<b>Manasquan Inlet</>

On the <b>Big Kid</b> from Brielle a trip with Michael Condon’s party competed in Saturday’s Brett T. Bailey Memorial Mako Tournament, Capt. Ken said. A 200-pound mako and at least 12 blue sharks were waxed. All were released, including the mako, because the anglers were looking for a tournament-winner. Bluefish crowded the 71-degree waters. Tournaments available for charters include: the Jersey Coast Shark Anglers High Rollers Tournament on July 10, the Mid Atlantic Tuna Tournament on July 15 to 17, Tuna Stakes on August 21 to 29, and the Manasquan River Marlin and Tuna Club Tournament on August 28 to September 5, open to the public for the first time. Upcoming tournaments that are booked include Mako Mania, the Beach Haven White Marlin Invitational and the Mid Atlantic $500,000.

The first canyon trip of the year cruised to the Hudson on Tuesday with <b>Andrea’s Toy Charters</b> from Point Pleasant, Capt. Fred said. This was the yearly tuna run for John Toronto’s charter, a trip made on short notice, because of great weather and reports about tuna catches, the report on the boat’s Web site said. On the way to the Hudson, great signs of a potential bluefin tuna bite were seen, and the trip stopped to troll the area, but no bluefins hit. The anglers ran to the east side of the Hudson, trolling from evening until dark, without a touch. The boat was set up to drift for sharks, and a 10-foot blue shark was landed. A mako entered the slick, but refused to eat a bait. In the morning, the boat was put on the troll, and a yellowfin tuna, a 35-pounder, was decked. No other tuna appeared, and the anglers decided to load the box with fish, going tilefishing. One of the boxes was filled with two dozen tiles. News was heard about tuna caught, and the trip trolled again, but no bites. The boat was motored inshore to look for bluefin tuna one more time and sharks. The signs of bluefins were seen again, but none appeared. A mako was seen, and the anglers got a chance to try to entice the fish with bait, and it circled the boat but took off. “Beautiful day with some hardcore anglers,” the site said. Andrea’s Toy is beginning to complete the list of anglers for annual, open-boat, mixed-bag trips for bluefin tuna, mako sharks, pollock, cod and mahi mahi, as the bluefins start to stack up. The trips, 14-hour outings from 4 a.m. to 6 p.m., begin with bluefin tuna fishing. Chunking and jigging with the Shimano Butterfly Jig System is the preferred method. But if necessary ballyhoos will be trolled way back on planers to locate the tuna. Once the bite is finished or the anglers had enough, the trips drift for sharks over deep wrecks, and the anglers can jig for pollock and cod at the same time. Afterward the trips fish for mahi mahi to end the day. If interested in the trips, limited to four anglers, call or e-mail pertinent info.

With 10 canyon trips already under their belts this season, the crew from <b>Canyon Runner</b>, from Point Pleasant, began to be dialed in to offshore fishing, the report on Canyon Runner’s Web site said. Two overnight trips ran, one from Tuesday to Wednesday on the 48-foot Viking, and another from Monday to Tuesday on the 60-foot Ritchie Howell. The trip on Tuesday was open-boat, and Canyon Runner is fishing open-boat at least once a week, and the trips are booked well in advance, the next available in late July, so contact the crew now if interested. The trip left at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, after another trip on the boat had returned earlier that day. The trip took a course for Hudson Canyon, and the crew knew no time would be left to troll at the Hudson before dark, so they stopped at the first signs of life on the eastern edge of the Mudhole, and an 80-pound bluefin tuna was quickly boated. With lots of life seen, they decided to fish for sharks into the night there, and tons of action with blue sharks, browns and duskies was scored, though no mako showed up. At 2 a.m. they departed for the Hudson to reach the area by dawn, heading first to waters where the captain had marked bigeye tuna the day before. A bigeye was hooked on the troll at 5 a.m. on a Canyon Runner Mini Green Machine Spreader Bar, the crew’s favorite for bigeyes. The tuna, a 71-inch bigeye weighing 214 pounds back at the dock, a skinny one, was harpooned in less than an hour. The trip continued trying to troll bigeyes for hours, marking the fish, seeing a double-header landed on a nearby boat, but no more bit. The trip looked for yellowfin tuna caught the previous day, but the fish had moved. So the anglers went tilefishing, reeling up a dozen in an hour. The boat was motored back inshore, and the trip tried sharking again, an attempt to hook a mako, but no mako was found, though a few blue sharks were hooked, and a thresher was missed. On the trip Monday to Tuesday a charter left early, arriving at the Hudson before noon. Two yellowfin tuna were quickly trolled. Six more hours of trolling produced nothing, and the anglers decided to fish for sharks at night back inshore in 40 fathoms. A 170-pound mako was bagged, and 20 blue sharks were released. In the morning the trip trolled at the Chicken Canyon, and one bluefin was boated early. Pods of bluefins surfaced the rest of the time, but none would bite, and the trip headed home at 10 a.m. Maybe a few more bluefins would’ve bitten if the trip had stayed longer. <b>(Continued Below)</b>

