Where were you when notable events occurred? In my case it always seems as if I was fishing on those days. Yet, in the case of the moon landing I saw that on TV from a hotel room in Los Angeles after just returning from a trip to fish Ray Cannon’s Sea of Cortez Tournament in Baja California, Mexico.

I had recently become director of field testing for Garcia (Mitchell and Ambassadeur reels), and that was my first foreign fishing trip. There were two days of fishing at La Paz, Rancho Buena Vista and Cabo San Lucas. The famed fishing author Al McClane was a judge of the contest, and good fortune smiled on me as I won the roosterfish division  and was second in blue marlin — with both fish caught on an experimental telescopic spinning rod made by Ed Haenelt. Luckily, in those days there were few excess baggage charges on the airlines or I would have taken a beating getting the two heavy trophies home. All that excitement and the moon too!

There was no such good fortune this morning as Tommy Cox and I cast in Shark River. The incoming tide had just started when we arrived, and except for Saturday boat traffic everything looked good. However, Tommy only had three small fish on-and-off his popper and I had the same experience once plus a splash. There was no sign of the big blues that had been there yesterday morning.

Capt. Jim Freda of Shore Catch Charters out of Manasquan Inlet had better news from his son Tommy who mates for him and is now also mating some days on Capt. Alan Lee’s Mushin. That boat put a party into over 25 bluefins on jigs today.

Reader David Walsh reports he went out to Axel Carlsen Reef from 8:30 to 10 and ended up with four keeper fluke out of 20 — calling it a slow grind.

Bob Correll didn’t see anything caught early in the Bay Head surf, but was encouraged to see a Spanish mackerel arc out of the water. In the middle of the morning there was a sudden flurry and anglers on the spot caught a good-sized Spanish and released a 6-pound blue. Carl Dano and his wife tried for fluke there later and only caught kingfish that ate the gulp on fluke hooks. Jerry Lasko has been fishing for the kings in that area with Fishbites. Most are only about 10 inches, but a few slightly larger are mixed in. Use small hooks and pieces of worms, clam, squid or shrimp. They’re too small for filleting, but are tasty when prepared as a whole fish. There are no regulations on kingfish.

Seaside Park and IBSP anglers are also taking advantage of the kingfish run — and it’s probably just as good to the north.

Rich Johnson of The Fishing Line said porgies are thick in many areas off western Long Island. He thinks that’s due to the almost complete lack of bluefish and stripers there.

Capt. Vinny Vetere manages to find stripers with his Katfish out of Great Kills, and notes that it was only 75 degrees on the water a couple of days ago. He may be open tomorrow.

Capt. Dave De Gennaro is planning open boat trips tomorrow for mid-range tuna and for bonito at Barnegat Ridge on Monday. The tuna trip sails at 2:a.m., while the Ridge run starts at 6 a.m. You can call 732 330-5674 up to the last minute to check on openings.

The Jamaica from Brielle had a fine bonito trip Friday, with the hi-hook catching over 20. Some blues, chub mackerel and Spanish mackerel were also jigged. Aaron Ho from Philadelphia took the pool with a 5-pound bonito in his catch of 12 plus several mackerel.  The Jamaica sails daily for bonito, and has a 3/4-night ling trip tonight at 7:30.

Dave Merrill sent the following press release:

