<b>Keyport</b>

Sizeable striped bass “are still coming in,” a fax from <b>Crabby’s Bait & Tackle</b> said. Lots of bunker schooled up and down the coast, and sometimes big stripers were all over them. Joe Fischer, Keyport, limited out on stripers to 31 pounds on the ocean off the Highlands Bridge. More and more keeper fluke were seen from Raritan Bay, and the Keyport Flats and Belford Flats served up the most for customers. Killies with squid did the job. Bluefish 3 to 10 pounds swarmed into Keyport Bay. Catches of blueclaw crabs were sometimes heard about from the Keyport docks. The Crabby’s Crab Contest will run June 25 to September 25, awarding prizes for the three biggest. Just bring the live crabs to the shop to enter.

A charter aboard steamed for fluke Saturday off Sandy Hook, bagging four keepers to 5 pounds, winging endless action with shorts from the first drift, said Capt. Joe from <b>Papa’s Angels Charters</b>. The trip was covered in the last report, and trips on the boat are now focusing on fluke, no longer striped bass fishing. Bluefish could sometimes be mixed in. An open-boat trip for fluke is full Saturday, but space remains on another open trip for the flatfish Sunday. Both trips are a Fathers’ Day Special, offering seven hours of fishing for the price of six. The trips will run  6 a.m. to 1 p.m. Otherwise open trips are sailing daily 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. to 9 p.m., with a minimum of four anglers, when no charter is booked. Call to climb aboard.

<b>Atlantic Highlands</b>

An angler took the lead in the season-long fluke pool today on the party boat <b>Fishermen</b>, Capt. Ron said in a report on the vessel’s Web site. Doug Lee, Paramus, heaved in the 7.8-pound beauty. Fluking gave up action all day on the trip, and the outing mostly fished on the ocean. Vinny Vintastic and Willie Reelerin at first were tied for the daily pool with identical 5.6-pounders. Then Doug drilled his season-long pool leader. He thought he was hung on the  bottom, until the fluke shook, “then his knees got weak, knowing he had a big one,” Ron said. Shrimpman Steve brought his A game, “and returned the beating he took last week from Johnny Tomato’s landing six nice keepers, and who knows how many shorts,” Ron said. The Fishermen is sailing for fluke 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily. However, the boat will be chartered during the trips this Friday and Saturday.

Fluke, good catches, were socked on Raritan Bay, down the ocean beaches, pretty much all over, said Jimmy from <b>Julian’s Bait & Tackle</b>. <i>Some</i> striped bass were caught locally. Surf anglers definitely landed fish. Blues were around that could be jigged. Plenty of sea bass could be slugged from the ocean, and cod and a few ling could be wrenched in from the Mudhole. Crabbing began to pick up.

Sailing for fluke rounded up pretty good fishing on trips on Raritan Bay, and, as usual, when conditions were right, the action was good, said Capt. Tom from the party boat <b>Atlantic Star</b>. In other words, when winds and tides created a good drift, the fishing produced. The bottom line was that lots of fluke blanketed the bay. Wednesday morning’s trip’s fluking on the boat wasn’t quite as productive as the afternoon’s, but wasn’t bad. On Tuesday, winds blew, so the boat was kept away from the channels, because holding bottom would be tough. So the vessel fished near the Navy Pier, and that worked out well. On Monday one angler reeled in a double-header with a 7-3/4-pound fluke and a short. Average pool-winning fluke weighed 4-pounds-plus on trips. Wednesday’s weather was beautiful, and the weather was crummy for a day or two earlier, and anglers then wore hooded sweatshirts. On one trip only a few keepers came up, and the next trip was great for action and keepers. Sometimes anglers got lucky, bagging three or four keepers on a trip. Sometimes novices had luck on keepers. Luck seemed the factor for landing keepers. Sometimes anglers landed 12 fluke including three keepers, and other times 20 fluke and one keeper. Not everyone picked up keepers, but they at least hooked shorts. Spearing supplied on the boat worked. Sometimes the crew got anglers to switch to a plain rig available on the vessel for better results. Sometimes anglers hooked two spearing between the eyes on the rigs. The spearing could be different sizes, and sometimes anglers fished a combo of a large one and a smaller one. Spro jigs or bucktails could work well at times. But bait worked better at moments. Killies that anglers brought were a little advantage on occasions. The Atlantic Star is fishing for fluke on two trips daily 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. Heads up: Searching for a last-minute Father’s Day present?  A gift certificate to the Atlantic Star can be terrific. Better than a shirt or tie! Tom says. <b>***Update, Thursday, 6/16:***</b> Fluking was good on this morning’s trip, and some good-sized ones, a healthy catch of them, came in, Tom said. The fishing was tough on this afternoon’s outing, and one angler managed three keepers, and some landed one, and shorts still gave up action, but not as many keepers were around as Tom would like. Conditions were different, so maybe that was the problem. So some trips are good, and some are tough, but the action is still there, and everyone at least catches shorts. Sometimes keepers end up scarcer. <b>***Update, Sunday, 6/19:***</b> Conditions created hardly any drift on Saturday morning’s trip on the bay, Tom said. But the anglers did catch fluke, though not as many as usual. On the afternoon trip on the bay, conditions were much better, and action was good, lots of fluke were landed. Most were shorts, as usual, and Tom wasn’t sure that more keepers were bagged on the afternoon trip than in the morning, but the fishing was more productive, anglers enjoyed more action.

