<b>Staten Island</b>

Time is ticking out: <b>Barbara Anne Fishing Charters</b> will kick off the year’s fishing with flounder trips starting April 1, when New York’s flattie season opens, Capt. Anthony said in an e-mail. Anglers on board last year slam-dunked the fish, good-sized ones, too. Blackbacks 2 ½ pounds were not uncommon. Daily, open-boat trips will run, and charters will be available. Trips did fill up last year, so book while space remains. Striped bass fishing will be next on the boat, with trips for the big ones from May to July. Last year’s catches were phenomenal, he said, and 40-pounders were sometimes clobbered on the vessel. Open trips will run daily for the linesiders around twilight, and reservations are required. Charters will chase the bass during the rest of the day.  In summer fluke fishing will begin, and bluefishing will be under way from summer to fall. Blackfishing also gets going in fall on the boat. Available dates for all trips will be listed on the <a href=" http://www.bafishingcharters.com/caplog/month.php?year=2009&month=04
" target="_blank">Captain’s Log</a> on Barbara Anne’s Web site. Don’t have enough anglers for a charter? No problem. Call Anthony, and he can usually pair you up with other anglers to create a full charter.

<b>Laurence Harbor</b>

Buddies banked a few striped bass along the bay shore while fishing worms and clams, said Capt. Kyle from <b>Evening Tide Charters</b>. Waters were probably cold from last week’s blizzard and plummeting temps, followed by snow run-off when the days warmed later in the week. A diver friend read ocean temps of 39 degrees from top to bottom 8 miles from shore in 80 feet over the weekend. But waters should warm again in the milder weather. Winter flounder season opens two weeks from today on March 23, and Kyle plans to fish for them in a big way, running trips seven days a week. He expects to make the first catches in the 6-foot, shallow, warm flats of the bay, only minutes from the dock. Then he’ll follow the fish as they migrate toward the ocean. Trips by the end of the run will target the flatties at traditional haunts like the Cedars along the ocean front off Sandy Hook.  But if striped bass angling turns on by then, charters will switch to striper fishing, usually more in demand. For flounder, anglers aboard will toss worms and clams on flounder rigs, periodically bouncing the rigs off the bottom to stir up debris that attracts flounder. A homemade mixture of chum like clams, mussels, corn, rice and canned cat food will be ladled into the waters, and frozen, store-bought chum logs will be dropped to the bottom in chum pots. The pots will also be bounced off the bottom at times to kick up debris. For striped bass the boat’s charters will often fish with live bunker, one of the specialties on the vessel. The crew often takes the anglers along to catch some of the menhaden for an extra experience. The baitfish and the large striped bass that follow them usually migrate to the bay by mid to late April. But smaller, resident stripers can be mixed in on winter flounder trips, and a rod with a hunk of clam is usually set out to catch them.  Eventually in spring bluefish will invade the bay, and sometimes they become too numerous to get a bunker past them to hook a striper. Then Evening Tide will dunk clams for bait that bluefish typically ignore but stripers love. Some <a href=" http://www.eveningtidecharters.com/" target="_blank">great rates</a> are available, including a 10-percent discount on charters booked before April 1. Anglers already grabbed up dates, so book preferred ones while available. Open-boat trips will also fish at an economical rate, limited to six passengers, and again, reserve preferred dates. All bait and tackle is included on trips.

<b>Atlantic Highlands</b>

Jimmy from <b>Julian’s Bait & Tackle</b> heard about a few short striped bass beached along the bay shore, and the shop’s clam supplier cranked in a couple at the clam beds, Jimmy said. More catches should be heard about in the next week or two, and worms and fresh clams are stocked for bait. Jimmy did no bottom fishing last week, but he planned to go this week and expected to boat ling. He found ling every time he went recently, but in deep waters, 200 to 210 feet.

