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<b>Brooklyn</b>

The <b>Big M Express</b> left port on an open-boat fluke trip yesterday and fished several areas of rough bottom to the south, the report on the boat’s web site said. Fluking was tough, and mostly shorts were scraped up, but “Bucktail Bob” grabbed two keepers that weighed 3 and 4 pounds, and sea bass were at least hitting and picked up the slack for fluke. Open-boat trips run every day when no charter is booked.

<b>Staten Island</b>

A charter bottom fished with <b>Outcast Charters</b> and limited out on sea bass 5 or 6 miles offshore Saturday, Capt. Joe said. A couple of ling were also pulled up, and a few out-of-season blackfish and winter flounder were released. The trip also pushed closer to the beach and fluke fished a little, bagging three keepers to 5 pounds a couple of miles off. Sea bass charters will continue to sail, and fluke charters are also running, and striper fishing is also available, and stripers were biting at the Shrewsbury Rocks on bunker. Weakfishing will be on tap when weaks turn on. A few weaks were reeled in from the bay, but the fishing was nothing much yet. Anglers were swimming live peanut bunker for the weaks. Eventually Outcast will concentrate on blackfish, one of the boat’s focuses, when the season opens.

<b>Kayla Rose Charters</b> was scoring well on fluke in the bay and ocean, depending on the weather, Capt. Darrin said. When the weather was rough, trips fished the bay. A lot of the fluking was being done along the Jersey beaches and off Rockaway, and sometimes trips were also sea bassing, but sea bassing was only okay. But porgy fishing was picking up, and Kayla Rose will run combo porgy and weakfish charters soon. Darrin’s friends were starting to land a few weaks. On offshore trips Kayla Rose was about to start offering mid-shore bluefin tuna and mahi mahi fishing, and a couple of shark charters remained to sail this season. Nothing much was being heard about canyon tuna, so canyon charters weren’t sailing yet.

A bunch of slammer blues were fought Monday in Great Kills Harbor with <b>Frenzy Fishing Charters</b> on rubber shads and live bunker, Capt. Tommy Verderosa said. Lots of bait filled the harbor, and the weather was nasty with rainstorms. Fluke fishing was picking up for Frenzy, and the flattie fishing seemed up and down this season. Frenzy targets trophy fluke in deep water for the best chances of finding a doormat, and big ones are a specialty. Tommy’s placed in at least six fluke tournaments in the past few years, including winning second prize in the recent Jim Ryan Tournament. He experiments and innovates different types of tackle and methods to pick up flatties. Frenzy can also always find small stripers, lots of fun on light tackle or fly rods. Fly rodding is particularly a specialty, even if charters just want to learn how to score with saltwater fly rodding. Charters land stripers, blues, weakfish and even fluke on fly rods. Tommy fishes places like the Bogs, a marshy area on Staten Island that he’s able to target because his boat has a shallow draft, when looking for such light-tackle or fly fishing. Stripers can be found there and other places all year, and weakies should arrive for similar fishing soon. A few friends were finding weaks already. Bigger stripers were also still around, and a trip last Thursday was catching small blues around the Verrazano Bridge when big stripers came up and tried to eat them. Tommy’s also looking forward to false albacore showing up in August, and those fish put up a screaming run for Frenzy’s spinning and fly rod customers.

Fluke fishing was holding up well, and lots of 5- and 6-pounders were hooked, and Danny Scotty weighed in an 11-pounder, and Walter Fisher checked in a 9-pounder, said Vinny from <b>Michael’s Bait & Tackle</b>. Fluke season’s been pretty good. Snapper blues and porgies were showing up in Great Kills Harbor, and no schools of weakfish, the ones that are wormed in summer, arrived in any numbers. Staten Island surf casters landed snapper blues and a few fluke. Decent-sized stripers seemed to be caught at times at the Shrewsbury Rocks in the ocean. Sharking was alright a few weeks ago but seemed to drop off, and tuna fishing was yet to really start.

<b>Laurence Harbor</b>

Fluke were hitting along the ocean beaches, though fewer keepers seemed to hold the bottom than before, and the legal-sized flatties seemed to be getting thinned out, but the bay was holding more for the cooler, though shorts still had to be picked through, said Capt. Kyle from <b>Evening Tide Charters</b>. Some especially good news was that more and more weakfish were appearing, and Kyle’s been waiting for them and loves targeting them with light, 10-pound tackle and jigs, one of his favorite trips besides striper fishing. His charters will target the weaks as well as fluke when enough weaks turn on. Peanut bunker were starting to show up, and Kyle loves them for fluke and weakfish bait, scooping them up with the castnet and keeping them on hand for charters when possible.

