<b>Keyport</b>

Fishing will be launched for the year with striped bass trips in April with the <b>Down Deep Fleet</b>, Capt. Mario said. Special cod trips will also sail that month. The striper trips will first fish Raritan Bay with clams. Bunker already arrived, including plenty that swam the creek at the marina. Charters and open-boat trips will be available for both types of fishing. Join the <a href=" http://www.downdeepsportfishing.com/ddsf/76-2/" target="_blank">Short Notice List</a> on Down Deep’s website to be kept informed about open trips. Also see the site’s open-trips page for available dates. The company runs two 40-foot boats.

The <b>Vitamin Sea</b> is “ready to go,” Capt. Frank wrote in an email. He’s waiting for the marina to let him splash the boat. Bunker, adults and peanuts, schooled all over Raritan Bay, and even in the creek at the marina. Killies could be seen in shallow water. “One would think (that was) more like May than March,” he said. The bay was 45 degrees, and striped bass and winter flounder will bite in the bay soon, he thinks. “You know what they say,” he said. “Find the bait, and you will find the fish.” The bait is there. Once stripers begin to migrate, they’ll find the bait in the bay, “and it will be game on,” he said. He expects that to happen soon. Open-boat trips on Saturday and Sunday, April 2 and 3, are the first trips scheduled to fish aboard this year. But if fishing turns on sooner, he’ll run an open trip on Saturday, March 26. He expects the angling to turn on then. Morning and afternoon charters and open trips will fish this year. Those will include Working Man Specials from 4 to 9 p.m. on weekdays. “This is a very exciting time of the year with anticipation of the upcoming fishing season,” he said.

<b>Atlantic Highlands</b>

<b>***Update, Thursday, 3/17:***</b> A few striped bass had been tied into from the back of Raritan Bay, said Jimmy from <b>Julian’s Bait & Tackle</b>. But the bait seemed to disappear, and the stripers stopped being hooked. Another week will probably pass, at least, before winter flounder are caught. Nobody really fished for them, though. Anglers were yet to launch boats for the year, and were prepping the vessels. All baits are stocked.

<b>Belmar</b>

<b>***Update, Thursday, 3/17:***</b> A couple of winter flounder were bagged from Shark River, nothing crazy, said Tom from <b>Fisherman’s Den</b>. The flounder fishing made up most angling, but one of the Belmar party boats is sailing for cod and ling on the ocean. The catch yesterday included a couple of keeper cod and some throwbacks aboard. Not much was reported yet about striped bass. Nothing was really doing in the surf with stripers. Water was cold, and anglers hope the bottom-fishing, like for the cod, and striper fishing improves soon, because of warming water. The flounder fishing should take off in warming water too, for that matter. The shop’s rental boats are available to fish for the flounder on Shark River.

The <b>Katie H</b> sailed for cod Sunday, and a few cod and a couple of pollock were cranked in, Capt. Mike said. The angling wasn’t great, but put together a small catch. Weather was beautiful on the water, cloudy but in calm seas, so crew from the boat tried the angling, sort of a shakedown trip. Seas were forecast to become rough later in the day, but calmed beautifully instead. Dogfish were ferocious. The trip, fishing in 120-foot depths to 200 feet, would hook a cod at a drop. Then dogs would move in, forcing the trip to move. The ocean was 45 degrees, and anchoring was “weird,” because of wind against tide.

Book a trip with <b>Parker Pete’s Fishing Charters</b> at this weekend’s Saltwater Fishing Expo. Parker Pete’s will exhibit at the show, Capt. Pete said, and the event will run from Friday through Sunday at the Garden State Exhibit Center in Somerset. Trips booked at the show will be discounted. Pete hopes to begin fishing in April for the season, beginning with trips for cod and ling. Striped bass trips are currently being booked to begin sailing on May 15, livelining bunker for bait. But if stripers migrate to the local area earlier, striper trips will begin earlier aboard. Lots of bunker reportedly swam Raritan Bay. Rumors said a few stripers were hooked from the bay. Rumors also said stripers swam off Delaware’s coast. Don’t have enough anglers for a charter? Book an individual space on a charter that needs anglers. Plenty of those spaces are available throughout the fishing season.   Visit <a href=" http://www.parkerpetefishing.com/" target="_blank">Parker Pete’s website</a> to subscribe to the email blast to be kept informed about the spaces. Look for the place to sign up on the right side of the page, where it says Join Our Newsletter.

