<b>Keyport</b>

An open-boat trip on Sunday clammed three keeper striped bass and 30 or 35 throwbacks from Raritan Bay with <b>Papa’s Angels Charters</b>, Capt. Joe said. The stripers measured up to 32 inches, and on Friday, Ed McFeeley and friends aboard clammed for stripers on the bay in wind that blew to 30 m.p.h.  Only a few throwbacks were landed. No bluefish were seen in the bay yet this season on the boat. Space is available Wednesday for an open trip for stripers that several anglers already want to fish on. Open trips are available daily, when no charter is booked, and telephone to jump aboard.

Fishing for striped bass was a little slow Thursday and Friday, because of wind and bad tides, on Raritan Bay, said Capt. Mario from the <b>Down Deep</b>. But the angling broke wide open Saturday and Sunday aboard. Stripers to 40 pounds bit, very good fishing. Striper trips aboard fished with clams and chunks of bunker, not yet live bunker. A couple of bluefish were landed on Thursday’s and Friday’s trips. Charters are fishing, and check the <a href=" http://www.downdeepsportfishing.com/ddsf/special-trips/" target="_blank">Down Deep’s website</a> for open-boat availability. Also see the site’s Short Notice List to sign up to be kept informed about open trips.

Striped bass fishing was rough Thursday in howling wind on the <b>Vitamin Sea</b>, Capt. Frank wrote in an email. Fishing conditions were terrible, and two keepers and a bunch of shorts were managed. The angling was canceled aboard Friday, because forecasts called for strong wind again. But two trips hammered big stripers aboard Saturday. “Limits were caught on each trip, and many were released,” he said. Striper angling was just as excellent on Sunday on the boat. Big stripers to 30 pounds were heaved in. This is the fishing anglers have been waiting for, after a long, cold winter. “We are on the fish,” he said. “… If you are looking to catch large bass in quantity, the time is now.” A few dates are available in May for fishing aboard. Trips include ones in the afternoon to evening, and telephone for the schedule. “Get your dose of Vitamin Sea!”

<b>Atlantic Highlands</b>

Thirteen striped bass were bagged, and 25 throwbacks were released, on Friday afternoon’s trip on the party boat <b>Atlantic Star</b>, Capt. Tom said. That was a good trip, but the fishing was tough on both Saturday morning’s and afternoon’s trips. Sunday morning’s trip picked throwbacks and a couple or a few keepers. The angling was terrible on Sunday afternoon’s trip, and the reason couldn’t be known. Lots of fish were read in general on trips, and the fishing just couldn’t get stripers to cooperate on Sunday afternoon’s trip. The fishing became progressively worse after the good catch on Friday. A healthy-sized crowd fished on Sunday afternoon’s trip, when the angling was worst, too. All the trips fished Raritan Bay with clams. No bluefish were hooked on trips yet this season, though a couple of anglers fished bunker on Sunday afternoon. The Atlantic Star is fishing for striped bass on two trips daily from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 1:30 to 6 p.m. <b>***Update, Tuesday, 4/28:***</b> Monday morning’s trip didn’t fish, and the afternoon’s did, but conditions were terrible, and so was striper fishing, Tom said. Wind picked up, and blew against tide, about as miserable as you wanted, he said. But the angling and weather were better today. On this morning’s trip, wind blew somewhat at first, but calmed, and the anglers picked throwbacks and a couple of keepers. On the afternoon’s trip, the angling was a little better, catching mostly throwbacks, and a few keepers, and weather was beautiful. Was a shame that only a few anglers joined the trip. Fishing was definitely better today than on Sunday and Monday, and weather was good today. Stripers are around. None of the keepers was huge, but some just made keeper size, or were 28 ½ inches or 28 ¾. Some of the throwbacks were nearly keepers or were 27 or 27 ½ inches. Wednesday might be the best shot to fish, because of weather. Current forecasts say weather might begin to deteriorate on Thursday or Friday. Wind might build to 30-knot gusts from northeast or east by Friday. <b>***Update, Wednesday, 4/29:***</b> A trip will probably fish Thursday morning, but the afternoon is supposed to be windy, Tom said. No trips are expected to fish Friday, because of forecasts for gusts to 30 knots from northeast. He hopes the angling resumes Saturday and Sunday.

