<b>Atlantic Highlands</b>

Fluke were swung aboard on this morning’s trip on the bay when Capt. Tom from the <b>Atlantic Star</b> gave this report on the waters at 9:30 a.m. over the phone on the outing. Anglers picked at shorts and a few keepers. So that was good news, considering the nor’easter that had just passed. Monday morning’s trip began sailing in calm weather, but at 8:30 a.m. east winds 20 to 25 m.p.h. came out of nowhere, and rains fell. A few fluke were landed near the Coast Guard Station, Bug Light and the pound nets, the only places where the trip could escape the winds. Trips were docked from Monday afternoon through Tuesday in the storm, and the boat got back out on Wednesday. Anglers picked at shorts, quite a lot of action, and only a few keepers, and the afternoon’s trip was about the same. The fishing was slower than before the storm. Still, the catches were surprising, considering the weather. The two trips fished on the bay at places including Flynn’s Knoll, Reach Channel, near the Navy Pier, and at the Navy Pier Channel. Winds currently blew from the west, a good direction for the fishing, and Tom heard that a ground swell remained on the ocean. 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. As far as Tom knows, the boat will receive a <b><i>Research Set Aside Permit</i></b> that would allow the vessel to continue fluke fishing when the flattie season ends September 7. Tom expects trips to continue fishing for fluke that day. The bag limit would be the same as the current one in New Jersey, and two trips would continue sailing daily. Afterward the boat will begin bottom fishing for sea bass and porgies on one trip daily, until the trips begin fishing for blackfish later in the year.

After two days of getting usual jobs done like oil and filter changes, cleaning the engine room and other odd work because of the weather, Capt. Ron from the party boat <b>Fishermen</b> was climbing the walls, and today was time to fluke fish again, he said in the report on the boat’s Web site. The weather looked great for the next days, and with the west winds predicted, he was sure trips would be back out on the ocean. Anglers were encouraged to bring heavier rods in case currents raced. Bluefishing “has finally taken hold,” he said, and bluefish trips will keep sailing on weekends. The Fishermen is sailing for fluke 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily and for bluefish 3:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays.

On the bay fluke were actually caught Wednesday after the storm’s winds let up, said Jimmy from <b>Julian’s Bait & Tackle</b>. The fish were still around, and storms like the nor’easter can actually help fishing this time of year. Waters need a change, need the staleness to be stirred up after summer. The bay’s temps dropped to 77 degrees from the storm. Fishing was coming along well before the weather. Fluke fishing was picking up, and bluefish began biting again after a slow period. Blues were jigged at places like the Shrewsbury Rocks and north of there, and they were also baited. Bottom fishing at the reef served up plenty of catches. Good fishing for porgies was plucked. Weakfish were also around, and Jimmy marked them in the Shrewsbury River on the fish finder with no doubt. Anglers worm for them, and weaks were also around in the bay. Crabbing was good.

<b>Highlands</b>

One good catch was docked in the past days since the storm: an 8-pound 26-inch fluke that a boater from the marina whacked at the TC buoy on a livelined snapper blue, said Wayne from <b>Twin Lights Marina</b>. The fish was boated off the bat as soon as the trip began fishing, and the anglers hardly did any other fishing, instead returning to the marina right away to weigh in the fish. Prior to the storm fluke fishing served up a 1-in-20 keeper ratio from the ocean to the bay to the rivers. More big fluke should be belted soon, because bigger ones are always caught as the fish migrate out of the rivers and bays to the ocean at the end of summer. Wayne last week saw the season’s first mullet, arriving when they normally do each year, a sign that the season was changing. Mullet are an excellent, hardy bait. Snapper blues schooled everywhere. Crabbing was good, a great year for catching the blueclaws.

