<b>Neptune</b>

On a blackfishing trip Saturday, most anglers either limited out or nearly did, said Capt. Ralph from <b>Last Lady Fishing Charters</b>. The fish bit steadily until noon, and then stopped, and weather lately was “unbelievable,” Ralph said. Days were warmer and calm. Space is available on individual-reservation trips for blackfish Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. Charters are available for blackfish and mid-range cod. <b>***Update, Thursday, 1/17:***</b> Ralph wrapped up his season, and thanks anglers for fishing aboard this past year, he said. Trips will begin again in late April or early May.

<b>Belmar</b>

<b>***Update, Thursday, 1/17:***</b> Blackfishing was weathered out on Tuesday and Wednesday on the party boat <b>Big Mohawk</b>, Capt. Chris said. Fishing was good aboard Saturday for the tautog, including good-sized, to a 12-pounder, the biggest of the week. On trips Sunday and Monday, the bite became off, “just got a little funny,” Chris said. A few ling and cod were mixed in on trips. Green crabs are supplied for bait, and white leggers are for sale aboard. The Big Mohawk is blackfishing 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily.

<b>***Update, Thursday, 1/17:***</b> Trips were on hold for a moment on the party boat <b>Miss Belmar Princess</b>, on the wait for mackerel to show up, Capt. Alan said. The boat and another one of Belmar’s head boats fished for them Friday and Saturday, but maybe only 30 or 40 mackerel were hooked.  Alan doesn’t want to take anglers for a boat ride, he said. Signs of life like herring began to be seen locally, and boats from Montauk farther north ran into lots of mackerel. The migration was slowly schooling south. If a good population arrives locally, the Miss Belmar Princess will go after the macks. If they fail to arrive within a couple of weeks, the boat will be finished fishing until late March.

Striped bass, mostly undersized but some keepers, became more wide-spread in the surf, Bob from <b>Fisherman’s Den</b> said in an e-mail on Saturday afternoon. Fishing for them was good from Deal to Point Pleasant Beach, and up to 15-pounders were seen. A large variety of lures caught, including small rubber shads, rubber eels and plugs in yellow. Lures with orange undersides caught, because lots of white crabs shed on the new moon. Herring swam the waters, so black and silver Bomber or SP Minnow plugs were good choices. Whatever you cast, “(it’ll) catch more fish than the sofa and TV is going to,” he said. “… have to go now,” he said. “Going fishing.” <b>***Update, Tuesday, 1/15:***</b> In the surf, “the lowly clam is king,” Bob said in an e-mail. Surf anglers bought more clams for bait than Bob ever saw this time of year. Reports rolled in daily about large numbers of striped bass, and good-sized ones, belted from the surf “and jetty fronts,” Bob said, in Monmouth County. Milder weather caused greater fishing pressure than usual for the time of year at some places. This wasn’t to say lures didn’t catch. Bob and most anglers who fished with lures caught schoolie-sized stripers, and some whaled double-digits. A decent number of anglers also jumped on Belmar’s party boats, sailing for blackfish, cod, ling and pollock.  <b>***Update, Thursday, 1/17:***</b> Plenty of striped bass swam the surf at Spring Lake and Sea Girt, Bob said in an e-mail. Reports about good fishing for them also came from Deal, Asbury Park, Manasquan and Point Pleasant Beach. Clams especially caught, but the fish also hit plugs, rubber shads and rubber eels. “The fish are in no hurry to leave at the present time,” Bob said. He saw plenty of keepers, and Alex Sottile, Montgomery, checked in a 12-pounder and a 13-pounder he clammed Wednesday morning. <b>***Update, Friday, 1/18:***</b> Just got back from the beach, Bob said in an e-mail Thursday evening. He landed one small striped bass on a Tsunami eel. Anglers told him he should’ve been there in the morning. “As usual,” Bob said. They cashed in on good catches then. Weather is going to turn very cold early next week. “I think this will separate the men from the boys,” he said. “… old guys like me will hang it up.” But younger anglers will keep going. “Can’t wait till spring (!),” Bob said.

<b>Brielle</b>

The <b>Big Kid</b>’s been steaming offshore for sea bass, Capt. Ken said. A trip Saturday motored offshore, and fishing was slow. Then the outing moved inshore to a wreck 15 miles from the coast, and cod, ling, sea bass and blackfish were socked. The Big Kid fishes year-round, and sea bass charters are booking up. So are spring striped bass trips, but dates are available.

