<b>Keyport</b>

The <b>Vitamin Sea</b> is being prepped for the 2016 fishing season, Capt. Frank said. The boat was dry-docked for that recently, covered in a previous report here. The entire past fishing season was good on the boat, including striped bass fishing in spring and fall, especially in fall. Now is the time to book this coming spring’s striper trips to lock in preferred dates. Don’t wait, or the dates could fill. Frank expects to add Workingman Special Striper Charters and Open-Boat Trips in afternoons, from 4 o’clock to 9 o’clock, this coming year. This past year, fluke trips began in June aboard, though stripers still bit then. Striper trips will continue into June this year, because of that. Fluke gave up great action, and plenty of keepers were docked, but too many were throwbacks that bit. Steve Goldberg’s fluke heavier than 10 pounds was biggest on the boat this past year. Some of the fluke trips ran 20 miles to locate the best fishing. “That’s what I do to give you the best day possible,” Frank said. Blackfishing was a little up and down, and on some days the fish bit their heads off, and on other days, the angling was a grind. Were there slow trips in 2015? Of course, he said. Were there phenomenal trips? Yes. That’s fishing, and he wants every trip to be great. The boat is expected to be ready to fish by late March. Happy New Year, Frank said.

<b>Atlantic Highlands</b>

<b>***Update, Thursday, 1/7:***</b> Blackfish were boated from the ocean, said Jimmy from <b>Julian’s Bait & Tackle</b>. Weather was cold Monday and Tuesday, this winter’s first substantial cold, but became somewhat warmer Wednesday, and boaters did fish sometimes. Days are supposed to be warmer now, and a few cod were also cranked in. Nothing was heard about ling, and Jimmy guessed a few were around. Nothing was heard about striped bass, and practically all anglers concentrated on blackfish.  Green crabs are stocked for bait for them, and white leggers ran out and will be restocked Saturday. The whites have been stocked a couple of times a week.

The party boat <b>Atlantic Star</b> blackfished every day, Capt. Tom said. The angling wasn’t great, and some good-sized were swung in yesterday, but fewer than he’d like. Throwbacks were released, and current ran strong, and seas were somewhat rolly and cranky, but not bad. That was the final trip, and the boat will go on winter break now. Tom thanks all who fished aboard this fishing season, wishes everybody a safe and happy New Year, and looks forward to resuming fishing in spring. The trips resumed in mid-April the past two years. 

<b>Belmar</b>

<b>***Update, Saturday, 1/9:***</b> Strong wind and cold, wet weather slowed angler participation, and not much was available to report, Bob from <b>Fisherman’s Den</b> wrote in an email. Party boats stayed docked today, and probably will for the moment. When they sail for blackfish, the angling’s good. Boats that fished for striped bass about hung that up for the season. Shore anglers “found action changing to less glamorous species,” he said. They jigged sea herring, large numbers, on Shark River on Sabiki rigs, and the river was loaded with the herring. “The sundials are also another fish being targeted,” he said. The surf still held stripers, but not large numbers like a week or two ago. Don’t give up on them yet. “This has been a strange season – anything can happen,” he said.

<b>***Update, Friday, 1/8:***</b> The <b>Miss Belmar Princess</b> last fished, for striped bass and blues, a couple of weeks ago, an email from the party boat said. Once mackerel show up, the boat will resume fishing, for them. If none show up by Friday, January 22, the boat will go to the shipyard to be readied for spring fishing. Anglers can telephone the boat with any questions in the meantime.

<b>***Update, Thursday, 1/7:***</b> On the party boat <b>Big Mohawk</b>, blackfishing was good again Wednesday on the ocean, Capt. Chris said. The angling was also good on Monday’s trip, and the fishing’s been like that aboard, and no trip fished in Tuesday’s weather. Pool-winning blackfish have weighed 8 to 11 pounds. Some big were tugged in, and white leggers hooked most blackfish on trips recently. Green crabs are provided, and white leggers are $6 per dozen aboard. Weather was cold and windy, the winter’s first cold snap, on Monday’s trip, but blackfish bit. Weather began improving after Tuesday’s continued cold and wind, and the Big Mohawk is blackfishing 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily.

