<b>Keyport</b>

Fluke fishing will begin to hunt deep water, when Capt. Frank from the <b>Vitamin Sea</b> resumes trips, he wrote in an email. He planned to travel this week, and a trip Saturday boated 17 keepers to 6 pounds aboard. Fluke weighed up to 6 on each trip recently, and good conditions equaled good fluking. When the trips begin fishing deep, bring heavy tackle for the heavier weight needed to reach bottom. Sometimes the trips will fish nearly 100-foot depths. “That is where the giants live,” he wrote. Charters are fishing, and the next open-boat trip will fluke Thursday, July 14. While he’s traveling this week, he’ll have access to email but not a cell-phone. Trips are filling quickly, and only July 14 had room that week. A Working Man’s Special Trip will fluke 4 to 9 p.m. Wednesday, July 13, if enough anglers are interested. That trip would sail with Capt. T.J. “He is as good as they come,” Frank said. Some weekend dates remain for fluke charters. Think about fall striped bass trips now. Grab the dates “so you don’t have to settle,” Frank said. Like <a href=" https://www.facebook.com/vitaminseafishing/" target="_blank">Vitamin Sea’s Facebook page</a> to see photos and up-to-date reports. “Come and get your ‘Dose of Vitamin Sea,’” Frank wrote. “It’s good for you.”

<b>Atlantic Highlands</b>

A 10-pound fluke won the pool Sunday, a great day on the water, on the <b>Fishermen</b>, a report said on the party boat’s website. The same angler also socked an 8-pound 3-ouncer on the trip. The trip slugged away at throwbacks and some hefty keepers.  One angler limited out on bucktails. On Saturday’s trip, a young angler landed his first-ever fluke and won the pool with a 6-1/2-pounder. No report was posted for Friday. On Thursday’s trip, the boat drifted well in the morning, and the anglers banged away at some quality fluke. A 7.8-pounder won the pool, and bait fished better than bucktails for a couple of days then. Anglers with rental-rods landed three and four keepers on bait. Anglers fishing bucktails struggled, and are “one tough breed!” The Fishermen is sailing for fluke 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily and for striped bass 6:30 to 11 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays and 3:30 to 9 p.m. Sundays.

For trips on the party boat <b>Atlantic Star</b>, fluke fishing Sunday was probably the best all year so far, Capt. Tom said that day. More keepers were bagged, and throwbacks gave up more action. Conditions were great for the fishing, at Reach Channel, on the morning trip. The afternoon’s trip also fished well, but some trips this year fished better. The mates did a great job of helping anglers land the day’s abundant fluke. Saturday’s trips fished Sandy Hook Bay, because wind blew too strongly to fish the channel. The morning trip gave up good action with shorts and some keepers, and the afternoon trip picked away at fluke. Friday’s fluking was tough in rough weather, turning up lots of throwbacks and not many keepers. A new batch of fluke seemed to arrive locally during the weekend. The fish looked lighter, with light spots and white bellies. Fish that look like that seemed to have been on the move across sand.  Tom hoped the good fluking holds up. Even when plenty of fluke are around, the fishing depends on conditions, so every trip can fish different. Anglers can’t go by reports. Trips fished the channel when possible, but the bay still held good-sized fluke. A 7-1/2-pounder was drilled on Saturday’s morning’s trip on the bay. The Atlantic Star is fluke fishing 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 1:30 to 6 p.m. daily.

<b>Highlands</b>

Capt. Steve from <b>Lady M Charters</b> returned from traveling, and charters and open-boat trips will resume this weekend, he said. A bunch of open fluke and Mudhole trips are slated.

<b>Neptune</b>

A banner day of fishing for sea bass, ling and a fluke was whipped Sunday with <b>Last Lady Fishing Charters</b>, and the trip returned early, Capt. Ralph said. On a trip Saturday, fluke fishing was decent, until wind came up, slowing the catches. Individual-reservation trips for fluke are sailing every Tuesday, and kids sail free on those outings, limited to one per adult host.  A few spaces remain on individual-reservation trips for cod July 13 and 27 and August 3, 17 and 31. If you wait until the last moment to book, you’re unlikely to get aboard. Charters are available daily.