<b>(Cotinued from Above)</b> Two trips on the two boats also ran south to waters around Poorman’s Canyon last week on Thursday. Twelve yellowfin tuna, six on each vessel, were trolled on the first and second days of the trips. Various species of sharks including tigers, duskies and blues attacked on both vessels at night, and a 125-pound mako was lost when it spit the hook. On that Friday, both boats fished at Hudson Canyon. On the way, tons of life was seen around the Chicken Canyon on the 48-footer, and the crew made note of the action, but both boats kept pushing to the Hudson. The 48-footer was set up on the drift for shark fishing for the night. But a swordfish hit a deep rod meant for the broadbills, was fought and pulled off. The rest of the night was uneventful. On the troll the next morning, the trip went 4 for 9 on yellowfins. The anglers stopped to dunk for tilefish for an hour, pumping in 12 or 15 tiles to 12 pounds. On the way back, the trip took a shot at bluefin tuna where life was seen near the Chicken the previous day. Bluefins rocketed out of the waters a few miles before the canyon, and a 55-incher engulfed a bait. The anglers went 1 for 4 on 40-pound bluefins in a few minutes, before calling it a day. On the 60-footer during this time, the trip was set up for sharking at the Hudson on Friday night, and a few blue sharks were released. A professional cook was aboard, making one of the best meals ever on the boat, including ribs, steak, tuna tacos and quesadillas, on the cockpit grill. Up on the troll in the morning, the trip worked both canyon walls, picking away at 40- to 50-pound yellowfins. The bites mostly came in singles, and the anglers ended up going 4 for 8.

A trip on the boat Saturday sailed offshore to 1,000 fathoms at Toms Canyon, said Capt. Rich from the tackle shop <b>Jersey Hooker Outfitters</b>, located in Bricktown, and <b>Jersey Hooker Charters</b>, sailing from Point Pleasant, docked at the Canyon River Club. Tuna were marked, but only a 15-pound bull mahi mahi attacked the trolling spread, and was landed. Waters looked perfect for tuna and were 69 to 71 degrees. Rich on the radio heard about a few tuna caught in the area that day, but nobody he knew reported a catch. Jersey Hooker did no fishing for bluefin tuna closer to shore, but a few customers said they hooked bluefins at the Arundo wreck. Shark anglers all seemed to pick makos and blue sharks if they tried in 20 to 30 fathoms. Catch the shop’s <i><b>Shark Tournament Bait Special</b></i> for only $99: three 5-gallon buckets of bunker chum, one flat of mackerel and five bags of ice. 

<b>Little Egg Inlet</>

A few brown sharks were caught and released on a shark trip Tuesday, and a mako swam the chum slick, but couldn’t be coaxed to bite, said Capt. T.J. from <b>Legal Limit Charters</b> from Tuckerton. A few makos were still around. Another shark trip will run Saturday. A tuna trip will fish Wednesday, probably for bluefins on the inshore ocean, unless T.J. hears about a better option at the canyons.

<b>Absecon Inlet</b>

A load of small bluefin tuna 30 to 35 inches held at places like 28-Mile Wreck, the 750 Square and the Cigar, and they now set up at the Lobster Claw, said Curt from <b>Offshore Enterprises Bait & Tackle</b> in Atlantic City. He heard about none boated at the A.C. Ridge, closer to shore, like he did last week. Though the bluefins were small, some anglers fought 5 to 15, lots of action. A mess of bluefish filled the same waters, and anglers in the weekend’s Ladies Invitational Bluefish Tournament focused on the area. Plenty of sharks were wrestled, and little was heard about thresher sharks, probably because anglers concentrated on makos, before the mako season closes. A couple of customers fished southern canyons such as the Poorman’s and the Washington, coming up with yellowfin tuna and mahi mahi. Curt heard about catches at Hudson Canyon to the north, too. The <b>Carly A</b>, the shop’s offshore charter boat, remained at Oregon Inlet, North Carolina, for big-game fishing, but will return to New Jersey when the state’s blue-water angling amps up.

