<b>Keyport</b>

<b>***Update, Thursday, 12/31:***</b> With the <b>Down Deep Fleet</b>, excellent blackfishing was plowed last week, and high hooks landed 20-some apiece, Capt. Mario said. Those anglers kept no more than their limits, and blackfishing was tough yesterday on both of Down Deep’s boats. The ocean held a big roll, but a 13-pounder was crushed on the trips. The tautog bit a little toward the end of the trips, but the angling wasn’t good. Mario hoped west wind now knocked down the seas, picking up the angling. Every trip previously fished well for the slipperies in past days aboard. Open-boat trips are blackfishing daily, and charters are available. Enjoy the heated cabins and large cockpits on the two 40-foot vessels. Special open trips will sail for cod on New Year’s Day and Sunday.  Join the <a href=" http://www.downdeepsportfishing.com/ddsf/76-2/" target="_blank">Short Notice List</a> on Down Deep’s website to be kept informed about open trips. Also see the site’s open-trips page about the outings. Spring striped bass trips are being booked, and lock in dates now, while preferred ones are available.

<b>Atlantic Highlands</b>

<b>***Update, Thursday, 12/31:***</b> For boaters Wednesday, blackfishing was pretty good, a little better than it had been, even after strong wind in previous days, said Jimmy from <b>Julian’s Bait & Tackle</b>. Nothing was heard about striped bass fishing the past few days, but surf anglers pounded some sizable stripers, like 35 inches, during the weekend. Bigger were reportedly beached farther south. Ling and cod held in the deep, off a little way from shore. The store is open daily, as long as weather holds, and all bait is stocked.

A few blackfish ended up bagged in the afternoon on Saturday’s trip on the party boat <b>Atlantic Star</b>, Capt. Tom said. The fishing began slowly, and didn’t end up good, but two anglers bagged five, and some bagged two or one, and some landed no keepers. On Sunday’s trip, blackfishing was tough, probably the worst in a while, and worse than on the previous few trips. There was a ground swell, and the trip tried fishing different places. Some anglers couldn’t feel bites in the seas, and some snagged tackle in sticky bottom. Forecasts for wind on Tuesday don’t sound good at all for a trip to sail, and Wednesday will probably be the next time the boat fishes. The wind is supposed to begin today and strengthen on Tuesday. The Atlantic Star is blackfishing 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily, including on New Year’s Day, and Sunday’s trip will be the final for the season, and the boat will go on winter break afterward. <b>***Update, Wednesday, 12/30:***</b> A bit of ground swell remained on today’s trip, but wasn’t bad, considering 10-foot seas in Tuesday’s weather, Tom said at 1 p.m. today in a phone call on the outing. No trip fished Tuesday in the weather, and blackfishing on today’s trip wasn’t good, so far, but a couple of handfuls of the fish were bagged, and one angler bagged five. Throwbacks also bit, and at the first couple of spots fished, the shorts sometimes hit. Keepers and shorts came in at the current place fished. The angling was tough or not really good. Weather looks like all the daily trips will fish through Sunday, including on New Year’s Day. Sunday’s trip will be final for the season, mentioned above.  <b>***Update, Thursday, 12/31:***</b> The water was still crummy and dirty on today’s trip, so far, after yesterday’s ground swell, Tom said at 10 a.m. on today’s trip in a phone call. A few blackfish, including an 8-pounder, were bagged, so far. The angler with the 8-pounder bagged two, so far, and the trip’s fishing was off to a slow start, but Tom hoped better catches developed, as the day goes on. The catches picked up as yesterday’s trip went on, though the angling wasn’t good, in the seas. One angler limited out, but most landed no keepers, on yesterday’s trip. Today’s blackfishing wasn’t good yet, but the fish were picked.

<b>Neptune</b>

Blackfishing was no good, the worst of the year, on Sunday with <b>Last Lady Fishing Charters</b> on a trip, Capt. Ralph said. A charter is booked for New Year’s Eve Day, and space is available on three individual-reservation trips for blackfish from New Year’s Day through Sunday. <b>***Update, Thursday, 12/31:***</b> West wind, and mild weather for the time of year, is forecast for the next days, Ralph wrote in an email. Today’s charter was expected to blackfish, and he reminded that an individual-reservation trip is scheduled Saturday for the angling. One is slated for Sunday, too, and all bait and tackle is included on the trips. <b>***Update, Friday, 1/1:***</b> Happy New Year! Ralph wrote in an email. “Hope 2016 is a great year for you,” he said. Yesterday’s trip scooped up a decent number of blackfish to 8 pounds. Most caught were good-sized, and blackfish bit the whole outing, though many were missed. Not only the anglers missed them, but Ralph missed lots, too. A light crowd is expected to fish on the individual-reservation trip for the tog Saturday, and spaces are available. That might be the final trip of the year aboard. Don’t let forecasts for 15- to 20-knot wind scare you off. “Will be nice where I fish,” he said.