<b>Highlands</b>

Another few good days of striped bass fishing, said Capt. Pete from the <b>Hyper Striper</b> in an e-mail sent from his phone at 9:45 a.m. on today’s trip. On the trip the Frank Jones charter had already nailed a great bite of big stripers, limiting out on 22- to 30-pounders on livelined bunker, fighting big blues to boot. On Tuesday the ADK Electrical charter waxed eight stripers to 37 pounds on live bunker. The Harvey Columbo crew on a trip Wednesday afternoon put the brakes on eight stripers 24 to 38 pounds, and hit big, slammer blues.  On Wednesday morning’s trip the Jeff Schweitzer party bottom fished, picking away at sea bass and ling, and a few cod mixed in.

Fishing for striped bass became a little tough locally, but the ones that were caught were big, in the 30-pound class, even in the 40s, and stripers and bunker schooled to the south, so they should migrate north, said Capt. Derek from <b>Fisher Price Charters</b>. He was on a trip that sailed all the way south to Lavallette on the ocean when he gave this report Wednesday evening on the phone. Miles of bunker with stripers chasing them swam there. Anglers aboard mostly livelined bunker to catch. Charters are fishing, and the next open-boat trips for stripers are set for Friday and Sunday afternoon. Call to climb aboard or to be kept informed about future open dates. 

Anglers fluke fished aboard Saturday with <b>Raritan Bay Charters</b>, catching the fish to 4 ½ pounds, including plenty of shorts, on Raritan Bay and the ocean, Capt. Dave said. The trip “peaked around the corner,” he said, at the ocean a moment, but weather and seas were rough on the overcast day, and the boat was returned to the bay. An open-boat Father’s Day Special Trip will sail for fluke 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday, and call to go. Trips are also striped bass fishing, and the angling was hit or miss: red hot one day, slow on another.

Striped bass in the 40-pound range were entered in the Hi Mar Charity Striper Tournament during the weekend at <b>Twin Lights Mairna</b>, Wayne said. When a tournament is under way, the fishing spots get pounded, and the angling seems tougher. But in the hours after the tournament ended, Anthony Hennemede from the docks sailed to the Shrewsbury Rocks on a trip that drilled 15 stripers, including a 39-pounder, a 36-pounder and a bunch around 30 pounds. Stripers were boated on the ocean but were also still landed at the mouth of the bay off Sandy Hook Point. Anglers kept picking at fluke, working through lots of shorts to bag keepers. Ed DeMuno returned with two sizeable keepers from the ocean just around the tip of the hook. No huge fluke were heard about. Bluefish were around all the different waters. Nobody from the docks sailed offshore for sharks or tuna, but shark tournaments will begin locally this weekend, and some anglers should shark fish from the marina. An angler at the fuel showed a photo of a 600-pound thresher shark caught. Tuna were heard about that were caught. Live bunker are stocked, and so are fresh clams, but clams might be carried a limited time longer, as demand drops off for the season. Killies and all the frozen baits are stocked, and so is fresh bunker chum and baits like flats of frozen mackerel and bunker for sharks and offshore fishing.

<b>Neptune</b>

A mako shark was bagged, and 15 or 20 blue sharks were landed and released, on a trip Wednesday with <b>Last Lady Fishing Charters</b>, Capt. Ralph said. Lots of life filled the waters, and maybe only four dates are left for shark charters. “If they want sharks, they better get on the boat!” Ralph said. He’s booked for all the shark tournaments. On Ralph’s other boat, the season’s first individual-reservation trip for fluke, sailing every Wednesday, fished this week, hammering an excellent catch on the ocean. Openings are available on the trips, and children under 12 sail free, limited to two per adult host. A striped bass trip Tuesday limited out in 2 ½ hours on the ocean, and six of the fish were 40 to 50 pounds. And Ralph’s got the photos to prove that, he said! An individual-reservation trip offshore for cod was added July 11, and Ralph will add a couple of more in July, because the fishing’s been good.

<b>Belmar</b>

Striped bass went nuts on the ocean Wednesday morning, and bluefish bit well later in the day on the ocean, said Capt. Kris from <b>Fish Stix Sportfishing</b>. No charter fished on the boat that day, but he took a crew trip then that attempted to land one of the thresher sharks that swam close to shore. Two threshers came up to the boat but refused to bite. A charter with two anglers Tuesday angled up two striped bass and had about six run-offs on the ocean. Northeast winds were pretty sporty when a charter broke the inlet the previous day, Monday. So the trip returned, waiting until 12 noon, before heading back out. Bunker were caught for bait, and the trip looked north for stripers. Only loads of bunker, no stripers, schooled, and the boat was motored back toward Belmar, and stripers were seen. The fish were difficult to stay on, but the anglers began getting bites: at first, run-offs “and a couple of whacks,” Kris said. They bagged three stripers to 32 pounds. Not bad, considering the conditions, Kris said. Charters and open-boat trips are sailing, and info about open trips is posted on the Fish Stix Web site.

A very good catch of striped bass was blasted Wednesday on the ocean on the <b>Nan Sea J</b>, Capt. Tom said. The fishing was a day-long bite, and the anglers picked away, limiting out, “and then some,” Tom said. All the fish were hooked on livelined bunker, and blues bit off some of the lines. A couple of spaces are available next week on the weekly open-boat trip for sharks every Wednesday, a rare opportunity for sharking without chartering the whole boat. Charters are also sharking, and are fluke fishing, and the fluking is good. Sea bass fishing seemed yet to amp up in cool waters.

