Notes:

Fishing was a washout in a nor’easter lasting several days in  mid March. So this report was updated afterward on Thursday instead of the usual Monday.

Also, this report during winter had been updated every Monday, and a few updates had been posted every Thursday. Now the report would start being updated every Thursday, and a few updates would be added on Mondays.

On April 1 the report would resume being completely updated every Monday and Thursday through the fishing season, the usual schedule.

Let the season begin!

<b>Keyport</b>

<b>Crabby’s Bait & Tackle</b> opened for the season Friday like planned, despite the storm, Al said. A few brave anglers actually stopped in and headed out to fish. Striped bass began to be whacked fairly well from shore at Cliffwood Beach. Anglers there a couple of evenings ago pounded a 37-incher, some shorts and some hits. Clams and sandworms were the bait to toss. Nobody mentioned pulling in out-of-season flounder by mistake from the bay shore, but when boaters get out, especially when flounder season opens Tuesday, they should hang the flatties. Participation had been off to a slow start in all the bad weather, but that should start to change. Crabby’s is open every day except maybe Mondays. The crew was kicking around whether to open Mondays yet, and if the weather begins to shape up, Mondays should be a go. Fresh clams, sandworms and bloodworms are stocked.

<b>Atlantic Highlands</b>

Striped bass had been clocked before the storm, said Jimmy from <b>Julian’s Bait & Tackle</b>. He imagined the bite should turn back on now, and waters were dirty after the weather, but he’s tackled stripers in dirty waters. The bass were dusted up from the bay shore, and a few came from the ocean beaches. Anywhere from places like Pebble Beach to the Spy House served them up. “Offshore – I don’t know,” he said, talking about bottom fishing. Waters were a little cold, but the first of April will dish out the catches. Still, he hoped to bottom fish on Sunday. All the baits including fresh clams and worms are stocked, and the shop is open full time.

<b>Highlands</b>

<b>***Update, Monday, 3/22***</b>: The storm last week took out the boat’s dock at the marina, but Capt. Bob from <b>Sandy Hook Fishing Adventures</b> found another spot to tie up in Highlands, he said in an e-mail. The vessel will splash for the season April 15, and the first trip is slated for April 17. Stripers, stripers, stripers! he said. Some good dates still remain for charters, and open-boat trips will fish when no charter is booked. To be on the list to be notified about open-boat dates, call him or <a href="mailto:captbob@sandyhookfishing.com" target="_blank">shoot him an e-mail</a>. Let’s go fishing! he said.

<b>Belmar</b>

One of the local party boats put patrons on ling and cod, said Bob from <b>Fisherman’s Den</b>. Striped bass were landed to the north and south, but the fish show up later locally. Quite a few were beached to the north along the Raritan Bay shore at places such as Union Beach. Fresh-shucked clams will be stocked today for the first time this season, and anglers will use them to search for the year’s first stripers in the local surf. They’ll also use them for winter flounder fishing on Shark River, when the flattie season opens Tuesday. All the baits, including worms, and supplies will be stocked for the opener, and the shop’s rental boats are already in the waters to fish the river for the mud backs. Freshwater fishing was picking up. Trout were taken from Spring Lake, and yellow perch were plucked from Lake Como. The store this week was open 5 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., but today the hours will begin to be extended to at least 4 or 5 p.m. The hours will continue to be extended as the season goes on. 

<b>Brielle</b>

<b>***Update, Monday, 3/22***</b>: Thirty-some big ling, three cod and a pollock were belted 40 miles from shore on the <b>Big Kid</b> on a trip during the weekend, Capt. Ken said. Waters were 42 degrees, and seas and the day were beautiful, after seas had been affected a long time by the previous weekend’s storm. Space is available for trips Thursday through Saturday, and the Big Kid is one of the few charters sailing. The vessel sailed all winter, and patrons have been catching.

