<b>Sandy Hook</b>

A friend cleaned up on bluefin tuna on a couple of trips this week, said Capt. Derek from <b>Fisher Price Charters</b> from Highlands. Derek thought he fished either at the Virginia wreck or east of there. Many of the tuna were over the legal size limit, big fish that had to be released, and some were under. The buddy pounded them to 58 or 60 inches, and Derek thought he landed 15 on Monday and 8 on Wednesday on jigs and bait. So the fish were there. Sometimes bluefins begin to swim closer to shore in September and October, so maybe they will this year. Fisher Price is fishing for bluefins on charters and open-boat trips.

<b>Shark River Inlet</b>

An open-boat trip to Hudson Canyon from Tuesday to Wednesday whacked a 260-pound bigeye tuna after a fight that lasted more than an hour, said Capt. Ralph from <b>Last Lady Fishing Charters</b> in Neptune. Another bigeye was lost near the boat, and both hit at the same time. A bluefin tuna also got off near the boat, and a couple of mahi mahi were bagged. All the fish were trolled, and seas were rough. The same group waxed a 250-pound bluefin in July and a 300-pound mako shark in June this year with Last Lady. Big fish on all their trips!

<b>Manasquan Inlet</b>

Anglers with <b>Andrea’s Toy Charters</b> from Point Pleasant motored to the bluefin tuna grounds 65 miles from port on Monday, the report on the boat’s Web site said. They went 1 for 2 on the tuna, jigging the one that was landed. A good-sized mako shark grabbed one of the sardine baits, stayed hooked a while, but finally bit through the fluorocarbon leader. When tuna fishing slowed there, the trip looked for more bluefins to the south at the Bacardi wreck, the Texas Tower and the Chicken Canyon. But none of the fish showed up, and no whales, birds or life was seen. But the anglers stopped at a lobster pot, bagging a dozen mahi mahi for more fish for the cooler. Charters and open-boat trips are sailing for bluefins.  See the write-up toward the bottom of <a href="http://www.andreastoycharters.com" target="_blank">Andrea’s Toy’s home page</a> about annual, open-boat, mixed-bag bluefin trips. Inshore trips are fishing for a combo of bluefish and sea bass in one outing.

On the <b>Canyon Runner</b> from Point Pleasant a day trip Wednesday decided to fish for bluefin tuna on the inshore grounds before heading farther out to Hudson Canyon for tuna, like most trips did recently, the report on the boat’s Web site said. Bluefin fishing was the best to date, and 12 to 15 were hooked, and nine were landed, in only 2 hours. Most were 55 inches or larger, and a limit of two, an over and an under, was bagged, and the rest were released. Trolling at Hudson Canyon the rest of the day gave up a 30-pound yellowfin tuna. A charter on Tuesday also planned to fish for bluefins first, then move to the Hudson. But bluefin fishing was so good that the anglers spent the whole time fishing for them. They fought more than a dozen, landing nine, including their limit, releasing the rest, and came home ecstatic, the report said. Another charter that day on Canyon Runner’s other offshore boat had instant action on bluefins on arrival, fought all they wanted, and decided to leave the action, motoring to the Hudson. They fished hard, managing one 30-pound yellowfin. On Monday a charter arrived at the bluefin grounds, and never went more than a few minutes without a bite. They wrapped up the fishing by 7:45 a.m., and ran to the Hudson. After some hunting, a wolf pack of bigeye tuna was spotted! The fish exploded on most of the 11-rod trolling spread, and when the smoke cleared, five reels were getting dumped. One of the fish came off, but a 140-pound bigeye was then landed. A 150-pounder was decked next, and the third fish jumped off within 30 feet of the gaff. The fourth and final, a 170-pounder, was landed. Happy and tired, the report said, the anglers decided to drift for tilefish. A dozen tiles to 35 pounds were bagged. With the bluefins, bigeyes and tiles caught, the trip turned out to be one of the best.  Also on Monday, on Canyon Runner’s other boat, a charter trolled constant action on bluefins, mostly 50- to 100-pounders, limiting out, tagging and releasing the rest. By 9 a.m. the trip moved to Hudson Canyon, and three yellowfin tuna around 70 pounds were trolled in 4 or 5 hours. Charters and open-boat trips are fishing offshore.

