By


Al Ristori

June 06, 2010, 3:38PM

The most impressive run of 50-pound stripers in N.J. within a couple of days included a 52-pounder that won the adult striper division of the Brielle Family Fishing Tournament for Tom Mauro on Ono Mahi Ahi. That trophy striper was weighed at Hoffman’s Marina in Brielle to beat out Bob Lake’s 41.6-pounder on his Kimberly Ann. The kid’s division winner was a 34-pound striper by Carey Hilla on Wildcat to edge out a 32.2-pounder taken by Neil Franzoni Jr. on Bahia Moon.

The big stripers were in contrast to the lack of large bluefish. Sean Murray won the adult bluefish category with a 10.2-pound chopper, but second went to a mere 2.4-pounder by Mike Scala — the same size that tied for the kid’s prize shared by Anders Scala and Brian Gianforte. Jay Ginther won the adult fluke title with a 7-pounder on Speculator, followed by Andre Herman at 6.4 pounds. Ryan Herman led the kids with a 4-pound fluke on Salty C’s, where he beat Chris Weland’s 3.2-pounder.

There were also 50-pounders in the Hi-Mar Striper Tournament. Unfortunately, the first day’s results I had hoped to add to the blog last night weren’t supplied, and I’m waiting for the final results. Capt. Hans Kaspersetz of Sheri Berri from Baker’s Marina on the Bay saidhe sawa “50″ weighed in for the contest and then released at Twin Lights Marina in Highlands today.

Capt. Joe Bogan reported very good fluke fishingduring the Saturday morningtrip of his Jamaica II from Brielle with lots of keepers and many limits. Ed Nolan of Manasquan had a limit up to 4 pounds; Amy Liuof East Brunswick, and Jeremiah Weems from Philadelphia each limited up to 5 pounds; Ed Randal and Lester Janczuk, both fromTrenton,each limited to 4 pounds — as did Jim Drunheller of Princeton and Craig Tauring of Reading, Pa. Bogan noted thatSpro jigs, with teasers above baited with spearing or squid, are producing best in 60 feet of water.

Hoffman’s Marina had big news in addition to the the tournament. Kayle King brought in the first tuna of the season — a 42-pound bluefinon Carly Rose that hit a skirted balao at Barnegat Ridge. There were also the first shark reports as threshers moved in on the bunker schools. Jack Fritz weighed in a 35-pound striper Thursday evening, but broke off a 400-to-500-pound thresher. Second Home reported losing a bunker spoon to a thresher. Capt. Darren Volker put the Ocean Bank party into seven stripers to 35 pounds Saturday morning on Mary Lou Crew, and went out in the evening for five bass up to 43 pounds.

Capt. Sal Cursi coontinues to catch striper limits in Raritan Bay from his Cathy Sea out of Sewaren. Capt. Lou Grazioso fished bunker schools inRaritan Bayon Friday for a good striper catch by Nick DeNucci of Denville and his boys onStriper Mania from Bahrs in Highlands.

Scott Leadbetter from Haddon Heights fished bunkers from Seaside to Lavallette during Saturday morning to catch a 36-inch striper. He reported only seeing one other bass caught among lots of bunkers. The water temperature was 56 degrees.

Capt. Russ Binns has added Coast Boaing School classes leading to the required boating certificate from 7 to 10:30 p.m. on June 16 and 17 at Flemington Elks Club; June 21 and 22 at Middlesex Elks Club; June 22 and 23 at Lake Hopatcong Elks Club in Mt. Arlington; June 22 and 24 at Wayne Fire Co. #1; and June 23 and 24 at Liberty Landing Marina in Jersey City. Call 1-877-BOAT SAFE for reservations.

By Al Ristori

June 05, 2010, 5:16PM

Though confirmed reports aren’t available, it appears that some anglers have achieved the coveted 50-pound mark in striped bass the last couple of days. Capt. Terry Sullivan mentioned that this morning, and John Green of Brick said he also knew of a 50 caught by a boater off Lavallette Friday morning. At least one entrant in the Hi-Mar Spring Striper Tournament at Twin Lights Marina in Highlands weighed a “50″ today, but Tournament Director Barry Heffernan didn’t have the first day’s tally completed as this was being written. I’ll add another blog later, after that information is available.

