<b>Staten Island</b>

Winter flounder catches were on the decline in the bay, but trips will follow the migration to the ocean as soon as the swell drops off, said Capt. Anthony from <b>Barbara Anne Fishing Charters</b>. Striped bass began to bite, and combo flounder/striper trips might begin, and stripers will become the focus soon. Striper charters are booked through May except on six dates that remain. Space is available on open-boat Blue Collar Twilight Specials that will chase the linesiders on Tuesday and Thursday evenings. But those dates will jam up, too. Open flounder trips have been mostly full that Anthony’s been running daily when no charter was booked.

Staten Island surf fishers were nailing striped bass and big blues, said Joe from <b>Michael’s Bait & Tackle</b>. They were also walloping good numbers of big, spawning, tiderunner weakfish. Joe weighed in 12- to 15-pounders. Winter flounder fishing was somewhat petering out.

<b>Keyport</b>

The season’s first striped bass trip left the dock on the <b>Lucky Carm</b> yesterday and fished off the 11 buoy off Keansburg or the Keansburg buoy, Capt. Carmine said. The charter, with the Skip Newton group, clammed 11 stripers, including one keeper, a 30-incher, and slammed bluefish, including two 12- and 13-pounders, and the rest of the blues weighed 4 to 8 pounds. So striper fishing could’ve been better, but the linesiders finally began to bite, and the anglers had a ball fighting the blues. Skip’s sons Brett and Dylan were aboard, and so were cousins Ryan and Jared, and Ryan, 14, battled the biggest blue, the 13-pounder, and the choppers wore the kids out. Dylan was high hook and tackled the largest fish, the 30-inch striper. Both the bass and blues were very clean looking. Carmine, although no fan of eating blues, said cold-water blues at this time of year are better eating than summertime slammers. A friend took a striper trip at night with three other anglers, and all limited out on the fish. Striper fishing was probably best at night, and the Lucky Carm will now add night trips for those who are serious about a catch. Three-quarter day trips from 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. for bass and blues on both charters and daily, open-boat trips will be the focus now, and winter flounder fishing is kaput in the Keyport area, Carmine said. When the blues come, they’re known to scare off the flounder, and flounder anglers might be able to pick a catch from the Navy Pier to the mouth of the bay, but the bite’s no longer happening farther back in the bay. When boats can head out to the ocean, flattie catches at the Cedars off Sandy Hook should produce, but the ocean’s been riled up. The bay was as warm as 57 to 58 degrees in some spots that Carmine saw, and might be warmer in other areas. Carmine saw a 6-1/2-pound weakfish that someone from the dock caught, and in the last report he also told about a big weak that another angler pinned down. Goes to show that the big, tiderunner weaks are coming into the bay to spawn, and more should show when the water temp rises a little. The Lucky Carm’s schedule is filling, and every Friday and Saturday is booked in May, but a couple of Sundays remain. Some spots on weekdays are open, and lighter boat traffic on weekdays helps fishing, although traffic isn’t bad yet this season. But that can be a different story later. Striped bass fishing usually lasts into June, and grab your dates while you can. To jump on the open trips that run daily when no charter is booked, call to reserve.

“It’s on,” said Capt. Fred from <b>Andrea’s Toy Charters</b>. Striped bass from 10 to 20 pounds started inhaling bunker baits in Raritan Bay, and a charter was supposed to chase them today. Fred will try to give an update on the results. He just moved the boat to Keyport from Point Pleasant to fish the striper run, and then it started. He didn’t even really get a chance to clam chunk for the fish, except on a trip Sunday in rough seas that only gave up small bass. Charters will now drift live bunker until stripers are found, and then they’ll anchor and dunk bunker chunks for the fish. Andrea’s Toy had been offering open-boat trips offshore for a combo of tilefish, ling and cod, heading to Hudson Canyon for the tiles and then moving to the inshore wrecks for the other fish. But those trips will take a back seat to a striper schedule that’s filled to the gills. No more offshore fishing till shark season in June.

