SL6-6-14-RISTORI REPORT NEW YORK HARBOR TO RARITAN BAY Hudson River striped bass spawning should be long over, but stripers with green (ripe) eggs in them are still being caught. There was some striper action upriver last week, but most of the spawners should be coming out of the river now. There are still lots of stripers in Raritan Bay and, if last year is any indication, that should be the case for another two or three weeks. The biggest problem has been an abundanceof bluefish that's often hard to fish through. Chunking bunker seems to be more effective on stripers in the bay rather than live-lining. Capt. Rob Semkewyc has been chunking bunkers on readings in the bay, or working around bunker schools where stripers and blues are often spotted feeding with his Sea Hunter from Atlantic Highlands. In either case, he's had very good bluefish results, though stripers aren't caught every day. The Tackle Box in Hazlet reports fluking hasn't been consistent though a few large ones were hooked at the Bug Light -- and Shrewsbury River has had its moments. Spot and croakers have started showing in the bay, and there are hopes for another massive run of those southern species such as we had last spring. There's also been some blowfish and kingfish at the Keansburg Pier, but crabbing is still slow. The Navesink River is another good bet for fluke, with the pros doing best with keepers by jigging light bucktails tipped with Gulp. SANDY HOOK TO MANASQUAN INLET Some of the largest stripers have been coming in from this stretch. They are hitting live bunker not only from around schools of those fish -- but also drifted blind in deep waters (around 60 feet) not far from the three-mile federal waters where stripers may not be retained. First light and late afternoons are the best bets. Trollers are also doing well with bunker spoons. A few catches of large fluke have been made in the ocean, but conditions must be good. The big swell experienced this week didn't help any bottom fishing efforts, and water temperatures also dipped sharply on Wednesday. Party boats have generally done very well higging big blues off the northern Shore, but Tuesday was a tough day for that fleet. Very few stripers are being caught during the day by party boats, but some have done well with them by using live bunker during Magic Hours trips. Surfcasters haven't had many shots at the big bass, though it's possible to throw big poppers and swimmers at large bass if you can be on the spot when they chase bunkers to the beach. That's most likely to occur in late afternoon from Allenhurst to Deal. Bob Matthews, at Fisherman's Den in Belmar Marina, is enthusiastic about the big bass on bunkers for boaters to the north, but also is seeing more keeper bass in the surf. The ratio of keeper fluke to shorts in Shark River hasn't been bad. Joe Melillo, at Castaways Tackle in Point Pleasant, says fluking has been good, with a decent ratio of keepers, in Manasquan River from the Rt. 35 bridge to the inlet. He says small jigs tipped with Gulp are very effective on light tackle, but should be jigged hard. Melillo ran into 4-pound blues in the inlet on Tuesday, but they weren't there the next morning.   He had a flurry of larger stripers on swimmers in the Point Pleasant surf last weekend. Crabbing is very good with bunker for bait. Sharkers may give their sport a good try this weekend, and will likely find lots of blue sharks along with a possible mako or thresher. Canyon anglers have a good shot at trolling yellowfin and bluefin tuna.     BAY HEAD TO BARNEGAT INLET Several big striped bass have been caught to the south with the snag & drop technique around bunker schools, but it's not consistent for boaters and kayakers. Trolling bunker spoons in 60 feet off the bathing beach at Island Beach State Park has been a better bet, but Monday was dead there. Sea bass fishing has been better on wrecks than rocks, but took a beating from this week's big swell. Bluefish of all sizes are being caught in the area surf, but almost entirely on bunker bait rather than lures. Small blues are still available in Barnegat Bay. Capt. Dave DeGennaro reported trolling them from the BB to the 40 buoys, and casting poppers at the mouth of Oyster Creek Channel from his Hi-Flier out of Barnegat. SOUTH JERSEY Boats from the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association have been catching fluke in Great Bay and sea bass from local wrecks. Capt. Dave Showell, at Absecon Bay Sportsman, says back bay fluking has been pretty good, with most anglers catching two or three keepers plus shorts. He said he's never seen so many 4-to-6-pounders coming into the shop. The only problem has been a poor suypply of minnows (killies) for bait. Night surfcasting has been very good at the Atlantic City and Brigantine jetties for stripers and black drum, though dogfish can be a problem for bait fishing.   There have been crab hatches at the mouths of the rivers, and shedder crabs fished there are producing stripers and weakfish. Matt Slobodjian, at Jim's Tackle in Cape May, reports shark fishing started last weekend as the shop's contest was won by he only qualifier, a 205-pound thresher. Some makos were caught, but none made the 150-pound minimum. Black drum fishing in Delaware Bay has never been better, with double-diget catches being common. Weakfish are showing at Higbee's Beach Jetty, and the jetty at Cold Spring Inlet, as well as the Hereford Inlet rock piles. Backwaters are the best bet for fluke, but some are also showing at the Cape May Reef.