<b>Staten Island</b>

<b>***Update, Tuesday, 5/10:***</b> With <b>Outcast Charters</b>, trips were weathered out Friday and Sunday and rescheduled, Capt. Joe said. Charters are striped bass fishing on Raritan Bay with chunked and live bunker, and big bluefish have been mixed in. More of the trips are set for this coming weekend, and the fish are still biting. The blues are abundant, but there are stripers. Outcast offers trips from Staten Island, N.Y., and Sewaren, N.J. Fishing will sail for sea bass aboard when Jersey’s sea bass season is opened beginning May 23.

<b>Keyport</b>

Trips were weathered out Thursday and Friday on the <b>Vitamin Sea</b>, Capt. Frank wrote in an email. Strong easterly wind blew for two weeks, difficult for fishing. On a trip Saturday morning, bluefish overran an area that trips had been fishing, and striped bass fishing was tough. One was boated, and a trip that afternoon “ran in a different direction,” he said, and striper fishing was great. Blues had to be fought through, but stripers bit among them, and the anglers limited out on stripers in the slot limit 28 inches to under 43, and released some additional. The fish bagged weighed up to 35 pounds. The bag limit is one striper 28 inches to less than 43, and one 43 inches or larger, per angler, per day. On Sunday, a trip limited out on unders and released some additional. That trip fished with Capt. T.J., who’s also running trips aboard and did a great job getting the anglers to limit out, Frank said. Frank apologizes to many anglers who had to be turned away, because trips were full. Extra trips are being run to make as much room as possible. Try to book early, and send him your email address to get the weekly schedule. Trips will striper fish as long as the bass stick around, and fluke trips will be mixed in, once fluke season is opened beginning May 21. Frank heard about fluke to 22 inches that were trolled and released on trips targeting stripers. Open-boat trips and charters are fishing. “Get your dose of Vitamin Sea!”

Raritan Bay’s striped bass fishing was excellent with the <b>Down Deep Fleet</b>, Capt. Mario said. A 34-pounder and a 32-pounder were among the catch Sunday, and trips chunked bunker and livelined bunker to catch. Big blues to 18 pounds also bit, but plenty of stripers did to keep anglers happy, and the stripers were bigger ones, too. Open-boat trips are fishing for stripers daily, reservations required, on the Down Deep Bull, one of the company’s two 40-foot boats. Charters are available, and trips for cod, ling and winter flounder were weathered out last week on the Down Deep, the other boat. Those trips, open-boat, reservations required, are slated to resume Wednesday, and charters are also available for that.  Forecasts look better for this week, Mario hopes. Join the <a href=" http://downdeepsportfishing.com/short-notice-list/" target="_blank">Short Notice List</a> on Down Deep’s website to be kept informed about open trips. See available dates on the calendar on the site. 

<b>Atlantic Highlands</b>

Fishing resumed Saturday on the <b>Fishermen</b>, after weather kept the angling docked, Capt. Ron wrote in a report on the party boat’s website. Mostly bluefish were beaten, taking over no matter where was fished. The trip’s second fish caught was a big striped bass. On Sunday’s trip, an excellent catch of blues was pounded on bait and jigs. Anglers kept the number they wanted and released the rest. The Fishermen is sailing for stripers and blues 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily, 6:30 to 11 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays and 3:30 to 9 p.m. Sundays.

Anglers picked at blues on Saturday’s morning and afternoon trips, and wrestled as many as they wanted on Sunday morning’s, on the party boat <b>Atlantic Star</b>, Capt. Tom said. No trip fished Sunday afternoon, because too few anglers showed up at the marina. Saturday’s bluefishing was somewhat slower than Sunday’s, but plenty of blues are schooling, and Sunday’s angling was good and steady. Some of the blues were especially big Sunday, and one weighed 18 ¾ pounds. Anglers can fish a monofilament leader, like 40 pounds, if they want to try for striped bass. That’s instead of a wire leader fished for toothy blues. A striper was hooked Thursday aboard on a wire leader. Losing a hook to a blue will be the worst that might happen with mono. Not all anglers want to keep blues. But the crew will fillet up the fish, if anglers want, and any not wanted can be released. The boat is officially sailing for stripers, but blues were in, and trips took advantage. The Atlantic Star is fishing for striped bass 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 1:30 to 6 p.m. daily.