<b>Belmar</b>

On the <b>Golden Eagle</b>, a trip Sunday searched for striped bass and blues, “driving all over,” a report on the party boat’s website said.  None was found, though plenty of bait schooled, and water temps were okay. “Therefore, (the crew) believes striper season is over,” it said. A few mackerel were caught recently, and trips will probably sail for them at 7:30 a.m. Saturday and Sunday.

<b>***Update, Thursday, 12/31:***</b> The <b>Miss Belmar Princess</b> was motored north on the ocean Sunday to look for striped bass and bluefish, an email from the party boat said. But not one boat in the fleet caught the fish, though plenty of bait schooled, and birds worked the bait. “It looks like the striped bass and bluefish season is over,” it said. So the boat will next fish for mackerel, when the southern migration of the Bostons shows up. Anglers can telephone the boat to check the schedule.

For <b>Parker Pete’s Fishing Charters</b>, blackfishing remained good, Capt. Pete said. Wind’s been tough, and no trip sailed Saturday aboard, because of wind. Pete heard the fish bit well that day, and wind also blew Sunday, but a trip scored well on the tautog that day on the boat. Lots of shorts hit, but a bunch of keepers were decked, and an 8-pounder was largest. Some of the anglers limited out, and all had some keepers. Anglers who knew how to hook the fish caught great. Blackfish still held in shallow water, because of the warm ocean, and some sea bass were even reeled up. “It was crazy,” he said, and sea bass caught that shallow also showed the water was warm. Blackfishing will continue to be good, he expects, and the trips will continue into January. 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.

Wind and more wind blew, Bob from <b>Fisherman’s Den</b> wrote in an email. But blackfish bit well, and fishing for them was great on Belmar’s party boats this weekend. Some of the fish weighed 9 and 10 pounds that were bagged. Barry Young Jr.’s 12-pound 9-ounce blackfish was the largest checked-in at the shop the past few days.  None of the blackfish trips sailed today. Anglers sometimes eased striped bass from the surf in Ocean County and, from along Asbury Park’s jetties, “some good fish,” Bob said. On Shark River, winter flounder fishing’s a great option, and flounder season will be closed beginning Friday. <b>***Update, Monday, 12/28:***</b> Stripers and blues were cracked from the surf  “in lower Ocean County at the present time,” Bob wrote at 1:15 p.m. in an email today. “Fish to 20 lb,” he wrote, and some anglers said this was the best late-season bite they ever saw. “It ain’t over till it’s over,” he said. <b>***Update, Thursday, 12/31:***</b> The year was one with ups and downs in fishing, Bob wrote in an email. Striped bass fishing was good on boats and slow in the surf, and boating for fluke was fair, but the large size limit “held the catch down,” he said. The split sea bass seasons were tough. Bluefish disappeared most of summer, only to show up large and in numbers in fall. Warm weather kept water temps high in fall and now into the New Year. That’s currently keeping stripers and blues feeding in the surf. Big stripers were sometimes heaved from the surf this week, and in Bob’s more than 50 years of striper fishing, he’s never seen stripers so large from the surf this late in the year. Currently, blackfishing was also good, close to shore, and included limits and up to 14-pounders. The store will open an additional shop, Fisherman’s Den North, at Atlantic Highlands Marina this coming spring, offering all the same supplies and services as in Belmar. Stop by, and Happy New Year! Bob said.

