<b>Keyport</b>

The <b>Down Deep</b> will start fishing during the third week of March, Capt. Mario said. Don’t miss out on the great striped bass fishing in Raritan Bay in spring, he said. Charters and open-boat trips will fish, and sign up for the <a href=" http://www.downdeepsportfishing.com/ddsf/76-2/" target="_blank">Short Notice List</a> on the Down Deep’s website to be kept informed about open-boat trips on short notice.

Capt. Frank from the <b>Vitamin Sea</b> is prepping the boat for the coming season, and the vessel will be ready to fish by April 1, he wrote in an email. In his experience, winter flounder fishing is usually good when winter’s been cold, ice has formed in bays and more snow has fallen than average. Twice the usual amount of snow has already fallen, and though two flounder is the bag limit, they’re sure fun to catch, he said, especially for younger children. Don’t be surprised to see striped bass fishing last well into June, too, he said. June is notorious for bigger stripers, “and we just may see some of that fishing this season,” he said. Charters and open-boat trips will fish. Like the <a href="http://www.Facebook.com/vitaminseafishing" target="_blank">Vitamin Sea’s new Facebook page</a> for real-time reports and updates and open-boat schedules. “Get your dose of Vitamin Sea!”

<b>Highlands</b>

<b>***Update, Tuesday, 2/18:***</b> Striped bass charters should be booked now on the <b>Hyper Striper</b> for spring, Capt. Pete wrote in an email. He’s been running the Dream Girl from Costa Rica, like he does every winter. Fishing there landed sailfish and dorados daily, and he included in the email a photo of a good-sized wahoo that Bob Centemore boated aboard this past week. Bill Snyder also fly-rodded and released a 280-pound blue marlin from Costa aboard last week.

<b>Neptune</b>

<b>***Update, Wednesday, 2/19:***</b> Forecasts finally look good, calling for temperatures in the 50s and winds 10 to 15 m.p.h. this weekend, Capt. Ralph from <b>Last Lady Fishing Charters</b> wrote in an email. An individual-reservation, mid-range cod trip is slated for 4 a.m. Saturday.

<b>Belmar</b>

<b>***Update, Thursday, 2/20:***</b> Weather was beautiful today, “(but we’ll) go back to reality next week,” Bob from <b>Fisherman’s Den</b> wrote in an email. Party-boat fishing was about the only angling, and 30 “dedicated” anglers jumped on one of Belmar’s party boats today that’s been sailing every day the patrons show up and the weather is fit. The trips are scooping up ling, cod, sometimes blackfish, and ocean perch. Fishing at Oyster Creek was the only other option Bob heard about. That’s the warm-water discharge from the Forked River power plant, and he didn’t mention the species that swam there. But a variety of catches have been reported from there in past years, from striped bass, white perch, black drum and out-of-season winter flounder to even bluefish and speckled sea trout, two rare catches in winter in New Jersey. Anglers should all push New Jersey Marine Fisheries Council to pass the winter flounder regulations, so a fish that’s easy to access can be targeted next winter and fall, Bob said. Shark River, running past the shop, is one of the state’s top flounder fisheries, and anglers jump on the store’s rental boats to fish for them when the season is open. “Keep the faith,” he said. “Spring is just around the corner.”

The boat is in the water, and the crew is doing maintenance on the vessel for the coming season, when possible between snowstorms, said Capt. Pete from <b>Parker Pete’s Fishing Charters</b>. The boat is in the slip year-round, and the ocean is 37 degrees. Anglers cranked in a few cod and ling when weather was fair enough to fish, “nothing to write home about,” he said. Pete this winter is also exhibiting at outdoor shows, and just wrapped up doing that at The Greater Philadelphia Outdoor Sportshow. Heavy snow hampered the show Thursday and Friday, but the show was good through the weekend, he said. He’ll next exhibit at The Saltwater Fishing Expo in Somerset, New Jersey, from March 14 to 16.   <a href="http://www.sportshows.com/somerset/offers.html" target="_blank">Print a coupon</a> from the show’s website for a discount on a charter with Parker Pete’s.

<b>Brielle</b>

<b>The Reel Seat</b> was reopened at a new location this weekend, Dave said. The shop had been closed for the move since January, and the new store is larger – 4,100 square feet compared with 1,500 at the old shop – and is located at 307 Union Avenue in Brielle. That’s Route 71, and stop by for some sales under way. Fishing was weathered out this weekend, and previously party boats fished ocean wrecks for catches like cod, pollock and ling. The angling wasn’t good in cold waters. The store is open Fridays through Sundays and in March will be open Wednesdays through Sundays.

