[B]48 CR - 7/24-25 - 19 Yellowfin to 70 Pounds/2 Bluefin to 80 Pounds/Mahi[/B] Capt. Mark DeCabai, Capt. Mike Zajac and Deane Lambros took out the George Johns charter late Friday into late Saturday for an overnighter on the 48 Canyon Runner. They left late after the wind died down and got to the edge at 1am. Nothing happened at night but in the morning the bite was on. They trolling the 100-square first and pick a fish but the water moved out so they ran down the west wall area and found a nice 70-78 degree break and the yellowfin in it. These are nice yellowfin to in the 50-70 pound class. They went 4 for 7 on the big ones and 15 for 20 on the rest with 6 more keepers and some mahi. They trolled the canyon until 3pm when they decided to run inshore to the Atlantic Princess and pick some bluefins. They anchored up and started throwing the chunks and jigging and very quickly put a 50" - 80 pound bluefin in the boat and another 46" fish in the boat and release another 40 inch bluefin. Both boated fish fell for fresh dead squid.

July 13=16 2009
Adam LaRosa reports:
60 Canyon Runner - 7/13-14 - 24 Yellowfin (9 between 50-70) & a Spearfish[/B] Capt. Mark DeBlasio, Capt. John Timken and Capt. Pete Doran had the Mark Novembre/Charles Korb charter out Monday to Tuesday on the 60 Ritchie Howell and put together a heck of a trip. They ran right back to the Spencer Canyon and worked the southeast corner down to the northeast corner of the Wilmington. They found fish hanging right on the break down at the Wilmington and caught a handful of smaller ones before setting up for the night which was uneventful with just a hammerhead. Tuesday was another story as the BIG yellowfin showed up. They starting picking 1.5 miles north of the northeast corner of the Wilmington around 8am and from 8am to 2pm had 7 big yellowfin in the 50-70 pound class. They also release a nice spearfish which ate a ballyhoo/Ilander combo. They work up to the southeast corner and picked 2 more 50-70 pound yellowfin. They also had another 15 smaller ones.

[B]48 Canyon Runner - 7/15-16 - 19 Yellowfin (4 Nice Ones/1 Mako/1 White Marlin)[/B] Capt. Mark DeCabia and Captain Mike Zajac took the Tom Biliecki charter out on Tuesday to Wednesday and decided to look back at the Hudson Canyon and a great temperature break coming into the 100-square - bad choice. There were no fish in it. So they worked down to the Toms Canyon and picked one 40 yellowfin during the entire afternoon troll. At night they quickly go their mako bite putting a 110 pouder in the boat. Knowing of the hot bite in the Spencer they 8knoted it down the line leaving the Toms at 11pm and ariving in the Spencer at 4pm for the morning troll. Good choice as they picked at another 18 yellowfin with 2 more in the 40-50 pound class. They also releaseed a nice white marlin and missed another plus added a mahi.

July 8-13 2009
Adam LaRosa reports:
48 CR - 7/12-13 - 15 Yellowfin (4 Nice Ones)/2 Makos (released)/1 White Marlin & Mahi Captains Mark DeCabia, Mike Zajac and Phil Dulanie had the John Sisco charter out Sunday to Monday on the 48' Canyon Runner and ran to the Toms Canyon to start off the trip. Not a good call. There were a ton of birds, plenty of bait, rips, slicks and porpoises but no bites. They found it hard to leave such good signs so they stuck it out until dark. In all their afternoon troll produced a single 40 pound yellowfin. They ran down the bank in the dark leaving the Toms at 9pm and chugged into the Lindy at 11pm and put out the shark rods. They had an eventful night with a hammerhead two more makos (that makes 25 for the year) with a 90 pounder and 50 pounder (both released) and a bite on the sword rod that never came tight. Up on the troll in the morning they got their bites catching 14 more yellowfin with 3 more in the 25-50 pound class. Canyon Runner spreader bars and ballyhoo produced the best. But the biggest surprise on the trip was a 70" white marlin that ate a Canyon Runner Green Machine spreader bar and was released after a short fight. They also added a mahi.

60 CR - 7/12-13 - 55 Yellowfin (8 Nice Ones to 70#) Capt. DeBlasio and Capt. Doran had the Jim Sutow charter out Sunday to Monday on the 60 Ritchie Howell with Ryan DiBaggio in the pit. They headed to the Carteret Canyon and then proceeded to troll south along the 100-fathom line catching yellowfin the entire way. They moved to the Lindy where they had their best bite of the afternoon and finished off Sunday with 30 yellowfin including 4 fish in the 25-60 pound class. They overnighted in the southwest corner and picked up 2 hammerheads but nothing else. Up on the troll in the morning they worked all the way south again all on the 100-fathom line and continued to pick yellowfin the entire way. The best bite was around the Spencer. They finished off the trip with 55 yellowfin including 8 in the 25-70 pound class. 3 fishing were 60-70 pounds. Capt. DeBlasio as always had his 4 bar pattern out with two rainbow Green Machine bars and 2 9" purple/black bars and Canyon Runner jets and ballyhoo all produced.

60 CR - 7/11 - 2 Yellowfin - 0 for 1 on Blue Marlin Adam LaRosa, Brad Burgess & Crew took the 60 Ritchie offshore Saturday on a day troll crew trip to get the marlin gear wet in advance of the White Marlin Open and MA500. Knowing that the tuna bite was south we still headed to the Hudson looking for that 74 degree water on the 500 fathom line. To keep the tuna fishermen happy we trolled the west wall for 3 hours picking a couple small yellowfin but that was it. We pushed off to the 500 fathom tongue and put the dredges and teasers out and in 35 minutes had a 175 blue marlin come tight on the Black Bart lure pulled from the center rigger. She was pulling drag but unfortunately pulled off shortly after the bite. A couple hours later we had a white lit up in the spread but she did not even attempt to eat a bait. Happy to see some billfish and leery of the approaching front we got out of there early and were back at the dock at 5pm

48 CR - 7/8-9 - 4 Yellowfin (2 Nice Ones) and 2 Makos to 150 Pounds Capt. Mark DeCabia and Phil Dulanie had the John Jeanison and Mike Hutcheceon charter out Wednesday to Thursday on the 48 Viking and also found that the fishing dropped off. They started up at the west wall of the Hudson at Noon and worked that area for a while without a bite. They worked down the wall, offshore and inshore without a bite. They finally ran to the Toms Canyon in 50-60 fathoms and finally put one 40 pound fish in the boat before night fall. Night time was another story as they keep busy on the sharks all night. They picked 4 brown sharks, a big hammerhead, a small mako and the last rod in the water accounted for our 23rd mako of the year as a 150 pounder was put in the boat. Up on the troll in the morning the wind started howling and the tuna bite a little with 3 more yellowfin with a 25 pounder and 2 shorts. They called it a day before it got too nasty.

60 CR – 7/7-8 14 Yellowfin (8 Nice Ones) Missed a Blue Marlin Capt. Mark DeBlasio took the Manny Bellow charter out Tursday to Wednesday with the Manny Bellow charter and found the fishing to finaly have fallen off. They ran to the southwest corner of the Hudson canyon leaving late so not actually getting there until 9:30pm. They set up the slick and caught nothing at night. In the morning they worked the 150/050 area until 7pm when wiithout a bite they started to work south along the 100-fathom line. They worked down the line where they had a 5 bagger of all 20-40 pound yellowfin and turned around and nailed another 30 pounds - this was all at 7:30am. They did not get another bite until 3pm where they worked into the Toms Canyon where they found the best life of the trip. They picked a nice 50 pound fish, released 2 shorts and had a 5 baggers of yellowfin keeping one releasing the rest. The biggest excitement of the trip came when a blue marlin crashed the pattern and was hooked up for a few minutes. Unfortunately they couldn't clear the 11 rod pattern in time to chase after the fish and they jumped it off.

July 5-7 2009
Adam LaRosa reports:
60 Canyon Runner 7/6-7- 25 Yellowfin (4 Nice Ones) and Small Mako Released Capt. Mark DeCabia took the 60 Ritchie Howell out on Monday/Tuesday with the John Scheon charter. Capt. Mike Zajac joined with Capt. John Timken. They left the dock at 1pm and hit the west wall of the Hudson at 5pm and got in 4 hours on the troll. They were pulling all big spreader bars looking for another big-eye but nothing transpired. They put out the regular 9" squid bars and ballyhoo and picked 3 yellowfin with one nice one in the 50 pound class before the night set in. Their drift took them off the bank but all they had to show for it was a small mako released and a brown shark. Up on the troll early in the morning found a very slow yellowfin bite turn on after 8am and they started picking away on double, triples and quadruples. They finished the trip with 25 yellowfin with 4 in the 25-50 pound class.
60 Canyon Runner 7/5-6 - 15 Yellowfin (6 Nice Ones) Capt. Phil Dulanie, Capt. Mark DeCabia and Capt. Mike Zajac had the 60 Ritchie Howell out Sunday into Monday with the Damien Romeo charter and got to the grounds early Sunday morning in hopes of an early bite but it did not materialize for us. Trolling bigger lure and the largest Yamashita spreader bars we have we were hoping for lightening to stike again but it was not our day. 5 big-eyes were caught Sunday among 15 or 20 boats but not us. They ended up trolling all day putting 15 yellowfin in the boat releasing 9 of them. Those fish ate ballyhoo, tuna clones and squid bars. At night saw nothing but a brown shark and a blue shark. They got up on the troll early Monday morning for a few quick hours on the troll but no picked a big-eye on Monday so they came home.
48 Canyon Runner 7/5-6 - 56 Yellowfin (11 Nice Ones) Capt. Mark DeBlasio, Capt. Peter Doran and Ryan DiBaggio took out an open boat trip Sunday to Monday and started right where we left off Friday afternoon on the west wall of the Hudson Canyon. Trolling in the early afternoon did not do too much but the fish came up around 6pm and from 6pm to 9pm they troll 25 yellowfin. They put 4 in the box with 2 in the 40 pound class. Canyon Runner rainbow green machine bars, and Canyon Runner purple/black squid bars in 9" squid were the key. At night it seems that the mako fishing has slowed as none were seen. They did pull a brown shark or two but nothing to write home about. Up on the troll in the morning they got the bite they were looking for as a big-eye exploded on the lure trolled between the two Canyon Runner spreader bars but it never came tight. This was at 6:30am and they spent the rest of the day lamenting about the one they missed. What made the rest of the day easier is they caught another 31 yellowfin ending up with 11 in the box with 3 over 40 pounds, 3 around 25 pounds and the rest around 30 inches.

June 28 2009
Adam LaRosa reports:
Capt. Mark DeCabia took the 32' Regulator and Damien Romeo for a couple days of tournament shark fishing and had some of the best sharking we've seen in a long time. They ran about 45 miles southeast of Manasquan around the southern end of the fingers on day one and released 1 mako 100lbs, 4 browns, 2 duskys, and 7 blue sharks. They also had two threshers swimming around the boat during the day. With all that life they decided to head back there on day 2 and the fishing was even better. They proceeded to release one 90# mako, a 200# thresher, 8 blue sharks 3 browns and 1 duskys. Towards the end of the day they caught another thresher and this one they put in the boat. It was 189#. In 2 days of shark fishing they only had 1.5 hour lull.

June 26-27 2009
Adam LaRosa reports:
60 Ritchie Howell Canyon Runner 6/26-27 – 58 Yellowfin/15# Mahi/193# Mako w/Pics[/B] Capt. Phil Dulanie and newly minted Capt. John Timken (Congratulations John!) along with Brad Burgess and Adam LaRosa took out the Dr. Pat Cuozzo (Fairhaven, NJ) and Jay Garvey (Southern, NJ) on the 60’ Ritchie Howell Friday to Saturday. They headed to where the 48 was finishing up and immediately got into nice yellowfin. Putting the lines in just inshore of the tip of the South Toms canyon in 400 feet of water they trolled 100 yards and nailed a 40 pound yellowfin. Three of the next five yellowfin were 30-35 pounds and then the little ones showed up. Over the next 7 hours from 12:30pm to 8pm they caught a total of 45 yellowfin with 9 in the 25-30 pound range. Dr. Cuozzo’s son Jonah (12) caught the bulk of the fish and is getting everyone mounted according to an agreement reached before they left the dock!!! The bites were coming on everything obviously but the bigger fish were eating 6” Canyon Runner Rainbow Squid Bars. The little fish were crushing the ballyhoo as we went thru four 12-packs on the trip. We set up in 500 feet of water just south of the South Toms Canyon on a drift that took us just inshore of the tip of the Carteret Canyon. During that drift we nailed a 193# mako one a skipjack filet. Up on the troll in the morning we headed back up to the north by the south Toms and started picking away at the small ones again with another 13 yellowfin including 2 more keepers before we finished off at 8am with 58 yellowfin including 11 between 25-40 pounds and a 15 pound mahi.
[B]60 Ritchie Howell Canyon Runner 6/25 – 8 Yellowfin 25#-30#[/B] Capt. Phil Dulanie, Capt. Mark DeCabia - and brand new Capt. Mike Zajac that finally got his tickets after 11 years working with us took out the Damien Romeo charter Thursday for a day troll. With the reports of bigger fish in the Carteret we headed there and had the boat up on the troll at 6am. By 8am we already had 4 nice 25-30 pound yellowifn in the boat. 2 were caught on the northeast corner of the mouth and 2 were caugth on the west tip. All the fish ate Canyon Runner Green Machine Bars and Rainbow Squid Bars. The nice water they were fishing in the Carteret moved out so they headed south to the Lindy and found the nice water again at the northeast corner of the Lindy. As soon as they got into the 68 blue water they found the yellowfin and pulled 4 more. They finished the day troll with 8 yellowfin with
[B]60 Ritchie Howell Canyon Runner 6/24 - 5 Yellowfin Day Troll[/B] Capt. Phil Dulanie, Capt. Peter Doran and John Timken had the Pete Guaditis charter out on our 60' Ritchie Howell for a day troll Wednesday and with no water temp shot and no reports took a shot at the Lindenchol and worked the area with another boat. We went south to the Spencer after working the Lindy and the other boat went north to the Carteret. The Carteret was the place to be. We caught some skippies and between 1pm and 3pm had 5 yellowfin to 30 pounds all on Canyon Runner squid bars and ballyhoo. WE STILL HAVE ONE SPOT LEFT ON JULY 5-6 FOR AN OPEN BOAT TRIP - THE SPOT COST $750 AND THAT INCLUDES THE TIP. PLEASE EMAIL ME AT [email]ADAM@CANYONRUNNER.COM

June 25-26 2009
Adam LaRosa reports:
Capt. Mark DeBlasio had a turn around overnighter on the 48 Viking with Capt. Mike Zajac and Deane Lambros. They left the dock at 2pm with the Phil Lang charter and ran to the Toms canyon right where they left them the day before. Not getting there until 6pm they made the best of their few hours on the afternoon troll with 11 yellowfin to their credit. They continued to work the nice 62 to 68 degree break finding the yellowfin on the warmer side. Canyon Runner Rainbow Squid bars, Green Machine bars and ballyhoo produced best. They moved down the line to set up for the night on the drift but their night was uneventful. They got back up on the troll by 5:30am and ran back up to the North and immediately started picking away at yellowfin. They trolled up into the Toms and had their best action of the day. When the dust settled they had 38 yellowfin with 8 nice ones to 40 pounds the rest were released.
WE STILL HAVE ONE SPOT LEFT ON JULY 5-6 FOR AN OPEN BOAT TRIP - THE SPOT COST $750 AND THAT INCLUDES THE TIP. PLEASE EMAIL ME AT ADAM@CANYONRUNNER.COM IF YOU ARE INTERESTED.

June 24-25 2009
Adam LaRosa reports:
Capt. Mark DeBlasio, Capt. Peter Doran and Ryan DiBaggio took the Tom Little charter out on the 48 Canyon Runner on Wednesday to Thursday and headed right to where the 60 Canyon Runner was finishing up for the day. They put them in the water at the Carteret and pick a couple yellowfin in the 27” to 30” range before the bite slowed. The moved up the line and found a hard 62 to 68 degree break and put together a nice pick of yellowfin from 4pm to 8pm catching a total of 20. 4 of the yellowfin were in the 30-40# class and the rest were small. The fish ate mostly Canyon Runner rainbow squid bars and ballyhoo. They set up in the deep where the break was for the night and did not have a touch by midnight so they picked up the lines and moved up into 60 fathoms. From 2am to 5am they had 3 makos - releasing a legal size mako and losing 2. They stayed on the drift until 8pm and came home.
WE STILL HAVE ONE SPOT LEFT ON JULY 5-6 FOR AN OPEN BOAT TRIP - THE SPOT COST $750 AND THAT INCLUDES THE TIP. PLEASE EMAIL ME AT ADAM@CANYONRUNNER.COM IF YOU ARE INTERESTED.

June 19-20 2009
Adam LaRosa reports:
60’ Ritchie Howell - 6/19-20 – 20+ Blue Sharks/16 Tiles/Big Mahi[/B] Capt. Mark DeBlasio and Capt. Joe Miele with mates John Timken and Ryan DiBaggi took the Paul Pedretti charter offshore Friday into Saturday. We did not head back south as we felt strongly the fish we were catching had moved out with the water. Instead we knew good water was moving into the Hudson/Dip area so we headed in that direction. We were right about the water. As soon as they got just north-east of the mouth they had the nicest water we've seen so far and had two 15# mahi in the boat within 10 minutes of fishing. The water got up to 69 degrees but the warmer it got the less life they had. However they decided to shark up in that nicer water hoping for a mako. What they got was over 20 blue sharks and then lost count but no makos. Up on the troll in the morning they moved down to the west wall of the Hudson without a touch so they started drifting for tiles and put the chum back out. They picked away at 16 tilefish up to 8 pounds but no more sharks.

[B]48 Canyon Runner – 6/19-20 – 167# Mako/Mahi/1 Yellowfin[/B] Capt. Phil Dulanie and Capt. Mark DeCabia with mate Deane Lambros took the Carl Bloomfield charter offshore Friday into Saturday. We did not head back south as we felt strongly the fish we were catching had moved out with the water. Instead we knew good water was moving into the Hudson/Dip area so we headed in that direction. We were right about the water. As soon as they got to the mouth of the Hudson they had the nicest water we've seen so far and had a 20# mahi in the boat within 10 minutes of fishing. The water got up to 69 degrees but the warmer it got the less life they had. The moved back to the cold water and nailed a 25# yellowfin in 64 degree water. They had good life there so they stayed the night and picked thru 6 blue sharks to nail a 167# mako. The charter needed to be home early on Saturday so they trolled just a couple hours in the morning with no bites and came home. We’ve been stuck at the dock due to weather now since Saturday night but plan on going tonight on a day troll and then hopefully fishing back to back to back overnighers thru the weekend so let’s keep our fingers crossed for good weather and finally for a water temperature shot with no clouds!!!

June 15-16 2009
Adam LaRosa reports:
48 Canyon Runner Capt. Mark DeCabia, Capt. Mark Garretson and mate Ryan DiBaggio had out the Pete Cozzolino charter Monday to Tuesday on the 48 Canyon Runner and had a little work cut out for him but put together another great catch. Not leaving the dock until 3pm they arrived at the South Toms/Carteret Canyon area at 6:30pm and did not get a bite on the short troll bite that they had. They did however make up for it at night with a nice 110# mako caught along with a few blue sharks. Up on the troll in the morning they had a quick shot of 40 pound bluefins catching one and releasing one but then no other action. A move south down the line proved successful as they found the yellowfin up on top. In the last 3 hours of their trip they caught a total of 26 yellowfin with 2 - 40 pounders mixed in along with 3 - 25 pound fish and the rest were small in the 24-28 inch range and all released. They finished up the trip with 28 tuna with 4 – 40 pounders 3 – 25 pounders and the rest 26-29 inch fish that were released plus the second mako of the year. Pictures should be forthcoming tomorrow. [B]Finally – I just wanted to let everyone know we have 2 spots left open for an rare Sunday/Monday open boat trip on our 48 Canyon Runner. The date is July 5-6 and the cost is $750 per person and that includes the tip. Please email me at adam@canyonrunner.com if interested.[/B]
60 Canyon Runner 6/15-16 – 4 Yellowfin/4 Bluefin/2 – 130# Makos! Capt. Mark DeBlasio took the Frank Perillo charter out on a canyon tutorial trip leaving the dock at 8am Monday morning and arriving at the south Toms Canyon at Noon. They got up on the troll where the 48 Canyon Runner left them biting on Monday morning but did not find the same life. They picked away very slowly on fish moving south to the Carteret Canyon and back north while staying on the 100 fathom line. They finally move into 50 fathoms inshore and never really found the same water they had the day before. The afternoon troll bite saw 8 tuna come to the boat. They had 4 bluefin all around 40" and 40 pounds. They also had 4 yellowfin with 3 kept in the 30" class. The bluefins were still all over the purple/black Canyon Runner Squid Spreader Bars and the yellowfin ate Green Machines and Green Machine bars. At night they drifted in 50 fathoms between the Toms and Carteret and nailed a 130# Mako released another mako of about the same size plus 6 bluesharks. At 7am they stayed on the drift as a big 300# mako was circling the boat but they could not get her to bite.

June 14-15 2009
Adam LaRosa reports:
Just a quick heads up to anyone still on the fence about starting their 2009 tuna season - Capt. Phil Dulanie is back offshore after being on the Injured Reserve most of last year with no less then 5 bouts with pneumonia and seemingly has not lost his touch just yet. He is running a Sunday/Monday overnighter and with some usual intel from our 60 Canyon Runner basically stopped right on the yellowfin and bluefin bringing 19 to the boat in the first 2 hours and fishing up the afternoon troll with close to 35 tuna (25 yellowfin and 10 bluefin). They also called me just before mid-night noting that our first mako of the year was in the boat! With 40 tuna in only half a trip obviously everything they put in the water got bites but the bigger fish (40-50 bluefin) ate the purple/black Canyon Runner Squid Spreader Bars. By the way - this was an open boat trip and we have our next one scheduled for July 5-6. We have three open spots left open on this trip. The cost is $750 and that includes everything including the TIP. Please email me at adam@canyonrunner.com if interested

June 13-14 2009
Adam LaRosa reports:
Well so it begins - Capt. Mark DeBlasio and Capt. Mark DeCabia along with John Timken took the Mike Tucci and Dr. Mark Smith charter out Saturday on our first canyon trip of 2009 leaving the dock at 9am and found the yellowfin shortly into the trip. They started up at the Toms Canyon putting lines in around Noon and worked south where around 3pm they went 2 for 3 on yellowfin. They ended up moving a little further south and started picking away at a decent pace. Catching double and triples with a fairly steady pace. They started to mix in a few bluefin ending the afternoon troll bite with 5 bluefin in the 30-50 pound class and 15 yellowfin with 6 that we kept from 30-33 inches and 6 we decided to release but they were keepers. They had most of the fish right on the 100 fathom line. They set up at 9:30 for sharking/swords but only had a blue shark to show for their efforts by the morning. The morning troll bite however did not disappoint as around 7:45am Sunday morning they began picking away at some nice yellowfin putting another 12 in the boat with two 40-pounders kept and the rest released. Again, almost all of the fish were in the 30-33 inch range with a few shorts but we only kept a total of 8 yellowfin for the entire trip despite catching a total of 27. We also kept the one bluefin we were allowed and released the other 4. According to the guys black/purple 9" Canyon Runer Squid Spreader Bars and our Canyon Runner Rainbow Spreader Bars accounted for most of the fish as they were feeding on 9" squid. But with 32 tuna to their credit and bunch others lost ever lure in the pattern at one point or another got crushed. [B]ALSO WE HAVE ONE SPOT OPEN ON JUNE 29-30 IF ANYONE WANTS TO JOIN US ON AN OPEN BOAT TRIP[/B]

June 6-7 2009
Adam LaRosa reports:
Guys – below is our last inshore reports of the year. On Saturday we ran offshore with our first overnighter of the season and go everyday now until mid-October. They are beating up on the yellowfin and nice 50# bluefin as I type this. I’ll get up a full report tonight but the tuna are here!
48 Canyon Runner – June 8 - 3 bass to 35 pounds Capt. Phil Dulanie and mates Ryan DiBiagio and Deane Lambros had the Scott Miller Charter out for a day of striped Bass fishing. The boys started right out front with the bunker schools right out in front of Manasquan Inlet. They ran south off Mantoloking, finding life but no bites. They than ran north just offshore of the Red Church and put 2 in the boat. The bite died and they continued to work in inshore and off, southward. Around 2 they put a nice 35 pound bass in the boat off sea girt. That was all the action for the day.
48 Canyon Runner – June 6 -2 bass Capt. Phil Dulanie and mates Ryan DiBiagio and Deane Lambros had the Scott Miller Charter out for a day of striped Bass fishing. The boys started right out front of Manasquan Inlet with the bunker schools but there were no bass under them. The guys got two bass all day and missed a few up by the Red Church. It was a hard day, as we really could not get a bite going at all.

May-June 2009
Adam LaRosa reports:
Despite the lack of reports we've been busy for the past 2 weeks inshore fishing on the 48' Canyon Runner while getting both boats ready to start our offshore canyon season. Rigth now it looks like it will all begin Saturday or Sunday depending on weather. Tuna have been caught within 100 miles of Manasquan Inlet and we are booked everyday starting Saturday on both boats - so it begins. But first, here are a bunch of reports from the last few weeks.
48 Canyon Runner June 8 – 3 Stripers Slow striper fishing during the morning continued on Monday as the Rich Alverado charter with Captain Phil Dulanie on the wheel and Ryan DiBaggio and Deane Lambros in the cockpit only scratch away at 3 bass during the entire trip. It seems that the afternoon bite is the way to go over the last few days.
48 Canyon Runner June 7 – 150 Sea Bass – 75 Keepers The Crew of the Canyon Runner took their kids fishing on Sunday and enjoyed some of the fasted action on Sea Bass in years. Ariana (9) and Alexa (6) daughters of Adam LaRosa were joined by Mike Zajacs son Ford and daughter Megan, Mike Vitielo’s son Bryce and Chris Hempstead’s clan too numerous to mention. They left Manasquan at 7am and by 10:30am had 75 keepers in the box and release just as many. Fishing a wreck 14 miles to the south in 80 feet of water Ariana LaRosa was the pool winner with a 3.5 pounder.
48 Canyon Runner June 4 - 18 bass limited out lost another 15 bites. Capts. Mark Debaliso, Peter Doran and mate Ryan DiBiagio had a the Tom Romondi charter as a charity trip. This group were talented angler which paid off in spades for them. The boys ran north to the Red Church area and put the baits in. Not more then 10 seconds went by and rod was doubled over. They put 11 in the box by 8am, and ran down the beach 2 miles to make bait. They ran back and got back in a steady bite, finishing with 18 for the day. The fish ate at all depths. Live bunker bunker were the key to get bites today. The biggest bass came in at 38 pounds.
48 Canyon Runner June 1 - 4 Bass Capt. Phil Dulanie and mates Ryan DiBaggio and Deane Lambros had the Guy Biondi charter for a day of striped bassing. The boys broke the inlet and headed north just out front. Seeing boat after boat after boat all hooked up and bunker flipping the surface. They pulled in and joined the fleet. They had all there action on top going 4 for 6 on Nice striped Bass. The bite lasted an hour fr0m 6 to 7. That was all there action for the day. They worked north to Asbury Park, and then south making drifts and they just could not get a bite going. The Bassing seems hot one day cold the next two. We will keep working at it until canyon Season begins, which is just around the corner.
48 Canyon Runner Report May 31 - 3 Blue Fish 64 Sea Bass Capts. Mark Deblasio, Peter Doran and mate Ryan DiBiagio had Lenny Demontagnac charter for a day of striped bass fishing. The boys went north south and offshore to fish and found nothing. The fish were biting early but there never got in on them. The key today was to get there early with bait already or you will miss the bite. They also trolled but to no avail. The boys ended up wreck fishing off 14 miles south of Manasquan and were able to get some beautiful sea bass in the boat.
48 Canyon Runner Report - 150 Sea Bass with 50 Keepers plus 2 cod – May 25 Canyon Runner Crew members Capt. Joe LaRosa, Adam LaRosa, his two daughters Alexa, Ariana, John Sakoutis Sr. and his 6 year old son John Jr., Capt. Mark Deblasio, and His son Mark Jr, Capt. Mike Zajac, his son Ford, Capt John Timken. All got in a fun trip to cap off a great Memorial Day weekend. They choose to fish the local wrecks off Manasquan. Catching 150 seabass and 2 cod. They only kept 50 keepers and released the rest of the shorts. They anchored up and got into a great bite bring in 2 fish at a time during some points.
48 Canyon Runner Report 8 Bass – May 24 Capt. Phil Dulanie and mates Ryan DiBiagio and Deane Lambros had Ed Picards charter for a day of Striped bass fishing on Sunday May 24. The boys went on the look out for bunker but could not make bait. Fortunately they had bunkers from day before still in the live well and drifted off Mantoloking. Finding bunker schools on the surface they were able to make bait, and in the process went 3 for 8 on nice Bass in the 36-41 inch range. After the bite ended Capt. Phil then got a call from Canyon Runner crew member Capt. Billy Rowan that the Bass were coming up off Sea Girt. So they brought the lines in and ran just offshore. The boys were in awe to what they saw. 1000’s of bass were busting bunker just offshore. Unfortunately the boys went a dismal 5 for 20 on their shots. They could not believe how lazily the bass were eating the baits. At the end of the day they ended up just off Spring Lake with fish in the box and a happy Charter and Crew they ended with 8 fish in the box.
48 Canyon Runner Report 1 Bluefish 0 Bass – May 23 Capt. Phil Dulanie and mates Ryan DiBiagio and Deane Lambros had Dave Guisse charter from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and Washington DC for a day of Striped bass fishing. Upon clearing the inlet the boys found pods of bunker breaking the surface. They loaded the live well and started to fish right off Manasquan. The boy’s worked everywhere and in between Manasquan to the Shrewsbury rocks. On the rocks they did catch one bluefish on a jig three cranks off the bottom, but even they did not want to cooperate. They did have one real nice run off which was unfortunately lost.
48 Canyon Runner - 80 Sea Bass with 40 Keepers in Half Day Trip – May 22 Canyon Runner crew members including Adam LaRosa, Capt. Mike Zajac, Capt. Phil Dulanie. Ryan DiBiagio, and Deane Lambros got out for a crew trip for sea bass on Friday for a short day of fishing before getting back to the boats to get them ready for canyon season. The guys fished two wrecks and only found dog fish on the Sea Girt Reef. We ran offshore to 65 feet of water and found a slow pick catching about 80 Sea Bass while putting about 40 keepers in the box and were back at the dock by 9:30am to get back to work.

5/20/09
Adam LaRosa reports:
Guys: I thought I'd put up a post today just to let people know we fished that finger of gulf water in the 1000 Fathom of the Washington Canyon yesterday. In that I'll bet the boys out of Ocean City, MD would like to know what we saw, and since a few guys down there are actually planning to go this weekend, I wanted to put up this report more for you guys then anything else. On Wednesday, we were on our way up from Oregon Inlet with our 60' Ritchie Howell and were about 20 miles inshore of that water with perfect fishing coniditons so Capt. Mark DeBlasio gave me a call on the SAT phone and we decided he should at least look it over. He and mate John Timken spent 3-4 hours trolling from just south of the tip of the 100 fathom line of the Washington due east out to the tip of the finger of water when the temp jumped from 62 to 66 degrees. He continued to move southeast to the hotest water and found 69.9 degree water by 4pm. He picked at mahi and skipjack all day but never had a tuna bite. He pulled into Manasquan Inlet at 11pm last night. We plan to start fishing offshore on both boats on June 10. We are booked everyday on both boats with overnight canyon tuna/mako/sword trips in June so hopefully plenty of good reports will follow. (AND PICTURES!) That said we are only going to go if there is 68 degree or warmer gulf stream water withing 120 miles of the inlet. Our only hope right now is that nice eddy just southeast of Hydrographers. It has move about 25-35 miles in the last 8 days and if it stays on that path we have a shot of getting some of the slope water that will be pushed up in front of it by June 10. If not we will cancel those charters until the tuna arrive. We only have about 2 dates left open on each boat in July, a few trips on the 48' in August, and a few trips open on each boat in September and October so if anyone is still on the fence about booking a trip please call or email now. We wish everyone up here and safe and prosperous 2009 canyon season!

1/16,17,18/09
Adam LaRosa reports:
I apologize for the late report, but my schedule has been crazy since returning from Guatemala last Monday.

We finally got tired of hearing about the great fishing in Guatemala from Ritchie Howell who has been fishing down there for a bunch of years now and decided to join Ritchie for 3 days of sailfishing. Ritchie Howell, Brad Burgess, John Timken, and I met in Houston for the final flight to Guatemala City. One word describes our trip: AMAZING! Everything you read and hear about Guatemala is true!

Friday, Jan. 16th We arrived at the marina at 6:45am and after Hefe launched Ritchie’s 26 ft panga (which is about 6’ wide) we were off. The bite was good about 15 miles due south, so we decided to head that way. After a short ride in calm Guatemalan seas, we were only able to deploy 1 teaser before the 1at sail crashed it! We quickly switched him off the green turbo/ballyhoo combo and the fight was on! Over the next few hours we managed to raise another 14 sails, drawing 11 bites and releasing 9 before the bite slowed. We managed 1 double and the rest were single bites ending the day going 9/11 on sails. Not bad for our first day in Guatemala. Back at the dock we learned the bite was very good another 10-12 miles south, so we knew where we were heading tomorrow!

Saturday, Jan. 17th What a difference a day makes! Arriving at marina at 6:45am, we were greeted by a stiff 15-20 knot wind out of the SE. We tucked in behind one the larger boats, but the seas 17 miles off the beach were 4-6 feet……. Decision time! We decided it was too rough to continue and almost to rough to fish a spread effectively from Ritchie’s 26 pagna. We deployed to teasers and ballyhoos from the flatlines. Fishing was slow until we raised our first double 13 miles offshore, but both sails were uninterested in our offerings. but More importantly we now had some life and hope we might be able to scratch a sail or two out to save the day! Ritchie worked the area hard and was rewarded with another double header going 1/2. After a single, double, 2 more single sailfish bites and a few large Dorado in between and we managed to release 6 sailfish. We were pretty beat up from the rough seas, so we decided to pack it in around 2pm. For the day, we ended up raising 11 sails and released 6 out of 8 bites. Back at the bar, we heard the bite was again very good with most boats raising 40-50 sails and releasing up to 25 sails.

Sunday, Jan. 18th We didn’t want to take a chance on missing the bite that was going on 30 miles offshore, so we decided to charter the 37 ft. Daytona “Canso” from the Casa Vieja Lodge Fleet. Capt. Chico did not disappoint! Brad, Timken, and I ran the cockpit and Chico and Ritchie ran things on the bridge. Arriving at the spot, we deployed 3 teasers and 3 baits, with pitch bait ready to go. We had our 1st double header 20 minutes after we started and then proceeded to go 13 for our first 14 bites and 25 for 27 before Mr. Timken got into the mix and started nailing a few of his own. The bite was consistent all day as we managed to raise 47 sails, drawing 42 bites, and releasing 35 sails including 13 double headers and pulling the hook on 3 of the fish we missed! All and all we had a great first visit to Guatemala. The fishing was amazing as we released 50 sails out of 62 bites in 2.5 days of fishing (raised over 70 sails to our pattern!) Our accommodations and service at Casa Vieja Lodge we 1st class! The staff really go out of there way to make sure the coffee is hot and the drinks are cold!

10/12/08
Adam LaRosa reports:
Capt. Mark DeCabia had the Manny, Greg, and Joe Morea charter for an overnigther on the 48 Canyon Runner and had a 6 flag day. Arriving at the Toms in the dark they went right to the hook and had constant action all night. They boated a 50 pound yellowfin, went 4 for 5 on swords pulling the hook on a decent one and releasing 4 small ones, caught some mahi and released 4 blue sharks. Up on the troll in the morning they quickly put a longfin in the boat. Two hours of nothing ended when something grabed the shot gone ballyhoo and dumped 500 yards of mono and spectra. 40 minutes later they darted a 170 big-eye that was hooked right in the tail and fought like no big-eye had in the past. They added 2 more longfin, more mahi, and tried for tiles only to catch a few ling. I'll have pictures of this big-eye up on our site tonight and post here later but I wanted to get this report up to let everyone know that there are still someone this fish around as well as the longfin.

10/11/08
Adam LaRosa reports:
Capt. Mark DeCabia was behind the helm of the 48’ Canyon Runner this weekend with the Keith Bush charter and had her in the Toms Canyon bailing mahi’s when Dave on the Jenny Lee got covered up with longfin and called him in. They proceeded to boat 4 longfin that afternoon missing a few others. At night absolutely nothing happened and they got up on the troll early. They boated another 12 longfin before 9am when then went home early with the boxes full as they also put them on over 40 big mahi. The longfin bites were mostly coming on single lures and ballyhoo trolled in between two bars trolled from the riggers (we usually pull 3 rods from each rigger.).

10/11/08
Adam LaRosa reports:
Capt. Mark DeBlasio was behind the helm of the 60' Canyon Runner early this weekend and had the Jim Fallon charter out arriving in the dark and missing the afternoon troll bit. He did nothing at night but made up for it big time in the morning. They put the anchor on the ball instead of pulling it and got on the troll early and immediately got the longfin going. Between 5:30am and 9am he put 16 in the boat and ran away from the longfin looking for a big-eye bite which had been going on 3 miles away a couple days earlier. At 11am he came back into the longfin bite and got another 8 releasing then all and ending the trip with 26.

10/5-6/08
Adam LaRosa reports:
We ran a bunch of trips so far this October and I’ve only got a chance to post a few of them – here are the rest from last week on the 60’ Ritchie Howell Capt. Mark DeBlasio had the Dr. John Bednar charter out Sunday to Monday October 5-6 as the Dr. heard of the solid swordfishing and wanted to get in on the action. And they did. They started trolling in between the Hudson and Toms canyon in the late afternoon only to pick one longfin before having the get on the hook for the night. Almost immediately they got a bite on the sword rod and it was a good fish only to pull the hook on it 20 minutes into the fight. Another 4 quiet hours were spent watching the rods when the 250’ rod went off and the fight was on. Always an animal on the rod Dr. Bednar had the fish to the boat quickly and the crew had a shot at the harpoon and took it. Gutted she came in at 220 pounds so we figured add another 30-40 pounds for a beautiful 250-260## sword - one of the biggest we've caught to date. [IMG]http://www.canyonrunner.com/data/41/img/3450.jpg[/IMG] Capt. DeBlasio had the Tom Malan charter back out Tuesday to Wednesday and headed back to the northeast corner of the Toms Canyon getting on the troll they had a hard time getting the fish going but pulled a couple nice longfin before dark. The night time was spent boating a bunch of mahi and going 3 for 3 on swords with a 60” sword boated. Believe it or not that 60” sword was taken on a jig. Up on the troll in the morning they nailed a few more mahi and another longfin to finish off with the 3 longfin and 3 swords with one boated. Capt. DeBlasio had the John Deno charter out Thursday to Friday after waiting out the blow and got to the edge around 2pm. Trolling all day Thursday only saw one yellowfin hit the deck of about 30 pounds. Night time saw no action at all and up on the troll in the morning they bailed out with a couple longfin. For all the pictures go to www.canyonrunner.com

10/4-5/08
Adam LaRosa reports:
Capt. Mark DeCabia took the 48' Viking to the Hudson Canyon on Saturday with the Mike Wiley charter and found the place desolate. A call from the 60' Canyon Runner had them run down to the Toms and they got in on some great longfin trolling going 1 for 2, 2 for 3, 3 for 3 and 2 for 2 before sunset. At night they pulled a 65# yellowfin and 3 rat swords kept the charter busy but none of them were big enough to put in the box. With 9 nice tuna in the boat thought (the longfin were 40-60#) the charter was happy to head home early as soon as the sun came up.

10/4-5/08
Adam LaRosa reports:
Capt. Mark DeBlasio took the Chris Earle charter out Saturday to Sunday for an overnighter and headed towards the West Wall of the Hudson. When they got close he got an updated water temp shot on the Northstar Sirius Weather and saw the Hudson was ice cold but that the warmer water moved south down the edge so he made a course for the northeast corner of the Toms and put out the spread. Just north of the Toms he had his first bite putting a nice longfin in the boat. His second bite was a lot more interesting. In 800 feet of water he pulled the biggest big-eye of the year for us at 210 pounds after a 40 minute battle. Up on the troll again he got 4 more longfin to finish out the afternoon troll. At night he went 3 for 5 on small swords. Up on the troll in the morning saw two more nice longfin hit the deck and he finished up with 7.

09/14-15/08
Adam LaRosa reports:
Capt. Mark DeCabia and Phil Dulanie took the Damien Romeo charter offshore Saturday night and stopped on the bluefin grounds at 3:45 am read the bait, dropped the anchor and the first rod in the water was hammered. They went on to fight 2 to 3 fish at a time catching everything on sardines adn 60 pound flouro. They also pulled some fresh live bait off the bottom - squid, ling and whiting and caught some of the bigger fish on that. There best fish was 64 inches and about 110-120 pounds. They had a bunch in the 80 pound class and a bunch of 40 pounders. They had fish on until 9am when the charter couldn\'t reel anymore and they came home. They were fishing once agian 40 miles SE of Manasquan on a course to the Hudson Canyon but never made it - we just didn\'t want to leave that bite.

09/12-13/08
Adam LaRosa reports:
Capt. Mark DeBlasio got tired of driving away from the awesome bluefin fishing to go to the canyons to catch a few rat yellowfin so we finally convinced a charter to stay on the bluefin bite and it paid off big time. We left the dock at 3pm on Friday with the John O'Day charter and headed 40 miless off and set up in the mini-fleet at around 5pm and immediately got he fish going. Between 5pm and 10pm they brought 14 bluefin to the boat and one 20 pound mahi. The bluefin ranged from 40 to 100 poudns with most fish right around 44-46 inches and yes they bite right into the dark with the last fish released at 10pm. They then had their first bite around 4:30am and released another 5 fish before pulling the hook at 10am to come home. In total the charter battled 19 big tuna and had one of their best trips with us to date despite not coming home with a truck load of tuna.

09/10-11/08
Adam LaRosa reports:
Capt. Mark DeCabia and Phil Dulanie took the Al Baum charter out to the canyon Thursday to Friday but stopped 40 off and got in on some solid chunking on big big bluefin. They first trolled a 40 pounder that was boated. However the party boats were doing alot better on the chunk so they threw the hook and proceeded to fight big bluefin for the next 2 hours putting a 62 inch fish in the boat. The then releasing a 67 inch 160 pounder and a 190-200 pound fat 69 inch fish. They then tried running offshroe to the Hudson to get a few other species. They trolled two yellowfin at the 100-square including a nice 50 pounder but got nothing else a night and came home after some unproductive morening trolling.

09/10-11/08
Adam LaRosa reports:
Capt. Mark DeBlasio, Capt. Greg Ryback and Capt. Peter Doran took the Matt Smith charter out on the 60 Ritchie Howell Canyon Runner Thursday to Friday and ran 40 off before settling into what was to become an outstanding bluefin bite. They went right to the chunk as several boats including the 48 Canyon Runner were already on the hook. The proceed to catch 9 bluefin from 50 to 120 pounds in the next 4.5 hours and fought another 6. The charter choose to leave this fishing to look for something different so off to the Hudson they treaked. They had what was a great night with 3 for 4 on yellowfin and 1 for 2 on the early morning troll for a total of 4 yellowfin and some mahi. They are headed back out Friday to Saturday and will most likely stay 40 off on the bluefins tonight through tomorrow morning.

09/8-9/08
Adam LaRosa reports:
Capt. Mark DeBlasio, Greg Ryback and Peter Doran took the Ed Ek charter out on the 48 Canyon Runner Monday to Tuesday and also got in on a decent catch for the group. They left the dock at 10am and stemed to about 30 miles off and had the bluefins on top so they trolled for 2 hours putting 5 fish in the boat releasing 3 and keeping a 46 & 47.5 inch fish. They ran off to the Hudson and worked the west wall with out a touch missing out on the big-eye bite. They set up for the night and soon thereafter got 53.5 inch sword in the boat off the deep rod. They got up on the troll in the morning and picked away at mahi mahi until they long rigger started screaming and they thought they had their bite. It turned out to be a huge white marlin that was released. They also pulled a 30 pound yellowfin on the troll ending the trip with a 5 flag day.

09/8-9/08
Adam LaRosa reports:
Capt. Mark DeCabia and PHil Dulanie took the Frank Knoefel charter out Monday to Tuesday and stoped 40 miles offshore to troll some tuna and bend the rods. Two hours of trolling saw 4 nice bluefin tuna come to the boat in the 30-50 pound class - keeping one. They headed off to the Hudson Canyon and trolled the wall out to the mouth and got in on a nice big-eye bite putting a 170# big-eye in the boat. On the chunk only a short amount of time passed when the deep rod went off and they were battling what ended up being a 54" swordfish that was boated. They fought and lost anothe sword, missed a third and released a mako. Up on the troll in the morning they hooked and fought (only to lose) a 600# blue marlin that put on a nice show for the happy charter.

