<b>Neptune</b>

The boat is still in the water, and will fish, if a charter wants, said Capt. Ralph from <b>Last Lady Fishing Charters</b>. Probably blackfish and cod will be fished for, and no open-boat trips will probably fish until March.

<b>Brielle</b>

Pretty dull fishing, sluggish action, during the weekend on the party boat <b>Jamaica II</b>, an email from the vessel said. The anglers picked at mostly cod, with a few ling and blackfish mixed in. Ling catches were scattered around the boat, but not enough. Large bergals were “real active,” especially on Saturday’s trip. “Coulda got a bucket full.” Dog sharks also bit – “some doggie action”  – on both Saturday’s trip and Sunday’s. Tom Shectz from West Chester, Pa., won Sunday’s pool with a 30-1/2-pound cod. Rob Vellare from Barnegat landed seven cod, including three keepers, on the trip. Wreck-fishing trips are sailing 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. every Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday throughout winter.

One Point Pleasant Beach party boat was known to fish the ocean Sunday, said Dave from <b>The Reel Seat</b>. He was yet to hear results, but imagined the angling wasn’t that good, because a Belmar party boat captain was “kind of done” fishing for now, because the water became too cold. Nothing else was reported about fishing. The shop will hold a free seminar at 11 a.m. Sunday on tying teasers with Jerry Fabiano from RV Plugs, and more free seminars at the shop will be announced. A bunch of items are on sale at the store.

<b>Point Pleasant Beach</b>

<b>***Update, Thursday, 2/12:***</b> Fishing was slow during the weekend on the party boat <b>Norma-K III</b>, Capt. Matt wrote in a report on the vessel’s website. Ling were picked here and there, and some small cod were hooked, “but nothing great,” he said. “Hopefully, we will see more cod show up over the weekend,” he said. The Norma-K III is fishing for ling, cod and blackfish 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. every Saturday and Sunday, and one of the trips will also sail on Monday for Presidents’ Day. A special cod trip, reservations required, was weathered out on Tuesday, and is rescheduled for this coming Wednesday, and space is available.

<b>Toms River</b>

<b>***Update, Thursday, 2/12:***</b> At <b>Murphy’s Hook House</b>, the crew was remodeling the shop, Mario said. That was to prepare for the coming fishing season, and nothing really happened with fishing to report. That will change on March 1, when striped bass season is opened in bays and rivers, and winter flounder season is opened. Currently, striper season is closed in bays and rivers, and open in the ocean, and flounder season is closed in all waters. When the seasons open, customers will fish for stripers and flounder from Oyster Creek and the Toms River to Barnegat Bay. The stripers could be found at all three places early in the season. The flounder will swim the creek and river. Afterward, flounder will migrate to the bay and ocean, as waters warm. Neither of the species will swim the ocean in the early season, because the water will be cold. The back waters will be warmer. Bloodworms will hook both fish, and will be stocked for the opener. So will other baits to fish for them, including clams, and all supplies, including chum and chum pots. For both catches, Oyster Creek is popular in the first days of the seasons, because the creek is the warm-water discharge for the Forked River power plant. Soft-plastic lures will also be fished for the stripers at the creek, like small, white or pink paddle tails or other models, in those colors. In the bay, stripers could be hooked behind Island Beach State Park in the early season. The store is closed, but sometimes open, when the crew is there, like this morning, when he gave this report in a phone call. The doors will be open for regular hours at the end of the month, definitely on the weekend of February 28 and March 1, maybe before then. Murphy’s, located on Route 37, also owns <b>Go Fish Bait & Tackle</b> on Fischer Boulevard in Toms River.

<b>Longport</b>

Fishing is shut down for now on the <b>Stray Cat</b>, Capt. Mike said. He visited Montauk, N.Y., and the port was dead. Boats were iced in, and nothing was doing. Probably three trucks were parked in the parking lot at the party boat cod fleet. No restaurant was even open near the docks, and Mike had to shoot into town for breakfast.

<b>Sea Isle City</b>

Two anglers fished the Florida Keys in past days with Capt. Joe Hughes from <b>Jersey Cape Guide Service</b> and <b>Sea Isle Bait & Tackle</b>, he said. Two tarpon were released, and another was missed, on the first day. Jacks and mangrove snappers were also fought aboard. On the second day, a tarpon was released, and more jacks and mangroves were reeled in. That was all near port at Islamorada. The anglers also fished the Everglades and nearby along the flats. A couple of snook, including a 15-pounder, were yanked in at the Everglades. A 30-pound lemon shark was released, and another broke off, at the flats. Was a lot of fish during the days, a good time, Joe said. Mostly jigheads were fished, tipped with live shrimp, including for the tarpon. For the sharks, the shrimp were tossed on circle hooks. Traveling charters fish the Keys each winter until Easter aboard, mostly on weekends. Anglers can arrive on a Friday, fish all day Saturday and part of Sunday, return Sunday evening, and be back to work Monday morning. Or they can fish on a different schedule. The trips can be a fish-filled, mini vacation. See <a href="http://www.captainjoehughes.com/page3.html" target="_blank">Jersey Cape’s traveling charters Web page</a>. Keep up with Joe’s fishing on <a href="http://captainjoehughes.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Jersey Cape’s blog</a>.

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