Bruce Vitale of Piscataway had a friend up from Wilmington, N.C. to fish with him and Mike Obuch of Bridgewater on the latter’s Funny Pharm out of Highlands — and John Mauck made his trip a successful one by clamming a 31 1/2-inch striper before adding a 4-pound fluke at the mouth of Raritan Bay.They also caught an 18-inch fluke plus shorts.

Bunker schools were abunant in that area Friday evening when I joined Pat Lynch of Parsipppany on his Reel Awsome from Atlantic Highlands as the crew caught four large stripers on live bunkers.

By Al Ristori

June 05, 2010, 4:36PM

June 5 is the last day for boaters to enter the June 12 JCAA Fluke Tournament at the early entry price of $120. See the end of this release for information on entering before the fee goes up to $150.

The Jersey Coast Fluke Tournament is a unique concept and here are:

Ten Great Reasons to Enter the JCAA Fluke Tournament

One - $10,000 Grand Prize and you dont even have to catch a single fish to win!

Two - A great day of fishing fun with family and friends!

Three – A gala awards celebration at Trump Marina Hotel Casino!

Four Ten ports to fish from – each with a $1,200 first prize!

Five You are only competing against the boats that are registered for your port for the 12 port prizes.

Six - Cash and prizes galore!

Seven - A drawing for more door prizes than you can shake a graphite rod at!

Eight - A chance to take five of your friends or family fishing!

Nine 120 fabulous port prizes! Ten chances to win at each port. Odds like this you wont see in Vegas or any other tournament!

Ten – Youll be helping the Jersey Coast Anglers Association to continue our 29 year fight to protect your fishing rights and the marine environment!

This years ports are:

First Place: $1,200 cash (Sponsored by Fishermans Headquarters for LBI, Contender and Yamaha for Sandy Hook, Ocean County Board of Tourism and JCAA for Barnegat Bay and Great Bay, Hudson River Fishermens Association for Jersey City and JCAA for all the other ports.)

BSSL220069 rod with 2 spools of Spiderwire Ultracast Invisi-Braid and 10 packages assorted Berkley Gulp

Fourth Place: West Marine $350 Gift Card

with 2 spools of Spiderwire Ultracast Invisi-Braid and 10 packages assorted Berkley Gulp

220069 rod with 2 spools of Spiderwire Ultracast Invisi-Braid and 10 packages assorted Berkley Gulp

Eighth Place: Costa Del Mar Venture Pack composed of: Costa Del Mar Sunglasses,

Backpack, Visor and Strap

Jersey Coast will be giving away over $70,000 in cash and prizes this year.

To enter or to order this years T-shirt by phone, have your Visa or Master card ready and call the JCAA office at (732) 506-6565. You can visit the JCAA website at http://www.jcaa.org and print a copy of the entry form and t-shirt order form and mail or fax (732-506-6975) to the JCAA Office with your check or your Visa or Master card number.

By Al Ristori

June 04, 2010, 10:33PM

Striped bass in Raritan Bay: There have been schools of bunkers on the surface throughout the day, and both stripers and big bluefish are often below them. Snag a bait and drift it, or drop live bunkers to bottom around the schools.

Striped bass along the Shore: There have been plenty of bunkers, but stripers aren’t always under them. Late afternoon has generally been a better bet than daylight, though John Green of Brick reported boaters did very well during an early Friday bite off Lavallette. Nick Honachefsky of Normandy Beach said there were loads of bunkers off Spring Lake, but he managed just one 25-pound bass.

Clamming for stripers: Clamming has been very good at such spots as Flynn’s Knoll and Romer Shoal. Many of the stripers being caught are unusually large for clamming bass — often 15 to 20 pounds.

Sea bass at the reefs: The Sea Girt and Axel Carlsen reefs have been producing good catches of sea bass. There are plenty of keepers among the numerous shorts, and a few sea bass up to 5 pounds are mixed in.