Canyon Club Resort Marina Hosts
Yacht Club of Stone Harbor 53rd Annual Marlin Tournament
The timing couldn’t be any better! As white marlin and blue marlin take up residence at the canyons off the mid-Atlantic coast, the Yacht Club of Stone Harbor is in the final stages of planning the Yacht Club of Stone Harbor Marlin Tournament. Hosted by Canyon Club Resort Marina in Cape May, New Jersey, this year marks the 53rd installment of this event making it one of the longest running billfish tournaments on the east coast. The Yacht Club of Stone Harbor has a rich history dating back to 1911 and this event is always popular with members, guests and tournament anglers alike each year. Various awards will be up for grabs including 1st, 2nd and 3rd Place Boat, 1st, 2nd and 3rd Place Angler, Top Female Angler, Top Junior Angler (16 and under) as well as 1st and 2nd Heaviest Tuna and 1st and 2nd Heaviest Dolphin. 1st and 2nd Place Team Award will also be presented and teams will consist of up to four boats each that will be picked lottery-style at the Captain’s Meeting. The Warren Buckingham Memorial Trophy will be presented to the angler with the Most Outstanding Catch while the Walt Hendee Captain’s Award will be go to the 1st Place Boat captain.
As noted earlier the beautiful Canyon Club Resort Marina in Cape May will host the tournament and also serve as the event’s designated weigh station. Those needing dockage for the event should contact Paul Hoffman at 609-884-0199 to reserve a slip. The tournament gets underway on Thursday, July 25 with a Captain’s Meeting and Cocktail Party from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the Yacht Club of Stone Harbor located at 9001 Sunset Drive in Stone Harbor. Fishing days are Friday, July 26 and Saturday, July 27. Cocktails, music and dinner will be provided overlooking the infinity edge pool at Canyon Club Resort Marina after each fishing day. The Awards Banquet complete with cocktails, dinner and music is set for Sunday, July 28 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Yacht Club of Stone Harbor.
All boats must sail and return through Cape May Inlet and may not pass the inlet’s sea buoy prior to 4 a.m. on each fishing day. Fishing hours are 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and daily catch reports with released billfish information as well as any tuna or dolphin to be weighed must be at Canyon Club Resort Marina by 9 p.m. on each fishing day. There is no limit to size of tackle, number of lines, teasers or anglers. There is no minimum weight for tuna or dolphin and all billfish including white marlin, blue marlin, sailfish and spearfish will earn 100 points per release. All point ties will be broken on time of catch. The 53rd Annual Marlin Tournament is a billfish release competition with all entrants considered good sportsmen and their fishing (catch) reports will be accepted in the sportsmanlike manner and honor in which the tournament is held.
Whether you’re new to big game tournament fishing or a seasoned veteran, the Yacht Club of
Stone Harbor 53rd Annual Marlin Tournament is a great opportunity to connect with new friends
or renew old ones. With a modest entry fee of $2000 which includes admission to all events for
tournament participants, this family-oriented event is a low-keyed fun tournament you’re sure to
enjoy. Come join us for a few days of friendly fishing competition, camaraderie, hospitality and
fun!
For more information contact Jamie Diller at 609-827-0020 or Aaron Hoffman at 609-412-3778.

If you’re a real gambler, the Grandpa Savino  Memorial Tournament is made for you. For a $100 entry, you can try for the largest fluke exceeding 13 pounds in the contest to win $25,000 plus the usual contest payoffs depending on the number of entries — and Calcuttas you enter.  Walter Fisher of the Staten Island Tuna Club has the information. Call him at 917 375-7607 or visit http://www.situnaclub.com.

The Raritan Bay Anglers Club finally got some results from last Saturday’s 29th annual Charity Fluke Tournament up on their Facebook page. The name of the winner was spelled Frank Olma, rather than Olmia as with the photo of his doormat that appeared in the blog. The Monroe Township angler was credited with 12.7 pounds for his doormat that ran away with the contest. He was fishing with Cliff Hanson, who’s been fishing this contest for 20 years. It was caught near the Verrazano Bridge on a combination of a Spro bucktail with Gulp and a killie.

Bill Reilly of Morganville was second at 9.5 pounds, and Manuel Prado of Union took third at 8.25 pounds after having won last year. There was a huge payout of $25,000, almost all of which should have gone to the winner — but he wasn’t in any of the Calcuttas!

A 5-pound fluke will win a fluke rod made by Joey La Monica of Joey’s Custom Rods in the Grandpa Savino contest. If one exactly that size isn’t weighed, the rod goes to the closest.  In the event of a tie, the first weighed wins,

Capt. Ron Santee reported a better start today with his Fishermen from Atlantic Highlands after a very slow Thursday. Shorts were abundant, and some keepers were included up to the 4-pound pool winner.

The Golden Eagle from Belmar reported a decent catch of bonito today along with some blues and ling — all on jigs.

There was a showing of bluefish in Shark River this morning. Though they haven’t been abundant this summer, just about every one caught would be an easy pool winner on the bluefish party boats passing by us as even a 5-pounder would be a large pool winner in the ocean.

Frank Manzi said he had just released a 10-pounder on a popper when I waded out to him, and I hooked one just a bit smaller on a Pili Popper.  Tommy Cox was also into the blues and added the only striper I saw. Joe Blaze was back with his fly rod and released blues of about 4 and 7 pounds. Manzi also recued another horseshoe crab that wouldn’t have survived.

Bob Correll reported the Bay Head surf was surprisingly rough considering the lack of wind in the morning, and nothing was being caught. I saw a cownose ray released by a surfcaster there earlier in the week.

Light winds continue Saturday morning, with 5-10 knot west predicted before increasing to southwest 10-15 in the afternoon. Sunday’s forecast is the same.

As noted in last night’s blog, party boats have been enjoying super variety chumming not too far offshore, and that continued today according to the Golden Eagle from Belmar report.