All anglers easily limited out on giant sea bass offshore Sunday on the party boat <b>Big Jamaica</b>, an e-mail from the vessel said. Many also limited out on jumbo porgies and caught bluefish. Pool-winners were Vin Canfield, Andover, with a 6-1/2-pound sea bass and Kevin Cole, Newton, with a 6-pounder. Each limited out on sea bass and nearly limited out on both porgies and bluefish. The Big Jamaica is fishing offshore for giant sea bass, jumbo porgies, cod and pollock every Wednesday and every Friday through Sunday, departing at 11 o’clock the night before. One of the trips will also fish this coming Monday, Martin Luther King Day, departing at 11 p.m. Sunday. <b>***Update, Thursday, 1/17:***</b>  All anglers limited out on sea bass on Wednesday’s trip, making nine trips in a row that limited out on the fish, an e-mail from the Big Jamaica said. Jumbo porgies and small blues were also caught on the trip, and the outlook was good for the fishing, “running strong,” the e-mail said. Waters were 52 to 54 degrees, “well above the temperature necessary,” it said, for giant sea bass and jumbo porgies to keep migrating offshore. Pool-winners were Dave Martell, Bronx, N.Y., with a 6-1/2-pound sea bass and Joe DeSilva, South Amboy, with a 5-3/4-pounder. Both limited out on sea bass, of course. Space is available on Friday’s trip. Ventafish tools are now for sale aboard, for anglers who limit out and want to release more.

Striped bass were angled from the surf at Deal along the jetty ends, said Eric from <b>The Reel Seat</b>. Some were also beached locally, and, in either location, most were hooked on small lures like Bomber 15A’s, Guides Choice Mucho Minnows and ¾-ounce Baker JLD lures. Sharpies in the know landed double digits in a trip, and anglers less dialed in banked four to six. The fishing was pretty steady. Boaters on the ocean had to work to catch numbers of blackfish, but sizeable ones were creamed, like 10- to 14-pounders. The numbers weren’t there, but the size was, and the fishing was worthwhile. So was mid-range wreck fishing for good catches of ling and fair catches of cod. A few sea bass remained in those depths, and the fishing put up a good mixed bag. Sea bass fishing at offshore wrecks was off the charts. Many of the sea bass were jigged on lures like hammered jigs, Jersey Jay’s and Labo jigs. Porgy fishing seemed to be tapering off in those waters, but some were caught. Cod, pollock and jumbo ling were mixed in. Many anglers on the trips limited out on sea bass and boxed a mixed bag of the other fish.  Catch the 50-percent-discount sale on Shimano inshore jigs. A few Tsunami Timber Lures, at 40 percent off, and Stingo jigs, at 30 percent, remain. New hours: The Reel Seat will be open Saturdays and Sundays the next two weekends and will be open Thursdays through Sundays afterward.

<b>Point Pleasant Beach</b>

<b>Mushin Sportfishing</b> ran to the mid-range ocean Sunday to bottom-fish for a variety of catches, Alan, the boat’s owner, said in an e-mail. Plenty of ling and some sea bass, cod and blackfish were pumped in from depths 120 to 145 feet. Silver eels and conger eels, “usual suspects,” Alan said, were also swung in. Water temps were holding steady around “50ish,” Alan said. So bottom fishing should remain good, and Mushin is sailing through winter, weather permitting. Charters are starting to be booked for spring striped bass charters, fishing mid-April to June, trolling for tuna at the canyons, starting in mid June, and mako shark fishing.

Blackfishing was difficult Saturday and Sunday, Capt. Matt from the party boat <b>Norma-K III</b> said in a report on the vessel’s Web site. Trips fished the ocean at wrecks, rocks, concrete rubble, “you name it,” he said. The tautog were picked, but catches were slow. Waters were 44 degrees and clean. Today’s trip was “going to take a little bit of a ride … and see if we can get the bite going,” he said. On Saturday night’s trip, anglers picked away at ling. Eels and dog sharks were a nuisance, but a few ling were copped every place fished. Throwback cod were released.  The Norma-K III is blackfishing 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays and 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays. Magic Hour Ling Trips are sailing 3 to 9 p.m. every Saturday.  <b>***Update, Thursday, 1/17:***</b> Weather was beautiful on Monday’s trip, “actually too nice,” Matt said in a report on the boat’s Web site. Hardly any winds blew, so the boat couldn’t be kept still on most drops, and that didn’t help. Blackfishing was slow, and one place produced most catches. A 10-pound blackfish was the pool-winner, and a 12-pounder was biggest. The tog fishing was also slow on Tuesday’s trip. A lot of drops were made, and one produced a handful of the fish. The rest were dead. Water temperatures and conditions were right, “(but) they just (didn’t) want to bite,” Matt said. Trips will blackfish through the month. Matt was going to try to fish deeper, “so we will have clams on board, also,” he said. That’s in addition to crabs for bait. No trip fished Wednesday, but today’s trip was expected to run.