<b>Belmar</b>

Fishing was missed the past three days on the party boat <b>Miss Belmar Princess</b> because of the weather, Capt. Alan said. But bluefishing had been good on both daytime and nighttime trips at the Mudhole before the storm. Fluke trips on the party boat Tropical Adventure, Alan’s other vessel, were also docked during the blow. Who knows how fluking will be after the storm? Alan asked. The boat was back on the grounds on the ocean this morning when Alan gave this report on land while the vessel fished, and he heard nothing about results yet. The bottom was probably churned because of seas during the weather, and fluking can take a day or two to straighten out afterward. The Miss Belmar Princess is bluefishing twice daily 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. During the third week of September trips will begin to sail once a week or more for bonito, false albacore and bluefin tuna, if bluefins are around. The Tropical Adventure is fluke fishing twice daily 7:30 a.m. to 12 noon and 1:30 p.m. to 6 p.m.

The season’s first overnight tuna trip to the canyons was weathered out Wednesday on the <b>Nan Sea J</b>, Capt. Tom said. Charters and open-boat trips are also fishing for bluefin tuna closer to shore. Good fluke fishing was dusted on the boat last week on the ocean until seas became rough Sunday, and sea bass were always mixed in. Fishing for big blues had definitely picked up on the ocean on trips that ran early last week.

All the party boats returned to fishing on the ocean today, and 11 rental boats from the shop were out this day on Shark River, and previously no boats left the dock since Sunday, because of the storm, said Bob from <b>Fisherman’s Den</b>. Previously fluke fishing was becoming better on the ocean. A few fluke 8, 9 and 10 pounds, big ones, were claimed from the Rattlesnake before the weather. Trips on the river could bag two or three keepers, but had to wade through lots of shorts. Lots of snapper blues schooled the river. Ocean fluke fishing will keep improving, and the river’s fluking will diminish, as the fish migrate to the ocean this season. A friend clocked a 20-inch fluke in the surf on a clam meant for striped bass. So the fish seemed to be migrating. The storm helped surf fishing for stripers a bit, washing up clams the fish fed on. A few stripers were beached from the wash on clams. Few customers tried for blackfish in the one-tog bag limit, but ones who mixed in attempts for  the slipperies on other trips, like bluefishing trips, scored well. Big ones like 10-pounders were nailed. Blackfishing was supposedly good at the Point Pleasant Canal. More people will fish for tog when fluke season ends and when the blackfish bag limit is increased later this year. For now, anglers will see how fishing goes since the storm, and Bob suspects it’ll go well.

The party boat <b>Golden Eagle</b> fished today for the first time since the storm, and a good catch of 8- to 12-pound blues was jigged and caught on bait on the ocean, Capt. Greg said. The pool-winning fish was probably a 15-pound blue. Plenty of the fish were beaten on trips before the storm. The Golden Eagle is fishing for blues daily 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. Both canyon trips for yellowfin tuna and light-tackle bluefin tuna and bonito trips will begin in September, and check the <a href=" http://www.goldeneaglefishing.com/html/schedules___fares.html
" target="_blank">schedule</a> for dates and info.

<b>Brielle</b>

Capt. Ken and crew from the <b>Big Kid</b> were waiting for the weather to break this week to begin fishing again, he said. Trips will fish offshore for tuna and big game this weekend. Charters are also sailing for fluke and sea bass. Because of the storm, the Tuna Stakes Invitational was postponed until September 20, running through that week, and is available for charter. The Manasquan River Marlin and Tuna Club Tournament this Saturday through next week is also available for charter.

<b>Point Pleasant</b>

Catches began slower on fluke trips on the ocean starting Wednesday after the storm, but became better on each trip, said Capt. Bob from the party boat <b>Gambler</b>.  Fishing resumed on the boat starting with Wednesday morning’s trip, and by the afternoon’s trip, the angling improved. The fishing became good by the trip this morning, when Bob gave this report on the vessel toward the end of the outing in a phone call. Lots of sea bass, plenty of short fluke and some keeper fluke, including a couple of 6-pounders, Bob believed, were turned up. Some of the sea bass probably weighed up to 3 pounds. The weekend’s bluefish trips pounded catches, 8 to 10 of the fish, 6- to 10- or 12-pounders, per angler. Ling trips this week were weathered out, but the trips have been fishing at the Mudhole 20 miles from shore, where big ling swam. Anglers averaged 8 to 12 ling, but big ones. 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 and are beginning to be booked. Space is available on the first trip, leaving at 6 p.m. September 16.

