Tuna

Yellowfin tuna and albacore are found off the Atlantic, Gulf and Pacific coasts. Off our coast, they’ll frequent the waters along the Continental Shelf and its many canyons during the summer months.

Most of the action will take place some 80 to 90 miles offshore over the Continental Shelf and canyons. Concentrate your efforts along temperature breaklines of the Gulf Stream.

Chum with chunks of butterfish at night. Bait your hooks with sardines or squid. Drift baits back in the chum line, but also dead-stick a bait from 50 to 150 feet down. Some of the tunas will be down deep.

Last season was outstanding for those anglers seeking albacore and yellowfin tuna along the canyons. Unfortunately, fishing for bluefin tuna was abysmal. Worldwide demand for tuna overall is hurting stocks.

Bluefish

Bluefish range all along the Atlantic Coast down to Florida waters. The biggest concentration of blues, and the biggest specimens as well, make their summer homes off the Mid-Atlantic and New York coastline.

Large schools of blues will take up residence on ridges, humps, wrecks and so on. Most of the best fishing takes place from 5 to 25 miles off the beach, though shoreline fishing can be excellent at times.

Troll or chum in open ocean waters, or drift baits along the bottom over ridges and wrecks. Don’t forget bottom-bouncing diamond jigs as well. Surf-casters can do well by dead-sticking clams or casting plugs.

The bluefish population has stabilized over the last few years, but it is still at or near all-time highs. Bag limits continue to be liberal, and recreational interest in catching bluefish results in lots of business.

Summer Flounder

Summer flounder, or fluke, are caught from South Carolina north to Maine. The best fishing occurs from Maryland to New York during the summer months. Summer flounder are one of the most-sought species.

Avoid back-bay areas, where smaller summer flounder will be more numerous. Look to fish in waters over 30 feet deep and around/over rocky structure, wrecks and natural ridges.

Use big, live baits like spot, bergalls or snapper blues. Instead of sinkers, chrome-ball jigs or leadhead jigs will get your bait down where it needs to be. Add an 8-inch strip of squid to entice bites from big summer flounder.

The inept manner in which summer flounder stocks are being managed is criminal. Millions of smaller fish die each season due to high minimum size limits, which cause many fish to be thrown back.

Weakfish

Weakfish populate warm coastal waters from Florida to Cape Cod. The bulk of the population will be found from Virginia to New York during the peak summer months. Bay fishing is where it’s at most often.

Any back-bay area or river inlet -- from Chesapeake Bay, Indian River, Delaware Bay, Great Bay, all the way up to Raritan Bay -- will offer prime-time action. Look for slight bottom variations and other structure.

Shedder crab and grass shrimp are top baits. Use only enough weight to keep your offerings on or very near the bottom, as that’s where the weakies will be. Light lines and light tackle are the way to go.

Unpredictable might best describe how fishing for weakfish has been over the last five years or so. Old hotspots in Chesapeake and Delaware bays sometimes still produce, but not like in years past.

Striped Bass

Striped bass are found along inshore waters from Florida to Maine. After spawning in the bays, they’ll move out into open ocean on the beaches and slightly offshore over productive feeding areas.

Chesapeake, Delaware and Raritan bays will provide fine striper fishing during the spring. Don’t forget surf-fishing and structure angling for striped bass during the summer months. Night-fishing is also good.

Natural baits prove best in the spring and early season, while live bait (like menhaden) or jigs, plugs and soft-plastics (like Swim Shad) are effective offerings once the season progresses. Don’t forget clams!

Striped bass fishing is another bright spot (like bluefish) in the recreational arena. Lots of big fish and different year-classes bode well for the future. Circle hooks are a big plus to releasing stripers.

Illustrations courtesy of Sport Fish of the Atlantic - Vic Dunaway.