<b>Toms River</b>

Access was closed at Midway Beach in Seaside Park since the hurricane, but an angler who lives there banked striped bass from the surf on Ava jigs with black tails, said Jeff from <b>Murphy’s Hook House</b>. The angler bought gray tails he was going to try. At Point Pleasant Canal, stripers were swiped at night, and blackfish were bonked during day. A few stripers were lifted from the Toms River at Island Heights on Fishbites. A few white perch were plucked from there and farther upstream.

<b>Mystic Island</b>

At <b>Scott’s Bait & Tackle</b>, the crew picked away at rebuilding the store after Hurricane Sandy, Scott said. Nothing was heard about fishing. Striped bass season will open in six week on March 1 in bays and rivers. Nearby Graveling Point, a shore-fishing spot at the confluence of Great Bay and Mullica River, is traditionally one of the state’s first places to give up the bass. The combination of the warmer river meeting the bay’s shallow flats attracts the fish.  <a href="http://www.pennparts.com" target="_blank">PennParts.com</a> was up and running. That’s the store’s online business featuring every Penn part available on the market, and many no longer available.

<b>Absecon Inlet</b>

A few anglers white perch fished in warmer weather in past days, said Capt. Dave from <b>Absecon Bay Sportsman Center</b>. The store began stocking live grass shrimp, a favorite perch bait, and the perch supposedly moved into warmer-weather haunts. But they’ll move back to winter holes in colder weather that’s coming. Dave will try to keep the shrimp stocked this season for perching on brackish waters like Mullica River. The shop’s final supply of green crabs were sold this weekend for blackfishing on the ocean. The store is open for no set hours, but Dave is usually there, and call ahead to confirm. Sailfishing was very good, the best in years, at <a href="http://www.abseconbay.com/fishguatemala.html" target="_blank">Dave’s Guatemala charter business</a>. Catches were like when the country’s sailfishing first became famous, and dorados and marlin were also hung lately.

<b>Ocean City</b>

Blackfish were tugged from 40- to 60-foot depths in the ocean, the last Justin from <b>Fin-Atics</b> heard, he said. But he hadn’t been at the shop in some time until the weekend, so he hadn’t heard much, including about fishing for striped bass in the surf and for sea bass offshore. The shop was busy this weekend with customers going fishing, mostly buying frozen clams and bunker. Justine assumed they would mostly fish for stripers from shore. The store is open Fridays through Sundays, and will be open daily starting March 1. Frozen baits are stocked.

<b>Sea Isle City</b>

Wrecks and reefs close to shore churned up good blackfishing, said Capt. Joe Hughes from <b>Jersey Cape Guide Service</b>, affiliated with <b>Sea Isle Bait & Tackle</b>. He imagined the fish also bit farther from shore. Joe saw an angler geared for surf fishing, and asked the angler whether he caught. The angler landed a few throwback striped bass, the angler said. Joe will return to the Florida Keys soon, running traveling charters he offers each winter, usually on weekends. The fishing’s been good for a large variety of catches, including redfish, speckled sea trout, snook, jacks, tarpon and more. Check out a <a href=" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJGEPlvew-Q&feature=youtu.be" target="_blank">video of tarpon fishing Christmas week aboard</a>.  Anglers can arrive on a Friday, fish all day Saturday and part of Sunday, and be back to work Monday. The trips can be a mini, fish-filled vacation.  See info on Jersey Cape’s <a href="http://www.captainjoehughes.com/page4.html" target="_blank">Traveling Fisherman Charters</a> Web page. Keep up with Joe’s fishing on <a href="http://captainjoehughes.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Jersey Cape’s blog</a>.