<b>Highlands</b>

<b>***Update, Thursday, 3/12:***</b> Fyke netters reported excellent catches of winter flounder from the Shrewsbury and Navesink rivers, said Capt. Bob from <b>Sandy Hook Fishing Adventures</b> in an e-mail. He anticipates good fishing for them when the flattie season opens. Trips will start leaving the dock April 4, first dunking baits for the flatbacks in both rivers, then following the migration out to the bay and afterward to the ocean off Sandy Hook. Striped bass will be targeted in the bay next, and Bob hoped bluefish wouldn’t show up too early, making striper angling more challenging. Full- and half-day charters will sail, and so will open-boat trips with a minimum of three anglers. Catch the new Businessman’s Special, fishing 12 noon to 5:30 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays.

<b>Belmar</b>

Ling and sometimes blackfish were lifted aboard when the weather allowed party boats to sail, said Bob from <b>Fisherman’s Den</b>. The long-range cod trip to waters off Montauk on the Miss Belmar Princess was weathered out Friday. Customers would usually begin tackling striped bass up north by now on Raritan Bay at places like Union Beach, but run-off from last week’s snow probably chilled the waters. Plenty of anglers were out and about during the warm spell over the weekend, though. Bob saw a bunch at Spring Lake. The shop’s rental boats were painted to get ready for winter flounder fishing on Shark River, when the flattie season opens March 23. The store will probably be open until 10 a.m. through Friday, full time during the weekends and maybe at least until 3 p.m. during the weekdays next week. Then the store will be open full time, every day, because flounder season will open.

<b>Brielle</b>

Mostly sea bass but also ling and a few cod and pollock, a good catch including a healthy number of sea bass limits, got pounded on the <b>Jamaica</b> on Saturday, an e-mail from the boat said. Pool winners were Ray Hunter with a 10-pound pollock, John Morin with a 7-pound sea bass and Daniel Abroe with a 6-pound sea bass. On a trip Sunday strong currents ripped, and fishing tapered off a lot. Plenty of fish were read but refused to bite. A mix of sea bass and ling were boxed, and so were a few pollock. Overnight trips are sailing to the 50- to 80-mile wrecks, and visit bigjamaica.com for the schedule and info. Write to fish@bigmamaica.com to be added to the e-mail list to be informed about additional trips including Cod Specials. <b>Bogan’s Boating School</b> is offering the boating safety course required in New Jersey. The next one-day classes will take place at Bogan’s Basin from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday; March 22 and 28; and April 11, 19, 25 and 26. Private classes are available for a minimum of eight students, with a discount for 10 or more, on weekdays, weekends, daytimes or evenings at your own location. Simply select two 3-hour blocks of time, and arrange an instructor. Private classes can also be held on one day when scheduling permits.

<b>Point Pleasant</b>

<b>***Update, Thursday, 3/12:***</b> The <b>Voyager</b> ran two offshore sea bass trips last week, and one cleaned up on catches, and the other, on Saturday, was slow in a large ground swell, the report on the boat’s Web site said. A big swell can keep the fish from feeding. No date for the better trip was mentioned. The crew expected improved weather and seas to make catches bounce back this week. Space is available on trips that leave tonight and Saturday night, and Friday night’s trip is full. Call to book. 

<b>***Update, Thursday, 3/12:***</b> Trips bottom-fished at the Mudhole on Tuesday and on both days of the weekend on the <b>Dauntless</b>, Capt. Butch said. The boat was in dry dock for scheduled maintenance last week. Catches on the trips were okay. Mostly ling were looted, and sometimes cod, not many, were clubbed. On one day cod were scarce, and on the other two a fair number were cranked in. An occasional pollock was plundered. A few anglers coolered 20 to 25 fish, and most grabbed 5 to 10. Fishing mostly took place in the deep or 200 to 220 feet, and dog sharks were no problem there, like they sometimes are. Waters at the Hole were 40 to 41 degrees and close to the beaches were 39 to 40. Maybe one blackfish verging between a keeper or a throwback was pumped in during each trip. Too cold for the tog to get active.  The Dauntless, one of the few boats in Jersey that targets the inshore waters all winter long, is bottom fishing 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. daily.

