<b>Manasquan Inlet</b>

An open-boat trip Saturday returned early because the anglers were tired after fighting more than two dozen yellowfin tuna to 65 pounds with <b>Mushin Sportfishing</b> from Point Pleasant Beach, Capt. Alan wrote in an email. They were too tired to fish for tilefish afterward. Mushin, whose home port is in Point Pleasant Beach, is sailing for tuna, sharks and tilefish from Cape May this month and in July, like it does every year. The tuna fishing off Cape May to Maryland is hot! he wrote. The tilefishing’s also good. That trip trolled the yellowfins all morning, and left them biting. An open trip the previous day trolled the year’s first bigeye tuna aboard, a 110-pounder. That outing also trolled bluefin tuna to 45 pounds and yellowfin tuna to 60 pounds, good action, including many multiple hook-ups. All of these tuna were hooked in the same area on the trip. Then the anglers tilefished, limiting out on bluelines to 18 pounds and cranking in some goldens. Time to go! Alan wrote. Charters are fishing, and new open trips were just added for June 24, 28 to 29 and July 8.

A trip at the southern canyons trolled four bluefin tuna, four yellowfin tuna and a longfin tuna Saturday on the <b>Tin Knocker</b> from Point Pleasant, Capt. John said. All the fish weighed 30 pounds and were hooked on plastics. The ocean on the fishing grounds was 63 degrees on the cool side of a temperature break, and 67 to 68 on the warm side. Seas were flat and beautiful, couldn’t be nicer. Tuna are in, and telephone to get after them while they are.

Offshore fishing was the big news, Eric from <b>The Reel Seat</b> and Brielle said on Sunday. Fishing for yellowfin tuna and bigeye tuna was very good at Spencer to Wilmington canyons offshore. Tremendous catches were trolled on spreader bars and ballyhoos. Reports about bluefin tuna 150 to 200 pounds rolled in from the Texas Tower in past days, he said that day. Those were all trolled on ballys. Dave from the shop on Wednesday said fishing for tuna was good offshore last weekend for lots of yellowfins and bigeyes and some bluefins. That was from South Toms Canyon to Wilmington Canyons, all on the troll. Spreader bars, daisy chains and ballyhoos were fished. Mako sharks were sometimes caught at night on the trips. Little was reported about inshore sharking. Dave heard about effort but not many results. Locals don’t often shark anymore unless in a tournament. One mako was entered in last weekend’s South Jersey Shark Tournament. The fish weighed 269 pounds, according to the tournament’s website. Anglers will see how sharking goes in this weekend’s Brett T. Bailey and Jersey Coast Shark Anglers shark tournaments.

<b>Barnegat Inlet</b>

The year’s first fishing offshore sailed last Friday with <b>Tuna-Tic Sportfishing</b> from Forked River, Capt. Mike said. The fishing was great, spending half the day on tuna, the other half on sharks. The tuna fishing limited out on bluefins to 62 inches and released additional. That was on the troll, and a half-dozen yellowfin tuna and some skipjacks were also trolled. The sharking fished at the same spot and released three throwback makos and two big tiger sharks. One of the tigers was huge, probably 16 feet, and took time to land. This was a day trip, not an overnighter, but the trip was back in port in the wee hours of Saturday. Fighting the big tiger delayed the return. The sharking was during daytime, not nighttime. The fishing grounds looked like National Geographic, with life like whale sharks and sunfish swimming. The water was a beautiful color, and its temperature varied greatly. The fish were hooked in 68-degree water, and a 10-degree temperature break was located a little ways away. Weather would prevent more of the fishing most of this week until maybe today. The bluefin fishing should be consistent in the next weeks, Mike thinks.

An edited email from Capt. Dave DeGennaro from the <b>Hi Flier</b> from Barnegat: “We ran to the Spencer Canyon on Sunday. Found the right water. Beautiful shade of blue. Tons of porpoise and whales. Skipjacks attacking our spread every 5 to 10 minutes. Caught one small bluefin tuna, not even big enough for the cooler, and way too many skippies. That's the report. We were one of the boats that didn't catch that day.” Trips aboard were going to fish inshore yesterday and today. “Saturday looks like the best day to run offshore,” Dave continued, “so as long as that forecast holds up, we are chasing tuna. Right now, it shows no storm activity and 1- to 2-foot seas. Probably headed for the canyons, unless I get some good mid-range reports in the 50- to 60-mile range. The canyons we’re fishing are about 85 miles. We meet at the dock at 3 a.m. and return around 5 p.m. Four people max, all fish are shared. If we stay within the 60-mile range, the rate is less money. But right now, the best reports are coming from the canyons. Yellowfin and bluefin."

<b>Great Egg Harbor Inlet</b>

Wind, seas and rain prevented offshore fishing in past days, said John from <b>Fin-Atics</b> in Ocean City. A few customers planned fish out there today. Previously, good catches of yellowfin tuna and a few bluefin tuna were pasted at Spencer and Lindenkohl canyons. The fish-holding water reportedly slid south now to Wilmington and Baltimore canyons. Some of the customers planned to sail there today.  

<b>Townsend’s Inlet</b>

Tuna fishing was good for mostly bluefins, but more yellowfins and bigeyes showed up in the past week than before, said Mike from  <b>Sea Isle  Bait & Tackle</b> in Sea Isle City. Tuna were no longer inshore at places like the Elephant Trunk and the Tea Cup. They were offshore, pretty much at the canyons. Lindenkohl Canyon gave them up, and all of these southern canyons seemed to have a bite sometime recently. All the tuna were trolled that Mike heard about. But maybe a trip or two hooked them on jigs or lures when the tuna popped up along the surface in a school. Shark fishing sounded slow, probably because of the new, larger, 83-inch-minimum size limit for makos. Makos that big weigh 180 or 200 pounds minimum, and most makos off the coast are smaller.

<b>Cape May Inlet</b>

Capt. George from the <b>Heavy Hitter</b> spoke with friends who all canceled tuna fishing on their boats through mid-week because of weather, he said. He ran no trips then either. Weather wasn’t good for sailing, especially offshore for tuna. On a trip Saturday that competed in the South Jersey Shark Tournament aboard, blue sharks were released. The ocean was cold, 59 degrees, where the trip fished between 19-Fathom Lump and the Elephant Trunk. Many who competed that day complained about cold water. Trips had to sail all the way offshore for warmer water. Cold water close to shore seemed to cause bluefin tuna to move to offshore canyons. But they were there. The bluefins last week held inshore, because the water was 68 degrees then. The temperature dropped 10 degrees afterward. At the canyons, some anglers scored better than others on tuna. A friend got into them well Friday. Another friend headed to the same spot the next day, and the water had become cold. That friend then trolled south and caught. If anglers are interested in tuna, jump aboard soon, because the fish will disappear before long.

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