08/27-28/08
Adam LaRosa reports:
Capt. Mark DeBlasio had the Neil Eschenbrenner charter down at the Claw on Wednesday to Thursday on the 60 Ritchie Howell and immediately got right back into the hot fishing. They started on the troll but as soon as our 48 Canyon Runner got the fish on the drift they switched over and immediately had fish on. From 3pm to 6pm they fought fish the entire time with fish taken on our hammered diamond jigs and sardines. That bite settled down around 6pm and they went on the anchor. During the afternoon and again at night they fought 250-300 pound tigers sharks - 4 of them actually bringing 2 to the boat. They had their first morning tuna bite around 5:15am and again were hooked up the rest of the morning until leaving to come home at 9am. In total they brought 14 bluefin to the boat, fought over 20 keeping one 62 inch 120 pound fish and releasing the rest.

08/27-28/08
Adam LaRosa reports:
Capt. Phil Dulanie, Mark DeCabia and Mike Zajac took the Jim Solano charter Wednesday to Thursday to the Lobster Claw for their first tuna trip of their lives and what a trip they had. They showed up at 2:30pm and by 2:45 they had a double header on jigs. They drifted for the next 4 hours and ended up fighting 7 bluefin to 62 inches bringing 5 to the boat before anchoring for the night. At night they caught over 50 squid which proved key for the morning bite which saw another 10 fish hooked up starting around 5am and lasting until they decided to go home at 7:30am with double headers on almost the entire time. They brought 7 more to the boat for the release ending the trip with 12 bluefin from 90 to 130 pounds for their efforts (keeping one) !!!

08/26/08
Adam LaRosa reports:
Capt. Mark DeBlasio took the Tim O'Conner charter down for some bluefin action dwon at the Lobstar Claw Monday and once again found some great fishing. They trolled the afternoon without bite and ended up putting it on the hook at 7pm and started chunking no action on tuna but they caught a ton of live bait during the evening and had a double header of bluefin starting around 4am. Thereafter they had a fish on almost all the time with around 20 bites in the morning including double and triple headers. They ended up bringing 14 fish to the boat in the 58-62 inch range keeping one and releasing the rest. Needless to say this is the only place we'll be going until that bite dies out.

08/21-22/08
Adam LaRosa reports:
Capts. Mark DeBlasio, Greg Ryback and Peter Doran took the Elliot Braun and John Vice charter down to the Lobster Claw on Thursday afternoon as the canyons still don't have what it takes to produce a decent enough catch - but the Claw certain can. They got there late and did not get on the chunk until 8pm so they missed the evening bite. They got there first bleuifn on at 4am and had another in the pitch black both they fish were are 58" so they kept one. At around 6:30 am a whole squid right on the bottom went off and 2 hours later they darted a 77" bluefin after fighting it on a Penn International 50VSW. This fish weighed in at 240#. They fought another 4 more bluefin all around 58-60". Needless to say we'll be fishing the Claw until these fish disappear.

07/17-15/08
Adam LaRosa reports:
[B]60 Ritchie Howell Canyon Runner – 7/17 - 6 for 11 on 50-70 pound Yellowfin[/B] Capt Mark DeBlasio and Peter Doran had the Pete Guaditis charter out Thursday and ran right to the Toms Canyon and started 2-5 miles inshore of the tip of the Toms and did not have a touch until 9am when they put their first yellowfin in the boat and it was a nice one in the 60-70 pound range. It was taken on a rainbow spreader bar. He worked that area all day and slowly picked away at nice yellowfin putting 6 in the boat and breaking off or pulling hooks on another 5. Most of the action was again on bars but ballyhoo are also starting to produce. The best bite was on the northeast corner of Toms right on the 100 fathom line. [B]48 Canyon Runner– 7/15-16 - Toms (24 Yellowfin but only 7 keepers)[/B] Capt. Joe T and Mike Zajac took the Rob Lowery charter back out to the Toms on the 48 CR and picked a couple small fish Tuesday afternoon only keeping 1 30 pounder and releasing the other. There night bite saw a decent sword fought right into the rudder and lost. They were drifting the Hendrickson and the 60 Canyon Runner was on the NE corner of the Toms for the night bite. In the early morning they trolled bank to the tip and working 2-4 miles NNW of the tip in 375 feet of water had another 22 yellowfin. Again there was very little quality to the fish with only 7 kept and all 7 were only 20-30 pounds. The rest were released. Trolling a 6 spreader bar pattern saw most of the fish come on bars. [B]60 Ritchie Howell Canyon Runner– 7/15-6 Toms 21 Yellowfin [/B] Captain Mark DeBlasio and Peter Doran took out the Steve Roberts charter on Tuesday July 15 and headed back to the Toms Canyon. While the numbers at the top might sound good fishing is far from it. On the troll in the morning 2-4 miles NNW of the tip of the Toms Canyon in 375' of water they picked at yellowfin all morning. They brought 21 to the boat but only put 9 in the boat and only 3 of those were nice fish of 40-70 pounds. The rest of the 9 were 20-30 pounds and the rest of the 21 were shorts and were released. It was fun action for the charter and it was again all on spreader bars but not what we had been doing earlier in the month and all of June.

07/12-14/08
Adam LaRosa reports:
[B]48 Canyon Runner July 12 – 3 Yellowfin[/B] Capt. Mark DeCabia, Greg Ryback and Mike Zajac took the Conrad Hopkins charter out on our 48’ Canyon Runner Saturday and tried to avoid the crowds by running between the Hudson and the Dip to get in on what we heard was a good bite. Unfortunately the extra run had us arriving just after the hot morning bite was over. They spent the day going 3 for 5 on 25-40 yellowfin and had a nice show when a 300# blue marlin ate a ballyhoo in the short rigger and grey hounded across the pattern before throwing the hook. [B]60. Ritchie Howell Canyon Runner – July 13-14 – Zero (0) Fish[/B] Capt. Mark DeCabia, Joe T and Mike Zajac had the Damien Romeo charter out Sunday to Monday for our worse trip of the year. Thinking we would hammer the fish by having the Hudson Canyon all to ourselves nothing was father from the truth. They arrived in rough conditions with a 20 knot wind on top of the big Bertha swells and found it tough to troll an effective pattern. They did however get a bite. Trolling a Pulakai Lure on the long flat in search of a big blue she showed up – all 700# of her. She was seeming to settle in for a nice fight and give us a shot on our Penn 70VSW but 5 minutes into it she ripped off ¾ of the spool and in the rough conditions we could not come back quick enough and all the string in the water caused her to break off. The night bite and the morning troll were uneventful and they came back to the dock with nothing to show for their efforts.

07/6-7/08
Adam LaRosa reports:
Capt. Mark DeCabia and Mike Zajac took their shot at running the 48’ Canyon Runner out to the Hudson Canyon Sunday to Monday for an overnighter with the Todd Polumbo and put together an outstanding catch. Arriving at the west wall at 2pm on Sunday they got their first bite trolling the Zajac pattern of 6 Canyon Runner Spreader Bars including mostly Mini-mamba in blue/silver and min-green machine bars. They quickly put 10 yellowfin in the boat after going 4 for 4 and 6 for 6 where all the fishing came on the bars. They drifted in heavy current all night and ended up 16 miles away from the troll bite so they picked up at 4am and trolled back to the west wall where they got into an even better bite and decided to put out 8 spreader bars with just 3 single lures to close out the pattern. They spend the rest of the morning with 7, 8, 9 and 10 fish on at once finishing up with 29 yellowfin to their credit for the trip and they were on their way home by 9am. Good luck to anyone fishing Friday and Saturday - it is going to be a parking lot out there based on all the boats we know that are going. I don't think the fishing can hold up for everyone. I am worried we are going to see some slow fishing over the next few days but only time will tell.

07/10-11/08
Adam LaRosa reports:
[B]60 Ritchie Howell Canyon Runner – July 10-11 – 15 Yellowfin[/B] Capt. Mark DeCabia and Peter Rowan had the Jeff Porello charter out on the Ritchie on Thursday with Jeff’s son Matt along for the ride – and what a ride it was. They began trolling the west wall of the Hudson and quickly accounted for 11 yellowfin keeping but most were small and released. They set up for the night and woke up in the morning with a 100# mako for their efforts. Up on the troll in the morning they worked the west wall with the rest of the fleet and picked a few more yellowfin adding to their total bringing it to 15 for the trip bringing home only a few plus some mahi. The highlight though was when a white marlin fell for a lure and was fought to the boat for the release by Matt Porello – getting a marlin to his credit before his dad. [B]48 Canyon Runner July 10-11 – 11 Yellowfin[/B] Capt Mark DeCabia and Mike Zajac took out the Allen Spina charter on Thursday and ran out to the Hudson Canyon right where we had been fishing on the West Wall and immediately go into nice fish. They were trolling from 2pm until 9pm and put 1 nice yellowfin in the boat on the afternoon troll. The nice bite showed one small mako come to the boat but nothing else. Up on the troll in the morning the fleet arrived and drove done the fish. They stayed right on the numbers all morning never moving and final got their bite with a 7 bagger putting 4 fish in the boat and coming home with 5 yellowfin in the 30-50 pound range with 11 to their credit. The action was almost entirely on min-mambas and mini-green machine bars.

07/6-7/08
Adam LaRosa reports:
Capt. Mark DeBlasio had the Shawn Noonan charter out Sunday to Monday and ran right back to the Hudson Canyon making sure he got there for the afternoon bite which had been the most consistent. He pulled in around 3pm and did not have the signs he'd seen lately but stuck to the area we've been fishing. He finally picked a single and a double and fishing up with another single before dark and only 4 fish in the boat. The night on the drift was uneventful. Up on the troll in the morning though it was anything but uneventful as the fish were all over on top and the bite was on. 7, 8 , 9 on at once was the standard for the morning and they finished up with 38 yellowfin. Most of these fish were 30-40 pounds with a few bigger and a few smaller. They ended up trolling 5 spreader bars including blue/silver and purple/black mini-mambas and rainbow green machines.

07/5-6/08
Adam LaRosa reports:
Capt Mark DeCabia and Capt. Mark DeBlasio took out the Damien Romeo charter and his team on Saturday to Sunday for what was to be a long overnighter and what turned into a 20+ hour short overnighter as they loaded the boxes with all the fish they needed and were releasing early on their way home before dark. However, they did not get them right off the bat and were sitting on zero while the 48 Canyon Runner was on its way home with its big catch of the day. But at 3:30pm their persistence paid off and they had they first of 4 shots. They went 3 for 4, 6 for 6, 10 for 10, and 5 for 6 and finished up the trip with 24 yellowfin bringing home 12 and releasing the rest. All the fish were 30-45 pounds except one around 65 and one small one. The action was again almost entirely on Canyon Runner bars as they trolled up to 6 on this trip including mostly rainbow and regular green machine bars. Because the green machine bars are working so well we've started to put out a bunch of the Mini-Mamba Bars as they work just like the green machines but give us different colors to use and the blue/silver and purple/black were going off all day as well. On yesterday's trips both boats started trolling up to 8 bars in a 13 rod pattern and the lures and ballyhoo did not get touched - we had 57 yellowfin yesterday between the two boats and I'll follow up tomorrow with more pictures and a more detailed report. We’ve never really trolled more than 4 bars at once for any stretch of time but for some reason for the past 4 or 5 trips that is all the fish want so that is what we are giving them – unfortunately we’ve got 150 12-packs of ballyhoo that are going to go to waste if they don’t start eating the meat. The fish were taken all along the west wall of the Hudson Canyon in 500 feet of 76 degree water.

07/05/08
Adam LaRosa reports:
Capt. Paul Dalik, Mike Zajac and Capt. Peter Doran took the 48 Canyon Runner out for a day troll on Saturday with the Mark Reber charter. They left the dock at 2am and hit the east wall by 6am trolling up the edge past the 100-square without a touch. They turned back southwest and worked back across the deep and were the first boat of the day to find the fish. Trolling the Zajac pattern which consisted of 7 Canyon Runners spreader bars since almost all the fish lately are coming on these (4 off the riggers one off the Center riggers and 2 long flats off the tips of the rods) their first shot was a five bagger. The put the first 4 yellowfin in the boat all around 40 pounds and couldn't budge the 5th fish. One hour later a 206 pound big-eye was sitting on the deck bleeding out. All 5 fish fell for Canyon Runner squid and green machine spreader bars. The big-eye ate a Mini-Rainbow Green Machine bar (which was our hottest big-eye bar last year accounted for 7 big-eyes so far since we started pulling in last August). They continue to stay hot and pulled a total of 18 yellowfin out of the bite with almost everyone falling for the bars. They trolled 4 other rods with ballyhoo but they never got touched. The yellowfin were all mostly 30-40 pounds with a couple bigger and a few smaller that were released. All the action took place on the west wall of the Hudson in 76 degree water.

07/04/08
Adam LaRosa reports:
Capt. Mark DeBlasio, Mike Zajac and Peter Doran took out 5 members of the armed forces in a trip arranged by Jason Brooks and Adam LaRosa to bring out for free members of the armed forces that either served in OIF or OEF. We struggled to get this trip in due to bad weather and as such choose to wait out the wind and leave the dock at 6am on July 4 for just a day trolling trip. They arrived on the West Wall of the Hudson and trolled from 10am to 5pm without a touch but refused to quit and had every intention not to come home without giving each man his chance on the rod. In those 7 hours they moved over to the east wall and up the bank towards the dip where they eventually did find 5 nice 80-85 pound yellowfin that they went 1 for 1, 2 for 3, and 2 for 2 putting together a nice catch for our soldiers. They fished right into the dark and came home at 1am. The fish fell for Canyon Runner squid bars and Jets in 76 degree 600 feet water.

07/2-3/08
Adam LaRosa reports:
48 Canyon Runner – July 2-3 - 20 Yellowfin (18 between 35 and 80 pounds) – The 48' Canyon Runner finally got back on Wednesday, July 2 for our 11th canyon trip of the season so far. We were sitting at the dock for 5 days with some bad weather but mostly bad forecasts and were itching to get back out there with the fishing being the best we’ve ever seen in June. Capt. Mark DeBlasio and Mike Zajac took the Nick Ruggiero charter from Brooklyn out and started the day trolling the tip of the Toms. They missed an earlier bite and with no signs of life decided to troll up the edge towards the Hudson. On the way they picked one fish in between but by 8:30 pm after 7 hours of trolling that is all they had. That all changed at 9:15pm in the dark when they hooked up to an 8-bagger. With limited visiability the odds were against them but they still managed 5 nice 60 pound yellowfin. The night bite was uneventful but in the morning up on the troll on the West Wall of the Hudson they started to put together a solid pick. They deployed 4 Canyon Runner Spreader bars included rainbow Green Machine bars and Purple/Black squid bars and got almost all their bites on the bars. Working 76 degree water in 500 feet they boated a total of 20 yellowfin keeping 18. All the yellowfin were 35-80 pounds with two 20 pounders that were released.

07/01/08
Adam LaRosa reports:
Working with a member of the armed forces we’ve put together a one-day canyon trolling trip free of charge to any member of the armed forces that served in OIF or OEF. The trip is schedule for July 4 – Independence Day – and we just had a spot open up. Please give me a call or shoot me an email at adam@canyonrunner.com. Again – this will be of no cost to you at all as long as you served in OIF or OEF. We will be leaving the dock at 0200 on July 4 returning at around 1800-1900 on July 4. I will also make sure the boat is properly pack out with food and drinks so you don’t need to bring anything. There is nothing me or my crew could ever do to thank our War Veterans enough. We all realize how lucky we are not to have had to serve our great nation in battle and instead get to stay home with our families while these great men and women sacrifice everything. Putting together this trip is the least we could do – I hope we catch a couple breaks and put together a great catch for these soldiers.

06/23-26/08
Adam LaRosa reports:
Canyon Runner June Canyon Fishing Summary – 191 Yellowfin in 10 Trips -Hopefully the nice fishing holds up!!! We were busy fishing Monday thru Thursday last week plus getting the new Ritchie Howell tuned in so I’ve neglected the reports but here they all are – the good and the bad – luckily there weren’t really any bad ones. 48' Canyon Runner – June 23-24 21 Yellowfin (20 between 40 and 80 pounds) Capts. Phil Dulanie and DeCabia got back to the dock with the 48' Canyon Runner on Monday/Tuesday and were once again loaded with yellowfin. The Alan Hartman charter took off from Pt. Pleasant Monday morning and got on the troll in the Spencer around 2pm. By 6pm they had not had a touch. Capt. DeBlasio on the 60' Ritchie was on the phone with a boat in the Wilmington who had a handful of nicer yellowfin so they both picked up and ran 12 miles down the bank to the Wilmington. As soon as they got there Phil had 3 shots of nicer fish and put 8 in the boat before dark. The action was on all on Canyon Runner rainbow squid bars and tuna clones. The night saw a 700# tiger fought to the boat and released. In the morning they quickly got back into fish and pulled another 7 nice ones out of there and released 5 more 30-40 pounders and 1 short. In total they had 21 yellowfin with 20 from 40-85 pounds and 12 of them all right around 70-80. 48’ Canyon Runner – June 25 (16 Yellowfin with all of them 35-70 pounds) Capt. Mark DeBlasio and Peter Doran took out the Jim Kelly charter on the 48 Canyon Runner on Wednesday for a day troll and we decided to leave the Wilmington Canyon aside for now as 105 mile runs are not in the cards if we think we can catch closer - and boy were we right. They started trolling 5 miles inside the tip of the Toms Canyon to begin our search in new territory and then they worked down the edge to the south Toms reaching it by 9am where they had their first couple shots at fish putting 6 in the boat. They worked that area for awhile with the 60' Ritchie and did not get another bite so they moved back north and got a few more bites on the east side ending up with 14 in the boat. At 2pm they headed towards home and picked two more fish at the tip finishing up the trip with 16 yellowfin and all over 35 pounds. These fish are unbelievably big fish. It looked like a late fall chunking trip when we lined them up on the dock. 14 of the 16 tuna were 45-70 pounds and the small ones were 35 pounds and were released. The Canyon Runner spreader bars ruled the day today as Capt. Mark ran 5 of them and almost all the bites were on the bars. Our Canyon Runner squid spreader bars and mini-green machines bars performed the best. 60’ Ritchie Howell Canyon Runner – June 25 (6 Yellowfin 30-50 pounds) Capt. Phil Dulanie and Capt. Mark DeCabia got their first shot on the new 60 Ritchie Howell Canyon Runner with the Pat Cuozzo and Jay Garvey charter on Wednesday. With a one day troll scheduled we decided to keep her a little closer to the inlet today and ran up to the Toms Canyon based on what we have been seeing going on with that eddy just offshore. Capt. Phil was going to work offshore the edge and Capt. Mark on the 48 Canyon Runner was going to work the bank. The bank held the fish and by the time they got back in on it the first bite of the day was over. They got their first yellowfin at noon and it was not until 3:15 when they decided to give it 5 more minutes that their luck changed. At 3:18 they got covered up and bailed out with 5 more yellowfin and 6 total for the day - all the yellowfin were nice 30-50 pound fish. Canyon Runner Squid Bars, Sevenstrand Tuna Clones and ballyhoo caught the fish. 60' Ritchie Howell Canyon Runner - June 26 (10 Yellowfin – 50-60 pounds) Capt. Phil Dulanie and Capt. Mark DeCabia took out the Carl Bloomfield charter on Thursday June 26 and ran right back to the Toms Canyon area. They set up on the troll at the tip and worked the east wall all day picking a few fish but not getting into any good bite. They were sitting on 3 fish right up until 2pm when they were covered up with 8 nice 40-70 pound yellowfin screaming drag. They ended up putting 7 in the boat to end the day with another double digit catch of big yellowfin. The caught most of the fish today on ballyhoo with moldcraft little hookers and ilander lures. Capt. Phil tried trolling a little faster today and that is when the 7 bagger came in – at an almost 8 knot troll. 48’ Canyon Runner – June 26 (4 Yellowfin) Capt. Mark DeBlasio was running the 48' Viking again on Thursday and took the 2nd half of the Carl Bloomfield charter out to the Toms Canyon. They worked hard all day trolling both walls, the tip the deep down to South Toms and back into the Toms Canyon proper with only 1 fish to show. Capt. Mark decided to stay late for this one day troll trip and at 4pm ended up with a few more bites putting 3 more yellowfin in the boat. The charter was thrilled with the extra effort and the 4 nice yellowfin and they headed home ahead of the bad weather forecast. Unfortunately we then sat at the dock canceling charter after charter from Friday thru Monday due to terrible forecasts that ended up being wrong. The one forecast that we should have listened to that was right was Capt. Len Belcaro’s at www.offshoresatelliteservices.com. It was dead on correct the entire weekend. Looks like with will start again on Tuesday or Wednesday and fish right thru the weekend with some luck. We will be getting a bunch of pictures up on line at www.canyonrunner.com and I will post here as well once they are up.

06/21-22/08
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie and Mark DeCabia had out the Dr. John Bednar charter Saturday to Sunday on the 48’ Canyon Runner and ran right to the Spencer canyon area Saturday morning and put her on the troll by 1pm. The fish started to turn on by 2pm and by night fall they had 14 tuna to the boat keeping 8 between 40-70 pounds and releasing the rest. The fish were taken on Canyon Runner Green Machine Bars and Squid Bars and Sevenstrand tuna clones. During the night bite they anchored up and put a 100 pound mako in the boat and released a second one that was around 130. Up on the troll in the morning they picked another 15 yellowfin putting 8 more good ones in the boat again all around 40-60 pounds releasing the rest ending up the trip with 31 yellowfin with 16 between 40-70 pounds. There are pics from the trip at www.canyonrunner.com!

06/21-22/08
Adam LaRosa reports:
The crew of the Canyon Runner took out the new 60' Ritchie Howell for her madien voyage with the Paul Pedretti charter Saturday to Sunday (she arrived at 1am Friday morning). We started off the extended overnighter by competing in the two major shark tournaments running out of Manasquan this weekend. We set up at the triple wrecks and right on schedule (as predicted by Capt. DeBlasio) we had our mako bite - a small one but nice enough to put in the boat for the first fish to hit the deck of the Ritchie Howell. With one mako in the boat our day was over and we ran down south towards the Lindenchol/Spencer area and meet up with Capt. Phil on the 48' Canyon Runner and joined him in a nice pick of fish. From 5:30pm until 9pm we had 14 yellowfin but only got 4 nice ones out of the pick with those fish from 30-60 pounds. We set up a night for sharks and added a dusky. Up on the troll in the morning we pulled another 7 yellowfin with 2 more nice 65 pounders. The fish we eating close to the boat and favored Canyon Runner Green Machine bars and Sevenstrand tuna clones in 450 to 550 feet of 72 degree water. It took us sometime to find the sweat spot on the troll but the new boat but with over 30 bites and 21 tuna to the boat on her first trip I guess we are starting to figure her out. Both boats are fishing all week so will get more reports up here.

06/17/08
Adam LaRosa reports:
Capt. Phil Dulanie took a couple of the Northstar engineers plus the editor of Boating Magazine out on the 48’ Viking today. The goal was to use state-of-the-art sounder equipment that Northstar is coming out with in the near future to take images of the German U-Boat sitting 50+ miles to the southeast of Manasquan. The trip will be well documented by the folks at Boating Magazine and we were happy to have them on board today. The technology is outstanding and I can’t wait to get it on our vessel. Really can’t say more than that at this time but keep an eye out for new sounder equipment from these guys. Today also marked the last time the 48’ will be going out the inlet for anything besides the canyon as its destination. Starting Thursday we will be running canyon trips everyday until November 1 starting with overnighters Thursday/Friday, Saturday/Sunday, Monday/Tuesday and then a few day trolls in a row before finishing up June with a couple more overnighters. As such, we hope to get a bunch of reports on line with hopefully a bunch of good info for you folks to work off of. That being said with the bass fishing so strong right now we’ve decided to start using our 32’ Regulator for bass trips at a significant reduced cost of our regular bass trip so please email if you are interested.

06/13-16/08
Adam LaRosa reports:
Phil Dulanie and Capt. Mark DeCabia had the Damien Romeo charter down at the South Jersey Shark Tournament this past weekend. The crew enjoyed some great shark fishing and more importantly a great time participating in the tournament. This tournament was once again put on with class and professionalism by the folks at South Jersey and we can’t wait to get back again for the Tuna Tournament. On Friday, the Canyon Runner ran 45 miles due east setting up in beautiful blue/green but crystal clear water. It did not take long until the first bite and the first mako of the year for us. The day saw 3 makos to 130 pounds come to the boat plus 4 brown sharks. The hot bait of the day were skipjack fillets down 10 feet but a good deal away from the boat. On Saturday, I came down to join the boys and shut the fishing right down. We went back to the same numbers and the water still look good but the fishing was not nearly as exciting. It took until 1pm to get a bite and it turned out to be a 100 pound dusky. Nothing else touched the baits the rest of the day. Congratulations to all the winners. Capt. Phil and mate Ryan DiBaggio ran home Saturday night after dropping off the charter in Cape May and made it to Manasquan at 11pm. A quick clean-up, long nap, and they were back out on the Striper grounds with the Dan Cranine charter at 5am. They had bunker right in front of Manasquan Inlet, loaded the bait boxes and ran up the beach towards deal. Live and fresh dead bunker produced 9 bass from 20 to 37 pounds. On Monday, Capt. Dulanie and mate Peter Doran had the John Manerafina charter out and again found the bait right in front of the inlet. Quickly loading the bait boxes they were up on grounds by 7am and in on action all day. They finished up with 17 bass with the smallest around 18 pounds and most over 25 with fish up to 35 pounds.

05/23/08
Adam LaRosa reports:
Well I finally got a chance to fish our new 32’ Regulator and all I can say is I was very impressed. I left the dock at 5am on Friday, May 24 with Ken Avon and Mike Zajac in a stiff Northwest wind blowing 15-20 with gusts to 25. We had sea bass for dinner on our minds so despite considering staying close to shore and striper fish we headed south about 14 miles to look for some pieces about 6 miles off the beach. At 38knots in a following sea it was an amazingly quick ride and gave us time to look around a bunch and drop in on a few pieces without killing too much time. We did not find what we wanted so we made the call to run back north and despite the gust to 25 knots and 2-4 foot chop we ran 32 knots thru it and she rode better than our 48’ Viking – I was shocked. Finally locating a better concentration of fish the three of us picked away with a limit of 75 sea bass to 3 pounds to show for it and releasing another 100. We also added a 24” cod. Everyting was caught in 55 feet of water on clams.

05/22/08
Adam LaRosa reports:
Capt. Phil Dulanie has been busy with both charters and pre-season prep for the canyon season on the 48’ but hopefully it can be just fishing going forward. He did get trips in Thursday and Friday last week for the Rich Alverado charter on Thursday and the Ed Kazar charter on Friday. Thursday trip was one to forget. Having nailed 20 stripers the day before to the north we unfortunately chased reports in the morning and headed south off of Sea Side. Trolling all day on readings produced not a touch for the bass and only a couple bluefish for a disappointed charter. But Rich will be back this week so hopefully we can redeem ourselves. On Friday Capt. Phil headed back up to the north and found the bass again on the Shrewsbury Rocks. He looked for bunker on his way up not finding too much to fish on so he dropped the rigs in and immediately has fish. White and chartreuse shad were the hot lure of the day trolled on wire and they finished the day with 9 bass.

05/21/08
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie and mates Peter Doran and Ryan Dibagio had out the Joe Miller charter for Wednesday for our first bass trip of the season. After a long winter putting up posts of boat shows, seminars, and building boats I am happy to start with our reports. The same can be said for Capt. Dulanie as he was all smiles as he broke Manasquant Inlet and headed north on the 48' Canyon Runner looking for bunker and hopefully bass under them. Unfortunately nothing showed up and they ended up on the troll at the Shrewsbury Rocks. They picked away all day on shad rigs putting a total of 20 bass in the boat with 9 keepers. They also had a few blues. More importantly we were back on the water for what will hope to be another great season.

October 30-31 - Captain Mark DeCabia and Phil Dulanie took the Brian Horter charter out on the Canyon Runner October 30-31 for what was our last overnighter of the 2007 season. They ran down to 26525/42488 and set up on the drift. They had the longfin under the boat at 3pm but could not get a bite even on 40 fluoro. Finally as the sun was setting they caught a yellowfin and longfin and a few mahi but the 67 degree water slide out from under them and the they had to pull the anchor and move mile to the south 26530/42481 and dropped the hook again. They picked thru the night on jigs, sardines and squid and ended the evening with 12 longfin and 4 yellowfin after 16 hours of chunking. This was the last canyon trip of the season for the Canyon Runner Crew. We have been bass fishing since that trip - doing quite well the last two days with over 60 Stipers on Thursday and almost as good fishing this Friday.

October 21-22 - Capt Mark DeCabia and Capt Phil Dulanie were back out again on Sunday/monday with the Jamie Swanski charter. With bleak reports coming from the Hudson and below, they decided to take a ride down south and payed off big time. Arriving on the NE corner with 35 other boats there as well, conditions were not favorable. As soon as the sunset we were called in by Capt Mark Deblasio who had good bite going on the SW corner. As soon as they arrived they put 5 fish in the boat while fishing 50 feet off the stern of the Hooked Up 2. With fish all over the recorder they dropped the hook in 695 feet of water and before the anchor was tight, the fish swarmed underneath the boat and ate anything they put in the water. BY midnight they had 12 70-80lb yellowfin in the boat and 3 longfin. With the boxes packed out they went into release mode and released another 24 yellowfin before the sun came up. The fish had no preference and ate jigs, chunks,sardines and anything else you through in the water. Finally, the fish were not leader shy by anymeans as they ate 130lb fluoro with no problem for the rest of the night. With a arm weary charter they headed back to the dock at first light.
October 17-18 - Capts. Dulanie/DeCabia/DeBlasio were back out for their third overnighter in a row and went right back to where they left off the night before. They dropped the hook in 670 ft and with a screaming tide they laid up into the wind most of the night. After waiting all night and debating if the tunas were gonna show they finally bit at 5:15 am, which makes a long night of fishing without any bites. The first flurry of fish lasted for an hour and they were able to put 3 yellowfin and 9 longfin in the boat. After the sun came up the fish came through again and were able to add another 4 yellowfin and 6 longfin, with all the daytime yellowfin being 80lbers. In addition they released another 6 longfin. Most fish were caught on sardines and some on jigs. But after the last 3 days of fishing fall is really here as the fish are changing their feeding patterns.
October 15-16 - Capts. Dulanie, DeBlasio and DeCabia took out the Joe Kay and Brett Ridley charter out for the first trip in a week and decided to look over the water between the Hudson and Toms. They found some signs and 68 degree water and dropped the hook at 26200/42970. They did not have a bite until 3:30am. In fact, only one of 10 boats there had anything prior to that and the party boats were talking about cancelling the rest of there tuna season when the tuna showed up. They picked 9 yellowfin from 60-80 pounds and 2 longfin by 7am and pulled out a decent trip. They are headed right back there tonight and hopefully for Wednesday night as well if the weather holds.

September 27-28 - Capts Phil Dulanie and Mark DeCabia with Jay Richardella took the Jack Yolynski and Eddie Edwards charter out to the Hudson Canyon Thursday to Friday hitting the 100-square area with an hour to troll. They trolled up the edge and picked on longfin on a 9" rainbow squid bar before setting up at the 100-square. They quickly had another longfin and picked away at yellowfin. By 2am they had 3 longfin and 6 yellowfin in the boat and had released a small sword when something big took a live squid down 80 feet. Two hours later they darted a 223 pound Big-Eye that wrecked the charter so they pulled the hook and came home early.
September 24-25 - Capts. Phil Dulanie and Mark DeCabia and mate Jay Richardella had the Kevin Grant charter out Monday/Tuesday and took them right back to MidWay. They got there to find 10 boats had our numbers - interesting as no one from this service went yesterday that I know of. Anyway, they had a hard time getting within a mile of where they fished but eventually dropped the hook in 525 feet of water. They did not have much in the way of bait under the boat all night but did pick away at the yellowfin putting 6 in the boat, longfin putting 3 in the boat and interestingly enough nailed a nice 50 pound wahoo that ate a live squid on a circle hook with 60 pound flouro. The wind blew 15-20 all night and with the moon the current was screaming putting conditions on the difficult side but they pulled it out.
September 21-22 - Capts. Phil Dulanie, Mark DeCabia and Billy Rowan had the Paul Pedretti charter out Sunday/Monday and decided to look a little more to the east as the fishing is just not as good as we want in the canyons to the south despite all that good looking water. So they headed off for right in between the Dip and the Hudson and put it on the troll at 2pm. They fought with weeds all day and only picked a few mahi off some of the pots. They set up on the hook and immediately had fish to the boat boating 4 longfin and 2 yellowfin by 9:30pm. The fish were caught on jigs, live squid and sardines. However, the bite did not keep up the rest of the evening and they only picked away until 2am when it completely shut off. They picked one more longfin at first light and ended the night with a decent catch of 12 tuna including 8 yellowfin, 4 longfin and released a small sword.
September 20-21 – Capt. Phil Dulanie, Capt. Mark DeCabia and Capt. Adam Afellii had the Terry Miner charter out Thursday to Friday and ran back to the southwest corner area to find out 80 others boats did the same thing. With no where else to go as night fall was upon them they set up at the southwest corner and hoped for the best. They were lucky enough to get the yellowfin under the boat and started to pick away hooking 14 tuna during the night plus a sword and a mako. Unfortunately there were a few errors in the cockpit and some fish were lost to the rudder and wheels but they did put 7 nice yellowfin in the boat. Considering the over 120 boats in the Hudson it was a solid performance.
September 19-20 - Capt. Phil Dulanie, Capt. Mark DeCabia and Capt. Adam Adolphia had the Dr. Gary Cuozzo charter out on Wednesday to Thursday and fighting tough seas were not able to get to the Hudson until 4pm. They went right down to the 100-square where they trolled one longfin before nightfall. They anchored up at the 100-square and had little bait nor marked many fish and only had 2 yellowfin in the boat by 1am. As such, they pulled the hook and ran over to the HU2 and tied up behind them. They eventually got the fish going and put another 8 in the boat before sun-up.
September 16-17 - Capt. Phil Dulanie and Capt. Mark DeCabia had the Damien Romeo charter out Sunday morning leaving the dock at 10am to head to the Hudson Canyon. They ran to the East Elbow and started picking longfin while working down to the 100-square picking longifn and mahi all the way. The longfin were coming on green machines and tuna clones with a couple taken on ballyhoo. They set up on the chunk in the 550 feet of water at the 100-square and were 1 for 2 on yellowfin by 9pm. They continued to pick away at the yellowfin putting 7 in the boat and realizing 2 more before putting out the sword rods at 2am. By 3am they had a 68" 150 pound sword in the boat and pulled the anchor shortly thereafter to head home.
September 13-14 – Capt. Phil Dulanie had the Sean Sandler charter out Thursday to Friday and went right back to the 100-square. Unfortunately so did 80 other boats. Lined up and down the line we decided to move out east more up the line towards the dip and set up for the night. It started out very promising with 2 fish in the boat by 8am but soon died off as more and more boats showed up. They had a couple shots and ended the night 6 for 9 on 60-85 pound yellowfin. There were a handful of boats that crushed them Thursday night but also a ton that had only 1 or 2.
September 12-13 - Capt. Phil Dulanie had the John Kohl charter out Wednesday to Thursday on the Canyon Runner and left late due to the wind still honking at Noon. They broke the inlet at 3pm and made it to the 100-Square and were set up on the chunk by 7:30pm. The dropped the hook at 26104/43089 and had bait under the boat immedaitely and tuna not shortly thereafter. They picked away at first on live squid and sardines on 60 pound flouro and then got them going strong. By 3am they had gone 15 for 20 and took all the tuna rods out of the water and set a few sword rods out waiting for first light. At first light they went pot hopping loading up with a bunch of mahi and finished off trying for a few tiles. Damien Romeo and a 150-Pound 68" Sword pictures at www.canyonrunner.com

September 5-6 - Capt. Phil Dulanie and Capt. Mark DeCabia took the Richard Steer charter out on the Canyon Runner Wednesday to Thursday and got down to the Carteret Canyon by 7am and set up immediately on the chunk. They had the sword rod attached as soon as the sun set and reel it up finding a broken Lindgred Pitmen light that lost a battle with a sword. They dropped it down again and again had another hit on it but never came tight. Soon afterwords the yellowfin came on and they pick 10 fish by 2am when it got really good. From 2am to 5am they put another 10 yellowfin in the boat and released 6. Live squid, sardines and hammered diamond jigs put all the fish in the boat. They ended the night 26 for 30.
September 6-7 - Capt. Phil Dulanie and Capt. Mark DeCabia took the Steve Faber charter out on the Canyon Runner Thursday to Friday and got down to the Carteret Canyon on the same numbers as the night before by 7am and set up immediately on the chunk. They had fish under the boat early but did not get them going until around 10pm when a steady pick ensued. They had fish on live squid, sardines and hammered diamond jigs and put 8 in the boat by 2am. The charter had enough fish but kept on catching releasing another 7. They came home at first light.
September 7-8 - Capt. Phil Dulanie, Adam LaRosa and Capt. Mark DeCabia had out the Buck Martinez charter and tried to head back down to the Carteret but had some issues on the way. First and foremost the weather Friday afternoon was not nice with a stiff South wind making the ride in that direction a 12 knot affair. We turned to the Toms and about 35 off ran something over that caused a bit of virbration then the engines to shut down. Not Good!!! We could not see anything hanging off the wheels and thought the worst (engine mounts broke or something like that) Mark jumped in with the mask and the expression on his face when he came back up and his comment "Oh my God!!!" made me head for the scuba tank and regulator. Seems we had 300+ feet of black poly line wrapped on both wheels. Mark pulled a bunch off before I got in with the dive tank and gear and spent 15 minutes cutting away the line that was melted to the shaft and off we went to the Toms with a little delay.
We got to the edge at 8pm and dropped the hook at the northeast corner in 500 feet of water and we had the bait quickly and by mid-night had 5 yellowfin and 2 swords with on in the boat at 55" and released one around 46". Between mid-night and 3am they only had a couple other tuna bites but also had another sword on that peeled off 100yards on the Penn International 70VSW before pulling the hook. In between they also had another billfish bite when a white marlin grabbed one of the chunk baits and was released. Between 3am and first light we put a few more tuna in the boat and came home around 7am.


September 2-3 Capt. Phil Dulanie and Capt. Mark DeCabia had the Mike Klosek charter sitting at at the southwest corner of the Hudson Sunday to Mondy was already 4 for 4 on the chunk at 10pm Sunday night. They had the fish turn on shortly thereafter and had fish on 2 and 4 at a time but the charter had a hard time handling the fish and ended up losing a ton. When the fish came on they ate anything including live squid, sardines, hammered diamond jigs. With 14 fish in the boat and after fighting over 30 of them prior to midnight the charter could not stand-up anymore and asked to go home. They pulled the anchor in the dark and were back home before 6am.
September 1-2 Capt. Mark DeBlasio snook the Mike Fasciglioae charter out on the Hooked Up 2 and leaving the dock late after the wind died down they shot right to the Lindenchol where the edge of the water was that we've been fishing in. As soon as they started fishing they had one on but it never got good. They picked at fish slowly thru the night only getting 5 bites and putting 3 yellowfin in the boat. The charter had to be back early Sunday for parties so they did not troll. They set up at on the northeast corner and had a couple bites there but the water slide out from under them so they pulled the hook and ran south back into the water and put the boat on the drift but only picked a couple more.

August 30-31 Capt. Phil Dulanie and Capt. Mark DeCabia took the Greg Mulligan charter out Thursday to Friday on their 5th overnighter in a row. They ran right to the northeast corner of the Carteret and anchored up in 550 feet of 77 degree water. They immediately caught a ton of squid and put every rod out with a live squid. They started to pick fish early but it slowed down and they only ended the night with 5 yellowfin but spiced up the trip with a nice 150# sword that ate a live squid down 70 feet on 60# flouro. Capt. Mark DeBlasio had the Kevin Corradino charter out Thrusday to Friday and took them for a long troll from the South Toms to the Lindy and caught 3 longfin and 1 yellowfin on the troll picking most of the fish in the Carteret on the northeast corner. Capt. Mark got all his troll bites on a new spreader bar we’ve been experimenting with which is a mini-rainbow green machine spreader bar. His last 9 fish in a row came on this bar. He decide to follow the water moving south and set up for the chunk in the Lindy in 450 feet of water and pick 6 for 10 through the night on nice yellowfin. Most of the fish were 70-80 pounds and were baited all on live squid.

August 29-30 – Capt. Phil Dulanie and Capt. Mark DeCabia took the Tom Biliecki charter out to the Carteret Canyon Wednesday to Thursday and set up immediately on the chunk in 540 feet of water on the northeast corner. They had bait right away and the tuna shortly thereafter. The picked at fish all night long boating 22 fish releasing 7 of them and taking the rest for dinner. Bites came on mostly live squid caught off the bottom and sardines initially but then they switched over to all jigs towards the end of the evening. These fish are all nice in the 60-80 pound class.

August 28-29 - Capt. Mark DeBlasio and Capt. Jerry Lanzeratti had the Fred Giordano and Dan Portanova charter out Monday to Tuesday and went right to the South Toms and only pulled 2 yellowfin on the chunk all night. With a disappointed charter they stuck out the trolling to try to nail a few more fish and they did. Trolling right on the numbers we've been fishing for big-eye all week he had the wolfpack come up and eat 5 baits including Canyon Runner 9" purple/black spreader bars, jets, and ballyhoo. 4 big-eye came tight and the fight was on. It took the charter close to one hour but they ended up putting all four in the boat. As the last fish was darted Capt. Jerry dropped back a ballyhoo into the pattern and jigged it twice and another big-eye came up and exploded on the bait and that too was put in the boat. Four of them were from 130-140 pounds but one was close to 200!!!
August 28-29 - Capt. Phil Dulanie and Mark DeCabia had the Todd Polumbo charter down in the South Toms Canyon and got a couple fish to the boat quick on the chunk and thought it was going to be another memorable night. In fact it was a night to forget as they then just pick 2 more fish the rest of the night under horrible conditions with wind again tide and all the baits running to the bow. Up on the troll in the morning to pull a couple more fish for the charter they struck out and came home with only 4 yellowfin. Check out www.canyonrunner.com for all the pictures

August 26-27 - Capt. Phil Dulanie and Capt. Mark DeCabia were back at it on overnighters this week after the MA500 and got right back into the grove although it took some time. They left the dock at 8am with the Dr. John Bednar charter and headed to the Toms Canyon to get another shot at those big-eyes. Their shot never came as it looks like that bite has slowed down. Trolling from Noon to 7pm they only took only longfin. They moved down the bank towards the Carteret to look for a place to set up for the night and all the spots were taken until they decided to drop the hook in 600 feet of water close to the Carteret. They started the night with a slow pick putting another longfin in the boat and 9 yellowfin by midnight. From 2am to 5am the bite picked up and they caught another 11 yellowfin. They kept 12 yellowfin and released the rest. They were getting most of their bites on live squid that they were catching right on the bottom. They drop down a heavily weighted string of 5 squid jigs to the bottom and just reel up slowly and are catching three or four big 12" squid a time and using those as baits. They also jigged a few of the yellowfin as well. The ended the night with 20 yellowfin total.
August 27-28 - Capt. Mark DeBlasio and mates Tom Kelly and Ty McGowan took the Jess Lubert and Howard Popkin charter out Sunday/Monday on his fourth overnighter in a row and ran straight to the Carteret Canyon hoping to find the fish sliding down the bank with the water. However, such was not the case as he did not get a bite on the troll and by mid-night only had one yellowfin in the boat. He pulled up and ran up the bank towards Phil and set up at in 590 feet of water and got them going. He ended the night with 9 yellowfin in total losing a bunch. His bites came on live squid and hammered diamond jigs.

