<b>Staten Island</b>

Better fishing for winter flounder, “more upbeat,” was belted on a charter Sunday in the back of the bay with <b>Barbara Anne Fishing Charters</b>, Capt. Anthony said. The blackbacks seemed lethargic in cold waters, but 35 were creeled, and if a string of fair weather moves in, that will help. Quite a few striped bass were in the mix. Barbara Anne runs a busy schedule of both open-boat trips and charters for flounder, and dates did fill last year, and only several remain this month. Book for May while the schedule allows. See the Captain’s Log on the boat’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>Laurence Harbor</b>

Striped bass fishing kept improving along the bay shore, and winter flounder began to become more active, popping out of the mud, because waters warmed a bit, reaching the upper 40s, said Capt. Kyle from <b>Evening Tide Charters</b>. The boat will be launched for the season Friday, and trips will be ready to go, maybe right on time for fishing to heat up. The first outings will probably target flounder on the flats of the bay at Morgan or Keyport, where the warm shallows usually attract the fish first. Combo flounder/striper trips will be offered, until the anglers aboard switch to flat-out striper fishing, when the migration of big ones kicks in. Bigger bass usually invade when waters reach the 50s and when plenty of bunker arrive. Evening Tide will fish seven days a week, both on charters and open-boat trips.

<b>Keyport</b>

The bay shore’s striped bass fishing just gained steam every day, said Chris from <b>Crabby’s Bait & Tackle</b> in a fax. More and more keepers were pounded, and clams were best bait, but don’t rule out sandworms or bloodworms. Ray Przytulski clammed a 15-1/2-pound bass at Morgan Beach. Tony Shallown hit Cliffwood Beach for two keepers to 19.8 pounds, releasing four shorts. Please be courteous, anglers! Lots were fishing the Cliffwood Beach and rock wall area in the past weeks, and some were leaving tons of trash on the beaches, parking in private driveways and even relieving themselves in view of the homes on the waterfront. Pack out trash or throw it in the many garbage cans that the town provides just for anglers. If you see a mess, please help by cleaning it up.  Plus park in the proper places, and use a bathroom! Fishing will be prohibited otherwise. A few reports rolled in about bunker starting to be seen in the bay. Winter flounder fishing was slow, but the Keyport Flats should begin to produce with sunny days.

<b>Atlantic Highlands</b>

Winter-flounder trips started to bag a few fish Thursday in better weather, started giving hope for improvement, but then crummy weather and rains hit Friday, and fierce winds blew Saturday, said Capt. Tom from the <b>Atlantic Star</b>. By Sunday the fishing wasn’t good again, although catches were never good in cold waters so far this season, but a few flatbacks were boxed. Strong winds also blew on Sunday morning’s trip, but conditions were better on the afternoon trip. Most of the flatties this year were keepers so far. Both worms and clams are supplied for bait, and clams attracted more bites lately, although a few more responded to worms on Sunday afternoon. The boat only fished on the Shrewsbury River since the last report, did no fishing on the bay. Trips prior to then sometimes tried the bay near the Navy Pier, but that area wasn’t ready yet. Tom expects to fish the river another week, although he’ll likely poke into the bay at times to test the grounds this week. Anglers can’t go by last year’s fishing to see when the bay might turn on this season. More of the fish cooperated at this time last year, according to Tom’s log books. This year was probably colder, and the weather’s been rough. Overall the fishing was poor, a slow start, but a few big flounder got creamed, and the bite should pick up. 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. On Easter Sunday the morning trip will fish, but no afternoon trip will run.

The kick-off of the season was postponed on the <b>Fishermen</b> until April 18, two Saturdays from now, because weather delayed prep work on the boat, Capt. Ron said in an e-mail. He was shooting to begin daily trips for striped bass this Saturday. But that was tentative anyway, depending on whether enough stripers could be angled, and this spring’s rough, cool weather was a factor.  

<b>Highlands</b>

The boat will get splashed this week, and trips will start soon afterward, said Capt. Brian from <b>Jersey Devil Charters</b>. He knew anglers who on Sunday clubbed a dozen striped bass including a couple of keepers on clams in the back of the bay. Some big flounder also came up. The boat’s first charters will chase flounder, but don’t rule out striper trips in the early season. Charters will troll for the resident stripers with Stretch plugs and light tackle. Combo flounder/striper trips will also be an option. Later the anglers aboard will hunt bigger, migrating stripers with live bunker or chunked bunker or on the troll, when the menhaden migration attracts the lunkers.