<b>Brielle</b>

<b>***Update, Friday, 1/1:***</b> Great sea bass fishing Thursday on the party boat <b>Jamaica II</b>, Capt. Ryan wrote in an email. That was the final day of sea bass season, and almost all anglers limited out on jumbos. Big porgies and 50 cod, mostly keepers, were also landed. Bob Plasket won the pool with a 16-pound cod and limited on sea bass. Dave Thomas limited on sea bass and boxed six cod. Just some of the other anglers who limited on sea bass were Dave Nelson, Dave Thomas, “Big” Sal, a.k.a. Strike King, Fernando Arrelano, Kirby Crane, Jeff Winslot, Chen Xia, Avery James, Bill Johnson, Mark Custer, Amy Bruttman and Carrie and Jim Brothers. Coolers were packed. “Ya missed a beauty if you didn’t fish today,” Ryan wrote. <b>***Another Update, Friday, 1/1:***</b> Twelve-hour trips are fishing for cod, porgies and ling at 5 a.m. every Wednesday, Friday and Sunday and on Monday, January 18, Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Fourteen-hour trips are sailing for cod at 3 .m. every Saturday. No reservations are required. See the <a href=" http://www.jamaicaii.com/component/option,com_eventcal/Itemid,33/" target="_blank">schedule</a> online.

Surf anglers banked striped bass from Ortley Beach to Seaside Park from Christmas through the weekend, said Dave from <b>The Reel Seat</b>. Some were as large as 40 inches, and the fish were hooked on rubber shads on jigheads, wide-profiled metal like Hopkins and plugs like Daiwa SP Minnows. Herring sometimes swam the water, and spearing schooled the surf near the shop. A few shad and herring were fought from Manasquan River and Manasquan Inlet. Blackfish were landed from the inlet and even sometimes Point Pleasant Canal. The season was late for the tautog to remain in the canal, and Alex from the shop cranked a keeper from the canal. Nothing was heard from boaters in past days.  The store is open daily through New Year’s Eve Day. Afterward, it’ll be open Thursdays through Sundays through January and February.

<b>Point Pleasant Beach</b>

<b>***Update, Saturday, 1/2:***</b> Striped bass fishing was great today on the party boat <b>Gambler</b>, Capt. Bob said. Birds working the water were found, and the trip got into the midst of that. The boat’s first drift fished especially well, and the anglers kept catching. Blues were also hooked on the trip. All anglers bagged an under striper apiece. No over stripers showed up, and bonus-sized stripers sometimes bit, and were released. Bonus tags for them were no longer valid from the state, beginning on the first day of the year. The fish seemed to feed on herring, and Krocodiles and rubber shads hooked the stripers. The stripers seemed to swim from close to shore to the 3-mile line. Striper fishing is closed beyond 3 miles from the coast. The fishing’s looking good, and the trips will keep sailing throughout the month, as long as stripers remain. The Gambler is fishing for striped bass 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily. 

<b>***Update, Thursday, 12/31:***</b> Bottom-fishing barreled up pretty good catches throughout most of this holiday season on the party boat <b>Dauntless</b>, Capt. Butch said. The fish included pretty good catches of porgies and some sea bass, blackfish and cod. Anglers averaged five to 15 fish apiece. The angling was a little slow Wednesday, and rough weather the previous couple of days seemed a reason. A few weakfish, not big, but legal-sized, were hooked Wednesday, and Butch hadn’t seen them on the grounds in 15 years. Trips will target blackfish and cod beginning Friday, New Year’s Day, because sea bass and porgy seasons will be closed starting then. A few ling were around that bit, but not many. The ocean on the fishing grounds became colder in the week’s rough weather and wind, dropping to 51 degrees by Wednesday, from 56 on Monday. Trips fished deeper than before, because fish moved deeper, as water temperatures dropped. Wednesday’s trip fished in 150-foot depths to 180. Trips had been catching well in 100 to 120. The Dauntless is bottom-fishing 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. daily, including on New Year’s Day. Christmas is the only day the boat’s not scheduled to fish each year. The vessel is one of the state’s only, if not the only, that fishes daily year-round.

