<b>South Amboy</b>

With <b>Reel World Charters</b> the Henry charter on Saturday fished all around Raritan Bay, trying to clam and jig striped bass, but only a few small bluefish bit, Capt. James said. On Sunday the Baci charter, fishing the ocean aboard, creamed all the bluefish anyone could want, keeping 30 of the 5- to 10-pounders, releasing probably 50. Most were jigged, but some were clammed while the anglers tried for stripers. Bluefishing was great. Fluke season will open Saturday, and choice dates remain for charters for them. 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>

Bluefish to 10 or 11 pounds were beaten Sunday on Raritan Bay with the Seth Laurence party aboard, said Capt. Joe from <b>Papa’s Angels Charters</b>. A couple of dozen were boated, and some got off. The anglers, who also included Seth’s sons Michael, Greg, Johnny and Alex and friend Alan, fished with fresh bunker. Open-boat trips are available 4 to 9 p.m. daily when no charter is booked. So are open trips that start in the mornings. Call to reserve. Trips are fishing for striped bass and blues and will start to sail for fluke when fluke season opens Saturday.

More than 100 bunker were castnetted for bait on the first throw on a trip aboard, a report on <b>Andrea’s Toy Charters</b>’ Web site said on Friday. The crew was glad so many were caught, because the baits barely lasted through the outing. Constant action with striped bass and blues was crushed the whole trip. Stripers too 22 pounds and more than 50 blues to 12 pounds were wrestled in, until the anglers, with sore arms, had enough, and headed home.

<b>Atlantic Highlands</b>

Excellent jigging, mostly for bluefish, non-stop action, was pounded Sunday on the party boat <b>Fishermen</b>, Capt. Ron said in a report on the vessel’s Web site. Miles of blues schooled, as the trip kept trying different areas, in hopes to locate stripers. Several sizeable stripers were seen chasing the jigs. “Just not many takers,” Ron said. “Loads of bait; lots of fish. Doesn’t get any better than that.” Clamming for striped bass was good in the morning on Thursday’s trip, covered here in the last report. Watch a <a href=" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=113xwIgs62g&feature=player_embedded" target="_blank">video of Sunday’s trip</a>. The Fishermen is sailing for striped bass 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily and 3:30 to 9 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays.

Angling for striped bass was slow aboard the past days, and trips tried to concentrate on stripers, instead of bluefish, said Capt. Tom from the party boat <b>Atlantic Star</b>. Strong winds blew on Friday morning’s trip, and some stripers and blues were swung in. Every trip managed some stripers, but not good catches. The boat was back out on Saturday and Sunday. On Sunday morning’s trip, striper fishing was tough, and a shot of the fish turned up at the end, then stopped. On Sunday afternoon’s trip, a little life turned on at the end of the outing. 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. The trips will begin fluke fishing on Saturday, opening day of fluke season. <b>***Update, Monday, 4/30:***</b> The trip this morning tried for stripers, and only a couple and a few blues were pumped in, Tom said. The anglers wanted to fish for stripers, so the trip tried, fishing locally. The afternoon’s trip began fishing for stripers, and that was no good. But bluefish came all around the boat, and birds worked the waters, so the anglers had fun jigging blues, locally. So if stripers can be caught, trips will go after them, but if blues can be jigged locally, the half-day trips will. <b>***Update, Tuesday, 5/1:***</b> This morning’s trip stayed docked, and this afternoon’s trip sailed with a small group of anglers, Tom said. The trip went clamming for striped bass, and a keeper and some shorts were reeled in. Then bluefish came to the boat, instead of the trip going on a hunt to jig blues. Some of the anglers tied on jigs, fighting the blues on them, and some caught blues on clams. The trip moved around to a couple of more spots, and no stripers turned up, but some blues were grabbed.

<b>Highlands</b>

Catches of striped bass were best aboard Thursday, said Capt. Pete from the <b>Hyper Striper</b> in an e-mail. Tom Guause’s trip that day limited out, then released more keepers non-stop. On Friday Dickie Leroux’s charter boxed eight big keepers and all the blues they could handle. On Saturday Nick Prosser’s charter in the morning limited out on stripers to 19 pounds and released a few more keepers, and Richard Sabbah’s party in the afternoon totaled eight keeper stripers and some blues. On Sunday the Marty Metz crew in the morning iced six keeper stripers to 22 pounds, and the Jeff Sheats gang in the afternoon hammered more than 20 keeper stripers and tons of blues.

