New Jersey canyon delivers yellowfin, bigeye shots and released bluefin

Northern New Jersey’s tuna bite kept handing crews more than one kind of shot, and the latest Blue Runner overnight showed exactly why anglers were still burning fuel for the canyons. Capt. Mark DeBlasio’s boat came back with a limit of yellowfin, went 1-for-3 on bigeyes, and released bluefin, a mix that turned one trip into a true offshore sample rather than a single-species flurry.

What stood out just as much as the catch was who was on board and how the fishing played out. Tight Lines said Brian Greeff and crew were out on the overnight, with great weather, great fishing and a group of anglers, most of whom caught their first tuna ever. That matters in a fishery like this: the bite was strong enough to reward newer offshore crews, but varied enough to keep experienced hands watching the spread for something bigger than yellowfin.

A separate June 14 note from the same bite window sharpened the picture even more. That Blue Runner trip found conditions figured out a little better, saw steady singles and doubles, landed 21 nice-sized yellowfin, released 17 bluefin and pulled the hook on a bigeye. Put together, the reports show a canyon pattern that is holding across multiple runs, not a one-boat flash. Yellowfin are doing the heavy lifting, but the bigeye hooks and bluefin releases say the grounds still have enough depth to produce a mixed bag when the weather window opens and the crew settles into the right water.

That pattern did not come out of nowhere. On June 11, Tight Lines reported DeBlasio had been stacking huge numbers of school tuna on overnighters from Point Pleasant, with a couple of bigeyes boated as well. There is even a clean echo from last summer: on June 23, 2025, Blue Runner found enough yellowfin to get into release mode and landed a 67-inch bigeye after losing another fish, the same kind of yellowfin-plus-bigger-fish setup crews are looking at now.

The rulebook also matters before anyone points the bow offshore. NOAA Fisheries changed recreational Atlantic bluefin retention limits effective June 1, 2026. Private vessels with an HMS Angling permit can keep 2 bluefin per vessel per day or trip, with only 1 in the large school and small medium class. Charter boats are at 3 per vessel per day or trip, and headboats at 6. NOAA’s June 10 status update showed the New England and Southern New England trophy areas open, while the South and Gulf of America trophy areas were closed. For crews weighing a canyon run now, the signal is clear: yellowfin are there, bigeye are still in the mix, and the bluefin rules need to be sorted before fuel ever hits the tank.