<b>Staten Island</b>

<b>Outcast Charters</b> wrapped up winter fishing, and will now set up the vessel for winter flounder and striped bass trips, Capt. Rob said. Trips aboard pumped in good catches of blackfish and ling through the past days, sailing from New Jersey. Blackfish season is open in New Jersey and closed in New York. The flounder and striper trips will run from Staten Island starting on New York’s opening day of flounder season on April 1 and striper season, in marine waters, on April 15. New York’s striper season opens earlier on part of the Hudson River.

<b>Atlantic Highlands</b>

<b>***Update, Thursday 2/23:***</b> Lots of ling were scooped aboard from the ocean, said Joe from <b>Julian’s Bait & Tackle</b>. Sometimes blackfish were. Striped bass were beached from the surf. “Pretty (darn) good fishing,” Joe said. Surf casters fished for them with clams, sometimes jigs, during the day, and plugs at night. Sometimes they fished with crabs during the day, if they could get crabs. Julian’s is stocking fresh clams, and trying to carry crabs, but crabs die when demand is low, like at this time of year. The shop is open 6 a.m. to 12 noon daily.

<b>Highlands</b>

<b>***Update, Thursday 2/23:***</b> Striped bass fishing will launch the season in April for <b>Raritan Bay Charters</b>, Capt. Dave said. Stripers were caught from the surf, never left the warm waters this winter. So maybe striper fishing will begin early this spring. At first, trips will clam for the bass in Raritan Bay. Those will be younger, non-migrating fish. When the migration of stripers arrives from the south, chasing bunker, trips will liveline bunker for them, usually in May. The livelining will hunt the stripers anyplace from the bay to the ocean, wherever the fishing is best. Blackfishing aboard will be available while blackfish season is open in April. Winter flounder trips will sail on deck when the boat is splashed, depending on flounder regs. Only two flounder could be bagged per person last year, not worth fishing for them exclusively on a trip. The flatfish regs were yet to be announced this year. Ling fishing currently seemed decent. The boat will start to be readied for the season in the next week or two. Charters will sail, and open-boat trips will run, whenever no charter is booked. Reserve preferred dates while available.

<b>***Update, Thursday, 2/23:***</b> Charters on the <b>Hyper Striper</b> will begin fishing for striped bass in early April, and the fish will be active, because of the mild winter, Capt. Pete said in an e-mail. “I will have the boat ready to fish right away,” he said, “so anglers should lock in the early spring bass run now.” He was currently running the Dream Girl from Los Suenos, Costa Rica, this winter like every year. Good sailfishing continued on the boat this season this week. The Capt. Bill Snyder family sailed aboard during the week, and so far had totaled 23 sailfish, three dorado and a 250-pound blue marlin in three days, and had another day of fishing to go. Three marlin were landed for different groups this week.

<b>Keyport</b>

If the winter’s weather stays fair, Capt. Joe from <b>Papa’s Angels Charters</b> expects to sand and paint the boat bottom, and finish other seasonal maintenance, in March, then be ready to fish, he said. He hopes to begin the year’s charters in early April with striped bass fishing, clamming for them on Raritan Bay. Last year’s winter flounder regulations only allowed two flounder to be kept, and if the limit remains low like that, no charters aboard will probably target flounder. But striper trips can put out a rod or two for flounder. Reservations are being accepted for charters, and book now to reserve preferred dates while available.

<b>Belmar</b>

Mackerel were jigged all around the boat on the <b>Golden Eagle</b>’s first drift Saturday, a report on the vessel’s Web site said. The fishing was tough afterward a while, with almost no drift, and dogfish “that were on a mission,” the report said. The captain kept moving the party boat, and the anglers picked and plucked at mackerel on each drift, until dogfish took over. But winds came up, and drifts became better, improving mackerel fishing. Many patrons put a load of medium mackerel in their coolers, “with some really nice-sized ones mixed in,” the report said. Small mackerel and a few herring were also in the mix. “All and all it was a pretty good day,” the report said, for anglers who worked at the fishing, and kept away from the dogs. The Golden Eagle is sailing for mackerel 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily. <b>***Update, Thursday, 2/23:***</b> The boat stayed in port the past few days, because of weather, and more winds were supposed to blow today or so, despite the fair, warm days this week, a report on the Golden Eagle’s Web site said. Plenty of mackerel schooled when the boat last sailed on Saturday, and the trips should resume soon. The crew took advantage of the lay days to do maintenance and prep for the upcoming Coast Guard inspection.