Surf fishing for striped bass was probably better this past week than in most weeks in November and December, said Mike from <b>Sea Isle Bait & Tackle</b>. It was good, and several different types of fishing were good, actually, even if that was surprising this time of year. Three or four stripers, each about 30 inches long, were checked in Saturday from the surf, Mike said in a phone call Sunday morning. Two anglers dragged in two stripers in the morning, headed back out that night, and landed three or four more, until they ran out of bait at 10 p.m. Most stripers were slugged on fresh clams, but some anglers fished with salted clams for convenience. Blackfishing was good on the ocean, and Mike and two anglers on a trip last week limited out on the tautog to 24 and 26 inches in 1 ½ hours. They fished at the artificial reef, and the tog bit “everything,” Mike said, including green crabs, white leggers and salted clams. The local party boat scored well on blackfish, and sailed every day except Friday in the past week. The boat was docked for mechanical work on Friday. A group of customers sailed for sea bass offshore, bailing the fish. They fished with rigs like a diamond jig on bottom with three leadered hooks 24 inches apart. They said it was nothing to reel in a 6-pound sea bass, a couple of smaller ones and an 8-pound bluefish, on the jig, on one line. On the hooks they impaled a variety of clams and artificials like Gulps or Fin-S Fish. Fresh clams, green crabs, white leggers when available, eels and all frozen baits are stocked. Some of the fresh and live baits were beginning to run low by Sunday because of demand, but more will be stocked in the middle of the week. The store is open Fridays through Sundays and sporadically on weekdays, based on weather.

<b>Wildwood Crest</b>

<b>***Update, Thursday, 1/17:***</b> Fishing was good on a combo sea bass and tilefish trip offshore Friday on the party boat <b>Atlantic Star</b>, a report on the vessel’s Web site said. Most anglers limited out on sea bass and caught five to ten tilefish apiece and some bluefish. Dwayne Shepperd, Queens, N.Y., won the pool with a 25-pound golden tilefish, boxed a few other tiles and limited out on sea bass to 5 ½ pounds. On Saturday’s offshore trip for giant sea bass, fishing began slowly in strong currents, giving up a pick of sea bass and blues. But catches became better in the afternoon, despite strong currents. Pat Amato, Egg Harbor Township, won the pool with a 6-1/2-pound sea bass, and limited out. Anglers with sea bass limits that day also included: Peter and Connie Tu, West Warwick, R.I., both limiting out on the fish to 5 pounds; Curtis Marshall, Camden, with a limit to 5 ½ pounds; and Vic Gentile, Mullica Hill, with a limit to 5 pounds. Also limiting out were Chris Walker, another Chris Walker, and Voss and Craig Walker from Monroeville. On Sunday’s trip for giant sea bass, currents still ran strongly, tough conditions for fishing, but a couple of anglers limited out on sea bass: Art Strasser from Margate and William Mei from Queens, N.Y., both with a limit to 6 pounds. “Big Country” from Baltimore won the pool with a 7-pound sea bass. The Atlantic Star is sailing offshore for giant sea bass on 18-hour trips every Saturday and Sunday, and is fishing offshore for a combo of sea bass and tilefish on 19- or 20-hour trips every Wednesday. A giant sea bass trip will also fish Monday for Martin Luther King Day. Reservations are required for all these trips.

<b>Cape May</b>

<b>***Update, Thursday, 1/17:***</b> A bunch of anglers jumped on blackfish trips Saturday and Sunday on the party boat <b>Porgy IV</b>, and they caught, Capt. Paul said. They picked at the fish, didn’t bail them. But some limits were made. Fishing conditions were tough on Sunday, and fewer keepers were landed, but some big ones were hauled in. On Saturday’s trip, Dave Gellman, Margate, limited out, and Don Wagner, Deptford, won the pool with a 9-1/2-pounder. Ken Minett Jr. bagged four blackfish, and Ken Minett Sr. bagged three. On Sunday’s trip, Alan Ho, Philadelphia, drilled a 10-pounder, an 8-pounder and a 7-pounder. Still, another angler beat him out for the pool, winning with a 10-1/2-pound blackfish. Some big ones were caught at one spot. The tautog were cranked in on Sunday’s trip, “but not enough to go around the boat,” Paul said. The Porgy IV is blackfishing at 8 a.m. Saturdays and Sundays and will also sail for the tog at 8 a.m. Monday for Martin Luther King Day.

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