Capt. Derek from <b>Fisher Price Charters</b> got weathered out from fishing on a couple of trips toward the end of the week, he said. But a friend boated a keeper striped bass and lots of shorts in the back of the bay in better weather on Sunday on clams. Winter flounder fishing started to improve a little on the rivers, and flounder pounders just needed a break in the weather. Fisher Price planned to begin offering charters and open-boat trips next week, but if everything’s ready, open trips will fish from Good Friday through Easter, and call to jump aboard. Dates for charters and open trips are available this month, and some remain in May and June. Trips sail for flounder and schoolie stripers until concentrating on big stripers that later invade the waters. But bottom fishing for ling or whatever bites is also done in the early season. Act fast to catch a discount on trips that fish from April 13 to 26.

<b>Belmar</b>

When anglers could get the weather for fishing Shark River, they scored okay on winter flounder, but today was a washout in the storm, and strong winds on Saturday kept anyone from trying, and weather was often like that, said Jessie from <b>Fisherman’s Den</b>. But on Sunday in calm conditions a few of the shop’s boats got rented to fish the river, and the anglers aboard seemed to pluck three to five of the flatties apiece. Anglers from the bulkhead also seemed to connect. Jessie was unsure how the Belmar party boats made out lately, but they had been catching ling and sometimes blackfish, and sea bass supposedly started to move in from offshore. In the surf striped bass anglers reportedly nabbed a few at Bradley Beach, and a bigger one was supposedly banked at Spring Lake. But no customers checked in bass from the suds so far this season.

<b>Brielle</b>

Winter flounder fishing wasn’t bad, considering the weather, said Dave from <b>The Reel Seat</b>. Most local catches were made on northern Barnegat Bay, but he heard about a few of the fish knuckled in from the Manasquan River. Flounder anglers sometimes hooked striped bass on the bay, and a week of warmer weather was probably all that was needed to pick up fishing in general, from flounder pounding to striped bass angling in the surf. Stripers were beached farther north, along the Raritan Bayshore, but catches sounded inconsistent. Ling fishing was somewhat slow on the inshore ocean, and sea bass catches offshore seemed to be dropping off. None of the party boats apparently headed out for the lumpheads, and no news might’ve been slow news.  The <a href=" http://www.ssfff.net/fundraiser.html" target="_blank">Save the Summer Flounder Fishery Fund</a>, spearheading the movement to prevent the summer flounder or fluke season from closing and from harsh bag limits that are essentially a closure, very much needs the continued support of anglers. See the fund’s Web site for details and how the fund is attempting to solve the crisis.

Twenty-seven winter flounder, “nice, fat fish,” and a couple of shorts were shellacked on a trip on Raritan Bay with <b>Fish Monger Charters</b> on Sunday, and heavy chum was key, Capt. Jerry said in an e-mail. The anglers picked some fish right away, until the feed stopped. The crew decided to stay in one place, because others who moved caught nothing. When outgoing tide began, more fish were picked, flurries of two or three at a shot. The boat moved to one last spot, and five more keepers were grabbed. The high hook beat eight keepers, and waters were 51 degrees halfway through outgoing, Capts. Fred and Carlos from the Andrea’s Toy were seen taking a cruise at some point on the trip, and Jerry said it was nice seeing them. “Thanks for the cigar!” he added. On Saturday Fish Monger fished with another gang around the same area on Raritan in strong winds, and they slammed 24 flatties, mostly big, in small flurries. They chummed their brains out. On Wednesday an open-boat trip fished northern Barnegat Bay, where Fish Monger’s normally been chasing the flatfish. The anglers clocked 12 keepers and a short, and waters were 46 degrees most of the day. Lots of clams and chum were tossed in the waters. Open-boat trips are sailing daily when no charters are booked, and call to claim, and see Fish Monger’s Web site.