<b>***Update, Thursday, 2/23:***</b> The party boat <b>Miss Belmar Princess</b> last sailed for mackerel on Saturday, and the anglers caught them, Capt. Alan said. The boat will run for macks on two more trips, at 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, and afterward will be tied up to be prepared for striped bass fishing. Stripers swam the ocean, never left this winter, and daily trips for them aboard will probably begin after two weeks.

<b>***Update, Thursday, 2/23:***</b> In the Belmar party boat fleet one vessel was sailing for bottom fishing daily, and two were running for mackerel on weekends, said Bob from <b>Fisherman’s Den</b>. Too few anglers showed up for mackerel trips on weekdays. On the bottom boat, very good catches of ling and a few cod and blackfish were cracked. Though blackfish bit less than before, big ones were smashed. A 17-pounder got waxed on the vessel this week. A current mackerel report was unavailable, because the boats last sailed for them on the weekend. But the fishing put anglers on macks 28 miles from port last weekend. Striped bass were socked in the surf off the ends of the jetties, not along the open beach, mostly from late afternoons to evenings. Anglers fished for them with plugs and rubber eels. All different plugs – whatever an angler favored, like Bombers – were used. Nobody fished for them with bait. “I’m not saying bait couldn’t work,” Bob said. But fishing stationary with bait wasn’t popular in winter when artificials worked. Jigs weren’t used from the beach, because anglers fished the artificials very slowly in low water temps. Lures and rubber eels worked for that. Boaters could probably jig the bass.

<b>Brielle</b>

The <b>Big Kid</b> will be launched for the season on March 1, Capt. Ken said. That’s next week on Thursday, and spring striped bass trips aboard are booking up, and anglers should call if they want a spot. The first trips of the year will be on tap for ling, cod, including at the offshore wrecks, or any fish available. Blackfish season will close in March but reopen in April, and trips for the tog will be an option. Ken’s especially looking for striper charters to fill up May. Big-game charters, including for sharks and tuna, will begin afterward. The boat at first this year will sail from Brielle Yacht Club then probably from Hoffman’s Marina, both in Brielle. All seasonal maintenance, including rebuilt engines, is complete, and the boat is ready to fish.

A customer this weekend banked eight striped bass from the surf in Deal, said Dave from <b>The Reel Seat</b>. Stripers seemed to keep biting in the surf to the north like all winter. Maybe the bass could be beached from the local surf, but nothing was heard about anyone trying. Maybe the lack of reports was because of lack of effort. “Who knows?” Dave asked. The stripers seemed to feed on herring and mackerel. The customer who landed the eight fished with a Daiwa SP Minnow lure. He saw another angler catch them on bucktails, and another hook them on flies. Mackerel fishing remained good on the east side of the Mudhole. Ling fishing was great on boats Saturday. One customer targeted blackfish on Saturday, landing a couple of the tautog, a couple of legal cod and a bunch of ling. A 17-pound blackfish was hauled aboard a Belmar party boat last week. Fishing for cod was somewhat slow. Whether that was because of the warm winter couldn’t be known. But the migration to local waters was stronger in last year’s colder winter. Currently a few cod were pulled from one wreck, and a few from another, and so on. But no large concentrations seemed around. The Reel Seat is open Saturdays and Sundays and will be open Wednesdays to Sundays starting in March. Catch great discounts on tackle at the shop’s display at the Fishing Flea Market in Point Pleasant Beach on Sunday at the G. Harold Antrim Elementary School. The Save the Summer Flounder Fisheries Fund will pay for four buses for anglers to travel for free to the rally in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, March 21. Recreational and commercial anglers will march on the city to support reform of the Magnuson Stevens Act. To sign up for the buses, visit the <a href="http://www.ssfff.org" target="_blank">SSFFF’s Web site</a>.

