<b>Staten Island</b>

<b>***Update, Thursday, 2/5:***</b> <b>Outcast Charters</b> called it a season, Capt. Joe said. Anglers aboard had been blackfishing, but that action is basically finished. Trips will launch again during the first week of April for winter flounder or blackfish and ling. Striped bass trips will probably kick off during the third week of April, when linesiders usually get active. Joe, his brother Capt. Rob and the crew from Outcast thank everyone who fished on the boat this past year.

<b>Bayonne</b>

Sea bass, lots of the lumpheads, were pumped in from the offshore wrecks on party boats, and that was almost the only fishing that customers talked about, said Capt. Akira from <b>True World Tackle</b> and <b>True World Tackle Charters</b>. The weather was even too cold this winter for customers to fish from the bulkheads around Bayonne, like for tommy cod. But one angler at the shop said he hammered blackfish including one that topped 10 pounds at 17 Fathoms. True World is open daily through winter.  

<b>Belmar</b>

One final charter for the season on the <b>Nan Sea J</b> left port for blackfishing on Friday, and the angling was a struggle until the afternoon, but the last stop produced, Capt. Tom said. A 14-pound 1-ouncer was even nailed, and that was the biggest tog on the boat this season. A great way to end! Catches were good on that drop, and the crew had stayed late because of the slower bite earlier. Ling were also lifted aboard, and the trip fished in 110 feet. Tom thanks everybody who fished on the boat this past year, and charters will begin again toward late April, first running for striped bass.

Customers who fished on the Belmar party boats came back with healthy catches of tog this weekend, and they went back out on the boats today, said Bob from <b>Fisherman’s Den</b>. One of the anglers during the weekend walloped an 11-pound 5-ounce tog and a 9-pounder. The blackfish were taken in 110 feet, deeper than before. Mackerel fishing also seemed to hold up on one of the party boats that sailed for the Bostons. Herring could sometimes be jigged at Shark River Inlet, though few anglers tried. Nobody mentioned surf fishing. Fisherman’s Den is open until 10 a.m. daily, and if the shop made it this far, it’ll probably stay open without closing for a winter break. February is here, after all, and business starts to pick up in March.

<b>***Update, Thursday, 2/5:***</b> Capt. Chris from the <b>Big Mohawk</b> finally wrapped up his season, he said, so the boat is finished blackfishing and will be dry docked for annual maintenance. Trips will probably resume around mid March, sailing for blackfish, and keep an eye on the vessel’s web site. News about when trips will kick off will be posted there as early as mid February. Chris thanks everyone who fished on the Big Mohawk this past year. The <a href=" http://www.ssfff.net/fundraiser.html" target="_blank"> The Save the Summer Flounder Fishery Fund’s second annual fund-raising dinner </a> will take place 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. Friday, March 6, at Crystal Point Yacht Club in Point Pleasant, and visit the web site to purchase tickets. Chris, a board member of the SSFFF, was at a meeting of the fund when he gave this report and encouraged anglers to attend. Last year’s was lots of fun and included raffles and a Chinese auction for all kinds of fishing tackle and charters. The summer flounder or fluke regulations have seriously threatened recreational angling, and the outlook for this year is ominous. Most in the recreational fishing industry believe the regs are unnecessary, irresponsible and based on highly flawed science. The SSFFF is spearheading the effort to fix the problem. Check out the fund’s web site and consider supporting its efforts and going to the dinner.

<b>Brielle</b>

Here’s a first for the season: <b>The Reel Seat</b> will reopen this coming weekend, Dave said.  The doors were closed in January for a winter break, and Dave is the year’s first shop owner to report opening back up. He fished offshore on the party boat Voyager on Tuesday, scoring a great catch of sea bass, and nearly all passengers seemed to limit out. That was about the only news, but he’ll start to hear more about fishing when the shop opens. He heard about herring caught at Manasquan Inlet a couple of weeks ago but not since then. Starting this coming weekend The Reel Seat will be open 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays and 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sundays until the hours are increased in March. The <a href=" http://www.ssfff.net/fundraiser.html" target="_blank"> The Save the Summer Flounder Fishery Fund’s second annual fund-raising dinner </a> will take place 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. Friday, March 6, at Crystal Point Yacht Club in Point Pleasant, and visit the web site to purchase tickets.

