New Jersey Fishing Reports

A trip attempted to sail for fluke Wednesday but was turned back around because of rough weather and seas, said Capt. Anthony from Barbara Anne Fishing Charters. Another one of the trips was supposed to fish today, and Barbara Anne is mostly concentrating on fluke, though sea bass fishing is an option. Barbara Anne’s fluke trips usually fish along Ambrose Channel to the Verrazano Bridge. But special Fluke Monster-a-Thons, 11-hour, open-boat trips with four anglers, fish once a week on the ocean, at rocky bottom and wrecks 15 to 20 miles from port. The first bucktail is provided, and anglers should bring the rest. A season-long fluke derby is being held on the boat, awarding first and second prizes to the two anglers who heave aboard the biggest fluke this year. The angler with the biggest will win a custom-made Lamiglas rod, built from an MB963M blank that can be used for inshore fishing for fluke, striped bass, jigging for stripers and blues, fishing for sea bass and more, valued at $475. The angler with the second biggest fluke will win two free open-boat trip passes that can be used anytime during the season, valued at $270. The fluke will be weighed in at Michael’s Bait & Tackle, across from the marina. Anyone who fishes on the boat becomes eligible for the prizes, and there is no entry fee. Each angler can only win one prize, or, in other words, one angler cannot win both first and second prizes. Coming up, Barbara Anne successfully bid on a Research Set Aside Permit, allowing trips to fish for fluke when the fluke season closes. New York’s season will close from September 7 to May 21, and the RSA bag limit is four fluke from 17 to 20 inches per person. The anglers will fluke fish when other anglers cannot.

Keyport

The four anglers aboard were good bucktailers on an open-boat trip for fluke on Raritan Bay Monday, said Capt. Joe from Papa’s Angels Charters. Bucktailing is all they did, totaling six keepers among shorts tossed back at Reach Channel. The anglers – Al, Joe, Paul and Bobby from Gillette – used teasers on all the rigs, and Gulps for bait. They constantly worked the rods, instead of letting the rigs drag on the drift. Half the fish hit the bucktails, and half munched the teasers, and the type of fishing was effective. Strong winds blew, and seas were rough, but the group had a good time, Joe said. That was one of the open trips running in the afternoon to night, and another group, Tim and Amy Walsh, and friend Steve from Ringwood, fluke fished Wednesday on one of the morning to early afternoon open trips, at Reach Channel. Using squid and killies on single-hooked fluke rigs, they landed lots of shorts, but managed a 19-inch keeper. A fluke charter will probably sail Saturday, and a charter, an 8-hour trip, Friday will run for sea bass at Sandy Hook Reef. Several open trips are sailing for fluke daily when no charter is booked: 4- or 6-hour trips leaving at 7 a.m. and twilight trips from 4 to 9 p.m. Call to go. Credit card payments through PayPal are accepted for all trips.

Atlantic Highlands

Fluke trips on the Atlantic Star fished around the Navy Pier and at Reach Channel, and mostly shorts bit, but some keepers did, Capt. Tom said. Weather forecasts sometimes kept crowds light, and only a handful fished on Wednesday morning’s trip, but only one of the anglers failed to land a keeper, and the rest grabbed one or two, among shorts let go. The afternoon trip was somewhat better, and one angler totaled five keepers, and a couple nabbed two or three, and some hooked none, and so on, but all at least reeled in shorts. That’s how the fishing’s been. Afternoon trips produced better fluking on both Tuesday and Wednesday, but whether mornings or afternoons were best in general was difficult to say. Sometimes the anglers aboard could make a difference. Sometimes experienced anglers fishing with Spro jigs with a teaser were more prevalent on a trip, and catches were better. Still, kids 5, 6 and 7 years old caught. Sometimes luck was more of a factor than what the angler fished with like a Spro. An angler on one trip fished with a Spro, landing only throwbacks, while an angler dragging bait next to him bagged three keepers, and another using bait next to him bagged one. The drift as always made a difference. Sometimes winds and tides created the right drift, and catches were better. The drift was slow on Wednesday, but enough fluke flooded the waters that the flatties were still caught. Plenty of the fish were around. Sometimes the drift could be too fast. Though forecasts scared off crowds at times, seas were fine on the protected bay, and a place can usually be found to tuck away from winds, and no hard westerlies blew that would rough up the waters. Tom heard the ocean held a swell. Sometimes rains fell on the bay, but the weather was never too rough on a trip. The Atlantic Star is fishing for fluke on two trips daily 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Striped bass were boated at places including Romer Shoal, Reach Channel, the ocean off the Highlands Bridge and the Shrewsbury Rocks, said Dottie from Julian’s Bait & Tackle. Frank Nowak, New Egypt, checked in a 48-pound 50-incher on Saturday, and Charles Embrey, Red Bank, weighed in a 33-pounder on Friday. A few 10- and 12-pound bluefish were brought to the shop. Quite a few fluke, only a few keepers, hugged bottom from the ocean to the bay to the rivers. Many customers purchased sea bass rigs, so the lumpheads seemed around. Porgies were in.