<b>Point Pleasant Beach</b>

An open-boat trip Saturday aboard beat a good pick of bigger blackfish to 9 pounds and a pick of ling throughout the day, said Capt. Derek from <b>Fisher Price Charters</b>. A few cod are around, though waters are warm or 46 degrees. The next open trip for bottom fishing like this is slated for Tuesday, but forecasts look like the trip might get weathered out. Afterward the next open trips for the angling will run toward the end of the week or on the weekend. Call Derek to jump aboard or to be kept informed about future open trips or to book a charter: 732-291-7675 or 732-861-3394. Derek’s boat, the Fisher Price, sailing from Highlands, is stowed away for winter. He’s captaining and working the deck on another boat from Point Pleasant Beach this winter. Reservations are being taken for spring striped bass fishing on the Fisher Price from Highlands. The bass trips will begin during the first week of April. But if the weather remains warm, the trips could begin a week or two earlier. Derek on a bottom-fishing trip with a friend on Friday ran across stripers on the ocean, and 70 were jigged in an hour. Surf anglers kept catching stripers.

<b>***Update, Thursday, 2/23:***</b> Mostly ling, good catches, were tugged aboard the party boat <b>Dauntless</b>, Capt. Butch said. The fishing was okay. A few cod and blackfish were clubbed. Anglers averaged 15 to 30 fish apiece. Sometimes mackerel were jigged, but the macks were small on the bottom-fishing grounds. A couple of dozen a day were usually hooked, and a few anglers targeted mackerel, catching 15 or 20 each, but gave up, because the fish were small. A few out-of-season sea bass, and more than a few on some days, were landed and released. Waters were warm enough to keep them from moving farther from shore, even warm enough for a sizeable fluke, also out of season, to be caught and released the other day aboard. Waters on the fishing grounds, in 130 to 180 feet, were 45 degrees, slowly cooling. Waters along the beach were 42 degrees. That was warm enough for schools of striped bass to be seen close to shore on the way home from trips sometimes. Butch didn’t notice whether stripers schooled on Wednesday, but saw a load on Tuesday. On the fishing grounds, dogfish “get to be a pain in the neck,” Butch said. Trips avoided fishing deeper, because the deeper the waters, the more the dogs. The Dauntless is fishing 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. daily.

<b>Toms River</b>

White and yellow perch were angled from the Toms River at Trilco, said Jeff from <b>Murphy’s Hook House</b>. Trilco is a building supply that closed down, and no sign identifies the building as Trilco, but locals call the stretch of the river, located at the Garden State Parkway, by the name. Bloodworms, nightcrawlers and Mister Twisters hooked the perch. The river there is brackish, and chain pickerel were nabbed from the freshwaters at Trilco on killies and shiners. Striped bass were banked from the surf to the north, like at Asbury Park. Nothing was heard about the local surf. Murphy’s is open Fridays to Sundays, but the owner is usually at the shop a few hours daily, and when his truck is in the parking lot, the store is open. Bloodworms ran out of stock Saturday, but more will be stocked Friday. Bait stocked also includes nightcrawlers, shiners and killies.