<b>Keyport</b>

Joe Fontana and friends fished the back bay with <b>Papa’s Angels Charters</b> today and reeled in six fluke including three keepers on killies and squid, Capt. Joe said. The bay was flat as a pancake with no winds, and blues were seen swimming around. Papa’s Angels is available Sunday either for a charter or open-boat trip for fluke. Open-boat trips are also sailing 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. daily and 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Wednesday when no charter is booked, and call to reserve the open trips.

A charter was weathered out Monday on the <b>Lucky Carm</b>, so the crew jumped aboard the party boat Atlantic Star, Capt. Carmine said. Carmine did no fishing, but the boat’s mate bagged two keepers and released a short in pouring rain. A charter will sail tomorrow, but the Lucky Carm is available Saturday and Sunday either for charters or open-boat trips. Open-boat trips are also taking place 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. every day with a minimum of three anglers when no charter is booked, and call to reserve. Charters are also available at that time, and evening charters are available 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. or 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., and custom times in the evenings are also available. Basically the hours of charters and open trips are flexible if necessary.  

<b>Atlantic Highlands</b>

Fluke were hooked one day in the bay and ocean and not the next, and the fishing depended on conditions, but that’s fluking, said Jimmy from <b>Julian’s Bait & Tackle</b>. He fished the river the other night and wormed quite a few weakfish and blues. Plenty of small blues were swimming everywhere, and striped bass fishing was decent at the Shrewsbury Rocks in the ocean. Bottom fishers pulled up porgies and sea bass, and they were probably also hooking ling like along the edge of the Mudhole. Killies, worms, fresh clams, squid, frozen baits and a full supply of baits was stocked.

Good-sized fluke and actually more keepers than shorts were hooked on the <b>Fishermen</b> along the channels and such areas the past couple of days, but it all depended on conditions or whether winds and tides combined to create the right drifts, Capt. Ron said. Despite the decent-sized flatties, conditions were tough with winds against tides, hampering the bite, and Ron was forced to power drift a lot. If weakfish show up this season, the boat will also sail for them. On the Fishermen’s afternoon trips bluefishing was very good, and the “blight” that the blues were on was starting to pass. Sunday’s bluefish trip brought a heck of a bonus: almost 30 striped bass 20 pounds or larger, including a 38-pounder, a couple of 36-pounders and a couple of 35-pounders. Amazing to catch those fish when it was almost August. The Fishermen is fishing for fluke 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily, and afternoon bluefishing trips are running 3:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Fridays through Sundays.

The <b>Atlantic Star</b> sailed for fluke Monday morning despite pouring rain, winds and a roll on the bay, and people showed up to fish, so the trip took place, Capt. Tom said. The boat fished usual spots like Reach Channel and off the Coast Guard Station, and anglers found the bottom tough to hold, and a few keepers were landed, but it was difficult. The afternoon trip never left the dock, and Tuesday morning’s trip also fished the typical spots, but the fishing wasn’t good. But the afternoon’s trip was fair, and one patron bagged five keepers, and some took one or two, and some landed none, but shorts gave up action. It was a pretty decent pick and almost seemed like earlier in the season and gave reason for hope. Wednesday morning produced no drift, but the fishing was better than many trips recently, even if Tom wouldn’t call it good fishing. On Wednesday afternoon conditions created good drifts, and the boat fished the same spots as on the previous afternoon’s decent fishing, and the bite this time was tough. That’s part of the reason it’s been difficult to say when the best fishing is taking place: conditions can create a good drift but yet the fish might refuse to bite, and vice versa. The fish are there, and plenty are carpeting the bay, but they won’t always bite, for whatever reasons, and predicting the best fishing is impossible. A few flatties were biting at each spot the boat fished, so the fish were spread throughout the area. No fish-finder can read fluke, so fluke fishers target the areas that historically produced catches. Not even many sea robins were biting, and some places gave up skates. Fluke fishing can go through lulls and then can very well turn back on again. During some years July brings a lull, and on other years July is good, and sometimes there might be a lull and then fluking kicks in during August, and vice versa, and so on. Tom’s been doing this fishing 30 years, and the one thing he knows is that there’s no predicting, because it’s nature, and nobody understands the reasons the action comes and goes. Not one weakfish was landed on the boat so far this season, but weaks should start turning up, and sometimes the best weakfishing only begins toward the end of August. The boat will likely target weaks once fluke season ends after September 10. The Atlantic Star is sailing for fluke on two trips daily from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. to 6 p.m.

<b>Highlands</b>

<b>Fisher Price Charters</b> targeted fluke on a couple of trips in the Shrewsbury and Navesink rivers and pulled up very good catches of flatties to 4 pounds, Capt. Derek said. Even more interesting, a trip sailed for weakfish on the rivers today and limited out on the trout to 22 inches or 3 pounds on sandworms. Derek had been hearing reports about weaks in the rivers, so he gave it a shot. The action was shallow, skinny water fishing, and boat traffic prevented fishing the channels, and as weaks start to fill the deeper water of the bay, charters will certainly chase them there. Fluke charters will also continue to run, and so might striped bass trips. Bluefishers at the Shrewsbury Rocks in the ocean were also nailing stripers to 35 pounds.