<b>Brielle</b>

Lots of bunker began to swim some rivers and bays, said John from <b>The Reel Seat</b>. A few striped bass were picked from the back of Raritan Bay. Stripers were landed on Toms River and Oyster Creek, the warm-water discharge from Forked River power plant. Sometimes stripers were hooked in Barnegat Bay in that area. Nothing was heard about winter flounder, but surely flounder swam Barnegat Bay nearer to the shop, in the Mantoloking Bridge area. Fishing should pick up in another week or two. On the ocean, bottom-fishing sounded slow for catches like cod and ling. John wasn’t asked whether the store’s hours would be expanded now, but the store’s been open Thursdays through Sundays. Catch free seminars at the shop with Karen Wall, editor of the Big Game Journal, at 10 a.m. Saturday, April 2, on an intro to fishing for women, and from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Sunday, April 3, with the Shark River Surf Anglers on trout fishing. The trout seminar is because the club will hold the annual, free kids’ trout-fishing tournament at Spring Lake on Saturday, April 9, opening day of trout season. Kids are also always invited to see the club stock the lake with trout on the previous Saturday, this year on April 2. Visit <a href="http://www.sharkriversurfanglers.com/contest.htm" target="_blank">the club’s website</a> for info about the contest.

<b>Toms River</b>

Throwback striped bass were played on the Toms River, just after dark on bloodworms, said Mario from <b>Murphy’s Hook House</b>. The river’s winter flounder fishing was beginning to pick up. Three flounder were entered so far in the store’s free flounder tournament, and a 2.37-pounder was heaviest. Prizes will be a $50 gift certificate to the store for first place, a $20 certificate for second and a $10 certificate for third. That’s for the three heaviest, and striper fishing on Oyster Creek, the warm-water discharge from Forked River power plant, was “hot and cold,” he said. Bloodworms, small swimming lures and pink and white Fin-S Fish jigged along bottom caught them. Stripers, mostly throwbacks, were sometimes boated in the bay toward Oyster Creek or Cedar Creek or that area. A few photos were seen of anglers beginning to fish the surf. Not much was heard about the fishing. “We’re getting close, though,” he said. Baits stocked include bloodworms, sandworms, fresh clams, killies, nightcrawlers and garden worms. The store, located on Route 37, is open daily and also owns <b>Go Fish Bait & Tackle</b> on Fischer Boulevard in Toms River. Go Fish is open daily except is closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and will be open on those days, too, later in the year.

<b>Forked River</b>

Striped bass were landed from Oyster Creek at the Route 9 Bridge, said Kyle from <b>Grizz’s Forked River Bait & Tackle</b>. That’s the warm-water discharge from Forked River power plant, and the fish were hooked on bloodworms. Frozen, salted clams also caught them well, and the bass were also taken on pink Fin-S Fish or white bucktails with soft-plastics like Gulps. Winter flounder were mixed in here and there. Anybody try for flounder in Barnegat Bay? he was asked. No customers fished from boats yet, he said. Bloodworms, sandworms, frozen, salted clams, killies and nightcrawlers are stocked. Customers used the killies and nights for freshwater fishing. The shop is open for no set hours yet this season, but has been open daily this past week.

