<b>Hudson River</b>

<b>***Update, Thursday, 4/4:***</b> Striped bass trips will begin in about a week on the river with <b>Angler Sportfishing Charters</b>, Capt. Chuck said. Small, non-migrating stripers currently swam the river, but herring began to be netted from the waters. Not a lot of the baitfish were, and the river was cold, but the migration began. The migration of large striped bass should push up the river soon. When charters begin next week, striper fishing should be decent, he said. The river now was 44 degrees, and only needed to warm slightly for migrating stripers to arrive. When the river reaches 50, the angling becomes very good. That won’t be long from now, at all, Chuck said, though he saw snow on Wednesday morning. Chuck’s been fishing the migration many years, and the angling is one of the best chances to catch trophy stripers. The fish are large, mature, breeding bass, entering the river to spawn. “All the big names are in town,” he said in a past report. Trips fish for them with live and chunked herring, usually both at once. Though anglers can prefer to fish with live, the biggest stripers are usually cracked on chunks. Charters aboard fish from Saugerties, because the largest bass are reeled from there each year.

<b>Perth Amboy</b>

The <b>Vitamin Sea</b> was splashed for the season last week, and fished Raritan Bay on Saturday, Capt. Frank said. But the bay was cold, and only one winter flounder was reeled in, and no striped bass bit. So a trip slated for this Wednesday is postponed. The boat will fish again on Saturday and Sunday. The trip searched thoroughly for flounder, and conditions were tough anyway in past days. Tide was mostly incoming during fishing hours, and incoming is coldest this time of year. Somewhat warmer weather currently and outgoing tides should help fishing now. Charters and open-boat trips are sailing, and call if interested. The Vitamin Sea also fishes from Staten Island. “Get your dose of Vitamin Sea!” 

<b>Keyport</b>

<b>***Update, Thursday, 4/4:***</b> The boat will be floated today, if all goes well, Capt. Joe from <b>Papa’s Angels Charters</b> said. Maintenance for the season was about finished, so the vessel was ready to be launched. He’ll probably fish this weekend, if not earlier, and if anglers want to sail, they can jump aboard, so long as fish are biting. Raritan Bay was 46 degrees or cold on Saturday, but weather now was supposed to warm somewhat. The first trips aboard will clam for striped bass on the bay. Later, they’ll liveline bunker for the bass. Open-boat trips will be available daily when no charter is booked, like every year. Call to join a trip.

<b>Atlantic Highlands</b>

A few striped bass and winter flounder were caught from “up in the bay,” said Jimmy from <b>Julian’s Bait & Tackle</b>. Better, warmer weather was needed, he said. But anglers at Leonardo, on Sandy Hook Bay, scored pretty good catches, mostly throwbacks, but a few better-sized, the other day. One of the local charter boats fished the Mudhole on the ocean Saturday, landing a few ling and cod. Blackfish season opened today, and before the opening, only throwback blackfish caught by mistake and released were heard about. Not a lot of fish bit anywhere, and, again, warmer weather was needed. Maybe that’ll change by the weekend. All baits are stocked.

<b>***Update, Thursday, 4/4:***</b> Fishing will begin Saturday on the party boat <b>Atlantic Star</b>, sailing for striped bass on two trips daily, Capt. Tom said. Nothing was heard about the fishing, and nobody was known who tried for the bass. “But we’ll give it a shot,” he said, “and see what happens.” The trips will fish with clams, supplied aboard. If anglers want to try for winter flounder while the trips fish for stripers on the ocean, they can. Fishing for one or both could be slow. “Nobody knows,” Tom said. But flounder were mixed with stripers there last year. Starting Saturday, the Atlantic Star will fish for striped bass on two trips daily 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 1:30 to 6 p.m.

<b>***Update, Thursday, 4/4:***</b>Striped bass fishing will start the season Saturday on the party boat <b>Fishermen</b>, Capt. Ron wrote in a report on the vessel’s Web site. The trips will sail 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily. Night trips for stripers will be added probably starting the last week of April, and Capt. Dan Seich will run those trips. He joined the Fishermen’s crew, and is a former captain of the Teal and the Angler. He’s one of the area’s top striper skippers, Ron said. Looking forward to a great season! Ron said.

