<b>Staten Island</b>

Anglers jumped on deck Thursday through Saturday on three trips for blackfishing, said Capt. Joe from <b>Outcast Charters</b>. An excellent catch of the tog was iced on the charter Thursday, despite strong winds and a late start. The first drop was made at 10:30 a.m., and the four anglers landed well over their limits, keeping no more than their quota. The blackfish weighed up to 7 pounds, and a cod and some ling were bagged. Friday’s trip was another good outing. The three anglers landed well over their limits of blackfish, keeping only their quotas, including two that topped 10 pounds and a healthy number of 7- to 8-pounders. The togging on Saturday’s trip was slower but okay, decent, and the six anglers limited out on mostly 3- to 6-pounders, up to 7 pounds, if Joe remembered. They also landed more keepers, keeping only their limits, and the weather was beautiful. The weather is supposed to be rough the first half of this week, so a couple of trips were already cancelled. But more blackfish charters are on the books for Friday and the weekend.

<b>Bayonne</b>

A limit of blackfish to an 8-pound 23-incher was socked on Saturday on a trip with three anglers at Sandy Hook Reef, said Capt. Akira from <b>True World Tackle</b> and <b>True World Tackle Charters</b>. One of the anglers bagged two blackfish about 8 pounds apiece, and six of the tog on the trip weighed more than 5 pounds. So the catch was good, and other boaters there scored okay catches, and some fared not so well. Many private boats and three party boats filled the waters, and the weather was calm. The day began with winds that calmed to almost nothing afterward, blowing 5 knots from the northwest the rest of the day. A friend fished at the same time in waters between 17 Fathoms and Sandy Hook Reef, coming up with a slow catch of blackfish. But the friend nailed a healthy catch there the day before. At the shop, not many customers fished this late in the season, including along the bulkheads at places like Bayonne and Jersey City. The store is open 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily, and frozen bait including clams and bunker are stocked.

<b>Atlantic Highlands</b>

Fishing for blackfish is expected to be weathered out today through Wednesday on the party boat <b>Atlantic Star</b>, Capt. Tom said. But the daily trips are expected to resume Thursday, and the fishing was good Friday and Saturday. East winds Saturday night then southeast winds had built seas to 10 feet by Sunday, so the trip that day was cancelled. Forecasts for winds didn’t sound bad for today with gusts to 25 knots from the northwest, a favorable direction, but the 10-foot seas will take time to settle. Forecasts called for 20- to 25-knot winds Tuesday afternoon and guest to 35 on Wednesday, but the winds were supposed to continue northwest, and Tom likes that, because the direction should knock down seas. Conditions are supposed to settle by Thursday. The tog fishing was better on Friday than on Saturday on the vessel, but catches were all right on both trips, and have been good through the season. On Saturday winds were actually too calm, and that makes anchoring difficult, and the boat couldn’t lay well. Still, blackfish were boated. The Atlantic Star is blackfishing 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily.

Capt. Ron from the party boat <b>Fishermen</b> wrapped up the vessel’s season with a final trip for the year on Saturday for striped bass, he said in an e-mail. He and the crew thank customers and wish everyone Happy Holidays and a happy new year. “Thanks to all for sharing your days off with us,” he said. “We don’t survive without you!” On the boat Saturday the trip ran around a lot at first, looking for stripers as far south as the Shrewsbury Rocks, searching inshore and offshore, but not much bait and fish were seen. “Made a couple of desperation stops to yield nothing,” Ron said. The trip kept looking, moving to the east, and a pick of shorts began. “With the readings I finally had, we hung in there,” he said. The fishing got much better after the tide changed. A good handful of keeper stripers and good action on shorts was copped. A couple of anglers limited out. With the rough weather forecast afterward through the first days of the week, it was time to call it a season. “Vinnie Vintastic” once again won the season-long striper pool on the boat, after winning the pool last spring. This season he won with a 39-pounder. “Good job, Vin!” Ron said. The Fishermen begins fishing again in spring, starting with striper trips. “Hope to see you in April 2011!” Ron said.   

<b>Highlands</b>

Tog to 10 ½ pounds, good catches, were crushed on two trips Thursday and Saturday with <b>Fisher Price Charters</b>, Capt. Derek said. Those were the final trips of the year on the boat, but Derek will now run another boat from Point Pleasant, sailing on charters and open-boat trips for tog. Cod trips might also sail. That boat has a heated cabin and is prepared for winter. Derek thanks everyone who fished on the Fisher Price III this year, and wishes everyone happy, safe holidays. Trips on the vessel will kick off again in April, starting with fishing for striped bass, blackfish and ling. Winter flounder trips could sail then if anglers wanted, but two fish was the bag limit last year, and no talk was heard that the limit would be different this coming year.

<b>Neptune</b>

Phenomenal blackfishing was clobbered on a trip Friday on the ocean, and the anglers limited out by 11 a.m., played catch and release another hour, and returned early by 1 p.m., said Capt. Ralph from <b>Last Lady Fishing Charters</b>.  The togging was also good on a trip Saturday, and the anglers also returned early. A blackfishing trip was weathered out Sunday. Space is filling up on individual-reservation blackfishing trips, but spots remain on December 22, 24 (Christmas Eve), 26, 30 and 31 (New Year’s Eve); New Year’s Day; Sunday, January 2; and all weekends in January.

