<b>Staten Island</b>

A couple of striped bass 20 pounds were smoked from Raritan Bay on Thursday evening with <b>Outcast Charters</b>, but the striper fishing was slow, Capt. Joe said. Bluefish also bit, but even fishing for them was somewhat slow. The trip fished with bunker chunks, and so did a charter aboard the bay Sunday. Striper fishing was slow again, but a load of blues chomped. The next trips will head out for stripers on the bay Wednesday and Thursday. Sea bass trips are also steaming. Outcast pays bridge tolls with a receipt. Charters can also be picked up from Perth Amboy in Jersey.

<b>South Amboy</b>

Fishing was slow on a trip Saturday, said Capt. James from <b>Reel World Charters</b>. The anglers, the Armando party, ended up with four keeper striped bass and a blue on the bay. Forecasts called for rough seas on the ocean. Active and retired military, first responders and law enforcement get a $50 discount on charters. To receive the discount, call ahead and let Reel World know.

<b>Keyport</b>

Fluke fishing wrangled up five keepers to 21 inches and plenty of throwbacks on Raritan Bay on Sunday with Mike Clemente’s group with <b>Papa’s Angels Charters</b>, Capt. Joe said. Larry, Tom, Jeff, Bill and Molly were the other anglers. Trips are also fishing for striped bass. Open-boat trips are available 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. daily when no charter is booked. Call to reserve.

<b>Atlantic Highlands</b>

“Staying positive that the bite is gonna happen (in our time frame),” Capt. Ron, from the party boat <b>Fishermen</b>, wrote in a report on the vessel’s Web site, after Saturday’s daytime striped bass trip aboard. “In our time frame” were his words. Amazing numbers of bunker swam the bay and ocean, “no matter where we go,” Ron said. Being in the right place at the right time, when the bass “decide to turn on,” Ron said, “is the problem.” The trip first fished the bay “in the bait life,” Ron said. Some bluefish bit, and a striper did once in a while, and there was no current, a problem. The trip ran to the ocean, found a huge swell, miles of bait and no bite. After the trip, Ron gets a call from his captain, Bob, who’s running the evening trip, and a half-dozen keepers are already boated, right where the daytime trip fished. “And, in busting my chops,” Ron said, “has the chutzpa to ask, what’s the problem with catching these fish?” Ron later wrote: “Wait till he finds out (that he’s getting) the day run!” Then he added: “Will give it hell again tomorrow.” No report was posted since then. The Fishermen is sailing for striped bass 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily and 3:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays.

A little improvement in fluke fishing was seen aboard Friday afternoon’s and Sunday morning’s trips, Capt. Tom from the party boat <b>Atlantic Star</b> said. “Shrimpman Steve” limited out on Sunday morning’s trip, and another angler came one short of a limit on the outing, and a 4-pound fluke was the pool-winner. But it wasn’t good fishing, just some improvement. Friday afternoon’s trip looked like better fluking was starting. But Saturday’s morning’s catches bounced back down again. Fishing was inconsistent like that in past days. Trips would even catch fluke at one place, and return to the spot the next trip, and no fluke would bite. Trips were fortunate to fish the bay, protected from rough seas and winds on the ocean.  The Atlantic Star is fishing for fluke twice daily 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 1:30 to 6 p.m. Check out the <a href=" http://www.atlanticstarfishing.com" target="_blank">Atlantic Star’s re-vamped Web site</a>, including new photos. It’s still under construction.

<b>Highlands</b>

With <b>Raritan Bay Charters</b> on Friday, six keeper striped bass and about four throwbacks were clammed on Raritan Bay, Capt. Dave said. On a trip Saturday, a four-angler limit of stripers was clammed, and more were caught and released, on the bay. On a trip Sunday on the bay, another four-angler limit was clammed, and so was an additional, bonus-tag bass. Bluefish also bit off lines, but only four to six blues per trip, not a problem. Open-boat trips are available when no charter is booked.