Anglers with <b>Andrea’s Toy Charters</b> will sail for bluefin tuna the next two or three days, now that the weather cleared, Capt. Fred said. The fishing was good 70 miles from shore. Tuna fishing farther offshore at the canyons was hit or miss, and the tuna around Hudson Canyon began to bite more at night on bait than during the day on the troll, and trolling for them became slow. Inshore charters lately waxed good fishing for big bluefish and sea bass, angling for a combo of them in one outing.

The <b>Dauntless</b> returned to bottom-fishing Wednesday and was only weathered out Tuesday, when forecasts were too severe to think about sailing, Capt. Butch said. Monday’s trip came in a little early. Fishing was okay, not good, on Wednesday’s trip. Currents ran strong, and anglers had to be skilled to deal with it. The trip fished in 60 to 100 feet, shallow because fishing in the currents was tough enough there. The ocean held somewhat of a ground swell, but the day was beautiful. A variety of fish chomped lately: sea bass, porgies, ling and occasional blackfish and cod. The angling was slower than usual for this time of year, and some anglers totaled 6 to 15 fish, and others bagged 4 or 5, and so on. On the boat’s night bluefishing trips catches were picking up before the last couple of trips were weathered out. The angling was okay on Saturday and Sunday, and customers boxed 2 to 5 or 6 blues apiece, 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.

<b>Bricktown</b>

Fluke fishing had really begun to pick up in the ocean in the past week before the storm, said Capt. Rich from <b>Jersey Hooker Outfitters Bait & Tackle</b>. Much of the best fishing for them went down around the Shrewsbury Rocks, and a pink Spro jig with a large Nuclear Chicken Gulp tore them up. Some of the fish, not as many, were hooked at the lumps toward Sea Girt. Fluke fishing in Manasquan River began to drop off for the season, and a few of the fish, mostly shorts, remained, but the angling was nothing crazy. Blackfishing was going off at the Point Pleasant Canal on incoming tides, and anglers there all bagged their one-fish limit, and lots of shorts chewed, but the fishing turned on well. Snapper blues put up good catches at Windward Beach and at the Mantoloking Bridge on spearing on a bobber or Snapper Zapper rigs. Cocktail blues, and a few larger, sometimes swam the surf. Surf anglers at Mantoloking began to beach an occasional resident striped bass on clams when waters cooled in south winds. Big blues that boaters jigged on the ocean moved farther offshore, but the anglers would see where the fish showed up when they returned to the waters after the storm. Customers began to eel resident striped bass from boats along the jetties at Spring Lake and Asbury Park. Brown sharks were banked, and released by regulation, from the surf at Island Beach State Park at night. A customer ran a trip that battled about 20 bluefin tuna non-stop at the Virginia wreck. Rich guessed the wreck was 60 miles from shore, northeast of the Chicken Canyon, if he remembered, without looking at a chart. The wreck is closer to New York’s Shinnecock Inlet. Rich’s charter business, <b>Jersey Hooker Charters</b>, sailing from Point Pleasant’s Canyon River Club, fished at the tip of Hudson Canyon during the weekend. Tuna fishing began to turn on more at night on the chunk at the canyon, and trolling for tuna during daytime began to be slow there. Yellowfin tuna invaded the chum slick at night, and were leader shy. Light leaders had to be used that made the fish difficult to land. Rich saw no longfin tuna, but other boaters caught longfins at the canyon. A white marlin and a blue marlin were released on the daytime troll on the trip. Crabbing was phenomenal in the shop’s local area from northern Barnegat Bay to the creeks running into the bay to Manasquan River.

<b>Toms River</b>

All kinds of fluke, not many keepers, stacked up around Barnegat Inlet, said Bob from <b>Murphy’s Hook House</b>. How’s ocean fluking? he was asked. He ran a trip that hooked 71 fluke including two keepers, for example, he said. The trip fished at Barnegat Ridge in 60 feet, and mahi mahi were seen. No bonito or false albacore or such fish seemed to be at the ridge, and Bob targets them a lot. Two weeks ago his trips landed loads of Spanish mackerel and bonito at the ridge. Then days of windy weather, the blow that occurred last before this week’s storm, set in, and the fish disappeared. After the winds he searched for the fish 6 ½ hours at Barnegat Ridge North and South and Oley’s Lump with no success. He lately hooked skipjacks in the area. Bob at the marina this morning saw anglers who creamed a ton of blowfish on Barnegat Bay at the BI and BB markers. The fishing was going well. He heard about no weakfish and no croakers. Snapper bluefishing was awesome in the back waters. Crabbing was great, and customers were coming in with big ones, despite the full moon this week that should’ve triggered crabs to shed and therefore stop feeding.