<b>Barnegat Light</b>

<b>***Update, Thursday, 3/17:***</b> Capt. Ted from the <b>Super Chic</b> hopes to begin fishing by early May for the year, he said. He might not begin until mid-May, and the start depends on how soon maintenance on the boat can be finished. A couple of big projects need to be completed, like cutting away the cockpit to access the fuel tank. How soon that can be finished depends on weather. If weather is calm, that’ll be finished sooner. If the boat is splashed by early May, he expects to run open-boat tilefish trips that month, like he often runs in May. Those trips caught well in recent years, and Ted might run the trips spread throughout summer, too, because anglers have asked about them. Ted hopes the migrations of striped bass and bluefish arrive by mid-May to fish for. Sea bass season will be opened beginning May 23, and then trips will sail for them. Ted heard rumors about throwback striped bass played on Barnegat Bay toward the warm water from the mouth of Oyster Creek, the discharge from Forked River power plant. He thinks stripers should appear along the flats of the bay near Barnegat Inlet in a week to 10 days, if weather is warm and sunny. Was unfortunate that this weekend is supposed to turn cold. Anglers mostly fish for the stripers on the flats with bucktails or bloodworms. Not long ago, anglers including friends used to catch stripers in that area on fresh clams in spring.

<b>Barnegat</b>

<b>***Update, Thursday, 3/17:***</b> “All signs are pointing to an early season,” Capt. Dave DeGennaro from the <b>Hi Flier</b> wrote in an email. The boat should be splashed by mid-April, the earliest ever. It’s usually launched on May 1. “I will blast out an email as soon as I know the boat is ready,” he said. The vessel is in the boat yard for prep. More from the email, edited, from Dave: “Our new brand of fishing apparel, Psyquatic, will be on display at the Saltwater Fishing Expo (at the Garden State Exhibit Center in Somerset from Friday through Sunday). We’re in booth 512. Renowned artist Daniel Jean-Baptiste from St. Lucia, who created our designs, will be at the booth for the entire show. He’ll be painting original art of gamefish and offer them for sale. Daniel paints on silk and is the innovator of the ‘shimmering-light water technique.’ If you <a href="http://www.jean-baptiste.com" target="_blank">visit his website</a>, you can see his incredible gallery as well as the notable celebrities who own his artwork, including golf champion Arnold Palmer, heavyweight boxing champ George Foreman, singer/songwriter Paul Simon, U.S. Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush and South African President  Nelson Mandela. Check out Psyquatic.com to see his amazing art come to life on shirts, hoodies, performance wear and vinyl decals … hope to see you at the show!”

<b>Mystic Island</b>

The year’s first striped bass was weighed-in from Graveling Point on Saturday, <b>Scott’s Bait & Tackle</b>’s Facebook page said. The angler won the annual $100 gift certificate to the store for the first. The 29-inch 7.83-pounder was caught on low tide at 4:15 p.m. that day. “One bite, one fish,” the page said. “No other activity reported,” but lots of anglers fished Graveling that day. The water was 52 to 54 degrees on Friday and Saturday, and, a report on the store’s website said, a few throwback stripers were known to be released at Graveling since striper season was opened March 1 in bays and rivers. A throwback was reported released there on Friday, halfway through outgoing tide. Graveling is a shore-angling spot at the confluence of Great Bay and Mullica River that’s known for early-season striper catches. Warm water from the river seems to attract the fish. A few keeper stripers were reeled from farther up the river, from the stretch from Lower Bank to Hay Road, this year so far. <b>***Update, Thursday, 3/17:***</b> Graveling Point’s striped bass fishing yesterday was the best so far this season, pretty good, Scott from the shop said. Two anglers stopped by late in afternoon that day, saying they landed four stripers and had eight on during incoming tide. A 26-inch striper was the biggest Scott heard about that day from Graveling. None was a keeper, but the size of the fish usually increases as time goes on, and the year’s first keeper was already checked-in, reported above. Outgoing usually fishes best this time of year at Graveling, because of warm water flowing from Mullica River. But Scott guessed the fish were active on incoming that day because the water was still considerably warmer than the ocean. The ocean was 42 degrees, and the water at Graveling was 52, an excellent temperature for the fishing. The stripers definitely looked like they came from the ocean, were silver and black. Anglers each year can become hopeful to catch stripers at Graveling when the water reaches 45 degrees. Once the water reaches 50 degrees, the fishing can be all-out. It wasn’t currently all-out. The annual $100 gift certificate for the year’s first keeper from Graveling was awarded, reported above. The annual $100 certificate to the store for the year’s first bluefish weighed-in from Graveling is now up for grabs. Blues don’t usually arrive until the third week of April. Puppy drum are mixed with catches at Graveling during some years, and if they show, they usually appear beginning a little before the blues, during about the second week of April. Currently, fishing for small stripers was most definitely on farther up the Mullica. Many anglers tried for white perch up the Mullica yesterday, but the fishing was slow, like the perch had disappeared. The perch fishing was great in January, and good on a day here and there since. The slabs didn’t seem to bite at the moment. Baits stocked include bloodworms and live grass shrimp. Minnows are carried, and green crabs will probably arrive tomorrow. If anglers want rods and reels serviced for the new fishing season, they better act quickly. The store was swamped with that business, and a hundred reels must’ve been dropped off for service on Saturday. Orders were hopping at <a href="http://store.scottsbt.com/PennParts/Home.aspx" target="_blank">PennParts.com</a>, the store’s online store that features Penn reels, every Penn part available on the market, many of the parts that are no longer available on the market, free online schematics for Penn reels, and more.

