<b>Atlantic Highlands</b>

Patience paid off, Capt. Ron from the <b>Fishermen</b> wrote in a report on the party boat’s website. Several trips toughed out fishing, but bait swam the water, and water temps were right, so he hung in with the angling. The effort paid off beginning on Monday, when stripers and big blues were tackled aboard. No trip sailed Tuesday, and anglers who failed to show up seemed to think fishing was finished, and some hunted during this week of deer season. A few anglers showed up for Wednesday’s trip, and were glad they did, he said. Action was great from the start. Big blues bit at first. After some running around, watching and fishing at gannets, stripers were found. They weren’t big but were keepers and bonus-tag bass. Great weather, and good fishing. The end is near – don’t miss out, Ron warned. The Fishermen is sailing for striped bass 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily.

Boaters plowed good striped bass fishing on the ocean yesterday just south of Shrewsbury Rocks, said Jimmy from <b>Julian’s Bait & Tackle</b>. Blackfish are biting well. Occasional trips are sailing for ling and cod, reeling them up. All baits are stocked.

Was good blackfishing Wednesday on the party boat <b>Atlantic Star</b>, Capt. Tom said. A few anglers limited out, and that was the third day in a row that a few did. Almost all landed keepers on the trips, and one angler on Wednesday’s trip managed no keepers. The angling’s been pretty darn good, Tom said, and take advantage of this good weather that’s supposed to last through the weekend. Green crabs are provided, and white leggers are available for sale aboard. Sometimes the white leggers seemed to hook a greater number of better-sized blackfish than green crabs did. The Atlantic Star is blackfishing 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily.

<b>Neptune</b>

Weather is supposed to be in the 60 degrees Sunday, a great day to fish, Capt. Ralph from <b>Last Lady Fishing Charters</b> wrote in an email. Space is available that day on an individual-reservation trip for striped bass, and boaters socked stripers from the ocean yesterday. Bring crocodiles, weighted rubber shads and popper lures for the stripers. Ralph will also carry them aboard. He’ll also bring blackfish bait, in case stripers aren’t biting. A charter yesterday aboard didn’t limit out on blackfish, but the angling was excellent. The tautog weighed up to 6 pounds, and individual-reservation trips for blackfish will sail Wednesday and December 19, 20, 24, 27 and 31 and January 1 through 3. All bait, white leggers and green crabs, and tackle will be included.

<b>Belmar</b>

Anglers from <b>Fisherman’s Den</b> limited out on blackfish in a few hours, releasing several keeper-sized afterward, had a great day, on a trip with Parker Pete’s Fishing Charters, Bob from the shop wrote in an email. A charter on another boat also had great blackfishing, limiting out on the tautog to Michael Chang’s 12-pounder he weighed-in. “My advice would be get some white legger crabs, jump on a for-hire boat, get in on the action,” Bob wrote. Big bluefish showed up in the ocean off Monmouth County, and party boats had great fishing for them and some schoolie striped bass mixed in. Surf fishing was a “foot race” to keep up with quickly-moving stripers. “I, for one, am losing the race,” Bob said. “If you can fish every time you get a call (saying that) the fish are in a certain area, you can win.” On Shark River, big winter flounder were angled daily, and 3- and 4-pounders were seen at the shop this week. If you want these good-eating fish, go now, because flounder season will be closed beginning January 1.  <b>***Update, Friday, 12/11:***</b> Blackfishing took “center stage,” Bob wrote in an email. “The fishing is top-notch with white leg crabs,” he said. An angler who fished on a private boat had just reported “hot bass fishing off Long Beach Island. They caught 50+ bass, kept two,” Bob wrote. Surf anglers picked away at small stripers, mostly throwbacks, on local beaches on plugs and flies. Bob watched anglers all morning who brought winter flounder from Shark River to the cleaning tables. The two-flounder bag limit failed to stop them from fishing for the good table fare. Take advantage of the great weather – go fishing! Bob said.

