<b>Staten Island</b>

Ocean striped bass fishing remained strong until a couple of days ago for <b>Barbara Anne Fishing Charters</b>, Capt. Anthony said. So although the stripers should be able to be caught through July, he finished targeting them. Trips started reeling in sea bass and ling, and that bottom fishing will be combined with fluke fishing soon. Combo sea bass/fluke trips will run, but if fluking puts out keepers, fluke will become the main menu. Anthony expects decent-sized fluke to turn on in the next month. Open-boat trips that had been running a couple of times a week are finished for now. They worked out well, but charters will dominate in the near future.

<b>Bayonne</b>

Customers from the store mostly fished for fluke in New York Harbor, but the 20-1/2-inch size limit was tough, said Capt. Akira from <b>True World Tackle</b> and <b>True World Tackle Charters</b>. Still, most boats returned with two or three keepers. One customer picked up striped bass at the Shrewsbury Rocks, and another fluke fished off Breezy Point, saw another boat landing stripers, threw out chunked bunker, and also caught stripers. But whether the fish are still there is the question. Akira’s charters are fluke fishing and bottom fishing. A charter Sunday might bottom fish for porgies or sea bass in Long Island Sound or might head to the Shrewsbury Rocks for a bottom catch.  

<b>Keyport</b>

Capt. Joe from <b>Papa’s Angels Charters</b> did a little something different and fished off Point Pleasant in the ocean with a friend on Friday, and they boated three healthy sized striped bass on live bunker, he said. Striper fishing was likely slower than before, so the catch was probably a matter of right place, right time. The linesiders were hooked among one school of bunker. Papa’s Angels is normally fluke fishing in Raritan and Sandy Hook bays. Open-boat trips are running 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. daily when no charter is booked, and Workingman’s Special open trips are sailing 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. daily when no charter is scheduled. Call to reserve.

<b>Atlantic Highlands</b>

Crowds were light yesterday, because the day was the last of the holiday weekend, and also because of forecasts for rough weather, but no matter, fluke fishing was good, Capt. Ron from the <b>Fishermen</b> said in an e-mail. One angler bagged five keepers, and one pair of customers teamed up for four keepers apiece and countless shorts. Jim Muha nabbed four keepers, including a 7-1/2-pounder, at the beginning of the day, and a 4-pounder at the end. He found giant spearing at a local market, fished them with a squid strip and discovered they were his best producers.  Action was good all day, and Ron didn’t say where the boat fished, but it often plies the ocean. Saturday evening’s Magic Hour trip only produced some bluefish and one striper, “not good fishing, to say the least,” Ron said. The Fishermen is fluke fishing 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily. Magic Hour Trips are running for blues and stripers, but probably mostly blues now, 3:30 to 9:30 p.m. Fridays through Sundays. Charters are booked Tuesday, Friday and Saturday mornings, so no open-boat trips will sail those mornings, but the Magic Hour trips will still fish.

Fluke fishing stayed about the same on the bay, but the fish did seem to grow larger as the season progressed, said Capt. Tom from the <b>Atlantic Star</b>. Lots of the flatties covered the bottom at all different places, and many were throwbacks, and when patrons got lucky, they pulled up a keeper. But more and more throwbacks within an inch of keeper size came up, and two months remained in fluke season, so Tom hoped those fish would become keepers after a moment. They were right on the edge. Different year-classes such as 12-inchers and 15- to 16-inchers also bit. A couple of better-sized doormats were boated yesterday morning: Donata Lombardi’s 7-3/4-pounder and Irwin Meyers’ 6-1/4-pounder. Action was very good. When currents and winds created no drift, some patrons tossed Spro jigs and worked them back to the boat to catch more. When there was a drift, Spros and rigs worked equally.  The Atlantic Star is fishing 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>

On the <b>Katie H</b> a half-day fluke trip on the Fourth of July produced eight keepers, including a couple of hefty, 22-inch fish, at some of the crew’s “secret” spots in the ocean, Capt. Mike said. Waters were 68 degrees at first, but south winds kicked up, driving them down to 60 degrees by the time the trip finished at 11:30 a.m. The season’s been a strange one for water temperatures, because temps never stabilized. Mike and crew are looking forward to tuna season and will probably start making the canyon runs soon. He heard from someone who trolled a plentiful catch at Hudson Canyon, and a temperature chart showed good-looking eddies there. The Katie H runs a busy schedule of tuna trips.

