<b>Laurence Harbor</b>

A shakedown trip with the captain and mate, the first fishing of the season on the boat, plied the bay Monday after the weekend storm and winds and before the storm the next two days, said Capt. Kyle from <b>Evening Tide Charters</b> in an e-mail. But the weather Saturday and Sunday-- including rains that caused freshwater runoff--dirtied and cooled the waters by Monday. “What a tough day flounder fishing,” he said. Many boats seemed to keep moving, and few fish were seen caught. Evening Tide first fished off Keyport in 10 feet, and found waters to be 49 to 50 degrees and dirty. Nothing bit, and the crew moved to the bay off Union Beach. One flounder was reeled up from 12 feet on a sandworm, but it was apparently yet to spawn, releasing sperm, and was let go. A swing and a miss was scored after a move to the 1 can at Keyport among the fleet. Two rods were also rigged with chunks of clams for striped bass through the trip, but none grabbed the bait. The captain and mate ended the trip at 2:30 p.m. Surely better fishing will happen, maybe during calmer weather forecast in the next days. Evening Tide is sailing seven days a week on charters and open-boat trips.

<b>Atlantic Highlands</b>

Stormy weather kept winter flounder trips docked the past couple of days on the <b>Atlantic Star</b>, Capt. Tom said. Monday was the last time the boat fished, and catches were no good, he said.  The boat fished just about everywhere, from the mouth of the Shrewsbury River to the bay off the Navy Pier to Sandy Hook Point and even out to the ocean at the Cedars. The mouth of the river had been relatively the most productive area on past trips lately, although the fishing was yet to be good. At the Cedars--the traditional hot spot for the flatties late in the flounder season when the migration reaches the ocean--only skates bit. The boat then moved back to the bay at the pier, and again, only skates chomped. No fishing was done farther up the river on the boat that day. The waters cooled to 44.7 or 45 degrees. Whether that kept flounder from feeding couldn’t be known, and whether cool waters in general this season kept the fishing from kicking in also couldn’t be known. But that could be a guess. Today was supposed to be windy, so the spring’s brutal stretch of weather probably wouldn’t be finished. But winds were supposed to diminish Friday to Sunday.  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.

The season will kick off Saturday on the <b>Fishermen</b> with daily trips for striped bass, Capt. Ron said. Patrons will soak clams for the fish, until bunker begin to get thick in May. Nighttime trips for the linesiders will be added in maybe a couple of weeks. The Fishermen will fish for striped bass 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 a.m. starting Saturday.

Bayshore anglers smoked striped bass, lots of fish, and boaters also whacked them, said Jimmy from <b>Julian’s Bait & Tackle</b>. They almost couldn’t miss, but a miss was possible. Clams got the bites, and sometimes worms got inhaled. Winter flounder were picked in the area. Surf casters along the North Beach at Sandy Hook clammed a few stripers. Navesink River anglers hooked occasional bass, usually on worms. Or if bunker swam past, they could catch them for bait. Bluefish supposedly popped up in the bay at Leonardo, and some supposedly appeared in Great Kills Harbor. If so, they’d be among the first reported on this site this season. One captain from the Highlands in the last report mentioned hearing about blues at Great Kills over the weekend, the very first mention of blues here this season. Bottom fishing was slow to begin, and storms needed to stop barreling through, stirring up waters, keeping them a little cold for the chew. Clams, worms and the full supply of baits is stocked.   

<b>Highlands</b>

No boats fished in the two-day storm that just ended, said Capt. Derek from <b>Fisher Price Charters</b>. Winds were howling. But now that the weather should calm in the next days, he’ll resume fishing for striped bass and winter flounder on the bay, beginning with open-boat trips that are sold out Friday and Saturday. Anglers on deck whaled 45 stripers, including three keepers, and seven flounder at the Keyport Flats on a trip last week before the weather. He’ll try to schedule more open trips next week on Friday and Saturday, and call to get aboard. Open trips run when no charter is booked. Fisher Price is also up for bottom fishing on charters, even though everybody so far wanted to sail for stripers and flounder. Waters were cold, and bottom fish like tog and ling were found considerably deeper around 100 feet, warmer depths, than this time last year, when the fish bit in 40 or 50 feet. But catches could be wrangled up.