<b>Long Branch</b>

Fluking reportedly dropped off since the storm early this week, but anglers were trying to catch them, said Barbara from <b>Jim’s Bait & Tackle</b>. Striped bass were sometimes beached in the surf, but the last weigh in was Saturday. Stripers checked in included a 28-pounder landed in the suds on crab and a 20-pounder plucked from the Long Branch wash. Snapper blues appeared in the Shrewsbury River, and crabbing was very good.

<b>Neptune</b>

Ocean fluking was slow for everyone including <b>Last Lady Fishing Charters</b> yesterday on Last Lady’s weekly, individual-reservation fluke trip, maybe because of the storm early in the week, Capt. Ralph said. The boat fished all over from close to the beaches to farther off. But fluking was good before and should pick up again, and Last Lady was heading out again today, and recent bluefish and striper trips were also good. Last Lady usually begins canyon tuna fishing in August, and the canyons have been slow to hold tuna this year, and previously Ralph was thinking canyon trips might start late. But some warm water moved into Hudson Canyon recently, and if someone shows interest in making the run, Last Lady might be headed there sooner than expected. Individual-reservation fluke trips are sailing every Wednesday, and openings are available, and one of the trips is also slated for Monday, August 13, and five spots are available.    

<b>Belmar</b>

Rental boaters from <b>Fisherman’s Den</b> were probably averaging five or six fluke per boat with two or three anglers per vessel on the Shark River, Bob said. They also landed lots of shorts. Fluking on the party boats in the ocean this week seemed to produce big, quality flatties at times and probably fewer fish than last week, because the water was dirty. But some big ones were pinned down, and the numbers of the fluke should bounce back. Striped bass fishing had slowed down a lot, and bigger bass that bit before were mostly gone, but surf anglers were reporting landing small stripers in the early mornings on clams and plugs. The fishing was a first-light thing. A few porgies and kingfish were taken at Shark River Inlet, and snapper blues were starting to appear in the river. Bluefishing in the ocean on the party boats was decent, but the vessels were sailing farther than before to find the bite, heading to places like Barnegat Ridge since the blues started spawning sometime ago.  

The <b>Nan Sea J</b>’s final open-boat shark trip of the season fished yesterday at the Chicken Canyon with members of the Hudson River Fisherman’s Association, Capt. Tom said. The president of the club fought a 125-pound mako that was bagged, and a huge, probably 400-pound, 12- to 14-foot thresher shark was battled for 1 ½ hours before it finally broke off. That was heartbreaking, Tom said. The water was dirty, green, 71 degrees and held little bait or life, and not even bluefish bit, and the water seemed to be green everywhere lately. The open shark trips will continue to sail next year, and they’ve been a success, and more anglers than ever took the trips this year. Nan Sea J is one of the few charter boats to offer open shark trips. But shark charters will continue to fish this season, and a shark charter took place Tuesday at the Monster Ledge. A short mako and a blue shark were caught in dirty, green water that was a little cooler or 67 degrees in the morning and 69 by the afternoon. Again, little bait was seen, and not even bluefish showed up.  Tuna charters will begin in September, and charters are currently also fishing for blues, stripers and fluke. A trip Saturday produced striper fishing that was okay at the Shrewsbury Rocks on bunker chunks, and some blues were landed. Some boats were scoring better than others, and Tom knew one boater who arrived 5 a.m., beating the fleet to the Rocks and doing well on stripers. Weekends have been especially tough because of boat traffic.

<b>Brielle</b>

Fluke fishing was okay along the ocean beaches and in the Manasquan River, said Diane from <b>Brielle Bait & Tackle</b>. Anthony Sarullo, 10, nailed a 9-pound fluke in the river, and anglers were catching decent numbers of snapper blues in the river. A few weakfish were showing up along the ocean beaches and Manasquan Inlet, but no large numbers arrived. One customer who was often hitting the surf for stripers came up with one weakfish, for example. Boaters were trying for stripers in the ocean, but it wasn’t good fishing. Bunker schooled, but few stripers chased them. Ocean bluefish trips produced lots of catches at night, but daytime action was slower. Bottom fishing for ling was okay.

A charter will run tomorrow on the <b>Katie H</b> that originally was supposed to be a canyon tuna trip, but instead the anglers will fish for sharks and also take a look around for bluefin tuna at the Mudhole, Capt. Mike said. Canyon fishing wasn’t happening yet, and only sporadic reports were heard about bluefins at such inshore spots, but maybe hardly anyone was trying to find them so far. Bluefins were gathered to the south off Cape May, so they could arrive closer to Brielle any day, and the crew on the Katie H was looking to be one of the first to find them. A half-day fluke charter will sail Sunday, and fluking is still a focus on trips. Canyon charters will kick in when the tuna stack up offshore.