<b>***Update, Thursday, 2/5:***</b> Some welcome news: Capt. Jerry from <b>Fish Monger Charters</b> is starting to look ahead to the coming season. He shot out an e-mail that said the boat is set to start sailing for winter flounder in April on northern Barnegat Bay and the Manasquan River. Sandworms, clams and lots of chum—all supplied on trips—will draw the bites. Charters, open-boat trips, full-day outings and half-day ones will sail. Tog and bottom fishing will also be one of the first on the menu in spring. Livelining baits for big striped bass will kick in during May and June, and fluke fishing, including on Marathon Trips, will be the deal all summer. Don’t hesitate to call with any questions or if you have any dates in mind to see if they’re available. Visit the boat’s web site to sign up for Fish Monger’s newsletter to keep abreast of the fishing through the season.

Many patrons limited out on sea bass and waxed a quality number of jumbo porgies on Friday’s trip to the offshore wrecks on the <b>Jamaica</b>, an e-mail from the boat said. So a mix of both made up catches. Pool winners included Jim Rae from Bensalem, Pa., with a 6-pound sea bass and Gary Leung from New York City with a 5-1/2-pounder. Waters were a steady 49 degrees, and more fish gathered around the wrecks every day, and the crew expects the good fishing to continue. Another trip was expected to fish offshore Saturday, but no results rolled in yet. Overnight trips to the 50- to 80-mile wrecks are sailing 12:30 a.m. every Wednesday and 11 p.m. every Thursday, Friday and Saturday. One of the trips will also fish on Presidents’ Day, Monday, February 16. Visit bigseabass.com for more info.  <b>Bogan’s Boating School</b> is offering the boating safety course required in New Jersey. The next one-day classes are slated for 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday and the Sunday of February 22 at Bogan’s Basin. Private classes are also available weekdays, weekends, daytimes and evenings at your own location with a minimum of eight students and a discount for 10 or more. Select two 3-hour blocks of time, and call to arrange an instructor. Private classes can also be held on one day when scheduling permits.

<b>Point Pleasant</b>

<b>***Update, Thursday, 2/5:***</b> Too cold, said Ronnie from <b>Fisherman’s Supply</b>. So not a lot was biting, but offshore trips racked up great catches of sea bass and other wreck fish, and that was the best game in town. Thirty years ago boats would’ve loaded up with whiting at this time of year, but most whiting disappeared locally. Nobody mentioned herring fishing at Manasquan Inlet, and no customers bought Sabiki rigs to catch them lately. New tackle that continues to be stocked to get ready for the new season is the biggest news. Vision’ surf eels, the soft-plastic baits that quickly earned attention this past season, arrived in four or five colors. The beautiful ZeeBass reels in silver will arrive in a week. Plenty of other  items are being stocked, and prices on tackle are marked down to make room for new stuff. Stop by and look around. Fisherman’s Supply is also gearing up to exhibit at the outdoor shows this season, offering lots of new gear and special prices. <a href=" http://jssfishingclubsurfday.com/Surf_Day.html " target="_blank">Surf Day</a> at Brookdale Community College on Saturday, February 21, is one of the first.

On the <b>Voyager</b> sea bass trips snuck offshore Tuesday and Friday between rough weather, and many limits of the lumpheads got looted around the boat, Capt. Jeff said in an e-mail. From small fish to jumbos more than 6 pounds were belted, and a good showing of porgies and ling were boxed, and a few white hake were clubbed. On Tuesday Ivan Smith from Brooklyn won the “edible bottom-fish pool” with a 6-1/4-pound sea bass, and on Friday Andy Variano from High Bridge won with a 6-1/2-pounder. Lots of life swam around the wrecks, so fishing should hold up. More of the trips will run Friday and Saturday, and a 12-hour cod trip will sail 6 a.m. Friday. See the boat’s web site for the schedule.

<b>Seaside</b>

A couple of anglers stopped by who actually headed out for surf fishing in the mild weather that arrived Sunday, but none checked back in to give results, said the report on <b>Grumpy’s Tackle</b>’s web site. “But they sure were happy about getting out,” the report said. That was the only word about fishing in the past days. <a href="http://www.grumpystackle.com/fishingreports/" target="_blank"> Click here</a> for updates.   

<b>Barnegat Light</b>

<b>***Update, Thursday, 2/5:***</b> Charter captains are starting to stir around! Capt. Steve from <b>Reel Fantasea Charters</b> checked in with an e-mail to say he’ll kick off his fishing season in mid March with striped bass/winter flounder combo trips. “Who’s ready for spring?” he asked. “I know I am!” He said his flip-flops are waiting! For anglers suffering from cabin fever, Steve had suggestions. He’ll give a seminar on Barnegat Bay Weakfishing on Thursday, February 12, at Barnegat High School as part of a fundraiser for the school’s fishing club. Bill Donovan and Darren Dorris from New Jersey Angler magazine and TV show will also give a seminar at the event on Inshore Pelagics. A double billing. Admission is an $8 donation. Steve will also be on hand to talk fishing at the Fishing Flea Market at Southern Regional High School in Manahawkin on Saturday, February 21, benefitting the school’s fishing club. Trips with Reel Fantasea will be booked at both events. Can’t make either? No worries. Simply call or e-mail Steve for bookings or to check availability.

