<b>Keyport</b>

Twelve keeper fluke to 20 inches were clubbed from the ocean off Sandy Hook on Friday with <b>Papa’s Angels Charters</b> with Serhiy Moshak’s group, Capt. Joe said. The three anglers fished with spearing, squid and peanut bunker. On Sunday eleven keeper fluke to a 7-pound 25-incher were sacked at Ambrose Channel with Nick Clemente’s group of four on the same baits. A 6-pounder was also whacked, and winds and tides drifted the boat excellent on both trips, always important. Open-boat, deep-water fluke trips are available 7 a.m. to 1 or 2 p.m. daily when no charter is booked and enough anglers want to go. Call to reserve.

<b>Atlantic Highlands</b>

Fishing for fluke slugged away at throwbacks and keepers Sunday on the party boat <b>Fishermen</b>, Capt. Ron said in a report on the vessel’s Web site. John Froelich limited out and won the pool with a 6-3/4-pounder. He also leads the season-long fluke pool with a 10.6-pounder he claimed Tuesday, and now limited out on four trips in a row. On Sunday’s trip, another angler also limited, and a few bagged four, one short of a limit. The trip’s fluke bit more in shallow waters than deep. The fishing slowed around the change of tide, but picked back up once the tide began running again. The boat was chartered Friday and Saturday, and the two trips nipped plenty of throwback fluke, very good action, and some very good-sized keepers to 6 pounds. A couple of anglers limited out, “but not the norm,” Ron said. Currents ran fast, and lots of weight had to be fished. The Fisherman is sailing for fluke 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily.

Not much changed with fluke fishing aboard in past days compared with before, and catches were somewhat better on Sunday on the party boat <b>Atlantic Star</b>, Capt. Tom said. Plenty of throwbacks gave up action on trips, and sometimes anglers got lucky and bagged two or three keepers apiece. None of the fish was big in past days. Sunday morning’s trip was one of the better ones recently, and morning trips were better the last couple of days, because of conditions. Some tough trips were also had. Sea robins were annoying. Sunday as a whole, including the afternoon’s trip, was one of the better days for the fluking aboard. A few fluke were bagged on the afternoon’s trip. Trips fished the channels when the boat didn’t drift too fast for anglers to hold bottom. Anglers fished with 10-ounce weights to hold the deep bottom at the channels. Sandy Hook Channel’s fluking was better than Ambrose Channel’s during the trips. Trips fished other spots in shallower waters when the channels couldn’t be fished. Sea robins seemed more abundant in the shallows. No baits or tackle worked better than others. All caught. Some anglers brought their own killies to fish, but no advantage was seen. Spearing are supplied for bait. Spro or bucktail jigs caught no better than bait. The Atlantic Star is fishing for fluke twice daily 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 1:30 to 6 p.m.

<b>Highlands</b>

The three anglers aboard headed out in rains and winds Saturday morning, but ended up boxing 10 keeper fluke to 8 pounds and a sea bass along the edges of the channels, said Capt. Dave from <b>Raritan Bay Charters<b>. About 60 throwback fluke were released, and the anglers mostly fished with spearing and large strip baits. On Sunday the two anglers on a trip limited out on fluke at the channels, 90 percent on bucktails. The fish weighed up to 4 pounds, none huge, but more than 100, including throwbacks, were landed. Action was non-stop, and the trip left the fluke biting. Open-boat trips are fishing for fluke when no charter is booked.

All trips in past days limited out or nearly limited on fluke with <b>Fisher Price Charters</b>, Capt. Derek said. The fish weighed up to 7 pounds, and the trips fished with bucktails or big strip baits along the rough bottom. Charters are fishing, and the next open-boat trips for fluke will probably sail toward the end of the week. Call for the schedule, to jump aboard or to be kept informed about the future open schedule. Fall charters are being booked for striped bass, bottom fish and blackfish.

