<b>Sewaren</b>

Limiting out on blackfish was no problem Saturday and last Monday with <b>Outcast Charters</b>, Capt. Joe said. The tog on Saturday weighed up to 10 pounds and on Monday weighed up to 9, if he remembered correctly. The weather Saturday was a little breezy and on Monday was beautiful, calm. Both trips probably grabbed four or five ling apiece that chomped the crab baits meant for blackfish, and the anglers did no targeting of the ling. Waters were 44 degrees close to shore and oddly were colder at 42 degrees farther out, the opposite of usual. So Joe was happy with the fishing and expects it to last another two or two-and-half weeks, usually until the water surface drops to 36 or 37 degrees.

<b>Atlantic Highlands</b>

The final trip of the season sailed Sunday for blackfish on the <b>Atlantic Star</b>, Capt. Tom said. Trips for the tog also made it out Friday and Saturday. On Friday the boat targeted different places at Scotland, and only one spot was somewhat productive. The anglers also tried for ling, but only one was hooked. On Saturday with only 10 patrons aboard, blackfish were picked, not great fishing, at the Shrewsbury Rocks, but some limited out on four, now that the bag limit dropped from six on January 1. Some also caught more than their limit, keeping only their quota, and some reeled up two or three, and others bagged none. On Sunday the fishing was a slow pick, and the vessel fished at the Rocks, Sandy Hook Reef and Scotland. The fish felt cold, and maybe water temps dropped. Tom thanks everyone who fished on the boat this past year, and hopes to see them all next year. Trips will start again with winter flounder fishing in March, whenever the flattie season opens.

<b>Neptune</b>

Seas were too rough for blackfishing on Thursday, New Year’s Day, so a trip for the tog stayed inshore, said Capt. Ralph from <b>Last Lady Fishing Charters</b> in an e-mail.. Only six were bagged, and lots of shorts were released. On Saturday seas were also stiff, but a trip blackfished in deep waters anyway, and all anglers limited out by 10:30 a.m., and the trip returned early. Twenty-seven of the tog were kept, and lots more were released, and most of the fish on the trip were 2 inches larger than minimum size. On Sunday deep waters were also fished for blackfish, and the angling was a slow pick all day. But 20 keepers and six ling were boated, and the high hook reeled in a dozen of the tog, keeping no more than his limit. Individual-reservation trips for blackfish are sailing every Saturday and Sunday, and a few spots are available this weekend. Trips are also available during the week.

<b>Belmar</b>

<b>***Update, Thursday, 1/8:***</b> Mackerel were beaten on every trip on the <b>Miss Belmar</b>, Capt. Alan said. Sunday’s fishing was just okay, but otherwise the number of Bostons boated was great each day. Wednesday was the only day weathered out this week. The Miss Belmar is mackerel fishing 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily. The <b>Royal Miss Belmar</b>, Alan’s other boat, will resume blackfishing this weekend, after the vessel underwent seasonal bottom painting and an inspection. Trips for the tog will fish 7:3l0 a.m. to 3 p.m. every Saturday and Sunday.

Blackfishing was tough on a trip Sunday, Capt. Tom from the <b>Nan Sea J</b> said. Some, but not a lot, were bagged, and a 7-pounder was the biggest, but the fishing seemed a struggle on all boats that day, for unknown reasons. Waters were 42 degrees, and seas were bumpy from 25-knot winds, and winds blew against the tide in the morning, but none of those factors necessarily seemed to affect the fishing. Maybe it was just one of those days, and boaters who tried for the tog Saturday reported better results. The Nan Sea J will fish through the month before Tom wraps up the season, provided the weather allows and the fish keep biting. <b>***Update, Thursday, 1/8:***</b> The bite rebounded, definitely improved, on a trip Tuesday, Capt. Tom said. Blackfish to 8 pounds were pulled from 100 feet in 43.5-degree, calm waters, a pleasant day. Lots of pout and some ling also chomped.

Blackfish anglers on the Belmar party boats probably averaged four keepers, a limit of the fish, said John from <b>Fisherman’s Den</b>. Patrons on the head boats also loaded up on mackerel this past week. Small striped bass were beached from the surf on clams or small plugs. Fisherman’s Den is open 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. on weekdays and 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekends.