<b>Mystic Island</b>

One small clump of ice remained on Collins Cove on the Mullica River on Saturday, and with Sunday’s temperatures pushing 60 degrees, “kiss any local ice fishing goodbye,” said the report on <b>Scott’s Bait & Tackle</b>’s web site. Temps would have to drop to the teens again to form enough ice to resume ice-angling for white perch on the cove. Live grass shrimp, minnows and bloodworms are usually stocked for the fishing, and the shrimp, scarce at most stores in winter, are especially productive. Scott himself catches them to stock at the shop for perch angling up the rivers like the Mullica, one of the coast’s best fisheries in the cold months. If waters are mostly free of ice, boaters will fish for the slabs. In a couple of weeks lots of customers will start buying striped bass rigs, gearing up for the opening of striper season in the bays and rivers on March 1. Graveling Point on Great Bay near the shop is always one of the first places in the state to give up catches. Anglers there dunk bloodworms for bait in the early season, and the shop can point anglers in the right direction for the fishing. Many customers on Saturday picked up rods and reels that were serviced, and repairs should be done now before the rush prior to striper season. Business this winter was cranking at the store’s web site <a href="http://www.pennparts.com" target="_blank"> PennParts.com</a>, and apparently anglers were tinkering with tackle. 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, like schematics available free online. Check it out. <b>***Update, Thursday, 2/5:***</b> “Any fishable ice on Collins Cove in the cold this week?” Scott was asked. “Absolutely not,” he said. A small area of ice might’ve stuck around, but boaters could now sneak onto the Mullica River or surrounding waters to chase the white perch. With 50-degree temps forecast for the weekend, freshwater anglers might get a chance to chase pickerel, because the ice on lakes might melt. Live grass shrimp are stocked, and so are bloodworms. The minnow supply was low, and most of them froze, but Scott planned to catch more soon, maybe on today’s low tide. Customers talked about going to the Atlantic City Boat Show this week. The state will hold its annual meeting to decide the year’s fluke regulations on February 24 in Galloway.

<b>Longport</b>

Offshore anglers had the weather for bottom fishing, with winds calm enough during four days last week, and they had the fish, with sea bass stacked up near the canyon wrecks and cod hovering at wrecks closer to shore, said Capt. Mike from the <b>Stray Cat</b>. Now all they needed was to get tired of cabin fever, stop wasting money on boat shows, and come fishing, he said.  The boat is available for 10-, 12- and 16-hour charters for sea bass 65 miles offshore or cod 40 miles from shore. Only a couple of anglers showed up at the docks Sunday during calm weather, and today was also supposed to be calm. Looking ahead, Stray Cat will run open-boat winter-flounder trips when the flattie season opens, usually in late March. Fishing for the blackbacks was popular in South Jersey’s bays years ago, but then the population of the mud huggers declined. But numbers increased in recent years, and Stray Cat will get after them. <b>***Update, Thursday, 2/5:***</b> Three spots are available on an offshore sea bass trip Saturday that’ll fish the 65-mile wrecks, Mike said. A trip Sunday is slated to fish the inshore grounds for tog in 90 to 100 feet, and call to jump aboard. On the last trip for tog in that area, some hefty ones were beaten, not a lot, but decent-sized. Cod and pollock trips to the 50-mile wrecks will head out on Presidents’ Day, Monday, February 16; and the Saturdays of February 21 and 28. The 12-hour, open-boat outings will leave the dock at 4 a.m., and call to reserve. No reason to stop sailing now, Mike said, because March, the beginning of the season, is a few weeks away. 

<b>Ocean City</b>

A few head boats motored offshore for sea bass, apparently bailing lots of the fish on some days and fewer on others, said Bill from <b>Fin-Atics</b>.  Otherwise fishing along the coast was nearly at a standstill. Although the cold this winter was probably normal, temps were lower than the past several years, and waters were colder. The ocean close to shore was 35 or 36 degrees, really too cold for anything to bite. The bay failed to freeze, though. Check out the store’s Wilderness Systems Kayaks for fishing, available in all sizes and styles. The ‘yaks are newly stocked 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. Fin-Atics is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, resuming full-time hours March 1.

Back to Top