<b>Fisher Price Charters</b> on Friday competed in the Manhattan Cup striped bass tournament, Capt. Derek said. The trip fished nearby, managing to catch four keepers to 33 pounds on livelined bunker. On Saturday morning a trip ran down the ocean beaches, and striper fishing improved. Seven of the fish to 35 pounds were bagged. On Saturday afternoon a trip whaled the best striper fishing aboard yet this season. Thirty-one of the fish to 38 pounds were landed. Fishing changed on a trip Sunday, because lots more bait, and bluefish, pushed in. The anglers had to weed through blues, grabbing only two stripers, but a 41-pounder, the biggest aboard so far this year. All the trips fished with livelined bunker. Open-boat trips will sail for stripers Saturday and Sunday. Call to climb aboard or to be kept informed about future open trips. Dates are available for charters next week or the final week in May, and in June.

<b>Neptune</b>

“Right now, fishing is as good as you want,” said Capt. Ralph from <b>Last Lady Fishing Charters</b> in an e-mail. “That is not to say that every day we do great.” A striped bass trip Thursday got skunked. But morning and afternoon trips on Friday socked stripers to larger than 30 pounds. Sea bass season opened Saturday, and a bottom-fishing trip that day was a huge success. Sea bass, cod and ling were shuffled aboard, and out-of-season blackfish were slammed and released. A trip Sunday was cancelled because of weather. “The good water is moving in from the south,” Ralph said, so mako shark fishing should bust open any time. Book a charter now. One space is available to compete in the South Jersey Shark Tournament June 7 to 10. Three spaces are left for an individual-reservation sea bass trip Sunday. Space is open for an individual-reservation trip for stripers Wednesday, May 30. Three also remain for an individual-rez trip for cod offshore at 2 a.m. Monday, June 18. Individual-reservation trips for fluke and sea bass will fish every Wednesday starting June 13. Book early to guarantee a spot.

<b>Belmar</b>

On a trip aboard that left early in the morning Saturday, the fish finder marked lots of striped bass in the ocean, but the fish wouldn’t bite, Capt. Mike from the <b>Katie H</b> said. After the anglers kept livelining bunker that were snagged for bait with no luck, they switched to sea bass fishing. A bunch of sea bass were swung in, good fishing, about a third of them keepers. Then the trip returned to the striper readings at 2 p.m., and the fish were more willing to bite the live baits. Three stripers 20 to 40 pounds were iced, and maybe a couple were missed. Mike heard about some 50-pounders creamed. Anglers had to put in the time to catch that day. The ocean held an 8- or 10-foot swell, but seas were flat otherwise. Charters and open-boat trips are fishing.

Striped bass bit sporadically, said Capt. Pete from <b>Parker Pete’s Fishing Charters</b>, in the ocean during the weekend. If bunker could be caught to liveline for bait, some of the bass could be hooked. Bluefish gave up good catches in the waters, and a heave on the ocean was actually the biggest issue for fishing during the days. Seas reached 10 to 15 feet at times at Shark River Inlet, and two boats went down there. One crashed into the rocks, and another flipped. Great caution was required to navigate the inlet. Plenty of bunker schooled tight to shore. But getting to them in the seas was the matter. Sea bass bit well on this opening weekend of sea bass season. Charters and open-boat trips are running. For availability on the open trips, see <a href="http://parkerpetefishing.com/belmar-fishing-trips/open-boat-trips" target="_blank">Parker Pete’s open-boat page</a> online, and sign up for the e-mailed newsletter on the site. Dates are announced in both places.

<b>Brielle</b>

A schedule change was made for the party boat <b>Jamaica II</b>, Capt. Joe said in an e-mail. Afternoon trips aboard this Memorial Day weekend will sail strictly for sea bass from 2 to 7 on Saturday and Sunday. The sched on the boat’s Web site showed that trips were originally slated to run for a combo of fluke and sea bass twice daily on those days. See <a href=" http://www.jamaicaii.com/
" target="_blank">Jamaica II Web site</a> for details.

