Note: Monday, 3/15: Fishing was a washout in the strong storm the past several days. So this report will be fully updated later this week on Thursday instead of the usual Monday. Just a few updates were posted today, Monday.

<b>Atlantic Highlands</b>

Customers fished both days of the weekend, and nobody returned to talk about catches, but surely a few striped bass were probably angled from the bay shore, said Jimmy from <b>Julian’s Bait & Tackle</b>. Cod were boated at the Mudhole, and nobody talked about real success on ling.  Worms are stocked. “We got all the baits,” Jimmy said. The shop is open 6 a.m. daily, and call for closing times for the next week or two, until the season kicks in.

<b>Highlands</b>

The charter crews are beginning to stir around. Capt. Derek from <b>Fisher Price Charters</b> dropped an e-mail saying the boat will be ready to launch trips the first week of April. Fishing for ling, blackfish and striped bass will be first. Once striper fishing becomes steady, trips will target them daily. Winter flounder fishing will probably also take place on board as soon as the boat splashes. The bag limit is only two flounder this year, but when anglers want to try for the flatties, they will. Reservations are now being accepted to lock in spring dates, and give a call to be on the schedule and also to ask about the Springtime Special.

<b>Belmar</b>

<b>***Update, Thursday, 3/11***</b>: Not a ton was happening yet, but things were beginning to pick up with the warmer weather, and party boat bottom-fishing from Belmar put patrons on mostly ling, some cod and only an occasional blackfish, said Bob from <b>Fisherman’s Den</b>. Just one of the boats was about the only one getting out much, and a trip was on the waters today. Talk was heard about a few striped bass mopped up from the different rivers, and nothing was heard about any dragged from the surf, and waters were cold. Freshwater anglers hit the lakes for perch and crappies. But again, activity was generally starting to come alive, and the shop will probably be open full time starting next week. The store is currently open in the mornings until 10 or 11. The countdown is on for the opening of winter flounder season on March 23, and the crew from the shop began painting the rental boats in the week’s better weather to get them ready for floundering on Shark River. The bag limit was reduced to two of the flatties, but the full fleet of the boats will probably be on the river, and anglers will likely still want to fish for the black-backs.

<b>Brielle</b>

On the <b>Big Kid</b> anglers fished the Mudhole wrecks on Sunday, wrangling up five cod to 5 pounds, a couple of blackfish and 1 ½ dozen ling, Capt. Ken said. The fishing was a slow pick that day, but recent trips drummed up plenty of such fish, covered in previous reports. The boat’s been one of the few charters fishing all winter, and the nor’easter that’s forecast could keep the boat tied to the dock toward the end of the week. The vessel is available Tuesday and Wednesday, though.  Check out the Big Kid’s Facebook page and become a fan. <b>***Update, Monday, 3/15***</b>:  The boat stayed docked the past days because of the storm, and Ken on Sunday saw dock boxes floating past and such, he said. Waters will probably take a moment to clean up, but trips are available Thursday and Saturday for ling and cod fishing. Sunday is booked. Heads up: Charters during this year’s fishing tournaments are booking up. Ones that are already full include the Jersey Coast Shark Anglers Shark Tournament, Mako Mania, the Brett Bailey Shark Tournament and the Beach Haven Marlin and Tuna Club Invitational.  Anglers had better reserve tournaments now. The South Jersey Tuna Tournament, the Ocean City, Maryland, Tournament and Tuna Stakes are some of the competitions that remain available.