<b>Point Pleasant Beach</b>

<b>***Update, Thursday, 2/20:***</b> The party boat <b>Dauntless</b> is in dry dock, and will resume sailing daily on Saturday on bottom-fishing trips, Capt. Butch said. The vessel last fished on a trip last weekend that rounded up a handful of ling, a couple of cod and a couple of sizeable, 8-pound blackfish. Both the fishing and the number of anglers who showed up were “a little quiet,” he said. A break in the weather, forecast to be warmer, this weekend might attract more anglers. The ocean was cold, from 34 degrees at Manasquan Inlet to 38 at the Mudhole.  The Dauntless on Saturday will resume bottom-fishing 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. daily.

Fishing was cancelled this past weekend on the party boat <b>Norma-K III</b>, because of “all the wind and weather,” Capt. Matt wrote in a report on the vessel’s website. But another one of the trips, fishing for cod, ling and blackfish, was expected to sail today for Presidents’ Day. Otherwise, the trips are fishing 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. every Saturday and Sunday. A special cod trip is set for 4 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday, and telephone the boat to reserve. The cod trips do fill up. <b>***Update, Thursday, 2/20:***</b> The trip Monday streamed to the choppy, cold ocean in cold air, Matt wrote in a report on the boat’s website. But seas became flatter and flatter during the trip, and the third spot fished made the day. Cod to 30 pounds and a few ling were bagged there. “Overall, it was a decent day!” he said. The high hook bagged three good-sized cod. Some anglers bagged two cod, and some bagged one. One angler totaled 10 to 12 ling, Matt thought. Considering the ocean was 35 to 37 degrees, “it was decent life,” he said. At the first couple of places fished, a ling was hooked here and there, and a few throwback cod came in. The boat is expected to fish Saturday and Sunday if weather is good.

The boat is ready to sail, and the fishing season will be launched in mid-March with <b>Mushin Sportfishing</b>, Capt. Alan wrote in an e-mail. Dates are already being booked for the year. Trips for cod and ling, at wrecks 20 to 40 miles from shore, will start the angling. The crew hopes the cold winter will cause more cod than usual to push south to local waters, like a few years ago, when solid populations swam through spring. Blackfishing will sail aboard through April, after blackfishing season is closed in March. In April, four of the tog will be the bag limit, and trips then can also fish for other bottom-fish, like ling and cod, “to fill out the day,” he said. Also by April, trips targeting tilefish farther from shore, along the Continental Shelf, are planned. Those trips can maybe stop at wrecks for cod and pollock on the way home. Striped bass fishing could begin in late April to early May, lasting into June. Big-game trips will start in June, with mako shark fishing. Combo mako/tilefish trips were sometimes offered last year that ended up “fun and highly productive,” Alan said. Trolling for tuna and marlin usually begins in mid-June, “as soon as there is water in range,” he said. The crew also tries to combine tilefishing on those outings. “We will hopefully get another blast of bigeye tuna like last season, (lasting into fall),” he said. A bigeye was boated on every canyon trip aboard for a time last year. Fishing for bluefish, fluke and sea bass should also be good in May and June. Call Capt. Ray from Mushin to discuss best dates for all this fishing, Alan said. The Mushin is in the slip, and Alan invites anglers to stop by and see the vessel. Work on the props, adding 2 knots of speed, was the only major upgrade needed to the boat this winter, and was completed. Mushin means a relaxed state of readiness. The crew pride themselves on sharing the concept on outdoor adventures.

<b>Mystic Island</b>

<b>***Update, Thursday, 2/20:***</b> It’s been a long, cold winter, and <b>Scott’s Bait & Tackle</b> will be reopened on March 1, the shop’s Facebook page said. That’s also the day that striped bass season will be reopened in bays and rivers. “… stop by and see what we’ve been up to for the last few months,” it said. The store, usually open year-round, was closed this winter for Hurricane Sandy repairs. The store is expected to be telephoned for a report from one of the crew next week for info like the outlook for the beginning of this year’s striper season. But previous reports confirmed that Scott’s annual $100 gift certificate will be awarded for the year’s first striper weighed-in from Graveling Point. That’s the nearby shore-angling spot that gives up some of the state’s first stripers each year. Bloodworms, the bait to soak for the bass in the yearly season, are expected to be stocked for the opener. So are fresh, shucked clams, a bait that some anglers will prefer to dunk. The worms are easy for the stripers to digest in cold waters in the early season. But as waters warm, clams become the favorite bait. Graveling is located at the confluence of Mullica River and Great Bay. The fish are attracted by the river’s higher temperature, and Graveling is simply a place that anglers can access that attracts the fish.