Fishing for fluke belted out lots of action this morning on today’s trip, “just way too many shorts,” said Capt. Ron from the party boat Fishermen in the report on the boat’s Web site. “… I wouldn’t even call them short but small!” he said. But the fish, including an odd keeper, bit at a couple of places. A dozen keepers, some that weighed 3 to 5 pounds and others that were just the 18-inch legal size, were hooked during slack into outgoing, the best of the fishing. One angler bagged three of them, and his brother landed 39 fluke, including no keepers. The Fishermen is sailing for fluke 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily and for striped bass and blues – “and whatever else we can put in the bucket (on the striper and bluefish trips),” Ron said – 3:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Fridays through Sundays. However, Saturday morning’s trip is chartered.

Highlands

Waters were warm – 77.6 degrees – but mako sharks were still around, and a 180-pounder was beaten on a trip Sunday, said Capt. Brian from Jersey Devil Charters. Life filled the waters 48 miles from shore, and two gaffer mahi mahi were also decked. One grabbed a mackerel meant for sharks, and the other was intentionally hooked on mackerel fished for the mahi seen swimming the chum slick. Canyon fishing was good on the troll for white and blue marlin, some yellowfin tuna and a few bigeye tuna, and trips are being accepted for them. Bluefin tuna fishing was spotty closer to shore, and a bunch of trips want to sail for them, but Brian is waiting until the angling becomes more consistent. An offshore wreck-fishing trip was sailing today, and an inshore wreck trip is slated for Friday.

Bouncing bucktails along the rough bottom cleaned up on fluke, great catches, down the ocean beaches with Fisher Price Charters, Capt. Derek said. Fisher Price previously concentrated on striped bass since spring, but trips now had probably switched fully to fluke and bottom fish. The main body of stripers seemed to move to waters off Fire Island, “too far to run for a gamble,” Derek said. Bottom-fishing piled up mostly sea bass, and occasionally cod and ling. Derek heard about a few catches of bluefin tuna at the Glory Hole and waters southeast of the Atlantic Princess wreck. Getting through bluefish sounded like the challenge. Fisher Price sails for bluefins when the catches take off.

Striped bass were bagged, said Wayne from Twin Lights Marina. Pat Cedola and buddy boated two 30-pound stripers on bunker they snagged for bait and livelined. Fluke anglers picked through lots of shorts to find a keeper, maybe five to ten shorts for every legal fish, from the bay to the rivers. The rivers held lots of dog sharks. Bluefish popped up everywhere from the ocean to the bay to the rivers like usual. The boss from the marina tried for striped bass at the Shrewsbury Rocks and got covered up with blues. Some boaters from the marina returned with healthy bucketfuls of sea bass. Some anglers from the marina attempted to fish offshore today. But some took 3 hours to travel 20 miles before they turned around because of seas. Others became seasick and returned. The ocean was rough.

Neptune

Bluefish covered up a bluefin tuna trip, but the anglers switched to wreck fishing, hauling in a load of cod and sea bass, said Capt. Ralph from Last Lady Fishing Charters. So the catch turned out well, and he likes that fishing anyway, and the anglers asked to switch. But a friend remained on the bluefin grounds, ending up scoring well. The tuna were there. The wreck fishing was the same type that will sail on an individual-reservation trip 40 miles or farther from shore on July 27 for cod, pollock and ling, and a couple of spaces remain. A wreck trip closer to shore sailed prior to the bluefin trip, knocking down a bunch of ling and big sea bass and a couple of cod. Lots of blackfish were released, and one per angler will be able to be kept starting Friday. That trip was the same type that will sail within 40 miles from shore on July 22 for sea bass, ling, blackfish and maybe cod and pollock, and space is available. Wednesday’s weekly individual-reservation trip for fluke and sea bass stayed docked, because a charter sailed instead. But the Wednesday trips will resume next week. The season’s first individual-reservation tuna trip to the canyons is full on July 21 to 22. Call Ralph for the dates for August to October. A variety of trips are available, including for fluke and sea bass, wreck fishing within 40 miles from shore, wreck fishing beyond 40, bluefin tuna and canyon fishing. Just call and talk with Ralph.

Belmar

The ground swell on the ocean slowed fluke fishing in the past days, but trips previously caught more of the flatties, including a good catch Sunday, said Capt. Chris from the party boat Big Mohawk. A 10-plus-pounder was creamed on Saturday’s trip. Some big sea bass were in the mix this week. But anglers needed the swell to settle down. Then the fishing should be in good shape again. Anglers aboard do lots of bucktailing, fishing along the rough bottom. They sacrifice rigs to snagging, but that’s often worthwhile. The Big Mohawk is fluke fishing 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily.

Shark fishing on a trip was scrubbed today because of rough seas on the Nan Sea J, Capt. Tom said. Shark charters are sailing, and so are open-boat trips for sharks every Wednesday. Take advantage of the rare opportunity for sharking on an open basis. July 25, a rare Sunday, became available for a charter because of a cancellation. The trip can sail for any of the species the boat is targeting. Many weekends are booked at this time of year. The Nan Sea J is also bottom fishing, putting anglers on sea bass, and lots of porgies began biting, too. Tom didn’t have a lot of confidence in fluke fishing on the ocean lately, and the angling seemed slow.

