Fishing in Belmar Charter boats in Belmar

Bluefish have proven again this season that they are the species that can be counted on for food and recreation when regulations or natural causes affect other species.

Day in and day out the brawny, ubiquitous blues are there, usually ready to hit at any time.

Capt. Howard Bogan Jr., Jamaica, Brielle, said he has been fishing for blues 15 miles east-southeast of Manasquan Inlet, and the action has been dependable.

"The last two days the blues moved in a few miles to the west,'' Bogan said. "(They) weigh from 6 to 12 pounds and are being caught on either bait or jigs during the day and bait at night. We were chumming on both the day and the night trips.

"There were plenty of readings of bluefish and bait spread over a wide area, and all of the boats were catching fish,'' he added. "We made a few drifts for striped bass Wednesday, but there was no morning bite that day.

"We will be looking for them each day,'' he said. "If the action is worthwhile, we will try for them.''

Jim Manson, Trenton, won one pool with a 12.5-pound bluefish, and Clay Chilson, Slatinston, Pa., won another with a 12-pounder.

Capt. Len Forsyth, Miss Belmar Princess, Belmar, said he has enjoyed good fishing for blues along the edge of the Mud Hole.

"There are lots of sand eels out there, and plenty of fish five miles south of the Oil Wreck,'' he said. Many anglers had the limit.

Capt. Jack Bevins, Prowler V, Atlantic Highlands, has been hitting the blues and striped bass at night in the Shrewsbury Rocks area where he has been chunking. His bass catch usually averages 14 or 15 keepers.

Capt. Scott Hilliard, day skipper of the Prowler V, hit the bass Monday when he fished with clams, and the boat catch totaled 19 keepers and 20 throwbacks. Thursday he fished out east and had seven keeper bass.

Brian Brice, Holland, Pa., won the pool on the Prowler V with a 24-pound bass caught on clams.

The staff at Bait Bucket and Tackle Shop, Neptune, reported plenty of excitement there when the boats docked.

Capt. Charlie Martino, whose Light Tackle is frequently at the center of big fluke action, opened with a 9-pound fluke. Tommy and Nicki Thompson came in with a catch of stripers up to 39 pounds, and Drew LaFrance and crew had 13 bass up to 35 pounds on the Due East. The Deep Pockets docked with a catch of bass up to 30 pounds.

Pete Pawlikowski of Oceanic Marina, Rumson, said bluefish and fluke are providing plenty of action in his stretch of the Navesink River.

Terry Biunno, Edison, came in with his limit of fluke that he took on killies and squid in combination. His only problem was getting the killies past the bluefish to the fluke.

Greg Bogan of Brielle Bait and Tackle said Dave Jr., Ronald and Steven Meehan came into the shop with a 26-pound striped bass and a 10-pound bluefish caught off Spring Lake.

Lou Ottrando, Holmdel, and Jim Jansen, Bergen, fished on Capt. Paul Regula's Bounty Hunter and caught their limit of stripers to 30 pounds on live bunker.

Kris Trasborg, Brick, stopped at Brielle Bait and Tackle with a 35-inch striper that he caught on a black Bomber at Bay Head.

Bob Matthews of the Fisherman's Den, Belmar, said popping plugs are bringing big returns in the surf when the bunkers and bass are close.

Ray Soyka, Asbury Park Fishing Club, had two bass … 24 and 31 pounds, 9 ounces … and Chris Whitt of the same club had a 24-pounder. Brian Biedinger, also an Asbury Park club member, had a 24•-pound bass.