Jeff Crilly got more publicity for not catching a shark yesterday than he ever did winning tournaments with his 31-foot Big Nutz Required II. While chumming for sharks around 30 miles `southeast of Manasquan Inlet in about 210  feet near the Resor wreck, Crilly’s crew saw a great white estimated at 16-18 feet and probably 2,000 pounds cruise into their slick and eat the chum bag just as much smaller blue sharks are prone to do. They got it all on video which was played on the 11 p.m. Channel 7 news yesterday, though the announcer butchered the name of Manasquan Inlet.

Though white sharks can show up anywhere. I never saw one when I was sharking during the early days of the sport in western Long Island — and then out at Montauk where big boat skippers predicted a dire ending as I started sharking with a 19-foot Mako center console — and later began chartering from Montauk with a Mako 25 and sharks as my primary target.

Since they are primarily mammal eaters, the attraction of bunker chum probably isn’t that interesting to whites under normal circumstances. Ironically, I’m sure I saw shite sharks twice while fishing for yellowfin tuna on the mid-range grounds off the Jersey coast.  It appeared they were about to hit hooked tuna, but both tuna evaded them.

There haven’t been any tuna reports lately due to the weather, but that changed today. Capt. Fred Gamboa posted on Facebook about a great trip today on his Andrea’s Toy out of Clarks Landing in Point Pleasant as his party was releasing bluefins by 9 a.m. and took the time to add a 90-inch mako shark that weighed 292 pounds before getting back to the inlet by noon.

The Golden Eagle from Belmar has had shots at small blues north of the inlet every morning, though only a few were jigged Tuesday before they added a boat limit of sea bass and some ling. That boat is chartered on Friday. The Big Mohawk is sailing for sea bass by reservation over the weekend, but may have some spots left for Friday.

Tomorrow’s forecast is for southeast winds of 10-15 knots with gusts to 20. It will shift to southwest after midnight.

Vinny D’Anton, Frank Manzi, Tommy Cox and Jim Louro all had a pick of fish on poppers in Shark River this morning with mostly 5-pound blues and small stripers.

Capt. Dave De Gennaro made the best of a bad situation Sunday morning when his party didn’t show up by running to Barnegat Inlet with his son Nick on Hi Flier from Barnegat to have some fun with stripers and blues on light tackle. The bass were from 20-26 inches and the blues from 2-5 pounds, providing light tackle sport on poppers. That fishing was slow to develop for a party on Monday,  and was mostly stripers when a bite developed. A run into the bay produced short fluke, but nothing for the box.

Monday’s fluking remained slow in Raritan Bay. Capt. Stan Zagleski found some where he had done well Saturday with his Elaine B. II from Bahrs in Highlands — but not the 5-6-pounders of the weekend.

Capt. Ron Santee has officially switched to bottom fishing with his Fishermen from Atlantic Highlands, but will fish for fluke on Sunday. Sea bass have been providing steady action along with ling and even an occasional whiting. The only fluke on the last trip was hooked at anchor.

At Belmar, the Big Mohawk will be sailing limited trips for sea bass on Friday and Saturday. Call 732 974-9606 for reservations.

There have been schools of 2-4-pound blues chasing bait on the surface north of the inlet in the mornings, but they haven’t been  easy to jig.

The Mimi VI from Point Peasant will be sailing open at 7 a.m. from June 24-27. The fare for bottom fishing is $75. Call 732 370-8019 for reservations.

It wasn’t as good for him as yesterday, but Vinny D’Anton caught a couple of school stripers in Shark River this morning on his Chug Bug, plus another on a MirrOlure. Frank Manzi had a 25-inch bass on a popper.

There wasn’t much  east wind this morning, but the surf temperature was quickly back to normal. The forecast for tomorrow is for northwest winds at just 5 knots before going to the southeast in the afternoon.  There may be patchy fog early and afternoon showers.