<b>Neptune</b>

The first fishing of the season for <b>Last Lady Fishing Charters</b> should break the inlet for tog both Saturday and Sunday on individual-reservation trips, Capt. Ralph said. Call to climb aboard. Saturday looked like the best weather, but Sunday appeared okay. A few of the blackfish snapped, a later start to the fishing than usual. But the crew will bring plenty of clams, in case the trips need to head deeper to target cod and ling that were feeding. All fishing seemed to run behind this spring, and Ralph was originally going to begin trips on the first weekend of April, but decided to wait. In May quite a few individual-reservation trips for striped bass will sail.

<b>Belmar</b>

Blackfishing trips managed to get out a few times between stiff weather on the <b>Big Mohawk</b>, and catches weren’t too bad, Capt. Chris said. The fish weighed up to 6 or 7 pounds, nothing huge, but better weather was needed to get after the fish more often. The last trip sailed Monday in winds, but patrons picked up the slipperies. A few ling were lifted in lately, but mostly blackfish made up the bite. The Big Mohawk is blackfishing 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily.

On the <b>Nan Sea J</b> the first trips of the season will bottom fish Friday and Sunday, probably for blackfish and ling, Capt. Tom said. Striped bass fishing should launch around the beginning of May, only a couple of weeks away, on the boat. The linesider charters at first will dunk clams for the fish at the clam beds farther north off Sandy Hook.

A couple of the shop’s rental boats were motored out for winter flounder fishing on Shark River today, after the weather kept anyone from going before, but the anglers caught nothing, said John from <b>Fisherman’s Den</b>. He heard about no bulkhead anglers connecting with the flatfish, and nobody mentioned landing striped bass, like from the surf. But party boat anglers seemed to beat plenty of blackfish and ling. Fresh clams were out of stock, because the clam boats were docked in the weather, but more should be carried soon. Frozen, salted clams are stocked, and so are other baits, including sandworms, bloodworms and chum.

<b>Brielle</b>

The season’s final two trips for sea bass, cod, pollock and hake will head offshore this weekend on the <b>Jamaica</b>, and the weather looks great, an e-mail from the boat said. The trips, fishing wrecks 60 to 80 miles from the coast, will run 11:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Afterward the boat will switch either to trips for mackerel or striped bass and blues the following weekend.  

Only one winter flounder trip fished in the last days with <b>Fish Monger Charters</b> because of the weather, and a few of the mudbacks came up, Capt. Jerry said in an e-mail. The boat’s been chasing them on northern Barnegat Bay, but at the end of last week Jerry said he’d switch to fishing Manasquan River if a slower catch failed to rebound that was found on two half-day trips on Thursday in rough weather. A trip Friday, covered in the last report, put the brakes on a healthy catch of cod, blackfish and ling in the inshore ocean. Just a few dates remain for charters or open-boat trips in April for flounder and blackfish. Also a good idea to reserve dates in May for trips that will chase flounder, bottom fish and striped bass. Annual fluke trips that are BYOB—bring your own bucktail—will get going when the summer flounder season opens May 23. Again, reserve now, and even dates in July and August are going fast. Check Fish Monger’s Web site for the latest schedule, and see the site to join Fish Monger’s newsletter to be kept informed of the slate.

<b>Point Pleasant</b>

Barnegat Bay from the northern tip near the Point Pleasant Canal to the southern end near the Forked River power plant was a place to lock into lots of striped bass on plugs, said Ronnie from <b>Fisherman’s Supply</b>. The rivers and Raritan Bay were also spots to mug them, but on Raritan clams were the bait. A few of the linesiders were reported pulled from the surf at Seaside and Bradley Beach, mostly on clams. But surf casters could also drive to the ends of any of the streets at Lavallette to walk on the beach for a shot. Winter flounder fishing was weathered out. No blues showed up locally, but Ronnie heard about 6- to 8-pound blues materializing at Raritan Bay. The party boat <b>Voyager</b>, docked at the shop, was in dry dock for seasonal maintenance. But a couple of offshore sea bass trips are slated to fish 14 hours apiece in May. Trips in May also include a couple of two-day cod/pollock/hake trips and several 21-hour tilefish trips. Daily, ¾-day fluke trips will begin in May, but trips for tilefish, pollock and hake will be mixed in during summer, and tuna fishing will begin in late August, potentially lasting into November. See the <a href="http://www.voyagerfishing.com/html/trip_calendar.html" target="_blank">trip calendar</a> on the boat’s Web site for the full schedule.

