Though Capt. Bob Pisano lost his battle with cancer on Dec. 31, his relatives and friends said their final farewell last Saturday from Capt. Jared Polick's Fin-ominal out of Belmar as Candi Pisano released his ashes in a specially-constructed small wooden boat that floated among a sea of flowers before membranes opened to sink it in the Mud Hole near the site of some of Pisano's greatest battles with the world's strongest fish while the fisherman's final prayer was read: God Grant me that I may live to fish until my dying day and when it comes to my last task, I most humbly pray , that in the Lord's safe landing net I'm peacefully asleep. In His mercy that I be judged big enough to keep. Pisano was not only a true pioneer of NJ giant tuna fishing, but also a mentor to many who took up the sport. When he got hooked on giants, they weren't worth anything, but he was just as thrilled by them then as in later years when they were often worth thousands of dollars. All of his peers recognized Pisano as the greatest, but there was no bragging on his part -- and he enjoyed conveying his knowledge to anyone seeking it. Pisano seemed to be able to think like a tuna, and not only knew where they might be but also how to fool a giant fish that could be as fussy as a trout in a shallow summer stream -- but with the heavy tackle required in order to fight them. There may never be another day in the annals of N.J. giant tuna fishing like the one when Pisano (who already was the skipper on the state record giant) broke his record twice in the same day when Roy Parsons boated a 963-pounder in the morning before I fought a 1022-pounder that afternoon. Both tuna were much too big to fit through the tuna door of Pisano's Runaway, and had to be towed back to Hoffman's Marina in Brielle. Then he took Parsons out on the same day the next year to add seven pounds to my former record The glory days of Mud Hole giant tuna fishing are long past, and the Mud Hole no longer holds the great quantities of ling and whiting that were an attraction, but I know we now have an advocate above and there's hope that he can pull off a miracle for his students. Fluke fishermen have two tournaments to compete in this weekend. The 22nd Point Pleasant Elks Fluke Tournament will have about $40,000 up for grabs in the Power Boat Division. The Friday captains meeting at 7 p.m. is at the Point Pleasant Elks Lodge, 820 Arnold Ave., Point Pleasant Beach. The boat entry is $195 with up to four anglers. The Kayak Division has a catch and photograph format with an entry fee of $65 for product prizes. For information call 732 899-7638. The Grandpa Savino Fluke Tournament at Staten Island has a captains meeting from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday in Tackle U.S., 187 Mansion Ave., Great Kills. In addition to the regular cash prizes, there's the opportunity to win $25,000 for catching a fluke over 13 pounds -- which was done last year! That requires a $100 entry in addition to the $100 per boat for the tournament. For information call Walter Fisher of the Staten Island Tuna Club at 917 375-7607. Gary Read of South Amboy cleaned up in last weekend's two fluke contests. The 29 1/2-inch, 11.2-pound doormat caught by Corey Cook took first in the Sandy Hook Bay Anglers two-day contest out of Atlantic Highlands over a 9.4-pounder for Jose Portal of Clifton that was hooked by Jenny Portal for the ladies rod & reel prize. Read had a closer contest in the Raritan Bay Anglers Charity Fluke Tournament on Saturday as his fluke weighed 11.19 pounds in Perth Amboy to edge Tuankhanh Nguyen of Jersey City with a 10.17-pound doormat. Check my daily blog at nj.com/shore/blogs/fishing for complete results of both contests. Mark Roy of Warren got into some tuna trolling with his Century, Release Me, near the Corvallis last weekend. His crew of two 20-year-olds, not only got into tuna on their first trip offshore but experienced a rugged ride back when an unpredicted strong wind created big seas in the afternoon. Alex Canady of Warren and Phil Burch from Yardley, Pa. fought a bluefin and a yellowfin of 26 and 28 inches while also getting spooled by a big tuna on a spinning rod.  Roy said only Green Machines drew hits. Bluefish party boats have been loading up with small blues plus chub mackerel. The Jamaica from Brielle reports they are fishing 8 to 15 miles offshore in various areas, and using both jigs and bait. Some sharks and rays also butt in on that fishing. Night trips are producing limits of the small blues. Cownose rays are suddenly showing up almost everywhere. Jay Amberg at Sea Girt said lifequards had to shut down swimming at one point because the wing tips of numerous rays looked like an invasion of sharks. Vinnie D'Anton of Shark River Hills and I even saw them inside Shark River while casting for blues and stripers Wednesday morning. Fluking has been generally good in Raritan Bay plus the ocean and all rivers. Dave Lilly of Hazlet said he and Nick LaViola caught loads of keepers in the bay last weekend while fishing the tournaments, though large fluke were hard to come by until La Viola hooked an 8-pounder for fifth in the Sandy Hook Anglers contest. Capt. Rob Semkewyc, of the Sea Hunter at Atlantic Highlands, said Gulp has been most effective for anglers who keep bouncing their rig. Capt. Ron Santee, of the Fishermen at that port, reports there have been some limits the last few days while pool fluke are in the 5-to-7-pound class. At Belmar, the Ocean Explorer reported an 8 3/8-pound fluke that took the lead for the seasonal big pool that's up to $2,800. The Big Mohawk had fluke to 7 1/2 pounds the same day. The Gambler from Point Pleasant had slower fluke fishing Tuesday, but moved to a different area Wednesday for fluke up to 6 pounds and as many as three keepers per person plus some sea bass.  Capt. Dave De Gennaro found a few weakfish whie chumming with grass shrimp on the east side of Barnegat Bay from his Hi Flier out of Barnegat.