<b>Neptune</b>

<b>***Update, Saturday, 2/15:***</b> Cod fishing was weathered out this weekend with <b>Last Lady Fishing Charters</b>, Capt. Ralph wrote in an email. Trips are only sailing for them when weather is fair in winter. “(But) I have cabin fever, and I’m sure most of you also do,” he said. The next individual-reservation, mid-range cod trip is set for 3 a.m. this coming Saturday. Charters are filling up on weekends for the coming fishing season, so reserve while they’re available. Gift certificates are available for any dollar amount, with no expiration date.

<b>Belmar</b>

<b>***Update, Thursday, 2/13:***</b> The party boat <b>Big Mohawk</b>’s fishing, on trips for blackfish, will be kept docked a moment, Capt. Chris said in a phone call. That was apparently because of weather, like the snowstorm forecast for today. But he told this report’s writer to call again in a week for a report. When the fishing sails, the Big Mohawk is steaming for blackfish 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily, with fish like cod and ling mixed in lately.   

<b>Brielle</b>

Anglers picked away at cod, pollock and ling Saturday on the party boat <b>Jamaica II</b>, and the fishing was pretty good, Capt. Ryan wrote in an email. Beautiful weather and “nice, calm conditions” helped, he said, and lots of silver eels and some pout also bit. Customers and their catches included: Kirk Davis from Rumson, with three cod and two pollock; Ray Bryant from South Orange, who won the pool with a cod, and bagged two more cod and eight ling; and Tim Kiebler from Bucks County, who bagged three cod, two pollock and seven ling. Trips are fishing for cod and pollock 3 a.m. to 5 p.m. every Saturday and are fishing deep-water wrecks 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. every Wednesday and Sunday.

<b>Point Pleasant Beach</b>

<b>***Update, Friday, 2/14:***</b> A special cod trip Wednesday hit choppy seas and freezing spray on the party boat <b>Norma-K III</b>, and 3 inches of ice formed on the rods by the time the fishing grounds were reached, Capt. Matt wrote in a report on the vessel’s website. Fishing was slow most of the trip, picking keepers occasionally, sometimes bagging small cod, nothing great. But the last place fished sometimes gave up better-sized cod to 25 pounds and some pollock. Anthony Fattell, Mountainside, won the pool with a 25-pound cod, and also decked two pollock. Another special cod trip is expected to be scheduled that will be announced. The Norma-K III will sail for cod, ling and blackfish 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Saturday through Monday.

<b>***Update, Thursday, 2/13:***</b> Mostly ling and a few cod and blackfish were swung aboard the party boat <b>Dauntless</b>, Capt. Butch said. Crabs for blackfish bait were no longer carried on trips this season, but a few anglers brought their own, hooking a few of the tautog. Fishing on trips was slow, but anglers bagged like five to 10 fish apiece. The ocean was cold or 38 degrees on the fishing grounds, and was 35 near the beach. Trips fished in 120 to 200 feet, and the fish bit mostly in the shallower depths in that range. About a dozen herring were reeled in on Saturday or Sunday’s trip. More herring, and a few mackerel, showed up previously. Not a lot of anglers showed up at the docks, probably because of the weather or the cold. Another snowstorm was supposed barrel in last night and today. Trips didn’t always sail, because of lack of anglers or the weather. But the Dauntless fishes daily year-round, maybe the state’s only boat that does. Trips are bottom-fishing 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. daily.

