Note, Thursday, 1/12: This report will now go on the winter schedule.

It’ll be updated every Monday, and a few additions will be posted every Thursday.

The report will resume being fully updated every Monday and Thursday sometime in March, when coastal anglers become more active.

Fish continued to bite during this warm winter.

Blackfish, ling and cod chomped; the migrations of mackerel and herring were arriving; and a few striped bass were yet to migrate away.

But many boats and tackle shops went on winter break.

<b>Atlantic Highlands</b>

<b>***Update, Thursday, 1/12:***</b> Rains fell and winds blew today, but surf anglers banked striped bass, pretty good catches, lately, said Joe from <b>Julian’s Bait & Tackle</b>. White leggers, though usually a blackfish bait, hooked the stripers, and are stocked. On boats, blackfishing wasn’t bad, “weather permitting,” Joe said, and ling fishing produced, and a few cod were reeled in. In addition to the white leggers, the shop is stocking green crabs, fresh clams, sandworms and bloodworms.

<b>Highlands</b>

<b>***Update, Thursday, 1/12:***</b> The season was wrapped up on the <b>Hyper Striper</b>, and Capt. Pete arrived in Costa Rica to fish from Los Suenos through winter on the Dream Girl, he said in an e-mail. Sizeable sailfish 80 to 110 pounds put up consistent catches, and large mahi mahi were drilled. Bottom fishing churned up groupers and snappers. To contact Pete about the angling, see the <a href="http://www.hyperstripercharters.com" target="_blank">Hyper Striper’s Web site</a>.

<b>Neptune</b>

Two anglers limited out on blackfish on a trip aboard for the fish Saturday, Capt. Ralph from <b>Last Lady Fishing Charters</b> said in an e-mail. The rest of the anglers bagged a few keepers. The fishing was slow overall, and lots of small blackfish bit. But the day was great – warm and calm. Three spots are open for an individual-reservation trip for blackfish on Saturday. An individual-reservation trip for cod offshore is full next Monday. Charters are available for blackfish and cod. <b>***Update, Thursday, 1/12:***</b> Blackfishing was better than expected on a trip aboard Wednesday, Ralph said. A decent number got bagged, and some of the anglers limited out. Two spaces remain for an individual-reservation trip for blackfish Saturday.

<b>Belmar</b>

<b>***Update, Thursday, 1/12:***</b> Stormy weather today kept anglers from fishing, but catches were as good as could be this time of year lately, said Bob from <b>Fisherman’s Den</b>. Mackerel fishing went very well on a couple of the party boats that sailed for them from Belmar. The fish weren’t big, were small to medium, but some days produced coolers full. Bottom fishing on Belmar party boat trips dredged up blackfish, ling and cod. Surf fishing for striped bass remained very good, mostly at Elberon and Deal. Some anglers on Wednesday night landed 12 to 14 stripers from shore. Lures like Bombers or Vision Eels were the things to toss, and metal like Ava jigs no longer caught so many. Fly-rodders also connected, and a friend Wednesday night pulled in five stripers on a fly. Not much was heard about herring at Shark River Inlet. But when other fish are biting, not much usually is. But herring were hooked previously at the inlet, and good catches of herring were heard about from Manasquan Inlet.

Mackerel are in! the party boat <b>Golden Eagle</b>’s Web site said. Fishing for mackerel was good aboard Sunday, producing full coolers and buckets of the fish for some of the anglers. The angling was “pretty fair,” the site said, on Saturday on the boat’s first trip of the season for mackerel. Small and medium macks were iced on the outing, and herring were mixed in. “It was a little picky at times,” the report said, and the trip came up on a larger body of mackerel later in the day, producing fairly good catches. “The fishermen that worked the teasers well did pretty well,” the report said. The Golden Eagle is sailing for mackerel 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily. <b>***Update, Thursday, 1/12:***</b> Another good day of mackerel fishing, a report on the Golden Eagle’s Web site said about Wednesday’s trip. The fishing began strongly then slowed at times “due to the lack of drift,” the report said. But every stop at first produced good shots of mostly medium mackerel and some large. Then the angling would slow to a pick, and the trip would have to “run from the dogfish,” the report said. But the captain kept moving the boat, and by trip’s end, “there were buckets and coolers loaded with macks,” it said. Tuesday’s trip also got on the macks, medium to large, and quite a few customers bailed a load. “Excellent!” the report said. Monday’s trip crushed a good catch of mostly smalls and mediums and a few large. There wasn’t much of a drift, so working the rigs was important. The anglers left with smiles, the report said. No trip was expected to sail today because of the storm. “We will try again on Friday,” the report said.

