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Sea bass were thick, and many were shorts, but anglers could pick through and bag keepers, said Dave from The Reel Seat. Axel Carlson Reef seemed to hold more than Sea Girt Reef. A couple of customers hauled aboard cod and pollock at wrecks in 120 to 140 feet, and some targeted wrecks along the Mud Hole and lambasted ling. Striped bass and big bluefish were trolled at the Shrewsbury Rocks, and boaters who tried to troll stripers south of Manasquan Inlet ended up battling slammer blues. Nothing was heard about surf fishing, but Manasquan River was packed with striped bass. A mess of blues also filled the river, and Dave was unsure how big they were, but his rubber shads meant for stripers kept getting bitten off by blues. Rubber shads or soft plastic lures were the things to toss for the stripers. Canyon fishing was pretty much status quo, and yellowfin tuna fishing was slow there, and longfin tuna showed up at the canyons early in the week. But 125- to 150-pound bluefin were sometimes located at Hudson Canyon, and spools were getting stripped by the fish. But the fishing was on one day, off the next. Good catches of smaller, 50- or 60-pound bluefins came from south of the Monster Ledge. Chunking and trolling both seemed to work. Anglers should be aware that the Save the Summer Flounder Fishery Fund needs support, and visit the web site and consider helping.
Bottom fishing was the name of the game on a trip Saturday with Fish Monger Charters, and scores of keeper sea bass to 3 ½ pounds, 30 porgies and a lone triggerfish were boxed, Capt. Jerry said in an e-mail. The anglers fished from tight to the beaches to 6 miles off, and there was lots of life, and many fish were throwbacks, but plenty were keepers. On Thursday another group wanted to catch tog before one of the anglers moved to California. Winds blew 20 to 35 knots but west, but the boat was going to fish close to land, so waters would be sheltered. The blackfish bit in spurts, a few here, a few there, in 25 to 55 feet, and the ocean seemed dirty. Still, everyone bagged a one-fish limit apiece, and they released the rest. About 35 of the slipperies were keeper-sized to 5 ½ pounds, and many were shorts. Probably 14 sea bass and a couple of porgies were by-catch, and crabs were the bait. The day was chilly, finally starting to feel like fall. Fish Monger will keep bottom fishing, and call to get in on the hot catches.
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