<b>Neptune</b>

Cod, pollock, winter flounder and ling were swung from the ocean Saturday with <b>Last Lady Fishing Charters</b>, Capt. Ralph wrote in an email. “Had a decent day,” he said, with Jeff East’s charter and additional anglers. Out-of-season blackfish and sea bass were also released. Weather and the ocean finally calmed during the day, like forecast, after a rough week of weather. An individual-reservation trip is set to fish for cod, pollock, flounder and ling Sunday. The only individual-rez trip for sea bass with space available is on June 8. Annual, weekly individual-reservation trips for fluke will sail every Tuesday beginning  June 21. Kids under 12 sail free on those trips, limited to one per adult host. Individual-reservation trips will sail for cod July 13 and 27 and August 3, 17 and 31. Fish for cod in shorts! The angling’s been good with Last Lady. Charters are available daily. <b>***Update, Tuesday, 5/10:***</b> Ralph ran a crew trip today to scope out fishing for the weekend, trolled a short time and boated two striped bass on spoons, he wrote in an email. Photos were included, and the bass were sizable. Space is available for the wreck-fishing trip Sunday.

<b>Belmar</b>

Wow, the sun broke through clouds Sunday, after all the rough weather, Bob from <b>Fisherman’s Den</b> wrote in an email. Despite the bad weather, some business was managed at the store, because of bluefish 11 to 15 pounds that flooded Shark River. They also filled Manasquan River, and anglers loaded up on the fish. Any metal like Ava 27s and small spoons and bucktails could catch them. Some anglers tossed lures, but treble hooks could be dangerous. Striped bass bit in rivers at night, and some sizable were landed in Monmouth and Ocean counties. The weather kept party boats docked, but now the boats were expected to sail. Good action with blues was expected on the vessels. Anglers hoped to begin decking stripers on the boats, too.

After terrible weather last week, fishing resumed Saturday on the <b>Miss Belmar Princess</b>, an email from the party boat said. Conditions weren’t great, but the anglers jigged 7- to 12-pound blues, picked away, had shots. On Sunday’s trip, fishing began slow. But the trip sailed north, ending up with great bluefishing for 8- to 15-pounders on jigs. Sometimes 10 or 12 were hooked at once, and sometimes one or two were. The boat was the only that sailed among the fleet that day. The Miss Belmar Princess is fishing for striped bass and blues 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily.

Fishing picked away at big blues 6 to 12 pounds on most drifts Saturday on the <b>Golden Eagle</b>, a report said on the party boat’s website. Was a good day, it said. “In fact, we had a couple of drifts that lasted over an hour.” That was the first trip to fish after last week’s rough weather, and no trip was slated for Sunday, because of Mothers’ Day. Weather looked great for trips the first few days of this week, and the Golden Eagle is fishing 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily. So come down and catch big blues, the report said.

Trips are supposed to fish today, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday with <b>XTC Sportfishing</b>, Capt. Scott said. He hopes weather cooperates, after last week’s rough days, and the trips will target striped bass. Boats put anglers into bluefish on the ocean recently, including on the party boat Miss Belmar Princess to the north Sunday, he knew. Big blues were tackled on Shark River lately, too.

Once weather settles, striped bass will be found to have migrated up to the local ocean, Capt. Pete from <b>Parker Pete’s Fishing Charters</b> believes, he said. A trip is slated to run for them Tuesday aboard. A couple of boats found bluefish in the ocean, he knew, and blues bit in Shark River, too. New this year, Pete will also run trips that liveline bunker for stripers on a party boat with limited numbers of anglers this spring. Reserves the dates to ensure a spot, and see info on <a href=" http://www.parkerpetefishing.com/" target="_blank">Parker Pete’s website</a>. For Parker Pete’s, don’t have enough anglers for a charter? Book an individual space on a charter that needs anglers. Visit the website to subscribe to the email blast to be kept informed about the spaces. Also see a trip calendar, where available dates are posted, on the site.