<b>Bricktown</b>

Catches of flounder somewhat improved, though the numbers that bit were fewer than anglers expected, and warmer waters should make a difference, said Jason from <b>Pell’s Fish & Sport</b>. A warm, calm day would take place occasionally, but then a couple of days of rough weather would move in. A week of warmer weather would get things going. Most customers fished northern Barnegat Bay, usually tight to the southern side of the Mantoloking Bridge, picking up two or three flatties apiece, and depths 7 to 8 feet seemed key. But the bay farther north off Lyman Avenue was a popular spot, and anywhere from there to Dale’s Point was targeted. Anglers wondered whether fishing might put out better on the Manasquan River, but the river was cold. Anthony Taraboccia on Saturday hung two flounder and one striped bass near the Mantoloking Bridge while dunking sandworms. Most anglers fished sandworms or bloodworms, and small stripers were sometimes mixed in. Another angler got spooled while fishing 6-pound test, and was confident the fish must’ve been a striper. Jason fished just outside Beaver Dam Creek to knock down five flatbacks on Wednesday. Some customers also traveled to southern Barnegat Bay at the 40 marker, banging away at flounder. A few people tried fishing the surf, but none reported luck. Customers were anxious for the migration of stripers to move in, probably within a few weeks. They also looked forward to bluefish arriving, probably also within a few weeks, so they could fight them like at the Point Pleasant Canal on surface poppers. A full supply of baits, especially flounder baits, is stocked, and the shop is open every day.

<b>Point Pleasant</b>

The season’s first trip on the <b>Gambler</b> on Sunday put anglers into cod, including hefty ones, a couple of pollock and big ling at three wrecks 30 to 40 miles from shore, Capt. Bob said. The trip was supposed to sail Saturday, but winds nixed that outing, and Sunday’s weather was beautiful.  The fishing was okay, not great, but decent. The highlight was a 30-pound cod that Bill Stabile from Lavallette drilled along with ling. Joe Kazimar from Old Bridge walloped three cod about 10 pounds apiece and some ling. Trips will fish the 25- to 50-mile wrecks 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. every Thursday through Sunday. That might be the schedule until fluke trips begin when the summer flounder season opens on May 23. A blackfishing trip will currently run once a week from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Mondays, Tuesdays or Wednesdays  until blackfishing season closes May 1. Look for that trip to get out Wednesday of this week, heading to the southern wrecks for bigger tog.

Extreme bottom-fishing trips were on the countdown to kick off the season this week with <b>Andrea’s Toy Charters</b>, running to the canyons for deep-dropping for tilefish, then fishing inshore wrecks on the way home for sea bass, cod and pollock, Capt. Fred said. But catching a weather-window for the open-boat trips looked unlikely this week. Still, the trips will be available through the month, a rare opportunity for this type of fishing on a charter vessel or any vessel. In May Andrea’s Toy will concentrate on striped bass fishing toward Sandy Hook before returning to Point Pleasant, but the striper trips are booked.

Local fishing for winter flounder was a little slow because of cold waters, said Ronnie from <b>Fisherman’s Supply</b>. If surf casters banked striped bass, they failed to report the catches at the shop. Being past March and into April with no reports from the suds was unusual. But all fishing should get jump started soon. Stripers could get dragged from the wash any day, and many anglers clam for the fish, but Ron likes to throw lures such as 4-inch Fin-S Fish on jigheads, bouncing them along the bottom. Striper catches did come from the bays and rivers. Bass were clammed on Raritan Bay and were usually stuck on artificials on Barnegat Bay, mostly southern Barnegat toward Toms River to Forked River. Offshore sea bass trips on the <b>Voyager</b>, docked at the shop, are mostly finished for the season, but a couple 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.

<b>Toms River</b>

Jeff, who works at the shop, pulled nine winter flounder and five striped bass from the Toms River from the dock at Island Heights on Sunday, all around sunset, said Dennis, the owner, from <b>Murphy’s Hook House</b>. Time of day, not the tide, seemed to get fishing going. One of the flatties was a keeper, and the rest were ¼-inch to ½-inch short, but he scored a couple of double-headers of the flatbacks. Flounder fishing there is always good early in the season then soon ends, as the fish depart for the bay. Striper fishing on the river churned out very good catches, and white perch fishing there improved a bit, with waters somewhat warming. All the fish—the flounder, stripers and perch—were taken on bloodworms. Flounder fishing on Barnegat Bay was decent, not great, and boats usually returned with three to ten of the fish, and some socked more, and around the BB marker was best bet. About a half-dozen kayakers and some boaters were fishing daily on Barnegat Bay at the Route 37 Bridge to tangle with a few stripers on lures like 3- or 4-inch rubber shads or shallow-running plugs like 4-inch Gags Grabbers. Striper fishing at Oyster Creek became best at night on poppers or swimmers, but more of the fish moved to the bay, because of warm waters in the creek. Surf casters dragged in a few short stripers and sometimes a keeper, but nobody yet checked in one. But waters were reaching the right temps, and surf fishing will probably begin to pick up within another week. Saturday is the opening day of trout season, and trout baits will be stocked Thursday. Worms, clams, chum and supplies for flounder and striper fishing are already on hand.

