<b>Keyport</b>

One day of weather was fair last week so that Capt. Joe from <b>Papa’s Angels Charters</b> was able to sand the boat’s entire bottom, he said. He was now waiting for another stretch of weather to paint the bottom. But he’s making progress, and expects to splash the boat by April 15 or sooner. Waters needed to warm for fishing, and the season’s first trips aboard will clam for striped bass on Raritan Bay. Charters will fish, and open-boat trips will be available twice daily, from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 4 to 8 p.m., when no charter is booked. 

The <b>Down Deep</b> will begin to fish next week, sailing for striped bass and winter flounder on Raritan Bay, Capt. Mario said. Surf anglers occasionally beached stripers from the bay’s shore, but the water was cold. 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-trip dates.

Fishing on the <b>Vitamin Sea</b> will be kicked off with open-boat trips for striped bass and winter flounder on Saturday and Sunday, April 5 and 6, Capt. Frank wrote in an email. Room is still available, and he looks forward to starting. Waters are cold, but the sun warms the shallows during daytime, and that’s where the season’s first real bite will happen. The boat is already splashed, and will be moved to Keyport this week. Upgrades made to the boat this off-season included more-comfortable seating and a more-comfortable head. Charters and open-boat trips will fish, and Like the Vitamin Sea’s Facebook page for real-time reports and dates for open trips. “Get your dose of Vitamin Sea!”

<b>Atlantic Highlands</b>

<b>***Update, Thursday, 3/27:***</b> A few striped bass and winter flounder were heard about that were caught, both from shore and boats, said Jimmy from <b>Julian’s Bait & Tackle</b>. “Just a few,”  he said, but he was sure that if anglers “got up the river,” he said, they’d hook a few flounder. By mid-February, flounder already spawn, and can’t spawn if lying dormant in the mud. Weather was rough for fishing in past days. Jimmy wasn’t asked whether the bass came from Raritan Bay, but that’s where most anglers fish for them this time of season. He heard nothing about stripers from the ocean surf recently, though he mentioned a few from Sea Bright in last week’s report. The lack of news didn’t mean the stripers weren’t around. Birds that feed on bait worked the ocean surf the other day. 

<b>Highlands</b>

Open-boat trips will sail for striped bass Saturday and Sunday, kicking off the fishing season for <b>Fisher Price Charters</b>, Capt. Derek said. The trips will clam the back of Raritan Bay, and waters are cold, and Derek doesn’t know what to expect, “but we’ll give it hell,” he said. A few stripers landed from the bay’s shore were known about. The boat was already going to be splashed, but Derek will wait until after Tuesday’s nor’easter now, launching Wednesday or Thursday. Upcoming open-boat trips have been scheduled, and anglers can telephone Derek for the dates. Charters are being booked. 

<b>Neptune</b>

<b>***Update, Thursday, 3/27:***</b> Capt. Ralph from <b>Last Lady Fishing Charters</b> will hold off from fishing through the first week of April, he wrote in an email. Then Last Lady’s season will begin. Starting April 12, individual-reservation trips for blackfish will sail every Saturday and Sunday that month The season for the tautog will be opened in April and closed afterward. An individual-reservation trip for cod will fish Tuesday, April 15, at wrecks 25 to 60 miles from shore. Ralph’s been in touch with a few people who fished for cod lately, “and the signs are good,” he said. A friend scored very well on cod, and Ralph’s last trip for cod fished in February, and the catch wasn’t good, so he stopped the trips. The ocean was too cold, and only a few cod bit, and too many dog sharks did. An individual-reservation trip will be scheduled to clam for striped bass, as soon as Ralph thinks a good catch can be made.  Individual-reservation trips for fluke will sail every Tuesday starting June 17, and kids under 12 will sail free, limited to two per adult host. Charters are available any time, and more individual-reservation trips will be scheduled throughout the fishing season.