<b>Absecon</b>

<b>***Update, Thursday, 3/17:***</b> The striped bass run seemed definitely on, said Capt. Dave from <b>Absecon Bay Sportsman Center</b>. The fish seemed to be quickly moving from the ocean to warm water in rivers. A kayaker stopped in this morning with a keeper from Mullica River, saying he was into a solid school of small stripers and the keeper there early this morning on Daiwa SP Minnow lures. He fished near Chestnut Neck Marina, where he launched in the dark. Lots of other reports came in about stripers in the Mullica. Most anglers seemed to fish for them at Graveling Point, the shore-angling spot at the confluence of the river and Great Bay. But not a lot of stripers were heard to be caught there yet this season. The year’s first keeper was checked-in from Graveling at Scott’s Bait & Tackle. Most stripers were angled farther up the river. Dave wasn’t asked the reason, but warmer water seemed the cause, and the water will also warm at Graveling this coming season. If anglers fished farther up the river, good-sized white perch were mixing in. Dave stocked his year’s first fresh bunker, a few, this past week that came from the Mullica. Whether herring migrated the river yet was unknown. Bait was seen in the river in mornings, but whether that was herring or bunker was unknown. Striper fishing on Great Egg Harbor River was similar or at least as good. Dave did get a report from someone who at the trestle on the Great Egg definitely saw herring on the flats. A few slot stripers chased them. Most anglers fished for stripers with bloodworms, and that was the best bait. Plenty of bloodworms are stocked. Jumbos are on hand, at least for the moment. Fresh clams are carried, and Dave hopes to stock more fresh bunker.

<b>Brigantine</b>

<b>***Update, Thursday, 3/17:***</b> No fish were weighed-in yet this year, said Capt. Andy from <b>Riptide Bait & Tackle</b>. He saw a photo of a striped bass weighed from Mullica River at another shop this morning. But customers are anticipating the striper migration in Brigantine’s surf, and the shop is open, and bait is stocked, including jumbo bloodworms. Fresh clams are expected to arrive Friday, and he’s trying to stock fresh bunker. The Expert Fireplace Spring Riptide Striper Bounty, an annual contest, will be awarded to the angler who weighs-in the year’s first striper 43 inches or larger from Brigantine’s front-beach surf. The bounty is up to $270, and will grow, because entry is $5, and all the money is awarded. Gift certificates to the store for $50 will be awarded for the year’s first angler to check-in a keeper striper from the island’s surf and the first to stop by with a keeper striper boated or kayaked from the back bay. The Riptide Spring Striper Derby is underway until May 22 for the three heaviest stripers and three heaviest bluefish weighed-in from the town’s surf. Entry is $25, and the prizes for stripers will be $500, $300 and $150, and for blues will be $300, $200 and $100. Entry includes a permit that allows anglers to beach-buggy the entire Brigantine front beach, when accompanied by a Brigantine beach-buggy permit. Without the tournament permit, not all the beach can be driven. New this year, Brigantine beach-buggy permits are free for veterans and active military. A DD214 Form must be shown to receive the free permit. The store is open at least 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily, and lots of new tackle is stocked. Stop by to see.