Summer is over, and a deep freeze was coming, Bob from <b>Fisherman’s Den</b> wrote in an email. Belmar was forecast to reach a high of 33 degrees today and tomorrow, after warmer weather previously. Striped bass were still dragged from the surf, farther south. But surf anglers had better get after them, before the bass “say good bye, see you in spring,” he said. Four became the blackfish bag limit beginning on New Year’s Day, and the angling was great. On Saturday, many anglers limited out on the tautog, and a 14-pound blackfish was the biggest seen at the shop. Happy New Year, Bob said.

A trip Friday searched for mackerel for the first time this season on the <b>Golden Eagle</b>, a report on the party boat’s website said. The search covered lots of ocean, but no mackerel were found. “We will not be fishing again until the mackerel show up,” it said.

Blackfishing, on the ocean, was up and down, depending on conditions, said Capt. Pete from <b>Parker Pete’s Fishing Charters</b>. Conditions were good on some days, bad on others, and no trips fished aboard the past few days. Weather was tough, like wind that forced today’s trip to be cancelled. Lots of striped bass catches were heard about, surprisingly. Most were reported from the surf. But a few boats sailed for the bass, including the party boat Gambler from Point Pleasant Beach that reported good striper fishing Saturday on the ocean. The surf anglers beached schoolies to 40-inchers, lots of sizable, on plugs. The ocean was still 49 or 50 degrees, and Parker Pete’s is mostly blackfishing. But if stripers are swimming the area, trips will jump on them, too. “I wouldn’t mind catching a January striper,” he said. 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.

<b>Brielle</b>

Boating for striped bass was actually good, said Eric from <b>The Reel Seat</b>. The anglers jigged the stripers to the mid-20 pounds on Krocodiles and rubber shads. The fish foraged on herring, and big bluefish, weighing up to the mid-teens, were hooked in the mix. The stripers also barreled through the surf from Manasquan Inlet to Island Beach State Park. Up to 25-pounders were beached, on bucktails, rubber shads and wide-profiled metal like Hopkins. The surf casters also snagged the baitfish and livelined them to catch the bass, and a few bluefish were fought from the surf, but not many. Herring schooled the inlet, “almost an all-day affair,” he said, and could be jigged on Sabiki rigs, and hickory shad were hooked among them at times. Blackfishing was good for boaters. When conditions were good, the angling was good, and most fished for the tautog at Sea Girt and Axel Carlson reefs. The fish swam 60- to 80-foot depths, and plenty weighed 8 to 12 pounds, were good-sized.  This was winter, but plenty of fish were around. The store is open 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays and 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sundays.

<b>Point Pleasant Beach</b>

<b>***Update, Thursday, 1/7:***</b> Fishing was a little slow, but pitched aboard cod, blackfish and a few ling on the party boat <b>Dauntless</b>, Capt. Butch said. Trips mostly targeted cod and blackfish, and some of the blackfish were good-sized, and a 13-pounder won a pool. Some of the cod were sizable, too, and a couple weighed 20 and 25 pounds. A few porgies were picked up, but most migrated away for the season. A few sea bass had been bagged, until sea bass season was closed beginning New Year’s Day. Trips fished in 120 feet of water to 180 feet. Not much good was caught deeper, though ling would be expected to bite there. Dogfish and skates bit in the deep. The water was 50 to 52 degrees on the fishing grounds and 48 close to shore. Butch liked those temps for the fishing, and the ocean should’ve been in that range some time ago, but the water and weather were warm then. No trip fished Tuesday, because of weather. No trip fished Wednesday either, and weather wasn’t bad, but forecasts kept anglers from showing up to sail. The Dauntless is bottom-fishing 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. daily.

