ESPN Saltwater

Editor's note: Capt. Chris Gatley can be found with his fishing clients chasing striped bass in front of the Statue of Liberty, or heading offshore to the Atlantic Ocean canyons off the NJ/NY coast for tuna. His articles on cutting-edge fishing techniques can be found in The Fisherman Magazine, and he's a regular presenter at key sports shows during the winter months (when he's not pursuing whatever he can find in East Coast rivers).

The big news from the northeast is the inshore tuna bite in North Jersey. It's downright smoking red hot!

But, it has come at a price. For years, tuna were vacant in the Mud Hole and Glory Hole region due to the lack of sand eels, whiting and other bottom fish. Some old-timers will tell you that the commercial dragging boats are to blame, while others say the water quality has been poor for 20 years.

Whatever the reason, I can attest to this: The tuna bite is so insane that charter boats from as far as Cape May, N.J., are beginning to appear; a 125-mile ride one way. To put it simply, most every angler I know is catching double digit tuna across several year classes, from 20 pounds up to 100 pounds.

Fishermen in north Jersey and the southern shores of Long Island have seen a drought when it comes to near shore tuna fishing. In plain English, it has stunk for 20 years. Although this region is named the Mud Hole, many began to refer to it as the Dead Sea as it has puts more skunks in the boat than any other body of water I know.

But, it is all the small boater has, so we fish it. Through the years, lack of bait and pelagic species has left a void in many of our hearts.

Since early July, I have teamed up with my good friend and fellow charter captain Capt. Rich Kosztyu of MR Charters out of Belmar, N.J. When the weather allows, we have been running every other day since early July. Together, we have boated more than 150 bluefin tuna while trolling and jigging this season alone.

Add in the skippies (oceanic bonito) and yellowfin tuna, and we are well over 200 (probably pushing 250) pelagic fish this season. This is a staggering number for any north Jersey angler, and we are not alone.

Recreational anglers are catching them just as well. Tom Rock of Levittown, Penn., has fished the area six times so far this season. His fishing partners are total tuna novices and they are still averaging 8 to 10 tuna per trip. Tom chalks his success up to "Once one tactic stops working, I immediately try something else."

Anatomy of our hot tuna bite
Why are the pelagics here? It is quite simple actually. Personally, I feel that it's because good clean blue water pushed in from offshore and it has remained. In years past, this rarely happened. At best, we would have green water.

In addition, bait such as sand eels as well as the growing population of bottom dwellers like whiting and ling, are providing ample forage. These two components are the driving force as to why the fish are here, and why they are holding tight for now.

To gain more insight, I contacted Dick Kondak, a retired boat designer and tackle representative. Dick has spent a lot of time on these grounds. He first began fishing this area back in the 1960s out of a wooden vessel that traveled a rocketing 11 knots pinned.

Back then, he was forced to begin trolling just miles off the beach due to his speed. No graphs, no GPS and nothing more than a stop watch and compass led his crew to a spot.

"Going 26 miles to the Barnegat Ridge was like going to the canyons back in the day," he said.

It was not uncommon for Dick and his friends to catch 70 or 80 tuna close to shore in a day. In the early 80s, Dick was hire by Hydra Sports Boats owner Joe Reeves to handle the saltwater boats division.

"Our style of boats got bigger and faster, causing fishermen to overrun fish," he said, adding that it even continues today with faster boats. "As technologies advanced, anglers could hone in on humps, bait and fish with ease and with cell phones and chart plotters. We now just drive to a spot rather than fish or look on the way out.

"The water I saw today (August 19) just 15 miles from the inlet was spooky, Chris. I have not seen this water in 30 years," he said. "I got so damn excited as the water was black with rays, porpoise and bait. Tuna were milling and pushing while thousands of chicken dolphins were swimming at the surface. It was like the old days."

With excitement in his voice, he said he thinks this eddy that pushed in from the canyon has every pelagic imaginable and it's only 15 miles offshore, yet people are still driving over it.

"But, let's be honest here, tuna stocks are way down so let's not get ahead of ourselves," he said. "Saltwater fishermen need to practice catch and release more so now than ever before."

Catching 80 pelagic fish in the past 15 years combined out of the Mud Hole would be a feat. Tuna hunters here are on a roll, and the recent pelagic inhabitants are the talk of the northeast.

I don't care if you are fishing Cape Cod Bay, the near shore lumps off Ocean City, Md., or a secret spot in between: Slow down. Look for clean blue water, bird life and bait. Way too many of us are running over these fish.

Capt. Rich and I found our tuna back in early July by using binoculars and stopping under two storm petrels just 18 miles from the inlet. This inshore area remains a consistent hotspot even today. The amazing thing is that most people were driving by at 25 knots while Capt. Rich and I were doubled over catching 40-60 pound bluefin tuna.

So slow down, observe and catch 'em up!