<b>Belmar</b>

The year’s first offshore canyon trip sailed two Sundays ago for tilefish and sharks with <b>XTC Sportfishing</b>, Capt. Scott said. A 130-pound mako shark and a 254-pound swordfish were bagged, and a 300-pound hammerhead shark was released. A bunch of tiles were cranked in. A trip Wednesday boated a couple of striped bass and some blues from the ocean. A trip Thursday reeled up small blues, one striper and a bunch of fluke from the ocean. On Friday, a trip fought small blues and small stripers. On Saturday, a trip bagged a 35-pound striper and tackled small blues, throwback fluke and a handful of keeper fluke. On Sunday, Scott took his kids fishing, rounding up a bunch of fluke.

This past striped bass season was excellent, one of the best spring runs, for <b>Parker Pete’s Fishing Charters</b>, Capt. Pete said. Currently, fishing picked away at fluke and sea bass on the ocean. The fluke keeper ratio wasn’t great yet, but not a lot of trips got after them. A trip Friday had to fish close to shore, instead of farther out on the rubble, because of weather. Trips will home in on fluke now, and plenty of dates are available. Fluke trips will include annual On the Water Seminars that teach bucktailing for the big ones in a non-threatening environment. Dates for that will include this coming Monday and July 18 and 25. Those dates fill fast, so reserve them. Trips also include family cruises that fish and enjoy sunset. Don’t have enough anglers for a charter? Contact Parker Pete’s anyway about individual spaces 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.

The <b>Golden Eagle</b> was sailed east yesterday, the Fourth of July, trying something different, and the trip did tie into blues 1 to 3 pounds and mackerel 1 to 2 pounds, a good catch, a report on the party boat’s website said. The fish were small, but “all you wanted,” and almost all were hooked on bait, in a chum slick, while the boat was anchored. The previous day’s trip, Sunday’s, picked 2- to 5-pound blues that swam around the boat but were difficult to catch. Saturday’s trip had some good shots at 2- to 6-pound blues at the end. Blues were landed, but too few. 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. Afternoon trips recently produced lots of fluke and sea bass, throwbacks and keepers, and sometimes a few small blues. The trips are lots of fun with families or a bunch of friends, the report said.

Fishing was slow during the holiday weekend until Sunday afternoon’s trip picked some catches, an email said from the party boat <b>Miss Belmar Princess</b>. But today’s trip punched good angling for 2- to 5-pound bluefish. Numerous anglers limited out, and the blues milled along the water surface sometimes, splashing and chasing bait. “We’ll be right back at it tomorrow,” it said, and weather’s supposed to be good. 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.

<b>Brielle</b>

Great fishing for good-sized fluke was pounded this past week on the party boat <b>Jamaica II</b>, Capt. Ryan wrote in an email. Once two sea bass could be kept beginning Friday, angling was also great for mostly-big sea bass aboard. Sea bass season was closed previously. Days with showers fished especially well, because the angling turned on in overcast skies. On half-day trips, sharpies limited out on fluke 3 to 6 pounds. But inexperienced also caught well. Trips are 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.

Fluke fishing was probably the best in years on the ocean at Sea Girt and Axel Carlson reefs, said Eric from <b>The Reel Seat</b>. Six-inch Gulp grubs in chartreuse or pink shine caught them best, and nobody really targeted sea bass, because of the two sea-bass bag limit that began Friday. Sea bass season was closed previously, but sea bass swam usual summer haunts in the ocean and were mixed in on some fluke trips. Ling fishing was pretty darn good on the ocean. Ling were good-sized and included quite a few mediums to large, and Gulp mantis shrimp clocked them. Farther from shore, bluefin tuna fishing seemed really to take off. The catches were heard about from Atlantic Princess wreck, the Triple Wrecks and the Bacardi wreck. Trolled ballyhoos and spreader bars whacked them best, but some were jigged and popper-plugged. Even farther from shore, Spencer Canyon sounded like the place to be for yellowfin tuna. Fishing for them wasn’t phenomenal, but some yellowfins to 60 pounds were trolled, and ballyhoos hit them best. A few white marlin began to appear in the area.

