<b>Belmar</b>

Blackfish, ling and a few small cod were swung aboard the party boat <b>Big Mohawk</b> on Saturday, but the fishing was slow, the vessel’s Facebook page said. The day was beautiful on the waters, and the warmer weather was also supposed to last on Sunday. A trip was expected to sail that day, but no news was posted about the trip at press time. The boat resumed blackfishing on Friday, after the cold weather kept trips in port the previous 10 days. On Friday, “we were able to get some blackfish and a few cod,” the page said. None of the fish was particularly big, “but different spots had some life around the boat,” it said. A good number of perch bit. <b>***Update, Thursday, 2/6:***</b> Trips fished a few days in the past week, between rough weather, and the angling was slow, Capt. Chris said. But some fish – blackfish, cod and ling – were landed, and the boat will fish whenever weather is fair. Weather looks good for Friday, but snow might be forecast for Saturday. White leggers are available for sale aboard, and green crabs and clams are provided. The boat sails 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.

No charters were booked aboard during the weekend, though Capt. Pete from <b>Parker Pete’s Fishing Charters</b> wished charters would’ve fished in the warmer weather, he said. A couple of boats from the marina fished. Like usual this time of year, anglers will pick at a few sizeable blackfish, a few sizeable cod and some ling on the ocean. The boat is in the water, available for charters.

Only short windows of weather could be fished on Belmar’s boats, Bob from <b>Fisherman’s Den</b> wrote in an email. But when trips sailed, fishing for cod, pollock and ling was “adequate,” he said. Anglers were amazing, because they showed up with enthusiasm, even on the coldest days. “You gotta love them,” he wrote. The fish were found in 200 feet of water, so 10- to 12-ounce weights were fished. To catch big blackfish best, crabs topped with softer bait like shrimp or clam were fished. The ling jumped on Gulp Ghost Shrimp. “Pray for spring,” Bob said. “Keep your thoughts in that direction.  <b>***Update, Thursday, 2/6:***</b> From an edited e-mail from Bob: “I saw online that JCAA put out a message that the ASMFC has voted to go with a plan to lump NJ  in with NY for the upcoming fluke season. This will result in NJ having an 18" size and 4 fish limit, a very bad decision for the fishing industry of NJ. Once again the government in their ignorance let the powerful commercial fishing rule their decision making. The only good thing mentioned was they will allow for a more liberal harvest of winter flounder. This would allow us something to fall back on when fluke season is closed. The NJMFC should take this matter up at the earliest possible time, so we would have a … flounder season to lessen the burden of loss of business on the fishing industry and the fishing community. Sorry for the rant but they drive you crazy.” Click here for more news about the vote.

<b>Brielle</b>

<b>***Update, Tuesday, 2/4:***</b> Aboard the party boat <b>Jamaica II</b>, fishing was fair at best, picking away at cod, pollock and ling on the ocean, during the weekend, Capt. Joe wrote in an email. Anglers and their catches included Ed Trassman from Lincroft with a 19-pound cod, Tom Stayos from New Milford with a 17-pound pollock, and Bob Plasket from Medford with four cod to 14 pounds and six ling. Trips will fish for ling and cod 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday and Sunday and for cod and pollock 3 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday.

<b>Point Pleasant Beach</b>

<b>***Update, Thursday, 2/6:***</b> A few blackfish, cod and ling were eased-in on the party boat <b>Norma-K III</b> during the weekend, and the fishing was pretty slow, Capt. Matt wrote in a report on the vessel’s website. Because of the cold ocean, a few more cod should show up. The trips are fishing 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. every Saturday and Sunday. A special cod trip was weathered out Wednesday and rescheduled for this coming Wednesday. A few anglers couldn’t make the rescheduled date, so a few spots are available, and telephone the boat to reserve. The trip previously sold out.  

<b>***Update, Thursday, 2/6:***</b> Fishing last sailed during the weekend on the party boat <b>Dauntless</b>, Capt. Butch said. Trips were weathered out afterward, but during the weekend, ling and a few blackfish, cod and pollock were decked. The fishing wasn’t good, but was like previously. On some days, anglers bagged five to 10 fish apiece, and on others, they bagged five to 15. On Saturday, probably three dozen mackerel and 100 herring were hooked on the bottom-fishing grounds. The trip wasn’t fishing for them, and trips earlier in the season mix in fishing for mackerel during years when the migration swims within range. The anglers bottom-fish the rest of the trip, but no mackerel really showed up this year, so trips didn’t chase them. During the weekend, depths 120 to 150 feet were mostly fished. The boat tried fishing deeper, but dog sharks that bit were too abundant. Butch had been hoping dog sharks would depart, because of the cold ocean, but they didn’t yet. Waters on the fishing grounds were 38 to 40 degrees, and along the beach were 35 degrees. The Dauntless is bottom-fishing 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. daily.