<b>Absecon</b>

Ice couldn’t be walked on to fish, but prevented boating, said Capt. Dave from <b>Absecon Bay Sportsman Center</b>. Previously the ice was thick enough to fish for white perch on Mullica River. “(But) I guess there’s light at the end of the tunnel,” he said. Weather is supposed to become warmer, looking good for fishing this weekend, and striped bass season will be opened in two Saturdays, March 1, in bays and rivers. Bloodworms, if available, will probably be stocked for bait this weekend. Dave didn’t even try to net grass shrimp to stock live in past days, because of weather. No anglers even asked for them, but they bought them previously for the perch through the ice, when Dave kept them on hand. For the opening of striper season, 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. The first of the stripers in the recent past were hooked at Oyster Creek, the warm water discharge at the Forked River power plant. But no stripers were heard about from there this cold winter, and stripers seemed to depart nearby Barnegat Bay this past November and December. Maybe anglers from other locations will have a shot at the first prizes this year, and the contest is open to stripers caught statewide. Anglers in this smaller state seem less used to traveling than in larger states. Bloodworms will definitely be stocked before the opener, and the store will definitely be open the day before, on Friday, February 28. The store currently is open no regular hours for winter, but Dave’s usually there. Telephone ahead to confirm. Fishing was very good at Dave’s <a href="http://www.abseconbay.com/fishguatemalaparlamasportfishing.html" target="_blank">Guatemala charter business</a>, where summer is now. Warm, blue waters drew in catches including sailfish and dorados, and now through probably the next two months is usually a best time for the fishing. Anglers still have a chance to travel there.

<b>Longport</b>

<b>***Update, Tuesday, 2/18:***</b> Fishing was weathered out this past weekend on the <b>Stray Cat</b>, Capt. Mike said. But he’ll try to run the trips, open-boat trips for cod and pollock, again this weekend, and telephone to reserve. The trips will fish wrecks 30 miles from shore, and a few blackfish should also bite along the deep-water reef, so crabs will be carried aboard for bait 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.

<b>Ocean City</b>

Weather was rough this weekend, said Ed from <b>Fin-Atics</b>. No fishing was heard about, and whether local party boats still sailed, fishing ocean wrecks, this winter was unknown. Striped bass season will be opened starting March 1 in bays and rivers, and anglers will try for them fairly far up rivers like the Great Egg, Tuckahoe, Middle and Mullica at first in the season. The fish in winter hold dormant in warmer waters there. When the rivers become warm enough, the bass start to bite. Bloodworms, easy for the fish to digest when metabolism is low in the cold, will be fished for them, if anglers can find the worms at stores, in the early season. But some anglers will fish clams for them, if they can find clams. Plenty of frozen clams, other frozen baits and artificial baits like Gulp bloodworms are already stocked at the store. Natural bloods won’t be carried at first during the season, but the worms and other baits like that will be later. Fin-Atics is open Fridays through Sundays and will be opened daily starting March 1, or maybe the day before, a Friday. 

<b>Sea Isle City</b>

<b>***Update, Tuesday, 2/18:***</b> Some of the year’s best fishing is plowed by mid-April aboard the back bay, said Capt. Joe Hughes from <b>Jersey Cape Guide Service</b> and <b>Sea Isle Bait & Tackle</b>. Fishing for striped bass, bluefish and weakfish usually blows up then, and so does catch-and-release angling for summer flounder. Flounder season is usually opened in May sometime. South Jersey’s shallow back bays are some of the first to warm in spring, so the fishing takes off, and charters should be booked, to lock in dates. Joe expects to catch his season’s first striper from the bay by late March. Some of his traveling charters to the Florida Keys fished this weekend that he runs each winter, mostly on weekends. Catches Saturday to Monday included bonnethead and lemon sharks that were sight-fished on the flats of the bay, and a large variety of fish angled elsewhere from the bay, including jacks, mangrove snappers, other snappers, Spanish mackerel, cero mackerel, two tarpon released, and several tarpon that pulled the hook or broke off. The trips also fished the Everglades, bailing more speckled sea trout, including big, than could be counted, a couple of snook, jacks, ladyfish and snappers. Watch a <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8_s71TBR14&feature=youtu.be" target="_blank">video of permit fishing</a> from fishing in Florida the previous weekend aboard.  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, 2/18:***</b> Fishing will begin again in spring with <b>Fins and Feathers Outfitters</b>, and guided trips are currently hunting snow geese through March 7 in New Jersey and New York, Capt. Jim said. Most of the trips are booked for Jersey, and many of the geese are holding in Delaware and Maryland. But they’re also around in Jersey and New York. The year’s first fishing trips will sail for striped bass on Delaware Bay or the ocean and for drum on the bay in spring, and those dates should be reserved now. Fins  and Feathers offers a variety of outdoor adventures, including duck and goose hunting, fishing along Jersey’s coast, fly-fishing for trout on Pennsylvania’s streams like the yellow breeches, and salmon and steelhead fishing on upstate New York’s Salmon River from Jim’s lodge. The steelheads spend winter and spring in the river, spawning there in spring, returning to Lake Ontario for summer. The fishing can be best in April, and that’s when most trips with Fins target them.

<b>Cape May</b>

From the <b>Down Deep</b>, the crew is no longer attempting to fish this winter, Capt. Mario said. Trips had been scheduled to fish wrecks for catches like cod, but winter weather ended up too severe. The crew’s now preparing to start fishing from Keyport in the northern state, the boat’s new permanent home, starting the third week of March. See a report about that above.

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