The ocean was somewhat rough, but that failed to keep blackfish from biting Saturday on the <b>Norma-K III</b>, Capt. Matt wrote in a report on the party boat’s website. The fishing was good for most of the anglers, and some limited out. Some bagged three to five, and a few had a tough day. Jimmy Lee from Palisades Park won the pool with a 10-1/2-pound blackfish, releasing the fish. “… a few other ones over 9lbs went back to see another day!” Matt wrote. Blackfishing was slower Sunday aboard. The tautog were picked at most spots fished on the trip, “but not enough for everyone,” Matt said. Strong current might’ve slowed the angling, and a 7-pounder was the pool-winner. The water on the trip was 53 degrees, “so there are still plenty of them swimming around down there!” Matt wrote. Trips today and Tuesday were canceled, because of forecasts for wind. Wednesday’s forecast looks good, and the Norma-K III is blackfishing 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily, including on New Year’s Day. <b>***Update, Thursday, 12/31:***</b> Blackfishing sailed Wednesday aboard, after trips were weathered out a couple of days, and the angling was decent, Matt wrote in a report on the boat’s website. A ground swell and roaring current, from north, didn’t help, but a few anglers limited out, and quite a few bagged one to five. A few had a tough day. Not great fishing, but better than expected, and an 8-pound blackfish won the pool. Today’s trip was expected to fish, and weather looks great for trips through the weekend.

<b>Toms River</b>

Surf fishing still gave up striped bass, and the water was 50 degrees, said Dennis from <b>Murphy’s Hook House</b>. That’s warm for winter, and the fish, averaging 18 to 26 inches, including a few keepers, were beached during the weekend and this morning. Bluefish were even dragged from the surf Sunday. The stripers swiped swimming plugs, rubber shads and metal. Lots of anglers fished for winter flounder on Shark River, and caught. A few tried for flounder on the Toms River, and no results were heard. Flounder season will be closed beginning Friday, New Year’s Day. One person nabbed crabs from the Toms, late in the year for that, in an overnight pot. He picked up eight of the blueclaws the other day. A few customers fished for blackfish at Point Pleasant Canal. The catches slowed considerably, but a few of the tautog were tugged in. The shop was open today and will probably be closed Tuesday and Wednesday, because wind and rain are forecast. Telephone the shop to confirm hours this time of year, and the store will be probably be open weekends. Murphy’s, located on Route 37, also owns <b>Go Fish Bait & Tackle</b> on Fischer Boulevard in Toms River.

<b>Seaside Heights</b>

Striped bass were still to be had from the surf, for those willing to try, a report said on <b>The Dock Outfitters</b>’ website on Saturday, the most recent posted at press time. A keeper was nailed on Christmas Eve on a swimming plug. “So it’s not over till it’s over, and who knows when that will be?” it said. Was a great run of the fish this year. The Dock Outfitters, located on Barnegat Bay, blocks from the ocean surf, features a bait and tackle shop, a café and, in season, boat rentals, jet-ski rentals and a dock for fishing and crabbing. <b>***Update, Thursday, 12/31:***</b> Stripers 10 to 30 pounds attacked in the surf Monday from Lavallette to Seaside Park, a report on the shop’s website said. The fish gorged on herring and bunker, and smacked nearly anything anglers cast. “The fall run is not over by a long shot!” it said. This could be the longest on record, so stay vigilant! it said. The surf was big this week, so lures tossed were bucktails and heavy metal. Swimmers like Daiwa SP Minnows and rubber shads could work well in calmer seas. Just when anglers thought the fishing was finished, they’d get a day like Monday. The key in the late season is to be there when something happens. The water was relatively warm, in the low 50 degrees to mid-50s, and schools of bait were still around.

