<b>Sewaren</b>

Fluking simmered somewhat, because the bigger fish pushed to deep water from Raritan Bay’s warmth, said Rich from <b>Dockside Bait & Tackle</b>. The bigger fluke haunted Ambrose Channel. But fluke were still clutched from the bay, including at the Triangle and Old Orchard. Crabs were trapped, actually, he said. All bait is stocked, including killies, fresh bunker and clams and all the Gulps. Dockside, located on Smith Creek, a tributary of the Arthur Kill, north of Outerbridge Crossing, is accessible from land and from the water at the fuel dock.

<b>Keyport</b>

On the <b>Vitamin Sea</b>, fluke fishing was great Wednesday, Capt. Frank wrote in an email. The fishing needed to wait until current began, but then it was game on, and the anglers bagged 23. Many throwbacks 1/8 inch short were released, and they’ll be keepers by late August. Gulps were the “ticket,” but livelined peanut bunker hooked a good number. Charters are fishing, and an open-boat trip will fluke Saturday. The fishing’s good, weather looks great “(and) come on down and see if you can limit out,” he said. The next open trips will sail Tuesday through Thursday. Telephone to reserve open trips.

<b>Atlantic Highlands</b>

Fluke fishing wasn’t as good as Capt. Tom from the party boat <b>Atlantic Star</b> would like, or fewer keepers were landed than he’d like, he said. Some trips hooked more keepers than other trips did, and throwbacks gave up pretty good action, sometimes really good. Trips fished at Flynn’s Knoll and Raritan and Sandy Hook bays, and plenty of the fish swam the waters. Sometimes an angler got lucky and pulled in two or three keepers or one. Most landed no keepers, but all caught throwbacks, at least. Many of the throwbacks were an inch, ½ inch or ¼ inch short. All trips sailed, and sometimes heat advisories seemed to keep some anglers from showing up. But a good breeze blew on the water most days. Sometimes the breeze dropped off and weather felt hot a moment – no doubt, Tom said. Anglers seemed happy with the action from fluke, but he would’ve liked to have seen more keepers. The Atlantic Star is fluke fishing 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 1:30 to 6 p.m. daily.

Several anglers limited out on five fluke apiece, and big fluke were creamed today on the <b>Fishermen</b>, a report on the party boat’s website said. A few anglers bagged three or four apiece, and an 8-pound 6-ounce fluke won the pool. The catch also included another 8-pounder, several 4- and 5-pounders and plenty of throwbacks that gave up action. Yesterday’s trip hung in there, during some tough conditions, especially in the morning, when current ran fast at 2 ½ knots. But anglers tied on weight, and got it done, when the time was right. Several limited out, several bagged four and there was plenty of action around the boat. A 6.4-pounder won the pool, and several fluke weighed 4 to 5 pounds. Bait and Gulps caught best, because bucktails worked well on throwbacks. Go figure! the report said. Bait also caught best on today’s trip, but bucktails worked better today than yesterday. “Being the late boat has paid off the past several trips,” the report said. The Fishermen is sailing for fluke 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily, for striped bass 6:30 to 11 p.m. Mondays and Tuesdays and for fluke, blues, porgies and whatever can be bagged 6:30 to 11 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays. However, charters are booked this Friday night and Saturday morning, so no open-boat trips will fish then.

Porgies were bucketed from the Tin Can Grounds and from different structure in Raritan and Sandy Hook bays, including the Navy Pier, the Coast Guard dock and the rock wall toward the end of Sandy Hook, said Joe from <b>Julian’s Bait & Tackle</b>. Some good catches of fluke were boated off Sandy Hook’s nude beach two days ago. Fluke reportedly bit in Ambrose Channel. One customer had just talked about angling them there. Sizable fluke were seen at the store. Lots of small were caught, too. Navesink River was loaded with snapper blues and crabs. Snappers schooled Atlantic Highlands Harbor. One angler talked about tugging in 20 striped bass in a trip. Goes to show some stripers are around in summer. Another angler whacked a 265-pound bigeye tuna. All baits are stocked. 

