NYC Capt. John Mc Murray reports as follows: “Wow man…that was an absolutely incredible 4 days of tuna fishing. Hand feeding yellows, having’em crush poppers feet from the boat, and a solid jig bite… All 50 to 80lb fish too. And the bluefin? Not as many of’em but some real nice 60” (100lb) class fish in the mix. Man am I beat up today…hands so swollen I can’t make a fist…but couldn’t be more stoked. Think that was the last shot? No way man. Another weather window mid-week. Booked on Wed, but look’n to put together a crew for Thurs. PM me if ya wanna go! “

Fisher Price IV had their party into tuna up t 46 inches all morning. They are available Friday. Call 73261-3394.

The first large striper I’ve seen from the N.J. surf this fall was caught yesterday morning by Bay Head regular Nick Sardone who was casting a lure.

Capt. Ron Santee of the Fishermen at Atlantic Highlands summed it up as a cranky day with the sea coming at him from every direction as he struggled to put together some sort of sea bass catch.

A small craft warning continues to this evening. The forecast is for southwest winds at 15 knots with gusts to 20.

The Jamaica is headed out from Brielle at 7 p.m. for more tuna fishing which has been very good. Room is available.

NYC Capt. John McMurry with a bluefin in the 6o-inch class

The Golden Eagle from Belmar found some bird action this morning, but stripers under them wouldn’t hit. A little tunny was hooked before they anchored for sea bass.

As previously noted, the IGFA Auction closes at 8:30

The commercial General category bluefin tuna season closes tonight, but that has no effect on recreational tuna regulations.

There are lots of good reports coming in from the offshore yellowfin tuna run all along the coast’

Capt. John Contello reports his Just Sayin offshore boat loaded up with yellowfins and left them biting on its last trip before returning to Keyport for the striper season. John got that going with lots of big bass yesterday.

The Golden Eagle from Belmar didn’t find stripers working under birds as was the case the day before, but switched to sea bass for steady action even though shorts dominated.

A small craft warning is up through Sunday evening, though for a favorable northwest at 20-25 knots with gusts to 30. Seas are 5-8 feet in a southeast swell from the offshore hurricane. That can result in rough inlets.

The Golden Eagle from Belmar ran into working birds on the way out this morning and two big stripers were caught on poppers before the birds dispersed. They then switched to sea bass and caught lots of them even though shorts dominated.

Chuck Many reported as follows: “Looked like I was doing a solo trip yesterday afternoon when I stopped by the Tackle Box Fishing Co. to grab some supplies. Walking out asked Phil and Paddy if they wanted to go. Phil said he would watch the shop and Paddy was in! WOOOOOOO!!! Left the dock a little after 1pm, went 2 for 4 right away pulling eels, went dry for a couple hours, went on the drift and it was game on!! Long skinny fish. Smallest around 25 pounds, largest 45 pounds . Definitely been a good start to the fall!! “

Unfortunately, the surf news hasn’t been as promising. Vinny D’Anton has seen no bait since the heavy rains, and isn’t seeing anything being caught out of the Monmouth County surf. He even tried sand fleas one day with no success. A friend fishing on the N.Y. side at Breezy Point did have a few good days with bait and school bass.

The Fishermen from Atlantic Highlands reported better sea bass fishing Thursday with jumbos up to 3 pounds. Big Dan added two blackfish — his first ever,

The Qeen Mary from Point Pleasant jigged limits of blues Thursday while some anglers added 5 to 10 bonito — and a few little tunny also showed,

The forecast is for southeast winds of just 5-10 knots before switching in the afternoon to northeast 10-15 with gusts to 20 plus showers.

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Stripers from Chuck Many trip

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Time is running out on the opportunity to get some great buys in fishing tackle, art and trips during the IGFA Tournament Series Online Auction which comes to an end at 8 p,m, Sunday. Cjeck this out at hq@igfa.org

Nick Honachefsky reports as follows:

” Bass moving down! Fantastic reports on a friends boat just north of inlet of 30 to 40 pound fish, just like last year, same pattern. The Barrier Island Beach Brawl may get lit up again like last years show! 5 AM start time tomorrow….get your gear at Betty and Nicks early!”

As noted by Nick, this is just what happened last year as I’m still waiting for the first report indicating the fall striper run has started in the surf while the boat run is gathering steam.

Dave Lilly said bass fishing was hot in Hudson River when he headed up there in the dark this morning. Stripers up to the thirties were on their eels right away . and the only problem was the arrival of blues in daylight as they went through 1 1/2 dozen eels very quickly.

The Canyon Runner from Point Pleasant reports limits of yellowfin tuna by chunking are common, and they still have a few openings left.

Sea bass reports have been mixed, as some find many more shorts than legal fish.

Capt. Ron Santee reports Wednesday was a tougher one on his Fishermen from Atlantic Highlands as the bite would shut down shortly after it started during a dozen drops from 45 to 100 feet. A 3-pound sea bass won the pool, but there was only one porgy and no tog.

Friday’s forecast is for east winds at 10 knots with 2-4-foot seas in a southeast swell which may result in rough inlets.

Though light winds prevail, an offshore storm is still creating a rough surf.

Mike Monte fished nice green waters at Sea Girt this morning in 3-5-foot seas, but couldn’t get a touch in good-looking breaking surf.

Allen Riley took a ride to the Sandy Hook surf and had a similar report of no action. There were few boats in sight, and no working birds which should be common at this time of year.

