Golden Eagle jigging bluefish

Just as it should be at this time of year in NY/NJ Bight, bluefish seem to be building up for dependable summer sport.

The Golden Eagle from Belmar shifted over to blues Tuesday, and they were limited out by 10:30 with 2-6-pounders on jigs.

Golden Eagle blues

There wasn’t such good news when Capt. Ron Santee witched to fluke that day as rough weather made for tough drifting. There were some keepers among the shorts on the Fishermen from Atlantic Highlands, and Santee anticipates much better action when conditions are favorable.

The forecast is for south winds at 10-15 knots plus early showers.

The Big Mohawk had a similar fluking report when they got started running out of Belmar at 6 a.m. on Tuesday. The pool winner was about 5 pounds and a few anglers had multiple keepers.

Vinny D’Anton has been picking away at stripers on cand fleas at Monmouth County beaches, but coming up with only shorts when he switches to fluke. Yet, a couple of mornings ago he finally hooked up with a fighter on his Gulp — only to end up with a 13-14-inch blackfish. Not only are tog rarely found on sandy bottoms, but that one was also snagged. It’s hard to imagine how it would be possible to snag the leathery body of a blackfish with a circle hook! Vinny also got a shot of stripers up to 24 inches on his Chug Bug and a Redfin.