While two-thirds of the Canyon Runner crew was down in Cape May at the Mid-Atlantic $500,000, the rest of the Canyon Runner crew lead by Capt Mark DeBlasio with mates Capt. Tom Kelly, Capt. Evan Millas, Chris Hempstead and Ty McGowan held up the fort in Pt. Pleasant getting in three overnighters and just crushing the fish with 5 Big-Eyes and 50 Yellowfin and Longfin during those trips.
August 24-25 - Capt. Mark DeBlasio had the Richard O'Day charter out with mate Chris Hempstead and Ty McGowan Friday to Saturday and ran right back to his number from the day before to try to get another big-eye before the night bite. He started trolling at 7pm and by 7:15 he was hooked with three of them with one on a Canyon Runner blue/white jet and two on a ballyhoo blue/white moldcraft chugger combo. He burnt one off at the boat, pulled the hook on another but boated the third that was right around 170 pounds. He set up down the line a little from the Toms towards the South Toms in 600 feet of 78 degree water for the night. He had over 20 bites at night both on 60 and 80 pound flouro and our hammered diamond jigs. In total the charter chunked 12 yellowfin through out the night releasing a few. These yellowfin were all nice size fish in the 40-70 pound range.
August 23-24 - Capt. Mark Deblasio ran to the northeast corner of the Toms Canyon with the Paul Pedretti charter on Thursday morning and put her on the troll looking for the big-eyes that have been biting their heads off since Sunday. He found them when 5 came up and ate ballyhoo and Canyon Runner purple/black spreader bars and green machines. The fight lasted some 45 minutes and he decked 3 of them in the 130 to 150 pound class. The big-eyes were there and so too the bait so why leave. He set up right there for the night and chunked 30 yellowfin through out the night with constant action all night long. Live squid and sardines produced best but so too did anyone working a hammered diamond jig whenever the fish came thru. Just before daybreak he put out a couple spinning rods to play with the tuna on and don’t you know a 125 pound sword eats it instead. They had it within 10 feet from the harpoon when it broke off.
August 19-20 - Capt. Mark missed out on the biggest big-eye bite in decades by only a few hours as the Jenny Lee and the Pepper both out of Manasquan Inlet boated 15 big-eyes between the two boats. They called us in but since Mark was doing a turn around overnighter Sunday to Monday with the Mark Hable charter he did not get back out to the Toms Canyon until 7pm but by 7:15 had one on. He put the 130 pounder in the boat caught on a ballyhoo and then went right to the chunk. It got nasty at night which hurt the fishing a little but they managed to pull 6 nice big yellowfin on the chunk. Sardines and squid were the bait of choice. See our pictures on our website if you have a chance.

Two-thirds of the Canyon Runner crew had an eventful week down at the Mid-Atlantic $500,000 while the other third lead by Capt. Mark DeBlasio kept the home fires burning back at Pt. Pleasant. Down in Cape May we split the crew up between two boats. Adam LaRosa, Brad Burgess, Billy Rowan and John Timken were fishing on Ken Avon’s Due Course and were targeting white marlin. Capt. Phil Dulanie with Mike Zajac and Capt. Mark DeCabia had Damian Romeo (who chartered the Canyon Runner for the week) out looking for big-eyes. Both boats found what they wanted and plenty of them just not ones big enough for the money. On Monday only the Due Course fished and we headed to the Spencer in nice tight 6-8 footers with a 20-25 knot northeast breeze. At around 8am the wind picked up to over 30 knots and the seas up to 10 foot - it was looking to be virtually unfishable. When we set out the lines at 8:30am we could only get four baits out but with some luck on our side the wind let up and by 10am we had out our full pattern of two double Offshore Innovation dredges and two 9” Canyon Runner rainbow squid teaser bars (no hooks due to tournament rules) and 6 ballyhoo baits. On the dredges we had Offshore Innovations Hologra artificial baits on the inside of the bars with mullet on the outside. The Hologra baits work unbelievable well and we had most of our whites come in on the dredges first they turn off to the squid teaser bars and pile on the naked ballyhoo trolled right between them. We trolled Penn International 16VS spooled with 30 pound Momoi and the combination was great. We trolled this pattern all week with the ballyhoo rigged on 8/0 Eagle Claw 2004 ELFcircle hooks and 80 pound fluorocarbon with wind-on leaders. Half the baits were naked and half had moldcraft blue/white little hookers over top. We also trolled one horse ballyhoo with an Ilander deep down the middle. Day 1 was by far out best day seeing 4 whites and catching every one of them. The third white of the day was measured and came in at 63” so off she swam. Day 2 for us was Thursday and we went back to the Spencer and had the bait but only raised one white. We hooked her as well but immediately seeing it was small handed off the rod per tournament rules and lost her on the switch. That will be the last time we every switch anglers again as it cost us points!!! Also on that day we had what would have easily been the tournament winning big-eye come up and engulf 4 squid off the center chain of the teaser bar and scream off line at 40 pounds of drag before the bar was pulled out of its mouth since we were fishing them without hooks. We dropped back a pitch bait and reeled up on the deep bait with the horse but it never came up again. Day 3 we set up between the Spencer and Wilmington on the 100 fathom line and by 10:30 had a white up in the pattern and hooked up and had her to the boat in three minutes (Ken Avon is not soft on the throttles and backs up with the best of them!!!). We billed this one and measured her as well. She came in at 64” and again off she swam. That was our last bite of the tournament. In total we saw only 6 whites but hooked them all jumping off one and releasing 5. Not bad for a bunch of tuna fisherman. Speaking of tuna fisherman, the Canyon Runner with Phil, Mark and Mike fished her first day of the tournament on Wednesday and only saw a couple tuna and missed two whites. On Thursday they release a nice 80 pound yellowfin (that they will always regret releasing) and missed two whites. But on their last day their luck changed. Fishing Penn International 80VSWs on both trolling rods and stand-up rods and Penn International 70VSWs all on stand-up rods with 130 pound Momoi they trolled all big lures (12” Mako Jets, Moldcraft Chuggers, and horse and select ballyhoo with Ilander lures) looking for that big big-eye or blue marlin as was the wish of Damien. The problem this week was we knew where the big-eyes were but could not get there until Friday due to the relentless northeast wind. But on Friday they got there and got ‘em. They made it to the northeast corner of the Toms Canyon just after lines in and spent the next few hours watching other boats pick big-eyes all around them without a touch on the Canyon Runner. But at 11am the Northstar 6100i lit up with red marks all over the screen, Phil thought the recorder was malfunctioning until he look back into the pattern, what he saw was big-eyes explode on everything. Damien made short work of each fish hooked on the Penn 80VSWs fighting them out of the chair. Since they were not big fish he boated the first two in less than 5 minutes. They had two other shots during the day and in total boated 5 big-eyes. Unfortunately none of them were big enough for the money with the biggest only 139 pounds - but the combined weight put them in Third Place for most points. If they weighed that yellowfin from Thursday they would have placed second for points. Damien won a beautiful Guy Harvey print and is already signed up to fish the MA500 for next year. Congratulations Capt. Phil, Capt. Mark, Mike and particularly Damien Romeo!!!!! Now back to chunking!!!!!

Sorry for the late reports as I have been away at the MA500 all last week (full report to follow but we did OK with the boat I was on going 5 for 6 with white marlin and the Canyon Runner with Capt. Phil Dulanie, Capt. Mark DeCabia and mate Mike Zajac nailing 5 big-eyes on the last day to place for third most points for tuna – again full report to follow shortly). Hopefully some of the attached pictures make up for such late reports from last weeks trips.
August 15-16 - Capt. Mark DeBlasio took the Tom Mallan charter out to the 100-square and ended up the line towards the Dip with Phil to avoid the crowd. He did 14 yellowfin at night and a friend up on the troll at the 100-Square in the morning hooked 3 big-eyes boating one so Mark stayed to troll. Mark was right on the 100-square and trolled until 10:50am and only picked one more yellowfin and was going to pull lines out at 11am when with 2 minutes to go he got his bite. 4 big-eyes came up on two 12" purple/black Canyon Runner spreader bars, 1 rainbow green machine bar and one green/yellow 6" Canyon Runner jet. The two on the 12" squid bars did not come tight but the other two did. One was hooked on a Penn International 16VSX and fought for over 1.5 hours before the Poon Harpoon landed home. The second came in quicker but was bigger at around 150 pounds. The one on the 16VSX was around 135.
August 15-16 - Capts Phil Dulanie and Mark DeCabia with mate Mike Zajac took the Mike Lilonski charter out on the Canyon Runner for their fourth turn around overnighter in a row last Tuesday to Wednesday. Leaving the inlet at 3:30pm they ran right to the 100-Square but found it packed with boats. A call into Adam LaRosa on the SAT and a review of the water temperature charts and confirmation of a good bite continuing at the Dip they decided to just move a few miles up the line to east and settled in. They had tuna on immediately putting 6 in the boat by 9pm. The bite continued at a pick until about 1am when all hell broke losse and everything in the ocean (manta rays, porpoies, squid, mackrel, and yellowfin) appeared right behind the boat. They quickly limited out and went into release mode. The charter fought a total of 39 yellowfin bringing 31 to boat - keeping their limit and releasing the rest. The action came on 60 pound flouro with sardines and fresh dead squid the best bait and over 10 fish coming on our hammered diamond jigs.

08/13-14/07
Adam LaRosa reports:
August 13-14 - Capt. Mark DeBlasio mate Ty McGowan and Capt. Tom Kelly took the Neil Eschenbrenner charter out Monday to Tuesday. Leaving the dock at 2:30pm they ran right to the 100-Square of the Hudson and set up for the night bite. They had fish on immediately deploying sardines, live squid, butters and on hammered diamond jigs. Fishing in 600 feet water they had fish on the entire time from 10pm to 2pm putting 10 fish in the boat and losing a bunch. After 2pm the fish came on real strong and they had non-stop action filling the boat with 18 fish and releasing 19 for a total catch of 37 yellowfin. These fish are all big in the 70-90 pound range and we are taking them on 60 and 80 pound flouro with 12/0 circle hooks and the our smaller 6 and 8 oz hammered diamond jigs with both treble hooks on the working rods and circle hooks on the rods left in the rigger for the night. The real excitement for the night came at 4:30am when a 700+ pound mako bite a 70 pound yellowfin in half right at the boat. The crew teased the mako with the other half of the yellowfin for 5 minutes right at the back of the boat until a suitable shark rig was ready. They then pulled the half tuna out of the water cut off a piece and feed it to the mako on a Penn International 50VSW. The mako, which was easily as long as the width of the 55' Hooked Up 2 (which is 12 foot wide at the transom) quickly engulfed the chunk and the fight was on. 1 hour into the battle with daylight upon them but also rough seas the mako somehow parted the 275# wire and the fight was over. Mate Tom Kelly caught a 688# Mako last year in California and he guarantees that this one was much bigger. We'll go with 700+ as a conservative number but it doesn't really matter as we did not come close to getting her. In fact, Mark and I talked about it afterwords and in the end it is better to let her swim away free anyway and breed as what the heck was he going to do with 700 pounds of mako when he got back to the dock with only 2 hours on land before turning right around and going back out for another overnighter. It would have been nice to catch her but it is just a nice, if not more, that she is still out there. August 13-14 - Capts. Phil Dulanie and Mark DeCabia and mate Mike Zajac took the Brian Benson charter out on the Canyon Runner Monday to Tuesday. Leaving the dock at 2:30pm they ran right to the 100-Square of the Hudson and set up for the night bite. They had fish immediately on sardines, live squid and a ton on hammered diamond jigs. Fishing in 600 feet water they had fish on the entire time from 10pm to 1pm but then when the wind came up they swung into the deep and sitting at 675 feet of water they did not get a bite. They moved back up on the bank in 600 feet and immediately got into yellowfin again. These fish are all big in the 70-90 pound range and we are taking them on 60 and 80 pound flouro with 12/0 circle hooks and the our smaller 6 and 8 oz hammered diamond jigs with both treble hooks on the working rods and circle hooks on the rods left in the rigger for the night. The ended the night with 17 in the boat and released another 5 fish for a total of 22

08/11-13/07
Adam LaRosa reports:
Saturday/Sunday - Capt. Phil Dulanie and Capt. Mark DeCabia ran the Canyon Runner offshore for a chunking trip Saturday night with the Frank Cardaci charter from ASA Apple. They waited at the dock for the wind to stop blowing and ran right to Lindenchol. Leaving late on Saturday and going out slow due to the remaining swells left over they arrived just before night fall and dropped the hook in 400 feet of water settling back in 450 feet. They had a quick bite immediately putting a nice 70 pound yellowfin in the boat but did not get another shot until 5am. At 5am just before pulling the hook they put a 40-pounder in the boat and then the yellowfin came under the boat in plain sight. In the next 15 minutes they were able to put another 5 nice yellowfin in the boat on live squid and one a jig. They pulled the hook at 6am and came right home. Sunday/Monday - Capt. Mark DeBlasio took the Joe Terranova charter out on Sunday to Monday and ran to the Hudson Canyon. Capt Mark and Adam noted that the bite down in the Linden was just not that great all around (while Phil had 7 yellowfin 8 other boats caught nothing), there were reports of boats doing well in the Dip and the same water in the Dip was just offshore of the Hudson so the decision was made to head that way. On his way into the Hudson he heard of a slow pick at the tip and ran up that way only to watch a couple fish caught but not on his boat. He ran down to the east elbow and trolled out to the edge and dropped in for the night bite but not before releasing a nice white marlin that ate a ballyhoo. He picked a few yellowfin up unitl 2:30am when it broke wide open. Sardines and live squid on 80 pound flouro accounted for many of the fish but so too did our Canyon Runner hammered jigs with heavy duty swivels and 4X strength treble hooks - taking over 8 of the yellowfin. He finished the night 21 for 35 and many of the yellowfin were in the 70 pound class or a little better. He was on his way home at first light. Sunday/Monday - Capt. Phil Dulanie and Capt. Mark DeCabia with mate Mike Zajac took the Jim Kelly charter out to the Hudson as the bite in the Lindenchol was not as great as expected and they figured the water on the SAT shots looked good so off they went. They pulled into the Tip in on a very slow pick on the troll and caught nothing. They trolled down the west wall without a touch and set up at 26176/43075 for the night bite. They picked a fish an hour putting one 52" sword in the boat and releasing a barely legal one and also boated 2 yellowfin around 80 pounds. However, after mid-night they did not get another touch. When Capt. Mark on the HU2 got them going thick around 3:30am they pulled the hook and ran over to the 100-square but missed out on the bite only missing one yellowfin on the jig when the hook pulled.

08/09-10/07
Adam LaRosa reports:
Capt. Mark DeBlasio and mate Eddie Farrel took the Bob Petro charter out to sneak in an overnighter before the blow Thursday to Friday and ran right to the northeast corner of the Lindenchol and dropped the hook. They chunked hard all night without a touch until 2:30am when the fish came on. Jigging with hammered diamond jigs with trebles and baiting them on sardines and live squid put yellowfin on the decks. They fought over 25 yellowfin putting 14 in the boat. All the yellowfin were between 60-70 pounds. They are on there way home at first light. This trip was Eddie Farrel’s last trip of the 2007 season as he is off to Duke University for his masters in Marine Biology – we like our Canyon Runner members to be well educated! It also may be the last trip of his life as he just recently got engaged. Good luck on both accounts Eddie – you will be missed!!!!

08/05-06/07
Adam LaRosa reports:
Capt. Phil Dulanie and Capt. Mark DeCabia with mate Mike Zajac took the Elliot Braun and John Post charter out on a Sunday/Monday overnighter and got on the fish early. Trolling the Carteret at they started the day with a 4 bagger of longfin and added a nice 65-pound white marlin. They caught all afternoon on the troll and ended the troll with 6 longfin and 2 nice 80-90 pound yellowfin on the troll. All the bites came right around the northeast corner of the Carteret with most of the fish on 9” Canyon Runner Rainbow squid spreader bars. With all those fish on the troll why move so they set up on the chunk right there and had 60-70 pound yellowfin under the boat immediately. By 10pm they already had 4 more yellowfin in the boat on the chunk and by 11am chucked another 10 more yellowfin and then went into release mode. They stopped fishing for 2 hours during torrential lightening storms and then released another 15 yellowfin all in the 60-70 pound class from 2am to 4am before calling it a night and coming home early. The first bunch of fish were caught on sardines on 60-pound flouro and most of the rest on live squid on 80-pound flouro. They also jigged a total of 4 yellowfin on our hammered diamond jigs. Total for the trip was 8 tuna on the troll and 29 on the chunk plus the white.

07/30/07
Adam LaRosa reports:
Capt. Mark DeBlasio and Capt. Tom Kelly and mate Ty McGowan had the Todd Balestro charter out Sunday to Monday and ran right to where we had them Saturday on the west wall of the Hudson Canyon by the letters but working that area for hours only produced 2 yellowfin on Canyon Runner green machine bars. Getting a call from Capt. Dulanie who had just come into the Hudson at 3pm he ran up to the bombs and dropped them in just south of that area and immediately nailed a 3 bagged of nice yellowfin in the 50 pound class on bars and ballyhoo. Working that area until 8pm just before dark he got a 4 bagger of yellowfin and set up for the night with 9 nice yellowfin in the box. His night time was actually a little eventful as a 53 inch sword grabbed the sword bait down 200 feet and was quickly subdued and boated. Up on the troll in the morning he picked 2 more yellowfin again right by the Bombs and again on our spreader bars and ballyhoo and went home with 11. Capt. Phil Dulanie and Capt. Mark DeCabia with mate Mike Zajac took the Jim Dale charter out Sunday morning for an overnighter and were running back to where we had them Saturday when they got a call from a boat in on the tip that had a nice catch Sunday morning on the troll so they turned up the line slightly and put them in at the Bombs. They were not trolling 10 minutes when they put their first yellowfin in the boat on a green machine daisy chain behind a bird and then got a double header of big-eyes putting a 130-pounder in the boat on a ballyhoo and pulling the hook on a 150-pounder 10 feet from the harpoon. That fish was on a zucchini tuna clone. They were all hooked in 550 feet of water just west of the Bombs in the Hudson Canyon. They also added another nice yellowfin on a Canyon Runner 6” rainbow squid bar shortly after getting back up on the troll. They worked over to the east notch and then back to the bombs and continued to read bait but could not get another bait and all they pulled the rest of the afternoon was another nice yellowfin ending the afternoon bite with 4 yellowfin and the eye-ball. At night they drifted right on those numbers and did not have a touch. Up on the troll in the morning they also struck out.

07/26-27/07
Adam LaRosa reports:
Capt. Phil Dulanie and Capt. Mark DeCabia took the Matt Cervino charter out to the canyons - finally. We got tired of going 110 miles south for those bluefins and with good water on the temperature charts and a couple decent reports we headed 100 miles east towards the Dip but stopped 10 miles short of it. They immediately read bait, had life on the surface, and put a 3 bagger of nice longfin in the boat and added 3 nice mahi as well. They trolled east to the Dip and then got a call from some friends further out east and picked up and ran to the Fishtails. As soon as they got the pattern out they did a 5 bagger on longfin and then shortly thereafter got 2 more. They were trolling Canyon Runner spreader bars, green machines and ballyhoo and all the bites came on the ballyhoo trolled right alongside the bars. Talking to several of the boats on the troll there we found out that there was a nice big-eye bite in the morning there and a nice chunk bite in 1000 feet of water with one boat catching 11 and another 15 the night before. Unfortunatley for us that the night chunk bite was non-existant but the guys still had an eventful night - although one they would like to forget. They ended up hooking something huge at 2am and found it for 3 hours before finding out it was a Manta Ray and cutting it off. Up on the troll in the morning they pointed the bow west and worked the 100 fathom line back towards the Dip and pulled a 3 bagger of longfin and 2 bagger of yellowfin all on tuna clones and ballyhoo. They finished the trip with 13 longfin and 2 yellowfin.

07/17/07
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie and Captain Mark DeCabia with mate Mike Zajac took the Gavin Coman charter down to Massey's Canyon on the Canyon Runner Monday night to Tuesday night. They looked over 19 Fathom Lump first and moved on when they did not read much bait. They arrived at Massey's at 6am and did a couple drifts before finding the fish. Up on the top of the lump in 95 feet of water they found them and started a nice bite bringing 15 bluefin to the boat with 1 over 47 inches and almost every other at 45” or 46”. All the tuna were caught on butterfish worked back in the slicked with 40 pound flouro and circle hooks without any weight. Despite catching a bunch of bluefin on jigs so far this year none were caught on jigs yesterday. They also released a brown shark. A great point that someone mentioned to me yesterday and needs to be stressed regarding the jigs is while we first deploy hammered diamond jigs with treble hooks, once we have our limit, we take the treble hooks out of the water and deploy only circle hook hammered diamond jigs. This makes releasing them through the door much easier and less stress and damage on the tuna plus avoids snagging any.

07/13/07
Adam LaRosa reports:
Capt. Phil Dulanie left Friday morning early and ran down to 19Fathom Lump and did not have a touch with the Greg Stiem charter so he picked up and ran to Massey's Canyon and dropped the anchor. There he read tons and tons of bait and bluefin but had 60 boats within a mile radius of him and the fish never went on the feed. He picked 2 45" blueifn in there in the 40-50 pound class and at 11am ran to the Wilmington. In the Wilmington working the east wall for tile fish the current was too fast so they trolled to the east corner of mouth across to the west corner and up to the notch on the west wall raising one white and releasing a small yellowfin. Capt. Mark ran the Gene Croddick charter to the Baltimore canyon but left very late Friday afternoon so did not get set up at the tip until 9pm and missed out on the bluefin chunking getting there too late. The crew chunked one yellowfin at night and trolled 2 in the morning but had to leave very early to get home or would have ran inshore to get in on some of the great bluefin action on the lumps 15-20 miles inshore of the tip.

07/11/07
Adam LaRosa reports:
Capt. DeBlasio took the Andy Weil charter for an overnighter Tuesday to Wednesday and decided to run south to put him in a position to catch both yellowfin on the troll in the Wilmington and bluefin on the jigs and bait on the inshore grounds. He choose to run to the tip of the Wilmington Tuesday afternoon and started trolling at 3pm. By 8pm he had gone 1 for 2, 2 for 4 and 0 for 2 on nice yellowfin in the 40-50 pound class. The yellowfin ate Canyon Runner green machine spreader bars and purple/black squid bars and ballyhoo skirted with blue/white moldcraft little hookers. Capt. Mark decided to drift out in that area for the night bite but did not have touch and thus at 3am picked up and ran into the Hambone for the morning bluefin bite. By 8am Capt. Mark had the bluefins solid under the boat putting a 48" bluefin and 46" bluefin in the boat and released another 10 bluefin. He was on the Hambone. The final count was another 48" bluefin in the boat and 2 more released for a total of 14 bluefin. Mark was drifting the Hambone all morning finishing up at Noon. Capt. Phil Dulanie and Capt. Mark DeCabia took the Scott Burney charter out on a day troll on Wednesday but decided to change over to the only game in town - jigging and chunking bluefins. He ran 95 miles south to the 19 Fathom Lump and immediately read the fish and had them on within minutes of starting his first drift. We use our customized hammered jigs in 10 oz with 4x strength treble hooks and had almost all the bites on that. The charter did well hooking the fish but needed to go thru a few fish before keeping them on the line. They ended the day on the drift at 10am with 6 bluefin taken and or released and lossing another 6 or more. When the charter tired of fighting the fish they went on the troll and nailed 3 nice mahi in the 15 pound class. They were on 19th Fathom Lump all day on the drift.

07/1-10/07
Adam LaRosa reports:
It was a busy first week of July for the Canyon Runner Crews with both fishing and other events so I am very sorry for the late reports. Unfortunately the canyons are not giving up as many fish as we usually get this time of year. While we continue to make 100+ mile runs to put our charters on fish we are not always benefited with a catch despite all our efforts – but that is fishing. Nice to hear the bluefins showed up down south – looks like some more long runs ahead of us until August when hopefully something gets going in our local canyons. _____________________________________ July 2 - Capt. Phil Dulanie left Manasquan with the Richard Suth charter at 1am Monday morning and ran out to the Carteret Canyon with the thought to finally keep it close to home (80 miles) and start beating the grounds looking for fish to show up. He worked the 50-100 fathom line inshore of the tip down to the Lindenchol and out to the northeast corner of the Lindenchol where is got his first bite and put a 50 pound yellowfin in the boat after reading a pod of bait down very deep our or Northstar recorder just off the bank at 8am. Conditions where a bit sported out there with 10 footers rolling in once they got into the deep but it did lay down later. After working the northeast corner for a short while they headed off to the break which was on the 1000 Fathom Line but there were no fish in on the break. By the time they turned around and trolled into the 8-10 footers it took them until Noon to get back to the corner where they got a three banger putting 1 in the boat and then working fish they were reading at 140 feet got two other bites putting one more in the boat. Every fish came on a ballyhoo skirted with moldcraft little hookers and Islanders all in blue/white and were in the 40-50 pound class. Capt. Mark DeBlasio took the Shawn Noonan charter from Center Morichise out on the HU2 Monday July 2 for a day troll and decided to head back out to the 71 degree water off the 1000 fathom line of the Carteret where he had been fishing. Working that edge and deep into the hot water produced nothing all day. When Phil got his second fish in on the Northeast corner of the Lindy Capt. Mark picked 'em up and ran 20 miles into Phil and saved the day with a nice yellowfin on a ballyhoo. July 3 – Capt Mark DeBlasio and Capt. Phil Dulanie had a combined 2 boat charter with Carl Bloomfield and crew on Tuesday July 3. Again it was a struggle. Working everywhere within, inshore, offshore of the Lindenchol canyon and 5 miles north and south had produce all of one bite for the Hooked Up 2 on 40 pound yellowfin caught off the 500 fathom line just north of the Lindenchol by 9am. Capt. Mark caught these fish on naked split billed ballyhoo. Trolling the rest of the morning and deep into the afternoon produced one more bite of 3 yellowfin and all of those were put in the boat. The first yellowfin took a new spreader bar we've just started using which deploys 12 inch squid - this one was purple/black. The other two yellowfin took ballyhoo. They trolled until almost 4pm and that was it for the dead plus one mahi. The Canyon Runner worked all the same areas pulling all types of bars, ballys, lures, daisy chains and never got a bite. 12 other boats in the area only caught one other tuna that we know about and a fleet in the Spencer Canyon of 5 or 6 boats completely struck out. July 7-8 - Capt. Mark DeBlasio took the Jeff Porello charter out for an overnighter Friday to Saturday and decided to head all the way down south to get in on the bluefin fishing that has turned on down there. On Friday afternoon he trolled 2 nice bluefins down around Massey’s Canyon on purple/black 9 inch squid and a ballyhoo with a moldcraft little hooker in blue/white. He had only had a couple hours on the troll Friday afternoon as he had work he way down there going lump to lump jigging and trolling. He dropped a few others but finally putting a couple nice fish in the boat. He overnighted on Massey’s drifting right where he had the two bluefins and released a small mako and brown shark but that was it for the night. Before dawn he ran out to the Baltimore canyon to avoid the huge huge crowd on the inshore bluefin grounds but did not find much life on the edge. One big pod of bait was read on the east wall out by the mouth and working that for 3 hours produced one yellowfin. They gave up on the tuna and drifted for tiles catching 3 goldens and 5 gray tiles drifting in 450-500 feet. The biggest golden was 26 pounds. We took Sunday/Monday off due to the forecast and the bad fishing but both boats will be out on Tuesday. Both boats are out today, July 10, with Capt. Phil heading to the Hudson Canyon to try to find something in our local waters – there is lots of life there (whales, bait, birds) but not much tuna life. Capt. Mark headed south to the bluefin grounds and maybe a shot offshore in the Spencer/Wilmington area. I will get the newer reports up as soon as possible and apologize again for the late reports. Good luck to everyone fishing the Ocean City Tuna Tournament this week!!! We have 3 of our Canyon Runner Crew (Brad Burgess, Ty McGowan and Eddie Ferrell) down there running private boats so hopefully one of them is lucky enough to put something on the scales. Good luck boys!!!!

07/01/07
Adam LaRosa reports:
Capt. Mark DeBlasio went back out late Saturday night with the Jason Broke charter and ran back out towards the water between the Toms and Carterat on the 1500 fathom line. We worked the area in the morning out 1800 Fathoms and then back into 1000 fathoms. Right at first light he had 2 whites up in the pattern and neither took a bait. They worked all day but the fish were not really on the feed as it appeared that the other 5 boats in the area did not have a fish. The two yellowfin that Mark took were again nice and 60-80 pound fish but not enough to keep running out this way. Looks like tomorrow we will be looking back in on the 100 fathom line down by the Carteret and Lindencohl and try to find a better concentration of fish inshore of that water out on the 1000 now.

06/29-30/07
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Mark DeBlasio had the Karl Schweinshaut charter from Newport, RI out on the Hooked Up 2 on Friday to Saturday and headed off to the 71 degree water east of the 1000 fathom line of the Toms. He arrived to find the water but it did not look as good as he hoped as the water was a mix off bluish/green but he did find a few fish. The first was a white they lost before the official release and had another one up and put 4 nice 12-15 pound mahi in the boat before dark. On the drift at night they lost a mako but had no other bites. Up on the troll in the morning working 9000 feet of water 30 miles east of the tip of the Toms canyon they read a ton of bait and finally pick 4 real nice yellowfin. The first which was also the biggest ate a Braid Marauder 15 feet from the transom and was close to 100 pounds. The rest were 60-70 pounds and ate ballyhoo. Those 4 yellowfin while real nice fish were the only tuna bites of the overnighter. Capt. Phil Dulanie had the Jim Dovico charter out on the Canyon Runner leaving very late Friday they did not get off to the water until 11pm and thus went right to the drift. They did not have a touch at night and saw barely any life in the lights. Up on the troll in the morning they stayed in around the 1000 - 1200 fathom line in 68 degree water and did not have a touch all morning. They worked down from the 1000-1200 fathom lines of the Toms to the Carteret and struck out. Trying to bail out the trip they ran up to the Toms to drop for tilefish and also struck out. All in all a very bad trip. They did read a ton of bait all day (see pictures) attached of our Northstar recorder but to no avail - which made it that much more frustrating for them.

October 2006
Adam LaRosa reports:
Sorry for being off-line for a while but it has been a real hectic month of October and I got way behind in posting reports. We closed out the 2006 Canyon Season with 16 canyon trips in October between the two boats and some great fishing including limits of yellwfin, swords and big-eyes. Below are some of the October reports and pictures. All our reports and photos can be found at www.canyonrunner.com. There are still some fish out there and maybe some nice weather this week so good luck to anyone still headed out.

Capt Mark DeCabia and Capt Phil Dulanie did a quick turn around and had the Damien Romeo Charter out on Oct 16-17. They went right were they left off at the East Elbow and went straight to the chunk amongst the draggers, as the second rod was being let out it was ripped out of Mark's hands. For the next hour the boys put 6 yellowfin and 5 longfin in the boat. As the weather cooperated tonight, they decided to put it on the drift and put a few more yellowfin and longfin in the boat before midnight with one of the longfin pushing a little over 70 pounds. With plenty of tuna in the boat, the boys then decided to make a drift in the deep for a swordfish and it payed off but, came up short. They caught two swords before unfortunately too short to keep. At first light the bite started again as it has for the past few days and put a few more in the boat to top off the boxes.

Capt Phil Dulanie and Capt Mark DeCabia took the Dave Kirk Charter out on Oct 15-16 and headed right for the draggers up on the east elbow in the Hudson, upon arriving hearing there was a good troll bite they opted to troll around the draggers and put 3 yellows and 3 Longfin in the boat before sun down. The fish ate Bigeye clones, Canyon Runner Green Machine spreader bars and Naked ballyhoo. Due to the crowd, the decided to run 5 miles east of 100 square where they caught them the previous nights. Once the anchor came tight, they had there first shot of fish come through the slick and put 5 longfin in the boat. Over the next hour another shot of yellowfin came though and went 3 for 4 on 60 to 80lbers. At 9pm the tide swung around and lines were screamin to the bow with 24 oz of weight, opting not to fight the conditions they put it on the drift but did not get any more bites for the rest of the night. With a weary crew they headed for the barn at first light.

Capt. Phil Dulanie and Mark DeCabia took the Jeff Yapalater and John Collins charter out on the Canyon Runner Friday to Saturday and looking at the water temperature charters decided to head to the water between the Hudson and Dip. The got there early enought to put out the trolling rods and went 3 for 3 and 2 for 2 on nice longfin that ate Canyon Runner Squid Bars and Melton Cherry Jets and zuchini tuna clones. They decided to set up just on the edge on the hook and they immediately got the fish going on the chunk. They picked all night and put 12 yellowfin and 5 more longfin in the boat and released 2 yellowfin. The fish were eating live squid and fresh dead squid on circle hooks. They left to come home as soon as the sun came up.

Capt. Mark DeBlasio took the Rob Bertag charter out on the Hooked- Up II Monday to Tuesday and ran all the way down to the Wilmington Canyon looking for the water we had been fishing in for the last month. They found it late and anchored in 610 feet of 71 degree water. They very quickly put 7 nice yellowifn in the boat on live squid and 60 flouro shortly after arriving. Then they had the first huge run-off of the night when a big-eye grabbed a squid on 60 flouro. They fought that first big-eye for 30 minutes and put it in the boat it was 160 pounds gutted. The second big-eye came an hour later and quickly was put in the boat as it was tailed wrapped. It weighed 161 pounds gutted. They got one more yellowfin in the morning on the chunk.

Capt. Mark DeCabia took the Jaime Sawashi charter out on the Canyon Runner Monday to Tuesday and ran all the way down to the Wilmington Canyon looking for the water we had been fishing in for the last month. They found it late in the Wilmington. They anchored in 640 feet of 71 degree water after getting called in by Mark on the Hooked Up II. They caught 4 nice yellowfin on live squid and 60 flouro shortly after arriving and then had 2 huge run-offs when big-eyes came into the slick. They fought the first for 30 minutes before it chafed through 10 feet behind the boat, the second one was darted 20 feet under the water to ensure that one did not get away. That fish was 190 pounds and ate a live squid. They did not get anothe bite the rest of the night.

Capt. Mark DeCabia and Capt. Mark DeBlasio took the John Dale charter out on the Canyon Runner Monday to Tuesday and got a late start looking for the wind to lay down so they didn't get to the edge until 4pm. They went right to where they left off in 550 feet of water but found that the water had cooled so they put out a couple bonita plugs to troll fast to the south looking for the water and maybe a wahoo on the way but the weeds proved horrible to fish. They ended up running down south where they set up in 600 feet of water. They found a slow pick lasting all night long putting one fish in the boat an hour and lossing 8 other fish during the night. The fish ate almost exclusively live squid and jigs. The most productive baits were live squid down 120 feet on 60 flouro and jigs down 150 feet. They ended up going 13 for 20.

09/27-28/06
Adam LaRosa reports:
Capt. Phil Dulanie and Capt. Mark DeCabia took the Paul Pedretti charter from Lincroft, NJ out on the Canyon Runner Wednesday to Thursday along with Mike Donohue ­ Colts Neck, NJ, Kevin Lynch ­ Warwick, NY, Scott Akin ­ Kinnelon, NJ and went right to the chunk in 550 feet of water. They quickly got the tuna going wiht 4 in the boat before 9pm and a limit of 15 in the boat by Midnight. They continued to fish until 2pm and release another 10 yellowfin for a total of 25 for night and left to come home early at 2am. The fish we eating everything including the sword bait on 250 pound test leader. After midnight they were hand feeding them behind the boat on sardines and 60 pound flouro leader. Jigging again with the Penn 16VSX proved very successful as you usually got hit on the way down as soon as they started to read the fish come thru.

09/26-27/06
Adam LaRosa reports:
Capt. Phil Dulanie and Capt. Mark DeCabia took the Joe Kay charter from Flemington, NJ out on the Canyon Runner Tuesday to Wednesday and got there early enough to put it on the troll. They put them in 3 miles inshore of the Toms and worked out to the tip. On that troll they pulled 2 nice yellowfin and a 60 pound wahoo that ate a bonita plug. They found a crowd in the Toms so they made a move several miles south where they set up on the chunk in 550 feet of water. They had a nice sword on immediately that they lost at the boat and starting picking yellowfin. The tuna picked away all night and they fought and lost two other swords. They ended the night with a total of 14 nice yellowfin in the 40-80 pound class and the wahoo. Capt. Mark DeBlasio and mate Eddie Farrell took the John Delmarco charter from Hillsdale, NJ out on the Hooked-Up II and headed to the Toms Canyon to troll some fish inshore of the tip in 50 Fathoms. They put them in 3 miles short of the tip and began to troll yellowfin. They worked that area all afternoon going 4 for 8 on nice yellowfin in the 50-80 pound class and a nice 60 pound wahoo. The fish ate mostly Canyon Runner Green Machine Bars. They left that area to go off to the edge and worked northeast up the line until they read the fish and bait ending up north of the Toms in 600 feet of water and set up on hook. During the night they went 10 for 12 on nice 60-80 pound yellowfin on jigs and squid and also nailed 3 swords putting 2 nice ones in the boat with one pushing 160 pounds.

09/21-22/06
Adam LaRosa reports:
Capt. Phil Dulanie and Capt. Mark DeCabia took the Steve Barry charter from Middletown,NJ out on the Canyon Runner Thursday/Friday and headed right down to the 100-square but found a ton of boats already set up and heard from the party boats that Wednesday night was not a good one at the square. With no place to drop in they headed south a little and found yellowfin on top and bait all over the recorder so they dropped in at 500 feet and immediately had a small sword that they released. They had a ton of bait around the boat all night and by 11pm got the fish going on hammered diamond jigs and squid on 60-flouro down 80-100 feet. The bite was best from 2am to 4:30am when they started to release as they were all boxed up. They finished the night with a 100 pound yellowfin at day break that they put in the boat in the fish bag. When the dust settle they had 19 yellowfin and 2 longfin in the boat and released another 10 tuna for a total of 31 for the evening.

09/18-19/06
Adam LaRosa reports:
Capt. Phil Dulanie and Capt. Mark DeCabia took the Todd Polumbo charter from Darien, Conn out on the Canyon Runner Monday/Tuesday and headed right down to the 100-square dropping the hook in 600 feet of water. They did not have much going on until after 10pm when the fish started coming through the slick. They proceeded to get them going and had a nice steady pick putting 12 in the boat by 1am when they hooked a big sword. The battle with the sword lasted close to 2 hours and DeCabia eventually darted the 160-170 pound sword and put it in the boat. They got back on the yellowfin and boated another 7 yellowfin plus a longfin and released 2 others for a total of 21 tuna. The yellowfin ate live and dead squid and sardines. They also pulled a few fish on the 8 oz hammered jig. Capt. Mark DeBlasio and mate Eddie Ferral took the Chad Lore charter out on the Hooked-Up II Monday/Tuesday and went right to the chunk down at the 100-square dropping the hook in 575 feet of water. They got them going early in the night and were boxed up with 21 yellowfin by 1am and released another 3 for a total of 24 for the night. They stayed the rest of the evening with just sword rods out on 250 leader and Owner Jobu hooks with big squid looking for that big swordie but no bites came. The yellowfin were 50-80 pounds and ate everything - squid, butters, sardines and jigs.

09/17-18/06
Adam LaRosa reports:
Capt. Phil Dulanie and Capt. Mark DeCabia took the Elliot Braun charter out on the Canyon Runner Sunday/Monday and left early enough to do a little trolling. They put them in the water just inshore of the bombs where they started to pick a couple fish that turned out to be nicer yellowfin then they caught recently on the troll both pushing 80 pounds. The fish ate ballyhoo and tuna clones. It was not a hot bite so they picked up and headed down to the 100-square dropping the hook in 600 feet of water. They did not have much going on until after 11pm when the fish started coming through the slick. They proceeded to get them going and had a nice steady pick all night on live and dead squid and sardines. They also pulled a few fish on the 8 oz hammered jig. They were boxed up with 18 yellowfin in the 60-80 pound class and release 1 and lost only 2 for a total of 19 for 21 for the best average in a long time. Capt. Mark DeBlasio and mate Eddie Ferral took the Bill Matyi charter out on the Hooked-Up II Sunday/Monday and left early enough to do a little trolling. They put them in the water just inshore of the bombs where they started to pick a couple fish boating one yellowfin and missing one. It was not a hot bite so they picked up and headed down to the 100-square dropping the hook in 550 feet of water. They did not have much going on until after 11pm when the fish started coming through the slick. They proceeded to get them going real good and had great pick all night on live and dead squid, sardines and butterfish. They also pulled a few fish on the 8 oz hammered jig. They were boxed up with yellowfin in the 60-80 pound class and then went into release mode getting a total of 27 yellowfin for the trip with 6 released.

09/15/06
Adam LaRosa reports:
On Thursday/Friday Captain Mark DeCabia and Captain Phil Dulanie had the Matt Lewis charter from Long Island, New York out to the Hudson Canyon and went right to the chunk down at the 100-square in 600 feet of water. They got their first bit at 8:00pm when the fish came through the slick and they pick until 10pm putting 5 yellowfin in the boat and believe it or not 1 35 pound wahoo on the chunk. They started a good pick around midnight and then it was on fire for the rest of the night. The charter was excellant on the rods and we ending up boating 19 big yellowfin in the 60-80 pound class plus a 120-pound Allison. In the early am by 4am the longfin started showing and they boated 5 longfin releasing another 11. The fish were eating almost anything last night including sardines, live and dead squid, and butterfish. The yellowfin were NOT however eating the jigs but the longfin were. They ended the night 36 for 50 on the tuna and 1 for 2 on wahoo as another one was lost at the boat. They said the night on the hook was not bad and the sun even came out in the morning. On Thursday/Friday Captain Mark DeBlasio and Eddie Ferrel took the Otto Zeller charter from Long Island, New York out to the Hudson Canyon and got there early enough to troll 10 yellowfin (25-35 pounds) up at the tip and down the east wall. The yellowfin ate Canyon Runner Rainbow and Purple/Black Squid Bars and ballyhoo. They cut that off early and ran down to the 100-square and they sat in 575 feet of water. They got their first bit at 9:00pm when the fish came through the slick and they picked all night. The charter was excellant on the rods and we ending up boating 14 big yellowfin in the 60-80 pound class at night releasing (10 of them) for a total of 24 for the trip. The fish were eating almost anything last night including sardines, live and dead squid, and butterfish and hammered jigs. They said the night on the hook was not bad and the sun even came out in the morning.

09/13-14/06
Adam LaRosa reports:
On Wednesday Sept 13, Captain Mark DeCabia and Captain Phil Dulanie had the Tom Biliencki charter from New York out to the Hudson Canyon and despite a big ground swell found decent weather. They got out early enough to do some trolling up by the tip. They worked pods of bait and birds and pull 3 35-pound yellowfin on the troll on ballyhoo and Canyon Runner 9 inch rainbow squids. Wanting to get on the chunk before dark they only trolled until 6pm and then ran down the east wall to the mouth. They sat at in 600 feet of water. They got their first bit at 8:00pm when the fish came through the slick and they dropped down a jig and nailed one. They started a good pick around 1am and by 4am they had 9 in the boat. And then it really turned on. From 4am to 7am they caught 10 more and missed at least 10 more. The fish were eating almost exclusively sardines on 60 pound flouro down 60-80 feet. But they also started picking some fish on live squid and on butters when they came up behind the boat and they were hand feeding them. They also had a ton on jigs that they started working non-stop from 4am on. The yellowfin were from 40 to 75 pounds. Sea conditions were not bad as they had a ground swell but only a 2-3 foot chop on top. They finished up with 19 yellowfin (releasing 4) and fought a total of 41 yellowfin losing 22 for all shorts of reasons.

09/9-10/06
Adam LaRosa reports:
On Saturday Captain Mark DeCabia and Capt. Phil Dulanie had the Vin Valentino charter from Darien, Conn out to the Hudson Canyon and went right to the chunk right back at the 100-square. They sat in 600 feet of water. They got their first bit at 8:00pm when the fish came through the slick and they dropped down a jig and nailed one. They started a good pick around 11pm and it turned on solid at 2am. They had bites constantly the remainder of the night and ended the trip hooking 30 fish and missing 10 more. Out of the 30 they hooked they only boated 14.5 (one was eaten by a hammerhead). The fish were eating almost exclusively sardines on 60 pound flouro down 60-80 feet. They also had a ton on jigs that they started working non-stop. It may be sounding like a broken record but again the yellowfin favored sardines down 60-80 feet on 60 pound flouro and hammered diamond jigs. With a weary charter, the boys packed it in early and left to come home at 5am. On Saturday Captain Mark DeBlasio had the Mike Lilanski charter out to the Hudson Canyon and went right to the chunk right back at the 100-square. They sat in 575 feet of 75 degree water. They got their first bit at 10:30pm when the tuna came under the boat and they dropped down a jig. They continued to have the tuna slowly come through the slick and picked all night long putting 10 yellowfin in the boat missing another 5. They had a sword rod down 150 feet all night and it went off 3 times - they boat 2 fish and one was released and one was boated in the 90 pound class. They spent the morning running from pot to pot as the charter wanted to pick mahis all morning and that they did. Again, sardines on 60 flouro and hammered jigs produced all the fish.

09/8-9/06
Adam LaRosa reports:
On Friday Captain Phil Dulanie and Mark DeCabia had the Carl Bloomfield charter (with a special appearance by Joe Scott) out to the Hudson Canyon and went right to the chunk right back at the 100-square. They sat in 650 feet of 75 degree water. They got their first bit at 8:30pm when a longfin nailed a sardine 60 feet down. They then had the sword rod go off and after a short fight put a nice 55 inch 90 pound sword in the boat. They then got into a slow pick of yellowfin for the rest of the night and ended with a flurry of longfin around 5 in the morning. They ended the night with 5 yellowfin and 3 longfin plus the sword. The yellowfin were 50-70 pounds. As soon as the sun rose, the boys dropped down and added a few tiles to the mix. It may be sounding like a broken record but again the yellowfin favored sardines down 60-80 feet on 60 pound flouro and hammared diamond jigs. Adam LaRosa was on Vinny Gallo’s Gallant Lady with Canyon Runner crew members Brad Burgess, Billy Rowan, Mike Zajac, and Mike Gallo and ran out to the 100-square to get a night of chunking in. We anchored in 600 feet of water and got our first bite at 9:30pm on a sardine down 80 feet on 60 pound flouro. We then proceed to pick a fish every time they show on the recorded by either immediately dropping a jig down or adjusting the dead sticks to where they came through. Throughout the night we picked 8 yellowfin and 1 longfin and added a nice fat 58” 110 pound sword. The yellowfin were 50-80 pounds. In the morning we ran over to the west wall in 500 feet of water and picked 10 tilefish in 45 minutes from 5 to 20 pounds.

