<b>Staten Island</b>

Fishing for striped bass was slower than before on Raritan Bay on a trip Sunday, Capt. Joe from <b>Outcast Charters</b> said. The fish weren’t aggressive, and only a handful were landed, and they were smaller than before, but some were keepers 12 to 15 pounds. The anglers fished with chunks of bunker, and a friend that evening trolled a good catch of the bass. “That’s just the way it is,” Joe said.  But the season was early, and Outcast usually doesn’t start striper fishing until a week later. “(It was) only April 15,” Joe said. Trips will keep striper fishing, and Outcast pays bridge tolls with a receipt. Outcast this season will also offer trips from New Jersey that can follow New Jersey regulations, including for fluke and sea bass. Call if interested.

<b>South Amboy</b>

After winds made fishing difficult most of last week, the weather was beautiful on striped bass trips Friday through Sunday with <b>Reel World Charters</b>, Capt. James said. On Friday’s trip, with the Roman party, the angling was tough in the morning. The trip fished all over Raritan Bay, then the bass began to bite around noontime. Fifty stripers to 21 pounds were landed in the last hour. Saturday’s trip on the bay, with the Gallo party, began fishing where Friday’s trip left off, and the anglers creamed a double-digit catch of stripers. On Sunday’s trip on the bay, with the Allen party, striper fishing was slim pickings. Still, the anglers each landed at least two keepers, a limit. All the trips fished with clams, and Reel World was sticking with clams, until more bunker arrive in the waters. Active and retired military, first responders and law enforcement get a $50 discount on charters. To receive the discount, call ahead and let Reel World know.

<b>Keyport</b>

With <b>Papa’s Angels Charters</b> anglers are fishing for striped bass on Raritan Bay with clams on charters and open-boat trips, Capt. Joe said. The open trips are available daily when no charter is booked.

<b>Atlantic Highlands</b>

The party boat <b>Atlantic Star</b>’s striped bass trips sailed every day since the last report, and a few of the fish were bagged every outing, but the angling was slower, Capt. Tom said. He wouldn’t call the catches good, and would definitely like to see the fishing better. But most of the stripers hooked were keepers, and some good-sized ones were mixed in, and a few shorts were let go. The boat fished at places including down the ocean beaches, Flynn’s Knoll and Romer Shoal, depending on conditions and where the fish were found. Some spots gave up five or six keepers, and some none, and the trips moved around a little. “You just (couldn’t) seem to build them,” Tom said. Tuesday’s fishing aboard was good, and trips since then copped a few stripers here and there. Most were clammed, and a few were jigged. Tom is telling anglers to bring an extra rod for jigging if they want, but be prepared to clam. The Atlantic Star is fishing for striped bass on two trips daily 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 1:30 to 6 p.m. <b>***Update, Monday, 4/16:***</b> Striped bass fishing was no good on this morning’s trip, but this afternoon’s trip was a complete turnaround, Tom said. The catch was good, and anglers limited out and handed off more hooked stripers to others to reel in. Everyone or nearly everyone took home fish. The angling could change from trip to trip, and predicting was difficult. On some days a morning might be better, and on other days an afternoon. The afternoon was the trip today.

Fishing for striped bass started excellent on Sunday’s trip, Capt. Ron from the party boat <b>Fishermen</b> said in a report on the vessel’s Web site. The anglers began clamming for the fish, and three bass were caught right away, when the boat came back on anchor. The bite lasted an hour, then the boat got underway to search for stripers to jig. Gannets crashed the waters, and some of the biggest stripers of the season so far were walloped, on jigs. One angler heaved in a 34-pounder. Then the fishing dropped off, “but we were very happy with the catch we put together, Ron said. No report was posted for Saturday, and Friday’s trip started with a slow pick on stripers, but all heck broke loose at the end of the outing. Lots of limits were clobbered, “and then some,” Ron said. A 25-pound striper won the pool. On Thursday’s trip, striper fishing started slow, on bait. A shot of the fish was caught a moment, then stopped. A few birds happened to be seen picking the waters, so the boat was moved there, to check it out. The anglers put jigs on the lines, and one heck of a shot of big stripers came on. The anglers waxed them on three drifts, and the bass weighed up to 34 pounds, and a couple of anglers limited out, and the high hook landed five, keeping no more than a limit. Then the fish moved beyond 3 miles from the coast, where striper fishing is prohibited. Check out a <a href=" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zhfNMqR8_w&feature=player_embedded" target="_blank">video of Sunday’s trip</a> jigging stripers. The Fishermen is sailing for striped bass 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily.

