<b>Keyport</b>

This winter was reportedly the second warmest on record in New Jersey and New York, Capt. Frank from the <b>Vitamin Sea</b> wrote in an email. He’s unsure how that will affect fishing, but warmth usually makes fish begin to bite early. He heard that shore anglers banked winter flounder from the back of Raritan Bay and striped bass at Sandy Hook. The news was second-hand, so was unconfirmed, “but it makes sense, based on the warm winter,” he said. Frank intends to make first-hand reports, he said, and the year’s first open-boat trips will fish on Saturday and Sunday, April 2 and 3, for flounder and stripers. Some spots remain, and telephone to reserve. Each trip will carry a flat of worms, skimmer clams, mussels and flounder chum. “The only way to cure cabin fever is to go fishing, so give me a call …,” he said. Frank will put finishing touches on the boat’s maintenance this week, prepping the vessel for the year’s fishing. He’ll splash the boat once the prop gets back from reconditioning.  Many people joined the boat’s email list this past week. “It seems like the popularity of the Vitamin Sea is growing exponentially,” he said. Get your dose of Vitamin Sea!

<b>Atlantic Highlands</b>

Someone said a striped bass was weighed at a local tackle shop that was reeled from shore from the back of Raritan Bay, said Joe Sr. from <b>Julian’s Bait & Tackle</b>. Winter flounder fishing was pretty dead. “There’s no action,” he said about fishing. “We’re working on it.” Weather needed to become warmer and is supposed to be warmer this week. All baits are stocked including worms and clams.

<b>Neptune</b>

<b>***Update, Thursday, 3/10:***</b> Capt. Ralph from <b>Last Lady Fishing Charters</b> just returned from Mississippi and Florida, he wrote in an email. Photos of catches from the trip were attached, including a red snapper, a grouper and a redfish. Great trip, and now it’s time to think about New Jersey’s fishing, he said. The boat will probably be splashed in April’s second week. New Jersey recently decided regulations for sea bass and fluke. The federal government needs to approve the regs, but usually does. The regulations have gone too far, he said. “But it is what it is.” If anglers want sea bass, he suggests they book a trip now. Dates are available, but many were booked already. The sea bass regs are a 10-fish bag limit and a 12-1/2-inch minimum size from May 23 through June 19, a two-fish limit and the same size limit from July 1 through August 31 and a 15-fish bag limit and a 13-inch minimum size from October 22 through December 31. “These regulations have no reason,” he said. “Voice your opinion to your elected representatives.” The fluke regs are a five-fish bag limit and an 18-inch minimum size, with a season from May 21 through September 25. Individual-reservation trips for fluke will sail every Tuesday, like every year. Kids under 12 sail free on those trips, limited to two per adult host. Charters are also being booked for striped bass, mako sharks, cod and bottom-fishing. “Book now to get your choice dates,” he said.

<b>Belmar</b>

Customers stopped at the shop, buying bait, including to fish for winter flounder on Shark River, said Bob from <b>Fisherman’s Den</b>. But none returned who told results about the flounder fishing. Weather wasn’t great for fishing in past days, including cold and, almost every day, wind. But weather is supposed to reach the 70 degrees this week, and news will probably increase. One of the Belmar party boats is sailing the ocean, catching some cod, pollock and sea perch. Some fish were caught aboard. Customers bought clams to fish the surf for striped bass, but no stripers were reported slid from the surf locally. A few stripers were angled farther north on Raritan Bay and farther south on Mullica River. Stripers were certainly pulled from Oyster Creek, the warm-water discharge from Forked River power plant, also farther south from the shop. All baits including worms and clams, and chum, are stocked. A few of the store’s rental boats are in the water to fish Shark River for flounder. The crew hopes to open Fisherman’s Den North, the new, additional shop, at Atlantic Highlands by mid-March. Rental boats will be available there, too.

<b>Parker Pete’s Fishing Charters</b> will begin fishing maybe in April or definitely by May, Capt. Pete said. Striped bass trips will fish the ocean beginning in May, and are being booked. A bunch of the trips were booked at the Greater Philadelphia Outdoor Sports Show that Parker Pete’s exhibited at two weekends ago. If you want to ensure fishing for stripers aboard, book early. Parker Pete’s will exhibit at the Saltwater Fishing Expo from March 18 through 20 at the Garden State Exhibit Center in Somerset. Trips will be booked there, too. If weather is decent in April, trips will fish for cod or other catches like that. Don’t have enough anglers for a charter? Grab an individual spot on a shared charter, a trip where a charter needs more anglers. Those spots are being booked, including at the Saltwater Expo, too, and should be booked to ensure a spot.  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 throughout the fishing season. Look for the place to sign up on the right side of the page, where it says Join Our Newsletter.