Fluke in the ocean: Though shorts are abundant in shallower waters almost everywhere, keeper fluke have been most readily available in 60-to-65-foot rough bottom depthsabout three miles offshore out of Manasquan Inletwhere they are mixed with sea bass.

Ling at Scotland: Ling were caught there last weekend, and there may be a spring run after all. Some cod and sea bass were mixed in.

Bluefish in Raritan Bay: They’re just aproblem for striper fishermen, but blues are abundant in Raritan Bay. Chunking near Raritan Reach or Flynn’s Knoll should produce them, and jumbos hang out under bunker schools.

By Al Ristori

June 04, 2010, 1:52PM

Following is the balance of Friday’s column that didn’t make print:

Clammers were also enjoying hot bass action. Capt. Pete Wagner of Hyper Striper at Twin Lights has had consistent limit catches, and some Atlantic Highlands party boats are doing so well with bass on clams that they still havent switched to fluke. Capt. Ron Santee of the Fishermen reported a 23-pound striper on a clam during Wednesdays first drift as the bite continued on-and-off until the hard ebb tide in the afternoon. That boat is chartered this afternoon, and every Saturday morning in June. Capt. Scotty Hilliard is also clamming on the Prowler during this best spring run in years. Sam Grbie of Westfield won Wednesdays daytime pool with a 24-pound bass, and the 3:30 p.m. trip limited out in time for an early return.

Intensive bunker netting by bait boat purse seiners seems to have made those forage fish scarcer and bass fishing a picky proposition along the Shore. The Memorial Day weekend blitz of the last two years wasnt repeated, but Nick Honachefsky of Normandy Beach was fortunate Wednesday when he fished with Mickey Malchiondo on Archangel. Bunkers were hard to snag in the morning, and they didnt do anything until 2 p.m. In the next hour the fishing exploded as nine bass from 25 to 44 pounds were caught with only the smallest retained. The fog made fishing difficult yesterday morning.

Capt. Howard Bogan Jr. had an unusual catch during Mondays trip with his Jamaica from Brielle. There were no bass on bunkers, and clamming to the north was no good before he spotted schools of black drum from 55 pounds up on the surface. One school had at least 100 drum in it. Most anglers didnt have adequate tackle, but Brian Roddy of Brick boated a 67-pounder. A few bass up to 25 pounds were under them. A late striper bite bailed out Sundays trip, when James Dempsey of Trenton boated a 35-pounder. Saturday night bluefishing 22 miles to the southeast was a pick all night and the best so far. Jamie Moore of Newark won the pool with a 16-pounder. After only jigging a few small blues Wednesday, Bogan moved north to jig where some bass to 20 pounds and 6-to-8-pound blues were located. Some drum with a few bass under them were spotted on the way back south. Jim Shabrach of Boyertown, Pa. boated both a 23-pound pool-winning bass and a 70-pound drum.

Fluking didnt get off to a great start, but there have been some hopeful signs. Capt. Bobby Bogan of the Gambler from Point Pleasant had a good Wednesday afternoon trip that included a limit up to 3 pounds by Kevin Pavone of Toms River, who also had about a half-dozen sea bass from the rough bottom in 65 feet. Dennis Wargo had four fluke up to 4 pounds plus six sea bass.

Capt. Joe Bogan of Jamaica II from Brielle had a poor start to fluking Saturday in deep water, but did better closer inshore on Sunday when Amy Liu of East Brunswick took the seasonal pool lead with a near-doormat 9-pound, 10-ounce fluke. Wednesdays fishing was the best so far, three miles off in 60 feet. Ed Nolan of Manasquan had a limit to 4 pounds; Jin Kim of Paterson limited to 5 pounds; and James Chang from East Brunswick limited to 3 pounds. A 3-ounce Spro bucktail tipped with spearing, along with squid strips rigged on a teaser above it was the best combination. Yesterday morning was also good as Sung Huang from Edison had a limit to 8 and 5 pounds by 10 a.m.

