Tom P.

Scattered reports of the yellowfin tuna bite transitioning to the chunk were verified yesterday not only via phone calls and texts, but also when stopping at several tackle shops.

Triggerfish have arrived in big numbers along the south Jersey shore’s jetties, bridge abutments, rock piles, wrecks, reefs, just about anywhere there’s submerged structure, you’ll find these toothsome bait grabbers.

These next few of days should see a resurgence in bass appetites as the refreshed, oxygen-infused lakes and ponds show new signs of life.

In yet another indicator that the summer migration is underway, sheepshead have arrived in decent numbers and will continue filtering in from their southern coastal state digs through August.

The channel catfish, or “kittie” as it’s oft referred to by aficionados of the bewhiskered bait grabber clan, is a major player on the freshwater scene.

We looked at each other during a mid-summer hike (actually more of an extended stroll) in a south Jersey state forest that was latticed with sandy road and trail capillaries, many of the former leading to the main vein drive.

I’ve heard it at least a dozen times the past few days from anglers working the flats and channel edges in the likes of mid-to-lower Barnegat Bay, Great Bay, Great Egg Harbor Bay and down the ICW through Stone Harbor, the diminutive Gulp! crustacean is scoring smashes, thrashes and hits on th…

Correctly known as little tunny, the false albacore is a drag-screaming member of the tuna-related Scombridae family that, although viewed as a pain in the ass to those seeking inshore and mid-range bluefin especially, offers rip-snorting reaction to trolled spreader bars and daisy chains.

Lost in the six-inch Gulp! Grub and strip bait craze when it comes to catching bigger fluke, is the effectiveness of that miniature member of the drum family: the spot.

Another captain present went even further, loudly boasting that “Not even Banana Boat tanning lotion is allowed on my boat. Nothing to do with bananas! Bad luck!”