<b>Keyport</b>

From the <b>Vitamin Sea</b>, Capt. Frank just got back the reconditioned prop, he wrote in an email. The boat, getting prepped, should be ready to be splashed during the last week of March for the fishing season. Charters and open-boat trips will fish, and the first open trip is set for Saturday, April 4. The trip will sail for striped bass and winter flounder. Bookings are being accepted for charters for this year, and anglers should book early to ensure the dates they want. Anglers can telephone Frank about the open-boat schedule. “Spring is just around the corner, I hope!” he said. Follow the boat on the <a href=" https://www.facebook.com/vitaminseafishing" target="_blank">Vitamin Sea’s Facebook page</a>. “Get your dose of Vitamin Sea!”

<b>Neptune</b>

<b>***Update, Tuesday, 3/3:***</b> The boat’s in the water, but Capt. Ralph from <b>Last Lady Fishing Charters</b> doesn’t plan to fish again for a couple of weeks, he said. Trips will probably concentrate on cod at first. The water is free of ice around the boat, but plenty of waters, like the back of Shark River and bays, are frozen. The back of Shark River is like a bay anyway. Ralph knew about one boat that bottom-fished on the ocean in past days, not catching much.

<b>Belmar</b>

<b>***Update, Tuesday, 3/3:***</b> Short report, Bob from <b>Fisherman’s Den</b> wrote in an email. “Weather got us again,” he said. No anglers showed up Sunday, opening day of winter flounder season. None showed up Monday, either. Customers will fish for flounder on Shark River near the shop. A few of the store’s rental boats will be available for that, he said for a previous report. But he probably expected better weather then, so check with the shop to confirm. The fishing’s also available from the bulkheads, and that was good late in the year, when flounder season was open last. The wintry weather’s been the worst in years. He hopes to give better reports soon. “But don’t hold your breath!” he said.

<b>***Update, Tuesday, 3/3:***</b> Things “get going” on the <b>Katie H</b> in late April, Capt. Mike said. He wasn’t even really working on prepping the boat for the fishing season yet, in the winter weather. Water at the docks wasn’t really frozen, because of strong current. Some of the year’s first fishing aboard will sail for striped bass. Trips could sail for other catches, like blackfish, once blackfish season is opened in April, but only if the fish are snapping. He’s not going to take anglers if they can’t catch, he said. Now’s the time to book dates for stripers and other fishing for the year, while dates remain. Katie H fishes for catches like that inshore, but is also an offshore, big-game specialist. The 46-foot boat features all the amenities and speed. That’s great for offshore, but also comfortable and handy inshore.

<b>***Update, Tuesday, 3/3:***</b> <b>Parker Pete’s Fishing Charters</b> will exhibit at the Saltwater Fishing Expo in Somerset from March 20 to 22 at booth 208, Capt. Pete said. Stop by and say hello, he said, and special reduced rates are available for charters when Parker Pete’s exhibits at shows. The crew exhibited at the Greater Philadelphia Outdoor Sport Show this weekend, and Pete thanks all who came out. Striped bass charters are being booked for May and June, and are filling. Book quickly to sail for stripers, and both a.m. and p.m. charters will run, like usual. Individual spaces will also be available on charters, when the trips need anglers. 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 the spaces available. Look for the place to sign up on the right side of the page. The crew isn’t really fishing currently, except they might throw a line for winter flounder in Shark River from the bulkhead. They’re concentrating on shows for the moment.

<b>Brielle</b>

No catches, including any striped bass on Sunday, opening day of striper season in bays and rivers, were heard about, John from <b>The Reel Seat</b> said that afternoon in a phone call. Water remained pretty frozen around local docks. But one customer said a bunch of people gathered at the docks around the party boat Dauntless in Point Pleasant Beach that morning. Maybe the boat fished. The shop’s next free seminar will be on tilefishing with Dave Arbeitman, the store’s owner, at 2 p.m. Saturday, March 14, at the store. Dave is a tilefishing expert, and the previous seminars this winter were on fishing Cape Cod Canal, with Jimmy Fee from On the Water magazine, and tying teasers, with Jerry Fabiano from RV Plugs. Catch the shop’s booth at the Asbury Park Fishing Club flea market Sunday at Convention Hall. The Reel Seat is open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sundays.