They had lots of bonito and chub mackerel along with some blues and Spanish mackerel.  It was all on jigs except for the mackerel, though some Spanish also hit small, shiny lures.

Bob Matthews reports from Fisherman’s Den in Belmar Marina that there are lots of mostly small fluke in the river while boats fishing the ocean are catching more keepers when conditions are good. Jack McLaughlin weighed in a 5 1/4-pounder. Bluefin tuna trolling has held up in the mid-range areas. John Reilly of Hooked Café did a solo trip on his boat and returned with a 70-pounder.

John Andrea ran out of the back of Raritan Bay on the weekend, and then another 63 miles from Sandy Hook to reach the Virginia wreck where bluefins averaging 35 inches were trolled, though chunking at night was unproductive.

Casting in Shark River has been up-and–down this week, though Joe Blaze was very happy to release two school stripers on his fly rod this morning during his first shore attempt there since 2006. He used a Lefty’s Deceiver on an intermediate line.  Vinny D D’Anton caught three small bass, and Tommy Cox also scored –though I only missed two hits on a Tactical Anglers Crossover popper.

Bob Correll reported the Bay Head surf was colder after the south wind, and he only saw one small blue caught after he caught four blues casting metal the previous morning,  including a 3-pounder — and also added a spike weakfish.

The switch to a northeast wind should bring the surf temperature up. It will be just 5-10 knots in the morning before switching to 10-15 with gusts to 20 in the afternoon.

The Canyon Runner fleet from Point Pleasant had fast and furious bluefin tuna trolling recently, with the best on free trips for the military and first responders. Those trips were on July 4-5 and 11-12. There were 55 bluefins trolled in half a day, and the 48 Viking hooked 30 in just 2 1/2 hours. Of course, only legal limits of bluefins can be boated.  There were also some unusual catches last week as a 180-pound swordfish hit a Melton Cherry Jet trolled at 4 a.m. — and an 84-inch mako blasted a balao trolled  on a flat line. See photo below. There may be two spots available at $899 during an open trip from Friday to Saturday. Call 732 272-4445.

There’s been a very good run of bonito inshore so far, and they often outnumber the small blues and chub mackerel in party boat chum slicks. Capt. Howard Bogan said that fishing was excellent today on his Jamaica from Brielle as there were often doubleheaders on jigs and teasers. Nickolei Kryenko from Jersey City had a 5-pound bonito for the pool and totaled 17 bonito plus five blues. Manny Molina of Reading, Pa. caught over two dozen bonito and several blues.

Though I still haven’t been able to find any official results of Saturday’s Raritan Bay Anglers Club Fluke Tournament on their website or facebook, I was able to get a couple of photos and names from Capt. Pete Santero.

Frank Olama ran away with the contest by boating this 12 9/16-pound doormat. Second went to Bill Reilly with a 9 1/2-pounder, and there was an 8 3/4-pounder for third. Ironically, that giant doormat would have just been a “teaser” in the Grandpa Savino Memorial Tournament coning up on Saturday as the $25,000 prize is for the largest fluke over 13 pounds.

The 38th annual Sandy Hook Bay Anglers Club Fluke Tournament continues to follow its two-day format, but even that wasn’t enough to produce a doormat from among the over 100 boats entered. Those entered in Saturday’s Grandpa Savino Memorial Tournament sponsored by the Staten Island Tuna Club will have to do a lot better in order to claim a $25,000 prize for the largest fluke over 13 pounds.  For info call Walter Fisher at 917 375-7607, or visit situnaclub.com.

There was plenty of action during the two beautiful days as more than 60 fluke were weighed in.  Brian Dunn of the Sandy Hook Bay Anglers reports that the $3000 winner was  Ryan Belusko from Coplay, PA   as angler Mike Kalincheck boated a near-doormat of  9.6 pounds that was  28 1/2 inches long. He won clearly over two 8.4-pounders. Wade Piscadlo from Manville won the second place $1,000 with his 27-incher over Tom Licknack of Hightstown who settled for the third place $600 for his 28-incher on a time basis.

Then there was a three-way tie at 6.8 pounds, with the $350 for fourth going to Don Howard of Perth Amboy with a 25 1/4-incher that was the Saturday leader and earned him another $200. Mike Ramirez from Matawan won $250 for fifth with a 26-incher — and fluke pro Vito Manzi from Morganville had an identical fluke for sixth and $125. Finishing up were two 6.4-pounders. Eugene Duffner of Freehold received $100 for his 24 1/4-incher, and James Romano of Port Monmouth had a 23-incher for $75. The ladies prize of a rod and reel was taken by Janet Stone of Succasunna with a 4.2-pound entry.

