New Jersey anglers only have a few days left to fish for fluke, as the season closes after Sept. 27. Those fish are moving off to spawning grounds far offshore, but there are still plenty left in the surf.

The Capt. Cal 2 is still fishing for fluke from Belmar, and they found a good pick of legal fluke in yesterday’s nice conditions. A 7.5-pounder took the pool, and there were also a few in the 5-6-pound class.

A small craft advisory is up through Saturday afternoon, but the morning forecast is for only 10-15 knots northwest which is fishable for inshore fluking even in the 4-6-foot seas predicted. Bigger swells from the hurricane offshore will make surf fishing more difficult. However, John Tiedemann reported seeing lots of bunkers in the Monmouth County surf this morning.

Bad news on Facebook this week involved the passing of luremaker Ron Muccie. The creator of Glitter Plugs died at 85 on Sept. 14 in Levittown, Pa. He was a member of the Berkeley Striper Club, and a familiar figure at fishing events.

Jim Hutchinson Sr. provided the following report for the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association:

“The cruise on the pirate ship “Black Pearl” scheduled for Friday, September 23, has been cancelled. Captain John Lewis, president of the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association, announced the trip is off due to predicted high winds and cold temperatures.

The cruise was to benefit the association’s reef rebuilding project on the local inshore artificial reefs. Lewis said that since there are no available dates to reschedule the trip, it will be planned for next spring or early summer. Since the cruise was intended to benefit the reefs, Lewis suggests those interested to sponsor a reef ball as a Holiday gift. Details can be reached by calling Captain John at 609-670-5980.

In recent fishing news, Captain Gary Dugan had a successful trip out just prior to the ocean kicking up. He had a family group celebrating a 75^th birthday. In addition to multiple short fluke and numerous sea bass, the group returned with two very nice fluke measuring 22 and 23-inches. Captain Gary noted that they also reeled in some beautiful black sea bass that are currently out of season and had to be released.”

Captain Dave Wittenborn reports continued good action on the “Benita J” on his offshore fishing trips. He recently had the Heys group out for an early morning trip that Captain Dave termed “steady action on a beautiful September day.”

Captain Brett Taylor of “Real Reaction Sportfishing” has been working in some trips around his job teaching. He has been catching fluke in the ocean along with some mahi that he found lurking around some pot floats. He has also had some adventures in the bay waters catching a variety of fish including blowfish, sea bass, bluefish, and keeper fluke.”

Yellowfin bite has been outstanding

I’ve been seeing many reports of super yellowfin tuna action as the only problem seems to be too many little tunny in some areas competing for the baits.

Capt. John McMurry of NYCTuna reports he’s never seen yellowfins so eager to bite — and there were some on his last trip over 100 pounds.

Capt. Ron Santee has seen good bottom fishing for big porgies and triggerfish on his Fishermen from Atlantic Highlands, but won’t be sailing tomorrow due to the forecast. His boat is chartered Saturday, but will be back to open trips on Sunday.

A small craft advisory is up through Friday afternoon, and the Friday forecast is for northwest winds at 20-25 knots with gusts to 30.

Dennis Muhlenforth reports there was wild tuna action during this week’s trip of the Voyager from Point Pleasant. He said over 100 yellowfins up to 85 pounds were caught and others lost.

The Golden Eagle had another fine report from their Tuesday offshore fishing as ” some nice size tuna 70-85 pounds” were boated along with some lost and 40 to 50 mahi up to 25 pounds. Today’s bluefish trip was good with 2-pounders hitting on long drifts and many limits taken, Run-Off poppers were most effective.

At Atlantic Highlands, Capt. Ron Santee found better action with jumbo porgies on his Fishermen along with a showing of triggerfish with one angler catching three of them.

Capt. Scott Hilliard is finishing out the fluke season on his Prowler 5 through the weekend. He reported the weather as being too beautiful today, resulting in little drift. Two fluke limits were taken as there were 18 keepers on the boat.

A small craft advisory is up from late tonight to Friday afternoon. The morning forecast is for southwest winds at 15-20 knots before dropping to 10-15 in the afternoon. Showers are likely.

Though Monday’s Exotics trip of the Queen Mary from Point Pleasant was primarily aimed at little tunny and bonito, Frank Huza of Aberdeen was happy to also get a shot at a 40-50-pound bluefin tuna — even though it broke off under the boat.