<b>Barnegat Inlet</b>

Gene Linder, Rich Hall and Nick Tanzola sailed on an open-boat trip to Barnegat Ridge North on Sunday on the <b>Hi Flier</b> from Barnegat, Capt. Dave DeGennaro said in an e-mail. When they arrived at the grounds, the first false albacore slammed a line on the troll, when only two rods of the eight-rod spread were able to be set out. “Oh, it’s going to be like that, I thought,” Dave said. So he changed plans, setting out two trolling rods, and giving each angler a rod to hold with a fresh spearing on a No. 1 hook on 20-pound fluorocarbon leader on the 10-pound line. The trolled rods pulled a cedar plug and a squid chain to draw the albies into the wash, so the anglers could hook them on the spearing. The anglers kept the spearing short, in the first and second wakes, “like you would troll (Japanese) feathers,” Dave said. One of the angler’s rods started bending to the reel seat. Fish on! So that didn’t take long to see if this would work. One to three albies were hooked continuously for 3 hours. The anglers tried fishing without the trolled lures, but that didn’t work. The lures were needed to draw the school of albies into the wash. Waters at the ridge were blue, “not even bluish-green, blue!” Dave said. He can’t wait to see what other fish show up in the mix, but for now the fish were all albies. The trip then ran to a nearby buoy, looking for mahi mahi, but only a school of small bar jacks showed up. On the way in the anglers stopped at the 5-mile buoy, trying for bonito, but a double-header of albies attacked on the troll. Tons of albies swam along the beach, “but typically they are not as cooperative when it comes to eating hooks, and it removes the element of surprise of what species will hit next (like in the blue waters),” Dave said. So his trips will keep fishing the ridge. He’s also ready to mix in efforts at bluefin tuna, skipjacks, mahi or bonito at the Mudhole on the ridge trips. He’ll run open trips every day the weather allows, and charters are available. “Have there been many reports from the Mudhole?” Dave asked. “No,” he said. “But in the middle of September with blue water there, should we wait for a report or go make one?!” he asked. “At the very least we are going to go slam some albies on the ridge,” he said. Open trips are limited to three anglers, and only one angler is needed to sail. Call to reserve.

<b>Little Egg Inlet</b>

With <b>Legal Limit Charters</b> a couple of yellowfin tuna and a couple of mahi mahi were chunked offshore at night on a trip Saturday to Sunday, Capt. T.J. said. He heard about not much else caught that night, except a couple of swordfish and a couple of sharks. A bunch of mahi and a 75-pound wahoo were trolled on the trip the next day. A couple of offshore trips are slated for next week, but forecasts look daunting. Open-boat/shared charters are sailing for tuna. See the <a href=" http://www.legallimitcharters.com/c-11-open-boat.aspx" target="_blank">Open Boat/Shared Charter Schedule</a> on Legal Limit’s Web site. More of the trips will be added as the dates become known.

<b>Townsend’s Inlet</b>

Tuna fishing at the canyons seemed to start to turn on a little during an overnight trip Monday to Tuesday, after the fishing had been difficult a while, an audio report on <b>Over Under Adventures</b> from Avalon’s Web site said. The trip bagged four yellowfin tuna at Spencer Canyon, and the crew was happy with that, after the struggle lately. Other boaters also caught a few tuna there, at Hudson Canyon and toward Wilmington Canyon for a change. For Over Under this was the first trip in a while not to hop around to the lobster pots to hook mahi mahi to put fish in the box. The trip began fishing at Lindenkohl Canyon on Monday afternoon, because reports were heard about longfin tuna catches there on Sunday. No longfins showed up, and the trip worked down to Spencer Canyon. The first yellowfins, two 65-pounders, were trolled, and the trip set up there to fish through the night. Another 65-pound yellowfin was gaffed at 11 p.m. Something big, maybe a ray, took off with a bait at 4 a.m. and got off. Up on the troll in the morning, the final yellowfin was pumped in. The trip made the most of the bites, and nobody knew where the longfins disappeared. Three or four boats fished the area, landing a couple of longfins, and each seemed to bring in a yellowfin or two. A charter on Saturday arrived at first light at Wilmington Canyon. Lots of bait filled the waters, but no tuna bit, so the anglers fished for mahi at the pots. The mahi fishing was on fire, and lots were caught, lots of fun on light tackle. The trip began trolling back inshore on the way home, and no tuna bit, but mahi fishing was again great at the pots. Another trip headed right back out at midnight on Sunday, running to the Wilmington, because no good tuna reports were heard, and the Wilmington seemed the most active. The trip fished overnight where a few tuna had been trolled previously at the canyon, and seas were like glass, and the boat drifted only a mile all night. The waters looked awesome, full of tinker mackerel and squid. One tuna bit at 5 a.m., and apparently a shark bit off the fish. The anglers trolled in the morning, looking for bigeye tuna, and the waters held a temperature break, a couple of whales, some porpoises and shallow bait. The crew couldn’t have hoped for more, except tuna. No tuna bit, and the anglers fished for mahi at the pots for 3 hours, landing lots. The trip trolled inshore on the way home, and no tuna bit. The canyons were full of bait and life, but no tuna. Just a few marlin were around. “Oh boy,” Capt. Trey said in the report. “Slow night, slow day … lots of dolphin action … Not sure what’s going on.” He hoped the fishing changed quickly. It did. Charters and   <a href=" http://overundercharters.com/index.php?page=opendates" target="_blank">open-boat trips</a> are fishing offshore.

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