<b>Belmar</b>

<b>***Update, Thursday, 3/27:***</b> Fishing will sail for cod and ling at 7:30 a.m. Saturday and Sunday on the party boat <b>Golden Eagle</b>, a report on the vessel’s website said. That’s if weather is fair.

A good turnout showed up at the shop Sunday, opening day of winter flounder season, to fish Shark River, Bob from <b>Fisherman’s Den</b> wrote in an email. All the rental boats were rented, and all the worms for bait were sold.  But the fish didn’t bite as well as expected, and the river was cold. The rental-boaters bagged some of the flounder, and bulkhead anglers banked some sizeable ones. Plenty of flounder swam the river, but forecasts look like weather won’t warm the water for a few days. This weather stinks! Bob said. Don’t hope for spring weather – pray for it! he said. Karl Celins from Richboro, Pa., docked a 24-pound cod, and Lynden Litus from Jacobstown, N.J., landed a 23-pound cod. Those were sizeable fish from one of the Belmar party boats on the ocean this past week.

The boat is in the yard, said Capt. Pete from <b>Parker Pete’s Fishing Center</b>. The water temperature was 36 or 37 degrees when he sailed Shark River Inlet the other day, and the ocean isn’t warmer until depths like 200 feet. There the temp is 40 degrees, and a few good-sized cod can be decked. “Nothing to write home about,” he said. But a few boats fished for them. Pete hopes to be ready to fish by mid-April, and is booking charters for striped bass in May and June and for fluke and sea bass whenever the seasons for them are opened. That’s yet to be determined.

<b>Brielle</b>

Winter flounder season was opened Sunday, Eric from <b>The Reel Seat</b> said in a phone call that morning. So he was yet to hear results of the fishing, but heard about a few of the fish caught and released Saturday in northern Barnegat Bay, at the southern end of Point Pleasant Canal. A few bit, at least. A few anglers poked around for striped bass on Raritan Bay from shore, landing a few, all on bait. The fishing was slow in cold water. On the ocean, fishing for cod and pollock was fair, nothing great, and ling were occasionally hooked. Catch the Reel Seat’s grand opening for its new location on Saturday, April 5. That will feature door prizes, tackle reps and more. The Reel Seat was moved to a new, bigger store at 707 Union Avenue in Brielle. That’s Route 71, and store is also now carrying freshwater tackle, in addition to saltwater.

<b>Point Pleasant Beach</b>

<b>***Update, Thursday, 3/27:***</b> The party boat <b>Dauntless</b> last fished Saturday and Sunday, Capt. Butch said. Weather, including a snowstorm and gale winds, was rough afterward. But mostly ling and some cod were scooted aboard throughout the weekend. The fishing was slow in the cold, 36- to 38-degree ocean, no warmer than in some time. Cod were in the mix both days, and quite a few were on Sunday. Probably 20 were landed, and 15 were keepers, that day. Trips fished the deep in 180 to 220 feet, and no fish that could be kept bit shallower. The Dauntless is bottom-fishing 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. daily.

<b>***Update, Thursday, 3/27:***</b> For the party boat <b>Norma-K III</b>, the annual Coast Guard inspection went well this week, and the vessel will resume fishing this weekend, Capt. Matt wrote in a report on the Norma-K’s website. The boat was in dry dock for painting for the upcoming season, followed by the inspection. The Norma-K III will sail for ling and cod 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.  Matt hopes to start fishing daily soon, after more of the painting is completed. Warmer weather was needed for that.

<b>Toms River</b>

Five winter flounder were checked-in from the Toms River on Sunday, said Mario from <b>Murphy’s Hook House</b>. That was opening day of the flounder season, and white perch were also plucked from the river. So were throwback striped bass to 26 inches. Stop by and enter the free flounder and perch tournament that Murphy’s and Go Fish Bait & Tackle are holding. Murphy’s owner just bought Go Fish, located at 1208 Fischer Boulevard in Toms River. Murphy’s is open daily, and Go Fish is open Thursdays through Mondays. Go Fish is looking for an experienced, reliable person to work at the store from afternoons to closing.