Offshore trips on the party boat <b>Jamaica</b> turned out some of the best cod fishing in some time, and an “old-fashioned” spring run seemed to be developing, an e-mail from the vessel said. Saturday’s catch of the fish was the best in years on the boat. About 300 cod, not including throwbacks, were shellacked, and the keepers were larger than before, most of them weighing 8 to 15 pounds, and several were bigger. The fishing took place at several wrecks, and all held life, some better than others. A dozen pollock and some ling were also cranked in, and the pool winners were John Petty, Piscataway , with a 30-pound cod and Dunbar Atkinson, Parlin, with a 29-pounder. Sunday’s trip once again copped very good cod fishing, not quite as wild as Saturday, at a different area. But the fish were a little larger, most of them 10 to 18 pounds. A light crowd was aboard, and they bagged 140 cod and a few ling and pollock. James Sutler, Staten Island, won the pool with a 28-pound cod, also socking nine more of the fish 15 to 24 pounds.  James Blushstein, Vineland, totaled six cod, a double-header of 25- and 20-pound pollock and several ling. Chris Steinert, no town given, racked up 10 cod, including six that weighed 18 to 24 pounds, and Joe Gissinger, Philly, also boxed 10 cod. Bobby Claudio, Wall, and Todd Hooper, Whiting, nailed eight cod apiece. The outlook was good for upcoming trips, and water temperatures were right for a good migration of cod to not only the offshore wrecks but to some of the 20- to 40-mile wrecks. These conditions, and the last run this solid, happened in the mid 1990s, and the catches lasted through April and into May. Trips are fishing the 50- to 90-mile wrecks every Saturday and Sunday through April for cod, pollock, hake and ling, and space is available this weekend. The trips leave at 11:30 p.m. the previous nights and return at 6 or 7 p.m. A special trip was added that will sail 1 a.m. to 6 or 7 p.m. this Thursday. Trips to the 20- to 50-mile wrecks will sometimes also sail. Extra trips will be slated during Easter week.

Some of the party boats including the Gambler and the Jamaica scored bang-up catches of cod, lots of them, and bigger ones than before, on Saturday, said Dave from <b>The Reel Seat</b>. Pool-winning fish weighed in the 30s. Ling fishing sounded slower that day, and one of the vessels specifically tried for ling, but the catch wasn’t so good. Not much was doing on the striped bass front locally, but the stripers usually begin to be fought on northern Barnegat Bay, such as along the Mantoloking Bridge, within the next weeks, usually on plugs or soft-plastic lures. Dave, a member of the Shark River Surf Anglers, attended the club’s awards dinner, and no one talked about catching stripers. But the linesiders might’ve been hooked farther south on Barnegat Bay along the Route 37 Bridge. One of the shop’s employees was seeing boaters fishing there, and that’s all they could be targeting, really. Lures or soft plastics probably get the bites. Dave heard about no herring jigged at Manasquan Inlet and saw no anglers fishing there, though herring often swim through the inlet in winter. He also heard about nobody landing out-of-season winter flounder by mistake on the Manasquan River or anywhere, and nobody was fishing the river. But the flattie season opens later this month. New Jersey last week decided the 2010 regulations for summer flounder: A season from May 29 to September 6 with a size limit of 18 inches and a six-fish bag limit. The size and bag limit remain the same as last year, but this year’s season includes the Saturday and Sunday of Memorial Day weekend and lasts through Labor Day.  Last year’s season began on Memorial Day itself and closed on Labor Day. Stop by the shop to check out new gear for 2010 and also the new display of G. Loomis rods, because The Reel Seat is now a Loomis dealer. The store’s hours were extended this past week to 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 mentioned above should seriously be improved, and the SSFFF is fighting for that, and is probably responsible for preventing the government from using faulty science to close down the fishery last season. The organization has demanded better science to study the stocks for responsible management, and that takes money from donations, such as from the dinner.

