<b>Staten Island</b>

Fishing was weathered out Saturday with <b>Outcast Charters</b>, Capt. Joe said. But a trip, picking up the anglers from Perth Amboy, pasted sea bass to 3 pounds, lots, on Sunday. Awesome catch, Joe said. Outcast offers trips from Perth Amboy, including so anglers can follow New Jersey regs, including for sea bass. Sea bass season is closed in New York. Blackfish, out of season in both states, were mixed in that were released. Trips aboard in the near future are slated to fish for sea bass. Outcast is probably finished striped bass fishing for the season. Few stripers seemed to swim locally in Raritan Bay, but stripers were caught farther south on the ocean toward Deal. Outcast pays bridge tolls with a receipt. Call for info about the trips from Jersey.  

<b>Keyport</b>

A load of blues to 10 pounds were mauled on a trip 2 p.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday on Raritan Bay with <b>Papa’s Angels Charters</b>, Capt. Joe said. A couple of throwback striped bass were let go, and the anglers, Cory Ireland’s group with son Mike and friends Mark, John Andrew and Alex, fished with fresh bunker and fresh clams. Papa’s Angels is fishing for striped bass, blues and fluke. Open-boat trips are available 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. daily through the week. Call to reserve.

<b>Atlantic Highlands</b>

Fluke fishing remained about the same during the weekend as previously on the party boat <b>Atlantic Star</b>, Capt. Tom said. A little improvement was seen in the fishing at times at some places. But then a trip would return to the area, and the fishing would be slow. The fluking was very inconsistent, and predicting the times or places when catches would be better was impossible. Rough weather on Friday riled up the ocean afterward. So the boat fluked on the bay Saturday and Sunday, bouncing around to different spots. Tom was finding the bay’s fluking better than the ocean’s anyway. Sometimes a couple of keepers would be bagged on a drift, and sometimes none would. Or sometimes several would. Many times, a drift would catch, and the drift would be repeated, and the fishing would be slow. Inconsistent. Chris Statkus, Toms River, nailed a 6-pound 6-ounce fluke on Sunday morning’s trip. The high hook probably reeled in two keepers on the outing. On some days, bait caught better than Spros or bucktails did. When bait was fished, Gulps and killies were probably a slight advantage. Spearing are supplied aboard. The Atlantic Star is fishing for fluke twice daily 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 1:30 to 6 p.m. Check out the <a href=" http://www.atlanticstarfishing.com" target="_blank">Atlantic Star’s re-vamped Web site</a>, including new photos. Sign up for the new e-mail list on the site. <b>***Update, Monday, 6/4:***</b> In miserable weather, not rough, but rains and winds, a few fluke were swung aboard this morning’s trip, Tom said. The fishing, on the bay, was slow, not good, not producing enough keepers. But more shorts bit than previously. A handful of anglers showed up for this afternoon’s trip, but the trip sailed, and the weather surprisingly improved. Two anglers, Chris and John, limited out, and all the rest grabbed at least one keeper, except one who landed only shorts. Chris won the pool with a 4-1/2-pounder.

Not much was doing in the morning on Thursday’s striped bass trip on the party boat <b>Fishermen</b>, Capt. Ron said in a report on the vessel’s Web site. But lots of bunker began to appear during slack tide and the start of incoming. Then the anglers began to slug away at big bluefish, and they landed “a handful of very nice bass,” Ron said. A 24-pounder was the biggest striper, and the fishing lasted an hour, and finished as fast as it started.  On Friday’s trip the weather was nasty, and fishing the ocean was out, and the bay wasn’t much better. The trip hung in there, in hopes that the fishing would come on during slack like on the previous day. It did. Ten good-sized stripers were bagged. “Rocco Farina … put on a clinic in the 45-minute window of a bite … landing three keepers and the pool fish,” Ron said. Ron had almost written the day off as one of the worst of the season. “Just goes to show,” he said. “Never give up!” The Fishermen is sailing for striped bass 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily and 3:30 to 9 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays.

