<b>Keyport</b>

Fishing sailed Sunday, a beautiful day of weather, on the <b>Vitamin Sea</b>, Capt. Frank wrote in an email. But fishing was poor. Still, striped bass should bite any day, and waters were as warm as 48 degrees in the shallows. That was apparently on Raritan Bay, and Frank said the day was great on the waters. “All in all, the fishing was great,” he said. “Just the catching was poor.” Charters and open-boat trips are fishing for stripers and winter flounder, and openings remain. Like the Vitamin Sea’s Facebook page for real-time reports and up-to-date openings. “Get your dose of Vitamin Sea!”

<b>Highlands</b>

The year’s first fishing sailed Saturday and Sunday with <b>Fisher Price Charters</b>, for striped bass on Raritan Bay, Capt. Derek said. But the angling, on the back of the bay, was slow. “You saw some fish,” he said, but catches were slow on all boats in the area. Anglers were seen on shore who landed the bass sometimes. But Derek hopes the stripers start biting for boaters in the next week. Dates are still available for charters this season, and the next open-boat trips will sail for stripers Thursday and Saturday. A couple of open trips for stripers are set for next week, too, and telephone to jump aboard or to be kept informed about future open dates.

<b>Neptune</b>

Individual-reservation trips will fish this month on the rest of the weekends when no charter is booked with <b>Last Lady Fishing Charters</b>, Capt. Ralph wrote in an email. The dates for the trips will include this Saturday, the Saturday and Sunday of April 19 and 20, and the Sunday of April 27. If blackfishing’s slow, the trips will push farther offshore for cod and pollock. All tackle will be included, and white leggers, green crabs and clams will be supplied. Ralph’s been working to ready the boat for the season, and a new anchor tree, with a new winch, for double-anchoring has been installed. Individual-reservation trips for striped bass will be scheduled for May. 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, and dates should be booked now, if anglers want to fish aboard. Dates are filling.

<b>Belmar</b>

Spring was in the air, and fish started to stir, Bob from <b>Fisherman’s Den</b> wrote in an email. “Things (were) moving right along,” he said, and more winter flounder were caught from Shark River during the weekend than on previous days, both boated and banked from the bulkheads. “What a difference a little sun can make,” he said. One of the party boats docked some cod and ling Sunday and a few blackfish during the week. “All and all, a good sign,” Bob said. A few small striped bass were reported yanked from the surf and back bays. Trout fishing was good during this opening weekend of trout season, and very big trout were sometimes cracked from Spring Lake. “I hope we are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel,” Bob said.

The party boat <b>Golden Eagle</b> began fishing for the season with a trip Sunday for cod, blackfish and mackerel, a report on the vessel’s website said. The angling started well, and several keeper cod, some throwbacks and a couple of keeper blackfish were swung-in. But the current started ripping at mid-morning, shutting down catches. Daily trips, sailing at 7:30 a.m., will begin Friday.

The boat should be launched in a week or two for the season, said Capt. Pete from <b>Parker Pete’s Fishing Charters</b>. The ocean reached 43 degrees the other day, then dropped back to 40 degrees. But the temperature was creeping up, and some of the year’s first fishing aboard will sail for striped bass. Fishing on the ocean currently was a pick at best for catches like cod and blackfish. Sometimes the angling turned out better fishing on days with better weather. Don’t have enough anglers for a charter? Jump on <a href=" http://www.parkerpetefishing.com/" target="_blank">Parker Pete’s website</a> to subscribe to the emailed newsletter to be kept informed about individual-spaces available on charters. Look for the place to sign up on the right side of the page.

<b>Brielle</b>

A few hundred people showed up for the grand opening at <b>The Reel Seat</b>’s new location on Saturday, Dave said. The store this winter was moved to a new, bigger location at 707 Union Avenue or Route 71 in Brielle. Winter flounder were pasted on Barnegat Bay near Point Pleasant Canal. A few small striped bass, the only stripers heard about locally, were mixed-in. Nothing was heard about cod, ling and blackfish boated on the ocean last week, because weather was windy for boating, and many boats were yet to be launched for the season. Weather calmed and boats sailed for them Sunday, when Dave gave this report in a phone call, but no results had rolled in. Trout fishing was good on this opening weekend of trout season, and trout and panfish bait and tackle are stocked, unlike at the shop’s old location.

<b>Point Pleasant Beach</b>

First-hand reports came in about very good fishing for cod to 30 pounds and larger and pollock at mid-range wrecks, Capt. Alan from <b>Mushin Sportfishing</b> wrote in an email. The Mushin will be out of the boat yard by Thursday, “and aimed at those wrecks” this weekend, he said. Dates are still available for cod fishing this month, and also for tilefishing farther from shore. Trips will start clamming and jigging for striped bass later in the month. Mushin means a relaxed state of readiness. The crew pride themselves on sharing the experience on outdoor adventures.