Winter flounder anglers seemed weathered out from fishing locally or around northern Barnegat Bay and the Manasquan River, but the coming days were supposed to be calm, said Chuck from <b>Gates Bait & Tackle</b>. Previously the flattie anglers landed a couple here or five there, and the weather seemed to pound the fishing, creating cold waters, making the blackbacks reluctant to feed. The party boats Gambler and Dauntless supposedly planned to get back out on the waters today after the storm. The Gambler is sailing for fish like cod and pollock and apparently scoring, and the Dauntless is running mostly for ling with cod and blackfish mixed in, but nothing was heard about results of the trips lately. Nobody mentioned catching striped bass locally, although another shop reported catches around the Route 35 Bridge on the Manasquan and around the Mantoloking Bridge on the bay. That was unconfirmed, and no customers mentioned that. Stripers were beached along the Raritan Bayshore up north, and some were supposedly wrangled from Barnegat Bay farther south toward Seaside and Barnegat Inlet. Another shop around Seaside reported an occasional bass banked from the surf. Stripers also seemed to be mixed in with flounder catches in the Toms River at Island Heights. Or vice versa: flounder seemed mixed with stripers there. Tog were yet to be reported hooked along Manasquan Inlet, but unconfirmed news said one or two were lifted from along the Route 35 or Railroad bridges on the Manasquan, and Chuck wouldn’t doubt that. No green crabs were stocked for tog bait, but maybe they will be soon. The weather caused fresh clams to be in short supply, but they’ll be stocked this weekend. Mussels, sandworms, bloodworms and chum are carried.

<b>Bricktown</b>

Local winter flounder fishing was hot and cold, and all the rains and storms put a damper on it, made it not what it should be, but lots of anglers kept fishing for them, said Jason from <b>Pell’s Fish & Sport</b>. Customers favored the usual haunts in nearby Barnegat Bay like off Beaver Dam Creek, off the mouth of the Point Pleasant Canal and at Dale’s Point. Many said 7- to 8-foot depths were best, and many also started looking for the flatties in Manasquan River, anticipating the migration. Pleasant weather forecast for the weekend should open up fishing. Striped bass fishing reportedly went bonkers in the bay around the Mantoloking Bridge at night, and Rapala X-Rap lures supposedly worked well. The fish were said to be shorts but fun, although one customer lambasted a 42-incher at the bridge on an X-Rap. Jason was shocked, because the fish should be about 30 pounds. But the southern bay at the Route 37 Bridge was really the place to find keepers. Anglers were waiting for the migration of blues to swarm up the Point Pleasant Canal to fight. Customers were buying clams surprisingly to club cod at Axel Carlson Reef. Respectable-sized blackfish also hung at the reef, and small sea bass began to trickle in to the area on the migration from offshore. Fresh clams, sandworms, bloodworms and chum are stocked.   

<b>Seaside</b>

Rains moved out, and maybe surf anglers will hit the beach today, and news will roll in tomorrow, said the report on <b>Grumpy’s Tackle</b>’s Web site. Too few anglers fished in the lousy weather. Fresh clams and fresh bunker are stocked. <a href="http://www.grumpystackle.com/fishingreports/" target="_blank"> Click here</a> for updates.   

<b>Forked River</b>

Thirty-nine winter flounder got creamed on a trip that Jay Close and friends took Sunday on Barnegat Bay, said Dane from <b>Grizz’s Forked River Bait & Tackle</b>. Eight-foot depths were the spot between the BB and BI markers. Afterward news was scarce in the weather, but waters around the BB, BI and 40 markers were flounder grounds. Striped bass could be clocked in some areas on the bay on clams, sandworms or bloodworms. A few anglers said they got bass to smack popper lures at Oyster Creek and the Toms River. White perch fishing definitely picked up on the lagoons and streams like in Mantoloking and on rivers like the Toms. Fresh clams, mussels, bloodworms, sandworms, nightcrawlers and trout worms including mealies are stocked. 

<b>Barnegat Light</b>

Not a lot was heard since the storm, but surf casting for striped bass showed great signs of picking up before the weather, said Nick from <b>Barnegat Light Bait & Tackle</b>. Sharpies would beach a couple of shorts and sometimes a keeper, usually on clams. Good weekend weather was anticipated, so the catches will probably continue. Stripers began to be picked from Barnegat Bay, and a couple were weighed in that attacked Fin-S Fish. Winter flounder fishing was beginning to heat up on the bay before the blow. One group of three anglers limited out on 30 keepers to 18 inches in the bay off Harvey Cedars. A rumor was heard about a 10-pound weakfish tackled at the Barnegat Light dock. No word rolled in about bluefish appearing yet. Some anglers who looked around the bridges at night talked about seeing herring and other baitfish that were probably spearing. Clams, worms, live spots kept in the tank through winter and chum are stocked.