All trips fluke fished with <b>Sandy Hook Fishing Adventures</b>, and the charters served up a great bite with some big flatties in the mix, Capt. Bob said in an e-mail. The Rupp family was first up and lambasted 13 keepers to 21 inches and released more than 80 shorts. Next the Greene family pinned down seven keepers, including young Mark Greene’s 20-incher that was the first reeled in, and more than 35 throwbacks. Bob and the boat’s mate then took a crew trip when a charter cancelled, and Bob hauled aboard four keepers, and the mate walloped eight, and they released more than 80 shorts. Late in the week a charter lifted 90 fluke over the rails, but only three were keepers. Some prime dates remain for charters, especially on weekdays.

Capt. Derek from <b>Fisher Price Charters</b> did no fishing during the holiday weekend, but buddies who fished put the skids on striped bass to 25 and 30 pounds in the ocean, he said. The fishing was a little slower than before, but they limited out at least through Saturday. Fisher Price exclusively chased those fish before and will continue to target them a while longer. Derek fluke fished Thursday, but water temps dropped 10 degrees and slowed the bites, but a couple of keepers and a bunch of shorts were hooked. He thinks that when waters warm, catches should turn on. Fisher Price will turn more and more to fluke fishing as striper fishing tapers off, and weakfishing will also be added. Trips will first hunt weaks in the rivers with sandworms and Gulps until the trout begin to gather in the bays. Derek heard nothing about weaks in the rivers so far, but he did hear about catches in the pound nets at Sandy Hook Bay, and that should mean the weaks will move up the rivers. Dates remain for charters in July.

<b>Belmar</b>

Bottom fishing was good, mostly for ling, on charters on the 77-foot <b>Bandit</b>, Capt. Scotty said. A few cod and pollock were mixed in, and the trips fished wrecks in 80 to 90 feet east of the Mudhole the last couple of days. Bluefishing wasn’t so decent but should rebound.

Striped bass kept getting boated on the <b>Nan Sea J</b> in the ocean, not great fishing, but okay, Capt. Tom said. The fish were 30- to 35-inchers, smaller than the 30- and 40-pounders that were common before, but at least all remained keepers at this time of year. Daytime jigging for blues went well on the vessel. Party boats generally reported slow fishing for blues at night because of the spawn, but the Nan Sea J’s daytime trips caught no lack of the fish. Charters are also fluke fishing but recently left the dock for other species.

Daytime jigging for bluefish was holding up in the ocean, but nighttime fishing for the slammers, done with bait, was challenging, because the fish were spawning, said Capt. Greg from the <b>Golden Eagle</b>. The spawn lasts a short time, and was already taking place last week. No striped bass were landed on recent trips, and striper fishing sort of quieted down. In the past, stripers were nailed at moments when the predominantly bluefishing trips ran across a school of the linesiders. That didn’t happen all the time, but when it did, the fish were big, as always at this time of year. The Golden Eagle is sailing daily for blues and stripers 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and for blues 7:30 p.m. to 2:30 a.m.

<b>Brielle</b>

Boating for striped bass in the ocean was certainly more difficult than before, said Dave from <b>The Reel Seat</b>, but his gut feeling was that the fishing was yet to be entirely finished. The bass might’ve moved offshore, and anglers returning from the canyons saw bunker schooling 16 miles from shore, for example. But bunker also continued to school close to land. Surf casters beached 28- and 30-inch stripers at Spring Lake on Saturday morning.  Fluke fishing was actually decent at the reefs yesterday, and so was sea bassing. Both fluke anglers and sea bassers also pulled up ling, so ling fishing was probably productive. Manasquan River’s fluking seemed not bad, and one angler dusted a 27-incher in the river. A few canyon boaters scored alright. One fished the West Wall of Hudson Canyon in 73-degree waters, reeled in five yellowfin tuna and 25 mahi mahi and released a blue marlin. Another bailed 12 yellowfins at the same area. Greg Mulligan shark fished and released 30 browns and a hammerhead. A couple of other anglers fought small makos at the Mudhole. The Reel Seat is now open till 8 p.m. on Fridays. Anglers should keep aware that the <a href=" http://ssfff.org" target="_blank">Save the Summer Flounder Fishery Fund</a> needs support. Visit the web site and consider helping.

