<b>Atlantic Highlands</b>

Surf casters could bank a few striped bass, mostly small ones, while dunking worms and clams, and both baits are stocked, said Joe from <b>Julian’s Bait & Tackle</b>. One of the local party boats sailed for blackfish, putting patrons into decent catches, but the trips would probably only run a short time longer. “Everything’s icing up,” Joe said. The shop is open until 12 noon or 1 p.m. daily when the weather is fair.

<b>Highlands</b>

The boat was pulled from the waters Saturday, said Capt. Brian from <b>Jersey Devil Charters</b>. He was one of the area’s last charter captains to wrap up the season, but boating was becoming tough in the cold, and he wanted to avoid waters becoming iced over on the rivers, where the vessel is docked. He thanks anglers who fished with him this past year, and wishes everyone a prosperous new year. Fishing with Jersey Devil will kick off again in March with winter flounder trips, and striped bass trips will follow.

<b>Neptune</b>

Robbie and Chris, mates from the party boat Fishermen, set up a last-minute trip for tog on Tuesday, a great day on the waters, said Capt. Ralph from <b>Last Lady Fishing Charters</b> in an e-mail. The anglers on the trip limited out, bagging 25 keepers, playing catch and release with more. Big Allan, a mate for Last Lady, released an 11-1/2-pounder and landed 10 legal-sized fish, keeping no more than his limit. Most of the fish that were kept were 16 to 19 inches. Two ling were also reeled up, and the trip returned early. On Saturday in calm weather most anglers aboard scored good togging. Nineteen keepers, including a bunch of 6- to 8-pounders, were drilled. A 10-pounder was the biggest and would’ve been released but was kept because it failed to be revived. Six ling were also taken. On Sunday, nasty weather with winds gusting to 30 to 35 made the blackfishing difficult, but the anglers worked hard to catch, and Ralph gave them credit for that. Fourteen tog were kept, and four ling were brought in, and the hot hand, Big Jim Phiffer, whacked six keepers and could do nothing wrong. Steve Kim lambasted Last Lady’s biggest blackfish of the year so far, weighing more than 12 pounds, maybe 13 pounds. It was quickly released without being weighed to avoid killing the fish like on the previous trip. He also wrestled in several other healthy-sized blacks, and Stephanie Rowe, who claimed the biggest with Last Lady until this trip, also angled up a few keepers. Individual-reservation blackfish trips are sailing every Saturday and Sunday until the tog stop biting, and trips are also available during the week.

<b>Belmar</b>

<b>***Update, Thursday, 1/15:***</b> Blackfish got boxed on the <b>Big Mohawk</b> the past several days, Capt. Chris said. One angler reeled aboard nine keepers on Tuesday, keeping no more than his limit. The fishing was no longer at its height, but catches like that weren’t bad at all for January. The tog lately included some 9-pounders, not huge, but many patrons limited out. The boat will keep heading after the slipperies whenever the weather is fair. The next couple of days look frigid, but all’s been well with the angling, and jump aboard before nobody is still sailing for the fish this winter. The Big Mohawk is sailing for blackfish 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily.

<b>***Update, Thursday, 1/15:***</b> On the <b>Miss Belmar</b> anglers whaled mackerel when conditions were right, and catches dropped off when winds and/or currents were too strong, Capt. Alan said. But the season’s definitely been one of the better ones for catching the Bostons. Saturday’s and Monday’s catches were great on the boat in better conditions, and Sunday’s and Tuesday’s fishing was slow on the vessel in adverse conditions. No trips got out Wednesday and today, and tomorrow’s weather looked iffy. The Miss Belmar is mackerel fishing 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily. The trips will continue as long as the migration of the fish lasts, usually another couple of weeks. But sometimes mackerel swim along the coast in February, and during other years they only stay a short time then depart. Fishing on Alan’s other boat, the <b>Royal Miss Belmar</b>, is finished for the season. The vessel had been blackfishing but will now go to the boat yard until spring. Other vessels at the marina continue blackfishing, and catches were okay. Anglers who knew what they were doing could limit out and do all right. 