<b>Highlands</b>

The season’s first trips fished Friday to Sunday with <b>Fisher Price Charters</b>, and catches were slow, Capt. Derek said. A couple of throwback striped bass were released Friday, and pretty much only a few bites were had each day. Winter flounder also came up. Waters were 41 to 45 degrees, warming each day, but needed to warm a little more. Fishing should improve, now that the full moon is past, and days are somewhat warmer, to warm waters. The trips carried clams, worms and mussels or all the baits. Charters are fishing, and the next open-boat trips are set to fish Friday through Sunday for stripers and flounder. Call to climb aboard or to be kept informed about the future open schedule.

<b>***Update, Tuesday, 4/2:***</b> The boat was launched for the season Monday, said Capt. Dave from <b>Raritan Bay Charters</b>. Trips will be ready to fish in about a week, after final maintenance, starting with striped bass fishing, first with clams. Later the fish can be trolled on Stretch plugs, and afterward will be livelined on bunker. Waters were cold for fishing anyway. At the slip, waters were 44.5 degrees. Raritan Bay last week was supposedly 39 degrees. Charters will sail, and open-boat trips will run whenever no charter is booked.

<b>Belmar</b>

<b>***Update, Saturday, 4/6:***</b> From an edited e-mail from Bob from <b>Fisherman’s Den</b>: “Flounder more cooperative, now that the water has climbed out of the 30s. Anglers on the bulkheads and boats (on Shark River) all had some fish today. Not a (bail) by any means, but better overall. Stripers in the surf are still among the missing -- we hope a week of warm weather will help. I know (it) will for me. Trout were hungry today, (and) I got good reports from all areas. Isaiah Ruiz of Belmar brought in a 7 lb 4oz and a 6 lb 12 oz rainbow taken in Spring Lake on Power Bait. Good Fishing -- I hope. -- Bob”

“Starting to look better,” Bob from <b>Fisherman’s Den</b> said in an e-mail. Shark River’s winter flounder catches became much better on Sunday. Sunny skies a few days had warmed the water “just enough to get them hungry,” he said. Flounder to 18 inches were bagged, and Bob hopes the fishing continues. Better reports were also heard about striped bass fishing in the surf in Monmouth County.  Most of the fish were throwbacks and were clammed. Striper fishing was good under the Route 37 Bridge on Barnegat Bay for boaters and kayakers casting small plugs. Bob looked forward to blackfish season opening today and seeing how Belmar’s party boats scored on the tautog.

<b>***Update, Thursday, 4/4:***</b> Blackfishing began Monday on the party boat <b>Big Mohawk</b>, Capt. Chris said. That was opening day of blackfish season, and fishing was picky, slow, not good at all, he said, and waters were cold. But catches should pick up, Chris thinks, soon, maybe next week or so. A few blackfish, ling and cod were booted up. Winds weren’t bad that day, but blew strongly since then. The Big Mohawk is blackfishing 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily. More than 500 people showed up to participate in trout stocking at Spring Lake last Saturday for  this Saturday’s <a href="http://www.sharkriversurfanglers.com/contest.htm" target="_blank">Shark River Surf Anglers’ Annual Kids’ Trout Fishing Tournament</a> from 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. That’s opening day of trout season, and kids were welcome to help with the stocking. More than 500 trout – rainbows, goldens, tigers, brooks and browns – were set to be stocked. The fish were supposed to be 14 inches to 12 pounds, and the contest is known for big ones. Open to ages 15 and under, the contest will award 1st, 2nd and 3rd prizes in several age divisions. The kid with the heaviest trout will win a trophy, rod and reel, and a taxidermist will mount the fish. All kids who weigh in a trout will win a prize.

<b>***Update, Thursday, 4/4:***</b> The party boat <b>Golden Eagle</b> will probably be launched Monday, and fishing trips will probably start in 10 days to two weeks, Capt. Rich said. The boat’s been in dry dock to be prepared for the fishing year. New engines were installed, and the boat will be much faster than before, and all kinds of other work was done, making the vessel more comfortable and customer-friendly or convenient. Trips will begin with striped bass fishing, and when the ocean is cold like this season, the angling usually takes off later in April. If the first trips need to bottom-fish instead, they will. The boat will sail for stripers and bluefish next, when blues arrive.  Check out <a href="http://www.goldeneaglefishing.com" target="_blank">Golden Eagle’s Web site</a>.

