<b>Staten Island</b>

Blackfishing trips made it out Saturday through Monday, before the storm began, said Capt. Joe from <b>Outcast Charters</b>. The trip Saturday met tough weather, winds blowing 30 most of the day, but the anglers scored well. They socked well over a limit of the tog, fish to 6 pounds, none big, keeping only their quota, releasing the rest. On Sunday the weather became calm, but anchoring conditions became difficult. Still, the trip managed to limit out on blackfish to 7 pounds, though the fishing was slower than on Saturday. On Monday’s trip the weather turned beautiful, and currents flowed, making anchoring fine, and a good catch of the tog to 7 pounds was pummeled. One ling bit on the trips, and no sea bass did, because the blackfish were yet to be targeted in deep waters. On one trip a keeper striped bass was bagged, when the fish bit a crab meant for tog.

<b>Atlantic Highlands</b>

After tough fishing for striped bass during the weekend, the bite on Monday was back on, said Capt. Ron from the party boat <b>Fishermen</b> in the reports on the vessel’s Web site. Small stripers with keepers mixed in put up lots of action all day. Most of the keepers were 28 to 29 inches, and “Anchor Joe” landed 23 bass, including a keeper. “Big Al” and several others landed more than 20 apiece, and a couple bagged two keepers. The fish bit where nothing was read the previous day. “Go figure!” Ron said. On Tuesday’s trip southeast winds started blowing early in the morning. Then Ron knew the outing would be trouble. The trip scored a couple of shots at stripers. Then the fish, birds and most of the bait disappeared. With rough seas and no readings to give Ron hope, he threw in the towel, “something I very rarely do,” he said. The trip returned early. That probably saved some anglers from becoming seasick, too. On Tuesday forecasts for Wednesday called for southeast winds blowing 35 and rainstorms, and the trip Wednesday would be cancelled, and today’s trip was questionable. If the trip gets out and Ron gives an update, it’ll be added here. The Fishermen is sailing for striped bass 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily.

No customers fished in the weather Wednesday, but previously lots of striped bass were boated on eels and jigs and on the troll, said Jimmy from <b>Julian’s Bait & Tackle</b>. Blues swam among the bass, and stripers were pulled from the surf. Jimmy heard only about stripers in the surf, no blues. Bottom fishing piled up lots of blackfish. The angling farther from shore at the Mudhole landed lots of ling and some cod.

The storm Wednesday was going to be a wash for angling that day, so Capt. Tom from the party boat <b>Atlantic Star</b>, in a phone call, gave this report Tuesday, knowing Wednesday’s trip would stay docked, he said. Horrendous winds were forecast along with downpours for Wednesday. Winds even arrived earlier than forecast Tuesday, and the blackfish trip that day headed out before the blow began. Winds and seas ended up nasty, but some of the tog were boated, and more of the anglers bagged keepers than did not. One limited out, and some bagged two or three, and a few couldn’t feel bottom in the bouncing seas, landing no keepers. But shorts bit. The pool-winning blackfish weighed nearly 8 pounds. Many hooks were reeled up with no bait – bites that were missed because of seas. Seas were probably nastier Tuesday than Saturday, the last rough day, because winds Saturday, though stronger, blew westerly, and land somewhat protects seas then. But winds Tuesday blew southerly – no protection. Monday was gorgeous, and one angler limited out on blackfish, and some bagged four or five, and a couple bagged no keepers, if Tom remembered, but all caught at least shorts. Only a few ling were hooked on the trips, though ling numbers began to grow previously. Ling were beginning to be in the mix. Clams are provided for ling fishing, in addition to crabs for blackfish. Ling on Tuesday, and in recent trips, bit crabs more than clams, and that helped avoid dog sharks that prefer clams but back off from crabs. On Tuesday the forecast for today’s trip was iffy, but Tom would see if that changed. On Tuesday winds were forecast to blow northwesterly today, and even if those winds ended up strong, Tom hoped that was the direction, because that would knock down seas from tremendous southerly winds that had been forecast for Wednesday’s storm. The Atlantic Star is blackfishing 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily.  <b>***Update, Saturday, 12/4:***</b> Weather was breezy today, blowing 20, but from the west, so that was entirely fishable, and the day’s trip churned out good blackfishing, Capt. Tom said. A small crowd was aboard, and all caught the fish, and a fair number limited out. The tog were mixed sizes, and shorts were fairly abundant, giving up plenty of action, and some sizeable slipperies bit. Sunday’s forecast looks about the same, and Monday’s doesn’t look so great, but anglers will see whether that changes.