<b>***Update, Monday, 3/22***</b>: A few striped bass started to be beached from the surf around Seaside and Island Beach State Park, said Dave from <b>The Reel Seat</b>. Most surf anglers this time of year fish clams. Stripers were also clammed daily along the shore of Raritan Bay. Seas were a mess most of last week after the storm, keeping news to a minimum. Dave heard nothing about the bottom-fishing party boats this weekend, because one blew a water pump and stayed docked, and he hadn’t spoken with his contact from another like he usually does. No herring seemed to show up at Manasquan Inlet, but they usually begin to be caught there in winter. Dave in his last report talked about stripers that were angled up on Barnegat Bay around the Route 37 Bridge, but word was mum in the past days. The shop is open 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesdays to Saturdays and 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sundays. The <a href="http://www.ssfff.net/fundraiser.html" target="_blank">Save the Summer Flounder Fishery Fund’s Third Annual Fund Raising Dinner</a> will be held April 16 at Crystal Point Yacht Club in Point Pleasant, and anglers should buy tickets now. The summer flounder or fluke regulations need to be improved, and the SSFFF is spearheading the effort.

<b>Point Pleasant</b>

Trips were often docked because of the weather, but the <b>Dauntless</b> returned to fishing Wednesday, and a few cod and ling were raked in, Capt. Butch said. The catch was better than he expected, because the ocean looked like a mud puddle after the storm. Forecasts looked clear for the next days, but time will probably be needed for waters to clear. The boat fished in the deep in 150 to 200 feet, and waters were 38 degrees, the same as before. The temps could take time to rise, because of all the rains lately. Not a ton of action will probably be scored for a moment, but at least some catches were being made. The Dauntless is bottom fishing 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. daily.

The <b>Gambler</b> was supposed to steam for blackfish in deep waters Wednesday, Capt. Bob said before the trip, and the results should show whether the tog became willing to bite yet this season. The boat’s usually been fishing the same waters, at the 20-mile wrecks, for cod, and will continue doing so. But Bob thought blackfish could begin to respond, because the season when they should was beginning to approach, and the climate was beginning to turn spring-like. Cod fishing’s been the best in years. Whether that was because the winter was colder than recently couldn’t be known, but the angling was productive. The cod mostly ranged from throwbacks to 5- or 6-pounders or 24-inchers. A few blackfish, not many keepers, were mixed in last week. The most recent trip, before Wednesday’s outing, took place last Thursday, and Bill Byrne won the pool with a 30-pound cod, and also waxed a 10-pounder. The Gambler is fishing for cod, pollock, hake and ling Thursdays through Sundays at the 20- to 50-mile wrecks and for deep-water blackfish Mondays through Wednesdays.

Winter flounder fishing will launch the boat’s season Tuesday, opening day of the flattie season, on the <b>Miss Norma K</b>, Capt. Matt said. Two half-day trips will sail daily 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 2 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. The angling usually begins on northern Barnegat Bay, following the flatties to the Manasquan River later in the season, as the black backs migrate to the ocean. Clams are supplied for bait, and if anglers bring their own worms to tip on the clams, sandworms work better than bloodworms, Matt said. The bigger boat, the Norma K III, will probably be in dry dock another week before kicking off bottom-fishing trips for cod, ling, pollock or whatever bites. Or the vessel will run for blackfish, if waters warm enough.

<b>Seaside</b>

<b>***Update, Monday, 3/22***</b>: The first striped bass of the season, a 10.6-pound 30.5-incher, was weighed in Friday from the surf, the report on the shop’s Web site said. The fish inhaled a Grumpy clam, and fresh clams are now stocked. No other bass were weighed in, but reports came in about a few shorts clammed in the wash. The ocean reached the high 40s. Woo hoo! the report said.