Fluke made up most catches, said Bob from Fisherman’s Den. Probably 1 in 25 or 30 was a keeper from the Shark River to the ocean, and porgies, including keepers, were plucked from the river. Snapper blues, small ones, appeared in the river, and anglers catch them for fluke bait when they’re small, catching them for eating when larger, though some eat the small ones. Crabbing was dynamite toward Barnegat and in the Shrewsbury River but wasn’t so hot in the Shark River yet. Kingfish sometimes began to be beached from the surf, and the wash was riled up the past few days. Not many striped bass were taken from the surf anymore, because of the heat, but some were landed in the early mornings, the evenings or at night. They were smaller fish, no larger than the 28- or 30-inchers checked in at the shop the last couple of days, and the bigger ones like 30-pounders migrated north for the summer. Bluefishing and sea bassing were good on the ocean.

Point Pleasant

With High Hook Sport Fishing a sea bass charter began angling at the rock piles at Axel Carlson Reef on Monday in a big ground swell, Capt. Scott said. That made the fishing tough, and a nasty chop kicked up by 10 or 11 a.m. on top of the swell. The fishing was difficult, but a fair catch of keepers was coolered, until the trip was packed in early because of seas. High Hook is also fluke fishing, and Scott hopes to squeeze in another shark trip before the season ends. When bluefin tuna fishing becomes more consistent on the inshore ocean, trips will sail for them.

A charter steamed offshore for tuna and billfish Monday on a plan to get away from the fleet, fishing seldom hit canyons and the deep, the report on Andrea’s Toy Charters’ Web site said. The trip went 3 for 3 on white marlin. A huge, 500-pound blue marlin crashed a ballyhoo, dumped half the spool on a 50 reel, made a run back to the boat, and threw the hook. Four yellowfin tuna attacked the trolling spread and were hooked, and two got off quickly. The other two were pumped in to the boat at the same time, got tangled and were lost. “Damn!” the report said. The trip ended the day by landing mahi mahi that gathered at the lobster pot buoys. Yellowfin tuna angling was a slow pick at the canyons, Capt. Fred said in a phone call, but marlin and mahi were by-catches. Andrea’s Toy often mixes in sharking at night and tilefishing, and specializes in mixed-bag trips. The marlin population was large, and the mahi were spreading to inshore waters. Also closer to shore, catches of bluefin tuna were sporadic. Nearer to the coast, charters are fishing for sea bass, pounding good catches, and fluking was “picky at best,” Fred said. See the write-up toward the bottom of <a href="http://www.andreastoycharters.com" target="_blank">Andrea’s Toy’s home page</a> to check out annual, open-boat, mixed-bag trips that are running offshore for tuna and other fish.

Offshore fishing on a trip last week on Wednesday on the Canyon Runner was covered in the last report here, but that was on the 60-foot Ritchie Howell. A report about fishing the blue waters on Canyon Runner’s 48-foot Viking around the same time period was afterward posted on the company’s Web site. Here’s that news. A trip on the 48-footer last week on Tuesday to Wednesday was the only tough one of the week for Canyon Runner. But the crew worked harder, and salvaged the trip by the end. The trip arrived at Hudson Canyon at 4 p.m. that Tuesday, spending the rest of the day looking for tuna, but finding none. The night was uneventful, and a small mako shark swam up to the boat but refused to take a bait. Up on the troll in the morning, no tuna bit, and the crew decided to leave the fleet that was picking away and find their own fish. They did. Stretching the trip out a few extra hours, they finally found a school of yellowfin tuna, going 8 for 12, “making for a very happy charter,” the Web site said. A turnaround charter left the dock at 8 p.m. that day on the Viking, and tried sharking at night in waters inshore of the canyons. A few blue sharks were released, but no makos showed up. In the morning the trip trolled “down the line from the Hudson,” the site said, quickly nailing a double of longfin tuna and a triple of yellowfins. A short lull took place, until a bigeye tuna exploded on a ballyhoo with an Ilander. The 202-pound 69-inch fish was landed after 2 hours. In the afternoon nine more yellowfins were trolled. So the trip totaled 12 yellowfins, two longfins and the bigeye bagged, and a few blue sharks released. Most of the yellowfins bit in 500 to 800 feet on Canyon Runner Squid and Green Machine Spreader Bars and ballyhoos.