<b>***Update, Thursday, 1/15:***</b> The harsh cold and winds put angling to a stop today and maybe the next days, but previously the local party boats put patrons on good catches of blackfish, and mackerel catches were dynamite on the boats, probably the best in years, said Bob from <b>Fisherman’s Den</b>.  Nobody mentioned surf fishing, and reports in the magazines and elsewhere kept saying a few continued to beach striped bass. But those were all second-hand reports, and no customers said they hit the beach, and Bob’s in a surf club and knows lots of surf anglers, and none of them was still fishing.

<b>Brielle</b>

Limit catches of sea bass were common around the boat at the offshore wrecks Friday and Saturday on the <b>Jamaica</b>, an e-mail from the vessel said. A few ling, porgies and bluefish were mixed in, but sea bass to 6 pounds made up most of the catch. Everybody on deck either limited out on the lumpheads or came close on Saturday, when the weather was nice, much better than on Friday. Sunday’s trip was cancelled because of forecasts for rough conditions. A 12-pound lobster that Joe Nagey from Bethlehem, Pa., pulled up was the biggest catch Saturday. Pool winners on the trips included George Hanakis from Perth Amboy with a 7-pound sea bass and Jim Cawthern from Howell with a 6.51-pound sea bass. Water temps ranged 50 to 52 degrees, and the wrecks that were fished held plenty of life, and the boat left the fish biting. The migration of sea bass and other fish to the offshore grounds was going strong. The offshore trips are sailing every Wednesday and every Friday through Sunday through April. Special trips will also head out this coming Monday for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Monday, February 16, for Presidents’ Day. For more info visit the boat’s web site. <b>Bogan’s Boating School</b> is offering the boating safety course required in New Jersey, and the next one-day classes will take place 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. the next two Sundays. Visit the school’s web site for more info.

<b>Point Pleasant</b>

<b>***Update, Thursday, 1/15:***</b> Not over until it’s over! Striped bass got waxed on a trip Monday with <b>Andrea’s Toy Charters</b>, the report on the boat’s web site said. The trip was on its way to the tog grounds when a mile-long stretch of gannets was found working the waters in the ocean off Seaside. The crew couldn’t believe their eyes, and the anglers started casting, and more than 30 stripers were landed, with multiple hook ups the whole time. Then the anglers fished the bottom pieces for tog, grabbing 25 of the fish, including almost a limit of keepers to 4 pounds for everyone on the boat. At first the tog fishing was done in shallower waters for a decent pick, and then the trip moved deeper, but winds honked and were uncomfortable, and the boat moved back to shallower depths for another decent pick. Andrea’s Toy is blackfishing and is also bottom fishing. A bottom trip last week, covered in the last report, filled the box with sea bass, ling, cod and pollock.

One of the <b>Gambler’s</b> trips sailed Friday that are fishing the 40-mile wrecks for cod, pollock and ling, and seas turned out stiff, and the crew probably should’ve cancelled, but conditions were better before the trip left, Capt. Bob said. Only a few passengers were aboard, and they landed some cod and ling, but the weather made fishing difficult, and the day wasn’t very good. The vessel is also running sea bass trips farther offshore, and one fished on Saturday in seas that were excellent. The trip arrived on the fishing grounds in the dark, and sea bass always refuse to bite until daylight, but ling, silver hake, pollock, cod and lots of dog sharks bit before sunrise. When the sun came up, hefty sea bass started chewing. Fishing there lasted 3 hours, and then the boat moved to another wreck, and large sea bass were also hauled in there. Sea bassing on the trip was okay, but the size was great, the largest kind of the lumpheads. The pollock on the trip were probably the largest on average that Bob ever saw. Ed Mackin and son Chris belted six large pollock, including a double-header of 20-pounders, on jigs, and also jigged sea bass. The pollock on the trip hit both clams and jigs. A few porgies and bluefish were also reeled aboard the vessel through the weekend. The Gambler is fishing the 40-mile wrecks for cod, pollock and ling 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. every Friday and Sunday, and is fishing wrecks farther offshore for sea bass 1 a.m. to 7 p.m. every Thursday and Saturday. That schedule will continue probably through January, before the crew takes a break in February and March.