Capt. Stan Zagleski of Elaine B. at Highlands has had plenty of action with short fluke while catching some keepers. Ed Stefanski of Maplewood boated a 5.8-pounder, and John Houghtaling from Franklin Lakes bagged four to 5.3 pounds.

Capt. Ed Bunting of the Sea Horse from Atlantic Highlands counted 25 to 30 keeper fluke Saturday, but 45 to 50 on Sunday as afternoon trips were most productive. Danny Comerford had a 5 -pounder Sunday.

Phillip Sciortino reported a most unusual weekend catch from The Tackle Box in Hazlet as Shane Burke of Holmdel said he caught two 31-pound stripers on the same popper at North Beach. Its not too unusual to hook two blues on the same plug, but this is the first time Ive heard of two big bass being caught in that manner.

Sheila Miranda of Hoboken boated two 4-pound fluke in Sandy Hook Bay on the new Slimers 4-inch split-tail bait.

By Al Ristori

June 04, 2010, 12:31AM

The Hi-Mar Striper Club Spring Striped Bass Tournament will be contested the next two days out of Twin Lights Marina in Highlands. This years contest will be a two-day event running from 5 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, and 5 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday, followed by a picnic for all contestants prior to the awards.

The mandatory captains meeting starts at 7 tonight at Twin Lights. Boaters can sign up there for $100, with up to six anglers permitted. The Hi-Mar event is for the benefit of Jasons Dreams for Kids, and stripers brought in are filleted by club members for donation to the Monmouth County Food Bank. For information call Capt. Barry Heffernan at (908) 309-9048.

The $120 early entry period for the 16th annual JCAA Fluke Tournament on June requires a postmark by June 5. After that, the fee is $150 per boat. Visit jcaa.org for information and forms.

Highlands charter skippers will be holding a benefit from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. Wednesday at Mobys, 2 Bay Ave. in Highlands, for Capt. Mark McColgan of the Long Shot who recently underwent heart surgery without medical or unemployment insurance. Donations are $10, with all proceeds going to Capt. Mark and his wife Cathy. There will be live music from Matt O Ree and Capt. Kenny (formerly of K-Kat), along with draft beer specials plus a local fish fry. About $2,500 in prizes include donated fishing trips plus concert and baseball tickets from WRAT. For info call Capt. Dan at (732) 337-9292, or check special events at ClassicBoatRides.com

The most unusual catches of the week were the two 25-pound sharks released by Don Spencer of Brick while surfcasting at Bay Head. He e-mailed (cristori@aol.com) photos to me that I identified as sand tiger sharks. Sand tigers sport a mouthful of teeth like a makos, which makes them a popular aquarium species. Theyre common in Delaware Bay, but rare farther north and are a protected species. Spencer also said they jumped which is not characteristic of a bottom species.

Stripers have been generally cooperative in Raritan Bay for both bunker chunkers and clammers. The Billy Dawson party from Millington fished Saturday with Capt. Hans Kaspersetz and I on Sheri Berri from Bakers Marina on the Bay in Highlands. We chunked through the bluefish near Raritan Reach to catch five bass on the ebb after having trolled two while waiting for the tide. George Gabuzda of Wall and his young son Colin were aboard Sunday morning to boat the four stripers they wanted among the blues, including a 38-incher for Colin and headed in by noon.

Bass fishing has been better the last few days at the mouth of the bay. Capt. Sal Cursi of Cathy Sea at Sewaren defied the dense fog warnings, and said he hadnt thrown a chunk yesterday morning before his party from Distinctive Landscape in Edison had bass and blues on. They kept only the smaller of the bass that ranged from 30 inches to 30 pounds. Clammers were also enjoying hot bass action. Capt. Pete Wagner of Hyper Striper at Twin Lights has had consistent limit catches, and some Atlantic Highlands party boats are doing so well with bass on clams that they still havent switched to fluke.