<b>***Update, Thursday, 4/4:***</b> The <b>Katie H</b> is ready to fish, Capt. Mike said. He’s just waiting for fishing to pick up, but that could happen quickly. As soon as larger numbers of striped bass are heard about from Cape May farther south, the fish usually quickly storm the ocean near Belmar. Bottom-fishing trips currently turned up a few ling and blackfish on the ocean. Mike fished Shark River for winter flounder on Saturday, managing a couple of the fish. The boat is in the water, and plenty of charter dates are available for the season this time of year. Grab preferred ones while possible. 

<b>***Update, Thursday, 4/4:***</b> From <b>Parker Pete’s Fishing Charters</b>, Capt. Pete hopes to splash the boat by mid-April for the season, he said, and was in no rush. That was because fishing aboard, on both charters and open-boat trips, will target striped bass first, and stripers in the local ocean were “obsolete,” he said, in cold waters. A few stripers were tugged from Raritan Bay to the north and off Cape May to the south. But the ocean near Belmar was 39 or 40 degrees. A few boats ran for blackfish since Monday, opening day of blackfish season. Catches were a pick at best, from what Pete heard. Again, the ocean was cold, he said. But that will change when only a couple of days turn warmer, he added.  

<b>Brielle</b>

A few winter flounder were tugged from Barnegat Bay toward Mantoloking Bridge and the Toms River, said Eric from <b>The Reel Seat</b>. So the fish remained “in the back,” Eric said, or were yet to migrate toward the ocean. Waters were yet to warm, and a handful of striped bass were landed at both places, grabbing sandworms meant for flounder. Small stripers were plugged at Mantoloking Bridge on the mainland side. Nothing was heard about stripers caught from the ocean. But bottom-fishing picked up on the ocean. A customer who bottom-fished on a party boat cranked in 20 ling and a keeper cod. Blackfish season opened today, and fishing for the tautog will probably be tough in the cold ocean. The shop’s owner, Dave Arbeitman, chartered the Point Pleasant Beach party boat Voyager for a tilefish trip for beginners from Tuesday to Wednesday, June 4 to 5, limited to 21 passengers, and space is available, is about half full. The trip includes a free seminar at the store on the fishing on Sunday, June 2. Anglers can call or stop in the store for details or to sign up. Dave is an avid tilefisher, and introduced probably the first-ever  off-the-rack tilefish rod</a> this past year. The Reel Seat is open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sundays.

<b>Point Pleasant Beach</b>

<b>***Update, Thursday, 4/4:***</b> Extreme, offshore, open-boat, bottom-fishing trips will kick off the season for <b>Andrea’s Toy Charters</b>, starting now, through the next three weeks, Capt. Fred said. Fishing closer to the coast wasn’t as good in cold waters, so if anglers want to get out, this is a chance. The boat was splashed Tuesday, and looks great, Fred said, and he sounded excited to begin. The trips will run most of April, and will be the only open-boat ones available with Andrea’s Toy until July. The offshore trips will first steam all the way to the canyons along the Continental Edge, deep-dropping for tilefish. On the way home, the trips will hit wrecks to jig for cod and pollock. Afterward, in the third week of April, striped bass charters will begin to fish the ocean, through the third week of June. Andrea’s Toy offers unique trips like these extreme, bottom-fishing ones through the year. Toward July, another type will begin: annual, open, offshore trips for big game. Catches can include tuna, sharks, swordfish, mahi mahi, tilefish and more, all in one outing. If interested, telephone Fred.  

<b>***Update, Thursday, 4/4:***</b> Mostly ling were scooped a ship the party boat <b>Dauntless</b> on Wednesday, Capt. Butch said. But a couple of cod were clocked, and so were a couple of blackfish. Blackfish could be kept, now that the season opened for them Monday. Fishing wasn’t good lately, like it wasn’t before, and waters were 38 to 40 degrees or cold. But most anglers boxed five to 10 fish apiece. Catches looked like they picked up on trips around the weekend, and some customers claimed 15 and 18 fish. But that seemed because spots were fished that weren’t before. Ling caught were good-sized, and the few cod that bit were mostly keepers. Not a ton were throwbacks. Trips fished in 120 to 160 feet. Butch tried fishing deeper, but dog sharks became even more of nuisance there than they were before. They were really, really bad.  See signs of spring? Butch was asked. A bit of bait was marked, but he couldn’t know what it was, because none was seen. A tiny mackerel was boated on Saturday. Butch doesn’t expect mackerel to migrate the fishing grounds this spring in numbers. None was really caught aboard in recent years, maybe only a dozen or two, before bluefish arrived. Blues migrate north to the local coast after mackerel. Trips used to mix in mackerel fishing, along with bottom fishing, each spring. In past weeks, Butch reported commercial draggers finding lots of striped bass and weakfish along bottom at ridges and lumps like Manasquan Ridge and the Southeast Lump, signs of spring, while they fished for fluke. But the dragging season closed recently, though the boats were back out today, gone from the docks, when Butch showed up. The Dauntless is bottom-fishing 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. daily.