<b>Toms River</b>

Anglers at Oyster Creek, the outflow from the nuclear power plant in Forked River, hung a few striped bass, and a mess of out-of-season winter flounder bit in the creek, said Jeff from <b>Murphy’s Hook House</b>. Both fish sucked up bloodworms, and bloods ran out at the shop, but more should be carried later this week. Stripers were sometimes cranked in from the Toms River, and one customer landed five. Another caught and released one, and he didn’t measure it, but he showed a photo to Jeff, and the fish looked like a keeper. Jeff heard about one flounder mistakenly hooked on the Toms and about a couple of white perch wrangled up there. All the fish in the Toms also chomped bloodworms. Two diehards tried fishing the surf, but Jeff heard about no catches. Murphy’s is open 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sundays until the hours are extended later this season.

<b>Seaside</b>

Fair weather rolled in during the weekend, and the snow melted, and Paul at <b>Grumpy’s Tackle</b> expected to see lots more anglers fishing, he said in the report on the shop’s Web site. But apparently he didn’t, and surf fishers remained scarce. But he noticed lots of activity around the bridges and on the Toms River at Island Heights. Striped bass and white perch could be tricked up at such places. <a href="http://www.grumpystackle.com/fishingreports/" target="_blank"> Click here</a> for updates.   

<b>Forked River</b>

<b>***Update, Thursday, 3/12:***</b> Anglers at Oyster Creek certainly beat striped bass, including keepers, said Dane from <b>Grizz’s Forked River Bait & Tackle</b>. One customer waffled 10 including a keeper on Friday and walloped three keepers Monday. Bloodworms will do the trick, and they ran out but will get re-stocked Friday. The shop had only carried a limited supply in the early season, but the weather turned out beautiful last weekend, and customers bought them up. More will be on hand as the season kicks in. Four- or 5-inch Storm shads in bunker or white will also work. So will Rapala X-Raps in X-10 and white bucktail jigs or Spro jigs with green, fluorescent curly tails, like a Mr. Twister. Those are all the popular choices. Winter flounder should also eat in the creek when the flatfish season opens in two Mondays. The bottom huggers traditionally got bailed in the creek when the season used to open March 1. The shop is now open every day, unless the weather is really poor. It’s time, Dane said.

