<b>Hudson River</b>

Capt. Chuck from <b>Angler Sportfishing Charters</b> started searching around the Hudson near Saugerties, getting ready to begin fishing the run of big, migrating striped bass on the river, and he liked what he saw, he said. Some fish were around, and about a dozen, including a few 17 pounds apiece, were hooked on a trip, and baitfish, including herring, were around. The waters were 49 to 50.5 degrees, and no ice or heavy runoff from snow pack farther upstream flowed in the river, and he expects none this season. That’s a welcomed change from such conditions being a problem the last couple of years. He never begins chartering for the fish before April 20. When the run of larger bass moves up the river to spawn, the fishery offers the area’s best shot at trophy linesiders, the largest concentration of lunkers. Charters on board usually fish live or chunked herring to hook up, targeting the fish from Saugerties, working 10 or 12 miles up and down the river from there. Chuck’s been fishing the Hudson’s run of big bass for 30 years. Angler Sportfishing even held New York’s record in 2001 for the largest striper hooked on inland waters with a 54.6-pounder, Chuck said. That fish also tied the year’s record for the largest bass caught anywhere from the state, he said. He was excited to start the fishing again, especially because the river’s conditions looked promising.   

<b>Staten Island</b>

Winter flounder fishing was picky, and trips with <b>Barbara Anne Fishing Charters</b> averaged 22 to 30 of the fish, Capt. Anthony said. He didn’t say where the boat fished, but he’s usually been fishing in the back of the bay. A decent number of striped bass were hooked among the flatties. Ideal conditions for flounder fishing really never happened so far this season, or favorable weather only happened on one or two days. Barbara Anne runs a busy schedule of flounder fishing, leaving port on open-boat trips daily when no charter is booked. Dates did fill up last year, so book without delay. See the Captain’s Log on Barbara Anne’s Web site for availability. Combo flounder/blackfish trips might sail later this month, and striped bass fishing will be next, with trips for the big ones from May to July. Heads up: Barbara Anne will reimburse anglers for bridge tolls with a receipt.

<b>Bayonne</b>

A friend took trips for striped bass on the Hudson River around the Tappan Zee Bridge a couple of times, rustling up mostly 20- to 24-inch shorts but also 30-inch keepers, said Capt. Akira from <b>True World Tackle</b> and <b>True World Tackle Charters</b>.   A customer took a stab at winter flounder fishing on the Navesink River, knuckling in a few of the fish, not many. Akira was away on business in North Carolina in the past days and is supposed to fish for striped bass on Raritan Bay this week. 

<b>Keyport</b>

Despite the storm Saturday, a customer bought clams for bait early in the morning at the shop, returning 40 minutes later with a 20-pound 37-inch striped bass that he banked at Cliffwood Beach, said Al from <b>Crabby’s Bait & Tackle</b>. He also released three shorts and lost one linesider in the short time. Great catches of stripers were made along the bay shore on clams, sandworms, bloodworms or just about any bait. The fish weren’t picky. Al heard nothing about winter flounder beached from the shore. But boaters decked the mudbacks along the flats, and the vessels looked like a flotilla. Nobody mentioned seeing bluefish yet. Fresh, frozen and salted clams are stocked, and so are mussels, sandworms, bloodworms and chum.

<b>Atlantic Highlands</b>

A little improvement, not much, was scored at the mouth of the Shrewsbury River on Friday morning’s winter flounder trip, said Capt. Tom from the <b>Atlantic Star</b>. The boat then fished up the river, but catches of the flatties were slow, and no afternoon trip sailed. On Saturday in the storm a few of the fish were pulled from the mouth of the river, and during Sunday’s winds the boat had to stay up the river, and catches were again slow. The weather prevented the flounder trips from testing the bay since Thursday, when the back of the bay was fished in the morning. But the waters served up only a few flatbacks. The mouth of the river turned out somewhat better angling, still not good, for the bottom-huggers lately, and the river continued to hold occasional fish. The boat will poke out to the bay when possible in the weather to check if more of the fish migrated there. Cold waters and rough weather seemed to keep action from gaining steam.  But the hope was that things would turn around any time as the season becomes later.  The Atlantic Star is fishing for winter flounder on two trips daily from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and from 1:30 p.m. to 6 p.m.