09/7-8/06
Adam LaRosa reports:
On Thursday Captain Phil Dulanie and Mark DeCabia had the Terry Miner charter from Connecticut out to the Hudson Canyon and went right to the chunk right back at the 100-square anchoring in 700 feet of water. They got there first bite at 9:30pm when Mark read a fish come through and they drop the jig down and immediately had one on. They then quickly boated 3 more 50-70 pound yellowfin on the jigs. They are using 6-10 ounce hammered jigs fished on Penn 16VSX. That slowed until the sword rod went off and they proceeded to fight the sword (that turned out to be foul hooked) for 3 hours putting it in the boat at 4:30am. The sword weighed 140 pounds. They got into a nice pick there after boating 5 more yellowfin. The lost another 8 tuna as well. The yellowfin favored sardines down 60-80 feet on 60 pound flouro.

Captain Mark DeBlasio had the Hooked Up 2 out to the Hudson on Thursday with the Kevin Corradino charter from Brick, NJ and went right back to the 100-square going right to the chunk. He did not get a bite until 11am and then proceed to pick away at yellowfin putting 8 in the boat from 50-70 pounds and going 2 for 3 on swordfish that were released. Once again, hammered 10 ounce diamond jigs and sardines on 60 pound flouro caught best. They also lost another 10 yellowfin as the fish seem to be fighting extremely hard probably due to the full moon and the charters are having a tough time handling them.

Week of Sept. 5
Adam LaRosa reports:
Monday/Tuesday - Captain Phil Dulanie and Captain Mark DeCabie took the Dr. John Bednar charter from Cherry Hill, NJ out on the Canyon Runner Monday for an overnighter after sitting at the dock for a week and half and cancelling 8 overnighter in a row. They had a decent water temp shot and headed back to where we finished up last as decent water still looked to be in the area. 40 miles short they got a call from Mark DeBlasio on the Hooked Up 2 that a boat had some fish on the troll inshore of the tip of the Toms so they changed course and headed right there. They put the lines in the water 5 miles short of the Toms. They trolled from 1pm to 7pm and put 6 yellowfin in the boat from 35 to 70 pounds. The fish ate Canyon Runner Green Machine Bars, Melton Jets and Tuna Clones. They decided to drop the hook there in 380 feet of water and chunked hard all night. Unfortunately the tuna did not continue to bite and the only shot they had was a 30 pound Sword that they released. The charter had to get home early to catch a plane so they headed home at first light with 6 yellowfin. We cancelled tonight but hopefully will be back out tomorrow.

Wednesday/Thursday - Captain Phil Dulanie and Captain Mark DeCabia took the Brian Garvello charter out to the HudsonCanyon and put them in just inshore of the Bombs and immediately had fish on. They picked two nice longfin right there on Canyon Runner Squid Bars and tuna clones. They worked that area for a while but could not get another bite. They got a call from Capt. Mark DeBlasio who was working the east wall across from the bombs and started picking longfin over there so they picked em up and ran to him where they picked a nice 70 pound yellowfin and lost another. Those fish ate ballyhoo and a Canyon Runner Green Machine Bar. They worked that area for another hour but did not get anymore bites so they set up early for on the chunk. On the hook at night the fish started showing up around mid-night and it got real good from 2-5am. They had fish both jigging and on the meat but live squid as always seemed to produce best. They were fishing mostly 60 pound flouro on 8 ounces of weight and had most of the bites from 60-80 feet down. Hammered diamond jigs worked best on the jig rods. They also landed a nice 130 pound Sword after a short fight that had the sword wrapped on the running gear twice but both times they got it out. When the bite was over a 5am they had a total for the trip of 14 yellowfin and 2 longfin in the boat plus the sword. They lost another 15 yellowfin at night on the chunk. All the yellowfin on the chunk were nice 70-pound fish.

Wednesday/Thursday - Captain Mark DeBlasio had the Kieth Ortner charter from Philadelphia out on the Hooked Up Two and ran right to the east wall of the Hudson where we heard of a good bite on Monday. He found the fish after about 2 hours of trolling and picked 2 longfin and 2 yellowfin on the afternoon troll. Green Machines, Green Machine Spreader Bars and Ballyhoo worked best. Capt. DeBlasio set up around 9:30pm on the chunk and had fish coming through the slick shortly thereafter. They got their first bite around 11pm and then picked fish until 2am when it turned on for them. The ended the night losing 15 fish as well and boating a total of 12 during the night. They also went 2 for 3 on Swords that were released. The fish were jigged and taken on bait and live squid and sardines were the bait of choice. All the yellowfin taken on the chunk were nice 70-pound fish. Most of the bites came 60-80 feet down on 60 pound flouro.

08/23-25/06
Adam LaRosa reports:
Capt. Mark DeBlasio and mate Eddie Farrell took the Rich Alverdo and Lance Seeton charter from Philadelphia out on the Hooked Up II Thursday and arrived on the edge between the Hudson and Toms and they had yellowfin up on top and got them to bite immediately. Trolling Canyon Runner Green Machine Spreader Bars, Green Machines behind birds, and zucchini tuna clones and ballyhoo. They put 8 yellowifn in the boat on the troll from 2pm to 6pm and Rich’s girlfriend Megan fought a blue marlin in the 175 pound class to within 5 feet of the leader before the hooked pulled. They set up just inshore in 500 feet of water and had fish immediately and caught another 20 fish (they kept their limit and released the rest). All the fish on the chunk were in the 30-50 pound class and squid on 60 pound flouro was the key as well as alot of fish being taken on hammered diamond jigs. Both Capts Phil Dulanie and Mark DeBlasio took the Canyon Runner and Hooked Up 2 back out to the area they've been fishing between the Hudson and the Toms Canyons and got half way there Friday afternoon and the wind came up. The forecast had been for it to hold off until Saturday but it came on strong. With the fishing so good and the weather only providing for an uncomfortable 3-5 with an occasional 6 footer they keep going and put it on the troll halfway between the Hudson and the Toms. The troll bite was not hot as they could not longer site fish but Phil ended the afternoon with 3 yellowfin and Mark released a white and had a yellowfin. On the chunk Capt. Mark sat at 500 feet and Capt. Phil sat a mile south in 550 feet again halfway between the Hudson and Toms. Mark picked 5 yellowfin on the night chunk plus a small sword that he released and Capt. Phil only had 1. The wind really came up in the middle of the night and with some meat in the boat and some sick folks on the boat they came home at first light.

08/23-24/06
Adam LaRosa reports:
Capt. Phil Dulanie and Capt. Mark DeCabia and mate Mike Zajac took the Frank Cardaci charter from Farmingdale out on the Canyon Runner Thursday to Friday leaving a little late as we had a minor engine repair to take care of and they arrived on the edge latter in the afternoon. However as soon as they got there half way between the Hudson and the Toms in 200 fathoms they had yellowfin up on top and got them to bite immediately. Trolling Canyon Runner Green Machine Spreader Bars, Green Machines behind birds, and zucchini tuna clones. There first 4 fish on the troll were nice 60-70 pound yellowfin and then they got hammered by a big Allison that ate a Green Machine Spreader Bar. The fight lasted 1 hour 20 minutes and DeCabia darted it - back at the dock it weighed 201 pounds. They pulled one more nice yellowfin on the troll and they set up just inshore on the chunk and had fish immediately and put another 12 fish in the boat limiting out by 1am and ended with 18 yellowfin including the Allison. All the fish on the chunk were nice fish this time with most of the fish 50-70 pounds and a couple were pushing 90 pounds.

08/22-23/06
Adam LaRosa reports:
Capt. Phil Dulanie and Mark DeCabia and Mike Zajac had the Todd Polumbo charter from Darian, Conn out Tuesday to Wednesday and went right back to where they finished up on the chunk half way between the Hudson and Toms Canyon in 500 feet of water and put the lines in the water on the troll as they had the yellowfin up on top. Unfortunately those fish did not bite so they headed off to 300 fathoms and joined a small fleet that had Capt. Mark DeBlasio and the Hooked Up 2 in it and that fleet had a good bite before Phil got into it and he only pulled 1 70 pound yellowfin out of it in 2 hours of trolling. They ran back in to 500 feet and set up for the chunk. The huge hoards of squid were back again and it did not take long for the tuna to find them. Jigging and live squid was all it took to get the bite going and by 2:30am they had 22 yellowfin in the boat. From then on they released the rest and by 6am had a total of 46 yellowfin to their credit for the night with 24 released and were on their way back home.

Capt. Mark DeBlasio took the Steve Roberts from Philadelphia charter out Tuesday to Wednesday on the Hooked Up 2 and went right back to where they finished up on the troll Monday night in 300 fathoms between the Toms and Hudson and put the lines in the water on the troll as they had the yellowfin up on top immediately. From 2pm to 5pm they got into a nice pick of fish putting 9 in the boat. Again the fish favored Canyon Runner Green Machine Bars and Ballyhoo. The bite turned off around 5pm and eventually they ran back inshore and set up on the chunk in 500 feet of water. The huge hoards of squid were back again and it did not take long for the tuna to find them. From 9pm to 1pm they had 12 yellowfin (releasing a few) and then they hooked something big at 1pm on 60 pound flouro leader on a Penn International 16VSX. They ended up fighting it until 7am in the morning and finally broke him off. It hit like a sword but never jumped once. They think it was a huge sword but never got a good look at it. With everyone on the boat spent from the epic battle and 21 yellowfin to their credit they decided to come home. As they were leaving they had yellowfin busting the water all around them.

08/20-21/06
Adam LaRosa reports:
Capt. Phil Dulanie and Capt. Mark DeCabia along with mate Mike Zajac took the Dave Miguel charter out Monday on an overnighter and got called in by Capt. Mark DeBlasio who left 2 hours earlier and was already right back where they finished up on Saturday. DeBlasio already had 7 in the boat when Dulanie arrived but the bite stayed on for a while and Miguel and his charter went 5 for 6 on the troll. The fish were all nice yellowfin in the 50-75 pound class. The fish were eating Canyon Runner Green Machine bars, bonita plugs, ballyhoo skirted with moldcraft chuggers. Capt. Dulanie ran into the edge in 500 feet of water to set up on the chunk. As soon as the lights came on they had tons and tons of squid around the boat and it was not long before the first bite came on 60 pound flouro and a live squid at 80 feet. They had a real good pick going all night with the best of it from 11pm to 1am and took a bunch of fish on jigs as well as live squid. They ended the evening early at 4:30am going 14 for 16 on 30-45 pound yellowfin on the chunk. In all total they ended the trip with 19 yellowfin (releasing 4).

Capt. Mark DeBlasio was back at it Monday on an overnighter on the Hooked-Up 2 and ran back to where we were Saturday in 300 fathoms of water and found the fish back on top. Trolling that area with the Jim Sullivan charter from Prudential they got into a great bite of nice size yellowfin in the 40-70 pound class and in 2 hours of trolling put 14 yellowfin in the boat. The fish ate Canyon Runner Green Machine bars, bonita plugs, and ballyhoo skirts with mini-mambas(green). The tuna bite slowed day after 4pm as all he did was pick another yellowfin but the marlin bite turned on. They first went 1 for 2 on white marlin releasing one that ate a green machine and then a nice blue marlin crashed the pattern. It missed the baits in tight and ended up hanging itself on a green machine behind a bird long down the middle. They fought the blue for 45 minutes and ended up with the release of the 350-400 pound Blue. Instead of staying the night with a great catch already in the boat they left to come early and got back to the dock in the middle of the night with 15 40-70 pound yellowfin on ice and a Blue Marlin and White Marlin release. 08/18-19/06
Adam LaRosa reports:
Capt. Phil Dulanie and Capt. Mark DeCabia along with mate Mike Zajac had the Doug Robbins charter out Friday to Saturday on their 3rd turn around in a row and went right back out to the water between the Hudson and the Toms arriving at 10pm and going right to the chuck. They anchored up in 500 feet of 77 degree water and started the slick. They deployed dead sticks working lines and jigging rods and chunked hard all night and finally got a bite at 2pm putting 2 for 3 yellowfin up to 50 pounds in the boat. At 4pm they had another shot and went 3 for 4 losing the biggest fish of the night which was close to 100 pounds on a jig right next to the boat. Up on the troll in the morning they worked south to get away from the fleet and found the yellowfin up on top in 300 fathoms went 3 for 3 on Canyon Runner Zucchini Squid Bars and tuna clones. They worked that area for 4 hours and had the fish up a couple more times but did not get another bite.

08/17-18/06
Adam LaRosa reports:
Capt. Phil Dulanie and Capt. Mark DeCabia along with mate Mike Zajac took the Damien Romeo charter out to the Hudson Thursday to Friday for an overnighter and reached the southwest corner of 100 fathom line around 6pm then ran 3 more miles off the edge until they found nicer water. They put it on the troll there and then trolled down to Mark DeBlasio who had just boated a longfin. Once they got there they had all the life and bait they wanted but could not raise a tuna to the pattern. At 9pm they headed into the edge back in at 100 fathoms and set up for the night chunk. They chuncked hard in there and finally got a good chunk bite going on live squid and sardines on 60 pound flouro. By 4am they had gone 8 for 12 on 30-50 pound yellowfin and put a nice 140 pound mako in the boat. The charter then informed them that they wanted to catch a marlin so they got up on the troll early at 4:30am and by 6am they did a double on white marlin back offshore in 300 fathoms of 78.5 degree water. Just before ending the trip at 8am they hooked another white and released that as well going 3 for 4 on white in just a few hours of trolling. Capt. Mark DeBlasio had Lane out on an overnighter Thursday to Friday on the Hooked Up 2 and headed out to where Phil finished up on Thursday morning just south of the Hudson Canyon in 300 fathoms of 78.5 degree water and found the nice water and picked 1 yellowfin and missed two trolling from 2pm to 8pm and went 1 for 2 on white marlin. But again like with our buddy Wednesday the fish came up for Mark late at 8:30pm and he went 6 for 7 on big yellowfin from 60-110 pounds. The fish ate everything but Canyon Runner Green Machine bars and Purple/Black squid were attacked along with a green machine behind a bird and ballyhoo. The shot of 6 tuna were in 250 fathoms. Capt. Mark decided to drift there for the night but did not get a bite on the chunk. Up on the troll in the morning he quickly went 2 for 3 on whites and then around 8am got another barrage of yellowfin going 6 for 8 on again nice yellowfin up to 110 pounds. Again they ate almost everything in the pattern. Mark and came home with 3 whites and 13 yellowfin including 2 over 100 pounds.

08/16-17/06
Adam LaRosa reports:
Capt Mark DeBlasio was offshore on a day troll Wednesday and hit the Hudson Canyon only to find green water and no life. He proceeded to head out to the 500 fathom tongue and then northeast towards the 500 fathoms of the dip. Half way in between the two canyons on the 500 he had a ton of life - birds, whales and bait and picked one yellowfin on a green machine but did not get any repeats to he kept heading north. He made it all the way into the Dip and then inshore to the 100 fathom line without another bite so he turned back and headed back to where he had his one bite to finish up the trip. Just short of there in 300 fathoms he found the tuna and from 4pm to 6pm had over 20 bites putting 10 nice yellowfin in the 40-70 pound class in the boat. The fish ate almost anything but Canyon Runner Mini-Mamba Spreader Bars, Green Machine Bars and Ballyhoo seemed to produce the best. Capt. Phil Dulanie and Capt. Mark DeCabia with mate Mike Zajac took the Bill Stevens charter out Wednesday to the Hudson Canyon and just kept going until they found nice water. They made it all the way to the tip of the 500 fathom tongue and put the lines in the water. They trolled down the west wall of the 500 fathom line to the southwest corner of the mouth and turned around to where they found the best water on the west wall of the 500 fathom tongue half way between the tip and the mouth. They had the tuna up on top and had a bunch of white marlin in the pattern from 5pm to 8pm but they only produced one white. They ended up calling in a couple boats and those boats got tuna including one boat with 6 yellowfin and 4 longfin in the afternoon troll. They set up on the drift right there for the night chunk and ended up the night without a touch and had to come home to do a turn around. The boat that stayed put a 5 bagger of yellowfin in the boat so the fish were definitely there.

08/13-14/06
Adam LaRosa reports:
Capts. Phil Dulanie and Mark DeCabia and mate Mike Zajac took the Brian Bonnett charter out to the Hudson Canyon Sunday for an overnighter and found the whales, water, bait and tuna in on the west elbow of the Hudson. However, with all that life (including seeing the yellowfin busting water up on top) they only managed to pull 3 60 pound yellowfin out of there on the troll in the afternoon when those fish moved over to the east elbow. Those fish ate Zucchini Tuna Clones and Canyon Runner 9 inch Zucchini Spreader Bars. They decided to drift that area at night because of all the life but when the wind came up to 25 knots they dropped the hook and spent the night at anchor. At night they did not get a bite on the tuna but did have an 80 pound swordfish that unfortunately pulled the hook at the boat. The group spent the morning trolling over the east wall out to the 100-square where they pick one yellowfin but did not get another touch the rest of the trip. That fish ate a ballyhoo/moldcraft combo.

08/12-13/06
Adam LaRosa reports:
Capt. Mark DeBlasio took the Jim Conlin charter out this Saturday to Sunday and should have stayed at the dock. They decided to follow the water south from the Carteret into the Lindencohl so they set up on the troll just north of the Lindencohl in 400 feet of water and worked out to the edge then down into the Canyon all over both walls and the mouth without a bite. They then kept moving south hoping to find good water and fish but to no avail. They wound up in the Spencer and just before dark went 0 for 2 on the troll so decided to set up there. They did nothing all night long and again all morning long and ended up heading home without a fish in the box.

08/10-11/06
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie and Captain Mark DeCabia had the Jeff Hardimon charter out with just Jeff and his 12 year old son on the Canyon Runner Wednesday to Thursday and headed to the Carteret Canyon as the water they were fishing in in the Toms Canyon appeared to slide south after looking at the chlorophyll charts. They pulled into the canyon for the afternoon troll and had yellowfin busting the surface all around them and stayed on the troll into the dark trying to get a bite and finally got one at 9:30pm but it was only 1 longfin. They set up on the chunk in 600 feet of water and quickly put a yellowfin in the boat but did not get a bite going and were about to move over to Capt. Mark DeBlasio slick when a ton of mahi came around the boat and Jeff and his sondid not want to leave. Instead they played with the mahi for the next 3 hours catching all they wanted up to 20 pounds on light tackle while Phil and Mark were dying listening to DeBlasio load up on yellowfin. In the morning they got up on the troll and got into a real nice pick of 40-80 pound yellowfin putting 9 in the boat on Canyon Runner Mini-Mamba bars, ballyhoo and Melton Jets.

Capt. Mark DeBlasio was is running the Hooked Up II out of Manasquan Inlet with our overflow charters had the Mike Lilanski charter out on Wednesday to Thursday and the flags were flying!! They headed to the Carteret Canyon as the water they were fishing in in the Toms Canyon appeared to slide south after looking at the chlorophyll charts. They pulled into the canyon for the afternoon troll and had yellowfin busting the surface all around them but they could not do anything with them on the troll so they set up for the chunk at 7pm. They got their first bite around 10pm and had non-stop action the entire night with a hot bite from 4-6pm. They ended up with 16 yellowfin on the chunk. Up on the troll in the morning they picked another 4 yellowfin and headed home with 20 to their credit.

08/06-07/06
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captains Phil Dulanie and Mark DeCabia and mate Billy Rown took the Kevin Stybe charter out to the Toms on Sunday for and overnighter and went right to the chuck on the anchor. The squid were 200 feet down and they were catching 6 squid on 3 jigs at a time all night long. They got their first fish was at 12 and then a bite every 30 minutes and finished the night going 5 for 7 and missed a few others. Up on the troll in the morning they trolled the same numbers in there at first light caught a 60lber trolling right away on a tuna clone and then at 11am went 3 for 3 on 50 to 65 lber's on zuchini 9 inch spreader bars and melton cherry jet in addition caught a few mahis around the pots. Not a bad trip for 4 ladies and one gentleman that made up the charter ending up with 9 nice yellowfin. Capt Phil Dulanie and Mark DeCabia had the Derick Tiejten charter out on Saturdayand went back to the dip but did not get there until 10pm so they went right to the chunk. THE CHUNK BITE WAS SLOW AGAIN BUT THEY DID END UP GOING 1 FOR 3 ON 60 POUND YELLOWFIN THAT ATE LIVE SQUID. UP ON THE TROLL IN THE MONRING THEY FOUND A SLOW TROLL BITE UNTIL THE WORKED a little to the south WHERE THE BITE TURNED ON AND THEY ENDED UP WITH 5 LONGFIN AND 3 YELLOWFIN. THEY FOUND THE FISH BITING MOSTLY GREEN MACHINE AND MAMBA SPREADER BARS AND BALLYHOO. THE BEST ACTION WAS FROM 10AM TO 1PM WHEN THEY HAD TO PICK EM UP AND HEAD HOME FOR THE NEXT CHARTER but still ended the day with 9 tuna in the boat. Captain Phil Dulanie and Captain Mark DeCabia took the Canyon Runner out to the Dip on Friday with the Rob Crespi charter and put the lines in the water at 7pm. They trolled east but not for long as the first fish was quickly put in the boat and then they proceeded to go 7 for 9 on 30-60 pound yellowfin over the next 2 hours. The action was non-stop and the fish literally hit everything we had including Canyon Runner bars, ballyhoo, jets and tuna clones. The night bite was non-existant except for one yellowfin that was lost at the boat. Up on the troll in the morning working to the west and inshore they boated another 9 yellowfin for a total of 16 for the day. Again, anything they pulled worked. In addition they hooked a 400+ pound blue marlin that nearly stripped a 50W then broke off. Captain Mark DeBlasio had the 55' Hooked Up 2 out on Friday and also headed to the Dip and put them in the water around 2pm and worked the rest of the afternoon looking for the fish. He found them 10 miles west of the Dip. The charter put 7 yellowfin in the boat on the troll but had a little better success on the chunk boating 2 for 4 on yellowfin at night. Up on the troll in the morning Capt. Mark worked the same area and boated another 12 yellowfin and had twice as many bites. He also hooked and lost a big fish - perhaps a blue - as it stripped a 30W. Their best action was on Green Machine and Green Machine spreader bars along with Mini-mamba bars and ballyhoo and they finished up with 22 yellowfin. Captain Mark DeBlasio has the 55' Custom Carolina Hooked Up 2 running out of Manasquan Inlet for the rest of the season with and started out Wednesday with the Sal LaFarge charter to the Hudson Canyon putting the lines in the water at the tip at 2pm and worked all the way down to the mouth on the west wall before getting the first bite of the day at 5pm putting a longfin in the boat that ate a ballyhoo. They then worked over to the east wall at and nailed another longfin on a Canyon Runner 9inch Spreader bar. They had no more bites on the troll and set up for the chunk right at the 100-square with out a bite. Up on the troll in the morning they worked back over to where they had the bites the day before with nothing so they worked up the West Wall and just before leaving went 2 for 3 on 50 pound yellowfin. Those fish ate Canyon Runner Mini-Mamba bars in blue/white and ballyhoo with green/yellow skirts. In addition to the 4 tuna they had 12 mahi off the pots. Captain Phil Dulanie and mates Mike Zajac and Mark DeCabia took the George Reese charter out to the Hudson Canyon and set up on the troll at the bombs around 3pm and worked everywhere (tip, east wall, west wall, 150/050, 200/100) and did not get a tuna bite. They did put a few mahi in the boat and set up on the drift at the southwest where they pulled a 20 pound sword which they released. Up on the troll in the morning they again worked everywhere and they moved inshore to the 50 fathom line at where they got into a quick pick of 3 yellowfin and 1 longfin. The fish ate tuna clones, Canyon Runner Blue/Silver mini-mamba bars and ballyhoo. They fished until 1pm on Thursday and then came home with the 4 tuna, sword release and mahi. Captain Phil Dulanie and Captain Mark DeCabia along with mate Mike Zajac left Monday for an overnighter and headed to the Toms Canyon. They spend the afternoon trolling the tip down both walls and out to the 500 tip without a bite. They then turned north and hit the 100 fathom line to head up to the Hudson Canyon. By night fall they were sitting at 26150/43050 on the drift and picked a few blue sharks and a 40 pound mako and a hammerhead at night, all released, but no tuna. Up on the troll in the morning on Tuesday they worked up to west elbow and got their first shot of tuna going 3 for 5 on 40-50 pound yellowfin. They work from there to the bombs and back again for the next 4 hours and ended the trip going 7 for 13. In addition they also released a white marlin and boated a 25 pound mahi. The action on the tuna was on 9 inch rainbow bars, tuna clones and ballyhoo.

07/25-26/06
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captains Phil Dulanie and Mark DeCabia along with mate Mike Gallo had the Matt Cerino charter out on the Canyon Runner for a Tuesday/Wednesday overnighter. The ride out right into the teeth of a 20 knot SE wind was not fun and they did not get to the Lindencohl until 8:30pm so they went right to the chunk. They had more squid then they’ve seen in years and ended up filling a cooler with them. In addition they pulled a dozen mahi out of the slick but had no tuna bites. Up on the troll at 5am they quickly went 3 for 3 on 20-30 pound yellowfin at the Lindy and then worked off to the deep where they pulled 3 big longfin in the 50-55 pound class. Unfortunately the third longfin did not make it in the boat as a huge tiger shark got it instead. They worked that area for a while and they moved inshore where they did a couple more singles on yellowfin and then went 7 for 9 again on 20-30 pound yellowfin and missed a white. The tuna ate Canyon Runner 9 Inch Rainbow Bars and Ballyhoo.

07/24-25/06
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie and Captain Mark DeCabia along with mate Mike Zajac took the Joe Borofski charter out to the Hudson Canyon Monday and despite leaving late due to one of the charter being late they still found some fish that evening after putting the lines in the water at 4:30pm. They started on the edge and started trolled to the deep where Offshore Satelite Services had some nice water. Half way there they ran over a couple 100 pound yellowfin and got one and missed one. They ate ballyhoo. They worked that area a little then kept moving east to where they missed another tuna and nailed a nice white marlin on a bonita plug and picked a mahi. They set up on the drift right where they missed the last tuna and a shortly thereafter got their first tuna bite of the night on the chunk. They quickly put a 110 pound yellowfin in the boat, lost a 130 pounder at the boat and boat another 100+ pounder right after. The action took place between 10pm and 11:30pm. They did not have another bite and were up on the troll at 4:30am looking for a shot of longfin or big-eye but nothing came up. They did miss another white right before heading home.

07/19/06
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captains Phil Dulanie and Mark DeCabia along with Mike Zajac took the Mike Walsh charter out to the Hudson Canyon on Wednesday to look for a better bite of tuna a little closer to home. They left behind the string of thunderstorms that came through Tuesday night and made a slow treck to 3 miles west of the bombs where they put them in the water at 6:30am. They trolled across to the east wall down to the elbow and out to the 100-square without a bite. They decided to give the west wall a look over and crossing over right at the tip of the 500 fathom line they had an 8 bagger of yellowfin putting 6 in the boat between 20 and 45 pounds. They obviously hit everything and 3 were 30-40 pounds 2 were 20 pounds and 1 was released as a short. They did not produce again dispite working that area for an hour and then worked over to the west wall to drift for tiles where the pulled just one. They went back on the troll and right at the west elbow had another shot of half a dozen fish but not one of them stayed on the line. They did see the fish come up on the flat lines during that second shot and they were 40 pound fish.

07/18/06
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captains Phil Dulanie and Mark DeCabia along with mate Mike Zajac took the Frank Baran charter out on Tuesday to the Wilmington Canyon and put the lines in the water at 5am. They had their first bite at 7am and nailed a 5 banger of yellowfin keeper two and releasing 3 small ones. They made another pass and hooked up on a better yellwofin but pulled the hook after 5 minutes. These yellowfin ate 9 inch Canyon Runner Rainbow Bars, ballyhoo and the biggest hit the big-eye tuna clone. They then found a piece of wood and pulled a 25 pound mahi and a 15 pound mahi bull and cow off the board. They had nothing else until 1:45pm when Mark spotted a slick and a bunch of birds and nailed a 50 pound yellowfin on the tuna clone. As they took the boat out of gear they saw a white on the Squid Bar and Mike pulled the bar away from the white and dropped back a blue/white Ilander Ballyhoo combo and nailed the white. The charter quicked reeled it to the boat and they got the official release as well as put the yellowfin in the boat.

07/17/06
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captains Phil Dulanie and Mark DeCabia along with mate Mike Zajac took the Mike George charter out on Monday to the Spencer Canyon and put the lines in the water at 5am. They put their first fish, a 20 pound yellowfin, in the boat off a 9 inch Canyon Runner Rainbow Bar at the tip of the Spencer. They worked from there down to the south where a white came up on a Canyon Runner Rainbow Bar and Mark cranked the bar away from the white and dropped back the closest bait which happend to be a Melton Cherry Jet and baited the white on the jet - a little luck was involved on that one. They ended up releasing the 60 pound white. They moved south to try to get in on a little bite in the Wilmington and before getting there came across an 8 foot board and proceeded to pull 3 huge mahi of 34, 25, & 20 pounds in addition to 10 smaller ones. They moved to the east tip where another white malrin came up on the another 9 inch Canyon Runner Rainbow Bar (each of these whites came up on bars trolled from the tip rigger). Mike pulled the bar away from the white and dropped back the long flat which had a ballyhoo/Ilander combo on it and baited the second whtie of the day. This one was also released and was every bit of 80 pounds.

07/16/06
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captains Phil Dulanie and Mark DeCabia and mate Mike Gallo took the Paul Stevenson charter back out to the Spencer Canyon on Sunday and tried to stay away from the crowd while working just inshore of the edge most of the morning. Up on the troll at 4:30am they started to pick fish in around the 50 fathom line and missed a couple and landed a couple before the bite shut off around 9am. It was by no means a hot bite as they only put 4 yellwofin in the boat but half the fish were solid 50 pounders. Most of the fish ate ballyhoo and Canyon Runner Jets. They did not get another bite after 9am.

07/15/06
Adam LaRosa reports:
The Canyon Runner Crew consisting of Brad Burgess, Capt. Mark DeCabia, Adam LaRosa, Mike Gallo, Billy Rowan and Capt. Phil Dulanie took guests John Timken and Matt Hannifee out to the Spencer Canyon on Saturday and were greeting with a few more boats than we would like to see but manageable for a weekend. A slow bite did materialize and included some bigger fish. The first fish of the day ended up the biggest at 75 pounds and ate a Canyon Runner 9” Rainbow bar. The rest of the fish were taken on ballyhoo and jets. We ended the day with a 40 pounder and 3 small yellowfin and pulled the hook on another nice one that appeared to be snagged.

07/14/06
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captains Phil Dulanie and Mark DeCabia and mate Mike Gallo took the Scott Miller charter out to the Lindencohl Friday to look for a better body of fish and may have found them. Trolling the west wall they had their first shot of yellowfin at 7am and put 3 in the boat. They worked that area for a few hours and then back to the tip where they started picking a couple more yellowfin and added a bunch of mahi including a 25 pounder pulled from under a board. They then moved inshore to 50 fathom line and they got covered up with 8 yellowfin putting 6 in the boat for a total of 11 so far. The tuna were eating Canyon Runner blue/silver mini-mamba bars, ballyhoo, zuchini big-eye tuna clones and Canyon Runner Jets. The rest of the day was spent inshoreand they ended up picking a couple more small yellowfin and finished up with a few more mahi but again it seemed like the bite is best early in the morning and then let's up early.

07/11/06
Adam LaRosa reports:
After cancelling yet more trips due to weather Sunday and Monday (and off on Saturday) we finally got out Tuesday with the Jim Dunlap charter from Boston, Mass. Captains Phil Dulanie and Mark DeCabia and mate Mike Zajac headed off to the Toms Canyon and stopped inshore as they saw some bird life and read some bait. Setting up they had a couple quick bites but could not hold on to the fish. The worked that area for a short time then headed off where they went 4 for 4 on 20-30 pound yellowfin and made a turn and went 2 for 3 again. Those fish ate 9 inch rainbow Canyon Runner Squid Bars, ballyhoo and jets. They worked that area for awhile but never got another bite. They moved over to the east wall and started picking dolphin off the pots adding a bunch to the catch but no more tuna bites.

07/07/06
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captains Mark DeCabia, Mark DeBlasio and Phil Dulanie took the Craig Stires charter right back out to the Toms Canyon Friday and started right at the tip at 6:30am. They worked out to east corner and started to pick some fish. The went 3 for 5 on yellowfin from 20-50 pounds added a mahi and caught and released a white marlin. The yellowfin favored 9 inch rainbow squid bars, and zuchinni tuna clones, and the white and mahi ate ballyhoo. They worked that area for a while picking another yellowfin and then moved inshore where they hooked up 10 yellowfin at once. With only a 3 man charter there were a few pulled hooks and other mistakes - they ended up putting 4 nice 40-50 pound yellowfin in the boat and had 7 yellowfin altogether as of 9am. The rest of the day was spent inshore as a couple other yellowfin were boated and released but no other nice yellowfin were taken. Seems like the best bites have been early in the morning.

07/06/06
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captains Mark DeBlasio, Mark DeCabia and Phil Dulanie had the Chris Hempstead and John Deno charter offshore Thursday and decided to head south of the Hudson towards the Toms Canyon. It was a long slow ride out in thunderstorms and a big swell out of the south so they did not put the lines in the water until 7:30am. They started 5 miles inshore of the edge on the 50 fathom line as they saw some life but nothing happened as they worked their way to the edge and out to the deep. They then got their first bite in 1200 feet of water when longfin came up and tried to eat all nine baits. They ended up boating four and they ate Canyon Runner 6 inch purple/black Spreader Bar, Blue/White Jet, Zuchinni Tuna Clone and a ballyhoo/jet combo. They worked that area to death but never got another bite. They headed back to the 100 fathom line and down the edge and had alot of life but again no more bites. They worked their way back into the 50 fathom line where they started and had a couple shots of small yellowfin putting 2 in the boat Those yellowfin ate Zuchinni Tuna Clones and a Ballyhoo/jet combo. They end the day with the 6 tuna on ice.

06/30/06
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie, Capt. Mark DeBlasio, and Capt. Mark DeCabia took the Damien Romeo out to the Hudson canyon Friday morning and stopped just west of the Texas Tower as they saw a bunch of life (birds, skipjack) and trolled for an hour without a bite and so picked up and headed to the tip. The trolled the tip and then down the east wall for and hour but the water was greenish in color and as they trolled further down the wall it keep getting worse so they pulled in the lines and headed to the deep and finally found some nice fish around 7pm. From 7pm to 8:30pm they went 2 for 4 on nice yellowfin from 40-80 pounds and put a 150 pound Bluefin in the boat. All the bites came on Canyon Runner Spreader Bars with 9 inch purple/black squid accounting for all the fish except one yellowfin that ate a green Canyon Runner Mini-Mamba Bar. After they put the bluefin in the boat the charter said they had enough as those were the biggest fish they ever saw and wanted to get home early to start their holiday weekend after only 4 hours of trolling on a 24 hour overnighter. We did convince them to stay the night and ended up missing another bluefin on a mackeral set at 150 feet and came home at first light.

06/26/06
Adam LaRosa reports:
Hearing that the weather offshore was actually nice we decided to try to sneak in a one day canyon trip on Monday with the Charles Follo charter. Unfortunately we should have stayed at the dock as we would have caught just as many tuna there. A slow ride out into the south southeast wind had them arrive at the Toms Canyon at 6:30 and they trolled from the Toms to the Hendrickson Canyon without a touch. They then trolled the 500 Fathom line south and then moved inshore to the 100 line to the Lindencohl and up on the edge to the 50 fathom line without a bite. Looks like we won't get back out again until Thursday or Friday. Hopefully something arives by then.

06/20-21/06
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captains Phil Dulanie and Mark DeCabia and mate Mike Zajac got a break in the weather and headed out Wednesday on an overnighter with the John Post charter Wednesday to Thursday. They headed to the Husdon Canyon and stopped short on the west elbow as the spotted bluefin on the surface. A few passes produced nothing so they picked up and headed off. They set up on the troll and worked offshore to the 500 fathom tongue and finally go a bite going 3 for 4 on small yellwofin keeping 2 and releasing one. The fish took ballyhoo and nine inch Canyon Runner Rainbow squid bars. They set up right there for a night of sharking and hoping to nail some of these bluefin that have been biting at night but did not get a touch all night and instead sat in some of the thickest fog they've seen as most of the night the tips of the outriggers were out of site. The trolling in the morning was largely uneventful. They worked there way to the 100 fathom line and got their only bite of the morning which were two small yellowfin that they had to through back.

06/16-17/06
Adam LaRosa reports:
On a very rare crew trip Capts. Phil Dulanie, Mark DeCabia, Billy Rowan and crew Adam LaRosa, Mike Zajac, Brad Burgess, Mike Gallo, John Timken, Matt Hanifee, Mike Elton and Matt Hobbsheaded out to the Hudson Canyon Friday night and set up for sharking and drifted east for 6 miles picking one blue shark. Getting up on the troll for an early morning big-eye bite did not happen. However we quickly got into a nice pick of small yellowfin from shorts to 30 inches. Most of the fish in the morning were picked on small ballyhoo and 9 inch Canyon Runner Rainbow Bars. We picked away for 2 hours putting 15 fish in the boat before 7am when the bite quickly shut off ­ we kept 7 of the 15 and released the rest. We trolled out to the deep and south but did not get another bite and turned back inshore when we got a call from Chris Baxter from the Fat Boy saying he just put a big-eye in the boat. We turned and headed in his direction and immediately got covered up with yellwofin again put a few more in the boat releasing one. We continued trolling toward Fat Boy but before we found Chris we found the big-eyes just short of him. We read a nice fish down 100 feet but did not get him to bite so turned back around and ran over him again when he decided to eat a ballyhoo trolled just in front of a spreader bar. He ate a straight Penn 50T so we could not continue forward too long and as soon as we slowed another big-eye came up on the 9" Rainbow Squid Bar but completely missed the hook. 35 minutes later the 181 Big-Eye was in the boat. The last fish of the day. We ended the trip with 19 small yellwofin keeping 10 and releasing the rest. For all pictures and detailed reports please see www.canyonrunner.com

06/13/06
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captains Mark DeBlasio, Mark DeCabia and Phil Dulanie took the Phil Haun charter from Maryland out on the Canyon Runner Tuesday and headed right back out to where we had them Monday. Pulling into the area Stew from the Pez Machine called to let them know that there were some bigger tuna around as they just boated a big-eye ­ Congratulations Stew!!! Up on the troll at 6:30am they quickly had their first bite of two double headers of yellowfin keeping 2 and releasing 2. The yellowfin ate Canyon Runner 9" Rainbow Squid and Ballyhoo. Shortly there after they read something big down 125 feet and 10 seconds later the flat exploded as a big-eye ate a ballyhoo on a blue/white Ilander. Unfortunately, they were in a sharp turn at the time and the big-eye crossed over several lines they slowed down quickly to try to get it under control but that fish eventually got cut off on the other lines on the intial run. While they had it on another big-eye came up and explode on a 9" Squid Bar but it did not find the hook. They stayed right in the same area the entire day and picked away at yellowfin up to 33 inches (about 30 pounds). Most of the bites came on Canyon Runner 9 inch Rainbow and a weighted green machine behind a bird long down the middle. However, the last bite of the day came on everything as they went 8 for 8 on these small yellowfin. They ended the day with a total of 15 yellowfin boated keeping 7 and releasing the rest.

06/12/06
Adam LaRosa reports:
After getting blown out of no less than 4 canyon charters so far this year the Canyon Runner finally kicked off its 2006 Canyon Season with the Richard Steer charter from Connecticut. Captains Phil Dulanie, Mark DeBalsio and Mark DeCabia decided to head off Monday morning for a one day troll leaving later than usually waiting for the wind to lay down. They decided to head to the Hudson Canyon where the latest Offshore Satellite Services chart showed some good water. Shortly after putting the lines in the water at 7:30am they boated and then released the first 2 small yellowfin of our 2006 season. The fish ate 9" Canyon Runner Rainbow Squid Bars. They continued to work the area and had another small yellowfin eat a Canyon Runner Blue/Silver Mini-Mamba bars trolled deep down the middle when something huge ate the yellowfin. It took no more than 20 seconds and the Penn 50VSW was stripped down to the spool. Mark DeCabia locked up the reel and the fish broke-off. The three very experienced Captains could not agree on what it was ­ Phil thought huge Mako, DeBlasio thought huge Blue Marlin and DeCabia thought Giant. No matter ­ they had no chance. They did not get another bite until around 12:30pm when they finally found a big body of yellowfin and had 3, 4 and 5 on for a couple hours. The fish mostly favored our 9” Rainbow Squid Bars but Jets were working as well. Almost all the bites came off the deeper lines on the riggers and the only bite on a flat line was when we decided to troll one of our Mini-Mambas off the long flat. The water was 67-68 degree most of the day and beautiful deep blue. In total the crew landed 23 yellowfin all right around 29-32 inches ­ not the biggest fish but good enough to bend the rod.

06/08/06
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie and mate Mike Gallo took the Scott Miller charter off on Thursday, June 8 for a shot at Sea Bass. Hitting 3 wrecks 18 miles south of Manasquan in 70-85 feet of water the charter picked at Sea Bass all day put 50 keepers in the boat and releasing just as many. Dogfish unfortunately became a huge problem on each wreck as a good pick of Sea Bass quickly turned into all dogfish once they found the bait.

06/06/06
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie and Captain Mark DeBlasio had the Joe Scott charter out with his kids on Tuesday and enjoyed alot of action with blues but again the stripers were non-existant. Jigging up and down the beach they boated and release 3 to 4 dozen blues and finally put one nice 42 inch bass in the boat.

June 5,2006
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie and Captain Mark DeBlasio had the Rich Alverado charter out Monday for Stripers and ran all the way up the beach looking for bass. Stopping on every reading and pod of birds produced a ton of bluefish both jigging and drifting bunker but no bass. A stop off highlands finally produced the first bass of the day and a stop off Sandy Hook produced the second and last of the day. The rest of the day was spent catching and releasing a bunch of bluefish. On Friday Captain Mark DeBlasio and Captain Phil Dulanie took the John Williamson charter out jigging for blues and bass and were not disappointed with the action ­ which was once again non-stop on blues. However the bass were non-existant. Jigging up and down the beach produced blues from 2 to 10 pounds as hard as the charter could pull but no bass.

May 23-June 1,2006
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie and Captain Mark DeBlasio had the John Post charter out on May 23 and again found plenty of bass to jig off Asbury. Running up the beach in the morning the birds were working about a mile and a half off the beach and AVA 67 and87 jigs with no tails produced something on virtually every drop as the bass were mixed in with blues. At the end of the day over 60 blues were jigged as well as a limit catch of Stripers up to 40 inches. On Wednesday May 24 Captain Phil Dulanie and Captain Mark DeBlasio had the Brian Bonnett charter out on the Canyon Runner. However, things changed drastically from the previous trips. The bass just were not there today. Working all the way up the beach to Sandy Hook and jigging under every pod of birds in sight the bass were non-existent. While there were a ton of blues ­ over 75 to be exact ­ we only ended the days with a few stripers. On Thursday, May 25 Captain Phil Dulanie and Captain Mark DeBlasio had the Robert Genader charter form AMBAC in Manhattan out on the Canyon Runner and found the bass again. This time they started the day loading the boat with bunker and stuck on the Shrewsbury Rocks the entire day drifting bunker. They had over 30 bass on but an inexperienced group of anglers lost half of them. They ended the day with 12 big bass in the boat between 20 and 35 pounds. On Friday, May 26 the Joe Lambrillo charter was hoping get back right back on the bass on the Shrewsbury Rocks after loading the well with bunker but Captains Phil Dulanie and Mark DeBlasio could not find the bass again. Instead the jigged over 100 blues from 2 to 14 pounds releasing them all and the charter left with no bass in the boat but arms dragging on the dock in exhaustion. Taking the Memorial Day weekend off to avoid the crowds and hoping the Bass would turn on after giving them a break for a few days, Captain Phil Dulanie and mate Mike Zajac took the John Serea charter in search of stripers on Tuesday, May 30. Again, the stripers were hard to come by on jigs but the charter absolutely crushed the bluefish catch well over 100 with all released. On Wednesday, May 31 Captains Mark DeBlasio and Phil Dulanie took the Tom Becher charter up to the Shrewsbury Rocks and decided to stay on the troll all day with bunker spoons. The decision paid off with 4 big Bass and a bunch others lost. In addition, over 30 huge bluefish up to 14 pounds were caught and released. On Thursday, June 1 the Paul Perritti charter got in on some great jigging with blues and a few bass mixed in as Captains Phil Dulanie and Mark DeBlasio head south off Seaside and stayed with the birds all day. Over 100 blues all nice size fish between 6-12 pound were released and a couple bass were boated with a few other lost. The charter did not feel like pulling wire lines all day so we stuck with the jigging for almost the entire day.