Lots of fluke, lots of shorts, but also keepers were rustled up, said Tom from <b>Fisherman’s Den North</b>. Lots of action, just not a ton of keepers. All trips on the shop’s rental boats returned with keepers, fishing right off the harbor or toward the Navy Pier on Sandy Hook Bay. Fluke anglers began to hook sea robins often. A few snapper blues began to be seen in the harbor. The party boat from the docks that’s fishing for porgies at night returned with quite a few of the scup, decent catches. Trips that sailed farther from shore did-in a few bluefin tuna and a couple of bigeye tuna. They also boxed mahi mahi. The store, new this year, is located at Atlantic Highlands Municipal Marina, near the party boats, charter boats and private boats docked there. It’s the sister shop to Fisherman’s Den in Belmar. The full selection of baits like killies and frozen mackerel fillets and tackle like all the bucktails and ball jigs are stocked.

<b>Highlands</b>

Weather forced a wreck-fishing trip to fish somewhat inshore of the Mudhole on Monday with <b>Lady M Charters</b>, Lady M’s Facebook page said. But jumbo winter flounder, blackfish, ling and sea bass were picked at the first drop. When the angling slowed, the trip attempted to sail to the Hole, “but it was like being in a washing machine,” it said. The trip turned and headed north, and the anglers plucked away at ling. The trip made a final stop at a sea bass wreck, and a limit of the fish, including some sizable, was completed soon. Three spaces are left for an extended fluke trip 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. Contact Lady M about wreck-fishing at the Mudhole. 

Greg and Gary Hanna on the Annie H limited out on fluke to 5 pounds at Ambrose Channel, Marion from <b>Twin Lights Marina</b> wrote in an email. Located on Shrewsbury River near Raritan Bay and the ocean, with no bridges before them, Twin Lights includes a marina with boat slips, dry storage, a fuel dock, and a combined bait and tackle shop and ship’s store. The fuel dock is available 24 hours a day with a credit card. Baits stocked include all for offshore.

<b>Neptune</b>

 A decent catch of cod was pounded on a trip for them yesterday with <b>Last Lady Fishing Charters</b>, Capt. Ralph said. One sizable pollock came in, and some ling were added “to finish the day,” he said. The next one of the trips is full Wednesday. Two spaces are available for another on August 17, and three are left for another on August 30, originally scheduled for August 31. Last Lady is one of the few, if not the only, boats that sails for cod in summer from the state. Fish for cod in shorts! On the weekly individual-reservation trip for fluke Tuesday, a friend called Ralph in to a bite that bailed out the day with a decent catch. The trips are fishing every Tuesday, and kids under 12 sail free on the outings, limited to one per adult host. Charters are available daily.

<b>Belmar</b>

Ocean fluke fishing was contingent upon conditions, but lots of the fish swam the water, said Capt. Pete from <b>Parker Pete’s Fishing Charters</b>. The angling was decent Tuesday aboard. On Wednesday morning, conditions failed to drift the boat well for the angling. In the afternoon, the anglers picked away at the fish. Trips include On the Water Seminars that teach bucktailing for big fluke. The next of those will sail Wednesday and August 8 and 15, and more will be added.  Parker Pete’s will compete in a fluke tournament this weekend, and won second place in last weekend’s Point Pleasant Elks fluke tourney with a 9-pound 4-ouncer, covered in the last report here. Don’t have enough anglers for a charter? Contact Parker Pete’s anyway about individual spaces available on charters. Sign up for the email blast on <a href=" http://www.parkerpetefishing.com/" target="_blank">Parker Pete’s website</a> to be kept informed about the spaces. Spaces are also posted on a calendar on the site.

Bluefishing was slow today and yesterday on the ocean on the <b>Miss Belmar Princess</b>, an email from the party boat said. But the trips salvaged the days with good action on fluke and some good-sized sea bass today and good fluking yesterday. For blues, for instance, some were seen along the water surface north of Shark River Inlet on today’s trip, but only one, a 3-pounder, was jigged. But the Brooklyn from Sheepshead Bay jigged jumbo blues throughout today farther north, so tomorrow’s trip will check that out on the Miss Belmar Princess. The Miss Belmar Princess is fishing 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily.  Family fishing and sunset cruises are sailing 4:30 to 8:30 p.m. every Friday through Sunday.

