The spring migratory run of big striped bass that spawn in the species' major breeding grounds in the Chesapeake and Delaware bays was well below expectations last year, and has been somewhat spotty so far this year — though the best may be yet to come during this month. According to my 2013 records, the best day for ocean fishing was on the afternoon of June 14 when Chuck Many of Annandale on his Ty Man from Gateway Marina in Highlands put Nellie Greer and Greg Prestosh from Pa. and I into 28 released bass from 25 pounds up, including five from 40 to 42 pounds. Even though the volume of big stripers has been down, the shot at a trophy bass is there every time you fish a bunker or work a large lure at this time of year — and that's one of the great attractions of the sport. After loading up with bunkers at 5 Sunday morning, Gene Graman of Middletown had to make a decision whether to go for the possibility of hooking a volume of smaller bass plus blues in the bay or heading own the beach to seek "quality" with his That's It from Twin Lights Marina in Highlands. As it was my birthday, he and Jerry McMenamy of Holmdel decided to make the run. There were no bunker schools to work, but drifting bunkers blind in deep waters a couple of miles off the beach down as far as Elberon produced bass of 22 and 25 pounds for Graman and McMenamy. I didn't have a hit all morning until a stop on Shrewsbury Rocks resulted in a jumbo 37-inch bluefish swallowing my head-hooked live bunker and failing to cut through 60-pound leader before being released. There weren't any marks there, and Graman resumed drifting in deep waters where a Shimano spinning outfit rigged with a live eel bent over. Though the fish didn't make long runs, it felt very heavy, and took a while to raise on 20-pound mono. It turned out that the bass had somehow gotten snagged in the top of the head with a circle hook when it struck, so I was lifting all the weight of a fish that pulled the Shimano scale to 40 pounds. She had more girth than the spawned-out migrating bass we've been seeing along the Shore, and might have still had roe in her, as I've been told by biologists that some females don't spawn every year and eventually reabsorb their eggs. She was also very tired, and might not have made it if McMenamy wasn't able to use his height to lean over the high sides of That's It to work her in the water until she was able to swim down. That release of a "40" (after a 42-pounder on Ty Man the previous week) made it a perfect 78th birthday with Graman who's my senior by a month.. It's too bad that I didn't hook that bass last Friday in the Manhattan Cup, which was run for the first time out of N.J. — from Liberty Landing Marina in Jersey City. I was assigned to the same Contender 32 I had fished on last year from Gateway, but is now owned by George Stiltson of Mt. Bethel, Pa. — who ran it along with his brother, Jim from Ohio. Brendan Kelly, of the NYPD Lieutenants Benevolent Association, was the other angler. After getting a call from Capt. Sal Cursi about a good bass chunking bite in the back of the bay, Stiltson ran the Contender back there at 56 mph — but we still missed the bite. I got cut off by a big blue, and Kelly released two medium blues before our luck ran out entirely. Stiltson's luck had been much better the previous weekend when he ran to Toms Canyon for a big trolling catch of yellowfins in the 50-pound class plus "over and under" bluefins. They hit everything trolled on the cold side of a 59-degree break Chris Palmieri, fishing with Capt. Harry Svenson, was the winner of the 16th annual Manhattan Cup with a 42.4-pound striper, and the Live Release Division winner was a 33.1-pound bass by Delmon Simson with Capt. Steve Cherry. Celebrity chef Kerry Heffernan fished with Capt. Joe Shastay to catch the largest striper on a fly, and also took high hook in that category. Baseball Hall-of-Famer Wade Boggs, a Manhattan Cup regular, had to miss the contest after the original date was postponed due to weather. Profits went to the Wounded Warriors Project, Jacob's Team for Autism, and Fisherman's Conservation Association conservation projects. The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council will be meeting in the Radisson Hotel, 50 Gibson Pl. in Freehold from Tuesday through Thursday. The public is invited to attend the sessions, but I wouldn't advise the Tuesday morning meeting of the Surf Clam & Ocean Quohog Committee unless you're looking to catch up on