<b>Hudson River</b>

Ice, lots, filled creeks, and much of Hudson River held ice, said Capt. Chuck from <b>Angler Sportfishing Charters</b>. The waters weren’t fishable, but trips aboard will hunt the river’s striped bass, the spring migration, usually from sometime in April until early June. The stripers are big, mature, breeding fish, giving up one of the best opportunities to land a trophy. Chuck’s been fishing the run many years. New York this past week took emergency measures to create regulations for striper fishing for the year. On the river upstream from George Washington Bridge, the season for the fishing will be opened starting April 1, and the bag limit will be one striper 18 to 28 inches or one 40 inches or larger per angler, per day. Angler Sportfishing will also fish from Staten Island on Angler’s other boat throughout the fishing season, including during the Hudson striper fishing.

<b>Keyport</b>

With <b>Papa’s Angels Charters</b>, the year’s first charter is slated for April 1, Capt. Joe said. Trips at first will fish for striped bass, but could go for winter flounder, too. Much of the seasonal maintenance was done on the boat, and painting just needed to be finished. Cold weather was tough for the painting. Joe was at the dock Sunday, and weather was cold and windy. Like every year, open-boat trips will be available daily when no charter is booked, and telephone to jump aboard. <b>***Update, Friday, 3/27:***</b> The boat is in the water and ready to fish, Joe wrote in an email. April and May have typically been good for striped bass fishing. To book fishing aboard, give him a call.

Fishing will probably be launched during the first week of April with <b>Down Deep Sportfishing</b>, Capt. Mario said. The angling will begin with striped bass trips, and not much happened with fishing yet. The crew worked on seasonal maintenance on the two boats. Book charters now, and 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. A couple of open cod trips will also sail in the early season.

The <b>Vitamin Sea</b> will be splashed Tuesday, Capt. Frank said. Seasonal maintenance is finished, and he heard about small striped bass and winter flounder boated from the back of Raritan Bay. The water was cold but should begin to warm in the next week. The year’s first open-boat trip is slated for Saturday, April 4. The plan is to fish the shallow bottom with dark mud, where the bay temperature rises a few degrees each day, when the sun shines. The fish hunt for food at those spots early in the season, and Frank’s confident the first catches will be made there. Charters and open trips will fish for both species in the early season, and both swim the same areas, early in the year. Anglers interested in being added to the list of open trips can contact Frank by phone, email or text. He’ll send the schedule each week. Open striper trips will also fish in the p.m. in April and May, so anglers can fish who need to work earlier in the day. “Get your dose of Vitamin Sea!”

<b>Atlantic Highlands</b>

Customers fished, but nothing bit locally, said Joe from <b>Julian’s Bait & Tackle</b>. Warmer weather was needed, and a couple of days are supposed to be warmer this week. Locals will begin making catches like striped bass at Cliffwood Beach on Raritan Bay at first this season. Winter flounder will also begin to bite in areas like that, in shallows, where water warms, toward the back of the bay. Both boaters and shore anglers will catch. A good amount of worms were sold to anglers trying for flounder farther south. That seemed to indicate they caught, but that was unconfirmed. The only confirmed catches were cod and maybe some ling from the ocean on boats toward Brielle, farther south. Baits are fully stocked, including worms and fresh clams.

<b>Neptune</b>

Capt. Garrett from <b>Judith Anne Fishing Charters</b> stopped at the docks Sunday, but not much happened with fishing, he said. Nobody was seen fishing, even for winter flounder on Shark River, and no boats were in the water yet, really. “Soon enough, though,” he said. Fishing aboard will be kicked off in May, beginning with striped bass fishing on the ocean. The trips will search for bunker schools, looking to liveline and chunk the baitfish for the bass. Or the trips will troll spoons, and jigs will be stowed aboard, in case jigging can work. Charters are being booked, and open-boat trips will sail. The open trips are starting to be reserved, too, and see <a href=" http://www.judithannefishing.com/belmar-fishing-trips/belmar-open-boat-fishing-trips" target="_blank">Judith Anne’s website</a> for dates available.