The three anglers on an open-boat trip Monday opted to sail for sea bass, instead of fluke like originally planned, because fluke fishing was poor during the weekend, said Capt. Allen from Reel Class Charters in the report on the boat’s Web site. They sailed to the same spot where Reel Class left sea bass biting on Saturday: snags in 60 to 75 feet to the south and offshore. The fishing was lock and load from the start, and the fish finder was lit up with the lumpheads. Next the trip bounced around to a wreck and a couple of other rock piles, pulling a few keepers from each. By 11 a.m. the anglers returned to where the trip started fishing. They beat on the catches, double- and triple-headers every few minutes, “simply stupid fishing,” Allen said, for 2 ½ hours, until the anglers tried fluking. One fluke, a 20-inch keeper, was boated on a Mai Tai jig. The keeper sea bass on the trip weighed up to 2 ½ pounds and were mostly 13 to 15 inches, no hogs, and probably the same number of shorts were released, and many of the shorts were only ½ inch undersized. Two ling were also bagged, and a 17-inch, out-of-season blackfish was released.

Until winds, seas and rains made the ocean murky the past few days, fluke trips racked up good catches, a healthy number of keepers, some shorts and sizeable sea bass on the party boat Gambler, Capt. Bob said. He was sure the fishing will bounce back as soon as seas settle. Bluefishing was excellent on the boat’s last trips for them at night during the weekend, and 8- to 12-pounders were waxed 20 miles from shore. Nighttime trips for ling, sea bass, cod and squid, trips that run at the beginning of the week, served up good angling on one trip and a little slow on the next. The trip Sunday racked up quite a few ling, a fair number of cod from throwbacks to 24-inchers and healthy catches of squid, for those who tried for them. The next trip Monday did catch ling and cod, but somewhat fewer than before, and not many squid, maybe because bonito raced through the squid, feeding on them, seen under the lights, something Bob had never witnessed before. Fluke trips are sailing twice daily 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 2 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Bluefish trips are running 7:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays. Trips for ling, sea bass, cod and squid are fishing 7:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. Sundays and Mondays. <a href=" http://www.gamblerfishing.net/offshoretrips.html
" target="_blank">Canyon tuna trips</a> will begin in mid September.

“Ahhh, the days of the pre-spawn,” said an e-mail about bluefishing from the party boat Cock Robin. “One day good, one day bad, and (Tuesday) was a bad day,” it said. But catches on the boat were good Monday, and blues attacked mostly bait, instead of jigs, in the chum slick during most of the day’s trip. The fleet picked away at blues, good catches, on Wednesday, too. The Cock Robin is bluefishing 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily and 7:30 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays. Order food from Jersey Mike’s and have it delivered to the dock for both the daytime and nighttime trips.

Porgies started to be swung aboard the party boat Dauntless, Capt. Butch said. Sea bass, though sea bass fishing slowed some, and ling also chewed, so at least three different species were on tap. A few cod were cornered, and a few out-of-season blackfish were let go. Some of the blacks, 6- or 7-pounders, would’ve made anglers happy after one blackfish per angler can be kept starting this Friday. Trips will concentrate on porgies once they come in heavy. Trips fished for porgies and sea bass in 35 to 50 feet in the ocean and for ling in the deep in 140 feet. A couple of the anglers nailed 40 fish on Wednesday’s trip, but the angling hadn’t been quite that good in a while. Waters were probably 60 to 65 degrees. On nighttime bluefish trips, the fish began to school a little far away, and a trip the other night traveled 23 miles to reach them. Anglers averaged two to five caught apiece, not great, but good for 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.

Toms River

Double Creek Channel at Barnegat Inlet was the best place for fluke fishing, and boaters there might pull in 30 or more of the fish, including two or three keepers, said Dennis from Murphy’s Hook House. Many of the flatties were small, 12 or 13 inches. But fluke were also drifted at the BB and BI markers, mostly on killies, spearing and squid. Farther north, tons of fluke paved the Manasquan River, and in the ocean, the rough bottom to the north and around Sea Girt Reef was best for fluking. A few fluke and sea bass collected around the Tires in the ocean off Barnegat Inlet. Fluking was somewhat better in the surf than in the bay. They were hooked at places like the pocket along he north jetty at Barnegat Inlet. Work a bucktail with a strip of squid. Surf anglers also picked a striped bass here, a bluefish there and some sharks and rays, a variety. Crabbing was super in the Toms River at Island Heights, and was the top activity there. Snapper blues 3 to 6 inches schooled the river, jumping on spearing under a bobber or on Corky’s Snapper Zapper rigs.

Seaside Heights

Barnegat Bay harbored fluke toward Barnegat Inlet, and many of the flatties were tugged from Manasquan River and Manasquan Inlet farther north, said Scott from The Dock Outfitters. Lots of snapper blues schooled the bay near the shop, and no kingfish appeared nearby so far. In the surf lots of sharks were fought at dusk and at night on baits like a chunk of bunker or squid. Good catches of crabs were made. Fresh bunker, fresh clams, killies and the full supply of baits is stocked. Catch Wacky Wednesdays every week, when clams are $2 per dozen. The rental boats are in the waters for fishing and crabbing, and the jet skis are ready to rent.