<b>Point Pleasant Beach</b>

<b>***Update, Thursday, 3/5:***</b> <b>Mushin Sportfishing</b> is finishing up annual upgrades and improvements to the boat, Capt. Alan wrote in an email. But trips will hit cod fishing at wrecks in early April. Dates are going fast for striped bass charters in May, and tuna charters are booking that will fish in summer at the offshore canyons. Telephone the boat if interested in any of this fishing.

<b>***Update, Thursday, 3/5:***</b> Fishing sailed Saturday and Sunday on the party boat <b>Dauntless</b>, Capt. Butch said. Trips aboard, slated daily, would’ve sailed more often, if not for rough weather. The angling wasn’t good, but did catch a few ling and cod. Saturday’s catch was best: maybe 20 ling and 20 or 25 cod, though only a half-dozen of the cod were keepers. Quite a few cod 18 to 22 inches seemed around, and 21 inches is the size limit. There is no possession limit for cod, and there is no limit at all for ling. On Sunday, 12 or 15 ling and 25 or 30 cod, including a half-dozen keeper cod, were swung in. Water 130 feet to 220 was fished on the trips, and the shallower depths fished best. Usually, the deeper does, at this time of year, but a couple of spots didn’t even give up a bite in the deep. The instrument with the temperature gauge was at the repair shop, but Butch guessed the ocean was 32 to 34 degrees. On Sunday, the ocean was slushy for 5 miles, and saltwater freezes at 28 degrees. The Dauntless is fishing 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. daily, and is one of the state’s only boats, if not the only, scheduled to fish daily year-round. Christmas is the only day the boat’s not slated to sail each year.

<b>Toms River</b>

Customers bought bloodworms and headed to Oyster Creek to fish Sunday, said Mario from <b>Murphy’s Hook House</b>. But no catches were heard about. That was opening day of striped bass season in bays and rivers, and winter flounder season in all waters. Striper fishing is open in the ocean year-round. The creek could hold both fish, and is the warm-water discharge from Forked River power plant. The store was opened daily for the season this weekend, and will probably be open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays and earlier on weekends, but telephone to confirm. Bloodworms, garden worms and salted clams are stocked. Shiners and killies will be carried when a pipe to the livewells is fixed that froze and burst. Murphy’s also owns <b>Go Fish Bait & Tackle</b> on Fischer Boulevard in Toms River, and that shop will be opened during the weekend of March 13 for the season.

<b>Barnegat Light</b>

Watch this video of the Miss Barnegat Light on Sunday. The party boat usually begins fishing in May, starting with bluefishing on the ocean. Watch a video at Barnegat Lighthouse that day, and see photos of the harbor that was frozen longer than a month.

<b>Mystic Island</b>

<b>***Update, Thursday, 3/5:***</b> “Man is it good to be back and open again,” a report on <b>Scott’s Bait & Tackle</b>’s website said Wednesday. The store was reopened for the season Sunday. “If only we could get this cold weather out of here,” it said. The annual $100 gift certificate to the store will be awarded to the angler who weighs-in the year’s first striped bass from Graveling Point or Pebble Beach. Those are nearby shore-angling spots, at the confluence of Great Bay and Mullica River, that turn out some of the state’s first striper catches each year. But water there was 33 degrees Wednesday, and the fish should begin to bite when it reaches 43 to 45. A few stripers were checked-in from Oyster Creek at Absecon Bay Sportsman Center. The creek is the warm-water discharge from Forked River power plant, and was reportedly 43 degrees. Closer to the shop, anglers ice-fished for white perch on Collins Cove on the Mullica, “(but) we haven’t seen too much action there,” the report said. But Bass River, a tributary of the Mullica, reportedly gave up good perching from the ice at the cove accessed from Amasa Landing Road off exit 50 on Garden State Parkway during the weekend. A bunch of anglers fished there. Ice covered the lagoon behind the store on Wednesday. If weather is rough, anglers can stop at the store for rig-tying material, at least. But bloodworms and clams will be stocked on Friday for fishing.