Striped bass fishing turned on in the bay, according to reliable sources, said Capt. Joe from <b>Papa’s Angels Charters</b>. A charter Sunday will sail on a flounder and striper combo. “Blackfish Doug,” one of boat’s mates, jumped on a party boat flounder trip yesterday and said all patrons limited out in the bay near Sandy Hook. A roll was on the ocean. Bluefish invaded the bay, and the blues and bass were encouraging signs. Either an open-boat trip or a charter is available 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, and open trips are running the same hours daily when no charter is booked. Call to reserve.

<b>Atlantic Highlands</b>

Flounder could still get boated in the bay, even if the fish were moving out, and blues of all sizes swam everywhere in the bay, said Jimmy from <b>Julian’s Bait & Tackle</b>. Shore anglers on the bay picked up stripers, and boaters on the bay began to land them. Jimmy managed to give flounder a shot at the Cedars in the ocean off Sandy Hook yesterday, and he reeled in two. But blues were swimming past, and he decided to get out of there, because when blues come, flounder lay low. But boaters at the Cedars might still get a chance at the flatties, if the blues stop coming on so strong, and he knows that flounder were boated off Bug Light. He went bottom fishing then. Bottom fishing was good yesterday, and east winds that built seas were a problem recently, but that seemed to be changing now. The bottom fishers bagged ling and blackfish. Plenty of bait, lots of bunker, were around for bass and blues to eat. Fresh bunker, clams and all the fresh and frozen baits are stocked.

Striped bass began getting boated in the bay, so charters will now chunk clams for them, said Capt. Mick from the <b>CRT II</b>. Flounder fishing was mostly a bust on a trip Saturday, and only a few were boxed, and those trips are finished. Blues started tearing up the bay. Fluke will be the next fishing to begin, when the season opens May 24. Mick runs loads of fluke trips. A few dates, including lots on weekdays, remain available for charters.

After flounder fishing started to improve on the <b>Atlantic Star</b> on a trip Tuesday afternoon that was covered in an update in the last report, fishing on Wednesday morning’s trip was also decent, not great, but a steady pick, and all customers went home with a catch, Capt. Tom said. The boat kept fishing in the bay all week, and one of the customers Wednesday morning limited out on the flatties, and some bagged as few as one or two. On Wednesday afternoon the catch continued to hold up, and some customers landed four or five keepers, and everybody scored at least one keeper. Tom wasn’t sure how long the  fish will be caught, and he guessed the population was moving offshore, and blues were here, and the flounder will begin to depart when blues arrive. He’d like to fish the Cedars in the ocean, and last year’s trips were catching the flatbacks at the Cedars by now, but a ground swell the past four or five days was preventing decent conditions for fishing there. Seas and winds were somewhat rough this morning when Tom gave this report, but customers were already boating flounder in the bay. Tom might give an update about today’s fishing that will be posted.  The Atlantic Star is fishing for winter flounder twice daily from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. UPDATE, 4/25: A few flounder were boated on this morning’s trip on the Atlantic Star in the bay. But the fishing was slow, so the afternoon trip fished the ocean for a catch of lots of ling, a few blackfish and a handful of flounder, good fishing, and trips might sail for mixed bags like that now.

A few good-sized, keeper striped bass were finally boated, said Capt. Ron from the <b>Fisherman</b> in an e-mail about Tuesday’s trip. The boat had to cover half the ocean, he said, but some fish were put in the box. Still not good fishing, he said, but it could only get better. No more reports came from him, and none was posted on the boat’s web site. But if more news is heard, an update will be added to this report. The Fishermen is sailing for striped bass 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily.

<b>Highlands</b>

Striped bass were found on the last hour of a trip on the <b>Tuna-Tic</b> yesterday, and five keepers to 26 pounds were nailed, Capt. Mike said in an e-mail. He was on his way back today and promised a further report tomorrow, so stay tuned for an update. Look for a photo of one of the bass posted today, too. The Tuna-Tic’s season is off and running, and stripers will be the target from the Highlands until the boat moves to Waretown and begins sharking from Barnegat Inlet. Charters then will also start chasing down everything from fluke to blues to tuna. Tuna fishing eventually takes much of the spotlight in summer, but the inshore charters keep running. Update, Friday, 4/25: A trip returned to the same spot Thursday and produced 10 stripers and a handful of blues in a few hours, Mike said in an e-mail. Stripers hooked on the trips were almost all keepers at the location.