05/22/06
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie and mate Mike Gallo had the Guy Biondi charter from Brooklyn out on the Canyon Runner Monday and immediately got into fast jigging action just off Asbury Park. Working up the beach in the morning they spotted birds about 1.5 miles off Asbury and a fleet began to develop where everyone got into some great jigging action. Our charter ended the day with 27 Stripers and close to 80 bluefish (all released). The four biggest bass went 24, 25, 27, 28 pounds.

05/19/06
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captains Mark DeBlasio and Phil Dulanie had the Sam DeFeo charter from Rumson, NJ out on the Canyon Runner Friday and were able to keep it relatively close to home all day. Running up the beach in the morning they found bird activity just off Long Branch and started the day jigging. They never had to switch over the clams as AVA 47 and 67 jigs produced a limit of bass plus the release of another 15 bass and tons of bluefish. In addition to the great action all the bass were on the large side with the smallest bass being 34 inches and many bass over 40 inches were boated.

05/18/06
Adam LaRosa reports:
Capt. Phil Dulanie and Capt. Mark DeBlasio had the Joe Miller charter out on the Canyon Runner Thursday and worked up the beach in the morning search for bird life. They found some just north of the Shrewsbury Rocks but only pulled a few Bass and a bunch of bluefish out from under them on jigs. They worked up to Sandy Hook and anchored in 20 feet of water and started a good pick of bass putting 10 in the boat and releasing 6. Once that bite turned off they worked back down the beach and found solid action off Long Branch finishing up the day with their limit and releasing another 20 including their largest of the day which was over 40 inches and around 30 pounds. All the action off Long Branch was on jigs.

05/17/06
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie and Captain Mark DeBlasio had the John Williamson group from Philadelphia out. They stopped short of our destination to investigate bird activity and dropped the hook as soon as they read the fish and had immediate action, quickly limiting out. They went on to catch 37 bass with all but one over 34" and were back to the dock by 12:30. The largest for the day went 42". The fished off of Sandy Hook and all of the action was on clams.

05/16/06
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Mark DeBlasio and Captain Phil Dulanie had the Rich Alverado charter from Philadelphia, PA out on the Canyon Runner Tuesday in not the most ideal conditions. Their first stop provided nothing but dogfish but there next stop off of Sandy Hook in 15 feet of water produced non-stop action with stripers on clams. With constant double and triple headers they ended the day with 48 stripers up to 40 inches with most the fish between 32 and 38 inches. The largest of which was right at 25 pounds. They kept there limit and released the rest.

05/11/06
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie and Captain Mark DeBlasio had the Joe Miller charter up to Sandy Hook on Thursday to get in on some striper fishing Dropping the hook in 18 feet of water they immediately had plenty of bites buts struggled putting fish in the boat in tough conditions. They worked hard all day to produce about a dozen bass with 8 keepers up to 38 inches All of the action was on clams and they ended up releasing a few bluefish as well.

05/06/06
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie and mate Mike Gallo started off our NJ Charter Season after a busy winter of Sword/Sailfish Charters in Miami, Boat/Sportsman Shows all over the Northeast, and 3 Seminars in NY, NJ and R and are happy to be back on the water off the Jersey Coast. While the striper action seems to be going great, today’s charter, Sean Mallory from Holmdel, NJ, wanted to put some Sea Bass on the table. Therefore, we head 20 miles south of Manasquan and fished several wrecks from 60-90 feet finding a slow pick and average size Sea Bass mostly on the deeper wreck. In total they ended the day with 30 Sea Bass in the box plus some blackfish and ling - plus a ton of dogfish that were released.

07/11/05
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captains Phil Dulanie, Mark DeBlasio and Justin Nighan had the Cory Wyatt charter out Monday on a one day troll in the Toms Canyon and had 5 yellowfin in the boat before 8am with a three bagger that ate a blue/silver Canyon Runner Mini-Mamba, a green/yellow Canyon Runner jet and a ballyhoo with a green/yellow moldcraft little hooker and a 2 bagger that ate ballyhoo with green/yellow moldcraft hookers. These were all nice 30-50 pound yellowfin. They continued to work Toms Canyon and picked away at double and triple headers putting 12 yellowfin from 30-50 pounds in the boat before noon. They then worked across the deep and had a 6 baggero on to finish out the day pulling the hook on one and putting 5 in the boat to end the day with 17 yellowfin. Today, unlike yesterday, there was no specific bait, bar or lure that worked best but we still trolled 5 bars for most the day with the 6" rainbow and blue/silver mini-mambas getting alot of attention although it seemed the yellowfin came up to the bars first but then hooked up on the jets or ballyhoo. Today's charter gets high marks for only keeping 9 yellowfin and having us release the rest (many of which were 40-50 pounds).

07/10/05
Adam LaRosa reports:
With Captains Phil Dulanie and Mark DeBlasio and with a special apperance by mate Jay Richardella the Joe Valente charter from Sea Side was in good hands and headed out to the Toms Canyon on Sunday after being blown-out Friday. They pick their first fish, a 40 pound yellowfin, within the first hour of trolling on a 6" Canyon Runner Squid Bar in Rainbow and they then quickly had a double of 45 pound yellowfin on another 6" rainbow squid bar and a blue silver mamba bar. They immediately got two more bars in the water and 5 minutes later they had 7 on on all 5 bars and two other on jets. They dropped one released one small yellowin and a skippy and boated 4 yellowfin between 30 and 40 pounds. That was it until just before lines out when the last two bars in the water got eaten by 45 pound yellowfin. In total they had 10 yellowfin with 9 between 30-50 pounds and one short.

07/06/05
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain's Justin Nighan, Phil Dulanie and Mark DeBlasio had the Joe Mormando charter from Westfield, NJ out on the Canyon Runner Wednesday for a day troll in the Toms canyon. Putting the lines in the water short of the Toms was unproductive as we trolled all the way to the tip then down the west wall of the Toms without a touch. We did pull a nice 20 pound mahi off a pot but did not have another touch until 11:15 when we had a three bagger of 35 pounds yellowfin but only put one in the boat. The three fish ate a Canyon Runner Mini-Mamba bar, Canyon Runner Jet in black/green and a ballyhoo. We decided ot stake our claim there and picked four more yellowfin in the 30-40 pound class with no favorite lure or bait standing out as the hits each came on different jets, bars and ballyhoo. The biggest disappointment, yet it gives hope for the future, is that we sould have had 12 yellowfin today as we had 15 bites. We dropped 5 fish and had five others that barely took line off the reel before dropping off - so it looks like there is a good body of fish but they are just not turned on yet.

07/05/05
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie, Captain Justin Nighan and Captain Mark DeBlasio took the Sean Mallory charter from Holmdel out to the Toms Canyon on a one day troll to actually look for Bluefin as Sean is a huge Sushi finatic. Of course you must already have guess the rest - the bluefin were gone and in their place were Yellowfin. For hours we had great looking water, 70-71 degrees, alot of life and bait but no bites. And then we had our first bite at 11am on a ballyhoo - it was a 30 pound yellowfin and the action stayed consistent with a bite about every 15 minutes thereafter however we missed alot of fish. Working out to the deep they had a single and then a double of 30 pound yellowfin a jet and on skirted ballyhoo. There last bite came just before lines out and again on ballyhoo. In total they put 5 25-40 pound yellowfin in the boat and missed about 7 more.

06/27-28/05
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captains Justin Nighan, Phil Dulanie and Mark DeBlasio took a slow ride out to the Toms Canyon with the Frank Bolstead charter from Philadelphia into a big swell from the storm off the Carolinas and a 15 knot SE wind on top of it so they did not start the overnighter off on the troll until 4pm. They found that the break that was offshore last week had moved in up on the edge and the area was loaded with bait. They worked the hell out of the area without a bite. They did not want to leave great signs but with no fish by 6pm they had to continue to look around and got their first bite around 7pm. The fish came up on a Canyon Runner Green Machine Spreader Bar and after they stuck it with the gaff they thought they had their 47+ inch fish which would mean 3 fish for the charter to take but this 65 pounder only measured 46 inches. They worked that are for a while and then moved inshore for a night of sharking and had a few more bites putting a nice 40 pounder in the boat on a 6 inch rainbow spreader bar and missed a couple more fish. Sharking at night saw 6 huge blue sharks caught and released. Again no makos came to the boat. Up on the troll in the morning they are starting to get into the smaller bluefin in the 25-35 pound class and began to really put a beating on the fish. From 6am to Noon they brought another 19 fish to the boat. Again the bars were huge for us and we ended up trolling 5 bars the entire trip. We usually only troll 3 but we seem to be pulling bigger fish on the bars as the average bluefin was around 30 pounds. We also added what may be are new hot bar to the pattern. Capt. Mark DeBlasio has had huge success over the years with zuchini colored squid bars so we added this to the pattern down the middle off the long rigger. We used a bar with 9 inch squid as that was all we had on the boat. Well as soon as this went into the water it was the only bar the tuna wanted. In fact, the second fish on it was a nice 49" 80 pound bluefin to make 3 keepers for the day. The final fish that came to this bar was a huge threasher that tried to rip it to shreds with its tail.

06/24/05
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie, Capt. Justin Nighan, and mate Mike Zajac took the Brian Wiederman charter back out to the Toms Canyon as the water looked best there yesterday compared to the Hudson. Our guess was right on as by 9:30am they already have 10 bluefin to the boat in the 20-50 pound class. They trolled 3 Canyon Runner Rainbow 6 inch Squid Bars on the long riggers and down the middle and two green Canyon Runner Mini-Mamba bars on the short riggers and jets and ballyhoo on the flat line. From 9:30 am until they pulled the lines out of the water at 1:45pm they brought another 9 Bluefin to the boat. All the action was on our green mini-mamba bars pulled off the short riggers and 6" rainbow squid spreader bars pulled off the long riggers and long down the middle. The last bunch of bites were all double and triples while most of the first 10 fish were singles. The group finished up the trip with 19 bluefin to their credit with the largest around 50 pounds and most between 25-30 pounds.

06/22/05
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captains Phil Dulanie, Justin Nighan and Mark DeBlasio headed offshore with the Greg Murray charter from Philadelphia and decided to start looking down the edge more as the Hudson had slowed up and the northern canyons did not have any promising news. As soon as they started trolling the Toms Canyon they immediately had a double header of 25-30 pound bluefin that ate a blue/silver Canyon Runner Custom Mini-Mamba Bar and a Canyon Runner Custom Jet in purple/black. They later picked a single 50 pound bluefin on a 6 inch Canyon Runner rainbow squid bar and then had shortly thereafter another double of 50 pounders on the 6 inch rainbow spreader. They finished off with four more bites just before departure and those fish ate 6 inch Canyon Runner Custom Rainbow Bars and ballyhoo with Ilanders in blue/white.

06/20-21/05
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie, Captain Mark DeBlasio, and Captain Justin Nighan had the Canyon Runner back offshore Monday at noon and headed off into a stiff Northeast so did not make it to the tip of the Hudson until 5:00pm. They proceeded to work the canyon and put a 47.5 inch bluefin (around 75 pounds) in the boat. The bluefin hit a 6 inch Canyon Runner Custom Rainbow spreader bar. They then set up for sharking at night only produced a few big blueshark and then they were up on the troll by 6am. Working north they hooked up and boated our first yellowfin of the season - a 40 pounder that ate a 6 inch rainbow squid bar. At 11am the wind completely laid out and they decided to give the tile fishing a try. Dropping in 550 feet of water on those numbers they immediately had fish on using a high/low rig with circle hooks and squid as hook baits. They put 12 tilefish in the boat in 1 hour of drifting including several between 12-15 pounds.

06/17-18/05
Adam LaRosa reports:
Capts Phil Dulanie and Justin Nighan with a special apperance by mate Mike Zajac headed offshore for a night of sharking in the canyon for the Brett Baily Mako Tournament. They set up at the mouth and drifted east for a couple miles with blue sharks bending the rods all night long putting in only 5 hours sharking they release 8 bluesharks from 150-250 pounds but did not see one mako. After releaseing the 8th blueshark around 6am they decided to put it on the troll to get in on some of the great bluefin fishing experienced this week. Unfortunately while they trolled through acres and acres of shearwaters, slicks, tuna chicks, and bait readings they could not raise any fish. They trolled in on the west wall where they finally got a bite in 500 feet of water. Working that area they only got a couple more misses but did not hook another fish the rest of the day.

06/16/05
Adam LaRosa reports:
Capt. Phil Dulanie, Capt Mark DeBlasio and Capt. Justin Nighan put the Gabe Birtchet charter from Philadelphia into another decent catch of Bluefin tuna from 20 to 60 pounds. The crew put the lines in the water on the numbers the left them the day before and did not troll for more than 5 minutes before bringing their first 25 pound bluefin to the boat. It ate a Canyon Runner Custom Jet. We also lost a much bigger bluefin that hit a spreader bar. Trolling east they found hoards of bird life but only had one other bite of another 25 pounder that again ate a jet. Green/yellow and green/black jets have by far been the best producing jet to date. Later in the day they worked back inshore and had a three bagger of bluefin this time 2 of the bluefin were 60 pound fish and one was gaffed and put in the put. The two bigger fish ate 6 inch Canyon Runner Custom Rainbow Squid Bars and the third ate another green jet. Just before heading home and pulling in all but one Canyon Runner Green Machine Spreader bar set long down the middle Capts. Mark and Justin spotted fish from the cockpit they trolled over them and a nice 60 pound piled on the Green Machine Bar and was fought to the boat and released for the 8th fish of the day.

06/12-13/05
Adam LaRosa reports:
At 4:00 pm on June 12 the Canyon Runner crew consisting of Capt. Justin Nighan, Capt. Mark DeBlasio and Capt. Phil Dulanie - with the Bob Berghahn charter from Pactogue, NY put the lines in the water south of the Dip and quickly broke the ice on our 2005 season with two 25 pounds bluefins within 10 minutes of trolling, the bluefin hit Canyon Runner Custom Jets. They continued to troll towards the Block Canyon and picked 3 more bluefin in the 15-20 pound class before dark on Canyon Runner Custom Squid Spreaders - 9" rainbow worked best. The night bite saw one 200 pound blue shark and another one lost but nothing else. Up on the troll in the morning they worked back towards home and were just about to pull the lines out of the water when they saw tuna busting water. In the next 2 hours they boated and released another 19 bluefin all in the 25-30 pound class. Those fish were mostly caught on Canyon Runner Custom Jets, Canyon Runner Squid Spreader Bars and ballyhoo. They were headed for home at 2pm Monday with 24 bluefin to their credit and will be headed back out Tuesday for another overnighter if the weather holds. Obviously we would like to have had bigger fish but the charter was thrilled to have the rod bend and we were just as thrilled to be back out on the edge.

06/08/05
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie and Captain Justin Nighan had the Joe Scott charter from Jersey City, NJ out on the Canyon Runner Wednesday for Sea Bass and found a strong south current. Unfortunately that south current put a damper on the sea bass and it was not a hot bite. However, two anglers did manage 40 Sea Bass keepers and just as many through backs before the bite completely shut off. Being called in by Joe of the Finatastic to some bunker they ran inshore south of Seaside and filled the live well with bunker Moving up the beach they found all the bass with lock jaw until hitting their final spot where two bass decided to bite. One measured 47 inches and weight 41.5 pounds back on the digital scale at Clark's Landing and the other weighed 40.5 pounds.

06/06/05
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie and Captain Justin Nighan looked south for the bunker and bass today but did not find what they wanted. With the Guy Biondi charter happy to jump on a wreck we quickly switched over to Sea Bass and had 6 rods bent over as soon as the anchor came tight. We just had to hit one wreck in 70 feet of water and even though we started fishing around 10am we still filled the fish box with Sea Bass up to 4 pounds.

06/02/05
Adam LaRosa reports:
The Robert Genader charter from AMBAC Financial Insurance were taken out on the Canyon Runner by the crew at KPMG LLC and found the big bass once again under the bunker. With 3 dozen live bunker held in the well over night they immediately got in on some action this time finding the bass south of Manasquan inlet. Both live bunker and bunker heads produced as well as jigging. Today they released 2 bass well over 30 pounds and kept 21, 24, and 26 pounders. In total they had 25 bass and dozens of big bluefish

05/31/05
Adam LaRosa reports:
Today could easily be described as the best Bass fishing of the year. Fishing strictly light tackle the John Serea charter from Saddle River, NJ nailed stripers on live bunker, bunker heads and jigs. Finding the bunker just south of Belmar the crew worked quickly to put 3 dozen live ones in the live well. Strangely enough there were no bass under those bunker. Working up the beach Captain Phil Dulanie and Capt. Justin Nighan spotted birds 2 miles offshore and gave it a shot. They immediately had fish on and everyone was over 20 pounds. The put their limit in the boat and went on to release another dozen bass plus 3 dozen bluefish to 15 pounds. The bass taken home include bass of 23, 28, 29, 32 and 36 pounds. More impressive were the 49" 40+ pounder release and the 47" 38+ pounder released. We were hooked up to huge bass all morning but with the light tackle we lost alot.

05/19/05
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie and Captain Mark DeBlasio had the Ed Kazar charter from Vonage and Eureka Broadband out on the Canyon Runner Thursday and was back up to Romer Shoals to get in on the Stripers. The first fish in the boat set the tone for the trip as it was 40 inches and wieghed in at 27 pounds back at the dock. The rest of the day they picked another 16 fish with 7 over 34 inches including a 26, 24, and 18 pounder. For all our reports, pictures and more detailed reports please visit www.canyonrunner.com

05/18/05
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie and Captain Mark DeBlasio had the Sean Mallory charter from Holmdel, NJ out on the Canyon Runner Wednesday and were back offshore to give the Sea Bass one more shot before shutting that down for another week.. Stopping on the first wreck in 75 feet of water 20 miles south of Manasquan produced a very slow pick of keeper and short Sea Bass. A couple moves to deeper wrecks were not as productive although the readings on the fish finder were so good and the guys were so frustrated that they started trying to snag the sea bass by jigging the rod up and down and believe or not it worked a bunch of times. The fact is the wrecks seem loaded with sea bass but the bottom temperature must be way to cold to get them to turn on. Today we also fought a southerly current which may also have lead to the slow bite. At the end of the day the charter had 30+ sea bass in the box, a half dozen blackfish in the box and released at least that many sea bass and blackfish.

05/17/05
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie and Captain Mark DeBlasio had the Todd Polumbo charter from Connecticut out on the Canyon Runner Tuesday and were back offshroe looking for Sea Bass. Stopping on the first wreck in 75 feet of water produced a pick of keeper and short Sea Bass along with blackfish up to 6 pounds. A couple moves to deeper wrecks were not as productive. Nothing hot and heavy yet but the charter did go home with 40 Sea Bass, 10 blackfish and one cod. In addition, over 20 short cod were released plus 40+ short sea bass.

05/16/05
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie and Captain Mark DeBlasio had the John Post charter from Roseland, NJ out on the Canyon Runner Monday and were back up at the hook on the bass. They did not have the non-stop action enjoyed the last trip out but did pick at fish all day. They had to move around a couple times but eventually got on the fish and limited out with slots and put a few 35 inch fish in the boat while releasing a dozen or so more plus some bluefish.

05/13/05
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie and Captain Mark DeBlasio had an outstanding day Friday up on Romer Shoals with the Rich Alverado charter from Philadelphia, PA. Leaving Manasquan Inlet and making a left turn was not fun today as we have to fight through a stiff north wind. We finally made our way up to Romer Shoal by 7am and set up in 15 feet of water. We immediately had the Stripers stacked up behind the boat eating our clams and had our limit of slots and 34 inch by 9am. We then proceeded to spend the next 3 hours releasing bass almost all over 28 inches. When the dust settled we had over 50+ bass for the day. Clams with circle hooks and flourocarbon leaders was once again all you needed.

05/12/05
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie and Captain Mark DeBlasio took the Ed Picavz charter up to Romer Shoal on Thursday. They had to fight through tough conditions in the morning and slowly started to put a catch together of slots and 34 inch bass. Clamming in 18 feet of water produced best on the incoming tide as conditions got somewhat better and a steady pick ensued between 10-Noon. At the end of the day they had their limit of slot fish boated 4 bass over 34 inches and released and couple dozen between 26 and 34 inches. For all our reports and pictures go to www.canyonrunner.com

05/11/05
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Mark DeBlasio and Captain Phil Dulanie were back on the Striper grounds Wednesday with the Dave Tolchin charter from Parlin, NJ and had a great day with the bass on clams. Anchoring up early in 15 feet of water on Romer Shoals the bass were quickly stacked up behind the boat. The group picked away at bass all morning and quickly filled their slot and 34” limits with bass between 35-38 inches. The rest of the day was spend releasing mostly 28-35 inch bass. When the bite turned off around 11am they had released 3-4 dozen stripers.

05/10/05
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captains Phil Dulanie and Mark DeBlasio gave sea bass fishing a shot on Tuesday with the Shawn Mawory charter from Holmdel, NJ. Knowing that the water temperature was still a little colder than we prefer the charter had their hearts set on eating fresh sea bass. We first hit a couple wrecks in 90 feet of water and picked only a couple sea bass, blackfish and 2 small cod on those pieces. However, a move to a wreck in 75 feet of water saved the day. It was by no means a bailing of sea bass but the charter ended up with about 40 sea bass and blackfish in the box and released another 40 shorts. The largest sea bass weighed 4.5 pounds and the largest blackfish weighed 8.12 pounds.

05/09/05
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie and Captain Mark DeBlasio had the John Kennedy charter out on the Canyon Runner Monday for another day of Striper fishing off Sandy Hook. Setting up on Romer Shoals in 16 feet of water today was a very slow pick but sticking it out the charter put together a catch. Working through numerous bluefish bite offs the charter boated 17 bass, limiting out on slots and releasing a bunch of 28 to 34 inch fish. Again the action was all on fresh clams.

05/06/05
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie and Captain Mark DeBlasio ran up to Romer Shoals early today to beat the weather and were lucky enough to put the Joe Lambriello charter into a pick of Bass before the wind started coming on Setting up in 14 feet of water it took a while to get the bass going but after an hour a slow pick began that ended with 4 bass over 34 inches and 6 slots in the boat. Several other slots and a few bass between 28-34 inches were released. The action was all on clams.

05/05/05
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captains Phil Dulanie and Mark DeBlasio took the Canyon Runner out for our first trip of the 2005 New Jersey season and enjoy a nice pick of Stripers with the Joe Miller charter from Boyertown, PA. Setting up in 15 feet of water on Romer Shoals the charter picked through 25 bass limiting out on slots, keeping 2 35\" stripers and releasing a few stripers between 28-34 inches. All of the action was on clams.

Feb 26/05
Adam LaRosa reports:
Please click on the link on the bottom of this post to read all about the 6+ hours canyon tuna & marlin seminar we will be putting on this winter. I had this up on my website for only 1 week before nailing down a date today and already have 150 people sign up for the seminar. So please act quick as the room only holds 300 people and unless I can get a bigger room it will sell out quick. Please email, call or post if you have any questions or comments. 2004 Saltwater Sport Fishing Reports


Nov 27-Dec 1/04
Adam LaRosa reports:
11/27-Friday we fished off triumph reef south of Miami and found no relaly great signs of sails...we ended up with 2 nice kings to 20#'s and 6 mahi to 15lbs. Conditions looked right, but it just didn't want to happen. 11/28-Saturday we worked an area off fowey rocks and had great sailfish conditions...strong north current, east wind and plenty of bait. We had one triple head come up fought all three for 15 minutes or so before two of the fish jumped toegther and broke eachother off! We quicly chased down the other one and were 1/3. We pushed south and set up again to find some mahi willing to bite adding a 20# king in for good measure! 11/30-A strong easterly wind made for great conditions again and this time we released two sails throughout the day (2/2), pretty much right off fowey rocks in 140'. Also putting a few nice mahi in the boat and again one nice king that weighed out at 23#'s. 12/1-today we started where we left off yesterday, just north of fowey. Horrible sail conditions...no current, no wind...NADA! a 12# king and 2 barracuda is all that tightened our lines for the morning. getting boared we dicided to make a push out to 700-900 ft and run and gun to find some weeds or other floatsome! We found the mother load right off government cut. I pulled up to a 10'+ long tree branch sitting upright in the water...I visually didn't see anything under it but had a hunch and we put a spread of threadfins out. It took about 5 minutes and mahi invaded us! BIG ones too...we quickly put 4 in the boat the smallest at 24lbs and the largedst pushing just over 35lbs. We proceeded to release about 7 or 8 other mahi up to 25lbs! The final bite of the day put up a great fight for about 15 minutes on 25# tackle and ended up to be a 25-30lb YELLOWFIN! A very nice addition to what would have otherwise been a slow day!

Nov 15-18/04
Adam LaRosa reports:
Nov. 18 - This was just not the year for Kevin Corradino and crew. They had by far our worst canyon trip of the year with no fish and a broken belt on the gennerator that keep the A.C. off half the trip in the heat of the summer. On Thursday this week they had by far our worst bottom fishing trip of the year. Hitting a bunch of different pieces today did not do the trick as only a handful of keepers were put in the box. Great weather and great company was enjoyed but that was it. Hopefully your luck changes for next year guys. Capt. Joe LaRosa and Phil Dulane again ran the trip.

Nov. 17 - The Ed Kazar charter from Manhattan took one look at the weather and begged us to take them to the Canyon. We decided against it based on reports from Howard and the boys on the Jamacia and instead hit the rock piles for a great day of Tautog. Blackfish hit the green crabs all day and a nice pick of 50+ blackfish made up the catch. Capt. Joe LaRosa and Phil Dulanie ran the Canyon Runner today.

I guess the guys were happy with our decission as before they left the boat that evening they put deposits down on 2 overnighters for 2005. Nov. 16 - On Tuesday it was the Dan Black charter's turn from Philadelphia, PA. Capts. Phil Dulanie and Burt Rothenberg again headed up to the rocks off Deal and had a little slower pick of the Tautog up to 8 pounds. A few dozen came over the rails for the 4 man charter and a few guys had there limit of keepers.

Nov. 15 - Captain Phil Dulane and Burt Rothenberg took the Scott Hawthorne charter from Kohler Plumbing out on Monday November 15 and with the opening of the full Blackfish season decided to hit some rough bottom off Deal and Elberon. Green crabs in 40 feet of water was the ticket and 60+ blackfish were boated with 38 keepers for the charter.



Late Oct - Nov 11/04
Adam LaRosa reports:
While the reports from me have been slow in coming the Canyon Runner crew has been keeping busy a couple trips a week with canyon charters who decided to switch over to inshore trips to take advantage of the good bottom fishing we have been experiencing. But before I get to the reports, how about that weather for the last three weeks of October and first two weeks of November? We cancel no less then 24 overnighters during that period and only got in 3 in those five weeks. This was without a doubt the worst fall weather we every dealt with. Now that that is over we will be focused on inshore trips for the next four weeks. Thereafter, the Canyon Runner crew will be onto to Florida where we will have use of a 54 Bertram fishing out of the Ft. Lauderdale area beginning after Christmas. We have a few dates left in January and a bunch in February. If interested please email us at njcharter@aol.com or call at 732-829-5663.

Now back to the fishing up here. We did get out a handful of times over the last few weeks starting on October 27 when we took the Dave Tolchin charter from Parlin, NJ out for a day of bottom fishing and hit wrecks in 75 feet of water. It was not a hot bite but by noon we had our limit of sea bass up to 3.5 pounds. In addition, we picked some blackfish and porgies.

On October 31 we headed out to the Sea Girt reef for a quick drop as the charter just wanted to get something to eat before heading home after yet another cancelled canyon trip. This charter had 3 canyon trips cancelled on them this year. Well, it was a good idea as all we needed was 3 hours for everyone on the boat to get there 25 Sea Bass limit.

On November 7 we took the Steve Barry charter out for Sea Bass after the fourth time in a row they had their canyon trip cancelled and again the idea paid off. While sea bass are not exactly equal in fighting ability to tuna I personally think they are far better table fare and the charter now agrees. After hitting two wrecks in 75 and 85 feet of water they had half a cooler full of sea bass, along with a few black fish and bluefish mixed in. I got a call from them during the week thanking me for convincing them to give the sea bass a shot as they hadn’t stopped eating it all week.

Finally, on November 10 we had our last canyon trip scheduled to go and the weather was right but unfortunately one of the members of the charter could not make it. As it turned out that was a good break as only one boat I know of actually caught during that weather window we had. We did again switch over to inshore and Dave Tolchin and the boys from Parlin again had a good catch in 90 feet of water this time with Sea Bass up to 4 pounds.

Starting Monday we go just about everyday until December and I promise to keep the reports up to date.

10/8-9/04
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie and Joe LaRosa and mate Greg Ryback had another trip for the books in the Hudson Canyon Friday night. Quantity was not the ticket tonight for the Dr. Brian Grifith charter from Saddle River, NJ, but quality was. They only took home 2 fish – 1 longfin and 1 110 pound bluefin. What they released made the trip. They fought another 15 bluefin releasing 11 with 1 around 150 pounds 2 right at 200 pounds and a fifth (the last fish of the trip), that they fought for 4.5 hours was brought to the boat for the released and was between 300-325 pounds and easily over 80 inches long

10/7-8/04
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie and mates Justin Nighan and Randy Matlack had the Joe Kay charter from Flemington Dept. Store out on the Canyon Runner Thursday to Friday and got into another great bite. This time the yellowfin and longfin bite first during the day on the east elbow. We had our first bite by 4pm and by 9pm we had 15 longfin and yellowfin releasing 2 putting 12 in the box. Next came the bluefin and we proceeded to release 15 of those. Included in the ones we released were several over 100 pounds up to 150 pounds.

10/6-7/04
Adam LaRosa reports:
Capt. Phil and mates Joe T and Justin Nighan took the Dave Miguel charter from Lipinshi Landscaping out to the Bacardi for a late morning bite and got 10 bluefin up to 120 pounds on a bite that started at 11am and ended at 1pm. They moved off to the east elbow of the Hudson and started chunking at 3pm. By 4pm they had 3 longfin on all the time and by 7 pm were releasing longfin. The yellowfin showed next and they were releasing those by 8pm. In between they caught and released 2 more bluefin both over 100 and one close to 130. The last bite of the night occured at 9pm - they fought it for 2 hours on a Penn International 30W with 60 pound flouro and eventually harpooned a 180 pound big-eye. They left to come home a 11pm.

9/30-10/03/04
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie had the Chris Hempstead charter from Fairhaven, NJ out on the Canyon Runner Thursday September 30 to October 1 for an overnighter and headed out to the west wall of the Hudson. Arriving late on the edge they opted to forgo trolling and went right to the chunk. Drifting the 150/050 area produced a constant pick of yellowfin and longfin all night including some mahi. Most of the fish were taken on 60pound flouro using either sardines or live squid. At day break the boxes were loaded with 11 big yellowfin and 2 longfin.

Captain Phil Dulanie and mates Justin Nighan and Kevin Garrity turned right around on Friday Oct 1 with the Jeff Hymowitz charter from Brooklyn, NY and got to the edge around 6pm. Finding a spot among the crowd on Friday night was not easy but once we settled in on the East Elbow in 68 degree the charter started filling the boat. From 2am until 10pm the fish bite every 15-20 minutes on 40-60 pound flouro. Most of the bites were longfin but we did manage a few yellowfin as well. The best of the bite was after day break. We ended the trip with 18 tuna on ice plus some mahi and released a shark.

The Canyon Runner waited for the wind to lie down on Sunday afternoon and headed back out to the Hudson Canyon for our 51st canyon trip of the year with the Jim Sloan charter. Pounding our way out we finally made the east wall only to miss out on the best of the bite. We pick a couple fish there, ran to the 100 square – picked a fish there, ran to the ‘000s – pick a couple fish there only to be up slicked by a party boat from the Highlands, ran to the east elbow and picked a couple more. We could not have worked harder for the charter and they appreciated it. We put a good catch together of a mix of longfin and yellowfin and add a nice 15 pound mahi.

We have got 20 more canyon trip to go and hopefully the weather holds - as well as the fishing.

9/25-26/04
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie and Justin Nighan had the Ralph Salermo charter from Elizabeth, NJ out on the Canyon Runner Saturday to Sunday and headed north of the 100 Square of the Hudson up towards the Dip. We had only an hour to troll and look around for bait and it was proving useless but then we got a call from Lou on the Madonna and headed a few miles further north where we ran into the New York fleet that was fishing the Dip and traveled with the tuna down the edge. We were only and hour into chunk when the yellowfin showed up and we went 4 for 5 in a mere 15 minutes. Then they left and never came back. We picked another longfin plus a half dozen mahi the rest of the night. In the morning we chunked well into light and pick one more yellowfin on the jig.

9/24-25/04
Adam LaRosa reports:
The Canyon Runner headed out Friday to Saturday with the Todd Polumbo charter and got into a nice pick of longfin on the troll in the afternoon around the 100 square of the Hudson putting 4 in the boat before dark. Chunking in the same area produced 6 more tuna plus a 90 pound sword and several mahi. With 10 tuna in the boat plus the sword we headed home at first light.

9/22-23/04
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie took the Frank Cardaci charter from Farmingdale, NJ out on the Canyon Runner Sept. 22-23 and went right to the chunk down around the 100 square of the Hudson Canyon. The night bite produced a pick of yellowfin with the charter going 4 for 8 plus adding a few mahi. Up on the troll in the morning produce another 4 tuna, this time longfin and some more mahi. Most of the trolling action was around the 150/050 corner of the west wall.

9/21-22/04
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie and mates Burt Rothenberg and Justin Nighan got back out Tuesday after the blow and got right into fish. Checking the water temp charts before departure we decided on the Hudson and it was the right choice as the southern canyons provided only a pick. Trolling on the east wall produced a good bite of longfin and an occasional yellowfin but unfortunately the Dave Miguel charter from Lipinski Landscaping dropped more fish then they hooked on the troll going 3 for 7. However, they redeemed themselves at night picking 11 tuna including a longfin, a couple bluefin and the rest yellowfin. They also added a 100 pound mako and 90 pound sword for the evening and were on their way home at 7am with 14 tuna the mako and sword to their credit.

9/16-17/04
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie had the Ed Pickavz from Pennighton, NJ out on the Canyon Runner Thursday to Friday to get in one more trip before the blow. They headed back out to the Carteret Canyon and went to the chunk when they got there. Chunking in the light with they dropped down on the leaders and quickly put 3 yellowfin in the boat. Thereafter it was another slow night but they did end up with 5 yellowfin in the 60-70 pound class and a few dolphin. Up on the troll they found the longfin and got into a great bite just south of the Lindencohl. The Canyon Runner Custom Rainbow Squid bars produced 8 longfin and the rest of the pattern which included ballyhoo and greenmachines accounted for another 12. Out of the 25 tuna caught we released 9 longfin

9/15-16/04
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie had the Armen Shahinian charter from North Caldwell, NJ out on the Canyon Runner for a Wednesday-Thursday overnighter this week and took them to look for a chunk bite. We headed down to the Carteret and with some time to troll got a couple longfin and a bunch of mahi before setting up for the night. We were looking to drop the hook in the Lindy when we got a call from the Jenny Lee and ran back up to the Carteret where we quickly put a yellowfin in the boat and picked the rest of the night. In total we ended the trip with 8 tuna and over a dozen mahi on ice.

9/12-13/04
Adam LaRosa reports:
Capt. Phil Dulanie and mates Justin Nighan and Phil Lidlow got a Sunday-Monday trip in with the John Martin charter but did not get out to the edge until after dark. The night chunking was again slow in the Hudson as we picked a fish in dark and got up on the troll early. On the troll we got into a nice pick of longfin but never got more then one fish each time they came up. In the end we added 6 longfin to our total for the trip The green machines and Canyon Runner Squid Bars produced and the ballyhoo did not.

9/11-12/04
Adam LaRosa reports:
Capts. Phil Dulanie and Joe LaRosa and new Canyon Runner mate Kevin Garrity had the Kevin Myers and Rich Barlo charter from Pennsyltucky, PA out Saturday to Sunday and picked fish in the late afternoon troll and early morning troll. Again we fished the west wall of the Hudson and again the chunking was abysmal. We did get one yellowfin at night but that was it. The fish on the troll ate ballyhoo and Canyon Runner Mini-Mamba Spreader Bars. In total we came back with 7 nice longfin and yellowfin. Attached is the charter with their catch.

9/03-04/04
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie and Adam LaRosa along with Mike Zajac on his last charter of the season as he goes back to teaching in Asbury Park took CEO Bob Genader from Ambac Financial Inc out to the Hudson Canyon and arrived in the dark. The chunk bite produced one yellowfin and one small sword we released. Up on the troll in the morning we got into a nice pick of longfin and went 3 for 3, 2 for 2, and 2 for 4 before heading home. In addition we boated a few mahi. We sat at the dock from Sept. 5-9 due to the bad weather and should have stayed on land one more day as the Bob Mieskiewicz charter on Sept. 10-11 did not have a bite in the Hudson. Todays trip Sept. 11-12 had a nice bite on the troll but again no chunk bite and have 7-8 fish in the boat right now and are still on the troll on the West Wall of the Hudson.

9/02-03/04
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie and mates Mike Zajac and Justin Nighan had the Dr. Joe Guzzo charter from Allentown, PA out on the Canyon Runner on a turn around overnighter and did not have enough time in the afternoon to troll so they went right to the chunk. Unfortunately the chunking was slow and we were able to pick 3 yellowfin out of 4 bites for the night. Up on the troll in the morning the trip was finished off by a nice white that was teased up on the spreader bar and switched to the ballyhoo. Other then that the troll bite was slow.

9/01-02/04
Adam LaRosa reports:
Capts. Phil Dulanie, and Justin Nighan amd Mike Zajac decided to give the Hudson Canyon another shot on Wednesday with the Jeff Hardimon charter from Philadelphia, PA. Arriving at the west wall the water was ugly so they picked up and headed off to the deep. Just before the 100-Square they put a longfin in the boat on the troll and another just before dark. Putting the boat on the drift for the chunk in 1000-1300 feet of water seemed to be the trick that night as they picked yellowfin all night long ending the evening going 9 for 12 on yellowfin with all but one small between 50-70 pounds. They also missed 2 makos that swam right up to the boat and lost a big fish after an hour battle. They headed home at first light. Most of the yellowfin took live squid.

8/29-30/04
Adam LaRosa reports:
The Canyon Runner crew got in 6 overnighters from last Sunday August 22 to today Monday August 30. I already posted the first couple trips but I owe you a few reports. Unfortunately they are all not good but we did finish off this good stretch of weather with a great trip (3 for 4 on Bigeyes to 160 and 10 yellowfin).

8/28-29/04
Adam LaRosa reports:
On Sunday August 29 Capts Phil Dulanie, Joe LaRosa and Justin Nighan took the Carl Bloomfield charter back out to the break between the Carteret and the Lindy and put together a great catch. Trolling in the afternoon produced 3 nice yellowfin around 70 pounds but disappointment when we finally got our shot at a barrage of longfin only to have 7 miss without a hook-up. The bad luck looked like it was going to continue into the night as boats around were picking longfin and we did not have a touch. That ended with the first of 4 big-eyes we would chunk. The first was boated quickly and was small around 75 pounds. The next came in a double header and we broke one off and boated one are 140 pounds. The last came around 4am and we fought it for 1.5 hours before boating the 160 pounder. Up on the troll in the morning produced 7 more yellowfin with 3 released but again no longfin (some boats had up to 12-15 longfin over the same time). However, with the boxes full with 3 eye-balls and yellowfin in the 70-90 pound class we were not complaining. Once again most the fish were trolled on Canyon Runner Squid Bars and the fish chunked at night took live squid.

8/27-28/04
Adam LaRosa reports:
On Friday August 27 to Saturday August 28 Capt. Phil Dulanie took the Brian Bonnett charter to look over the Hudson Canyon. Not a good choice as we missed a good bite to south. We did pick a 130 pound mako at night and trolled a longfin in the morning but that was it. And on Thursday we took the Kevin Corradino charter out to the Carteret and good our first doughnut of the year. We tried it all including getting behind a dragger but to no avail. To top it off we had generator problems the entire trip when we lost a belt.

8/25-26/04
Adam LaRosa reports:
On Wednesday Aug. 25 to Thurs. Aug. 26 Capt. Phil Dulanie took the Joe Kay cahrter from Flemington, NJ out on the Canyon Runner and put together a nice bite mostly on the troll while fishing the Carteret and Lindenchol Canyons. The afternoon troll produced 4 longfin and 2 yellowfin on squid bars and jets. The night bite was again slow with only 3 yellowfin boated. Up on the troll in the morning produced 6 more tuna and with enough meat in the boat we released half of those. With 15 tuna to their credit they headed home early and were back at the dock by 10am.

8/23-24/04
Adam LaRosa reports:
On a turn around overnighter with Sam DeFeo from Rumson, NJ Monday to Tuesday Capt. Phil Dulanie and mates Justin Nighan and Mike Zajac got into a much better pick of fish in the Carteret. On the troll Monday afternoon they put 5 big yellowfin in the boat before dark from 70-90 pounds in only 2 hours of fishing. The night bite again was slow as only 2 more yellowfin were added to the box. But with the morning still ahead of us we fished until 11am and picked fish all morning. Every fish hit squid bars – in fact we destroyed 4 bars this morning as the tuna were pulling the squids off the ends of the bars or attacking the lead squid down the center. What ever the reason, the squid bars are on fire this year and we can’t seem to get a bite going on the ballyhoo. In fact, by this time of year we usually go through 60-70 12 packs of ballys but as of this week we only used half that as the only thing the tuna seem to want this year is anything that looks like a squid.

8/22-23/04
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captains Phil Dulanie and Joe LaRosa had the Todd Polumbo charter out on the Canyon Runner Sunday to Monday and had a tough pick of fish in the Carteret. On the troll Sunday afternoon they picked a couple fish on Canyon Runner Squid Bars before setting up for the night. The night bite did not materialize for us but we were called over to another vessel (Thanks Bob Alure!!) that was into a hot bite a couple drifts in that area produced a couple more fish but no hot bite for us and the morning arrived with 5 yellowfin for the entire trip to our credit from 20-90 pounds.

8/18-19/04
Adam LaRosa reports:
Capt. Phil Dulanie and mates Justin Nighan and Mike Zajac took the Tom Kohler charter back out to the Toms and their 3rd back-to-back overnighter and quickly got into fish on the troll. As soon as the last line was in the pattern they went 4 for 4 on longfin and then pick 2 big yellowfin just before dark. The night chunk was not like last night's flurry and we pick a few fish during the evening while battling 25 knot winds. By dawn with 5 70-90 pound yellowfin and the 4 longfin in the boat we called it a day early as the wind kept coming on.

8/17-18/04
Adam LaRosa reports:
Capt. Phil Dulanie and mates Justin Nighan and Mike Zajac took the Bill Stevens charter from Bridgewater, NJ back out on a turn around overnighter and this time decided to head to the 73-80 degree break by the Toms Canyon. As soon as they hit the break they put a 70 pound yellowfin in the boat and later trolled what would have been the first place white in Cape May this week as they released a white-one easily around 80 pounds. With only a tuna and a white to our credit and about to set up for the night knowing that the chunking has yet to turn on we were worried. Just then a school of yellowfin busted the surface feeding on surface bait and instead of trolling through them we stopped the boat in front of them threw the meat and had 4 on. on the chunks while the lures were still out. For the next 1.5 hours we had 2 on at a time and end up boxed up and releasing by 9:30pm. All the fish were between 70-90 pounds and we had them on butters, squid and jigs. In total we ended up with 16 yellowfin, 1 longfin, the white and a mahi.

8/16-17/04
Adam LaRosa reports:
Capt. Phil Dulanie and mates Justin Nighan and Mike Zajac took the Jeff Hardimon charter from Philadelphia out to the Hudson Canyon Monday for an overnighter. Arriving in a squall with winds clocked at 40 knots the first two hours all they did was hold on. After the winds let up they ended up trolling 4 yellowfin in the 40-60 pound class before dark. On the drift at night produced only 2 more yellowfin out of as many bites. The only thing that produced on the troll with Canyon Runner Spreader Bars and the tuna at night took squid.

8/9-10/04
Adam LaRosa reports:
Capt. Phil Dulanie and Capt. Justin Nighan and Mike Zajac did a quick turn around with the John Plachtyna charter from Connecticut and took them right back to the Hudson. With much better trolling conditions the fish bite immediately and in the first 2 hours of fishing we put 17 yellowfin in the boat up to 80 pounds releasing 4 smaller ones. Canyon Runner Bars and jets were the best this afternoon and by the time we set up on the chunk we had over 20 fish to our credit with 15 in the deck boxes. The night chunk produced a pick as well as drifting across the elbows produce 3 yellowfin out of 4 bites plus a 75 pound mako which we released. Back up on the troll in the morning produced a few more yellowfin for a total of 25 yellowfin for the trip with 20 between 40-80 pounds.

