<b>Perth Amboy</b>

Lots of fluke to a 6-pounder were shoveled aboard the <b>Vitamin Sea</b> on Saturday, but only a few were keepers, Capt. Frank wrote in an e-mail. “Moon water and east wind made keepers tough to find,” he wrote. But catches of keepers will rebound over the next days. More fluke trips will sail aboard Tuesday and Wednesday. One space remains for an open-boat trip for fluke on Sunday.  Fluke season will be closed starting September 25, so go for them now. Frank and family on a trip this past Sunday loaded a 5-gallon bucket with porgies and croakers to eat, and a previous family trip also caught a bunch. That angling’s also an option on charters, if anglers want fun fishing, like with family, and tasty fish. The Vitamin Sea also fishes from Staten Island. “Get your dose of Vitamin Sea!” 

<b>Keyport</b>

Fluke fishing was slower during the weekend for unknown reasons, like maybe last week’s full moon, said Capt. Joe from <b>Papa’s Angels Charters</b>. Five keepers to a 4-pound 23-incher and plenty of throwbacks were hooked on a trip on the ocean with four anglers Friday. Two keepers and some throwbacks were reeled from the ocean Sunday on a trip with six anglers. Throwbacks didn’t even bite as much as usual on the outing. But a 6.1-pound 25-incher was one of the keepers. Open-boat trips for fluke are available 6:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. daily this week through Labor Day, when no charter is booked. Telephone to climb aboard.

<b>Atlantic Highlands</b>

Fluke were pretty tough to bag in past days, said Capt. Tom from the party boat <b>Atlantic Star</b>. Mostly shorts bit, and some keepers were landed. The angling improved on Sunday, but Tom wouldn’t call it good. Trips fished different places, and catches were about the same in all. Places included mussel beds near Ambrose Channel, and Flynn’s Knoll. Trips mostly fished shallow, not deep, because bottom was difficult to hold. But the boat fished at Ambrose on Sunday, the day the angling became somewhat better. Neither spearing provided aboard nor killies that anglers brought caught best. Bait seemed to fish no better than Spros or bucktails, and vice versa. The crew tries to help anglers with tips, and listening was key. If anglers could pay attention, they caught more. Kids will be back in school soon, and this is a last chance to take them fishing aboard. Kids caught just as much as adults, when kids could fish ways the crew suggested. The Atlantic Star is fishing for fluke 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 1:30 to 6 p.m. daily.

The trip Sunday on the party boat <b>Fishermen</b> fluke fished in little to no drift of the vessel at first, and anglers just picked away at throwbacks and some keepers, Capt. Ron wrote in a report on the vessel’s Web site. Then the trip took a ride, and Ron was glad it did. Some beautiful fluke, he said, were hung on the last couple of drifts, before the vessel started drifting too quickly. Several 4- to 6-1/2-pounders, and the 6-3/4-pound pool-winner, were squashed. Great people on the boat, Ron said, “(and) thank God we didn’t have the roll like (on Saturday),” he said. No report was posted for Saturday, but on Friday’s trip, fluking was great, because currents didn’t run strongly until the last half-hour. One angler landed seven great fluke, including the 6-3/4-pound pool-winner. Several sizeable fluke 3 to 5 pounds were axed.  The Fishermen is sailing for fluke 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily. Evening trips have been sailing for a mix of fish like porgies and croakers 6:30 to 11:30 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays and 3:30 to 9:30 p.m. Sundays. But tonight’s trip “will be striper fishing,” Ron said.

<b>Neptune</b>

Two bluefish trips sailed with <b>Last Lady Fishing Charters</b>, and the fish, 2 to 20 pounds, swarmed all over, but were difficult to catch, Capt. Ralph wrote in an e-mail. “Had to resort to trolling to put together a catch,” he said. That was after fishing with bait and jigs. “Fish are moving very fast, and haven’t settled in yet,” he said. But he expects the angling only to get better.  Individual-reservation trips are fishing for fluke every Tuesday, and kids under 12 sail free, limited to two per adult host. However, the final one, on September 24, the final day of fluke season, will be a “marathon,” Ralph said. Kids won’t sail free on that one. An individual-reservation trip for inshore wreck fishing is set for September 29, and sea bass season will be opened starting September 27. An individual-reservation trip for cod, pollock and hake is full on September 9, and space remains for another on October 7, but that’s filling fast. Don’t wait long to book. Charters are available during mornings, afternoons and nights.