<b>Highlands</b>

Blackfishing pounded out lots of the tog until the storm, and no trips sailed since Monday because of weather, said Capt. Derek from <b>Fisher Price Charters</b>. At the harbor today, only one boat left port, and the day remained breezy, but winds were supposed to calm later. Trips with Fisher Price will resume fishing Friday through the weekend. Anglers aboard did no striper fishing in probably a week. Derek heard a large body of stripers remained to the east, and maybe the storm pushed them in. His trips now will concentrate on blackfish, but if birds are seen working the waters, and the anglers want to stop to try for stripers, they can. Charters are fishing, and a couple of spaces are available on an open-boat trip for blackfish Saturday. More open trips might sail for the tog next week, depending on weather. Fisher Price will fish through December 12, until Derek calls it a season on the vessel. But afterward he’ll run another boat from Point Pleasant that will sail for blackfish on charters and open trips.

With the weather, not much happened, said Wayne from <b>Twin Lights Marina</b>. But Scott Beim, the marina’s owner, on his Gusto eeled striped bass to 26 pounds between the channels. Gene Graham, the marina’s striper expert, fished on Tuesday, picking stripers on eels. One of the charter boats from the docks was fishing for blackfish today when Wayne gave this report over the phone, and the vessel’s trips were limiting out on the tog lately. Mostly only a few commercial boats remained at the docks now. But the marina is open year-round.

<b>Neptune</b>

No trips sailed since the weekend, but trips will run for blackfish this weekend, and good catches of the slipperies were coming up on the boat, said Capt. Ralph from <b>Last Lady Fishing Charters</b>. The weekend’s trips are full, and the schedule is filling up, but space is open on individual-reservation trips for blackfish on December 8, 15, 18, 22, 24 (Christmas Eve), 26, 30, 31 (New Year’s Eve) and New Year’s Day and Sunday, January 2. Charters are available for striped bass, and the fish are out there. Cod charters are also on tap, and the angling is solid. A buddy mugged a healthy catch of cod within 40 miles from shore. Only Ralph’s smaller boat is sailing, and the bigger boat is being refurbished with a new cabin.

<b>Belmar</b>

Blackfishing improved a lot on a trip Monday after slow angling for the tog on the weekend, said Capt. Tom from the <b>Nan Sea J</b>. Then the storm rolled through. An open-boat trip is set to fish for blackfish Friday, and call to jump aboard or be kept informed about the future open schedule for togging. On Monday’s trip the anglers, a small group, limited out, and the catch included quality blackfish: two 7-pounders and some 5- and 6-pounders. Charters are also sailing for striped bass, and Tom knew about some boated Monday. Striper fishing shouldn’t be finished by a long shot.

The boat stayed in port Wednesday during the storm, but blackfishing was great on Tuesday’s trip on the party boat <b>Big Mohawk</b>, Capt. Chris said. The fishing was good on the vessel Saturday, and was “eh,” he said, Sunday and Monday. The togging was okay then, and some of the anglers limited out. But sometimes boats say a number of anglers limited out, and to them, that’s good. But not to him. When he sees seven or eight limit out, and one or two experienced anglers fare not so well, he’s got expectations. The fishing wasn’t as good as the catches should have been. A 12- or 12-1/2-pounder was decked in the past days, and some 8-, 9- and 10-pounders were bagged. White leggers worked well for bait, but whites, green crabs and tiger crabs all had their moments. Green crabs are supplied on trips, and other crabs like whites and tigers are sold on the vessel when available. The Big Mohawk is blackfishing 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily.