Mahi mahi, some small blues and some mackerel, good fishing, was clobbered today on the <b>Golden Eagle</b>, a report on the party boat’s website said. That was on hammered jigs, teasers and bait, and yesterday’s trip tied into good mackerel fishing and a few small blues on the same tackle. Lots of sharks swam around, and quite a few were fought on the trip, too.  The Golden Eagle is fishing 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily. Afternoon fishing and sunset cruise trips are sailing 4:30 to 8:30 Fridays through Saturdays, reservations required.

<b>Brielle</b>

An 11-pound 6-ounce fluke was crushed Wednesday on the <b>Jamaica II</b>, an email from the party boat said. “Now that’s a doormat,” the email said, and the angler, Becky Marple from Manchester, took the lead in the monthly pool with the catch. The pool not only awards the cash but also a whopping free year of fishing aboard. The fluke was also the biggest this year on the boat. Fluking, on the ocean, was good on most trips, when conditions were “reasonable.” When the boat drifts slowly, bucktails catch best. When the drift is just right, “everybody catches.” Customers and their catches also included Karla Weems from Bristol and Effingham Smith from Princeton, who both limited out on fluke and sea bass. Weems’s fluke weighed up to 6 pounds, and Smith’s weighed up to 5. The Jamaica II is sailing for fluke and sea bass 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 2 to 6:30 p.m. every Tuesday through Sunday and 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. every Monday.

<b>Point Pleasant Beach</b>

<b>Mushin Sportfishing</b>, sailing from Cape May for tuna and big game this month, ran to a southern canyon offshore Sunday, Capt. Alan wrote in an email. The boat was the only at the canyon, and plenty of bait swam the clean, green water. Pilot whales breached, and skipjacks were seen along the water surface. The trip began trolling for bigeye tuna, and at first, “connected with a few smaller tunas,” he wrote. A 200-pound bigeye was hooked at 7:30 p.m. and landed. Another was hooked at 9:30 p.m. on the troll but got off quickly. The trip ran to inshore lumps to try for yellowfin tuna, “but no love,” he said. A handful of mahi mahi were also caught on the outing.

Porgies began to be booted aboard the party boat <b>Dauntless</b>, and the catch of them yesterday was pretty good, and the day before was slow, Capt. Butch said. Sea bass, ling, winter flounder and a few cod, a variety, were also swung in on trips. On yesterday’s trip, some anglers winged from 10 porgies to maybe some limits of 50. Some anglers might’ve limited. On the trip, some limits of sea bass and flounder were made, and a couple of cod were socked. Trips fished for porgies and sea bass shallow in 30-foot depths to 80-foot. Yesterday’s trip fished for ling and cod in 140 feet. The ocean was 67 or 68 degrees on the fishing grounds. Friday’s and Saturday’s nighttime trips brought in a few ling and some flounder, sea bass and small blues, and a couple of cod. Probably six or seven blues per trip were caught. The Dauntless is bottom-fishing 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. daily. The night trips are running 7:30 to 12:30 every Friday and Saturday.