Bluefishing was very good in the ocean on the daytime trip yesterday on the <b>Jamaica</b> for 4- to 9-pounders that slammed bait in a chum slick, an e-mail from the boat said. Some also drilled jigs, but most passengers dunked bait. The action was also very good Tuesday night for 6- to 12-pounder on bait in a slick, and recent pool winners included Bill Richardson with a 12-pound slammer. The Jamaica is fishing for blues 7:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. every day. The boat’s canyon tuna schedule is now available. The <b>Atlantis</b> is available for charters for groups from 18 to 120 for day and night fishing for any species available inshore or offshore. <b>Bogan’s Boating School</b> is offering the boating safety course required in New Jersey, and the test-out option is also available, and so are private classes at your own location. Visit bogansboatingschool.com for info.

<b>Point Pleasant</b>

Both boats from the <b>Angela Rose Charters</b> fleet headed out for fluke Tuesday after Monday’s blow, Capt. Anthony said in an e-mail. One charter, the Leif Pettersen group, sailed with him on the 34-foot King Cat, and another, the Peter Rouchard gang, fished with Capt. Wayne on the 28-foot Chesapeake, and they entered a friendly wager of ice cream for the boat with the most and biggest flatties. Both vessels ran to the ocean toward Mantoloking, and conditions from the previous day, including a swell but calm seas and dark water, seemed to promise no aggressive bite or tough fishing, and it was. The charters fished in 20 to 75 feet and picked fish here and there during most of the morning until moving to the Manasquan River for a last stop. The river produced the best results, and keeper fluke were finally boxed, and a decent number of shorts and sea robins kept rods bouncing. The final tally: the Pettersen charter with three keeper fluke, more than a dozen short fluke and sea bass, seven cocktail blues, one ling and one herring; and the Bouchard charter with one keeper fluke, a keeper sea bass, a dozen short fluke and sea bass and a dozen cocktail blues.  The Pettersens and Anthony enjoyed the ice cream!

Kirk Rebane’s charter on the <b>Benchmark</b> got into non-stop action with bonito today, landing scores of the speedsters until late morning for a great trip, the fishing report on the boat’s web site said. Another charter yesterday fought lots of bonito and a few king mackerel all day long while trolling spoons and also while jigging. On a trip Sunday Mary Sabine walloped a big, 38-pound striped bass on live bunker during a quick evening run.

Quite a few fluke kept being pulled up from along the wall at Manasquan Inlet in front of <b>Alex’s Bait & Tackle</b>, Kenny said. Killies were the best bait, but killies were still sometimes scarce, and when they were unavailable at the shop, sand eels worked well and are stocked. He weighed in a 3-1/2-pound fluke yesterday, and he heard about no herring at the inlet, but lots of shad were fought there on Sabiki rigs or small, ½-ounce bucktails. He also heard about no weakfish, but that doesn’t mean none were around, and a few were probably caught. Lots of peanut bunker were now in the river. Small, rat blues held in the surf, and Kenny saw an unbelievable amount of bunker in the surf yesterday, but only blues and no stripers seemed among them.

<b>Bricktown</b>

Lots of good fluke catches were picked up in deeper water, 40 to 50 feet, in the ocean, and the location of the flatties changed from day to day, and on some days one spot would be hot, and on some days another would, said Bob from <b>Jersey Coast Bait-N-Tackle</b>. Northern Barnegat Bay near the shop and the local lagoons were holding plenty of weakfish that bit best in the afternoons, scarping down sandworms, Gulp worms, sand eels and pink Fin-S Fish, and all of those are stocked.  Snapper blues also schooled the bay, and small blues roamed the ocean. One angler nailed a 31-pound striper in the surf yesterday morning on clam. Clams are stocked, but the usual 24-hour, honor-system clams are on hold until September. Crabbing was very good and produced healthy sized blueclaws.

Ocean fluke fishers should probably head south, said Ray from <b>Pell’s Bait & Tackle</b>. Local waters were holding the fish, but keepers were difficult to find, and he’s traditionally gone south at this time of year. Northern waters also seemed good, and he took friends fluking on a trip last week, and lots of shorts but only four keepers came up. He stayed close to the beaches because seas were rough, but he had wanted to push out to the Axel Carlson Reef. Striped bass had mostly left the nearby ocean for the season, though pockets could be found here or there, and plenty of bunker schooled. Big bluefish in the ocean seemed yet to return inshore from moving offshore like they do each year. Anglers reported landing a weakfish once in a while in northern Barnegat Bay, but the action seemed slow and not like past years. However, a couple of anglers stopped by looking for pink soft plastic lures and said they were bailing weaks, but that was unconfirmed. The northern bay’s fishing continued to seem slow compared with not too many years ago, when catches of fish such as fluke were good, but tailor blues could be found. Crabbing was great.