<b>Absecon</b>

The year’s first two striped bass were weighed-in Sunday at <b>Absecon Bay Sportsman Center</b>, Capt. Dave said. That was opening day of striper season in bays and rivers, and both fish were reeled from Oyster Creek, the warm-water discharge from Forked River power plant, on fairly large soft-plastic lures on homemade jigheads. One of the plastics, at least, was pink, Dave knew, he said. He’s heard about the fishing at the creek over the years, and lures were known to connect. Nikita Grantham from Atlantic City checked-in the first of the stripers, a 29.4-pounder, surprisingly large. He won the annual $200 gift certificate to the store for the first, and also the annual $100 certificate to the shop for the first heavier than 20 pounds. Most stripers larger than 20 pounds don’t swim New Jersey until the migration of stripers, mature, large bass, arrives in spring. But the anglers, who fished together, saw “movement” in the water that might’ve also been large stripers, and hooked and lost another large one. Louis Pabon from Galloway Township was the angler with the second striper, a 14.95-pounder, winning the annual $100 gift certificate to the store for the second. <a href=" https://www.facebook.com/events/586295281514469
" target="_blank">Click here</a> to see more annual prizes that remained up for grabs, including for the first striper 30 pounds or larger, the first striper that an angler brings-in who Liked the store’s Facebook page and joined the page’s event First Striper of the Season Tournament, and the first stripers that a woman, a boy and a girl weigh-in. Other waters were too cold for stripers to bite, Dave knew. He was surprised that Oyster Creek gave up the fish, even, though he heard about a few fish there, he said before the opener. Anglers will see how long that fishing keeps up, he said, but apparently stripers had been there, and didn’t “have anywhere to go,” he said. Bunker had swum there, too, or the creek seemed to attract them. There had been a big kill of bunker because of the cold this season. Stripers probably also swam rivers, because stories were heard late last year about anglers seeing them, especially from Great Egg Harbor River. Weather was somewhat warmer on Sunday, but snow and sleet fell, remaining on the ground today, and waters, besides at Oyster Creek, were too cold currently. Absecon Creek, running past the shop, held open water almost a week now. But thick ice formed on almost all waters recently. “It’s cold,” Dave said, and the bays were frozen from the store to Atlantic City. February usually includes substantial time that’s relatively warm, but that didn’t happen this year. Waters from rivers to the ocean are cold. Maybe that will help spring striper fishing last longer, and that would be good. But fishing will get off to a late start this year. Ice-anglers had fished Collins Cove on Mullica River for white perch. None caught were heard about from there, and the dredge hole on nearby Bass River was the hot spot for the ice-fishing. That gave up the fish. A few live grass shrimp were still stocked today that are favorite bait for the perch. Bloodworms and fresh clams weren’t stocked this weekend, despite the opening of striper season, because of the cold. Anglers were unlikely to buy them, and the bait might be stocked starting this weekend. <b>***Update, Thursday, 3/5:***</b> The year’s third striped bass was checked-in, the shop’s Facebook page said. Nikita Grantham, who brought-in the year’s first, written about above, nailed the third, a 16.15-pounder, on Tuesday, from Oyster Creek, like the first. He was “dialed in,” the page said. Absecon Creek at the store held skim ice that morning, and ice covered most rivers upstream. “We’ll take what we can get,” the page said. “There is no reason you can’t head up to Forked River to get in on this warm water fishery.” Grantham won the $50 gift certificate for the third and also the $100 certificate for the first angler to stop by with a striper who Liked the store’s Facebook page and joined the page’s event First Striper of the Season Tournament.