<b>Mystic Island</b>

<b>***Update, Thursday, 2/23:***</b> Bloodworms are stocked, will also be stocked for the  opening of striped bass season, and anglers already showed interest in the bait, said Scott from <b>Scott’s Bait & Tackle</b>. The worms are the favorite bait for stripers in the early season, especially at nearby Graveling Point, a shore angling spot at the confluence of Mullica River and Great Bay. More on Graveling in a moment. First, anglers seemed to show interest in the bait, because stripers reportedly showed activity on the Delaware River to some extent or another. Striper season is closed in rivers and bays until next Thursday, and, Scott said, the law seems to say intent to fish for them is prohibited there until the opener. Nonetheless, anglers seemed interested in the bloods for current fishing. They were also interested to know whether the shop will carry the bait for the opener, and, again, it will. Graveling Point traditionally gives up some of the first catches of stripers each year, and the shop will award an annual prize of a $100 gift certificate to the angler who checks in the season’s first keeper from the point. The fish are hooked there in the early season because Graveling is a place to access stripers that migrate up the river in late winter and spring. Places like Beesley’s Point on Great Egg Harbor River are similar. The fish either swim up the rivers to spawn or to forage on herring that migrate up to spawn. The bass, silvery in color, definitely come from the ocean. Non-migrating stripers caught in the waters are a golden color because of tannic waters. Bloodworms catch the bass best in the early season, seem easier to digest while the fish are sluggish in cold waters, and clams usually begin to catch them within two weeks after the opener, or as soon as the fish become very active in warmer waters. Next cut baits like bunker will grab them. Cut herring used to be used, but herring became prohibited to possess in the state recently. In other news, one report about white perch rolled in. A customer showed off a photo of perch, including good-sized ones, landed on the river. Nothing was heard about blackfish, and the season for the tog will close next Thursday. In addition to bloodworms, the shop is stocking live grass shrimp, a favorite perch bait, and large and small minnows. Reel repairs are backed up at the shop, and rod repairs are “pretty even,” Scott said.  Orders are coming in at <a href="http://www.pennparts.com" target="_blank">PennParts.com</a>, the shop’s online business featuring every Penn Reel part on the market, and many that are discontinued. On another note, the options for the 2012 fluke or summer flounder regulations were announced, and the state will vote and choose one option on March 1. Scott favors the 17-1/2-inch size limit with a 5-fish bag limit and a season from May 5 to September 28. But he believes the state will choose the 18-inch limit with an 8-fish bag and a season from May 5 to October 21. Several other options are on the table. The general consensus was that people were concerned about over-harvesting if the regs were too liberal. Scott likes the 17-1/2-inch size because business picks up when anglers can catch keepers, and that size should increase keepers compared with last year. Last year’s regs were an 18-inch size with an 8-fish bag and a season from May 7 to September 25. When keeper stripers got bailed near the shop last fall, business increased ten-fold.

<b>Absecon</b>

Local angler Tony Genovese white-perch fished on Mullica River, loading a cooler with the slabs, including some large ones, finding the schools with the depth finder on some of the flats, said Capt. Dave from <b>Absecon Bay Sportsman Center</b>. Quite a few short striped bass and even a few keepers were hooked and released on bloodworms that anglers fished for perch on the Mullica. Striped bass season, currently open in the ocean within 3 miles of the coast, will open March 1 in the bays and rivers. Dave expects the fish to be active on the opener, if the winter stays warm. The shop will offer annual prizes for the first stripers that anglers bring to the shop starting on the opener:  a $200 gift certificate for the first keeper; a $100 certificate for the second; a $50 certificate for the third; a $100 certificate for the first striper larger than 20 pounds; and a $100 certificate for the first larger than 30 pounds. Plus one angler can win an additional $100 certificate by being the first to check in a keeper who joins the 1st Striped Bass of the Season Tournament on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/abseconbay" target="_blank">Absecon Bay’s Facebook page</a>. “Like” the page, and go to the “Events” tab on the left side to join. An angler with an 18-pounder checked in the first keeper on March 1 last year, winning the prize, catching the fish near Waretown. Dave expects this year’s first several prizes to go fast. The prizes for the 20- and 30-pounders traditionally are won later in the season, when the migration of big stripers arrives. The first keepers checked in are usually smaller, younger bass, yet to migrate. Last year’s 18-pounder was surprisingly large. The shop’s last green crabs, leftover from December, were sold to an angler during the weekend who was going to fish for blackfish. No results were heard from the trip. The store is open during no set hours, but Dave is usually around. Call ahead to confirm. If this weekend’s weather is fair, the shop will probably be open, and the doors will definitely be open starting March 1. Dave recently returned from visiting his Guatemala charter business. A trip Friday with his fleet there released 12 sailfish and bagged three good-sized dolphin. Fishing was going well there, and now to May is a prime time. From one angler to groups of any size can be accommodated on the different boats.  Visit <a href=" http://www.abseconbay.com/abseconbay/main.html" target="_blank">Absecon Bay’s Web page</a> for info about the Guatemala fishing.