<b>Brielle</b>

A few striped bass were reeled from Raritan Bay, mostly from shore, said John from <b>The Reel Seat</b>. Clams and worms hooked them, he thought, and stripers were tugged from the Toms River while anglers tried for white perch. Stripers were also angled from Oyster Creek, the warm-water discharge from the Forked River power plant. Not a lot was heard about cod and ling boated from the ocean. Trips sailed for them only once in a while, when weather allowed, and when the trips did run, the angling seemed spotty. The Reel Sea is open Thursdays through Sundays, and the hours might be expanded after this week, John thought. Catch free seminars at the store this Saturday at 10 a.m. with Len Belcaro on understanding temperature charts for offshore fishing and at 2 p.m. with Gerry Fabiano on tying teasers and bucktails.

<b>Toms River</b>

Fishing was better last week than in the past few days, because water temperature fluctuated up and down, but a few striped bass were landed from the Toms River in the dark, said Dennis from <b>Murphy’s Hook House</b>. The fish were 12 inches to 26 inches and were bloodwormed. Weather is supposed to be warmer this week, so fishing will probably improve. A few white perch were bloodwormed from the river in the dark, a slow pick, not great fishing. Winter flounder were caught from docks on the river at Island Heights. An angler would pick up one, two or three, and nobody beat up flounder, but a few of the fish were bagged. Two per day is the legal limit. Flounder fishing was a little better at Oyster Creek, the warm-water discharge from Forked River power plant, than in the Toms. Striper fishing was a little better at Oyster than in the Toms, too, and stripers at the creek were sometimes nailed on plugs and soft-plastic lures, not just worms. Bloodworms and sandworms are stocked, and fresh clams are carried on some days, and the clams are difficult to obtain. Chum is on hand, and killies will arrive Wednesday. For freshwater, shiners, nightcrawlers and garden worms are in supply.  Murphy’s, located on Route 37, also owns <b>Go Fish Bait & Tackle</b> on Fischer Boulevard in Toms River.

<b>Forked River</b>

<b>Grizz’s Forked River Bait & Tackle</b> was opened this weekend for the year, Kyle said. The shop will be open Fridays through Sundays for now, he thought, and probably will be open daily beginning in a week or two. Striped bass were reportedly hooked at the Route 9 Bridge at Oyster Creek, the warm-water discharge from Forked River power plant. Nobody reported catching them first-hand, and somebody who works at the store tried for the stripers two days in a row, hooking none. But the bass were reportedly angled on white bucktails with rubber grubs like Gulps and on pink Fin-S Fish and on bloodworms. White perch aren’t really caught from the creek. Bloodworms are stocked.

<b>Mystic Island</b>

A couple of friends fished Graveling Point on Thursday, landing the year’s first striped bass that was heard about from there at <b>Scott’s Bait & Tackle</b>, Brian said. The fish looked 20 inches in the photo he saw. The annual $100 gift certificate to the store is up for grabs for the angler who weighs-in the year’s first keeper striper from the point. Graveling is a shore-angling spot at the confluence of Mullica River and Great Bay that gives up some of the state’s first stripers each year. See <a href=" http://www.scottsbt.com/fishing/stripers/springrun.htm" target="_blank">the store’s Graveling Point striper fishing Web page</a>. Water at Atlantic City was 42 degrees, so the water at Graveling could reach as high as 46 or 47 degrees this week, because of the warm weather forecast. Those water temps are warm enough for stripers to bite. A 23-pound striper was bagged from the lower river last week, covered in the store’s last report here. A few stripers were known to be caught farther up the river while anglers fished for white perch. The perch fishing was good, and sometimes a school of small stripers would swim through, and the perch anglers would hook them. Brian would begin fishing for the perch toward Bass River and work upstream to Lower Bank and maybe farther up or to Green Bank and beyond. Maybe the warm weather this week will warm the water and cause the fish to bite farther downstream at places like Hay Road, also a shore-angling spot. Bloodworms and grass shrimp were fished for the perch. The bloods, live grass shrimp, nightcrawlers and minnows are stocked. Don’t miss <a href=" https://www.facebook.com/events/121494394896225/" target="_blank"><b><i>***Scott’s Tent Event***</b></i></a> from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, April 2, kicking off the fishing season, under a tent at the store. The day will include sales, tackle reps, raffles, food and drinks. Exclusive deals will be available from the reps and the store. Each attendee will receive two raffle tickets for shopping sprees at Scott’s. The sprees will be $500 for first place, $300 for second and $200 for third. Each attendee who purchases $50 to $100 of goods from the store will receive an additional 10 raffle tickets, and each who purchases more than $100 will receive an additional 25 tickets. The drawing will be held at 1 p.m. that day, and ticket holders must be present to win.