<b>Brielle</b>

<b>***Update, Thursday, 1/8:***</b>  Mostly sea bass to 6 ½ pounds, excellent fishing for them, were belted on the <b>Jamaica</b>’s offshore wreck-fishing trip Sunday, an e-mail from the boat said. Limits of the lumpheads were common, and a few ling and porgies were mixed in. The boat fished two wrecks that both held plenty of life, and the vessel left them biting. Waters remained a steady 52 degrees, and the fishing’s been great so far this season, and that’s expected to continue. The next trips will steam daily from Saturday to Tuesday, and special trips will fish on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday, January 19, and on Presidents’ Day on Monday, February 16. Otherwise the Jamaica is targeting the 50- to 80-mile wrecks on 18-hour trips leaving at 12:30 a.m. every Wednesday and every Friday through Sunday. To see all trips currently on the books, see the schedule at bigseabass.com. <b>Bogan’s Boating School</b> is offering the boating safety course required in New Jersey. The next one-day classes take place 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday and the following two Sundays at Bogan’s Basin. Private classes are available at your location with a minimum of eight students and a discount for ten or more on weekdays, weekends, daytimes and evenings. Choose two 3-hour blocks of time, and call to arrange an instructor. Private one-day classes can also be arranged when scheduling permits.

<b>Point Pleasant</b>

<b>***Update, Thursday, 1/8:***</b> <b>Andrea’s Toy Charters</b> is bottom fishing offshore when the weather is fair and is also blackfishing inshore, Capt. Fred said. A trip Tuesday originally planned to reach the sea bass grounds offshore before a storm arrived. But then forecasts called for a shorter weather window, four hours max, so the anglers opted to try the angling closer to shore. Cod to 12 pounds were jigged at the first stop, and the crew decided to look for a more productive piece, and made a move. At the next stop, fishing was drop and reel for cod to 15 pounds, sea bass to 6 pounds, ling and pollock. The anglers loaded the box then ran home to avoid the weather. Sounds like fun!

<b>***Update, Thursday, 1/8:***</b>  Mackerel got bailed in the mornings on the past days’ trips on the <b>Dauntless</b>, and after patrons filled their coolers with the Bostons after a couple of hours, they switched to bottom fishing the rest of the day, Capt. Butch said. The mackerel were all different sizes from small to medium to large, different size classes showing up on different days. The bottom fishing banged away at fair catches—ling and blackfish—in the past days. Most patrons on Tuesday bucketed 20 to 30 ling, particularly good fishing. Trips will keep chasing mackerel in the mornings, when fishing for them is best, afterward switching to bottom fishing the rest of the day, until mackerel depart for the season. Then bottom fishing will remain the focus through winter. Get the mackerel while the action’s hot! Butch said. The boat generally found all the fish at the Mudhole 15 miles from shore, and the ling swam in 130 feet, relatively shallow waters.  The Dauntless is fishing 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. daily, running all year long, straight through winter, one of the few vessels in the state that does.

Bottom-fishing trips at the 40-mile wrecks kicked off on the <b>Gambler</b> on Sunday, and a healthy catch of cod, pollock, ling, a few hake and a few sea bass was pummeled, Capt. Bob said. Scott Kiss from Middletown won the pool with a 20-pound cod and also pumped in a 15-pound pollock, a 10-pound hake and a mess of ling. Jeff Melito from Point Pleasant clubbed a 20-pound pollock and also a mess of ling. Forty-mile wreck-fishing trips for cod, pollock, hake and ling will now fish 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. every Friday and Sunday, and offshore trips for sea bass will run 1 a.m. to 7 p.m. every Saturday and Thursday, and space is available on the season’s first sea bass trip Thursday. That schedule will continue probably through January, before the crew takes a break in February and March. The crew had wanted to sail for striped bass on final trips of the season today through Wednesday, but stormy weather looked like it would nix those plans.  