<b>Barnegat</b>

<b>***Update, Tuesday, 12/29:***</b> From an edited email from Capt. Dave DeGennaro from the <b>Hi Flier</b> “Still fishing! West wind all weekend. Open boat Thurs thru Mon. We’re staying in the water as long as this weather holds up. Air temps in the mid 40s through the weekend. I spoke to a captain who was out Monday and told me the ocean temp was 53. Surf reports from Mantoloking, Ortley and Seaside are showing good catches of bass, even through the high wind and heavy surf all week. Congratulations to my friend Nick Honachefsky, who beached and released his first 50-pound bass yesterday from that area. The marine forecast has it turning west tonight (Tues) and staying W and NW through Monday. The ocean should lay out by Thursday, so we’ll be running open boat or charter Thurs, Fri, Sat, Sun and Mon, leaving each day at 7 a.m., returning sometime in the afternoon. Minimum 6 hours, probably longer. The target will be stripers. If we catch a day with no wind or light and variable, we could also look for those near-shore bluefin tuna. This time of year they cruise pretty close to shore, commonly only 7 to 10 miles off. A fair amount have been decked over the last few weeks already. They’re on the surface crashing bait, going airborne. Anywhere from 50- to 150-pound fish. Casting top-water lures and soft-plastics with heavy spinning gear is usually the norm. I've done it a few times with my boat, and the next hit I get will be the first! Which isn't a deterrent by any stretch. In fact, it fuels me! I have all the lures I'm supposed to. I set up a pair of heavy spinning outfits that are up to the task. I know where to look for them. We just have to get one to eat. I'm packing some live bait that I saved for the occasion. The last time I set out for these fish, I spent 4 hours chasing and not catching them, and it was so exciting, it went by like the blink of an eye. Keep in mind we’re looking for a flat ocean to wander offshore with my boat. If not, it will be all striper hunting. I just wanted to plant the seed with this possibility. I’m chomping at the bit to go.” <b>***Update, Friday, 1/1:***</b> From an edited email from Dave: “Got ‘em. Sailed today with a full open-boat, and the fishing was awesome. We made the left out of Barnegat Inlet, and headed north, as we do 95 percent of the time. Found some high, circling birds off Seaside Park, throttled back, and the machine lit up with good readings. We put out a few trolling rods, and the umbrella rig went off right away. Double-header of stripers, both under 28 inches. I called the only other boat we saw all morning to give him the update. Andy Wurst on the Blue Juice heard our radio conversation, and told me I should consider doubling back, south of the inlet, to get into birds and heavy striper activity. We left the readings we had, even though we just boated the two fish, and left fish to find fish. Usually a bad move, but not today. Thanks to Andy's call, we had fish all day long. One bird pile after another, blackout readings that spanned top to bottom on the machine. We caught them casting shads and trolling umbrella rigs. Twenty-six-inch to 33-in fish. We managed four nice fish for the cooler, a blast on the 10-pound spinners. When we trolled, two and three fish on one umbrella was the norm. Very few boats. Fifty-degree water still holding strong. These are the first January stripers we ever had. I usually haul out sometime in December. I'm staying in the water to ride this out. We’re sailing open-boat Saturday and Monday for stripers. 7:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Three people max. All fish are shared. Sunday is sold out. Call right until ‘go time’ for a spot.” <b>***Update, Saturday, 1/2:***</b> From an edited email from Dave: “The striper migration is in full swing. For the second day in a row, we clobbered the stripers right outside Barnegat Inlet. Casting Tsunami Shads was the best bet today. The fish are chasing 6- to 8-inch herring on the surface. You can watch them isolate one from the safety of the school and gun him down on the surface, sometimes right at the hull. What's interesting about this run is the size of the fish, 26 to 36 inches today, with quite a few 30-inch. Usually the end of the season wraps up with the smallest fish, commonly 20 to 24 inches. So I guess this isn't even the end yet. We had 50-degree water and a bunch of 8- to 12-pound bluefish in the mix, though the ratio was heavily slanted in favor of the stripers. Here's some video of a few minutes of today’s action. We did find ourselves with a break in the action around mid-trip, so we broke out our short trolling rods, with only 150 feet of wire, and bucktailed bass and blues with the old-school technique of jigging the rods while we trolled a bucktail tipped with pork rind. A lot of work, but the rewards were heavy, and the hit is a train wreck! Our next available day is Monday, which is also forecast as the last west-wind day, before it blows up heavy from the north a few days. Open-boat or charter on Monday. Thursday and Friday are forecast for light and variable west wind again. If that forecast stays, we’ll run again for stripers and maybe look a little farther offshore for those castable bluefins. This is a hard trip for me to book ahead of time, because I’m looking for such a perfect weather window that my rate of cancel would be high. It seems practical for both me and passengers that only people willing to fish for stripers and maybe a shot at running offshore for tuna would be a good fit for these trips.”

<b>Absecon</b>

<b>***Update, Thursday, 12/31:***</b> Fishing participation slowed by this time of season, but a couple of reports said striped bass were boated on the ocean off Atlantic City, and a little better off Brigantine’s north end, said Capt. Dave from <b>Absecon Bay Sportsman Center</b>. Stripers remained in the ocean for a shot at them if boaters got the weather. Nothing was heard about the back bay, and fishing there seemed finished for the season. A few green crabs, blackfish bait, are stocked, and are slowly being bought. A few anglers tried for the tautog, but no results rolled in, and weather wasn’t so good. Any reports about white perch said the fish, in brackish rivers, were in autumn “mode,” scattered. No big catches of them were reported, but the fish were there. Dave will try stocking bloodworms one final time this season for fishing like that. The shop is going into winter hours until March 1, and Dave’s usually there, but call ahead to confirm.

