There may not be many anglers still seeking them, and they do take a lot of dedication to find and tempt, but striped bass continue to flourish in the warm summer waters of NY/NJ Bight. Chuck Many of Annandale proved that Sunday when we went out aboard his Ty Man from Gateway Marina in Highlands during mid-afternoon. It took a lot of running around to find the bass, and they wouldn't take drifted live bunkers, eels or sandworms. Many did release a 37-inch bass on a live bunker, but the only hit I had on that bait left me with only a head. There had been practically no bluefish in Raritan Bay when we had a hot summer striper bite a few weeks ago -- but medium blues are building up now. Many decided to try chunking on those marks that wouldn't hit. When he tried that Saturday we only hooked smooth dogfish, but this time there was a mixture, We ended up by dusk with the striper count up to six among five blues and about a dozen dogfish. Unlike the Wednesday and Saturday trips when short bass dominated, all of Sunday's stripers were at least 30 inches. Many fought one that pulled his Boga Grip to 28 pounds, a very large bass for late summer in this area -- but also much bigger than the others we released. Capt. Stan Zagleski had decent fluking Sunday in Raritan Bay when the drift was right. Brad Weaver of Bound Brook had three keepers up to the 8 5/16-pound pool winner on Elaine B. from Highlands. Shimano rep Doug Rusch had a most unusual Sunday of fluking as he caught legal fluke so well on open bottom that he left them with his Fin Fun from Manasquan since they had all they needed. The "secret" spot was right off Manasquan Inlet His 91-year-old mother was catching fluke steadily, and his sister, Valerie Klimas of Scotch Plains, had the largest at 5 pounds. Bill Klimas kept busy putting American Littoral Society tags into 16-to-17-inch shorts. Capt. Bob De Santis headed north on the weekend with the Chris Miller party on his Skipjack II from Waretown, and fished 72-degree waters in 55 feet that provided 30 feet of visibility. They bagged 15 fluke, including two over 5 pounds. Bob Matthews reports from Fisherman's Den in Belmar Marina that ocean fluking remained good over the weekend, and some dolphin up to 15 pounds were found not too far offshore. Jin Park of Edison weighed in an 11 3/4-pound fluke he caught on the Ocean Explorer. Matthews says the 6-inch Gulp Grub in chatreuse has been most effective. There are still plenty of fluke in Shark River, but not many keepers. Snappers are abundant, but remember that you're only allowed 15. Matthews has heard of mullet in the back waters of the river. Surf fishing may pick up when they come out. The MidAtlantitic $500,00 is underway at Cape May plus Ocean City, Md. with 127 boats and a purse of $2,412,510.50. Adam La Rosa reports one of the Canyon Runner boats is bringing in a "meat fish"  (dolphin or wahoo) entry as this is being written. Check back here later tonight for the first day's results. LaRosa says the bigeye bite in Hudson Canyon (which is out of the tournament 's range allowance) has tempted them into offering a Saturday overnighter during what had been planned a lay day after the contest. That charter can be booked by calling 732 272-4445. The beach at Bay Head was beautiful this morning, but fishing at low tide was no good. I only caught a snapper casting metal, and lost one possible fluke when I switched to bunker strips and Gulp.