<b>Highlands</b>

Fishing for striped bass slowed last week, so <b>Fisher Price Charters</b> bottom fished, scraping up sea bass, ling, a couple of cod and a keeper pollock, very good catches, Capt. Derek said. No trip aboard fished the last  two days, but striper fishing improved then, Derek heard, and a striper trip was supposed to fish today with Fisher Price. Striper trips aboard fished the ocean with live and chunked bunker. Charters are fishing, and open-boat trips will sail for stripers Tuesday and Wednesday. Call to climb aboard or to be kept informed about the future open schedule. If anglers want fluke, charters are available for the summer flounder. Trips will fish for fluke full time later in June and in July, targeting big ones, in deeper waters, along the rough bottom, with tackle like big strip baits.

<b>Neptune</b>

A 46-pound striped bass was plowed Saturday afternoon with <b>Last Lady Fishing Charters</b> with the Paul Campinella party, Capt. Ralph said in an e-mail. Stripers to 30 pounds and plenty of big blues were socked Friday morning with Ryan Schmid’s group. Two trips on Ralph’s other boat, with another captain at the helm, whaled large blues and an occasional striper. A sea bass trip with Ralph lambasted the fish on Sunday, he said in a phone call. Probably five keeper sea bass were reeled up for every short, one of the anglers Ralph put on the phone said. The fishing was as good as could be, Ralph said. A striper charter is set for Tuesday. Afterward, Last Lady will get ready to compete in the weekend’s South Jersey Shark Tournament. Two or three choice dates are left for mako shark charters. Bluefin tuna are in, if anyone’s interested in a trip. One space remains for an individual-reservation trip for cod offshore at 2 a.m. Monday, June 18, limited to six anglers.

<b>Belmar</b>

Weather turned rough earlier than forecast on a trip Friday that competed in a striped bass tournament for Wounded Warriors with <b>Parker Pete’s Fishing Charters</b>, Capt. Pete said. So the ocean was nasty during the fishing, but stripers to 31 pounds were decked on livelined bunker. The winning fish weighed 35 pounds, Pete thought. Striped bass fishing was decent lately. Bunker schooled everywhere, and the fishing was a matter of choosing a bunker pod to fish, and finding the one that stripers chased. No trip fished Saturday in a heave on the ocean from the weather Friday. A sea bass trip began to crank up a good catch Sunday, but a mechanical problem developed, so the boat was sailed back to port early. Pete heard that striped bass bit again that afternoon. Fluke fishing was picking up on the ocean, and Parker Pete’s sails for all species available. Charters and open-boat trips are running. For availability on the open trips, see <a href="http://parkerpetefishing.com/belmar-fishing-trips/open-boat-trips" target="_blank">Parker Pete’s open-boat page</a> online, and sign up for the e-mailed newsletter on the site. Dates are announced in both places.

<b>Brielle</b>

Ocean striped bass fishing was sort of up and down, said Dave from <b>The Reel Seat</b>. He couldn’t know whether the large body of the fish moved on for the season, or whether too many were caught, or something. Anglers currently might boat the bass in the morning to the north, finding none to the south, catching them again the next day in the afternoon, and so on. Most anglers livelined bunker to the bass, but some trolled bunker spoons or Renegade RTW’s, or Renegade Top Waters, now exclusively available at the store. The charter business Renegade Sportfishing developed the floating rubber shad lures and is now marketing them. “Guess you’re either a hero or a zero,” Dave said about the striper fishing. Blues schooled the same waters, and anglers on most trips caught more blues than stripers. Lots of bunker schooled that the fish chased. Lots of thresher sharks but also blue sharks fed on the bunker. Not a lot was heard about ocean fluke fishing, but the fluke catches were picking up. Fluking was okay in Shark and Manasquan rivers, especially Shark. Blues 2 to 3 pounds moved in and out of Manasquan Inlet and Manasquan River, including at the Route 70 Bridge and off the mouth of Point Pleasant Canal. Stripers weighing to the mid to upper teens were pulled from the canal, mostly at night, on plugs or leadhead jigs with rubber shads. Fishing for sea bass was good on the ocean. So was fishing for ling, and anglers could still box 30 or 40 ling. Bluefin tuna, some 30 pounds, others 150 pounds, were beaten from 25 miles from shore to the tip of Hudson Canyon. Many were trolled on ballyhoos or spreader bars. Yellowfin tuna were sometimes decked at Hudson Canyon and farther south. Sharks were fought aboard. A customer bagged a 200-pound mako at the Mudhole last Monday. Another weighed in a 145-pound mako from the Glory Hole on Saturday. Wahoo Baitfish Bucktails and Stingo jigs are on sale at 30 percent off to celebrate the shop’s 30 years in business. The shop’s fluke tournament for Manasquan and Shark rivers is running to Labor Day. Entry is $10, and half goes to Save the Summer Flounder Fishery Fund, and the other half goes to Shark River Surf Anglers Kids Trout Tournament. The store makes no money on the event, and prizes will be awarded for the first and second heaviest fluke from each river, the heaviest fluke from a lady entrant, and the heaviest from a kid age 16 or younger.