Capt. Ron Santee of the Fishermen reported a 23-pound striper on a clam during Wednesdays first drift as the bite continued on-and-off until the hard ebb tide in the afternoon. That boat is chartered this afternoon, and every Saturday morning in June. Capt. Scotty Hilliard is also clamming on the Prowler during this best spring run in years. Sam Grbie of Westfield won Wednesdays daytime pool with a 24-pound bass, and the 3:30 p.m. trip limited out in time for an early return.

Intensive bunker netting by bait boat purse seiners seems to have made those forage fish scarcer and bass fishing a picky proposition along the Shore. The Memorial Day weekend blitz of the last two years wasnt repeated, but Nick Honachefsky of Normandy Beach was fortunate Wednesday when he fished with Mickey Malchiondo on Archangel. Bunkers were hard to snag in the morning, and they didnt do anything until 2 p.m. In the next hour the fishing exploded as nine bass from 25 to 44 pounds were caught with only the smallest retained. The fog made fishing difficult yesterday morning.

Capt. Howard Bogan Jr. had an unusual catch during Mondays trip with his Jamaica from Brielle. There were no bass on bunkers, and clamming to the north was no good before he spotted schools of black drum from 55 pounds up on the surface. One school had at least 100 drum in it. Most anglers didnt have adequate tackle, but Brian Roddy of Brick boated a 67-pounder. A few bass up to 25 pounds were under them. A late striper bite bailed out Sundays trip, when James Dempsey of Trenton boated a 35-pounder. Saturday night bluefishing 22 miles to the southeast was a pick all night and the best so far. Jamie Moore of Newark won the pool with a 16-pounder. After only jigging a few small blues Wednesday, Bogan moved north to jig where some bass to 20 pounds and 6-to-8-pound blues were located. Some drum with a few bass under them were spotted on the way back south. Jim Shabrach of Boyertown, Pa. boated both a 23-pound pool-winning bass and a 70-pound drum.

Fluking didnt get off to a great start, but there have been some hopeful signs. Capt. Bobby Bogan of the Gambler from Point Pleasant had a good Wednesday afternoon trip that included a limit up to 3 pounds by Kevin Pavone of Toms River, who also had about a half-dozen sea bass from the rough bottom in 65 feet. Dennis Wargo had four fluke up to 4 pounds plus six sea bass.

Capt. Joe Bogan of Jamaica II from Brielle had a poor start to fluking Saturday in deep water, but did better closer inshore on Sunday when Amy Liu of East Brunswick took the seasonal pool lead with a near-doormat 9-pound, 10-ounce fluke. Wednesdays fishing was the best so far, three miles off in 60 feet. Ed Nolan of Manasquan had a limit to 4 pounds; Jin Kim of Paterson limited to 5 pounds; and James Chang from East Brunswick limited to 3 pounds. A 3-ounce Spro bucktail tipped with spearing, along with squid strips rigged on a teaser above it was the best combination. Thursday morning was also good as Sung Huang from Edison had a limit to 8 and 5 pounds by 10 a.m.

Capt. Stan Zagleski of Elaine B. at Highlands has had plenty of action with short fluke while catching some keepers. Ed Stefanski of Maplewood boated a 5.8-pounder, and John Houghtaling from Franklin Lakes bagged four to 5.3 pounds.

Capt. Ed Bunting of the Sea Horse from Atlantic Highlands counted 25 to 30 keeper fluke Saturday, but 45 to 50 on Sunday as afternoon trips were most productive. Danny Comerford had a 5 -pounder Sunday.

Phillip Sciortino reported a most unusual weekend catch from The Tackle Box in Hazlet as Shane Burke of Holmdel said he caught two 31-pound stripers on the same popper at North Beach. Its not too unusual to hook two blues on the same plug, but this is the first time Ive heard of two big bass being caught in that manner.

Sheila Miranda of Hoboken boated two 4-pound fluke in Sandy Hook Bay on the new Slimers 4-inch split-tail bait.

By Al Ristori

June 03, 2010, 8:16PM

Ocean fluking has opened up the last couple of days after a slow start. Capt. Joe Bogan of Jamaica II from Brielle had some limit catches Wednesday in 60-foot depths, three miles offshore. He did well out there again this morning as Sung Huang of Edison had a limit to 8 and 5 pounds by 10 a.m.