<b>Highlands</b>

Two trips were weathered out in the past days with <b>Sandy Hook Fishing Adventures</b>, and every trip in the past two weeks was actually cancelled because of weather, Capt. Bob said. The weather’s been rough this spring, but he hoped to get out on a few trips on the books for this week. Winter flounder fishing on the rivers was slow to fair, and more of the flatties got pulled from the back of the bay. Short striped bass with a few keepers mixed in could be played on the bay.

The weekend’s storm on Saturday and winds on Sunday kept <b>Fisher Price Charters</b> from fishing, Capt. Derek said. A trip Thursday pummeled 45 striped bass, including three keepers, and seven winter flounder at the Keyport Flats on clams on outgoing tide. Mostly stripers, mainly shorts but occasional keepers, could be reeled from the area, but flounder sometimes grabbed the baits. Anglers who fished Friday told Derek they landed plenty, and a few who braved Saturday’s weather also tackled a mess of fish. Someone said bluefish crashed into Great Kills Harbor on Saturday, if Derek remembered the correct day. If they did, the blues would be the first reported to arrive on this site. Act fast and catch a discount on trips through next week. Fishing for stripers, flounder or bottom fish is available. <b>***Update, Wednesday, 4/15:***</b> Open-boat trips for stripers and flounder will run Friday and Saturday, and call to jump aboard or for info.

Lots of small striped bass could be clammed in the bay, and stripers to 15 pounds could be clubbed in the rivers, said Capt. Brian from <b>Jersey Devil Charters</b>. Winter flounder fishing turned out good catches on some days and slow fishing on others, typical for the early season.

<b>Neptune</b>

The off-season seemed long, and waters this spring were cold, but Capt. Ralph from <b>Last Lady Fishing Charters</b> expects tog to cooperate by this weekend, so the year’s first individual-reservation trips will get after the blackfish 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, he said in an e-mail. More of the trips will sail the following Saturday and Sunday and also on Thursday, April 30, before tog season closes the next day. Call to jump aboard. He’s been catching lots of green crabs for bait and preparing both his boats. Individual-reservation striped bass trips should run every weekend in May when no charter is booked, clamming and jigging for the fish, sailing as far as Raritan Bay.

<b>Brielle</b>

Winter flounder fishing was on the slower side on northern Barnegat Bay on the last trips, and more attention will be paid to Manasquan River for the flatties if the bay’s bite fails to improve, said Capt. Jerry from <b>Fish Monger Charters</b> in an e-mail. But a couple of half-day trips targeted the fish on Thursday, mostly on the bay, and another charter sailed for tog on Friday on a beautiful ocean. On the first trip for flounder on Thursday morning, only two flounder were plucked, one from the bay and the other from the river near Clark’s Landing. On the afternoon trip the anglers managed to bag eight flatties from the bay. On the tog charter two of the anglers limited out on the slipperies, and 12 cod, including three keepers, were belted, and so were some ling. A couple of keeper tog and some shorts were claimed on the first couple of drops in 75 and 85 feet, but most of the fish, including all the cod and the ling, came from 100 feet. “Nice mixed bag,” Jerry said. All the fish chomped clam or shrimp, and they refused green crabs and white crabs. Both charters and open-boat trips are sailing. 

Charters for striped bass in the ocean, either snagging bunker from schools and dropping them back down for bait or trolling for the fish, should get under way in May, said Capt. Mike from the <b>Katie H</b>. Stripers could already be boated far back in Raritan Bay. He’ll move the boat to Brielle from the Highlands, where the vessel was kept in winter, this weekend, and might flounder fish on the way. Bottom fishing for sea bass and ling will also be available in May. The boat will compete in the shark tournaments in June, and makos were on a tear the past couple of years, good fishing. Tuna season, the main event on the Katie H, can begin at different times each year, but the fish usually begin to be trolled in July. Last year small yellowfin tuna showed up at Hudson Canyon for two weeks around the Fourth of July, but then the fish mostly disappeared from waters off Jersey, an unusually tough year for yellowfin fishing. Longfin tuna became the predominant catch. Besides tuna charters, make-up trips for the fish will be available. So if anglers don’t have a group of six to go on a charter, they can call Mike, and he can probably put them together with other anglers on a make-up trip. He’s usually got other anglers willing to go.

