This report was posted on a Thursday instead of the usual Monday because of a blizzard during the weekend.

<b>Keyport</b>

Ice formed on boats now, so the <b>Down Deep Fleet</b> is calling it a season, Capt. Mario said. Fishing aboard will begin again in mid-March on trips for cod. Striped bass trips will start in April, and book spring striper trips now. Keep an eye on <a href=" http://www.downdeepsportfishing.com" target="_blank">Down Deep’s website</a> for the future schedule. Charters and open-boat trips fish. Mario thanks anglers who sailed aboard this past year and looks forward to the coming fishing season.

<b>Belmar</b>

Blackfishing sailed Wednesday on the ocean on the party boat <b>Big Mohawk</b>, Capt. Chris said. That was the first trip aboard since Saturday’s blizzard, and the fishing was no good for most of the anglers, and he hopes the angling improves. Weather looked great for today’s trip, and the Big Mohawk is blackfishing 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily. Green crabs are provided, and white crabs are available for sale aboard. <b>***Update, Friday, 1/29:***</b> Blackfishing was much better on Thursday’s trip than Wednesday’s, the boat’s Facebook page said. “It was by no means great,” it said, but anglers bagged a few of the fish. Throwbacks also bit better than before. No trip would sail today, because of weather, but conditions looked great for the weekend's trips to fish.

The <b>Golden Eagle</b> will sail for mackerel at 7:30 a.m. Saturday, a report on the party boat’s website said. No trips apparently sailed since the storm.

<b>***Update, Friday, 1/29:***</b> “What can I say?” Bob from <b>Fisherman’s Den</b> asked in an email. “Fishing in the winter, after a blizzard. Can it get much worse?” Party boats began fishing again, catching some blackfish on the ocean. “They will soon be looking for cod and ling,” he said. “We are waiting for more signs of mackerel.” Herring might’ve swum Shark River, but snow was piled all over the banks, and anglers had no snow-free place to fish. Winter flounder season was closed on the first of the month, so fishing for them was no longer an option on the river. “The surf is dead,” he said. Bob hopes for better news next week.

<b>Point Pleasant Beach</b>

The crew shaped up to fish Wednesday for blackfish on the <b>Norma-K III</b>, “but no one wanted to come out and play,” Capt. Matt wrote in a report on the party boat’s website. That was the first trip slated since the storm, and the crew expected to be ready to fish again today. Today through the weekend “is looking great!” he said, and the Norma-K III is blackfishing 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily. <b>***Update, Friday, 1/29:***</b> Fishing for blackfish resumed yesterday aboard, Matt wrote in a report on the boat’s website. Was great to be back out, “(and to) be quite honest, I was pretty happy with the life … after the weather over the weekend,” he said. One angler limited out, and quite a few bagged one to three of the tog. “Just a couple had short action,” he said. Throwbacks and some keepers were hooked, and the ocean was still in the mid 40 degrees to high 40s, where the boat fished.

<b>Wildwood</b>

Buildings were flooded in Saturday’s blizzard, but the boat is fine, said Capt. Jim from <b>Fins & Grins Sport Fishing</b>. All of Wildwood was pretty much flooded, and he knows someone who had water to the top of the person’s garage in West Wildwood.  Jim’s wrapping up the fishing season on the boat, and trips will fish again beginning in April. He thanks all who fished aboard this past year, and trips are being booked for this coming year. Keep in mind open-boat fishing aboard this coming season.

<b>Sea Isle City</b>

At Sea Isle City, the blizzard wasn’t a catastrophe, and wasn’t like Hurricane Sandy, but was pretty bad, said Capt. Joe Hughes from <b>Jersey Cape Guide Service</b> and <b>Sea Isle Bait & Tackle</b>. The tackle shop fared fine and is elevated high. Probably 3 feet of water and ice flowed through streets because of unusually high tides. Towns farther south fared worse in New Jersey. Joe’s next traveling trips to the Florida Keys will fish in two weekends. He runs traveling charters there every winter, mostly on weekends. The trips can be like a mini vacation and can target a large variety of species, from redfish, snook and speckled sea trout to tarpon, sailfish and blackfin tuna. See <a href=" http://www.captainjoehughes.com/page3.html" target="_blank">Jersey Cape’s traveling charters Web page</a>. Keep up with Joe’s fishing on <a href="http://captainjoehughes.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Jersey Cape’s Blog</a>.

<b>Longport</b>

The <b>Stray Cat</b> is in the Florida Keys for winter, and the next trip aboard there is supposed to fish Saturday, Capt. Mike said. Weather in the Keys was windy, rainy and included water spouts in past days, and none of the fleet fished then. Mike had been in Longport a moment until Saturday’s blizzard. The snow made him overnight in Richmond that evening, on the way back to Florida, and he arrived just south of Miami on Sunday, late in the day. Weather was in the 40 degrees, unusually cold, that night there. At Longport, homes were flooded in the blizzard’s high tides. He knew a Somers Point business owner whose home’s basement was flooded with 5 feet of water. That was like starting all over after Hurricane Sandy, Mike said. The Stray Cat will be returned to resume fishing from Longport in spring.

<b>Cape May</b>

The party boat <b>Porgy IV</b> weathered Saturday’s blizzard with no troubles, Capt. Paul said. Most of the fleet seemed to fare okay, but flooding was severe, and buildings were damaged, docks were overturned, and so on. Anglers want to blackfish on the boat, so trips will sail for the tautog at 8 a.m. Saturday and Sunday. Weather’s supposed to be in the 40 degrees, and the ocean’s not too cold. Paul checked on the boat at low tide at 2 p.m. Saturday, during the blizzard, and the tide was as high as high tide usually is. The storm was scary. He was concerned about high tide that evening, but that tide was no higher. Wind must’ve switched from northeast.

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