<b>Staten Island</b>

<b>***Update, Thursday, 3/1:***</b> A few customers sailed on party boats, scooping up ling, good catches, and a few cod, said Pat from <b>E-Z Catch Saltwater Traps & Tackle Co.</b> Whether striped bass could be caught and released from Staten Island’s shore was unknown. New York’s striper seasons will open March 16 on Hudson River north of George Washington Bridge and April 15 in marine waters. E-Z Catch is open Tuesdays to Saturdays, and fresh clams and vacuum-packed bunker are stocked. The store is also a <b><i>premier manufacturer and supplier of saltwater traps</i></b> for wholesale and commercial, including custom building and servicing. See the online <a href="http://www.e-zcatch.com/catalog" target="_blank">catalog of traps</a>. E-Z Catch is also a train store.

<b>***Update, Thursday, 3/1:***</b> The boat was hauled from the waters recently to be prepped for the coming season, and fishing aboard will start back up in a couple of weeks, Capt. Rob from <b>Outcast Charters</b> said. Trips at first will sail for ling, winter flounder and striped bass. Ling were getting decked already, and New York’s flounder season will open April 1 and striped bass season, in marine waters, will begin April 15. Coming from out-of-state? Outcast pays bridge tolls with receipts.

<b>Atlantic Highlands</b>

<b>***Update, Thursday, 3/1:***</b> Striped bass should be boated on Raritan Bay, especially in the shallows, said Jimmy from <b>Julian’s Bait & Tackle</b>. The fish should also get banked from the shore of the bay, and striper season opened today in bays and rivers. Fishing for them in the bay should produce, because waters were warm, like 45 degrees in the bay, and the winter was warm, and stripers even bit in the colder ocean the whole season. The bass could be boated off the state’s northern coast all winter, though hardly anyone tried for them. Surely stripers could be beached from the ocean surf, like at Elberon, like they were throughout the season. Nothing was heard about fishing on Wednesday in rough weather. But blackfish and ling, good catches, were boated Tuesday. Blackfish season closed today, and will reopen in April. But plenty of ling kept chewing. Nothing was heard about cod, and a few were probably around, but waters were warm for cod this winter. “You’ve got to suffer to catch cod,” Jimmy said. Julian’s has been open until about noon daily, and will probably increase hours at least a couple of hours, now that striper season is open. Fresh clams, worms and practically all baits are stocked.

<b>Brielle</b>

<b>***Update, Thursday, 3/1:***</b> “Good day today,” Capt. Ryan from the party boat <b>Jamaica II</b>, in an e-mail, said about Tuesday’s trip. Omar Richardson creamed 61 ling, and Bryan Ridley looted 54. “Too bad,” Ryan said. “(A) lot of people missed a beautiful day on the ocean, and a bag of fillets to take home.” The weather was rough the next day. Some anglers scored well on the catches, “(and) others only got 15 or 20 ling,” Ryan said. Berkley Gulps were hot baits. Strong currents made fishing tough in the morning, but catches improved as the day went on.

<b>Toms River</b>

Anglers will head to Cedar Creek, the warm-water outflow from the Forked River power plant, to try to catch striped bass starting Thursday, the opening day of striper season in rivers and bays, said Jeff from <b>Murphy’s Hook House</b>. The creek, fishable from certain areas, is always an early-season spot. Stripers were beached from the surf to the north, like at Asbury Park and Long Branch. Fishing for them is open year-round in the ocean within 3 miles of the coast, and the bass remained along that stretch through this warm winter. Nobody seemed to fish the surf locally. White perch, yellow perch and chain pickerel were punched in the Toms River at Trilco, the building supply that closed down. No sign identifies the building as Trilco, but locals know the stretch by the name, located along the Garden State Parkway. Murphy’s has been open Fridays through Sundays, but might start opening full time when the striper season opens. Bloodworms, nightcrawlers, killies and frozen baits are stocked.

