The 40th annual Manasquan River Marlin & Tuna Club Offshore Open concludes Tuesday as entrants who haven’t taken their one overnighter or two day trips try to knock off some impressive leaders.

The latest entries were topped by a swordfish of 317.5 pounds that was part of a very successful trip by Galaxy, which also weighed a 136.5-pound bigeye for a daily prize even though it was short of the leaders. Touch of Grey leads in tuna at 189.5 pounds, followed by Canyon Runner at 181 and Low Bid with a 178-pounder. Blue Runner and Canyon Fever joined Just One More with a blue marlin release — and also tied in white marlin releases with three. The Mahi division is still topped by a 43.2-pound dolphin on Three’s Enough. Miss Tres broke the ice in wahoo with a 58-pounder that will be hard to beat.

The yellowfin tuna bite continues despite a mob scene offshore. Capt. Joe Massa joined Jimmy Peters on his Reel Time from Morgan Marina and a couple of friends to catch 10 yellowfins yesterday in an area where 350 boats were fishing during a beautiful day until the south wind came up in the afternoon to create a tough 94-mile ride home.

Tia Di Gavero may have caught the fluke of the weekend as she weighed a 10.5-pound doormat (see below) at The Tackle Box in Hazlet after hooking it on a killie at the Rattlesnake.

Ken Peters of Springfield had a profitable weekend while fluking aboard Elaine B. II from Bahrs in Highlands as he won Sunday’s pool with an 8 5/16-pounder — after having won the money Saturday with a 6 1/4-pound fluke.

At Atlantic Highlands, the Sea Hunter reported lots of 3-and-4-pound fluke today. along with a pool winner just under 6. The Fishermen was topped by a 9.2-pound fluke caught by Mike Rodriquez, who limited along with his wife Leslie as their bag included a 6.5-pounder. Another angler boated a 7.1-pound fluke.

The great weather continues tomorrow with a forecast of southeast winds at 5-10 knots — and nothing over 10 knots through Friday.

The Mimi VI from Point Pleasant has scheduled an open Hudson Canyon trip for Monday Sept. 14 at 7 a.m. and returning the following afternoon. The cost is $450, and it’s limited to 12 They also have an open bottom fishing trip on Saturday. Call 732 370-8019 for reservations..

Tia DiGavero- 

An unsuccessful attempt to catch a school striper yesterday morning in Shark River ended up providing one of the most unusual catches of my life when the heavy fish that hit my Z Man 5-inch pearl blue glimmer DieZel MinnowZ jig turned out to be a cownose ray of at least 30 pounds. Not only was that a lengthy fight on my light spinning rig, but I was hoping I had enough braid on my small Canyon reel as it ran with the current.

I’d never seen or heard of a cownose in the river before, and they’re not what you want to hook while wading as unhooking a ray in the water can be a bit of a problem. However, that once in a lifetime experience was one for my memory bank until I made my first cast this morning and immediately announced that I had hooked another cownose. The heavy weight and long run without any head-shaking was a sure clue. Fortunately, I was able to get the cownose up on some mud to remove the jig from its mouth. Then I switched to a small Pili Popper for small blues because I’ve caught cownose on many different baits and lures from boats and the surf — but have never heard of one hitting a popper.

That’s a species that’s not involved in Nick Honachefsky’s Barrier Islands Beach Brawl coming up on Oct. 9 and 10, That surf contest has a $40 entry fee, but there are lots of prizes , many of which are raffled off so that you may come out ahead without even catching a fish. Visit saltwaterunderground.com/shop

At Atlantic Highlands, Capt. Rob Semkewyc reported that Saturday’s fluking on his Sea Hunter was poor for keepers, but he took revenge today as there were three limits including one by his daughter.

Capt. Ron Santee Jr. had a big fish day on his Fishermen as Jung Kim boated a 28-inch fluke which weighed 8.11 pounds. They also released many large sea bass which are now out of season.

Following is a last minute yellowfin tuna opportunity on the Canyon Runner from Point Pleasant.

Last Minute Open Boat SpotSeptember 8-9$995/person

Reports It’s hard to believe but the yellowfin have been feeding on the chunk for weeks now mostly during the day and there just doesn’t seem to be much of an end to it.

Tiago Periera of Springfield picked up some killies this morning at the Tackle Box in Hazlet before going to the Sandy Hook surf and then returning to weigh in a 9-pound fluke. While fluke are a common surf catch, it’s hard to find a keeper, much less a near-doormat — especially on such a small bait.

Nick Honachefsky noted that he’s been doing well with fluke in the surf, and also saw a Spanish mackerel and little tunny caught yesterday at Manasquan Inlet. His Barrier Islands Beach Brawl is on again for next month. I’ll have more about that tomorrow.

The Fishermen from Atlantic Highlands had a good showing of larger fluke Friday as many from 3 to 5 1/2 pounds were boated and several limits recorded. John Froelic ran away with the pool with his 28-inch, 8-pound fluke, but there was also a 6.5-pounder boated.