8/8-9/04
Adam LaRosa reports:
Back from the White Marlin Open and back on the Canyon Runner Capt. Phil Dulanie and Capt. Justin Nighan headed back offshore with the Brad Wilson charter from Manhattan, NY. After 23 canyon trips so far this year we finally decided to give the Hudson Canyon a look over. We were not disappointed with the fishing but again the weather plagued us. Arriving at the West Wall in the middle of the afternoon we quickly got into a nice pick of smaller yellowfin (30-40 pounds) and bluefin and added a mahi. But the wind kept coming and by 7:30 pm we were struggling to get the anchor down in 8 footers. We ended up with 11 tuna on the troll with 6 yellowfin and 5 small bluefins that we released plus the mahi. There was no chunking bite and with only a 3 man charter who had all the fish they wanted we headed home at first light.

8/2-6/04
Adam LaRosa reports:
The Canyon Runner crew left the 48’ Viking Canyon Runner in the slip and went down to the White Marlin Open in style on a 57’ Ricky Scarbourgh. Unfortunately the boat was the best thing about the tournament for us as both the weather and the fishing did not cooperate. We were able to get out on Monday and Thursday. Monday produced a nice mahi that we were going to weigh before a much nicer one was brought to the scales ahead of us. We also had a yellowfin. Thursday’s fishing was much better, that is if we were tuna fishing. We were trolling the northeast corner of the Wilmington and had tuna bites all day. Since we were strictly white marlin fishing we pulled the baits out of the water when the tuna came up and would have had a bunch on the spreader bars but since we were tournament fishing we cut the hooks out of the bars. We still got a show as the yellowfin would keep coming back and hit the bars again and again before either falling for a ballyhoo trolled alongside or just giving up. With one day left to fish we left the inlet Friday only to turn around 4 miles off the beach.

7/22, 7/23, 7/29-7/30/04
Adam LaRosa reports:
Well if you were wondering why we had a lack of reports for a while there are actually two reasons. One, we sat at the dock from Saturday July 24 until Thursday July 29 due to bad weather. Second, I was not sure what to report for our July 22 trip. Attached is a picture of the billfish we released that day with the Brad Wilson charter from Manhattan on Thursday July 22. We think it is a longbilled spearfish and have been trying to get some confirmation during the week before I posted anything but I figured there must be an expert or two on this site that can confirm this. Note that its bill is short, its coloring is different, its pec fins and dorsal are pointed and its anal fin is oversized. Also, the mates said that when they first billed it the tip of its bill was bright blue. If so, then we have caught 4 of the 5 Atlantic Billfish (Sailfish and Swordfish in Florida and White and Spearfish up here) since early April 2004 with just the Blue Marlin to go for the Atlantic Royal Billfish Grand Slam. Anyway, Capt. Phil Dulanie and mates Justin Nighan and Mike Zajac also added 4 nice yellowfin on a one troll in the Toms Canyon that day.
Friday July 23 On Friday July 23 the Canyon Runner Crew took the Dick Steer charter from Stratford, Ct. which included Jack Sparacino from Newton out to the Toms Canyon hoping for a little better bite on the tuna and only came away with another 4 fish. The action was in the Toms Canyon on ballyhoo but it seems as if the fish are spread out all up and down the edge and it is getting tough to load the boat with tuna as there is no one big concentration of them. But I guess our timing is right now that the trolling is getting tough as this was our last trolling trip and except for the White Marlin Open all the trips from here until November will be overnighters.
Thursday July 29-30 After sitting at the dock for 5 days waiting for the Northeasst winds to lay down we tried to get out early Thursday for an overnighter. Unfortunately a little mix up with the charter and we couldn’t leave the dock until 1pm. That hurt as we had no chance to look around the edge to see what the wind blew in and thus we just headed right back to the Toms where there was a nice temperature break. However the, Jeff Schindler and Dan Miller charter from Seally Mattress did have immediately action but all the fish seemed to bite short. We must have lost 6 tuna and when 0 for 4 on whites jumping off two. We did manage a couple tuna and a mahi and went 1 for 3 on the chunk. We set up on the southwest corner of the Toms at night and drifted.

7/21/04
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie and mates Justin Nighan and Mike Zajac today had the Anthony Michelotti charter from Middletown, NJ out on the Canyon Runner after laying at the dock due to the weather since Sunday. We tried the Toms Canyon today and had fish immediately. Trolling in the flats all day produced best and we picked at the yellowfin, boated 2 nice mahi up to 20 pounds and missed a white marlin. At the end of the day we had 7 40-60 pound yellowfin in the box and released 10 smaller ones. Most of the action was on ballyhoo and green machines.

7/17/04
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie had the Dave Miguel charter from Lipinski Landscaping out on the Canyon Runner Saturday to the Lindencohl canyon. We ruled out going back to the Wilmington because of the crowd already there before we even got close. Trolling in 400 feet of water we picked 4 yellowfin keeping 3 to between 40-50 pounds. We also had a white marlin hooked up for a short while before it threw the hook. Ballyhoo produced all the bites.

7/16/04
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie and mates Mike Zajac and Justin Nighan had the Nick Caradonna and Chris Zotti charter from Clifton, NJ out on the Canyon Runner Thrusday and put together a decent catch but had to go 107 miles form the inlet to do it. Trolling down the edge from the Lindenchol Canyon they picked a couple yellowfin on Canyon Runner Custom Squid Bars and Ballyhoo. However they had to make it all the way to the northeast corner of the Wilmington before they got into a good bite. Trolling for just 2 hours there they boated 2 small big-eyes and 6 large yellowfin between 70-80 pounds. In addition they added a couple mahi.

7/15/04
Adam LaRosa reports:
Capt. Phil Dulanie waited to hear from the night bluefishing party boats about the seas offshore and given the green light by Dale on the Jamaica we headed off to the canyon last night with the John Scandalious charter from Holmdel, NJ. The ride out was fine, the troll was fine and the ride home was in the trough. While the weather cooperated the tuna did not. We trolled from the Carteret to the Spencer and boated a mahi, lost a couple tuna and saved the trip with a 70 pound White Marlin pulled out of the Spencer but that was it. While it was slow it sure beats sitting at the dock. All the fish hit ballyhoo trolled behind the Canyon Runner Custom Squid Bars.

7/12/04
Adam LaRosa reports:
Capt. Phil Dulanie and mates Capt. Justin Nighan and Mike Zajac got back on the tuna Monday after taking the weekend off to let the crowds fight it out. After a very tough ride out for a one day trolling trip, and not getting on the troll until 7am, the Sam DiFeo charter from Rumson, NJ effort's were quickly rewarded with a 5 bagger. The bite stayed consistent for the rest of the day and the charter fought well over 25 fish boating 20 with 11 between 40-60 pounds and the rest released. In addition, to spice things up, they boat 4 mahi with the largest weighing 28 pounds on the scale and they missed a white and were on their way home after only 6 hours of fishing. Today we tried something different with the Canyon Runner Custom Squid Spreader Bars and trolled them all day on our inside short riggers (we have always always trolled them on the long riggers and down the middle) It paid of as the first shot of fish would come up on the ballyhoo trolled behind the bars and then as we slowed down the bars would go off. The fishing took place from 2 miles south of the Lindy to 2 miles north of the Spencer. For all pictures go to www.canyonrunner.com fishing reports for 2004.

7/09/04
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie and mates Justin Nighan and Mike Zajac had the Tom Bielicki charter out on Friday and had a somewhat slow but very eventful day on the troll. They stuck it out in the Spencer on Friday and ended up pulling for fish with one nice yellowfin and 2 throw backs but the trip was made when they trolled a mako. The shark came up and ate a green machine behind a bird and they did not know what they had on until it was next to the boat. With the gun locked up in the cabin and the mako chewing through the mono Justion and Mike both put a gaff in the 100 pound mako and pinned it against the boat. Once they got the gun they dispatched the shark and were back up on the troll.

7/08/04
Adam LaRosa reports:
Another slow day in the canyon for the Canyon Runner and Capt Phil Dulanie and mates Justin Nighan and Mike Zajac. What made it even worse was the charter today was one of our part time mates who was bringing his boss out. The Phil Lidlow charter from Belford, NJ fished from the Carteret to the Lindy and again only had 2 fish. They were both nice yellowfin but only 2. We will have to search a little further south tomorrow and hopefully finish off the week on a high note. Good luck to those fishing the tuna tournament this weekend out of O.C.

7/07/04
Adam LaRosa reports:
For those of you following our reports this one may be as informative as all those others with all those fish. It was bound to happen, considering we are only in the first week of July, but after 10 canyon trips under our belts we finally had a bad one. Capt. Phil Dulanie and mates Capt. Justin Nighan and Mike Zajac had the Sean Mowery charter from Holmdel out today and his daughter Ashley did boat her first tuna so that mission was accomplished. However, it was only one of two tuna caught all day. We headed back to the Carteret right where we left them biting Tuesday but everything was different. No birds, no bait, no slicks, no whales, no porpoises. We worked offshore to the 500 fathom then ran up the edge to the Toms with seeing anything. In the Toms we did get two bites and boated a 60 pound yellowfin and a short bluefin but that was it. After a dead morning trolling the green machines we went back to our usual spread of ballyhoo and jets and got both fish on hoos.

7/5-6/04
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie and mates Capt. Justin Nighan and Mike Zajac had the Brian Dwyer charter from Chicago, IL out on the Canyon Runner for another early season overnight tuna troll and night sharking on Monday to Tuesday. In between a rough ride out and rough ride back the crew put it together and picked fish all trip. The afternoon troll bite in the Carteret produced 1 60 pound bluefin and 4 40-50 pound yellowfin plus 8 bluefin released. Nice sharking produced 2 makos with the first released and the second boated. It weighed about 130 pounds. Up on the troll in the morning produced 3 more keeper yellowfin and another 8 released for a total of 24 tuna and the 2 makos. All the action was in and around the tip. For pictures please go to www.canyonrunner.com

7/03/04
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie and Adam LaRosa gave the mates the day off on Saturday and took the Chris Hempstead (Fairhaven, NJ), Craig Delendik (Navesink, NJ) and Pedro Rodriquez (Cuba) charter out on the Canyon Runner for a run to the Carteret Canyon. Hempstead and Delendik are one of our more experienced charters and come with us in the fall a lot but just wanted to get out early in the season so I let them have a weekend date much to my dismay as the crowd, as usually, made the fishing tough. We eventually got chased out of the Carteret by the crowd and could not even think about fishing the Lindenchol where we had been all week. However, these guys were here to catch only a couple fish and instead they boated their personal best. After picking a few small yellowfin that did not even make the cut we had two huge boils on the green machines behind the bird way down the middle. The third boil was the charm as we hooked up and it dumped half the 50W Hempstead was first and got the fish within 75 feet in a few minutes, Delendik battled it out straight up and down and once I got the double line I never let go. The pressure enticed the fish to the surface and it stayed on the surface swimming directly away from us just 50 feet away. Phil chased him down and I stuck him with the dart. The 206 pound big-eye was pulled through the door less then 20 minutes after it was hooked up and the whole battle was on 50 pound stand-up tackle. The rest of the day was uneventful with 9 yellowfin total and only 3 keepers. We ended up only fishing 5 hours as the charter wanted to get back for the fireworks. FYI - I finally have the computer back up and running so for all the pictures of what has been an awesome canyon season thus far please go to www.canyonrunner.com

7/01/04
Adam LaRosa reports:
Capt. Phil Dulanie, mate Mike Zajac and Capt. Justin Nighan (That’s right, CAPTAIN Justin Nighan as he just received his papers in the mail today after passing the captain’s test last month!!! I am just a little superstitious so I did not want to congratulate him until he actually got the license in his hands. So once again, CONGRATULATIONS on what I hope will be a long and prosperous career as a Canyon Runner Captain.) So with two Captains for the price of one the John Denner and Chris Zotti charter from Parsipanny, NJ got into another nice bite of tuna. Trolling again from the Carteret down to the Lindenchol and around the bend the charter boated 27 tuna keeping 14 yellowfin. The quality was just not there today as only 3 of the 14 kept were 50-60 pound fish. The others were all 20-25 pounders. Amongst the 13 released were 3 bluefin. The Canyon Runner Custon Squid Spreader Bars on the long riggers and the weighted green machines were the key today. Just an FYI it has been over a week since we trolled a ballyhoo.

6/30/04
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie with mates Justin Nighan and Mike Zajac had the Pete Cagle charter from Scranton, PA out on the Canyon Runner Wednesday and finished up the month of June with another double digit catch of tuna. Today’s trip saw 38 tuna boated with 19 kept for the dinner table. The quality of today’s fish was not as good as yesterday as the majority of the keepers were 20-40 pounds. However, there were only 50-60 pound tuna - our first longfin of the year. Among the 19 tuna released were three small bluefins as well. The hot lure of the day was our weighted green machines. Of course the jets and squid spreader bars worked as well. We were once again fishing a little south of the Carteret Canyon (closer to the Lindencole) on the 100-fathom curve and the area is just loaded with squid. We finished out our best June ever in the canyons with 136 tuna boated in just 5 trips to the edge.

6/29/04
Adam LaRosa reports:
After two miserable days being forced to shark fish and a charter canceling out on us Monday the Canyon Runner crew was back out were they belong - on the edge. Captain Phil Dulanie and mates Mike Zajac and Justin Nighan had the Anthony Romondo and Chris Noel charter from Manhattan and Philadelphia respectively, out to the 100-fathom line for a one day trolling trip. Starting in the area of the Carteret Canyon at 6am they put a 60-pound yellowfin in the boat before the last line was in the water. That was it until a wiggle down the edge produced a great bite from 8am to 10am when the charter boated another 23 yellowfin and one bluefin. Out of the 25 tuna boated 10 were kept and they were all nicer fish then last week averaging 40 pounds with a few closer to 60-pounds and only a couple in the 30-pound range. Out of the 15 released many were over 30 inches but the charter decided to release those as they had enough food for the table - good for them. Canyon Runner Custom squid spreader bars and blue/yellow jets produced best today and we missed at least another 10 tuna to pulled hooks and short strikes.

6/26/04
Adam LaRosa reports:
The Tom O’Neil charter gave it another shot but to no avail as Capt. Dulanie and mate Mike Zajac did there best to produce a mako but none showed. We spent the day having a great time with the charter and their descriptive stories and look forward to taking them tuna fishing in years to come. As for this year, that is it for inshore fishing until mid-November as we are off to the canyon.

6/25/04
Adam LaRosa reports:
The Tom O’Neil charter considered a run to the canyon based on the great results we had this week but had their hearts set on winning big money in the Jersey Coast Shark Anglers Tournament. While a great time was had by all and Capt. Phil Dulanie and mate Justin Nighan had a great time with the charter the fishing was less then stellar. A day of drifting and dreaming produced a blue shark and nothing else while drifting the eastern end of the Glory Hole.

6/24/04
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie and mates Justin Nighan and Mike Zajac were back out to the Spencer Thursday with the Brad Wilson charter from Manhattan. The action was a little slower today but great nonetheless as 14 yellowfin were boated. Out of the 14 there were 9 that we kept with 5 around 40-50 pounds and 4 20-25 pounders. We release the rest as they were short Customized Canyon Runner squid bars, weighted green machines and big tuna clones again produces as anything small that hit the water was immediately eaten by a skipjack or rat yellowfin. The action was all right on the 100 fathom line in 71 degree water.

6/23/04
Adam LaRosa reports:
The Canyon Runner crew had the Tom Becker charter from Freehold, NJ out to the Spencer Canyon on Wednesday and Capt. Phil Dulanie and mates Mike Zajac and Justin Nighan got into an even better bite then the day before. Reaching the edge a little late around 7am due to a tough ride out they had a slow pick before 8am putting 4 yellowfin in the boat and releasing 1. Thereafter the bite turned on and they had a nice pick all day with a couple of triples and quadruple headers. Trolling bigger Canyon Runner Customize squid spreader bars and big tuna clones and weighted green machines kept the skipjack at bay today. By 11am they had 19 yellowfin in the boat and by 1pm they were limited out and on their way home with 24 in the boat plus 5 released 40-pounders and a dozen releases of yellowfins under the legal limit for a total of 41 yellowfin - not bad for June 23rd.

6/21-22/04
Adam LaRosa reports:
And so it begins again. The Canyon Runner made its first run to edge yesterday for an overnighter and just got back to the dock. We kicked-off our 2004 canyon season the way we ended last year - with rods bent most of the trip. Captain Phil Dulanie and mates Justin Nighan and Mike Zajac took the John Post charter from Roseland, NJ down to the Spencer Canyon and were inundated with skipjacks as soon as they started fishing. Trolling Monday afternoon into the night was an effort as they had to fight through dozens and dozens of the skippies but they did managed 6 30-50 pound yellowfin and about a dozen yellowfin released before setting up for the night. The night was no disappointment either as they fought one very large mako for 10 minutes before it broke off and the first bait back in the water was picked up by a smaller mako that the crew made quick work of putting the 130-pound mako in the boat. Back up on the troll in the morning they got into a better bite of smaller yellowfin and put 3 more 30-50 pounders in the boat and released another dozen to finish with a total of 24 yellowfin with 9 from 30-50 pounds plus the mako, the rest of the yellowfin were just under 27 inches. Almost all of the bigger yellowfin and some of the smaller ones were caught on Customized Canyon Runner Squid Spreader Bars. The rest of the smaller yellowfin ate jets and ballyhoo. Not a bad way to start and hopefully it keeps up as we will be back out the rest of this week on one-day trolls, in a shark tournament over the weekend, and then its canyon everyday until November.

6/19/04
Adam LaRosa reports:
The first day of Mako Mania was a heartbreaker for the Canyon Runner crew and the Billy Wrede charter but we did not know it until we got back to the dock. We only had one bite Saturday but it was the right one A mako around 175 pounds grab the long bait shortly into our second drift and went nuts. In the 1 minutes we actually had it on it jumped 4 seperate times before it won its freedom. It was a great site and we weren't that upset because we figured with the way the fishing is all six places would be filled with Makos over 200 pounds. However, after the first day a 157 pounder is in first and thus we lost a money fish.

6/18/04
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie and mate Justin Nighan once again found the big stripers under bunker Friday for the Joe Scott charter from Jersey City, NJ. They missed an early morning bite off Long Branch but working north off Sea Bright they had all they could handle as snagged bunker never made it to the boat. The charter which include Joe's 4 children from ages 8-14 caught 18 bass with the smallest being 19 pounds and the two largest weighing 38 pounds each.

6/09/04
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie had the Dave Tolchin charter from Parlin, NJ out on the Canyon Runner charter Wednesday and got back into the hot bass bite on live bunker. With two dozen livies in the well from the night before they went right to bass fishing and had three on before the boat came to a stop. The bite was south of the Inlet Wednesday and lasted until 10am When the dust settle they accounted for 13 stripers with one 25 pounder and the rest all over 30 pounds up to 39.5 pounds.

6/07/04
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulane and Justine Nighan had Guy Biondi and the Bronx Boys out on the Canyon Runner Monday and found that the bass had not moved due to the blow over the weekend. Running up the beach in the morning they found enough bunker to quickly fill the live well will 6 dozen. While catching the bunker they busted off a couple bass on the light tackle but that bite never materialized. Moving up the beach they found the bass off Long Branch and as soon as the tide started running the bass turned on. Today the smallest striper was 20 pounds and they had 7 bass over 30 pounds including two 35s, a 37 and a 38-pounder. Most of the bigger bass were released as the charter kept their limit plus bonus fish and released at least 30 other stripers.

6/04/04
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie, Adam LaRosa and Justin Nighan took Captain Bob Genadar from Connecticut and the AMBAC/KPMG charter from Manhattan out on the Canyon Runner Friday and experienced the best bass bite of the year. A short stop up the beach put 40 bunker into the live well and we were then called into a hot bass bite off Long Branch. Within seconds of the first bunker hitting the bottom we had a 25-pound bass on. We spent the next 2 hours using up all 40 bunkers as ever one was eaten by a bass. The bunker came up again just inshore and we put another 35 bunker in the boat and they too were all eaten by bass. When the dust cleared we each had boated our limit of bass and release another 8. The smallest bass taken weighed 19 pounds and we only had two under 25 pounds. We ended the day with 25 bass over 25 pounds, a dozen over 40 inches, and four 35-pounders.

6/02/04
Adam LaRosa reports:
On Wednesday with the Billy Wrede charter from Randolph, NJ which included his sons Brian (10) and Moogie (8) we tried to locate the bunker and bass along the beach early in the a.m. by leaving the dock before light. Unfortunately there was nothing to be found the ride up the beach so we ended up anchoring on Romer and had our slowest day of the year. We did catch tons of dogfish to the kids delight but only a couple bass and fluke along with a handful of blues.

5/31/04
Adam LaRosa reports:
On Memorial Day Capt. Phil Dulanie and mate Justin Nighan took the Blair Potter charter, including his 3 children and wife, from Rumson, NJ out on the Canyon Runner. The conditions were again not the nicest with wind, waves and rain coming on at the end but the family toughed it out and picked a few bass throughout the day along with a handful of blues.

5/27/04
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie and mate Justin Nighan had the Sean Mowery charter from Holmdel, NJ back out on the Canyon Runner for another shot at the Sea Bass. The bite all year has been on and off but Sean wanted nothing to do with Stripers so we gave it a shot. Fishing 4 different wrecks in 65-95 feet of water produced a slow pick on each wreck with, suprisingly, the best pick on the shallowest wreck. We ended a long day with 75 Sea Bass in the boat up to 3.5 pounds and released another 100 shorts.

5/25/04
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie and mate Justin Nighan had the Glen Kistler charter from Harrisburg, PA out on the Canyon Runner Tuesday and got in on some good striper fishing up in Raritan Bay. Going straight to the anchor today seemed like a bad idea after 3 hours with no bass but at 10:30am they came on and the charter limited out with keepers and bonus fish and added 4 slots. In addition, they also went on to release 20+ stripers all between 33" and 38". All the action was on clams in 12 feet of water. For all our pictures please go to www.canyonrunner.com

5/24/04
Adam LaRosa reports:
Some days it is not quantity that matters but quality. Today, Monday, we should have headed home after the first striper was boated. Capt. Phil Dulanie and Justin Nighan put the Bill Marchioni charter from Randolph, NJ into a quick troll bite on spoons at the Shrewsbury Rocks and the first fish made the trip as a 44" fat striper was boated on the first pass Back at the dock it weighed 37.5 pounds. Unfortunately it did not foreshadow a great trip. The bite slowed on the Rocks and we moved to Romer Shoal and then back to the Rocks and ended the day with 6 bass including one of 22 pounds and a dozen blues.

5/20/04
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie and mate Justin Nighan were back up to the Raritan Bay with Dale May and his wife and two daughters for another shot at the great striper fishing. Back on the hook and throwing the clams provided fast action right off the bat. Within a couple hours of fishing the May family had a 25 pound and 32 pound bass in the boat with a limit of keeper and bonus fish and opted to head home early.

5/19/04
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie and mate Justin Nighan had the Jimmy Ryan charter from Philadelphia, PA out on the Canyon Runner Wedenesday and enjoyed a solid bite on the bait. Clamming was the ticket today and the charter limited out on keeper and bonus fish and released another 8 fish over 32 inches. In addition, a few blues were caught and one slot was added.

5/18/04
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie and mate Justin Nighan took the Todd Polumbo charter from Danbury, Conn out for a day of wreck fishing Tuesday. Fishing in 90 feet of water we fought tough conditions all day with a hard south wind and south current which shut down the bite. We hit two wrecks and pulled a dozen big sea bass all between 2.5 and 4 pounds off the first but nothing else. A move to the second wreck produced 80+ fish but only a couple more dozen sea bass for the box.

5/17/04
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie and Joe LaRosa fought through the fog and wind again on Monday to put the Pat Ryan charter from Philadelphia, PA into bass. Unfortunately they could just not get them to turn on on the troll up in Raritan Bay and worked their way back to the Shrewsbury Rocks. On the Rocks they ended up saving the trip with 6 Stripers to 37” and a dozen bluefish.

5/16/04
Adam LaRosa reports:
The Canyon Runner crew took a fun trip on Sunday and decided to stay away from the striper crowds by hitting a wreck for Sea Bass. As soon as the anchor came tight we had a decent pick of Sea Bass in 90 feet of water and had a good pick until the wind came out of the south and everything shut down. We ended the trip with 75 Sea Bass in the Box and released at least 100+ shorts. We were fishing 15-20 miles south of Manasquan Inlet

5/14/04
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie and Adam LaRosa took the Sam DeFeo charter from DeFeo Dodge in Jersey City out on the Canyon Runner Friday for a shot at Stripers in Raritan Bay. Unfortunately both the weather and the Stripers had an off day as we had to the fight our way up there in heavy fog and 15-20 NE winds only to find out the Stripers were not on the feed. Fortunately the charter toughed it out and we picked at fish all in on the troll on both bunker spoons and Mann Plugs with the plugs working best. At days ends we had 8 bass from 31" to 37". The big fish was also a fat one and weighed 21 pounds. We also added 15 bluefish.

5/13/04
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie and Mike Petrole took a chance today and it paid off. The Shawn Mallory charter from Holmdel, NJ wanted nothing to do with the great striper fishing as they had Sea Bass on their mind. Well despite trying to talk them out of it they insisted so we gave it our best shot. The first wreck produced what we expected 8 Sea Bass and 1 blackfish in the box and just as many releases. The second wreck's production was totally unexpected. In two hours on non-stop action the 6 man charter limited out with 150 Sea Bass to 4 pounds and release at least another 150 Sea Bass. In addition a dozen blackfish were put in the box and dozens released as well as 20 or so undersized cod. I guess they are finally here.

5/12/04
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie and mate Joe Dalik were back at it today with the Dave Tolchin charter from Parlin, NJ and today had the guys on the boat that could handle the proper tackle to go after these big bass hanging out in Raritan Bay. Trolling Montauk Bunker Spoons produced instant and constant action all day with bass no smaller then 33” and almost all were between 35” and 42”. White spoons seemed to work best and the 6 man crew finished the day with limits of keeper and bonus tags for everyone. They lost just as many bass as they caught as you usually have to accept that downside when fishing the spoons. As most of the other boats have been reporting, there are no slots to be found in this body of fish.

5/11/04
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie and mate Joe Dalik took the Joe Scott charter from Jersey City, NJ up to Raritan Bay on Tuesday and got Joe's four children, Trishten (13) Brianna (12) Naaya (8) and Branden (6) into a hot bite of Stipers. Joe reeled in the first fish caught trolling chartruse Mann Swimming plugs and then Joe’s kids handled the rest. Unfortunately it seemed every bass was over 32” and the kids had a tough time reeling them in. We must have lost 15 bass between 33-40 inches but it did not matter as everyone had a great day and everyone at the very least boated at least one bass over 32”. In addition, a stop on the Shrewsbury Rocks produced a few bluefish but no bass.

5/10/04
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie and mate Joe Dalik had the Terry Rivers charter from Philadelphia, PA out on the Canyon Runner Monday and pulled our first few bass of the year off the Shrewsbury Rocks. However, that fishing was not that consistent so we headed up to Raritan Bay where the charter got in on some decent clamming action. The charter limited out on slots and keepers and released an addition 12 bass before the trip was over. In addition, on the Rocks they boated 6 bluefish – also our first of the year

5/7/04
Adam LaRosa reports:
Sometimes fishing is just fishing and not catching - no matter what you try. Friday's trip with Dr. Ron Massari was one of these times. Capt. Phil Dulanie and Joe Dalik spent a very frustrating day watching all the other boats in Raritan Bay that day do very well on Stripers while we were striking out. Guys anchored in our slick, up slick or us and along side were all picking bass with a decent frequency while we sucked wind. At the end of day we ended up with 4 bass releasing one short. Almost all the other boats private and charter had 20-40 bass minimum. It was just one of the those days hopefully not to be repeated again for a long time.

5/5/04
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie with Capt. Mike Petrole again working the deck took the Joe Miller charter from Philadelphia up to the Raritan Bay Wednesday. Fishing in 15 feet of water we had a steady pick for most of the day and ended up putting 18 stripers to 35” in the boat and releasing 22. All of the action was again on clams

5/4/04
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie with Capt. Mike Petrole working the deck started off the Canyon Runner’s 2004 New Jersey season with the Adam Hamon. Fishing up in Raritan Bay in 12 feet of water we did not have as good a pick as some of the other boats in the area but the charter from Manhattan still caught a dozen stripers up to 32” on clams. Half the stripers, however, were shorts and were released.

1/17/04
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie and mate Justin Nighan had the Dave Tolchin charter from Parlin, NJ out again on the Canyon Runner Saturday. With a very slow sailfish bite materializing the crew decided to get in on some hot kingfish action in on the reef. Using live pilchards and sardines the charter picked away at 15-40 pound kingfish. While they had well over 20 bites and fought a dozen fish only 6 where actually boated due to various bite-offs, crossed lines, backlashes, Et. Al. that you would expect after a night of partying in celebration of Dave’s 60th birthday. I have 10-15 pictures that I will get up on www.canyonrunner.com tonight and will post a few here later today.

1/16/04
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie and mate Justin Nighan had the Dave Tolchin charter from Parlin, NJ out on the Canyon Runner Friday for Dave’s birthday party. Picking up an assortment of live bait before leaving the Palm Beach Inlet they were ready for anything. Unfortunately the bite was slow today, as many boats did not even see a fish. However, as luck would have it we got our shot and bested a nice sailfish for the birthday boy and missed a couple of other bites. Of course the best thing about the day was no wind, no seas, shorts, tee shirts and 75+ degree weather. The sailfish ate a slow trolled goggle eyes off the flat line.
P.S. - Capt. Phil Dulanie will be one of the speakers at next Saturday's Saltwater Sportsman Seminar being held at Monmouth College. Hope to see you there!!!

1/14/04
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie had a fun trip today which included several captains from up in Jersey and also Captain Greg Bogdan from the charter boat Permitted fishing out of Sailfish Marina. Slow trolling gogs produced plenty of action on everything from Sailfish (Which Phil’s daughter Melissa Dulanie from Wall, NJ released, to 15 pound dolphin, plenty of kingfish releases and bite offs as well as a few barracuda. All the action was in 120-180 feet of water 4-6 miles south of Palm Beach Inlet.

1/12/04
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie and mate Justin Nighan had the Carl Bloomfield charter from Marlton, NJ out on the Canyon Runner Monday to do some live baiting off of Palm Beach Inlet. With goggle eyes impossible to come by we picked up 3-dozen sardines and spent the morning slow trolling off of Jupiter Inlet. By noon we had already used up all 3-dozen on 10 Mahi to 15 pounds 15-20 Oceanic Bonita to 18 pounds and a few king fish bite offs. We ran back in and pick up 30 more sardines and this time headed south off The Breakers Hotel. The action slowed but right before lines out we topped off the day with a nice 4 foot – 40 pound Wahoo that was fought on spinning tackle for 25 minutes before boated by Carl. Unfortunately today marked the first day fishing without a sailfish bite.
By the way we are almost booked up for the 2004 Canyon Season so please call ASAP if interested. We only 5 days in July, 4 in August, 3 in September and 6 in October still open. Visit us at www.canyonrunner.com for info. We still have a couple weekends open in Florida as well.

1/10/04
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie and mate Justin Nighan had the Ed Pickavz charter out again for a night of swordfishing on the Canyon Runner on Saturday. We ran down off of Ft. Lauderdale and set up in 1800 feet of water. Our drift took us 20 miles north and produced only two bites on what was a very slow night of swordfishing most likely due to the full moon. One small sword was fought for a while and dropped just next to the boat (it probably was under 47 inches) and the other sword never felt the hook.

1/9/04
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie and mate Justin Nighan had the Ed Pickavz from Pennighton, NJ and Anthony Pickavz from Ramsey, NJ out on the Canyon Runner for a day of sailfishing off of Palm Beach. With zero wind and flat seas we once again could not use the kite so spent the day slow trolling live goggle-eyes. Our first stop was off The Breakers Hotel and within 15 minutes in 175 feet of water the first rod went off. Immediately thereafter two more rods took off and the two-man charter and Justin were into a triple header. One dropped off fairly quickly but the others were fought for a while with one officially released at the boat and one jumping off a few feet away. Thereafter the charter wanted to set up on the remaining bites, and there were plenty, but as luck would have it while we fought 7 more sailfish that day not one made it to the official release but a bunch of great pictures of sailfish jumping off and stealing our $100per dozen gogs were captured. I should have pictures up on www.canyonrunner.com by the end of this week so check them out. Oh yeah, it was sunny and 75 degrees all day

1/8/04
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie had the Mike Duncan charter from Wall, NJ out on the Canyon Runner on Thursday to do some inshore fishing off Palm Beach. Fishing in beautiful 80 degree whether in 60 feet of water they spent the day catching a wide variety of inshore fish topping the day off with a 50-pound amberjack. In addition several king mackerel and barracuda were boated and released. For the table the charter took home red snapper and grouper. The amberjack, kings and barracuda were caught live living grunts and blue runners while the snapper and grouper took shrimp fishing just off the bottom.

2003 Saltwater Sport Fishing Reports


12/30/03
Adam LaRosa reports:
The crew of the Canyon Runner, operating out of Old Port Cove in Palm Beach, had the Steve Avon charter from Brick, NJ out live-baiting for Sailfish over the weekend. After picking up 2-dozen goggle-eye we had the baits in the water within 10 minutes of leaving the inlet. With no wind to speak of we could not get the kite up so had to slow troll for the first 2 hours. However, that did not hurt the fishing as our first bites in 155 feet of water off the loran tower in Jupiter produced 4 sails on at once We fought all 4 for a few minutes before jumping off two but eventually boated and released 2 nice fish. After that we got the kite up and had another double-header in 150 feet eventually releasing one and jumping one off and just before calling it quits we missed another fish. In addition we boated a couple kings. We only had the baits in the water 3.5 hours and were back at the dock by lunch time.

12/27/03
Adam LaRosa reports:
The crew of the Canyon Runner had the Shatzel charter out on Sunday for a day of sailfishing off of Palm Beach. Fishing off the Breakers and just north in 130-160ft of water produced 2 sailfish hookups and a few other "lookers" in the spread. One quickly jumped the hook but the other was successfully released by Heather Shatzel of Miami, Florida. The Shatzel group also managed few nice 20-30lb kings and a 10lb mutton snapper before calling it quits at 1:30 due to the rough conditions.

12/09/03
Adam LaRosa reports:
Hope everyone is having a great holiday season. While we have been offline and not keeping up on our posts we definitely have been busy We ran our last trip to canyon on November 4 with the George Poltrack charter and unfortunately ended the canyon season on a slow note with only a few tuna put in the boat. (But what a canyon season it was as at final count we got in 59 canyon trips including 17 one-day trolls and 42 overnighters for a total of 101 days on the edge and put close to 700 tuna in the log book.). All the pictures from our 2003 canyon trips (and for all our trips going back to 1997) can be viewed at www.canyonrunner.com.
From November 5th to November 17th we ran everyday for stripers and then ended our 2004 season early, as we needed to do our annual winter maintenance on the engines before heading down to Palm Beach. We fished one last day for stripers on Thanksgiving for our annual crew trip, waited out some bad weather, and headed south on December 3rd. Yesterday morning the Canyon Runner was running down the beach in 75 degree weather with 77 degree water temperatures and pulled into Palm Beach Inlet after a very uneventful run south. We will be spending the winter running charters out of Old Port Cove Marina in North Palm Beach, Florida.
With every weekend and most Friday’s booked already for sailfish and swordfish from the last week in December until we haul the boat in March we hope to get in about 30 trips in Sailfish Alley. I promise to keep up-to-date on the posts and hopefully that will help fight off some of the cabin fever that I know is already setting in thanks to an early cold and snowy winter already upon us.
I also wanted to thank everyone on this board, particularly the moderators, for providing such a professional venue to post our reports.
Finally, all of us at Canyon Runner Sport Fishing want to wish everyone a happy, healthy, and safe holiday season.

10/31/03
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie and mates Justin Nighan and Bert Rothenberg took the John Tiano charter from Sea Girt out on the Canyon Runner Friday to try and get one more trip in before the bluefin quota reverted to 1 fish. We did not have that much time to fish during the daylight Friday but made every minute count as in a 4 hour bite the charter put together the best trip of the year. On the drift on the east wall of the Hudson Canyon the big bluefins were boiling behind the boat all afternoon. Within 10 minutes we had the first fish on and kept 3 bluefins hooked up at all times. The charter boated their limit of 4 and fought another 8. In total they caught 9 bluefins from 130 pounds to close to 190 pounds and lost 3 others. All the action was on sardines and squid on 80-pound leader and 50 pound stand-up tackle.

10/30/03
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie and Joe LaRosa and mate Justin Nighan took the Frank Schimel charter from Western P.A. out on the Canyon Runner Thursday for an overnighter to the Hudson Canyon and found the big bluefin had not moved. Within 5 minutes we had the first fish on and kept 2-3 big bluefin hooked up at all times. From 3pm until 6 pm the charter fought 7 of these fish and put their limit of 6 in the boat during the 3 hour battle. The action is all on the east wall of the canyon and we drifted the entire time. After packing out our limit we looked around for some signs of yellowfin but found nothing. We headed home at midnight with bluefin of 130, 135, 145, 165, 180 and 185 pounds.

10/25-26/03
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie and Joseph LaRosa and mate Justin Nighan had the Jeff Hardiman charter out on the Canyon Runner Saturday to Sunday and the big bluefins were again on the feed in the Hudson Canyon. We had only 2 guys on the charter and limited with a 160 pound and a 210 pounder within a couple hours of fishing. We also released one about 170 pounds and came home early as there were no yellowfin or longfin to be found and the charter did not want to fight another bluefin again. They did nail a nice mako though. All the action was on the east wall between the tip and th elbow. All the boats out there seemed to get there shot at the bluefins but no yellowfins or albacore were mixed in. FYI - One of our buddies put a bluefin in the boat Saturday night in the Hudson that weighed 325 pound dressed so there are some giants out there.

10/18-19/03
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie, Adam LaRosa and Phil Lidlow took the Joe and Rob Connelly charter from Freeport, LI out on the Canyon Runner Saturday to Sunday and perhaps put together the best trip of the year – tough to really compare as after 620 tuna we had some other decent trips. However, this trip has to rank right near the top. Starting on the East Wall of the Hudson near the tip at 4pm we had a double of yellowfin on almost before the anchor line came tight. By 7pm we had 8 40-60 pound yellowfin in the boat and by 11pm we had our limit of 15. Then, as if the fish knew we were done with yellowfin, the Bluefins show up greeting us with a double of 200 pound fish. We fought both for over an hour when the first broke off near the boat 20 minutes later the second was put in the boat. Thereafter we did not go more than 15 minutes without a big bluefin on and put 3 more in the boat by 3am. These fish were a little smaller and weigh from 125 to 145 pounds. We also fought and released several 200-300 pound blue sharks and jumped off a mako before heading home early at 5am.

10/16-17/03
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie, Capt. Joe LaRosa and Capt. Joe for the Lite ‘n Up had the Tom Bontowkowski and Ed Hamilton charter out on the Canyon Runner last Thursday for a day chunk trip as the weather did not provide a larger window. Arriving at the Hudson Canyon’s East Elbow at 5am we put only one yellowfin in the boat before dawn. Then we waited for a day bite that appeared as if it would not materialize. However, at 11am the first Bluefins came into the slick and from then until 3:30pm we were hooked up the entire time. Unfortunately we could not get them to eat anything heavier than 80 pound flouro on 80 pound main line and thus could not put out the heavier tackle spooled with 100-150 pound main line. In those 4 hours we battled 14 Bluefins and put 4 from 140 to 200 pounds in the boat. We lost one around 250 at gaff and broke off the rest. Squid were the bait of choice.

10/13-14/03
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie and mate Justin Nighan were able to get offshore in between storms yesterday and put the Brian Garivello charter from Middletown, NY into yellowfin in the Hudson Canyon. Arriving in rough seas on the east wall we threw the hook and waited, and waited but only put 1 yellowfin in the boat by 1am. With the wind laying down and the seas with it, we pulled the hook as we were called in by the Fat Cat out of the Atlantic Highlands and now own them dinner. As soon as they pulled their anchor we drifted right past them and pulled hundreds of tuna into our slick. We read ‘em from 50 to 150 feet down and had them visual behind the boat. From 2am to 4:30am the charter fought 30 yellowfin putting a total of 20 in the boat. At no point during that time did we not have a fish on and most of the time we were fighting 3 at once. Obviously the fish bit whatever we threw at them but squid seemed to work best. We were back at the dock by 9am.

10/9-10/03
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie and mates Captain Joe LaRosa and Justin Nighan had the Jeff Veith charter from Randolph, NJ out on the Canyon Runner for our fourth overnighter in a row. That’s back-to-back-to-back-to-back trips starting Monday and finishing up on the Friday in what turned out to be a great stretch of October weather. Heading offshore late Thursday afternoon put us on the West Wall of the Hudson at 7pm. One drift and by 10pm we had 10 50-80 pound yellowfin in the boat. A move over to the East Wall and one more drift put another 4 yellowfin and 1 longfin and some mahi. In total we landed 15 tuna and dropped another 6 due to pulled hooks and broken leaders.

10/8-9/03
Adam LaRosa reports:
It was just like the saying goes, “you can’t win ‘em all” and last night the tuna got the best of the Canyon Runner. I guess once out of 50 trips ain’t bad. We had a few difficulties leaving at dead low tide and had to wait an hour so we missed out on any troll bite but that should not have been a problem as we were chunking by 6:30pm. Unfortunately despite several moves and all our efforts we only had one bite all night long. The Bob Megesly charter saw Captain Phil Dulanie and mates Justin Nighan and Billy Rowan pull out all the tricks but nothing transpired at night beyond the one yellowfin. We had a little time to get up on the troll in the morning and added another yellowfin and a longfin but had to head home with only 3 tuna in the boat. This was by far our worst trip since July 9th. We were fishing the east wall of the Hudson Canyon.

10/7-8/03
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulane and mates Justin Nighan and Capt. Bert Rothenberg did a turn around trip with the Joe Kay charter from Flemington and headed back to the Hudson Canyon on Tuesday afternoon. As soon as the first bait was put in the water we had a fish on and put 5 tuna including 2 170 pound bluefin in the boat before dark. Anchoring up on the east wall put us into yellowfin all night long and by 5:30am we were pulling the anchor with the boxes full. Squid produced most of the bites and we ended the trip going 20 for 22 on tuna including the 2 bluefin, 16 yellowfin and 2 longfin.

10/6-7/03
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie and mates Justin Nighan and Bert Rothenberg had the Todd Polumbo charter from Southport, CT out on the Canyon Runner for a Monday/Tuesday overnighter and decided to make a trip down to the Lindenkolh Canyon. Trolling in the afternoon produced a couple bites on ballyhoo and we had 2 longfin and several mahi in the boat when we set up on the chunk. Anchoring in 550 feet of water we picked tuna all night and ended the trip with 14. However, that was not the story. With a slow pick going on the tuna we were able to get a swordfish rod out and this rod was going off all night. We ended up breaking off one big sword when the 150 pound leader busted and dropped another after a short battle. In addition, however, we boated 4 other swordfish between 44 and 46 inches releasing everyone.

10/3-4/03
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie and mates Justin Nighan and Phil Lidlow put the Dr. Brian Griffith charter from Milford, NJ into another excellent catch of yellowfin and longfin in the Hudson Canyon Friday night. Get there early they were able to troll the east wall and put 7 tuna in the boat as well as several mahi to 15 pounds prior to setting up on the chunk. The night bite was a slow pick but by 6am we had 14 in the boat and had a nice bite going when the wind started to come on and was pushing 30 knots by the time we got the anchor in the boat.

09/30-10-01/03
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie and mates Justin Nighan and Capt. Burt Rothenberg had the Dr. Pat Donnelly charter from Brielle out on the Canyon Runner Tuesday to Wednesday for an overnighter in the Hudson Canyon. Trolling for a short time Tuesday afternoon put 2 longfin and a couple mahi in the boat. A drift in the deep on the east wall produce another 6 yellowfin and longfin plus an 80 pound sword and more mahi. Called into a good bite on the elbow we started picking yellowfin again and from 7am to 10am went 4 for 6 all on the chuck to end the trip with an even dozen tuna, a sword, some blue sharks and 10 mahi.

09/26-27/03
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil and mates Justin Nighan and Jeff Stolarz arrived at the Hudson Canyon’s east wall at 10pm Friday night due to a late arriving charter and things were not looking good as the chunk bite did slow down in the Hudson from the beginning of the week. However, anchoring on the edge towards the mouth on the east wall was the right call as the Dennis Rogers charter from Interlaken, NJ went 11 for 14 on 40-80 pound yellowfin the chunk and add a bunch of mahi. In fact, the charter was so happy with the chunk bite that they told us to go home at 5am as they did not want to troll since they had enough tuna already. We re-pack the tuna on ice and were on our way home by 6am.