<b>Belmar</b>

<b>***Update, Thursday, 3/26:***</b> The beginning of the year’s fishing is near on the party boat <b>Golden Eagle</b>, a report on the vessel’s website said. The boat is scheduled to begin fishing first for striped bass. But the ocean will need to warm 6 to 8 degrees, before the angling begins, and that will take a few weeks. The boat is expected to begin fishing in mid-April, later than planned, because of the cold this year. The cold also delayed seasonal maintenance on the vessel, and the boat is still in the ship yard. The start of the trips will be announced on the boat’s site.

Hardly anybody fished, said Bob from <b>Fisherman’s Den</b>. One of the Belmar party boats sailed the ocean, carrying customers, and cod fishing was okay aboard. But hardly anybody even fished Shark River for winter flounder from the bulkheads. Every time a couple of days with better weather arrived, something happened like snow. Then the water became cold, because of runoff.  The shop is open daily, and worms and salted clams are stocked. Keeping the worms was tough, when demand was down. Worms arrived once a week, and didn’t live forever. But some were usually on hand. The store’s rental boats are available to fish the river for flounder. Striped bass were yet to be landed locally this season. For freshwater anglers, trout season will be opened starting April 4. All the supplies for trout will be stocked next week, Bob figured. <b>***Update, Saturday, 3/28:***</b> From an edited email from Bob: “What month is this? Seems like February. No fish. Very few fishermen. I have yet to see the first winter flounder. I have gotten some reports of fish, but can’t verify. Most years, we see flounder by now, and years past, when the season opened March 1, anglers caught double digits. … This might be the week, with the warmer forecast. Had no reports of stripers yet, but we’re waiting for any sign of life. We will have a complete supply of live bait for trout this coming week, and trout lures, rods and reels. Spring has not sprung. SOON, I hope.”

<b>Brielle</b>

A couple of boats cod fished, picking away at the catches, said Dave from <b>The Reel Seat</b>. No much was heard about ling landed on the trips, but the vessels mostly fished open bottom, so ling were unlikely to be caught. A keeper striped bass was actually heard about that was plugged at Manasquan Inlet this past week. No reports were heard about stripers found near Mantoloking Bridge on northern Barnegat Bay. Alex from the shop in last week’s report said small stripers began to be picked at the bridge. Customers bought rigs for winter flounder fishing, and probably headed north to Shark River to try for the flatfish. Flounder usually begin to bite there before locally. Flounder fishing seemed yet to take off locally, at northern Barnegat Bay and Manasquan River. Alex fished for them on the bay near Point Pleasant Canal, hooking none. One of the store’s free seminars was held Sunday. The Shark River Surf Anglers, who produce the free, annual trout-fishing tournament at Spring Lake for kids on opening day of trout season, gave the seminar, on trout fishing for kids. Dates were yet to be set for the next seminars, but will include ones by Jerry Fabiano, formerly from RV Lures, on tying teasers and flies, Capt. Chris Hueth from the party boat Big Mohawk, Belmar, on jigging for fluke, and Joe Shute on trolling for big game and rigging ballyhoos for the fishing with his Joe Shute rigs. Catch a bunch of items on sale at the shop, including surf-fishing plugs.

<b>Point Pleasant Beach</b>

<b>***Update, Thursday, 3/26:***</b> Maintenance, preparing the party boat <b>Norma-K III</b> for the fishing season, was moving right along, Capt. Matt wrote in a report on the vessel’s website. The boat looked great, he said, and he hopes the angling will begin in two weekends aboard. He’ll give an update once the maintenance is completed. The first trips are slated to fish ocean wrecks.