About a dozen striped bass were live-bunkered and trolled Sunday on the ocean to the south almost to Lavallette with <b>Fin-Ominal Sportfishing</b>, Capt. Jared said. On Friday a shark trip landed a small mako and 10 blue sharks 46 miles to the southeast. Waters were 67 degrees, and full of bait. No bluefish were seen, but blues were caught for bait at the Mudhole at the beginning of the trip. The trip fished 1 ½ hours before sharks bit, then the blue sharks began to show up. Around 3 p.m., the mako attacked. Saturday and Sunday, June 25 and 26, are available for charter for the Mako Mania tournament and the Jersey Coast Shark Anglers Mako Fever tournament that take place at the same time. That’s probably a chance to win $150,000 or more between the two events. Friday is booked with a charter to fish Mako Fever. That tournament runs three days starting Friday, and Mako Mania runs two days that Saturday and Sunday. Fin-Ominal won the Brett T. Bailey shark tournament several years ago, and Jared will compete with friends in that contest this weekend. Charters are also fishing for fluke and sea bass, and a fluke charter is on the books for Saturday. Fin-Ominal also offers pleasure cruises. <b>***Update, Sunday, 6/19:***</b> Fin-Ominal won first place Saturday in the Brett T. Bailey shark tournament! Jared said. His trip won with a 198-pound mako, and look for more details in Monday’s report.

Mostly bluefish, only a few striped bass, were beaten on daytime trips on the party boat <b>Miss Belmar Princess</b> on the ocean, Capt. Alan said. Nighttime trips walloped blues, “all you want,” he said, on the ocean. Fluke fishing was solid on Alan’s other vessel, the party boat <b>Tropical Adventure</b>, on the ocean. Lots of keepers, lots of big fluke. Fewer than 20 anglers sailed on each of the two trips Wednesday, and more than 40 keeper fluke were bucketed. A good number were big, and a 7-1/2-pounder was the pool winner.  The Miss Belmar Princess is bluefishing twice daily 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. The Tropical Adventure is fluke fishing twice daily 7:30 a.m. to 12 noon and 1:30 p.m. to 6 p.m.

On the party boat <b>Golden Eagle</b> bluefishing on the ocean was “in full swing,” a report on the vessel’s Web site said. “Very good action on both day and night trips,” it said. The fish weighed 7 to 10 pounds, occasionally more. On the daytime trips, most were jigged, but some were taken on bait. At night, bait, the usual choice in the dark, caught. “Come on out and get in on this good summer bluefish bite!” the report said. The Golden Eagle is bluefishing 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. daily.

Big striped bass were boated on the ocean, and when the fish came into the beach, they were landed in the surf, said Bob from <b>Fishermen’s Den</b>. Most of the boaters snagged bunker to liveline for bait, but some trolled bunker spoons. Surf casters also searched for bunker schools to snag the bait to liveline. But if anglers just wanted to set up on the beach and surf fish, clams for bait were the best bet. Bluefishing was great on the ocean, including on the party boats. Fluke fishing was excellent on the ocean, including on the head boats. Fluking was good on Shark River, but anglers had to weed through a high percentage of throwbacks. The shop’s rental boats are at the ready for the fishing on the river. Fishing was excellent for all the usual species this time of year, Bob said.

<b>Brielle</b>

Mike Gallo’s charter on the <b>Big Kid</b> decked two striped bass to 40 pounds and released a few short sea bass Wednesday on the ocean, Capt. Ken said. The Island Heights Police Department trip punched a bunch of keeper fluke on the ocean. On Monday Tom Pagliaroli from Rack and Fin Radio joined a crew from the Garden State Outdoor Show to film fishing aboard. A 231-pound thresher shark was trolled and landed on a Tony Maja bunker spoon on a bunker spoon rod, until rough seas forced the trip to return to the dock. The Big Kid will compete in the Brett T. Bailey Memorial Shark Tournament Friday and Saturday and is booked for Mako Mania.the following weekend. Shark charters are sailing, and so are tuna trips from day trolls close to shore to day trolls and overnighters at the canyons offshore.

<b>Point Pleasant Beach</b>

With <b>Andrea’s Toy Charters</b> anglers limited out on striped bass to 48 pounds in the first hour on a trip Wednesday on the ocean, Capt. Fred said. The fishing was great, and Fred wished a certified scale was available, because the bass was close to 50 pounds, measuring 51 inches long and 26 inches in girth. Plus loads of thresher sharks showed up close to shore among the bunker schools the stripers chased. So trips started to be able to mix in thresher shark fishing, and a crew trip Monday scoped out the sharking, bagging a 208-pounder, losing another. The trip began drifting over lumps in 65 feet, and the first bunker bait was sent out on a float, got 30 feet from the boat, and took off! The fish was fought 25 minutes until breaking off. The drift was repeated, and 20 minutes later, a thresher entered the chunking slick. One of the baits was reeled close to the shark, and game on! The fish was fought quite a while until tail-roped. The trip tried Redi Rig Shark Floats for the first time, and the crew was impressed with the performance and simplicity. Sea bass fishing was yet to kick in, but eventually, when stripers depart, charters will sail for fluke and sea bass. The year’s first inshore pelagics trip for bluefin tuna, sharks, cod and pollock in the same outing will launch with a charter Monday. Open-boat trips for the exciting, unique fishing will also sail this year once again. Anglers can call for details, and Andrea’s Toy specializes in mixed-bag fishing for greater fun, better chances of hooking up, and more variety for dinner.

Sea bass, ling and cod were swung a’ship on the party boat <b>Dauntless</b> on the ocean, Capt. Butch said. The fishing wasn’t good, and sea bass fishing wasn’t in full swing like Butch hoped it would be by now, but the fishing can only get better, and just enough of the three species were caught to keep the anglers’ interest. Each angler usually boxed 5 to 15 fish apiece, a mix of the three. The high hook Tuesday decked 15, an even mix of 5 sea bass, 5 ling and 5 cod. Butch that day pulled in 9 fish. Waters were cold for sea bass. The surface was 58 to 62 degrees on the fishing grounds, and the ocean was slow to warm. But that also has pluses, because the cool waters will probably keep the fish snapping longer in summer, instead of the angling slowing down sooner, when hot days inevitably raise water temps. The Dauntless is bottom fishing 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. daily. Bluefishing trips will begin to run 7:30 p.m. to 1 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays this week, and will start to sail daily on July 3.