Capt. Bobby Bogan of the Gambler at Point Pleasant had a fine Wednesday afternoon fluke trip that included a limit catch plus sea bassfrom rough bottom in 65 feet.

The fog hurt inshore fishing this morning. It was so thick at Mantoloking that surfcaster John Green of Brick turned back since he couoldn’t see well enough to drive.

Anglers that did get out along the Shore had a hard time finding bunkers in the poor visibility.

Capt. Sal Cursi of Cathy Sea at Sewaren got out to the mouth of Raritan Bay and had stripers on right after setting the anchor — and before chunks went in the water. His Distinctive Landscape party from Edison opted to quit fishing by 10 a.m.. .

By Al Ristori

June 02, 2010, 8:38PM

Though sand tiger sharks are common in Delaware Bay, they appear to be quite rare further north. Therefore, it was a surprise when Don Spencer of Brick sent me photos for identification of a shark he landed at Bay Head — and that shark sported the teeth of a sand tiger. Spencer caught two of them estimated at 25 pounds before release. Sand tigers are a protected species.

Capt. Sal Cursi of Cathy Sea at Sewaren had a good catch of stripers in the morning as they were feeding on the surface at Romer Shoal — but on something smaller than bunkers. It was the latter that created some excitment late in the afternoon at the mouth of Raritan Bay as school after school passed by on the ebb. I had been chunking on Gene Graman’s That’s It from Twin Lights Marina in Highlands (where the Hi-Mar Spring Striper Tournament will be contested this weekend), along with Fred Fessel of Middletown, as we only had a pick of bluefish before the bunker schools were spotted. After getting off the anchor, we had hits whenever a bunker was snagged — though jumbo bluefish hit the snagged bunkers before stripers could get to them. Capt. Lou Grazioso was out with his Striper Mania from Bahrs Landing in Highlands as Tank Matraxia and party from Lyndhurst managed some 20-to-25-pound bass from the schools by dropping live bunkers to the bottom.

Spotting bass and bunkers may be tough in the morning as a dense fog alert has been posted.

Nick Honachefsky of Normandy Beach fished with Mickey Melciondoon Archangel out of Manasquan Inlet as they had a hard time snagging bunkers early. However, big bass turned on at 2 p.m., and they caught nine from 25 to 44 pounds in the next hour, keeping only the smallest.

Capt. Howard Bogan Jr. of the Jamaica from Brielle started out jigging some small blues in front of the inlet before moving north for a few more. Eventually he foundlarger fish working and his fares jigged 6-to-8-pound blues along with bass to 20 pounds. Further south they ran into a school of black drum with some bass under them. The pool winner had a 23-pound bass and a 70-pound drum.

Capt. Ron Santee had a fine first drift with clams from his Fishermen from Atlantic Highlands as the 23-pound pool winner was boated. A mixture of sizes were picked throughout most of the trip until a hard ebb killed it in the afternoon. The Fishermen is chartered for the Friday afternoon trip, and for every Saturday morning in June.

Dave Lilly of Hazlet tried worming in the Shrewsbury, but was disappointed to see the water temperature up to 72 degrees and the river filled with 5-to-10-pound blues that ate a flat of sandworms while he managed only one legal striper.

Ross Goldberg ran his Lady J. from Shark River up to Long Branch on Monday after finding no bass under bunkers. The rocky bottom there produced lots of variety, including sea bass, cod, fluke. winter flounder and ling.

Capt. Stan Zagleski of Elaine B. at Highlands reported a decent day of fluking whenever conditions were right. Joe Stefanelli of Maplewood had four keepers up to his 5.8-pound pool winner, and John Houghteling from Franklin Lakes caught four up to 5.3 pounds.

By Al Ristori

June 01, 2010, 9:38PM

Gene Graman stuck it out on his favorite piece at Shrewsbury Rocks, but stripers never did cooperate during the morning on That’s It from Twin Lights Marina in Highlands. Indeed, even the bluefish werefew and fussy for Graman andFred Fissel of Middletown plus Carlos Rebelo of Keyport and I. Carlos couldn’t even catch bergalls on bottom with pieces of clam.