<b>Barnegat Light</b>

The <b>Super Chic</b> is back in the water, and will be ready to fish by late April, Capt. Ted wrote in an email. The boat had already been in the water, but was hauled out quickly to paint the bottom, install underwater lights and be Coast-Guard inspected recently. Some of the year’s first fishing will include open-boat tilefish trips offshore that were recently slated for the Fridays to Saturdays of April 25-26 and May 2-3, 9-10 and 16-17. The trips will sail from about 10 p.m. Friday to 7 p.m. Saturday, and caught well last year. Contact the boat to reserve with a deposit, and rods and reels will be available if anglers need them. The trips are limited to 12 passengers, leaving plenty of room on the 56-foot boat.

<b>Mystic Island</b>

Waters reached 40 degrees at Graveling Point, and anglers there caught and released the season’s first couple of throwback striped bass, a report on <b>Scott’s Bait & Tackle</b>’s website said. They also nabbed a few white perch, and the shop’s annual $100 gift certificate was still up for grabs for the angler who weighs-in the year’s first keeper striper from Graveling. Actually, the fish can also come from nearby Pebble Beach, and the report didn’t specify whether the fish caught came from Graveling or Pebble or both. Both are shore-angling locations toward the confluence of Great Bay and Mullica River. The first keeper striper was always checked-in during March in past years at the store. Next week on Tuesday is April 1. The first in past years was brought-in at all different times from the beginning of March to the end. Graveling and Pebble are some of the state’s first places to give up stripers each year. That’s because the relatively warm river meeting the bay attracts the fish, and simply because those spots are accessible. One angler posted a report on the site about fishing “the lower Mullica,” the report said, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday with bloodworms. The angler scored no fish until catching a 20-inch, throwback striper, two white perch and two catfish on high, outgoing tide at 1 p.m. A sizeable, unidentified fish also ran off with the line but got off. “A yellow-eyed beauty?” the angler asked. “Who knows?” But the trip was worth getting out and catching the season’s first fish, the angler said. Bluefish are yellow-eyed, and are sometimes called yellow-eyes. But the season seemed early for blues that usually arrive in April. Scott’s also awards a gift certificate for the season’s first blue from Graveling or Pebble each year.  <b>***Update, Thursday, 3/27:***</b> White perch fishing was actually decent at Graveling Point, Chris from the shop said. A few small stripers, not many, were banked there. Waters there were 39 or 40 degrees, he believed, so they needed to warm before the point’s striper angling becomes better. The gift certificate for the season’s first keeper striper from the area was still available. Fishing was better far up Mullica River, at places like Lower Bank and Green Bank. More of the perch and the small bass, about an equal mix, swam there. Anglers usually fish the same rig for both this time of year, instead of using a bigger hook for bigger stripers that will migrate-in this spring, so they hooked both fish. Plenty of bloodworms and live grass shrimp are stocked. Fresh, shucked clams and small minnows are on hand. Minnows were difficult to obtain for some stores this early in the season. But Scott from the shop will net them when he sees a school while netting for the shrimp.