<b>Toms River</b>

Dennis from <b>Murphy’s Hook House</b> reported last week that the Toms River’s fishing would begin when sun shined three days in a row, he said. A few days became sunny in a row, and winter flounder and small striped bass began to bite in the river. Somebody on Facebook said the Forked River power plant was turned off, because of a mechanical issue. If that’s true, that could affect fishing on Oyster Creek, the plant’s warm-water discharge. Until now, stripers were reeled from the creek on Fin-S Fish and bucktails, sometimes on bloodworms, and flounder were plucked from the creek consistently. If the plant is turned off a couple of days, making the creek cold, stripers and any baitfish could depart the creek. Flounder will remain, though. If that happens, the Toms River could be the only place to be, for shore anglers. The Toms is a little warmer than other waters, so the river is an early fishery. Stripers and flounder just began biting in the Toms. Flounder always migrate to the river before other nearby waters in fall, and depart the Toms in spring before they do those other waters. All the catches heard about from the river came from the docks at Island Heights. The fish included Rick Chadwick’s 1.58-pound flounder and two throwback stripers, Henry Prior’s one flounder and a throwback striper, and John Huddler’s limit of two flounder 1.54 and 1.1 pounds. All the stripers were taken on bloodworms, and the bass seemed mostly to bite late in the day or at 3, 4 or 5 o’clock in the afternoon. Jared Goldy stopped in with a flounder 1.74 pounds from Oyster Creek. All flounder checked-in at the shop were spawned out, probably two weeks ago. The bait supply is in good shape and includes bloodworms, sandworms, fresh clams and chum. Murphy’s is open daily. Murphy’s also owns <b>Go Fish Bait & Tackle</b> on Fischer Boulevard in Toms River, and Go Fish is open Thursdays through Mondays. <b>***Update, Thursday, 3/26:***</b> More and more throwback stripers were landed from the Toms, Oyster Creek and the “back bay,” the shop’s Facebook page said. Winter flounder started to be more active than before, “so get out there if you can, before they are gone,” it said. A big push of bunker schooled through the Toms near Island Heights and the river’s mouth, “breaking water,” it said. A few birds were seen picking the water at Dillon’s Creek that empties into the mouth. The water was too choppy to see what the birds foraged on. Ospreys, a sign of spring, were seen at Good Luck Point, where the river meets Barnegat Bay.

<b>Mystic Island</b>

Good news! The year’s first several throwback striped bass were banked at Graveling Point, said Scott from <b>Scott’s Bait & Tackle</b>. The water was 38 degrees or cold, so the catches were surprising. But an 18-incher was landed last week on Sunday, a 22-incher was on Tuesday, and a 26-incher and a 26-1/2-incher were on Thursday. The fish usually don’t bite until the water reaches the 40 degrees, so this writer hadn’t even watched reports on the shop’s website last week to see whether any were caught. The catches were few and far between, and those four landed were probably the result of hundreds of hours of fishing. Lots of people fished the area, but catches were had. The annual $100 gift certificate to the store was still up for grabs for the first angler to weigh-in a keeper striper from the point or nearby Pebble Beach. Both are shore-angling spots located at the confluence of Great Bay and Mullica River. Bloodworms hooked all the bass that Scott knew about. The worms, easy for stripers to digest during cold, usually catch them best, early in the season. Clams will become the preferred bait afterward. Bluefish usually migrate to the area by May 10. An annual $100 certificate will also be awarded for the first angler to check-in a blue from Graveling or Pebble. Striper fishing also somewhat broke open farther up the Mullica. Eleven was the high hook, and all the stripers were 18-inch throwbacks, but fun to release. White perch were kind of scattered in the river, nabbed here and there. Both the stripers and the perch were found somewhat downstream from Hay Road, so between Lower Bank and Green Bank bridges, closer to the Lower Bank. Anglers like those who launched kayaks were into them. Bloodworms sold out but are expected to be re-stocked at mid-day Wednesday. Business was pretty good Saturday, so the bloods sold. Fresh, shucked clams are carried. Live grass shrimp are on hand, and Scott is netting them, but so is a retiree. The shrimp are expected to remain in stock. Green crabs will be carried soon, before blackfish season is opened for the month of April. 