A striped bass trip hit the bay today with <b>Jersey Devil Charters</b> and whacked three keepers in the 20-pound class, on an early morning bite, Capt. Brian said. Hooks were also pulled on other linesiders that chomped on the bunker-chunk baits. So the fishing was good. All the blues the anglers could want gave them a workout, too. Striped bass will be the quarry on all trips in the near future. Big stripers are a specialty for Jersey Devil, a frequent striper tournament winner and expert at the different ways to catch the big ones, from bunker chunking to livelining the baitfish to trolling large bunker spoons.

Fishing for striped bass gained steam in the bay, though the season was early, and some days were better than others, said Capt. Derek from <b>Fisher Price Charters</b>. Stripers to 20 pounds were nailed on a trip last night, but a trip today bagged one 15-pounder during tougher fishing. Anglers onboard were bunker chunking the fish among plenty of schooling bunker. But Derek saw no substantial amounts of herring in the bay, though he heard that herring swam along the ocean beaches. All the blues anyone could want, 3- to 15-pounders, were also hitting in the 63-degree bay. Flounder trips are mostly finished on the boat now, and Fisher Price is coming into its own with striper fishing. The crew looks for large linesiders from now through the first or second week of July, following the fish from the bay at first to the ocean later, when cooler water attracts them during the warmer months. The striper charters fish chunks of bunker or live ones.

The 44-foot <b>Benchmark</b> arrived in the Highlands yesterday and is ready to roll on mostly striped bass charters, Capt. Nick said. Blues and eventually fluke will also be chased, and winter flounder trips are still possible. A busy slate of tuna charters will crank up in summer. The newest addition to the fleet, a 20-foot Jones Brothers center console for light-tackle and smaller-group charters, headed on a test run Friday. A half-dozen striped bass and a few winter flounder were caught.

<b>Long Branch</b>

Things were picking up, said John Allen from <b>Jim’s Bait & Tackle</b>. Small striped bass were biting in the surf, and he beached four shorts at Long Branch this morning on clams. His daughter Kim Allen pulled a short from the West End suds. He saw and heard about no blues in the surf, but customers were battling all kinds of 6- and 8-pound blues in the bay and rivers. The bay off Keyport was putting out loads. Nobody mentioned winter flounder catches anymore. Fresh and frozen clams, worms and all the baits are fully stocked. The store is open 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., and the hours will be extended in May.

<b>Neptune</b>

<b>Last Lady Fishing Charters</b> launched its season during the weekend with a trip that loaded up on blackfish, Capt. Ralph said.  A few sea bass also bit, and not a lot of dog sharks were a problem. Two individual-reservation blackfish trips will break the inlet Sunday and Wednesday, and space is available, and afterward blackfish season closes, so this is the final chance, and the chance could be good, considering the past trip. After blackfishing closes Ralph hopes that striped bass will be running someplace within range, like at the clam beds off Sandy Hook. At least one individual-reservation trip a week will go after stripers. Sea bass and ling will also be options after the tog season, though that fishing was tough recently. But that could change.

<b>Belmar</b>

Excellent catches of blackfish were pulled over the rails on the <b>Big Mohawk</b> this past week, when seas and the weather were calm enough for the boat to sail, Capt. Chris said. Good-sized fish, too, like a 10.4-pounder that won the pool today. All patrons limited out on the trip to boot. “Very good fishing,” Chris said. The Big Mohawk is fishing for blackfish 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily.

Winter flounder anglers, including rental boaters from the shop, scored plenty of catches, including 2 and 2-1/2-pounders, respectable-sized, on Shark River today, said John from <b>Fisherman’s Den</b>. A few short striped bass sucked down clams in the surf, and blues drifted in and out of the suds. The party boats returned with a bunch of blackfish today. A couple of 10-pounders were weighed in. 