After trying to get results of Saturday’s Raritan Bay Anglers Club Fluke Tournament since that day, it appears I’ll have it for tomorrow’s blog.

Bob Matthews reports from Fisherman’s Den in Belmar Marina that there are lots of mostly short fluke in Shark River though a 5-pounder was caught over the weekend from one of his rental skiffs.  The party boats are finding more keepers offshore. Triggerfish are in the inlet along with sea robins and stargazers — and kingfish are biting in the surf.

Capt. Chris De Stefano said Frank Criscola’s Crisdel from Brielle Yacht Club caught two swordfish in the 100-pound class and kept one in South Toms. He heard that the mid-range bluefin bite was good, and Phil Fischer confirmed that as he got fillets from a friend who trolled  feathers 20-40 miles offshore without hooking up before switching to sub-surface spoons to keep one out of four tuna.

Great weather continues as the forecast for Tuesday is west winds at 5 knots before going south in the afternoon at 10-15 knots with gusts to 20.

The Jamaica from Brielle reported a good Sunday chumming trip with some limits of small blues on jigs plus bonito (see photo below) —  and chub mackerel on bait. They’re sailing daily for that fishing at 7:30 a.m.

Scott Leadbeater did pretty well with fluke yesterday in Raritan Bay, but that was nothing compared to a relatively close call with a whale. In trying to copy his account, I ended up with duplications and boxes. Please scroll down and over any duplications I didn’t get out.

The bluefin tuna bite on the mid-range grounds off New Jersey’s northern Shore has been productive for private and charter boats, but party boats are also getting into the act since NMFS has made it possible for them to keep a few tuna.

The Queen Mary from Point Pleasant had a trip last week during which they were hooking tuna up to 100 pounds on jigs by 8:30 a.m. They boated their limit of two over 47 inches and released four after fights of over 30 minutes. A move to another area with smaller tuna also proved to be productive.   All the action was on jigs. The next trips are coming up on July 23 and 30. Lots of bonito and small blues are being caught on other days.

As previously noted, the Jamaica from Brielle has added a tuna trip on Monday — and the Golden Eagle from Belmar has added one on July 30 from midnight to 4 p.m. The cost for the latter is $260 with a limit of 30. Though there wasn’t a report from the Golden Eagle at the time this was written, they had good action yesterday with blues and chub mackerel though not as many bonito as before since the drift was too fast and they had to anchor.

At Atlantic Highlands, Capt. Ron Santee reported a new monthly fluke leader during Friday’s trip of the Fishermen as Bill Venezia boated a 6 11/16-pounder. He also limited and caught about 30 shorts.  A 4-pound sea bass was also boated. The Fishermen is chartered tomorrow.

Capt. Rob Semkewyc of the Sea Hunter saw more quality fluke Friday when his fares also were treated to a whale show.

The Mimi VI from Point Pleasant will be sailing open for $75 at 7 a.m. on Tuesday, Wednesday and July 31. Call 732 370-8019 for reservations.

The Sandy Hook Bay Anglers Club Fluke Tournament winds up its two-day run on Sunday. At this writing I haven’t had any calls from excited anglers in that contest or the one-day Raritan Bay Anglers Fluke Tournament which featured so many Calcuttas that the winner, if all-in, may need a body guard to get home.

The marine forecast for Sunday is for west winds at a mere 5-10 knots.

The Gambler from Point Pleasant had a season-leading fluke last weekend when Curtis Mc Nary boated an 8.14-pounder. However, they had something much more unusual Friday when two small cobia were released. Blog reader Frank Jones sent a shot of his son Kyle, a mate on that boat, with one of them. The minimum size for cobia in N.J. is 40 inches with a limit of one per angler — but only two per boat.

With fine weather predicted, anglers can pick from among many alternatives this weekend.

As noted in last night’s blog and illustrated with a photo, Capt. Jim Freda of Shore Catch out of Manasquan Inlet had great bluefin tuna fishing on the mid-range grounds Wednesday when the fish were marking from 30 to 50 feet down and being caught both jigging with St. Croix Mojo spinning rods and trolling with ChatterLure spreader bars as everyone in the Mike Kelly party caught their first tuna among 23 hooked.  Freda has openings in August when yellowfins should also be available nearby. Call him at 732 762-0870.

At Fisherman’s Den in Belmar Marina, Bob Matthews reports ocean fluking has improved with many keepers being boated. MacKenzie Lose boated a fluke over 8 pounds in Shark River Inlet while fishing with her grandfather Fran Mullin. Snappers are getting up to decent size for kids to catch — and for fluke bait.