Striped bass could be found in the surf from Long Branch to Island Beach State Park, if anglers “walked the beach,” said Ronnie from <b>Fisherman’s Supply</b>. In other words, put in the time, looking for a hook-up. Toss small plugs or rubber, and Mambo Minnows worked well, and so did 4-inch Yozuri darters. But metal or any small lure also did the job. Few anglers still fished the suds at this point in the season, but fish could be beached. Herring were sometimes jigged at Manasquan Inlet on Sabiki rigs. On the <b>Voyager</b>, docked at the shop, outstanding catches of sea bass were made offshore on the most recent trips. One of the trips fished Saturday, and no report about the results came in yet, but the crew usually e-mails a report afterward, and if they do, it’ll be posted.  Those trips will continue sailing, and weekly, 12-hour cod trips are slated to kick off on Friday. See the Voyager’s web site for the full schedule. Fisherman’s Supply is open full time, seven days a week, the whole year.  

<b>***Update, Thursday, 1/15:***</b> Excellent catches of sea bass kept being made offshore on the <b>Voyager</b>, an e-mail from the boat said. Cody Eastburn, Manahawkin, won the pool with a 6-pound 13-ouncer and limited out on the lumpheads on his first-ever trip to the offshore wrecks on the boat this week. Other anglers also limited out on the trip, and 25 pollock, the best showing of pollock this season, were also waffled. Bill Sellers, Honey Brook, Pa., drilled seven pollock to 25 pounds and a bunch of sea bass, all while fishing with bait on a rental rod. Capt. Mark DeCabia from the charter boat Canyon Runner took a busman’s holiday, limiting out on sea bass and coolering two sizeable pollock and some porgies. The migration of sea bass to the offshore wrecks was “in full swing, so get in the fishing as soon as you can,” the e-mail said. Thursday trips have been added to the schedule through January. The Voyager is fishing the offshore wrecks at 11:30 p.m. every Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Weekly cod trips are also supposed to kick off this Friday. See the boat’s web site for the full schedule, availability and other details.

<b>Seaside</b>

If in the mood to hit the beach, clams on high-low rigs would be the choice to try for striped bass in the surf, said the report on <b>Grumpy’s Tackle</b>’s web site. But nobody seemed to try, even though anglers kept calling the shop for news. Still, none was apparently a diehard willing to give it a shot and catch some of the first stripers of the year. Forecasts for stormy weather probably scared off anglers Saturday, but only brief snow fell in the morning, and a little rain fell late in the day, and otherwise the coast was clear.  <a href="http://www.grumpystackle.com/fishingreports/" target="_blank"> Click here</a> for updates.  