The party boat <b>Norma-K III</b> began fishing for the season, and a trip Saturday picked away at ling, a few at every spot fished, Capt. Matt wrote in a report on the vessel’s Web site. A few anglers “went home with some meat,” he said, and others “struggled to get them biting.” A customer with a 6-pound cod won the pool. On a trip Friday, a few fish were managed at every drop, but fishing was tough. An angler with a 4- to 5-pound cod, a 22-incher, won the pool. A trip was scheduled for Easter Sunday, but no report was posted for the day. Matt would’ve liked to fish for blackfish starting today, opening day of blackfish season. But green crabs for bait aren’t available until Tuesday. Then trips will target blackfish and ling, and the Norma-K III is sailing 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily. The boat is scheduled to fish for striped bass starting Friday on the trips. But if the ocean fails to warm, that will be postponed until the following Friday, April 12. <b>***Update, Thursday, 4/4:***</b> Ling and cod were slung aboard Tuesday, Matt said in a report on the boat’s Web site. Fishing was slow, and a few anglers “went home with fillets,” he said, and others struggled to feel bites. A pretty strong current ran, so the trip fished no deeper than 140 feet, because Matt knew the current would rip in deeper waters. Winds blew against the current, making seas “a little comfortable,” he said. Green crabs were set to arrive for bait Wednesday, so trips could begin targeting blackfish, along with ling and cod. No report was posted for Wednesday. Trips are expected to switch to striped bass fishing on Friday, April 12. But that’s subject to change.

<b>Toms River</b>

Plenty of striped bass were yanked from the Toms River and Oyster Creek, said Dennis from <b>Murphy’s Hook House</b>. On the Toms, the fish were landed on bait from the Island Heights bulkhead in evenings, and sometimes kayakers plugged the fish at Long Point before dark on hard lures and rubber shads. Winter flounder sometimes bit in the Toms, but the fish began to migrate to Barnegat Bay, and the river was 46 degrees. Look for them now on the bay at places like off Good Luck Point, Water’s Edge Restaurant and Route 37 Bridge. In Oyster Creek, the warm-water discharge from Forked River power plant, the stripers could be swiped on plugs or rubber shads. A few weakfish were nabbed from the bay off Oyster Creek. The sizes weren’t known, and whether they were fish that came from the warmth of the creek or were ones that newly migrated in was unknown. Nothing was heard about bluefish so far this season, and bunker surely swam the bay by now, but usually aren’t seen until bluefish begin busting on them. Ospreys, not all of them, but some, arrived two weeks ago, and show up when bunker and herring do. A few throwback striped bass were banked from the surf, and no keepers were known about. Six customers this morning headed to fish the surf with clams. Pretty much all baits are stocked, including fresh clams, bloodworms, sandworms, killies and the whole selection of freshwater baits, including all the trout worms. Trout season opened on Saturday.

<b>Toms River</b>

The Toms River’s winter flounder fishing was probably the best in years, said Dennis from <b>Murphy’s Hook House</b>. Some of the fish had mud on them, and a few had roe in them, signs that they were “hanging in,” he said. Two stripers 16 and 11 pounds were checked in from the river last week. Flounder were yanked from Barnegat Bay off both Oyster Creek, the warm-water discharge from Oyster Creek power plant, and Water’s Edge Restaurant. Stripers were still nabbed from Oyster Creek on clams, worms and rubber shads. Nobody mentioned bluefish so far, though anglers talked about blues this time last year. Waters were cold. A customer fishing the surf on Tuesday beached a 25-inch striper, the first reported from the surf this season at the shop. The angler fished with clams, and returned the next day, hooking none. Blackfish season opened today, and nobody reported results of the fishing yet. Bait stocked includes fresh clams, bloodworms, sandworms, chum, killies, eels and all the frozen selection.