<b>Point Pleasant</b>

Fishing limited out on striped bass on the ocean Wednesday with <b>High Hook Sport Fishing</b>, Capt. Mark said. So the charter decided to try for the big thresher sharks that fed on bunker close to shore like the stripers did. Three threshers swam near the boat, and two were hooked, and one spit the hook, and the other, a 240- or 260-pounder, was bagged. High Hook expects to fish for threshers the next week, if anglers want in. Trips will keep striper fishing, and are also fishing for fluke and sea bass. Charters are sailing, but individuals or small groups should also call if they want to fish, because High Hook can usually fit them in on an open-boat trip or charter.

<b>Bricktown</b>

Manasquan River’s fluke fishing produced plenty, though tons were shorts, said Capt. Rich from <b>Jersey Hooker Outfitters Bait & Tackle</b>, located in Bricktown, and <b>Jersey Hooker Charters</b>, sailing from Point Pleasant Beach’s Canyon River Club Marina. Racer blues appeared in the river near the Point Pleasant Canal every other day or so. Ocean fluking was sort of slow, according to customers. Striped bass fishing was dynamite on the ocean every day this week in the mornings, evenings and every time between. The fish showed up anywhere from Manasquan Inlet to Barnegat Inlet. Lots of big thresher sharks chased the bunker that the stripers did. Surf anglers plugged striped bass here or there, or caught them on clams or chunks of bunker. Good fishing for sharks was tackled at the Glory Hole and Chicken Canyon. Lots of bluefin tuna at the Chicken Canyon were trolled, jigged, popper-plugged or swimmer-plugged. Tuna fishing was up and down at the canyons farther from shore – good on some days, slow on others – pretty much from Hudson Canyon to Baltimore Canyon. Crabs were plucked from Beaver Dam Creek. Don’t miss the shop’s <b><i>***Shark Special.***</i></b>: Get three 5-gallon buckets of bunker chum, one flat of frozen mackerel and six blocks of ice for only $109.99. The shop offers deliveries for shark tournaments, and orders more than $500 get free delivery the night before, from South Amboy to Long Beach Island. Tournament deliveries must be placed one week prior to the tournament. The shop is offering fresh whole mackerel and bluefish by the pound at market price for sharking.

<b>Toms River</b>

Striped bass all weighed around 40 pounds that were boated off Island Beach State Park and somewhat north on the ocean the past couple of days, said Dennis from <b>Murphy’s Hook House</b>. Keith Sleazer weighed in two stripers 41 pounds 14 ounces and 41 pounds 11 ounces he knocked down off Island Beach Wednesday. Mike Popick checked in two that weighed 29 pounds 9 ounces and 16 pounds 13 ounces he seized off Seaside Heights Monday. Blues 2 to 4 pounds, no big concentrations, were scattered around the ocean, chasing bunker. One couple of customers fought blues at Barnegat Ridge and also on the way out. A few fluke, not a lot, were reported caught on the ocean off Manasquan Inlet and at the Tire Reef off Barnegat Inlet. A few sea bass also bit at the Tires. The better fluking was in Manasquan River. On Barnegat Bay fluke were plucked between the BI and BB markers. Fishing for them was a little better there than at Oyster Creek Channel. Small blues were trolled on the bay, but the fishing somewhat slowed, and the blues were on their way to the ocean for the season. On the Toms River crabbing was good, and eels swam, and an oddball white perch was landed. A few striped bass were hooked in the river on spearing on bobbers. A few spots were found in the river, and the season was a bit early, and spots show up in the waters some years and not others. One angler got the spots on nightcrawlers under a bobber, and another caught them on nights with split shot.   

<b>Seaside Heights</b>

Boaters and kayakers pounded striped bass, tons of the fish, on the ocean off Lavallette Wednesday, said Scott from <b>The Dock Outfitters</b>. They were whaling them again this morning, when Scott gave this report over the phone at 7 o’clock, and surf casters might’ve also caught them this morning, he thought. Tons of bluefish schooled Barnegat Bay behind Island Beach State Park. Fluke were “beginning to spread out,” Scott said, and were located in the bay between the BI and BB markers. The flatfish hovered along Manasquan Inlet. A couple of anglers scored well on fluke on the ocean off Deal on Wednesday, bagging 10 keepers, Scott thought. Crabbing started to put up good catches, and Scott scooped up the blueclaws from the shop’s docks this morning. . Fresh clams, fresh bunker, eels and the complete line of baits is stocked. Killies will probably be carried starting this weekend. Catch Wacky Wednesdays, featuring clams for $2.75 per dozen. The Dock’s rental boats and jet skis are available.