<b>Absecon</b>

<b>***Update, Thursday, 3/27:***</b> Weather didn’t change, so fishing didn’t, said Capt. Dave from <b>Absecon Bay Sportsman Center</b>. Throwback striped bass and a few decent-sized white perch bit in rivers. One keeper striper caught was heard about during the weekend: A fish bagged on Great Egg Harbor River and checked-in at another tackle shop. The new moon is this weekend, and herring will migrate up the rivers. Stripers will follow them, but whether they’ll bite was the question. Dave on the store’s Facebook page said a good population of stripers, especially pre-spawn males, will surely swim rivers after the moon, and should bite once waters warm a little. No stripers will probably spawn yet in the cool waters. When April’s full moon approaches in about two weeks, the main herring run will hit rivers. Dave used to net the herring, and had as much fun trying to fool the baitfish as he did stripers, he wrote on the Facebook page. But this is the third year that the herring are prohibited. That used to be the bait to fish for the bass once the herring migration began. Air temperatures dipped to the mid-20s last night, and skim ice formed along the edge of creeks. Lots of snow fell at Absecon in the storm this week, and 4 inches still covered the ground, except at places where bare ground, warm enough by this time of year, melted it. But warmer weather is coming, and even if rains fall, maybe that will warm waters a couple of degrees. Maybe that will finally get fishing going this weekend. Plenty of bloodworms are stocked. Fresh clams are on hand but were stocked some time ago. Not a lot sold, and one supplier said he’d catch grass shrimp for the store to carry, but Dave couldn’t know for sure.

<b>Brigantine</b>

<b>***Update, Thursday, 3/27:***</b> Anglers were “out there giving it a try,” Capt. Andy from <b>Riptide Bait & Tackle</b> wrote in a report on the shop’s website. “But I have nothing to report,” he said. One angler bought bloodworms to give surf-fishing a shot. That’s where most customers fish, but nothing bit on the trip. But the angler fished Mullica River on the way home to Philadelphia, releasing three throwback striped bass 12 to 14 inches on the bloods. Bloodworms and fresh clams were stocked.  The Riptide Striper Bounty was up to $1,300, and growing daily. The bounty, awarded to the angler who weighs in the season’s first striped bass 43 inches or larger from the town’s surf, was never won last fall. So the money will be awarded this spring. Entry is $5, and anglers must register at least 24 hours before entering a fish. Last spring, the bounty reached $2,005, and was won on May 27, with a 46-inch 32-pound striper. The prize was also rolled over from fall that year. A $50 gift certificate will also be awarded to the angler who stops-in with the year’s first keeper striper from Brigantine’s surf. Another will be awarded to the angler who checks-in the first keeper from a boat off Brigantine. No registration is necessary for those two prizes.

<b>Longport</b>

Trips for cod and pollock had to be cancelled because of winds every weekend in past weeks, including this past weekend, on the <b>Stray Cat</b>, Capt. Mike said. Winds blew 30 knots this weekend, and the open-boat trips will be slated again for this Saturday and Sunday, and telephone to reserve. The ocean reached 42 degrees on the fishing grounds. Afterward, open trips and charters will begin blackfishing seven days a week. That’s because blackfish season will be opened in April, and will be closed again afterward. Mike hasn’t seen a boat on the back bay in a month, and can see the bay from his house. The ship yard was full of boats being prepped for the fishing season. That was later than usual, and weather was fair enough to work on the vessels about one day a week. But the Stray Cat has been ready to sail for some time.

<b>Ocean City</b>

Tuckahoe River and Great Egg Harbor rivers gave up white perch near the MacNamara Wildlife Management Area, said Ed from <b>Fin-Atics</b>. That’s between the confluence of both rivers, and the fish were scattered, schooling in no large concentrations. A few small striped bass bit when anglers perch fished there. One angler caught and released a couple of small stripers from the Great Egg on a teaser fished with a hard lure. Water temperatures everywhere rose a couple of degrees, but not enough to affect fishing. Nothing was heard about party boats fishing, and the boats seemed to just begin to be readied for the new fishing season. The store is open daily, and bloodworms began to be stocked. Lots of new products are arriving, including rods, tackle and clothing.

<b>Sea Isle City</b>

White perch were heard about that were angled from Tuckahoe River, said Mike from <b>Sea Isle Bait & Tackle</b>. A couple of striped bass were reported hooked from Mullica River. That was about all that was caught from cold waters near the coast. Party boats seemed to be getting readied for the fishing season that will fish the ocean. In freshwater, chain pickerel were fought, and a few largemouth bass began to be reeled in. The shop also stocks freshwater tackle. For saltwater, bloodworms were stocked and ran out, but should be carried most of the time. The store is mostly open Thursdays through Sundays, and the hours will be expanded as the fishing season picks up. But Mike’s often at the store the rest of the week currently.