<b>Belmar</b>

Fair fishing for blackfish was crunched on a trip Friday on the ocean on the <b>Nan Sea J</b>, Capt. Tom said. The tog to 7 pounds were swung aboard. Charters are sailing for the blacks, and so are open-boat trips, and the next open trips are slated for Friday and Sunday. Weather looks rough the next couple of days, and is supposed to turn cold. But better conditions and temps in the 40s are forecast for Friday. Call to jump aboard the open trips, and anglers can call to be kept informed about the future open schedule. Tom returned from fishing for tuna from Hatteras, North Carolina, last week. Fishing for blackfin tuna was excellent, and sharks were the only difficulty. Sharks attacked half the hooked tuna. Amberjacks and almaco jacks were also landed.

<b>On a Mission Fishing Adventures</b> last angled up striped bass last week on Monday from the ocean, and the stripers are still around, but waters are becoming cold – 43 degrees on Saturday – and trips will no longer target the linesiders, Capt. Eric said. If trips run across stripers by chance, the charters will stop and fish for them. But trips will target bottom fish. A charter Wednesday was weathered out. On a trip Friday, seas were flat, and the anglers decided to fish a deep wreck in 130 feet, and cod and pollock were boxed. On a trip Saturday the three anglers came one short of a limit of blackfish. The keepers were 4 to 5 pounds, solid-sized slipperies. The catch was good, and blackfishing’s been great. On a Mission will keep sailing as long as fish are biting.  

<b>Brielle</b>

Anglers on one of the party boats, the Gambler from Point Pleasant Beach, continued jigging striped bass on the ocean, said Dave from <b>The Reel Seat</b>. Surf angling for stripers was sort of picky, and most of the fish seemed to be shorts. But the fish were sometimes beached at first light and dusk. Surf anglers cast slender-profiled swimming plugs like Yozuri Crystal Minnows or Bombers with teasers to hook up. Nothing was heard about herring at Manasquan Inlet, but herring were fought at Shark River Inlet. Herring also swam up and down the beaches, if anglers wanted to cast metal with a couple of teasers or something to catch them. Blackfishing was super on the ocean, and boaters on Saturday cleaned up on lots at Sea Girt Reef and Axel Carlson Reef. Blackfishers lately bagged the tog to 12 pounds. Ling and a few cod and sea bass were pumped in when boaters fished at the Mudhole. Not a lot of anglers targeted the fishing, and the weather was often rough to sail that far. Party boat trips that steamed offshore axed terrific sea bassing. Bluefin tuna continued to hover around Manasquan Ridge. <b><i>***Catch the shop’s big sale***</i></b> on Shimano’s original Butterfly Jigs and long jigs that the company no longer makes. Anglers can fill out a <b><i>***gift wish list***</i></b> at the shop, so friends and family can visit or call the store, ask what your list says you’d like, and conveniently buy you a gift from there. <b><i>***Holiday gift certificates***</i></b> are available.  The shop is open full time through Christmas Eve day. Then the store will be closed through January and reopen on weekends in February.

<b>Point Pleasant Beach</b>

“Extreme offshore trip,” said a report on <b>Andrea’s Toy Charters</b>’ Web site. A charter Friday steamed offshore for deep-water wreck fishing, a “winter meat mission” or “load the freezer” trip, the report said. Running offshore like this is uncommon on most boats this time of year, but the fish were out there. Load the freezer the anglers did. They limited out on jumbo sea bass, a quarter of them 5 to 6 pounds, and the rest 3 to 4 pounds. They also bagged 50 porgies to 4 pounds – the biggest the captain ever saw – a half-dozen cod to 10 pounds, a 30-pound pollock and some ling. The trip fished at four wrecks, limiting out on sea bass quickly, jumping to the other wrecks to keep adding the variety of other fish to the catch. Closer to shore, charters on the vessel are blackfishing. <b>***Update:***</b> The extreme offshore trips will run open-boat through the end of the year, depending on weather, probably meaning one or two of the outings will be able to sail, when conditions are calm enough, Capt. Fred from Andrea’s Toy said in a phone call. The trips will only sail till the end of the year because sea bass season will close on January 1. Charters are also available for the fishing and for inshore angling for blackfish, and blackfishing is good. A few striped bass are still around, too.

<b>Bricktown</b>

A number of customers boated striped bass on the ocean off Bay Head on Saturday near 3 miles from coast, said Capt. Rich from <b>Jersey Hooker Outfitters Bait & Tackle</b>. So he figured that was in 65 feet. The fish were jigged, were schooled up enough. Striper fishing is open within 3 miles from shore and closed beyond. Customers on another trip bagged stripers on the ocean off Barnegat Inlet on trolled rubber shads then called it a day. Other customers picked striped bass, nothing crazy, in the surf here or there. <b><i>***Holiday Sale:***</i></b> For every $20 you spend on a gift certificate through December 24, the shop will add another $5! With Rich’s <b>Jersey Hooker Charters</b>, sailing from Point Pleasant Beach’s Canyon River Club Marina, four anglers aboard Friday limited out on blackfish. A blackfish charter was tough on the boat Saturday.