The season’s first Monger Marathon, an open-boat trip, left port for fluke in the ocean Thursday with <b>Fish Monger Charters</b>, Capt. Jerry said in an e-mail. Forecasts were rough, and the crew knew that south winds might kill the bite, but the anglers wanted to go, so off they went. They ended up with nine keepers, despite the conditions, and worked hard. Lots of 17-1/2-inch heartbreakers, fish just shy of the size limit, were released, and a few sea bass and ling were boated. The trip first fished at Sea Girt Reef, where a couple of keepers and some shorts were pulled. A big heave made the crew decide to head north, where they found better conditions off Elberon and Long Branch. Fluke bit, and the action was heavy on shorts, but a keeper was found here or there. The boat moved to the Shrewsbury Rocks on a hunt for bigger flatties, but three drifts only produced shorts. Unusual for the rocks, but probably because of the water temps. A load of blues showed up and wreaked some havoc. Winds built to 25 knots, and the vessel moved to 30-foot shallows off Long Branch, the only fishable place in the 1.8-knot drift. There was action, but lots of shorts, but a few keepers were managed. “Bumpy ride home,” Jerry said. On Wednesday a group tried for stripers. Bunker schooled everywhere from Manasquan to Deal, but no stripers took the bunker baits, and the boat moved a little offshore, with the same results. The charter ran to the rocks, but only a few bluefish hit. The anglers switched to fluke fishing, and only shorts grabbed hooks. Jerry hoped stripers would come up in the afternoon like they had been doing, and the trip worked the bunker pods on the way home, but no luck. “One of those days,” he said. Open-boat Monger Marathons will fish for fluke 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. every Tuesday this month. Many customers requested a marathon on a Sunday, so one will fish Sunday, July 20. Weekday charters are available, and Sunday, July 27, is available for a charter. Thursday night fireworks trips are on tap.

<b>Point Pleasant</b>

Anglers on the <b>Sea Devil</b> jigged a mess of 9- to 14-pound blues on Saturday, Cindy said in an e-mail. On Sunday in poor visibility from thick fog the trip took two hours to find the blues, but once they were located, the catching began. On many drifts a dozen or more anglers were hooked up at once, and experienced anglers nailed healthy catches of the toothy predators 8 pounds and larger, and less experienced customers were less fortunate. Jigs again caught the fish, until they disappeared as quickly as they were located. A 15-pounder was the pool winner. The Sea Devil is fishing for blues 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily and 7:30 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. every Saturday. The boat was chartered last Saturday evening.

<b>Andrea’s Toy Charters</b> is back in action after Capt. Fred was traveling a moment, he said. The annual open-boat, mixed-bag offshore trips will kick off this week, and call for availability. Tuna-trolling, mahi mahi fishing and tilefishing were each turned on, so the mixed bags were a go. Andrea’s Toy specializes in mixed-bag fishing for fun, variety for dinner and better chances at hooking up, and the 31-foot Contender sails faster to the canyons than most boats, allowing the time to target each species, and more time with the lines in the waters. Friends of friends bailed yellowfin tuna and a few bigeyes on the troll at the 150/050 on the southwest corner of Hudson Canyon on spreader bars, plastics and ballyhoos. Some caught up to 18 fish. The warm waters will now spin down to Toms Canyon. Closer to shore, plenty of sea bass could be put in the box at the reefs, because waters were still cool, and even ling bit there, unprecedented for July. Andrea’s Toy is up for bottom fishing. Stripers could be hooked, but the boat is finished chartering for them for the season. Bluefishing turned off except far offshore, because the slammers were spawning, and sharking mostly slowed down. No bluefin tuna swam local inshore waters, and only inshore spots off Cape May gave up bluefins so far, typical of the early season.

Capt. Allen from <b>Reel Class Charters</b> originally said he wouldn’t fish during the holiday weekend because of family visiting or other activities, but then he dropped an e-mail that said he did fish, and check out the reports on his web site. According to the site, looked like he convinced family to fish those days. Way to go! On the Fourth of July he ran a quick trip in the morning with his wife, sister-in-law and brother-in-law, after convincing them not to go crabbing. They boated 30 fluke including four keepers to 19 ½ inches on Manasquan River in two hours. They started fishing between Garden State Marina and Clark’s Landing during the change of high tide, and started jigging the flatties immediately. At dead slack, they fueled up and soon returned to the grounds. Moving waters or the first of outgoing tide produced better action and better quality fish. On the next day Allen returned to the river with his brother-in-law for a short, 3-hour trip, fishing between Clark’s and the Route 35 Bridge, and they got into great action on the change of tide at the edges and holes. Thirty to 40 fluke were landed, and five were keepers to 21 inches, weighing up to 3 pounds. A bunch were just under the 18-inch size limit. From the last hour of incoming through slack tide and the first hour of outgoing seemed best. Once outgoing started ripping, fishing tapered off to a slow pick. Reel Class specializes in fluke fishing, including on open-boat, Fluke Till You Puke Marathons, through summer, both in the ocean and the river. Sea bass are often mixed in on the ocean trips to boot. Check for open spots on the schedule on Reel Class’s web site.

