<b>Shark River Inlet</b>

A shark trip lambasted a 285-pound mako and a 200-pounder Tuesday with <b>Last Lady Fishing Charters</b> from Neptune, Capt. Ralph said. Ralph would give no more details—no water temperatures, nothing—until after the shark tournaments this weekend.  His charters will compete in two: Mako Mania and the Jersey Coast Shark Anglers Tournament. In the South Jersey Shark Tournament in Cape May during the weekend, no qualifying makos 200 pounds or larger were entered, and big threshers won, and a 580-pounder took top prize. But a 400-pound mako was the winning fish in the Brett T. Bailey Mako Rodeo in Brielle over weekend, good news for local sharkers at the time. The first open-boat, canyon tuna trip will run July 29 to 30, and spots are available.

Two dusky sharks 80 to 100 pounds got beat on the season’s first open-boat shark trip on the <b>Nan Sea J</b> from Belmar on Wednesday, Capt. Tom said. Other fish bit but never connected, and a big thresher shark cruised the chum slick but failed to pick up a bait. Waters were 68 degrees and green, and the trip fished to the south. Lots of life including turtles and dolphin filled the area. The open trips sail every Wednesday through July, a tremendous opportunity to fight the killers without chartering the whole boat. Nan Sea J is one of the few charters that offers open-boat sharking. Shark charters are also available, and sharking is Tom’s favorite fishing.

<b>Manasquan Inlet</b>

A charter on the <b>Benchmark</b> from Point Pleasant smacked a 175-pound mako, a 125-pounder and a blue shark while competing in the weekend’s Brett T. Bailey Mako Rodeo, the report on the boat’s web site said. No winning fish, but a great first shark trip of the season.

Warm waters pushed into the canyons, and a friend went 13 for 14 on yellowfin and bluefin tuna at the 500 line at Hudson Canyon, said Capt. Fred from <b>Andrea’s Toy Charters</b> from Point Pleasant. Andrea’s Toy will start sharking and tuna trolling in July, after Fred is away on business and personal trips a week. In addition to charters, annual, open-boat, mixed-bag, canyon trips that sail for tuna, mahi mahi, billfish, sharks and tilefish, all in the same outing, will once again fish this year. Trips feature the personal attention of a charter but the savings of not having to book the whole boat, and the mixed bag increases hook-ups, adds fun and provides variety for dinner. The speed of the 31-foot Contender provides more fishing time than on a party boat, and many boats, and allows the mixed-bag opportunity.

On the party boat <b>Voyager</b> from Point Pleasant the weekly tilefishing trip on Sunday got hampered by zero drift, the report on the boat’s web site said. Currents were light, and winds blew against them, bringing the vessel to a standstill. Twenty-five of the fish to 22 pounds 9 ounces were landed, but the fishing was slow. But the previous trip loaded up on the fish, and the crew was optimistic that catches would bounce back with better conditions.

<b>Barnegat Inlet</b>

The <b>Tuna-Tic</b> is shark fishing only through Monday, the peak of the season, and Capt. Mike tested the waters Saturday at the Fingers, he said. Actually he never intended to shark fish then, but he was striped bass fishing on a friend’s boat, and when no stripers turned on, they caught a bunch of bunker for bait and made a quick run to the shark grounds. Two keeper-sized makos and a blue shark were released, and they got back to the dock by 11 a.m., a quick trip Waters were beautiful and 64 degrees, and the thermocline looked good, and everything was right. They tried a little trolling for bluefin tuna but found none. Tuna rolled into Spencer Canyon with a warm eddie by the weekend, and nobody wanted to make the trip so far, but Mike would love to shark fish overnight and then hit the canyon for tuna. Shark charters were busy this week.

<b>Little Egg Inlet</b>

Capt. T.J. from the <b>Legal Limit</b> from Tuckerton’s brother ran a shark trip Sunday, called from the boat and said a 260-pound mako was nailed, T.J. said. Not a lot of other action took place, and the shark grounds warmed quickly to 74 degrees, ironic after low temps all spring. The warmth seemed to force blue sharks to leave. More shark trips were sailing yesterday and today, and the first tuna charter of the year will fish tomorrow.

<b>Absecon Inlet</b>

Tuna fishing went off at the canyons, and one boat at the Spencer got into a bunch of small bluefins, one 55-incher, 13 yellowfin tuna, a bigeye tuna and a blue marlin, said Capt. Tom from the <b>Fishin’ Fever</b> from Brigantine. Bluefin tuna from footballs to 30-pounders, but sometimes bigger ones to 125 pounds, roamed the 20-fathom line. Mako sharks hunted waters 15 to 30 miles offshore, where bluefish schooled.

Shark fishing slowed because of suddenly warm waters, and sharking turned on farther north, said Dominic from <b>Offshore Enterprises Bait & Tackle</b> in Atlantic City. Inshore bluefin tuna fishing was hit or miss, and 40- or 50-pound yellowfin tuna were the catch at the Wilmington, Spencer and Lindenkohl canyons, and warm waters were even attracting the fish to Hudson Canyon. The <b>Carly A</b>, the shop’s offshore charter boat, was expected to splash yesterday or today, run some inshore, shakedown bluefish or striper trips, do some sharking and then go for tuna.