<b>Point Pleasant Beach</b>

Good fluke fishing was pasted throughout the past week on the <b>Gambler</b> on the ocean, an email from the party boat said. Some good-sized were claimed, and John Winterberger took the lead in the monthly pool Sunday morning, the third day of the month, with a 7.3-pounder. Emily Long on the trip waxed a 6.7-pounder. No drift of the boat on the morning trip and somewhat too fast of a drift on the afternoon’s made Sunday’s fishing tougher, but fish were still caught. Some beautiful sea bass to 3 pounds were in the mix on trips, now that two sea bass per angler could be bagged beginning Friday, after sea bass season was closed previously. Sometimes red hake bit. A wreck-fishing trip Thursday night piled up a good catch, and the high hook totaled almost 20 big ling. Two other anglers combined for 32 ling to 3 pounds. Bluefishing trips Friday and Saturday nights tied into okay fishing for small blues to 2 pounds, “perfect eating size,” the email said. Fluke trips are fishing 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 2 to 6:30 p.m. daily. Trips are wreck-fishing 7:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. every Thursday for ling, cod and winter flounder, and are bluefishing during the same hours every Friday and Saturday.

Plenty of action with throwback and keeper fluke was shoveled aboard the <b>Norma-K III</b> the past two days, a report said Saturday on the party boat’s website. That was the most recent report at press time, and a few good-sized sea bass came in, too. Carl Hart from Whiting nailed an 8-pound fluke Friday, the first day of the month, taking the lead in the monthly pool. Trips have been fishing rough bottom for fluke, so bring extra tackle, because of snagging. Plenty of sinkers and plain rigs are carried aboard. Bluefishing was decent for 1- to 3-pounders Friday night aboard. The fishing took a little time “to get them going,” but then the catches were made.  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. 

<b>Seaside Heights</b>

Now that Fourth of July weekend is past, “we can get back to things at hand,” a report said on <b>The Dock Outfitters</b>’ website. Surf fishing beached a slow pick of small blues and fluke, the main targets. The surf near Barnegat Inlet fishes best for them, but beach-buggy access was closed at southern Island Beach State Park, and reaching the surf at the inlet on foot is a long walk that deters many anglers. The access is closed from Area 23 to the inlet, until nesting piping plovers’ eggs hatch. Crabbing gave up some good catches from Barnegat Bay from boats and the shore. 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>Barnegat Light</b>

A few keeper fluke and sea bass were rounded up on the <b>Miss Barnegat Light</b>, a report said on the party boat’s website. Trips are fishing for fluke and sea bass at 8 a.m. daily.

A trip fished offshore for tuna Friday night on the <b>Super Chic</b>, but the angling wasn’t so good, Capt. Ted said. Weather turned out somewhat worse than forecast, and was too windy to tilefish. The trip ended up wreck-fishing, pulling in a mess of ling and the boat’s limit of sea bass. A trip Sunday limited out on sea bass then looked for blues, trolling a few blues and mackerel at Barnegat Ridge. A trip Thursday fluke fished on the ocean, but the boat failed to drift. That’s never good for fluking, and more fluke trips are coming up soon. Ocean fluking locally wasn’t great but fair, not bad for the time of year, actually. 

<b>Mystic Island</b>

The ocean was more reliable to fish for keeper summer flounder than the bay, but some were caught in the bay, and flounder fishing generally picked up slightly, a report said on <b>Scott’s Bait & Tackle</b>’s website. The bay’s flounder fishing was like the lottery: “some win, others come up empty,” it said.  On the ocean, wrecks in 40 to 55 feet of water fished best for flounder, including wrecks north and south of Little Egg Reef, like the Moran wreck, south of the reef. Among local reefs, Garden State Reef South seemed to fish best for flounder. But a few limits of flounder were heard about from Little Egg Reef. At popular places like the reefs, mornings like 6 to 7 a.m. fished best, before boat traffic arrived. Sometimes beautiful sea bass could be mixed in at wrecks and reefs. Bring clams to fish for them. On the bay, try to fish 15 feet of water or deeper. Ledges in Little Egg Inlet were a good place to look. Some trips caught the fish behind Holgate, and some didn’t. Fishing at Grassy Channel was similar. Some spots in the mouth of Mullica River held a few flounder. A flounder rig the shop recently made, with minnows and Gulps on the hooks, landed most flounder. Sand sharks and brown sharks swam abundant at the inlet and in the bay. Browns are prohibited and must be released.