Ocean striped bass fishing on Saturday was a little slow, said John from <b>The Reel Seat</b>, but picked up in the afternoon toward Asbury Park and Shrewsbury. The angling was good near Brielle on Wednesday evening. Boaters snagged and dropped bunker, jigged and even worked top-water lures for the bass. Plenty of blues swam the waters they fished. Stripers, some of them pushing 30 pounds, stormed the surf Friday night around Deal. Surf casters snagged and dropped and tossed pencil poppers to bank them. Sea bass season opened Saturday, and a customer said ocean boaters pounded the fish. Nobody mentioned fishing for ling on the ocean. Little was heard about fluke, probably because anglers concentrated on stripers. Fluke surely swam Manasquan River, and good numbers of blues did. Stripers were socked from Point Pleasant Canal on rubbers shads and plugs, probably mostly at night. No news rolled in about tuna, because of rough seas. Some anglers had planned to try for tuna Sunday, but results were yet to come in. Bluefin tuna were beaten from the inshore ocean previously. Wahoo Baitfish Bucktails and Stingo jigs are on sale at 30 percent off, and the shop’s been holding 30-percent sales on different items to celebrate 30 years in business. A few of the Stingo’s remain and will be on sale until the supply runs out. The shop will hold a fluke tournament for Manasquan and Shark rivers from Memorial Day, May 28, to Labor Day, September 3. Entry is $10, and half of that will go to Save the Summer Flounder Fishery Fund, and the other half will go to Shark River Surf Anglers Kids Trout Fishing Tournament. So the store makes no money on the event, and prizes will be awarded for the first and second heaviest fluke from each river, the heaviest fluke from a lady entrant, and the heaviest from a kid age 16 or younger.

<b>Barnegat</b>

<b>***Update, Tuesday, May 22:***</b> From an edited e-mail from Capt. Dave DeGennaro from the <b>Hi Flier</b>: “I will be running an open-boat striper trip this Thursday from 5:30 AM to 11:30 AM. The forecast is for 5- to 10-knot winds, so the ocean should be flat. We'll make a left and go as far as we have to go to find some bunker to snag and liveline. They have been in the 7- to 15-mile range of the inlet. I always have the trolling gear on board as Plan B, but only if you guys want to. We usually have a meeting after a few hours of snagging first. Limited to three anglers. All fish are shared. Call to reserve a spot. My next available date is not until Thursday, May 31. See you on board.”

<b>Surf City</b>

Northeast winds blew, small-craft advisories were in effect, and anglers needed 8 to 12 ounces of weight to hold bottom in the surf, said Sue from <b>Surf City Bait & Tackle</b>. So the only good report was from an angler who banked a 15-pound striper and a 19-inch fluke from shore on metal during the weekend. Small blues swam the bay, but snot grass fouled tackle. Fresh bunker is stocked from Friday, because the bunker boat couldn’t sail in the seas. But the shop will stock more when available, and usually stocks them and fresh clams, minnows, eels and all the frozen baits. Keep up with news in <a href="http://www.surfcitybaitandtackle.com/" target="_blank">Surf City Bait & Tackle’s fishing reports</a> on the shop’s Web site. Or keep in touch on <a href=" http://www.facebook.com/pages/Surf-City-Bait-and-Tackle/207533229268619
" target="_blank">Surf City Bait & Tackle’s Facebook page</a>.

<b>Tuckerton</b>

Weather forced sea bass fishing to be cancelled with <b>Legal Limit Charters</b> on the ocean during the weekend, Capt. T.J. said. That was opening weekend of sea bass season. Not much was heard about summer flounder on the bay, and winds turned up the waters, filling them with grass. Charters are fishing, and see <a href=" http://www.legallimitcharters.com/open-boat.php" target="_blank">Legal Limit’s open-boat page</a> online.

<b>Mystic Island</b>

Talk was heard about better summer flounder fishing than previously, at the clam stakes and at the 139, on Saturday, though anglers toughed winds, a report on <b>Scott’s Bait & Tackle</b>’s Web site said. Nothing but dogfish bit at Grassy Channel. Sunday’s fishing was difficult because of winds, “but if it stops, then you have the gnats, so it’s a mixed blessing,” the report said. Most who fished Sunday got out from break of day till 7:30 or 8 a.m.  News was scarce from Mullica River, “(and) our best guess is the river guys are not telling us anything,” the report said. But one report came in about a boat limit of striped bass on the river. Flounder fishing was good at the stakes on Friday morning, and anglers could cull some keepers. Bluefish seemed everywhere in the bay, and blowfish were sometimes plucked around the stakes toward Graveling Point.

