<b>Keyport</b>

UPDATE, 3/17: One keeper striped bass hit the scale at <b>Crabby’s Bait & Tackle</b> so far this season, and Raritan Bay’s striper fishing was beginning to show signs of life, a fax from Chris Salus said. Alen Cooper checked in the keeper, an 11-pounder he reeled in at Union Beach. Reports were also heard about small stripers that bit there and at Cliffwood. The store will award a $25 gift certificate to the angler who weighs in the first striper more than 15 pounds this season. Sandworms, bloodworms, fresh clams, fresh mussels, all the chum anyone needs and all other winter flounder supplies will be fully stocked for the opening of flounder season on Sunday. Call the store or stop by for more info about the fishing or available supplies. 

<b>Atlantic Highlands</b>

UPDATE, 3/17: Capt. Tom from the <b>Atlantic Star</b> checked in and said the boat’s season will kick off this week on Good Friday. On Friday and Saturday the vessel will bottom fish on ¾-day trips from 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., and on Easter Sunday, opening day of flounder season, trips will begin flounder fishing on two half-day trips daily from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and from 1:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. But on Sunday only the morning flounder trip will run.

Runoff from the weekend’s stormy weather muddied the bay several days afterward, and Jimmy from <b>Julian’s Bait & Tackle</b> heard about a few striped bass hooked there, but the hope was that stripers might start turning on this weekend with days in the 50s, he said. The water was warming, and he read stripers and plenty of bait in the back waters when heading off on a bottom fishing trip Tuesday, and saw birds working the water at the bridges. On the bottom-fishing trip he boated a few ling, but dog sharks “ate me alive,” he said. The dogs were a nuisance at the New Grounds, 17-Fathoms and in the deep near the BA buoy. Water 46.5 degrees at the BA was the warmest he found, so the temperature was starting to inch upward. Winter flounder season starts in two Sundays. That’s Easter Sunday, kind of an inconvenient start, but at least it’s the real launch of the season, and only about a week away. Worms, clams and frozen baits are fully stocked, and the shop is now open till 2 p.m. on weekdays and probably until 5 p.m. on weekends.

<b>Neptune</b>

Fishing on charters—bottom fishing on charters, in other words—isn’t worth the effort at this point, Capt. Ralph from <b>Last Lady Fishing Charters</b> said, so he wouldn’t accept charters now. His individual-reservation trips for striped bass and sea bass should begin in late April or the beginning of May.

<b>Belmar</b>

UPDATE, 3/17: The Ocean Explorer, the only local party boat sailing, bottom fished Saturday, and lately patrons were landing mostly ling, but a few blackfish were also coming up, said Bob from <b>Fisherman’s Den</b>. But trips weren’t sailing too often, either because of the recent windy weather or lack of anglers. That was about the only fishing news, and things were kind of in limbo, but that’ll change as soon as winter flounder season opens Sunday. The shop’s rental boats will be in the water to target the flatties in Shark River, and catches should be good, because lots of the mudbacks usually bite in the river in the beginning of the season. All the flounder baits, rigs and supplies will be fully stocked. A few customers were buying baits this past week and heading to Raritan Bay to try for striped bass along the bayshore. Several second-hand reports were heard about catches of the linesiders, but nobody gave first-hand news. Even the numbers of striper anglers should start to increase at the shop this weekend. 

<b>Brielle</b>

<b>The Reel Seat</b> was closed during the weekend, while the shop exhibited at the Saltwater Fishing Expo, so Dave from the shop heard no news about fishing then, he said. But local anglers are gearing up for the opening of winter flounder season on Sunday, and they’ll target the flatbacks in nearby northern Barnegat Bay at the beginning of the season and follow the fish to the Manasquan River, Manasquan Inlet and ocean as the fish migrate offshore for the warmer months until returning in fall. Last year the shop’s first striped bass reports were about linesiders hooked at the Point Pleasant Canal starting in mid April, and the store was reporting lots of stripers and blues swimming from the surf to the inlet to the canal by the first week of May. The  <a href="http://www.ssfff.net" target="_blank"> Save the Summer Flounder Fisher Fund</a> will hold a fund-raising dinner open to the public on April 11 at Crystal Point Yacht Club. Reservations are required and can be made by mailing them to the address listed on the SSFFF’s web site or by calling Dave at the store. The Reel Seat is open Wednesdays through Sundays, and the hours will be expanded as the fishing season picks up.