<b>Toms  River</b>

<b>Murphy’s Hook House</b> reopened full-time for the season, Jeff said, and anglers sometimes landed striped bass on Barnegat Bay at the Route 37 Bridge on Rapala X-Rap lures. A couple of 30-some-inch keepers were taken. All the bass at the bridge were hooked at night that he heard about, and nobody mentioned finding stripers in the bay at Berkeley Island Park so far this season. But a customer on Sunday was headed to that area to try to locate a chew on Gulp bloodworms. Stripers, including a 30-incher, were pulled from the Toms River at Island Heights on bloodworms. A few white perch came from the river, and Jeff felt nibbles that might’ve been out-of-season winter flounder when he fished the river, but couldn’t be sure. Nobody talked about hooking flounder by mistake in the river or anywhere yet. A few stripers were reeled in from Oyster Creek, the outflow from the Forked River power plant. Access to the creek is tight these days, involving a dirt road and lots of walking. Bloodworms, nightcrawlers, killies and salted clams are stocked.

<b>Seaside</b>

Rumblings about striped bass grabbed from the Toms River were correct, because one of the crew from <b>Grumpy’s Tackle</b> took a ride to Island Heights on Sunday evening, seeing a few good-sized linesiders caught on bait, the report on the shop’s Web site said. “It’s time …” he said. <a href="http://www.grumpystackle.com/fishing_reports.cfm" target="_blank">Click here</a> for updates.

<b>Forked River</b>

Striped bass were tugged in from Oyster Creek, the outflow from the Forked River power plant, said Jana from <b>Grizz’s Forked River Bait & Tackle</b>. Bloodworms, clams, lures and all the usual striper offerings worked. White perch were collected from the brackish streams including Cedar Creek or from the lagoons and canals off Jennings Road in Manahawkin near the bay. Bloodworms, salted clams, eels and frozen baits such as bunker are stocked. Grizz’s is open 7 a.m. on Saturdays and 8 a.m. on Sundays until about 4 p.m. on both days. The doors are also open during weekdays unless stormy weather or another cold spell move in. The shop will be open full time later in the season.

<b>Mystic Island</b>

Fishing at Graveling Point was yet to put up striped bass, but one angler heard that another had been snatching up a few white perch from there, said the report on <b>Scott’s Bait & Tackle</b>’s Web site. The Point, where anglers fish from shore at the confluence of Great Bay and the Mullica River, is traditionally one of the state’s first places to give up stripers, because of shallow, warmer waters, the warmer river and fishing access. See Scott’s <a href=" http://www.scottsbt.com/fishing/stripers/springrun.htm" target="_blank">Graveling Point Web page</a> for info. The store’s annual prize of a $100 gift certificate was still up for grabs for the angler who weighs in the first keeper from Graveling Point or nearby Pebble Beach. The weather during the weekend felt warmer in the sunshine but was chilly in the shade and winds, and nights were cold enough to form ice on the back lagoon. Small stripers were sometimes played in the Mullica River, mostly by perch anglers. “(But any) catching is a great fishing day to anyone that has been locked up all winter,” the site said. “Better days are coming as the weather evolves into spring time temperatures.” <b>***Update, Thursday, 3/11***</b>: The season’s first striped bass were yet to be banked at Graveling Point, and waters were cold, but rains forecast for the next days might offer hope for the start of catches, Scott said. If the downpours are relatively warm, that could warm the waters at the Point. Despite the year’s first weather that reached the 60s this week, snow remained in the shady and cool areas in the Pine Barrens, and snow runoff chilled waters. Scott attempted to catch bait one day this week, seeing the snow and the currents really ripping from the runoff. He was able to catch grass shrimp to stock live at the shop, but had no luck catching minnows, because of the strong flows. The shrimp, the favorite white perch bait, are stocked, and customers bought them to try for perch at places such as the Mullica River at Clarks Landing at the end of Hay Road off West Clarks Landing Road in Egg Harbor City. They hoped for a chance that a striper might chomp one of the baits in the river, holding warmer waters than the bay at this time of year. No great numbers of perch landed were heard about, and anglers seemed to hook 1’s and 2’s here and there, because of cold waters. One customer said he marked perch from a boat at Nacote Creek, if Scott remembered the location, but the slabs refused to bite, probably because of run-off. Plenty of bloodworms are stocked, and green crabs for tog bait had been unavailable, and Scott will try to stock them Friday but wondered if the rains would keep them unavailable. Nobody mentioned tog fishing.