Bluefishing ground to a halt because the choppers pushed offshore to spawn, and ocean striped bass fishing dropped off dramatically, but fluke fishing picked up pretty well in both the ocean and the Manasquan River, said Capt. Anthony from <b>Angela Rose Charters</b>. That was about the typical pattern for the beginning of July, so things were on schedule. Blues will return after the spawn, and sea bass could also get picked up from the ocean. Although water temps dropped in recent days, waters were generally warming, and that’s good. Angela Rose is offering both charters and shared charters, and both are also available on Happy Hour trips, shorter jaunts in the evenings, and the shared charters are especially offered at a very reasonable rate. Get on the waters after work and be back at the dock with plenty of time for rest before work the next day. Get your fishing in with no hassles and little cost, and leave the work to the crew from the Angela Rose. Happy Hour trips can also fish first and then wrap up the day with fireworks on the waters off either Point Pleasant or Bricktown every Thursday night. River cruises are also available, including on Happy Hour trips, including the fireworks. Anglers can enter the monthly pool for only $5, and the entrants with the biggest fish win prizes including free spots on trips, a bunch of tackle from Mai Tai, exclusively outfitting Angela Rose with rigs this season, and clothing like T-shirts. Check out details on the boat’s web site.

Good fluke fishing on the <b>Gambler</b> in the ocean Saturday and Sunday, Capt. Bob said. On Saturday the first stop produced no drift, and the fishing was kind of slow, so the vessel moved to sticky bottom, and catches turned on for big sea bass, some keeper fluke and some ling. When the drift picked up, the trip moved to a hill in 60 to 70 feet, and a number of sizeable keepers were decked. The afternoon trip gave up a good percentage of keeper fluke on another long drift. Alise Parker was a pool-winner this day with a 6-pound 1-ounce fluke and nailed a total of five keepers. Sunday offered little drift, but some customers managed to compensate by casting Spro jigs. Paul Goudreault threw a Spro to win the pool with a 5-1/2-pound fluke and totaled six keepers and two keeper sea bass. He tossed the Spro away from the boat and worked it back and was banging the fish. A couple of other customers did the same. A good percentage of keepers were bagged now. “So definitely some nice fishing lately,” Bob said. A bluefish trip Friday night wasn’t good, and fish were marked but wouldn’t bite. The Gambler is fishing for fluke twice daily from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. and is bluefishing 7:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays.

<b>Bricktown</b>

Large striped bass could still be found in the ocean from Seaside to Long Branch, said Tommy Kilgannon from <b>Pell’s Fish & Sport</b> in a fax. So many bunker schooled that catching bass among them was challenging. Jim Whittaker, who works at the shop, and Russ Bins took a trip and boated four stripers to 35 pounds in the ocean on snagged bunker. Another angler named Donna weighed in a 33-1/2-pound striper, her first-ever, that she landed in the ocean off Mantoloking.  Sustained south winds made fluke fishing tough, but Sea Girt Reef was a place to take keepers, though plenty of shorts were there. Snapper bluefishing began in Barnegat Bay, and the fish were small but will grow quickly, providing fun, especially for young anglers. Crabs were active through the week, and most customers who crabbed plucked up a tasty Jersey Shore dinner on any given day.

<b>Seaside</b>

Not a lot of anglers fished the surf through the holiday weekend, maybe because of forecasts for stormy weather that never panned out, said the report on <b>Grumpy’s Tackle</b>’s web site. The only weighed-ins were an 8.3-pound striper that sucked down a Grumpy clam from the wash Sunday, a 16.3-pounder that inhaled a Grumpy clam Saturday, and a 20-inch, 2.9-pound fluke that Hoovered a clam Friday or the Fourth of July. Crabbers kept stopping by to pick up more bunker for bait on the fourth and said the keeper ratio was pretty decent. <a href="http://www.grumpystackle.com/fishingreports/" target="_blank"> Click here</a> for updates.