Probably the final offshore wreck-fishing trips of the season will sail overnight on Friday and Saturday on the <b>Jamaica</b>, an e-mail from the boat said. The trips, leaving 11:30 p.m. and returning 6 p.m. the next day, will target giant sea bass, cod and pollock. Trips for striped bass and blues are scheduled to launch the following weekend.

<b>Point Pleasant</b>

Ten winter flounder were clocked, a slow pick but okay, on the first trip of the season with <b>Reel Class Charters</b> on Friday, the report on the boat’s Web site said. The four anglers aboard started fishing on Manasquan River. After nothing bit, they moved to the northern end of Barnegat Bay. After getting no takers on the first drop, they moved to the bay south of the Mantoloking Bridge. Flatties started getting picked around the change of the tide, and a flurry of action gave up catches at the beginning of outgoing. Two more fish were taken after a move to the flats north of the bridge, and one more was swung aboard after a final move to the East Channel. Another trip headed out Saturday, and rains started soon after the anglers got under way, and never let up. Winds also started screaming from the north. A few flounder were picked in the East Channel, where the anglers tucked out of the winds. They tried fishing in the river at both the beginning and the end of the trip, got one bite and reeled up some green crabs. Reel Class was originally supposed to kick off the season during the first weekend of April but got weathered out. Charters and open-boat trips are running, and check Reel Class’s Web site for availability on open trips.

The grounds 10 to 15 miles offshore were fished a short time on a recon trip during a break in the weather Friday, and mostly cod and ling were pumped up, said Capt. Fred from <b>Andrea’s Toy Charters</b>. The boat’s Web site said six keeper cod, three throwbacks, a handful of ling, five short tog and a lone sea bass came up from a snag in 95 feet to the south. The three anglers worked through a bushel of clam baits in no time, and with warmer waters, the fishing should really pick up. Bergalls were plentiful, didn’t mind the cold. The trip took place after the weather forced the cancellation of an open-boat, extreme bottom-fishing trip that Andrea’s Toy runs through April. The trips deep-drop for tilefish at the canyons and then fish the inshore wrecks for cod, ling and sea bass on the way home. Few if any boats offer this type of fishing, a rare opportunity. Andrea’s Toy will fish for striped bass from Keyport on Raritan Bay starting the first week of May.

<b>Toms River</b>

The Toms River at Island Heights sometimes dished out winter flounder and small striped bass, said Jeff from <b>Murphy’s Hook House</b>. Other local spots where flounder were creeled included Barnegat Bay off the Waters Edge, where seven were reported taken on one trip, and a little south of the 40 marker, where stripers were sometimes hooked, too. The bay at the Route 37 Bridge was another spot to stick stripers, mostly at night, and a few flounder. Bloodworms were a top bait for all the fish, though the stripers, like at the Route 37 Bridge, could be enticed with lures like soft plastics. Farther north, 26 flounder were reportedly slam-dunked on a trip at the Route 70 Bridge on the Manasquan River. A few flatties could be scared up on northern Barnegat Bay near the Mantoloking Bridge. One customer clammed a couple of short striped bass from the surf, and somebody else supposedly whacked a couple of keepers from the suds two weekends ago.  

<b>Seaside</b>

With the storm on Saturday, and with the winds and Easter on Sunday, surf anglers were scarce, and that equaled scarce news about surf fishing, said the report on <b>Grumpy’s Tackle</b>’s Web site. “You just don’t know until you throw!” the site said.  Of course, winds calmed when everybody returned to work today, forecast to blow 10 m.p.h. from the west, with temps in the low 50s. Friday’s report said a few short striped bass were beached, and the fishing seemed best at night, but maybe that was because most anglers fished at night, and clams drew the hits.  <a href="http://www.grumpystackle.com/fishingreports/" target="_blank"> Click here</a> for updates.   

<b>Barnegat Light</b>

Capt. Steve Purul from <b>Reel Fantasea Charters</b> got out for winter flounder during the holiday weekend with Capt. Dave DeGennaro and Dave’s sons, Nick and Max, Steve said in an e-mail. He didn’t say where they fished, but Barnegat Bay is his usual stomping grounds. The fishing remained picky, he said, but the size of the flatties was well over the legal limit of 12 inches. Most were 14 inches, and some were nearly 17 inches. Steve hoped the next report would include news about striped bass catches and maybe even bluefish. Stripers could already be hung from the bay at specific times and tides. Blues should migrate to the area within a week if not days.

