New Jersey Fishing Reports

Boaters who sailed for bluefin tuna beat good catches at the compass rose, the Virginia wreck and the Chicken Canyon, said Capt. Derek from Fisher Price Charters from Highlands. Anglers will see whether today’s hurricane offshore will affect the fishing, like whether the storm will push out the tuna, draw them closer to shore or not make them move at all. Charters and open-boat trips are fishing for bluefins.

Shark River Inlet

“The inshore bluefins are back,” said Capt. Ralph from Last Lady Fishing Charters from Neptune. One of the tuna was jigged on an offshore wreck-fishing trip. Trips are available for bluefins, and one spot remains on an overnight trip for tuna to the canyons from Tuesday to Wednesday, September 14 to 15.

A couple of trips pounded bluefin tuna at the Virginia wreck during the weekend on the Nan Sea J from Belmar, Capt. Tom said. The trips had no problem limiting out on an over and under – what anglers call the two sizes of bluefins allowed to be kept on a trip. The tuna were jigged, and skipjacks were also hooked on the trips, and mahi mahi were bagged on one of the outings. Sand eels and whales were seen, along with the skipjacks, and the weather was beautiful. Charters and open-boat trips are sailing for bluefins, and charters are fishing on overnight trips for tuna at the canyons.

Manasquan Inlet

Anglers aboard Tuesday limited out on bluefin tuna, catching and releasing more, 60 miles from shore on jigs on the Big Kid from Brielle, Capt. Ken said.. The Big Kid is also fishing farther offshore at the canyons. The Tuna Stakes Invitational, kicking off September 20, running through the week, is available for charter.

Bluefin tuna were cranked in from the Chicken Canyon, said Capt. Rich from Jersey Hooker Outfitters Bait & Tackle in Bricktown. Clean waters moved into the Glory Hole and the Mudhole, and mahi mahi, chickens, were trolled there at the lobster pots on small feathers and lures. Not much was heard about fishing at the canyons farther offshore in the past days, and Rich heard the angling was slow. But previously a charter with Rich’s Jersey Hooker Charters, normally sailing from Point Pleasant’s Canyon River Club, sailed with Rich and friend Capt. Jay on the Hard Ways, because the Jersey Hooker was undergoing warranty work. The anglers went 4 for 5 on yellowfin tuna to 60 pounds, and a couple of bluefin tuna seemed to pop off inshore.

An angler and his daughter ran out on a trip Tuesday, both wanting to land their first-ever tuna and mahi mahi, the report on Andrea’s Toy Charters from Point Pleasant’s Web site said. So the boat was steamed toward the bluefin tuna grounds, and first the anglers decked a half-dozen peanut mahi. Next they jigged for bluefins, boating one apiece. Having accomplished their goal, they made a bee line for the Dockside Grill back at port, “(so) Chef Marcus could work his magic,” the report said. He prepared the tuna three ways. Big-game trips like this focused on bluefin tuna on a 70-mile run lately, because the fishing was on, and tuna fishing farther offshore at the canyons was slower. But Hurricane Earl might shake catches back to life at the canyons. Twenty-five bluefins were fought, and 12 were landed, on a trip last Friday. The fish had to be found, but then the four anglers “(were) treated to some awesome bluefin jigging,” the site said. Sometimes many other tuna were seen trailing the hooked fish, tuna 35 to 55 pounds. The anglers had never before caught tuna or jigged for fish. On the way home they light-tackled a dozen mahi mahi “to top off the day!” the report said. See the write-up toward the bottom of <a href="http://www.andreastoycharters.com" target="_blank">Andrea’s Toy’s home page</a> to check out annual, open-boat, mixed-bag bluefin trips. Charters are also sailing.

Bluefin tuna fishing was going off in waters offshore of the Virginia wreck off Long Island, located 65 miles from Manasquan Inlet, said Dave from The Reel Seat in Brielle. Areas closer to port, where green waters had plagued the fishing this season, sometimes started to clear up. A customer found waters that started to clean up at the Chicken Canyon, trolling a bunch of large mahi mahi to 4 feet there last Friday. Canyon tuna fishing was on the slow side. Nine tuna boated on one trip at the canyons was the most Dave heard about. That trip landed yellowfin tuna at night on the chunk and longfin tuna during the day on the troll. But many trips to the canyons came up with no fish, and some of the well-known charter boats ended up with poor catches.

Absecon Inlet

Yellowfin tuna were few and far between, and trips scored maybe one, and many boats were skunked, said Curt from Offshore Enterprises Bait & Tackle in Atlantic City. A few fared all right on the fish, almost always during the daytime. Anglers who tried for the tuna at night mostly got shut out. White marlin fishing was probably the best if anglers fished around the canyons, and they had to travel to the southern canyons. A friend ran a trip landing 20-some whites at Washington Canyon. A customer scored two whites, a mahi and a wahoo on a trip.

Townsend’s Inlet

Fly anglers aboard a day trip Monday wanted to try for white marlin and mahi mahi, an audio report on Over Under Adventures’ Web site said. They left at 3:30 a.m., sailing to Baltimore Canyon, seeing three, maybe four whites, getting a shot at one, but not connecting. There was never an opportunity to tease in the fish to fly rod for them, and fewer whites were around than the good population of the fish there the previous day. But plenty of mahi mahi were around, and the anglers fly-rodded several, and that was pretty cool, the report said. An overnight trip on another one of Over Under’s boats sailed Sunday to Monday, fishing closer to shore at the Elephant Trunk at first, trying something different than usual. The anglers went 1 for 2 on yellowfin tuna there. Maybe the trip should’ve stayed at the Trunk, the report said, but the crew was told about a white marlin bite at 50 fathoms at Baltimore Canyon, and the trip motored there. They went 1 for 5 on whites, saw four more whites later, afterward scoring a triple-header of wahoos, landing one, and the other two bit through the lines. Not much happened at night, except a run-off from a yellowfin or longfin tuna. A few mahi were trolled around the Baltimore the next morning on the boat. The anglers stopped at the Elephant Trunk an hour on the way home, but no fish were seen. A temperature break was found on a trip Friday to Saturday at Spencer Canyon, “but to no avail,” the report said. Nothing bit on the troll in the area. The boat was set up to fish at night, and one swordfish bit and got off, and a dusky shark and a blue shark were landed. In the morning the anglers began lobster-pot hopping to catch mahi mahi at Lindenkohl and Carteret canyons. Forty to 45 mahi 6 to 12 pounds were decked. Not much was heard about tuna caught by anyone during the trip, and the fishing sounded slow. At least the lobster pots were loaded with mahi. A daytime trip fished around Wilmington Canyon last Friday. No tuna or other fish showed up on the troll, but the anglers had planned to do lots of mahi fishing, and that worked out well. The boat was backed down on lobster pots up and down the west wall of the canyon, and the anglers hooked 30 mahi while casting. The boat was trolled back inshore, and most waters looked bland, but life including bait and skipjacks was found in 30 fathoms. Skipjacks were trolled, but no tuna bit, though tuna seemed to be marked at one point. Charters and <a href=" http://overundercharters.com/index.php?page=opendates" target="_blank">open-boat trips</a> are fishing offshore.