<b>Seaside Park</b>

One of the Captain’s Combo Trips, outings that wreck fish on the ocean and light-tackle fish on the back waters in the same day, sailed Wednesday with three anglers with <b>Fishguts Inshore Charters</b>, Capt. Rob “Birch” Birchmeier said in a report on the boat’s Web site. The charter first sailed to the ocean wrecks, but when the vessel broke Manasquan Inlet, a large fleet of boats was seen fishing for striped bass to the south. Birch knew stripers could be an option that day. Fishguts, incidentally, sails from either Manasquan or Barnegat inlets, about the same distance from the dock at Seaside Park. The trip arrived at an ocean wreck, and the fishing gave up a good bite of sea bass, “with a nice mix of keepers,” Birch said. When a dozen keepers were iced, Birch telephoned another charter, and the captain confirmed that stripers still bit. Birch asked the anglers if they were game for stripers. “Let’s go!” they said. The boat was motored a short ways toward shore, and that’s all it took. A pod of bunker was found right away, and big stripers crashed them. A few runoffs were scored, and a few lines were broken, but a 30-pounder was finally boxed. The anglers limited out on stripers to 34 pounds, and each of them hauled in their personal best. With the limit of stripers, and the coolers stuffed with fish, the trip headed to Manasquan River for light-tackle fluke fishing. The action was the best of the season so far, and was steady. More than 25 throwbacks were released, and one keeper fluke, an 18-1/2-incher, was bagged. Fishguts carries plenty of different types of rods aboard, and almost all the types had a chance to be used this day. The three anglers probably needed rest after this outing, Birch figured. Fishguts specializes in catching good numbers of quality sea bass at the ocean wrecks and light-tackle fishing for species like fluke and blues in the back waters. Charters and a cool variety of open-boat trips sail.

<b>Forked River</b>

In the last two days striped bass started to be weighed in again from the ocean, said Grizz from <b>Grizz’s Forked River Bait & Tackle</b>. The fishing fired up both north and south of Barnegat Inlet, at the bunker pods. Thresher sharks were beaten among the bunker. Grizz’s son landed a 215-pound thresher Saturday and a 200-pounder Tuesday. Fluke were checked in from the ocean in 30 to 50 feet off the bathing beach at Island Beach State Park. Fluke started to be brought to the shop from Oyster Creek Channel and Double Creek Channel on Barnegat Bay. Northeast winds seemed to warm waters a tad, picking up some fishing. Blues schooled around Barnegat Inlet. Just a few weakfish were seen at the shop from the bay. Crabbing was good, and lots of big blueclaws seemed around.

<b>Barnegat Light</b>

Bluefishing stayed fantastic Wednesday on the party boat <b>Miss Barnegat Light</b> on the ocean, a report on the vessel’s Web site said. Limits of 8- to 12-pounders were lately crushed around the boat, and blues 15 or 16 pounds won the pools.  Take advantage of the <a href="http://www.missbarnegatlight.com/fathersday.html" target="_blank">Fathers’ Day Special</a> on the boat. The Miss Barnegat Light is bluefishing 8 a.m. daily and 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays.

<b>Barnegat</b>

Capt. Dave DeGennaro from the <b>Hi Flier</b> bunker-livelined three striped bass 28 to 35 pounds this morning by himself in an hour of fishing on the ocean off the middle of Island Beach State Park in 35 feet, he said in an e-mail. “Left them ‘whooshing’ on the surface, and was back at the dock by 8 a.m.,” he said. “Felt great to be an angler!” Open-boat trips and charters are sailing twice daily for the big stripers, sometimes finishing up with fluke fishing on Barnegat Bay, depending on the anglers’ wants. A pair of 19-1/2- and 20-1/2-fluke and a bunch of throwbacks were jigged with Gulps aboard Monday at Double Creek Channel on the bay. <b>***Update, Friday, 6/17:***</b> Edited e-mail from Dave today: “The bunker and big stripers are still here. The water temp out front has hit 65 and the action should be slowing down … but nobody told the bass. The surface action in the morning and late afternoon is very good. All the fish are 25 to 35 pound average. Surface action is very common with a few hundred bunker fleeing the gape of a huge striper all at once, it has enough volume to hear 50 yards away. Of course, there is no guarantee this will be all the time, but it's been happening a lot. More often than not. Some days, you just drift through a few acres of loosely flipping bunker and casually pick at the big stripers. Not too awful, either. Trolling seems to be producing more thresher sharks this week than stripers … I know of three caught on bunker spoons in the last week alone.  We have been catching all of our fish between Barnegat Inlet and the Seaside Piers, but we will run farther if the day calls for it. Twenty to 60 feet of waters is now the spread of bait and fish, so every day, you have to key in on the depth.  I have open boats sailing Saturday 1 PM to 7 PM, Sunday (Fathers’ Day) 4:30 AM to 10:30AM sharp, as I am sure a lot of people need to be back for obligations on land (me too).  Also Monday 1 to 7 PM … I limit the trips to three passengers. Calling me on my cell is a better shot at getting me, instead of e-mail, as I am on the water more than land.”

<b>Surf City</b>

Surf anglers tugged in fluke, lots of shorts, sometimes a keeper, said Bob from <b>Surf City Bait & Tackle</b>. Squid fished on a bottom rig will catch. Striped bass were sometimes still reeled in from the wash. Waters were cool enough, were yet to warm so much to make the bass depart. Ninety-percent were hooked on fresh bunker. Bluefish at times ran the surf. Not much was heard about the bay. Fresh bunker and fresh clams are stocked.

<b>Tuckerton</b>

Mako shark fishing wasn’t hot and heavy, but was fairly good, said Capt. T.J. from <b>Legal Limit Charters</b>. At least one per trip, 140 or 150 pounds, was bagged onboard. Two were gaffed on a charter Monday, and one each per charter was knocked down on two trips Saturday and Sunday. Trips are also bottom fishing, lately pumping in sea bass and ling. Cod could probably still be caught in deeper waters, if bottom trips wanted to try. Legal Limit is also sailing for summer flounder.