Nice, all-day bite, Capt. Ron wrote about striped bass fishing Sunday on the party boat <b>Fishermen</b>, in a report on the vessel’s website. Readings were less than before, but the marks produced all day that the boat was anchored on. The hot hand landed four keepers and seven shorts. A 16-pound striper won the pool, and the angler released the fish. Saturday’s trip had to bounce around to find the stripers that wanted to bite. Once the tide began to run, the bite took hold. The trip didn’t catch like the number of fish read, but the angling was better than on Friday. The water was still 48 degrees. Friday’s striper fishing was tough. Wind blew against incoming tide the whole time, and that wasn’t pretty. One angler hauled in a 19-pounder, and the water had dropped to 48 degrees. It was 53 to 54 on Thursday. On Thursday, the Fishermen was the only boat that fished from the dock. Wind blew against tide most of the morning, and Ron didn’t expect much from the angling. But stripers were caught most of the trip. That was a pick of throwbacks with some keepers mixed in. The trip stayed on the water late, to catch the change of tide that produced big stripers the previous day. The bigger ones didn’t show up, but a couple of more keepers, and a bunch of throwbacks, were reeled in, during the overtime. The Fishermen is sailing for striped bass 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily. Trips are also striper fishing 6:30 to 11:30 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays and 3:30 to 9 p.m. Sundays.

<b>Highlands</b>

The boat should be splashed in the next days, after maintenance, said Capt. Pete from <b>Fin-Taz-Tic Sportfishing</b>. But he fished for striped bass on another captain’s boat Sunday on Raritan Bay. The trip bagged five or six keepers. Livelined bunker caught in the morning, and trolled Stretch 25 lures did afterward. One sizable bluefish was also caught. Charters and open-boat trips are fishing with Fin-Taz-Tic.

<b>Neptune</b>

Fishing for cod was nothing great on an individual-reservation trip Sunday with <b>Last Lady Fishing Charters</b>, Capt. Ralph said. First, a wreck was fished, farther from shore, and the angling was no good. The trip ended up fishing rubble inshore, in 100-foot depths, closer to the coast than wrecks usually fished. A few cod and pollock were bagged, and mostly small cod bit. Inshore wrecks have been pressured. Sounded like boaters didn’t catch striped bass on the ocean that day. They might’ve landed a few bluefish. Special fishing for sea bass will be offered aboard once sea bass season is opened.  <b>***Update, Tuesday, 4/28:***</b> Individual-reservation trips are slated to fish for stripers on May 12, “clamming and/or whatever it takes,” Ralph wrote in an email, and sea bass on May 27, opening day of sea bass season. Charters are available daily, and weekends are filling fast for summer.

<b>Belmar</b>

What happened? Bob from <b>Fisherman’s Den</b> asked in an email. Striped bass fishing was good one day on the ocean. “Now, no fish,” he said. “Bass on the run.” Big stripers were boated on the ocean from Belmar one day, so far this season. Blues 4 to 12 pounds were cracked in Barnegat Bay and Manasquan River. Point Pleasant Canal held blues, small stripers, blackfish and winter flounder. Flounder fishing had ups and downs in the past week, “with the Ocean County area holding an edge,” he said. Surf anglers were reported to hook stripers sometimes in Monmouth and Ocean counties on clams and worms. “Look for the action to break open any day,” he said. 

Striped bass rolled along the surface, and great readings were marked, Saturday on the party boat <b>Golden Eagle</b>, a report said on the vessel’s website. But getting the bass to bite was difficult. Several big were seen trolled around the boat, but the stripers were hardly interested in the bait and jigs that anglers fished on the Golden Eagle. Sunday’s trip covered lots of ocean, reading lots of fish and bait. But getting the fish to bite was difficult. The good news was that lots of stripers were currently around, and so was plenty of bait to hold them. So when the stripers begin to bite, that should last some time, and the captain expects that to happen any moment. The Golden Eagle is fishing for striped bass at 7:30 a.m. daily. However, no trip will fish Wednesday, because of a Coast Guard inspection.