<b>Toms River</b>

The ocean’s fluke fishing was good, said Virginia from <b>Murphy’s Hook House</b>. Lots of the fish were boated during the weekend’s Point Pleasant Elks fluke tournament. She competed, and most entrants fished north, and fluking was better there than to the south. Sea Girt Reef fished better than Axel Carlson Reef, for example. She competed with six anglers aboard, and they sailed even farther north to off Elberon. They caught well, placing ninth among 192 boats with a 7-pound 4-ounce fluke. A 10-pound 6-ouncer came in first place. Her competing in the tournament placed 11th last year and ninth the previous year. She and her anglers fish strictly mussel beds and rubble. This year she and crew fished jigs like Spros and others, except one of the anglers fished bait. The jigs were fished with a teaser 14 inches above, with a 6-inch Gulp swimming grub with a big tail. Most of the fish bit the teaser, baited with squid or a fluke-belly strip. A customer’s trip recently boated seven keeper fluke to 6 pounds a mile north of Manasquan Inlet in 40 feet on the ocean, just dragging bait: squid and killies. So that was pretty good. In back waters, good fluking was axed on Manasquan River east or downstream of the Railroad Bridge. Lots of fluke hovered there, and farther south, good fluking was beaned in Barnegat Bay toward the BI and BB markers. Blowfish were plucked toward the BI and BB, but not a lot. Boaters needed to chum, and they’d catch okay. Sometimes fluke bit in the surf. Sharks hit in the surf at night. Back on the ocean, ling fishing was better than before, sea bassing was good and porgies were picked, but trips needed to fish off Sandy Hook, farther north, for porgies.  Crabbing was good and was steady, solid, in past months. Murphy’s, located on Route 37, also owns <b>Go Fish Bait & Tackle</b> on Fischer Boulevard in Toms River.   

<b>Seaside Heights</b>

The surf sometimes tossed up fluke and kingfish, a report said on <b>The Dock Outfitters</b>’ website. Large rays grabbed hooks at times, making surf-fishing interesting. Sharks were fought from the beach at night. On Barnegat Bay, crabbing was steady, and customers crab from the dock and from the shop’s rental boats. “Still not a lot of snappers or blowfish to talk about in our area,” the report said. The Dock Outfitters, located on Barnegat Bay, blocks from the ocean surf, features a bait and tackle shop, a café, a dock for fishing and crabbing, boat rentals and jet-ski rentals.

<b>Forked River</b>

Double Creek Channel, south of the 40 buoy at Oyster Creek Channel and the Intracoastal Waterway off Waretown’s Key Harbor Marina gave up fluke from Barnegat Bay, said Brian from <b>Grizz’s Forked River Bait & Tackle</b>. Fluking on the ocean was pretty good at Axel Carlson Reef during the weekend. An angler talked about boating fluke on the ocean in 60 feet of water south of the bathing beach at Island Beach State Park. No blowfish were reported from the bay. Snapper blues sometimes began to be hooked from back waters. Crabbing was good. Baits stocked include killies and frozen local spearing, Canadian spearing, sand eels, Peruvian smelts and two-packs of mackerel. Fresh spearing were yet to be available this season. The baitfish were yet to grow large enough for the supplier to catch. Offshore baits are on hand including flats of sardines, butterfish and mackerel and rigged ballyhoos.

<b>Barnegat Light</b>

Some keeper fluke and sea bass were sacked from the ocean today on the <b>Miss Barnegat Light</b>, the party boat’s Facebook page said. A good-sized fluke just under 5 pounds won the pool “once again,” it said. Lots of action kept anglers busy, and fishing was similar aboard in previous days. More of the fluke were throwbacks than the crew would like, but they kept anglers busy.  The Miss Barnegat Light is fishing for fluke and sea bass at 8 a.m. daily.

Barnegat Bay’s fluke fishing was tremendous, said Rob from <b>Van’s Boat Rentals</b>. They bit at the same places as before, including right off the shop, around the Dike and at High Bar Harbor. Bigger fluke were boated on the ocean, like off the Governor’s mansion on Island Beach State Park. Pretty much fluke were all the fish heard about from the bay. One angler bought six chum logs to blowfish on the bay, returned and reported catching none. Anglers waited for snapper blues to be seen to be caught. The blues grow big enough to be hooked and reeled in as summer goes on. Crabbing was picking up, definitely. Van’s rents boats from 9 h.p. to 50 h.p. for fishing, crabbing and pleasure. Kayaks are rented, and facilities include a bait and tackle shop and a marina with slips, gas and full boat servicing.

Many fluke were seen from Barnegat Bay, but the angling was slower recently than before, said Alex from <b>Bobbie’s Boat Rentals</b> The fish mostly swam deeper, and fewer bit in shallower water like at High Bar Harbor than previously. Not much was reported about other fish from the bay. Some anglers said they scored well on fluke on the ocean, or at least caught better than before there. Nothing was heard about fish like bonito at Barnegat Ridge yet this season. Crabbing was slow, but clamming was great. Bobbie’s features a complete bait and tackle shop, a fuel dock and boat and kayak rentals. The boats are used for fishing, crabbing, clamming and pleasure. The store is known for bait supply, including live bait in season. Minnows are stocked, and live grass shrimp are available when ordered ahead.