Though more bluefish than preferred were drilled on a trip Sunday aboard, a couple of striped bass were clammed, said Capt. Dave from <b>Raritan Bay Charters</b>. The trip fished the ocean and Raritan Bay, and the stripers were pulled from the bay. Once the tide was lost, the trip began trolling Stretch lures, and blues attacked. Fluke season will open Saturday, and fluke trips will be available starting then. A 21-inch fluke jumped on one of the trolled Stretches on the trip, and a friend trolled an 8-pound fluke at Reach Channel in the bay the other day. Both were released, and fluke seemed to swim the bay. Open-boat trips are sailing when no charter is booked.

Fishing for striped bass was good aboard until Saturday afternoon, for some reason, Capt. Derek from <b>Fisher Price Charters</b> said. Stripers to 20 or 25 pounds were still caught, on live and chunked bunker, but bluefish became difficult to fish through. Trips fished Raritan Bay and might start heading down the ocean beaches a little more, depending on conditions. But stripers might’ve been heading up the rivers to spawn, “(and) once the full moon passes, (the fishing) could be a whole different story,” Derek said. Charters are fishing, and the next open-boat trips for stripers are slated for Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday mornings. Call to climb aboard or to be kept informed about future open trips.

<b>Neptune</b>

<b>Last Lady Fishing Charters</b> fished for bottom fish, striped bass and blues this weekend, Capt. Ralph said in an e-mail. Fishing conditions were tough, with winds against tide and rough seas, in the morning on an individual-reservation bottom-angling trip Saturday. Still, a decent catch of ling was put together, and Joe Hoy aboard bagged a cod. Trips on both of Last Lady’s boats on Sunday sailed for stripers and blues. “It was very hard to get through the blues,” Ralph said. A boxful of blues was crushed on each vessel. Ten keeper stripers were axed on one of the boats, and two keepers were bagged on the other. If the trips had fished earlier or later in the day, much better catches of stripers would’ve likely been whacked. Try to book striper trips on weekdays, because boat traffic was unbelievable on weekends. Sea bass season will open May 19, and big ones were already caught and released. Six spaces are available for an individual-reservation trip for sea bass Saturday, May 26, and one space remains for another Sunday, May 20. Space is available on an individual-reservation trip for cod Sunday, May 27, to the wrecks 40 to 70 miles offshore. Only one opening remains for the shark tournaments: four spaces to compete aboard in the South Jersey Shark Tournament. That’s the best tournament, Ralph said, with the most payout.

<b>Belmar</b>

A trip limited out on striped bass early on the ocean Sunday on the <b>Katie H</b>, Capt. Mike said. The anglers cleaned up on the bass, and decided to head back to port early. “Can’t beat that,” Mike said, and they were happy, he said. The bass were jigged to the north, and the bite started slowly at first, was a pick, with lots of boats fishing. But as soon as the boats “started to break up,” Mike said, “the bass started to come together more.” A great catch was made, and a bunch of bluefish were mixed in. Charters are fishing, and open-boat trips will be offered this season. Call for info.

Striped bass were plowed aboard Sunday on the ocean, said Capt. Pete from <b>Parker Pete’s Fishing Charters</b>. The fishing was great in the morning, and somewhat slowed in the early afternoon. The fishing was also good on a trip Saturday on the boat, but the stripers were bigger on Sunday’s outing. A new class of stripers, larger ones 30 and 40 pounds – 45 pounds was the largest Pete heard about – seemed to arrive that day. The crew from Parker Pete’s is excited about the larger bass, and that striper fishing really seemed to be coming on. The fleet got on good catches since Friday. The bass were jigged aboard with Parker Pete’s, and Jersey Jay’s Krocodiles worked well. Stingo’s and Ava’s also connected. If bunker can be caught for bait, trips will liveline the menhaden for stripers. A few trips were heard about that managed to net bunker in the mornings and liveline them. The stripers caught with Parker Pete’s were loaded with butterfish and bunker in stomachs. Bluefish were in the mix with the catches aboard, but mostly stripers were hooked. The bass were located a little south of the inlet. But the location changes every day, and on some mornings the fish school right off Shark River Inlet. Charters and open-boat trips are fishing. For availability on the open trips, watch the <a href=" http://www.parkerpetefishing.com/fishing-reports" target="_blank">fishing reports on Parker Pete’s Web site</a>, and sign up for the e-mailed newsletter on the site. Dates are included in both places.

