This is the final offshore report of the year!
Tuna remained offshore, but reports were scarce, and few boats made the trip, and the autumn weather was closing in. So this report will now end for the year. Some vessels will continue to sail and catch the fish, though.

<b>Sandy Hook</b>

The weather was rough, keeping the vessel docked, but Capt. Brian from <b>Jersey Devil Charters</b> from Highlands heard reports about bluefin tuna boated previously on Sunday, he said. Some of the bluefins swam close to shore, but catches were more consistent farther from shore at places like the Atlantic Princess wreck and the Chicken Canyon. Charters are sailing for bluefins, and so are open-boat trips, when enough anglers are interested. Call if interested in the open trips, because the more who are interested, the easier to schedule.

At <b>Twin Lights Marina</b> in Highlands, nobody mentioned fishing offshore anymore this season, Wayne said. Inshore trips for small game became the only focus, as the fall weather closed in.

<b>Shark River Inlet</b>

No more tuna trips are on the books on the <b>Nan Sea J</b> from Belmar this season, though the boat could sail for the fish if someone wanted, Capt. Tom said. Canyon tuna probably still bit, and Tom heard about a few bluefin tuna landed near the coast lately.

Anglers on the radio talked about seeing bluefin tuna at the Shrewsbury Rocks on Sunday, said Capt. Eric from <b>On a Mission Fishing Adventures</b> from Belmar. But he saw none there while he ran a charter for striped bass and blues that day. Still, this is the time of year when bluefins appear close to shore, and On a Mission specializes in fishing for them near the coast. If the fish are around, On a Mission is available for charters for them.

<b>Manasquan Inlet</b>

The season was becoming late, and most trips were fishing inshore now, but the <b>Big Kid</b> from Brielle remained up for charters for tuna, Capt. Ken said. Trips could fish for yellowfin tuna around the canyons or bluefin tuna closer to shore. Both tuna were biting.

Bluefin tuna swam all around the ocean, from 60 feet on out, said Dave from <b>The Reel Seat</b> from Brielle. Fishing for them became red hot again at the Atlantic Princess wreck, and they were bigger fish, 100 pounds and larger. Dave also heard about bluefins caught at the Klondike wreck. Party boats fishing farther from shore at the canyons racked up yellowfin, longfin and bluefin tuna, and were plagued by blue sharks.

Seas were difficult on a canyon tuna trip overnight Friday to Saturday on the party boat <b>Gambler</b> from Point Pleasant Beach, despite forecasts for diminishing seas, Capt. Bob said. Seas didn’t just make the fishing difficult, but made landing the fish challenging. But anglers who managed to stay at the rail caught 25- to 75-pound yellowfin and longfin tuna, an equal mix, good-sized fish. Three anglers bagged two tuna apiece, and almost all anglers who stayed at the rail bagged at least one. Some of the anglers had a tough time all around because of seas. One final canyon trip is scheduled to sail this season on Saturday, and four spaces are available. Last call. See the <a href=" http://www.gamblerfishing.net/offshoretrips.html
" target="_blank">Gambler’s offshore tuna schedule</a> online.

Carl Lamanna, owner of <b>Canyon River Club Marina</b> in Point Pleasant Beach, would like to fish offshore one final time this season on his C-Annamal, because tuna were out there, he said. But getting a window of weather to sail was a challenge. The weather kept most of the boats at the marina from fishing this week, and none headed offshore. The marina, located along Manasquan River, is open all year, including winter. It features all the amenities, including a locker with electric to fit a freezer, rods and tackle. The docks are only a half-mile from Manasquan Inlet with no bridges. Anglers can look forward to the new restaurant named 709 that Carl will open in Point Pleasant Beach in springtime. The upscale, nearly 10,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art American restaurant will feature the best steaks and seafood, an incredible menu of the latest cuisine. The restaurant will include a bar, three fireplaces, a banquet hall, a veranda and more.

<b>Barnegat Light</b>

Tuna fishing served up catches at Hudson Canyon, said Grizz from <b>Grizz’s Forked River Bait & Tackle</b>. That’s not much news, but the below reports also suggested catches were made at the Hudson or the northern canyons that include the Hudson.

<b>Absecon Inlet</b>

At <b>Offshore Enterprises Bait & Tackle</b> in Atlantic City, Curt heard from nobody who fished offshore for tuna in a while, he said. Curt gave thorough offshore reports all season, but first-hand news dried up finally. However, he heard that Hudson Canyon held a bite.

<b>Townsend’s Inlet</b>

Fishing was tough on an overnight trip to the canyons from Thursday to Friday, but was productive on a trip from Saturday to Sunday, said reports on <b>Over Under Adventures</b> from Avalon’s Web site. First, the trip on Thursday to Friday. It was “just one of those trips we all want to pretend never happened,” the reports said. After the previous trip plundered a 200-pound swordfish, released two more swords and bagged eight tuna, a catch covered here last week, the crew aimed to fish the same waters on this trip, following the waters a bit south. But friends who fished the waters said the tuna were gone, so Over Under changed plans. The crew discussed options, and talked them over with Mitch Roffer from Roffer’s satellite charts, deciding to head to a 4- to 5-degree temp break at Baltimore Canyon. The break was found, but nothing bit there on the troll for a couple of hours at the beginning of the trip. Seas were a lot worse than forecast, making fishing difficult. Waters were cold on one side of the break, and fishing along the edge of the break was nearly impossible in the seas. But the trip was sort of stuck in the area, forced to fish there that night. The crew planned to give the fishing until 10 p.m., but everyone on board was growing tired of the seas, even with a sea anchor. Options were limited, and moving inshore for better seas was the only practical choice. The ride from 1,000 fathoms to 500 fathoms was not pretty, even when sailing 8 knots. A sliver of warm waters was found inshore by chance, and the trip fished there. A longliner in the area said yellowfin tuna might be found there. A good-sized swordfish bit at 4:30 a.m., was fought for 15 minutes and got off. That was the only bite on the trip. At 7:30 a.m. the trip sailed to lobster pot buoys on the west wall of the Baltimore, looking for mahi mahi, but they seemed to depart for warmer waters. The trip headed home, and seas began to lay down at 50 fathoms, and the boat was able to cruise at 23 knots. Reports sounded like tuna bit to the north again. On the trip from Saturday to Sunday, fishing was slow that night, but the angling took off at 6 a.m. The three young anglers and their dad beat nine yellowfin tuna to 70 pounds, and the fish swam thick around the boat. The dad “threw up the white flag,” the reports said, at 9 a.m., leaving the tuna biting. The anglers went off to find mahi mahi, adding some to the box. A great trip, and “now we just need a break in the weather to get back out there!” the reports said. Charters and   <a href=" http://overundercharters.com/index.php?page=opendates" target="_blank">open-boat trips</a> are fishing offshore.

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