<b>Mystic Island</b>

Local summer flounder fishing wasn’t so good in the bay, but was better around Absecon Bay to the south, said Chris from <b>Scott’s Bait & Tackle</b>. On the ocean, flounder fishing was best to the south. At local wrecks and reefs in the ocean, fishing for them wasn’t so good. But sea bass and blackfish bit at those local pieces. The bag limit is only two sea bass and one blackfish, but that’s better than nothing. A million small fish swam the local bay, like baby sea bass, and sea robins. If anglers wanted to keep kids catching, they could chum for them off the Fish Factory and at the mouth of Mullica River toward Graveling Point. A couple of customers sailed for bigeye tuna to Lindenkohl Canyon but caught only mahi mahi and blueline tilefish. But yellowfin tuna blitzed at Massey’s Canyon. The fishing at Massey’s had slowed because water had cooled from upwelling. But the angling came back on recently, because water warmed back up. Bluefin tuna had been more abundant than yellowfins at Massey’s earlier this season. The best bluefin fishing now seemed to the north, like at the Chicken Canyon. Crabbing was pretty good, and the small fish were the only problem. They picked at crabbing bait, so three or four bunker per trap were needed for an evening or a day for bait. Baits stocked include plenty of minnows. Fresh, shucked clams are on hand. No live grass shrimp are carried, because the heat kills them. Fresh bunker probably won’t be stocked this weekend.

<b>Absecon</b>

“It’s the year of the flounder,” said Capt. Dave from <b>Absecon Bay Sportsman Center</b>. “That’s pretty much the report.” Locally, summer flounder were mostly hooked in the back bay, not the ocean. A beautiful body of the fish swam from off the tips of surf jetties to a couple of miles back in the bay. They gave up the best mid-season fishing he’s ever seen, basically. Flounder catches began at ocean reefs, but upwelling from southerly wind chilled the ocean bottom substantially. Sometimes the cool water even entered the bay. Dave saw 67-degree water there on a flounder trip he guided Monday, with one angler, who bagged four. The cool water slowed ocean flounder fishing, but flounder surely held there, and if the wind direction and upwelling changes, flounder fishing should be good on the ocean this weekend. The water is extremely clear. Back in the bay, many flounder were throwbacks, and many were 16 inches to just under the 18-inch legal minimum size, “should be keepers,” he said. But a good number were also keepers, and Dave never before saw so many larger than 5 pounds. Any trip fishing a good tide was likely to bag a 5- to 7-pounder per boat, and a few of the fish were larger. A 9-pounder was the biggest weighed-in this week. Many good anglers or pairs limited out. Party boats fishing the bay, pontoon boats, scored lots of flounder, double-digits of keepers in a trip, triple digits of throwbacks. Fewer weakfish were heard about from the bay than before, maybe because of the cold-water upwelling. More will be reeled in when the upwelling ends, Dave thinks. Anglers caught striped bass at night from the bay or back waters, buying eels for bait. They also bought live spots that are stocked. Many also bought the spots for tuna fishing that was good.  Spots were sort of the secret for tuna, and live bait can make a difference. Dave just filled the tanks with peanut bunker stocked live. Minnows that are carried are as big and as abundant as ever. The bay’s been full of bait, probably the reason so many flounder swam the water. He saw peanuts, spearing and a few mullet this morning in the water. A few shedder crabs began to be available again at the store, and the supply will probably increase as the moon phase changes. The moon affects shedding, and a handful of soft-shell crabs for eating are on hand. If someone wants soft-shells, they’re probably available, and telephone to confirm. The shop raises the crabs.