<b>Toms River</b>

Boaters took a few fluke in the ocean off Seaside’s Casino Pier, and bunker with striped bass underneath schooled off Island Beach State Park yesterday, said Jeff from <b>Murphy’s Hook House</b>. But generally a few fluke, stripers and blues were boated in the ocean at times, and the surf put out lots of dogfish, some sea robins, a few fluke but not a lot, and occasional bluefish and stripers if anglers lucked into them or lucked into a school of bunker the fish were chasing. Barnegat Bay anglers were landing fluke at the BI, BB, 40 and Double Creek. Nothing was heard about weakfish, and nobody reported finding blowfish, but weaks might’ve been caught, and blowfish should show up soon. The Toms River and the lagoons were dishing out snapper blues and plenty of crabs.

<b>Seaside</b>

Bluefishing was picking up in the surf every day, and the only problem was fishing around the bathers, said the fishing report on <b>Betty and Nick’s Bait & Tackle</b>’s web site. Lots of blues could also be caught in Barnegat Bay on plugs or meat, and a report came in today about tons of bonito and some king mackerel trolled at Barnegat Ridge on Clark spoons. The surf was 1 to 2 feet, 72 degrees and cleaning up after the storm earlier this week. A free reel cover worth $15 is being given away with any reel purchase while supplies last. <a href=" http://www.bettyandnicks.com/fish.shtml" target="_blank"> Click here</a> for the latest.

<b>Waretown</b>

Fluke anglers were reportedly landing nice ones at Double Creek Channel in Barnegat Bay yesterday, and a few weakfish were hitting lately at Meyer’s Hole and the BI marker, said Dick from <b>L&H Woods & Water</b>. Frozen grass shrimp are stocked for weakfish bait, and crabbing seemed good, because lots of people were buying licenses, traps and supplies. Lots of bunker still schooled the ocean, but not a lot of striped bass seemed to follow them. Anglers were reporting seeing sharks off the bathing beach at Island Beach State Park. Bonito and a few mahi mahi were being trolled at Barnegat Ridge, and some customers were looking for bluefin tuna there.

<b>Barnegat Light</b>

Fluke were found everywhere, from the back of Barnegat Bay to the front, from the north to the south and up Barnegat Inlet, said Josh from <b>Barnegat Light Bait & Tackle</b>. Gulp shrimp, Gulp squid or natural squid strips and minnows should get the bites. Weakfishing was halfway decent at Meyer’s Hole and the inlet, and the shop is carrying live grass shrimp for bait. Herring were putting up scrappy fights at the inlet on small shad darts and shad spoons. A reputable angler reported losing a huge striper from the inlet’s south jetty at night on an eel. He reeled in the fish, but it broke off at the rocks, and the angler’s been around others who caught 40- and 50-pounders and said this fish was the biggest he ever saw in the water. Lots of reports were rolling in about 28- and 30-inch stripers eeled at the inlet at night. Josh saw six bluefin tuna at the shop that came from Barnegat Ridge, the Fingers and the Resor wreck, and bonito and mahi mahi were also trolled at the ridge. No specifics were heard about canyon tuna fishing, except reports about southern canyons. But customers were catching fish like yellowfin tuna that come from the canyons, and the customers normally don’t head as far as the southern canyons. One customer caught two yellowfin tuna and a mako shark and released a 70-pound white marlin at one of the canyons.

<b>Brighton Beach</b>

Surf fishing was kind of spotty, but keeper flounder could still be bagged, and kingfish could be taken, said Christian from <b>Oceanside Bait & Tackle</b>. In the bay Grassy Channel was giving up a weakfish bite in the early mornings, but the fish disappeared once boat traffic started. Fluking was okay in the bay, and no big ones were heard about, but dinner could be caught. Fishing for small bonito at Barnegat Ridge and the Fingers was the best action, and anglers trolling those fish were seeing loads of sand eels, and that meant bluefin tuna should show up any day. Reports came in about bluefins farther offshore at Lindenkohl Canyon, and not much was being said about yellowfin tuna offshore, but boaters competing in this week’s Beach Haven Marlin and Tuna Club Invitational were talking about running to Spencer Canyon. Baits stocked currently include minnows and fresh bunker when available, though bunker was difficult to obtain recently, and fresh clams are expected to arrive tomorrow. Full assortments of frozen baits and Berkley Gulps are also on hand. Oceanside opened Memorial Day weekend and is located at 8201 Long Beach Boulevard on the southern end of Long Beach Island. The store’s owners also own Barnegat Light Bait & Tackle.