The weather forced trips to stay tied to the dock Tuesday and Wednesday, and today’s trip was also cancelled, said Capt. Alan from the <b>Miss Belmar Princess</b>. On Sunday’s and Monday’s trips fishing was slow for striped bass and blues on the ocean, because of conditions or weather. But otherwise catches were super. Trips will keep fishing for stripers and blues and will begin mackerel fishing during the third week of December. A few mackerel were already hooked by mistake while anglers fished for stripers and blues.  The Miss Belmar Princess is fishing for stripers and blues 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily.

The party boats were docked because of weather, and no surf fishers walked the beaches in two or three days because of the condtions, said Bob from <b>Fihserman’s Den</b>. Previously the head boats served up good blackfishing and some cod. The ones that striped bass fished fared okay, and not many people joined the trips. Surf fishing was dead before the storm, but the angling could improve in the next days in the west winds forecasted. Lots of sea herring raced around Shark River, fun to fight if anglers wanted to dart them.

<b>Brielle</b>

A 14-pound 2 ounce 28-1/2-inch blackfish was clobbered Tuesday with <b>Fish Monger Charters</b>, Capt. Jerry said in an e-mail. The fish was “Duffman Dan’s” personal best. The charter, making one drop before calling it a day early because of weather, landed 15 keepers. “Made the best of a short day with tough conditions,” Jerry said. Winds and a small craft advisory weren’t supposed to begin until the afternoon, and the crew discussed that with the charter, and the decision was made to try fishing at least in the morning. The trip met an evil inlet on the way out, but seas weren’t bad once the boat reached the ocean. But winds came on quickly from the north. The anglers got a chew going, picking a few keepers, including a couple of 4- to 6-pounders. Duffman Dan, who would soon clock the 14-pounder, first missed a big one halfway up. That was disappointing, but then he nailed the big tog. “Some way to break the 10-pound mark!” Jerry said. “Congrats Dan!” He also limited out.

<b>Point Pleasant Beach</b>

Tough fishing for striped bass was found Monday on the ocean on the party boat <b>Cock Robin</b>, an e-mail from the boat said. No report rolled in about Tuesday, and Wednesday's trip was weathered out. On Monday the trip searched around, and short bass were hooked, but finally some keepers were found. Out-of-season fluke were landed at some spots. Sometimes a blue or a sundial were landed, and a couple of small finback whales were seen feeding. “Very cool,” the e-mail said. “The bass are here, and they have <i>got</i> to eat jigs soon!” it said.  The Cock Robin is sailing 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily except 6 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Wednesdays.

On the party boat <b>Dauntless</b> anglers swung aboard ling, sea bass, porgies, blackfish, cod and blues, not many of any one species, but a mix of the fish, an average of one to two dozen per customer, Capt. Butch said. The fishing was all right, and the sea bass, the few that still swam this close to shore, were sizeable, almost all keepers by now. Some of the porgies, also only a few remaining in these waters, were monsters, big. Quite a few blues remained this far north, and last year they had already departed south. Trips fished in 90 to 150 feet, and a bunch of large, 200- to 300-pound bluefin tuna were seen from the boat the other day. No trip sailed in Wednesday’s storm, but trips fished on the previous days. The Dauntless is bottom fishing 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. daily.

<b>Bricktown</b>

Surf fishing for striped bass was slow during the weekend but poured out hot catches Monday and Tuesday at Bay Head and Mantoloking, said Capt. Rich from <b>Jersey Hooker Outfitters Bait & Tackle</b> in an e-mail. Boaters trolled stripers Sunday and Monday, before the weather turned rough, on the ocean off Island Beach State Park on Tony Maja’s Nos. 1 to 4 spoons and Sportfish Products’ sand eel umbrella rigs. Tog fishing was a pick, was slow, for most ocean boaters Sunday and Monday. <b><i>***Holiday Sale:***</b> For every $20 you spend on a gift certificate through December 24, the shop will add another $5!</i> Rich’s <b>Jersey Hooker Charters</b>, sailing from Point Pleasant Beach’s Canyon River Club Marina,  ran into tough fishing on the ocean Sunday. After a late start in the morning, jigging and trolling for stripers produced a 36-inch keeper on a No. 3 white Maja spoon and a couple of shorts on the Sportfish Products sand eel rigs. On Monday on the boat on a charter with six anglers, blackfishing got off to a funky start, and shorts bit at Sea Girt Reef, until the last drop shoveled up some personal bests to 8 pounds. <b><i>***Tautog Charter Specials:***</b> Catch the special discount on 5 hours of blackfishing. Or take advantage of 12-hour, marathon trips for monster tog at the southern wrecks and reefs.</i>

