew how. Fish a bucktail or a jig or some type of lure, casting and working them slowly along the bottom, and don’t fish bait and just let it sit there. But cast close to shore, because the flatties hugged close to the beach, not swimming far out. Sharks sometimes chased bunker in the surf. More kingfish than before appeared in the wash, nibbling bloodworms or FishBites artificial worms. Bill heard about bluefin tuna, fewer than last year but some, boated on the inshore ocean to the south at Jack’s Spot, the Hot Dog and Massey’s Canyon. Lots of small yellowfin tuna traveled the canyons farther offshore. A ton of white marlin were around this year, and Wilmington Canyon served up a bunch. A few mako sharks were subdued at night at the canyons. A few yellowfins, not a lot, began to respond at night in the waters.

Catches of keeper flounder amped up in the past few days on the boat, and blues to 3 pounds gave up action on light tackle on the trips, said Capt. Craig from <b>Fish Tale Charters</b>. Most of the fishing went down on the ocean, but on one trip a friend called to say he was grabbing fluke at the channel from the inlet right through to the ocean, and Fish Tale stopped there on the way home from ocean fishing, and the flatties were also picked up there. Craig had said previously that his log book showed that flounder fishing usually improved around mid August for keepers at the reefs, after a lull on the bay in late July and early August, and that’s how it panned out this week. He was now waiting for croakers and weakfish to arrive along the ocean front, and his log last year said weaks appeared August 17, and croakers turned up August 27. One of his shark trips that hunt browns close to shore also sailed, tackling some of the monsters. The trips basically fish just like a mako trip does farther offshore, but on a smaller scale with lighter tackle. The browns, pushing 4 and 5 feet, run all around the boat, scream out line and have a mouth full of teeth. The trips catch and release them and afterward usually go after fish for the box like flounder or blues during the last couple of hours. No tuna trips were on the books for the near future, but Craig knows anglers who battled bluefin tuna at the Lobster Claw on Sunday, and he knows another who fished there Monday and said anglers couldn’t buy a fish. That’s about how the fishing seemed lately: On some days the fish went on the feed, and on others they lay low. Fish Tale can sail for the bluefins at the Lobster Claw and typically runs tuna trips out to 40 miles.

<b>Sea Isle City</b>

Run to the ocean reefs for the bigger flounder, but the bay held the flatties, mostly small ones, said John from <b>Gibson’s Tackle</b>. Small sea bass gathered in the bay, and small tog were around in the waters. Small flounder also hugged the shore in the surf. Surf fishing was generally slow, including for kingfish, though kings would usually be more numerous. Shark anglers could have fun fighting browns and duskies at the lumps, wrecks and structure close to the coast. Big bluefin tuna, smaller yellowfin tuna and mahi mahi clung to the Lobster Claw.

A 200-pound blue marlin crashed the spread within five minutes of fishing at the canyons Wednesday, said Capt. Joe Hughes from <b>Jersey Cape Guide Service</b>, affiliated with <b>Gibson’s Tackle</b>. The trip, with John Martin and Jeff Pesot, went on to land and release the blue, go 3 for 5 on whites released and add a 20-pound mahi mahi to the mix. An awesome trip! Joe said. A couple of tuna bites and a couple of mystery bites never came tight. Joe declined to name the canyon, because the trip was sort of a tune up for his competing in next week’s Mid Atlantic $500,000. But the waters were 78 to 80 degrees, beautiful and flat calm. The billfish were the first-ever for both anglers: the blue and a white for Martin, and two whites for Pesot. All the fish were trolled: the blue on a Black Bart, and the rest on naked ballyhoos on circle hooks. Closer to shore, fishing for keeper flounder picked up at the ocean reefs, and keepers, usually more than one, were hooked on every trip. Anglers would land a dozen to 20 flatties that included some keepers. Other fish like blues, sea bass and sharks also kept the rods bending, constant action, lots of fun, great for families but also for anglers. Julio and Sergio Rojas were aboard for a reef trip Tuesday, creeling two keeper flounder to 4 ½ pounds among about a dozen throwbacks plus other assorted fish. Ideal tides or high at dawn and dusk will begin to kick in next week for popper fishing for striped bass on the back bay with lures and flies, a specialty on the boat. High tides in the middle of the night like from 10 p.m. to 3 a.m. were starting to come around this week for ideal striper fishing like at the lights at the bridges and docks on soft-plastic lures or flies, and Jersey Cape also features that fishing. Open-boat tuna trips are sailing weekly, usually on Wednesdays, but sometimes on other days, depending on the weather and when anglers can go. They fish either inshore for bluefin tuna or offshore for yellowfins, whatever’s best, or both. The trips are a learning experience. Offshore charters are available that troll for tuna during the mornings and cast bait, lures or flies to mahi at the lobster pots during the afternoons.  Stay tuned for details about traveling charters that Joe will offer. One will be on weekends in Montauk for the blitz of stripers and blues in mid September to late October, and the other will be to Marthas Vineyard and the Elizabeth Islands in Massachusetts for fly-rodding for stripers on Columbus Day weekend. Or call him for info.