<b>Brielle</b>

“Rediculing,” an e-mail from Capt. Ryan from the party boat <b>Jamaica II</b> said. Ling fishing was excellent aboard Sunday. Fred Garner, Hockessin, Del., was high hook with 111. Customers and their catches also included: Brad VanLowen, Reading, 94 ling; Mack Dubois, Bristol, 83 ling; and Donito Patrick, Trenton, 76. “Lowest hook we could find was (an angler) with a rental rod who had just under 40,” Ryan said. The fishing was also good on Saturday’s trip, despite strong, southeast currents. “Big ling!” Ryan said. Customers went home with lots of hefty fillet bags. “Sharpies were in the 50s and 60s,” Ryan said about the number of ling they bagged. “Not as sharpies 20s, 30s and 40s.” Customers and their catches included: Bernard Jones, Englewood, 64 ling; Paul Popadopolous, Matawan, 61 ling; and Dale Isaacs, Manchester, 59 ling. Jeff Kravitz, Trenton, won the pool with an 8-pound cod. The next trips are set for 5 a.m. Friday through Sunday.

Fishing for striped bass was terrible on the ocean Thursday and Friday, but exploded again Saturday, John from <b>The Reel Seat</b> said in a phone call Sunday morning. Many trips, including on private boats and party boats, limited out on the bass by 11 a.m., mostly to the north, like around Asbury Park and Long Branch. Many of the anglers fished with Jersey Jay’s Krocodiles but also with other lures like that and weighted Tsunami shads. Boaters who trolled often fished with spoons or Stretch plugs. Bluefish definitely showed up lately, were mixed in with the bass. Not much was heard about surf fishing for striped bass, so the catches seemed picky. Northeast winds were forecast for this morning, and maybe they’d push stripers into the surf. Bluefish ran Manasquan River and Point Pleasant Canal, and surely striped bass swam both places. Fluke season will open Saturday, and nothing was heard about fluke in Manasquan River, but a diver said Shark River was paved with the summer flounder. John hopes to try for fluke on the ocean during opening weekend. He fishes on a 38-foot boat, doesn’t usually fish on the river. Back on the ocean, bottom fishing was good for ling and decent for blackfish. Blackfish season will close Tuesday. Farther from shore, rumors said commercial anglers were seeing bluefin tuna. John heard about no recreational anglers looking for the tuna, but a mate from the party boat Gambler reportedly said big fish were marked on a tilefish trip aboard that appeared to be bluefins. The tilefishing was good, the mate supposedly said.   Wahoo Baitfish Bucktails and Stingo jigs 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. A few of the Stingo’s remain and will be on sale until the supply runs out.

<b>Waretown</b>

Two striped bass were trolled on the ocean Saturday aboard, and life seemed to be picking up in the local ocean, and lots more bunker schooled, said Capt. Dave from <b>Relentless Sport Fishing</b>. A trip on the boat attempted to sail Friday, but turned around because of weather. Fluke season will open Saturday, and trips for them will be available starting then. Trips could sometimes mix it up. If a trip limited out on stripers early, anglers could fluke fish afterward.

<b>Barnegat</b>

<b>***Update, Tuesday, 5/1:***</b> From an edited e-mail from Capt. Dave DeGennaro from the <b>Hi Flier</b>: “Right on schedule, the big stripers are here. Twenty- to 40-pound fish off Island Beach State Park. Most of the fish are being taken while trolling bunker spoons, though there are now enough bunker on the scene to snag and liveline. I fished way north over the weekend to put my guys into the last of the school-size bass migration. We broke Barnegat Inlet at 6 a.m., made the left, and 40 miles later, we were at the Shrewsbury Rocks, catching bass and blues under birds. While I was on world tour, our local boats had a good bite on the big stripers right in our own backyard. I did try and troll some readings on my long jaunt north, but perhaps I didn't give it enough of a try. In hindsight I would’ve kept the spoons out and stayed with the readings closer to home. We will be sailing twice a day for these fish. Word travels fast, and we are already booked this Thursday, Friday and Saturday mornings. We will run 6-hour afternoon open-boat trips 11:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Thursday and 1 to 7 p.m. Friday. Also, I will run open 6 a.m. to 12 noon. Trips are limited to 3 people. Call to reserve.”

<b>Tuckerton</b>

The season for blackfish will close Tuesday, but fishing for them was good aboard Saturday, Capt. T.J. from <b>Legal Limit Charters</b> said. Ocean striped bass fishing was inconsistent, but if the bass turn on this season, they usually do starting in mid May, he said in a previous report. Charters are fishing, and open-boat trips will run for sea bass after sea bass season opens May 19. Open trips get listed on <a href=" http://www.legallimitcharters.com/open-boat.php" target="_blank">Legal Limit’s open-boat page</a> online.

