Two area fishing tournaments this week give offshore fishing fans an indication of what they might expect this weekend. The Mid-Atlantic Tuna Tournament out of Cape May had excellent results on Thursday's opening day. Charlie Langan at South Jersey Marina reported 40 of the 44 sport fishing boats entered sailed opening day and reported back with 47 eligible tuna. The leader on the first of three fishing days was a 202-pound bluefin tuna caught on the Mojo captained by Joe O'Boyle. The angler of record is Ron Care. A pair of 159-pound bluefin were tied for second. The total purse for the contest, which ends today, is $195,965. The Avalon Fishing Center Offshore Tournament is also being contested this week. Nev-R-Enuf leads with a 97-pound bluefin and Endurefin is second at 96 pounds after the first day of competition. Jim Moran at Moran's Dockside in Avalon said Massey Canyon and 19-Fathom Lump are producing, and jigging with 12-ounce hammered metal lures is one way to go. The "way-back" trolling with ballyhoo and Islander skirts 300 yards back with the in-close pattern of cedar plugs, feathers and spoons; and chunking butterfish are working. There are a lot of nice mahi with tuna at some of the other offshore fishing grounds, such as Toms Canyon, Lemke's Canyon, Cigar, Hot Dog, Hambone and Poor Man's. Pat Harris said that one trip that reported back to Longreach Marina on the Maurice River resulted in an 87 1/2-pound bluefin tuna, three mahi and one cobia. Ben Scholl Sr. and Jr. of Philadelphia were fishing 11 miles off Cape May when they got that mixed bag, Harris said. Flounder fishing keeps going strong. Back-bay waters are warming, so patterns might change with fishing moving into deeper channels and inlets. There are still lots of throwbacks. Carmen Aliberti of Glassboro got an 8-pound, 11-ounce flounder on the Galoot with Capt. Joe Cattafi. Harris said they were fishing in Delaware Bay. George Moore of Bridgeton had 4 and 5-pound flounder off the EP Tower in Delaware Bay. One-Stop Bait and Tackle in Atlantic City weighed some nice flounder and striped bass lately. Noel Green had a 6 1/2-pound flounder and Angel Oleda got a 5-pounder. Greg Harper hooked up with a 25-pound bass and Chris Lee had one that weighed 7 pounds. Feliciano said a school of butterfish moved into Absecon Inlet Thursday night and collected right in front of the Atlantic City Seawall. Kingfish have been taken all along the beachfront and sometimes in the back bays. Feliciano said kings gathered around the Ventnor Pier and the Margate Angler's Club Pier on Thursday night. He also said that since the tautog season reopened with one allowable fish per day, anglers fishing for tham have reported the first few triggerfish. Father Anthony of Our Lady of the Angels Church in Cape May Court House caught a keeper flounder on one outing and two bluefish on a another from Dad's Place fishing pier in North Wildwood, according to Mary Ann Anagnou. He gave the flounder away and is going to enjoy the two bluefish, Anagnou said Dad's Place pier is one of the best -secrets and bargains in southern New Jersey, incidentally. The cost of $2.50 for a day of fishing on the 600-foot pier is unchanged in 19 years, according to Anagnou. One angler from Philly regularly catches kingfish from that pier, and he is there this week while on vacation trying for kingfish and bluefish. Crabbing has turned on in back bays of Hereford Inlet and elsewhere. Mike Shepherd is sports editor of The Press. His Shep on Fishing column and Shep's Hot Spot appear Tuesday and Saturday in the sports section and on Thursday in At The Shore. Call 609-350-0388 or e-mail: sheponfishing@yahoo.com

Hot Spot: Flounder, along with some bluefish, striped bass and kingfish are in the back bays of Hereford Inlet at North Wildwood. Anglers are using minnows and squid as bait on bottom rigs or bucktails for flounder. Crabbing is good, too.

Mike Shepherd is the retired sports editor of The Press. His Shep on Fishing column and Hot Spot appears Tuesday and Saturday in the sports section and Thursday in At the Shore. Call 609-350-0388 or email: sheponfishing@yahoo.com