Capt. Joe Hughes from <b>Jersey Cape Guide Service</b>, affiliated with <b>Sea Isle Bait & Tackle</b>, would like to start fishing, he said. But weather didn’t make him hurry. He usually starts fishing for striped bass on the back bay in March. The bay’s temperature currently might be in the 30s or maybe as high as 41. In the early season, the fishing for stripers is best on warmer, outgoing tides on sunny afternoons. In the past week, one partial day was relatively warm. A couple of warm days in a row are needed to start the fishing. But by late April and in May, if not earlier, the bay’s fishing will be some of the best of the year. Joe can’t stress enough that when many people just start thinking about fishing, that bay action is already happening. The striper fishing will have already turned on. Bluefish will invade, and weakfish will arrive. The bay’s catch-and-release fishing for out-of-season summer flounder will also be good then. Flounder season’s dates are yet to be announced. Trips can catch all these fish at that time, though bluefish tend to “overshadow” stripers, once blues arrive. Joe mostly tosses soft-plastic lures, working them slowly along bottom, at first in the season, even for the blues. Fast-swimming blues don’t swim as fast in the early season’s chill. When flounder season begins, Joe will fish natural or Gulp artificial baits for them, instead of the soft-plastic lures. South Jersey’s shallow back bays are some of the state’s first waters to warm in spring. So the early season is prime time, and dates should be booked for charters to lock them in. Joe will fish on some of his traveling charters to the Florida Keys this weekend, and those trips last until Easter.  Check out a <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7VyLBJPuyk&feature=youtu.be" target="_blank">video of tarpon fishing</a> from the trips this winter. 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, Thursday, 3/28:***</b> <b>Fins and Feathers Outfitters</b> gathered the snow goose decoys and dragged the boat home from the hunting grounds, Capt. Jim said. Guided trips had been hunting the geese along Delaware Bay since winter, but the birds were migrating north now. Officials counted 60,000 last week at Pennsylvania’s Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area, north of Lancaster. Fins will start fishing soon, and some of the year’s first charters will sail for striped bass on Delaware Bay or the ocean. In recent years, Jim saw stripers in the bay’s shallows near shore in March, while goose hunting. He saw none this year, and waters were cold. He saw no other boats, though a few boaters fished for the bass in March in past years. Jim fished for them too then, but this year, he didn’t even see surf anglers yet along the bay. If stripers currently swam the bay, waters were probably too cold for them to bite.  Jim carried no water-temperature gauge on the goose boat, but thought the bay was probably 41 or 42 degrees. Two weeks ago, he still broke ice to motor to the bay. He saw sea ducks along the bay recently, and that seemed late. He also saw gill nets near the bay’s shore. Striper charters are being booked for this spring, and so are drum trips that will fish the bay in May. Anglers will also steelhead fish on upstate New York’s Salmon River this month from Jim’s lodge. Fins and Feathers offers a variety of outdoor adventures, also including duck hunting on Delaware Bay and elsewhere, and trout fishing on Pennsylvania’s trout streams, like the Yellow Breeches.

<b>Cape May</b>

<b>***Update, Thursday, 3/28:***</b> Fishing will resume Tuesday on the party boat <b>Porgy IV</b>, Capt. Paul said. Blackfish season will be opened that day, and Paul couldn’t know whether the tautog will bite. But anglers kept telephoning, wanting to sail for the fish, so trips will fish daily for the slipperies. The season will only be opened during the 30 days in April, another reason some anglers probably want to try for them. The boat’s been on break from fishing since winter. Six inches of snow fell Monday night to Tuesday in Cape May, but melted quickly. Starting this coming Tuesday, the Porgy IV will sail for blackfish at 8 a.m. daily.

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