<b>Forked River</b>

Two large blue sharks and a dusky were battled to the boat at the deep end of the Glory Hole on Saturday with <b>Seafood Fishing Charters</b>, Capt. John said. Another shark broke off, and although no makos showed up, the sharking went well. The waters were 68 to 69 degrees, clear and a little green. Bait and porpoises schooled, and mackerel and fresh bonito were the hooked baits. A tuna-trolling trip will point the bow east for the first time this season on Saturday, and catches were reportedly made at Hudson Canyon. John was looking forward to tuna season, his passion, but inshore trips will still sail for blues and fluke, maybe stripers for a moment. Seafood runs a slate of different types of open trips, and check the schedule on its web site. Space remains on a two-day, open-boat trip that will compete in the Beach Haven Marlin and Tuna Club Tournament.  Boats in the tournament are allowed to fish two days from July 30 to August 2. Last year’s purse was $365,000, and 20 percent of any winnings go to the crew on the trip, but the rest goes to the anglers.

<b>Waretown</b>

Tuna fishing will kick off on the <b>Tuna-Tic</b> this week with one of the vessel’s three-day, open-boat Offshore Adventure Trips from Friday to Sunday, Capt. Mike said. An offshore trip was weathered out today. A limited number of the three-day trips will sail this season, and currently only two openings are available, and they’re on this week’s trip. Claim them quickly if you want to go. Two-day, overnight canyon charters will run for tuna in August through October, and only six spots remain in August, four in September and eight in October. A few two-day, open-boat, canyon, make-up trips will also sail, and only four spots on one August trip and five spots on one September trip are available. Inshore charters will also be available for bluefish or bottom fishing between canyon trips, and charters did fish for blues at Barnegat Ridge this past week. The fishing was okay, and party boats were seen scoring no blues, but their anglers fished with chunks of bait on wire leaders. Mike and crew found that whole bunker on hooks hidden in the baitfish got inhaled by the blues, and their anglers loaded up.

<b>Barnegat Light</b>

Bluefishing was dependable on Barnegat Bay, and both fluke and weakfish were also in the mix in the bay, said Capt. Steve from <b>Reel Fantasea Charters</b> in an e-mail. The fluke keeper ratio was low, but the flatties provided constant action. The weakfish were beginning to show up, and more and more started to be hooked among bluefish that schooled under working birds. When birds couldn’t be found, including during thick fog yesterday, the speedsters could be spotted rolling on top in 2- to 4-foot shallows. Fishing for all three species was mostly done with jigged Bass Kandy Delights or various Gulps on bucktails in the back of the bay. Reliable action and not knowing which fish would be hooked next was part of the fishing fun. Clear waters that helped anglers see visual action was also cool. One spot is available on an open-boat trip Thursday, and call to jump aboard. Although the time of year might seem early to reserve the area’s phenomenal fall fishing, bookings were already filling up faster than ever. If you’re interested, check the calendar and grab preferred dates while possible. In other news, crabbing was amazing this year, Steve said. If you love crabbing, including eating them, catches couldn’t be better.

<b>Manahawkin</b>

Fluke could sometimes be bagged at Double Creek Channel and High Bar Harbor in Barnegat Bay or in the ocean off Barnegat Inlet, said Tom from <b>American Sportsman Bait & Tackle</b>. No weakfish really appeared yet, and migrating striped bass were gone for the season. He put together a catch of a bunch of keeper sea bass at the Harvey Cedars Lump the other day. Bluefishing was terrible at Barnegat Ridge, for some reason, after the slammers tore up the area before. Crabbing turned productive.  Check out the shop’s web sites <a href=" http://allfishingrigs.com/catalog/index.php" target="_blank">AllFishingRigs.com</a> and <a href="http://www.allcrabstuff.com" target="_blank">AllCrabStuff.com</a>. Besides fishing bait and tackle, the store specializes in crabbing supplies and traps. It also supplies traps to many tackle shops in the tri-state area and to commercial crabbers.