<b>Longport</b>

The <b>Stray Cat</b> is docked at Islamorada in the Florida Keys for winter, Capt. Mike said. Longport is the vessel’s home port, and if anglers want to crash on the boat two or three days, and fish two or three, the vessel includes four bunks and a head with a shower. There’s unlimited restaurants, “warm beer and ugly women,” he said! The boat’s in a great slip, a beautiful spot, he said, and is fishing at Alligator Reef, 7 miles from port, and the Islamorada Hump, several miles farther out. Yellowtail fishing’s good, and sailfishing’s pretty good, pretty hot for the time of year. The water is 82 to 83 degrees, and catches can also include mahi mahi, king mackerel, wahoos and more.

<b>Ocean City</b>

<b>***Update, Thursday, 12/31:***</b> Surf casters still angled a few striped bass, a few decent-sized, actually, mostly on bunker, said Ed from <b>Fin-Atics</b>.  He heard about the catches through yesterday. Boaters still axed stripers on the ocean, mostly on the troll, farther south a little, toward Corson’s Inlet and Sea Isle City, out to between 2 to 3 miles from shore. Deeper wrecks and reefs in the ocean turned out sea bass, “some nice,” he said, and a few blackfish. Sea bass season will be closed beginning Friday. Blackfish were still hooked in the back bay, because the water was warm for winter, in the low 50 degrees. Was amazing how good fishing was, this late in the year. The shop will be open daily through next week, and the hours for afterward will be decided. The shop will be open Fridays through Sundays, if not more often, afterward.

<b>Sea Isle City</b>

<b>***Update, Thursday, 12/31:***</b> Too bad striped bass fishing will be closed in the back bay beginning Friday, because some good catches of the fish, including big, 30 pounds, were reported in the past week, said Mike from <b>Sea Isle Bait & Tackle</b>. They were hooked at places like along bridges on bait like eels and spots that were livelined. The shop is stocking both those baits and green crabs, fresh clams when available, frozen, vacuum-packed bunker, frozen bait like herring and every bait Mike can get hands on. He bought out bait from other shops that closed for winter, and the store will be open usually on every good-weather day, and definitely on the next two weekends, at least. The shop was the only open in the area, and customers kept stopping in, including on weekdays. If nobody’s around, messaging on Facebook is the best way to reach the store. Ocean striped bass fishing remained good for boaters. Customers trolled and jigged the fish well yesterday, and the stripers showed up at different spots daily, including right off Sea Isle City. One day they’d show up there, and another closer to Great Egg Harbor Inlet, and so on. In the surf, more stripers were banked than before. None of size really were, but better numbers were. Blackfish still seemed to bite in back waters, because of warm water. The last report was from Christmas about them, and someone whacked the tautog well along a dock around Townsend’s Inlet that day. The local party-boat trips will mostly sail for blackfish on the ocean, now that sea bass season will be closed beginning Friday. One of the trips ran for sea bass in past days, scoring pretty well at the Cape May pieces.  

<b>***Update, Thursday, 12/31:***</b> Capt. Joe Hughes from <b>Jersey Cape Guide Service</b>, affiliated with <b>Sea Isle Bait & Tackle</b>, arrived in the Florida Keys to begin annual traveling charters there, he said. He runs the charters each Christmas to Easter, and during this holiday week fished with family there.  Fish caught included a small permit, and two or three tarpon were jumped, throwing the hook. Forty- and 50-pound lemon sharks were whipped, and so were bonnethead sharks, mutton snappers, jacks, blue runners, grunts and lots of different fish. Weather was windy, and fishing was slow, and the trips fished the bay near port in Islamorada, because of the wind. Joe might venture across the bay and fish the Everglades near Flamingo in the wind this week. Though the angling was slow, all those fish were hooked. The Keys offer fishing almost no matter the weather, because different locations, from the Everglades to the bay to the ocean side, can be angled. Shelter is always available somewhere, like maybe the ocean side fishes best in a wind direction one day, and the bay does on another, in different wind or conditions. The trips, mostly fishing on weekends, can target a large variety of catches, from speckled sea trout, redfish, snook and tarpon in the back waters to sailfish, mahi mahi and blackfin tuna on the ocean side. Joe will still fish from New Jersey this season, when none of the Florida trips are booked, as long as fish still bite in the Garden State this winter. He keeps one boat in Jersey and another in the Keys this season, and is in Jersey in winter, except on days when the Florida trips are slated. 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>Fins and Feathers Outfitters</b> hunted waterfowl last Monday, and that went okay, bagging brants and black ducks, Capt. Jim said. Sea duck hunting aboard was weathered out Sunday, because of wind, and the same shooters were supposed to hunt today aboard, probably on the back bay, instead of the ocean, because of wind. Other hunters are arriving for waterfowling Tuesday and Wednesday. Ducks were around, and trips worked for them. Cold was needed to push more of the migration south to local waters. Still, trips were bagging them with Fins. Fins offers a variety of outdoor adventures, including saltwater fishing and duck and goose hunting. Most of the goose hunting will take place later this winter, until early spring. 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 available on Pennsylvania’s streams like the Yellow Breeches.

