<b>Shark River Inlet</b>

<b>Last Lady Fishing Charters</b> from Neptune ran for tuna Wednesday, found the fish, and returned early, Capt. Ralph said in an e-mail.  “Great trip,” he said. The fish were located short of the canyons, and a limit of two bluefin tuna -- an under and an over, as anglers say, referring to the legal sizes -- was bagged, and more bluefins were released. Sixty-pound yellowfin tuna were also bagged. Anglers are already standing by to join the trips, limited to four or five, and get on the list to go. Call or e-mail Ralph. Trips are also fishing the offshore wrecks for cod and pollock.

Capt. Eric from <b>On a Mission Fishing Adventures</b> from Belmar scoped out the inshore ocean along 20 fathoms for bluefin tuna last week, he said, and none of the fish roamed the area so far. They were caught in 30 to 40 fathoms, but Eric expects the schoolies and footballs to push to 20 fathoms, where his trips fish for them. The bottom was cold, and maybe needed to warm to draw them in. The surface might’ve been 75 degrees at the time, but divers saw bottom temps in the 40s. Big bluefish tore up the trolling spread.

A shark trip wrestled in a hammerhead, a big, 175-pound dusky and a small, 80-pound mako at the Glory Hole on Wednesday, said Capt. Tom from the <b>Nan Sea J</b> from Belmar. A couple of mahi mahi jumped off that swam the chum slick, and three or four triggerfish were hooked. That was one of the weekly, open-boat shark trips, sailing on Wednesdays, and another one of the trips is expected to sail this coming week. Take advantage of the rare opportunity for sharking on an open trip before the season ends. Waters were 78 ½ degrees or warm and were beautiful, with 50-foot visibility, and there was a good drift. The ocean held somewhat of a swell, and the ride home was a bit rough. Tom heard about bluefin tuna caught in the area on other boats that day, all on the troll. Charters and open trips will sail for bluefins if the angling kicks in, especially if the bite takes off well like last year. Overnight canyon tuna trips will begin in September.

<b>Manasquan Inlet</b>

Capt. Wally Harmstead, one of the captains from the <b>Big Kid</b> from Brielle, took an overnighter to the canyons Saturday to Sunday on a private boat, Capt. Ken, the Big Kid’s owner, said. Twenty-five yellowfin tuna were pummeled, not only on the troll during the day, but also at night on the chunk. A fair number of the 25- to 60-pounders were taken at night, one of the first nighttime catches this season. The Big Kid was slated to fish the canyons overnight Wednesday until today and Saturday until Sunday, though the second trip might get weathered out. Offshore tournaments available for charters include the Tuna Stakes Invitational 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. Coming tournaments that are already booked include the Beach Haven White Marlin Invitational and the Mid Atlantic $500,000.

Fishing for bluefin tuna improved considerably at the triangle from the Chicken Canyon to the Atlantic Princess wreck to the Glory Hole, said Chuck from <b>The Reel Seat</b> in Brielle. Catches included small bluefins and big ones. From the canyons, the biggest news this past week was that the season’s first nighttime yellowfin tuna catches were made. Chuck knew about a trip that chunked the fish Saturday night east of the 100-Square at Hudson Canyon and trolled more in the morning, scoring well throughout the time. Yellowfins are always trolled during the daytime in the early season and also later in the season but don’t start biting on bait – don’t start being “chunked,” it’s called, named for the chunks of bait used for chum – at night until sometime in summer though fall. Though yellowfin fishing in general was “on” one day and slower the next, billfishing was fairly consistent at the waters. Steve Hegna clobbered an 800-pound blue marlin at the canyons