<b>Wildwood</b>

Cape May Reef doled out healthy fishing for flounder on most of the past few days on the <b>Adventurer</b>, Capt. Gary said. The fishing was slow on Wednesday’s trip but held up otherwise. Monday’s trip produced the most: 26 keepers boated among 10 anglers. A bunch will be taken at the reef on one day, and another day will be slower. Mostly flounder were netted, but a few blues and sea bass were angled in. The Adventurer is fishing on open-boat trips 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily, but call to confirm, making sure no charter is running instead.

Crabbing, although it slowed during the shed around last week’s full moon, was good on the bay, and was picking back up, said Josh from <b>Canal Side Boat Rentals</b>. Customers claimed maybe two to three dozen keepers per trip, and the blueclaws were big, number 1’s. Striped bass, schoolies to about 25 inches, were actually thick in the bay, and crabbers saw them following bunker they pulled in on hand lines. Anglers could especially hook the stripers at night. An occasional school of blues, not too many, popped up on the bay. Small sea bass were around the waters, and no kingfish appeared so far. Minnows, shedder crabs, whole and filleted mackerel, various types of frozen squid, fresh-frozen clams, salted clams, frozen mullet and bunker, including for crabbing, and more baits are stocked. Live blueclaw crabs are carried for eating, and they were currently number 2’s. Canal Side rents canopy boats and kayaks for fishing, crabbing and sightseeing. The shop is open 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily.

<b>Cape May</b>

Capt. George from the <b>Heavy Hitter</b> mated on a trip that trolled a mess of blues, bonito and Spanish mackerel 14 miles from the coast on Tuesday, he said. Fish were hooked as quickly as the anglers could reel them in, and as many blues as anyone could want, 2- to 3-pounders, and the 3-pounders were a little bigger than previously, could be clocked. A few bonito and Spanish mackerel were in the mix lately, but the fish were out there. A trip might get four or five bonito and a couple of Spanish. That was more bonito than were around last year, although they were abundant several years ago. A tuna trip will sail on the Heavy Hitter on Saturday. The boat is also flounder fishing on the ocean, and the flounder fishing wasn’t bad, was pretty good, George said, and the catches will continue through the end of the flattie season. George heard about plenty of flounder taken from Cape May Reef on Wednesday. But flounder will turn on at the reef one day then become difficult to catch on several days.  Only have three or four anglers for a trip instead of six to create a full charter? Call George, because he can probably put you together with other anglers on a make-up trip during mid week.

Plenty of flounder were reeled up from Delaware Bay to the ocean reefs, and also from the back bay, said Danny from <b>Hands Too Bait & Tackle</b>. On the bay they came from places including Tussy’s Slough, around Miah Maul and off Fortescue. In the surf small blues moved in this morning, and anglers were stopping by to pick up metal leaders. Boaters lately worked schools of the blues off Cape May Point. In the surf at Poverty Beach this morning, anglers snagged bunker, tossed them back out for bait and fought a few thresher sharks to shore. Croakers gathered around Higbee’s Beach toward the ferries. No weakfish were reported caught.

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