On the party boat <b>Norma-K III</b>, fishing resumed Sunday, Capt. Matt wrote in an email. That was after the boat was docked for annual painting. A good bunch of anglers joined the trip on the relatively warm day on calm seas. A few ling were plucked, but fishing was slow. The trip tried for blackfish, but nothing was doing. Matt hopes water temperatures rise this week, and blackfish will become more active on the inshore grounds fished. The crew had been planning to sail daily this week, except maybe on some days to make headway on annual maintenance on the vessel. But instead the boat will be kept docked through Friday to finish the maintenance completely. Fishing will resume Saturday aboard, sailing for ling, cod and blackfish 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

<b>Surf City</b>

A photo of a 22-inch, throwback striped bass was posted on <b>Surf City Bait & Tackle</b>’s Facebook page that was the year’s first striper from the local surf posted on the page. The fish was caught and released from North Beach on Saturday. The shop will be reopened at 6 a.m. Saturday for the season, the page said. Photos of throwback stripers released at Mystic Island were also posted. The angler was apparently the same mentioned in the report from Scott’s Bait & Tackle below. On Surf City’s page, the post said that on Friday, the angler landed two, and his 6-year-old son caught five or six. On Saturday, they reportedly scored bites on every cast for four hours, using lots of bloodworms for bait. They reeled-in many of the shorts to 24 inches, including double-headers

<b>Mystic Island</b>

One angler said the water was 51 degrees at the bottom of low tide Saturday evening, and striped bass 16 to 22 inches bit on every cast, a report on <b>Scott’s Bait & Tackle</b>’s website said. That was apparently at Graveling Point, and the annual $100 gift certificate to the store remained up for grabs for the year’s first keeper striper weighed-in from around the point, including from nearby Pebble Beach. The same angler told the shop the water was 47 degrees at the bottom of the tide Friday evening, and throwback stripers also bit then. Graveling is a shore-angling spot at the confluence of Mullica River and Great Bay, and gives up some of the state’s first stripers each year. The relatively warm river attracts the fish, and the bottom of low tide, the warmest, is a typical time to catch them. Other places might turn out stripers, but Graveling is accessible to anglers. In the shop’s past years, the first keeper was always weighed-in during March. But the cold winter that chilled waters apparently delayed the first this year.  The fishing seemed to be heating up, though. See the store’s <a href="http://www.scottsbt.com/fishing/stripers/springrun.htm" target="_blank">Graveling Point Web page</a>.

<b>Brigantine</b>

One angler beached two throwback striped bass from the surf Saturday morning on the island’s north end on clams, a report on <b>Riptide Bait & Tackle</b>’s website said. Those were the year’s second and third stripers from Brigantine’s surf that the store reported. The first, covered in a previous report here, was a throwback clammed the previous Saturday.  The store’s $50 gift certificate is available for the angler who weighs-in the year’s first keeper striper from Brigantine’s surf. A $50 certificate is also on tap for the first keeper from a boat off Brigantine. No registration is necessary for either prize. The Riptide Striper Bounty was up to $1,300, the last time the amount was reported here, 1 ½ weeks ago, and was growing. The bounty, awarded to the angler who checks-in the season’s first striper 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-incher that weighed 32 pounds. The prize was also rolled over from fall that year.

<b>Sea Isle City</b>

The boat was splashed Saturday, and Capt. Joe Hughes from <b>Jersey Cape Guide Service</b> and <b>Sea Isle Bait & Tackle</b> fished Sunday on the back bay, he said. He hooked a fish that got off, and saw anglers fishing from shore land a couple of throwback striped bass on bait, probably bloodworms. Joe fished with soft-plastic lures on lead jigheads, like he does on the bay this time of year. Waters were 47 to 51 degrees, and Joe expects to reel aboard his season’s first striper from the bay in coming days. Stripers are usually the year’s first fish to bite for him in the bay, but a friend sent a photo of a weakfish bloodwormed. That was all Joe knew about the catch when he gave this report in a phone call Sunday night. But Joe soon usually beats stripers, weaks, bluefish and summer flounder or fluke from the bay, fishing that usually explodes any time now. “We’re on the cusp,” he said.  Waters are colder this year, but last year’s trips aboard the bay scored the first stripers and fluke on April 9, the first weak on April 13 and the first blue, Joe thought, on April 21. This is some of the best angling of the year, lasting from mid-April into May. Fluke season will be opened on May 23, and the flatfish are released until then. But catch-and-release angling can be excellent. Joe will also continue traveling charters to the Florida Keys that he runs each year from Christmas to Easter. 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>

Weather was good, so Capt. George finished prep on the <b>Heavy Hitter</b> on Sunday, and he’ll try to get the boat splashed this week for the season, he said. Weather felt cold when the sun went down that day. George heard about no charter or private boats that fished from Cape May. A party boat or two might’ve fished this weekend from the port. The ocean was probably 42 or 44 degrees. When the Heavy Hitter is launched, charters will be available for blackfish. Trips will also be available for striped bass, if stripers are in. Drum trips will fish in May.  

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