<b>Neptune</b>

A fair sea bass catch was made on a bottom-fishing trip on the ocean Sunday with <b>Last Lady Fishing Charters</b>, Capt. Ralph said. Some big ones were smashed. Bluefishing’s been nuts aboard the ocean, limiting out on large blues in a couple of hours. An individual-reservation trip for cod and pollock filled up for this coming Monday. Another will probably be scheduled, and the last trip lambasted large cod and pollock, a great catch, covered in previous reports. Individual-reservation trips for fluke are running 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. every Sunday and 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. every Tuesday on the Last Lady II. Kids under 12 sail free, limited to two per adult. On the Last Lady, individual-rez trips are fishing the inshore wrecks 6 a.m. every Sunday for sea bass, ling, blackfish and cod.

<b>Belmar</b>

An overnight trip for tuna to the canyons was cancelled this weekend on the <b>Katie H</b>, because the fishing was slow, Capt. Mike said. So the charter fished inshore Saturday instead, and rescheduled canyon fishing for October. The inshore trip was good, concentrating on sea bass, landing 20-some keepers, including lots of sizeable ones 2 to 4 pounds, and three or four keeper fluke. Rains fell and seas were big in the morning, but conditions calmed, and the anglers had a good time, Mike said. A bluefishing trip is set for Friday, and, if Mike remembered, an inshore trip for bluefin tuna is scheduled for Saturday. 

Big, jumbo bluefish were plastered on the ocean Sunday on a trip with <b>Parker Pete’s Fishing Charters</b>, Capt. Pete said. The boat had to be sailed a little distance from shore for the bite, but all the blues anyone could want could be battled. False albacore swam the area, but none was hooked. The vessel was kept docked Saturday because of rough weather. Friday was windy, hampering fluke fishing aboard the ocean. But the fluking is good when conditions are right. Lots of triggerfish are around to spice up catches. Anglers can focus on sea bass on trips if they want. Porgies have begun to show, and Pete hopes to get after them soon. Bluefin tuna fishing is available on the inshore ocean. Parker Pete’s sails for any species available. Charters and open-boat trips are running. For availability on 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. Cruises are available to watch fireworks on the ocean off Asbury Park every Wednesday, and see the boat’s Web site for times.

Mostly fluke, but also sea bass, were hung on a bottom-fishing trip on the ocean Friday with <b>Fin-Ominal Sportfishing</b>, Capt. Jared said. About 20 to 25 keepers were coolered, and the keeper ratio was probably 1 in 25. Many fish bit. On Saturday weather was terrible in the morning for a half-day bottom-fishing trip on the ocean. Seas were 6 feet, though forecasts called for 2 to 3, so the trip couldn’t fish until 11 a.m., when seas began to calm, and only got to fish 3 hours. A few fish were caught. Bottom-fishing trips are catching mostly fluke with a few sea bass mixed in, unless anglers want to target sea bass specifically. On Saturday afternoon a full-day bluefish trip motored offshore, hammering big slammers, lots, some of them 12 or 14 pounds. On Sunday morning a half-day bottom-fishing trip reeled in fluke and sea bass from the ocean. On Sunday evening two couples enjoyed a cocktail cruise in beautiful weather and seas. One of the couples became engaged on a cruise aboard 5 years ago, and this weekend’s trip was for the wife’s birthday. Cruises available include trips to watch fireworks on the ocean off Asbury Park every Wednesday and Point Pleasant Beach every Thursday through this month. Cruises can also include cocktail trips or any trips imaginable, from the rivers and ocean to the Manhattan skyline. 

Quite a few limits of fluke, including fluke weighing in the double-digits, were party-boated from Belmar, Bob from <b>Fisherman’s Den</b> said in an e-mail. The fish were decked from the ocean both north and south. “A good spread of fish,” he said. Plenty of triggerfish gathered in the ocean. Good eating, tough to clean, Bob said. Shark River’s fluke fishing was a little slow. Many throwbacks, not many keepers, paved the waters. Sea robins, snapper blues, spots and kingfish bit in the river. A good population of mullet schooled the back waters. When they migrate to the ocean this fall, the mullet numbers should attract solid striped bass fishing. Bluefishing was off the charts on the ocean on the party boats, and a healthy amount of false albacore were mixed in.