On the party boat <b>Miss Belmar Princess</b>, striped bass fishing was tough during the weekend and today, an email from the vessel said. After a trip last week whaled big stripers aboard, covered in a previous report here, the crew thought the angling would be good now. Some throwbacks were released, and one keeper was bagged, during the three days. Dave Corino pasted the keeper, and the Miss Belmar Princess is fishing for striped bass 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily.

The boat will be in the yard this week, said Capt. Pete from <b>Parker Pete’s Fishing Charters</b>. He hopes striped bass fishing breaks open in the ocean when the vessel, afterward, begins to fish for the season. A couple of stripers were trolled from the ocean recently, and the water was reportedly 45 or 46 degrees Sunday. Bluefish, reportedly good-sized, were boated from the water sometimes. Don’t have enough anglers for a charter? Contact Parker Pete’s anyway, about individual spaces available on charters. Jump on <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.  Two charters, on May 21 and 25, Memorial Day, need a few anglers, currently. Trips like that fill quickly, and any fish caught will be divided equally among the trips’ anglers.

<b>Brielle</b>

Bluefish were mugged in Barnegat Bay, from Route 37 Bridge to Point Pleasant Canal, and also in Manasquan River, said Eric from <b>The Reel Seat</b>. The blues were 6 to 15 pounds, good-sized, and winter flounder gave up fair catches from the bay at Mantoloking Bridge to the Manasquan. Small striped bass, seeming to average 20 to 27 inches, bit at Rouge 35 Bridge on the Manasquan and Route 37 Bridge. The ocean turned out only a slight pick of stripers, for boaters, and no blues, really. Surf anglers beached a few stripers here and there, on clams and bunker. Boating for stripers was good on Raritan Bay. Bottom-fishing was fair, for cod, on the ocean, and a few blackfish bit on the trips. One customer actually fished an offshore canyon, during a weather window. Small bluefin tuna and yellowfin tuna, as many as the customer wanted, were trolled on the trip.

<b>Point Pleasant Beach</b>

Capt. Ray from <b>Mushin Sportfishing</b> got a phone call from Capt. Alan, who was aboard the boat at mid-day Sunday, while the boat fished for cod, Ray wrote in an email then, apparently from land. The make-up charter or open-boat trip decked the cod to George Lewis’s one that pushed 40 pounds, Ray wrote. The trip ended up with a couple of dozen keepers to Lewis’s 30-plus-pounder, and released several times more throwbacks, Alan wrote in an email after the trip. Mushin means a relaxed state of readiness. The crew pride themselves on sharing the concept on outdoor adventures.

Keeper and throwback cod were picked at most spots fished Saturday on the ocean on the party boat <b>Norma-K III</b>, Capt. Matt wrote in a report on the vessel’s website. A 12-pound cod was the pool-winner, and lots of life kept anglers busy, between bergal and conger eels biting. The fishing was tough on Sunday’s trip. Not much life at all, and only a few small keeper and throwback cod, were found in the area fished the previous day. So the trip pushed inshore to try fishing there. Fishing remained slow, but a few small blackfish, including one keeper, and small keeper and throwback cod bit. Weather was great on the water both days. It was calm, and the temperature was “nice.” The Norma-K III is fishing 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily for blackfish, cod and ling.

<b>Seaside Heights</b>

Throwback striped bass roamed the surf, and bluefish 2 to 10 pounds schooled Barnegat Bay, John from <b>The Dock Outfitters</b> wrote in a report on the shop’s website. He drove the surf at Island Beach State Park a couple of days, and the beach and cuts looked good, throughout the stretch. Artificials “didn’t do much,” he said, but when he fished clams, “in all those good-looking spots, it was a different story.” All the stripers were shorts, but quality, healthy fish. 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. Fresh clams and bunker were stocked.