<b>Point Pleasant</b>

A few small striped bass were reportedly beached from the surf around Seaside, said Rob Sr. from <b>Gates Bait & Tackle</b>. But otherwise not much was happening yet. Even news about herring fishing at Manasquan Inlet was nonexistent, and few anglers were fishing. But the good news is that Gates will open daily starting next Thursday, with clams and worms fully stocked for the opening of winter flounder season that Sunday, March 23, Easter Day. The shop is currently open on weekends. Fresh clams are actually already stocked. Rob hopes for plenty of flounder carpeting nearby waters like northern Barnegat Bay and the Manasquan River. Flounder season’s been closed since last spring, and that should mean lots of the flatties. Gates is conveniently located within walking distance of Manasquan Inlet, the Manasquan River, the inlet’s party and charter boat fleet and the surf. The Gates Motel is also located on the grounds. Open all year, the motel is popular with anglers, like those who currently stay the night to avoid driving early or late before or after party boat trips. Later in the season anglers will also check in at the hotel simply for a fishing vacation, as soon as the fishing gets going in the river, inlet and suds.

The weekly cod-fishing trip on the <b>Voyager</b> was slow Friday, and a handful of cod, pollock and ling were bagged, and the weather and seas were stiff from the beginning and worsened during the day, making fishing difficult, the report on the boat’s web site said. The boat’s final cod trip of the season is slated for tomorrow, running 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., and no reservations are required. Call 732-295-3019 after 6 p.m. today to confirm whether the weather will allow the trip to get out. Offshore sea bass trips are slated for 6 p.m. this Friday and Saturday and next Thursday, returning 3:30 p.m. the next days, and reservations are required. Afterward the boat will take an annual maintenance break until resuming fishing the third week of April. The vessel’s summer and fall schedules are now posted on its web site, and check out its <a href="http://www.voyagerfishing.com/html/trip_calendar.html" target="_blank"> calendar</a>. <b>Fisherman’s Supply</b>, where the boat is docked, has been reporting in the past weeks that not much is happening with local fishing except the trips on the Voyager. But the store is open 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily, for those looking for tackle, gear and frozen bait.

Bottom-fishing trips on the <b>Dauntless</b> left port every day in the past several days, Capt. Butch said. Decent catches were boated Monday and Tuesday, and nasty weather blew up in the afternoon yesterday, hampering the bite, probably also causing some anglers to give up trying to hold bottom. But when catches were made, mostly ling were bagged. However, some good-sized blackfish were taken. Chen Lee won the pool Tuesday with an 11-pound blackfish, and he and four buddies probably reeled up 8 to 10 blacks and 10 to 15 ling. Water temps bumped up a couple of degrees after the rough weather over the weekend, and the east winds probably pushed the warmer water in from offshore. The water was 44 degrees where the Dauntless fished, around 150 to 180 feet, about the same depths that the vessel’s been targeting recently. The ocean closer to the beach was 40 degrees, also 2 degrees warmer than last week. The season’s a little early for the ocean to start warming. The crew on the Dauntless is trying to run trips every day when the weather allows, sailing 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. 

The season will launch for <b>Andrea’s Toy Charters</b> after Easter with open-boat trips to the offshore canyons for sea bass and tilefish, Capt. Fred said. Previously he was going to start those trips this weekend but will now hold off. Those outings will sail from Point Pleasant, but the boat will move to the Highlands in mid April for striped bass and probably winter flounder charters while that action lasts. Then the boat will return to Point Pleasant.