Seaside Park

Trips managed to fish between rains, and storms seemed to hit the area less than others, and the weather did shorten some trips, but good catches were claimed while the anglers dropped down lines, said Capt. Rob “Birch” Birchmeier from Fishguts Inshore Charters in an e-mail. A trip Tuesday was obviously going to have to be cut short because of coming weather, the report on the boat’s Web site said. But the three anglers aboard made a quick run to an ocean wreck, grabbing some keeper sea bass, good action, before moving back to Barnegat Bay because of winds. The protected, calm waters of the bay produced non-stop action with short fluke but also three keepers 19, 19 ½ and 20 inches, before the weather forced the trip back to the dock at 11 a.m. On Wednesday weather also threatened, but the two anglers on deck squeezed in a trip during a short window of calmer conditions, copping a good bite on sea bass, limiting out, adding a few ling to the cooler. Plenty of sea bass ½ inch undersized gave up action and were released, and a few out-of-season blackfish and a short cod were tossed back. A great day, Birch said. A few dates remain in August for any of the trips Fishguts offers. Those include Bounty of the Bay Trips for families. The trips mainly fish, but also educate and entertain about the features of the bay, from hermit crabs to big striped bass to an osprey nesting on a marker to Barnegat Lighthouse. Fish that can be caught include fluke, blues, weakfish, small sea bass, kingfish, blowfish and jumbo sea robins.

Forked River

Waters at the BB, BI and 40 markers and Double Creek Channel all held fluke in Barnegat Bay, said Dave from Grizz’s Forked River Bait & Tackle. The ocean began to give them up, including a few from the Tires and at the range buoy. Dave heard about some boated at Barnegat Ridge, and also about bonito fought at the Ridge. A few bluefish could be located in the bay from Bayville to Barnegat and practically everywhere in the waters. Boaters could anchor and catch blowfish while chumming with clam and fishing with bits of clam on the bay. Dave heard about no weakfish anywhere. Crabbing was good, and many of the blueclaws scurried around.

Barnegat Light

Fluke were around, and maybe 1 in 20 or fewer was a keeper, said Basil from Barnegat Light Bait & Tackle. Some of the better-sized ones came from waters toward the inlet like at Double Creek Channel or behind the Dike, but many small ones were there. Plenty of fluke and a few kingfish hugged the surf. Spotty fishing for resident striped bass to 32 or 33 inches was possible in the surf on plugs or clams early in the mornings or in the evenings or on eels at night. Spots could probably be livelined for the bass in the dark, and the live baitfish are stocked. A thresher shark was banked from the surf, and Nick from the shop snapped a photo. Basil heard about a couple of other sharks fought from the wash, but was unaware whether more sharks were in, heard about none. Tog blanketed the rocks at Barnegat Inlet, and one tog could be kept per angler starting Friday. A thick sea bass population gravitated around bottom structure in the ocean, but lots were small, tougher to get a bait through to keepers. Yellowfin tuna fishing sounded good at Hudson Canyon, and Basil heard some were boated at Toms Canyon.

Barnegat

Capt. Dave DeGennaro from the Hi Flier wasn’t liking the weather forecasts for bonito fishing offshore for the next couple of days, so trips will probably fish at Barnegat Bay, he said in an e-mail. Not a bad place to be, he said, considering the numbers of fluke that trips jigged lately at Oyster Creek and Double Creek channels. The fish, 12- to 22-inchers, were mostly throwbacks, but a few keepers were iced on every outing. Anglers aboard landed them on light, 10-pound spinning rods, and 3-inch, white Gulp Swimming Mullets on 3/8-ounce to ½-ounce jigheads were the go-to baits. Three-inch Gulp New Penny Shrimp were second-best. Dave stuck with the shrimp on his own personal rod, because they produced bigger flatties, though fewer. As a bonus, one blackfish per angler will be allowed to be kept starting Friday, and trips can catch them at the inlet, protected from the ocean. Open-boat trips will sail for the fishing twice daily from 6 a.m. to 11 a.m. and 12 noon to 5 p.m. Friday through Sunday. Trips will run offshore for bonito as soon as the weather clears. “In the meantime, let’s go catch some fluke and tog!” Dave said.

Tuckerton

A Green Stick is the “cat’s meow,” said Capt. T.J. from Legal Limit Charters, for yellowfin tuna fishing. The outrigger, one that shoots straight up from the center of the boat, trolled a bunch of 40- to 60-pounders on a trip to Lindenkohl Canyon on Monday. Some at the canyon caught the tuna, and a lot didn’t. A bunch of mahi mahi were trolled on ballyhoos, not on the green stick, on the trip. Waters were warm, 77 to 79 degrees, and other boaters who searched for yellowfins closer to shore, in 30 to 40 fathoms, complained about bluefins hitting instead. So the bluefins seemed to be out there. A summer flounder trip was running today, and two more, fishing on T.J.’s two boats, will sail Saturday. Friday and Sunday are available for charters. Open-boat trips or shared charters are fishing every Tuesday and Thursday when no charter is booked and enough anglers want to go. See the online <a href=" http://www.legallimitcharters.com/c-11-open-boat.aspx" target="_blank">Open Boat/Shared Charter Schedule</a>.