<b>Ocean City</b>

Striped bass were reportedly beached from the surf in the northern state, above Island Beach State Park, said Ed from <b>Fin-Atics</b>. Nothing was heard about striper fishing in the local surf. Some of the local party boats sailed to the wrecks for fish like tautog and ling. A few white perch were nabbed on the Great Egg Harbor River, and a few small stripers grabbed the perch baits and were released. Striper fishing, currently open in the ocean within 3 miles from shore, will open March 1 in the rivers and bays. Fin-Atics is open Fridays to Sundays and will be open daily starting Friday, March 2. Catch deals at the store’s display at the Ocean City Intermediate School’s Fishing Flea Market on Saturday, March 3.

<b>Cape May</b>

<b>***Update, Thursday, 2/23:</b> The blackfish trips aboard sailed Saturday and Sunday on the party boat <b>Porgy IV</b>, Capt. Paul said. A good crowd showed up on Saturday’s trip, and some caught, and some didn’t. Maybe three anglers limited out on the tautog, and some bagged two or three, and many bagged none. No especially big blackfish were taken like a few large ones landed the previous week on board. “But, hey, it was a nice day on the water,” Paul said. “Some got, some didn’t.” It was late February, he reminded. Sunday’s fishing was about the same. Probably one angler, Randy Barbolini, Wildwood Crest, limited out. A few bagged three. Doug So, Philadelphia, bagged three of the fish to 9 pounds on the trip.  Blackfish season will last through Wednesday, so trips will sail for them at 8 a.m. this Saturday and Sunday, if the weather is fair, and enough anglers show up. The current forecast calls for rough weather on Saturday, so maybe only Sunday’s trip will run, but that could change. After the weekend, trips will end a moment, and seasonal maintenance and a Coast Guard inspection will be performed. Trips will resume depending on the fishing. If blackfish bite when the season for them reopens in April, trips could head out for them. If striped bass migrate to local waters, trips could hone in on them any time. Several reports said lots of stripers were caught off Ocean City, Maryland. If stripers were there, they could move to Delaware Bay soon. The bay was cold, but a few boats, including maybe party boats, will likely look around the bay for stripers soon.

No trips sailed with Capt. George from the <b>Heavy Hitter</b>, he said, but he’s one of the few captains offering charters this winter. Trips for blackfish or cod are available. Striped bass charters will be available as soon as the migration arrives. The outings will clam for the fish on Delaware Bay. The migration in recent years showed up sometime in March, before most boats were in the waters. Those vessels missed out on the fishing, but George will be available. Call to book. A friend told George striped bass currently schooled off Ocean City, Maryland. Reservations are also being booked for drum fishing on Delaware Bay that usually begins around May. Lock in the dates while they remain.

Striped bass fishing will launch the season on March 23 for <b>Legal Limit Charters</b>, Capt. T.J. said. The season’s first trips will clam for the bass on Delaware Bay. Drum fishing on the bay will take off next on board, usually around May. Legal Limit will sail from Cape May the entire fishing season this year. In past years T.J. ran one of his boats from Cape May in spring and fall, moving the vessel to Tuckerton the rest of the year, while his other boat steamed from Tuckerton the whole year. This year one boat will be kept in Cape May, and the other boat will remain in Tuckerton, all season. His trips from Tuckerton this year will begin on April 1, wreck fishing, mostly for blackfish.

Back to Top