Following is Friday's column as submitted: SL5-9-14Ristori for FridaySCHOOL TUNA ANGLERS GET A BREAK FROM NMFSby Al RistoriIt's not often that recreational fishermen get any good news from the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), but that agency did have some as regulations for bluefin tuna were set this week.As of yesterday, boaters registered in the Angling category  can now take advantage of the "over and under" bag limits previously only granted to the Charter/Headboat category. In addition to one school bluefin from 27 inches curved fork length  to less than 47 inches, another from 47 inches to less than 73 inches may also be retained.  The opportunity to land a trophy of 73 inches or more once a year in the Angling category was closed this spring in the Southern area  (south of Little Egg Inlet), but remains open north of there for one of 73 inches or more per year that may not be sold.After NMFS raised the daily limit of giant bluefin in the commercial General  category to seven last fall in a seemingly desperate attempt to kill off as many spawners as possible after commercial landings were running well below quota, it seems only fair that they made a small concession to private boaters who have been spending a fortune in fuel to run offshore while only being able to return with a single schoolie to share among the crew. Tournament season is springing into high gear. The Manattan Cup will be be run on Friday, and for the first time it 's based in N.J. at Liberty Landing Marina in Jersey City. For details visit www.manhattancupcom. The Governor's Surf Fishing Tournament is also making a big change, switching  from fall to spring, and will be contested as before at Island Beach State Park --  but on on Sunday, May 18. October surfcasting was so  poor that small bluefish were winning the Governor's Cup for the longest fish. Anglers will have a much better shot at a striped bass in May. For information call 609 748-4347 or visit www.state.nj.us/dep/fgw/gsft.htm. The Spring Hi-Mar Striper Club Striped Bass Tournament will be contested from 5:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. next Saturday  out of Bahrs in Highlands. The entry fee is $125 a boat, which can be payed at Friday's 7 p.m. captains meeting at Bahrs Landing.  Call 732 872-1245 for information. The Jersey Shore Beach-N-Boat Tournament has been underway since April 1, but Wednesday's night's kick-off party in Forked River really got the ball rolling in the season-long contest. There are over 50 official weigh stations. For information visit www.BeachNBoat.com, or call 609 423-4002. The Berkeley Striper Club Catch & Release Striped Bass Fishing Tournament will run from May 30 to June 7, and includes a new boat/kayak division. For information visit http://tinyurl.com/BSC-CatchAndRelease. The fluke season is right around the corner, from May 23 to Sept. 27, and several have already been caught by boaters fishing for other species. It was a real heartbreaker Tuesday for a fare on the Sea Hunter from Atlantic Highlands to have to release a fluke that Capt. Rob Semkewyc said was just under 9 pounds. Striper fishing was good that day, with bass up to 23 pounds, after several poor ones. Yet, Wednesday was slow despite good conditions. The Angler from that port reported two fluke and the first sea robin last Sunday. The Elaine B. from Highlands released a 19-inch fluke Sunday.  Dennis Nalepa of Red Bank won Saturday's pool with a 19-pound striper.Striper fishing has been up-and-down in Raritan Bay, but generally productive. Even Sunday's strong west winds didn't discourage Chuck Many of Annandale. I joined Nellie Greer of Bethlehem, Pa., Greg Prestosh from Hellertown, Pa., and Matt Calabria of Plainfield on Ty Man from Gateway Marina in Highlands as the day started with an hour-long drift on marks in the middle of the bay where large bass hit live and dead bunkers plus heads until the incoming tide against the west wind killed the drift. A run up the Hudson River to  seek a bigger bass was unsuccessful in waters as rough as in the bay before Many pounded back there when wind and tide were together in the afternoon. His True World handled the big waves created by gale-force gusts while more bass were chunked. By late afternoon the count was up to 31 legal stripers, every one of which was released to spawn in the Hudson this month. Calabria hooked the largest at 28 pounds.    It was a lot tougher in the bay on Wednesday, though the weather was ideal,  when I joined Tank Matraxia and Marty Gras from Lyndhurst plus Don Alonzo of Point Pleasant on Capt. Kevin Cole's Parker out of Brown's Marina in Keyport. Cole went out at 4:30 a.m. to load up the boat with bunkers, but they didn't do us any good during an attempt to chunk on Round Shoal as in ebb tide died out. Matraxia put an ALS tag into the only bass there, a marginal keeper that was 26 1/2 inches to the fork of the tail (as the ALS measures) that I caught blind casting a white Tsunami Deep Shad. With the shift to incoming, Cole switched to trolling Stretch 25 plugs that produced three large bass. Capt. Sal Cursi has been catching bass limits regularly with Jim Curcio of Edison on the latter's Shananigans out of Morgan Maruna. They boated bass up to 36 pounds Tuesday, and Cursi said he released a 40-pounder Gene Graman of Middletown trolled a limit of stripers Wednesday morning with Stretch plugs from his That's It out of Twin Lights Marina in Highlands. He and Fred Fessel got into some chunking action to release a few more, but found the bass to be exceptionally hard to hook. Dave Lilly of Hazlet said he had non-stop action all day Tuesday in the middle of the bay out of Keyport while trolling the big Tony Maja bunker spoons in white and chartreuse. Both colors seemed equally productive as the catch included three bass over 30 pounds.The creator of those spoons, Tony Arcabascio of Bayville, reports boaters trolling them off Island Beach State Park haven't done a thing so far in cold waters with no bait. Though that's pretty much been the story about ocean striper fishing  so far, there may be some migratory nass on the way. Mike Nelson, of Bay Point Marina in Cedarville, told me that the Delaware River stripers have spawned and are now hitting further down Delaware Bay. Black drum have also appeared there.For daily updates on fishing, visit my blog at nj.com/shore/blogs/fishing. Joe Melillo, at Castaways Tackle in Point Pleasant, reports the overdue bluefish have started showing. A few cocktails have been hooked in the inlet and canal. Some small stripers are hitting clams in the surf, and plugs both there and in Manasquan River. He's most excited about the crabs which are already large and meaty. At Seaside Park, Betty & Nicks Tackle reports blowfish are now eating clams intended for stripers in the Island Beach surf. Bob Connely caught six short bass and added three blowfish despite using  a large hook.  There was also word of a 16-inch fluke being released -- and bunker have come into the surf. Chris Karbownik and Greg Harms weighed two stripers up to 10 1/2 pounds  yesterday that they caught on bunker in Manasquan River.   Grumpy's Tackle weighed weighed two stripers on Monday. An 18.55-pounder hit clams, and Mark Chambers had a 17.5-pounder on bunker. There are 3-to-5-pound blues in Barnegat Bay. The Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association reports black drum averaging 20 to 30 pounds along with school stripers are being caught on clams inside Little Egg Inlet and up to the mouth of the Mullica River. Capt. Jim McFarland reports his party yesterday on Big Mac from Green Harbor, Ma. caught limits of scrod-size cod plus 32 haddock in the 235-foot depths of Tillie's Bank. END