<b>Brielle</b>

If you thought fishing for striped bass and bluefish might be starting, here’s a clue. The <b>Jamaica</b> will begin sailing for stripers and blues this weekend, an e-mail from the boat said. The trips will leave port at 7:30 a.m. Saturday and Sunday., and daily trips for bass and blues will probably begin May 10. A special, 12-trip, striper and bluefish season pass is available. The boat will head offshore for tilefish and wreckfish at 12:30 a.m. tonight and the next two Fridays.  <b>Bogan’s Boating School</b> is offering the boating safety course and certificate required in New Jersey. The next one-day classes take place 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. the next three Saturdays at Bogan’s Basin. Private classes are available at your own location with a minimum of eight students, and a discount is available for 10 or more. Simply choose two 3-hour blocks on weekdays, weekends, daytimes or evenings and arrange an instructor. The test-out option is available 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays for those born before 1979.

<b>Point Pleasant</b>

Charters flounder fished on Manasquan River with <b>Reel Class Charters</b> two days this week, and the bite was slowing down, Capt. Allen said. The waters hovered around 50 degrees, still cold enough for flounder, but bluefish showed up, and flounder high tail offshore when the toothy predators come in. Anglers at Manasquan Inlet were catching cocktail blues yesterday afternoon, throwing metal jigs to the center and letting them hit bottom then reeling. Allen himself took casts at the inlet and fought blues. A charter was planning to flounder fish in the river tomorrow with him, but he was going to tell them the situation and leave the options up to them. On Monday four anglers were aboard on the river in northeast, cold winds and foggy, misty weather, terrible conditions, and they only reeled in four flounder that were barely keepers. Four other anglers were on deck on the river with Allen yesterday, and the catch was somewhat better. They landed a few keepers, made a couple of moves, and landed some more. When incoming tide began, the action shut off. Both trips fished the river from Clark’s Landing to west of the Route 35 Bridge or not on the ocean side of the bridge. Allen sometimes sails for flounder in the ocean at the Cedars off Sandy Hook in late April. No ocean areas closer to Point Pleasant offer structure that holds a concentrated population of the flatties. Obviously Manasquan River and nearby northern Barnegat Bay are both areas that do force the blackbacks together. Jigging for striped bass and bluefish in the ocean is next on Reel Class’s agenda, and Allen expects those trips to begin in a week or two. If the weather is decent, and if the bait draws schools of the fish, catches should turn on. Afterward fluke fishing will be a mainstay for much of the season, including on charters and Reel Class’s open-boat Fluke Till You Puke Marathons.

Striped bass and bluefish were bending rods every afternoon at the mouth of Manasquan Inlet lately, and they blitzed there Tuesday evening, said Rob Sr. from <b>Gates Bait & Tackle</b>. Surf casters were also scoring the fish toward Seaside, and nobody told Rob about catching a keeper striper at either location, and the fishing was still a little slow, but it was starting. Soak clams in the suds for the stripers. A few striped bass were landed at the Point Pleasant Canal at night. Pretty good catches of winter flounder were copped on Manasquan River, and the back of the river to Gull Island seemed best. Local tog fishing slowed down compared with before, but one of the Point Pleasant party boats was coming back with mixed bags of other bottom fish, good numbers when conditions were fair. East winds kicked up seas all week. Baits are fully stocked, and business is in full swing at the shop, and the Gates Motel, popular with anglers, is always open. Anglers stay at the motel before or after charter and party boat trips to avoid early or late driving. Or they simply visit on a fishing vacation. Both the motel and tackle shop are located within walking distance of the surf, Manasquan Inlet and the charter and party boat fleet.

Shay Keating took down six blues to 9 pounds while tossing an AOK Hex jig at Manasquan Inlet, said David from <b>Fisherman’s Supply</b>. John Bruno also tossed an AOK and stuck two blues to 7 pounds. George Millaf weighed in a 3-pound, 9-ounce, 19-inch winter flounder, a whopper, that he wrestled from Manasquan River at the Dog Beach. David’s buddy loaded up on herring for striper bait at Forge Pond. The <b>Voyager</b>, docked at the shop, just got back today from spring maintenance and is slated to resume sailing tomorrow on a cod and pollock trip that’s sold out. Open-boat trips, no reservations required, will fish the 20- to 40-mile wrecks afterward. A few deep-water tilefish trips are on the books for May 2, 9, 16 and June 2 and are filling up. Half-day fluke trips will start May 24. See the <a href=" http://www.voyagerfishing.com/html/trip_calendar.html" target="_blank"> Voyager’s calendar</a> for the schedule.