Many anglers on Sunday’s trip limited out on blackfish, “just a couple with a few less, but everyone went home with fish,” Capt. Matt from the <b>Norma-K III</b> wrote in a report on the party boat’s website. Quite a few of the tautog weighed 4 to 6 pounds, and some weighed 8 to 10 pounds that the anglers released. White crabs caught best, but green crabs caught well. Green crabs were available aboard, but whites ran out currently, and more were supposed to arrive this afternoon for the trips. On Saturday’s trip, some anglers locked into blackfish from the beginning, limiting out on the trip, and landing more, only keeping their quota. Other anglers bagged one to three, “and some with just no luck at all,” he said. Friday’s blackfishing was slower aboard, and Saturday’s improved a little. The Norma-K III is blackfishing 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily. <b>***Update, Friday, 1/8:***</b> Weather was great for blackfishing Wednesday and Thursday, and the angling was good Wednesday aboard, and a little slower Thursday, Matt wrote in a report on the boat’s website. That was because “it was hard to sit still on anchor,” he said. On Wednesday’s trip, a few anglers limited out, and a few caught fewer. Though Thursday’s fishing was a little slower, some keepers and shorts were hung at every place fished, and high-hooks limited out. An 8-pound blackfish won the pool that day.

<b>Seaside Heights</b>

At least five striped bass, all bigger than 30 inches, were weighed from the surf at local tackle shops the past few days, a report said Saturday on <b>The Dock Outfitters</b>’ website. That was the most recent report at press time, and catching the keepers this time of year was surprising. If you haven’t stowed away your rods for the season, head to the beach, it said. Those fish were hooked on both bait and lures. 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>Absecon</b>

<b>***Update, Thursday, 1/7:***</b> Weather was calm, and the weekend’s weather looks halfway decent, said Capt. Dave from <b>Absecon Bay Sportsman Center</b>. Nothing was heard about striped bass fishing, and customers still picked green crabs stocked at the shop for blackfishing. A couple of anglers thought about fishing for white perch on brackish rivers, and no special or notable reports were heard about the perch. News was quiet in this week after the holidays. Dave is at the shop most of the time, but call ahead to confirm, because the store is open for no set hours in winter.

<b>Longport</b>

The <b>Stray Cat</b> recently arrived in the Florida Keys, in Islamorada at Smuggler’s Cove Marina, for winter, Capt. Mike said. He’s fishing there throughout the season, and will return the boat to Longport in spring. He fished a little on Saturday, losing a sailfish after a short fight. A cold front was now arriving that was supposed to sink daytime temperatures to 66 degrees a moment. That should be good for sailfishing, helping draw the winter migration to the local area. Sailfishing was already good currently, and lots of other fish could also be reeled aboard, from sails and wahoos to bottom-fish including yellowtail snappers. Mike heard about good wahoo catches Sunday, and a few yellowtails nabbed lately.  Snook swam “underneath the boat,” he said. Get four or five anglers together and join him at the fishing, he said, and beat the cold. The boat includes four bunks and a head with a shower. Or anglers can book a hotel or campground.

<b>Sea Isle City</b>

<b>***Update, Thursday, 1/7:***</b> Ocean striped bass fishing remained good, said Mike from <b>Sea Isle Bait & Tackle</b>. Weather was windy and cold a couple of days early in the week, but boaters reported the good angling Wednesday and already this morning, when he gave this report at 9:30 in a phone call. The anglers talked about some big stripers to the 40-pound range caught, too. Most of the stripers these days were trolled, and some were jigged. No bluefish were heard about since Friday and Saturday, when quite a few were fought on ocean striper trips. Maybe the cold made the blues depart. Blackfish were reeled from the ocean, and reports about the catches were some of the best of the season Wednesday. Maybe the cold early in the week forced blackfish “off the beach” and to reefs and wrecks the anglers fished. The shop is open when weather is good, and messaging the store on Facebook is the best way to contact the shop, like to confirm whether the doors will be open. Green crabs are stocked, and white leggers and fresh clams should be stocked in a day or two, Mike hopes. Live spots and eels and all frozen baits are carried. 

Capt. Joe Hughes from <b>Jersey Cape Guide Service</b>, affiliated with <b>Sea Isle Bait & Tackle</b> wrapped up a week of fishing in the Florida Keys this past week, he said. He offers traveling charters to the Keys each winter, and fished from the location with family for the holidays during the week. The angling was good, landing a permit, a tarpon, among five tarpon hooked, snook, jack crevalles, yellow jacks, mangrove snappers, lemon sharks to 40 and 50 pounds, a 150-pound bull shark and more. The trips fished in the bay and in the Everglades. Sometimes the ocean side is also fished on the trips, and the trips mostly fish on weekends. Anglers can arrive on a Friday, fish all day Saturday and part of Sunday, and be back to work Monday morning. Or anglers can fish on a different schedule. A large variety of catches can be targeted, and Joe can arrange flights and accommodations, if anglers want. 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>. Joe is in New Jersey throughout winter, when no Florida trip is booked, and can continue to fish from Jersey. Striped bass fishing was on fire on the ocean in past days, he heard. A buddy who fished for them said the angling was crazy.

