<b>Sandy Hook</b>

<b>Andrea’s Toy Charters</b> took a run to the Mudhole this week to look for bluefin tuna, Capt. Freddie Gamboa said. But no bluefins bit the live peanut bunker that were livelined in a chum slick, though false albacore were landed. A few bluefins were caught at the Mudhole, but it turned out the tuna weren’t worth much attention. Afterward the trip sailed inshore and loaded up on sea bass. Andrea’s Toy is sailing on open-boat, mixed-bag canyon trips offshore, targeting tuna, billfish, marlin and tilefish all in one outing, and the weather looked too rough for the trips this weekend, but two openings are available for next week during the weekdays, and two are available for the following weekend. The canyon trips sail whenever the weather allows.

Capt. Bill Hoblitzell and <b>Outback Fishing Charters</b> has been fishing for false albacore in the ocean, he said. But on Saturday Bill was albie fishing and got a call from friends who were loading up on bluefin tuna at the Mudhole, so he moved to that spot, and it was a good decision. Twelve bluefins from 15 to 35 pounds were hooked on his boat on big Ava jigs, although only four were landed. The rest unfortunately broke off, because Bill had replaced the split rings on the hooks on the jigs, because the jigs were a little old, and he thought the rings were high quality, but the rings kept opening up when the fish were fought, causing the fish to get off. Chumming with live bait was key for attracting the bluefins, and Bill also knew anglers who caught the bluefins Tuesday, but that action will change with the blow that was coming through now, but maybe it will change for the better.

<b>Shark River Inlet</b>

<b>Last Lady Fishing Charters</b> fished the canyons throughout the past week, and patrons limited out on yellowfin tuna to 100 pounds, and a swordfish was caught on one of the trips, Capt. Ralph said. The trips were fishing with bait at night and were doing no daytime trolling, and they were returning home early because of the limits. Spots are available throughout this month for open-boat canyon trips, and Last Lady also accepts charters.

An offshore trip on the <b>Nan Sea J</b> went very well last Friday to Saturday at the Toms Canyon, and 12 yellowfin tuna from 40 to 80 pounds were nailed, Capt. Tom said. Some were hooked on butterfly jigs, and the rest bit sardines, and other tuna were lost. Three swordfish were also reeled in, and one was kept, and a bunch of mahi mahi were bagged. Lots of weeds filled the 72-degree water and prevented trolling, but the trip fished at lobster pots in the morning and landed mahi, and a wahoo was lost at the pots.  The Nan Sea J will fish the canyons until the end of the month.

On the Belmar party boats canyon tuna fishing this week was a little slower than it had been, but there was still a good shot of the fish, mostly yellowfins but sometimes longfins, and the longfins were big or 50 to 60 pounds, said Roger from <b>Fisherman’s Den</b> in Belmar.

<b>Manasquan Inlet</b>

Anglers on the <b>Katie H</b> fished at Spencer Canyon from Tuesday to Wednesday and bailed yellowfin tuna, Capt. Mike said. Eighteen yellowfins were boated, and probably 30 could have been landed if the anglers kept fishing, and the trip was probably the best Mike ever had. The water was loaded with bait and was only 70.5 degrees, cool for tuna, but the fish were there. All the tuna were landed on the chunk, and nobody’s trolling this late in the season, Mike said. Live squid hooked the fish, and a few of the tuna bit on jigs. The warm water and the tuna seemed to be heading south, such as the fact that Mike had to sail to the Spencer to fish. Tuna charters are slated through the beginning of November so far, and charters will concentrate on tuna as long as the action’s good.

Canyon tuna trips on the <b>Jamaica</b> were excellent on overnight trips over the weekend, an e-mail from the boat said. On Sunday night the boat anchored in 500 feet, and fish were schooling under the vessel in a short time. Three wahoos were landed first, and the smallest was 45 pounds, and the biggest was 90 pounds dressed, and one of them was attacked by a shark on the way to the boat. Then yellowfins started being reeled in, and so was a mako shark, apparently the one that was terrorizing the wahoo. The fishing was good all night except for a few short lulls, and most patrons limited out on yellowfins, and the tuna bit squid, butterfish, sardines and jigs. Notable catches included Ron Taurick’s 3 yellowfins and 3 longfins, Sam Dibrer’s 2 yellowfins and 2 longfins and Frank Pogue’s limit of yellowfins. The Jamaica is sailing to the canyons every day at 6 p.m. in October and on many dates in November, and visit www.fishinnj.com for info.

