“Capt JR reports an EXCELLENT start to the 2025 offshore season onboard the mighty Viking Star. Our first TNT trip was very successful as we captured a multitude of deep water species with INSANE tuna catching. We had QUALITY Viking GoldenTilefish, Blue Line Tilefish, Hake, Cusk, Streamer Bass, Swordfish, Mahi Mahi, and a limit of Yellowfin Tuna. It was a GREAT trip with some great people! We still have room on our next 60 hour Tuna/Mahi trip departing Sept 9th at 6AM!
Pool Winners:
Rick Petrone – 34 lb Golden Tile
Zack Javier – 50 lb Yellowfin
Frank Stoutenburgh – 200 lb. swordfish”
The marine forecast in NY/NJ Bight is for south winds at 10-15 knots plus gusts to 20.
Capt. Ron Santee said the day started well until the south wind came on hard. Scott Scuderi took the pool on the Fishermen from Atlantic Highlands with a 5 7/16-pound fluke.
Friday’s NY/NJ Bight forecast is for southwest winds at 10-15 knots before going south at 15-20 plus gusts to 25 in the afternoon. There’s a chance of showers.
Several pompano have been caught in the northern N.J. surf lately — and Nick Honachefsky released three of those great eating fish this morning. He was using Fish Bytes. and must have been in a school as they all hit virtually in the wash.
Ocean fluke fishing is still picky, but the average size has been good with pool fish in the 4-pound class.
The Queen Mary from Point Pleasant has been working hard for mostly small blues along with bonito and the first few little tunny.
The marine forecast in NY/NJ Bight is for south winds at 5-10 knots.
“Congratulations to this angler, 13 yr old Jackson Denio of Hampton NH. Waiting on IGFA (International Game Fish Assoc. )to confirm that he now holds the Junior record for Atlantic Halibut weighing in at 178.9 lbs!! Caught on the AMERICAN CLASSIC with Capt Jim on the overnight Cashes trip. “
NY/NJ Bight isn’t the only place where bluefish have been generally scarce this summer. Mike Monte reports from the island that with a tournament coming up, there are very few blues around — and most of those are very small. Fortunately, the bonito run has been very good — and little tunny just moved in with a solid showing. Sand eels are the attraction.
After enjoying three days of good fluking after the storm swell dropped out, Capt. Ron Santee was surprised by fluking he described as a grind aboard his Fishermen from Atlantic Highlands Sunday. The ocean was nice. and a 5 13/16-pounder took the pool.
The Manasquan River Marlin & Tuna Club’s Offshore Open is over, but I haven’t been able to download anything from their site all week.
Capt. Chris DeStefano was in the crew on Crisdel as they boated a 151-pound bigeye during an overnighter, but noted that they only finished fourth. Trolling was good, but there hasn’t been a good night chunking bite as yet.
*****
The forecast is for northeast winds at 10 knots before switching to east in the afternoon
Dave Lilly found out that flukers drifting closer nshore down the beach this morning were catching mostly shorts, and decided to run Blake Daniel’s boat offshore to a favorite spot. That worked out just fine for a four angler limit catch up to 6 pounds.
The marine forecast for Moday is for northeast winds at 10-15 knots.
Capt. Ron Santee was picking at fluke yesterday on his Fishermen from Atlantic Highlands when the unexpected happened. “Kelly Bachovchin fishing with her dad and a long time customer put her $10 in the Monthly pool this morning and was glad she did! Kelly hooked into a beauty at 9 pounds 11 ounces tying Mark for our Monthly pool!! Fish was 27 1/2 inches long and fat. “
Johnny Calamari reports the”albies” are in. That’s a reference to little tunny which are probably our best fighting inshore game fish.
Vinny D’Anton finally saw a small striper caught in the Monmouth County surf yesterday morning — and he also lost one on his Chug Bug at the same time. That was actually the best action in some time except for the reliable fluke.
Anglers are mourning the loss of two familiar faces this week. Flip Pallot (1942-2025) was one of the pioneers in TV fishing shows with his Walkers Cay Chronicles. He was also a regular at sportsman’s shows, and a skilled guide in southern waters.
Grumpy was actually Tom Hanson, and founder of Grumpy’s Tackle in Seaside Park,New Jersey. He had to work hard in order to maintain his gruffappearance because he actually was happy to help anglers achieve success — especially kids.
Bluefish have been scarce along the Jersey Shore, but the Queen Mary from Point Pleasant worked hard yesterday to put together a catch ranging from 1 to 9 pounds along with a few bonito. Sea bass, porgies and chub mackerel were also caught — and little tunny were spotted.
Vinny D’Anton reported that even small blues left the Monmouth County surf after the big swells — though fluke remain abundant.
Capt. Mark DeBlasioof Blue Runner from Point Pleasant reported tuna cooperated in their latest contest
Though he had to work hard for them, Capt. Mark DeBlasio got off to a good start in the Manasquan River Tuna Tournament
“LUE RUNNER Aug 25-26
MRMTC TOURNEY
Got back out with Rob Lane and crew for our shot at the Manasquan River Tournament. Slow fishing but found a few good bites. Bigeyes went 206.1 and 99 lbs. Yellowfin was a true stud at 121.9 lbs .. Longfin for the non Bigeye stringer at 41.6 lbs. Had some fun with a Blue Marlin release followed by a White release yesterday morning ..
Now we are sitting ducks with some great local boats looking to knock us off the board over the next few days. Tournament ends Saturday ..”
Capt. Ron Santee was frustrated Tuesday by the lack of drift and resulting few bites for fluke anglers on his Fishermen out of Atlantic Highlands. A 4-pounder took the pool.
The forecast in NY/NJ Bight is for southwest winds at 5 knots before increasing to 10-15 in the afternoon plus gusts to 20.
Even a runner-up check in the MidAtlantic can be impressive as MJ’S can attest to
Tight Lines 