<b>Bricktown</b>

<b>Pell’s Fish & Sport</b> reopened for the season over the weekend, Jason said. Hours will now be 8 a.m.to 6 p.m. every day. Not much was heard about fishing yet, and most customers were stopping by to prepare for the opening of winter flounder season this coming Sunday. Jason did send a couple of customers to northern Barnegat Bay at the Mantoloking Bridge to cast Gulps and 3-inch Storm lures on a slow retrieve for stripers, because short stripers were grabbing the lures at the bridge this time last year, but nothing was heard back from the anglers. When flounder season opens, Jason expects the bite to begin in the bay on the south side of the bridge before the fish start moving up the bay and to the Manasquan River and eventually out Manasquan Inlet to the ocean, as the fish migrate offshore. Another staff member from the shop told Jason that a fike netter said flounder had already mostly left the Toms River, apparently moving into the bay, and he was only finding adult bunker in the river. So the chances seemed likely that a spot like near the Manto Bridge would produce the flatties. The shop will be ready to go with all the flounder baits and tackle for the opening, including stocking sandworms and chum by Friday. Nightcrawlers and garden worms are currently on hand for freshwater fishing.  

<b>Toms River</b>

A few, not a lot, were fishing the surf, dunking clams or sometimes bloodworms to try for striped bass, said Jeff from <b>Murphy’s Hook House</b>. Plenty of stripers kept getting hooked at the Oyster Creek power plant outflow. Stripers were also sometimes wormed in Barnegat Bay at the Route 37 Bridge, and anglers can also throw plugs to attempt to connect, but anglers at the shop only reported using worms. The Toms River also gave up stripers at times, and big bunker swam there, and so did a handful, only a few, white perch, and a few out-of-season winter flounder. Bloodworms are stocked, and sandworms and fresh clams should arrive by Friday, especially to be ready for the opening of flounder season on Sunday. Other flounder tackle and supplies are fully stocked, and the shop is offering buy-one, get-one-free flounder rigs. Stop by and load up! Nightcrawlers and killies are also carried. The store is open 8 am. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays and 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sundays.

<b>Seaside</b>

Nothing much happening except striper fishing in Barnegat Bay around Oyster Creek, said the fishing report on <b>Betty and Nick’s Bait & Tackle</b>’s web site. But anglers were beginning to hit the surf in the warmer weather, and the shop will carry fresh shucked clams this weekend. When winter flounder season opens March 23, Easter Sunday, live clams, bloodworms, chum and flounder rigs will be stocked for the flatties. The surf on Saturday was 44 degrees. <a href=" http://www.bettyandnicks.com/fish.shtml" target="_blank"> Click here</a> for the latest.

Ocean water temps were mostly in the low 40s, said the report on <b>Grumpy’s Tackle</b>’s web site. Practically nobody was testing the surf, but stripers were hooked in Barnegat Bay and Oyster Creek.  <a href="http://www.grumpystackle.com/fishingreports/" target="_blank"> Click here</a> for updates.  

<b>Waretown</b>

Striped bass kept biting in the Oyster Creek power plant outflow on worms, clams and small soft-plastic lures like Fin-S Fish, mostly in the evenings, said Darryl from <b>L&H Woods & Water</b>. A few out-of-season flounder sometimes sucked down the baits and were released, and a 6.6-pound speckled seatrout was weighed in from the same waters a week ago today. The specks occasionally appear there, about the northern most point where the trout, a southern fish, show up. No customers mentioned surf fishing nor bottom fishing, the other possible options in salt, and they were concentrating on the stripers. Bloodworms, sandworms, nightcrawlers and clams are stocked, and the freezer was loaded yesterday with chum for flounder fishing and other frozen baits. The store will be rigged and ready with baits, chum and tackle for the opening of flounder season March 23, Easter Sunday. 