<b>Beach Haven</b>

The fluke trip on the <b>Miss Beach Haven</b> on Sunday fished in thick fog with 100 feet of visibility and rains most of the morning, Capt. Frank said in an e-mail. Waters were also cold, but nevertheless, the day produced one of the boat’s best fluke trips of the season. A shot of the fish was found in open waters after trying different depths. A 5-1/2-pounder was the pool winner, and another doormat a hair more than 5 pounds was dragged aboard. On Friday the crew searched for warm waters around the reef, but 59 degrees was the warmest located. A few fluke and a few quality sea bass were landed. Carl Kelly won the pool with a 4-pound fluke, and Capt. Frank boated the biggest flattie, a 5-pounder, “by some dumb luck,” he said. “Every once in a while a squirrel finds an acorn, and I get a keeper,” he said. No report rolled in about Saturday, so whether the vessel fished that day was unknown. The Miss Beach Haven is sailing for fluke 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays, 8 a.m. to 12 noon Mondays and Tuesdays and 8 a.m. to 12 noon and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesdays through Fridays.

The <b>June Bug</b> fished in pea-soup fog on Sunday, and short fluke, a couple of smooth dogfish and a couple of sea robins were stuck in 60 feet, Capt. Lindsay said. Waters were 64 degrees on the surface and surely colder on the bottom. Someone last week said the bottom was 41 degrees. The 64-degree surface was cool but the same as last year. Besides bottom fishing, the boat’s inshore trips will also head to Barnegat Ridge for blues and eventually bonito. But tuna and big game are the vessel’s main quarry, and Lindsay will try to go after them at the canyons on the weekend.

<b>Atlantic City</b>

Loads of kingfish crammed the surf, sucking down bloodworms or FishBites, said Noel from <b>One Stop Bait & Tackle</b>. Good-sized flounder, though tons of shorts, swam the surf and back bay. The flatties pounced on minnows, spearing and Pro Cut squid, and typical bottom rigs worked in the back, and in the surf, spearing on a rig like a smaller version of a mullet rig did the trick and is available at the shop. Plenty of out-of-season tog hovered along the jetty rocks and had to be released, but one tog can be kept starting July 16. A few striped bass were checked in, although striper fishing wasn’t “record setting,” Noel said. Cut bait like bunker or fresh clams got attention. Snapper blues could now be hooked in the bay, including off the Flagship, on spearing on Snapper Zappers. Minnows, spearing, fresh and frozen clams, fresh and frozen bunker, bloodworms, frozen mullet, a variety of squid and other baits are stocked. 

<b>Margate</b>

Ocean temps dropped, so <b>Fine Ling Fishing Charters</b> had to search the bays for the warmest waters for flounder fishing on trips Saturday and Sunday, and Lakes Bay was the warmest and was targeted both days, Capt. Dave said. But a zillion shorts filled the waters, and recently that actually caused Dave to leave the back waters on fluke trips and start hitting the ocean. Temps had started to rise but now fell back down again, so he had no choice to return to the bays this weekend. On Saturday 31 throwbacks and one keeper were landed on the 63-degree bay. On Sunday Lakes Bay was slightly warmer and 65 degrees, but 54 shorts and no keepers were reeled in. The ever-increasing flounder size limit over the years failed to seem conducive to bay fishing. Dave had been looking forward to switching to the ocean, because the ocean can produce larger flatties, but ocean temps were mostly uncooperative so far. That should change anytime. Fine Line specializes in flounder fishing in summer but also sails on inshore trolling trips for bluefish and other speedsters such as bonito at this time of year.

<b>Longport</b>

Flounder fishing picked up at the reefs and was decent now, said Capt. Mike from the <b>Stray Cat</b>. Sea bassing was a little slow, and trips to the reefs trolled 1- and 2-pound blues on the way out and back, so that turned on, too. The boat will be taken out of the waters today for maintenance and put back in Friday to start concentrating on tuna charters and open-boat trips. Yellowfin catches were phenomenal all the way offshore in 1,000 fathoms at Wilmington and Spencer canyons. Mike hoped swordfish would start to show up at night. Both the charters and open trips will be available for six anglers for the six bunks onboard. A gas grill and a microwave are on hand. The open trips sail 22 hours, and call for availability. In September inshore trips will start fishing the beachfront for croakers, weakfish and flounder on charters and on an open-boat basis.