The canyons were on fire again! the report on the <b>Canyon Runner</b> from Point Pleasant’s Web site said early this week. The fish were trolled during the day, but they also began to be chunked at night. Inshore fishing for bluefin tuna wasn’t bad either, it said. Two overnight trips on Canyon Runner’s two canyon boats on Saturday to Sunday whaled about 30 yellowfin tuna apiece, keeping some of the fish that the charters wanted, releasing the rest, at Hudson Canyon. Plus the biggest blue marlin of the year for the company, a 700-pounder, was released on one of the vessels, and so was a giant bluefin tuna, an 80-incher, among other fish caught. A better period of fishing might’ve never been scored with Canyon Runner. One trip left port Saturday morning, running to the bluefin grounds near the Chicken Canyon. A way-back ballyhoo was trolled on a planer, and soon the bait was attacked. “This fish was a real one,” the report said. The 80-inch giant was landed in 2 hours and released, and a 35-pound bluefin was also trolled. Then the charter headed for the 100-Square at Hudson Canyon. A good temperature break and tons of yellowfin tuna were found. Eleven yellowfins were trolled in short order, and the anglers went 1 for 2 on white marlin. The charter had bagged all the tuna they wanted, so they began catching and releasing more, tagging many of them. They landed 24 yellowfins that day. At night, because the anglers were already releasing tuna, they decided to focus o swordfishing. Only one tuna rod was set out, but five yellowfins were landed on the rod. Another yellowfin was caught and released on a popper lure on a spinning rod at daybreak when yellowfins busted the water surface all around. More interesting, anglers on a nearby boat worked hard at chunking for tuna that night, scoring well, limiting out. These were all big yellowfins, “just like the old days …,” the report said. “… so if you miss chunking yellowfin, get out there now!” The amazing fishing continued on the troll the next morning, and another 14 yellowfins were released. A total of 38 were landed on the trip, and most were tagged and released for science. The anglers in the morning actually tried to avoid yellowfins to look for bigeye tuna, but that didn’t work, and the yellowfins kept attacking. A trip Saturday to Sunday on Canyon Runner’s other offshore boat experienced similar fishing for yellowfins in the same area of the Hudson, trolling a mess of the fish the first day and next morning, a total of 30 for the trip, releasing all but 14, tagging most of the released ones. At night the anglers focused on swordfishng, but five yellowfins were chunked on the one tuna rod that was fished. In the morning the anglers tried to get away from the yellowfins to search for bigeyes or blue marlin. Only five rods were fished, though 13 or 14 are normally used for trolling on the boat. Yellowfins kept attacking and were hooked, but a blue marlin crashed the spread. The estimated 700-pounder was leadered, and a captain on the boat, not the captain at the helm, told the wire man not to let go of the line, and he didn’t. The leader broke in his hand, and the fish swam away strong, before the blue could be measured. But the captain who gave the order caught 175 blues in 8 years of fishing from Hawaii, and confirmed what the other two captains on board thought: that the blue easily weighed more than 700 pounds. Another trip, an open-boat outing, last week on Thursday landed and released two bluefin tuna 74 and 72 inches at the Chicken Canyon on the way to the Hudson. At the Hudson the trip caught 12 yellowfin tuna, all on the daytime troll except one at night, and went 1 for 2 on white marlin.

<b>Barnegat Inlet</b>

Nobody reported heading offshore for tuna this week because of rough seas, said Josh from <b>Barnegat Light Bait & Tackle</b>.

<b>Little Egg Inlet</b>

Seas were rough or 5 to 6 feet, but anglers sailed offshore Thursday with <b>Legal Limit Charters</b> from Tuckerton, trolling a healthy catch of yellowfin tuna to 70 pounds and a few mahi mahi from 50 to 100 fathoms, Capt. T.J. said. More of the fish were taken toward 100 fathoms, but the catches were spread out, one here, one there, at all the depths, and water temps were an even 80 degrees everywhere, no breaks to hold a body of the fish. Seas subsided a bit on the ride home. An overnight tuna trip is on the books to fish Tuesday to Wednesday.

<b>Absecon Inlet</b>

Not a lot of reports rolled in from offshore because of winds and seas in the past days, said Curt from <b>Offshore Enterprises Bait & Tackle</b> in Atlantic City. A buddy plowed 14 yellowfin tuna offshore but didn’t say where. Yellowfin fishing was good before the weather, not even at the canyons but toward 40 fathoms short of the canyons, in the past weeks. They were trolled, but chunking for them at night also began. Curt even knew about confirmed catches of yellowfins at the Lobster Claw in inshore waters. They weren’t bluefins that anglers just called yellowfins so they could bag them! A bunch of white marlin roamed offshore, and quite a few blue marlin were landed. Curt knew about three or four confirmed catches of blues and saw photos of like 600-pounders. Bluefin tuna could probably be caught in inshore waters, but boaters all passed the bluefin grounds to reach the yellowfins. The <b>Carly A</b>, the shop’s offshore charter boat, returned to New Jersey to fish, after sailing from Oregon Inlet this season, and the vessel was on a chunking trip for tuna at the canyons Thursday, when Curt gave this report. Charters are available.