<b>Tuckerton</b>

Two bluefin tuna, a 46-incher that was kept and a 30-incher that was released, were fought to the boat with <b>Legal Limit Charters</b> near the Cigar and 28-Mile Wreck yesterday, Capt. T.J. said. The boat trolled ballyhoos and other offerings, and the fish were hit in mid morning, and there was an early morning bite, but the trip started fishing later. The water was 75 degrees, and waters farther offshore at the canyons were cool and in the low 70s with no temperature breaks, and tuna fishing there was mostly quiet. T.J. hoped the canyon fishing would pick up in the next days. Legal Limit is targeting tuna and also flounder, and flounder fishing was up and down, and some nice, keeper flatties to 5 and 6 pounds were coming up in 50 to 60 feet, but not a lot of numbers were there. The ratio was probably 1 keeper flounder to 4 or 5 shorts, and the hope is that more of the fish will keep arriving in the area as the season progresses.

<b>Mystic Island</b>

Customers were picking away at flounder, but the fishing was becoming difficult, mostly because of weather, said Scott from <b>Scott’s Bait & Tackle</b>. For example, one angler flounder fished all day Tuesday with no drift and boated only one flattie, but a keeper. Little Egg Reef and sometimes a little north and south was the focal point for flounder fishing, and when conditions were right, catches were fair, even if Scotty was hearing about no limits. Last week the Sandbar along Shooting Thorofare gave up very nice flounder, and that was the best bite in the bay. A few weakfish were picked up in the back waters, but only sharpies found them, and the sharpies were hooking them on live grass shrimp and shedder crabs. Great Bay’s summer shark fishery for sandbars was quiet, and a report last week on Monday was the last good one about the monsters. The small fish or kingfish, blowfish, porgies and small sea bass that bit in the bay in summer were yet to turn on, but that action usually begins the second week of August. Two kingfish were known to be caught last week. Crabbing was poor and produced little ones, and crabbers were waiting for the next full moon to produce larger ones from the shed. Stories about bonito fought in the ocean were heard but unconfirmed, but it was time for the speedsters to be caught. Spanish mackerel should also hit, and false albacore should follow.

<b>Absecon</b>

Plenty of flounder still filled the bay, said Ray from <b>Absecon Bay Sportsman Center</b>, and he usually dunks Gulps for them, but the standard squid and minnows will do the trick. Capt. Dave, the shop’s owner, ran a charter today that limited out on weakfish to 3 pounds while fishing Meadow Cut and Main Marsh Thorofare, and a couple of 30- to 40-pound brown sharks were fought to the boat. Bluefishing was weird, because the 1- to 2-pounders would turn on one day and couldn’t be found the next. Stripers continued to slam live eels at night at the inlet and around places like the bridges, and Sean Fox bought 18 eels and landed a striper on every one on a nighttime trip, keeping two, and six others were also keeper-sized but were released. Crabbing was good, and Ray took at trip to the Atlantic City surf and caught porgies on bloodworms and FishBites, and he saw anglers loading up on triggerfish along the jetties, apparently on calico crabs. Bottom fishing at the reefs seemed hampered by lots of commercial pots catching all the fish. The AC Reef was so littered with pots that boating was difficult. Recreational anglers were upset about the pots, because the reefs were built for recreational fishing, and many recreational anglers, including Ray, donated lots of money to build the reefs, and the pots were wiping out the fish. Some anglers were getting on the bandwagon to get the pots banned from the reefs. Baits stocked include live spots, live eels, minnows, shedder crabs and a full array of baits.

<b>Atlantic City</b>

Back-bay fishing was somewhat slow, but a few flounder could be found, and lots of snapper blues swam around, said Jack from <b>Offshore Enterprises Bait & Tackle</b>. The surf gave up kingfish on bloodworms at times, but it was nothing to brag about. Bluefin tuna were plentiful at places including 28-Mile Wreck, 750 Square, 19-Fathom Lump, the Cigar and you name it. They were mostly trolled, but some were beginning to be chunked. Trollers pulled medium and horse ballyhoos, Islanders and that sort of thing. A few yellowfin tuna were boated farther offshore, but there was no major bite, because no warm-water eddies and temperature breaks were moving in. The <b>Carly A</b>, the shop’s offshore charter boat, fished at 19-Fathom Lump on Sunday and scored a couple of bluefin tuna that weighed close to 50 pounds apiece. The boat trolled black and red islanders and ballyhoos in the 78-degree water. The Carly A is competing in the Beach Haven Marlin and Tuna Club Invitational this week. Inshore baits at the shop include bloodworms, minnows, squid, searing, mullet, bunker and herring. Offshore baits include butterfish, mackerel, ballyhoo, trolling squids, shark baits and pretty much all available baits.

<b>Margate</b>

A 60-pound bluefin tuna was trolled in the area around the 28-Mile Wreck and the 750-Square yesterday with <b>O-Beth Sportfishing</b> on a medium ballyhoo pulled far behind the boat, Capt. Eric said. The fish was caught 6:30 or 7 a.m., and the fish were biting early, and the boat left the dock around 2 a.m. and started trolling at first light. The water was 75 degrees, clear and held lots of life. Tuna and flounder are now the targets for O-Beth, and Eric hoped flounder would start showing up in better numbers along the ocean reefs where his trips fish. A few flatties swam the bottom, but not a lot, but he hoped more would move in any week.