<b>Mystic Island</b>

The last substantial striped bass fishing around the Graveling Point area went down on Friday, said Scott from <b>Scott’s Bait & Tackle</b>. He couldn’t be sure whether dropping water temps were the reason, or maybe coming off the full moon was. But the rough weather in the last days didn’t help. Air temps were 30 degrees Wednesday morning, and ice formed, and snow and sleet fell that day. “It’s still February!” Scott said.  He guessed that the first bluefish of the season will arrive April 23. That’s because they came on April 27 in 2008 and on April 20 in 2007, so that’s in the middle. But the cold season could delay the arrival. Most anglers hoped they wouldn’t show up too early anyway, because once they invade, stripers at Graveling will high tail away. But striper fishing will turn on in the ocean afterward, and plenty of anglers love ferocious blues. Before the storm white perch began to nip baits along the bridges on the Wading River and at Lower Bank and Green Bank on the Mullica River. Ocean anglers would normally be into tog by now, but the weather was an issue. Clams, bloodworms, green crabs, minnows, nightcrawlers and other baits are stocked, pretty much the full supply. Live grass shrimp were the only bait that were a problem, because the rains killed them. Scott will get out to catch more, but that’s impossible during the busy weekend at the shop. It’ll have to wait until afterward.    

<b>Port Republic</b>

Mullica River anglers could reel in striped bass at Clark’s Landing, both from the road and from boats, said Violet from <b>Chestnut Neck Boat Yard</b>. Bloodworms or herring worked, and herring migrated up the river all the way to Batsto. Nobody really fished in the rains and winds in the past days, but white perch could also be angled from the river. One customer weighed in a 2.15-pounder. Stripers might’ve also been grabbed from Graveling Point. Bloodworms, live herring, eels and frozen clams are stocked, and Chestnut Neck is open 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. daily.

<b>Brigantine</b>

One customer clobbered four striped bass—a 34-inch keeper and three shorts around 25 inches apiece—in the surf at the Brigantine Hotel on Easter on clams, said Capt. Andy from <b>Riptide Bait & Tackle</b>. He simply walked onto the beach with a surf cart and did well. But then the weather blew the next three days, and today was clear but windy, but nobody fished. The next days looked calm, should be a great weekend. The hotel was the spot to be before the storm, and no bluefish were reported caught locally, but supposedly some popped up in the north. Fresh clams, bloodworms, eels and frozen bunker, herring and mackerel are stocked, and the shop is open 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. or maybe later during weekends. If customers want anything during other hours, they can call the store to make arrangements.

<b>Absecon</b>

Tog began to bite in the back waters along the rocks or structure, said Curt from <b>Absecon Bay Sportsman Center</b>. Ray from the shop nabbed his first of the season along with Tony Genovese on Easter. Ray in the report last week said he had been trying for them without success. Apparently waters warmed enough to get them going. The Great Egg Harbor and Mullica rivers turned out plenty of striped bass and white perch, and the stripers seemed to be a little bigger than before. Curt and a buddy fished for perch, but the buddy landed a 31-inch striper, and Curt released a 26-incher. They fished bloodworms and grass shrimp on size-1 Gamakatsu hooks. The shop carries nets that can be easily used to scoop the shrimp from along the bulkheads. Herring seemed to attract the larger bass, and bloodworms seemed to draw more of the fish but smaller ones. The herring migration up the rivers was moderate, a steady trickle. Striper fishing in the local bays is due to kick in any time. The rains, winds, freshwater runoff and debris disturbed the waters, and they’ll take a moment to clean up. A keeper bass was weighed in that came from the bay at Beesley’s Point farther south toward Somers Point.  Trout season opened, prime time for the fishing on the ponds and lakes, and the shop carries all the different trout worms and also Berkley Trout Power Baits. Live and fresh herring, clams, bloodworms, green crabs and other baits are stocked.