<b>Somers Point</b>

Tom DiPatria angled up two weakfish 3 pounds and 2 ½ pounds on the bay near Kennedy Park on shedder crabs during the weekend, said Wayne from <b>My Bait & Tackle</b> in an e-mail. Customers also creeled flounder from the bay through the weekend. Wayne Schloss and wife Samantha on The Tin Man slipped out for a little flounder fishing on one of the afternoons and hit it big, walloping a 9.17-pound 28-incher, a 9-pound 27-1/4-incher, a 4.37-pound 23-incher and a 4-pound 22-incher. Wow! Guy Martin, whose son, Guy Jr., works at the shop, hammered a 24-inch flounder at Rainbow Channel on Sunday on a minnow. Then he came back to the dock and picked up his son, and they spent the rest of the afternoon fishing. Hey Wayne: You have anymore openings?!   

<b>Sea Isle City</b>

Striped bass and blues were picked up on the back bay with Capt. Joe Hughes from <b>Jersey Cape Guide Service</b> and <b>Gibson’s Tackle</b>, he said. The bass were primarily fought on popper lures and flies, and the blues, fish to 4 pounds, were taken on jigs and Clouser flies on sinking lines. The bay was cold or ranged 59 degrees to maybe 70. But the waters looked healthy and held tons of bait, peanut bunker, lots of life, “as good as it gets,” Joe said. The popper fishing was especially good news, because Joe specializes in trips that cast poppers to stripers on the flats of the bay through summer. A bunch of flounder carpeted the bay, though the majority were shorts. In the ocean brown and dusky sharks haunted grounds 5 to 10 miles from shore, and Joe chases them with light tackle. Bluefin tuna hit at Massey’s Canyon and 19-Fathom Lump, and large mahi mahi attacked on the 30-fathom line. Canyon tuna fishing slowed a little, because water temps were mostly even, with few fish-holding breaks, so the action was a matter of coming across a school of fish with no breaks to search. Lots of mahi and a few white marlin also hung there.

<b>Avalon</b>

Charters on the boats from <b>Over Under Adventures</b> were drilling bluefin tuna from Avalon and also from Ocean City, Maryland, an e-mail from Over Under said. The bluefins ranged 50 to 130 pounds, and the largest swam south of Maryland, but the big ones should arrive off both Maryland and New Jersey within a week. Over Under trolled the fish with success, finding no reason to chunk, but boaters who did chunk also whacked plenty. Low Profile, a vessel that had been fishing from the Bahamas since spring, arrived in Avalon to join Justified, Over Under’s vessel that was already fishing from the town. Both will chase tuna from Avalon through fall. In September That’s Right, the only boat from Over Under that’s licensed for more than six passengers, will move to Jersey to join the other vessels at running canyon charters.

<b>Wildwood</b>

Back-bay flounder fishing gave up good catches, and flounder fishing picked up on Delaware Bay, where the Punk Grounds near the shipping channel produced quality catches, and flounder started to show up in the ocean at the Old Grounds and Reef 11, said Cathy from <b>Sterling Harbor Bait & Tackle</b> in an e-mail. Flatties weighed in from the back bay included Frank and Colleen Scirotto’s 6-pounder, Bruce Fish’s 5-pounder taken near Richardson Channel and the Intracoastal Waterway on a minnow and 13-year-old Candice Dunn’s 3-pound 6-pounder hooked in the bay behind Wildwood. Kayak catches from the back bay included Tony Stefano’s two keeper flounder landed on his Hobie. Sterling Harbor is a kayak-fishing headquarters, featuring kayak and accessories sales, kayak rentals and expert advice. On Delaware Bay Andy Beccari boated a 5-pound 5-ounce flounder near the 9 and 10 buoys and weighed in the fish. All the bluefish anyone could want could be trolled on Clark spoons between 5-Fathom Bank and 4-Fathom Bank. Bluefin tuna put tackle to the test at 19-Fathom Lump and Massey’s Canyon, and chunking for the fish was red hot, but trolling produced a few. Gaffer dolphin were mixed in. Robert Christopher from the Cara Mia checked in an 88-pound bluefin he chunked at 19-Fathom. Alan Ritter from the Big Bully stopped by with an 81-pound bluefin that he trolled. Mike Lobianco and Billy McFetridge on the Carlyssa fished Wilmington Canyon and boated nine yellowfin tuna, eight dolphin and eight tilefish. Crabby Jack gave crabbing three claws this past week. Wait no more: Sterling Harbor’s 15th Annual Duke of Fluke Tournament will take place Saturday and will include a kayak division that was added this year. Call the shop or e-mail for info.