<b>Brigantine</b>

A couple of customers bought bloodworms and fished at the Absecon Inlet jetty Sunday, said Capt. Andy from <b>Riptide Bait & Tackle</b>. But the only catches he knew about were a couple of stripers from Oyster Creek, the warm-water discharge from Forked River power plant. Snow fell that day, opening day of striper season in bays and rivers, and Andy didn’t expect to see stripers at the store that day, he wrote on the shop’s Facebook page. Water needed to warm for fish to feed aggressively. “But you never know,” he said. The bloodworms stocked were beauties, and three dozen were sold that morning so far, when he posted on the page. “Not bad for a snowy day,” he said. The store will now be open daily, and bloodworms and frozen baits are carried. “(I) look forward to another good year,” he said. The Riptide Striper Bounty, presented by Hess Plumbing, was up to $1,300. The bounty is awarded to the angler who checks-in the season’s first striper 43 inches or larger from Brigantine’s surf. The bounty wasn’t won during fall, so is being rolled over to this spring. That happened last year, too, and the bounty was won that spring. The angler must be entered before the catch, and entry is $5. All entry fees are awarded, so the bounty will build. An annual $50 gift certificate will also be awarded for the season’s first keeper striper weighed-in from the town’s surf. The shop will also put together a prize for the season’s first keeper striper from a boat. The Fish for Life Tournament, from Tom LaPera and the LaPera real-estate team, a Brigantine surf-fishing tournament, kicked off on Sunday, and will be held until May 21. Proceeds are reportedly donated to the South Jersey Cancer Fund, and trophies are awarded for the three heaviest stripers. Entry includes a permit to drive the entire Brigantine front beach, when accompanied by a Brigantine beach-buggy permit. The tournament’s permits are available at Riptide. Without the permit, only part of the beach can be driven.

<b>Ocean City</b>

Rumors said striped bass were hooked at Oyster Creek on Sunday, said Ed from <b>Fin-Atics</b>. That was opening day of striper season in bays and rivers, and the creek, located farther north, is the warm-water discharge from Forked River power plant. Ice-anglers landed a few white perch at Collins Cove on Mullica River last week. That’s also north of the shop, and a few perch were taken at Great Egg Harbor River, closer to the store, in open water that week. Hardly anybody fished in the cold last week, and for those who did, catches seemed “a pick.” Most waters were frozen, but weather, though still cold, warmed somewhat, so the ice wasn’t as “bad” as before. Fin-Atics will probably be open daily starting Friday for the fishing season. Fridays through Sundays have been the hours recently.  Stop by the store’s booth at the Ocean City intermediate school’s fishing flea market this Saturday.

<b>Sea Isle City</b>

Darrel Cooper and buddy John fished on some of the traveling trips to the Florida Keys this weekend aboard, said Capt. Joe Hughes from <b>Jersey Cape Guide Service</b> and <b>Sea Isle Bait & Tackle</b>. On Saturday, a dozen sharks, lemons and bonnetheads, were caught and released on the flats on Florida Bay. In the afternoon, the bay closer to port, Islamorada, was fished. Two permits, “a million” mangrove snappers, some jacks and other fish, quite a variety, lots of fish, were landed. On Sunday, weather was windier, and the anglers fished the bay near Islamorada. Three tarpon were hooked and got off. A 150-pounder, not hooked long, was biggest. Lots of mangroves, a black grouper, a barracuda, jacks and a sheepshead were pasted. Lots of fish again, including three times a limit of mangroves. But the fish were released.  Most of the fish were nabbed on shrimp on jigheads. The sharks are fought on shrimp on circle hooks. That’s sight-fishing, casting the bait to a shark that’s seen, on 10-pound test, while Joe poles the flats boat in 12 inches of water. “It’s awesome – really cool,” he said. Traveling charters fish the Keys each winter until Easter aboard, mostly on weekends. The trips can be a mini, fish-filled vacation. Anglers can arrive on a Friday, fish all day Saturday and part of Sunday, return on Sunday, and be back to work on Monday. Or they can visit on a different schedule. 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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