<b>Toms River</b>

Striped bass were claimed from Barnegat Bay at the Pelican Island Bridge and the Route 37 Bridge, the Toms River and Oyster Creek, the outflow from the Forked River power plant, said Dennis from <b>Murphy’s Hook House</b>. Out-of-season winter flounder were hooked by mistake and released far up the Toms, apparently because of the cold winter, and that can be a good sign, meaning the fishing might last longer, after the season for the fish opens Tuesday. The flatties are usually caught from the river for a couple of weeks after the opener, until they move to the bay, eventually migrating to the ocean. On the striper front, most were shorts, and a couple of 27-inchers were the biggest Dennis heard about, and anglers probably kept hush about keepers bagged. The bass at the Pelican Island and Route 37 bridges were mostly beaten at night, usually on bloodworms or small plugs, especially Rapala X-Raps. Cedar waters from runoff from the storm had affected fishing conditions, but today was the first when waters started to clear. On the Toms stripers were in the mix here and there while anglers bailed a decent number of white perch on bloodworms. Fishing from the docks at Island Heights gave up stripers on the Toms. A friend reeled in a striper and three perch from Island Heights on Tuesday evening. Quite a few stripers were nailed at Oyster Creek at night on the same plugs such as X-Raps and also on 3- to 4-inch rubber shads. Catch the shop’s inventory clearance sale on the shads for $2 a bag. Three-pound blues were also fought at Oyster, after wintering in the waters. A few anglers tried jigging for herring at the inlets, but no herring showed up yet. Nothing was heard about striped bass fishing in the surf so far. The store is open full time, including at 7 a.m. this Saturday and Sunday. When flounder season opens Tuesday, hours will be extended to 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily. Fresh clams will be stocked this weekend for the first time this year. Sandworms and bloodworms should be on hand, and shiners, killies and all the frozen baits are carried.

<b>Seaside</b>

The surf pretty much calmed down after the storm, and the weather washed up lots of clams on the beaches, and those spots should be ideal to fish for the first striped bass of the year, said the report on <b>Grumpy’s Tackle</b>’s Web site. Nobody really fished the surf, but it was only a matter of time. Fresh clams will be stocked as soon as the anglers go. Barnegat Bay’s striper fishing should light up because of the current calm weather, and plenty of shorts and occasional keepers swam the waters. <a href="http://www.grumpystackle.com/fishing_reports.cfm" target="_blank">Click here</a> for updates.

<b>Forked River</b>

Plenty of striped bass were reeled up from Oyster Creek, the warm-water outflow from the Forked River power plant, said Jana from <b>Grizz’s Forked River Bait & Tackle</b>. Clams, bloodworms, mackerel, bunker and plugs got strikes. But boaters started to fish Barnegat Bay, rounding up stripers on the same baits and lures. One customer on the bay bagged two keepers along the sod banks and off Oyster Creek. Winter flounder were probably staged along the mouth of the creek, because they usually are on the season’s opening of the flattie season, set for Tuesday this year. A few anglers tried for blackfish and caught, but the locations were unknown. A photo in the shop showed a blackfish socked as early as February 21. Green crabs, a favorite blackfish bait, are stocked, and so are bloodworms and all the frozen baits. Fresh clams will begin to be stocked Tuesday in preparation for flounder season. Clam chum is in the freezer for the flat fish. The store is usually open 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturdays and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sundays.

<b>Mystic Island</b>

We have a winner! Ken Smith on Tuesday checked in the first keeper striped bass of the year, a 28-1/2-inch 8.78-pounder, that was banked at Graveling Point, winning the annual prize of a $100 gift certificate from the shop, said Scott from <b>Scott’s Bait & Tackle</b>. He nabbed the fish on low tide at 4:15 p.m. on a bloodworm, tossing back two shorts he also grabbed. Low tide was the expected time for the season’s first fish to chomp, because of the warmer waters toward the end of outgoing from the Mullica River. Graveling is located at the confluence of the river and Great Bay. Scott heard about three other shorts landed locally, but was unsure about location, maybe West Creek. So this was great news, and striper fishing was started! A bunch of anglers the next day fished the Point, the early season hot spot because of the warm waters, not to mention the access to the waters by foot that’s rare. But no word was heard about results. Bloodworms, easily digestible, are the bait to soak in the early season, and plenty are stocked, and more are coming Friday. But clams will also begin to work as waters warm, usually by April, and fresh-shucked clams will be stocked Friday for the first time this season. Live grass shrimp, the favorite white perch bait, are also stocked, and nobody mentioned perch fishing. Scott’s had been closed Monday and Tuesday, the usual winter hours, and the weather previously was horrendous in the storm. With the first stripers starting to bite, hours are now extended,  and the doors will be open at 7 a.m., an hour earlier, and will also be open Wednesdays through Mondays, remaining closed on Tuesdays, like usual through the year. A bushel of green crabs is also stocked, for anglers who want to shoot for the first tautog of the season. Customers were yet to mention togging. No minnows are stocked, and every time Scott’s tried to catch minnows, the creeks where he finds them were either flooded from rains or cold and high from the effects of winter. <b>***Update, Monday, 3/22***</b>: A mix of small striped bass and a few keepers, just legal-sized, were banked Saturday at Graveling Point and Pebble Beach, the report on the shop’s Web site said. The fishing was pretty good, and until Friday was a pick, but enough to give hope. A few keepers to 32 inches were taken Thursday and Friday. Sunday was one of those “should have been there yesterday” days. Not much action. But generally the fishing was good and could be expected to continue through April. The weather turned instantly to spring from winter, and business turned to full throttle from dead. Bloodworms and clams, fresh-shucked ones, ran out, and that much demand was unexpected. More bloods are expected to be stocked Wednesday, and more of the clams should arrive Wednesday or Friday.