Jeff Merrill sent the following press release about a new blue marlin tournament coming up:

Red, White…and Blue Marlin!
Introducing the MidAtlantic Cup Blue Marlin Tournament!
July 4th, Independence Day and traditionally the official kickoff of the summer vacation season for most! A day for parades, barbecues, fireworks and celebrations. Early July also gets the juices flowing for big game anglers as the offshore canyons begin to warm up and pelagic visitors make their arrival including the most prized of all billfish species, the majestic blue marlin. This year has already seen some exceptional offshore fishing in the Mid-Atlantic region. It’s well documented plenty of yellowfin and big eye tuna as well as dolphin have already hit the docks at marinas from Sandy Hook to Virginia Beach! Confirmed releases of white marlin and blue marlin have already been tallied at numerous marinas and have crews anxious to get the billfish season underway. It’s setting up to be another exciting offshore season and South Jersey Tournaments has added a very special tournament to its MidAtlantic “Signature Series” of events for 2019.
The MidAtlantic Blue Marlin Cup is set for July 4th and this one prize, winner-take-all event awards a cash payout for the single heaviest blue marlin! More importantly, we’ve made this event very convenient as you can fish from your home marina. Sail from any port, any inlet and fish wherever you like no matter where the good water is! Run as far as you like because there are no boundaries! From Sandy Hook to Virginia Beach several weigh stations have been enlisted for this event. Entry fee is set at $2000 and can be made by standard commercial means either by mail or online registration at SouthJerseyTournaments.com. Please note after June 19th only internet credit card payments will be accepted. Each participant will receive an entry confirmation number prior to July 4th which will confirm the participant’s entry into event. Deadline for entry is 5 p.m. on July 3rd.
The possibility of winning a large cash payout is definitely enticing, but there’s more! The winner will also receive an “Admirals Package” fishing vacation in Nosara, Costa Rica courtesy of Fishing Nosara (FishingNosara.com). The package includes seven nights lodging at the luxurious Casa Capitan at Nosara Paradise Rentals plus four full days of fishing for up to six anglers and much more. The value of this package is well over $6800!
Need an additional nudge to join the fun? For those looking to go in deep The MidAtlantic Cup Blue Marlin Tournament coincides with the Blue Marlin World Cup and participation in both events is permitted so you’ll have the chance to stake your claim as not only the best blue marlin crew in the Mid-Atlantic but also
among the best in the world!
As mentioned earlier boats may sail from any port at any time to reach their desired fishing grounds. Fishing hours are set for 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on July 4th however boats may catch bait prior to lines in. The minimum
length for a blue marlin to qualify is 106” lower jaw fork length. All blue marlin below the minimum length shall be released. Any fish to be weighed must be brought, aboard the boat on which it was caught, to an
Official weigh station by midnight. The winning fish shall be the single heaviest blue marlin caught in accordance with tournament rules. Prize money shall be 80% of all tournament entry fees. Participants shall
comply with IGFA rules and must use only non-offset circle hooks with natural bait or natural bait/lure combinations though J-hooks can be utilized when employing artificial lures. Any Dacron, monofilament orbraided line with a manufacturer’s stated breaking strength of 100-pound test is allowed. Additionally, any line
labeled “IGFA-rated” or “Tournament-rated” with a breaking strength of 130-pound test or less is also permitted. Backing of any line test is allowed as long as the top shot does not exceed the 130-pound test IGFA/Tournament designation or 100-pound test manufacturer’s stated breaking strength. Note the IGFA top
shot and backing rule is stated as follows: The catch shall be classified under the breaking strength of the first
five meters (16.5’) of line directly preceding the double line, leader or hook. This section must be comprised of
a single, homogenous piece of line.
Note this is a one-day only event and there is no weather day or weather committee. It is the responsibility of each participant to decide in advance whether or not to fish on July 4th.