<b>Highlands</b>

Raritan Bay’s striped bass fishing was great aboard the beginning of last week with <b>Fisher Price Charters</b>, and the fish weighed up to 30 pounds, Capt. Derek said. The catches were somewhat more difficult the last couple of days. The bass to 25 pounds were still clubbed on the boat, but the fish sort of played with the bait more than striking solidly. Derek didn’t know whether the stripers were affected by the moon or were about to spawn or the reason. The trips all fished with chunked and live bunker. No bluefish were landed on the outings, but Derek saw bluefish caught, and heard about a few, and was sure his season’s first blue would be hooked soon. Charters are fishing for stripers, and the next open-boat trips for them are slated for Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. Call to climb aboard or to be kept informed about the future open schedule.

<b>Neptune</b>

Ling were bailed, a good catch, on an individual-reservation trip Saturday on the ocean with <b>Last Lady Fishing Charters</b>, Capt. Ralph said. A few blackfish and winter flounder were shoveled in. The trip did no striped bass fishing, but the outings are mixing in striper fishing when the bite is on. The fleet got on solid striper fishing late that day off Shark River Inlet. The individual-reservation bottom-fishing trips are running Saturdays and Sundays with Last Lady through the month, and a few openings remain. Charters are also sailing.

<b>Belmar</b>

The boat will probably be ready to sail for the season in another five days of pre-season maintenance, said Capt. Jared from <b>Fin-Ominal Sportfishing</b>. The year’s first charters were currently booked for May 5 and 7, and by then, the migration of large striped bass could be sliding up the coast. Boaters were already catching non-migrating bass on the ocean. The fishing sounded hit or miss in past days. The catches seemed not so great Sunday. But Jared heard about certain anglers who drilled good catches Friday. A boat from the docks recently, for example, ran a trip that bagged a striper every half-hour or 45 minutes, enough to keep the anglers interested. Bottom fishing sounded good for ling in past days. A few blackfish were scooped up on the bottom trips. Fin-Ominal will sail for stripers and bottom fish at first this season. Trips will sail on Fin-Ominal’s new boat, a larger vessel than before that can accommodate large groups. Up to 15 anglers can fish on trips, and more than 20 passengers can sail on pleasure cruises. The first 10-person shark trip was booked aboard the other day. Fin-Ominal will begin sharking around June, and does lots of big-game fishing. Charters available include tournaments, and Fin-Ominal won a couple of big tournaments in recent years, including last year’s Brett T. Bailey Mako Rodeo. Tuna fishing aboard will launch afterward for the season. Fin-Ominal’s previous boat is <b><i>***For Sale***</i></b>: See the beautiful <a href=" http://www.finominalcharters.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1&Itemid=8" target="_blank">42-foot sportfisherman</a> on Fin-Ominal’s Web site.

The crew worked on boat maintenance this weekend, Capt. Mike from the <b>Katie H</b> said. But striped bass and bottom fishing are already available aboard this season, and a couple of boats returning from striper fishing on the ocean were seen this weekend. The angling seemed somewhat slow, and Mike was unsure where they fished. A crew from another boat reported good bottom fishing for lots of ling and a few tog during the weekend. Full-day and half-day charters are available for inshore fishing on the Katie H. Open-boat trips will be available for inshore when the fishing season kicks in. Offshore trips will kick off with shark fishing in June. Yellowfin tuna fishing, at the offshore canyons, usually begins in July on the boat. The Katie H is a blue-water specialist, but also runs the full slate of inshore fishing. 