Frank says they ran 26 miles northeast to get into the action which produced a little tunny for him as well as the lost tuna. He noted that the most effective lure was a Nomad 40-60 gram Streaker. There were three tuna boated and others lost. Anglers with the most sophisticated tackle were most successful.

Capt. Ron Santee said the weather was beautiful and large porgies bit better today along with a few triggerfish, a bluefish and a 4-pound pool-winning fluke. At least 50 legal-size but out of season sea bass had to be released. His Fishermen from Atlantic Highlands is chartered on Saturday,

Tomorrow is looking good for getting offshore with a forecast of northwest winds at 5-10 knots. Big swells will be coming as the hurricane far offshore moves north – but shouldn’t be seen until tomorrow night and then into Saturday.

Jamaca skipper Howard Bogan and Vanessa Bogan Manetta with a very large chub mackerel.

Good casting, jigging and trolling reports keep coming in, but Capt. John McMurray of NYCTUNA says it’s getting harder to find the weather needed to get offshore in comfort. He’s been running through lots of little tunny on the way out to catch yellowfin tuna and dolphin such as the one below.

Capt. Ron Santee only had a few regulars show up to fish for porgies on his Fishermen at Atlantic Highlands, but went fishing anyway. Some jumbo porgies were caught along with a couple of triggerfish, but good-sized sea bass had to go back since they’re out of season.

The Big Mohawk from Belmar concluded their fluke season with Sunday’s charter that produced some limits. Dan Mancini won the pool with a 7-pounder –and ended up with the seasonal pools for the 13-pound doormat he boated last month.

Vinny D’Anton continues to pick away at school stripers in the Monmouth County surf, and was able to raise them with the Chug Bug this morning. He expects to see mullet moving when swells from the hurricane bear down on the Shore.

A small craft warning comes down at 10 p.m. The morning forecast is for northwest winds at 10-15 knots plus gusts to 30.

Many tropical species show up in NY/NJ Bight waters late in the summer, but rarely in quantity. Cutlassfish were virtually unheard of until a few years ago, but seem to be becoming a regular visitor. Indeed, Chris Lido (photos below) reported his last trip on the Gambler from Point Pleasant produced a quantity of that long, flattish, silver-skinned species with a narrow mouth full of fang-like teeth.

It was in 1960 when I first encountered cutlassfish in very different circumstances. I had been transferred from my initial assignment on a destroyer (USS John R. Pierce, DD-753) after graduation from Navy OCS, to serve as War Plans Officer at the Naval Station in Trinidad, West Indies. The first night there I went to the piers and observed those strange creatures chasing small forage fish under the lights — and found that they would hit a tiny diamond jig. At first glance, they looked dangerous to handle, but they’re no problem when gripped by the gill covers. The local workers who also fished on the piers wanted them and assured me they were good to eat.

I later found they are abundant in many areas, such as off Texas where they are called ribbonfish and are the prime trolling bait for king mackerel. In Venezuela I saw small boat fishermen returning to the beach at dawn with baskets of cutlassfish they’d jigged offshore at night.

A small craft advisory remains up through tonight, but by morning the forecast is down to southwest at 10-15 knots with a chance of afternoon showers.

Offshore fishing continues at a good pace, but small craft warnings are up from Sunday morning to evening. The morning actually starts with a modest southwest 10-15 knot wind, but goes to 15-20 with gusts to 25 knots in the afternoon. Thus, inshore fishing conditions should be good early for the building porgy run.

Capt. Ron Dantee said he found improved porgy action on his Fishermen from Atlantic Highlands for the Quick Response charter. A 3-pounder topped the porgy catch, though there were none of the triggerfish also encountered on Friday. Thay did have a few blowfish and a fluke, while small sea bass are a bait-stealing problem. Santee will be back to daily open boat porgy fishing in the morning.

Capt. Mark DeBlasio reports his Sept. 15-16 overnighter for the Anthony Danza party on End Game encountered rougher seas than predicted, but was still successful as bigeyes and yellowfin tuna were biting — and a large wahoo was added.

With light winds in the forecast, NY/NJ Bight boaters should be able to enjoy light tackle fishing for blues and porgies. while fluke are still in the picture to the east — and yellowfin tuna have been pretty consistent offshore.

At Belmar, the Golden Eagle didn’t have to anchor at all as 2-3-pound blues were jigged steadily on long drifts. Run-Off poppers were also very effective. The Big Mohawk has been finishing up fluking, but is chartered the next two days before going into dry dock Monday.