<b>Mystic Island</b>

Scattered reports about bluefish rolled in from Grassy Channel in the last days, a report on <b>Scott’s Bait & Tackle</b>’s Web site said. Most news about striped bass catches came from the ocean, but one boater telephoned at 12:30 p.m. Sunday, saying a 30-inch striper was already decked on the trip at Grassy near the 139 marker. On Saturday morning, frost covered the ground. “Whoa!” the report said.

<b>Brigantine</b>

Ten striped bass were weighed in from the surf Saturday, and at least 15 more were known about that were dragged in from the shore that day, a report on <b>Riptide Bait & Tackle</b>’s Web site said. Three were checked in from the beach today from two different anglers. One landed two of them off the Brigantine hotel on clams. Fresh clams and fresh bunker were stocked.

<b>Sea Isle City</b>

Back-bay fishing aboard pasted excellent catches, said Capt. Joe Hughes from <b>Jersey Cape Guide Service</b> and <b>Sea Isle Bait & Tackle</b>. A trip Saturday scoped out summer flounder in the waters, getting ready for the opening of the flounder season this coming Saturday. Loads of flounder, good-sized, including a 6-pounder, were bailed and released. Plus they were hooked on Gulps on jigheads for fun, and when trips start fishing with bait, the angling should be crazy. This was the best start to flounder fishing that Joe saw in some years. Space remains for flounder fishing aboard on opening weekend, and the start is one of the best times to go. A sizeable weakfish was also hooked and released on the trip, and a weakfish or two per trip, more than in years, were reeled aboard lately. No bluefish were caught on the outing, but bluefishing’s usually been better on outgoing, warmer tides, and the tide was incoming. However, bluefishing was off the hook, the best yet this year, on a trip aboard Thursday evening on incoming. One blue after another, 1-1/2- to 3-pounders, were fought, mostly on jigs, but also on flies. The bay now became a couple of degrees cooler or 55 degrees because of the colder weather. That was a bit chillier than usual for the time of year, and that was interesting, after the warm winter. Striped bass, plenty, could be clammed on the bay, and Joe’s trips concentrated on jig fishing recently.  All four species – flounder, blues, weakfish and stripers – targeted in the bay are in. That’s what makes this one of the best times to fish. Go now. Catch one of the After Work Special Trips from 4:30 p.m. to dark, a convenient, ideal time. Keep up with Joe’s fishing on <a href="http://captainjoehughes.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Jersey Cape’s blog</a>.

<b>Cape May</b>

A couple of drum, the season’s first aboard, were decked Sunday from Delaware Bay with <b>Legal Limit Charters</b>, Capt. T.J. said. Drum, not a lot, a few, began to bite in the bay. All were hooked during daytime, and none was landed at night so far. Charters aboard are drumming, and open-boat trips might fish for them once the season gets going. Open trips get listed on <a href=" http://www.legallimitcharters.com/open-boat.php" target="_blank">Legal Limit’s open-boat page</a> online. Open trips for sea bass, sailing from Tuckerton on T.J.’s other boat, have already begun to be posted on the page.

On the <b>Down Deep</b> a couple of charters steamed for blackfish on the ocean in the past week, piling up good catches, Capt. Bob said. Blackfish season will close Tuesday, and large, jumbo sea bass snapped on the trips and were released, and that seemed encouraging for the opening of sea bass season May 19. A drum trip is slated to fish Delaware Bay aboard Wednesday, and a trip on deck two Fridays ago eased in five drum, 25- to 30-pounders, covered in a previous report. A friend that Saturday ran a trip that tugged in four drum from the bay. Summer flounder season will open Saturday, and space is available for drum, flounder and sea bass charters.

A few drum were hauled from the Delaware side of Delaware Bay, and the year’s first drum trip aboard is set for Saturday, Capt. George from the <b>Heavy Hitter</b> said. The Delaware side is always slightly warmer than the Jersey side. Trips on the boat blackfished on the bay Saturday and Sunday. Sunday’s trip, with the Kevin Driscoll charter, limited out with no problem, including on some big blackfish to 10-1/2-pounds. Steve, Joe, Tim, Rob and Jason were also on the trip. Sunday’s blackfishing was slow with Howard Bly’s charter, and the trip didn’t limit out but bagged 20 of the tog to 8 pounds, including some sizeable ones, and stayed late. Dave, Lonnie, Ryan, Tom and Tim were also on the trip. Blackfish season will close Tuesday. Summer flounder season will open Saturday, and sea bass season will open May 19. Trips are available for drum, flounder and sea bass, and call if interested.

Back to Top