<b>Brielle</b>

Ocean striped bass fishing was hot and cold, said Dave from <b>The Reel Seat</b>. Boaters would hit a catch one day, go back to the spot the next day, and find none of the bass. The fish and bait were found both north and south, but whether they schooled north or south depended on the day. The stripers seemed ready to spawn, because many were full of ripe roe. But if boaters put in a full day of fishing, they could at least scratch out a catch, if not run into more. Private boaters jigged for the bass, but trolled for them if needing to locate the fish. Party boaters jigged for them. Nothing was heard about stripers beached from the local surf, but surf casters might’ve connected farther south. Nobody reported running into bluefish locally, but a few were reportedly weighed in farther south. Bottom fishing for ling was good. Bottom fishing for blackfish seemed somewhat tough, maybe because the tog were spawning. One customer landed 30 blackfish Saturday, but all were shorts. But he bagged four cod. Another customer bagged six cod Saturday. Blackfish probably kept biting in the Point Pleasant Canal. Little was heard about winter flounder from northern Barnegat Bay to Manasquan River. But a diver said Manasquan Inlet was paved with flounder. Wahoo Baitfish Bucktails are on sale at 30 percent off, and the shop’s been holding 30-percent sales on different items to celebrate 30 years in business. The store is open Wednesdays to Sundays and will be open daily in a couple of weeks.

<b>Waretown</b>

<b>Relentless Sport Fishing</b> began sailing for striped bass along the ocean this weekend, limiting out on both trips, Capt. Dave said. The fishing was very good right now, and the trips, sailing Friday and Saturday, mostly jigged the fish, but trolled some. The bass weren’t huge but were up to 30 inches or 25 or 30 pounds. Relentless had been fishing from Cape May but moved the boat to Waretown to fish the striper run from Barnegat Inlet this season. More of the charters are set for Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.

<b>Tuckerton</b>

Catches of blackfish were good on the ocean lately, and a trip Friday nearly limited out on the tog with five anglers with <b>Legal Limit Charters</b>, Capt. T.J. said. Sizeable, out-of-season sea bass sometimes jumped on the crab baits, and lots of sea bass would’ve been landed if the anglers had been fishing for them with clams. Sea bass season will open May 19. Charters will keep blackfishing for now, and striped bass fishing was mostly slow on the local ocean, and the season was early for the angling. A few shots of stripers turned up off Long Beach Island during the weekend. Open-boat trips will be in the mix with Legal Limit when the fishing season picks up.

<b>Mystic Island</b>

Graveling Point anglers turned in “a mix of reports,” a report on <b>Scott’s Bait & Tackle</b>’s Web site said on Saturday. They talked about a bunch of small stripers and a mix of drum banked at the shore-angling spot, at the confluence of Great Bay and Mullica River. High, outgoing tides were best. White perch fishing went well on the Mullica and at different lagoons in Manahawkin.

<b>Brigantine</b>

A 17-pound striped bass was weighed in from the surf this morning, a report on <b>Riptide Bait & Tackle</b>’s Web site said. Winds blew from the south, “making it tough to hold,” the report said, “but if you can hold, the fish are out there.” The bottom of outgoing tides were most productive in recent days, and winds were supposed to calm down later today. Surf fishing was fairly slow Sunday, but some weigh-ins came in from the waters. A 10-year-old checked in a drum. Another angler landed three drum to 20 pounds and a 12-pound striper on Riptide Rotter clams on the middle of the island. Someone else banked a few blues. Friday morning got off to a good start for surf casting. Five stripers to a 19-pounder were checked in. That fish was beaten on bunker.   