<b>Mystic Island</b>

<b>***Update, Thursday, 2/13:***</b> The last that was heard about fishing was when the shop fielded 20 or 30 phone calls from anglers asking about bait for ice-fishing for white perch at Collin’s Cove on Mullica River, said Scott from <b>Scott’s Bait & Tackle</b>. The shop, closed for winter a couple of more weeks, kept telling anglers to find live grass shrimp for the bait at Absecon Bay Sportsman Center that carried them. That was during the stretch when nights were 10 degrees, and days never reached above freezing. Nothing was heard about the fishing’s results, but fishable ice probably remained along the river currently. Collin’s Cove, located just upstream from Garden State Parkway, is the state’s most popular place for ice fishing for the perch. Sometimes the fish gather there in winter to escape the colder currents of the main river. The shrimp are the favorite bait for the fishing. Though rain and snow, 2 to 3 inches, fell last night, and rain or ice fell this morning, the freshwater could just make the ice thicker, if temperatures dip below freezing again. The store will be reopened daily, except it’ll be closed on Tuesdays like usual, starting March 1, opening day of striped bass season in bays and rivers. The shop is usually open year-round, but was closed this winter for repairs from Hurricane Sandy. The annual $100 gift certificate will be awarded to the angler who weighs-in the year’s first striper from Graveling Point. Located at the confluence of the Mullica and Great Bay, the point, a shore-angling spot, is traditionally one of the state’s first places to give up stripers each year. That’s because the river’s warmer waters seem to attract them, and Graveling is simply a place that anglers can access. In past years, the first was checked-in any time from the first to the last of March, but never later than March. Depending on weather, the full supply of bait is expected to be stocked starting March 1. That should include bloodworms, the best bait for the point’s bass early in the season. The fish can digest the worms when the cold slows metabolism. But fresh, shucked clams will be carried if available, in case anglers want to soak clams. Baits like clams become a preferred bait for the bass after waters start to warm.  

<b>Absecon</b>

Grass shrimp disappeared from the spot where Capt. Dave from <b>Absecon Bay Sportsman Center</b> had been netting them to stock for white perch bait, he said. He’s either got to find a new place that’s holding them or stop stocking the shrimp. Nobody mentioned perch fishing in past days, but anglers fish for them on brackish rivers like the Mullica from boats and land in winter, if the waters aren’t full of ice. When the ice is thick enough, anglers ice-fish for them. Fresh clams and bloodworms will be stocked starting March 1, opening day of striped bass season in bays and rivers. When striper fishing starts, the store’s annual gift certificates will be awarded for the first several weighed in. The prizes last year included a $200 certificate for the first keeper, a $100 certificate for the second, a $50 certificate for the third, a $100 certificate for the first larger than 20 pounds, and a $100 certificate for the first larger than 30 pounds. No stripers seemed around in the bay this winter, though sometimes the fish swim the waters when weather’s milder. Anglers might need to find other places to catch them for the opener this year, like maybe the warm-water outflow at Forked River power plant. Whether the fish swam those waters currently was unknown. Stripers seemed to disappear in Barnegat Bay toward Barnegat Inlet by late November or December this past season, because of colder weather. Those fish won’t be replaced until stripers migrate from the ocean to the south. At Dave’s <a href="http://www.abseconbay.com/fishguatemalaparlamasportfishing.html" target="_blank">Guatemala charter business</a>, this is summer and the peak time of year for fishing. “That’s where it’s hot,” he said. Warmer water this season draws sailfish, dorados and other catches close to shore there.

<b>Longport</b>

Forecasts look like weather will become warmer, and open-boat trips will sail for cod and pollock Friday to Sunday on the <b>Stray Cat</b>, Capt. Mike said. Telephone to reserve, and the trips were already scheduled last week, because long-range forecasts called for the warmer days. The predictions seem to be holding accurate. The trips will fish in the 28-Mile Wreck area, and a few blackfish should also bite along the deep-water reef. A bushel or half-bushel of crabs is on hand for them. The trips will sail 9 hours or 6 a.m. to 3 p.m., a little longer than usual, to reach the grounds. Mike has said in past reports that he expects this cold winter to have pushed fish like cod south to local waters better than usual. He looks forward to the angling.