<b>Point Pleasant Beach</b>

On the party boat <b>Gambler</b> ocean fluke fishing turned up good, steady action, especially in the last couple of days, Capt. Bob said. A fair percentage of the fish were keepers, nothing huge, but up to 5 pounds. Sea bass to 2 pounds were sometimes pumped in. The evening wreck trip stayed in port Sunday. But the evening bluefish trip Saturday whaled a load of the fish to 14 pounds at Monster Ledge.  The Gambler is fishing for fluke 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 2 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. daily. The boat is sailing 7:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. for blues and striped bass Fridays and Saturdays and for wreck fishing Thursdays and Sundays.

Seas were stiff Friday, and the anglers were warned, but they wanted to sail, a report on <b>Andrea’s Toy Charters</b>’ Web site said. The mate on the striped bass charter did a great job, “pancaked the (castnet) in 20-knot winds, and made bait on two throws … in 5- to 7-foot seas,” the report said. The trip motored north with the bunker in the livewell, made some drifts off Asbury Park, then pushed closer to shore. The pod of bunker that the captain wanted to fish was found, and the anglers went 4 for 6 on stripers to 36 pounds. The anglers had enough, and decided to head back to Clark’s Landing’s Dockside Grill. The captain bought a round for the crew for braving the conditions, and the chef went to work on striper fillets. The anglers were served stripers three ways: Teriyaki glazed, blackened Cajun style, and Italian style. “Guys loved it,” the report said. Another striper trip previously last week made bait locally, then steamed north, searching for a couple of hours, “until the bait came together,” the report said. Bunker were getting blown out of the waters. The trip limited out on stripers in the first drift, then caught and released more. Two that weighed around 40 pounds apiece were the biggest. Another trip that week bagged four stripers to just under 40 pounds, a tougher evening, but the anglers hung in there, catching some sizeable bass. A trip last Monday had to work for stripers, fishing bunker pod to bunker pod, but went 3 for 5 on the fish to 38 pounds.

<b>Barnegat Light</b>

Limits all around the boat, a report about bluefishing aboard Sunday said on the party boat <b>Miss Barnegat Light</b>’s Web site. The fishing was fantastic then and on Friday’s trip. The pool-winning blue on Friday’s trip probably weighed 16 or 17 pounds, and the blues averaged 6 to 12 pounds on the outing. Bluefishing was good on Saturday’s trip, and some anglers limited out. Five blues was the average catch. The Miss Barnegat Light is bluefishing 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. daily and 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. Those trips return between 12 midnight and 2 a.m. Ice is free aboard to keep the catch fresh.