Tournament rules and available weigh
stations can be found at http://www.SouthJerseyTournaments.com or by calling 609-884-0177. Event updates will be pushed out throughout the day on the South Jersey Tournaments app. Download it from the Apple App and Google Play stores. You can also follow the day’s action on the South Jersey Tournaments Facebook page as well.
The offshore season upon us and plenty of tuna species and dolphin, prime forage species for blue marlin, are now being found and caught in the canyons off the Mid-Atlantic coast. Why not consider participating in the
2019 MidAtlantic Cup Blue Marlin Tournament? You’ll no doubt be fishing offshore on July 4th anyway!

Save the barbecue for celebrating later in the evening when you raise an adult beverage and reminisce about the winning blue marlin piling on the right long!

Seaquester will be hard to beat in both Mako Fever and Mako Mania after weighing in Saturday. John Schachel of the Jersey Coast Shark Anglers reported a 402-pounder weighed in by John Marotta — and that mako was then weighed at 397 pounds at Capt. Bill’s Landing in Point Pleasant for the Point Pleasant Charter Boat Association’s Mako Mania. There’s almost always a slight variation in weight when sharks are weighed on two scales as they must be weighed upside down and some stomach contents and liquid may be lost in the process. That will be a hard mako to beat, but they do grow much larger — and there’s still a week to go.

The awards ceremony for the JCAA Fluke Tournament will be held the evening of June 20 in the Clarion Hotel on Rt. 37 east in Toms River. Every boat entered in the contest should be represented as many valuable prizes will be drawn — right up to the grand prize of a 14-foot StarCraft with 20 hp Yamaha and Yacht Club trailer.

It’s not necessary to have entered a fish in order to win at the drawing. Indeed, fishing success seems to be a negative since 19 of the previous 21 grand prize winners had all been shut out in the fishing

Hard south winds during the last few afternoon’s have driven the surf water temperature down, but that didn’t bother the small stripers I encountered this morning. A 22-incher hit my Tactical Anglers Bomb Jr. popper at Manasquan, and another was lost before I made a few casts at Spring Lake and released a 20-incher on the popper.  I was more surprised to find the cold water didn’t turn off the fluke. It just took a few casts with the Band of Anglers Dart Spin before I hooked a fluke that looked to be well over 18 inches before it spit the lure after I landed it but flipped back in before I could measure it. I also hooked a 14 1/2-inch fluke and lost a couple on that lure with a metal blade tail that doesn’t look like a fluke attractor especially when reeled at striper speed.

Shark River had been dead when I cast there Sunday morning, but Vinny D’Anton woke the school stripers up this morning with his Chug Bug and released seven. He topped it off by hooking a big blue that seemed to be much bigger after becoming covered in seaweed by the strong current. it weighed 9 1/2 pounds without the salad.

Grumpy’s Tackle in Seaside Park is still seeing many black drum being caught in the surf during an exceptional run of that species so far north of Delaware Bay.

There were some small blues north of Shark River Inlet this morning, but not many were jigged before the Belmar party boats switched to the dependable sea bass and ling.

Capt. Ron Santee has been concentrating on sea bass and ling with his Fishermen from Atlantic Highlands since fluking has been so poor. However, on Father’s Day he took advantage of a slower current  to make a drift which produced two keeper fluke and six shorts before the drift got too fast. The sea bass bite was good despite choppy seas at anchor.

Though there’s a possibility of patchy fog and showers in the morning, the wind is switching to east at 5-10 knots — which should bring surf temperatures back up.

In response to my blog about catching three stripers Saturday while fishing live bunkers with Joe Massa on My Three Sons from Morgan Marina, reader Marc Chiapperino noted that there were lots of bunkers at Old Orchard while we were struggling to net bunkers in Great Kills. However, there weren’t any bass apparent in those bunkers, and it worked out not seeing them but rather bringing our bait to N.Y. Harbor where hungry stripers were waiting for them. Though my three releases were only from 34 to 36 inches, they were in perfect post-spawning condition and fought very well on my light conventional rig of an Avet SX reel with 30-pound braid, a 40-pound mono leader to a large circle hook, and a 7ft., 5-inch  Jigging World Black Demon rod.