<b>Cape May</b>

Lots of small blues—lots—were trolled in the ocean on a trip with <b>Jaftica Sportfishing</b> during the weekend, Capt. Ray said. Multiple hook-ups went down for hours. That was the first trip after the boat underwent maintenance a few days, but the vessel returns to a busy schedule this week, including on a bottom-fishing charter today. Bottom-fishing seemed slow in past days, and some anglers pulled aboard flounder, but water temps dropped to the low 60s. Ray on the bluefishing trip saw 59- to 62-degree temps close to shore, but waters warmed to 71 to 72 degrees 12 miles from shore. Tuna trips will sail later this week, and inshore bluefin tuna catches seemed to pick up, but then again more boaters seemed to chase them. But bluefin fishing did seem good. Canyon tuna fishing was holding up, even if the best bites started moving around to different canyons.

Two charters on the <b>Heavy Hitter</b> trolled a bunch of 1- to 2-pound blues and bottom fished on Saturday and Sunday, though bottom fishing was slow, Capt. George said. Dan Smith’s gang was the charter Saturday and trolled plenty of blues, bottom fished afterward and reeled up a few throwback sea bass and flounder. The Dan Lambarbakis group was the charter Sunday and also trolled a mess of blues, switched to bottom fishing and boated sea bass, some ling and a couple of throwback flounder. Waters were cold for bottom fishing or 59 degrees Saturday. The temps bumped up to 65 degrees Sunday, better, but cold. All kinds of rain bait showered the waters at Cape May Reef. Flounder fishing’s generally been slow so far this season. Some boats came back from the Old Grounds with three or four keepers or maybe even nine, but usually the fishing’s been a struggle. George talked to someone yesterday who fished the Old Grounds and found zero drift, and no luck. But the flattie fishing should turn around. The Heavy Hitter is trolling for blues and bottom fishing, including for flounder, and will also start tuna fishing. Bluefin tuna 30 to 50 inches were on a bite 40 to 50 miles from shore, and some days were better than others. George knew one angler who fished for them Saturday and hooked none, but another fished the same spot another day and drilled five. George also knew a private boater who said he fought 20 bluefins one day.

On the <b>Down Deep</b> several charters trolled for blues and limited out on 2-pounders at 5-Fathom Bank, Capt. Bob said. They included the Bob Williams party, the Seth Haplea crew and the Anthony Romanelli gang. No other fish like Spanish mackerel or bonito were on the grounds, though charters on the boat hooked Spanish macks a couple of weeks ago in the area. The Collee charter fought three bluefin tuna to the boat, keeping one, 40 miles from shore. Bluefin tuna fishing’s been decent.  Water temperatures close to shore plummeted, apparently from southwest winds, and were 59 degrees Saturday and 64 Sunday. Sea bass also bit lately, and flounder fishing sounded difficult. Dates are open for charters for blues, tuna and sea bass.

Bluefin tuna fishing produced good catches on the inshore grounds, said Matt from <b>Jim’s Bait & Tackle</b> in a fax. The tuna swam fairly deep, so trollers used downriggers, planers and weighted lures to reach the fish with medium to horse ballyhoos dropped back 200 to 300 yards. Islanders in blue-and-white or pink-and-white were a couple of good choices for dressing the baits. But chunking for the tuna also started to work. At Massey’s Canyon on the troll, Bob Gillard nailed a 146-1/2-pound bluefin and released another five on Friday, and the crew on the Gold Rush bagged a two-fish limit and released six more. On the chunk at 19-Fathom Lump, Pete Safaras belted an 85-pounder and broke off two. Flounder fishing stayed a little slow, and the waters were cold. Reports were heard about catches from the deep spots like the Old Grounds and Reefs 10 and 11. Twelve keepers on one boat was the best catch heard about, and the fishing should improve as temperatures rise. Frank Wise hauled in a 9-pound flounder and a 14-3/4-pound monkfish from the Old Grounds. Good numbers of flatties swam the back bays, and they seemed to stack up in the shallows along the edges of the channels. Along the Intracoastal Waterway on Saturday, “Box Car” Charlie Danowski tackled a 6-pounder, and he and his crew reeled up seven more sizeable keepers. Surf fishing was a bit slow, but kingfish sometimes turned up at Higbee’s Beach, and the bite only lasted a half-hour at the very bottom of low tides. Small, 1- to 2-pound blues with herring mixed in began to show up in the suds around the ferry.

Back to Top