<b>Absecon</b>

<b>***Update, Thursday, 3/11***</b>: Little was heard about striped bass since the shop’s first three keepers of the year were weighed in during the first two days of striper season in the bays and rivers March 1 and 2, said Curt from <b>Absecon Bay Sportsman Center</b>. But the warmer weather lately should begin to make the fish bite soon in the rivers and along the sod banks of the bays. Some customers said they saw stripers sunning themselves and chasing bait along the flats while the customers were working along one of the southern bays. The anglers who checked in the three keepers mentioned above won the shop’s annual gift certificates for the year’s first stripers brought in. Two $100 gift certificates remain up for grabs for the first stripers over 20 and 30 pounds that are weighed in. Curt, a white perch angler, had been traveling a month, and fishing for the whiteys had been good during the first week of February, before he left. But now perching sounded more hit or miss. Green crabs for tog fishing should begin to be stocked in about a week, after the rains forecast for the next several days. Bloodworms, minnows, fresh-frozen clams, eels and Gulps are carried. Freshwater fishing began to perk up for trout and largemouth bass. Gulp Power Baits worked well on the trout in the ponds.

<b>Longport</b>

Spring has sprung! Or at least on the <b>Stray Cat</b> it has. A trip Sunday motored to the 30-mile wrecks, and the anglers clocked some cod, Capt. Mike said. None of the fish was any size, but quite a few were hung. Lots of bergalls, gobs of them, also nibbled. The ocean was 41 degrees, a little warmer than before, and the day was beautiful. Any winter wait is finished, and the weather has finally broken, and give a call to get out. Open-boat trips and charters are running, and the crew will next try to fish Tuesday and Wednesday, before a storm forecast for Thursday. They hope the storm clears up by the weekend so more of the trips can sail then. <b>***Update, Thursday, 3/11***</b>: An open-boat trip will try to return to the 30-mile wrecks to clock cod on Sunday, Mike said. Room remains, and call to hop on deck. Both open trips and charters are fishing, and call to be informed about the open schedule. Here’s welcome news: Time to think about spring blackfishing on the Stray Cat, a vessel that specializes in the tog. The season’s first open-boat trips for the slipperies are on the books for Saturday and Sunday, March 27 to 28. Give a holler for availability. <b>***Update, Monday, 3/15***</b>: Winds gusted to 65 m.p.h., seas remained 9 feet – were huge, even on Sunday after the worst of the blow – and no trips got out, of course, Mike said. Open-boat trips for cod will probably resume Thursday, after waters settle. The trips will also run at 5 a.m. Saturday and Sunday. The season’s first open trips for blackfish are still slated for Saturday and Sunday, March 27 and 28.

<b>Ocean City</b>

Striped bass were tied into on the back bay, such as at the warm waters toward the Beesley’s Point power plant, and on the rivers including the Tuckahoe, Great Egg Harbor and Middle rivers, said Bill from <b>Fin-Atics</b>. Many of them were caught on artificials, usually a soft-plastic on a jighead, bounced very slowly across the bottom. White perch were nabbed toward the power plant and on the rivers including the Tuckahoe and Patcong Creek. No customers even tried to fish the surf for striped bass, and waters were 37 or 38 degrees or cold. Frozen baits are stocked, and bloodworms will be carried this weekend. Fin-Atics is open seven days a week. The shop will become a Hobie kayak dealer soon, and is already a dealer for both Wildnerness System and Emotion kayaks. The staff can rig the kayaks for fishing or any purpose.