<b>Barnegat Light</b>

Oyster Creek put out striped bass, and a few were reeled in at Graveling Point on Great Bay, and most action was on the mainland now, and hardly anyone was even trying to surf fish, said Basil from <b>Barnegat Light Bait & Tackle</b>. But a few anglers were talking about going surf fishing this weekend, so we’ll see what happens, he said. Somebody said a keeper striper was taken from the suds near Barnegat Inlet. “But I’ll believe it when I see it,” Basil said. Tog were sometimes hooked along the Barnegat Inlet rocks. Winter flounder season opens March 23, and anglers who were striper fishing said Barnegat Bay at the mouth of Oyster Creek was absolutely paved with flatties that the anglers released. Herring started trickling into the bay, and so did spearing, and things seemed on the move. Barnegat Light Bait & Tackle is now open 8 a.m. to 1 or 2 p.m. every weekday and at least the same hours on weekends, though the doors on weekends will stay open longer if customers are around or fishing turns on. Fresh clams and all the frozen baits are stocked. Basil’s other shop, Oceanside Bait & Tackle in Brighton Beach on the southern end of Long Beach Island, will probably open the first week of April.

<b>Mystic Island</b>

Someone telephoned from Graveling Point on Monday and said a 26-inch striped bass was caught and released, said Scott from <b>Scott’s Bait & Tackle</b>. That was the closest to a keeper reported landed at the point so far. Good news, but Scott did expect a keeper to be checked in by now. The bay is cold, ranging 38 to 43 degrees, so it’s no surprise, and that does happen some years. The store’s annual prize of a $100 gift certificate was still up for grabs for the angler who weighs in the first keeper from Graveling Point. The point is always one of the best places to catch early season stripers in the state. The quarter-mile stretch of beach is at the confluence of Great Bay and the Mullica River, and the warm water from the river, warmer than the bay and ocean, and the currents caused by the confluence attract the linesiders. The easy access to the point, located a short hike north from the end of Radio Road in Mystic Island, is also what attracts anglers. Ice even formed on the lagoons Monday morning, and the waters at the point need to reach 45 degrees to make the stripers active enough to bite well. At 43 degrees bites are possible and there’s hope, but the best action will kick off when the temp bumps up a little. Bloodworms, easy for the fish to digest, are the bait of choice for the stripers at first, but clams usually also draw lots of attention once the fishing is “on.” Herring and eels will get the nod later, when the water is warmer, the herring migration has started and the fish are more active. The bloodworm supply’s been decent at the shop, and fresh clams arrived today.  Striper anglers were fishing everywhere, and the state’s power plant discharges were giving up the bass. Interest in white perch fishing seemed to fade out. Scott cancelled his order for green crabs, because the government announced the closure of tog fishing starting April 1. Some were saying a closure might be avoided if New Jersey enacts legislation to cut the year’s tog catch by 26 percent, but Scott wondered whether such a quota had already been caught this year. The tog limit would’ve dropped to one tog on April 1 from the current four-fish limit anyway, until increasing again in fall. Nightcrawlers and minnows are also stocked at Scott’s, especially for those who want to go freshwater fishing, like for pickerel. Meal worms will be carried starting opening day of trout season on April 5. UPDATE, 3/17: Striper fishing was slow at Graveling Point over the weekend, and even shorts failed to show up, the report on Scott’s web site said. There was no lack of anglers, but they were counting bites, and not many. The water was sometimes warmer than the magic number of 45 degrees, but still no action.