Mystic Island

Summer flounder anglers picked away at catches on the bay, finding fewer of the fish than before, because of the warmth, probably fishing deeper waters for the few keepers around, said Scott from Scott’s Bait & Tackle. A few of the flatties seemed to be able to be plucked from Little Egg Reef in the ocean. A total of 207 boats competed in the weekend’s Sunshine Foundation fishing tournament, and an 8.1-pound flounder was the biggest. Charter boats sailed for sea bass on the ocean in deeper waters, bouncing around from place to place, eventually running into some. Sea bass swam Little Egg Reef but seemed to be 9 inches there. No customers mentioned fishing for white perch. One blackfish per person will be able to be kept starting Friday, and the tautog will probably be found in the ocean, because of the heat. No concentration of the tog will be located in the bay. No green crabs will be stocked yet for the blackfish, and they would suffocate in the heat. Minnows and a limited supply of fresh, shucked clams, a couple of bushels, will be on hand. Blueclaw crabbing was good.

Absecon

The bay churned out fairly consistent fishing for summer flounder, lots of throwbacks, said Curt from Absecon Bay Sportsman Center. Anglers could try fishing with bigger baits for the keepers, but if no fish respond, they should scale back to smaller baits. Curt tried using larger baits, and none of the flatties bit. He switched back to smaller baits, and the flatties hit immediately. White was a good color to use for Gulps for flounder, and pink and chartreuse worked, and many anglers flounder fished with the artificial baits. Not much was heard about flounder fishing on the ocean, but with all the warm weather and higher water temperatures, now would be a time to try. Okay catches of striped bass could be nabbed at the bridges and sod banks at night. Livelined spots or eels, especially spots, should gain a swipe at the bridges, and anglers could plug for the bass along the sod banks in the dark. Brown or sandbar sharks, dusky sharks and sand tiger sharks ran the bay, entering the waters in summer to reproduce. Curt, a white perch angler, caught plenty of the slabs on the Mullica River Wednesday, and the fish were spread throughout the river from the Parkway Bridge to farther downstream. The saltwater line had been far up the rivers because of the drought. But rains began to fall, and the line probably began to drop down. A few bluefish swam the river, and little was heard about blues in the bay, and an occasional blue probably popped up in the bay here or there. A few weakfish and flounder gathered in the mouth of the Mullica. A handful of weaks hovered along the Intracoastal Waterway. Surf anglers beached kingfish, not red-hot fishing, but decent. Live spots are stocked for $2 apiece for smaller ones and $3.50 apiece or $35 per dozen for larger ones. Shedder crabs are carried when available, and minnows and a large selection of other baits are on hand.

Brigantine

Surf anglers sometimes banked 10, 12 or 15 kingfish, good catches, said Fred from Riptide Bait & Tackle. Bloodworms were the bait to dunk, and Fishbites artificial worms worked for a moment, but west winds cooled waters, making Fishbites ineffective again. Surf casters concentrated on kings, and back bay anglers focused on summer flounder. The flounder anglers might reel up 20 or 30 of the fish including two keepers. Angelo Monahan and Harrison Clause weighed in two 3-pound flounder they boated today at Eagle Bay.

Atlantic City

Many small summer flounder were piled up in the back bay, and every now and then a keeper was sorted out from among them, said Curt from Offshore Enterprises Bait & Tackle. Anglers who knew what they were doing, and where to fish, wrenched striped bass from the bay, only at night, on assorted lures. Kingfish had been dragged from the surf, but the fishing slowed this week, and customers stopped buying bloodworms to catch them. Some better-sized flounder came from the surf, and anglers could probably locate a keeper at times. Bluefish 2 pounds, something to catch, gathered at Sea Isle Ridge, and sea bass fishing sounded slow on the ocean. Yellowfin tuna fishing was going off at the canyons. The 40- to 60-pounders became pressured, and that somewhat tapered off the catches compared with earlier, but they still offered good fishing, all on the troll, and chunking for them at night was yet to start. Trolling with ballyhoos dressed with Ilanders or Sea Witches or such worked, but so did trolling with spreader bars, daisy chains and so on. Lindenkohl Canyon was the hot spot, and the fish swam the shallow waters there in 40 to 50 fathoms. A few bigeye tuna loitered at the Lindy, but Hudson Canyon was really the place for bigeyes. White marlin were abundant at the canyons, and blue marlin were taken from the waters. Curt saw photos of a big blue that an angler released that the angler said was 800 pounds. Bluefin tuna remained closer to shore at the same places they’d been, like the Lobster Claw, Cigar and 28-Mile Wreck. But everybody was passing the bluefins to reach the yellowfins a little farther from shore. The Carly A, the shop’s offshore charter boat, will be returned to New Jersey from Oregon Inlet next week. Then trips will fish from Jersey, after they had run from North Carolina.