Jumbo blues, slot striped bass and some larger stripers were axed at first on Wednesday on the <b>Miss Belmar Princess</b>, an email from the party boat said. By 1 p.m., three or four sizable stripers to a 28-pounder were clubbed. This was all on the ocean north of Shark River Inlet. During the rest of the afternoon, the trip picked away at blues and stripers in good shots. The 28-pound striper won the pool, but a 30-pounder was taken by an angler not in the pool. The trip’s fishing was good overall, the email said. The Miss Belmar Princess is fishing for stripers and blues 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily.

On another beautiful day on the ocean Wednesday, striped bass and blues, a decent catch, were wrangled aboard the <b>Golden Eagle</b>, a report on the party boat’s website said. Run Off hammered jigs, Run Off crocodiles, and swim shads caught the fish. No report was posted for Tuesday, and on Monday, a trip bottom-fished, copping action from the time the angling began at 1:30 a.m. until it ended at 1:30 p.m. Almost all anglers limited out on sea bass. The sea bass weighed up to 7 pounds, and the anglers also swung in a good bunch of porgies, several cod to 20 pounds, a few pollock and lots of blues. Double-header porgies and sea bass bit later in the trip. Weather was beautiful then, too, and anglers only needed to wear a sweatshirt at night and a T-shirt during daytime. The gorgeous weather for December is supposed to stick around a few more days. The Golden Eagle is fishing for striped bass and blues 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 or 3 p.m. daily. Heads up: Holiday gift certificates are available for three trips for the price of two. In other words, get three trips for $125.

<b>Parker Pete’s Fishing Charters</b> mostly blackfished, and trips will sail for striped bass if anglers want, Capt. Pete said. Blackfishing was excellent aboard Wednesday, and is generally pretty good. Some days fish better than others, depending on conditions. Stripers and blues are still swimming the ocean, and striper fishing was fairly tough at the beginning of the week. It became decent Wednesday. Seemed that on each day, trips needed to decide where to go for the stripers. Don’t have enough anglers for a charter? Contact Parker Pete’s anyway, about individual spaces available on charters. Visit <a href=" http://www.parkerpetefishing.com/" target="_blank">Parker Pete’s website</a> to subscribe to the email blast to be kept informed about the spaces. Look for the place to sign up on the right side of the page, where it says Join Our Newsletter.

<b>Brielle</b>

An excellent catch was whooped on Wednesday’s 12-Hour Extended Sea Bass Trip on the <b>Jamaica II</b>, Capt. Steve Spinelli said, an email from the party boat said. Capts. Ed Bunt Jr. and Sr. from the Sea Horse from Atlantic Highlands were aboard, catching more than their limits of sea bass, keeping no more than their quotas, a load of big porgies, six cod to 20 pounds, a 12-pound pollock and a bluefish. An 18-hour trip was sold out today. The next trips are a 14-hour one on Saturday and a 12-hour one on Sunday. See the <a href=" http://www.jamaicaii.com/component/option,com_eventcal/Itemid,33/" target="_blank">schedule</a> online.

<b>Point Pleasant Beach</b>

Though anchoring conditions were tough, a good catch of blackfish was made today on the party boat <b>Norma-K III</b>, Capt. Matt wrote in a report on the party boat’s website. High hooks limited out and landed more, keeping no more than their limits. A few anglers bagged fewer, “and a couple did struggle,” he said. White crabs hooked most, and green crabs grabbed just a few. On Wednesday’s trip, blackfishing was decent. Anglers needed to cast around and work, but the catch was good in the end. A few anglers limited out early, quite a few bagged two to five, “and some were ready to throw their rod in the water cause they could not hook them or get the right bite,” he wrote. “That’s blackfish for ya!” No report was posted for Tuesday. On Monday’s trip, blackfishing wasn’t great, but was better than during the weekend’s trips. The weekend’s blackfishing was mostly slow, but picked and plucked, and some bigger blackfish began to appear around the weekend. Sunday’s pool-winning blackfish weighed more than 12 pounds, and Monday’s weighed more than 11. Wednesday’s weighed 9, and today’s weighed 8. The Norma-K III is blackfishing 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily. Magic Hour Ling and Cod Trips are sailing 3 to 9 p.m. every Saturday.