<b>Toms River</b>

Tuesday was the last day when the surf was good to fish, said Dennis from <b>Murphy’s Hook House</b>. A mix of striped bass and blues were beached, and one customer tugged in two bass and four blues that day. Blues were still around, yet to depart south for the year. Stripers in the surf lately were hooked on clams or bunker, both working about equally. Fresh clams are stocked, and so is fresh bunker, and more bunker would arrive this afternoon. Frank Ciccone weighed in a 20-pound 8-ounce striped bass he trolled on the ocean on a bunker spoon. He also boated other bass, and saw other boaters jig stripers. Anglers will catch if they get the weather to sail the ocean. Seas did calm down today after the storm and winds this week. Blackfish bit along the jetties at Barnegat and Manasquan inlets, probably most on green crabs. Blackfish were also green crabbed at the Point Pleasant Canal. Green crabs are stocked. A few anglers still eeled stripers along the sod banks at Barnegat Bay this late in the season. The shop’s last eels for the season sold out Sunday. <b><i>***Catch the shop’s sale***</i></b> this Sunday through the following Sunday, <b><i>***featuring 25- to 50-percent discounts***</i></b> on various items.

<b>Seaside Heights</b>

Angling in the surf lit up for striped bass, some of them big to 25 pounds, on Tuesday from Bay Head to Island Beach State Park, said Scott from <b>The Dock Outfitters</b>. Most were punched on metal like Ava 27 jigs, bunker or clams. Herring gathered under the lights at the Seaside Heights Casino Pier, attracting striped bass four night per week that were nailed on the livelined herring. A few blues, not many, ran the surf lately. Barnegat Bay boaters, despite the late season, eeled stripers along the sod banks at night. When boaters tried for tog on the ocean, they limited out on green crabs and clams. Fresh bunker, fresh clams, eels and all the baits are stocked. Catch Wacky Wednesdays every week, when clams are $2 per dozen.

<b>Forked River</b>

The surf produced striped bass, and a neighbor kept clamming the fish, said Grizz from <b>Grizz’s Forked River Bait & Tackle</b>. Boaters jigged the linesiders, catching them where birds worked the waters. A few boaters livelined stripers in Barnegat Bay on spots and eels. Many anglers bought green crabs for blackfishing. Eels, fresh clams and frozen bunker are also stocked.

<b>Barnegat</b>

Winds were coming around after Wednesday’s storm, and were forecast to blow northwest through Saturday, and that will level out seas on the ocean, and open-boat trips will sail for striped bass Friday and Saturday, said Capt. Dave DeGennaro from the <b>Hi Flier</b> in an e-mail. The trips, sailing 6:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., with three anglers max, will head out the inlet and sail north on the ocean, until signs of life like birds working the waters or readings are seen. Then the trips will try diamond jigging or casting plugs for stripers, if the fish are on the surface. But the trolling gear will be onboard, in case trolling is the best way to put a few fish in the boat, but only if the anglers want to troll. The fishing was excellent before the storm, and more than likely would improve right after the blow. All the tackle is provided, and the fish are cleaned. Forecasts are calling for a sunny Friday in the mid 40s and a partly cloudy Saturday with the same temps. “Not bad for December!” Dave said. No trip will sail Sunday, because Dave will host his 3rd annual <b><i>Fishing Flea Market</b></i> in Freehold at Park Avenue Elementary School at 230 Park Avenue from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Exhibitor space is sold out with more than 90 tables of fishing tackle. The event was a mob scene the last two years. See the  <a href="http://www.hiflier.com" target="_blank">Hi Flier’s Web site</a> for info.