<b>Mystic Island</b>

The weekend’s warm weather gave customers the fishing bug, and many flocked to Graveling Point to try for the season’s first striped bass, but cold waters made catches unlikely, said Scott from <b>Scott’s Bait & Tackle</b> in the report on the store’s Web site. Still, while he was walking the meadows to catch more bait, he saw lots of fiddler crabs skittering around, a sure sign of spring that meant the first striper catches shouldn’t be too far away. Some were reportedly latched into in Oyster Creek, the warm-water outflow of the Forked River power plant, but the fishing was supposedly nothing hot and heavy, and Scott was unsure whether any keepers were bagged. But anglers weren’t picky yet. “Any tug on the end of the line is a winner,” he said. Bloodworms, the best striper bait in the Graveling Point area in the early season, ran out, and more are expected to be stocked Friday. See a wealth of info about the fishing, including info about a $100 gift certificate that is awarded to the angler who weighs in the first keeper, on the shop’s <br><a href=" http://www.scottsbt.com/fishing/stripers/springrun.htm
" target="_blank">Graveling Point striped bass run Web page</a>. Grass shrimp, the favorite bait for white perch, and minnows, a great bait for pickerel and largemouth bass, ran low by the end of the weekend, but Scott hit low tide on Sunday afternoon to catch more. Nightcrawlers are stocked for freshwater fishing. Anglers looked for white perch all over the state, but Scott heard about no great catches. An angler Saturday saw marks on the fish finder that looked promising on the Mullica River and the Bass River, but failed to entice a bite with both bloods and grass shrimp. Plenty of pickerel were willing to chew, and when the run-off from melting snow no longer cools waters, and if a couple of warm days roll through, largemouth bass should start cooperating again. <b>***Update, Thursday, 3/12:***</b> No stripers were nabbed at Graveling Point yet, but water temps crept up slightly, and the fishing could at least be a “maybe” this weekend, Scott said. Waters before were too cold, as low as 37 degrees last week, but climbed to about 40. Clammers found temps from 41 to 43 at some places, and at 43, anglers have a chance that stripers will chomp, and at 45, the fishing should turn on. Anglers were scarce during the week, and everyone waited to hear about the first catches before dunking a line. So even if a catch were possible, maybe nobody knew. Customers mobbed the store for bait last weekend, and more people should arrive this weekend and afterward. An inkling about white perch getting picked, not whaled, on the Bass River was heard. Tons of marks were read on some perch grounds, but not so many were hooked. Fluctuating water temperatures or some other reason could be the cause. Bloodworms, the bait to soak for stripers in the early season, will be stocked Friday. Fresh clams, sometimes effective for the bass early in the year, should also be on hand. Live grass shrimp, the gourmet bait for perch, are carried, and Scott’s is one of the few stores in the state, if not the only one, that stocks them in winter. Minnows and nightcrawlers are also available.  Reel and rod repairs were caught up, but get repairs in before last-minute anglers do, creating a delay. Business kept moving along at the shop’s Web site <a href="http://www.pennparts.com" target="_blank"> PennParts.com</a>, a sign that anglers were tinkering with tackle. Basically every Penn Part manufactured, and some that are discontinued, are featured on the site. The site is also a public service, like its free schematics online.

<b>Absecon</b>

Striped bass, including a few keepers, were reeled up from the Mullica River, and a few herring were plucked from the river, activity happening a lot earlier than last year, said Capt. Dave from <b>Absecon Bay Sportsman Center</b>. He hoped it continued. The action was despite the difficult weather for the opening of striper season in last week’s blizzard and frigid temps. But this weekend was warm, and Ernie Blanco checked in the shop’s second keeper striper of the year, landing the fish Saturday on the Mullica. Ernie also whacked a keeper Friday but hadn’t realized prizes were still available for some of the season’s first keepers. So he returned Saturday with another keeper from the Mullica, winning a $100 gift certificate. Prizes for the third keeper and the first over 20 and 30 pounds are still up for grabs, and see <a href="http://www.abseconbay.com" target="_blank">the shop’s Web site</a> for details. Another customer said he also nailed a keeper on the Mullica over the weekend, and he and whoever he fished with released 11 shorts. Dave also heard that a commercial netter found a few herring in the nets in the Mullica River, and live and fresh herring might be stocked at the shop for striper bait by the end of the week. The herring, baitfish that migrate up the rivers in spring, providing forage for stripers that also head up the rivers in spring to spawn, could also be a good sign that striper fishing is beginning early. Last year’s first keeper at the shop was checked in on March 18. This year’s was brought in March 1, the first day of striper season, covered in the last report. All the stripers on the Mullica that Dave heard about this weekend bit bloodworms, the bait to toss in the early season, but the supply of bloods was the only question. The supply at the shop was almost depleted Sunday, and Dave wondered whether worm diggers in Maine got affected by the storm. He’ll get more at the shop if they’re available. Dave also talked with the commercial clammer, who said he planned to clam this week. So fresh clams should also be available at the store by the end of the week. White perch anglers reportedly loaded up on catches on the Tuckahoe River, and striper anglers on the Mullica said they picked up an occasional perch, but usually a big one. Absecon Bay Sportsman Center is now open daily for the season. “It’s time, as far as I’m concerned,” Dave said.