<b>Toms River</b>

Surf fishing for striped bass and some big blues was pretty good all week, if anglers moved around to find the fish, said Mario from <b>Murphy’s Hook House</b>. Artificials including metal, poppers, swimmers, Daiwa SP Minnows, AOK’s and Jetty Ghosts all caught. Bait and wait, he said, also caught, if anglers were in the right spot. Lots of bait schooled the surf, including peanut bunker and herring. Sand eels were reportedly around. Mario heard nothing recent about boating for stripers and blues on the ocean, so he didn’t want to report about that. Nothing was mentioned from Toms River, but surely winter flounder swam the river. Blackfish still bit well in Point Pleasant Canal. Blackfishing was also good for ocean boaters. Justin Murphy checked-in a 9.3-pound blackfish from the ocean. Murphy’s, located on Route 37, also owns <b>Go Fish Bait & Tackle</b> on Fischer Boulevard in Toms River.

<b>Seaside Heights</b>

In the surf, fishing for striped bass was slow the last couple of days, said George from <b>The Dock Outfitters</b>. Boating for stripers on the ocean was, too. A couple of boats picked up 20 or 30 throwbacks yesterday off Island Beach State Park. Previously in the surf, peanut bunker schooled all over. Anglers then cast artificials like popping plugs, swimming lures and crocodiles for stripers from the beach. Boating for blackfish was good in 60-foot depths. Most reports came from Shark River Reef. Baits stocked include fresh bunker, fresh clams and green crabs. The Dock Outfitters, located on Barnegat Bay, blocks from the ocean surf, features a bait and tackle shop, boat and jet ski rentals, a café and a dock for fishing and crabbing.

<b>Mystic Island</b>

Lots of striped bass were boated on the ocean off Atlantic City and Ocean City during the weekend, said Chris from <b>Scott’s Bait & Tackle</b>. Some were cranked in off Brigantine, but farther south, including at other places like Margate, held more. Ninety percent were trolled, like on Mojos, bunker spoons, Stretch lures and 9ers. The bite seemed in the morning, turning off by 9 a.m. Sometimes big bluefish were mixed in, hitting quickly, like four or five at a shot. One boater reported seeing lots of sand eels in the ocean off Long Beach Island’s red tower yesterday, trolling four stripers in a half-hour there. His buddy jigged stripers a mile north that day. Maybe jigging, like with S&S Bucktails Slim Fish, would take off in the area this weekend, because of sand eels. Jigs can imitate them. Stripers recently were smaller than before, like 30 inches, instead of 40. Blackfishing was good in 50 feet or deeper on the ocean, and four or five bushels of green crabs were sold a week for the angling. Chris joined a blackfish trip at Thanksgiving that landed a hundred, including 10 or 12 keepers, and he jigged with the S&S Magic Meez Jig. The jig snagged on the wreck much less than rigs did. Sea bass fishing remained strong in 80 or 100 feet. Plenty of white perch schooled Mullica River. Baits stocked include fresh, shucked clams and green crabs. Fresh bunker will be stocked Friday.