<b>Great Egg Harbor Inlet</b>

A  209-pound mako shark was socked Monday on a charter, said Capt. Eric from <b>O-Beth Sportfishing </b> from Margate. That fish was kept, and two brown sharks were released. All the bluefish anyone could handle swam the 70-degree waters in 20 fathoms. On another shark trip Tuesday three makos appeared in the chum slick but refused to chomp a bait, again in 20 fathoms. The drift was nonexistent, dead in the waters, in no winds, tough conditions. A few blues mouthed baits. But sharks are in, and O-Beth’s crew loves sharking. Both charters and open-boat trips are sailing for them and also for bluefin tuna. Call for the open schedule.

Bluefin tuna were mostly fought at the Lobster Claw, mainly on the troll, said Ed from <b>Fin-Atics</b> in Ocean City. Tuna anglers fishing farther offshore gaffed yellowfins toward Poorman’s Canyon. But seas turned rough by Wednesday, and anglers will see where the fish show up when trips return today and Saturday.

Bluefish often covered up baits on the bluefin tuna grounds by the end of last week, said Capt. Craig from <b>Fish Tale Charters</b> from Ocean City. The grounds then were crowded with boats fishing in the Ladies Invitational Bluefish Tournament. The tuna angling sounded hit or miss at the time, after fairly good catches were made earlier last week. The fish then were small, but boaters were able to bag their limits. Though the angling was apparently less steady this weekend, that could change quickly. Fish Tale is fishing for the tuna on charters.

<b>Townsend’s Inlet</b>

Two yellowfin tuna 30 pounds or larger and a bunch of skipjacks were trolled in 800 feet between Poorman’s and South Poorman’s canyons on an exploratory trip Saturday with Capt. Bernie Walker and John O’Connor aboard, said Capt. Joe Hughes from <b>Jersey Cape Guide Service</b> and <b>Gibson’s Tackle</b> in Sea Isle City. Plenty of mahi mahi were seen, could’ve been caught, but tuna were the focus. Waters were 68 degrees, a temp for tuna, not for billfish, and there was really no temperature break. At one point the trip was 20 miles from Washington Canyon, far from port. Closer to shore, Jersey Cape did no fishing for bluefin tuna, but the angling by the weekend had become sporadic at places like the Cigar and 28-Mile Wreck. Good days of the fishing were bailed, but sometimes anglers rounded up none of the tuna, only got covered up with bluefish. Tons of bluefish filled the waters.

<b>Hereford Inlet</b>

Chaz Gallagher on his Reel Classic trolled five yellowfin tuna 40 to 60 pounds at Poorman’s Canyon, said Cathy from <b>Sterling Harbor Bait & Tackle</b> in Wildwood in an e-mail. A trip to Baltimore Canyon on the Captain Chaos trolled and released a 5-foot mako, and pumped in 16 tilefish to 25 pounds. Chris Hoffman weighed in an 83-pound mako he bagged at the Misty Blue wreck on Sean Gallagher’s Beagle. Bluefin tuna swam everywhere from 20 fathoms to the canyons, but they were difficult to catch, though a few were trolled.

<b>Cape May Inlet</b>

On the <b>Heavy Hitter</b> from Cape May, a 100-pound mako, a blue shark and two brown sharks were beaten on a charter that competed Saturday in Jim’s Bait and Tackle’s shark tournament, Capt. George said. The mako was 65 inches but skinny. Two other run-offs jumped off the hooks. George thought a 270-pound mako won the event, but wasn’t sure, and thought probably 60 boats competed. Lots of  small makos seemed to be hooked at the time, and George talked with a bunch of people about the fishing.  Waters were 74 degrees, starting to become warm, where he fished. By now, he was pretty much finished sharking for the season. He saw no bluefin tuna during the trip, though bluefins swam the grounds previously where he sharked. But during the middle of this week he heard about bluefins holding at a specific location. Call George about a good special on bluefin trips on the boat. The fishery is the closest to shore that tuna show up all year, so the shortened traveling time, longer fishing time and more economical trip appeal to anglers. Throw in a special, and the trips are even greater. An angler from the dock during the weekend landed six bluefins, small footballs, but four of them keeper-sized, bagging a limit of one, releasing the rest. Many bluefish schooled some of the areas where bluefins were caught recently. Boats that fished in the weekend’s Ladies Invitational Bluefish Tournament often fished areas like the Cigar and the Misty Blue wreck, bluefin grounds.

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