<b>Seaside Heights</b>

Snapper blues ran thick around the docks, and healthy crab catches were nabbed at the docks and Barnegat Bay in the local area, said Scott from <b>The Dock Outfitters</b>. A few blowfish began to show up locally for the first time this season. Blowfish were boated farther south on the bay toward the BI and BB markers. Anglers had to chum heavily for them. Fluke stacked up toward Barnegat Inlet. The ocean at the Casino Pier held substantial numbers of keeper fluke last week before the storm. Cocktail blues and hickory shad also held there. Scott heard about no weakfish. Surf anglers late last week came across cocktail blues. Fluke should remain in the surf, and so should sharks that bite at night. Capt. Rob from Fishguts Inshore Charters, sailing from the marina, picked up his season’s first croaker or two on an ocean trip today. Those were the first croakers Scott heard about this year. 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.

<b>Seaside Park</b>

<b>Fishguts Inshore Charters</b>, out today for the first time after the storm, sailed on a wreck-fishing trip on the ocean, and sea bass fishing was good, Capt. Rob “Birch” Birchmeier said. The three anglers aboard piled up a bunch of the lumpheads for the cooler, also hooking the season’s first triggerfish and croaker on the boat, and a porgy. They grabbed plenty of action and a healthy box of fish. Fishing conditions were perfect, and waters 5 miles from shore were bluer than Birch saw previously this season, though waters close to shore were dirty. No ground swell was left from the storm, and south winds somewhat began to blow around 3 p.m. on the ride home. A trip Monday stayed in Barnegat Bay, only fishing 2 hours, because of the weather, and two keeper fluke and some shorts were reeled in. Two days of fishing were cancelled this week because of the storm, but that was the first stretch of two days Rob had to cancel this season. Fishguts is fishing for sea bass at the ocean wrecks, and blackfish, ling, porgies, blues and fluke have been mixed in. Catching good numbers of quality-sized sea bass close to shore in summer is a specialty on the boat. Anglers on deck are also fluke fishing on Barnegat Bay.

<b>Forked River</b>

Barnegat Bay harbored fluke, many shorts, at the BI, BB and 40 markers and Double Creek and Oyster Creek channels, said Dave from <b>Grizz’s Forked River Bait & Tackle</b>. He heard that flukers connected in the ocean at the range buoy, too. Blowfishing was becoming good at the BI, BB and 40 and along Sedge Island. A few kingfish came up from around the BI, BB and 40. A friend caught 45 blowfish and six kings in a trip. Blues sometimes showed up at Barnegat Inlet. Not much was heard about weakfish, except about some found in the lagoons, and striped bass. Crabbing was good.

<b>Barnegat Light</b>

Fluke fishing somewhat improved from the ocean to Barnegat Bay, said Basil from <b>Barnegat Light Bait & Tackle</b>. Blowfish and a few kingfish were yanked from the bay. Sheepshead gathered around the tip of the Barnegat Inlet jetty, and blackfish clung to the rocks up and down the jetty. A few striped bass were beached from the surf “when the wind shifted,” he said. A few gator blues were banked from the suds, too. News from offshore was scarce because of the storm. But wreck fishing was good lately.