<b>Barnegat</b>

From an edited email from Capt. Dave DeGennaro from the <b>Hi Flier</b>: “Hit them again (on Sunday morning) on the west side of Barnegat Bay. Seven- to 12-pound, gator bluefish. Teeth gnashing, head shaking, violent surface attacks on our surface lures. You see every hit. Multiple fish competing for your lure, all the way to the boat. Sometimes getting you wet from the splash! Most of the morning, two or three of our three anglers were all hooked up at the same time. <a href=" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YyOsW0DpLCU&feature=youtu.be
" target="_blank">Here’s some video</a> of the mayhem.” Charters and open-boat trips are fishing.

<b>Mystic Island</b>

Holy bluefish, batman! a report on <b>Scott’s Bait & Tackle</b>’s website said. Saturday was an amazing day. Lots of bluefish 10 pounds and larger were weighed-in. The fish were fought at Graveling Point and off Ohio Drive, Iowa Court and Dock Road at West Creek. The year’s first blue, an 8-pound 29-incher, was checked-in Thursday, from Pebble Beach. The angler won the annual $100 gift certificate to the store for the first brought-in from shore at Pebble or Graveling. Blues currently bit during moving water, whether incoming or outgoing tides, or day or night. Boaters also wrestled blues at Grassy Channel in Great Bay. Anglers also tried for striped bass at places like Pebble and Graveling. Mostly smaller stripers 25 inches were banked, and both those places are shore-angling spots, at the confluence of the bay and Mullica River. For stripers, outgoing tide was preferred, and night or cloudy days fished best. Stripers caught during daytime were usually smaller. Black drum also chomped at places like Pebble and Graveling. Moving water and nighttime fished best for them, and the drum were scarce during sunshine. White perch were hooked on the river during moving water in the daytime. 

<b>Brigantine</b>

Should’ve been here yesterday, Capt. Andy wrote in a report on <b>Riptide Bait & Tackle</b>’s website. Monster bluefish 12 to 18 pounds invaded Brigantine’s surf that day, Sunday. Anglers of “all ages, sizes and shapes” had a blast. Previously, striped bass and drum were dragged from the surf, and he hoped they’d move back in, and that a striper run like the bluefish will take off this season. It’s just a matter of time, before the striper fishing really kicks in. But stripers, and, again, drum, were taken in the surf already.  That included catches like one angler’s two keeper stripers from mid-island, and other anglers’ throwbacks that were reported. Another angler weighed-in a 10-poound drum clammed from the surf.

<b>Atlantic City</b>

Bluefish, big, up to 7, 8, 10 or 12 pounds, blitzed Sunday for bank anglers, said Noel from <b>One Stop Bait & Tackle</b>. From the T-jetty and off Vermont Avenue were places to jump on them. Those are along Absecon Inlet, lined with jetties, near the shop. Small striped bass, good catches, swiped pink Zooms, clams and bunker at night in the inlet. An angler sent a photo of a big one, 37 inches, he nailed Sunday night. Some good-sized blackfish snapped green crabs along the inlet. All baits are stocked, including fresh clams and bunker. Clams in the shell are $6 a dozen, $2 apiece or three for $5.  Green crabs are $4 a dozen or $3 for 10. Bloodworms are $20 for two dozen this week only.

<b>Longport</b>

A few keeper blackfish were pitched aboard Saturday and Sunday on the <b>Stray Cat</b>, Capt. Mike said. Lots of the tautog 13 and 14 inches, just undersized, bit on both days, and Sunday’s angling was a little better than Saturday’s. He hoped the fishing was even better on a trip today, and open-boat trips are blackfishing through Thursday, the final day of the tautog season. Only two anglers are signed up for Tuesday’s trip, and the trip will sail, no matter. Ten or twelve were signed up for today’s, and a few are signed up for the next days. “If they want blackfish, I’m the man to see,” he said. If anglers can take a day off from work, this is the time to go. The trips fished in 65 feet, and the ocean was 49 degrees and gin clear. Weather was beautiful on both days. Mike’s looking forward to returning to fishing offshore for cod, beginning Friday.  Cod bit pretty well in the deep, he hears. Open trips will fish for them Friday and Saturday.  Telephone to climb aboard open trips or to book charters.