Bottom-fishing trips fished on the <b>Dauntless</b> every day in the past week, and catches had tapered off somewhat from the offshore storm that heaved the ocean, but mostly ling continued to bite, and a few sea bass, mostly small ones, came up, and a few cod still appeared, Capt. Butch said. The cod showed that the water was chilly, and the surface where the boat fished was 50 to 51 degrees, but 55 tighter to the beach, a quick warm up this season. Bluefish from 3 to 10 pounds now gave up fights, too, and that means mackerel already schooled past the coast, the bad news. The macks come through first, and the blues next, so apparently the Bostons swam too far offshore once again this spring, like they have in recent years. When the water temp rises too quickly, that tends to happen. A handful of macks were boated on the vessel a couple of weeks ago, and the Dauntless does sail for the fish when they appear within range, but no longer an option this year. Catch them again when the Dauntless fishes the southern migration in early winter, and that run’s been close enough to shore to fish in recent years. When the waters warm a bit more this spring, bigger sea bass should move in from offshore and start to be the quarry on the vessel. The Dauntless is bottom fishing 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. daily.

<b>Bricktown</b>

Tons of blues from 2 to 8 pounds poured into Manasquan Inlet, said Pete from <b>Pell’s Fish & Sport</b>. Manasquan River anglers also caught them, and the fish were just beginning to trickle in to nearby northern Barnegat Bay around the Mantoloking Bridge. Metal jigs, swimming plugs and other lures were drawing attacks, and anglers who wanted fun were having a ball with small popper plugs. The southern bay like around Forked River and Oyster Creek was loaded with blues. Boaters in the ocean also got into blues that fed on bunker schools one day off Manasquan Inlet. Winter flounder fishing was pretty much done for the season near the shop at the Mantoloking Bridge, and anglers on the river were catching them, but the fish seemed bunched up toward the inlet, like at the 3 can and the Doggie Beach. Surf fishers scored short striped bass, and Joe Weasel checked in a 28-inch keeper from the wash. Surf striper anglers seemed to have little difficulty avoiding blues that can become a nuisance eventually. Use clams to catch the stripers, and bunker chunks should produce in another couple of weeks. Lots of seaweed was sometimes a problem in the suds.

<b>Toms River</b>

“Bluefish,” Dennis from <b>Murphy’s Hook House</b> said. Blues swam Barnegat Bay off the Oyster Creek power plant discharge, and they popped up yesterday off Goodluck Point and in the Toms River. They chased bunker, and the menhaden were everywhere in the river off Island Heights. Bunker also ranged the bay from the Route 37 Bridge to the river. Blues also packed Barnegat Inlet and headed up Manasquan Inlet. Winter flounder fishing was finished locally or in southern Barnegat Bay, with all the blues scared them away like usual. Blueclaw crabs were also stealing flounder baits, and crabbing was improving. Forty pounds of bunker must’ve been sold this morning to crabbers. But flounder were grabbed in the Manasquan River and also still got picked farther up the back waters in northern Barnegat Bay at the Mantoloking Bridge.  Surf fishers pegged blues on metal and poppers and beached a few striped bass, more keepers than before, on clams and fresh bunker. The shop is stocking fresh clams, fresh bunker, worms and frozen mullet.

<b>Seaside</b>

Few surf anglers fished, but the ones who did were beaching 6- or 7-pound blues and short striped bass, said the fishing report on <b>Grumpy’s Tackle</b>’s web site. Barnegat Bay anglers were into the same types of catches. The suds sharpies weren’t paying much attention to Barnegat Inlet’s north jetty so far, but blues, short bass and blackfish were on the bite there. The Surf Rocket, a cannon available at the shop that launches bait up to 500 feet, will be demonstrated from 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday on the beach at E Street in Seaside Park. The ocean was 55 to 56 degrees. A load of fresh bunker arrived at the shop. <a href="http://www.grumpystackle.com/fishingreports/" target="_blank"> Click here</a> for updates.