<b>Mystic Island</b>

Unusual for April, but water temps actually dropped in the cold weather, somewhat slowing down striped bass fishing at places like Graveling Point, said the report on <b>Scott’s Bait & Tackle</b>’s Web site. But once the temps rebound, activity will kick back into high gear, until bluefish invade, probably within two weeks, putting an end to the area’s striper fishing in the back waters. But ocean fishing for stripers will amp up afterward. Word from the grapevine said two drumfish were landed on two separate occasions on local back waters. Maybe this season’s drumfishing will be better than last year’s, slow for the boomers locally. The only striper report that rolled in during the windy weather Sunday came from boaters on one vessel who hooked eight short bass off Graveling Point. A few surf casters fished at Graveling and Pebble Beach that day, but apparently failed to report results. A 9.8-pound linesider was weighed in Saturday afternoon. One customer checked in a 2.6-pound golden trout that day, the opening of trout season. On Friday the site said the striper fishing was an evening bite, coinciding with incoming tide, the past few days, and that no blitzes were heard about, but anglers were able to pick bass now and then. A 15.8-pound striper was checked in that was caught Friday night at Pebble Beach. Even though the moon was full on Thursday, no herring showed up so far this season at Batsto Falls as of Friday, and they were overdue. Anglers looking for the bait seemed to keep a round-the-clock vigil. Nothing was mentioned about herring on the site afterward.

<b>Atlantic City</b>

Tog, many of them sizeable, started to chomp along the jetties on green crabs and clams, said Noel from <b>One Stop Bait & Tackle</b>. Apparently waters warmed enough to get them going. Striped bass were sometimes dusted up on clams, bloodworms or mullet, and both the tog and the stripers were reeled from the T-jetty, the Melrose Avenue jetty, off the Flagship and off Captain Stearns. Noel heard about no bait like herring or bunker seen in the waters so far. A handful of flounder, not many, were collected from the bay. All the baits mentioned and more are stocked, and the shop is open full time.

 <b>Longport</b>

After plenty of tog snapped on an open-boat trip Thursday on the <b>Stray Cat</b>, with the season’s first sea bass mixed in, fishing was tough on an open trip Friday, maybe because of the weather front that pulled in the storm Saturday, Capt. Mike said. Thursday’s trip was covered in the last report, and on Friday’s trip, lots of short tog, and no sea bass, bit. Anglers worked through a bunch of bait, and few keeper tog came up. But catches were expected to rebound this week. Open trips are sailing daily to the reefs, and get the tog before the blackfish season closes May 1. The sea bass population should only increase, as the fish migrate inshore. Trips were weathered out in the storm Saturday and in honking winds Sunday, but Mike expected to resume sailing today.  Space is available during the weekdays this week, and a few spots remain Saturday, and Sunday is sold out. Call to reserve. 

<b>Sea Isle City</b>

Striped bass had started to wake up on the bay, and anglers aboard had gotten the fish to begin mouthing a clam bait or chase a soft-plastic lure or a Clouser fly. But Capt. Joe Hughes from <b>Jersey Cape Guide Service</b> and <b>Gibson’s Tackle</b> this weekend wrapped up a mostly fly-fishing trip to the Florida Keys with Jay Vonczoernig and Dave Stewart, he said. They hooked and broke off a 90-pound tarpon in the ocean off Tavernier Key on Thursday, when lots of the silver kings were seen. Some but fewer were spotted Friday and Saturday, and the weather was rough.  Three smaller tarpon 30 to 50 pounds were jumped in Florida Bay on Sunday. Chartreuse Toad Flies and a pattern that Joe ties called a Take a Peep Fly got the strikes. Jay’s son Luc Vonczoernig, 7, caught a 7-pound tarpon in Tavernier Creek all by himself on a shrimp. Permit were seen on the final day of the trip, Sunday, but the anglers were fishing for other species, and no lines were rigged for a shot at them. Other fish caught on the trip included a bunch of jacks, ladyfish, different types of groupers, mangrove snappers and bonnethead sharks. Again, most of the fish were fly-rodded, except when Joe and friends fished with kids on the trip on Tavernier Creek with bait. Back at home, striped bass fishing on the bay should get better and better, and Jersey Cape’s charters will chase after them with clams, soft plastic lures and flies. Bluefish should invade the bay soon, and then the anglers will have a blast wrestling with the hard fighters on lures or flies.  Joe will also offer charters on Delaware Bay for stripers and drumfish this month and next. Looking ahead, mixed-bag offshore trips will be on the menu in summer that will troll for tuna in the mornings and tangle with mahi mahi later in the day, pitching live and dead baits or flies to the dolphin.