<b>Sea Isle City</b>

Trips aboard began fishing the back bay during the weekend, and bluefish were in, said Capt. Joe Hughes from <b>Jersey Cape Guide Service</b> and <b>Sea Isle Bait & Tackle</b>. Blues to 6 pounds, good numbers, were tackled on a trip Saturday. Jersey Cape each year has fun fighting the scrappy blues on light tackle while the fish invade the bay a few weeks each spring. The fish were hooked on Gulp shrimp on jigheads bounced slowly along the bottom in the cool waters. Lots of out-of-season summer flounder pounced on the jigs and were released, boding well for the opening of the fluke season May 5. The flatfish were probably all keepers in the new, smaller, 17-1/2-inch size limit this year. What’s more, a 5-pound weakfish grabbed one of the jigs on the trip and was released. Then another large one was hooked and let go on a trip Sunday evening, when Joe gave this report on the trip over the phone. Those were the best-sized weakies Joe saw from the waters in some time. He hoped that meant weakfish, scarce throughout the state in recent years, were on the rebound. Joe on that second trip had just begun trying for striped bass that should also be active in the bay. This month and May are one of the best times for fishing the bay aboard. Blues invade, and stripers continue to bite, and flounder are on a tear. Trips can sometimes score a back-bay slam, a catch of all three species. If weakfish come on, trips could nail a grand slam, catching all four. Blues rampage the bay each year around now for a few weeks. Then most move to the ocean, but some remain in the bay, through summer. The stripers swim the bay the whole year, and become plenty active in spring. The flounder turn on in the bay best in the early season, before mostly moving to the ocean. The shallow, warm waters attract the fish first in the state. Openings remain for flounder fishing aboard on opening weekend of the season for them, and book the fishing fast to get in. The bay during the weekend was 57 degrees, somewhat warmer than usual, a couple of weeks ahead, Joe said. Until this weekend, Joe had been mostly fishing on traveling charters to the Florida Keys he offers each winter through early spring. He now returned his flats boat to Sea Isle, and began focusing full time on the bay from there. Was a good start, and should only get better, exploding with action the next weeks.  Keep up with Joe’s fishing on <a href="http://captainjoehughes.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Jersey Cape’s blog</a>.

<b>Cape May</b>

Striped bass might’ve been boated on Delaware Bay on the Delaware side, said Capt. T.J. from <b>Legal Limit Charters</b>. He’s got anglers interested in a trip for stripers later this week, so he might run a trip to the flats on the Delaware side for the fish, because some boats reported the catches there. But otherwise striper fishing was slow for the Cape May fleet, except for maybe a few that took the long trip to Delaware. But almost all the fleet switched to blackfishing on the ocean. Drum trips with Legal Limit will begin to fish the bay in May. T.J.’s other boat, sailing from Tuckerton, whacked good blackfishing on the ocean, and see the report above. Charters are fishing, and open-boat trips will begin when the fishing season picks up.

On the <b>Down Deep</b> a couple of trips fished for blackfish on the ocean this past week, Capt. Bob said. Many of the tog hooked were small, but some were keepers, and lots chewed. Lots of out-of-season sea bass bit, encouraging for the opening of sea bass season on May 19. Drum trips on Delaware Bay aboard usually begin in late April, and openings are available.

Blackfish trips ran Saturday and Sunday, crushing very good catches, on the <b>Heavy Hitter</b>, Capt. George said. Saturday’s trip, with Kevin Driscoll’s charter, limited out on the fish, probably to 8 ½ pounds, by 9:15 a.m., with six anglers. They probably released just as many keepers afterward, and the anglers were Kevin himself, Gregory, Stonzie, Jeff, Brian and Steve. The tautog fishing on Sunday’s trip, with John Grimmie’s charter, was a little slower. But the five anglers limited out on the slipperies, to 7 or 8 pounds, by 10:30 a.m. The anglers were John himself, Scott, Evan, Adam and Mike. Blackfish trips will continue, and drum trips on Delaware Bay will probably begin in May. Call if interested in any of this fishing.

Beach fishing wrangled up striped bass from the bay to the ocean, on clams, said Mike from <b>Hands Too Bait & Tackle</b>. No bluefish moved in yet, and lots of sharks and skates bit in the surf. Good blackfishing was juked from the Cape May Inlet jetties on green crabs. Boaters got on striped bass on Delaware Bay three or four weeks ago. But the fishing seemed to back off since. Fresh clams, bloodworms, green crabs and eels are stocked.

Back to Top