09/25-26/03
Adam LaRosa reports:
The Canyon Runner just docked and Capt. Phil Dulanie and mates Justin Nighan and Phil Lidlow put another 11 tuna on the dock. With no time to get in on the trolling the crew kept their fingers crossed that they would get into em on the chunck. However, after being inundated with Mahi to the point where we couldn’t get a line in the water they had to move up on the bank. The move to the west flats proved productive and a good pick of 10 yellowfin to 90 pounds and 1 longfin was put in the boat before dawn. At dawn we put her on the troll for an hour but the longfin we had yesterday did not show today.

09/24-25/03
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie and mates Justin Nighan and Billy Rowan had the Dave Miguel charter out on the Canyon Runner on a Wednesday-Thursday overnighter and once again loaded the boat with tuna, sharks, swords and mahi. Getting there at 3pm we had some time so we decided to troll. Before we got all the rods out in the pattern we were loaded up with longfin going 5 for 5 only 10 minutes into the trip. The rest of the afternoon was spent with a good pick of big longfin on the troll and by 6pm, in only 3 hours of trolling we boated 14 longfin from 35 to 65 pounds a drop a couple. With a load of tuna already in the box we decided to look over a few different spots while chunking and ended up drifting into between the Hudson and Toms canyons. The night bite saw a couple more longfin, 4 for 5 on 70 pound yellowfin, a 150 pound mako we boated, a 50 pound sword we released, and several nice mahi. Squid produced all the fish at night and ballyhoo produced on the troll. The crew was on their way home at 6am with 19 tuna on ice plus the mako and mahi.

09/21-22/03
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie and mate Justin Nighan put the Steve Barry charter from Barry Trucking in Middletown into yellowfin in the Hudson Canyon on a Sunday/Monday overnight fishing in very crowded conditions with over 90+ boats in the canyon. The weather was perfect and allowed for several drifts in 600-500 feet of water on the West Wall and we picked fish on every drift. Starting around 7pm we immediately had 2 fish in the boat and picked all night finishing with a quick flurry when the sun came up in the morning. Squid and butters produced and we ended the night going 16 for 17 on 60-80 pound yellowfin and added a few mahis and release a big blue shark.

09/20-21/03
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie, mate Justin Nighan, and Capt. Joe (from the Lite-n-Up) had the Don Abbamonte charter out on the Canyon Runner for a Saturday/Sunday overnighter and headed right back to where we had the yellowfin before Isabel. As we figured Isabel had no effect on the tuna and within 2hours of trolling we had 3 70-80 pound yellowfin in the boat and lost a big wahoo. Setting up on the drift we had a double header on the chunk within seconds of getting the baits in the water and had 14 big yellowfin in the boat before 9am. The rest of the night was spent catch and release fishing as we caught another 11 releasing everyone. In total the crew went 25 for 27 on yellowfin and everyone was 70-90 pounds. It appears a little bigger class of fish moved into the canyon. Once again the action was up on the West Wall of the Hudson and squid were the bait of choice.

09/14-15/03
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie and mates Justin Nighan and Phil Lidlow took the Carl Bloomfield charter from Fairhaven, NJ to the Hudson Canyon Sunday into Monday and found the tuna right where we left them before the last blow. Drifting the west wall around the bend produced fish immediately as 2 yellowfin were boated just before dark. That first drift lasted for 6.5 miles and brought us way up on the flats but produced yellowfin the whole way and by midnight we had 15 in the boat. Setting up on the second drift we topped off the boxes with another 12 tuna releasing 4 of those. All the tuna were in the 40-70 pound class and we added a few mahi on top of that Squid were once again the only bait of choice. In total we went 27 for 35 for the night and were on our way home at 5am.

09/7-8/03
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie and mates Justin Nighan and Phil Lidlow did a quick turn around with the Dr. John Bednar charter Sunday to Monday and found the fish a little more cooperative on the drift Sunday night. Setting up in 600 feet of water a little further down on the West Wall of the Hudson they picked fish on the chunk all night never getting a mad dog bite but never going more than a half hour without a bite. In addition, the group added another sword, this one about 120 pounds. In total the charter went 10 for 17 on 50-70 pound yellowfin. Unfortunately it looks like we will be sitting at the dock for another week as one system after the next sets it sights on ruining our September.

09/6-7/03
Adam LaRosa reports:
Sorry for the late report I been away all weekend at my brother’s wedding. Captain Phil Dulanie and mates Justin Nighan and Phil Lidlow had the Richard Steer charter from Stratford, Conn charter out for their fourth canyon trip this year on the Canyon Runner and once again put them into fish Saturday to Sunday. Setting up in 600 feet of water on the West Wall of the Hudson we quickly had 2 yellowfin in the boat on the chunk and spent the next hour fighting what we thought was a sword. Unfortunately it was a 350 pound blue shark hooked in the tail. Thereafter we did not have a bite and at 3am decide to pull the anchor and reposition for the morning bite. It worked as the group fought another 10 yellowfin putting 5 more in the boat.

09/1-2/03
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie and mates Phil Ludlow and Lou Ferris got in one trip before what looks like a week at the dock due to some nasty weather and once again loaded the boat with a limit of yellowfin. The Chris Hempstead charter from Fairhaven, NJ, trolling the east and west walls of the Hudson up by the bombs produced a couple yellowfin and a couple of misses but really just killed the time until night fall. Setting up in 600 feet of water on the west wall it did not take long and the rods were bent over with 40-80 pound yellowfin. Squid were by far the best bait both live and frozen. It was a solid pick all night long and by 4am they took the rods out of the water after going 24 for 28 for the trip including releasing a couple for the next one. With the northeast winds and Hurricane Fabian it looks like the next one will not be until next week sometime.

08/28-29/03
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie and mates Justin Nighan and Mike Zajac out did themselves Thursday night in the Hudson Canyon putting together their best trip of the year. Fishing with the Rob Scrivo charter from Bay Head, NJ they arrived at the West Wall at 7pm and anchored in 550 feet of water By 10pm they had 6 yellowfin in the boat and by 2 am they had a dozen without yet losing one fish. Thereafter it was a mad dog bite with the tuna hitting anything put in the water, including bare hooks. From 3am to 5am the charter caught another 26 tuna and lost only 2 bringing the total to an amazing 38 for 40. Not bad for only 6 guys fishing. It should be noted that out of the 38 tuna brought to the boat only 22 were kept and the hooks were removed from the other 16 released. To top it off, tonight’s fish were mostly 60 pounders with some 80 pounders mixed in.

08/27-28/03
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie and mates Justin Nighan and Mike Zajac are on their way back in early today as the John Lindenlong charter from Philadelphia, PA limited out on yellowfin. After spending a few hours on the troll Wednesday afternoon with only 1 yellowfin to show for it they anchored up early on the West Wall of the Hudson hoping to get the fish going early. The early bite did not materialize but by 11pm the fish started coming through the slick and they picked 6 fish by 3am. After that the yellowfin came on strong as they had them visual in the slick right behind the boat and were hand feeding them. By 5am they were done after fighting 25 putting 19 on ice in addition to a bunch of mahi. The yellowfin were 45-65 pounds and ate squid, butterfish and they got a couple on jigs.

08/25-26/03
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie and mates Mike Zajac and Justin Nighan had the Richard Steer charter from Greenwich, Conn out on the Canyon Runner Monday to Tuesday and was back out at the Hudson Canyon and on the anchor by 7pm. Waiting for an early bite that didn’t come made the crew think that they should have went back down south but a flurry from 3am-5am changed that as the charter went 10 for 12 on 50-60 pound yellowfin. Up on the troll in the morning for only a couple of hours they went 1 for 2 putting a 70 pounder yellowfin in the boat. They anchored in 550 feet of water on the west wall and picked up most of the tuna on the chunk on squid.

08/24-25/03
Adam LaRosa reports:
The Canyon Runner was back offshore Sunday to Monday with the Dr. Bernie Jay charter from Mantaloking, NJ/Connecticut and headed south to try out a couple of the smaller canyons that were productive during the Mid-Atlantic Tournament. Unfortunately trolling was a bust and we anchored-up early as the night bite was good the day before. Tonight was not so hot with half of the 10 boats in the canyon striking out. We did manage to go 3 for 5 on 50 pound yellowfin and saved the trip with another swordfish (this one close to 100 pounds). Captain Phil Dulanie was, of course, at the helm and Justin Nighan took care of the cockpit.

08/19-20/03
Adam LaRosa reports:
Sorry for the late report – Tuesday to Wednesday’s overnighter for the Rob Sabo charter from Mount Holly, NJ was the slowest of the year but the guys did nail a swordfish for payback for the other nights 3 hour disappointment. Arriving late at the southwest corner of the Hudson Canyon and going right to the chunk produced a slow night with only a couple yellowfin hook with 2 lost and 1 boated. The night was saved when an nice swordfish was decked after a brief fight. In the morning all we were able to pull was a longfin on the troll and nothing else.

08/18-19/03
Adam LaRosa reports:
An interesting trip to the Hudson was put together last night by Capt. Phil Dulanie and Mike Zajac on the Canyon Runner. Fishing with the Joe Kay charter from Flemington Department Stores we set up on the chunk early on the exact spot where we had 27 the night before. However, Monday night never saw the big schools of yellowfin show up for any of the 7+ boats in the canyon and the only ones we know of our the 3 fifty pounders we boated. The trip was made by a tuna of a somewhat different species. The first took a bait at 100 feet and was fought for 20 minutes and weighed in at 150 pounds. The second came an hour later fought for 20 minutes and pushed the scale to 160 pounds. Both were the first bigeyes we boated this year. The night was not done with only 5 tuna as at 5:30am we hooked a very large fish. 3 hours later the 250+ pound swordfish was only 30 feet from the gaff when the 60 pound leader parted - tough luck but a hell of an experience for the guys.

08/17-18/03
Adam LaRosa reports:
Due to a gasket failure on one engine Thursday we missed the crowds on Thursday night and Friday night waiting for the part to be shipped but were back out for a Sunday-Monday overnigther with only a few boats for company. And with the crowd out of the canyon almost every boat left in the Hudson did very well last night. Captain Phil Dulanie and Mike Zajac were no exception as they had their best night of the year so far. Anchoring up on the West Wall a 8pm they quickly put 3 yellowfin in the boat in the first hour for the Todd Polumbo charter from Fair Haven, NJ but then had to wait for the fish to really turn on. Once they did it was non-stop action as the 6 man charter and 3 man crew boat their limit of 27 yellowfin out of 35 bites. From 11:30 pm until 1:30pm they had at least two fish on at once and several triple headers and were on their way home by 2am. By 6:30am they pulled in the slip and began the long process of quartering the predominately 50-60 pound yellowfin for the dinner table and the freezer. Live squid caught prior to the bite getting hot were the bait of choice.

08/13-14/03
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captains Phil Dulanie and Burt Rothenberg and mate Mike Zajac once again loaded the boat with yellowfin on the chunk for the Wade Sidensticker charter from Ft. Meyers, Florida. Doing their third ovenighter in a row they had only an hour of trolling time Wednesday afternoon but still managed to put one 50 pound yellowfin in the boat. Anchoring up in 600 feet of water on the west wall of the Hudson it again did not take very long to get the fish going on the chunk. Squid appeared to be the bait of preference and the charter went 11 for15 on 40-60 pound yellowfin before the clock struck 2am. Thereafter they did not have a touch until first light when they went 3 for 5 and ended the trip with 15 yellowfin (out of 20 fought) boxed up and on ice up and they were on their way home early once again.

08/12-13/03
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie and mate Mike Zajac put together a limit catch of yellowfin Tuesday night for the Keith Londress charter from Little Silver, NJ. Reaching the edge late Tuesday afternoon we only had about an hour and a half on the troll and only managed one fish that was quickly lost. We initially set up on the east wall but not seeing what we wanted we pulled the hook and moved back over to the west wall and had fish on shortly after coming tight on the anchor. From 10pm to 2:30am the charter had the pleasure of fighting 18 yellowfin and boxing 12 of them from 45-55 pounds. We did not have another touch after 2:30am but with a limit in the box we pulled the anchor at first light and never put a trolling line in the water getting back to the dock early. Butterfish so far are the bait of choice as there is not a big concentration of bait in the area.

08/11-12/03
Adam LaRosa reports:
It is nice to back up north where the tuna are!! Captain Phil Dulanie and mates Mike Zajac and Jay Richardella took the Mark Francis charter from Connecticutt out on the Canyon Runner for an overnighter Monday to Tuesday and put together a nice catch all on the chunk. Trolling in the afternoon did not produce as we hooked only 1 yellowfin losing him at the boat. However, once we set up on the chunk it was not long before the rods started bending. Setting up in 600 feet of water on the West Wall of the Hudson we immediately had bait around the boat (although not vast quantities) and within 20 minutes the first yellowfin hit the deck. It was a steady pick all night long only interrupted when the sharks invaded the slick and we ended up releasing both a 200-pound hammerhead and a small brown shark. We finished off with a quick barrage at dawn and ended the trip going 9 for 15 on 40-70 pound yellowfin all on the chunk. Rough seas and charter exhaustion lead to many of the lost fish being broke off right next to the boat.

08/4-8/03
Adam LaRosa reports:
The Canyon Runner is back on line after a week off for the White Marlin Open. As is usual for that tournament it was another major turnout by 400 boats and thousands of spectators. Totally not within the control of the tournament committee was the fact that the marlin decided to take the year off. Man does fishing stink down south this year. On the first two days the only white we saw was one released from another boat. We were fishing between the Baltimore and Wilmington both days out to the 500 Fathoms of the Wilmington and only got a couple yellowfin and a bunch of mahi – the tuna and marlin are just not there. On our third day of fishing, however, we found the whites. Although fishing in 6-9 foot seas all day put a crimp in our efforts to get these fish to the boat. Trolling a few miles due north of the Tip of the Wilmington we found perfect water deep blue in color with bait and stop the boat way short of our intended destination which was the Spencer. Within 10 minutes of lines in a white got wrapped up in our teaser and was spooked but marked the first of 7 whites we saw that day. We actually had a ligit shot at 5 whites hooking 3. All three were solid hook-ups but with waves crashing in the cockpit it made it quite tough fighting these fish and 2 jumped off (both small anyway). We did boat and release one that was only 61 inches. Needless to say we are thrilled to be back up north where the tuna have been since late June and are already back offshore today with reports that the yellowfin have started to bite on the chunk.

07/30-31/03
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie and mates Justin Nighan and Mike Zajac took the Brian Bonnett charter from B&B Landscaping out on the Canyon Runner for a Wednesday-Thursday overnighter that was an essay in patience. Leaving the dock at 9am Wednesday the crew trolled from the Bacardi to the 100-Square of the Hudson Canyon with out a touch all day. Chunking at night produced a 60-pound mako that nearly jumped in the boat and eventual broke-off on mono and a few big mahis. Trolling the east flats Thursday morning after 24-hours at sea without a tuna to show for it hope was waning - then the tuna showed up. From 7:30am to 10am the chartered had all the tuna they wanted. 14 yellowfin from 60-80 pounds were boated and 3 more were released In addition one 40 pound bluefin was also put in the box. The highlight of the trip was the boating of another bluefin, this one close to 160 pounds. In total in 2.5 hours of fishing the crew boated 18 tuna (releasing 3) and fought and lost another 7. After the first 10 fish were put in the boat the fishing was so good that they only ended up putting out only 2 rods with 9-inch rainbow squid spreader bars off the tip riggers as watching the fish explode on the bars was just as good as reeling them in.

07/28-29/03
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie and mates Justin Nighan and Mike Zajac took the Tom Bielicki charter from Bergen County out on the Canyon Runner for a Monday-Tuesday overnighter. The crew decided to run a little further today to find some fish that would actual bite as opposed to those big bluefin that only give you a few shots during the entire day while you spend your time watching them on the surface. The choice proved correct as a run to the 100 fathom line northeast of the 100 square of the Hudson put us on yellowfin, longfin and mahi. Trolling from 4-8 pm yesterday afternoon we went 9 for 15 on tuna putting 6 yellowfin in the boat and releasing 1 from 45-60 pounds and 3 nice longfin in addition to several mahis. The night bite still did not materialize as only one blue shark was released for our efforts. With the wind started to pick up at 3am Capt. Phil decided to head back inshore to finish the trip by trying to snag one of those bluefins but instead baited a white marlin. With waves breaking in the cockpit as the winds started to push 25knots it was less than ideal conditions for the charter to fight the white and we did not get the release as she threw the hook. We did add a few more mahi before heading home.

07/25-26/03
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie and mate Mike Zajac had the coach from Fairfield College Basketball, Tim O’Toole, out on the Canyon Runner for an overnighter Friday to Saturday. After a long week at the dock since Monday afternoon due to the bad weather we were itching to get back out. However, a week at the dock had us scratching our heads as to where to fish but we decided to go back to where we had the longfin laste – just inshore of the Hudson Canyon. The tuna were there but not longfin. Instead the area was loaded with 100-200 pound bluefin that would not eat. Trolling a spread of ballyhoo way way back we manage three shots at these fish, dropping one, breaking one off and landing one bluefin about 140 pounds. In addition, we baited, hooked and released our second white marlin in as many trips. At nigh all we got was one shark bite that broke off on the mono.

07/20-21/03
Adam LaRosa reports:
The crowd goes home after the weekend and the fish turn-on – although not as good as we would have hoped. On Sunday-Monday the Canyon Runner did its first overnighter of the season with the Dave Babish charter from Allentown, PA. Capt. Phil Dulanie and mates Justin Nighan and Mike Zajac showed up just inshore of the Hudson as the last of the weekend fleet was headed home and working with just one other boat got the fish to bite going 4 for 8 on 40-50 pound longfin before dark. We trolled until 10pm when we set up for the chunk. A hard effort was put in all night as the area was loaded with bait, including squid, but the only bite all night was a 110 pound mako that took a 80-pound fluro-carbon leader and broke-off at the boat. The morning troll was a little more exciting as we again went 4 for 8 on nice longfin, nailed 2 15-20 mahi and baited and released our first white marlin of the year. Believe it or not on this trip the ballyhoo did not work and green/blue little zuckers caught everything. We headed home in 20-25 knot winds with 8 tuna on ice with the knowledge we are going to have a few days off as the weather does not look like it will cooperate this week.

07/19/03
Adam LaRosa reports:
The Canyon Runner was back out Saturday on a rare weekend canyon trolling trip as fishing in a crowd always kills the fishing. However, this Saturday’s trip was not a charter but our second bachelor party trip of the year - the first for my brother-in-law and this one for my brother Craig LaRosa. This once again provided a little variety for the Canyon Runner crew as the evening’s events at Clark’s Landing were a nice way to celebrate an awesome week of fishing. Unfortunately, as usual, the fishing on the weekend was not up to par. With dozens of schools of longfin popping up all over the edge and way inshore and the fleet smaller than we expected we thought the weekend crowd would not hurt the fishing – we were wrong. The fleet was still big enough that the constant pressure on these schools being run over as everyone tried to get their shot at they turned the tuna off the feed. We worked hard all day but only managed 3 nice longfin and a couple mahi. One mahi weighed in at 18 pounds.

07/18/03
Adam LaRosa reports:
On Friday Captain Phil Dulanie and mates Justin Nighan and Mike Zajac took the Richard Steer charter from Connecticut out on the Canyon Runner and found the yellowfin again inshore of the west wall. Without getting a bite until 7:30 am after starting trolling at 4:30 am we thought the great bite we had all week was over. However, the yellowfin came on strong and we went 8 for 12 in 2 hours of trolling. The bite slowed after 10:00 am but we did manage to pick another couple longfin before calling it a day. Again, it was all ballyhoo. The yellowfin and longfin were all between 35-50 pounds.

07/16/03
Adam LaRosa reports:
On Wednesday it was the Jeff Schindler charters turn to get in on the great yellowfin and longfin bite in the Hudson Canyon and the fish once again cooperated. Captain Dulanie and mates Mike Zajac and Justin Nighan had lines in the water at 5:30 am and had two 15-pound mahi on before the 5th line was out. Putting those fish in the boat they worked the west wall and found the yellowfin again feeding on the surface. By 8am 6 yellowfin were in the boat and by 11am the number for the day total 15 out of 20+ bites. Most of the yellowfin today were 40-50 pounds but we did boat one yellowfin that was easily over 100 pounds. With the wind pushing 25 knots all day and a load of yellowfin in the boat the charter once again called it a day early and we were headed home before noon. Ballyhoo were the only thing the yellowfin wanted to eat.

07/15/03
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie and mates Mike Zajac and Justin Nighan strung to together back-to-back-to-back solid canyon trips this week with today’s being the tops as we limited out on yellowfin from 40-80 pounds. The Bill Erdman charter from Wall that included Dr. Pat Donnelly from Brielle put 21 tuna in the boat keeping their limit and releasing the rest trolling the east and west walls of the Hudson Canyon. Arriving at 5:30am the first fish were in the boat in 10 minutes and we never went more than 15 minutes without a bite. Most of the shots were single and some doubles with no big barrages all morning. By 10am we had 15 yellowfin on ice and released one short. The charter called it a day at noon and just as we were pulling in the lines we spotted the schools on top again, made one pass, and went 4 for 4 on 70 pound fish. Today the green machine was hot but once again ballyhoo were the meal of choice.

07/14/03
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie and mates Justin Nighan and Mike Zajac had to work a little harder today but again put another great catch of tuna in the boat for the Joe Valente charter from Bayonne, NJ. Having to drive through rainstorms all night with limited visibility was only the beginning as the rain never let up all morning. As such, finding the fish on the surface was near impossible. We looked over the west wall first and found plenty of mahi to 15 pounds putting easily a dozen in the boat but no tuna. Working the east wall finally put us on tuna as we went 2 for 3 and 3 for 4 and had 5 40-60 pound yellowfin in the boat by 9am. Unfortunately those fish did not come up again and we had to work way inshore where we finally found the tuna up top and in 30 minutes put 6 more yellowfin and longfin in the boat up to 60 pounds. We ended up the day with 11 40-60 pound tuna (8 yellowfin and 3 longfin) on ice and 20 mahi-mahi on top of that. Again, the large majority of the fish ate ballyhoo.

07/13/03
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie and mates Justin Nighan and Mike Zajac took the Bob Genader charter from Westport, Conn out on the Canyon Runner Sunday and loaded the boxes with big longfin and even bigger yellowfin. Not getting out since Wednesday due to the bad weather we had no idea what to expect as we pulled into the west wall of the Hudson Canyon but it did not take long to find out. With the last rod just put in place we did a double on 4- pound longfin and repeated that just 10 minutes later. With 4 longfin in the boat before 6am we were pretty happy but now wanted more. A move to the east wall provided us with all we wanted. With big schools of yellowfin busting water we quickly went 4 for 4 and 6 for 6 working these schools Only most of the catch was made up of the longfin feeding beneath the yellowfin. We did put 4 yellowfin in the boat from 40-80 pounds but the bulk of the catch was 40-50 pound longfin. We ended the trip very early as we had 19 tuna in the boat by 10:30am and had no more room for more. We were back at the dock before 4pm. In total we were 19 for 24 on these nicer size tuna and by far naked ballyhoo out produced everything.

07/09/03
Adam LaRosa reports:
Well it was bound to happen. With tuna fishing at the early stages of the canyon season always being a challenge we gave it our all yesterday and trolled from inshore of the Toms Canyon out to the 100-fathom line and south all the way to just south of the Lindencolh with only a few small Mahi to show for our efforts. The water at the Toms did not look like the same water we fished Monday and Tuesday and the life was non-existent. We were working with another boat that trolled a parallel course in on the 60-fathom line and also struck out with the tuna. With 10 canyon trips in the books already and 75 tuna in the logs we were hoping a slow but consistent canyon season was going to pick up steam. Yesterday put some dampers on those hopes but once the wind stops blowing we will be right back at it – but probably not until Sunday as we had to cancel today and tomorrow.

07/08/03
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie and mates Mike Zajac and Justin Nighan took the Sean Mallory and Jim Pertusis charter back out to the Toms Canyon Tuesday but those pods of yellowfin were no where to be found. Trolling all morning produced nothing until we were covered up by longfin just before noon. We quickly put 4 nice 45-50 pound longfin in the boat and worked the area for another 2.5 hours but nothing else came up. We did bag another Mahi. The longfin all ate ballyhoo behind Moldcraft Hookers and Ilanders.

07/07/03
Adam LaRosa reports:
After taking the 4th of July Holiday Weekend off to take family and friends out for the fireworks and enjoy some time on land the crew of the Canyon Runner was back offshore today with the Jeff Veith charter from Randolph, NJ. The bluefins we were catching for a couple weeks have finally seemed to move north but in their place the longfin have filled in. Capt. Dulanie put the charter into 40-50 pound longfin today going 3 for 3 and 2 for 5 on the only two shots we had at them. The rest of the trip was spent working several pods of 20-50 pound yellowfin that we could not get to bite. In addition, we boated our first Mahi-Mahis of the year. All the action was in the vicinity of the Toms Canyon. Congratulations to Capt. Paul Dalik and the crew of the Moondancer who while working those same pods of yellowfin raised a 300-pound Blue Marlin to the pattern and got the released on 30-pound class tackle.

07/03/03
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie and mates Justin Nighan and Mike Zajac had the Anthony Micalatti charter from Middletown,NJ out on the Canyon Runner July 3rd and found bigger fish today but not nearly as many. Working inshore where we had the bite Tuesday we saw nothing and ran off to the edge when called in by the Tenacious. Trolling on their numbers for only a few minutes we went 3 for 3 on nice 35-50 pound yellowfin. Unfortunately that was it for the day.

07/01/03
Adam LaRosa reports:
Just got the call from the Capt. Phil on the satellite phone and he put another beating on the Bluefins today. Fishing somewhat inshore of the Toms in 400-450 feet of water the Jim Thompson charter from Cherry Hill, NJ spent the morning releasing 10 Bluefins all just under or at the 27 inch minimum. Just before noon the bigger fish came up and working these schools Dulanie and mates Mike Zajac and Justin Nighan quickly boated 3 bluefins in the 30 pound class. Those fish went down but shortly thereafter a few more schools came up and working them for an hour produced 8 more Bluefins from 30-35 pounds. In total we boated 21 Bluefins today keeping the limit for the 3-man charter and releasing 18. The hot lures of the day were small jets and small ballyhoo. For the first time this year the bars rarely went off.

06/30/03
Adam LaRosa reports:
The Canyon Runner finished up June with their 5th canyon run this year and while the fishing has not been consistent we have already put over 40 tuna in the boat. Yesterday’s trip was one of the slower ones. Hearing of decent action to the north we headed towards The Dip but the water and life was not to be found. The Mike Silvestry charter hung in while Capt. Dulanie worked down the 100 fathom line back to the Hudson and finally found the Bluefins at the southwest corner of the Hudson Canyon. Unfortunately it was already late in the day and in the limited time we had we only went 2 for 4 on 35-pounders. Both were taken on ballyhoo.

06/27-29/03
Adam LaRosa reports:
The Canyon Runner took a few days off this past weekend from the charter schedule to take Adam LaRosa’s brother-in-law, David Wirtenberg (Manhattan), canyon fishing and then into Atlantic City for his bachelor party. Capt. Phil Dulanie came along as well as mates Mike Zajac and Brad Burgess. To protect the innocent and not so innocent the rest of the guys shall remain nameless. Leaving Manasquan Inlet at 10pm we headed-off to the 100 fathom line to do some sharking for a couple hours but were not successful. Up on the troll at 4:30am we headed to the mouth of the 500 Fathom line of the Hudson Canyon. In the first 1.5 hours we got into some fish and went 2 for 2 on 30pound bluefin and 1 for 2 on 45-pound yellowfin. After that from 6am until 1:30pm not another hit. We pulled them up and headed towards A.C. but when we hit the 40-fathom line north of the Toms we saw a couple schools of bluefin pop up, pulled back on the throttles and quickly put one in the boat. We picked up again and ran another mile pulled back on another school and put 2 more in the boat. In total we ended the day with 5 bluefins from 20-30 pounds and one 45-pound yellowfin. Ballyhoo and Mini-mamba bars produced best. We were in A.C. by 6pm and then the action really got good but this is not the forum for that report.

06/26/03
Adam LaRosa reports:
The Canyon Runner was back in off the edge in 500 Fathoms of the Hudson Canyon and Capt. Phil Dulanie and mates Justin Nighan and Mike Zajac once again put their charter on tuna. Trolling in the morning with the Pat Ryan charter from Bryn Mawr, PA was slow as only several skipjack tuna were boated and released (with them around you would think the yellowfin are not far behind). However, Noon once again proved to be the feeding time as the fish came up and we went 4 for 8 on 30-35 pound Bluefins. The hot lure today was the green/blue mini-mamba bars. On another positive note, unlike Tuesday when we crushed the fish but had no bait readings and the tuna had no bait in the stomachs, today the fish were loaded with rainfish and other tiny baitfish.

06/25/03
Adam LaRosa reports:
The Canyon Runner crew of Capt. Phil Dulanie, Mike Zajac and Justin Nighan took a short break from the canyon and only ran 60 miles today to put the Troy Cotton charter from Philadelphia into sharks. Unfortunately with no wind there was no drift and the sharking was less than stellar. However, the crew still managed a couple Blue Sharks of 50 and 125 pounds We were once again fishing in the area of the triple wrecks in 180 feet of 71 degree water.

06/24/03
Adam LaRosa reports:
The Canyon Runner crew of Capt. Phil Dulanie, Mike Zajac and Justin Nighan really out did themselves this time. I just got the call on the sat phone and here’s the report. Giving the canyon one more shot after a slow day Monday they found the tuna. Fishing with the Mike Jones charter from Philadelphia, PA they headed to the Hudson Canyon. Working the west wall into the 70-degree water we picked our first 40-pound Bluefin around 7:30am. Working off the edge into the deep we started to pick a little better with both ballyhoo and mini-mamba spreader bars doing the job. By Noon we had our limit of 6 Bluefins in the boat all between 25-40 pounds plus one 40 pound Yellowfin – then the bite got really really good. From Noon until 2pm the schools were up on top and we boated and released another 20 Bluefins with 70% between 25-50 pounds and 30% shorter than 27 inches. At one point the charter went 7 for 9 on Bluefins when every rod loaded up We finished the day with a total of 28 tuna.

06/23/03
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie and mates Justin Nighan and Mike Zajac had to start sometime and today just as good as any other day. Fishing with the John Tiano charter from Middletown, NJ on a trip booked as a learning experience/tutorial rather than as a fishing trip as John has his own canyon capable boat we pulled out every trick in the book to give the guys what they paid for as we headed offshore of the Lindencolh in search of the first tuna of the year. Not seeing what we wanted in 64 degree water we picked up and ran south and east of the Wilmington and found whales, porpoises and birds. Working this area produced skippies and indeed the first two tuna of our 2003 canyon season. The two Bluefins we boated were both small (barely legal) but everyone was still pleased to bag up tuna steaks back at the dock. Both Bluefins ate ballyhoo behind blue/white Ilanders in 500 Fathoms east of the Wilmington. Even better - the weather was absolutely perfect!!!

06/22/03
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie and mates Mike Zajac and Justin Nighan had the Tom O'Neil charter out Sunday for a shot at another Thresher but it did not happen today. We did catch and release two big blue sharks and drop another to provide some action but nothing will be put on the scales today.

06/20/03
Adam LaRosa reports:
Capt. Phil Dulanie and mate Justin Nighan did their last inshore trip of the season (until November) on Friday with the John Kirwan charter from Short Hills, NJ. Stopping on one wreck in 90 feet of water produced a decent bite of Sea Bass up to 4 pounds. By 10:30 am the charter had all they wanted and we were on our way home.

06/19/03
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie and mate Justin Nighan once again headed back offshore on the Canyon Runner and out did their selves this time. Fishing with the Scott Crawford charter from Westfield, NJ they ran 55 miles southeast of Manasquan in the area of the Triple Wrecks and set up in 180 feet of water. With a decent drift we had the blue sharks to the boat fairly quickly and released 2 before noon. 30 minutes thereafter the mid-range bait, down 50 feet with a whole mackerel took off. Justin set-up on him and the 4-man charter each got several chances over the next hour and half to stand-up and fight a very large Thresher. However, once leader and along side the boat the Thresher was quickly subdued. Back at Hoffman’s Marina she weighed in at 447 pounds. After two big Thresher in one week we can just about get the door shut on the fridge and should be eating great for the next month. Just kidding - but if anyone wants some stop by Clark's Landing tomorrow as we have about 70 pounds the charter left behind packed out and on ice.

06/18/03
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie and mate Justin Nighan made it out again today despite poor weather and put the Dean Borghi charter from Summit, NJ into a nice catch of Sea Bass in 90 feet of water. Unfortunately certain members of the charter were not entirely up to the test for what the ocean conditions presented and we were not able to stay out very long. But still, in 2 hours of fishing we put 100+ Sea Bass in the boat and released many others. The largest was close to 4 pounds but most were in the 2-3 pound category today.

06/17/03
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie and mate Justin Nighan once again headed offshore targeting sharks with the Rudolph Merva charter from The Slovac Republic. Setting up around the triple wrecks it was not long before the long bait was taken and a Thresher erupted from the water. Unfortunately it got wrapped in the wire and we never got the hook in him. However, shortly thereafter the short rod went off 20 feet from the boat and this Thresher again came out of the water but this time the hook held. An hour and a half later the 215-pound Thresher was secured along side and boated. He took a whole mackerel bait in 58-degree water.

06/16/03
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie and mate Justin Nighan tried to get in on some of the great Striper fishing live lining bunker along the beach on Monday with the John Denar charter from Rockland County but 25+ northeast winds and 6 foot seas ended that hope. However, trolling plugs in the same general area produced almost as well as the charter took their limit of big Bass plus a couple bonus fish. Stripers of 22, 23, 24, 25, 29 & 33 pounds were boated. Many Bass just as large were lost due to the horrible conditions. Chartreuse Mann plugs produced all the Bass plus another dozen big bluefish. The charter handled the rough conditions like pros.

06/15/03
Adam LaRosa reports:
After a week off for general maintenance on the Canyon Runner in anticipation of the offshore season Capt. Phil Dulanie and mate Mike Zajac headed offshore Sunday to fish the Mako Mania tournament. Fishing the lower end of the triple wrecks in 60.5 degree water the Billy Wrede charter from Randolph, NJ had an excellent shark trip with constant action the entire trip. Unfortunately we were in search of one 200+ mako and not the twelve 100-250 pound blue sharks we caught and released. In addition, we fought what we believe was a large thresher for 20 minutes and after dumping half the spool on a 50W it broke off. Despite the lack of makos it was great to be offshore again and after just a couple more inshore trips this week we will be offshore until November.

06/2,3,6/03
Adam LaRosa reports:
On Monday Captain Phil Dulanie and mate Justin Nighan had the Guy Biondi charter from Rockland County out on the Canyon Runner and limited out on Sea Bass on the first drop they made in 80 feet of water. Several of the Sea Bass were over 4 pounds and 3 were over 5 pounds. In addition after limiting out we released another 50+ before heading home. On Tuesday fishing was not so hot. The charter refused to go Sea Bass fishing and insisted on Stripers. While we gave it our best shot the Striper fishing never got going. Clamming on the Shoal and trolling on the Rocks only proced a few bass and about a dozen blues for the Tom Becker charter. Easily the worst trip of the year. On Friday the Captain Dulanie was back out on the Sea Bass grounds with Burt Rothenberg in the pit and again easily limited out on Sea Bass. One wreck was all it took and again big Sea Bass made up most of the catch. We were through back 14 and 15 inch fish filling the cooler with primarily 3 pounders.

05/30/03
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie and mate Justin Nighan had to put in a full day with the Joe Lambrillo charter from Burlington, NJ in order to put a Striper catch together Friday. Claming off Sandy Hook in 15 feet of water produced a slow pick on both the incoming and outgoing tides. However, everyone of the 15 bass we boated was over 30 inches and most were from 36 to 38 inches. The largest of the day was 42 inches and 28 pounds.

05/29/03
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captains Phil Dulanie and Joe LaRosa had the Canyon Runner out with the Sean Mallory party from Holmdel, NJ on Thursday and made it an early day on the Sea Bass grounds as a limit was put together before 9am and we released 100+ Sea Bass before calling it a day. The limit catch was made up primarily of 3-4 pound Sea Bass as we were throwing back anything less than 15 inches and most of the fish were over 3 pounds to begin with. Today we fished in 75 feet of water and only needed one drop on one wreck to make the trip.

05/26/03
Adam LaRosa reports:
Fed up with the horrible weather over Memorial Weekend the crew of the Canyon Runner decided we were going to fish Monday no matter how bad the conditions were. And they were bad. We left Manasquan Inlet at 5:30am in decent sea conditions (2-4 footers) but in pouring rain. The rain never stopped and by the time we were 20 miles southeast the seas were 6-8 – but the Sea Bass were there. Fishing in 70 feet of water we loaded the cooler with a limit of Sea Bass up to 5 pounds with a dozen of 4 pounds. We were headed back by 10am and when we hit the Inlet the wind hit 30+ knots. We wouldn’t think of subjecting a charter to this unwilling and so the crew included a few captains/boat owners from Clark’s Landing, Captain Phil Dulanie, Adam LaRosa, and mates Mike Zajac, Billy Rowan and Brad Burgess.

05/22/03
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie and mate Justin Nighan fought through some uncomfortable conditions this morning and headed off for another shot at Sea Bass. The Todd Polumbo charter from Darien, Conn may not have picked the best weather day but they picked it right with respect to when the Sea Bass were finally going to break wide open. Perhaps we over shot them the last few trips but due to the unfavorable conditions on the way out we stop short in 70 feet of water and had 4 pound Sea Bass coming over the rail before the anchor came tight. We filled up the cooler with a limit for everyone on the boat releasing another 50 putting the total easily over 200 for the day. A few Sea Bass were close to 5 pounds with most in the 2-3 pound class.

05/20/03
Adam LaRosa reports:
Capt. Phil Dulanie had the Pete Minoti charter from Cherry Hill on the Canyon Runner today and headed back to Sandy Hook. After anchoring in 15 Ft. of water it was another repeat performance of the last days fishing with Stripers up to 38" filling the keeper and bonus catagories for the 5 man charter. After the limit was caught the group went on to fish another 2 1/2 hours releasing fish.

05/19/03
Adam LaRosa reports:
On Monday Captain Phil Dulanie and mate Justin Nighan took the John Post charter from Summit, NJ out on the Canyon Runner for a shot at the Stripers and found almost all big fish for the charter. Again we started were we left off before the Northeaster and set up in 15 feet of water on Romer Shoal. The Bass have not moved. Again, the action was not a fast and furious but quality fish were the rule today. Almost every Bass was over 31 inches and we had no trouble limiting with keeper and bonus fish. The largest of the day measured 37 inches. We also filled the slot category but that was not as easy.

05/15/03
Adam LaRosa reports:
On Friday Captain Phil Dulanie and mate Burt Rothenberg took the Pat Ryan charter from Philadelphia out on the Canyon Runner for a shot at the Stripers and was not disappointed. Heading right towards Romer Shoal once again put us on the Bass. However the action was not a fast and furious as it has been. Nevertheless, the charter still limited out on big fish including bonus fish but found the slot category hard to fill. Almost all the bass were over 30 inches and up to 35 inches. Chunking clams in 12 feet of water again proved effective.

05/14/03
Adam LaRosa reports:
Inshore Sea Bass fishing is starting to take shape. Captains Phil Dulanie and Burt Rothenberg had the Shawn Mallory charter from Holmdel, NJ out on the Canyon Runner Wednesday and hit a couple wrecks 20 miles southeast of Manasquan in 75-90 feet of water. With a ripping current due to tomorrow’s full moon conditions where less than favorable and holding on the wreck was a problem all morning – as such only a slow pick was put together by Shawn and his son Kyle (11) and the rest of the crew. However, after noon, once the current let up, the Sea Bass came on strong and the charter was able to put together a limit filling three quarters of a cooler with Sea Bass up to 3.5 pounds. The water temperature was 51.5 degree however the bottom temperature was significantly cooler. Another few degrees on the bottom temp and we should be bailing Sea Bass as both wrecks were stacked up with them according to the fish finder. In addition, several blackfish were caught with 10 kept and many released.

05/12/03
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie and mate Joe Dalik took the Joe Scott charter from Jersey City, NJ up to Romer Shoal today and got Joe's four children, Trishten (13) Brianna (12) Naaya (8) and Branden (6) into a hot bite of Stipers. Everyone including the children quickly limited out with slot, keeper and bonus fish by 9:30 am using clams in 15 feet of water on the western end of Romer. Chumming with clam shells and putting down a couple of pots brought the bass right to the back of the boat and the kids once again did a great job. The majority of the bass were in the 28-31 inch class but we did have fish up to 35 inches. Enough can't be said about the great stiper fishing right now and everyone should got in on it before it is over. In addition to the limits we released dozens of bass and dozens of bluefish and were headed home at 11AM reaching the dock just before the wind started howling.

05/10/03
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie and mate Mike Zajac had the Dr. Ron Massari charter from Sparta, NJ out Saturday on the Canyon Runner for their turn at Bass. The Dr.’s son Ron Jr.(11) and his friend Mike Westoff (12) handled the cockpit like pros helping out with netting, gaffing, baiting hooks, setting hooks and throwing clams. They each totaled 12 Stripers a piece up to 36inches and we headed home with another limit in all categories for the 5 man charter. In addition we released another 12+ Bass. We were inundated with blues and spent most of the day fighting off the Blues to get to the Bass. We were once again limited to a short day and were out of there headed home by 11am as the boys had to get back to a late afternoon little league game where Ron Jr. was the scheduled starting pitcher. After waking up at 4am and putting in a long day in the cockpit I hope Ron Jr. makes it through the first inning. We were once again set up on Romer Shoal in 12 feet of water by 7:30am and chummed very heavy with the clams to fight off the boat traffic.

05/09/03
Adam LaRosa reports:
On Friday the crew of the Canyon Runner was under the gun to put a catch together quickly as the charter needed to make it an early day. Captain Phil Dulanie and Justin Nighan had no problem putting a limit catch including bonus fish together for the Sam DeFeo charter from Greenwich, Conn. Stopping short of Romer Shoal we found only bluefish on the slack tide and picked-up and moved to Romer in 15 feet of water. The Bass were there within minutes and everyone had their limit including bonus fish by 11am We released bass for another 30 minutes and headed home. Interestingly, most of the fish were from 34inches to 38inches and we had a hard time filling the slot limit. Again, circle hooks, fluorocarbon and clams produced. Once the blues showed up the only way to shut them off was to stop throwing clams. It worked and the bass kept biting.

05/07/03
Adam LaRosa reports:
On Wednesday Captain Phil Dulanie and mate Justin Nighan took the Billy Wrede charter from Randolph, NJ out on the Canyon Runner and was back up on Romer Shoal to clam the Bass. However, with fresh clams impossible to come by we were stuck using fresh frozen and the bite never turned on too hot – although clams were probably not the culprit for not putting 50+ Bass in the boat. You see on Wednesday’s trip success was not marked with numbers That is, Billy’s 7-year old son Brian Wrede and 10-year old son Kevin Wrede did all the fishing and refused to dead stick any of the bass – each working their own rod back in the slick. They gave it their all and did each limited out on all categories including bonus fish and released another 9 bass and 20 bluefish – not bad for two kids who’s combined age still does not make them eligible to vote. We anchored in 12 feet of water on Romer Shoal and clammed heavy until the blues showed up. The bite could best be described as a slow pick from 7am until 1pm.

05/05/03
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie and mate Justin Nighan took the Lou Ottrando charter from Middletown, NJ out on the Canyon Runner Monday and got back into the decent Striper clamming we have all been seeing the past few weeks. We looked over a few spots (off the Highlands Bridge and off the tip of the Hook trolling on the way up to Romer Shoal but only found bluefish. We finally set up in 12 feet of water on Romer Shoal and while it took a little longer than usual to get the Bass going we did and we were not bothered by blues all day. Clamming with two pots over the side and throwing sparingly we limited out on slot, keeper and bonus fish for the 6 man charter. The fish ranged from shorts to 34 inches and we released another dozen bass after our limit was full.

05/04/03
Adam LaRosa reports:
On Sunday Captain Phil Dulanie and mate Justin Nighan took the Ken Phan charter from Queens, NY out on the Canyon Runner for a shot at the Sea Bass on the inshore wrecks. Knowing full well that with the surface water temperature as low as it is (we had reading from 47 to 49 degrees) the bottom temperature could not be expected to be much higher – and it wasn’t. However, despite the odds stacked against us we toughed it out and hitting two wrecks 22 and 19 miles South East of Manasquan we put 100 keeper Sea Bass in the boat – although none were larger than 3.5 pounds. We released another 50+ Sea Bass all below the new 12inch minimum. In addition we had dozens of Blackfish but only 15 keepers. We were fishing in 90 feet of water and used nothing but clams.