Herring were the only fish customers kept talking about, said Denise from <b>Fisherman’s Supply</b>. They kept buying small grubs to go after them, apparently hooking the fish from the wall at Manasquan Inlet. That’s all she heard, and nobody talked about surf fishing or any other angling. Apparently the <b>Voyager</b>, docked at the shop, was weathered out lately, because no e-mailed report rolled in from the vessel, and usually one is received when trips sail, and no report was posted on the boat’s web site. But the schedule on the site said offshore sea bass trips leave at 11:30 p.m. every Friday and Saturday and said an additional one is slated for this Thursday, because of demand and excellent fishing. The boat’s most recent reports said the fishing kept improving. The site also listed open-boat blackfish marathons at 6:30 a.m. every Friday. What’s more, weekly, 12-hour cod trips will kick off on Friday, January 16. See the Voyager’s web site for the full schedule.

<b>***Update, Tuesday, 1/6:***</b> Nearly all anglers aboard limited out on sea bass, an excellent catch, an e-mail from the <b>Voyager</b> said. No date of the trip was mentioned, but apparently the trip sailed sometime during the vessel’s regularly scheduled trips for the lumpheads at the offshore grounds during the weekend, and see the schedule in the above report. The humpbacks were mixed sizes from 2 to 7 pounds, and a few cod and pollock were belted, and porgies and ling were also boxed. Kurt Hollyday from Marlton Lakes won the pool with a 7-pound sea bass, and Bill Tevlin from Rahway won the “edible fish pool” with a pollock topping 20 pounds. But sea bass are highly edible, great tasting fish, too. Sea bassing should hold up, because more should continue migrating to the offshore wrecks. A few openings are available on an extra trip added to the schedule Thursday night, but the weekend’s trips are sold out. But space remains on the weekend after next and also on another trip that will leave port that Sunday night, a special trip for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Some of the vessel’s schedule is included in the above report, and see the Voyager’s web site for the full slate.

<b>Seaside</b>

Few fished the surf, but one angler hit the beach only a short time during the weekend, mostly making the trip to buy a beach buggy permit for the year, and he banked a short striped bass on an Ava jig, said the report on <b>Grumpy’s Tackle</b>’s web site. He seemed happy about starting off his New Year catches. If anglers want to fish the suds, try dunking salted clams on a high-low rig with 4/0 hooks, but also bring a light plugging rod to toss small metal with teasers. With the number of anglers who apparently quit fishing for the season, it was time to bring reels to the shop for repair and cleaning. Those who hesitate end up waiting, and heads up: reel repair prices go up in February.  <a href="http://www.grumpystackle.com/fishingreports/" target="_blank"> Click here</a> for updates.

<b>Mystic Island</b>

Some customers bought green crabs for tog fishing, and others purchased grass shrimp or minnows, hoping to catch white perch at Collins Cove on the Mullica River, if winds calmed enough, said the report on <b>Scott’s Bait & Tackle</b>’s web site. Some of the Belmar boats supposedly put anglers on mackerel catches. That was the only news, and quite a few customers stopped by Saturday, but the local roads looked like a ghost town on Sunday, and the outdoors was frosty and white. Some people also dropped off rods and reels for servicing, and now was a good time for repairs, before the seasonal rush kicked in. <b>***Update, Thursday, 1/8:***</b> A handful of boaters hit Collins Cove on the Mullica River for white perch, and the fishing wasn’t too shabby, Scott said. They could even get picky, culling through to keep only the larger fish. Live grass shrimp, a rare bait available at this time of year, are stocked and are primo for perch angling, and Scott catches the shrimp to keep them on hand. Bloodworms and minnows, also go-to baits for perch, are also stocked. Tog fishing dropped off, even though lots of the blackfish bit between Christmas and New Year’s. A few charter boats continued to chase them, but nabbing a limit became a challenge. Boxes and crates of reels for repair filled the shop already, so don’t delay with taking tackle in for maintenance to ensure the tackle will be completed in time for fishing. Business was also 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 once the holidays ended. 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. For example, schematics are available free. Check it out.