<b>Mystic Island</b>

<b>***Update, Thursday, 3/1:***</b> “Yay, it’s striper season!” Scott from <b>Scott’s Bait & Tackle</b> said. The season opened today in bays and rivers, and plenty of anglers fished for the bass today at Graveling Point, and no striper catches were reported from there by early this afternoon, when Scott gave this report over the phone. “But anticipation of the first striper is high,” Scott said. The shop’s annual prize for the first keeper checked in from the point, a $100 gift certificate, was up for grabs. Stripers, reportedly small, were checked in at two shops in Tuckerton and Absecon. One angler who fished the point from 4:30 to 9:30 a.m. today reported seeing no striper catches but lots of activity in the waters, like birds working the waters, minnows swimming and crabs skittering around. Graveling, a local shore-fishing spot at the confluence of the Mullica River and Great Bay, is a favorite for early season striper catches. Bloodworms are the favorite bait in the early season, and were stocked for the opener, and more will arrive early Friday morning. Anglers today bought the shop’s bloods, fresh clams, live grass shrimp, minnows and nightcrawlers. “It’s a bait shop again,” Scott said. Reports about white perch fishing began to roll in, as anglers started to head out, and the perch fishing sounded good. The slabs were hooked on the Mullica River from Hay Road to the Lower Bank Bridge from shore, canoes, kayaks “and every which way,” Scott said. One angler, who fished for the perch the last two weeks, said the fish were good-sized. That was good news, and the perch are often small this time of year. Another angler mentioned that anglers last year at this time were dealing with snow runoff. But not this year, so fishing conditions this year, after the warm winter, were better than in a long time.

<b>Absecon</b>

A few bloodworms, the favorite early-season bait for striped bass, were stocked this weekend, and a load will be stocked Wednesday, said Capt. Dave from <b>Absecon Bay Sportsman Center</b>.  That’s for the opening of striper season Thursday in bays and rivers. Fishing for them will probably be good, because of the warm winter. Dave would guess the rivers would give up most at first, but anglers will see. At least a few will probably come from bays. With the opening of striper season, “we’re close to something happening,” Dave said. Keep watching these reports to see, he said. Annual prizes for the season’s first stripers that anglers check-in at the store will be up for grabs:  a $200 gift certificate for the first keeper; a $100 certificate for the second; a $50 certificate for the third; a $100 certificate for the first striper larger than 20 pounds; and a $100 certificate for the first larger than 30 pounds. Plus one angler can win an additional $100 certificate by being the first to check in a keeper who joins the 1st Striped Bass of the Season Tournament on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/abseconbay" target="_blank">Absecon Bay’s Facebook page</a>. “Like” the page, and go to the “Events” tab on the left side to join. Dave expects the first several prizes to go fast. The first 20- and 30-pounders are usually weighed in later in the season, when larger, migrating stripers arrive. The year’s first stripers are usually smaller, younger fish yet to migrate. A few white perch were reported plucked from the rivers in the past week. The Mullica and Great Egg Harbor rivers harbored the fish, and a few stripers supposedly swiped the perch baits. Blackfish season will close Thursday, reopening in April. So stripers and perch will likely be all the news. Absecon Bay Sportsman Center was currently open during no set hours, but Dave was usually around, and anglers telephoned to confirm. But the shop will be open 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, if not somewhat earlier on weekends, starting Thursday. At Dave’s Guatemala charter business, fishing was fantastic. Sailfishing was terrific within 10 miles from shore, and good-sized dorado were mixed in. Sometimes the sails swam 10 miles to the north or south, making a trip to them as long as 20 miles. But that wasn’t far, and the catches were good. Visit <a href=" http://www.abseconbay.com/abseconbay/main.html" target="_blank">Absecon Bay’s Web page</a> for info about the Guatemala fishing. <b>***Update, Thursday, 3/1:***</b> Nick Nastasi Jr. checked in the year’s first striped bass, the store’s Facebook page said. Nick, who won the prize for the first last year, showed up at 7 a.m. today with a 16.05-pounder, winning the $200 gift certificate. Beau Bosley afterward arrived with a 13.45-pounder, winning the $100 certificate. As of early this afternoon, the rest of the prizes remained up for grabs for the year’s first stripers.

<b>Ocean City</b>

The Great Egg Harbor River, from the Tuckahoe River to Mays Landing, usually turns out the season’s first striped bass locally, said Ed from <b>Fin-Atics</b>.  Striper season will begin Thursday in bays and rivers, and a few were already hooked and released, while anglers fished for white perch on the river. Bloodworms, clams and chunk baits are usual choices for the bass in the early season. For chunk baits, herring was usually popular, but herring became prohibited this year. Nothing was heard about party boats sailing to the ocean wrecks. Previously the boats put anglers on a few blackfish, cod and ling, okay fishing. Fin-Atics has been open Fridays to Sundays and will be open daily starting this Friday. Frozen baits are stocked, and more baits will be carried probably toward mid March, depending on how fishing is going. 