<b>Barnegat</b>

<b>***Update, Tuesday, 6/5:***</b> From an edited e-mail from Capt. Dave DeGennaro from the <b>Hi Flier</b>: “Just came off a bad weekend of fishing …. We hooked and jabbed with sea conditions on Friday. Three-plus hours of trolling bunker spoons and snagging bunker off Island Beach, but no hits or runs. Finished up in the bay with one legal fluke and a sundial. On Saturday the wind relented from the east, so I moved those guys to Sunday. We broke Barnegat Inlet early, found no bunker all the way to Seaside, where we put out the bunker spoons for a while. Talked to some friends up north, who had acres of bunker off Asbury Park and Deal. Had a quick meeting with my guys about trekking another 20 to 25 miles north, a later return, and some additional fuel expense, before we got underway. The information was good: lots of bunker to snag, from the beach out to the 3-mile line. Mostly we just snagged bunker with no hits. Eventually we started to do battle with some 10- to 12-pound gator blues. That was alright, and at times visual, which always makes it more exciting. But still no bass. We were told that this was more of an afternoon bite, so we hung in there, slowly picking at rations that were supposed to sustain us for just the morning. Then word came … that a set of thunderstorms packing heavy wind, rain, and lightning were (coming). We ducked into Manasquan Inlet, just ahead of the storms, and tied up at Clark’s Landing Marina, for some welcomed grub and grog. The storms passed quickly, and it was now too late to run north again. So we took the canal and inland waterway home …. This is June, and for the last eight years in a row, June has been the best month for this trophy striper run, often creeping into early July. The forecast is for west winds -- even better, northwest winds -- from Thursday through the weekend. That makes for flat seas and easy bunker spotting. You can either be there yesterday or hear about it tomorrow. We’re going to sail every day, out the inlet, making the left, running as far as we have to, and staying as late as we have to, to get into the action. I’m going to keep it at one trip a day, until a pattern develops of bunker and fish closer to home …. If we get into good early morning action, we can keep it to our 6-hour trip at (the usual rate). If there's nothing good happening, and we have to head way north, the cost will be (different) for what will be a very long day. I just need to be compensated for the extra fuel. My time is on me. If the risk of returning late or paying (somewhat extra) is a concern, then this is not the trip to be on. Hopefully, we’ll have fish closer to home very soon, and I’ll be able to run my twice daily (trips). I don't like taking people for boat rides, pretending to be trying for fish, that I’m fairly certain are not there. I will, however, run anywhere within reason to get us into the action. So I need people who are flexible with the duration …. Pack enough rations. I have the rest …. Here are the open-boat dates: Thursday, 5:30 AM to?; Friday (my birthday – cake is optional), 5:30 AM to?; and Sunday, 5:30 AM to? Limited to 3 people. All fish are shared.”

<b>Beach Haven</b>

No striped bass turned up, and neither did bunker, on a trip that searched for stripers Sunday on the ocean from Little Egg Inlet to Seaside, said Capt. Lindsay from the <b>June Bug</b>. Blues 1-1/2-pounds were caught. When the fish finder marked any possible stripers along bottom, lures like bunker spoons and big diving plugs were trolled. When birds worked the waters above blues, Clark Spoons, Yozuri lures and birds that a friend makes were trolled. The June Bug will keep fishing inshore for catches like stripers and sea bass. The season’s first tuna trip is scheduled for mid month. Registration is June 21 for the Beach Haven Marlin & Tuna Club’s Junior Mate Program, a training program for youngsters to become mates on sportfishing boats. To contact the club for info about the program, see the <a href="http://www.bhmtc.com/" target="_blank">Beach Haven Marlin & Tuna Club’s Web site</a>.

<b>Tuckerton</b>

A sea bass trip sailed Sunday on the ocean with <b>Legal Limit Charters</b>, Capt.  T.J. said. But his brother ran the trip, and T.J., who just returned from tarpon fishing in Florida, was yet to hear results. Legal Limit will keep sea bass fishing, and trips will fish for summer flounder through summer. Shark trips will begin next week, and T.J. heard nothing about flounder or sharks since returning. But the tarpon fishing was good! Charters are fishing, and no open-boat trips are scheduled at the moment. When they are, they’re posted on <a href=" http://www.legallimitcharters.com/open-boat.php" target="_blank">Legal Limit’s open-boat page</a>.

<b>Mystic Island</b>

“Intermittent fluke frenzies,” a report on <b>Scott’s Bait & Tackle</b>’s Web site said. The summer flounder fishing on the bay gave up “short periods of activity,” the report said. The fish would bite a moment, then stop, quickly. Some anglers, at the right place, at the right time, put a few in the cooler. But rains and winds made the fishing tough during the weekend. Snot grass was reportedly everywhere, the report said on Saturday. Chatter about flounder at the stakes was heard that day. Bluefish were scattered in the bay. Winds kept most boaters off the ocean lately, but when they sailed, they mugged sea bass, great catches.