<b>Barnegat</b>

Weakfish swam Barnegat Bay, and so did a variety of other species, always interesting to see which fish shows up from the waters in August and September, said Capt. Dave DeGennaro from the <b>Hi Flier</b> in an e-mail. It’s a lot of action, he said. Trips fished for the variety between the 42 and BI markers in 8 feet with 6-pound spinning tackle, to keep the angling sporty. Trips also caught striped bass and blackfish on the ocean with grass shrimp. The trips that caught the variety on the bay found weakies 10 to 15 inches, so like with fluke fishing, a bunch had to be landed to bag a keeper. Blowfish, burrfish (a k a porcupine puffers) and a few kingfish bit. A small, 1-foot cobia even jumped on a hook. Small blues tore around, mostly chopping off the Gulp tails fished. The bay’s fluking rebounded, reaching a peak again at the convergence of Oyster and Double Creek channels. Open-boat trips are sailing every day from the bay to offshore when no charter is running. Anglers can concentrate on the bay fishing, or can mix in stripers and blackfish on the ocean, or can target species like bonito, false albacore and bluefin tuna offshore at places like Barnegat Ridge. Or trips can combine the different types of fishing.

<b>Surf City</b>

A 43-pound striped bass was weighed in from the surf on Tuesday, said Joe from <b>Surf City Bait & Tackle</b>. Jim Campbell caught the fish and a 12-pounder at Barnegat Light that day. Otherwise the surf was rough during the storm, so no other news came in about fishing there. Anglers would see whether fluke remained in the wash after the weather. Skates and dog sharks had also roamed the surf. Small blues sometimes schooled Barnegat Inlet, and fluke held around the inlet. Lots of blackfish, but not lots of keepers, hugged the inlet jetty. Snappers swam the bay, and crabbing was good.

<b>Beach Haven</b>

Anglers aboard pumped aboard some keeper sea bass from Garden State Reef North on Monday on the <b>June Bug</b>, Capt. Lindsay said. Short summer flounder also bit, and lots of commercial pots littered the waters. Seas were rough for offshore fishing not only during the storm but also during the weekend, and no boats seemed to head to the waters for tuna and big game. Everyone was looking forward to returning to the fishing in better forecasts for the next days.  

<b>Mystic Island</b>

Fishing for summer flounder had begun to amp up, then the nor’easter blew in, stopping anglers from fishing, said Scott from <b>Scott’s Bait & Tackle</b>. Boaters before the storm began to cop quite a few flounder in 55 to 60 feet, and they were excited, even if they could bag three to five keepers 2 to 5 pounds or a catch like that. The high hook was something like 12 keepers decked on a vessel. Kingfishing on the bay was the other focus, and most were hooked toward Radio Road, including from shore at Pebble Beach. That’s different from where the fishing’s usually best at the clam stakes on the Mystic Island side of the Fish Factory. Bloodworms, Fishbites artificial worms and clams were the baits. Boaters anchored, chummed with clam and fished with the baits. At those clam stakes small fish like baby sea bass and little porgies were hooked for fun. Scott thought no keepers were landed. Spots were around, and reports about them mostly came from around Graveling Point. Few blowfish were anywhere. Nobody mentioned weakfish, and nobody talked about fishing for brown sharks, fish that must be released by law, that gather in the bay in summer. That could’ve been weather-related. The sharking is a chance to fight a big fish without sailing the long distance offshore usually necessary in sharking. The shop carries a special rig for the bay sharking and a chum ball perfect for the fishing. Anglers usually fish for them from dusk until 10 or 11 p.m. A few sea bass were keepers at Little Egg Reef, but grabbing a keeper instead of shorts was the challenge. A handful of customers kept tog fishing on the ocean, scoring well on fish like 4- to 8-pounders. They kept buying green crabs every weekend. If four anglers on a boat each kept their one-tog bag limit and released more, they seemed to have fun. Crabbing was fair, producing no big numbers, but sizeable blueclaws. The full moon took place this week, and the moons can trigger crabs to shed, slowing crabbing, because the crustaceans refuse to feed then, though not all crabs shed at once. Fresh, shucked clams, an extra supply because of demand for kingfishing, are stocked, and so are minnows, bloodworms and green crabs.

<b>Tuckerton</b>

Rains fell, and winds blew, said Capt. T.J. from <b>Legal Limit Charters</b>. Seas were sloppy on a summer flounder trip Sunday on the ocean before the storm, too. A tuna trip was weathered out Wednesday. Lots of flounder trips ran on the ocean lately, and an inshore trolling trip is set to fish the ocean Saturday for bonito, skipjacks and fish like that. Lots of open-boat trips or shared charters for flounder are coming up next week. See the online <a href=" http://www.legallimitcharters.com/c-11-open-boat.aspx" target="_blank">Open Boat/Shared Charter Schedule</a>.