<b>Absecon</b>

<b>***Update, Thursday, 3/26:***</b> White perch and small striped bass were clutched from Mullica River toward Hay Road, said Kurt from <b>Absecon Bay Sportsman Center</b>. Small stripers were also hung at Graveling, at the confluence of the Mullica and Great Bay. The catches at Hay Road were all reported on bloodworms. From Graveling, anglers talked about both bloods and clams hooking-up. White perch were also bloodwormed from Great Egg Harbor toward Somers Point at the water tower. Bloodworms and fresh clams are stocked.

<b>Brigantine</b>

<b>***Update, Thursday, 3/26:***</b> A few tried surf fishing, driving the beach, said Fred from <b>Riptide Bait & Tackle</b>. But the water was cold, 40 degrees, according to the newspaper. Still, the temperature was creeping up. Bloodworms, salted clams and the variety of frozen baits are stocked. The Riptide Striper Bounty was up to $1,350. Sponsored by Hess Plumbing, the bounty is awarded to the angler who checks-in the season’s first striped bass 43 inches or larger from Brigantine’s surf. The bounty wasn’t won during fall, so is being rolled over to 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. The Fish for Life Tournament, a Brigantine surf-fishing contest, from Tom LaPera’s real-estate team, is under way until May 21. Entry is $20, and proceeds are reportedly donated to the South Jersey Cancer Fund. Trophies are awarded for the three heaviest stripers. Entry, available at Riptide, includes a permit to drive Brigantine’s middle beach until the final day of the tournament, when accompanied by a Brigantine beach-buggy permit. Without the permit, driving the middle is prohibited. The tournament essentially enables entrants, with the Brigantine permit, to drive the island’s entire surf. Customers stopped in to buy the bloods or pick up the permits.

<b>Atlantic City</b>

<b>One Stop Bait & Tackle</b> was opened for the fishing season, and striped bass, ling and winter flounder were reeled from Absecon Inlet and the bay, mostly the bay, Noel said. The stripers were occasional catches, but the flounder were good-sized, and the ling bit along the inlet or “out front,” he said. Frozen baits are stocked, and live and fresh bait will be carried beginning Tuesday and Wednesday. 

<b>Longport</b>

The <b>Stray Cat</b> fished Sunday, Capt. Mike said. Dogfish after dogfish bit, but a few cod were slipped in, between the dogs. Cod were definitely there, and a good flurry gave up quite a few at once. But current ran a little strong, and kept pushing the boat off the wreck fished, the reason the dogs were horrendous. Double-headers of dogs  bit. “Big ones, little ones, fat ones, skinny ones,” he said. The trip fished 35 miles from shore, and the ocean was 41.2 degrees at the warmest, and was mostly 40. “That’s good,” this writer said to Mike. “Yeah,” he said. Charters are available, and he’ll try to run the next open-boat trips for cod Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday, and telephone to reserve. The open trips sail 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. “Won’t be long, and we’ll be blackfishing and dogfishing!” he said. Ha. Blackfish season will be open in April.

<b>Ocean City</b>

A few white perch and small striped bass were claimed from Great Egg Harbor River and Tuckahoe River, said Bill from <b>Fin-Atics</b>. Not red hot, but not bad, at least something, he said. Bloodworms pasted both, and bloods and frozen baits are stocked. A few anglers tried catching stripers from the bay, and rumors were heard about success, but the rumors circulate this time of year. 

<b>Sea Isle City</b>

A few anglers who cod fished were heard from, giving good reports, said Mike from <b>Sea Isle Bait & Tackle</b>. One couple of anglers who sailed for cod fished wrecks 30 miles from shore a little on Thursday, landing 38 cod, including eight keepers, a couple of ling and, Mike thought, a pollock or two. Not a bad catch, good numbers. Not much was heard about striped bass. A few anglers fished for white perch on Tuckahoe River. The angling didn’t sound like it loaded up on the fish, but did catch some. Fresh clams and the full selection of frozen baits were stocked. When weather improves a little, bloodworms and nightcrawlers will be carried. The store is open about 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursdays through Mondays, and hours will be extended as the fishing season kicks in.