Bluefish were sometimes dragged from the surf, said the fishing report on <b>Betty and Nick’s Bait & Tackle</b>’s web site. Mullet and bunker scored, but pencil poppers, bucktails and other lures should consistently work by this time of year. The surf was 52 degrees, 1 to 2 feet and clean. <a href=" http://www.bettyandnicks.com/fish.shtml" target="_blank"> Click here</a> for the latest.

<b>Waretown</b>

Barnegat Bay became loaded with blues that even pushed up the Oyster Creek power plant discharge, and anglers even hooked them from the Route 9 Bridge, said Dale from <b>L&H Woods & Water</b>. A bunch of small striped bass kept hitting in the bay off Oyster Creek, and customers fought them mostly toward dusk, and some fished for them at night. Sandworms worked best, but soft plastic lures and such would trick them. Nobody weighed in or talked about big, spawning, tiderunner weakfish landed in Barnegat Bay since a couple of hefty ones were checked in last week on Tuesday. Doesn’t mean none is around, but Dale neither saw nor heard about any. The bay’s flounder fishing had started to improve until Saturday, and then blues came in, and flounder always shoot to the ocean when blues take over. Anglers were trying for flounder in the bay today and said they saw nobody catch. Dale saw people trying to land herring at Forge Pond but didn’t know whether they scored. But he wouldn’t doubt that they did, and it’s time for the baitfish to show up. Surf fishers also fought blues to shore and a few short striped bass on Long Beach Island. Dale knew about no keeper bass banked. The crew on the Rascal reeled in 2-, 5-, 8- and 13-pound blackfish and some sea bass. 

<b>Barnegat Light</b>

Long Beach Island surf casters were doing a number on blues and striped bass, good fishing, said Josh from <b>Barnegat Light Bait & Tackle</b>. The 5-pound blues chomped down on frozen herring or bunker or such baits and smacked metal jigs. The stripers, about six shorts for every keeper, were clammed. Small weakfish, not the big tiderunners, sometimes came through the surf and were also picked up from Barnegat Bay behind the Dike and at Oyster Creek and Double Creek Channels on worms or Fin-S Fish. Nothing was heard about striped bass catches in the bay, and the bay’s winter flounder fishing was spotty. If anyone was seriously catching flounder, they weren’t talking. Blackfishing was decent at the ocean wrecks. Surf clams, fresh bunker, green crabs, sandworms, bloodworms and all kinds of frozen baits are stocked.

<b>Beach Haven</b>

The season got under over the weekend on the <b>Miss Beach Haven</b> with tog-fishing trips, and a few patrons limited out, Capt. Frank said. The fish cooperated most on Sunday, although the crowd was lighter that day. But everyone smacked a limit on Sunday. The forecast was wrong that day, calling for strong winds and rough seas, but the day turned out beautiful. A few keeper sea bass, not many, were rustled up, and a half-dozen cod to 9 pounds were boated Saturday. Tog trips will run 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. After tog season closes on May 1, the boat will sail for sea bass on weekends. The schedule will expand when the season picks up.

<b>Port Republic</b>

Bluefish like an 8-pounder that was weighed in hammered lines for customers for the first time this season today in Great Bay and the Mullica River, Mary Ann from <b>Chestnut Neck Boat Yard</b> said. One boater showed off a cooler full. River anglers caught striped bass but kept hush about it, and plenty of white perch swam the waters. A herring run pushed up the river, and live herring ran out at the shop, but more will be carried when available. The baitfish and bloodworms got the attention of stripers, and the bloods also got strikes from the whites and are stocked. One black drum was reported boated from Grassy Channel in the bay. 

<b>Absecon</b>

Bigger blues turned up at Absecon Inlet, and smaller ones appeared in the bay, and a few striped bass and a handful of drum began getting hooked in the bay, said Ray from <b>Absecon Bay Sportsman Center</b>. The bay at Bayport 1 in Pleasantville offered up bass and drum. Tog littered the surf jetties, the inlet and the bridges. “Though there aren’t any tog,” according to the government, Ray said, and the closing of the season a week from today is wrong. So are the tightened flounder regs, and the abundance of flawed regulations, based on inaccurate data, are irresponsible, threatening to put members of the fishing industry out of business for no valid reason. Striped bass sometimes kept biting in the rivers, and Capt. Dave, the shop’s owner, found two that weighed more than 30 pounds apiece in his herring nets and released them. Herring kept running up the rivers, and plenty of the live baitfish are stocked. Good numbers of white perch filled the buckets for river anglers. Crabs were starting to scurry around, and boaters could catch them in the bay, but the blueclaws will take time to head up the creeks. Brigantine surf casters found blues, stripers, drum, kingfish—a little early for kings—and even a few weakfish. In addition to live herring, the shop is carrying fresh clams, bloodworms and practically any bait you could need. The doors are open 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays and 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekends.