<b>Cape May</b>

The first drumfish of the year, also the first confirmed catch of one on this site this season, was hauled in from Delaware Bay on a trip Friday with <b>Schmedley Charters</b>, Capt. Joe said in an e-mail. The drum was a 20- to 25-pound pup, and 11 striped bass were also reeled up, and all the fish sucked in clams along the Egg Island Point flats. In a phone call Joe said waters were 49.7 degrees, and seas and the weather started calm, but the bay became nasty later in the day in strong winds. The catch was better than a slower trip for stripers Thursday on the bay, covered in the last report. Boaters fishing the bay generally seemed to struggle around that time, maybe because of the full moon. Schmedley lambasted loads of stripers on a trip on the bay a few days before. The charters Thursday and Friday were on Schmedley’s 37-foot Topaz, and a charter scheduled to fish the bay Saturday on Joe’s 19-foot center console was weathered out in the storm. Trips on the center console are new this year, featuring personalized fishing for one or two anglers. Fishing Delaware Bay is currently the best option on the center console, but eventually the boat will mostly fish the back bay for stripers, blues, flounder, weakfish and tog through the season. In addition to charters, open-boat trips are available with Schmedley, and contact Joe for dates. Stripers on Delaware Bay will be the main target for now, but drumfishing should heat up on the bay, taking over the schedule. Prime dates remain for drum in May on both open trips and charters, and grab them before they’re gone.

A trip on the <b>Fishin’ Fever</b> today had so far put a 25-pound striped bass, a 20-pounder and a 35-pound drum in the box on Delaware Bay, Capt. Tom said on the waters during the trip early this afternoon. Those were the only fish caught, and no short stripers ate the baits, and the fishing sounded slow on the other boats he heard about, and the fish his anglers caught were the only ones he heard that anyone landed. A trip Saturday in the storm and stiff winds shellacked 50 stripers including 20 keepers to 36 or 37 inches on the bay. A trip Thursday produced 15 short bass, no keepers, on the bay. The fishing seemed slow for everyone at first that day. But friends who fished later that day bailed 30 or 40 bass. All the fish on the Fishin’ Fever sucked up clams in about 10- to 17-foot depths, and some, the 20-some pounders, were surprisingly large for this time of year, occasionally were hooked among the other bass.  The bay today was 48 to 51 degrees, depending on the tide.  With a few drum turning up, drumfishing might get hot around the new moon in two Saturdays. Both charters and shared charters are sailing.

The <b>Heavy Hitter</b> got splashed Saturday, and the year’s first charter is slated for this coming Saturday, Capt. George said. Winds and weather were rough through the weekend, so no news was heard about fishing then. Some anglers reported that striped bass fishing on Thursday became slower on Delaware Bay, maybe because of the full moon, although at least one crew reportedly said they caught plenty that afternoon. A few puppy drumfish began to be tackled on the bay, and pups are typically the first to show up, but one crew supposedly muscled in three or four large ones, 60-pounders. George has caught drum at this time of year through April, and sometimes the fish then turned off for a period, refusing to bite, until the fishing kicked in a little later.

Surf casters beached striped bass, including keepers, around Cape May, said Jim from <b>Jim’s Bait & Tackle</b>. Mike Clymer, 9, checked in a 30-incher he dragged from the suds at Higbee’s Beach. Other anglers connected at Poverty Beach, the Concrete Ship and Cape May Point. Clams were the usual bait. Boaters also clammed bass on Delaware Bay, usually around Bug Light. One crew boated six keepers and released 30 shorts on Saturday north of Bug Light. A few puppy drum, not many, inhaled clams around Bug Light. Fresh clams, bloodworms, green crabs and frozen baits are stocked. The shop is open daily, unless the weather’s rough.

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