<b>Longport</b>

The daily, open-boat trip for blackfish ran Monday on the <b>Stray Cat</b>, before storms closed in the next two days, keeping the vessel in port, Capt. Mike said. An okay catch, not hot, was tackled Monday. Some of the fish were hefty, up to 11 pounds. The togging hadn’t entirely taken off so far this season in cold waters, but it should come around before blackfishing season closes May 1, and sometimes hogs were drilled. A slew of 12- to 13-pounders came up, and a 15-pounder was the biggest so far this spring. South Jersey’s grounds get less pressure than North Jersey’s, and the largest blackfish reported caught farther north were typically half the size of the biggest on Stray Cat at this point. Still, anglers can’t expect to jump aboard and drill the fish, including big ones. The fishing is off and on, and catches can be slow on a day out. If anglers got their hopes up, they could end up on a difficult day, like a trip last week when only 12- or 13-inchers were willing to chew. But you never know. Sea bass started to turn up in the waters, migrating from offshore, and fishing for them should only get better. Open-boat trips are sailing 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily for tog, and call to reserve. Spots are available Friday and Saturday. Come on down, and bring plenty of sinkers, Mike said. He’s fishing sticky bottom, but that’s where the tog hover. Sea bass are mixed in on some outings and should eventually take over the catch. When tog season closes after the month, the daily, open trips will run for sea bass and other fish that will migrate to the area, such as blues. Mike heard about no blues appearing so far, but the season was early. Open trips will end at the beginning of June, when charters will fill the schedule. Charters are always available, but the schedule then becomes jammed with them. Book charters now to lock in preferred dates, like for blues, striped bass, summer flounder, sharks and tuna.

<b>Ocean City</b>

The surf started to put out striped bass on clams, said Bill from <b>Fin-Atics</b>. Corson’s and Great Egg Harbor inlets also produced on clams, live or cut herring or bunker chunks. The back bay was alive with stripers, many of them small, but some of them sizeable keepers. Artificials like Fin-S Fish or Z-Man’s got pounced, and so did clams or bunker chunks, because bunker schooled the waters. The Great Egg Harbor River also shoveled out lots of bass, including quality keepers, on herring or artificials. Herring kept migrating up the river. The ocean reefs were stacked with tog.

<b>Sea Isle City</b>

Striped bass fishing dished out catches, okay fishing, began to produce, said Wes from <b>Gibson’s Tackle</b>. Back-bay anglers rounded them up mostly on clams, sometimes on bloodworms and occasionally on soft-plastic lures or flies. Surf casters also began to yank a few in, and more people were trying, and that was key, because the fish were known to be around, and more effort would create more knowledge about what was going on. Tog started to wake up from the winter slumber, warming up to chomp along the bridges, and that was big news. One regular customer telephoned the shop to ask if bluefish arrived because he heard they had. Wes said he heard about none, and although they could’ve arrived, he guessed waters were too cold. The storm dropped water temps a few degrees to 45 by this morning, and that probably meant the bluefish migration would take a week or two to begin. Clams, bloodworms, eels, green crabs and all the frozen baits are stocked, and Gibson’s is open every day.