<b>Absecon</b>

Ice had been fished for white perch on Mullica River, said Capt. Dave from <b>Absecon Bay Sportsman Center</b>. But he didn’t hear about much about the fish caught, and today rain was falling. Grass shrimp, the favorite perch bait, are stocked, and he might not worry about keeping them on hand until weather seems more boatable. Fishable ice didn’t look likely to form again in the near future.  The store is open for no set hours this season, but Dave is usually there. Telephone ahead to confirm. Fishing went well at Dave’s <a href="http://www.abseconbay.com/fishguatemalaparlamasportfishing.html" target="_blank">Guatemala charter business</a>, and this is a peak time of year for the angling. A trip yesterday scored well on sailfish and dorados, then whale watched. Whales also move into the waters this time of year.

<b>Longport</b>

Ice melted, so the <b>Stray Cat</b> could be motored from the slip, and a short trip Saturday sailed the ocean, Capt. Mike said. But the ocean was cold, after severely cold weather that froze the vessel into the slip. So he won’t fish again until after this weekend. Then open-boat trips for cod will fish Friday through Sunday, February 14 through 16, from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. That’s a little longer than usual, to reach 20 or 25 miles from shore. The ocean on the trip was 36 to 37 degrees, out to 120 feet. The waters were 35 degrees through 10 or 15 miles from shore, and are usually never below 39. The trip, only 6 hours, didn’t have time to push farther from shore for warmer waters. The waters sailed looked good for fishing, but Mike will wait for the warmer weather now to raise the water temperature.

<b>Ocean City</b>

A few white perch were angled from brackish rivers, said Ed from <b>Fin-Atics</b>. Probably only a few people fished the rivers like Great Egg Harbor River and Mullica River. For more anglers to go, weather will probably need to be consistently warmer. Or if weather becomes consistently colder again, some people will ice-fish for the perch again. But only a few anglers seem to do that. Blackfish, cod and ling probably bit in the ocean, but nobody mentioned sailing for them. Again, weather seemed the reason. But only a few weeks remain before participation probably picks up. Striped bass season opens March 1 in bays and rivers, and that’ll trigger anglers to fish. The shop is open Fridays through Sundays and will be reopened daily starting March 1.

<b>Sea Isle City</b>

Mike Deckert and buddy fished on some of the traveling charters to the Florida Keys aboard, said Capt. Joe Hughes from <b>Jersey Cape Guide Service</b> and <b>Sea Isle Bait & Tackle</b>. On Saturday, they tackled snook, redfish, speckled sea trout and jacks from the Everglades on live shrimp on jigheads. At sunset, they released a tarpon on a livelined ladyfish closer to port. On Sunday, they sight-fished for sharks on the flats of the bay with livelined shrimp, releasing four bonnetheads. They also landed a bunch of mangrove snappers, some of them big, especially sizeable jacks, a few groupers and some blue runners on shrimp and Gulps that day. Also that day, they jumped a tarpon on a livelined shrimp on a jig. Weather was perfect on the trips, reaching 81 degrees. The trips fish each year from Christmas to Easter, mostly on weekends and holidays. One option is to arrive on a Friday, fish all day Saturday and part of Sunday, return on Sunday, and be back to work on Monday. That can be a mini, fish-filled vacation. 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>Cape May</b>

A crowd had signed up for a wreck-fishing trip for cod and ling last week on the <b>Down Deep</b>, but ice prevented the boat from sailing, Capt. Mario said. The waters were frozen throughout the marina, but the trips will sail this winter as soon as weather is better. 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. The boat will sail from Cape May until March. In spring, it’ll be moved to Raritan Bay in the northern state to fish for striped bass from Keyport. Book those trips now for excellent striper fishing, Mario said.

The party boat <b>Porgy IV</b> sailed for blackfish on Saturday, but none was bagged, and the ocean was cold, Capt. Paul said. So he kept Sunday’s trip docked, and will keep the boat tied up at least through this weekend, waiting to see whether the ocean warms and how the weather turns out. Snow is forecast for this week. Blackfishing trips had been running every Saturday and Sunday. Currently, the ocean, on the grounds closer to shore that the boat fishes, seemed too cold for blackfish to bite, in Paul’s opinion. He knew about a trip on a smaller boat that bagged blackfish 40 miles from shore. The trip Saturday was soon after the extremely cold weather that lasted 1 ½ weeks. If the ocean warms back up, blackfishing trips will resume, sometime after this weekend. If the waters don’t warm, the boat might not resume sailing until April, for the new fishing season.

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