<b>Atlantic City</b>

<b>***Update, Thursday, 3/17:***</b> Anglers on foot lit into a few straggler striped bass, said Noel from <b>One Stop Bait & Tackle</b>. Most stripers around were juveniles, and large stripers began to swim up rivers to spawn. The anglers also swung in good-sized ling, and the anglers fished from the T-jetty, located at the ocean end of Absecon Inlet, and also fished along the inlet toward the Flagship and Madison Avenue. The jetty-lined inlet is located near the shop, and most customers fish on foot along that water, rich with fish. Striper fishing’s been awesome there in past springs, and big bluefish also swam abundant there last spring. The anglers currently fished bloodworms, clams and mullet. The full supply of baits, including the bloods, fresh clams and green crabs, is stocked. Bloodworms are on special on Tuesdays and Wednesdays for $20 for two dozen.

<b>Egg Harbor Township</b>

<b>***Update, Thursday, 3/17:***</b> Small striped bass were fought on Great Egg Harbor River, said John from <b>24-7 Bait & Tackle</b>. Not many were keepers, but the fishing was good. White perch also nibbled in the river, and fishing was similar on Mullica River. Bloodworms were dunked for bait in the rivers. The worms are $10 per dozen, the best price around, he said, instead of the usual $12 per dozen, and the worms are the biggest around, he said. Baits stocked also include small minnows for freshwater fishing. The minnows are also great for the white perch. The store is open 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays and 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekends. The hours will be expanded beginning in April, until the store is eventually open 24 hours a day, every day, for the fishing season. The shop’s rental boats will be available beginning in two weekends. The boats are docked on Patcong Creek, running past the shop, and are used to fish on the creek, Great Egg Harbor River and the bay. Patcong is a tributary of the Great Egg, meeting the river near its mouth to the bay. Customers use the boats for catches including stripers and perch on the creek and river, stripers in the bay and, later in the year, summer flounder on the bay. They also use the vessels for crabbing from spring to fall, and Patcong is one of the best places for crabbing. <b>The company also own 24-7 Bait & Tackle in Marmora</b>.

<b>Longport</b>

In the Florida Keys, wind blew for days, keeping the <b>Stray Cat</b> docked, Capt. Mike said. But weather became gorgeous Sunday, and a trip pasted yellowtail snappers and mutton snappers, pretty good fishing, that day with anglers from Margate, N.J., and Naples, Fla., aboard. That was at the reef in 90 feet of water, several miles from port. Out-of-season red groupers to 15 pounds were released. The trip also tried for sailfish with live bait fished from a kite. None bit, and sailfishing was off that day, except for a couple of boats that fought sails early that morning. Stray Cat has been fishing from the Keys for winter, and will be sailed back to home port in Longport beginning April 15, probably arriving on April 20. Then the vessel will fish from New Jersey the rest of spring through fall. So the Keys trips are available several more weeks.

<b>Ocean City</b>

A few striped bass caught, including a few keepers, began to be heard about, mostly hooked on bait, said Bill from <b>Fin-Atics</b>. The catches were talked about from Great Egg Harbor River and Tuckahoe River. But some were reported from the bay along 9th Street Bridge. None was mentioned from elsewhere in the bay. Not a thing was talked about from the surf, and the water was cold. Any stripers beached from the surf will begin to be reported in April. Customers also began to fish freshwater, because of warm weather recently. They did catch, including largemouth bass, chain pickerel and yellow perch that Bill knew about. Bloodworms and all the frozen baits are stocked. The shop will be open daily now, after it was open every day except Sundays lately. 