<b>Longport</b>

The <b>Stray Cat</b> steamed to the wrecks 60 miles offshore during a window of weather Friday, and the anglers limited out on sea bass, Capt. Mike said. Only sea bass bit, and the lumpheads were no great size, but the max was caught. Waters on the surface were 39 to 40 degrees, colder than before. All waters seen on the trip cooled 2 to 3 degrees. A trip tried for tog inshore on Sunday, but nothing was landed. A couple of hits were missed, mystery bites, but not even bergalls or dog sharks clamped down long enough to be hooked. So Mike will give the inshore grounds another two weeks to warm before fishing there again. But open-boat sea bass trips will run offshore whenever the weather allows, and call to reserve and to be kept informed of the schedule. Charters for sea bass are also available, and get on them while the fishing lasts. Open winter flounder trips will start to fish the bay when the flattie season opens March 23. Fishing for them used to be popular in South Jersey, until the fish mostly disappeared, for some reason. But lately the population rebounded, and Stray Cat will chase after the blackbacks.  <b>***Update, Tuesday, 3/10:***</b> Heads up: The coast looks like clear on Saturday, so an open-boat sea bass trip will hit the offshore grounds for the lumpheads that day, Mike said. Weather forecasts were calm, and call to reserve. Catches held up so far, and be on the bite before the peak tails off soon. He also said he was busy mixing up mussels and other top menu choices for chum for the opening of winter flounder season. Fishing for the flatties was a rarity in South Jersey in recent years, but many anglers have kept talking about bottom dunking for the mud huggers, because of the resurgence of the population. Here’s the chance to give it a go. <b>***Update, Thursday, 3/12:***</b> Saturday’s planned sea bass trip is on, Mike said. Friday’s weather also looks fine, and he might run a trip that day to scope out winter flounder on the bay, catch-and-release only until the season opens, toward the warm waters of the bay near the Beesley’s Point power plant. Anglers are welcome to join him, and be at the dock at 9 a.m., sailing until 2 p.m. A striper or two, fish that are already in-season, could also bite. You never know. Looking ahead: Open-boat trips are slated to fish offshore 4 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the Saturdays of April 4 and 18 for sea bass, ling and tog. An open sea bass trip is also on the books for Saturday, June 6. 

<b>Ocean City</b>

A bunch of customers fished for striped bass on the bay, but Bill from <b>Fin-Atics</b> was yet to hear about any caught locally this season, he said. Warm waters near the Beesley’s Point nuclear power plant are the best bet for the year’s first catches, and dunk bloodworms or clams for bait. Frozen bait is stocked, and live bait will probably be carried in a couple of weeks. White perch were angled in far up the Tuckahoe River toward the town of Tuckahoe. Sea bass were hauled up from the offshore wrecks. Fin-Atics is open daily except on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. The doors might be open every day starting next week, depending on demand. Stop by to check out the shop’s new line of Wilderness Systems Kayaks. Available in all sizes and styles, the ‘yaks come either rigged or unrigged for fishing, and all 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. What’s more, anglers can get started in the sport at a reasonable expense.

<b>Sea Isle City</b>

<b>***Update, Thursday, 3/12:***</b> Capt. Joe Hughes, always one of the first captains to hit the waters each year, from <b>Jersey Cape Guide Service</b> and <b>Gibson’s Tackle</b>, fished hard for striped bass in the bay last weekend, he said. But no bites. Waters ranged 41 to 49 degrees, and Joe wasn’t surprised when he got no takers, and he wouldn’t have been surprised if he had, he said.  His first bass usually wake up from the cold and grab a hook by March 15 in the bay. He tossed Clouser flies and soft-plastic lures, only because he prefers artificials. But usually when he can land the fish on an artificial at this time of year, he can land them on bait too, and vice versa. Besides him just liking the sport of artificials, he likes how casting allows him to cover more waters. The blizzard and cold at the beginning of March probably didn’t help get bass active, and might delay the start. But might not. Surely Joe will keep testing the bay to be a first to find out. Stay tuned!

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