<b>Belmar</b>

The <b>Katie H</b> fished usual places for bluefin tuna on Sunday, but none of the fish was caught, Capt. Mike said. A few sizeable mahi mahi to 20 pounds were decked, though. The trip fished spots including Glory Hole, Chicken Canyon and Atlantic Princess wreck, and waters looked great, “pretty,” Mike said, and were full of life, including porpoises and turtles. But bluefin catches sounded slow there for the fleet. One or two boats might’ve caught, and the fish might’ve swam farther offshore at the Triple Wrecks, 60 miles from the coast, Mike thought. The tuna had been feeding on sand eels, and a little bait, not much, was marked on the trip. At areas fished farthest from shore aboard, no bait was read. A charter is supposed to fluke fish closer to shore today.

With <b>Parker Pete’s Fishing Charters</b> on the ocean, fluke fishing was very good on Sunday, and tough on Saturday in northeast winds, just picking away, Capt. Pete said. Still, when conditions have been right, trips have had good fluking, like on Sunday. Anglers aboard steadily picked the fish that day, and by the trip’s end, many limited out. Three of the fluke weighed about 6 pounds, and the keepers were good-sized or 3 and 4 pounds. That trip fished deeper than lately, finding cleaner waters in 70 feet. Dirty waters in the shallows, because of previously rough weather, were tough for the fishing. Lots of sizeable, out-of-season sea bass were released on the outing, and trips will sail for sea bass when the season for them is opened starting September 27. Fall striped bass fishing, and blackfishing, starting November 16, when the bag limit is increased to six from the current limit of one, are coming up quickly. Parker Pete’s sails for any species available. Don’t have enough anglers for a charter? Contact Pete anyway, or <a href=" http://www.parkerpetefishing.com/" target="_blank">subscribe to Parker Pete’s e-mailed newsletter</a>, to be kept informed about individual-spaces available on charters. Look for the place to sign up on the right side of the page on the boat’s Web site.

Because of winds, the party boat <b>Golden Eagle</b> couldn’t be sailed to large bluefish today, but 3- to 5-pounders, decent catches, were swung aboard, a report on the vessel’s Web site said. Sunday’s trip had shots at 12- to 18-pounders that schooled all over the water surface in the morning. “Once they went down,” the report said, 3- to 5-pound blues were picked. Then a few more big ones were caught, when more were found.  On Saturday’s trip, bluefishing was a little slow at first, in 20-knot winds from northeast. But when winds calmed after a couple of hours, blues 10 to 18 pounds were caught. 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.

Was a busy weekend at the shop, because fluke tournaments, including the Jersey Coast Anglers Association’s, were held, Bob from <b>Fisherman’s Den</b> wrote in an e-mail. The store was a weigh-in station for the tournament, “and they had some impressive fish,” he said. The contest is held state-wide each year, and the largest checked-in at the store were Irwin Goodman’s 7-pound 15-ouncer, George Mizsack’s 5-pound 15-ouncer and Ed Buchinski’s 5-pound 10-ouncer. Other good catches of fluke, besides those from the tournament, were brought in. Chris Johnstone, Point Pleasant, kayaked a limit of the flatfish to a 7-pound 10-ouncer on the ocean off Belmar. “All in all, some very good fluke fishing,” Bob said. In Shark River, smaller fluke dominated, and snapper blues grew to a size that could be pan-fried. “Hope you all had a good summer,” Bob said, and he hopes fall is good.

<b>Brielle</b>

A trip limited out on bluefin tuna – an over and an under – and caught longfin tuna Sunday on the <b>Big Kid</b>, Capt. Ken said. The bluefins, of course, were landed closer to shore than the longfins, boated “in the deep,” Ken said, or all the way offshore, at a canyon. Fluke fishing was very good aboard the ocean this past week. Charters are running offshore a lot, and space is available this week for fluke charters. Mid-week dates are available in the near future. Charters will home-in on sea bass, when sea bass season is opened September 27, striped bass in fall, and blackfish starting November 16, when the bag limit is increased to six from the current limit of one.