sleep. When I was a member of the original council, that was most of what we ended up working on. The 1-2 p.m. session on the framework to open the black sea bass season in Wave 1 may be more interesting. That's followed by the River Herring & Shad Committee — and at 3 p.m. there's the Mackerel, Squid and Butterfish Committee. You might ask why mackerel have virtually disappeared from our coast, as I did during a conference call with NOAA Fisheries officials on Wednesday. Unfortunately, they didn't have any answers except that Canada is having the same problems with a lack of the traditional inshore migration. A NOAA Recreational Fisheries Policy Public Listening Session and Webinar will be run from 5-to-8 p.m. on Wenesday. For the Webinar visit http://mafmcabobeconnect.ciom/june2014. Select "Enter as Guest". The public may submit questions and comments. Those who weren't able to attend last weekend's Shimano Surf Crew demonstrations of the new Long Cast Surf System at the Shore, can do so tomorrow on Long Island at Jones Beach Ocean Parking Field 6 from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. A 32-inch, 14.2-pound doormat fluke that Bradley Weaver caught Sunday on a white Spro from the Sea Horse out of Atlantic Highlands was not only the pool winner, but also a boat record. Also at that port, Capt. Ron Santee started fluking with his Fishermen — and had an 8.3-pounder Sunday. Capt. Rob Semkewyc has been chunking lots of big blues in the bay from his Sea Hunter, along with a few stripers such as the 20-pounder caught by his daughter Courtney on Monday. Julian's Tackle weighed an 11.8-pound doormat that Ed Aras of Lincroft boated Tuesday at the Bug Light on spearing and squid TOP CATCHES The Tackle Box in Hazlet weighed a 9½-pound fluke on Monday for Mike Garcia, who boated it at the Bug Light on a bucktail tipped with Gulp. Capt. Mike Greene of Lucky Stripers Charters got into lots of big bass on bunkers early in the week, including a 50-inch, 49.1-pounder he weighed at Fisherman's Headquarters in Ship Bottom. Linda Tiano joined the exclusive 50-pound striper club last week when her husband John trolled a Julian's Montauk bunker spoon from their Marlintini off Long Branch for the 50.9-pound bass she weighed at Hoffman's Marina in Brielle. He added a 47-incher. Joe Melillo, of Castaway's Tackle in Point Pleasant was proud that his Spring Lake Live Liners beat much bigger clubs last weekend in the Monmouth Beach Cartoppers Tournament. A local shot of decent bass on swimmers did the job as Melillo beached a 13 9/16-pounder; Mike Comune of Brick hooked a 12-pound bass; and Gerald CeCe of Point Pleasant had a 17-pounder. Mickey Sweeney of Howell used clams at Bay Head for 11-and 13-pounders, and Terry Martuscelli chunked Bay Head for a 17-pound linesider. Capt. Joe Massa of Old Bridge joined GuyTalarico of Oradell for a Sunday evening trip on the ex-assemblyman's Jersey Patriot from Liberty Landing. They found plenty of bass action on bunkers down the beach where Talarico topped out at 44 inches while Massa boated a 46-inch bass that weighed 36½ pounds the next day at Keyport Marine. Capt. Dave Riback says bluefish jigging has been good almost everyday on his Queen Mary from Point Pleasant. The striper action is on Magic Hours trips when conditions are right, as they were Saturday when over two dozen bass up to 47 pounds were caught. The Sunday count was 10, but only three came aboard Tuesday despite action in the bunker schools. Capt. Jimmy Elliott had to run 15 miles to the east with the Golden Eagle from Belmar on Wednesday after a tough day of bluefishing on Tuesday. He got into lots of 7-to-14-pounders on Run-Off hammered jigs and Crocs. Capt. Dave De Gennaro said he got called into a trolling bite on Sunday by Capt. Steve Purul of Reel Fantasea, and ended up with stripers of 34, 38, and 40 pounds on Tony Maja #4 white bunker spoons off Island Beach State Park on his Hi-Flier from Barnegat for Jeff Boyer, Fred Baker and Bryan Jacobson. Capt. Stan Zagleski continues to put some large fluke aboard his Elaine B. from Bahrs in Highlands. Carmine Rutledge of Newark had a 7 7/16-pounder one day this week to take the pool over a 6½-pound fluke by Jack Deckert of Blairstown. Lynn and Annette Strouse chunked from their outboard out of Atlantic Highlands on Tuesday off Keansburg to fight 14 big blues, but no bass. They tried closer to Raritan Reach the next day and caught six stripers up to 20 pounds before the choppers moved in.