<b>Brigantine</b>

Kingfish swam all over the surf, and sharks stalked the water, said Capt. Andy from <b>Riptide Bait & Tackle</b>. A couple of striped bass were hauled from the water, surprising for summer. Ed Panebianco eased in one, an 18-pounder. Funny story: He tried for a striper from the beach in spring, and never even banked a throwback then. Recently, he cast a fluke rig into the surf, baited with squid and minnow, walked back to the truck, then saw the rod bend over. He thought a big ray or something grabbed the bait, but the sizable striper did. Plus, a photo was shared on Riptide’s Facebook page today that showed a 35-inch striper beached from Brigantine’s north end yesterday. A 37-incher was dragged from the town’s surf on July 7, a photo on the Facebook page showed then. You never know, Andy said. A few resident stripers swim the water in summer, apparently including keepers. Summer flounder fishing lit up at Absecon Inlet. The fish had seemed to be migrating to the ocean from the bay. The upwelling from south wind cooled the ocean, and Andy figured the flounder met the cold and ended up not moving to the ocean yet. The Riptide Summer Fishing Tournament is underway for kingfish, blues and summer flounder. A 15-ounce king and an 11- or 12-pound blue, Andy thought, were entered so far. Entry is $10 per species, and all the cash is awarded. Anglers can enter one, two or all three categories.

<b>Atlantic City</b>

Fishing on foot, anglers banked kingfish, croakers, summer flounder, blackfish and triggerfish at the jetties lining Absecon Inlet, said Jeremy from <b>One Stop Bait & Tackle</b>. They fished bloodworms, clams, minnows and, for the blackfish, green crabs. All those baits and more, the full supply, are stocked. Bloodworms are on special for two dozen for $20. A 7.1-pound 26-1/2-inch flounder was in the lead in the month-long flounder tournament through August 15 from One Stop and Ducktown Tavern. All proceeds will be donated to the Valerie Fund, and first place will be a large flatscreen TV and a $150 Fluke Candy Tackle Box. Second will be a rod-and-reel combo. All entrants will receive a Fluke Candy Rig. Check this out: the store recently installed a bait machine outside that from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. is currently selling bloodworms, nightcrawlers, green nightcrawlers, green crabs, clams, spearing, scented squid, whole squid, tube squid, three-packs of mullet, filleted mullet, herring and more. Plus, more baits will be added. The special on bloodworms, mentioned above, is only available inside the shop, when the store is open.

<b>Egg Harbor Township</b>

Not much was heard about summer flounder from the bay, said Collin from <b>24-7 Bait & Tackle</b>. Anglers seemed to give up on the fish mostly, and boating for flounder on the ocean wasn’t heard about either, really. Most customers who boated headed for tuna. Massey’s Canyon seemed most popular for tuna, like before, but a couple of “things” were reported about Wilmington Canyon, nothing crazy. Shark fishing was okay in the surf. Water temperature dropped, so fishing wasn’t so good. Crabbing was alright, and the shop’s rental boats, docked on Patcong Creek, running past the shop, are available for crabbing and fishing. Patcong can be one of the best places for crabbing. Minnows are half-price throughout the fishing season: $3 for a half-pint, $6 for a pint and $12 for a quart.  Nearly all inshore baits are stocked. No fresh bunker are on hand. All offshore baits like butterfish, sardines and ballyhoos are in. <b>The company also owns 24-7 Bait & Tackle in Marmora</b>.

<b>Margate</b>

A ton of summer flounder filled the back bay, and trips kept catching a bunch, said Capt. John from the party boat <b>Keeper</b>. Not a ton were keepers, but big were decked here and there. Many flounder bagged were 3-pounders, and minnows hooked flounder especially well. Mackerel also connected, and minnows and mackerel are provided aboard. Gulps that anglers brought had been working well, but baby sea bass now bit off the tails. So anglers usually fished the other baits. Sea robins bit sometimes. Lots of baitfish schooled the bay, including peanut bunker. John castnetted peanuts one day to keep in the livewell for bait. He was going to try again today, but peanuts have been slightly small to liveline for bait. As soon as they’re big enough, he’ll keep them aboard. That’s great bait and could clock bigger flounder. The Keeper is fishing for summer flounder 8 a.m. to 12 noon and 1 to 5 p.m. daily. The trips are only $30 for adults, $25 for seniors and $20 for kids, because fishing is near port, and the pontoon boat is economical on fuel. Rental rods are free.