<b>Ocean City</b>

Party boats, if enough anglers showed up, probably sailed for catches like blackfish, cod and ling, but nothing was actually heard about fishing, Ed from <b>Fin-Atics</b> said. The Atlantic City boat show was under way and was the talk this weekend. The shop is only open Fridays through Sundays this month, so there was less opportunity to hear about fishing. Rivers like the Great Egg Harbor held some ice, but not enough to fish on. Sometimes anglers ice fish for white perch when brackish rivers like that become frozen enough. When the rivers are open enough, anglers fish for the perch from land or boats. Striped bass season will be opened March 1 in rivers and bays, and anglers then will start fishing for them locally on the Great Egg and other waters, like Tuckahoe and Middle rivers and, farther north, at Graveling Point. That’s at the confluence of Mullica River and Great Bay. On the Great Egg, they’ll fish as far upstream as Mays Landing. The store is open Fridays through Sundays and will be reopened daily starting March 1.

<b>Sea Isle City</b>

Anglers aboard fished on traveling trips to the Florida Keys this weekend with Capt. Joe Hughes from <b>Jersey Cape Guide Service</b> and <b>Sea Isle Bait & Tackle</b>, he said. The anglers, Dusty Laricks and Dan Rath, on Sunday landed four permits, a bunch of big jacks and some snappers. They also sight-fished for sharks, reeling in a bonnethead. On Saturday, they pulled in groupers, jacks, Spanish mackerel, cero mackerel and triggerfish. They landed eight or nine lemon and bonnethead sharks while sight-fishing. That night, they hooked a tarpon that broke off on a bridge. The trips were very productive, Joe said, and fished the bay near Islamorada. Weather was beautiful, and the water was 81 degrees. More of the trips will fish this weekend, and Joe runs traveling charters to the Keys every year from Christmas to Easter, mostly on weekends. One option is to arrive on a Friday, fish all day Saturday and part of Sunday, return Sunday evening, and be back to work on Monday. See <a href="http://www.captainjoehughes.com/page3.html" target="_blank">Jersey Cape’s traveling charters Web page</a>. Keep up with Joe’s fishing on <a href="http://captainjoehughes.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Jersey Cape’s blog</a>.

<b>Avalon</b>

<b>***Update, Tuesday, 2/11:***</b> Fishing will start back up in spring with <b>Fins and Feathers Outfitters</b>, and guided snow geese hunts are under way with the company, Capt. Jim said. The hunting will continue in New Jersey and Delaware until April 5 and in New York until April 15. Farms are hunted, and previously this season, Fins and Feathers guided sea duck hunts on Delaware Bay, when that season was open. Jim just finished exhibiting in the Great American Outdoor Show, also known as the Harrisburg Show, in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. That’s the largest show of its kind, and was cancelled last year, after the show’s producer banned assault rifle sales, and vendors threatened to boycott. The National Rifle Association now is producing the show, previously named the Eastern Sports and Outdoor Show, and plenty of firearms were available this year. Turnout for this year’s show was fantastic, and the show was great, Jim said. He booked lots of fishing and hunting trips. Fins and Feathers offers a variety of outdoor adventures, including fishing on the ocean and Delaware Bay from Avalon, duck and goose hunting, salmon and steelhead fishing on upstate New York’s Salmon River from Jim’s lodge, snowmobiling from the lodge, and fly-fishing for trout on Pennsylvania’s streams like the Yellow Breeches. The steelhead fishing will kick in during April and May. Steelheads swim the Salmon River all winter, but winter weather or cold, ice and snow can hamper the angling until days begin to warm. Outfitters Jim spoke with at the show said the angling was slow pickings currently or slow at best. But the fishing is usually super by April and May. Fins and Feathers’ next fishing will also include striped bass and drum charters on the ocean and Delaware Bay this spring. Reserve those dates now to ensure they’re available.

<b>Cape May</b>

The party boat <b>Porgy IV</b> might be finished fishing for the season, until starting fishing again in April for the new season, Capt. Paul said. Trips had been blackfishing, and he had hoped weather would warm a little more than it did. But the weather pattern looks like weather could remain too cold for blackfish to bite close enough to shore. Paul in the last report said he knew about a trip on a smaller boat that caught blackfish farther from the coast. But that distance wasn’t practical for a larger boat like the Porgy’s shorter-range trips. The boat will be hauled for maintenance to prepare for the coming fishing season, probably starting with blackfish trips in April. But if trips start back up before then, Paul will announce that.   

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