<b>Absecon</b>

The ocean reefs shoveled up good catches of summer flounder when boaters had the weather to go, said Capt. Dave from <b>Absecon Bay Sportsman Center</b>. They had to find a pile of bigger ones, like they did in the bay. Flounder remained in the bay, though the bite seemed to die off a moment when water temps dropped. Dave ran a charter Tuesday, the worst day of weather this summer so far, because of the storm, but that was when the charter could fish. One 4-pound flounder was bagged, and that was the only substantial bite on the trip. Forecasts called for clear, warmer days coming up, so bay anglers should get another shot at the flatties before the fluke season closes. Croakers moved in along the ocean beach front, and fishing for them was one of the best options if anglers wanted fish to eat. He heard about a few places where the hardheads especially gathered, including off Lucy the Elephant in Margate, at the bell buoy off Absecon Inlet and at Brigantine Shoal. Striped bass fishing in the bay at night, like along the sod banks, was one of the best options for catches, if anglers didn’t mind fishing at night. The fish began turning on more as bait populations built. Loads of white perch filled Absecon Creek and all the creeks and estuaries. This was the first time in years Dave saw perch of any size in Absecon Creek. Spots seemed to swim in all waters from the surf to the bay, and they weren’t nearly large enough to eat, but were perfect sized for striped bass bait, if anglers wanted to catch the spots to keep them for fall striper fishing. Weakfishing was really slow, and one angler said he previously caught them well at the Mullica River. Work was coming along on Dave’s new <a href=" http://www.abseconbay.com/FishGuatemala/fishguatemala.htm" target="_blank">Guatemala charter service</a>, and he expects fishing reports to start coming from there soon.

<b>Atlantic City</b>

Summer flounder continued to migrate to the ocean from the back bay, though not much news was around since the storm, said Curt from <b>Offshore Enterprises Bait & Tackle</b>. But previously better catches of flounder were made at the ocean wrecks, and the fish might’ve bitten better at Absecon Inlet than in the bay, though the fishing at the inlet seemed to tail off in the last days, maybe because of Tuesday’s full moon. Kingfishing in the surf seemed slower than before, and customers who regularly buy bloodworms for the fishing were a no show lately. But a big run of spots swam from the surf to the bay. Croakers schooled the ocean off Margate and Ocean City. Tuna fishing, when the weather allowed boaters to sail, seemed best mainly in 30 to 40 fathoms during the daytime on the troll, jigs and live bait. Yellowfin tuna kept moving, appearing in different places, and trips had to run over them, pulling the right trolling spread with no mistakes, like a line that wasn’t swimming right. No huge catches of yellowfins were made, but anglers caught some, working for the fish. Though the fish kept moving, certain areas sometimes gave up the best fishing for yellowfins a while. The tuna held at 40 fathoms inshore of Lindenkohl Canyon for some time. Everyone seemed to pick up a longfin tuna or two on trips, and sometimes anglers ran into a mess of them. One boater ran a trip that picked up a couple of yellowfins and a couple of mahi mahi then got covered up with longfins, filling the boat with the fish. The <b>Carly A</b>, the shop’s offshore charter boat, kept sailing on the trips.

<b>Brigantine</b>

A bunch of kingfish and spots nibbled in the surf, said Capt. Andy from <b>Riptide Bait & Tackle</b>. Bloodworms were likely the best bait, and the bait that anglers used kept changing between bloods and Fishbites artificial worms, but bloods were the choice at the moment. Snapper blues traveled the surf all weekend, but Andy heard about none since then. Short flounder were everywhere. Rob Vavala checked in a 25-pound mahi mahi, one of the biggest Andy’s seen, from a trip to the Lobster Claw and the 40-Fathom Fingers on a friend’s boat The A-Team. The Men’s Open Tournament from the Association of Surf Angling Clubs, featuring cash prizes, will take place Saturday in Brigantine. Registration is at 6 to 7 a.m. at the Presbyterian church on the island.