<b>Absecon</b>

A few striped bass were picked up by anglers walking the meadows along the bay or fishing the rivers, said Ray from <b>Absecon Bay Sportsman Center</b>. Not a lot happened with fishing because of the storm that knocked out the weekend. Bait was difficult to find, and the clam boat hadn’t sailed, for some reason. But if anglers fish the meadows or rivers, they usually work rubber or plugs very slowly in the cool waters. Herring began to be caught in the Mullica River  in the nets, and Ray heard about none yet from the Great Egg Harbor River. Netters also nabbed small white perch up the rivers, and no concentration of big ones seemed around. Crabbers began to set pots in the bays, but whether they caught was unknown. Bloodworms, frozen clams and frozen herring are stocked. The shop, open full time, was working on stocking green crabs, because anglers began to pick at tog. Capt. Dave, the store’s owner, was busy getting the boat ready for his new <a href="http://www.fishguatemala.com/FishGuatemala/fishguatemala.htm" target="_blank">Guatamala charter service</a>. Check it out.

<b>Longport</b>

A 10-foot ground swell, left over from the storm, shut off bottom-fishing at the 30-mile wrecks on a trip today on the <b>Stray Cat</b>, Capt. Mike said. “One cod, one tog and 250 dog sharks,” he said. Anchoring conditions were nearly impossible. Other than the swell, seas were calm, except nasty seas at Great Egg Harbor Inlet. But more of the open-boat trips are scheduled to target cod at the 30-mile wrecks Saturday and Sunday, and space is available. The previous trip, before the storm, cleaned up on a fair number of cod. If someone wants to charter the boat Sunday, that’s available at the moment. <b>***Update, Monday, 3/22***</b>:  Anglers picked away at cod and a few tog on open-boat trips the past several days, Mike said. “Onesies” and “twosies” were hooked, but if the anglers worked, they came home with four or five fish. Not bad at all for March, and he was pleased with the angling, was having fun. The tog were small, gray and sluggish to bite, but anglers had to remember the date: The slipperies will get more active in two or three weeks. Currently they only fed on clams, squid heads or soft baits, refusing crabs that were carried aboard. The cod were of no size, but there were keepers, and sea bass rigs worked fine to catch them. Though the bottom was cold, and the fish and sinkers came up frigid, unusually warm surface temps were found close to shore. Either the boat’s temp gauge became off, or the storm did strange things to the temps. The trips had been steaming to the 30- to 40-mile wrecks, but the temp gauge began reading 45-degree waters 15 to 20 miles from the coast on the way out. So the trips began fishing closer to shore, and the angling was better there. Mike even read 47.1-degree waters 8 miles from the coast, marking 45-degree waters 19 miles off, never previously seeing waters this time of year above 41 degrees close to the coast. He was willing to search all around to find the best catches these days, more interested in locating the fish. Dog sharks disappeared, after they’d been thick on the fishing grounds. A few bergals chewed. Other anglers lately had talked about seeing water busting, thinking herring or other fish were around. Turns out the splashes came from dovekies, a small sea bird, diving into the waters to feed, Mike discovered. He saw no signs of herring, mackerel or fish migrating for spring so far. Few boats were sailing, and waters were barren, but open-boat trips have already been fishing on the Stray Cat for a couple of weeks since late winter. Call to be kept informed of the schedule. The weather was phenomenal, with calm seas, clear skies and relative warmth. The swell from the storm finally dropped out. Even the storm forecasted for today called for light winds.