<b>Absecon</b>

A keeper striped bass was yet to be checked in at <b>Absecon Bay Sportsman Center</b>, Capt. Dave said. A few shorts were landed up the Egg Harbor and Tuckahoe rivers, but no consistent bite took place. Few anglers were fishing so far. Today’s weather was so good that Ray, who works at the shop, decided to head out to the bay around Atlantic City and see if he couldn’t score a keeper. With the weather today and half-decent conditions forecast tomorrow, Dave wouldn’t be surprised if the season’s first keeper was weighed in. So the shop’s annual prizes for the first keepers weighed in were unclaimed: a $200 gift certificate for the first keeper striper, a $100 gift certificate for the second, a $50 gift certificate for the third, a $100 gift certificate for the first over 20 pounds and a $100 gift certificate for the first over 30 pounds. White perch were sometimes plucked from the rivers, but catches were nothing hot. Dave knew about no herring migrating to the back waters and rivers yet. He knows netters who are keeping an eye out for the baitfish to sell to the shop, and they reported no luck yet. But herring will be carried for striper fishing as soon as it’s available. Bloodworms and fresh clams are stocked, and so are eels, although the season’s a little early for swimming an eel for a bite, with the fish too lethargic from the cold. UPDATE, 3/17: No catch of a keeper striper was reported so far on the store's web site through this morning.

<b>Atlantic City</b>

UPDATE, 3/17: <b>One Stop Bait & Tackle</b> is now open for the season, Noel said yesterday. Ling, out-of-season winter flounder and striped bass were clamping down on clams and mullet, both in stock, around the T-jetty. But more stripers were hitting in the bay. Bloodworms will start to be stocked this week, especially to get ready for the opening of winter flounder season on Sunday. The shop’s doors are open daily.

A few small striped bass were reeled in from the bays like at Graveling Point on Great Bay and in Delaware Bay, so things were starting, but the water was still a little cold, said Jack from <b>Offshore Enterprises Bait & Tackle</b>. But the shop is carrying bloodworms and fresh clams for bait, and the staff is now also salting fresh, shucked clams for a more productive bait than the usual frozen clams. Winter flounder season opens March 23, Easter Sunday, and flattie anglers do score the fish in the local bays. The store is open about 8 or 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays and at 7:30 a.m. on weekends, and customers can call to confirm. The shop’s rental boat, a 17-foot Angler with a 50-horsepower outboard, will probably be splashed the first week of April for fishing the bay.

<b>Longport</b>

The <b>Stray Cat</b>’s season is under way, and the boat today is supposed to be running offshore on a sea bass trip, and Capt. Mike, crew and friends tested the waters for tog Tuesday, Mike said. The weather was just too good, and he couldn’t stay in port. The boat sat at a wreck 16 miles from shore, and the tog were chewing but difficult to hook, though a few of the slipperies came up. Mike and gang also tried looking for mackerel, and jigging for the Bostons was slow, but one was boated. The water was 44.3 degrees, a little warmer than before, and the clarity cleaned right up outside of 9 miles. Stray Cat is now resuming open-boat trips offshore for sea bass and inshore for tog. The sea bass trips are heading all the way to wrecks around the canyons, though Mike was probably going to scope out spots closer to shore today in case the fish were moving in. An open tog trip, with six or eight spaces available, is slated for tomorrow. The forecast looked like the only weather window was tomorrow before a blow started in the afternoon or on Saturday. UPDATE, 3/14: Stray Cat did break the inlet for the offshore sea bass trip yesterday, and plenty of the humpbacks came up. “Quite a few nice flurries,” Mike said. The fish were starting to move or were creeping inshore, because some were found in 150 to 165 feet, maybe 15 miles from the coast. But the boat moved to 220 to 230 feet, and more sea bass bit there. Blues 4 to 12 pounds were also harassing the fish, kind of funny, because the anglers had to scramble to reel in the sea bass before the blues chopped them up, but slow enough not to lose the bottom fish. An inshore, open-boat tog trip was leaving the dock today to fish 15 miles off, and the anglers would probably also jig around and look for mackerel. The weather forecast looked excellent for the morning, but conditions were supposed to go in the dumper by the afternoon through at least Saturday. The next opportunity to sail will probably be Sunday or Monday.  UPDATE, 3/17: Stray Cat sailed for tog Friday and sat on pieces in 90 to 105 feet about 17 miles from the coast, and nothing was doing, “not even a scratch,” Mike said. There was no bite. “Got to take the good with the bad,” he said when asked whether he wanted to give a report. 