<b>Absecon</b>

Phenomenal striped bass fishing was boated on the ocean during the weekend from Brigantine to Ocean City, said Jay from <b>Absecon Bay Sportsman Center</b>. The fish were trolled on Mojos and spoons, and snagging bunker and then livelining the baitfish was popular, too. All different ways to catch, worked. The fishing seemed to slow in that area in the past day or two, but the angling lit up off Cape May currently on the ocean. Jay on Tuesday boated good-sized stripers to 30 pounds off Margate, in only 9 or 10 feet of water, on bunker snagged and then livelined. A buddy telephoned this afternoon saying he’d just blackfished and then trolled stripers, “nothing crazy,” Jay said, today off the Red Tower on Long Beach Island. The stripers were up to 38 or 39 inches. Back farther south, off Cape May, eeling for stripers began to catch at the Cape May Rips. A charter captain bought 700 eels for the angling, because the catches began, and eels were scarce this late in the season. Bluefish, not many, occasionally popped up when boaters striper fished on the ocean lately. Jay hooked a couple off Harvey Cedars two weeks ago. The ocean currently seemed warmer in the north than in the south in the state. The ocean locally was 49 degrees, and near Corson’s Inlet was 51. Boaters occasionally fished for stripers in the bay, but anybody with a boat usually sailed for the ocean stripers. Weather was beautiful, wind and seas were calm, and the stripers swam within 200 yards of shore. Even a 17-foot boat could fish the ocean. Turned out to be an amazing season for stripers on the ocean, and the fishing seems like it will continue some time.  Blackfishing was good at inshore wrecks. Fresh bunker, fresh clams, eels and green crabs are stocked.

<b>Brigantine</b>

Local boaters were into good striped bass fishing two days ago on the ocean, and the catches slowed since, said Capt. Andy from <b>Riptide Bait & Tackle</b>. Some of the fish were boated today, but not like a couple of days ago. Recent striper catches included Mike Gallagher’s 43-incher and 41-incher trolled on a Riptide Mojo. Ed Schlotterback trolled a 24-pounder on a Mojo. Lou Carleo boated a 27-pounder. Surf fishing was slow. Fresh bunker will be stocked Friday. Fresh clams will also be stocked then.

<b>Atlantic City</b>

Customers fishing on foot yanked in lots of  ling and a good number of blackfish along Absecon Inlet, said Noel from <b>One Stop Bait & Tackle</b>. Anglers could limit out on six blackfish on one day, and bag four on another. There was lots of action. Boaters whacked good-sized striped bass on the ocean. Anglers fishing from the inlet landed a striper here and there. At the inlet, fresh bunker, fresh clams, eels and green crabs were fished. All those baits and more, a large supply, are stocked.

<b>Egg Harbor Township</b>

Boating for striped bass was great, excellent, on the ocean, said John from <b>24-7 Bait & Tackle</b>. The fish, all in the 20-pound range, were trolled on Mojos, Stretch plugs and umbrella rigs. Bluefish, big, began to be decked off Atlantic City on the ocean, and he landed some. A few reports came in about stripers beached from the surf, but surf fishing wasn’t great. Blackfishing was productive at ocean wrecks. Fishing on the bay was pretty dead, and anglers really needed to be on the ocean to catch. Baits stocked include fresh bunker, fresh clams, eels and green crabs.  <b>The company also owns 24-7 Bait & Tackle in Marmora</b>.

<b>Ocean City</b>

Locally, striped bass fishing was phenomenal on the ocean this weekend, said Bill from <b>Fin-Atics</b>. Those fish might’ve migrated a little south in past days, but stripers also seemed to school farther north, and stripers will probably show up again near Ocean City. The last two weeks of the fishing have been awesome. The fish were trolled on Mojos, when they swam deeper, and on Stretch 30 plugs. Some were hooked on bunker snagged and then livelined. Stripers were sometimes hung from the Ocean City pier. Some were sizable, and a 40-incher was weighed-in that was angled last night from the pier. Stripers were sometimes beached from the surf at night. Boaters on the ocean sometimes ran into bluefish 10 to 15 pounds, and Bill boated some. Blues even crashed the surf at Margate yesterday. A few schools were around. Smaller stripers 22 to 26 inches, lots, swam the back bay, biting soft-plastic lures. Bill couldn’t remember the last time someone reported boating for blackfish. He heard nothing about blackfishing, because boaters all chased stripers.  Baits stocked include fresh bunker, fresh clams, green crabs and a few live pinfish.