Margate

Tons of summer flounder, an incredible number, and a few keepers carpeted the back bay, said Capt. John from the party boat Keeper. Customers caught them on Gulps, minnows and mackerel. Gulps really worked well. Minnows and mackerel are supplied on trips, and customers brought their own Gulps. Trips will probably stop using mackerel when too many baby sea bass enter the bay that will peck at the bait. That usually happens in August, and a few sea bass were around now. John saw no bluefish in the bay this week, though previously he usually saw them busting the surface. Peanut bunker began to be seen in the bay, and small herring, lots of bait, filled the waters. The Keeper is fishing for summer flounder twice daily 8 a.m. to 12 noon and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Longport

The ground swell failed to stop the Stray Cat from fishing, and the seas squashed bottom fishing, making it slow, but trips just switched to trolling, and the boat sailed the past four days straight, Capt. Mike said. A bunch of small bluefish and a few mahi mahi, Spanish mackerel and chub mackerel were trolled 11 miles from shore, lots of fish. Trips had planned to troll at Sea Isle Ridge but never made it that far, before all the fish bit. But an open-boat trip will return to bottom-fishing on Saturday for sea bass and summer flounder. Plenty of sea bass were socked lately on bottom trips around the same distance from shore, about 11 miles. Flounder, mostly small, bit on the same trips. “We needed a year like this,” Mike said. Recent summers were slower, but this summer was fantastic, he said. Yellowfin tuna fishing went well from Wilmington Canyon to up the 600-fathom line. When the fish are in the Wilmington, that’s a good year, he said. Jump aboard if you want yellowfins, and Mike is ready. An open-boat tuna trip for six anglers will sail during the last week of August, and will “double dip,” he said: mix in tilefishing and sea bassing.

Ocean City

***Update, Friday, 7/16:*** Small summer flounder swam abundant in the bay, but a few bigger ones began to be seen, said Ryan from Fin-Atics. A 14.8-pounder was weighed in from the bay this week. Striped bass were snatched from the bay at banks, docks and bridges on small plugs and soft-plastic lures at night or on small popper lures in the early mornings and evenings. One blackfish per angler could be kept starting today, and Ryan already tried for them this morning, landing a keeper. Plenty of kingfish ran the surf, but baby dog sharks were a nuisance. Triggerfish hovered along the jetty rocks. Flounder scurried the bottom in the surf. Flounder, including bigger ones, began to respond in the ocean at the reefs, and a few sea bass and triggerfish could be angled from there. Lots of sharks were on the hunt from the surf to the reefs to the shark grounds like at 28-Mile Wreck. Plenty of bluefin tuna raced around at places like the Lobster Claw. Many yellowfin tuna were boated at the canyons farther from shore, and white and blue marlin also hung in those waters.

Sea Isle City

The number of flounder in the back bay was as large as in years, said Capt. Joe Hughes from Jersey Cape Guide Service, affiliated with Gibson’s Tackle. Chad Sharber and family on Wednesday reeled in 30, including a 3-pound keeper, strong action the whole time. Bill Console, friend Art and Art’s son on Tuesday angled up 35, all throwbacks, many of them close to keepers, in only 3 hours, rods bent the whole time, tons of action. The trips fished with Gulps on bucktails with a minnow on a plain hook on a trailer above. Joe on Wednesday night was headed out for striped bass fishing on the bay with fly rods, and ideal tides, high tides in the dark, were happening this week, and he planned a couple more of the trips in the next days. One of the inshore shark trips, a specialty on the boat, was supposed to fish today or tomorrow, depending on the weather. The trips mostly fish for brown and dusky sharks, catch-and-release angling by regulations, 5 to 10 miles from the coast. Everybody who’s tried the trips has loved them, Joe said. The fishing is a chance to try blue-water angling without the long trip offshore. Large fish, strong fights, long runs on either spinning or fly rods. Jersey Cape is also sailing offshore for tuna, marlin and mahi mahi at the canyons. Awesome yellowfin tuna fishing was under way, and white marlin catches, early this year, were phenomenal. Joe heard about and saw more blue marlin than in years, and plenty of mahi were around. Keep up with Joe’s fishing and photos on <a href=" http://captainjoehughes.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Jersey Cape’s blog</a>.

Small summer flounder bit aggressively from the back bay to the inlet to the surf, said Wes from Gibson’s Tackle. Spearing and minnows caught them, and so did jigs like a bucktail with a Gulp. Few were keepers, and larger ones roamed the ocean, and large squid strips could draw them to strike. Kingfish bit in the surf again, after a lull, and the high hook today clocked 22 on bloodworms. Sea grass was the biggest issue with the kingfishing, so anglers had to work around the grass. A few striped bass were hooked at night, because of the warmth, at the bridges and inlets. Lots of sharks or browns, duskies, hammerheads and maybe a reef shark haunted waters 5 to 15 miles from shore. Boaters could troll small bluefish, bonito and false albacore the same distance from shore. Bluefin tuna might be caught on the inshore ocean, and yellowfin tuna were trolled at the canyons farther offshore on ballyhoos. Mahi mahi were also landed at the canyons. Crabbing was very good in the back waters.