<b>Sea Isle City</b>

Capt. Joe Hughes from <b>Jersey Cape Guide Service</b> and <b>Sea Isle Bait & Tackle</b> splashed the boat Sunday for the season, he said. He took a ride that afternoon, but weather was cold and rainy or miserable. If weather had been good, he would’ve decked his year’s first striped bass from the bay, he was sure. Somebody brought a striper to the store early last week that was boated on the bay. Joe saw bunker and herring in the bay, completely confirmed. He’s one of the first captains on this site to catch stripers each year. In the early season, he fishes for them with soft-plastic lures on lead jigheads, worked slowly along bottom in the bay. That’s at places like creek mouths on outgoing tides that flush out warm water and forage. Afternoons on sunny days fish best, because the water is warmest then. By mid-April his fishing will explode on the bay. Then stripers, bluefish, weakfish and out-of-season summer flounder can bite, sometimes all in one trip. The fishing turns into mayhem, and some anglers don’t think about fishing that early in the year. But they should. The stripers live in the bay year-round, and begin biting because the water becomes warmer. The blues migrate to the bay from the south. The weakfish are the large, so-called tiderunners that enter the bay in spring to spawn. The flounder migrate to the bay from the ocean, seeking warmer water in spring, and are released, until flounder season is opened. The federal government is yet to approve opening day, but the state is proposing May 21, and the fed usually approves the state’s proposal. Flounder fishing is best in the early season in South Jersey’s shallow, warm bays. Joe also has another boat in the Florida Keys for annual traveling charters that he runs there each winter until Easter. He’ll trailer that vessel back to Sea Isle after the holiday.  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>Avalon</b>

Trips are hunting snow geese with <b>Fins and Feathers Outfitters</b>, and Capt. Jim scouted for the geese on Delaware Bay this weekend, he said. The migration seemed to be migrating into the Exton and Allentown, Pa., area, and up to New York’s Finger Lakes. Fins hunts the geese wherever’s best. On the bay, Jim saw apparently gillnets close to shore near Fortescue. He saw no bunker or signs of any bait. Anglers were fishing a stream near Turkey Point, but hooked nothing. The water seemed cold. The snow-goose season’s final hunting of the birds is slated for next week with Fins. Jim had a great season of the hunting. Not everybody did, but he really scouted the birds. Once the goose trips are finished next week, Jim will be ready to fish for the season. If striped bass can be boated anywhere from Avalon to Delaware Bay this spring, trips aboard can go after them. Drum trips usually fish the bay in May on the boat. Jim fishes from the back bay at Avalon to the ocean and Delaware Bay. Trips on the back bay and ocean depart from the slip at Avalon. To fish Delaware Bay or the ocean near there, the boat is trailered and launched wherever’s nearest the fishing. Jim will probably also fish for steelheads in April on upstate New York’s Salmon River from his nearby lodge. The angling’s usually best then, and the lodge’s guests fish for steelheads and salmon on the river and, in winter, snowmobile from the lodge. For the steelhead fishing, Fins can help guests book guides, or guests can fish on their own. Or Fins can show guests how to do the fishing, and then guests can fish on their own, if they’d like. Fins offers a variety of outdoor adventures, including saltwater fishing, duck and goose hunting, the steelhead and salmon fishing, the snowmobiling and fly-fishing for trout on Pennsylvania’s trout streams like the Yellow Breeches.  

<b>Wildwood</b>

<b>Fins & Grins Sport Fishing</b> will begin fishing in April for the year, Capt. Jim said. The first trips will sail for blackfish, and the tautog season will be opened that month. Tautog fishing is closed in March. If striped bass show up locally this spring, trips will jump on them. Drum trips will fish Delaware Bay this spring, too. Water temperatures are 5 degrees higher than average this season. Jim heard about no catches yet, like stripers that begin to bite far up Delaware Bay and in Delaware River in late winter or early spring. He telephoned a friend who moves the friend’s boat to Cohansey River to fish for those stripers, and Jim heard nothing about the bass yet. Plenty of great dates are available for trips aboard, for every type of fishing from summer flounder to sharks. This is the time to book them, while the dates remain. When trips begin, Fins and Grins fishes every day. Reservations aren’t required but suggested. Telephone for availability.

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