<b>Sea Isle City</b>

Trips aboard last fished, for striped bass on the ocean, during the weekend, and the fish are still biting, said Capt. Joe Hughes from <b>Jersey Cape Guide Service</b>, affiliated with <b>Sea Isle Bait & Tackle</b>. The weekend’s trips clobbered them aboard, covered in the last report here. The angling’s been a lot of fun, and looks like it’ll continue a time. A tremendous amount of bait is schooling the water. Whales foraged on the bait tight to shore this week, drawing attention from the news. Watch <a href=" http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2015/12/07/whale-heading-south-for-winter-stops-near-ocean-city-to-show-off/" target="_blank"><b><i>Joe interviewed on the news</b></i></a> about that. Keep up with Joe’s fishing on <a href="http://captainjoehughes.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Jersey Cape’s Blog</a>. Annual traveling charters to the Florida Keys will fish from Christmas to Easter. See <a href=" http://www.captainjoehughes.com/page3.html" target="_blank">Jersey Cape’s traveling charters Web page</a>.

A bunch of reports rolled in yesterday about all the striped bass that anglers could want that were boated right off Townsend’s Inlet in the ocean, said Mike from <b>Sea Isle Bait & Tackle</b>. Several whales foraged in the area, and no reports came in this morning about the stripers, but striper fishing’s been phenomenal on the ocean. One good thing was that anglers could catch them any way they’d like, including on the troll, on jigs and on bunker snagged and then livelined. If anglers jig, they should fish wide-profile jigs like 5- or 6-inch Sassy Shads and Hopkins lures. That was because blueback herring and bunker were the bait that schooled. One school of stripers would be on the herring, and another would be on the bunker. Anglers shouldn’t use thin-profiled jigs like diamond jigs or Ava jigs. Sometimes stripers had sand eels in their stomachs, though. Sometimes bluefish, no real numbers, were hooked from the ocean. Sounded like blues were more abundant to the north, so maybe they’d migrate south to the local area. Live spots and eels are stocked, and a few anglers clocked stripers in the bay on them. Those stripers were smaller than in the ocean or were 25 to 35 inches, not often larger, but some anglers scored well on the bass. Most boaters headed to the ocean for stripers, but some, like those with smaller boats, fished the bay, with success. The surf finally began to give up some life on stripers. Surf fishing for them had been slow, and no great numbers were beached now, but some were banked, mostly on bunker, some on clam. One or two was usually weighed from the surf per day. A couple of boaters blackfished on the ocean, catching well. Most boaters sailed for stripers, though. Two party boats are now fishing from the local docks, one for blackfish, and the other farther from shore, for sea bass. The owner of the blackfish boat just bought the boat that’s running for sea bass, so those trips are new. The sea bassing, on 12-hour trips, was good, and head out before sea bass season is closed beginning on the first of the year. Sometimes the two boats are getting the weather and enough anglers to sail, and sometimes they aren’t, and keep in touch with them to know. In addition to live spots and eels, baits stocked include fresh bunker, fresh clams and green crabs. How long bunker would be available from suppliers was in question, because a netting season for them was going to close at mid-month.

<b>Avalon</b>

A trip was probably going to fish for striped bass on the ocean this morning aboard, said Capt. Jim from <b>Fins and Feathers Outfitters</b>. Someone from a local tackle shop was trolling stripers every day on Mojos. Thirty-six-ounce Mojos seemed to catch, and 16-ouncers didn’t, so deeper swimming seemed to matter.  Stripers had schooled off Ocean City, and then had schooled off Sea Isle City. They were pushing south, and whales foraged on bunker right against shore, in 15 feet of water, this week. The whales indicated where bunker schooled that the stripers also foraged on. Boaters looked for the whales to find the bass. Guests with Jim hunted sea ducks this week aboard, and that went well, bagging a bunch. Buffleheads were shot yesterday with him. A father and son are supposed to join him Friday and Saturday.  Fins and Feathers offers a variety of outdoor adventures, including saltwater fishing and duck and goose hunting. Anglers can even enjoy a combo of striper fishing and duck hunting over a series of days, and right now was the time to do that. Fins also offers salmon and steelhead fishing on upstate New York’s Salmon River, and snowmobiling, from Jim’s nearby lodge. Fly fishing for trout is also available on Pennsylvania’s streams like the Yellow Breeches.