05/01/03
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie and mate Justin Nigham had the Dean Borghi charter from Monclair Friday out on the Canyon Runner and got into the Bass clamming and trolling. We arrived a little past 7:30am on Romer Shoals and it did not take more than 15 minutes on the anchor to get the Bass going. We started off in 12 feet of water and had doubles and triples on constantly. Within an hour we limited out on slot, keeper and bonus fish for the 6-man charter. We threw very heavy to get them going including putting down a couple of chum pots and it seemed to work well - most of the Bass where between 27inches and 34inches. All the action was on clams with circle hooks and 30 pound Momoi fluorocarbon. The charter was ready to head-in early but they were convinced to switch over to trolling plugs to spice things up and that worked as well. Trolling chartreuse Mann-18s in 20 feet off water with 150 feet of 50pound mono off the reel just off the Shoal we caught and released another 15 bass in 45 minutes. Every Bass trolling was from 30inches to the largest of the day measuring in at 37inches.

04/30/03
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie and mate Justin Nigham had the Joe Miller, Sr. charter from Philadelphia out on the Canyon Runner Wednesday. We made one stop anchoring in 15-18 feet of water on Romer Shoals and put 40+ Striped Bass in the boat before 11am. We limited out with slot, keepers and bonus fish and released a couple dozen. Most of the Stripers were in the 27inch to 30inch range, although we had several shorts and half a dozen bass between 30 and 34 inches. We arrived at Romer at 7am and had a slow pick until 8:30 when it picked up where we had doubles and triple headers. All the action was on clams with circle hooks and 30 pound Momoi fluorocarbon.

04/27/03
Adam LaRosa reports:
Before posting our first of 150+ fishing reports for the year the Canyon Runner crew would like to wish everyone good luck and good weather for the 2003 season. After a long hard winter completing a punch list that included putting a new coat of Awl Grip on most of top side, installing brand new head liner and wall-to-wall carpeting in the cabin, installing a new cockpit door, new helm seats, and new GPS plotter the Canyon Runner crew kicked off our 2003 season by making a run up to Raritan Bay to get in on some clamming for Stripers and to break-in the newest member of our crew – Justin Nighan of Scotch Plains, NJ – our newest full time mate. The action has been excellent of late as long as you catch the tide and weather right and Sunday was no exception. Fishing the last of the outgoing and first of the incoming we picked away at Bass and flounder just west of Keyport on the flats in 15 feet of water. Fresh clam on circle hooks with 30-pound fluorocarbon worked best and Neil LaRosa of Middletown was high hook and put the largest Bass of 36 inches in the boat. We also release several shorts and had to chum heavy due to the excessive boat traffic. The Bass bite off Keyport, by the Reach, by Chapel Hill and best on Romer Shoals – looks like a great spring Bass fishery is shaping up quite well.

2002 Saltwater Sport Fishing Reports


12/04/02
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captains Phil Dulanie and Burt had the Dave Tolchin charter from Sayreville, NJ out on the Canyon Runner Tuesday and got into the Stripers once again off of Seaside Park. We found the birds again off the Park and the bass were under them. We limited out with slots and keepers and added a bonus fish. In addition we release another 35 bass. Everything we put in the water produced work well but again yellow and green/white shads worked best.

12/03/02
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captains Phil Dulanie and Joe LaRosa had the Dave Tolchin charter from Sayreville, NJ out on the Canyon Runner Tuesday and got into a hot bite of Stripers off of Seaside Park. Trolling in the morning was slow just off the inlet and we headed south to look for a bigger body of fish. We found them off the Park and limited out with slots, keepers and bonus fish. In addition we release another 20 bass. Everything we put in the water produced work well but yellow and green/white shads worked best.

11/29/02
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captains Phil Dulanie and Joe Dalik had the Chris Hempstead Tolchin charter from Middletwon, NJ out on the Canyon Runner the day after Thanksgiving and they got into the Stripers right where we left off on Turkey Day. Trolling black/green tubes in 25-40 feet of water produces alot of slots and smaller fish but we also produces several keepers. We ended teh day with over 20 bass and at least 20 blues.

11/28/02
Adam LaRosa reports:
The Canyon Runner crew took a day off from chartering on Turkey Day but still hit the water to get in our annual Thanksgiving Day fishing trip with friends and family. Fishing on one of the coldest days in memory with ice and the deck and 15 degree weather in the morning we were warmed by the fact that we had action as soon as we put the rigs in the water at the Shrewsbury Rocks. Green/Black tubes produced best and by 10am we had 15 bass in the boat, released 10 more plus 20 bluefish.

11/22/02
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie had the Richard Steer charter from Greenwich, CN out on the Canyon Runner Friday and found the bass fishing a little improved but nothing like it should be for this time of year. Trolling umbrella rigs produce slot and throw backs but only a few 28" fish. However we boated dozens of bluefish for the smoker. Some of the blues were in the mid-teens in size.

11/21/02
Adam LaRosa reports:
Capt. Phil Dulanie and mate Joe Dalik finally got into a nice pick of Striped Bass in almost two weeks with the Rocco Cattallano charter from Manhattan. Informed of a good bite yesterday on Romer Shoals we headed up there after looking over a few spots to the south. We picked away from 10am to 2pm and ended with 15 Bass including several between 30-33". Yellow shads rigs produced best.

11/20/02
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie came off the I.R. list early and was back in action for the Dave Tolchin charter from Sayreville, NJ. Unfortunately Capt. Phil should have stayed in bed as he could not get the Blackfish going only putting a slow pick together for the charter.

11/19/02
Adam LaRosa reports:
With Captain Phil Dulanie still out of action Capts. Joe LaRosa and Jason Neader once again had the Canyon Runner out on Tuesday with the Elliot Braun charter from North Jersey. Our hope that the Noreaster blew some Bass into our area was quickly dashed as today's bass fishing was non-existant. We ended up running down the beach to the Sea Girt Reef and picked away as Blackfish all afternoon. In addition, we added some keeper Sea Bass.

11/15/02
Adam LaRosa reports:
With Captain Phil on the 15 day injured reserve list do to a bad fall on the dock late on the evening of Nov. 13 Captain Jason Neadel and mate Joe Dalik took over the reins of the Canyon Runner on Friday with the Dan Miller charter from Seally Mattress. A morning spent trolling off Sandy Hook was not very productive as a few Bass were boated along with 20 bluefish. However, a move to Blackfishing produce a steady pick of keepers as well as throw backs and they finished the day with half a cooler for the table.

11/13/02
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie gave the Bass another try on Wednesday with the Ken Gorsuch charter and again struggled to find fish. In fact we had almost no action until afternoon. Sandy Hook area was almost lifeless as we did not even read much let alone catch. However, a move down the beach to the Shrewsbury Rocks found birds working on the beach and we manged to save the day with 5 Stripers and 20 Bluefish. Something is very wrong here as usually this time of year we are averaging 50+ Bass a trip. Hopefully this Northeaster they are predicting for the weekend stirs something up.

11/12/02
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie had the Rich Brady charter out Tuesday on the Canyon Runner for a shot at the Bass and it is begining to look like the fall bass season is going to be as tough as the weather was for us this canyon season. The bites are few and far betweeen and working our tails off all day from Monmouth Beach, to Romer, to The Channels only produced 4 Stripers in the slot catagory and a dozen Bluefish.

11/10/02
Adam LaRosa reports:
Capt. Phil Dulanie braved the tough weather on Sunday and got the trip in for the Pete Minoti charter however with a screeming South wind we were not going to head all the way up to the Hook today and stuck it out just south of Manasquan. Trolling open bottom in 40 feet of water found only 1 Striper but Bluefish filled in some of the voids. However, this was not one of those trips to write home about. On the otherhand we enjoyed the company of another of our many longtime customers that are just great to fish with.

11/9/02
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie had the Debjit Ghosh charter from Livingston, NJ out on the Canyon Runner Saturday and suprisingly had good weather despite dire forecasts the night before. Trolling green/black umbrella rigs and yellow shad rigs we put 25 bass in the boat. Most, however were 24 to 28 inches and some were shorts. We limited we slot fish and in addition put 3 Bass in the boat over 28". Bluefish were not that abundant today but we still had 10 or so released.

11/8/02
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie had the second group from the Pat Ryan charter out on Friday on the Canyon Runner and once again found the bass off of Sandy Hook between the channels. However the bite was not as good today as we only had 14 Bass with only 3 over 28inches. Like Thursday the wind made for tough conditions, particularly the ride home as it blew south about 30 on the way home. Also like Thursday green/black tubes produced best and the catch included 10 bluefish. The highlight of the trip was a fat 38inch 25 pound Striper.

11/7/02
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie and Randy Matlack had the Pat Ryan charter from Philadelphia, PA out on the Canyon Runner Thrusday and got into a decent pick of Bass. However, with the wind blowing hard we only could fish between the channels when the wind laid down after noon but ended up picking all the Bass there. We had 20 with a limit on slots and keepers and threw some back. We had a couple dozen blues as well.

11/4-5/02
Adam LaRosa reports:
O.K. we just couldn't help it we had to get one more in. With a great weather forecast, a striper trip that was cancelled by the charter the week before and a charter begging to get them offshore and had already paid in full the canyon was once again beckoning us. Captain Phil Dulanie put the Joe Kay charter from Flemington on the Canyon Runner Sunday night and headed offshore for a day chunk. The ride out was smooth as glass and so was the the conditions on the edge. The party boat boys got into some fish in the dark and some went home early some after we showed up. We guess the tuna feed hard at night as we read them thick all day. While we caught we did not catch the equivalent to what we read on the machine. We did finish off with 7 big longfin and a bunch of (believe it or not) November Mahi-Mahi from 10-15 pounds. So once again - After a tough tough year with weather (63 Canyon Trips Cancelled) we were still able to put 85 days in on the edge (5 one day trolls and 40 2-day overnighters) and 515 tuna in the boat, releasing 3 big Blue Marlin and over 20 White Marlin and can happily say, "Bring on the Stripers, the Tuna can wait until June. We're Done!!!" And we mean it this time as we took all the offshore equipment off the boat just in case we head out the inlet and forget to turn the boat up the beach. I think our boat knows the way to the canyon well enough herself that she would take us there even without the autopilot on.

11/3/02
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie and mate Joe Dalik had the Billy Wrede charter from Randolph, NJ out on the Canyon Runner Sunday for a day of Sea Bass fishing with his kids Kyly (10) and Mooggy (8). Anchoring over a wreck in 80 feet of water 20 miles south of Manasquan we had a hot bite of Sea Bass but only had 1 keeper for every 10 Sea Bass caught. However, the kids stilled filled up the cooler for dinner and all had a great time once the wind laid down.

11/2/02
Adam LaRosa reports:
The Canyon Runner finally got a fun trip this year even though it had to wait until November. Unfortuately the weather would not allow us to get to the canyon (what else is new). However, we did spend the day anchored up on some hard pieces in 40 feet of water off Long Branch and ended up picking 55 Blackfish up to 8 pounds. In addition, we had a bunch of Scup we released and a couple dozen Sea Bass for the frying pan.

11/1/02
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie and mate Joe Dalik had the Ed Bresnehan chater out on the Canyon Runner Friday and got into hot trolling action. Unfortunately most of the action was on Bluefish as we were averaging 10 Blues to every Bass. However, we did end the day with 9 Stripers over 28 inches in the boat and about 100 bluefish released. The action was all on green/black umbrella rigs.

10/31/02
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie and mate Billy Rowan put a "scare" into the Stripers today as the Canyon Runner showed up on the Bass grounds. The weather was a bit "frightening" this morning as the John Scandalios charter from Holmdel, NJ made their way down the dock but we decided to give it a shot. We worked the "hell" out of the Rocks, and Pit off Monmouth Beach and Sea Bright and finally found the Bass between the channels. We limited out and released a few and added a dozen bluefish on "pumpkin colored tubes" tubes trolled on wire 200 feet of wire line (just kidding black and green worked best). Happy Halloween!!!!!

10/28/02
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captains Phil Dulanie and Randy Matlack and mate Greg Riback had Chris Hempstead charter from Fairhaven, NJ and his father out on the Canyon Runner for a Monday-Tuesday overnighter. However, since we experienced non-stop action as soon as the baits hit the water we turned this trip into a day trip. Arriving at the east wall of the Hudson Canyon at Noon Monday we read fish even before we set up on the chunk and put 8 longfin and yellowfin in the boat in the first 2 hours. With the two man charter ready to head home early the Canyon Runner crew begged for a few more hours on the edge since due to the weather this looks like it might be the last trip of the year before we start Striper fishing full time. The Canyon Runner crew then joined in on the fun as everyone had a shot at the fish with Chris Hempstead accounting for many himself but the crew and his dad addded to the catch. By 5pm we were boxed up with 25 tuna on ice (15 yellowfin and 10 longfin) and back at the dock just in time for the Giants game on Monday Night Football (and a quick peak at that new fishing show on ESPN2 at 9pm - "Fish On!!" Man those girls are NICE - fisherman that is!). To top it all off, these fish were much bigger than our previous few catches as the yellowfin were all 60-80 pounds and the longifn were 50-60 pounds. After a tough tough year with weather we were still able to put 85 days in on the edge (5 one day trolls and 40 2-day overnighters) and over 500 tuna in the boat, and can happly say, "Bring on the Stripers, the Tuna can wait until June. We're Done!!!"

10/24-25/02
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie and mates Randy Matlack and Greg Riback had the Brian Murphy charter out on the Canyon Runner Thursday to Friday in flat calm seas. Arriving at the Hudson Canyon at 2pm the first line in the water was picked up 20 feet from the boat and the action did not stop until dark. That first fish was a yellowfin but then the big bluefins come crusin' and we hooked up a total of 9 all between 150-250 pounds. In that we were only using 50W we only managed to boat 3, just one short of the limit but each of those fish were 175, 190, and 203 pounds. Having enough of the big fish we left and moved from the east wall to the west wall and had fast action with longfin boating 20 before the sun set. We only picked one tuna at night and at 8pm the next morning the yellowfin showed up and we boated 7 before calling it a day with 30 tuna on ice.

10/21-22/02
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie had the Jeff Veith charter from Randolph, NJ out on the Canyon Runner Monday-Tuesday to try and squeeze in another canyon run before we switch over to Stripers for the remainder of the year. While the capture of a swordfish pushing 120 pounds was the highlight of the trip the rest of the trip proved frustrating as we need 40 ounces of lead to keep the baits down and just could not get the bites despite reading the tuna heavy behing the squid boats that have set up on the east wall of the Hudson. Those boats are not exactly the most cooperative to fish with and thus we could not anchor on the fish we marked right on the edge but had to short drift moving 15 times during the night to set on the fish and to avoid being run down by the draggers. Not exactly the best way to spend an evening. We did manage a few yellowfin in the 50-60 pound class but left frustrated as we should have put a beating on the fish.

10/20-21/02
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie was finally able to get back out to the Hudson Canyon Sunday with the Joe Smith charter from Camden, NJ. This makes our second trip to the edge since October 2 in what has turned out to be one of the worst years for weather we have seen in the last 2 decades as we have had to cancel a total of 57 canyon trips thus far. Fortunately the tuna are there and while we picked one on the troll as soon as we set-up on the chunk during the day the action started in earnest. We quickly hooked-up to three 200 pound bluefins on light leader and despite the charters best efforts after and hour and a half all three fish broke off. We ended up fighting over 20 tuna but luck was not on our side as only 6 hit the deck. In addition, we added our 10th mako of the year caught while overnighting - this one was around 125 pounds.

10/17/02
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie and the rest of the Canyon Runner crew have raised the white flag and surrendered to the weather. Today we ran our first inshore trip of the fall and while the fishing was not spectacular the boat actually left the slip and the Dave France charter and the Canyon Runner crew enjoyed a nice day on the water. Obviously the Nor'ester took a toll on the Bass as fishing was picking up last week but today we only saw a few Bass and a handful of bluefish trolling green/black umbrella rigs between the Ambrose Channels. Many of our charters are facing the reality of weather just as we are and are begining to switch there canyon trips to Stripers or Sea Bass so the reports shall be picking up soon.

10/9-10/02
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie and mate Jay Richardella and Randy Matlack had the Shawn Sovak charter out on the Canyon Runner in rough seas but in weather that has provided the only window of opportunity in a week. Arriving at the Hudson late due to 6 foot head seas on the way out we missed the best trolling bite but immediately had two on, one of which dump the line on a 50W. That fish was fought for over an hour and turned out to be our mostly unusually catch to date - a 250 pound Hammerhead snagged in the dorsil fin. That set the tone for the evening as the excellant chunking the party boats had in the rough seas died that night and we did not have a hit. Up on the trolling the moring we pick an assortment of fish as longfin, big mahi and even a wahoo were put in the boat. While we did not have the number of fish we have be come accustome to on the Canyon Runner we headed home with 5 flags flying and a happy charter.

10/1-2/02
Adam LaRosa reports:
Capt. Phil Dulanie and mates Randy Matlack and Greg Rybak had the Lou Ottrando charter from Middletown, NJ out on the Canyon Runner Tuesday to Wednesday. Thinking all the action would be on the troll we were highly disappointed as that bite never materialized. However, the chunking did turn on with some boats doing very well and we ended up with 7 nice yellowfin at night out of 16 bites. We did troll a bunch of mahi and 1 longfin to end up with 8 tuna on ice.

09/30-10/01/02
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captains Phil Dulanie and Randy Matlack and mate Greg Rybak had the Jeff Hymowitz charter from Manhattan out on the Canyon Runner Monday to Tuesday and picked up right where they left off before the last bad weather. Within minutes of reaching the east wall of the Husdon Canyon we had a big-eye attack the ballyhoo trolled down the middle and after 50 minutes Greg darted the fish which pushed 175 pounds. Back up on the troll we had a decent longfin bite and proceeded to put 16 longfin in the boat in a couple hours of trolling. Most of the longfin averaged 40-50 pounds. Just before dark we missed another big-eye. The chunk was slow as on a 90 pound yellowfin and another lognfin were added to the catch but with 19 tuna on ice we were done and came home early without trolling in the morning. The longfin hit almost anything but ballyhoo and mini-mamba bars produced best.

09/24-25/02
Adam LaRosa reports:
Capts. Phil Dulanie and Randy Matlack and mate Greg Riback had the Frank Cardaci charter from Farmingdale, NJ out on one last trip before the next string of bad weather and headed to the Hudson Canyon. Fishing in 6-8 footers is not easy so when we hooked up two big-eyes after only a few minutes on the troll we were not confident we would get em. One eventually broke off but we did boat one and a nice one at that which weighed in at 206 pounds. Unfortunately we were on that fish for 2 hours and missed the best of the longfin bite. On the chunk at night we did get into a nice pick of longfin and boated 5 plus a bunch of mahi-mahi. Up on the troll in the morning we quickly added another but with the wind coming up and the seas starting to push 8+ feet we headed in before trolling more than an hour.

09/22-23/02
Adam LaRosa reports:
Capt Phil Dulanie and Adam LaRosa had the Canyon Runner out for one of our better trips of the year Sunday to Monday. Fishing with the Jack Yolyniski charter from Long Beach, LI we arrived at the Lindencohl early in the afternoon and trolled out to 1000 fathoms looking the area over. Called into a longfin bite by the boys on the White Lighting (Thanks Mike!) we raced back inshore and before we had all the lines back in the water we nailed a 2 big longfin and added a yellowfin before setting up on the chunk. The night bite did not take long as live sardines produced immediate hits and by 9:30 pm we were boxed up and limited out on 80-110 pound yellowfin going 18 for 25 for the evening. We were back at the dock before breakfast.

09/20-21/02
Adam LaRosa reports:
Capt. Phil Dulanie and mates Randy Matlack and Greg Ryback had the Steve Barry charter from Middletown, NJ out on the Canyon Runner for a Friday-Saturday overnighter (our fourth back to back in a row). Getting to edge late in the afternoon we went right to the chunk but doing so by drifting far off the edge away from the crowd in the Lindencohl. We quickly picked a few fish and moving four times throughout the night we were able to put together a decent catch of 8 out of 16 big yellowfin and longfin to 110 pounds plus few mahi.

09/19-20/02
Adam LaRosa reports:
Capt. Phil Dulanie and mates Jay Richardella and Randy Matlack had the Joe Lambriello charter out on the Canyon Runner Thursday to Friday and once again found the yellowfin on the feed. Arriving at the Lindencohl just before dawn we tried trolling for an hour but decided we might as well get on the chunk early as the yellowfin were quick to the boat Wednesday night. The same proved true Thursday night as we had yellowfin on within 10 minutes of coming back on the anchor. We had fish in the slick and went to work for the next few hours on fish reminiscent of late year as they put anglers and gear to the test. All but one yellowfin was over 90 pounds and two were over 100. The anglers did their best on the fish and we ended up going 8 for 15 before 2am. After 2am, however, we did not see another tuna or mark anymore bait. Since the charter was dead tired from fighting the big fish and we only had room for a few more we once again were headed home early but a little uneasy as to were to fish tonight as the tuna and bait obviously moved out.

09/18-19/02
Adam LaRosa reports:
Capt. Phil Dulanie and mates Greg Ryback and Jay Richardella had the Joe Garivello charter from Rochester, NY out on the Canyon Runner Wednesday to Thursday and took a ride to the southern canyons to find some fish to chunk. Working off the edge in the deep we located the warm water and went right to the chunk at 7pm. By 8:30 we already had a couple yellowfin in the boat and enjoyed a steady pick of 70-90 pound yellowfin plus a couple longfin and mahi throughout the evening. Before first light the charter was limited out going 14 for 14 without missing a fish and we went home with 14 tuna on ice plus a handful of nice mahi. Most of the action was on the working lines but live squid produced on the dead sticks as well.

09/17-18/02
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie and mates Greg Ryback and Jay Richardella had the Dave Tolchin charter from Sayreville, NJ out on the Canyon Runner Tuesday to Wednesday. Hitting the Hudson Canyon for the afternoon troll found a decent pick of longfin and we put 5 in the boat before hooking up to a 200 bigeye. The bigeye however was a little too much for the charter to handle and an hour battle ended with the leader chaffing through with the bigeye just 2 feet from the tip of the harpoon. The chunking was horrible as out of the 20 boats in the canyon the best boat had 2 yellowfin. We had none and got back up on the troll early to find some more longfin. A couple more were boated and we ended the day by boating an 80 wahoo that ate a ballyhoo off the long rigger.

09/13-14/02
Adam LaRosa reports:
Capt. Phil Dulanie and mates Randy Matlack and Greg Ryback had the John Stefani from Brick, NJ out on the Canyon Runner for a Friday/Saturday overnighter in between northeasters and put together another double digit catch of tuna. Arriving at the West Wall Friday afternoon we encounter a slow longfin bite and did not have a touch until moving off and just before dark nailed 2 of 3 on nice longfin. Anchoring up in the deep we were lucky enough to find a consistent pick of yellowfin although we had to fish baits down 200 feet to get the bites. With no real hot bite to speak of we were still able to put 10 big yellowfin in the boat our of 14 hooked. With the boxes full the charter wanted no part in the morning troll and we left at first light and were back at the dock early with 12 tuna on ice.

09/8-9/02
Adam LaRosa reports:
Capt. Phil Dulanie doing his fourth overnighter in a row Sunday to Monday went back to the Hudson and without a crowd was once again was able to put together a nice catch of tuna and added another release of a White Marlin to our tally. We did not get there until late so went right to the chunk down around the bend on the West Wall and picked 3 longfin in the early morning bite. Up on the troll Monday we quickly added 7 more longfin out of 12 hooked and finished off the trip baited, hooking and releasing a 60 pound White Marlin. Who nows when we will get out again with Gustav - The Mad Russian - on his way? It would be a CRIME if Gustav ruined the great fishing that has finally turned on AND we would get PUNISHED if we tried to get out one last trip before his arrival. 09/7-8/02
Adam LaRosa reports:
Desperate for another place to fish other then the Hudson Canyon which we anticipated to have 150 boats for the Saturday-Sunday overnighter Captain Phil Dulanie doing his third overnighter in a row heard of good reports to the north and ran 100 miles to fish unmolested by the weekend crowd. Unfortunately, the tuna left us alone as well as the good bite at the Dip the night before never materialized. We could have had all the Mahi we wanted as the first pot we came to loaded 8 rods with 10-20 pound dolphin and we added a bunch more later in the trip but only missed a couple shorts bites from longfin on the troll and the chunk was non-existant.

09/6-7/02
Adam LaRosa reports:
Capt. Phil Dulanie went right back out Friday-Saturday with the Tom Bieliecki charter and was forced to fish in the crowd of boats working the West Wall of the Hudson. For the first time this entire season the whole fleet decided to head offshore with reports of perfect weather and great fishing as the lure. As usual fishing in the crowd hurt everyone's efforts and a slow pick of longfin on the chunk was all we could produce. Trolling in the moring quickly gave us one good shot of fish but we only managed to put one in the boat and could not even get back up on the troll as we were surrounded by boats. Needless to say we never got another shot as the traffic drove the fish down. We went home with just 4 longfin and headache from all the nonsense on the radio.

09/5-6/02
Adam LaRosa reports:
Capt. Phil Dulanie had the Dr. Joe Guzzo charter from Allentown, PA out on the Canyon Runner Thursday to Friday and once again loaded the boat with tuna. Arriving east of the edge of the Hudson Canyon we had the lines in the water and worked our way to the deep before finding the bait and tuna. The afternoon troll proved very productive as we went 14 for 18 with yellowfin and longfin and added a white marlin release before we started to chunk. We started the night on the drift but with the wind coming up we anchored up and began to pick big yellowfin throughout the night. When the dust settled and the boxes were full we had added 8 more 80-100 pound yellowfin and left early as we had no more room and exhausted anglers.

09/3-4/02
Adam LaRosa reports:
Capt. Phil Dulanie had the Joe Knoll charter from Cherry Hill, NJ out on the Canyon Runner Tuesday to Wednesday and put the charter into longfin and yellowfin in 3-6 foot sea conditions that while uncomfortable were obviously fishable as we loaded the boxes with yellowfin, longfin and a mako. Arriving at the edge Tuesday afternoon in 2.5 hours we boated 8 longfin and set up on the chunk in the dark. We had a steady pick all night of 70-80 pound yellowfin and added a 120 pound Mako. We ended the night with a better pick going 6 for 8 just before dawn and pulled the anchor with the boxes full of 12 yellowfin plus 8 longfin and the mako.

08/25-26/02
Adam LaRosa reports:
In the inmortal words of Ella Fitzgerald - "At Last!!!!!" the Hudson Canyon has turned on. Capt. Phil Dulaine and mates Mike Zajac and Jay Richardella took the Dr. Bernie Jay charter from Greenwich, Conn. out to the Hudson Canyon on Sunday for an overnighter to Monday and found the longfin everywhere. Trolling in the afternoon we went 8 for 14 on 40-50 pound longfin and caught a bunch of mahi. The night chunking was slow all around and we choose to get up on the troll early and had the riggers down and baits in the water by 4:30am. The decision paid off as we spent all morning with 5, 6 and 7 longfin hook-up at time and probably fought over 45 tuna on the troll. All the longfin were in the 40-60 pound class and when the dust settled and the boxes were full we had 35 longfin to our credit with many released. Everything we put in the water got eaten but Mamba Bars and Jets were the most successful.

08/22/02
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie and mates Mike Zajac and Jay Richardella had the Sam Defeo charter out for a one day trolling trip on the Canyon Runner Thursday and had a nice pick of fish. Our first shots was in the dark and turned out to be two nice longfin. We proceeded to boat over a dozen gaffer Mahi and then pick yellowfin the rest of the day putting 2 in the boat that were decent and releasing the small one. Unfortunately the low part of the day was going 0 for 2 on White Marlin. Both threw the hook before we could get the official release.

08/19-20/02
Adam LaRosa reports:
Capt. Phil Dulanie and mates Mike Zajac and Jay Richardella had the Ken Danielson charter from Charlestown, S.C. out on the Canyon Runner Monday to Tuesday. Despite continued bad fishing plaguing the offshore fishery due to the abundance of green water on the edge we were once again able to put together a respectable catch. Trolling Monday afternoon saw 2 longfin and some nice Mahi hit the deck. Just before putting her on the drift we raised two White Marlin to the pattern and hooked both. One was released and one tossed the hook shortly into the fight. The chunking stunk!!! Up on the troll in the morning saw a yellowfin and a 4 bagger of longfin to finish off the trip with 7 tuna.

08/17-18/02
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie and mates Mike Zajac and Jay Richardella had the ken Gorsuch charter from Manhattan out on the Canyon Runner and for a quick turn around trip Saturday - Sunday and scratched out together another decent catch despite the fact that the canyons are not exactly teeming with tuna. Arriving in the afternoon we picked a couple longfin before putting it on the drift and had life in the slick. However, a couple of long-liners dropped their gear on us and we were forced to move only putting one yellowfin and releasing a small Manta Ray during the night. Up on the troll in the morning we had a couple of shots at fish releasing some small ones and keeping a few more and a mahi for a catch of 6 tuna that we worked out butts off for. I hope the fishing improves but it does not look like it is going to get much better than this unless something dramtic happens.

08/16-17/02
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie and mate Mike Zajac had the Chris Peat charter from Stamford, CT this time out on the Canyon Runner and put together another decent catch despite less than steller conditions. Arriving in the afternoon we picked a couple longfin before anchoring up on the edge and had life in the slick and a couple more yellowfin before first light. At first light we got into a slow pick and put another 5 yellowfin in the boat in an hour. All night long we fished in 4-6 footers with an occansional 8 footer but one again our charter handled the conditions like champs and went home with 9 tuna all betwenn 40-80 pounds.

08/14-15/02
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie and mate Jay Richardella had the Joe Kay charter from Flemington, NJ out on the Canyon Runner Wednesday to Thursday for another overnighter. Fishing the Hudson in 3-6 foot seas with an occansional 8 footer was not what the weatherman called for but was fishable. Anchored up on the West Wall we pulled 2 Makos. One we released and the other tip the scales at 120. Nothing in the dark on the tuna however just before we were to pull the anchor the last rod out went off and we quickly went 2 for 3 on 90 pound yellowfin at 6:30am. Up on the troll we added another big yellowfin and fought our way home in solid 8 footers. Luckily for this trip we had an experience and harden charter that handled the conditions with no problem.

08/12-13/02
Adam LaRosa reports:
Capt. Phil Dulanie and mates Mike Zajac and Jay Richardella had the Mark Habel charter out on the Canyon Runner Monday to Tuesday and decided they had enough with the Tuna and went for the man in the Blue Suit this time. Just kidding. Any way, we made our first trip to the Hudson Canyon this year (as we have been fishing 95-110 miles in every other direction this year) and put one longfin in the boat on the afternoon troll, one longfin on the chunk and one on the morning troll plus a small yellowfin. However, at 10am we raised two 400+ pound Blue Marlin to the pattern and hooked both at the same time - Big Mistake. One took off towards the bow tail walking the entire time it dump half a 50W International, one went straight back and down also dumping half a 50W. The decision on which one to chase was made for us as the fish on the bow was going nuts and finally wrapped in the leader and broke-off. An hour and half later the Blue Marlin off the transome was brought along side pictures taken and as we went to pull the hook out we broke it off. This one was about 450 pounds and swam off just fine.

08/11-12/02
Adam LaRosa reports:
Capt. Phil Dulanie and mates Jay Richardella and Mike Zajac took the Eric Somberg charter from Manhattan out on the Canyon Runner Sunday to Monday and put together another decent catch of tuna. Headed back up to the area around The Dip we had a nice bite on the troll Sunday afternoon. Longfin hit the baits and the bars and 7 hit the deck before we set up to chunk. Chunking, unlike the trip before, was unproductive despite the squid and porpoises around the boat all night. Up on the troll in the morning for a quick 2 hours put 2 more longfin in the boat. We ended the trip with 9 40-50 pound Longfin in the box.

08/9-10/02
Adam LaRosa reports:
Capt. Phil Dulanie and mates Jay, Mike and Adam had the Phil Motyka charter from Birlington, NJ out on the Canyon Runner Friday to Saturday and limited out on yellowfin from 40-70 pounds. Arriving east of the 100 Square at 7pm we trolled into the dark and put 1 longfin and 1 yellowfin in the boat and marked plenty of bait. We set up on the drift in a slick calm ocean and immediately had hundreds of 6-inch squid around the boat. Nothing happened until midnight when Mike Zajac nailed a 120 pound Mako on the swordfish rig. Then the party started soon after as we were catching yellowfin on jigs and bait from 1am to 4am putting 14 in boat. Up on the troll in the morning we got the last line in the clip and had 2 on. In just 75 minutes of trolling we put another 12 tuna in the boat releasing 5 50+ pound fish as we had no more room. We left them biting.

08/8-9/02
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie and mates Jay Richardella and Mike Zajac had the Kevin Corradino charter from Brick, NJ down to the Spencer Canyon for a Thursday/Friday overnighter. Starting out on the troll we picked a couple mahi-mahi but only 1 tuna. However, setting up on the chunk we had small yellowfin under the boat all night and could have caught as many as we wanted. But who wants 20 pound yellowfin when you can catch 80 pounders - and we did. It took until 4am but the bigger fish moved in and we put 4 60-80 pounders in boat in an hour. Then up on the troll in the morning we quickly put 5 more in the boat to end the day with 9 yellowfin.

08/4-5/02
Adam LaRosa reports:
Capt Phil Dulanie and mates Jay Richardella and Mike Zajac took the Rob Stupple charter down to the sourthern canyons Sunday to Monday to try to find some better action on the chunk - and we did. Trolling during Sunday afternoon we raised, hooked and released a White Marlin before setting up on the chunk. On the hook we went all night without a touch until 4am and then the yellowfin showed up. For the next 2 hours we put 14 yellowfin in the boat up to 80 pounds with 9 between 70-80 pounds. Up on the troll in the morning we immediately put two more yellowfin in the boat and ended up with 16 yellowfin for our efforts between 30-80 pounds.

08/2-3/02
Adam LaRosa reports:
Capt. Phil Dulanie, Adam LaRosa and mate Mike Zajac took the Joe Dorisio charter from Camden, NJ out Friday to Saturday on the Canyon Runner and started right where we left off the day before. However, the tuna were hard to come by on the troll as 6 hours of afternoon trolling produced only 1 mahi. The area was loaded manta rays and we saw at least 20 rays between 400-600 pounds on the surface all afternoon. In fact, as soon as we set up on the chunk we hooked one on a deep rod with a 50 International and it smoked the reel before we locked it up and broke it off. On the chunk we did pick 3 nice yellowfin in 10 minutes when they came up right behind the boat but as quickly as they came they left and we never saw they again. Up on the troll in the morning we got into a pretty decent White Marlin bite for up here and hooked 3 out of 4 we had up in a 1 hour period. We broke one off that got wrapped in the line and released 2 after putting on a show for us.

07/31-8/1/02
Adam LaRosa reports:
Capt. Phil Dulanie and mates Mike Zajac and Jay Richardella had the Brian Bonnett charter from Clifton, NJ out on the Canyon Runner Wednesday to Thursday. With friends out of Shinecock Inlet calling us into a good yellowfin bite at The Dip we ran the 108 miles to get in on some decent size fish. Ariving there Wednesday afternoon late we managed 2 big Mahi on the troll before setting up. We had the fish in the slick for part of the night and hooked 4 but only boated 1. Up on the troll in the morning we headed down the edge towards the 100 square of the Hudson - some 30 miles away. Along the way we picked yellowfin and longfin and ended the day 15 miles short of the 100 square with a double of 60 pound yellowfin for a total of 7 tuna for the trip. Not great but every fish was big compared to the rats we were catching on the troll to the south. We called in two of our buddies on the last set of numbers and they proceeded to beat up on the yellowfin pretty well Thursday into Friday.

07/30-31/02
Adam LaRosa reports:
Capt. Phil Dulanie and mates Mike Zajac and Jay Richardella had the Richard Steer charter fom Greenwich, CT out on the Canyon Runner Tuesday to Wednesday and were hoping that the chunking action they experienced last night would keep improving. It didn't. When we got to the Lindencohl we found green water and had to head south finally finding the nice waater and some Mahi in it east of the Spencer. Setting up on the chunk on the 100 fathom line we had small yellowfin under the boat all night boating 4 but only keeping 3 tuna barely 25 pounds. Up on the troll in the morning produced a fee more mahi up to 20 pounds and right before lines out we went 1 for 2 on 40 pound yellowfin. And believe it or not out of the half-dozen boats within radio range this was high hook. Not good.

07/28-29/02
Adam LaRosa reports:
Capt. Phil Dulanie and mates Mike Zajac and Jay Richardella had the Canyon Runner right back out to the canyon on Sunday to Monday with the Dave Babish charter from western Pennslyvania. Up on the troll Sunday afternoon provided action with mahi and a couple of yellowfin in the 40-60 pound class. We set up on the chunk and quickly went 1 for 2 on 60 pound yellowfin and read fish all night. However, we did not pick another yellowfin until just before first light and went 2 for 2 on again 6 0 pound fish. Up on the troll in the morning we found the small yellowfin and went 12-15 which all but one 25 pounder were released. Again another mahi was boated this one pushing 20 pounds.

07/27-28/02
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie and mates Brad Burgess and Mike Zajac had the Anthony Romondo charter from Middletown, NJ out to the Toms Canyon on Saturday to Sunday. Hoping that the week long easterly blow stirred up the fishing was a pipe dream as the fishing was slow on the troll and on the chunk. We spent all Day Saturday on the troll with only one 20 pound mahi to show for it. On the chunk we did not mark a fish all night but did in fact boat one 80 pound yellowfin and half a dozen 10-20 pound mahi-mahi. Up on the troll in the moring quickly produced a couple of small yellowfin that we released and one 25 pounder that went in the box.

07/21-22/02
Adam LaRosa reports:
Capt. Phil Dulanie and mates Mike Zajac and Jay Richardello took the John Andaloro charter from Westchester, NY out on the Canyon Runner for an overnighter Sunday to Monday and put together a solid catch. Pulling into the Lindencohl Canyon Sunday afternoon the action was slow for most of the day but as soon as the last boat left we quickly put 1 longfin and 2 yellowfin in the boat up to 40 pounds which included one yellowfin release as it was small. Setting up on the chunck we boated 2 yellowfin including one of 80 pounds and one small one and drifted almost to the Carteret. We were quick to get up on the troll Monday morning working our way back south and that decision proved correct as we quickly raised a White Marlin to the pattern and Brad Andaloro (12) got his first release of a billfish. We were then covered up by yellowfin over the next few hours and went 6 for 6, 5 for 6, 7 for 8, and 5 for 7 of yellowfin. Out of those we put 8 in the box between 25 and 35 pounds and released the rest. In between we raised another White Marlin to the spreader bars and Jay Richardella baited him with a ballyhoo in front of a blue/white moldcraft hooker and we had our second White Marlin release of the trip. Unfortunately, with the fishing looking better the weather looks like it is going to blow us out for the rest of the week.

07/19/02
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie and mates Jay Richardella and Mike Zajac took the Steven Gress charter from Washington, D.C. out to the Lindencohl Canyon on Friday and found plenty of action. However, once again, while we went 14 for 18 on yellowfin and longfin the 12 yellowfin we put in the boat were small and we released 10 keeping 2 that were barely 25 pounds. The longfin were decent fish weighing 50 pounds each. For the first trip in a while we did not have any Mahi.

07/18/02
Adam LaRosa reports:
Capt. Phil Dulanie and mates Jay Richardella and Mike Zajac had the Bill Erdman charter out on the Canyon Runner Thursday for a day of canyon trolling. While the tuna did not cooperate the billfish did. On our way trolling south from the Toms Canyon our first fish of the day attached the flat line at 6:30am. The big Blue Marlin inhaled a ballyhoo trolled behind and blue/white Ilander and the fight was on. After 2 hours on a Penn International 50W on matching standup tackle Jay leadered the 120 inch Blue estimated at 500-600 pounds and Mike billed it, unhooked it, revived it and she swam away. The rest of the day was much less eventful as we picked 4 mahi with 2 over 20 pounds and released only one small yellowfin.

07/17/02
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie and mates Mike Zajac and Jay Richardella took the Tony Michelliti charter from Middletown, NJ out on the Canyon Runner Wednesday. The day was spent with plenty of action as the charter went 14 for 20 on yellowfin. However, yet again most of the tuna were small and released and only a couple up to 40 pounds were kept. The action was located a few miles inshore of the Carteret Canyon and ballyhoo were the bait of choice. A blue/white moldcraft little hooker over the ballyhoo produced best. In addition the chartered boated 3 mahi.

07/13-14/02
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie and mates Mike Zajac and Brad Burgess of the Canyon Runner took the Jeff Hymowitz charter from Manhattan out on The Rooster for a Saturday-Sunday overnighter. Trolling for a couple of hours Saturday produced nothing until a double of Big-Eyes attacked the spread. One dropped off immediately and one stayed on a high-speed squid spreader bar and the charter battled it out for over an hour before the 174 pound big-eye was on ice. However, we missed the best yellowfin bite while fighting the big-eye and went on the chunk with only a couple more small yellowfin to our credit. A couple of big Mahi up to 20 pounds were boated at night and up on the troll in the morning a couple more yellowfin up to 40 pounds were boated with all but the largest released.

07/6-7/02
Adam LaRosa reports:
Adam LaRosa and mate Mike Zajac of the Canyon Runner crew took the Chris Hempstead charter from Fairhaven, NJ out on Capt. Dave Bender's Jenny Lee. Jimmy Gahm also worked the pit. Hitting the Toms Canyon at 4pm for the first leg or an overnighter we started right where Capt. Phil Dulanie left off and quickly went 7 for 7 and 6 for 6 on yellowfin putting 3 nice fish in the boat and releasing the rest. Trolling into the dark we went 1 for 2 on 60 pound yellowfin on the troll at 10pm. The night chunk we non-existant on tuna but we put 4 large Mahi in the boat from 12-18 pounds. Up on the troll at 4:30am in the morning we got the ninth rod out in the pattern and had 2 more 50 pound yellowfin on and 15 minutes later we were covered up with longfin going 4 for 4 on what turned out to be 45 pound longfin. The charter was done and called it a day early and luckily so as the rode home at 16 knots into stiff 20+ knot Northwesterlys. In total we boated 26 tuna out of 30 hooked, keeping 10 and releasing the rest.

07/6/02
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie and mate Jay Richardella of the Canyon Runner had the Ed Asin charter from Holmdel, NJ out on the Shake-n-Move on Saturday for a day troll in the Toms Canyon and found the yellowfin on the feed. Trolling in 600 feet of water jets and ballyhoo were the bait of choice but we also nailed a few on Mini-mamba bars. In total we boated 15 yellowfin. We kept 7 nice tuna from 40-65 pounds and released 8 smaller ones. The tuna bit from 6-8am and again from 10-Noon.

06/30/02
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie and the crew of the Canyon Runner fished on the Antionette with the Bill Marchioni charter Sunday and found the fishing slow in the Hudson Canyon. Only a few small yellowfin were caught. A lack of bait was not the problem as acres of whales, porpoises and squid were everywhere from the Tip to the 150/050. Perhaps it was just the weekend crowd of 70+ boats or the fact that the tuna have yet to settle in but all the signs point to the action breaking wide open soon.

06/24/02
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie and mate Jay Richardella had the John Post charter out for the first canyon trip of the year and put together a solid catch. Trolling the west wall on the way in we picked a 100 pound bluefin. Setting up a night we baited a nice mako at the boat and put a the 125 mako in the box. Up on the troll in the morning we went 10 for 15 on tuna which included 9 yellowfin and 1 longfin. Some of the yellowfin were on the smaller side so we released them but kept 4.

06/20/02
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie and mate Jay Richardella ran their last inshore trip of the Spring/Summer season with the John Kerwin charter from Short Hills, NJ. After today it will be all canyon fishing until November as the first eddy of the year is sitting at the mouth of the Hudson Canyon and off we will go tomorrow. However, we will be missing some of the best inshore fishing in years as we left the Sea Bass biting after John's three daughters ages 11, 9, 7 did a good job on mostly 1-3 pound Sea Bass with tons of shorts mixed in. Hopefully this fishing last a while for you inshore guys and we will see you in November.

06/17/02
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie and mate Jay Richardella had the Canyon Runner back out sharking on Monday with the Dan McDonnell charter from Westfield, NJ. Setting up the slick once again at the southern end of the Glory Hole we quickly released a blue shark when a school of bluefin tuna starting busting water just off our bow. Amongst the school we spotted a Mako making a quick meal out of the 20-30 pound bluefins and the Mako broke off the school ate on of our bluefish and the fight was on. Unfortunately, we lost this battle as we pulled the hook. We did pick up a few more bluesharks making it 4 for the day.

06/16/02
Adam LaRosa reports:
Captain Phil Dulanie had the Canyon Runner out on Sunday to fish the second day of the Mako Mania tournament with the Billy Wrede charter from Randolph, NJ in what turned out to be ideal Sharking conditions. We set up our drift on the southern end of the Glory Hole and had 4 Bluesharks in the first hour. We picked a few more bluesharks up to 250 pounds and then at 10:30 the long rod went off and a 145 pound erupted from the water did a back flip fought for 10 minutes and was subdued. Back at the dock we stayed in fifth place for a mere 20 minutes as the ideal sharking conditions say many makos come to the dock with a half dozen o