<b>Avalon</b>

<b>Fins and Feathers Outfitters</b> hunted ducks throughout the past week, and the waterfowling was fantastic, Capt. Jim said. Most of the trips hunted just beyond 3 miles from shore, shooting sea ducks. West and northwest winds flattened seas on the ocean, and one of the trips shot ducks on Delaware Bay. Huge flights of bluebill ducks and snow geese migrated there. Jim will keep guiding duck hunting throughout January, then will guide snow goose hunting On the duck trips on the ocean, he saw no boats fishing until Saturday. Then all heck broke loose, and lots fished. The anglers reportedly decked striped bass toward Ocean City. The ocean was 51 degrees, and schools of baitfish were marked 20 feet down all day, throughout the ocean duck hunting. Again, that was just beyond 3 miles from shore, and striper fishing is closed beyond 3 miles. The water was 47 or 48 feet deep. During the Delaware Bay duck hunting, Jim saw 8- to 10-inch baitfish jumping. Striper fishing became closed in bays beginning January 1, but is open on the ocean, within 3 miles from shore, year-round. Fins offers a variety of outdoor adventures, including saltwater fishing and duck and goose hunting. Salmon and steelhead fishing on upstate New York’s Salmon River, and snowmobiling, are available from Jim’s nearby lodge. Fly-fishing for trout is available on Pennsylvania’s streams like the Yellow Breeches.

<b>Wildwood</b>

Blackfishing aboard wasn’t bad, was pretty good, on the ocean this weekend with <b>Fins & Grins Sport Fishing</b>, Capt. Jim said. The fish weighed up to a 10-pounder, and a couple of other sizable were heaved in. Striped bass were still boated from the ocean, toward Great Egg Harbor Inlet in past days, and Fins will also fish for them, when anglers want. Some anglers telephoned, asking him whether striper season was closed beginning on January 1. Striper season is open in the ocean year-round, and became closed in bays, rivers and creeks starting that day, like every year. Weather didn’t look fishable on boats today and tomorrow, but looked okay beginning Wednesday and in the foreseeable future afterward. Fins is slated to fish every day, and reservations aren’t required but suggested. Telephone for availability.

<b>Cape May</b>

<b>***Update, Thursday, 1/7:***</b> Trips for blackfish steamed several days in the past week on the party boat <b>Porgy IV</b>, Capt. Paul said. On New Year’s Eve Day, Bob Key from Pennsylvania limited out on the tautog to a 9.8-pounder. On New Year’s Day, Burt Callahan from Philly canned a 9.18-pounder, and he and brother totaled five keepers. On the next day, Saturday, no trip fished, and rough forecasts kept anglers from showing up to sail, though weather turned out decent. On Sunday’s trip, 30 anglers, a good-sized crowd, fished aboard, bagging 40-some blackfish. Many of the anglers bagged no blackfish, but some blackfish could be caught. None of the blackfish was big that day, and two anglers split the pool with a 5-pounder apiece. Blackfish are still biting, so the boat will keep sailing for them. The Porgy IV will now blackfish at 8 a.m. every Saturday and Sunday.

Eighteen or 20 striped bass were landed Saturday on the ocean on a trip, Capt. George from the <b>Heavy Hitter</b> said. Eight were bagged, and three of the stripers landed were larger than 43 inches. The fishing was great, and George mated on the trip, on another boat. He fished with friends the next day, Sunday, on another boat, and only two stripers were caught, at the same place as on the previous day, off Ocean City. Lots of boaters seemed to struggle at the fishing that day. All the fish were trolled on the two trips. George is also offering charters for the stripers, and for blackfish, if blackfish are biting. He heard nothing about blackfishing during the weekend, because anglers seemed all to fish for stripers.

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