From the ocean, good catches of fluke were made, mostly at Axel Carlson Reef, said Eric from <b>The Reel Seat</b>. Some came from Sea Girt Reef. On Manasquan River, fluke fishing began to taper, and lots more throwbacks were hooked than keepers. But if anglers worked for them, they could bag keepers. The river was loaded with small striped bass that could be played on usual lures like soft-plastics during mornings, evenings and nights. Stripers, mostly small, were beached from the surf from Manasquan to Deal. Bomber 15A lures or small Redfins or Mambo Minnows caught them well, and the fish fed on sand eels. On the ocean, small bluefish were boated, and good fishing for ling was looted. Farther from shore, bluefin tuna fishing was picky, but experienced anglers reeled them in, mostly on the troll, sometimes on jigs. The tuna were spread out at usual summer locations like Atlantic Princess and Lillian wrecks. Bigeye tuna bit farther out at Hudson and Toms canyons, especially at the 100 Square at the Hudson, it seemed. Nighttime fishing at the canyons gave up a yellowfin tuna here and there and a few swordfish. Lots of sharks, including makos at the canyons and threshers, browns and hammerheads at the Mudhole, swam around, if anglers wanted to pull on a big fish.

<b>Point Pleasant Beach</b>

Fishing for fluke was slow through the weekend on the party boat <b>Norma-K III</b>, Capt. Matt wrote in an e-mail. A few keepers were managed, and trips covered lots of ground. But John Bo took the lead in the monthly pool with a 10-pound 1-ouncer. This month and September are usually good for fluking, so Matt hopes the fishing picks up. On nighttime bluefishing trips, when angling appeared to start becoming good, “it backed right off again,” he said. On Friday night’s trip, lots of blues were read, but anglers picked at them slowly. The fish weighed 8- to 12-pounds, though. Bluefishing was very slow Saturday night aboard, and only a few 2-pounders bit, and a 5-pounder won the pool. On Sunday night’s trip, 2- to 4-pounders were picked, some anglers scoring well, others not so well. Matt hopes the fishing improves by the weekend.  The Norma-K III is fishing for fluke on two trips daily 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 2 to 6:30 p.m. and for bluefish 7:30 p.m. to 1 a.m. daily.

<b>Seaside Heights</b>

“Still some nice fluke (caught from the surf),” John from <b>The Dock Outfitters</b> wrote in a report on the store’s Web site. Small bluefish were mixed in, and sharks were landed steadily from shore at Island Beach State Park at night on cut bunker. In Barnegat Bay, snapper blues schooled, and croakers and kingfish were around. Blowfish held near the BB and BI markers, and fluke in the bay gathered toward Barnegat Inlet. Crabbing for customers was “hit and miss,” and finding keepers among throwbacks was the “game.” Fresh bunker, fresh clams, sandworms and a large selection of frozen baits is stocked. The Dock Outfitters, located on the bay, features an extensive supply of bait and tackle, a dock to fish and crab from, boat rentals for fishing and crabbing, and jet ski rentals.

<b>Barnegat Light</b>

For anglers on the party boat <b>Miss Barnegat Light</b>, fluke fishing was steady last week, and a few keepers came in every day, a report on the vessel’s Web site said. Plenty of fluke just under the legal size were hooked. The Miss Barnegat Light is sailing for fluke 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. daily.

Fluke fishing on the ocean was “steadily getting to a very good point,” a post on <b>Super Chic</b>’s Facebook page said. The keeper ratio varied day to day, but was fairly good. Some great fluking was socked aboard in the past week, even during bad conditions for the angling. Catches were decent Thursday through Saturday on deck. Conditions “finally (looked) in place,” the post said, for a trip Sunday, but the summer flounder didn’t bite well on the outing. “Well, I guess that’s fishing, and not catching,” the post said. But fluke are around, “(and) if you want a crack at them, before Mother Nature does something to send them packing, do it now,” it said. Weekdays are available for striped bass charters in November. Some charter dates remain in September and October for tuna and sea bass. Sea bass season will be opened on September 27.  The 56-foot boat can accommodate up to 25 anglers on inshore trips and 10 on overnight, offshore trips. The vessel sleeps 10 passengers.