The boat was splashed this weekend, said Capt. Joe Hughes from <b>Jersey Cape Guide Service</b>, affiliated with <b>Sea Isle Bait & Tackle</b>. He was on the boat on the back bay at 7 p.m. Sunday, when he gave this report in a phone call. Weather was cold, and the water, on incoming tide, was 43 degrees. He was unsure whether he’d fish this week or weekend, and would prefer air temperatures higher than 50 degrees. But when the temperature reaches higher than 50 a few days in a row, his striped bass fishing will be on, in the bay. Joe’s one of the first captains to fish for stripers each year, and South Jersey’s, shallow, warm back bays are some of the state’s first waters to give up stripers every year. Often, he’s already caught his first by this time of year. But weather’s been cold. By mid-April, bluefish and weakfish will migrate to the bay, and fishing should be gangbusters. All three species can be hooked then in the bay, some of the best angling of the year. Out-of-season summer flounder will begin to migrate to the bay by then, and will be landed and released. So all four species can be caught. Flounder season is yet to be decided but usually opens in late May. Jersey Cape catches all of these fish on soft-plastic lures in the early season, worked slowly along bottom in the cold water. The stripers are resident fish, younger, juvenile bass, yet to migrate. They’ll be the first to bite, and the trips fish for them at places like creek mouths that push warmer water into the bay on outgoing tides. Afternoons, when the bay’s had time to warm during the day, can fish best. The boat that Joe splashed was his larger vessel, a 24-foot Eastern center console. His 18-foot Scout flats boat is in the Florida Keys for Joe’s traveling charters that fish there each winter until Easter. He’ll trailer the flats boat back to Sea Isle afterward for spring to fall. Joe also runs a 35-foot Cabo Express for offshore, big-game fishing. He’s often one of the first captains to fish for tuna offshore each year, as early as May. Many anglers fish for tuna starting in summer. But trolling for bluefin tuna, a tuna species that’s more tolerant of cool water, in spring can be some of the best tuna fishing, among any time of year. The bluefins are migrating north in spring. Many anglers wait for yellowfin tuna to arrive later, during T-shirt weather. But the bluefin fishing is as good as tuna fishing gets.  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>

After hunting snow geese along Delaware Bay, Capt. Jim from <b>Fins and Feathers Outfitters</b> was now hunting them in Pennsylvania, he said. He’ll fish for striped bass and drum on the bay, usually starting in late April, kicking off his year’s saltwater angling. For now, he guided the goose trips. Most of the birds currently migrated farther north, away from New Jersey. He spent Sunday at Pennsylvania’s Wildlife Management Area, and 110,000 snow geese reportedly arrived there. During his most recent snow goose hunting in New Jersey, 18 of the geese were bagged. Grounds were hunted from Cape May Point to Ship John, along the bay. Jim will probably fish for steelheads on upstate New York’s Salmon River from his lodge at Easter. Fins offers a variety of outdoor adventures, including saltwater fishing on Delaware Bay and the ocean, duck and goose hunting on Delaware Bay and in surrounding states, salmon and steelhead fishing on the Salmon from the lodge, and fly-fishing for trout on Pennsylvania’s streams like the Yellow Breeches. For the saltwater fishing, a new engine was installed Thursday on the 23-foot center console’s port side. A new starboard engine was installed last year, so the vessel is re-powered.

<b>Cape May</b>

The <b>Heavy Hitter</b> was painted Saturday and Sunday, Capt. George said. The boat will be waxed next weekend, and splashed a week or so later. Charters are being booked for drum and blackfish. Drum fishing usually sails in May, and blackfish season is open in April. Trips can also be booked for striped bass, and will sail, if the fishing turns on this season. Not many people were seen at the docks this weekend. Even fewer were the previous weekend. Weather was fair, sweatshirt weather, this weekend, at Cape May. Activity will probably pick up in another couple of weeks or after Easter at the docks. George didn’t know the current water temperature first-hand, but local television news said the water was 38 degrees. George knew about nobody who fished from Cape May recently. A couple of friends were headed to bottom-fish from Hatteras, North Carolina. The friends were told that blackfin tuna were also around, near the port.

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