<b>Mystic Island</b>

Great Bay’s summer flounder fishing was okay, not setting the world on fire, but the potential was there to land maybe a dozen, including even two keepers, said Scott from <b>Scott’s Bait & Tackle</b>. The fishing took persistence, and eventually one of the fluke 18 inches or larger, a keeper, would be hooked. If anglers were catching, they were at the right place. The Intracoastal Waterway far back in the bay was the better spot, but flounder were also gathered from around the clam stakes on the Mystic Island side of the Fish Factory. Lots of blues 1 ½ pounds, a new size class that showed up, appeared in the bay. How long they’ll remain is a good question. Not a word was heard on weakfish. Striped bass were gone from the local ocean since last Wednesday or Thursday. The last anglers who looked for them traveled a long ways north to northern Long Beach Island. No reports came in about bottom fishing for sea bass or cod on the ocean, for some reason, maybe because sea bass had been spawning. Nobody mentioned fishing for white perch on the rivers. Crabbing turned on, and no huge numbers were trapped, but some big ones were. Quality more than quantity. Fresh, shucked clams, bloodworms and plenty of minnows are stocked. Live grass shrimp ran out, but Scott will net more when he gets a chance.

<b>Absecon</b>

Some pretty good fishing for summer flounder, even if the angling couldn’t be called epic, went down in the back bay, said Curt from <b>Absecon Bay Sportsman Center</b>. Capt. Dave, the shop’s owner, ran a charter that boated five flounder including a 6-1/2-pound beauty, a keeper striper, and a big blue, a good trip. Anglers reported catches like three, four or five keeper flounder, and a few 6- and 7-pounders were seen at the shop. Good catches of stripers were belted along the Brigantine Bridge or the sod banks when the tops of the tides coincided with evenings or mornings. Live spots or eels caught, and bunker especially worked well, if anglers could snag bunker for bait from the ocean. Or the stripers were plugged at night. But once the sun rose too much, the fishing ended. Anglers either targeted the stripers at places like that during the right conditions like the tops of the tides in the evenings or mornings, or they boated along the ocean for stripers in the mornings. Stripers were sometimes boated along the local ocean, and the fishing was better north of Little Egg Inlet. Small blues sometimes popped up in the bay, and medium-sized blues gathered at the inlets. Chopper blues surprisingly swam the rivers. Curt on a white perch trip had lines bitten off by choppers on the Mullica River. A couple of 26-inch stripers grabbed the perch baits. The perch fishing was okay, picking away. Not a lot of the perch were big, but about 20 were large enough to keep. A few weakfish were heard about that were caught at the mouth of the river. Probably few if any anglers tried for weaks, because of the one-fish bag limit. Crabbing was okay, and the blueclaws were between sheds, Curt thought. Shedder crabs and a few soft shell crabs are stocked at the moment, and the shop raises its own. Live spots, eels, minnows, bloodworms and clams are on hand. The shop tries to keep fresh bunker available.

<b>Brigantine</b>

In the surf kingfish were clocked, said Bill from <b>Riptide Bait & Tackle</b>. The fishing seemed fairly consistent, in his opinion, but like any angling, one day was great, and another wasn’t. Bloodworms caught them, and FishBites artificial worms were yet to work much. Waters seemed cool for FishBites, and the surf was probably in the low 60s, though Bill heard about 71-degree waters in the Cape May surf. That depends on wind direction. Every time Bill thought surf fishing for striped bass might be ending for the season, someone showed up with a big bass at the shop’s door. Sizeable stripers were weighed in through the week on occasion. Bunker schooled the ocean, and as long as bunker remain, stripers will probably be around. Someone today said a 46-inch striper was nailed in the surf at 12th Street, but the catch was unconfirmed. Reports were heard about bluefish in the surf at the end of the jetty Wednesday night. Donna Kramer weighed in a 5-pound 23-inch summer flounder from the back bay.

<b>Atlantic City</b>

Triggerfish in the surf, big ones, the largest Noel from <b>One Stop Bait & Tackle</b> ever saw, nipped shrimp or fresh clam along the jetties, he said. Some of the fish weighed more than 3 pounds, and were 1 to 1 ½ feet long. Good sized kingfish grabbed bloodworms in the surf, and summer flounder in the wash jumped on minnows, squid and spearing. Blues ran the suds, and an occasional striped bass was beached from the waters. Fishing was definitely on, Noel said. In the back bay, porgies, barely legal-sized, lots of throwbacks, started hitting the past three days. Bloodworms will catch them, and sizeable flounder and occasional blues were reeled from the bay. Fresh clams, fresh bunker, bloodworms, minnows and all the baits, including all mentioned here, are stocked.

<b>Margate</b>

A trip for sea bass and summer flounder was sailing to the ocean today with <b>O-Beth Sportfishing Charters</b>, Capt. Eric said. One of the trips ran Sunday, piling up an okay catch of sea bass, including big ones to 22 inches, and flounder. A shark charter is slated for this weekend, and another for next week, and another for the following week. Shark charters averaged two makos per trip onboard so far this season. Sharking is a specialty on the vessel, and Eric mated on another charter boat on a shark trip Monday that caught two makos. Tuna fishing sounded good, and O-Beth is up for tuna trips.

Lots more summer flounder started to chomp than before on trips on the back bay, said Capt. John from the party boat <b>Keeper</b>. Many were throwbacks, but customers were landing a bunch, and everyone seemed happy. The fishing was pretty good on the boat Wednesday, and was slower on a couple of days. A few blues were hooked that worked the flats. Mackerel and Gulps were used for bait for the flounder, but John hopes to carry minnows aboard in the next couple of days for the flatfish. The Keeper is fishing for summer flounder twice daily 8 a.m. to 12 noon and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. The fare is only $24 per adult for the 4-hour trips, and the boat doesn’t have to sail far to reach the fish.