<b>Seaside</b>

Surf anglers, a few, actually showed up at the shop Sunday, and reports about two striped reeled from the wash rolled in, said the report on <b>Grumpy’s Tackle</b>’s Web site. Both of the fish were shorts that sucked down Grumpy’s Clams. Another angler said he caught nothing, but the beach sure was better than his couch. Waters along the coast reached 50 degrees! Mike from the shop reported fishing on Raritan Bay on the Fishing Inferno from Leonardo with three other anglers, including the captain, and they whaled 57 stripers, including two keepers, off Keyport in 10 feet. The rest of the bass were 25 to 27 inches, and loads of clam-chum kept the fish coming.  <a href="http://www.grumpystackle.com/fishingreports/" target="_blank"> Click here</a> for updates.   

<b>Barnegat Light</b>

Barnegat Bay’s winter flounder fishing got no help from the weather: clouds and fog, cool days, rains, and, even when the sky was clear, stiff winds topping 30 m.p.h., said Capt. Steve from <b>Reel Fantasea Charters</b> in an e-mail. On the upside, blueclaw crabs and Jonah crabs or white leggers started appearing in his traps. “Ahhh! Sweet spring at last,” he wrote. Ernie Rosenberg’s crew nailed a few flounders on the bay, a hard-earned catch in rains and fog. They fished as hard as anyone could in the conditions, put together a few flatfish and had a fun day, Steve said. Catch Steve’s fishing forecast for his area, including tips and techniques, that he’ll start writing for The New Jersey Angler magazine through the year. Only a few spaces remain for trips in May: an open-boat trip May 1 and charters on May 7, 15 and 28. Call if interested, and May is a great month for blues, striped bass and trophy weakfish. The fish usually get ravenous on the migration.

<b>Mystic Island</b>

A few striped bass got angled from the shore at Graveling Point early on Sunday, then the tide dropped and dropped because of westerly winds, and the fish moved deeper, said the report on <b>Scott’s Bait & Tackle</b>’s Web site. On Saturday lots of stripers were smoked, and a surprising number of anglers fished, despite winds that howled beyond belief, and a tide that was blown out. Nobody reported beaching a keeper, but quite a few of the fish were within an inch of keeper-size. Catches were fairly steady, with a lapse during the bright sun and very low tide from 12 noon to 3:30 p.m. On Friday, despite rains, winds and cold, good catches were made. But Thursday was “goofy,” the report said, because conditions were perfect, with gray skies, almost raining, no winds and air temps in the 50s. But few of the fish were caught until 6 p.m., when the action broke loose. The biggest striper reported landed weighed 17 pounds, and even schools of bunker, with stripers chasing them, were sometimes seen. The bunker were close enough to snag for bait, so bring snagging hooks. “It’s funny how the fish run through in waves,” the report said. “We need to figure out a secret to get them to linger longer.” Scott’s usually stocks bloodworms and fresh clams, the baits to toss to the linesiders at Graveling Point and nearby Pebble Beach. The shop also usually carries live grass shrimp for white perch fishing up the brackish rivers, minnows for the perch and freshwater fishing, and nightcrawlers for freshwater. Trout baits will be stocked for the opening of trout season on Saturday. The shop’s Web site can be checked for availability of baits.

<b>Longport</b>

Fishing for tog was “not too bad” on an open-boat trip 9 miles offshore on the <b>Stray Cat</b> on Sunday, Capt. Mike said. Not a great bite, and the moon might’ve affected it, but the fish were chewing, after the winter slumber. Open trips will chase them daily until the season closes May 1. Today and tomorrow were expected to be weathered out, but Wednesday looked like a go. Stray Cat specializes in blackfish, and South Jersey’s waters warm quicker, can make the slipperies active earlier, and get less pressure than farther north. Soft green and white crab baits seemed the ticket.  Waters were 47 degrees, and sea bass will arrive on the inshore grounds in no more than 10 days, when they’ll also get bucketed on the trips. The lumpheads were looted by April 9 last year. What’s more, the bluefish migration is a week away from starting at most. When tog season closes, the open trips will put the bead on sea bass and blues on the inshore grounds. No trips will sail offshore for sea bass anymore, because the fishing was on the way out, as the migration inshore goes down. Open trips will last until about May 20, when only charters will start to run. Call to reserve all trips.