<b>Longport</b>

Steady sea bassing was clubbed from the ocean on the <b>Stray Cat</b>, Capt. Mike said. A few fluke were slapped aboard yesterday. Buckets of ling are swimming the waters, and ling are popular in the northern state, not so much in the southern, locally. A tuna trip will fish Sunday. Not a lot happened with tuna, and Mike will see where the trip will head. A couple of bigeye tuna were taken. Open-boat trips are finished until September aboard, and only charters are sailing currently. Open trips will probably fish three days a week in fall.

<b>Ocean City</b>

A steady pick of summer flounder was tapped from the back bay, said Pat from <b>Fin-Atics</b>. Few keepers are usually found in the bay by now in summer, but trips bagged two to three currently, among throwbacks. Striped bass were played in the bay at night on soft-plastic lures. Ocean flounder fishing at Ocean City and Great Egg reefs was quiet or nobody really lit up the fish there. In the surf, kingfishing was okay, and the kings weren’t so big. Huge skates roamed the surf. A few sharks, no numbers, were wrestled from the surf. For tuna, more boaters seemed to sail farther offshore than before to canyons on the Continental Shelf. Inshore fishing for tuna at Massey’s Canyon slowed compared with previously. 

<b>Sea Isle City</b>

Fishing was moving along pretty well, said Mike from <b>Sea Isle Bait & Tackle</b>. Quite a few more summer flounder bit in the back bay than before, actually. The number of keepers didn’t really change, but the number of flounder caught bumped up. “So that’s been nice,” he said, and there was action, anglers weren’t bored. More flounder were reported boated from the ocean than before, too. Again, the number of keepers was about the same as previously, but the action kept anglers interested. One angler popper-plugged a 26-inch striped bass in the bay this morning, and another striper followed the hooked fish. In the surf, kingfish gave up good angling. Surf fishing for brown and dusky sharks, both required to be released, was great at dusk and night. Tuna were still boated from the south, not necessarily all at Massey’s Canyon that’s been popular. The tuna could also come from other places and lumps in the area, like 19-Fathom Lump. More of the tuna were yellowfins than bluefins this week, he would say. Most of the tuna seemed caught on the chunk, but some were trolled. Crabbing was excellent. All baits are stocked.

The Dan Gibbons family sharked inshore Monday aboard, releasing nine duskies, spinners and browns, said Capt. Joe Hughes from <b>Jersey Cape Guide Service</b>, affiliated with <b>Sea Isle Bait & Tackle</b>. Mike Clark’s family jumped on one of the shark trips Wednesday, but no wind blew, and the boat failed to drift. One dusky, 100 pounds, was released. The trips, catch-and-release, usually within 10 miles from shore, are a chance to pull on big fish, without the long trek offshore. Some of the species, including duskies and browns, are required to be released. These trips fished with conventional tackle and mackerel fillets, but Jersey Cape also fly-rods for the sharks, with chum flies. On Tuesday, Sean Macklin’s family fished the back bay, landing more than 30 summer flounder. All were throwbacks, and many were nearly keeper-sized. For catching, the angling was non-stop, as good as it gets. High tides at dusk on the bay, happening every two weeks, will occur next week. That’s ideal for popper-plug and -fly fishing for striped bass there that Jersey Cape specializes in during summer. Joe will fish for them, and the previous two trips nailed seven and nine, respectively, covered in previous reports here. The angling was surprisingly good. Keep up with Joe’s fishing on <a href="http://captainjoehughes.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Jersey Cape’s Blog</a>.