<b>Brielle</b>

Plenty of bluefish filled Manasquan River from Route 70 Bridge to Point Pleasant Canal to Manasquan Inlet, and also swam the ocean outside the inlet a little, said Eric from <b>The Reel Seat</b>. The blues weighed 10 to 15 pounds, and most anglers fished for them this weekend, because of the weather. Popper lures, bucktails, diamond jigs and practically anything cast could hook them. A smattering of reports talked about out-of-season fluke hooked by mistake and released on the river, and fluke season will be opened beginning May 21. Not much was heard about striped bass, except about a few caught in the canal at night that were mostly throwbacks, and a few beached from the surf that were mostly throwbacks. On the ocean, cod fishing was fair, and ling fishing was similar or relatively slow. Accurate Reels will hold an open-house at 6 p.m. Thursday at the store, discussing new products and letting anglers get hands on them, and will provide pizza and refreshments. On the next day, Friday, The Reel Seat and the party boat Gambler from Point Pleasant Beach will host a fishing trip on the boat so anglers can test Accurate’s reels and get some Accurate goodies.

<b>Seaside Heights</b>

Weather might’ve been cool, but fishing for big blues was hot for anglers on foot from Manasquan Inlet to Barnegat Inlet, a report said on <b>The Dock Outfitters</b>’ website. Cut bait and metal smashed the blues weighing up to double digits. Blues also schooled Barnegat Bay, chasing bunker and spearing. Crabbing gave up keepers from the bay and lagoons, for those willing to put in time. The Dock Outfitters, located on Barnegat Bay, blocks from the ocean surf, features a bait and tackle shop, a café, a dock for fishing and crabbing and, in season, boat and jet-ski rentals. The shop’s running many deals on high-end rods and reels for the new fishing season.

<b>Barnegat</b>

On the <b>Hi Flier</b>, fishing crushed 10- to 16-pound bluefish on Barnegat Bay between the BI and the 42 on Sunday morning, Capt. Dave DeGennaro wrote in an email. The fish attacked popper lures and swimming plugs violently along the water surface. He expected an open-boat trip this morning to push out to the ocean to troll for big striped bass. Weather prevented fishing the ocean until now. The trip was expected to finish up with casting to the big blues on the bay an hour or longer. <b>***Update, Monday, 5/9:***</b> From an edited email from Dave: “The big gator blues are getting more aggressive, as the water temp climbs a little in the back bay. We're up to 53 and 54 degrees, a point or two increase in a few days. We still have to work for them every trip, but we always manage to find them. They just don't seem ever to be where you left them biting the day before. We've had them as far south as the 42 buoy and as far north as the Oyster Creek nuclear plant outflow. Anywhere from 3 to 9 feet of water. Poppers, swimming plugs and bait are producing. They’re all huge, 10 to 16 pounds, and today I had Jim Soch of West Windsor aboard. He caught his personal best and the Hi Flier's biggest bluefish: a 19.75 pounder. Here's a <a href=" https://youtu.be/QjhaeNHAgkU" target="_blank">video of the last few minutes of the fight and landing</a>. We’re still also catching stripers on clams at Oyster Creek Channel on the outgoing tide. Our last visit there on Saturday kept us jumping with the big blues that invaded our clam slick for 2 hours. But Matt Polito from Philly managed a 14-pound striper in the middle of the bluefish barrage. The size of the stripers on the clams is impressive, all 14 to 20-plus pounds, averaging 17 or 18 pounds. Going to sail two more open-boat trips 1 to 6 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday, timed perfectly to catch the tide for the stripers, and we’ll also mix in a few hours of casting the big blues. Three people max. All fish are shared. Weather looks great -- light winds, air temps in the 50s and 60s -- and the fishing is excellent right in the bay. These are the last available dates I have until Wednesday, May 18, so if you were thinking about getting in on this bite, Tuesday and Wednesday are the days. Either day is also available for your own charter.”

