Blues, fluke lingering, while tuna trips cash in
RON NUZZOLO Fish On
Aboard Captain Dave from Atlantic Highlands, first mate Brett Chamberlain tells me the majority of their charters were for bluefish, and no one was disappointed.

Weakfish are long overdue as the harbor is loaded with peanut bunker. There is still a body of fluke to be caught and nicesized fish too. The Hi-Mar charter had a very good catch. With less than 10 days left for the fluke season, anglers are working every spot they can. The Bank of America party, headed by David Cohen, wanted to get in on the bluefish action, so they loaded up the Captain Dave with bunker and off they went. The group had good fishing for most of the day. Pat Tierney took this day pool with an 11-pound blue, and Larry Haiken scored the most fish.

Another trip was sponsored by the Hi- Mar club, and this time it was the Point Pleasant Fire Explorers gang. Fluke was on the menu for this party. After several stops, they found the fish localized to a spot off the beach, and it was one nicesized flattie after the next. Then, they were pushed out by several party boats that were having a bad day and spotted the action. So, a move to the tip of the Hook was in order, and several more nice fluke were boated. The Fire Explorers would like to thank the Hi-Mar guys for their generosity, and for making this charter possible.

On the Star Chaser, my friend Bill Fee took John Szczesny of Fords out fishing from the SP buoy to the end of the Sandy Hook Channel, and caught 40 fluke, though only five were keepers, although many were close to being keepers. The bulk of the keepers were caught by the range towers during the hour before the tide change.

Capt. Joe at NJSaltwaterfisherman.com reported a good day of fluking aboard his boat, the Irish Ayes out of Shark River inlet, and punched in the numbers for the Fisherman wreck, found a lump away from the fleet and began drifting. Several drifts produced five keeper fluke and some keeper sea bass. Ron P. boated a nice 26 ¾-inch flattie that weighed 7.5 pounds on an uncertified digital scale.

The catching slowed down some and luckily received a call from Skip on Pop's Soul. Pop's Soul was picking through some shorts and putting fish in the box. So Capt. Joe made the move and joined Pop's Soul. After several drifts they had five more keepers in the box. Capt. Joe was able to finish the day with 12 keeper fluke and six sea bass.

Aboard the Miss Norma K, Capt. Ron Pry reports fluke fishing has been a steady pick working through the shorts. Anglers have been taking a mix bag of sea bass and keeper fluke.

The Prowler 5 has been keeping everyone happy with its magic hours for the relentless bluefish, and everyone seems to be fighting fish and sleeping well at night.

Offshore report

Capt. Jeff on the Voyager started out the 2007 tuna season with a bang out in the canyon and anchoring up for the overnight chunk. First the squid showed up to check things out and about one and a half hours in a pole began to sing thanks to a nice 65-pound yellow fin. They had a few other bites over the next two hours and landed a few more tuna as well as a nice swordfish around 125 pounds. At about 2 a.m., the fishing really turned on and for the next three and a half hours they had a steady pick with one to six fish on at all times. Many people had limits. There appears to be a nice spread of quality fish around so it looks good for upcoming trips. Starting on Sept. 4, Voyager will be sailing for tuna every day.

To check availability, visit www.voy agerfishing.com/html/trip_calendar.html or e-mail jgutman28@comcast.net.

And it keeps getting better … the Jenny Lee had a trip anglers can only dream about. Capt. Jimmy Gahm and Capt. Kevin Gerrity took Ken Switzer of New York City and friends on an overnighter to the Toms Canyon. They started the chunk when, like a lightning bolt, all 10 lines went off at the same time. Like a heavy metal concert out of control, 10 big eyes were on at once. After all the mayhem, and Kevin saving the day by retying a line in the midst of battle, they went four for 10. But that wasn't the end for Capt. Jimmy, as two minutes later they were on again, and went one for two. The fish were in the 175-pound class, and at that range and that type of action I'm sure they will need a chiropractor after that trip.

Fish on, and please keep those amazing reports coming to ron@signbrothers.com.