Joe Mellilo reports from Castaways Tackle in Point Pleasant that fluke have been hitting in the local surf on Gulp. One angler told him they were hitting like blues in the wash.

Grumpy’s Tackle in Seaside Park was enthused about an abundance of kingfish in the surf on clam, squid or Fishbites. There are also cocktail blues in the surf for those fishing bunker or mullet.

The topwater bite wasn’t there in Shark River when I arrived this morning, but blues hit as soon as I switched to the ZMan Swimmerez paddletail — and school stripers followed as I released three blues up to about 5 pounds plus four stripers to 23 inches. Another angler broke a rod on what was probably a larger blue. Vinny D’Anton checked the beaches again but found no life.

Friday’s forecast is for southwest winds at just 5 knots before increasing to 10-15 in the afternoon.

There was no report from the Golden Eagle out of Belmar, but they had a continuation of fine bonito fishing again yesterday along with small blues and chub mackerel.

The Jamaica from Brielle has changed their schedule to fish for bonito and blues from 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p. m. this weekend. They’ve also added a Monday July 22 40-70-mile tuna trip leaving at 12:30 a.m. and returning at 5 p.m. The cost is $285, and it’s limited to 25.  Call 732 528-5014 for reservations.

My daughter Cyndi figured out why readers had to scroll through old blogs in order to get to the new one. Hopefully, that problem is over.

Jim Hutchinson Sr. reports for the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association that Capt. Bob Gerkens fished the Mid-Atlantic Blue Marlin Cup on July 4 with his Hot Tuna and Mike Yocco with his MJ’s crew in one of the Northern canyons.  During the 9 hours of the tournament only one marlin was raised, but it did not take any of the boat’s offerings.  However, in the several hours of non-tournament fishing, 8 yellowfin tuna were boated, 3 of which were 40 to 60-pounds and a gaffer mahi of 20-pounds. This weekend the “Hot Tuna” will be fishing the Ocean City, Maryland, Tuna Tournament. Following that event Captain Bob will be open for offshore charters.

Chris Buchta with a 33-pound striper about to be released Tuesday night from Chuck Many’s Ty Man after hitting a live eel. Shawn De Vincenzo gives the thumb’s up.

This weekend is a big one for fluke tournaments in the Raritan Bay area. Most have captains meetings Friday evening, but those wishing to fish Saturday’s Raritan Bay Anglers Fluke Tournament must check in at 8 tonight at the Moose Lodge in Perth Amboy. Visit raritanbayanglersclub.org for details.

The two-day Sandy Hook Bay Anglers contest over the weekend has a captains meeting at 7 p.m. Friday in the Senior Citizens Building at Atlantic Highlands Marina, which is the site for weigh-ins. Call 732-787-4008 — or visit sandyhookbayanglers.com

An active or retired military member, or a first responder, can fish a free canyon tuna trip ton the 60-foot Ritchie with Canyon Runner Charters tomorrow.  It’s last minute, but a great opportunity for a qualified person who can leave tomorrow afternoon for an overnighter. The Canyon Runner also has three open boat spots for Friday to Saturday. Call 732 272-4445.

At Atlantic Highlands, Capt. Rob Semkewyc of the Sea Hunter reports Wednesday was his poorest trip for keepers in over a week though there were lots of shorts. It was quite different today as the third drift produced at least 150 fluke, with one in 30 being legal. The south wind then came up to create too fast a drift which didn’t stop the shorts but killed the keeper bite.

Harry Vogt of the Salt Water Anglers of Bergen County won Wednesday’s pool on the Fishermen with a 4.15-pound fluke.

Phil Fischer says the Shrewsbury and Naversink rivers are loaded with small peanut bunkers and snappers which are attracting fluke. Tank Matraxia and his Lyndhurst crew fished with their friend Carmine there a couple of days ago for lots of short fluke action but also four keepers. Tank also caught a couple of sea robins when they made a drift just outside in the bay.

The Forked River Tuna Club will run their 26th annual Ladies Tournament for both fluke and “junk fish” on Saturday.  The anglers meeting will be held Friday in the club at 7 p.m. Call 609 618-2925  or visit forkedrivertunaclub.com for info.

I got into a good bite when I started casting a Chug Bug in Shark River this morning, and caught a blue of about 5 pounds on my third cast. I added two more blues before the topwater bite turned off. A switch to a “bluefish proof” Z Man Swimmerz jig then instead produced two school stripers before everything went dead in beautiful waters but with no sign of bait. Vinny D’Anton tried the beaches with no success.

Capt. Jim Freda of Shore Catch at Point Pleasant reports an “epic” mid-range bluefin trip on Wednesday that produced 23 bluefins up to a jigged 51-incher.