<b>Mystic Island</b>

Rain, lots, fell last week, but action could still be reported, a report said on <b>Scott’s Bait & Tackle</b>’s website. Bluefish bit for shore anglers in the Graveling Point and Pebble Beach area. A few striped bass and drum were landed there early last week. The stripers and drum seemed more active at night or when bluefish weren’t around, and will swim away when water warms. A boater posted a report on the site about trolling blues, 10 pounds and larger, non-stop off Graveling on Saturday in early morning on high, incoming tide on Hopkins-type metal lures. Another posted a report about decking a 54-pound striper, his first 50-pounder, near the Salem nuclear plant on April 30 on fresh bunker. The angler tried to release the fish, but the catch wouldn’t revive so was kept.  “This will hang on my office wall,” he said.

<b>Brigantine</b>

Blues moved into the surf pretty well on Saturday, and were bigger than blues from the beach before, Capt. Andy from <b>Riptide Bait & Tackle</b> wrote in a report on the shop’s website that day. A 19-pounder and a couple of 16-pounders were checked-in that day.  “Heating up like it did last year,” he said. Weeds also moved in, but anglers said the water was very fishable. Surf casters did pull a couple of striped bass from the surf last night, he wrote in a report today on the site. “Keepers but nothing big,” he said.  A 27-pound striper is in first place in Riptide’s Spring Striper and Bluefish Derby that lasts until May 22. Third place is still open, and the derby is for the three heaviest fish in both categories caught from the town’s surf.  Cash is awarded, and entry is $25 and includes a permit to beach-buggy the entire Brigantine front beach, when accompanied by a Brigantine beach-buggy permit. Without the tournament permit, not all the beach can be driven. New this year, Brigantine beach-buggy permits are free for veterans and active military. The Expert Fireplace Spring Riptide Striper Bounty was up to $640. The annual contest awards the cash to the angler who brings in the year’s first striper 43 inches or larger from Brigantine’s front-beach. The bounty will grow, because entry is $5, and all the money is awarded. Berkeley is offering rebates of $15 for buying four packs of Gulps and $10 for buying a pint. Stop by and save, and load up for summer flounder season that begins May 21.

<b>Atlantic City</b>

Lot of fishing, lot of weigh-ins, said Noel from <b>One Stop Bait & Tackle</b>. Bluefish and striped bass were socked from the ocean surf at the T-jetty and the Vermont Avenue jetty during daytime. Sometimes blowfish were hooked there. Stripers were also slugged along Absecon Inlet at night, at places like the Madison Avenue jetty. Anglers on foot made all these catches, and check out the fish like this 40-inch 22.8-pound striper from the T-jetty, this 43-inch 26-pound striper</a> from the Madison Avenue jetty and this 43-incher from the Flagship jetty. The T is at the ocean end of the jetty-lined inlet, and the other two are farther back in the inlet. Blues and occasional stripers were also banked from the back bay from shore. A 15-inch 2.2-pound white perch was checked-in from Mullica River. The blues were hooked on chunks of bunker and finger mullet, and the stripers were taken on clams, the bunker, the mullet and bloodworms. All these baits and more, a large supply, are stocked.  Fresh bunker are $2 apiece or three for $5.  Bloodworms are on special on Tuesdays and Wednesdays for $20 for two dozen.

<b>Longport</b>

The <b>Stray Cat</b> is being repowered at Crisfield, Md., where the boat was built, Capt. Mike said. Installing the two new motors takes time, including because of other work that causes, like new shafts, causing the hull to be cut in new places, and so on. The work is involved, but the boat should be better than ever, when completed. He hopes to fish for sea bass once sea bass season is opened beginning May 23.