<b>Wildwood</b>

Striped bass fishing on the ocean was easy yesterday, said Capt. Jim from <b>Fins & Grins Sport Fishing</b>. Forty-three of the fish were landed with four anglers aboard. The fishing’s been phenomenal, and the bass also seemed to swim farther north still, so the southern migration would probably keep arriving locally a time. The fish currently were angled aboard right off Hereford Inlet, the inlet at Wildwood. Most of the stripers were decent-sized, often 40 inches. Weather’s been good, and is supposed to be through the weekend. Jim would imagine stripers also swam Cape May Rips, and was probably going to try fishing for them there. Unconfirmed reports said stripers were also boated on Delaware Bay on bunker chunks, the usual bait there. Jim’s concentrating on stripers, while the fish are in, but blackfish trips are available. He’ll concentrate on blackfish, once the stripers depart, and looks forward to blackfishing. Fins fishes every day, and reservations aren’t required but suggested. Telephone for availability.

<b>Cape May</b>

A trip on the <b>Heavy Hitter</b> knocked out great striped bass fishing Monday on the ocean, Capt. George said. He talked with anglers who fished for them Tuesday and Wednesday, and the catches were just as good, limiting out on unders by 8 or 9 a.m. The fish bagged on the Heavy Hitter’s trip, with Chris Troy’s charter, were unders, except one was an over, larger than 43 inches. Some in the fleet caught overs and slots lately, but unders seemed most abundant. Forty- to 42-inch unders were hooked and released on the Heavy Hitter’s trip, after the charter limited on the size-class. The stripers were trolled aboard, and trolling was the usual way to catch them among the fleet now. George heard about anglers who sometimes snagged bunker and then livelined the baitfish to catch. Stripers schooled the ocean right off Cape May Inlet on Monday through Wednesday. No bluefish were found in the area. A charter aboard Saturday wants to blackfish.

On the party boat <b>Porgy IV</b>, trips had some blackfish a while, a good run of the tautog, Capt. Paul said. The number of keepers was fewer this week than last, and few were bagged on Monday’s and Tuesday’s trips. The angling improved somewhat on Wednesday’s, and four anglers bagged four apiece, and a 7-pounder was the trip’s biggest. In mild weather lately, blackfish didn’t seem to “move” much. When weather is colder, blackfish seem to move more often, and larger seem to show up on the fishing grounds. Currently, if a spot was fished, the blackfish bagged didn’t seem to get replaced by others. But the fishing somewhat improved on Wednesday’s trip, and the boat will keep after blackfish into winter this month and maybe January. The Porgy IV is blackfishing at 8 a.m. daily.

Boaters trolled super fishing for striped bass on the ocean near Cape May on Mojos and Stretch plugs, said Joe from <b>Hands Too Bait & Tackle</b>. Some anglers jigged them, and a striper bite also took off at Prissy Wicks Shoal in the Cape May Rips and at 20-Foot Slough in Delaware Bay the last couple of days. Weather was drop-dead gorgeous for boating, and is supposed to be good through the weekend. Hardly a breath of wind blew and skies were sunny today. Stripers began to show up in the surf, getting hooked on clams and bunker. Blackfishing was good on the ocean, the last Joe heard. Once striper fishing kicked in, boaters had little interest in other catches. Some sailed for sea bass, though, and Joe guessed they caught well. Fresh bunker, fresh clams, eels and green crabs are stocked.

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