<b>Sea Isle City</b>

The season is here: The doors have been reopened every day at <b>Gibson’s Tackle</b>, Wes said. The freezer is loaded with new, 2010 bait, and live green crabs and bloodworms will be stocked soon. The crabs, bait for blackfish, were the one bait anglers asked about, but the worms will be able to be dunked for striped bass. A few customers on Sunday tried to catch blackfish or stripers along the back-bay bridges and ocean-front jetties. Stripers could certainly be in the mix if anglers found a warm-water eddy up the rivers, such as when they fished for white perch. Perch were sometimes plucked from the Tuckahoe River on grass shrimp. The surf was too cold, and Wes would be pleased if stripers began to be beached from the wash at the end of March or beginning of April. Stop in the shop to check out the rearranged displays, including the ones for bucktails, hooks and rods. A few new items came in, including Wizard hooks, an economical alternative to more expensive hooks such as Gamakatsu. St. Croix rods will now be carried at the store.  

Capt. Joe Hughes from <b>Jersey Cape Guide Service</b>, affiliated with <b>Gibson’s Tackle</b>, took his first shot of the year at striped bass on a trip during the weekend, fishing on the back bay, he said. No stripers appeared, and he wasn’t completely surprised, because waters were cool. But the weather was so nice that he fished. His first bass of the year are usually knuckled in during March. That could happen late this season, because of the unusually cold winter and more snow than usual, but there’s no predicting. He probably won’t fish much locally in the next week or two, and he’ll continue offering until early April traveling charters to the Florida Keys that he’s been running through winter. But catch the March Special on striper trips: no fish, no pay. Be the first to catch a striped bass this year. Charters cast Clouser flies or soft plastic lures to the linesiders, working the line very slowly through the waters. Joe often fishes for the year’s first bass on high, outgoing, warmer tides at places like the creek outflows or near the warm waters of the Beesley’s Point power plant. But other tides sometimes produce, depending on location. Warmer tides that coincide with mid day around 1 or 2 p.m., when the sun has had time to heat waters, can help. Striper fishing usually becomes consistent in April in the bay, and bluefish usually arrive in the bay in late April. Stripers will continue to bite for a moment, but blues usually take over the angling sometime in May for some weeks. The tough fighters are a blast on light tackle, and afterward many of the blues depart for the ocean for the summer, though some remain in the bay. Flounder season opens Memorial Day weekend, and the flattie fishing is often best in the early season in the shallow, warm bays of South Jersey. The holiday boat traffic fails to affect the bottom-hugging flounder, and book that weekend’s trips now before they fill. That angling can sometimes drill fun mixed bags of species, or it can sometimes produce the best flounder fishing. For now, Joe will keep offering either the Florida trips or the striper trips. If anglers want a spur-of-the-moment getaway to the Keys, that’s available. Weekend packages are available to the Keys that arrive on Friday evenings, fish all day Saturdays and part of Sundays, and return Sunday evenings. The Florida trips fish from the back country for species such as redfish, speckled sea trout and jacks to the ocean side for bruisers such as king mackerel, cero mackerel, sailfish and blackfin tuna. See more info on the <a href=" http://www.gibsonstackle.com/page6.html" target="_blank">Traveling Fisherman Charters</a> page on Jersey Cape’s Web site. Also see <a href="http://captainjoehughes.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Jersey Cape’s blog</a> that includes blogs and photos from past Florida trips. <b>***Update, Monday, 3/15***</b>: Some of Jersey Cape’s trips to the Florida Keys fished during the weekend with Dick Linus and Joe’s father, Joe said. The outing on Saturday creamed a slew of mangrove snappers and other snappers, and jumped a tarpon, all at one of the bridges. Sunday’s trip fished the back country near Flamingo, mugging a mess of speckled sea trout and some ladyfish, jacks and a pompano on Gulp shrimp on a 3/8-ounce, chartreuse jighead. Space is available this coming weekend for either last-minute Florida trips or striped bass trips on the back bay from Sea Isle. Joe will start turning more attention to local fishing from Jersey now. See details above about fishing from both locations. Take note of the special “no fish, no pay” striper trips currently available. Be the first to land a linesider. The Florida trips will continue through the beginning of April, and afterward Joe will focus all attention on Jersey.

Back to Top