<b>Great Egg Harbor Inlet</b>

Sharking seemed to taper off from warm waters, said Dan from <b>Fin-Atics</b> in Ocean City. The Ocean City Marlin Tuna Club will hold a shark tournament next week, and Dan was concerned the event could be a bust. A handful of small bluefin tuna reportedly held along the 20-fathom line. Yellowfin tuna from footballs to 60-pounders were boated at Wilmington and Spencer canyons.

<b>Townsend’s Inlet</b>

A charter went 3 for 6 on yellowfin tuna on the first offshore trip of the year Monday at the bight of Wilmington Canyon, said Capt. Joe Hughes from <b>Jersey Cape Guide Service</b> and <b>Gibson’s Tackle</b> in Sea Isle City. The 50-pounders attacked in 69- to 71-degree waters, mostly in 400 to 600 feet, but the biggest ones came from 1,000 fathoms between the Wilmington and Spencer. A rainbow-colored splash bar was the hot lure, but skirted ballyhoos and other offerings attracted strikes. Not a lot of life filled the waters, and no angler would’ve guessed the tuna were there, except for the big, beautiful eddie of warm, Gulf Stream waters that satellite charts showed moving down the 1,000-fathom line along the Lindenkohl, Spencer and Wilmington canyons at the time. Joe saw the eddie moving south, anticipated meeting it at the Wilmington, and he did. The fish fed on squid and were packed with them. John Martin and Mike Cunningham were on the charter. Joe heard third-hand reports about a couple of blue marlin battled at the canyons over the weekend, and he also heard about white marlin landed. Someone on the radio reported catching a 60- or 70-pound longfin tuna, a big one, early for the albacore.  Joe’s friend, Joe Roberts, hit the Wilmington on Wednesday and boated his first-ever tuna, a 60-pound yellowfin, that smacked a Green Machine splash bar that Joe recommended.

<b>Hereford Inlet</b>

Plenty of sharks gave up battles but were on the small side, said Cathy from <b>Sterling Harbor Bait & Tackle</b> in Wildwood in an e-mail. Still, 180-pound mako was pinned down on the Reel Class. A 195-pound thresher got put to a stop by Terry Leddy on Chris Day’s Maw Up from Wildwood.

<b>Cape May Inlet</b>

A 90- or 100-pound mako and a 70- or 80-pound dusky were fought and released on a trip with <b>Copacetic Sportfishing</b> from Cape May at lumps 30 miles off Cape May Inlet over the weekend, Capt. Mike said. Waters were 70 to 71 degrees, so they warmed quickly from the heat, and mackerel and bluefish were the baits. Shark charters will probably only run another two weeks because of the warming waters. But that also means that bluefin tuna trips should soon start to fish the inshore lumps on the chunk and on the troll.

<b>Jaftica Sportfishing</b> from Cape May shark fished last week from Thursday through Saturday, Capt. Ray said. A few small makos and two duskies were leadered throughout the trips, and a 250-pound mako entered the slick on one, and baits were pitched, but the bruiser wouldn’t take. Not a lot of life filled the waters on the first trip, but a bunch of blues swam around on the next two. Waters were 71 degrees, probably warm on the surface but not below, because of the sudden heat. No mako sharks made the 200-pound minimum to be entered in the weekend’s South Jersey Shark Tournament, but a couple of big threshers hit the scale. Jaftica will sail on shark charters through the month, and tuna trips will eventually kick off. Inshore trolling for blues, bonito, mahi or whatever pops up will begin anytime.

The <b>Heavy Hitter</b> from Cape May’s first shark trip of the season will leave port Sunday, Capt. George said. Shark fishers seemed to find small makos but few big ones, maybe because waters warmed, around 70- to 73-degrees along the 20- and 30-fathom lines, but big thresher sharks and other monsters were found. George might head to an edge along 4-Fathom Bank and hunt a thresher. He heard reports about tuna fishing turning on at Spencer and Wilmington canyons, and he knows a private boater who bailed 17 yellowfin tuna and four gaffer mahi at the Wilmington on Saturday. He also heard about white marlin hooked at the Spencer. No bluefin tuna appeared at the inshore lumps that George knew about.

Winners of Cape May’s <b>South Jersey Shark Tournament</b> on Saturday and Sunday, according to an e-mail from Charlie Langan from South Jersey Marina, were as follows: 1st place, Post Game, Capt. Steve Fanelli, 582-pound thresher; One More Cast, Capt. Len Adnalis, 347-pound thresher; and Tashtego, Capt. Rick Popovitch, 308-pound hammerhead. One-hundred-eighty boats with more than 700 anglers competed, and 200 pounds was the minimum size for mako sharks to “minimize waste and preserve the species,” Charlie said. No makos were entered, but 287 were reported released. 

<b>Jim’s Bait & Tackle</b> from Cape May will hold the shop’s 26th annual shark tournament tomorrow, Matt said in a fax. Shark fishing was productive last weekend, and lots of makos were hooked, and the crew of the Got-Em-On checked in the shop’s biggest, a 204-pounder that came from the 19-Fathom Lump. The season’s first tuna reports rolled in by the weekend. Both tuna and marlin started to get reeled up from warm waters at Spencer Canyon, and the eddie was pushing south to Wilmington Canyon at the time. Anglers on the Clean Sweep released a 350-pound blue marlin, and Bill Haskell on the High Noon hooked 40- to 50-pound yellowfin and bluefin tuna, caught and released a white marlin and raised another white.

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