<b>Barnegat Inlet</b>

Although <b>Seafood Fishing Charters</b> from Forked River took the run to Barnegat Ridge North on Friday to looked for bluefish instead of big game, no bluefish were found, but a 6-foot hammerhead shark was fought to the boat, Capt. John said. Bait and fish that looked like blues were marked, but no blues bit. The anglers also scored two big runoffs that got off, and John couldn’t know what the fish were, but he heard that a few bluefin tuna swam the grounds.  An open-boat shark trip was sailing today, and Seafood’s been catching sharks, and the season’s first tuna charter is slated for Thursday. Temp breaks already rolled through the Hudson and Toms canyons, and John was now up for tuna charters. Space remains on open-boat trip that will compete in the Beach Haven Marlin and Tuna Club Tournament from July 20 to August 2.

A bunch of customers were gearing up for shark fishing this weekend at places like the Glory Hole and the Mudhole, said Josh from <b>Barnegat Light Bait & Tackle</b>. Tuna were beaten at the canyons like the Wilmington.

<b>Great Egg Harbor Inlet</b>

Bluefin tuna were moving in to the inshore grounds, so tuna season was starting to roll, said Capt. Eric from <b>O-Beth Sportfishing</b> from Margate. His tuna season was kicking off today with a charter, and space is available through this holiday weekend for tuna fishing on the boat. O-Beth was shark fishing until now, but sharking was winding down, a shorter season than usual, because waters off South Jersey were too cold at first, and then suddenly warmed too much. The best sharking probably lasted a week or 1 ½ weeks.

Brown sharks swam everywhere in inshore waters, said Dan from <b>Fin-Atics</b> in Ocean City. Bluefin tuna got walloped at 19-Fathom Lump and the Hambone, and yellowfin tuna were boated at Wilmington Canyon and farther north.

<b>Townsend’s Inlet</b>

Rich Linus, Ryan Whitney and friends jumped aboard with Capt. Joe Hughes from Sea Isle City’s <b>Jersey Cape Guide Service</b> for something a little different last Friday: inshore shark fishing with light tackle at the Northeast Lump, Joe said. They fought two dusky sharks to 25 pounds and missed a bigger one on fresh bluefish fillets and mackerel fillets. They also reeled in small blues to add to the bait supply. On Saturday John Martin headed offshore with Joe, trolled a 25-poud bluefin tuna at 19-Fathom Lump, moved to Wilmington Canyon and trolled a mahi mahi. Ballyhoos behind Islanders did the trick, and seas were a little rough. Joe was looking for a specific temperature break at the canyon that never appeared where forecast, and there was no specific break in the area. Bluefins and some good-sized mahis were landed at Massey’s Canyon and the Hot Dog around the weekend, and fishing for the bluefins was very good at 19-Fathom Lump last week on Thursday but slower the next day.

On the Justified, the boat from <b>Over Under Adventures</b> that’s currently fishing from Avalon, anglers limited out on bluefin tuna 40 and 80 pounds and also gaffed a good-sized mahi mahi at 19-Fathom Lump, an e-mail from Over Under said. Inshore trips also trolled small blues and some bonito at Sea Isle Ridge. The Low Profile, another boat from Over Under, was wrapping up its season of fishing from the Bahamas and was expected to arrive in Avalon around the Fourth of July to join the Justified at fishing the canyons for big game soon afterward. Boats from Over Under are also fishing from Ocean City, Md., and Oregon Inlet, N.C. From Ocean City, one of the vessels last week put patrons into 20 to 25 bluefin tuna at lumps and bumps south of Virginia.

Bluefin tuna were trolled and chunked at 19-Fathom Lump, the Hot Dog and the Hambone, said Wes from <b>Gibson’s Tackle</b> in Sea Isle City. Yellowfin tuna, a few mahi mahi and marlins came from the canyons. Shark anglers could find threshers roaming.

<b>Hereford Inlet</b>

Yellowfin tuna were pinned down from Wilmington to Baltimore canyons, and white marlin were found on the 100-fathom line northeast of the Wilmington, said Cathy from <b>Sterling Harbor Bait & Tackle</b> in Wildwood in an e-mail. Massey’s Canyon served up bluefin tuna, including for the crew on the Big Bully II, who went 3 for 4 on the fish while trolling ballyhoos behind blue Islanders. Kim Bulifant was on the trip and weighed in a 45-pounder.

<b>Cape May</b>

Bluefin tuna trips were on the books to fish the inshore lumps late this week on the troll and on the chunk, said Capt. Mike from <b>Copacetic Sportfishing</b> from Cape May. The tuna reportedly bit at spots like Massey’s Canyon and the Hot Dog.

Mako sharks mostly moved north, but brown sharks were plentiful, and a good chance at a thresher was possible, said Capt. Rob from <b>First Cast Sport Fishing</b> from Cape May. First Cast will start tuna fishing soon, and bluefins already hit at the inshore lumps, and yellowfins were already muscled in at the canyons for weeks.

Capt. George from the <b>Heavy Hitter</b> from Cape May fished on trolling trips for bluefins 40 miles offshore with friends on their boats, he said. On Tuesday a 75-pounder was smoked, and the crew stopped at a wreck far offshore and bagged sea bass on the way home. On Wednesday a 32-inch bluefin was decked, and another was fought, got hung up in the prop and was lost. Waters were 75 degrees, and both trips fished the same area, and few other boats were around the first day, but the spot was packed with boats the second. Fishing for yellowfin tuna at the southern canyons like Poorman’s and the Lindenkohl seemed to slow down in 74-degree waters with no temperature breaks. But breaks might’ve been moving north toward the Hudson. Shark fishing seemed to produce no makos but gave up brown sharks. The Heavy Hitter usually kicks off tuna fishing after the Fourth of July.

Bluefin tuna fishing began to improve along the 20-fathom line on the troll, said Matt from <b>Jim’s Bait & Tackle</b> from Cape May in a fax. The fish seemed spread out from the Cigar to the Misty Blue wreck, 19-Fathom Lump, Massey’s Canyon and the Hambone. The fish were mixed sizes from shorts to just over 100 pounds. The crew on the Free Spirit last week landed two, a 150-pounder and a 100-pounder, south of the Cigar. Anglers on the Pilot House fished Massey’s for a mixed bag of smaller bluefins, some mahi mahi and big bluefish. At the canyons warm waters looked to be moving south between the Wilmington and Baltimore toward the beginning of the week. One gang fished the Wilmington last week and reeled in 14 small yellowfin tuna, keeping seven, and mahi mahi. The tuna there were reportedly smaller but plentiful.

Back to Top