<b>Brigantine</b>

Surf anglers started weighing in striped bass on Thursday, and weighed them in all morning Friday, a report on <b>Riptide Bait & Tackle</b>’s Web site said. Then the angling became slow on Saturday, “considering all the anglers we had out there today,” the report said. The report asked: “When will the next school show up?” Some anglers said they needed 6 to 8 ounces of weight to hold bottom. But a 20-pounder and a 15-pounder were weighed in that day, and anglers talked about seeing a few other stripers, a drum and a couple of blues banked. A 10-pound 3-ounce summer flounder was checked in from a boat trip Saturday. 

<b>Sea Isle City</b>

With Mike Flaherty aboard a trip Friday, despite battling winds, a few keeper summer flounder and a bunch of throwbacks were tugged from the back bay, said Capt. Joe Hughes from <b>Jersey Cape Guide Service</b> and <b>Sea Isle Bait & Tackle</b>. On Sunday, with Mike Grundy, his dad Mike and uncle Ken aboard, two striped bass were caught and released, one on clams and one on a jig, and several keeper flounder to 21 inches and a bunch of throwbacks were landed, on the bay. So were two sizeable blues, and a ton of 10- to 15-pound smooth dog sharks. Popper fishing, with both lures and flies, is also catching stripers and blues on the bay, a specialty with Jersey Cape. Ideal tides, high at dusk, aren’t on this week, but will return next. That doesn’t mean the fish can’t be popped, but just conditions aren’t ideal. A weakfish was also grabbed on the bay on a trip that fished for flounder aboard Thursday with Dustin Laricks and son Dustin. A couple of keeper flounder and plenty of throwbacks were reeled in. Joe’s trips fish for flounder with a Gulp on a bucktail and a minnow on a plain, red hook on a trailer tied above. Take an After World Special Trip from 4:30 p.m. to dark, a convenient, productive time, for any of these species. Coming up, Joe will begin tuna trips, and tuna, both bluefins and yellowfins, were already Mohawked at the southern canyons. In recent years, the early season, in May and June, gave up tremendous trolling for tuna, and this season looks to be a repeat. If anglers want tuna, they shouldn’t wait. Give a call. Keep up with Joe’s fishing on <a href="http://captainjoehughes.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Jersey Cape’s blog</a>.

<b>Cape May</b>

Was a good week of drum fishing on Delaware Bay on the <b>Down Deep</b>, Capt. Bob said. The fish seemed to be spawning, not biting, around Thursday night or Friday, but lots of drum swam the bay. The fish were marked, and were heard booming. The Swarner party “went in the daytime,” Bob said, and the trip aboard clubbed only one 30-pound drum. But Mike Venditto’s charter heaved in quite a few drum to 50 pounds. Curt Roesnweig’s crew clocked four or five drum to 60 pounds. On the Barr charter, eighth-grader Leah Breden fought aboard a 60-pound drum. Sea bass season opened, but the ocean held a ground swell, and Bob only knew about one trip, on a party boat, that sailed for sea bass. But lots of sizeable sea bass snapped and were released from the ocean before the season opened, and should remain. Nothing was heard about summer flounder. A few openings remain for drum trips, and call if interested.

Drum in Delaware Bay would bite a couple of days, turn off a day or two, bite again, and so on, so the fishing was fair, said Capt. T.J. from <b>Legal Limit Charters</b>. That was on both the Jersey and Delaware sides of the bay, and trips aboard only drum fished in past days. Trips on T.J.’s other boat, sailing from Tuckerton, were cancelled, because of weather, but were going to sea bass fish, on this opening weekend of sea bass season.  Charters are fishing, and see <a href=" http://www.legallimitcharters.com/open-boat.php" target="_blank">Legal Limit’s open-boat page</a> online.

On the <b>Heavy Hitter</b> Howard Bly’s charter cranked in a couple of drum Friday on Delaware Bay in nasty seas, Capt. George said. Bly also sailed for drum with his group Saturday on the boat. The charter’s drum weighed up to 70 pounds. Sea bass fishing had been slated to sail on the ocean aboard during this opening weekend of sea bass season. But the fishing was cancelled because of forecasts for seas. Nothing was heard about summer flounder. Charters for drum and sea bass are running, and call if interested.

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