<b>Great Egg Harbor Inlet</b>

Yellowfin tuna fishing had been super in 40 to 50 fathoms, somewhat short of the canyons, but seas kept most from sailing there this week, said John from <b>Fin-Atics</b> in Ocean City. Mahi mahi and occasionally bluefin tuna were boated. Bonito were sometimes trolled at Sea Isle Ridge on lures like small Clark spoons, feathers or Gotchas.

Inshore trolling, as it’s called, whacked small bluefish and other fish mixed in, including mahi mahi, little tunny and chub mackerel, 8 miles from shore on the <b>Stray Cat</b> from Longport, Capt. Mike said. Big mystery bites also broke off the 50-pound line. The mahi on the trip weighed 10 to 12 pounds, good-sized. One weighed 19 pounds 4 ounces on Wednesday. An incredible amount of bait flooded the waters that day, and bunker schools stretched 6 or 8 miles, and bunker boats headed home, filled up. Mike had just scheduled the season’s open-boat, overnight tuna trips that will leave the dock at 2 p.m. August 21, 28 and 29. The trips will also stop for sea bass in the mornings. The first trip on the 21st already sold out, and these will be the only of these trips to sail this year, unless the weather is clear in September. Then another, one trip, might be added. 

<b>Townsend’s Inlet</b>

No offshore reports were posted on <b>Over Under Adventures</b> from Avalon’s Web site since late last week. Maybe trips were weathered out afterward. A short trip – too short, really, the last report on the site said – sailed for yellowfin tuna toward Wilmington Canyon last week on Thursday. The short trips are designed for bluefin tuna trips closer to shore, but bluefins were scarce, so the anglers ran the extra distance to the Wilmington, started fishing in 45 fathoms toward the west wall, working toward the notch. Action was scored off the bat, and a white marlin was jumped off. Then a blue marlin dumped three-quarters of the line off a reel in a heart beat. This was a big fish. But the blue threw the hook. More white marlin were seen here and there afterward, but refused to bite, and a couple of mahi mahi were landed. Bait was scarce, and nothing that would hold tuna was seen, unlike a few days previously. Lots of white marlin were attracted to the waters, if anglers wanted them. The crew heard about a few tuna boated on the east side and at the tip, but no good reason to travel there for the fish. These shorter trips were becoming difficult for catching tuna, only able to travel 40 to 60 miles off the coast. The crew hopes tuna fishing improves in 40 fathoms, but the previous report said 14- and 16-hour trips at the moment were better than the 12-hour trips meant for bluefins, and 22-hour trips were most productive. The crew after the trip was waiting for weather to clear to get back out again, the report said An open-boat trip was added to the schedule: a 16-hour tuna trip on Saturday that will compete in the Jersey Shore Classic.  For more open-boat dates, see the <a href=" http://overundercharters.com/index.php?page=opendates" target="_blank">Over Under’s open-boat schedule</a>.

<b>Cape May Inlet</b>

None of the fleet probably sailed to the offshore grounds this week because of seas, said Capt. George from the <b>Heavy Hitter</b> from Cape May. A trip for tuna was weathered out on the boat Sunday because of seas and winds. A friend fished the waters during the weekend, finding 6- to 7-foot seas. Good catches of yellowfin tuna, sizeable ones 40 to 60 pounds, were waxed previously, all on the troll. Anglers seemed to need to locate the fish, suddenly getting covered up with them, loading up on a catch all at once. Not just one or two usually bit, but a wolfpack would come through, maybe attacking everything in the trolling spread. Some boaters stopped at areas that looked full of life and caught them. Others stopped at such areas and caught none. Luck was a factor, and searching out the fish was key. The tuna were mostly belted from Lindenkohl Canyon to Wilmington Canyon but a bit inshore, in 40 to 60 fathoms. White marlin seemed around in fair numbers, and mahi mahi were hooked, and they were all larger fish 10 pounds or bigger. The friend who fished offshore during the weekend trolled three mahi including a 22-pounder. George heard about a few wahoos boated.

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