<b>Forked River</b>

<b>***Update, Thursday, 4/4:***</b> Winter flounder were slugged from the mouth of Oyster Creek and up the creek, said Jana from <b>Grizz’s Forked River Bait & Tackle</b>. That’s the warm-water discharge from Forked River power plant, and boaters anchored and chummed for them, fishing with bloodworms and clams. Striped bass were also bloodwormed and clammed from the creek. Bloodworms, sandworms, fresh and frozen clams, and killies are stocked. So are trout worms for freshwater, and trout season will open Saturday.

<b>Mystic Island</b>

Striped bass were rarely banked at Graveling Point, Scott from <b>Scott’s Bait & Tackle</b> wrote in a report on the shop’s Web site. Maybe one or two per week, 18- to 20-inchers, were dragged in. He wasn’t optimistic about the fishing turning great in the next days at Graveling, the shore-angling spot at the confluence of Great Bay and Mullica River. That was because snow was forecast for Tuesday. But the angling could turn on, because water temperature is key. The ocean hit 45 degrees, “the magic number,” Scott said. Conditions were perfect for the fishing on Saturday. Outgoing tide, the warmer tide, was in the afternoon, the warmer part of the day, and good numbers of anglers fished the point. But no stripers came in. Laughing gulls showed up last week, and the season’s first bluefish are usually caught from Graveling within a few days of the gulls arriving. But the chance that blues might turn up was difficult to believe, when waters were rarely warm enough for stripers to bite yet this season. Striper fishing usually takes off first. The annual $100 gift certificate was up for grabs for the angler who weighs in the year’s first blue from Graveling from shore.  Black-crowned night-herons returned on Saturday, too. Better reports about striper fishing rolled in from Mullica River, upstream from Garden State Parkway Bridge. The fish were 12 to 20 inches or throwbacks, but fun to catch and release. An angler posted a report on the shop’s site about fishing for white perch on the river on Friday in the early afternoon.  He didn’t boat a lot of perch, but the ones he did were all larger than 9 inches, and four throwback stripers to 24 inches were reeled in, a bonus. A larger striper, maybe 28 inches, just-keeper sized, was hooked but lost. The trip fished with bloodworms on high, outgoing tide in light winds in partly sunny or partly cloudy skies. Blackfish season opened today, and green crabs are stocked for bait for them, if anyone wants to fish for the tautog on the ocean. Blackfish usually begin to bite in the bay during the first week of May, though blackfish season will close on May 1. On April 1, today, in past years, “we would be tracking the mackerel run off Cape May,” Scott said.  But the spring mackerel migration failed to develop for anglers in recent years. That doesn’t necessarily mean no mackerel migrated. But the fish at least didn’t migrate close enough to shore for recreational boaters to reach. Debris from the hurricane was scheduled to be removed from waters starting today locally. The company doing the removing cannot remove anything from private property. If anyone tied-up debris like a floating dock to prevent it from becoming a hazard, they should untie it if they want it removed, Scott suggested. The company is supposed to be gone by Friday. <b>***Update, Thursday, 4/4:***</b> It’s winter again, Scott said, and this morning was 29 degrees. But striped bass fishing was good Monday at Graveling Point. Waters had reached 45 degrees, and a healthy batch of 18- to 24-inch throwbacks was landed, on both incoming and outgoing tides. One keeper was weighed in, and bloodworms were the bait to fish. “For sure,” Scott said. Weather became rough Tuesday and Wednesday. Strong winds were a complaint. But anglers froze in low temperatures in the winds, and rods whipped around. Rain was now forecast, but in higher temps, like 57 degrees on Friday. The relatively warm rain should help the fishing, warming the fishing waters. Lots of anglers will probably fish Graveling on Saturday. Stripers 18 inches bit up Mullica River, definitely. One bunch of white perch from the river was heard about. In freshwater, trout season opens on Saturday, and a couple of customers stopped by for trout bait like meal worms and red wigglers. Lots of bloodworms are stocked, and fresh, shucked clams will arrive Friday. Plenty of green crabs are carried for blackfish bait, and a couple of anglers bought some. Scott tried to net grass shrimp to stock live, but only came up with a half-pint. Minnows should be stocked by the end of the day.