<b>Ocean City</b>

The back bay’s summer flounder fishing was picking up, and some bigger ones were in the mix, said Ryan from <b>Fin-Atics</b>. Anglers had to pick through throwbacks, but the ratio seemed better, maybe 1 in 10 a keeper. The fluke to 6 ½ pounds were weighed in. The flatfish began to move toward the ocean in a big way, so fishing for them around the inlets was best, in deeper waters 10 to 20 feet. A showing of flounder began to appear at the ocean reefs. Back on the bay, popper-plug fishing for striped bass was great in the evenings. Most of the fish were 20- to 26-inch shorts, but an occasional keeper showed up, making the angling lots of fun. Ryan popper-plugged eight stripers to 29 ½ inches on a trip, and a buddy landed 15 on poppers. Stripers were angled on the bay at night on pink Fin-S Fish, small swimming lures and eels. Lots of 1- to 3-pound blues began to pop up in the bay. Ryan caught them at Scull Bay near Linwood and Longport, but talked with anglers who found the blues near Ocean City. In the surf, a slow pick of stripers was managed on clams or bunker. But a kid beached a 38-incher on a rental rod, so a few of the bass seemed around. Kingfishing was good in the surf on the island’s south end and at Whale Beach. Bloodworms were the bait, but FishBites artificial worms worked, and waters warmed enough for the artificials. Sea bass fishing was productive at the reefs, and cod were claimed at the deeper reefs like A.C. Reef or the back side of Great Egg Reef. Bluefish ran strong at the ocean ridges. Bluefin tuna, not as many as before, remained at places like 28-Mile Wreck, the Elephant Trunk or along the 30-fathom line. They were trolled on ballyhoos on Ilanders and such. Yellowfin tuna fishing was on fire at Wilmington and Spencer canyons. Trolled, skirted ballyhoos were the way to go. Catches of white marlin seemed on the upswing, for sure. Crabs definitely started to stir around the back waters, and crabbers should catch along any estuaries or docks.

<b>Sea Isle City</b>

Popper lure and popper fly fishing was good for striped bass on the back bay aboard, and bluefish started to smack the poppers again this week, said Capt. Joe Hughes from <b>Jersey Cape Guide Service</b>, affiliated with <b>Sea Isle Bait & Tackle</b>. Blues had disappeared a moment, but spring tides that dropped water temps seemed to increase action. The popper trips, a specialty for Jersey Cape this time of year, hunt the bass in Joe’s flats boat in the shallows, while he push-poles the vessel, and the anglers cast. The visual attack from the fish on the surface is the thing. Summer flounder fishing was good on trips on the bay, and lots of the fish were throwbacks, but lots of the fluke filled the bay. Tuna fishing offshore slowed in some places and sped up in others, wasn’t as wide open as before, but was decent. Charters are sailing for all these fish. In other news, surf anglers still picked away at stripers at times. Keep up on Joe’s fishing on <a href="http://captainjoehughes.blogspot.com" target="_blank">Jersey Cape’s blog</a>.

Summer flounder fishing picked up in the back bay, said Mike from <b>Sea Isle Bait &  Tackle</b>. Budd Miller and Melissa Gattone from Waterford totaled 10 keeper flounder, including a 4-pound 14-ouncer and a 4-pound 7-ouncer they weighed in, and a couple of others just smaller than those, quite a catch of sizeable flatfish, on the back bay behind Strathmere. They scored on minnows and spearing, and other groups, like two or four anglers together, today said they came two or three shy of limiting, and so on. Lots of Gulps were sold for flounder, and worked awesome. Mike didn’t know if warmer waters amped up the effectiveness or something. Lots of minnows and spearing were sold for flounder. Kingfishing went well in the surf, and anglers used an equal mix of bloodworms or FishBites artificial worms to catch them. Most used the pink FishBites, but the new chartreuse ones became popular. An occasional striped bass was beached in the surf, but experienced anglers copped them. Mike no longer sent the inexperienced to the beach expecting to catch a striper. But stripers bit well in the bay at night at the lights like at the docks and bridges. Bass Assassin paddle tails were popular for them, in two colors: Electric Chicken and Treuse Goose. Tides weren’t the best for popper-plug fishing for stripers on the bay in the evenings. But plenty were poppered when tides were ideal: high tides coinciding with evenings, or mornings, for that matter. A few blues, not many, were heard about from the bay. Ocean wreck fishing was good for sea bass, cod and ling. But Mike told boaters they needed to fish beyond 20 miles for cod and ling. A few sea bass held closer to shore, but farther out was key. Sharks were around. One customer fished for sharks inshore, at Avalon Shoal, on a trip that broke off a thresher, released a few browns, and saw a hammerhead that avoided baits. Nothing was heard about offshore sharking since the weekend’s South Jersey Shark Tournament. Tuna were caught offshore when anglers found the action. Wilmington Canyon was the best spot heard about. All the baits and tackle are stocked for inshore, but the shop was now getting tuned up with offshore supplies like Ilanders, jetheads and spreader bars.