<b>Surf City</b>

The shop was closed Wednesday in winds and rains, and no fish were weighed in from the surf in three days, said Bob from <b>Surf City Bait & Tackle</b>. One customer today telephoned the store, saying he landed a dog shark and a skate from the beach. Nothing was doing.

<b>Mystic Island</b>

A couple of boaters returned to fishing today after the weather, searching for striped bass at Little Egg Inlet and along the ocean beaches, but found no fish, no birds working the waters, no bait, said Scott from <b>Scott’s Bait & Tackle</b>. Fishing for the linesiders probably wasn’t finished for the season, but something about the storm, like a sudden change in water temperatures, probably put down the angling for the moment. Previously stripers were taken at the inlet, though the fishing there definitely dropped off, and lots were bailed on the ocean, though finding them there was the trick. At the inlet, where boaters clam for the fish at the bars, anglers most recently landed three or four stripers per trip, and had to move around to catch. Previously as many as 20 were honked in a trip. On the ocean before the storm boaters shellacked super catches of the bass, fish to 32 inches, not big, when they found working birds with stripers underneath, and not all birds held stripers at all. The boaters traveled far, sailing as far north as Brandt Beach Lump and Harvey Cedars Lump. Anyone who tog fished lately cleaned up on lots from the ocean. Nobody talked about white perch fishing on the rivers. Fresh, shucked clams, eels, bloodworms and green crabs are stocked.

<b>Absecon</b>

Striped bass and tog made up consistent angling, said Curt from <b>Absecon Bay Sportsman Center</b>. Waters were becoming cool for the best striper fishing to remain at Absecon Inlet, so the ocean becomes the better place for them, though stripers still bit in the inlet. They seemed to cooperate at the inlet when waters were clean. Charters with Capt. Dave, the shop’s owner, pretty much landed stripers on every trip. His charter today nabbed the fish on the ocean. Tog were wrangled up from along the ocean wrecks to the bridges to even farther back in the back waters. Curt hooked a big fish at the bridge that seemed to be a tog. The fish didn’t head for the current like a striper would. He fought the fish a while, actually sprained his wrist, until the fish spit the hook. He also landed a keeper striper on the back waters since the last report. Curt, a white perch angler, did no real fishing for the slabs recently. But this should be a time to fish for the whiteys, because the cold nights should make the big perch congregate wherever they find warmer waters, instead of being spread out like when waters are warmer. Spots, eels, fresh clams, fresh bunker, green crabs and minnows are stocked.  

<b>Atlantic City</b>

Anglers hung ling from along the T-jetty and sea wall on clams and bunker, said Noel from <b>One Stop Bait & Tackle</b>. Surf casters dragged in striped bass, an occasional blue and lots of tog. The stripers chomped fresh clams, fresh bunker, eels and bloodworms, and the tog crunched green crabs. All the baits mentioned and more are stocked.

Striped bass roamed the ocean, Absecon Inlet and the back bay, everywhere except the surf, said Curt from <b>Offshore Enterprises Bait & Tackle</b>. On the ocean stripers were trolled and jigged, and blues swam the same waters, and many of the bass and blues gathered in 30 to 40 feet. At the inlet stripers were livelined on spots or eels, and in the back bay they were livelined on the same baits or were clam chunked. If winds would ever stop blowing, anglers could toss lures on the bay. Could be surprising that stripers kept active in the bay this late, but Curt heard about catches like three or four per trip every day. No blues seemed to enter the surf, inlet or back bay. Blackfishing was good, and ocean boaters limited out on them. Fishing for the tog was probably better there than at the jetties, but the jetties still held the fish. Sea bass and cod bit in the ocean farther from shore. Spots, eels and fresh clams are carried. Fresh bunker was scarce and out of stock, though the shop was trying to carry the menhaden.