<b>Brielle</b>

Ocean fluke fishing was good, including at Axel Carlson Reef, said Dave from <b>The Reel Seat</b>. Lots of fluke blanketed Manasquan River, though few fished for them. A 5-1/4-pound fluke was weighed in from the river, taking the lead in the shop’s fluke tournament for Manasquan and Shark rivers. A 4-1/2-pounder was in the lead for Shark River. See details about the tourn below. False albacore plowed into Manasquan Inlet the other day. Lots of spots schooled the inlet. Bluefish and hickory shad swam the area. In the surf, false albacore were fought in northern Monmouth County one day toward the end of the week. Kingfish held in the local surf. Back on the ocean, ling fishing was “off the hook,” Dave said. Sea bass were socked from the ocean, but the angling wasn’t nearly as good as ling fishing. The only porgies heard about came from Raritan Bay. Bluefin tuna fishing was inconsistent in the inshore ocean. Yellowfin tuna were sometimes pumped aboard from inshore of the canyons, like at the Triple Wrecks. Yellowfins ran around the Mudhole. How was canyon fishing for yellowfins? Dave was asked. “Oomph,” he said. Tilefishing was the best angling at the canyons. Catch the shop’s pre-season sale on surf-fishing plugs. The store is making a new rigged eel for the surf. Wahoo Baitfish Bucktails and Stingo jigs are on sale at 30 percent off to celebrate the shop’s 30 years in business. Catches can be entered through Labor Day in The Reel Seat’s fluke tournament for Manasquan and Shark rivers. Entry is $10, and half the money is donated to Save the Summer Flounder Fishery Fund, and the other half 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>Norma-K III</b> fluke fishing was picky on the ocean the past couple of days, a report on the vessel’s Web site said. A few keepers and an “okay amount of shorts,” the report said, were tugged in. Sometimes the boat drifted very fast, difficult for the fishing. But this month and September are usually good times for the fishing. Bring extra tackle aboard. “We have been fishing in the rocks and rubble!” the report said. On nighttime trips, bluefishing was good. Blues 8 to 12 pounds were nailed, and trips will sail for blues through October. The Norma-K III is fishing for fluke 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 2 to 6:30 p.m. daily and for blues 7:30 p.m. to 1 a.m. daily.

A mixed bag of trips sailed with <b>Mushin Sportfishing</b>, Capt. Ray said in an e-mail. Two trips ran for blues: the Kameen charter last week on Sunday, and the Skafidi charter on Friday. Big blues were bailed at the edge of the Mudhole on the first trip. A few hours was all the anglers could handle, with sore arms. On the second trip, “we had (blues) stacked under the boat with albies right behind pretty often,” Ray said. After a couple of hours of the fishing, the trip pushed inshore and targeted fluke. But south winds picked up, dropping off the fishing. Fluking was dead, so the trip headed in early. Ray fished for fluke and sea bass with his wife and three sons on the ocean Tuesday, putting together a good pick of the fish, enough for several meals, in only a couple of hours, 15 minutes from Manasquan Inlet. On Wednesday a half-day trip with two anglers limited out on fluke in a few hours, bucktailing them, “like everyone else, it seems,” Ray said. But some sizeable ones to 6 pounds were taken on bait – smelts – on the trip. An overnight trip steamed to Hudson Canyon this Sunday, and was in the middle of fishing when Ray e-mailed this report that evening. Other crew members were running the trip. Numerous mahi mahi were already trolled, and a 400- to 500-pound blue marlin was already trolled and fought a few minutes, before jumping off. The trip hoped for tuna overnight into this morning, and tilefish this morning, before forecast winds were expected. Mushin means a relaxed state of readiness. The crew pride themselves on sharing the concept on outdoor adventures.

<b>Barnegat Light</b>

Super bluefishing was clobbered on every trip through last week, including today, on the party boat <b>Miss Barnegat Light</b>, a report on the boat’s Web site said. False albacore began to swim the chum slick Thursday. The blues today were 8 to 14 pounds, similar to the size on all trips, and anglers today limited out around the boat. The Miss Barnegat Light is bluefishing 8 a.m. daily and 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays.

Fluke fishing was very good on the ocean Sunday on the <b>Super Chic</b>, Capt. Ted said. A couple of dozen keepers to 7 pounds were crushed, and lots of throwbacks were released. Seas were rough on a charter on the ocean Saturday, so fluking wasn’t so good. But sea bass and small weakfish were boated. Fishing for big bluefish remained good on the ocean on trips lately. The season’s first overnight trip for tuna is slated for Labor Day weekend. The 56-foot boat can accommodate up to 25 passengers on inshore trips and 10 on offshore, overnight trips. The vessel sleeps 10 passengers.