Mackerel are here! a report on the party boat <b>Miss Belmar Princess</b>’ Web site said. “They are starting to move in heavy now,” it said. Mackerel trips kicked off aboard Saturday, and the angling was better than the captain expected that day. Lots of scattered mackerel and herring were around, and the trip caught them wherever the boat was stopped. “Plenty of fish around…” the report said. “(It’ll) only get better from here.” On Sunday’s trip, small to medium mackerel, very good catches, were hooked at first. The angling slowed a bit afterward, but patrons still caught them through the next hours. Toward the end of the trip, “the bite was on again,” the report said. “Most everyone had a half-bucket to a full cooler of fish when it was all said and done.” The Miss Belmar Princess is fishing for mackerel 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily. <b>***Update, Thursday, 1/12:***</b> Catching mackerel aboard went well, and was getting better every day, Karin from the Miss Belmar Princess said. Customers on Wednesday’s trip swung aboard up to 5-gallon buckets full. The fish so far were mostly small to mediums, but a couple of dozen jumbos were angled aboard Monday afternoon.

A trip with six anglers aboard Saturday came two blackfish short of limiting the boat with <b>Fish Stix Sportfishing</b>, Capt. Kris said in an e-mail. The catch included a 9-pounder and an 8-pounder. “Most of the fish were pretty solid,” Kris said. One angler landed almost double a limit. After fishing at one spot, with some wiggles, the trip moved inshore later in the day. Only a few keepers and some shorts bit there, and dogfish showed up. “Couldn’t ask for a nicer day on the water,” Kris said. “Beautiful weather for January.” On Thursday an open-boat trip with five anglers covered ground but found blackfish uncooperative. Eleven of the tog to 6 pounds, and two cod to 8 pounds, were bagged. Winds built to 25 knots, and seas reached 3 feet, after a while. “Wasn’t making it any easier for us,” Kris said. The trip at first headed north, “in the icy boat,” Kris said, for the first drop, fishing where blackfish had been chewing before. The outing then moved to Sea Girt Reef, looking for a better bite. A few keepers, shorts and dogfish were hooked at each place. Charters will continue on the boat through next Monday this season.

<b>Brielle</b>

A boat limit of blackfish to 12 ¼ pounds was bombed Saturday with <b>Fish Monger Charters</b>, and a boat limit of the tog to 11 pounds was beaten aboard Sunday, Capt. Jerry said on Facebook. Saturday’s fishing wasn’t a great bite, but the anglers picked at blackfish all day. “Fish would come in flurries and then back off,” Jerry wrote. The anglers had to work for them, and some big ones were heaved in during the last drop. The biggest, the 12-1/4-pounder, was released. A 9-pounder, an 8-ponder “and a few other chunkers,” Jerry said, came in. On Sunday’s trip the fishing began great, and the anglers limited out by 10 a.m. Didn’t take long. They played catch and release afterward, and the angling slowed. The trip moved around, and the tog gave up a slow pick. “Never had a good chew going again,” Jerry said. “But we had a great day nonetheless.” <b>***Update, Thursday, 1/12:***</b> The boat was hauled from the waters on Wednesday for the season, Jerry said on Facebook. He’ll now head to Delaware to work the deck on blackfish trips on another vessel for winter. The season’s final trip on the Monger on Tuesday limited out on blackfish to Lou DeRosa’s 9-pounder, and released a few more keepers. “Had some nice fish flying pretty quick,” Jerry said. Then the angling slowed to a pick, and the anglers had to work for catches. A bunch of drops were made, and the group limited. Stelios Gatanas was high hook, and Ray Kerico was also aboard. All those names are known in New Jersey fishing. Whether additional anglers were aboard wasn’t mentioned. “The box was nice quality,” Jerry said. A trip aboard Monday limited out on blackfish to 11 pounds, and the angling was lots tougher than on Sunday’s trip. Lots of shorts snapped, and most of the keepers were smaller. But lots of drops were made, and the six anglers worked hard, scraping up a limit.