The Queen Mary from Point Pleasant reported good Friday bluefishing for mostly 3-5-pounders and up to 8, but there was a slow start this morning until blues turned on after 11. Those who worked their jigs did well, such as Ken and Miriam Fuchs who limited from among over 30 plus some porgies.

At Belmar, both the Golden Eagle and Miss Belmar Princess noted that bluefish jigging was tougher today than yesterday, though those working at it did well.

The Manasquan River Marlin & Tuna Club Offshore open got another big tuna entry as Low Bid weighed a178-pounder that was just three pounds short of Canyon Runner’s second place bigeye. Just One More recorded the first blue marlin release, and Sea Owl released two whites.

A beautiful Labor Day weekend seems to be on it’s way. The morning forecast is for southwest winds at 5-10 knots.

With the population having been in a decline for a few years, it’s not surprising that there wasn’t a good bluefish run into the rivers during the spring. However, the small blues which party boats have been working on in recent summers did show up — and now there are a few bigger choppers among them.

At Belmar, the Golden Eagle didn’t have another “awesome” day, but those who worked at it did well with blues from 3 to 10 pounds on a gorgeous ocean day. Some porgies, a 5-pound fluke and some shorts were also caught. Miss Belmar Princess had a similar report with 3-7-pound blues that hit all day, but only for those working for them with Ava 27 and 67 jigs — plain or tailed. Anglers are restricted to five blues on licensed party and charter boats, but just three otherwise.

I went back to river casting this morning and could have limited with blues of about 4 and 5 pounds plus my first big blue this year — a fat 26-incher that tore off quite a bit of line from my small Canyon spinner in a strong current. Those blues were released after hitting a Z Man 5-inch pearl DieZel MinnowZ. The ElaZtech material on those paddletails stands up to bluefish teeth pretty well.

Fluke fishermen found better conditions when they got back out into the ocean on Thursday. but the Sea Hunter from Atlantic Highlands reported fishing conditions weren’t as good today. There were some keepers up to just under 5 pounds, and three jumbo porgies — though sea bass had to be released since the summer by-catch season is closed.

Those looking to get in on the great yellowfin tuna run have an opportunity as the Canyon Runner from Point Pleasant is setting up open boat spaces on another boat with seats at $995 on Sept. 8-9.

It looks as if a fine Labor day weekend is coming up. Saturday’s forecast is for northwest winds at 5-10 knots before going southwest in the afternoon.

Capt. Joe Massa decided to make a short afternoon trip with his My Three Sons from Morgan Marina, and was able to get into mostly 30-inch stripers on live and dead bunkers in the Hudson River along with Capt. Vinny Vetere of Katfish from Great Kills. though thos bass showed little respect for the most senior member of the party — me!

Vetere and Massa had a lively battle for most releases among the 17 caught within a few hours, but it ended in a tie as Massa headed back to beat the threat of thunder storms.

The Golden Eagle from Belmar reported an “awesome” catch of 3-5-pound blues plus one about 6 pounds inshore from start to finish today.

Capt. Dave DeGennaro has several fisheries available for his customers on Hi Flier from Barnegat. On calm days he’ll run well offshore for chunking, casting and trolling yellowfin tuna, while on slightly rougher days there’s the short run to Barnegat Ridge for bonito and little tunny. Under any conditions there’s also the opportunity to chum with grass shrimp for 14-18-inch weakfish plus other inshore species on 6-pound spinning tackle. Dave takes both charters and individual bookings.

The storms should be out of the way by tomorrow, when the forecast is for west winds at 10-15 knots.

The 40th annual Manasquan River Marlin & Tuna Club’s Offshore Open doesn’t have the huge pay-offs of the White Marlin Open and the MidAtlantic, but the competition is just as intense.

The contest is running from August 29 through Sept. 8, during which time the 53 boats entered can fish two day trips or one overnighter. Linda Anne got things started with a 69.55-pound tuna on the 31st. The tuna species aren’t identified, but they got a lot bigger since then as Touch of Grey boated tuna of 189.5 and 182 pounds, while Canyon Runner fit in between at 181 — and Andrea’s Toy had a 117.2. The mahi leader is a 43.2 pound dolphin on Three’s Enough. Swordfish have also been weighed in, with Jenny Lee leading at 129.15 pounds over Miss Mikayla II at 100 pounds. Both the Canyon Runner and Goin In Deep have two white marlin releases.

There’s not much news from the beach as Grumpy’s Tackle in Seaside Park hasn’t posted a report since Aug. 13 — though Betty & Nick’s reports small blues and fluke in the surf. I’ve gone back to river casting which isn’t much better as I managed only a 20-inch striper and a blue of about 5 pounds this morning on a Z Man pearl paddletail.

Thursday’s inshore forecast is for south winds at 10 knots.

There may not be many NY/NJ Bight private skippers less interested in catching fluke than Chuck Many, who’s long been noted as a leading bass pro. He just feels that it’s much more interesting to spend available time trying to catch and release striped bass that grow much larger and fight a lot harder. Yet, he certainly doesn’t mind catching a fluke while striper fishing — and has had more success in that respect than many who target the species.