<b>Barnegat</b>

<b>***Update, Tuesday, 8/21:***</b> From an edited e-mail from Capt. Dave DeGennaro from the <b>Hi Flier</b>: “Forecasts and sea conditions look calm for Thursday, so I’m running an open-boat trip to the blue water. We’ll be targeting tuna, mahi, albacore and any tuna-ish species we can find. Leaving at 5 AM and returning at 2 PM, limited to three people. All fish are shared. We’ll run as far and wide as we have to, so pack some rations. This Friday and Saturday, I’ll be live grass shrimping weakfish. Friday's trip is 6 to 11 AM, and Saturday we’ll have two trips: 6 to 11 AM and 11:30 AM to 4:30 PM. The cost of the trip is divided by however many people sign on. You can sign on as an individual, or, of course, you could book the boat for your own group, as well. Sunday is already double-booked, and then I’m not available again until Thursday, Sept.6. This fishing is getting even more intense. We always catch weakies, sometimes a few, sometimes a bunch, but the fish are quality size, and the diversity of species is incredible. Everything eats shrimp. On Sunday afternoon, I anchored up in Meyer's Hole, and started throwing shrimp, with the sun high in the sky, a bunch of boat traffic, and mild optimism. The incoming tide had just flooded in all of that clean, green, ocean water. Without a doubt, my favorite conditions to fish there, as the chum slick becomes alive with visual fish. Not just the hickory shad that we see rolling and flashing even in the darker water, but the whole spectrum. In all, we caught 12 species of fish in the 2 ½ hours we anchored: weakfish, fluke (inc. a keeper), spots, perch, hickory shad, sea bass, sea robin, blowfish, sand shark, snapper blues, croaker and a jack crevalle. All on shrimp, using 6-pound-test spinning rods. Early on, I started using a Sabiki rig to target the spots, as it is time to start stocking up on them as live bait for the fall stripers and tuna. I did catch plenty of spots, but I also caught a 24-inch 3-1/2-pound weakie. A little while later, my son Nicholas bagged a 17-incher on the Sabiki. We had a handful of weakfish, and the best ones we caught all came on this rig. I will be sure to make this a part of our arsenal now, though when you hook two and three hickory shad on the same rig, things get a little dicey on the ultra lights. This past Thursday through Saturday, I fished the west side of the bay as well as Meyer's Hole, and each day was different, as far as how many weakfish we caught, but we did get them on every trip. The best results are flat-lining a weightless, floatless, baited hook into the slick. We’re also doing well livelining the spots and peanut bunker on the slightly heavier, 10-pound spinning rods, with a good-size float keeping the live bait suspended right above the eel grass. Either location will test your endurance, with the multitude of species that pick at your bait, while you’re targeting these big trout. But if you persist, and just keep re-baiting your hook every two minutes, you’ll be rewarded. Even the live bait rods are high maintenance, as the small bluefish chop the baits to pieces. Leave that head chunk on for a few extra minutes, though, as we are catching a few nice fish on the remaining chunk. It seems that the weakies are scoffing the remnants of the bluefish attack, just as the stripers do, out in the open ocean. Hope to see you on board. Thank you.”

<b>Beach Haven</b>

Anglers on a half-day trip Friday attempted to hook fluke that supposedly swam the surf, casting to shore from the ocean aboard, said Capt. Lindsay from the <b>June Bug</b>. But that didn’t work, and only a kingfish and a 1- or 1-1/2-pound blue were landed. Schools of blues were found. Not much was heard about offshore fishing, but tuna were scattered in the waters.

<b>Mystic Island</b>

The store really came to life after the storm earlier in the day Saturday, said a report on <b>Scott’s Bait & Tackle</b>’s Web site. Kingfish, blowfish, weakfish and bluefish could be found in different areas from the mouth of Mullica River to the bay at the clam stakes and in front of the Fish Factory. A good showing of kingfish chomped at Little Sheepshead Creek. Sneak past the bars at the mouth of the creek, and set up a chum slick with clam. Blowfish might also bite. Small blues schooled Little Egg Inlet. Summer flounder, especially keepers, were difficult to locate in Great Bay. One angler grabbed three keeper flounder off Little Beach at the inlet earlier last week.  The best flounder fishing was 70 feet or deeper in the ocean at Atlantic City Reef. One charter was on a honey hole there that produced a limit for four anglers.