<b>Brigantine</b>

Kingfish swarmed all over the surf, a report said on <b>Riptide Bait & Tackle</b>’s website. Two anglers banked a bunch of weakfish, one after another, in the surf on a trip. The weaks weren’t big, “but enough to keep the rods in action,” it said. Bloodworms were the bait to dunk for either.

<b>Longport</b>

On the <b>Stray Cat</b>, summer flounder and sea bass, lots, including some good-sized, were plumbed from the ocean Saturday and Sunday, Capt. Mike said Sunday. More of the trips were expected to sail the next two days, Monday and today. The next open-boat trips will fish for them next Monday and Wednesday, July 11 and 13. Charters will also begin tuna fishing for yellowfins and bluefins, because the fish began pushing into local waters from farther south. The boat’s two new engines will sail to the offshore canyons in less than 3 hours for tuna.

<b>Ocean City</b>

A 14-inch sea bass won the pool the other day, said Capt. Victor from the party boat <b>Miss Ocean City</b>. Open-boat trips are fishing for summer flounder on the back bay in mornings and for sea bass and flounder on the ocean in afternoons. Six-person charters are fishing on the Captain Robbins that the company also owns.

<b>Sea Isle City</b>

Anglers aboard Sunday walloped four keeper summer flounder and a bunch of throwbacks, a good catch, on the back bay, said Capt. Joe Hughes from <b>Jersey Cape Guide Service</b> and <b>Sea Isle Bait & Tackle</b>. Two weighed 4 pounds, and on Saturday, two anglers joined one of the inshore shark trips on the boat.  They released 10, mostly duskies and two browns. Hammerheads were seen, and that fishing was good, too. Some sharks on the trips, including duskies and browns, are required to be released, and the fishing is catch-and-release anyway. On Friday, Joe fished for the sharks with sons and friends, landing eight, mostly duskies. Both the shark trips fished with conventional tackle, but Joe also fly-rods for them, when anglers want. On Thursday, three trips sailed aboard. In the morning, a family toggled in a bunch of throwback fluke on the bay. The angling was a little slow but caught some fish. In the afternoon, another group fought small bluefish on the ocean on jigs and flies. In the evening, an angler and daughter popper-plugged a striped bass and a blue on the bay. Popper-fishing for stripers on the bay, with lures or flies, is a specialty for Joe this season. High tides in evenings are ideal. Keep up with Joe’s fishing on <a href="http://captainjoehughes.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Jersey Cape’s Blog</a>.

<b>Wildwood</b>

Kingfish and weakfish were scooped from off Cape May Point, said Capt. Jim from <b>Fins & Grins Sport Fishing</b>. A few summer flounder and sea bass were bagged at ocean reefs. Trips are fishing for all of these, and Fins fishes every day. Reservations aren’t required but suggested, and telephone for availability.

<b>Cape May</b>

Two bluefin tuna were bagged, one was lost, and three mahi mahi were taken at inshore lumps Sunday on Bill Brennan’s charter on the <b>Heavy Hitter</b>, Capt. George said. The trip sailed 45 miles to reach the fishing grounds, and all the fish were trolled. Some boaters chunked the tuna, and if anglers are interested in tuna, they better fish now for them. Nobody knows how long the fish will stick around. A 4-hour charter Saturday trolled a load of bluefish at 5-Fathom Bank. Summer flounder fishing lately caught on the ocean. Telephone if interested in any of this fishing.

<b>Caveman Sportfishing</b> ran inshore, family shark trips on Delaware Bay and the ocean, no offshore tuna trips, in past days, Capt. John said. The trips fight and release brown, dusky and any sharks that bite. Lot of fun, he said. Some shark species, including browns and duskies, are required to be released. Tuna fishing would resume aboard after the Fourth of July weekend.

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