Capt. Joe Hughes from <b>Jersey Cape Guide Service</b>, affiliated with <b>Gibson’s Tackle</b>, returned from fishing in the Florida Keys this week, he said. He didn’t miss much locally, considering the weather, and he also heard no news about local fishing, because of the storm.  But the forecast seemed to be clearing, and Joe plans to fish hard for striped bass on the back bay at Sea Isle and maybe on Delaware Bay through the weekend. His anglers were beginning to hook stripers on the back bay on clams and soft-plastic lures before he left, and he had one striper follow a fly without biting. All heck could suddenly break loose with the fishing, and May is often a phenomenal time for angling behind Sea Isle for striped bass and blues, and a few weakfish could show up.  May is one of the year’s best months for the fishing. The month and the early season traditionally was the best time for summer flounder fishing on the bay, where the warm, shallow flats attract some of the first flatties in the state. But that was before the fluke season began opening in late May. Jump on an after-work special trip from about 4 p.m. to sunset, when nobody’s on the waters, and the fishing can be great. Joe will also give Delaware Bay serious effort at striped bass and drum fishing through the next weeks. He’ll run his flats boats on the shallow waters of the back bay and a 26-foot Regulator on the bigger waters of Delaware Bay. Looking ahead, anglers shouldn’t count out early season tuna fishing. Although yellowfin tuna anglers often look to begin most trips around August, last year’s fishing in August and later was practically nonexistent. That was unusual, but Joe in recent years hammered tuna catches in the early season or around June and the beginning of July, when hardly anyone else chased the fish. He pummeled them, often bluefin tuna at first, but sometimes yellowfins. Joe this summer will offer mixed-bag offshore trips 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. Check out a video of Joe fighting a 90-pound tarpon on his Florida trip by clicking on the “Tarpon on Fly Video” link on <a href="http://www.gibsonstackle.com" target="_blank">Gibson’s and Jersey Cape’s Web site</a>. The fish spit the hook, but the fight looks awesome. Joe updated much of the site for the season, including a video tour of Gibson’s Tackle and a page featuring Joe’s traveling charters to places like Montauk, Puerto Rico and Florida. <b>***Update, 8 p.m.:***</b> Joe fly fished 15 minutes this evening, nailing two striped bass in the bay behind Sea Isle on the third and seventh casts. It was on! The first fish was 27 inches, awesome to see the size for this time of year in these waters, and the other was 22 or 23 inches. Both punched Clouser flies on sinking lines at one of Joe’s early season spots, where the fish should’ve been a month ago. Waters were 55 degrees, 5 degrees warmer than at the dock. The temp might’ve been warmer than other areas that got chilled from the storm, but the spot was one that would’ve failed to be affected by weather like that, the mouth of a creek with shallow waters or something. Waters weren’t all that clean either. Joe was also pleased that there was no reason to run all over to look for fish or that the stripers were found in local Sea Isle waters.

<b>Cape May</b>

Although Capt. Bob from the <b>Sea Star III</b> was away from the boat in the past days, couldn’t say how the fishing was going, daily trips began running for striped bass, clamming for the fish on Delaware Bay. The vessel is sailing 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily, he said.

Delaware Bay striped bass fishing was weathered out on the <b>Fishin’ Fever</b> because of the storm the past two days, Capt. Tom said. Anglers aboard Monday put a 25-pound striper, a 20-pounder and a 35-pound drumfish in the box. Those were the only fish boated, but at least they were big, and a trip Saturday on the bay shellacked 50 stripers including 20 keepers to 36 or 37 inches in another storm. Although Monday’s trip was slower, Tom’s friends hit the bay later in the afternoon and waxed 30 or 40 bass per trip including limits. So stripers were around, and trips on the Fishin’ Fever clammed them in 10 to 18 feet. A few drum started to show up in the bay, so Tom thinks drumfishing will probably really turn on around the new moon in two Saturdays. The season is early for drum, but catches do happen in April, and the days around the new and full moons often trigger them to feed.

The boat will get splashed today, should be ready for chartering on Sunday, said Capt. Eric from <b>O-Beth Sportfishing</b>. Trips will clam for striped bass on Delaware Bay, and the fish, including sizeable ones to 20-some pounds, were on the feed, caught before the storm screeched trips to a halt. Drum charters on the bay will follow in May, and bottom-fishing should get under way that month in the ocean on the vessel. Sea bassing should be in full swing then. Shark trips begin in June on the ocean, and sharking is a specialty on the boat. Keep an eye on the <a href=" http://www.obethfishingcharters.com " target="_blank">monthly specials</a> on O-Beth’s home page.  

Not only an actual report came from <b>Hands Too Bait & Tackle</b> despite the weather, but a first-hand report did. Nick from the shop surf fished in the middle of the storm at Reeds Beach with clams and bloodworms, but caught no striped bass. Still, surf casters lately were landing them there. The weather when Nick fished was so windy, cold and brutal that he was chilled, even with waders on, and this was April! He heard a report about good striped bass fishing turning on a moment in the surf at North Wildwood. If the fish reached there, they should also be found at Poverty Beach in Cape May. Although few fished in the weather, Delaware Bay’s striped bass fishing was going well. Depths 10 to 15 feet seemed to give them up on clams. Nick even saw a few boats fishing the bay when he was surf angling. A friend smacked a 15-pound striper at the Wildwood Bridge on a purple grub on a 1-1/2-ounce bucktail at night. People talked about tog catches at the T-jetty in Atlantic City. Although nobody mentioned tog fishing in Cape May, the Cold Spring Inlet jetties should be a place to find them, is usually productive. Fresh clams will be stocked by Friday night or Saturday, after the clam boats got weathered out. A healthy supply of salted clams are stocked in the meantime that should be a fine alternative. Bloodworms and green crabs are carried.

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