<b>Brigantine</b>

Surf fishing busted loose on Brigantine on Friday at 2 p.m. and lasted through the day, said Capt. Andy from <b>Riptide Bait & Tackle</b>. Striped bass, blues, black drum and kingfish were beached lately. People were catching fish now instead of just soaking bait. Most of the stripers were shorts, but a 31-inch keeper was checked in Tuesday. James Chapman showed off two 14-pound stripers he dragged onto the shore. All kinds of 30-pound drum were hauled in. Clams and bloodworms did the trick for bass, and frozen mullet on a mullet rig drew the blues. The drum inhaled clams, and kingfish sucked down bloods. Back-bay boaters were putting the skids on healthy numbers of tog. Otherwise out-of-season flounder swam the bay but not much else. The Fish for Life Striped Bass Surf Fishing Tournament was full, and Pat Cooke was leading with a 16-pounder. All the baits mentioned in this report and more are stocked.

<b>Atlantic City</b>

Blues, striped bass, drum and kingfish clamped down on baits in the surf, said Dominic from <b>Offshore Enterprises Bait & Tackle</b>. The fishing was about the same as on Brigantine. Tog were tearing up the waters along the jetties and the bridges. Blues and sometimes bass gave up back-bay action. Customers came in today who were about to make the trip to the Continental Shelf for tuna. The fish were probably there, but caution is urged at this time of year. Spring is volatile, with weather that can change quickly, and the water, although it includes 60-degree eddies that’s attracting the fish, is cool, if you end up in the drink. Nobody can last long who ends up swimming. Clams, bloodworms, and all the frozen baits, including bunker, herring and mackerel are stocked. The shop’s back-bay rental boat, a 17-foot Angler with a 50-horsepower motor, is splashed and available. The store’s offshore charter boat, the <b>Carly A</b>, will start fishing in a few weeks.

<b>Longport</b>

An open-boat tog trip set out yesterday on the <b>Stray Cat</b> in a big ocean swell and “hairy, scary” inlet seas, and lots of small blacks bit, and a couple of 6-pounders were landed, and so were a couple of 5’s, Capt. Mike said. The five anglers went through 2 ½ buckets of bait, lots of small fish hitting. But there was definitely a bite. A couple of small sea bass were reeled up, and bluefish were busting the water off the stern at the Ocean City Reef. The trip fished the reef and also a wreck 3 miles offshore in 60 feet. No out-of-season fluke showed up, but some fluke were landed on previous days. The water was 52 degrees and pretty clean, considering the roll lately. Open-boat trips are hunting down tog until the season closes May 1. Get your blackfish before the end. Mike also says he’s not messing around and is going to sail whether one angler or 15 jump aboard. Call to book a spot. When blackfish season closes, open trips will sail for sea bass, blues and striped bass. Open trips will continue until June 7, when charters will fill the schedule for summer. Charters are already being reserved, and call to book preferred dates before they’re gone. Stray Cat fishes for practically everything in season, from bluefish to bluefin tuna.

<b>Ocean City</b>

Tons and tons of blues were freight-training the ocean, surf, bay and everywhere, said Dan from <b>Fin-Atics</b>. The 3- or 4-pounders, with up to 6-pounders mixed in, attacked mackerel, mullet, metal, plugs and nearly anything. Striped bass mostly keep a low profile when the blues storm the waters a few weeks in spring. But a few stripers bit in the bay around Beesley’s Point and the Parkway Bridge. Bigger, migrating stripers so far must’ve swam past offshore, because anglers farther north were beginning to hammer some. However, a pair of 28-1/2- and 29-3/4-inchers were checked in on Saturday that two anglers fishing together beached in the surf at 60th Street. A few herring schooled the rivers, but no word came in about striper fishing among the baitfish. Nothing at all was heard about either stripers or black drum caught in Delaware Bay this week. Strangely quiet. Delaware Bay would normally put out big numbers of stripers now, though the season was early for drumfishing. The crew on the Fish Trap from Beach Haven made a run to the 100-fathom line, going 4 for 8 on 100-pound bluefin tuna.