<b>Wildwood</b>

A couple of good-sized summer flounder were seen from the bay this week, but the heat seemed to slow the angling the past couple of days, said Mike from <b>Canal Side Boat Rentals</b>. No weakfish were seen in a couple of days. Weather was just so hot. Crabbing was pretty good. “I can’t complain at all,” he said about the blueclaws. At nighttime, striped bass were reeled from the bay. A buddy plugged a 30-incher this week. Another plugged three stripers behind Avalon during the week. Not a lot might’ve been heard about the striper fishing locally, but few anglers probably tried for them. Canal Side rents boats for fishing, crabbing and pleasure and kayaks. <b>***<i>Get a $5 discount</i>***</b> on a rental boat if you mention Fishing Reports Now. A large supply of bait and tackle is carried. Crabs for eating are sold, and the price changes according to market price. No. 2s were currently on special for $35 for two dozen live or cooked. No. 1s were currently $32 per dozen live, $34 per dozen pre-cooked and $36 per dozen cooked-to-order. The pre-cooked are refrigerated, and Mike prefers crabs cold. Someone wanted to buy the cold pre-cooked and re-cook them at home. But Mike insisted that ruins the flavor, and the customer would be better off getting the cooked-to-order, and that was only a couple of dollars more. Someone else was from the Maryland area and said how much she likes Maryland crabs. Maryland crabs are larger, granted, Mike said, but this is New Jersey, and the store carries local crabs from the state, when available, and Jersey crabs taste better, because they come from saltwater, and Maryland crabs come from brackish. Shrimp are sold for $12.95 fresh and $14.95 cooked. Local clams are sold, and so are oysters from Cape May. Customers enjoy all of this food at picnic tables with tents on the water at the shop. Or they take out the food and enjoy.

<b>Cape May</b>

Capt. George from the <b>Heavy Hitter</b> was supposed to fish for tuna inshore on a friend’s boat today, he said before the trip. The tuna were still caught, and a trip on the Heavy Hitter might tilefish at offshore canyons Sunday. Anglers wanted to tilefish, and weather looks good that day. A bottom-fishing trip is slated for Saturday on the Heavy Hitter. Catches on that outing could include kingfish that are schooling off Cape May Point. Small weakfish also swam there, and the trip could also drop for triggerfish at ocean wrecks. Sea bass fishing is an option, too.

Summer flounder fishing on the ocean was slow but occasionally good on a day, said Capt. Paul from the party boat <b>Porgy IV</b>. Weather was terrific but the boat infrequently drifted. A good drift matters for flounder fishing, and Monday fished decent for the flounder aboard, and the boat drifted well that day. Les Lawler from Morton, Pa., limited out on flounder to a 5-1/2-pounder, winning the pool, on the trip. Jerry Levin from Cape May Court House on Tuesday won the pool with a 5-pounder. Joe Bickderdyke from Vineland on Sunday won the pool with a 6-pounder. On Saturday, Tony Bianco from Lansdowne, Pa., bagged three fluke to a 5-pounder. Some flounder are around, Paul thinks, but without a drift, finding them can be difficult.  But the boat is sailing for them. The Porgy IV is fishing for summer flounder at 8 a.m. daily.

A couple of reports about good summer catches rolled in from the Old Grounds in the ocean the past couple of days, and the fishing picked up there, said Joe from <b>Hands Too Bait & Tackle</b>. Some were canned at Wildwood Reef on the ocean. Flounder were pumped in from Delaware Bay toward Miah Maul. Keeper flounder were still bagged, picked, from the back bay. Kingfish were boated from Delaware Bay, and nobody mentioned targeting them. Flounder anglers hooked them as by-catch, but the kings could probably be targeted. They swam including off Cape May Point. Surf anglers at the point beached kings, some croakers that showed up and small blues. Fish like that could be boated off the point. Anglers could take kids to Delaware Bay’s shore in town to have fun with kings, croakers, small sea bass, sometimes a small flounder. Triggerfishing had been good at surf jetties, but none was heard about lately. None was mentioned from ocean wrecks lately either. Bait was stolen at the wrecks, maybe by triggers, so maybe anglers needed to fish smaller hooks for triggers there. Sheepshead hovered along structure like bridges. Yellowfin tuna, good-sized, were drilled at Massey’s Canyon. The fishing could be off the hook. Most were chunked, and some were jigged. Little was reported about tuna fishing farther from shore, probably because most anglers concentrated on the tuna inshore like at Massey’s. Crabbing was fantastic.    

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