<b>Sea Isle City</b>

The season’s first striped bass got landed on a trip on the bay, and some others were missed in the past several days, and the fishing remained slow in tough weather this spring, but “things were starting to move around,” said Capt. Joe Hughes from <b>Jersey Cape Guide Service</b> and <b>Gibson’s Tackle</b>. The fish that was landed bit a Bass Assassin on a trip that fly-fished and jigged with an angler on Sunday afternoon on the bay. A striper ran off with a bait but was missed on a trip that clammed the bay Sunday morning with another angler and his son. On Thursday Joe watched a striper chase his fly but fail to commit. Stripers seemed to finally begin to get active, after a late start. But the spring was cold and frequently rough, like gale winds on Saturday that probably failed to help fishing Sunday. In addition to fishing the bays around Sea Isle on his flats boat for stripers, blues and flounder, Joe this spring will offer Delaware Bay charters for stripers and drumfish on Delaware Bay on a 26-foot Regulator. In summer he’ll run offshore trips on the Regulator that will do a combo of tuna trolling in the morning and fly-rodding for mahi mahi later in the day.    

<b>Cape May</b>

The first first-hand report of the season from a boat fishing Delaware Bay: <b>Schmedley Charters</b> lambasted striped bass on the bay Sunday, some of the best fishing Capt. Joe’s seen in years, he said. The five anglers aboard limited out by 10:30 a.m., and Joe lost count at more than 50 linesiders hooked. The keepers ranged 28 to 35 inches, and the crew dunked clams for bait in 12-foot shallows north of 60-Foot Slough. Joe saw no baitfish in the waters, but then again, he fished the shallows. The stripers were fresh from the ocean, with a bright color and sea lice. Some choice dates remain for both charters and open-boat trips, and get on the fish before they disappear, on their way to the Delaware River for springtime. Besides trips for up to six anglers in the comfort of Schmedley’s 37-foot Topaz, the crew is offering personalized trips on a 19-foot center console for one or two anglers. The bay’s current striper angling, turning on in shallow waters near river mouths and the coast, is within easy reach of the center console. Later the fish can move deeper or farther from land. Afterward the center console will be used for back-bay fishing for stripers, blues, flounder, weakfish and tog, and book now for preferred dates. Short stripers already started to be found in the back bay. But Delaware Bay’s linsiders are the better option at the moment, and a trip Saturday is slated to chase them near Reeds Beach on the center console. Drumfish trips that will fish Delaware Bay, probably starting in early May, should also be booked, and fishing for sharks, tuna or other warmer-weather trips should be reserved now if anglers want to lock in dates.    

The boat was expected to splash this morning and should be ready to fish tomorrow on charters and shared charters for striped bass on Delaware Bay, and anglers were clobbering the fish on clams, said Capt. Tom from the <b>Fishin’ Fever</b>. Friends hooked 15 to 50 per trip, sometimes limiting out, releasing the rest. One buddy on Sunday clammed 16 linesiders, including 11 keepers 33 inches to 28 pounds. Three or four of the fish topped 25 pounds! Friends located the bass in 8 to 20 feet, and the stripers were on the move, so the anglers fished wherever the fish-finder showed marks, typical for the time of year. The season’s first drumfish should begin appearing in the bay toward the end of April, only a few weeks away, and catches should really come on around the full moon in early May, the traditional time. Fishin’ Fever will get after them and did a job on drum last year.

Delaware Bay’s striped bass got clammed for a couple of weeks now, said Capt. Bob from the <b>Down Deep</b>, and for a while many of the fish were small, but a heck of a lot of them turned on. He was unaware whether small ones continued to dominate, but the fishing was taking place toward Bug Light. The fish follow herring up the Delaware River, where they both spawn, then they both pour back into the bay, heading to the ocean. The Down Deep will go in the waters around April 17, and charters will fish first for stripers, if the fish still linger in the bay. But drumfish should begin to show up in the bay in as early as a week or so, because they normally appear by the third week of April. Charters will concentrate on drum as soon as enough swim around.

<b>Hands Too Bait & Tackle</b> re-opened for the season, and fresh clams are stocked, Nick said in an e-mail. Early-season catches of striped bass, mostly cookie-cutter size from 22 to 28 inches, but lots, providing lots of action, seemed to really turn on in Delaware Bay at the Punk Grounds and Bug Light. Almost all were hooked on clams, but sometimes anglers connected with top-water plugs on the surface closer to shore. Stripers early in the year sometimes hunt the surface in the relatively shallower waters, chasing baitfish like herring there that migrate through the bay to the Delaware River in spring to spawn.

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