<b>Brigantine</b>

The season’s first striped bass was weighed in from Brigantine’s surf on Friday, a report said on <b>Riptide Bait & Tackle</b>’s Web site. “Homer” beached the 28-1/2-incher on clam with Gulp spray, winning the shop’s $50 gift certificate for the first. He used that combo to catch last year, too. On Sunday, on a beautiful morning, with clouds predicted later, lots of gannets were reported working bait on the waters off the sea wall, but nobody reported fish among them. Fresh clams and bloodworms were stocked, and a huge delivery of rods, reels and tackle just came in.  The store’s bounty was up to $810 for the season’s first striper larger than 43 inches checked in from the island’s surf. Entry is $5, and anglers must enter 24 hours before the catch to win. <b>***Update, Thursday, 4/4:***</b> After the striper was checked in from the surf on Friday, a few anglers fished, but nobody reported catching, Fred from the shop said. Cold weather was tough in past days, but the weekend is supposed to be warmer, and temperatures in the 60s are forecast for soon. Fred was sure fish would be caught in better weather. Ten bushels of fresh clams, Fred thought, are supposed to be stocked Friday. Clams are already stocked, and so are bloodworms. A bunch of new rods, reels and tackle arrived.

<b>Atlantic City</b>

<b>***Update, Thursday, 4/4:***</b> Blackfish, good catches, were clubbed, said Noel from <b>One Stop Bait & Tackle</b>. Blackfish season opened on Monday, and customers nail them along abundant jetties that line nearby Absecon Inlet, fishing with crabs or clams. Striped bass were grabbed from the Flagship to back in the bay on clams and bloodworms. Fresh clams, bloodworms, green crabs and all baits are stocked. Keep up on the fishing: Friend One Stop on Facebook.

<b>Ocean City</b>

Lots of customers, the most this season, showed up Friday and Saturday, Justin from <b>Fin-Atics</b> said. Many bought bloodworms and clams, so they apparently were headed to fish for striped bass and white perch, but little was heard about catches. Anglers said to fish far from the ocean’s cold waters, or far in the back of the bay or in rivers, and the crew from the shop also recommended that. But winter flounder 10 to 18 inches were heard about that were flung from the bay in the Strathmere area. Bloodworms are stocked, and fresh clams and green crabs, the blackfish bait, will be stocked Tuesday. Blackfish season was opened today.  

<b>Sea Isle City</b>

Fishing for striped bass remained about the same, said Mike from <b>Sea Isle Bait & Tackle</b>. A few were hooked, but they were scarce and scattered. Anglers fishing Tuckahoe River for white perch or catfish latched into a few stripers, mostly small. But a few keepers were managed this season. The most exciting report was about winter flounder on Ludlam Bay. A customer during the weekend tried for flounder on the bay, and was surprised to land nine, including six that were keeper-sized. The limit of two that he kept were some of the biggest he ever saw. That was only one angler, and maybe he got lucky, but the news was interesting. He bought bloodworms and clam chum for the fishing. A commercial crabber who began crabbing weeks ago, when the season opened for them, said catches were a slow pick on the bay, and waters were 42 degrees or cold. Crabbing was exceptional last year in March and April after a warmer winter than this year’s. Blackfish season opened today, and Mike guessed local party boats would begin sailing for them soon on the ocean. Fresh clams, bloodworms, green crabs and frozen baits are stocked.

Capt. Joe Hughes from <b>Jersey Cape Guide Service</b>, affiliated with <b>Sea Isle Bait & Tackle</b>, was trailering the boat back to New Jersey from annual traveling charters to the Florida Keys, he said. He runs the trips each winter to Easter, and will now begin striped bass fishing from Sea Isle. The striper trips in the early season fish with soft-plastic lures on jigheads on the back bay. The fishing is best on outgoing, warmer tides in afternoons, the warmest time of day. Bluefish could invade the bay by mid-April, and fishing for stripers and blues is usually excellent by late April and in May. In Florida this weekend, Jay VonCzoernig and Dave Stuart climbed aboard, exclusively fly fishing. On the first day, Dave hooked and released a tarpon larger than 100 pounds on a Black Death fly. Afterward, weather turned cool, turning off tarpon fishing, and they fly-rodded redfish, speckled sea trout, barracudas, jacks and a big snook on Clouser Minnows and shrimp flies. The Florida trips, mostly on weekends, 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>.