<b>Sea Isle City</b>

Light-tackle fishing was great for bluefish in the back bay this week, said Capt. Joe Hughes from <b>Jersey Cape Guide Service</b> and <b>Gibson’s Tackle</b>.  His anglers fought the 1- to 3-pounders on soft plastic lures on 3/8- to ½-ounce jigs that were slowly retrieved in the cool, 63-degree water. He experimented with different jigs, and chartreuse and white bucktails with different types of soft plastic tails worked best.  The blues seemed to react best on outgoing tides but were landed on both tides. Wes Bandy was aboard yesterday, and probably 20 blues were bailed, and about three out-of-season summer flounder also attacked the jigs and were caught and released. Lots of the flatfish carpeted the bottom, and flounder season should be good when it opens toward late May. “We’re right on schedule,” Joe said about the fishing. Lots of different bait swam the bay. Billions of grass shrimp filled the waters, and spearing and minnows schooled, and herring were showing up. Joe snagged a 1-pound bunker in the bay, unusual for the fish to be there. Egrets, ospreys and even loons were feasting on all the forage. Joe talked a little about the offshore fishing season that was looming. His first tuna trips took place in May during the past two or three years, and the most tuna usually attacked on the first runs, maybe because few anglers bothered them. On Joe’s first trip to the canyons last year in May, more than 20 bluefin tuna to 90 pounds were caught and released. Warm, potentially fish-holding eddies formed offshore weeks ago, but the few anglers who made the trip seemed to land only a few tuna. In the meantime, Joe’s busy with the back-bay action. Lots of hook ups, blues that are pulling hard, fun fishing. If he can’t make charters smile now, he said, then he never can. Tough to beat the springtime.

<b>Cape May</b>

Fishing on the <b>Daisy May</b> should begin Saturday with a combo trip that will drop lines for tog in Delaware Bay at first and then go after the bay’s striped bass, Capt. Dave said. He expects tog fishing to be great, because few people hunt tog in the bay, but the blackfish do come in to spawn at this time of year. Anglers on the vessel release the breeding females and only keep small fish and males. Mostly schoolie striped bass to 35 inches swam the shallower waters in the bay.  Striper fishing was turning on in the Delaware River, so the breeders already swam through the bay up to there. The fish, the biggest of the linesiders, will start dropping back down to the bay soon, after spawning. On the bay, fresh surf clams, the fresher the better, will be the bait for the bass on charters. The crew might chum for the stripers with a chum bag or pot full of clam bellies. Sometimes Dave will take a frozen bag of bellies out of the freezer the night before to let them thaw and get smellier. He’ll also sort through the live clams he uses for hook baits, finds the inevitable dead ones, and sets them aside to smash them and toss in the water once in a while for chum. Anglers know which ones are dead because the live ones close up when handled but the dead ones don’t. The dead ones are smashed by cracking them together or using a small bat, the ones used for knocking out fish like sharks that are caught, or a mallet. A few puppy drum, probably to 30 pounds, were boated in the bay. Eventually combo striper and drum trips will run. Daisy May does lots of tog fishing, including on combos, but tog season closes May 1. Tog trips will resume in mid November, when the blackfish limit jumps to six fish, after the closure and then a one-tog limit lasting a while.

Customers were starting to find striped bass and bluefish in the surf, and dog sharks were around, said Nick from <b>Hands Too Bait & Tackle</b>. Tog fishing was great along the jetties, and some were also pulled from the ocean wrecks, though tog season closes in a week. Clam took many of the bass in the suds, and a few of the blues were big in the wash. Delaware Bay boaters landed a few striped bass, and some customers talked about fishing for them in the shallows near Bug Light. A handful of puppy drum came from the bay so far. Fresh clams, frozen herring, live green crabs and other baits, including frozen squid, are stocked.

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