<b>Margate</b>

A few of the summer flounder trips, sailing twice daily, had to be missed this week because of the storm, said Capt. John from the party boat <b>Keeper</b>. When trips did sail, waters were filthy, because of 20 m.p.h. northeast winds, so that hampered the fluking. But previously trips rounded up a few keepers, and John would expect the angling to bounce back shortly. Winds already blew lightly from the west by Wednesday evening, and the stage seemed set for better angling conditions now. John was watching the bait that begins to show up this time of year. He saw the year’s first few mullet schools pop up in the back of the bay, where they normally appear. A few peanut bunker were around in the bay, but not at the docks where they usually also swim. If enough show up at the docks to net, they’ll be stowed in the livewell for a great flounder bait on trips. Snapper blues, tiny ones, attacked lots of silversides in the bay, and John hoped bigger blues would move in that normally do, offering something extra for patrons to catch. The Keeper is fishing for summer flounder twice daily 8 a.m. to 12 noon and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Ocean fishing for summer flounder put up good catches, including keepers to 28 inches, before the weather with <b>O-Beth Sportfishing Charters</b>, Capt. Eric said. Trips were poised to sail again since the storm departed. Anglers aboard began to troll the inshore ocean for blues and fish like bonito. Two charters are scheduled to fish for tuna offshore next week.

<b>Longport</b>

Though forecasts called for rough seas to continue Wednesday, the final day of the storm, seas were surprisingly fine, and winds had dropped out, and a trip reeled up a few summer flounder from the ocean that day on the <b>Stray Cat</b>, Capt. Mike said. Waters were 74 or 75 degrees, slightly cooler than before. No croakers bit that had been caught on the boat on a trip before the rough seas. The nor’easter wasn’t as bad as many usually are. The trip before the seas got on a good catch of croakers, sizeable ones, unlike smaller ones that often bit this season, about 3 ½ miles off Ocean City. A bunch of blues and some flounder were cranked in, too. West winds began to blow Wednesday that push seas down on the ocean close to shore, and the winds were forecast to last through the next days. Most charter dates are sold out through next week, but a couple remain, and anglers should jump aboard with the family before school starts after Labor Day. Looking ahead, Columbus Day, October 11, is open, and grab the holiday while the chance remains. Mike suggests a tuna trip then or an offshore sea bass trip. Looking further ahead, Black Friday is open, and that’s a date to take advantage of a striped bass trip.

<b>Ocean City</b>

Lots of summer flounder hovered along the ocean reefs, and triggerfish and sea bass were belted at the reefs today, said Bill from <b>Fin-Atics</b>. Ocean seas flattened on Wednesday and weren’t bad today. Flounder were bigger at the reefs, but the fish, smaller ones, also swam the bay and inlets. Croakers gathered in 30 to 40 feet in the ocean, and a customer bailed a mess before the storm. In the surf kingfish and a bunch of spots were tugged in. A few striped bass, not many, were hooked in the bay at night on soft-plastic lures and plugs. A couple of customers ran offshore to 30 fathoms today, nailing yellowfin tuna. Nothing was heard about false albacore or bonito closer to shore.

Three keeper summer flounder and some 2- to 3-pound blues were bagged on the ocean today with <b>Fish Tale Charters</b>, Capt. Craig said. Probably a dozen flounder, the rest of them throwbacks released, were hooked. A few throwback weakfish were released, and blues bit a couple in half. Rods were bent the whole trip, a good one. Two of the keeper flounder, 18-inchers, were landed on minnows, and the bigger one, a 20-incher, grabbed a strip of bluefish that was cut up for bait. Seas were a little sloppy in the morning in stronger winds than expected. But winds and seas calmed later. Waters were a little dirty, and a brownish sort of slime kept covering the baits that had to be cleaned off. Craig heard one angler say he boated croakers on the ocean, and Curt knew about other anglers who searched for croakers on the ocean but found none. Another trip will head back to the ocean Friday with Fish Tale.