<b>Tuckerton</b>

Winds blew or rains fell, and that was about the report, Capt. T.J. from <b>Legal Limit Charters</b> joked. None of his blackfish trips sailed, because of weather, but Legal Limit is focusing on the tog. Trips are no longer sailing for striped bass, and waters are cold. Both charters and open-boat trips/shared charters are blackfishing, and see the <a href=" http://www.legallimitcharters.com/open-boat.php" target="_blank">open-boat trip/shared charter schedule</a> online.

<b>Mystic Island</b>

“It’s wailing and wet outside today,” the report on <b>Scott’s Bait & Tackle</b>’s Web site said Sunday. No news about fishing was posted on the site in the storm that day. On Saturday one angler took a spin on his boat, saw a pair of large seals on the Mullica River around Blood Ditch, and after the trip said it was time to pull the boat for the season. News about stripers lately was that the fish disappeared, and the shop’s reports apologized about that, but 40-degree waters and prolonged cold tend to push the bass south. After rough weather last week, boaters returned to the waters Thursday, finding complete lack of striper activity along the ocean front. Ice failed to disappear on the shop’s back lagoon that day, and wintry weather looked like it was here to stay a moment, with temps in the 20s forecast for this week. But blackfishing was turned on lately in the ocean, and boaters mostly fished for them. One boater headed up the Mullica River for white perch fishing, and the cold season is a time to chase them, because the fish tend to school in warmer pockets, easier to target. <i><b>***Holiday gift ideas:***</i></b> gift certificates are always a great choice, and can be used a little at a time if desired; a new rod or reel; or a rod-and-reel combo can be made ready to go; tackle boxes and trays are always useful; go for an assortment of lures and rigs for an angler’s favorite fish; put together an assortment of Gulp baits; replace worn fillet or bait knives; pick up crab traps and supplies for a favorite crabber; a pack of PowerPro makes a good stocking stuffer; and IceTex thermal wear and winter hats and gloves are on hand.

<b>Margate</b>

With <b>O-Beth Sportfishing</b> trips Friday and Saturday limited out on blackfish to 8 pounds in 60 and 70 feet on the ocean, Capt. Eric said. The fish were good-sized, and more keepers bit than shorts did, and the anglers even released keepers. O-Beth had been striper fishing previously, but Eric heard little about stripers caught on the two days. A few small stripers seemed to be landed here or there, and most boats seemed to switch to blackfishing that was picking up, going well. These were the final trips of the season for O-Beth, and Eric thanks everyone who fished aboard this year. Trips will begin again in early April, running for stripers and blackfish. Eric had thought about leaving the boat in the waters one more week, but forecasts called for rough weather most of the week.

<b>Longport</b>

A mediocre catch of blackfish, lots of small ones, bit on a trip Friday on the ocean, but the angling was better on a trip Saturday, and bigger ones chomped, said Capt. Mike from the <b>Stray Cat</b>. A 10-plus-pounder and some 8’s and 9’s were hung on the boat that day. In the morning on Saturday’s trip striped bass were trolled. After the trip left the stripers to hunt blackfish, other boaters jigged some of the bass. Stripers were on a tear at Avalon Shoal recently. Mostly open-boat trips are fishing, currently chasing blackfish and stripers. Anglers will get the best chance of fishing if they call Mike to get on the call list, giving him the days when they can sail. Weather during this time of year makes reserving a date difficult, because the chances the trip will get the weather to sail go down. But if anglers get on the call list, Mike calls anglers on the list when a weather window opens, and if the anglers can go, they go, and if not, he calls the next on the list. A charter is booked Saturday, but space is available on open trips Friday and Sunday, and the weather looks decent, and call to reserve. The full moon is on December 21, so the next trips with space available afterward will probably be December 27 through 29, and call to reserve. Mike and crew will take off Christmas weekend. January 2 is chartered. When blackfishing and striper fishing slow down, trips will begin fishing deep-water wrecks for cod.

<b>Cape May</b>

On the <b>Heavy Hitter</b> anglers limited out on tog Saturday on the ocean, Capt. George said. The fish weighed up to 5 pounds, and most were 14 to 17 inches, and sizeable ones came up at times. A trip on another boat nearby also scored well on the blackfish. The angling on the Heavy Hitter would give up a flurry of bites, then a lull, then another flurry, and so on. Striped bass seemed to bite at the Cape May Rips. George heard about catches of 7 or 8 keepers and throwbacks on a few vessels at the Cape May Rips. George saw water temps 44 to 45 degrees on the ocean, and the weather was calm on his charter. Trips with him will keep fishing for tog or stripers, whatever remains available, and will keep fishing as long as fish are around. This Sunday is available, but Saturday is booked. Weekdays are available. Call if interested.

Back to Top