<b>Sea Isle City</b>

Sue Belinsky fished Saturday morning on the back bay aboard, wanting to learn saltwater fly fishing, said Capt. Joe Hughes from <b>Jersey Cape Guide Service</b> and <b>Sea Isle Bait & Tackle</b>. She released a striped bass and pulled the hook on a bluefish. Darryl Cooper, his son and his daughter jumped aboard the bay that afternoon, whaling well over 30 blues averaging 10 to 15 pounds, a banner day. That was on soft-plastic lures on lead jigheads on spinning rods. On Sunday, Brian and Maria Jackson fished the bay on the boat, and Maria wanted to learn saltwater fly-fishing for Mothers’ Day. The angling was slow, catching nothing, but a good time was had, Joe said. The bay’s fishing for big blues was sporadic the last week. The angling was either unbelievably good, like on Saturday afternoon, or slow, for no apparent reason. It was full on, or nothing, but the fish remained, and were big. The water was 55 degrees, pretty cold. Weather was rough, and was cloudy almost every day. Coming up, summer flounder season will be opened beginning May 21. Flounder were known to be caught and released from the bay, but anglers concentrated on the blues. So did Joe, so he couldn’t gauge what the flounder population might be like in the bay. During some years, the fishing’s been super beginning on opening day, and on others, the fishing was slower, no matter water temperature. The fishing’s usually better in the early season in South Jersey’s shallow, relatively warm bays, though. As the water warms, many of the flatfish migrate to the ocean’s cooler water. Keep up with Joe’s fishing on <a href="http://captainjoehughes.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Jersey Cape’s Blog</a>.

<b>Wildwood</b>

Drum have been boated from Delaware Bay, on both the New Jersey and Delaware sides, in past weeks, said Capt. Jim from <b>Fins & Grins Sportfishing</b>. But the water temperature dropped to 52 degrees, and the drum seem to begin biting at 55 or 56.  If weather is warmer this week like forecast, the drum fishing could be great this weekend, because the water could warm. It’s time for them to turn on. Even if just a handful of people want to fish, Jim will sail at this time of year, just to get out. People have been calling him to book drum fishing. Many want to fish around the full moon, because that’s a traditional time. But one never knows when the angling will light up, and it goes through ups and downs. The fishing usually lasts into early June. Anglers who never before fished for drum sometimes asked whether drum fight, saying they heard the fish were like reeling in dead weight. But drum fight. When a 55- or 60-pound fish with a big tail gets hooked, it tries to get off. Some big striped bass seemed to be passing through Delaware Bay, after spawning in Delaware River. Angling for them is available. Coming up, summer flounder season will be opened beginning May 21, and sea bass season will be opened beginning May 23. Trips are being booked for any species available throughout the fishing season. If anglers want dates like a weekend, grab them while they’re available. In other news, crabbing was good in the back bay, and large bluefish were slid from the surf sometimes. Fins even offers crabbing when catches are good. The bluefishing wasn’t on fire, but when anglers were there at the right time, they locked into them. It’s fishing. Fins fishes every day, and reservations aren’t required but suggested. Telephone for availability.

<b>Cape May</b>

A couple of trips were known about that fished for drum on Delaware Bay during daytime and nighttime Saturday that caught none, and another trip supposedly landed a couple, said Capt. George from the <b>Heavy Hitter</b>.  But he hopes the fishing picks up this week, in better weather, after rough conditions last week. A few drum trips, the year’s first, are slated to fish this weekend aboard. Tides were also extra high and extra low during the new moon in past days. On Saturday, wind blew from east, contributing to high tides, and on Sunday, wind blew from west, contributing to low tides. All drum boated on the bay weighed 25 or 35 pounds that George knew about this season so far, except a 70-pounder that a buddy’s trip docked. A few striped bass were boated on the bay off Villas in shallows 10 feet. A friend’s trip caught one Saturday, and another trip landed two, and the buddy saw a few others reeled in. Those seemed stripers finished spawning in Delaware River and migrating to the ocean. Chunks of bunker hooked them, and anglers needed to be there at the right time to run into the catches. George motored the boat out Sunday just for a ride, and anglers were fishing the surf at the Cape May ferry jetty on the bay. Striper fishing usually picks up there for a time in May as the spawned-out bass head for the ocean.

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