A charter on the <b>Canyon Runner</b> fished offshore last Friday to Saturday and went right on the chunk in 550 feet, the fishing report on the boat’s web site said. A tuna bite got going quickly, and a limit of 24 yellowfins was boated by midnight. They continued to fish and released another 10 until 6 a.m., and the fish ate everything—squid, sardines, butterfish and jigs—and 1/3 were hooked on jigs. Another charter fished offshore Saturday to Sunday in squalls and 6- to 8-foot seas, again going right on the chunk in 550 feet. The fish bit right away, though it wasn’t a quick bite, and the anglers went 2 for 4 on tuna and lost a swordfish by 10 p.m., and then the fishing was a pick all night. They ended up going 12 for 20, and the most productive baits were live squid fished 120 feet down on 60-pound fluorocarbon and also jigs fished 150 feet down. The weather might have had something to do with the slower action.

A trip to Lindenkohl Canyon on the <b>Katie H</b> last week from Wednesday to Thursday loaded up on 18 yellowfin tuna, Capt. Mike said. Live squid hooked the fish at night, and four keeper-sized swordfish were also landed, and only two were kept, and two of the swords were hooked at once, the first time that ever happened on the boat. Tons of bait and squid filled the 73-degree, weed-filled water, and the weeds made trolling difficult, but bait fishing in a chum slick seemed best anyway.  A canyon charter was cancelled last week from Thursday to Friday because of forecasts for bad weather, and Mike heard about another boat that fished that night, and seas sounded rough. The Katie H is focusing on canyon fishing at the moment, and the fishing is great. The boat sails through Thanksgiving weekend, and canyon charters will fish right through then.

The Moondancer with owner Lud Bohler and Capt. Mike Petrole fished Lindenkohl Canyon last Friday to Saturday, said Dave from <b>The Reel Seat</b> in Brielle. They bailed 19 yellowfin tuna from 40 to 80 pounds, mostly on Shimano butterfly jigs on Shimano Trevala rods and Torsa reels, and they also landed a 175-pound swordfish. The Intrepid with owner Dr. Andrew Fanelli and Capt. John Krohn sailed to the Toms Canyon last Friday to Saturday, and they nailed 10 yellowfin tuna and five longfin tuna on bait and also the Shimano jigging system. Dave heard about no bluefin tuna, including giant bluefins, at inshore places like the Mudhole or around the scallop boats, and the bluefins seemed a dead issue at least at the moment.

The <b>Defiant</b> sailed to Chatham, Mass., to fish for giant bluefin tuna starting Wednesday, Capt. John said. The boat fished for them in the ocean that day, but seas were rough, and no reports were heard about giants found there, and none was caught. But some giants were fought in the bay Tuesday, so the Defiant’s crew planned to fish the bay the next couple of days until the ocean laid down. But plenty of bait and whales were in the ocean, so the fishing should turn on there. The Defiant will fish for the giants for about 10 days before returning to Jersey and resuming canyon tuna charters. The boat will fish from Jersey until the second week of November, when the vessel will head to its winter home in Key Largo to fish until spring.

Tuna fishing was as good as could be, and the party boat Jamaica had no bad tuna fishing on probably its last 10 trips, with 50 to 75 fish coming over the rails per outing at Hudson Canyon, and most of the tuna were 50- to 75-pound yellowfins, said John from <b>Brielle Bait & Tackle</b>.

<b>Little Egg Inlet</b>

Limits of 40- to 60-pound yellowfin tuna have been common at the canyons, and a bunch of swordfish have also been there, and <b>Legal Limit Charters</b> is available for charters for the fishing, Capt. T.J. said.