Capt. Jim O’Grady of Cock Robin from Point Pleasant didn’t do well with bunkers for big bass over the weekend, but a couple were caught on the clamming grounds. A school of blues that hit jigs bailed outMonday’s trip.

Capt. Joe Bogan of Jamaica II at Brielle said Saturday’s opening day of fluking was poor, but he did better Sunday closer to shore. Amy Liu of East Brunswick boated a 9-pound, 10-ounce fluke to take the lead in the seasonal pool. Most fares hadtwo to five keepers, and there werre also a few sea bass. Alex Pilewski of Trenton caught five up to 4 pounds, and John Gilliam from Howell had four to 5 pounds.

The Tackle Box in Hazlet reported an exceptional catch of two 31-pound stripers on the same popper at North Beach by Shane Burke of Holmdel. Chris Heitzman, John Kalk, Mick Clampi and Rick Moran combined for six bass from 21 to 26 pounds on poppers from the Sandy Hook surf. Shelia Miranda of Hoboken had two 4-pound fluke in Sandy Hook Bay on the new Slimers 4-inch split-tail baits.

By Al Ristori

May 31, 2010, 5:36PM

Striped bass remained scarce in bunker schools along the Shore on Memorial Day, but anglers on the Jamaica from Brielle got a big surprise as they ran to the north for clamming. Capt. Howard Bogan Jr. had only encountered a few bluefish while fishing bunkers before making the move to clamming that was also unproductive. However, massive schools of black drum from 55 to 70 pounds were spotted on the surface. Bogan said one school had at least1,00 drum in it, and there were some stripers recorded beneath them. Brian Ruddy of Brick managed to boat a 67-pound drum, and others broke off. The lone striper was a 25-pounder. Bogan noted that Sunday’s trip also started slowly, with poor clamming and no action until bass started chasing bunkers out of thewater late in the trip. James Dempsey of Trenton boated a 35-pounder for the pool. Saturday night bluefishing was the best so far, with a pick all night 22 miles to the southeast. Jamie Moore of Newark won the pool with a 16-pounder.

Capt. Ed Bunting of the Sea Horse from Atlantic Highlands had some encouraging news about fluking. He reported 25 to 30 keepers during Saturday’s fishing, and 45 to 50 Sunday while drifting inthe bay. Most keepers are in deeper waters, while shorts dominate shallower waters. Bucktailers didn’t do as well asthose drifting spearing and mackerel. Danny Comerfordwon Sunday’s pool with a 5 1/2-pound fluke.

The Sea Devil from Point Pleasant is chartered from Tuesday to Friday. Capt. Bob Pennington got into some bass over 36 inches on Saturday, as a 38-incher took the pool.

Capt. John Kolias of Reel Fun at Sea Bright put Michael Goldberg and his son Scottof Piscataway into five keeper fluke up to 3 pounds Sunday, along with 11 shorts as he worked Flynn’s Knoll and the Belford flats. Squid and spearing worked best.

Capt.Dave Riback of Purple Jet at Point Pleasant said his Sunday afternoon party looked unhappy when he returned that morning with just one 34-pound striper from the earlier trip. Yet, they couldn’t have hit it better in the afternoon as bass were breaking on bunkers. Max Weldon (14) of N.Y.C. boated a 34-pound bass, and his brother Oden (10) caught a 27-pounder as they kept seven bass and released 15 in 2 1/2 hours of fishing.

Capt. Russ Binns has Coast Boating School classes, leading to the required boating permit,coming up as follows from 7-10 p.m.:

June7&8- Little Silver Fire Dept.

June 8&9 – Green Pond Country Club

June 14&15 – West Marine, Lodi

June 16&17 – Flemington Elks Club

In addition, there will be 6-9:30 p.m. classes on June 15&16 at Off Shore Marine in Branchville.

Call 1-877 BOAT SAFE for reservations.