<b>Brigantine</b>

A 50-inch 44-pound striped bass was weighed in from the surf Sunday, a report on  <b>Riptide Bait & Tackle</b>’s Web site said. Kevin Brown caught the fish and knew about a 41-incher beached nearby around the same time. Kevin beforehand had bought clams for bait at the shop. Twenty minutes later, he showed back up with the fish. Drum bit in the surf as the full moon approached, “so let’s see what it will do to the stripers?” the report asked. One young angler on Sunday stopped by with a 13-pound striper he plugged along the sod banks. No report was posted for Saturday, and a report on Friday said surf fishing was slow. But a family that day checked in two stripers and two blues they dragged from the surf.

<b>Sea Isle City</b>

With George Hand and son aboard, a trip wreck-fished on the ocean Saturday, piling up a bunch of sea bass and some blues, said Capt. Joe Hughes from <b>Jersey Cape Guide Service</b> and <b>Sea Isle Bait & Tackle</b>. Joe invited friend Capt. Chris Goldmark to fly rod for blues on the back bay with poppers on Friday evening. They bailed them, fast and furious catches, despite rough weather. Jersey Cape specializes in popper fishing for striped bass and blues, both with spinning and fly rods, this time of year. Vicious, exciting, visual attacks along the surface. On Thursday evening aboard Chase Kneeland fly-rodded stripers and blues on poppers on the bay. Summer flounder fishing’s been good on the bay on the boat. Coming up, inshore shark trips for duskies and browns, catch and release fishing with spinning or fly rods, will kick in during July and August.  The trips are a chance to fight big fish 20 to 100 pounds, 7 to 12 miles from shore, instead of the long trek offshore. Keep up with Joe’s fishing on <a href="http://captainjoehughes.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Jersey Cape’s blog</a>. Take an After Work Special Trip from 4:30 p.m. till dark, a convenient, productive time.

<b>Cape May</b>

Sea bass were snatched aboard the <b>Heavy Hitter</b> on Sunday 25 miles from shore, Capt. George. The angling, with John Stonick’s charter, with Lori, Trish, Mike and Ryan, was drop-and-reel the whole time. Lots of throwbacks had to be sorted through, and the keepers were up to 18 inches, but the cooler got filled with keepers. The keepers were mostly 12 ½ to 15 inches, and a couple were probably 18. The boat is finished drum fishing for the season on Delaware Bay. George cancelled a drum trip Saturday. Dates are available for sea bass, tuna and sharks. Nothing was heard about tuna, and winds blew strongly for the fishing since last week. But tuna were drilled at the offshore canyons previously. The weather was mostly beautiful on the sea bass trip. Somewhat of a swell was built up at first but calmed, and the boat started throwing a little spray on the way home. A breeze blew while the anglers fished, but felt good on the warm day. Sharks were around, and a 180-pound mako reportedly won Jim’s Bait & Tackle in Cape May’s shark tournament during the weekend. Nothing was heard about summer flounder.

<b>Legal Limit Charters</b> is finished drum fishing on Delaware Bay for the season, Capt. T.J. said. Trips will fish for sea bass, and already did from Tuckerton on T.J.’s other boat. See the report above. Trips will fish for summer flounder through summer, and will begin shark fishing next week. Charters and open-boat trips are fishing. When open trips are scheduled, they’re posted on <a href=" http://www.legallimitcharters.com/open-boat.php" target="_blank">Legal Limit’s open-boat page</a>.

Charters on the <b>Down Deep</b> fished for sea bass on the ocean through the past week, crunching very good catches, Capt. Bob said. Bob Schmidt’s party limited out on sea bass to 5 pounds. Curt Rosenweit’s and Wall to Wall Floor Coverings’ charters both socked healthy catches of sea bass to 2 and 3 pounds. A trip Saturday was weathered out. The season’s final charter for drum was set to sail today on Delaware Bay, and drum fishing was pretty much finished for the year. Sea bass, tuna and summer flounder trips are being booked. Yellowfin tuna were axed at Baltimore Canyon recently. Nothing was heard about bluefin tuna. Flounder seemed mostly yet to migrate to deeper bays like Delaware Bay, though the bay was in the 70s. The fish, mostly throwbacks, occasional keepers, were reported caught from the back bays along the coast. The fluke seemed to gather in shallow waters like that so far.

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