<b>Longport</b>

Trips fished through Monday on the <b>Stray Cat</b>, until the weather took a dive Tuesday and Wednesday, and the boat stayed in port, Capt. Mike said. After slower fishing Sunday, maybe because of the blow Saturday, Monday’s trip whacked the fish again. “Fantastic!” he said. Anglers aboard creamed lots of tog and striped bass on the ocean, limiting out on both. Limiting out on stripers is like “duck soup,” he said. “One, two, limit.”  Open-boat trips and charters are fishing for a combo of both, and space is available on open trips Sunday and Tuesday, and the rest of the schedule is sold out until then. A charter for sea bass and cod to the deep-water wrecks is set for next week, and those charters are running, and anglers are showing interest. Take advantage of sea bass before the season for them closes January 1. The vessel’s Cast and Blast Trips, open trips and charters that gun for ducks and fish in the same day, are running until January 20.

<b>Ocean City</b>

Fishing tossed up a bit of activity, said Ed from <b>Fin-Atics</b>. Waters weren’t fishable during Wednesday’s storm, and Monday’s and Tuesday’s conditions weren’t great, but a few striped bass were boated at Great Egg Harbor Inlet those two days. Most of the fish were hooked on eels and spots, some on chunks of bunker. Today’s weather was boatable. Before the weather, a few stripers and blues were reported jigged and trolled in the ocean, but not much was heard about them in a week, even from areas farther offshore, like 5-Fathom Bank. Places like that are beyond 3 miles from shore, where striper fishing is closed, but previously lots of the fish schooled out there, like usual this season. Third-hand reports said a few stripers were boated at the Brigantine Lump today, but Ed couldn’t know how true that was. A few stripers were banked in the surf along the island’s south end. Most surf anglers fished with clam or bunker, if they could find bunker that was scarce. Occasional tog, lots fewer than before, but some, bit along the bridges and such structure in the back waters. But most tog moved to the ocean. Sea bass fishing was supposedly good, but farther offshore.   

<b>Sea Isle City</b>

Trips remained docked, said Capt. Joe from <b>Jersey Cape Guide Service</b> and <b>Gibson’s Tackle</b>, and the weather was severe. Striped bass and blues have been schooling the ocean and the Cape May Rips, but no solid reports were available in the conditions. Jersey Cape is hunting the fish on the ocean, jigging, bucktailing, tossing metal or fly rodding for the catches. Joe’s flats boat, one of three vessels he runs, is already in Florida, set to sail on annual charters from the Keys, weekend getaways, through winter. Anglers on the trips can arrive Friday evening, fish all day Saturday and part of Sunday, and return home that day. They can catch a wide variety of species, including redfish, speckled sea trout, snook, tarpon, king mackerel, blackfin tuna, ladyfish, sharks, Spanish mackerel and mangrove snappers. Joe reports about the fishing through the season. See <a href="http://www.gibsonstackle.com/page6.html" target="_blank">Jersey Cape’s Traveling Charters Web page</a>.

<b>Cape May</b>

Surf fishing beached fairly good catches of striped bass on clam or bunker, said Nick from <b>Hands Too Bait & Tackle</b>. Bluefish, slammers 8 to 15 pounds, will invade a time or two. More blues swam the ocean farther out, where boaters fought them. Some also entered Delaware Bay, but more of the gators schooled the ocean. The Cape May Rips held lots of short stripers, but lots of stripers. Boaters livelined eels or spots or worked bucktails for them, and bucktails especially worked well. Stripers surely could be boated on Delaware Bay, and chunks of bunker are the usual bait. But boaters concentrated on the rips. Tog fishing was excellent at the reefs and also still at the jetties, even if the season was getting late for the jetties. Bluefin tuna reportedly swam 18 miles from shore, but the weather made reaching them tough. Fresh clams, eels and green crabs are stocked. Fresh bunker becomes scarce this time of year, because demand drops, and bunker boats stop sailing. If a supplier comes around with fresh bunker, Nick will pick some up, but a supply is no guarantee. Frozen, vacuum-packed bunker are carried.

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