<b>Great Egg Harbor Inlet</b>

Canyon fishing is awesome, and a buddy ran a charter 76 miles offshore and quickly limited out on 18 yellowfin tuna while chunking and came home early, said Capt. Mike from <b>Stray Cat Charters</b>. Another friend fished offshore and landed three swordfish that were progressively bigger, and the first was 125 pounds, and the next two were 170 pounds and 200 pounds, and he only kept the first, and the swords bit 200 feet down on squid. Stray Cat is available for canyon charters.

The Spencer and Toms canyons were full of yellowfin tuna from 60 to 80 pounds this week, and chunking for them was most productive day and night, said Bill from <b>Fin-Atics</b> in Ocean City. There were also lots of swordfish.

Mario on the North Cote fished Spencer Canyon last week and landed 12 big yellowfin tuna to 80 pounds, said a fax from T.C. from <b>Brennan Marine</b> in Somers Point. Joe Hevener, Joe Castor and Lloyd Bush Jr. on the Real Teaser also fished the Spencer that week and hooked eight yellowfin tuna over 50 pounds apiece, a 190-pound mako shark and a 52-pound swordfish.

<b>Hereford Inlet</b>

Lindenkohl Canyon was great for fishing for tuna, mahi mahi and swordfish, and four or five customers sailed there Saturday and did well, said Chuck from <b>Roseman’s Marina</b> in Stone Harbor.

<b>Cape May Inlet</b>

This coming weekend looked like it was going to be a blowout from the weather, and there’s been a lot of bad weather preventing offshore fishing from Cape May, said Capt. George from the <b>Heavy Hitter</b>. A tuna charter Saturday produced yellowfins to 50 pounds Saturday at the canyons with Tim Krause, Chris VanRell, Phil Morgan and Dan Raider. The fishing didn’t set the world on fire, but it was pretty good, and the fish were trolled on lures and ballyhoos, and the action seemed mostly an afternoon bite. The water was 68 degrees to 69.5 degrees, and lots of bait was marked. Some boats that chunked at night seemed to do very well on tuna over the weekend, and seas became snotty by Saturday afternoon. The day’s seas started like a sheet of glass, but George spoke with a captain who spent the night offshore Saturday to Sunday and said there were water spouts and squalls. The Heavy Hitter will tuna fish probably through the third week of October.

Tuna fishing was hot and heavy between the Wilmington and Baltimore canyons, and swordfish also bit, said Capt. Stan from the <b>Canyon Clipper</b>. Tuna charters are available, and when water temps drop a couple of degrees, mako sharks should show up, if anyone wants to get in on fall sharking.

It’s been tough to get offshore because of the weather, but <b>Jaftica Sportfishing</b> will keep tuna fishing for another two weeks, and the fishing’s been great when boats could sail, Capt. Ray said.

On the <b>Top Shelf</b> five yellowfin tuna to 60 pounds were trolled last week on Wednesday between the tip of Wilmington Canyon and the 50-fathom line, Capt. Bill said. Bill was relocating a boat from north Jersey to Florida last week, and he was in North Carolina this week to rent a slip for giant bluefin tuna fishing this winter, and he’ll now get back to fishing.

Offshore action was pretty hot, said a fax from Matt from <b>Jim’s Bait & Tackle</b> in Cape May. The action started at the beginning of last week in the Wilmington Canyon and moved north along with warm water as the week progressed. By the middle of last week the fish were at Spencer Canyon, and later it looked like the water had moved into the Lindenkohl Canyon, and a warm-water eddy also seemed to be at the Baltimore Canyon around the 100-fathom line by then. The Uncle T caught 23 yellowfin tuna on an overnight trip, and the Miss Andrea hooked a limit of yellowfins and a swordfish one night and another limit of yellowfins the next.

The Wilmington, Spencer and Lindenkohl canyons were loaded with yellowfin tuna, and the best fishing was at night, and several swordfish were also caught, said a fax from Capt. Fred from <b>Harbor View Marina</b> in Cape May. White and blue marlin and dolphin were trolled at the Baltimore and Poorman’s canyons this past week.

Back to Top