<b>Wildwood</b>

Wind weathered out trips in past days with <b>Fins & Grins Sport Fishing</b>, Capt. Jim said. He’s got anglers who want to fish, and Wednesday might be the next time weather’s fishable. Striped bass should be around, and blackfish should still bite close enough to shore to target. Fins is slated to fish every day, and reservations aren’t required but suggested. Telephone for availability.

<b>Cape May</b>

Capt. George from the <b>Heavy Hitter</b> worked the deck on a friend’s boat that sailed for striped bass Sunday on the ocean, he said. But wind and seas were lousy, and the trip only sailed a short distance, to just north of Hereford Inlet. No stripers were hooked, and the trip wasn’t going to run to Ocean City or Atlantic City, where a bite was heard about the other day, because of the conditions. The seas were a choppy roll, and George knew about a couple of other boats that attempted to fish that day and headed back early, because of the conditions. George is supposed to mate again on the same boat Tuesday or Wednesday on a sea bass trip. The outing might not get the weather to sail until Wednesday.  George is also running charters for stripers and sea bass. He’ll also charter for blackfish, if blackfish are biting, and he kept hearing blackfishing was slow for local charters. For stripers, George most recently chartered on the ocean, and caught, covered in previous reports here. He heard second- and third-hand reports that stripers, good catches, were boated on Delaware Bay recently, but that was unconfirmed. He wondered where the trips obtained fresh bunker, the preferred bait on the bay this time of year. The bait becomes scarce this season, and a couple of local tackle shops that had provided the bunker were now closed for the season. <b>***Update, Thursday, 12/31:***</b> The sea bass trip sailed Wednesday, limiting out on the fish 30 miles from shore, that George was supposed to mate for on Tuesday or Wednesday, he said. He did work the deck on the trip, and one big bluefish was also boated on the trip. The water was warm – 56 degrees, he thought he heard  aboard – and the sea bass were warm to touch. Sea bass season will be closed beginning Friday, and tuna were seen busting on the trip, exploding along the surface, apparently bluefins foraging on baitfish. Lots of life was seen along the water. George was supposed to mate for a striper trip today on the same boat. Stripers reportedly bit in the ocean off Atlantic City this week. He saw one boat that docked blackfish Wednesday that looked like a decent catch. Blackfishing had sounded slower previously, but might’ve begun to be better. Charters are available. 

<b>***Update, Thursday, 12/31:***</b> Not many blackfish were beaten Sunday on the party boat <b>Porgy IV</b>, with a good-sized crowd aboard, Capt. Paul said. But a decent catch of the tautog, twice the fish for a crowd half the size of Sunday, was plumbed yesterday aboard. On that trip, Alex Levantovsky from Philly limited out on the fish to a 9-pounder, and a couple of others limited. A couple bagged five apiece, and others bagged two or three around the boat. Blackfishing currently wasn’t hot and heavy, but some of the fish were around. The ocean was 52 degrees during the angling, relatively warm, so blackfish should keep biting. Even a couple of sea bass were bagged on yesterday’s trip, not far from shore. The sea bass were yet to migrate farther out, because of the warmth, and sea bass season will be closed beginning Friday. The Porgy IV is blackfishing at 8 a.m. daily, including on New Year’s Day, through Sunday, so long as weather allows and enough anglers want to sail. Anglers expressed interest in sailing on New Year’s. Paul will decide the schedule for after Sunday, and the trips might just fish on weekends after then.  

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