False albacore finally showed up in force. Reports of little tunny were received from Sandy Hook to Ortley Beach. It appears boat fishermen got the best of it, but some fish were taken from the beach as well.

Bob Matthews of Fisherman’s Den in Belmar said the albie action was “just phenomenal” with one charter boat catching up to 18 of the speedsters. One customer was chasing them up and down the beach in Mantoloking, Matthews said, but just couldn’t pin them down.
He also reported good bottom fishing on sea bass and porgies, plus a lot of anglers getting their one blackfish limit. One angler brought in a 13 1/2 pounder to the Den over the weekend. Small stripers are also hitting plugs in the surf, but the bigger fish have yet to show.
Capt. Francis Bogan of the Paramount said his customers are enjoying decent bottom fishing as well with good black sea bass and ling catches. His deepwater ling trips have produced good catches along with some keeper cod coming over the rail.
Greg Bogan of Brielle Bait and Tackle also reported lots of albacore and bluefish, including some skipjacks. He said there were fish along the beach and from the Manasquan Inlet to the Manasquan Ridge, with boaters trolling small feathers and No. 1 and No. 2 squid spoons.
In the surf, Bogan reported that Bob Clayton of Brielle fished the Manasquan beach early and caught a false albacore on a clouser minnow fly. Gregg Oliver of Manasquan landed a 13-pound bluefish in the Sea Girt surf after it hit a 2-ounce piece of metal. Bogan also said the river is loaded with small, fun fish like snappers, porgies, blowfish and cocktail blues.
John Christensen at Scott’s Bait and Tackle in Bradley Beach also weighed in a big blue — a 15.3 pounder caught by Tim Galvin of Spring Lake in the surf on clams.
Wayne Smith at Hoffman’s Marina in Brielle weighed in a 98-pound bluefin but reported the overall offshore fishing was a bit slow. Inshore, he said, things are starting to develop with blues running along the beach and boats trolling up bonito and false albacore in the same areas. There are also stripers at the Shrewsbury Rocks.

This weekend, Hoffman’s will be hosting the Tuna Stakes Invitational. The week-long tournament kicks off at the Captain’s Meeting on Saturday at 6 p.m. For more information, visit tunastakes.com.

Capt. Dave DeGennaro of Hi-Flier Sportfishing, Waretown, reported the weekend fishing as “awesome.” Friday’s fishing produced stripers on light tackle, along with weakfish, blowfish and bluefish in the bay.
On Saturday, he targeted weakfish and found them biting on the west side of the bay. They aren’t big fish, he said, but most are just over the legal size.
On Sunday, Capt. Dave headed out to Barnegat Ridge North and hit plenty of false albacore. He had barely got his rods set when the first albacore of the day hit and the action didn’t stop for three hours. If you’re interested in taking a trip aboard the Hi-Flier, call 732-330-5674.
And there are still fluke to be had. Five boats that fish the Raritan Bay are sailing for fluke under a special research set aside permit. Capt. Tom Buban of the Atlantic Star out of Atlantic Highlands, who has a permit, reported good fishing over the weekend with a nice catch of keepers. The other boats are the Captain John out of Keyport, and The Angler, the Dorothy B and the Sea Tiger II out of Atlantic Highlands.

John Oswald