It sounds like the fluke fishing inside Sandy Hook Bay is keeping anglers busy. The boat captains would like to see a few more keepers coming to the nets but the tempo has been lively as there are plenty of fish around to be caught.

Winter flounder fishing always seems to lead to bigger, better things. We jump on their backs at the start of the season while they’re in the back bays and rivers and stay with them as they migrate to the inlets.

Warm temperate water is beginning to work its way in from the Gulf Stream, bringing with it the first tuna of the season. There haven’t been many boats making the run offshore, so what information that is coming back to the docks is limited.

Nature designed fluke to ambush. They are aggressive and quick if you’ve ever seen one scat at the surface or in the shallow water. They will attack moving baits by darting up from the bottom leaving a cloud of sand behind them.

It was another stellar week on the beaches. Rain or shine, surfcasters were out catching bass and blues from the sand and jetties. Only a beached eight-foot pygmy whale could slow the action down for a moment.

Wire line trolling with bunker spoons is a popular technique fishermen have been using for years to catch striped bass. Chances are if you’ve been out on the water during these recent spectacular spring runs of striped bass you’ve tried your hand at it.

Early this week saw a big body of striped bass invade the surf. It was one of those “you had to be there” moments when you put down everything you’re doing and head to the beach because the fish were feeding. What triggered the action was a change in wind direction.

Don’t be caught sleeping. This could be a big weekend for stripers from the beaches and the boats.

One thing anglers found this week after the storm were good concentrations of sand eels in close to the beaches from Point Pleasant south. A small mosquito fleet located the baitfish just south of the Manasquan Inlet between two to three miles out underneath diving birds.

The tuna boats returned to the docks this week from the offshore canyons with a decent catch of yellowfin tuna. Inshore, there was little talk again of bluefin tuna in the Glory Hole. This weekend, though, it looks safe to say no one will be heading out due to the high winds and seas predicted.