<b>Sea Isle City</b>

On the back bay striped bass could bite as soon as the season for them opens Thursday on bays and rivers, said Capt. Joe Hughes from <b>Jersey Cape Guide Service</b>, affiliated with <b>Sea Isle Bait & Tackle</b>. He looks for them at warm waters in the bay in the early season, and outgoing tides, pushing in warmer waters, are usually best in springtime for the angling. His trips fish for them this time of year with soft-plastic lures like Bass Assassins on jigheads or Clouser Minnow flies. Bluefish will invade the bay from mid to late April, and stripers will still chomp in the waters then. His trips have a blast with the tough-fighting blues. Joe this weekend ran one of his weekend getaways to the Florida Keys that he offers each winter. The two anglers aboard Friday and Saturday clobbered a large variety of fish, including redfish, speckled sea trout, jacks, barracudas, black drum, snook, a goliath grouper and tarpon. Look for details in this site’s Offseason Report, covering out-of-state fishing in winter, posted each Tuesday.  For more info on the Florida trips, visit <a href=" http://www.captainjoehughes.com/page4.html" target="_blank">Jersey Cape’s Web site</a>. To keep up with Joe’s fishing, visit <a href="http://captainjoehughes.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Jersey Cape’s blog</a>.

The local party boat steamed Sunday for the first time in more than a week, said Mike from <b>Sea Isle City Bait & Tackle</b>. Weather and personal reasons for the crew or something kept the vessel docked until then. So the vessel was off on a 12-hour trip to the ocean wrecks that would scout and see what was biting. No results were heard when this report was posted. Previously trips like that targeted blackfish, and ling and cod were mixed in. Blackfish season will close Thursday for a month. Someone said stripers that schooled off Ocean City, Maryland, were migrating north. But that was unconfirmed. A few anglers will likely search for stripers in local back waters when striper season opens in bays and rivers Thursday. Mackerel were sometimes reportedly boated from trips farther north in the state like from Brielle. A local commercial angler reported catching mackerel, but kept the location hush when asked. Sea Isle Bait & Tackle is open a moment on weekday mornings and longer on weekends when the weather is fair. Hours will be increased as the fishing season picks up.

<b>Cape May</b>

<b>***Update, Thursday, 3/1:***</b> Blackfishing was weathered out Saturday aboard because of winds, but Sunday’s trip got out for the tautog in good weather, on the party boat <b>Porgy IV</b>, Capt. Paul said. Only a few anglers showed up for the trip, but all limited out on four of the tog. So that was a good end to the trips, and blackfish season closed today, and will reopen in April. On Sunday’s trip, John Riccardi from Williamstown won the pool, topping off his limit with a 9-pound blackfish. The Porgy IV will now be hauled from the waters for a Coast Guard hull inspection required every two years, and will probably resume fishing within only a few weeks. Trips might kick back off with striped bass fishing, if the bass arrive, or might start with blackfishing, if the slipperies bite when the season for them reopens. Paul heard anglers on the radio talking about catching stripers off Ocean City, Maryland, and Bethany Beach, Delaware. The fish seemed on the way. Striper season opened today in bays and rivers, and boaters will surely try for them on Delaware Bay. That’s where the Porgy will likely fish for them, if trips target them in the next weeks.

No trips steamed with Capt. George from the <b>Heavy Hitter</b>, and strong winds blew, he said. But he’s one of the few captains available for trips this time of year. Blackfishing was on tap, but blackfish season will close Thursday, reopening in April. Trips for cod and ling are available. Striped bass charters will start when the fish migrate to Delaware Bay. Striper season opens in bays and rivers Thursday, so news should start to be heard about trips for them. Drum charters are being booked that will fish the bay starting in May or whenever the fish move in. Call if interested in any of this fishing, and to lock in preferred dates while they’re open.

Striped bass fishing has usually launched in March in Delaware Bay in recent years, and <b>Relentless Sport Fishing</b> will probably kick off the season’s trips aboard in mid March, Capt. Dave said. The first trips will hunt the stripers, probably clamming and jigging for them on the bay. If the schools of fish can be found, they can be jigged. Relentless uses a variety of lures for jigging, from butterfly jigs to diamond jigs to bucktails. By the end of March, the fishing has usually been on fire. Yet hardly any charter boats are launched until April. But Relentless plans to be on the bass. A few years ago, lots of stripers used to be caught in the bay as late as May. Drum trips that sailed in May could mix fishing for drum and stripers. But in the past couple of years or so, stripers had departed the bay by April. Still, nobody ever knows what the fish will do each year. This winter was mild, and maybe that will affect fishing. Or maybe not. The bay was currently in the mid 40s, and probably never dipped below 40 this winter. Drum trips aboard on the bay will probably begin by mid May. The best angling for them took off in late May the last couple of years. But it began earlier in other years. Again, nobody ever knows. With the mild winter, Dave hopes to begin shark fishing in May, though June has sometimes been the traditional start of sharking. He even hopes to sail for tuna starting in mid May. Bluefin tuna fishing has been happening then, and commercial boaters this year already reported bluefins swimming the canyons like the Wilmington and Baltimore. Waters were in the 50s there. Reserve dates for all this fishing now, while the dates are available.

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