 

 

 

There were no doormats caught during yesterday’s JCAA Fluke Tournament by 188 boats competing out of seven weigh-in ports.  Jesse McLean of Toms River made the most of his 8.79-pound fluke weighed at Manasquan River as it was the largest overall, and he was entered in all Calcuttas  at his port and overall to end up with a total of $10,870.

In a recent blog I called Dave Lilly of Hazlet the top fluke pro in NJ. as attested to by his many tournament wins. Lilly didn’t want to make a liar out of me, so he teamed with Brian Farmer on his 23-foot Grady White along with Mark Capalbo of Dumont and the Salt Water Anglers of Bergen County to boat the latter’s 5.45-pound fluke that was just short of the 5.5-pound winner at Sandy Hook by Steve Kelly of Jersey City. However, Kelly wasn’t in the $100 Calcutta that fell into Lilly’s lap — and they also raced across Raritan Bay to an unpublicized contest in Woodbridge to add that to their winnings. Lilly said they almost tore the boat apart in the 30-knot south winds going across the bay, and barely made the weigh-in.

Dawn Jacobson of Bridgewater won at Jersey City with a 5.59-pound fluke, and Andrew Green from Pa. took Shark River at 5.78 pounds over Don Marantz of Clarksburg with a 5.04-pound entry.  The Southern Regional winner was Tony Mosloskie from Essington, Pa. at 5.53 pounds. I’ll have more about this contest tomorrow. For a complete list of winners visit jcaa.org.

At Seaside Park, Betty & Nick’s Tackle reports Steven Wilfing weighed a 22 1/4-pound striper that hit bunker in the surf. Though bluefish didn’t hit at the docks yesterday evening, there were lots of semi-tropical houndfish there.

Grumpy’s Tackle reports more black drum in the surf up to a 19.4-pounder yesterday evening by Chris Pitcher on clam.

Saturday’s hard south wind in the afternoon lowered surf water temperatures, and we got more of that this afternoon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

While most boaters were chasing fluke in the JAAA Fluke Tournament today, Joe Massa brushed off negative striper reports as I joined him this morning on My Three Sons from Morgan Marina. Bunkers were hard to come by in Great Kills Harbor, but Massa finally got one good shot at them with his castnet. There was no current in N.Y. Harbor when we got there, and fish marks were scarce in the many spots we checked out. The, when the ebb finally started running, we had an increasing south wind up against the currant.

It was difficult to work small spots, but Joe put me into stripers of 36, (see photo below),35 and 34 inches on live bunkers. He had several hits, but none hooked up. Since we didn’t mark many fish, that catch wasn’t bad under very poor circumstances. Joe’s 30-foot Grady White handled the seas well even as the 30-knot south winds predicted did develop. Those winds are predicted to drop off after midnight, becoming 5 knots west in the morning– and shifting to south in the afternoon.

 

Happy Father’s Day

 

 

I’ll get the JCAA results out as soon as they’re available tomorrow.

There was some good fluke news from Capt. Stan Zagleski of Elaine B. II from Bahrs in Highlands as he picked some larger fluke early before the current got too hard and shut the bite off.  Doug Kay of Union Beach had a limit that included a 5 1/4 and the pool-winning 5  3/4-pounder.

Grumpy’s Tackle in Seaside Park reported an unusual number of black drum being caught in the surf, with some anglers catching more than one.

