<b>Sandy Hook</b>
A friend motored out for bluefin tuna Tuesday in rough, 6- to 8-foot seas, said Capt. Derek from <b>Fisher Price Charters</b> from Highlands. Waters were dirty and green all over, until beyond 60 miles from shore. Then the ocean cleared, and the trip went 1 for 4 on bluefins on jigs and 0 for 2 on yellowfin tuna on bait. He found tuna, but said the fishing was off. Derek heard about a few anglers who sailed for bluefins on Sunday, finding green waters and a slow bite. Fishers Price is fishing for bluefins on charters and open trips so long as the angling is productive.
A double charter last week on Tuesday sailed for bluefin tuna 50 to 60 miles offshore with <b>Jersey Devil Charters</b> from Highlands, Capt. Brian said. One of the groups fished on his boat, and the other fished on his friend’s boat,. Clean waters were difficult to find among dirty, green waters, but good waters were finally located. One of the boats went 1 for 3 on bluefins, and the other boat ran across no tuna, but stopped at a wreck, catching big pollock to 34 pounds and large cod. On the next day, Wednesday, Jersey Devil’s boat returned to the same numbers, and waters were full of life including bait, porpoises and turtles, and two gaffer mahi mahi were decked, and no bluefins showed up. Starting that Thursday strong easterly winds, big seas and rough weather closed in through the weekend, and nobody Brian knew sailed to the grounds then. Charters and open-boat trips are fishing for bluefins. Call if interested in the open trips, because the more who are interested, the easier to schedule. Charters are also fishing for tuna and big game farther offshore at the canyons.
<b>Manasquan Inlet</b>
No reports were posted on the <b>Canyon Runner</b> from Point Pleasant’s Web site since last week. That was unusual and maybe because the crew competed in the offshore tournaments, keeping details about the fishing hush. But nighttime fishing for tuna finally came together on a trip last week on Wednesday to Thursday, a report on the site said. The trip left at 6 p.m. Wednesday, arriving at Hudson Canyon in the dark, and the anglers began fishing. Yellowfin tuna began to be picked at midnight, and the anglers went 10 for 13 on the fish. Seven of the tuna landed were good-sized and kept, and three were small and released. On the troll the next morning the trip worked back toward the tip of the canyon, and the charter “had the bite they were looking for,” the report said. The head of the charter, from Point Pleasant, had traveled the world, looking to catch his first-ever blue marlin. “Well, he only had to look in his own back yard,” the report said. He landed and released a 375-pound blue after an hour fight. The fish, biting a ballyhoo on a blue-and-white Ilander, was Canyon Runner’s seventh blue “of the young season,” the report said. An overnight trip last week on Tuesday to Wednesday was slower at the Hudson, producing two yellowfins trolled in the afternoon, no fish at night, and two yellowfins trolled in the morning. The trip began fishing at the tip among plenty of life including whales, porpoises and working birds. An open-boat trip that Monday at the Hudson pummeled seven big yellowfins, a wahoo and some mahi mahi on the troll at the west wall for 4 hours as soon as the boat arrived. But nothing bit at night and the next morning.
<b>Absecon Inlet</b>
Okay tuna catches were boated, and the fish held closer to the coast than before, said Curt from <b>Offshore Enterprises Bait & Tackle</b> in Atlantic City. The fish were found in 30 to 40 fathoms, and previously were located in 40 to 50. Anglers who sailed all the way offshore to the canyons found none of the fish. Customers from the shop mainly fish at Lindenkohl and Carteret Canyons, so the waters in 30 to 40 fathoms between there and Atlantic City were where they found the tuna. Some nailed yellowfin tuna, bluefin tuna, white marlin and blue marlin all in one trip in the area, like in 200-foot depths. The fish were sometimes big, like a 77-inch bluefin one customer landed. Catches were all made during the day on the troll, and none was made at night on the chunk. Only mahi mahi were caught at night. The <b>Carly A</b>, the shop’s offshore charter boat, was scoring well, running quite a few trips.
<b>Townsend’s Inlet</b>
Capt. Joe Hughes from <b>Jersey Cape Guide Service</b> and <b>Gibson’s Tackle</b> in Sea Isle City competed in Cape May’s Mid Atlantic $500,000 offshore tournament this week, he said. The competition was still taking place, and so far he had fished on two of three days entrants could choose. A trip Monday went 0 for 1 on white marlin, 0 for 1 on blue marlin and landed six gaffer mahi mahi. A trip Wednesday went 1 for 2 on whites. Joe was asked about no details while the tournament was ongoing.
With <b>Over Under Adventures</b> from Avalon, a trip sailed to lumps inshore of Lindenkohl Canyon in 220 feet, about 35 fathoms, at 7:30 a.m. Wednesday, the audio report on Over Under’s Web site said. The area gave up yellowfin tuna on the past three trips for Over Under, and did again this time. The trip arrived at the grounds and began trolling at 10:30 a.m., and started picking the tuna right away. Apparently the fishing turned on earlier at 7 to 9 a.m., slowed and came back on by the time Over Under arrived. Eleven good-sized yellowfins to 50 pounds were boated by the end of the trip. The anglers had to pick through shorts and barely legal ones, probably 15 of them released. Bait filled the waters everywhere, and birds worked the bait, and the fishing was great. Mostly singles bit. The anglers tried chunking starting at 6:30 p.m. One yellowfin was landed at 8 p.m., and the trip decided to give chunking until 10 p.m., and see what happens. Chunking failed to hook more tuna, and the trip headed home. A great day of fishing. A short trip, scheduled for 14 hours, ending up 11 hours, fished Tuesday at the same lumps, rounding up great fishing for yellowfin tuna again. The anglers went 8 for 13 on the tuna on the troll in a mile-long stretch of waters. Five of the fish kept weighed 50 to 70 pounds, and three weighed 25 pounds. The boat began fishing at 8:30 a.m., and mostly singles bit. Not much life was seen, and only a little life including a few whales was spotted, but obviously the tuna were there. Happy with the catch, the trip headed home at 12:30 p.m. Charters and <a href=" http://overundercharters.com/index.php?page=opendates" target="_blank">open-boat trips</a> are fishing offshore.
<b>Cape May Inlet</b>
John DeRosa’s charter on the <b>Down Deep</b> from Cape May ran offshore Sunday, boating sizeable yellowfin tuna to 60 pounds and a 40-pound wahoo, Capt. Bob said.
Capt. George from the <b>Heavy Hitter</b> from Cape May mated on the charter mentioned above, he said. He said four yellowfin tuna, a wahoo and a bunch of false albacore were trolled at waters inshore of the canyons.