<b>Sea Isle City</b>

Croakers and spots swam the surf, said Wes from <b>Gibson’s Tackle</b>. A few kingfish did too, but mostly croakers and spots ran the waters. No striped bass came from the surf, but small blues sometimes schooled at the inlet along the beaches. Anglers might run into occasional blues in the back bay while striped bass fishing. The stripers hit at night on popper lures. Small summer flounder skittered around the bay, but a report about sizeable flounder, a good catch, tumbled in from Townsend’s Inlet Reef today. On the ocean sea bass anglers had to fish deep to hook up. Fishing for brown and dusky sharks, catch and release by regulation, was good on the inshore ocean 8 or 10 miles off. Plenty of tuna were trolled at the canyons on Green Machines or ballyhoos. Mahi mahi were abundant, and lots of white marlin and a few blue marlin were around. Crabbing was great. Minnows, bloodworms, clams, sometimes green crabs and the fully supply of frozen baits is stocked.

Capt. Joe Hughes from <b>Jersey Cape Guide Service</b>, affiliated with <b>Gibson’s Tackle</b>, was moving a boat to Florida this week, and he is available for boat transporting, he said. His charters are fishing for summer flounder and striped bass on the back bay. At the night the striper trips fish at places like under the lights at the bridges and docks with soft-plastic lures or Clouser flies. During the day they fish with popper lures and flies on the flats at dusk on high tides. September is a great month for popper fishing. Croakers, another fish to target, should be showing up along the ocean front. Anglers aboard are sailing for brown and dusky sharks, catch-and-release angling by regulation, on the ocean 8 to 10 miles from shore. The trips, fishing with either spinning or fly rods, are a chance to fight big fish without traveling a long distance like shark trips usually require. On Jersey Cape’s offshore trips to the canyons, a tuna is biting here and there, and billfishing is good, and lots of mahi mahi are chomping.

<b>Avalon</b>

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

<b>Wildwood</b>

Plenty of summer flounder ran around the back bay, said Mike from <b>Canal Side Boat Rentals</b>. If customers want flounder, they better go now, before the flattie season closes the day after Labor Day. The population of small sea bass somewhat grew in the bay, and a few striped bass were angled from the bay in the past week. “But the season’s too early to say stripers are in,” he said. Few blues, none to speak of, popped up in the bay. Crabbing was good for customers, and one trip this morning returned with 60 keepers, a great catch. 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.

<b>Cape May</b>

A summer flounder trip was cancelled Wednesday on the <b>Heavy Hitter</b> because of weather forecasts, Capt. George said. No boats probably fished that day because of weather warnings at the end of the storm. But fishing for flounder seemed to begin picking up in the ocean around the Old Grounds, and sea bass bit there. Trips lately clobbered lots of 2- to 4-pound blues, as many as anglers could want, and on some days anglers caught them as fast they could reel them in. Trips will definitely have action if fishing for blues. Croakers swam Delaware Bay, if anglers wanted them. Tuna were gaffed anywhere from 30 fathoms to the canyons, but trips had to find them from day to day. No place held them consistently, and the tuna kept roaming around. They might hold in one location or day or two, or might not. Loads of mahi mahi were around. George knew one angler competing in a tournament who got the lines out of the waters when a mess of mahi were spotted, until the trip passed through the area. Some wahoos swam offshore. George was supposed to mate on another boat today, and two trips are slated to fish on the Heavy Hitter this Saturday and Sunday. Call if interested in fishing for any of these species, including if interested in a last-minute flounder trip, before the season closes on September 7. Flounder fishing seemed to be improving for better-sized fish at places like the Old Grounds on the ocean.

Many customers who stopped by today after the storm planned to steam to the Old Grounds, on the ocean off Delaware, and the ocean reefs Friday for summer flounder, said Danny Boy from <b>Hands Too Bait & Tackle</b>. The fishing was improving in deep waters. A bunch of throwback flounder filled the back bay, but a few keepers could be searched out. Snapper blues appeared in the bay the last two or three days, and old timers who surf fished fought 4- to 6-pound blues at Poverty Beach the last couple of days. Striped bass and baby sea bass swam the bay. A buddy hooked a 13-1/2-inch weakfish in the bay, and a customer this afternoon said he landed a weakie from the bay. Croakers and a few kingfish were banked from shore at the Cape May ferry jetty, near the Concrete Ship and off Cape May Lighthouse. The shop’s owner planned to fish for mahi mahi 10 to 20 miles offshore Friday. Crabbing was phenomenal.

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