<b>Ocean City</b>

Heavy rains at the beginning of the week mostly shut down fishing this week, but previously striped bass were snatched up from the bay and rivers, and white perch were gathered from the rivers, said Bill from <b>Fin-Atics</b>. Nothing hit in the surf, and the ocean along the beaches was 42 or 43 degrees, occasionally 44. Consistent 45-degree waters are needed to trigger striper fishing in the suds. Warmer, calm, clear days like today are all that was really needed, and fishing should begin to take off. Things were shaping up fine before the rains. Bill heard about no herring yet migrating up the rivers such as the Great Egg Harbor. But one angler saw fish busting the ocean surface that must’ve been herring or shad. Again, with signs like that, better weather like today’s should get fishing going. Bill just got word that tog began to chew at Ocean City Reef and along some of the bridges, another sign that action was progressing. Bloodworms, fresh-shucked clams, frozen, salted clams and frozen herring, mackerel and a few frozen bunker are stocked. The shop is open full time.

<b>Seas Isle City</b>

Fresh clams will be stocked starting this weekend for the first time this season, said Wes from <b>Gibson’s Tackle</b>. Anglers can probably clam for striped bass at places such as the deep holes or waters at Flat Creek, the Beesley’s Point power plant or the bigger bays such as Delaware Bay or Absecon Bay, where forage blooms, and bait like grass shrimp gathers, and fish move in to feed during the early season. Anglers can probably try for the season’s first stripers in the surf with the clams. A news report said the surf warmed to 45 or 46 degrees, not a bad temp for the start of fishing. Whether the report was accurate was unknown. Bloodworms should be stocked in two weekends, when demand should pick up, after rough weather forecast for the middle of next week. Green crabs for blackfishing will be carried as soon as available. The store is open full time. Stop in to check out the year’s new displays, including for bucktails, hooks and rods.  St. Croix rods will now be carried at the shop. 

 Capt. Joe Hughes from <b>Jersey Cape Guide Service</b>, affiliated with <b>Gibson’s Tackle</b>, will run the season’s first charters for striped bass on the back bay the next two weekends, he said. The weather was warming up, and he was optimistic the boat’s first bass of the year would be angled aboard. A special is offered through March: no fish, no pay. Be the first of the year to claim a striper. Space remains for the trips, including on the next two weekends. He already fished for stripers once two weekends ago on the bay without luck and wasn’t completely surprised, because the winter was cold. But he usually connects with his first linesiders in March. His anglers fish for the first ones with Clouser flies or soft-plastic lures reeled slowly at waters such as the bay at the warmth generated at the Beesley’s Point power plant or at the creek mouths that dump warmer waters into the bay on outgoing tides this time of year. Other tides will produce, depending on location. But afternoons, when the sun’s had time to warm waters, that coincide with outgoing are often good. Until now, Joe’s been running <a href=" http://www.gibsonstackle.com/page6.html" target="_blank">traveling charters</a> to the Florida Keys all winter, and those trips will continue through early April. Bookings are still welcome. <b>***Update, Monday, 3/22***</b>:  One striped bass was on but pulled the hook during the trips over the weekend, Joe said. That was the one definite bite, and the fish grabbed a soft-plastic lure. That’s what the anglers fished with, and no fly fishing was done. Anglers aboard fished both days of the weekend on the first attempts of the season to land one of the linesiders on charters. Waters seemed cold, and the start of the fishing seemed like it was going to come later rather than sooner this season. But the weather was beautiful both days, and that was pushing things in the right direction. The March Special – no fish, no pay – is still available through the month, a chance to shake off cabin fever and hook the first bass of the year.

Back to Top