<b>Mystic Island</b>

Winter weather was nasty for anyone to fish during the weekend, said the report on <b>Scott’s Bait & Tackle</b>’s web site, and the last news was posted in the middle of last week, when white perch were willing to chomp at Collins Cove on the Mullica River. That was probably also the last time most boaters were willing to head out to the cove. Live grass shrimp, the favorite perch bait, and a scarce one, are usually stocked, and so are bloodworms and minnows that will also get attention from the slabs. The cove is also the most popular spot for ice fishing in South Jersey, and anglers pull the whitey’s up from the holes, and Scott’s carries the baits. No ice settled on the cove during the warm winter last year, but this year’s colder weather could have potential, and stay tuned. Although most news was scarce during the weekend, an angler posted a report on the shop’s site that said he and four anglers fished for tog at the AC Reef on Saturday, tackling 11 of the blackfish on green crabs and one ling. All in all, not a bad day, and although tog fishing seemed to taper off each week, a decent catch could still be put together, the angler said. Earlier in the week Scott’s report said the cold weather failed to stop tog from biting, but catching a limit was tougher, and the big ones seemed to lean toward hibernating. Green crabs are usually stocked for bait. When Scott from the shop was telephoned for a first-hand report last week, he said reel repairs were already stacking up. So don’t delay to get gear serviced for the new season. He also said business was cranking at the shop’s web site <a href="http://www.pennparts.com" target="_blank"> PennParts.com</a>, and apparently anglers were tinkering with tackle since the holidays. PennParts.com features mail order for every Penn part manufactured, and many that are no longer made. But the site is also a public service with a wealth of information. Schematics are available free, for example. Check it out.  <b>***Update, Thursday, 1/15:***</b> One customer tried for white perch on the Bass River with no luck, and he moved to the cove at Amasas Landing Road on the river, but skim ice covered the waters, so no line could be cast into the cove. Scott doubted that skim ice yet formed on Collins Cove, because winds probably prevented that, but with the brutal cold front now moving in, skim ice will probably cover Collins by the weekend. A week of such weather would be needed to thicken the ice enough for ice fishing. Live grass shrimp and minnows are stocked, but Scott on Wednesday dumped the remainder of the shop’s green crabs and eels, putting the boxes away until March. The cold would’ve killed the baits, and the majority of the crabs were already frozen and dead. Speaking of green crabs, nobody reported fishing for tog. Reel repairs were already piled up at the shop, and a waiting list was in effect. Business at PennParts.com was hopping.

<b>Longport</b>

It’s that time of year: The <b>Stray Cat</b> will now switch to sea bass fishing on open-boat trips 60 to 70 miles offshore every Saturday and Sunday, instead of the previous daily, open trips for tog, Capt. Mike said. This coming Saturday’s trip will definitely not fish, because of bitter cold that’s forecast. But one of the trips that was scheduled for Martin Luther King Day on Monday will probably fish, and another is slated for the following Saturday, January 24. Call to reserve. Charters are also available for cod and pollock at the 20- to 30-mile wrecks, if anglers want to put together a group of six or eight. Both fish were biting. These fish will be the targets until open-boat winter flounder trips launch when the flattie season opens in late March. Fishing for the mud huggers used to be common in South Jersey’s bays until the population declined for some reason. But in recent years the population rebounded, and Stray Cat will get after them. None of the trips for tog ran in the past days, and the winter weather finally forced that fishing to be wrapped up for now.  

<b>Ocean City</b>

Some anglers chased tog, and a few of the blackfish were weighed in, including three of the fish to 8 pounds that one customer knocked down at the reefs, said Bill from <b>Fin-Atics</b>. The customer and the other anglers aboard returned from the trip with a coolerful. Jumbo sea bass could be boated at the Stone Beds and the wrecks 60 to 70 miles offshore. The last reports about striped bass catches came from more than 10 days ago, when a few were beached from the surf at Ventnor and Corson’s Inlet. But water temps plummeted since then. The crew at the shop was busy rigging Wilderness Systems Kayaks for fishing. The ‘yaks are newly stocked at the store both rigged and unrigged for fishing, and all the accessories are available for custom rigging. Waters around Ocean City are full of areas perfect for kayak-fishing that are inaccessible by boat. Kayaking can be a great way to reach honey holes that can be fished practically no other way, and is also suitable for anglers previously without a boat to get a feel for fishing from a vessel.

<b>Sea Isle City</b>

<b>***Update, Thursday, 1/15:***</b> Capt. Joe Hughes from <b>Jersey Cape Guide Service</b> and <b>Gibson’s Tackle</b> sent a link to a <a href=" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gl7JWY8_GU
" target="_blank">You Tube video</a> of some of the fishing on a trip he took to Florida during the holidays. Check it out. He fished from Palm Beach and Islamorada and whacked all kinds of catches, including jacks, barracuda, snook, speckled seatrout, king mackerel and sailfish. He’ll take the trip again next year and offers charters when he travels. See his <a href=" http://www.gibsonstackle.com/page6.html" target="_blank">travel web page</a>.

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