There’s still time for anglers to enter the JCAA Fluke Tournament which will be contested tomorrow at ports from Jersey City to Cape May. There are identical prizes at each of the seven ports, ranging up to $1200 for first. Yet, even those who never weigh a fluke are eligible for the many prizes to be raffled off on June 20 — including a 14-foot StarCraft with 20 hp Yamaha and Yacht Club trailer.  Furthermore, there are optional Calcuttas at each port and overall  — plus the opportunity to win $50,000 cash for catching the largest fluke over 12 pounds. Another $25 has to be added to the $180 entry in order to win the doormat prize, and you can be sure that the angler who caught such a doormat last year but hadn’t invested the $25 will be doing so this year. You never know when lightning will strike! To enter visit http://www.jcaa.org

The N.J.  shark tournaments had their captains meetings last night, but the Staten Island Tuna Club has another from 6-8 tonight. They are fishing jointly with Mako Fever this year, and sharks can be weighed in at either Staten Island or Manasquan during the June 15-23 fishing days. Call Chris Beinert at 973 634-7754 for info.

Though it’s windy from the west this evening, the forecast is for southwest at 10-15 knots in the morning before shifting to south at 20-25 with gusts to 30 in the afternoon.

The Golden Eagle from Belmar couldn’t find any blues today, but ended up with decent sea bass action.

At Atlantic Highlands, Capt. Ron Santee has switched to sea bass due to the poor fluking, and expected to have a tough day with them in a rough ocean before ending up with a good catch on his Fishermen. That boat is chartered tomorrow.

Capt. Stan Zagleski was surprised to see some better fluke on Wednesday’s trip with his Elaine B, II from Bahrs in Highlands. Dennis O’Brien of Bound Brook celebrated his birthday with a 5 1/4-pound fluke, and later added the pool-winning 8 1/8-pounder that was also the boat’s largest so far. See photo below that Word Press entered in the wrong spot.  Charlie Krippendorf of Spring Lake boated a 5 1/8-pound fluke.

 

The Big Mohawk from Belmar is sailing limited sea bass trips through Sunday. Call 732-974-9606 for reservations.

The Jamaica from Brielle has ,  been doing well with sea bass, ling and even some whiting. They’ll run a 3/4-day Father’s Day trip from 7:30-2:30. Ling will be the target Saturday night at 7:30.

After finding the surf too rough for poppers early this morning and Shark River to be unproductive, Vinny D’Anton, Frank Manzi and I switched to sand flea fishing which is best in a rough surf. It started out well as Vinny and I each caught a small striper quickly. I added two more, including a fat 25-incher — and lost two, one of which was probably of keeper size. However, that was it.

 

 

All the results are in from last Friday’s Manhattan Cup out of Liberty Landing Marina in Jersey City. Quite in contrast to some of the earlier Manhattan Cups I’ve fished, the weather was good except for some light fog in the afternoon.

This is an all-release contest with all stripers and bluefish caught being measured and released. Winners are determined by using the standard formula of length to fork of tail, times girth squared, divided by 800. In addition to IGFA rules, anglers aren’t allowed to troll lures, and circle hooks are required for use with bait.  Participants in the event that raises funds for injured combat vets and gives them an opportunity to enjoy a day of fishing, all have  a fine breakfast at Liberty Landing Restaurant before a parade of boats out of the harbor at mid-morning. That eliminates the often prime dawn fishing period, but boat captains have already castnetted their supply of live bunkers — and some large stripers are usually caught even with the sun overhead.

That was the case very quickly for Capt. Brian Rice as he put half-brothers Clark Harris and The Fisherman managing editor Jim Hutchinson into a double hook-up of big bass on live bunkers down the beach. Both fish were measured and tagged quickly on Jersey Devil, but Clark’s 48-incher was the winner for largest bass by a celebrity angler at 43.47 pounds by formula. Harris is a former Rutgers tight end star who is now the long snapper for the Cincinati Bengals and the Guinness Book of World Records longest long snap record holder.

The closest competition for those bass was a 19.29-pounder caught by Bob Boyce on Dave Glassberg’s Critter Catcher. That boat, with Chuck Many aboard, tagged six bass from 31 1/2 to 37 inches to win the Striped Bass Mount.