<b>Mystic Island</b>

At Little Egg, Garden State South and Atlantic City reefs, summer flounder fishing held steady, Chris from <b>Scott’s Bait & Tackle</b> wrote Friday in a report, the most recent, on the shop’s Web site. But if boaters wanted to fish Little Egg Inlet for flounder, peanut bunker, preferably live, was preferred bait. Snapper blues schooled the inlet. Flounder were tugged from Tuckerton Bay at the brick pile. Blowfish gave up good catches behind Holgate. Croakers, spots and other small fish gathered off Graveling Point, at the confluence of Great Bay and Mullica River, nibbling clams and bloodworms.

<b>Brigantine</b>

Spots swam all over the surf, and sharks could be found in the waters, but not like in past weeks, a report on <b>Riptide Bait & Tackle</b>’s Web site said. Summer flounder were sometimes bagged from Absecon and Wreck inlets, but most keepers seemed to migrate to the ocean. Riptide’s annual Fall Striped Bass Derby “was approved,” the report said, and will launch on September 13. More info will be announced.

<b>Sea Isle City</b>

Fishing aboard sailed for summer flounder on the ocean, said Capt. Joe Hughes from <b>Jersey Cape Guide Service</b>, affiliated with <b>Sea Isle Bait & Tackle</b>. Some good-sized ones to 6-pounds were pumped in on large bucktails. Flounder, many of them throwbacks, also swam inlets. Croakers and weakfish schooled close to shore in the ocean. Lots of sharks, mostly browns and duskies, both required to be released, and blacktips remained in the inshore ocean. Trips aboard have been fishing for them usually within 10 miles from the coast, a chance to fight big fish without the long run offshore. The sharks are both spin-rodded and fly-rodded, and catches of them have been great aboard. That angling usually lasts until Labor Day.

<b>Avalon</b>

Weather was too rough to fish ocean reefs for summer flounder Saturday, so a trip that day headed up Delaware Bay with <b>Fins and Feathers Outfitters</b>, Capt. Jim said. Easterly winds blew up to 25 m.p.h., and even the bay was rough. But the trip caught probably a hundred fish, mostly croakers, spots and flounder, but also kingfish, brown sharks and dog sharks. The fish were mostly small, but kept anglers busy. Some of the kingfish were large, pushing 18 inches, and some of the sharks were sizeable. The northern bay toward Fortescue held most fish, and most of the fleet, including several party boats, fished there. Trips aboard will fish the ocean for flounder when possible. Fins and Feathers is also up for fishing the ocean for catches like mahi mahi and bluefin tuna, if they hold close to shore. Looking ahead, striped bass fishing aboard usually begins in late October or early November on Delaware Bay. Fins and Feathers also hunts geese and ducks on the bay when the seasons are open. Anglers can even enjoy a combo of striper fishing and waterfowl hunting over a series of days on the bay in fall. Fins and Feathers also guides salmon and steelhead fishing on upstate New York’s Salmon River from Jim’s lodge, fly fishing for trout on Pennsylvania’s streams like the Yellow Breeches, and waterfowl hunting in Pennsylvania. 

<b>Cape May</b>

Summer flounder fishing was super on the ocean on the <b>Down Deep</b>, Capt. Mario said. Trips limited out, and catch-and-release fishing for sharks like browns, required to be let go, was good aboard the ocean close to shore. Sign up for the <a href=" http://www.downdeepsportfishing.com/ddsf/76-2/" target="_blank">Short Notice List</a> on Down Deep’s Web site to be kept informed about open-boat trips. Don’t miss out: Book fall trips for striped bass and blackfish while preferred dates are available.

A trip is supposed to sail for summer flounder on the ocean today on the <b>Heavy Hitter</b>, probably at the Old Grounds, Capt. George said. The trip had been considering tuna fishing farther offshore, and seas looked rough there. Flounder fishing seemed decent on the ocean at places like the Old Grounds. George fished on a friend’s boat on a trip Sunday that trolled small bluefish off Cape May Point then catch-and-release fished for sharks on Delaware Bay. Fewer blues were around that day, but lots schooled previously. Small blues could also be trolled at 5-Fathom Bank. Anglers can also catch and release sharks like browns, required to be let go, on the ocean close to shore. The Heavy Hitter is sailing for all these fish, and telephone if interested.

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