ANNUAL GOVERNOR'S SURF FISHING TOURNAMENT SET FOR SUNDAY AT ISLAND BEACH STATE PARK FALL FISHING TRADITION MOVES TO THE SPRING FOR FIRST TIME 14 P42 TRENTON Island Beach State Park will host the 23rd annual Governor's Surf Fishing Tournament this Sunday, May 18, marking the first time in the competition's storied history that it will be held in the spring, Department of Environmental Protection DEP Commissioner Bob Martin announced.Anglers will have an opportunity to land some striped bass and bluefish and be recognized for their fishing prowess.

For the first time in years, there's spring blitz fishing for bluefish along the Shore.Rather than dealing with all the trebles on the plug, I switched to a bunker colored Run Off Sand Eel jig.

The fog wasn't as dense this morning in Raritan Bay, and it turned out to be a beautiful day.Capt. Stan Zagleski had the opposite report from his Elaine B. out of Highlands as he did well on the morning ebb before the bite shut off later.

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.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.

Capt. Rob Semkewyc said clamming from his Sea Hunter out of Atlantic Highlands was back in shape after several poor days when wind was a problem.He used both the large white and chartreuse Tony Maja bunker spoons, and couldn't tell which color was better.