<b>Longport</b>

On the <b>Stray Cat</b> anglers got into a slow pick of blackfish on Sunday, but a 12-pound hog was the heaviest fish, and a couple of the patrons limited out, and some bagged none, Capt. Mike said. His daily, open-boat trips will now switch to fishing for big blackfish, ling, pollock and cod in deep waters. That means the wrecks 20 to 30 miles from shore, and the trips will sail 7 a.m. to 4 or 5 p.m. instead of the previous 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. The best angling always switches to the deeper wrecks at some point in winter. A few openings remain on offshore sea bass trips slated for 4 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the Saturdays of January 17 and 24 and also on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday, January 19. Those trips will fish toward the Continental Edge. Call to reserve. Looking ahead, open-boat winter flounder trips will sail when the flattie season opens toward the end of March. Super blow-out fares will be offered. “You can’t afford <i>not</i> to go!” Mike said. Anglers commonly used to target winter flounder in South Jersey’s bays, but the sport fell out of favor when the fish started to disappear. But in recent years there’s been a resurgence in the population, and the Stray Cat’s going to get after the mudbacks.

<b>Ocean City</b>

Tog hovered around the wrecks and reefs, and maybe a few striped bass could still be reeled from the ocean, but no customers talked about getting out on their boats to get after the fish, said Bill from <b>Fin-Atics</b>. Nobody mentioned catching stripers or anything else in the surf, and waters might’ve been too cold. Fin-Atics is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, resuming full-time hours March 1. But the doors will be open at other times whenever the staff happens to be there. Check out the shop’s new line of Wilderness System kayaks and accessories. Some are already fully rigged for fishing, and others can be custom rigged with accessories at the shop. Get your ‘yak set up for the new season. 

<b>Sea Isle City</b>

Capt. Joe Hughes from <b>Jersey Cape Guide Service</b> and <b>Gibson’s Tackle</b> took a 10-day Florida fishing trip over the holidays, fishing first from Palm Beach and then Islamorada, and it was awesome, he said. The Palm Beach fishing was covered in the last report, but since then he stayed at Islamorada. George Sanderson joined him last Monday and Tuesday, fighting a couple of bonnethead sharks on the flats behind Islamorada and fly-rodding several Spanish mackerel to 7 pounds on Florida Bay. The Spanish were huge, and a friend hammered a 9-pounder. Assorted groupers and snappers were also nabbed on George’s trips, and a couple of shots at bonefish were taken but didn’t pan out. On Wednesday Lindsay Singer and friend Dan jumped aboard and tried for sailfish at Alligator Reef. But fishing turned out relatively slow, and a king mackerel ran off with one of the baits and bit off the line. Joe’s wife joined him on Thursday morning for a catch of small jacks and a bonnethead shark on the flats. Then in the afternoon Joe and a friend fished the Hump 12 miles offshore of Islamorada, walloping several blackfin tuna on trolled feathers, and red and white worked best. Joe was asked whether blackfins taste good, and he said they’re delicious, and ate some that night. He and his friend also tried jigging larger amberjacks on that outing with no luck. On Friday Joe and his wife fished inshore of Islamorada in the back country toward Flamingo on the mainland, waffling  30 speckled trout on a deer hair shrimp fly and on real shrimp under a popping cork. They also tangled with small jacks, several Spanish mackerel and assorted groupers and snappers. On Friday evening Joe leadered a sailfish that ate a slowly trolled ballyhoo just off the reef toward sunset. The fish actually whacked the bait near the trim tab while Joe was letting the ballyhoo out. At first the sail failed to realize it was hooked, but then it took off like mad, jumping several times. It was leadered twice, let go once because it was still green from being hooked so close to the boat, and then was released. Joe did all of this fishing on his flats boat that he trailered from home, and fishing for sails on a small boat relatively close to shore, within sight of the hotel, was incredible. One blue runner bait was left on the final hour of Saturday morning, the final fishing of the trip, and a 20- to 30-pound king mackerel pummeled the slowly trolled bait at the reef and was landed. Other fish that were around the Keys included tarpon, mostly residents until the migration in May and June, and snook. Sailfish, king mackerel and bonefish were also on the prowl. The weather was windy at first in Palm Beach but was beautiful the rest of the time, and Joe will definitely return next year, and he accepts charters when he travels. He loves going to new places to fish. His fishing in Jersey is finished for the year, but he’ll try to check in with reports if he travels in winter, and he might send links to videos, like of the Florida trip.

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