<b>Villas</b>

A 4-3/4-pound weakfish was weighed in from the Cape May Point surf Wednesday, said Mike from <b>Budd’s Bait & Tackle</b>. The angler, fishing with bloodworms, lost several others on the trip, and anglers were landing a few of the trout at the point on bloodworms on a float rig. Croakers and kingfish also chewed at the point. A good report rolled in about catches of summer flounder, a good keeper ratio, from the Punk Grounds on Delaware Bay Tuesday. Flounder catches, a few, were heard about from around the 9 and 10 buoys on the bay. But the Punk Grounds sounded hot that day. Flounder fishing was picking up at the Old Grounds on the ocean. Fishing for flounder was good in the back bay, giving up lots of shorts, but some keepers, at places like Grassy Sound, Paddy’s Hole and Sunset Lake. Drum fishing seemed finished on  Delaware Bay. The <b>Ho-D-Doe</b>, the charter boat from <b>Budd’s Tackle Charters Services</b>, sailing from Cape May, had been drum fishing, but is now sailing for flounder, sea bass, croakers, blues and weakfish. The crew from the vessel took a fun trip for sharks last week that released a 70-pound mako and lost three other sharks. Mike heard about yellowfin tuna and mahi mahi boated at Wilmington Canyon and bluefin tuna landed at places like south of the Lobster Claw. Crabs for eating, both hard and soft shell, are on hand, and so are steamer clams. The shop commercially crabs on the Ho-D-Doe, and the crabbing was a pick, not great, but catching.

<b>Wildwood</b>

<b>***Update, Friday, 6/17:***</b> The full moon at mid week seemed to hamper summer flounder fishing and crabbing on the bay, said Mike from <b>Canal Side Boat Rentals</b>. That often happens locally, and Sunday was the last time the catches were better, and flounder fishing through then was good. Some healthy catches came in, including sizeable flatties to 22 inches. Crabbing till then began to produce for the season. Both the flounder fishing and crabbing should get back to normal, now that the moon passed. Not a lot of other fish were heard about, but a few weakfish were landed, and so were a few striped bass. Mike knows a couple of anglers who target the bass, but the stripers he heard about in the past days were hooked by chance while anglers flounder fished.  Canal Side rents canopy boats and kayaks for fishing, crabbing and sightseeing. Baits stocked include minnows and frozen squid strips, whole squid, spearing, mackerel fillets, mullet, clam strips and packaged clams. Live crabs for eating might begin to be carried for the season this weekend.

Sea bass were picked up on the party boat <b>Adventurer</b> on the ocean, and a few flounder began to come in on the trips, Capt. Gary said. So things started to look up, he said, and trips will probably target sea bass another two weeks. When enough flounder begin to be caught, trips will switch to flounder. The season’s first night bluefish trip, running every Saturday, will probably sail this week, fishing on the ocean. A few blues, not a lot, were caught. Both these trips are open-boat, and the open sea trips run daily when no charter is booked. Call ahead to confirm the open trips will sail.

<b>Cape May</b>

Summer flounder trips began to sail daily Monday on the party boat <b>Porgy IV</b>, Capt. Paul said. The trips previously fished for sea bass, and winds somewhat blew too hard for the greatest flounder fishing, but the angling was good Wednesday onboard, and the high hook creamed five keepers to 4 pounds. The fishing wasn’t so good Tuesday, but Ken Lynch, Belmawr, bagged a 6-pounder aboard that day. Flounder fishing is always drift and weather dependant. When winds and tides create the right drift, the chances of catching are better. Trips since Monday fished on the ocean, but will fish on Delaware Bay at times, and catches of flounder were heard about from the bay last week. Trips will fish wherever conditions should create the better drifts. Some anglers this week tried bucktailing for the fluke, but winds blew the drift too fast. Anglers just tried to gather on the best side of the boat, and hold bottom with rigs. Though sometimes the fishing could be slow, Paul overall sounded satisfied with the past days’ fishing. A high hook with five keepers wasn’t bad these days, with the large size limit. The Porgy IV is fishing for summer flounder on a full-day trip at 8 a.m. daily.

Good tuna fishing was happening, if anglers wanted to go, said Capt. George from the <b>Heavy Hitter</b>. A friend, a reliable source, talked about tuna getting bailed to the south. Boaters from Ocean City, Maryland, did a number on them, the friend said. None of the Cape May charters seemed to fish for tuna, and charters traditionally book tuna trips starting in July, and the first on the Heavy Hitter is set for July 3. But tuna fishing’s been best in the early season in recent years, and the fish might remain later, but anglers should think about going now, while the fish are there. Coming up on the heavy hitter, a sea bass charter is slated for Saturday, and a summer flounder trip is scheduled for Sunday. Charters are also available for sharks. Only a few sharks were entered in last week’s South Jersey Shark Tournament from Cape May. Jim’s Bait and Tackle’s shark tournament will take place from the town this weekend, and anglers will see how the entrants make out..

Cape May Point surf anglers and boaters latched into croakers, kingfish, summer flounder and spike weakfish, said Nick from <b>Hands Too Bait & Tackle</b>. If anglers wanted the croakers, they fished with clams. If they wanted the kings or weaks, they dunked bloodworms. FishBites artificial worms could be soaked for the kings. If flounder were wanted, the anglers used Gulps. Along the front beach, surf casters hooked kings and sandsharks. Anglers fishing on the Cape May ferry jetty could run into blues, croakers and flounder. Flounder fishing went well in the back bay, in Delaware Bay at Flounder Alley or the shoals like Brandywine, and in deeper waters like in the ocean at the wrecks, Reef 11 or the Old Grounds, when conditions or winds and tides created a good drift. Sea bass, cod and ling bit in the ocean at the deeper wrecks. Only a few sharks were entered in the South Jersey Shark Tournament during the weekend, but sharks were lately fought along the 30-fathom line and at wrecks like the Misty Blue. Good numbers of tuna held at places including Wilmington and Baltimore canyons. Plenty of minnows are stocked, and bloodworms, fresh clams, all the different types of squid, and other frozen baits like mackerel are stocked. Chum and flats of mackerel and such are carried for sharks, and baits like ballyhoos are on hand for tuna.

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