The first sharking report came in from Jim's Tackle in Cape May.Mike Naipawer of Blomingdale and Dennis Ziober of Port Reading tied for Monday's pool with 5 5/8-pound fluke.

It took some time to get my 78th birthday bass this year, but Graman stuck it out. The birthday boy was still shut out on bass until we moved back out to deep waters and Graman's Shimano spinning rig filled with 20-pound mono doubled over in the stern.

Fishing off the Shore for the big migrating stripers hasn t been very consistent lately, but there was nothing to complain about last Thursday when I joined Chuck Many of Annandale on his Ty Man from Gateway Marina in Highlands along with Pa. anglers Nellie Greer of Bethlehem and Greg Prestosh of Hellertown as we went down the beach to release 19 bass on long drifts with live bunkers. Clarke mated Tuesday for Capt. Rich Kotszyu on Michelle Ann out of Shark River as they ranged from Long Branch to Island Beach in order to catch eight bass up to 44 pounds in the morning on live bunkers and seven in the afternoon.

Capt. Pete Clarke will be running his new Ocean Master 31 for striped bass as well as in shark tournaments and for tuna out of Total Marine in Belmar. Joe Melillo, at Castaways Tackle in Point Pleasant, reports his son, Joe, caught a 33-pound bass on a bunker off the Red Church Tuesday.

Capt. Joe Massa ran his My Three Sons from Morgan Marina to West Bank this morning and chunked through loads of big blues for two bass before moving to Coney Island to bucktail fluke of 19 and 23 inches plus a sea robin. Grumpy's Tackle in Seaside Park reported good quantities of bluefish in the surf, especially on mullet baits, while kayak and boat fishermen caught big bass on snag drop bunkers just out of casting range.