He did have an edge yesterday when Bryan Pieros switched to jigging a fluke rig tipped with a live spot as we were seeking stripers in the Hudson River where Chuck had been doing well with bass. Bryan’s move proved to be the proper one as he boated a 10 1/4-pound doormat after losing another that might have been bigger, That wasn’t the first time one of Many’s striper drifts produced a doormat. Back in September 2013, I was drifting a live peanut bunker on one Chuck’s spots off Coney Island when I boated a 12-pounder that received an American Littoral Society tag before being released. That was the only doormat I’ve ever caught west of Montauk,

We also added three 18-19-inch fluke yesterday, making it four keepers without a short,which is unusual these days.

The late blast of stripers up to 31 pounds was more satisfying to Chuck, especially because all four hooked yesterday shot away without assistance.

Though Monday’s fluking was good, both the Sea Hunter and the Fishermen out of Atlantic Highlands canceled Tuesday sailings due to the southeast wind against the outgoing tide which would make for difficult ocean fluking. Joe Rodd of Sayreville won the August monthly pool on the Fishermen with a 12.14-pound doormat, and added Monday’s pool on that boat with a 7.2-pounder in his limit catch.

Following up on yesterday’s yellowfin tuna report from Capt. Lou Grazioso, he was aboard Sean Cody’s Happy Hooker out of Manasquan Inlet as two were caught during a day when the bite was off a bit. Yet Matt Codey (17) managed a yellowfin Lou estimated at 80 pounds by casting a small popper that was inhaled so far that it had to be removed through the gill cover.

Large bluefin tuna continue to be spotted in the Shrewsbury Rocks area. Capt. Chris Di Stefano heard of one trolled bluefin being torn apart by sharks, and noted that a friend caught a 70-pound cobia that hit while casting a plug to the tuna.

The Jamaica from Brielle has added limited trips targeting bonito, little tunny, and smaller bluefins on Thursday at 6:30 a.m. and Sunday at 4:30 p.m. Call 732 528-5014 for reservations..

The Golden Eagle from Belmar anchored up over the weekend and had a variety of fish swimming through the slick. There were even 12 to 15 big stingrays caught one day, and some fluke were added today to the chub mackerel, bluefish, bonito, little tunny, Spanish and king mackerel.

Sorry for the late report, but uncooperative fish forced Chuck Many to pull out all his tricks today and once again prove that striper fishing can be good in the N.Y. Harbor area when the conditions are right.

The star of the day was Bryan Pieros, who switched from striper fishing in the Hudson River and did the right thing at the right time to jig a doormat fluke weighing 10 pounds, four ounces on his digital scale while working a jig and live spot combo. Then Many returned to a previously unproductive spot late in the day to put us into three stripers up to a 31-pounder on live bunkers when wind and current were in the same direction after only one bass had been released all day. I’ll have more about this tomorrow.

Capt. Lou Grazioso passed along the good news that yellowfin tuna are still biting over 70 miles offshore. I’ll also have more details on that tomorrow.

The forecast remains good with east winds at just 5-10 knots.

While I was growing up on Long Island in the 1950s, even beginners could catch a fluke dinner most days by just drifting a killie in protected bays and rivers. I never caught one over 3 1/2 pounds doing that, but one morning I learned how to chum for fluke on Farm Shoals inside Fire Island Inlet where my fishing biddy and fellow college student, Bill McGuiness, and I combined to catch 93 fluke in a few hours.

Those fluke were all keepers, as there was no minimum length, bag limit or season at that time. Even the smallest fluke were usually kept in those days because most fish were eaten on the bone. However, we decided that 14 inches would be the smallest we’d keep. There were lots of meaty 15-and-16-inchers in our catch, but the biggest fluke was just 18 inches — not even a N.Y. keeper today.

Ironically, when N.Y. instituted the first fluke minimum, it was the same as ours. However, it wasn’t a conservation measure as the intention was to spread the catch over the summer after they found almost all fluke entering Great South Bay arrived about the same time each spring. That 14 inches much later became the commercial minimum after conservation regulations were adopted along the Atlantic coast. Yet, the angling public has been subjected to ever-higher minimums to reduce the catches which were unlimited when I was a kid.

The result has been that just dragging a bait on bottom rarely produces anything but shorts. An effort must be made in order to catch the few bigger fluke that are of legal size. As most party boat skippers will assure you, it’s essential that you constantly jig your rig, whether it’s a jig/ large Gulp Grub combo or just he Gulp Grub, live bait or long natural bait on a sinker rig. It’s a lot of work, but the difference between a successful trip or a boat ride under the new reality.

Bob Matthews, at Fisherman’s Den in Belmar Marina, reports that big fluke are biting again in the ocean — while a Shark River boater caught his limit out of seven legal-sized fluke.

Capt. Ron Santee Jr. reported tough fluking conditions today on his Fishermen from Atlantic Highlands due to a very fast drift in the northwest blow. That wind is dying out and the small craft warning went down at 6 p.m. Monday’s forecast is for only 10 knots from the east before going southeast in the afternoon.