<b>Avalon</b>

<b>***Update, Tuesday, 4/2:***</b> Capt. Jim from <b>Fins and Feathers Outfitters</b> scoped-out Delaware Bay for striped bass on Friday, but found none, he said. Casting Fin-S Fish on jigheads to search, he worked waters from Fortescue to Reed’s Beach. Only two other fishing boats were seen the whole time, running from Maurice River toward Egg Island Point. The day was beautiful, but winds picked up on Saturday. That was Jim’s first effort at striped bass this season, and his year’s first charters on the bay will begin fishing for the bass, usually with clams. Jim, whose Fins and Feathers Outfitters offers a variety of outdoor adventures, had been guiding snow-goose hunts on the bay until now, and snow goose season is about to close. Duck hunting, and sometimes Casts and Blasts, a combo of striper fishing and duck hunting over a series of days, is also offered on the bay when duck season is open. Striper trips are being booked for this spring, and so are drum charters that will fish the bay later this season.  For charters on the bay, the boat is trailered to wherever is best to launch for the fishing, like Cape May or Reed’s Beach. In summer, Fins and Feathers fishes the ocean from Avalon for everything from summer flounder to tuna. In fall, trips fish Delaware Bay again for stripers. At Jim’s <a href="http://www.sjlodge.net/" target="_blank">S.J. Lodge</a> in upstate New York, anglers are currently steelhead fishing on the Salmon River. He also guides trout fishing in Pennsylvania near Harrisburg, like on the Yellow Breeches.

<b>Cape May</b>

<b>***Update, Thursday, 4/4:***</b> Fishing for blackfish kicked off on the party boat <b>Porgy IV</b> on Monday, and a good crowed climbed aboard, Capt. Paul said. Blackfish season opened that day, and the ocean was cold, and held a swell, and anglers picked at the tautog, very few keepers, and none big. About 14 keepers were totaled for the trip, but one angler, Jack Quinn from Glenside, Pa., limited out on four. Paul almost didn’t want to mention that limit, because many anglers caught no fish. The fishing wasn’t what Paul, and anglers, hoped for. But waters will warm, and he hopes more blackfish bite soon. A few anglers telephoned about jumping on a trip today in better weather than during the past couple of days, so today’s trip was expected to run. On Monday’s trip, blackfish bites were found at a few places. “It was very localized,” Paul said. “They weren’t that active (in the cold).”  Experienced anglers said the tautog bit very lightly. Blackfish trips are running at 8 a.m. daily, so long as weather is fishable, and enough anglers want to sail.

Delaware Bay’s striped bass fishing was very slow, Capt. Mario from the <b>Down Deep</b> said. Trips aboard fished for them, and stripers were there, but the bay was cold. Days were warming, and that should raise the bay’s temperature a few degrees. One customer aboard, Dominic, won Jim’s Bait & Tackle’s gift certificate for the store’s first striper weighed in. The fish was one of two keepers and four throwbacks from his charter on the Down Deep on the bay. Striper trips are being booked, and so are drum charters that will fish the bay later this spring. Blackfish season opened today, so blackfish are another option for charters.  Also, sign up for the <a href=" http://www.downdeepsportfishing.com/ddsf/76-2/" target="_blank">Short Notice List</a> for special open-boat trips.

The <b>Heavy Hitter</b> is in the water, and Capt. George wrapped up the boat’s maintenance in the slip in past days, he said. The boat is ready to fish, and charters will begin with striped bass fishing on Delaware Bay with clams. George already mated on trips that clammed a few of the bass on a friend’s boat, covered in past reports. He spoke with a few boaters who striper fished on the bay in past days, and the angling sounded slow in cold waters. Water temps reached as high as 43 or 44 degrees, they said. The ocean 26 miles southeast of Cape May was 43 degrees on Sunday, according to online data from the buoy there. Waters at the Cape May ferry terminal, on Cape May Canal near the bay, were 48 degrees that day and 46 on Saturday, according to online buoy data.  The canal is warmer than the bay. The northern bay at Ship John, according to the data, was 43.3 degrees on Sunday, compared with 40 the other day. Blackfish season opened today, and charters are available for the tautog. Drum charters usually begin in May. Call if interested in fishing for stripers, blackfish or drum.

<b>Hands Too Bait & Tackle</b> is open daily for the season, Nick said. A few boaters already pulled in striped bass, a few keepers and some throwbacks, from Delaware Bay near Reed’s Beach and at Maurice River Cove and the Egg Island Point Flats. Most were clammed, and a few surf anglers beached stripers around the same areas. Not much was heard about surf fishing around Cape May. Lots of anglers fished the back bay during the weekend. Fresh clams, live eels and green crabs, the blackfish bait, are stocked. Blackfish season opened today. Bloodworms should be stocked in the next days.

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