Capt. Ron Santee saw an improvement in porgy fishing on his Fishermen from Atlantic Highlands, and also noted that several large triggerfish up to 4 pounds were added to the catch. The volume of small sea bass and porgies stealing bait is a problem. The Fishermen is chartered Saturday.

The forecast is for east winds at just 5-10 knots with a shift to southeast in the afternoon.

Vinny D’Anton continues to pick away at school stripers in the Monmouth County surf, and even hooked a 32-incher this morning on a MirrOlure. That lure would be a good choice with mullet around, but Vinny hasn’t seen them at all so far.

Nick Honefchesky is offering the new Barrier Islands Beach Brawl t-shirt free to anyone signing up for the Oct. 7-8 event today at saltwaterunderground.com.

Lars Shuster took over the boat fly rod lead for little tunny in the Martha’s Vineyard Fishing Derby with this 11.8-pounder. Bob Correll got into a few surf blues in the 5-pound class on poppers, but the Derby leaders are around 12 pounds.

Large quantities of chub mackerel have been located for some time off the Jersey Shore, and pretty much ensure a good light tackle catch for boats chumming them up along with small bluefish. Bonito and little tunny have been spotty so far, but are usually a possibility at the same time.

Miss Belmar Princess also hooked into several sand tiger sharks recently. The Golden Eagle from Belmar went right to the anchor this morning for the chubs while also adding choppers.

Bottom fishing for porgies is also taking hold, and should continue to improve. Sea bass are also in the picture, but presently out of season. Fluke remain legal in N.J. through Sept. 27, and boaters working to the east continue to catch them. This is also the best time for surfcasters to find a big fluke in the suds.

Both yellowfin and bluefin tuna are within range for most boaters, and often provide great sport by hitting poppers and jigs. Boaters working offshore lobster pot buoys usually find small dolphin plus an occasional bull.

The weather looks good with north winds at just 5-10 knots before shifting to west in the afternoon.

Chuck Many returned briefly to N.J. before heading back to his S.C. salt ponds and caught this fine channel catfish from a local pond.

Jim Hutchinson Sr. reports as follows for the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association:

“The entire crew of the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association-including captains, mates, and supporters, invites everyone to participate in a truly exciting evening on Friday, September 23. There will be a cruising party aboard the “Black Pearl” pirate boat from 7PM until 8:30PM.

This event is slated to be a fun evening with proceeds benefitting the ongoing artificial reef project for the local reefs off LBI. Included in the scenic cruise will be music and prime viewing for the fireworks scheduled at Fantasy Island Amusement Park. There will be a cash bar.

The total cost of the event is $75 for adults and $25 for children. Questions about the evening can be directed to BHCFA president, Captain John Lewis. He can be reached at 609-670-5980 or captjohn22@comcast.net

A couple of the BHCFA boats had good angling action recently. Captain Ray Lopez had a successful trip out to the canyon on the “Miss Liane” chunking for tuna. He had on board David from Pittstown, Johnny from Forked River, and George from Watertown. They brought home some nice yellow fin and a big eye caught by Johnny, a 15-year-old.”

Captain Brett Taylor of “Real Reaction Sportfishing” had Joe Z and wife of Point Pleasant on a 3-hour bay charter. They targeted blowfish, and the team went home with 87 nice fish for the freezer. 

Additional information on the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association can be found at www.BHCFA.org“

It was “All the mahi you wanted” fishing during Monday’s canyon trip on the Golden Eagle from Belmar. Most were in the 5-10-pound class while a few were in the teens — along with some from 30-35 pounds. It was a lot different today on the inshore bluefish trip as only one small dolphin was boated among a good showing of 2-3-pound blues and a 5-pound pool-winning little tunny.

Capt. Ron Santee said he barely had enough fares to sail his first porgy trip of the season, but wanted to do some exploring in any case. That wasn’t very successful due to a roaring current, though there were some triggerfish boated. A move put them into some big porgies, but out-of-season sea bass were beating them to the clam baits. Santee will continue with the porgy fishing, but is not available on Saturday.

The forecast has improved considerably. Instead of gusty north winds, it’s now north at 10-15 knots.

It’s not often that a charter boat can make a half-day yellowfin trip, but that’s what Shore Catch did from Manasquan Inlet on Monday as they left at noon, loaded up on yellowfins by 4, and were drinking cocktails in port by 5.