<b>Tuckerton</b>

With <b>Legal Limit Charters</b> yellowfin tuna, a bunch of “nice,” Capt. T.J. said, and a 200-pound bigeye tuna were trolled at the canyons Friday. Trips on T.J.’s other boat, sailing from Cape May, pulled in mixed bags of weakfish, blues and bottom fish from the ocean. See the report below. Charters and <a href=" http://www.legallimitcharters.com/open-boat.php" target="_blank">open-boat trips</a> are fishing.

<b>Sea Isle City</b>

George Hand on the ocean Saturday aboard toggled in 30 weakfish, none huge, said Capt. Joe Hughes from <b>Jersey Cape Guide Service</b> and <b>Sea Isle Bait & Tackle</b>. He also jigged countless blues, a great time, Joe said. Hand also fished on the boat Sunday, catching summer flounder and sea bass from the ocean reefs. On Friday evening Andrew Merritt and buddy popper-plugged striped bass to 27 inches 9 pounds and blues from the back bay. High tides at dusk, coming around every two weeks, were ideal last week for the popper fishing, a specialty aboard on both lures and flies. September is usually an excellent month for the fishing. Explosive, visual attacks on the surface. Tides will be high in the middle of the night this week, good for striper fishing under lights at bridges and docks on soft-plastic lures or Clouser Minnow flies. Cape May’s Mid-Atlantic $500,000 began this week, so news about offshore fishing for big game was hush. But Joe heard about bigeye tuna, yellowfin tuna and white marlin caught. His inshore trips for sharks, catch and release angling for catches like browns, blacktips and duskies, on spinning or fly rods, are usually wrapped up by Labor Day for the season. The sharks usually depart after a couple of cool nights, and trips aboard become busy with other fishing. Annual weekend trips will sail again this fall from Montauk, New York, for the legendary run of striped bass, blues and false albacore. The fishing’s been epic for Jersey Cape in recent years, and book now. Reserve dates for annual weekend trips to Florida in winter. The trips can fish for a large variety of catches including redfish, speckled sea trout and tarpon in the back country to king mackerel, blackfin tuna and sailfish out front. See info about both trips on Jersey Cape’s <a href="http://www.captainjoehughes.com/page4.html" target="_blank">Traveling Fisherman Charters</a> Web page. Keep up with Joe’s fishing on <a href="http://captainjoehughes.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Jersey Cape’s blog</a>.

<b>Cape May</b>

Weakfish, blues and bottom fish, mixed  bags of good catches, were flung aboard from the ocean with <b>Legal Limit Charters</b>, Capt. T.J. said. Sometimes more of one of the fish, like weaks or blues, would show up than another on a trip. These were half-day trips with families. But if anglers wanted to take a full-day trip to reach the summer flounder grounds farther away on the ocean, the fishing was very good, when conditions or winds and tides drifted the boat right. Conditions were off and on, one day good, another not. A trip on T.J.’s other boat, sailing from Tuckerton, trolled a bunch of yellowfin tuna and a 200-pound bigeye tuna at the canyons Friday. Charters and <a href=" http://www.legallimitcharters.com/open-boat.php" target="_blank">open-boat trips</a> are fishing.

A bunch of big sharks were fought inshore on a bachelor party trip Saturday with Tim Doyle from All American Landscaping’s gang on the <b>Heavy Hitter</b>, Capt. George said. John, Chris, Big Larry, Pat and another angler were also aboard, and the sharks busted through schooling bunker. Summer flounder fishing was good on the ocean, and sea bass fishing seemed somewhat to slow, but a catch could still be made. Throwback sea bass would be sorted through to collect keepers, like all season. Bluefish could be trolled off Cape May Point, and not much was heard about tuna, except a couple of reports occasionally. Tuna fishing should pick back up as weather cools and days grow shorter like usual, anglers hope. A couple of overnight tuna trips are booked aboard for September. Charters for all this fishing is available, and call if interested. Book now for fall striped bass trips.   

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