<b>Sea Isle City</b>

Bluefish plowed into the back bay, said Capt. Joe Hughes from <b>Jersey Cape Guide Service</b> and <b>Sea Isle Bait & Tackle</b>. The migration arrived, and he never saw this many so big in the bay. They averaged 8 or 9 pounds, weighing 3 to 12. Two trips aboard nailed them. Usually, one or two blues that big show up on occasion. But the number of large this year was ridiculous. Summer flounder, out-of-season, but fun to catch and release, really began to bite in the bay in past days, too. No weakfish were seen, and Joe knew about weaks that began to be landed previously from the bay. But weaks would have difficulty getting past blues, in the places the trips fished. Joe was worried about bluefishing when weather was cold for the first trip, on Saturday. Ice formed on the dock, way late in the season. The day reached 48 degrees, but when Joe took a cast to show the anglers how to fish for the blues, a blue was suddenly hooked, and he handed the rod to an angler. The trip, with John, buddy Raj, and John’s sons Dan and Nate, probably subdued 20 blues, and also released one of the flounder, the season’s first aboard. The second trip, on Sunday, with Dave, Linda, Ashley and Max, beat blues to 12 pounds. Almost all the trip’s blues weighed more than 5 pounds apiece. So they were big, and a striped bass, and several of the flounder to 4 pounds, were also reeled in. That day reached the low 50 degrees, and both trips jigged all the fish. The jigs were fished slowly along bottom in the cool water, the typical way to fish for all the species this time of year in the bay. Joe’s been saying that this is a time of year to land a slam or a grand slam in the bay, and that began. A slam is three of the bay’s four species popular with anglers, landed in one trip, and a grand slam is landing all four: blues, summer flounder, stripers and weaks. The blues never bit more than one at a time, but one was hooked every 5 minutes, a good pace. This is some of the best fishing of the year, and book quickly, because dates fill, especially once the fish begin to bite. One option is to take a Workingman’s Special Trip from an afternoon to evening, a great time to fish, when water had a chance to warm.  Keep up with Joe’s fishing on <a href="http://captainjoehughes.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Jersey Cape’s blog</a>.

<b>Wildwood</b>

Blackfishing was very good, with a few keepers, over the weekend with <b>Fins & Grins Sport Fishing</b>, Capt. Jim said. With throwbacks, bites were non-stop. Lots of out-of-season sea bass also bit, and the blackfishing was much better than before, with a few keepers. The boat will blackfish through Thursday, the final day of blackfishing season. Trips fish every day, and reservations aren’t required but suggested. Telephone for availability. Starting Friday, the boat will fish for striped bass and drum on Delaware Bay. The new moon two weekends ago should have triggered some stripers to spawn in Delaware River and migrate back to the bay. Warming water should cause drum to bite in the bay. Water was up to 54 or 55 degrees this weekend.  

<b>Cape May</b>

A few cod and pollock were shoveled aboard Sunday on the <b>Heavy Hitter</b>, Capt. George said. Lots of throwback cod bit, but some were keepers. A conger eel and good-sized, out-of-season sea bass were also hooked. So was a decent-sized blackfish 3 ½ or 4 pounds. Blackfishing on a trip Saturday pumped in a couple of keepers, and the rest were throwbacks that were hooked. Many blackfish were a half-inch under the 15-inch size limit. Spiny dogfish, lots, filled the water, no matter where fished or the depth. The ocean was 49 ½ to 50 ½ degrees Saturday and 48 to 50 Sunday on the fishing grounds. The water was 52 close to shore, on the way in. Whether that was because of location or because the water had a chance to warm by that late in the day was unknown. Trips will fish for drum on Delaware Bay in May aboard. George heard about a few more drum banked from shore at Reed’s Beach. He mentioned some for the previous report, and someone told him drum begin to bite for boaters when the water reaches 55 degrees. George read water temperature 52 degrees at Brandywine on the bay on a trip a week previously. He also heard about good-sized bluefish tackled at Reed’s Beach from shore recently.

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