Offshore Fishing Report 8-9-2012

New England Offshore

Bluefin tuna are still feeding in big numbers from Crab Ledge to Peaked Hill. Trolling is still the name of the game. Spreader bars in a variety of colors are working. The fish are mostly 40 to 46 inches, but bigger ones are showing up on occasion. There wasn’t too much talk of giants this week. I received an email Thursday from my friend Gordon Miller who trolled up a 500-pounder on a Slug-Go. There was no word as to where, however.

A few white marlin and bluefin are showing up south of Martha’s Vineyard, but way south, in the Canyons, the bite is slow. Coop at Coop’s Bait and Tackle said one of his friends made the long haul to Hydrographers for an overnighter this week, but came home with an empty box. The only excitement was a 200-pound blue marlin. While catching “the lady in the blue dress” in the Northeast is always an accomplishment, for a 200-mile round trip, a tuna steak or two would be nice.

New York and New Jersey Offshore

The offshore report has been a little slow but there were good reports of white marlin in the Poor Man’s Canyon, and folks are starting to get some bluefin tuna on jigs, mostly in the southern holes.

Some bluefin are fired up out at the Chicken Canyon with guys chunking everything they can get their hands on. Butterfish, sardines… you name it.

Tom at Jersey Coast Bait & Tackle says the pots about 8 miles off are holding some fun mahi to hammer with light tackle, and you can hook them at the Mudhole too. With the spike in inshore temps, there are some wahoo being taken pretty close in. Tom confirms the bluefin just north of the Chicken as well.

The Hotdog has turned cold. There’s nothing worse than a long commute to a cold Hotdog. Tuna have been reported on the 19 Fathom Lump, East Lump and out near the trunk but the concentration has been spotty at best. There has been a half decent white marlin bite going on in the southern canyons, but nothing like what was going on last August…yet.

The White Marlin Open out Ocean City, Maryland is in full swing and many of the South Jersey players are in the mix. Notable weigh-ins from locals SJ boats so far include the Canyon Runner’s 236-pound bigeye and a 70.5-pound wahoo. Both are atop their respective leader boards as of this time. The Lisa out of Cape May is sitting with a 26-pound dolphin, and the top release boats for whites right now is the Maryland boat Reel Joy with 13 in one day… busy deck!