The largest bluefish on an artificial was a huge 20.95-pounder caught by Jay Sozkesen while fishing on Adrian Muller’s Bass Appeal. If that blue had been landed and weighed on an official scale at one of the Fisherman Dream Boat Fishing Challenge weigh-in stations it would have taken over first place in the bluefish category which is currently held by Walter Fisher of the Staten Island Tuna Club at 18.10 pounds.

Efrain Diaz of Manhattan suffered back wounds in Iraq, but carries a photo on his cell phone of a pleasant moment from that conflict when he caught a large carp out of Saddam Hussein’s private pond.  Now he can also show off one of a 34-inch striper released in Raritan Bay that won him the trophy for largest striper by a vet. He was supposed to fish aboard one of the charter boats volunteered for that purpose, but that boat broke down on the way up.  However, Joe Massa had room on his private boat entry, My Three Sons out of Morgan Marina. We had picky fishing in the back of Raritan Bay, but Diaz hooked the only bass. I took the measurements before releasing the 13.77-pound striper,  It was a very special win as it was the first trophy memorializing Chris Raguso — a true American hero who rescued many others as a New York Fire Department Lt.; a volunteer fireman in Commack, L.I. ; and an Air National Guard pilot before dying at just 39 in a helicopter crash in Iraq.  The photo shows Diaz (holding crystal trophy) with Joe Massa (left), Chris’s father John (Boating/Electronics editor of The Fisherman) and ex-NJ Assemblyman Guy Talerico who won a bluefish award with the only one caught on My Three Sons.

I couldn’t catch a striper or blue in the contest, but was delighted  with the Lifetime Achievement Award presented to me by Manhattan Cup director Gary Caputi and founder Capt. Frank Crescitelli. I told the crowd that I probably was  being rewarded for leaving so few sore lips among the area’s released fish, but was greatly honored to receive that reward which had never been presented before. It’s been my good fortune to have followed my dreams as a kid of fishing over much of the world, catching most of the major saltwater game fish, and making a living by writing about my sport.

Today was a boating blowout, but it’s looking better for the weekend. Small craft warnings are up through Friday afternoon for seas, but the west wind forecasted for tomorrow mourning is just 10-15 knots with gusts to 25. Saturday’s southwest 10-15 knot winds will increase to 15-20 with gusts to 25 in the afternoon. That should leave us with 15-knot southwest winds and 4-to-6-foot seas on Sunday — along with a chance of showers.

Jerry Lasko said the surf was very fishable this morning, and he almost had his rod torn out of his hands with a strike on his first cast at Sea Girt with a sand flea. Anticipation was high after that, but he and Maren Toleno didn’t get another hit.

Shark fishermen should remember about the Thursday evening captains meetings being held for the Mako Mania and Mako Fever tournaments as noted in yesterday’s blog.

Fluke anglers still have time to join Saturday’s JCAA Fluke Tournament. Visit http://www.jcaa.org.

There was some good surf news before the storm. At Seaside Park, Betty & Nick’s Tackle weighed a 24 3/4-pound striper caught in the surf on bunker by Tom Brenner.

Grumpy’s Tackle weighed a 26.5-pound black drum caught in the IBSP surf on clam by Alberto — who also lost either a very large shark or ray he fought for two hours.

A regular at the shop sent a shot of a 48-inch striper released in the surf.

 

 

Both Mako Fever and Mako Mania are providing a choice of fishing days this year that will allow boaters to choose one with suitable weather conditions for the vessel.

The Jersey Coast Shark Anglers have a nine-day format starting Saturday. The captains meeting is at 6:30 June 14 in the Manasquan River Club. Visit jcsa.org for the rules. Mako Fever also has an arrangement with the Staten Island Tuna Club’s Monster Mako Shark Tournament in which anglers can enter both contests and fish under the same regs. In addition, by entering both contests and adding $100, boats can be entered in a thresher challenge that will pay out $25,000 for largest over 450 pounds.