Capt. Ron Santee had another good bottom fishing trip Tuesday on his Fishermen from Atlantic Highlands as it took only three drops to make a good catch of sea bass and porgies plus a dozen blackfish and even blowfish,

The Paramount from Brielle had a good sea bass trip Tuesday, and will be sailing daily for them from 6:30-3:30.

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

Chuck Many sent the following report about yesterday.:

Great day with Cesar Carranza, John Korn, & Alex Katyan!!! Started in the ocean, got our first jumbo of the year, then came back to the bay, struckout on a couple spots, then found a good load of mainly small bass with a couple bigger fish mixed in. Game on! Went thru a flat of worms and a bunch of eels in no time. Ended with about 2 dozen and a bunch of blues. Can’t wait to do it again!!

The New Jersey State Police have surprised small boaters with a new regulation that all those on deck during trips starting in November must wear a U.S, Coast Guard-approved life preserver. That regulation is being imposed in order to facilitate searches during bad weather months.

This applies to all aboard boats of 26 feet or less from Nov. 1 to May 1. Those in an enclosed cabin do not have to wear the life preserver while there. I hope there is an exception made for flotation suits, which are by far the safest means of fishing from a boat in the winter.

Sea bass have taken over most of the attention from N.J. boaters since that season started in Sunday’s rough seas. By tomorrow, those seas will be down to three feet in a southeast swell with southwest winds at a mere 5 knots.

At Belmar, the Big Mohawk got back into action with a pick of sea bass in many areas plus some better flurries and some porgies. The Golden Eagle got out into calm seas Monday after a week and a half of waiiting out the storm. They looked for blues and found some before adding sea bass. They will continue with that program as the bottom settles out.

The Queen Mary finally got out from Point Pleasant and ended up with a good catch of sea bass and porgies plus some exotics.

Mike Monte reports the surf has improved with a return to green waters that should start producing the fall striper run in the Monmouth County surf. Betty & Nick’s Fishing Club in Seaside Park noted the water temperature has dropped to 66 degrees, which it was when striper fishing broke open last fall.

Eric Kerber reports it only took 2 1/2 hours to load up his On A Mission party from Belmar with sea bass plus nine large bluefish.

The back country is still producing sheepshead in South Jersey, as shown by Alex Mann at Absecon Bay Sportsman Center today.

It was expected that the big swell which has been pounding beaches would also be a problem for anglers fishing the N.J. sea bass opener on Sunday, and that was the case. However, that swell is dropping out and sea bass fishing should steadily improve. in the fine weather predicted.

The small craft advisory comes down at 9 p.m., and Tuesday starts with the wind direction NY/NJ Bight anglers have been waiting for — west, though at only 5 knots.

The Golden Eagle from Belmar looked for blues yesterday, and found some in the 2-pound class plus a bonito and some sea bass.

The Fishermen from Atlantic Highlands had to make many moves yesterday to find sea bass which would bite. Only one porgy was caught. Toay was much better, with only four drops instead of 12 — plus porgies in the mix. All went home with dinner.

Chuck Many reported the good first good night striper trip in October with Chris Buchta and Cesar Carranza.

The following release from the N.C. Maritime Museum at Beaufort provides a look back at the days before great white sharks were protected.

The story of the white shark head in our lobby!…

On September 26, 1984 a large white shark was caught by John Dodrill on board the vessel Alligator, Captain Lloyd Davidson, off the coast of Carteret County. The shark was caught about 40 miles off Cape Lookout, it was hoisted from the vessel at 3 a.m. the following day at the State Port in Morehead City. It weighed 2,080 pounds and measured 15 feet 10 inches long. The shark was brought by one of the local elementary schools where 500 children got to examine the specimen. It was later displayed at the Morehead City waterfront and eventually the state fair in Raleigh. The head was saved and mounted for display in the museum where it can still be seen today.

Ocean conditions weren’t good as the sea bass season opened today in New Jersey. Indeed, the Big Mohawk from Belmar took a pass on the opener due to those conditions which also often have a negative effect on the sea bass bite. They’ll be out there tomorrow. The Golden Eagle from Belmar is running a special early trip from 6:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.

A small craft advisory is up through Monday morning, but the forecast is for north winds at just 5-10 knots, before going east in the afternoon. The seas drop to 3-5 feet with an east swell and rough inlets.

The exceptional rain combined with big seas made for a dirty surf. However, Nick DiNapoli caught a fat 31-inch striper on salted clams at Monmouth Beach.

Capt Joe Massa from Morgan Marina fished with a group of avid tog fishermen last week in Rhode Island on The City By The Sea Charter. Capt. Heaney put the group on big tog along with quality sea bass. Massa said the tog bite for two days was epic. Dozens of fish between 6 and 12 lbs were caught by the group which released all the big tog . The fish were keyed in on big white leg crabs which Massa cut in half and used a slider rig with two hooks in the crab

Massa (see below) said City By The Sea Charters is the top bottom fish boat in Rhode Island, where the waters are the best for tautog in both quantity and quality which we don’t see in New Jersey.

Striper anglers should be sure to take in Chuck Many’s appearance at 6:30 this evening in the Tackle Box on Rt. 36 in Hazlet. Many is the top striper pro in the area, and he doesn’t hold anything back when discussing his techniques which have resulted in many 50-pounders being released from his Tyman out of Highlands.

A small craft advisory remains up through Sunday evening, but there’s finally some improvement in the weather. Sunday starts with north winds at 10-15 knots plus gusts to 20 and 4-6-foot seas. That should be good enough for most boaters to get into the opening day of the N.J. sea bass season on Sunday.