Fishing on a 14-hour wreck trip was good, “not spectacular with the cod, but interesting,” Saturday on the party boat <b>Jamaica II</b>, an e-mail from the vessel said. “A show of cod around the boat,” the e-mail said. Plenty of ling bit on one drop, and another drop turned up super fishing for jumbo porgies. Trever Daniels, Mount Holly, won the pool with a 25-1/2-pound cod. Adam Nowak, Passaic, was high hook on cod with eight of the fish to 14 pounds. Chris Molinari, North Haledon, pumped in “God knows how many porgies,” the e-mail said, a bucket of ling and four cod. “All in all a fun day,” the e-mail said. “Everybody went home with some meat.” The next 14-hour wreck trip is set for 3 a.m. Saturday. On a Mudhole wreck-fishing trip on Thursday, a good catch of ling was looted, and a few cod were mixed in, and the anglers bagged at least  30 fish apiece. Conditions were perfect for fishing in the morning, and currents became strong, and winds picked up, in the afternoon. “Top guns,” the e-mail said, were: Kevin Maysik, Perth Amboy, with 81 ling and a cod, and Sammy Echevarrin, Roselle, with 72 ling and a cod.

<b>Point Pleasant Beach</b>

<b>***Update, Thursday, 1/12:***</b> Tons of ling were smoked on the party boat <b>Norma K</b>, and a few cod were mixed in, Capt. Matt said. Anglers looted 15 to 30 ling apiece, and high hooks walloped 50 each, in depths 140 to 230 feet. Three-quarter-day trips are sailing for ling and cod 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Tuesdays to Thursdays and Saturdays and Sundays. Evening trips are ling and cod fishing 3 to 9 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. All-day trips are running for ling and cod 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Fridays. All-day blackfishing trips are steaming 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays, and the catches have been very good. The tog to 13 pounds got whacked on last Monday’s trip, and most of the anglers, a small crowd, limited out on board that day.

<b>***Update, Thursday, 1/12:***</b> Ling, very good catches, were plundered on the party boat <b>Dauntless</b>, Capt. Butch said. A few cod and blackfish were in the mix, and a few bluefish were tackled. “It’s just good fishing,” Butch said. “So get your rod, and come on down.” Or rent a rod. :) Out-of-season sea bass and fluke sometimes bit and were released. Waters were warm, 49 or 50 degrees, keeping blues from migrating away. A couple of dozen blues were landed on each trip the past couple of days. No mackerel were hooked, and trips will mix in mackerel fishing, bottom fishing the rest of the day, when the migration swims within range. Other boats scooped up mackerel, small ones, not a lot, 8 to 10 miles farther away from the Dauntless. The current storm might make macks move closer, and Butch hopes they swim within 10 to 15 miles from port afterward, so trips can target them. Trips won’t run 40 or 50 miles to reach mackerel, he said.  Wednesday’s trip fished relatively shallow, in 130 to 140 feet, and previously trips fished anywhere from 130 to 200 feet. But dogfish were found to be less abundant in the shallows on Tuesday, so Wednesday’s trip fished for ling there. Loads of dogs were a nuisance in deeper waters on Tuesday’s trip. But dogs weren’t too abundant in the shallows on Wednesday’s. The Dauntless is fishing 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. daily.

Blackfishing was tough aboard a couple of days, but bounced back on a trip Sunday on deck, said Capt. Derek from <b>Fisher Price Charters</b>. Derek’s boat, the Fisher Price, sailing from Highlands, was hauled from the waters for the season, but he’s captaining and mating on another boat from Point Pleasant Beach this winter. The trip Saturday clobbered blackfish to 14 pounds. When trips aboard had the weather to push farther offshore to the Mudhole, ling and cod were crunched. More ling than cod were nipped, but cod were showing. Charters are fishing, and the next open-boat trips are set for Wednesday and Friday through Sunday. The trips are mainly blackfishing, but are sometimes sailing for ling and cod, depending on which fishing is best at the moment, and the weather and seas. On some days, the trips get a crack at both types of fishing. To climb aboard, call Derek: 732-291-7675 or 732-861-3394.