The Greater Point Pleasant Charter Boat Association will run Mako Mania from June 15-23. The captains meeting is at 6:30 June 14 in Wehrlen Brothers Marina on Princeton Ave. in Brick. Visit makomanianj.com or call 732 892-3666.

Capt. Ron Santee of the Fishermen in Atlantic Highlands reports fluking remains poor, so he went right to sea bass fishing and had a fine catch that included a flounder, ling and ocean pout. The latter still have to be released.

The Golden Eagle from Belmar got into blues early, but only a few were caught before they left for a good catch of sea bass that included a triple of keepers. The first bonito I’ve heard of was also boated.

It’s unlikely that anyone will sail tomorrow as the weather turns after midnight and there will be east winds at 20-25 knots before shifting to southeast in the afternoon,

Allen Riley checked the Sandy Hook surfcasting at dawn, and had no competition from other surfcasters or fish. Fresh bunker and lures were ignored.

Vinny D’Anton and I joined Frank Manzi in finding nothing from shore in Shark River before checking the Belmar surf where we saw party boats trying to jig blues about a quarter-mile offshore. Vinnie and I ended up in Spring Lake where we fished sand fleas with little success. Vinny hooked a doubleheader of school stripers, but one got off just before the surf line. I got the skunk off with a 22-incher. Jerry Lasko was fishing further to the south and released two shorts on fleas.

David Walsh reported fishing in Manasquan River the last two days with Gulp and catching plenty of short fluke. Of the 45 caught today from 6-11, about a third were 14-17 inches — which would have been fine with a commercial license which allows a 14-inch minimum.

Last week was another great one in the canyons for the Canyon Runner fleet from Point Pleasant. Adam La Rosa reports the totals for the two boats were over 100 tuna, including a 400-pound giant, 12 bigeyes and lots of smaller bluefins and yellowfins plus dolphin, a 96-inch,400-pound mako, a swordfish and four white marlin. Many of the smaller tuna were released since there was so much meat in he box. Canyon Runner coaching members were also in on the bite as one boat caught eight bigeyes on a day trip. For info on the coaching service and $899 last minute open boat seats call 732 272-4445- or e-mail adam@canyonrunner.com.

The 25th JCAA Fluke Tournament will be contested Saturday from ports throughout N. J. with identical prize packages at each ranging up to $1200 for first. Many Calcuttas will also be available plus a Doormat Fluke Prize of $50,000 for the largest fluke weighing over 12 pounds. The latter requires a  $25 fee in addition to the $180 entrance fee. For lack of adding that $25. an angler last year with a fluke over 12 pounds was unable to bank that $50,000.  This contest is a great deal, as even if you don’t catch a fish you’re still eligible for the June 20 drawing for the grand prize of a 14-foot StarCraft with a 9 HP Yamaha and Yacht Club trailer — plus many other prizes.  To enter visit jcaa.org, or call the office at 732 506-6975.

Today’s rain is long gone, and the clearing west winds are knocking down the ocean swell. The Big Mohawk didn’t sail from Belmar due to the weather, but will be back at it in the morning along with most of the fleet as the forecast is for northeast winds at just 5-10 knots before switching to southeast at 10-15 in the afternoon.

Shark River wasn’t very productive this morning for shore casters, but Jason did plug two short stripers. Tommy Cox waded way out to cast poppers to 4-pound blues. Though Bill Hoblitsell did nothing on the fly there, he moved to the surf for a 24-inch bass. Vinny D’Anton ended up switching to sand fleas in the surf and quickly released bass of 25 and 24 inches before that bite shut off.

Grumpy’s Tackle in Seaside Park reported weekend surf fishing was tough, and there were few anglers in Monday’s weather, but a keeper-size striper was caught on bunker in the surf this morning. Blues are still being hooked in the bay.

