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Following is Friday's Ristori Report as submitted: SL8-8-14-RISTORI REPORT RISTORI REPORT NEW YORK HARBOR TO RARITAN BAY Capt. Vinnie Vetere, of Katfish Charters in Great Kills, says the East River fishing he specializes in has been poor this year, but he's catching stripers in the bay and off the Rockaways. The Raritan Bay striper run continues at a lower level with primarily smaller bass in the teens on bunkers. The big smooth dogfish found in the same areas also seem to be thinning out. Bluefish remain a rarity in the bay, but should be building up in the west end this month. No word on weakfish catches, but some small weaks are showing up in the pound nets along with great numbers of bunkers. Fluking remains good for keepers in the bay, with some big fish being reported by Capt. Stan Zagleski on his Elaine B. II from Highlands when wind and current are together. It was best Tuesday and Wednesday in the afternoon. Capt. Rob Semkewyc said there were more keepers in the bay on his Sea Hunter from Atlantic Highlands -- and even a few limits. Joe Julian, at Julian's Tackle in Atlantic Highlands, says croakers can be caught up in the Navesink River, where snappers are abundant and crabs improving. Some porgies are being caught at the Ammo Pier, but they don't seem to be abundant anywhere else. Phil Sciortino, at The Tackle Box in Hazlet, said fluking has been good in Ambrose Channel except on Tuesday when there was hardly any drift. He still sees few of the spot and croakers that were so abundant last summer. Snappers are the featured species at local docks, and crabbing is also good at Keyport. SANDY HOOK TO MANASQUAN INLET Fluking has been good on rough bottoms from the Fisherman's Buoy to the Rattlesnake, with large fish available to those willing to lose terminal tackle in the "sticky stuff". Julian's reports some small stripers are being caught at dawn and dusk in the Sandy Hook surf -- which is full of snappers that will keep youngsters happy. Mostly small fluke are also there if you can fish Gulp through the snappers. Pee-wee blues are abundant most days for jiggers on Shore bluefish party boats Bonito and chub mackerel are mixed in. The Golden Eagle from Belmar reported it was "all you want" blues and mackerel Tuesday and Wednesday on bait or jigs and teasers. Shark River remains loaded with short fluke, but there are some keepers mixed in. Bob Matthews, at Fisherman's Den in Belmar Marina, notes that those fishing with "trout" rods and 6-pound test are having a ball with the volume of small fish while catching a few legal fluke for eating. Manasquan River has also had a good showing of fluke in the lower reaches. Matthews notes a customer has caught small bass on worms at that inlet. Snappers are abundant in the rivers, and have grown up to "snack size". Dave Arbeitman, at The Reel Seat in Brielle, said reports from Hudson Canyon last weekend were poor, but some yellowfin tuna were caught in Lindenkohl and Carteret canyons. POINT PLEASANT TO BARNEGAT INLET Fisherman's Supply in Point Pleasant had an unusual report of yellowfins being chunked during the day on Tuesday in Lindenkohl Canyon. Trollers closer to home got into school bluefin tuna of various sizes at the Atlantic Princess. There weren't any tuna in the Mud Hole, but trollers picked some dolphin off the pots.. Trollers working Manasquan Ridge with Squid Spoons and small high-speed lures are catching little tunny, skipjacks and bonito. Some have switched to chum and small jigs after locating them to use light tackle. There was some hot fluking at the Mud Buoy last Friday, but the water turned brown and the fishing shut off up there. Sea Girt Reef was also poor on Tuesday, possibly due to the arrival of the big swell. It's possible to catch the one blackfish limit at the inlet jetties and in Point Pleasant Canal. Seaweed had been a problem on the beaches, but Mickey Sweeney of Howell said it was clean Monday at Avon as he used Gulp to catch short fluke plus a sea robin -- a species that's been virtually absent so far this year. I fished the Bay Head surf on Wednesday morning and found the seaweed to be less of a problem than last week -- though the big swell from an offshore storm made for tough conditions as I missed a couple of hickory shad hits. At Seaside Park, Grumpy's Tackle and Betty & Nick's both reported good fluking in the surf with Gulp on small jigs. Snappers are abundant off the local docks along with good crabbing -- and some blowfish have been reported. Tony Arcabascio of Bayville got into the hot trolling bite of bonito at Barnegat Ridge with his Maja on Sunday. He had 18 of the 2-to-3-pounders plus about a dozen small blues and a 7-pound dolphin. An attempt for fluke on the reef was no good in a lack of drift.  A friend got into some blowfish in Barnegat Bay. Capt. Lou Grazioso found "breezing" bluefin tuna Tuesday near Chicken Canyon and trolled them on Canyon Runner spreaders plus balao from Bob Chervanak's Lady Dorado out of Waretown. . They were all "unders", and some boaters were able to jig them. Some large dolphin were also boated. Jim Hutchinson Sr. reports that skippers from the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association have been catching lots of short fluke to box a few keepers. Capt. Bob Gerken ran his Hot Tuna to the canyon to troll 10 yellowfins (three in the 70-pound class) while releasing another six and losing a bigeye. Dave Showell, at Absecon Bay Sportsman Center says it's been mostly short fluke in the back bays, but he saw three over 7 pounds brought in last weekend. Triggerfish are showing up along the sod banks. and back bay sharkers are releasing some browns and sand tigers. Matt Slobodjian, at Jim's Tackle in Cape May, is enthused about the inshore troll bite on 4-to-5-pound bonito at 5 Fathom Bank and South Shoal. Clark Spoons trolled deep are best on the bonito plus some little tunny and small blues. East Lump produced a surprise for Lindsey Clarkson as a white marlin was lost after a 10-minute fight. Three dolphin were then trolled around the lump. There were bite-off reports from the lumps just inside the Elephant Trunk, and then Rick McKeon of Cape May trolled a wahoo there along with some dolphin. Some yellowfin and bluefin tuna are also in that area. Bigeye tuna are being hooked in Wilmington Canyon, along with dolphin at the pots. The best canyon yellowfin bite has been in the Spencer and Lindenkohl. White marlin were hot in the Baltimore one day, and vanished the next. Fluke fishermen found more shorts than keepers at the Old Grounds, and the same holds true at the Cape May and Wildwood reefs. Delaware Reef Site #10 has been very good, though the bite turns on and off during the day. It's mostly croakers and small fluke in the surf. Some anglers are being surprised by rough-tailed stingrays. Big sandbar (brown) sharks are being hooked and released at Cape May beach during the night, and the same applies to sand tigers at the Point. Kingfish are hitting bloodworms at Hereford Inlet. END

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