It’s been a long time coming, but bigger fluke are starting to dominate catches in NY/NJ Bight. Capt. Ron Santee reported a new leader in the Fishermen from Atlantic Highlands monthly pool yesterday as a 6 11/16-pound fluke was boated by Herb Miller. See photo below.

Tony Trigg came over to N.J. with a friend to boat the first doormat I’ve heard of so far to win the recent Sandy Hook Bay Anglers Tournament with an 11-pounder that was then released to provide other anglers a shot at such a thrill.

Fluking was tougher today for a charter on the Fishermen as the wind came up early and shut down the bite.

The Golden Eagle from Belmar hasn’t found bluefish lately, but their anglers are catching some keeper fluke along with the one jumbo sea bass now allowed in N.J.

Capt. Ralph Leyrer is back into triggerfish with his Last Lady from Belmar along with boat limits of sea bass.

: The forecast is for south winds at just 5-10 knots.

Capt. Frank Massaria of Vitamin Sea from Port Monmouth reports the Steve Applegate party had multiple 4-and-5-pounders in their limit catch this week. and it was the same today when a 5-gallon bucket was almost filled with fillets.

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The forecast remains as good as the fishing with southwest winds at 10-15 knots.

Capt. Ron Santee had tough fluking Tuesday in rough conditions, but Wednesday was the opposite with flat calm and steady fluking. That continued today on the Fishermen from Atlantic Highlands as Gary Karcher led the way by catching four over 18 inches including the 4.7-pound pool winner.

The forecast is for southwest winds at 10-15 knots.

Capt. Frank Masseria reports fluking about as good as it gets from his Vitamin Sea out of Port Monmouth Marina, with enough keepers among loads of shorts.

Tuesday was tougher for the Fishermen out of Atlantic Highlands due to rough seas.

The Golden Eagle from Belmar hasn’t found bluefish this week, but is picking fluke and sea bass on the drift. That boat is chartered tomorrow.

**** The forecast for NY/NJ Bight is for southwest winds at 5-10 knots before gusting to 25 in the afternoon.

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The school bluefin tuna bite from NY/NJ Bite to far east of Long Island has continued at a high level for all sizes ranging from “unders” to almost too big for heavy casting tackle. Capt. Gene Quigley of Reel Freedom out of Manasquan Inlet reports as follows:

What a trip for brothers @mattgreen831 and @j_gee86 . These guys specifically booked us last spring for inshore bluefin and after at least two or three weather cancelations we were able to finally get out. Despite solid offshore reports of jig and pop yellowfins, they still opted to stay inshore to hunt for big fish on spin and jig tackle. If you have experienced this fishery right now you know there is a lot of downtime waiting for the fish to eat; and these guys were so incredibly stoked to take that time to learn everything we do start to finish to successfully hook and land these bigger Bluefin. From core tackle and terminal tackle to knots, drag settings, leaders, lures, reading the water, and electronics to actually fighting, landing , bleeding and swimming the fish to ensure the meat is pristine. It was amazing for @quigs732 and I to witness their enthusiasm for the sport, and then watching them absolutely mauling this fish with great technique…fueled by extreme adrenaline

. Thanks for a great day on the water and congrats on an awesome fish. Can’t wait to see what you guys accomplish on your own boat next trip and look forward to getting you back on the #REELFREEDOM.”

soon

Capt. Ron Santee enjoyed steady fluking Sunday from his Fishermen out of Atlantic Highlands, and considered that bite to be his best of this season. When the drift got too fast. a move to heavy sinkers solved that problem. Be sure to bring a rod capable of handling large sinkers when they are required.

The forecast for NY/NJ Bight is for northeast winds though at onlt 10-15 knots before dropping to 10 in the afternoon.

Fluke pro Dave Lilly was dubbed the Wiz by an outdoor writer when he was making great inshore catches as a kid in the Raritan Bay area — and he’s lived up to that standard as an adult. After shaking off the winter rust last weekend, Dave came back to win the Raritan Bay Anglers Club Fluke Tournament which is based on a two-fish total weight. That’s the 20th win of his career!

Dave was joined by his son Jeremy while running Bryan Farmer’s outboard as they combined a fluke just over 6 pounds with another just under 7 pounds to also sweep the Calcuttas except for the single largest.

Capt. Ron Santee reported an all-day fluke bite Saturday on his Fishermen out of Atlantic Highlands. Shawn Paul caught seven fluke of keeper size, and the pool went to a 5-pounder.

Though the site is a mess, it appears that there were some significant changes during the last day of Jmmy Johnson’s Quest for the Ring out of Atlantic City and Ocean City, Maryland.

A worthy dolphin was boated by Jersey Nutz when they weighed a 50.7-pounder to beat their previous leader of just 21.8 pounds. They also edged MJ’s in the Box of bigeyes category and had the largest at 135,5pounds.

Though the 510-pound blue marlin by Floor Reel was the feature of the contest, it was Polarizer that won the points category. The totals for 63 teams fishing three out of five days were releases of 7 blue marlin plus 75 whites while 50 yellowfin tuna and 13 dolphin were weighed. No wahoo were entered.

The Golden Eagle from Belmar couldn’t find any bluefish yesterday, but did well with sea bass, ling and fluke.

The Quest for the Ring Tournament out of Atlantic City concludes today with many categories up for grabs. The only weighed billfish has been the 510-pound blue marlin boated by Floor Reel, Polarizer has a slight lead on them in total points.

Relatively few dolphin have been caught, and none have been near the usual size required. Jersey Nutz is leading at just 21.8 pounds. That boat is also a close second to MJ’s in bigeye tuna.

The Golden Eagle from Belmar didn’t find bluefish yesterday, but everyone jigged the one jumbo sea bass presently allowed in N.J., and they added some fluke during the day.

Jersey Nutz and MJ’s are into bigeye tuna to lead at the Quest for the Ring Tournament out of Atlantic City. Jersey Nutz barely leads with a 135.5-pounder over a 133.4-pounder. Lots of yellowfins and dolphin are being weighed, but nothing so far looks big enough to end up in the money.

R