 

 

The weather wasn’t favorable for the first big money shark contest of the season, but there was lots of action for anglers fishing in the South Jersey Shark Tournament. Aaron Hoffman of South Jersey Marina in Cape May reported as follows:

The weather wasn’t in favor of the 39th Annual South Jersey Shark Tournament as the Captains Meeting started off with a front coming through. While the forecast over the fish days seemed to put a damper on this year’s attendance the smaller, but enthusiastic fleet were rewarded with plenty of bites.
At first, Day One looked to be the less favorable of the three fish days. With only 6 boats deciding to utilize the breeze to their advantage, they found that the seas turned out to be one of the better options. Those 6 boats had plenty of action throughout the day releasing makos, blue sharks, hammerheads, tiger and dusky sharks. Kyle Denny and the anglers of the 38 Special took an early lead on mako release points with a total of 3 fought throughout the day, while the reels on the Saltlick were cranking all day with a total of 9 released sharks including two smaller makos. While they did manage to boat a possible contending blue shark, it ultimately would not make qualifying weight which left them itching to get back out on the water the following day.
Day Two was the big day when all 47 boats broke the inlet for the fishing grounds. Once again the fleet found the fishy water and within 18 minutes of lines in Garrett Foster on the Jiggle had the first hook up of the day — and after that it was game on. We saw plenty of releases throughout the day. Saltlick was busy once again with 9 releases including a mako,  but Warden Pass took the lead with 10 releases, 5 of which were makos. Francesca Rose, Castaway, and Saltick all came to the scales in hopes to make it to the scoreboard, but unfortunately none would meet the tournament minimums, leaving the board wide open for the final day of the tournament. While the crowds continued to wait anxiously for another day at the weigh stations, the nightly dockside atmosphere was filled with fish stories from the action packed day on the water.
With 6 boats fished out, it left 41 teams to make some magic happen on the scoreboard. Saturday’s forecast turned out to be the windiest of the 3 available fish days, which added to the anticipation at the weigh station. While the conditions were sporty, the remaining fleet found more makos than the prior days. Yet, it was the appearance of the Relentless crew to the weigh station that made the impact to the scoreboard. Halfway into afternoon of weigh-ins their 435 pound thresher set the bar for the heaviest shark across the board. While the
majority of the boats reported hook ups and releases, the tournament concluded with the Relentless as the payout
winner of the tournament.
As the event turned out to be busy with over 100 releases, the points categories were all filled. 3rd Most Points
Mako went to Rob Kurian and his crew on the Saltlick with 800 points total. 2nd Most Points Mako, which was
a tie broken by time, was awarded to Kyle Denny and the team of the 38 Special with 800 points. Most Points
Mako was taken by Val Fichera of the Warden Pass as he and his crew accumulated 1000 release point in total.
The big winners of the night went to Frank Gripp, Captain Joe Cunningham, and the team of the Relentless as
they cleaned out the purses in the Overall, Daily Double, and Under 35’ Calcuttas for heaviest shark with a total
payout of $88,642!

Sharkers can move on this weekend to the June 14-15 B Cityrett T. Baily Mako Rodeo out of Hoffman’s Marina in Brielle. For info contact Art Della Salla at 212 945-8704.

Inshore anglers will be fishing the 25th annual JCAA Fluke Toutnament out of ports Jersey to Cape May on Saturday, For entry info visit jcaa.org. I’ll have more about this and other tournaments tomorrow.

I doubt if many boats fished today, but there was some shore fishing. I was never around anyone fighting a small striper in Shark River this morning, but Tommy Cox had one plus a 5-pound blue plugging before I arrived, and Vinny D’Anton caught four on a popper.

Though most of the surf stripers hitting sand fleas have been in the 20-22-inch class so far. Maran Toleno pulled hooks on bass over keeper size both Sunday morning and evening at a Monmouth County beach.