Flounder fishing in the back bay was giving up lots of shorts but action on the <b>Fish N’ Fun</b>’s two 4-hour trips daily, and snapper blues were getting bagged, Capt. Jay said. His bigger boat, the <b>Jessie O’</b>, was running to the ocean reefs, and the vessel was docked for maintenance in the past days, but the word was that flounder were starting to hit at the reefs. Sea bass sometimes grabbed baits there, and a triggerfish won the pool the other day. The Jessie O’ sails open-boat every morning when not chartered, and new, Magic Hour, open-boat trips are running 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. every Monday through Friday. Private, Magic Hour charters or corporate outings are also available. Party cruises are also booking left and right, and catering and a D.J. are available.

<b>Ocean City</b>

Fishing for flounder was slow in the back bay, except some small ones hooked, said Jim from <b>Fin-Atics</b>. The inlet seemed the best chance to find flounder, but the action still wasn’t too good. Not much was being heard about flounder caught at the ocean reefs either, but a few keepers were reeled from the depths. Lots of small blues less than a pound filled the inlet. Lots of small stripers could be hooked in the back bay, and news was scarce about spike weakfish and croakers. Surf fishing for kingfish was okay, and sometimes a flounder was beached. Plenty of bluefin tuna were boated at places like Massey’s Canyon and the Cigar, both on the troll and on the chunk. Trolling was now best on ballyhoos more than lures. Fishing for tuna farther offshore at the canyons was quiet.

<b>Sea Isle City</b>

Back-bay striped bass fishing was excellent, and high tides were in the mornings and evenings this week, prime conditions for catches, said Capt. Joe Hughes from <b>Jersey Cape Guide Service</b> and <b>Gibson’s Tackle</b>. People always want to know the best times to hook up, and this is it, Joe said, and lots of the linesiders were hitting, and oxygenated water was flowing through, and the tides will continue to be good for a number of days. His anglers usually toss poppers on spinning tackle or fly rods for the stripers at this time of year, great fun with every attack seen, and summer is the time to get in on this action or also learn how to popper fish. Popper lures that Joe favors include Skitter Pops, Smack-Its and Creek Chubs, and his favorite popper flies include Gartside Gurglers, various foam poppers, a Spiral Popper that he ties with sheet foam and Bob’s Bangers. Lately he was finding smaller poppers around 3 inches most effective, because smaller baits or spearing were around, and the smaller poppers can imitate the bait or an injured spearing, and the fish in summer are lethargic anyway and seem quicker to jump on something small. Sometimes mornings were better than evenings and vice versa, and yesterday the morning was best. Joe’s charters catch the stripers in the shallows while he poles the boat, and lately he was fishing closer to Townsend’s Inlet, where the water was a little cooler. The bay was ranging 72 degrees to 80 degrees, and currently 72 to 75 degrees held the most striper action, but the bass will hit in water as warm as 80. Joe’s trips were also producing a few blues, and stripers were more predominant, but blues were around. The stripers in the bay were mostly shorts as usual, so the fishing is always mostly catch and release but loads of fun. Flounder fishing was slow in the bay. Joe was pulling into the dock last evening when he gave this report, and peanut bunker showered the water, and the peanuts had now arrived.  Joe expects to fish offshore for tuna this weekend, and he heard no first-hand reports about tuna in the past days, but he knew that bluefin tuna were hitting at spots like the Ham Bone and Hot Dog. Not a ton of bluefins were there, but there were big ones and enough to hook up. The bluefins were getting finicky like they do every year because boaters were pounding them, and boaters weren’t going to catch them on the usual trolling spread. A big bait like a horse ballyhoo fished way back behind the boat was the way to go.

<b>Avalon</b>

<b>Over Under Adventures</b>’ boat Low Profile is now running from Avalon for tuna, and no report rolled in from the vessel in the past few days, but three of Over Under’s boats from Ocean City, Md., fished the same grounds that the Low Profile is often targeting. The inshore lumps are those grounds, where bluefin tuna were biting, and the three boats totaled 19 bluefin landings on trips yesterday, an e-mail from Over Under said. None sailed for yellowfin tuna, because no good numbers of yellowfins were being hooked in the areas farther offshore where they’re found.  But the bluefin bite was good on ballyhoos trolled way, way back behind the boat and on “down-rods.” One of the vessels fished the Massey’s Canyon area and went two for three on bluefins, so that was slower action, but one of the others nailed nine bluefins, keeping two, and the other vessel scored about the same, landing a 49-incher that was kept and releasing six under 47 inches. One of the boats poked around farther offshore, reaching as far as 40 fathoms, but there was no action to keep the crew there, so they pushed back inshore and continued picking at bluefins. Check out Over Under’s schedule of <a href="http://overundercharters.com/?page=opendates" target="_blank"> open-boat trips</a>, and more dates will be added as groups call and ask about splitting costs with other anglers.  