Avalon

Yellowfin tuna fishing at the canyons was the best in a long time for Over Under Adventures, but the fishing was far from shore, and most trips targeted waters 75 to 85 miles from the coast, a report on Over Under’s Web site said. Anglers needed to fish on at least the 14-hour trips for sufficient time to reach the waters. Trips 22 hours long were most productive, allowing the crew more flexibility to load the boat with fish. Many white marlin were also around, like they were the past couple of years. Over Under currently runs 12-, 14-, 16- and 22-hour trips. The 12-hour trips are the company’s usual for bluefin tuna closer to shore. More on the bluefins in a moment. On the yellowfin trips, Lindenkohl Canyon, 80 miles from port, served up the best fishing for Over Under lately. Wilmington Canyon, 70 miles from port, is the closest for Over Under. Trips fished at the Wilmington this week, and results were good on one trip, and were not on another. “We are hopeful that the yellowfins will work their way inshore to the 30 to 40 fathom depths, which will put them 45 to 55 miles offshore, and reachable on our 12-hour tuna trips,” the report said. For the most part, yellowfins were yet to swim those depths. The 22-hour trips are normally overnighters, but currently the trips ran in one day, leaving at 1 a.m. to reach the waters, and fish all day, when the yellowfins are currently biting. The bluefin tuna fishing closer to shore was sporadic and relatively slow, mostly. Warm waters probably caused most bluefins to migrate farther north to cooler waters. But a new batch could show up and day, “(and) you never know,” the report said.

Wildwood

When conditions or winds and tides created good drifts, a few summer flounder were bagged on the party boat Adventurer, Capt. Gary said. But, for example, winds blew against the tide on Wednesday, killing the drift, hampering catches. Trips fished at the Cape May Rips off Cape May Point, and one trip tried fishing at the reef, rounding up a few flounder and sea bass, but the sea bass fishing tailed off, so trips will probably stick with flounder for a while now, until the flattie season closes in early September. A few throwback weakfish were hooked on the trips off the point. Tuesday’s trip was weathered out, and trips sometimes had to deal with weather in the past days. The Adventurer is fishing 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily. Charters are also available.

Lots of summer flounder – “lots,” Mike from Canal Side Boat Rentals repeated – crammed the back bay. Not a lot were keepers, but an occasional one was. One couple and two young children landed and released 25 throwbacks on a trip, and had a ball. They even caught all the fish while anchored, because they didn’t know drifting was usual for flounder trips. They fished with minnows and squid, and minnows are always the top choice for the angling. Mike judges the fishing by inexperienced anglers like this group, instead of by veteran anglers, and this group’s trip showed that many flounder filled the waters. The flatties should begin to migrate to the ocean soon, because the bay was warm. But so far, the population stayed in the bay. A few small sea bass bit in the bay, but flounder were prevalent. Crabbing was great from the shop’s boats, and this will be a good crabbing season, and the season was still young. Crab catches were already the best Mike saw in a long time, and plenty were trapped. Canal Side rents canopy boats and kayaks for fishing, crabbing and sightseeing. Baits stocked include minnows and frozen squid strips, whole squid, spearing, mackerel fillets, mullet, clam strips and packaged clams. Live crabs for eating are carried, and currently No. 2’s are $12 for the first dozen and $10 for each additional dozen. No. 1’s are $20 for the first dozen and $18 for each additional dozen. Crabs are sold according to market prices that can change.

Cape May

Yellowfin tuna anglers clobbered the catches Sunday, and a friend tried for them Monday and caught none, but some landed the fish when the friend was there, said Capt. George from the Heavy Hitter. The friend picked up a couple of mahi mahi. Yellowfins, fish that swam from 30 fathoms to the canyons, gave up hit or miss fishing. If anglers found a bite, they usually belted a decent catch. Lots of white marlin and some good-sized mahi mahi held in the waters. George is supposed to fish for the tuna on Sunday, and trips are also running for bluefin tuna, a shorter sail, more economical. Ask about a special on bluefin trips George is running, too. A summer flounder trip is set for Wednesday. Trolling trips are also fishing for 1- to 3-pound blues and some false albacore 10 or 12 miles from shore.

Boaters rounded up good fishing for summer flounder at the Cape May Rips and Cape May and Bayshore channels, said Nick from Hands Too Bait & Tackle. They also drifted from the Top of the Hill or 2 miles off the Cape May ferry to there. In Delaware Bay they picked them up from 60-Foot Slough and Bug Light. Good reports about weakfish catches were heard from farther up, about mid bay. Bluefish with weakfish following blitzed off Alexander Avenue the other day. When the weaks swim among a blitz, anglers can try tossing a soft plastic lure to them. Otherwise they could fish bloodworms on float rigs to try for the trout. A few schools of weakfish pushed through the Cape May Canal. Reef 11 and the Old Grounds, both in the ocean off Delaware, also produced flounder. Fish there with a bucktail with a teaser with a spearing on the teaser to add a sea bass to the catch. Also at Cape May Channel, croakers swam, and a few kingfish might be found there. But more kings held along the ocean surf. Sharks were still around in the ocean, and tuna anglers put the brakes on plenty of yellowfins. Nick is trying to stock live spots for flounder. Bloodworms, minnows and all the frozen baits are carried.