<b>Mystic Island</b>

Not a thing was posted about fishing on the report on <b>Scott’s Bait & Tackle</b>’s Web site. Participation seemed to grind to a standstill this season. But the report said grass shrimp, bloodworms and small minnows are stocked. Those are baits anglers can use for white perch on brackish waters like the Mullica River, popular for the shop’s customers in winter. The anglers fish for them at places like Collins Cove on the Mullica. The fish gather in the cove, an area that can be seen from the Garden State Parkway, to escape the colder waters in the current in the main river in winter. <b>***Update, Thursday, 1/12***</b> The weather couldn’t have been better for the time of year, with temps in the 50s and no winds in the past days, but nobody reported fishing, Scott said. But that was normal for January. Still, reportedly the few anglers who fished beached striped bass from the surf. Scott saw no reason white perch shouldn’t bite in the brackish rivers. Bloodworms, a couple of gallons of grass shrimp, and small minnows are stocked. The minnows are good for perching, but on the small side for chain pickerel and largemouth bass fishing. Anglers were mostly interested in the winter fishing shows, seminars and flea markets. Nobody dropped off reel repairs, but that will pick up as winter goes on, as anglers prepare for this coming fishing season. Now was a good time to drop off repairs to avoid a wait. Business was hopping at  <a href="http://www.pennparts.com" target="_blank">PennParts.com</a>, the shop’s online business featuring every Penn Reel part on the market, and many that are discontinued.

<b>Ocean City</b>

A few striped bass still bit in the surf, said Bill from <b>Fin-Atics</b>. Several were known about that were beached each day through the weekend, and most of the bass that swam the suds were smaller, but some were an inch or two larger than keeper size or 29 or 30 inches. Anglers fished for them with artificials. Striper season closed in the back waters on January 1, or anywhere from the mouths of the inlets to the rivers. The season will reopen there on March 1. A school of stripers held in the ocean off the Ocean City Ferris wheel in the past few days. Boaters trolled good numbers on umbrella rigs  or Stretch 25 plugs. Some of the local party boats still sailed, putting anglers on lots of blackfish and cod on the ocean. Out-of-season sea bass also chomped there. Fin-Atics will be open Fridays through Sundays until the hours are increased on March 1. Opening the doors is a convenience to customers who want supplies, or anglers can simply stop by to talk.

<b>Sea Isle City</b>

Striped bass fishing was dwindling, but a few were reeled in, said Capt. Joe Hughes from <b>Jersey Cape Guide Service</b> and <b>Sea Isle Bait & Tackle</b>. Some were boated on the ocean on the troll, and some were beached from the surf on clams and bunker. Party boat trips ran for cod and tog. Some of Joe’s traveling charters to the Florida Keys, fishing each year from Christmas to April, are slated to fish this weekend. Openings are available for the Florida fishing on the weekend of January 28 and 29. The year’s first trips to the Keys fished during the week between Christmas and New Year’s, bailing good catches, including redfish, speckled sea trout, jacks and a large variety of fish, covered in previous reports. A tarpon was also jumped. See Jersey Cape’s <a href=" http://www.captainjoehughes.com/page4.html" target="_blank">traveling charters page</a> for info about the Florida fishing. Anglers can arrive at the Keys on a Friday evening, fish all day Saturday and part of Sunday, return Sunday evening, and be back to work Monday. The trips can be a mini, fish-filled vacation, for a large variety of catches from redfish to sailfish. Keep up on Joe’s fishing on <a href="http://captainjoehughes.blogspot.com" target="_blank">Jersey Cape’s blog</a>. Check out a <a href="http://captainjoehughes.blogspot.com" target="_blank">Jersey Cape’s blog</a>.

<b>Cape May</b>

<b>***Update, Thursday, 1/12:***</b> Some of the anglers limited out on blackfish Saturday and Sunday on the party boat <b>Porgy IV</b>, Capt. Paul said. The angling was all right, and lots of customers climbed aboard. Some scored well, some probably bagged a few keepers, and some probably landed no keepers. Those with limits included Fred Nelson and Bud Callahan, both from Philly. On Saturday Oscar Lenzi from South Ozone Park, New York, won the pool with an 8-pound blackfish, and limited out. On Sunday Henry Chung from Staten Island won the pool with a 7-pounder. The Porgy IV is blackfishing 8 a.m. Saturdays and Sundays. This weekend is supposed to be colder than the past days, but enjoy the heated cabin!

About 20 cod were boxed on a trip that Capt. George from the <b>Heavy Hitter</b> ran Sunday, he said. George pulled the Heavy Hitter from the waters some time ago for the season, but is running charters on another vessel this winter, is one of the few captains still offering trips this season. The angling, with Dr. Frank Trifiletti’s charter, wasn’t great, but cod, fish to 10 pounds, were bagged. Throwbacks were released, and lots of bergals and dogfish bit. The trip fished in `130 feet at two wrecks. The weather was somewhat breezy, and seas held a 2-foot chop once the trip pushed offshore of Cape May Reef. But the weather and seas weren’t bad. Cod trips will continue, and so will charters for blackfish. Nothing was heard about striped bass, but few boaters fished by this time of year.

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