<b>Cape May</b>

Southern Delaware Bay’s flounder fishing was suddenly booming up for charters on the <b>Canyon Clipper</b>, and they were scoring good catches at the 14 buoy, the 9 and 10 buoys and along Cape May Channel, Capt. Stan said. The fish had to be hunted, but once they were found, anglers were on them. A trip yesterday bagged eight keepers and released 25 throwbacks that were often only a half-inch short. A charter the day before also took quite a few flatties and reeled in 30 weakfish, small ones, but fun, and a few were keepers. Not many croakers were biting yet, but small, good-eating-sized bluefish were hitting. Flounder fishing and sea bassing were improving at the Old Grounds in the ocean off Delaware. Charters in the past days concentrated on flounder, but tuna charters are also sailing, and boaters at the inshore lumps were slamming bluefin tuna, limiting out on three of the fish per vessel. Canyon Clipper is also running party cruises, and passengers can hop around to different bars or restaurants like the Lobster House throughout the harbors, or they can cruise around to watch the scenery. The party cruises are best on weekends, when nightlife is happening, and the trips typically leave the dock 3 or 5 p.m.

Don Jones’ party fished southern Delaware Bay on the <b>Sea Fox</b> and picked up 45 flounder to nearly 5 pounds, a smattering of 1- or 2-pound blues and a couple of small sea bass, Capt. Gary said. The anglers also saw fish that appeared to be cobia, and one angler pitched a bucktail with a strip bait and hooked one, and the beast took off and broke the line. The flounder were grabbed on a mix of fluke rigs, top-and-bottom rigs and bucktails with minnows and strip baits including mackerel, shark and squid in 73-degree water. No weakfish were landed, and the Sea Fox is available for charters for flounder, inshore trolling for blues and other speedsters such as bonito, and tuna fishing. Gary might sail on a tuna trip this weekend.

Some decent-sized flounder came up from waters off the concrete ship, and flatties were also pulled from Brandywine, the 9 and 10 buoys and Brown Shoal, said Nick from <b>Hands Too Bait & Tackle</b>. Flounder catches were improving a little at the ocean reefs and at the Old Grounds. Back bay anglers continued to pick away at flatties at places like Sunset Lake and Grassy Sound. Surf casters reeled in striped bass mostly in the early mornings or at night, but overcast days gave up a few. Boaters also found stripers along Bayshore Channel. A few small weakfish were taken in the waters off Cape May Point and in the surf and under the bridges on bloodworms and shedder crabs. Head to 4-Fathom Bank to fight bluefish, and bluefin tuna fishing seemed good, and sometimes yellowfin tuna were boated farther offshore. Baits stocked include minnows, clams, bloodworms and frozen shedder crabs, spearing and silversides. Offshore baits include butterfish, ballyhoos and trolling squid.

Windy weather was preventing trips at times, but <b>Jaftica Sportfishing</b> was sailing offshore for tuna today, and charters were trolling good catches of bluefin tuna closer to shore from 20 to 30 fathoms, Capt. Ray said. Two flounder charters are slated for this coming week, and flounder catches have been decent on the boat, although the bite seemed a little slow both in the ocean and Delaware Bay recently. Inshore trolling charters produced loads of blues 10 to 15 miles from the coast, and bonito catches were starting to pick up on the trips. Jaftica is raffling off a striped bass charter through summer to benefit the recovery of one of the boat’s mates who was injured in an accident. Raffle tickets are $5 apiece or $20 for five, and see the boat’s web site for info.

Capt. George from the <b>Heavy Hitter</b> said another captain ran a charter on the boat and trolled plenty of bluefish at 5-Fathom Bank on Tuesday. Bonito were occasionally being trolled on such trips, but bonito were scarce so far this year compared to last year, when tons of the speedsters filled the waters. Bluefin tuna fishing was good at the southern lumps, and a friend put the screws to a 200-pound, 57-inch bluefin yesterday first thing in the morning.  The friend said he also trolled a little farther offshore between the 30- and 40-fathom lines, but it was like a ghost town. Tuna fishing for yellowfins farther offshore around the canyons has generally seemed slow with no temperature breaks to hold concentrations of fish. However, George was suddenly hearing about a good bite from other captains who fished Baltimore Canyon in the past days. His charters are fishing for all of these species plus flounder, and flounder fishing seemed surprisingly decent in southern Delaware Bay lately. On the other hand, sea bass fishing was unusually slow at the ocean reefs, and one culprit might’ve been commercial pots at the reefs. For example, Reef Site 11, usually a good spot for sea bass and flounder on charters, was full of commercial pots. One captain was complaining that none of the pots should be allowed at the reefs, which were built for recreational fishing. Commercial pots can clean out fish like sea bass in no time at a reef.

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