<b>Ocean City</b>

A striped bass or two might’ve been hooked at the Beesley’s Point power plant outflow on swim shads or Fin-S Fish, but the water was still a little too cold, said Dan from <b>Fin-Atics</b>.  He heard about no herring found migrating locally yet, but supposedly a few were seen in Delaware Bay. The only bottom-fishing that seemed to take place was sea bass fishing far offshore on the head boats. Herring might start to be stocked for bait any day. Bloodworms will begin to be carried this weekend, and no fresh clams are available yet, but a few frozen clams are on hand. Fin-Atics is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sundays. Dan also noted that the Ocean City Marlin and Tuna Club Billfish Tournament will take place August 11 through 16. Last year the prizes included $10,000 for 1st place, $5,000 for second and $2,000 for third. Two levels of Calcuttas were up for grabs, and so were prizes including trophies, rods and reels and so on. Prizes should be similar this year.

<b>Sea Isle</b>

UPDATE, 3/17: Congratulations to Capt. Joe Hughes from <b>Jersey Cape Guide Service</b> and <b>Gibson’s Tackle</b> for once again being the first captain of the year to report catching a striped bass. He usually is. He previously said he expected to hook his first of the season by March 15, and that he did. On Saturday, the 15th, he landed his season’s first linesider, about a 25-incher, that he released in the bay behind Sea Isle. The fish attacked a chartreuse and white Clouser fly retrieved with a slow, steady, stop-and-go action. He pinned down the striper after only 10 minutes of fishing, and probably would’ve hooked more, but only had a limited time to test the waters that day. But he returned the next day, catching and releasing six more to 25 inches on a combo of Clousers on a fly rod and paddle-tailed Bass Assassins on 3/8-ounce jigheads on a spinning rod. At first he started jigging the paddle tails, but the fish ended up hitting on a slow, steady retrieve. The water was 47 to 48 degrees and was starting to even out throughout the bay and near the inlets, unlike a little earlier this year, when temps fluctuated more, like with colder water at the inlets near the ocean. Joe was surprised to see how active the fish were, and they really inhaled the jigs, and on more than one occasion two stripers followed one that was hooked. Goes to show that the fish were motivated to eat and preferred what Joe was throwing. He cast in shallows 4 to 5 feet deep at most, some of the first waters to warm. The tide was incoming, and the fish probably would’ve been even more willing to chew on outgoing, because of warmer water from the creeks instead of cold water from the ocean. So Jersey Cape’s striped bass charters are now under way, and book to catch your first striper of the season! Spring is one of the best times for the fishing, and last spring was great.

<b>Cape May</b>

Although Cape May’s tackle shops were mostly still closed for winter, and none that was telephoned today was open to give a report, some of the town’s shops are supposed start to reopen on weekends this week.

The shallows of nearby Delaware Bay are always some of the first spots in the state to serve up striped bass. Boaters often plug them on surface lures at places like the 10- or 12-foot depths at Reeds Beach and the Maurice River Cove, and beach anglers at spots like Fortescue take them on bloodworms or other baits.

No first-hand reports of catches were heard yet, though second-hand rumors about a few fish taken were milling around all month.

Some of the shops will be called for reports this weekend, and if any answer, a report will be posted here Monday. (UPDATE, 3/17: The shops were called, and nobody answered. But any day--maybe this coming weekend they’ll be open.)

Almost all Cape May charter boats won’t begin to fish until sometime in April. That’s not to say stripers can’t be caught until then, but usually it’s because the marinas won’t allow boats in the water until that time.

Striper fishing should begin any day, and right now it might be more a matter of nobody fishing than no fish biting.  

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