<b>Absecon</b>

<b>***Update, Thursday, 3/10:***</b> Anglers shared a photo of a 29-inch striped bass, just under 10 pounds, on <b>Absecon Bay Sportsman Center</b>’s Facebook page yesterday, Capt. Dave said. The catch – “nice, solid fish,” he said – was boated from Mullica River that afternoon, and the anglers said they landed 20 throwbacks before catching the keeper. The keeper was hooked on a Fishbites artificial worm, with a small piece of bloodworm on the hook. The anglers were running out of bloodworms and began to use Fishbites with pieces of the bloods on the hooks. This weekend looks like “a real season opener,” Dave said. Weather looks pleasant, including relatively warm, and not much rain’s been falling. Anglers should get out for stripers while weather’s still a little cool. Mullica River seemed the main target for stripers. Dave heard no first-hand reports about other locations, but knew that stripers were also angled at the mouth of Great Egg Harbor River and off Beesley’s Point. The fish were picked up on lures in that area, not just on bait. He also knew that schoolie stripers were played along Ocean City’s 9th Street Bridge. On the Mullica, fishing for small stripers was turning on. Serious white perch anglers said the river’s perch fishing was some of the best in years, and the perch were good-sized.  Stripers and perch were the only fish heard about. Fishing for them looked good, he added. Plenty of bloodworms are stocked.  Prizes that are still available for the store’s <a href=" http://www.abseconbay.com/fishingtournaments.html" target="_blank">tournament for the year’s first stripers</a> are a $50 gift certificate to the shop for the year’s third checked-in, a $100 certificate for the first heavier than 30 pounds, and rod-and-reel combos for the first woman, boy and girl to bring keeper stripers to the store. Click the link for details.

<b>Brigantine</b>

<b>***Update, Thursday, 3/10:***</b> Customers tried fishing the surf, and only a few skates were reported beached, said Fred from <b>Riptide Bait & Tackle</b>. But weather was beautiful, and anglers began to look for striped bass. Some also headed to rivers, where stripers can bite first in the year. But most customers looked locally in the surf and maybe the bay, searching for warm water that can attract catches in the early season. They fished bloodworms and salted clams, and the baits are stocked. Anglers picked up Brigantine beach buggy permits for the season. The city council approved Riptide’s Spring Striper Derby that begins this weekend, running until May 22. Entry includes a permit to drive the entire beach in Brigantine, when accompanied by a Brigantine permit. Without the derby permit, not the whole beach can be driven. Cash will be awarded for the three biggest stripers. Cash will also be awarded for the three biggest bluefish. That’s new this year, because of the huge blues that hit Brigantine’s surf last spring. Anglers hope the blues return this year. The prizes for stripers will be $500, $300 and $150, and for blues will be $300, $200 and $100. Riptide is open 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily, and the hours will be expanded this coming season.

<b>Egg Harbor Township</b>

<b>***Update, Thursday, 3/10:***</b> White perch and striped bass were tugged from Great Egg Harbor River, said John from <b>24-7 Bait & Tackle</b>. The fishing was alright, and most of the stripers were throwbacks, but occasionally one was a keeper.  There was plenty of action, mostly on bloodworms. Some anglers fished salted clams for the bass, and the store is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays and 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekends. The hours will keep being expanded, until the store is open 24 hours a day beginning May 1. Baits stocked include bloodworms, and the store is known for bait supply. The rental boats are yet to be in the water, but the crew is preparing to launch them. When they’re splashed, the vessels are kept on Patcong Creek, running passed the shop. The boats are used to fish and crab from the creek to Great Egg Harbor River and the bay. Patcong is a tributary of the Great Egg, near the confluence of the river and the bay. The creek’s crabbing is some of the best anywhere in spring to fall. <b>The company also own 24-7 Bait & Tackle in Marmora</b>.

<b>Longport</b>

The <b>Stray Cat</b> is fishing from the Florida Keys this winter, and weather there has become fantastic, Capt. Mike said. Cold fronts ended that had been coming through, and weather became hot. Fishing was about the same as recently. Bottom-fishing bailed catches like mutton snappers and yellowtail snappers. A few big king mackerel to 20 and 25 pounds were pasted. No sailfish were landed aboard, but sailfishing improved. Sails began to bite pretty well. The bottom-fishing was at the edge of the reef, 3 ½ to 6 ½ miles from port. Live bait like grunts was dangled along bottom in 60- to 90-foot depths. Mike’s got a couple of wrecks in 200 feet, 5 ½ miles from port, where he’ll try for amberjacks soon. Anglers from Harrisburg, Pa., and Collingswood, N.J., fished aboard in past days. A crew from Pittsburgh was arriving today. Anglers fishing aboard enjoyed Hook and Cooks, fishing 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., then taking some of the catch to restaurants to be cooked. Mike will begin sailing Stray Cat back to homeport in Longport on April 15. A Coast Guard inspection is scheduled soon afterward at Longport. Then the boat will begin fishing from Longport from the rest of spring through fall.

<b>Ocean City</b>

A few white perch were plucked from Great Egg Harbor and Tuckahoe rivers, said Bill from <b>Fin-Atics</b>. That was about all that was heard about catches this weekend. Striped bass season opened beginning Tuesday in bays and rivers. Then weather became cold, and snow fell on Friday, and few fished. Weather is supposed to be warmer this week, and that will probably get anglers fishing more than before. Baits stocked include bloodworms and all the frozen selection. The store’s been open daily except closed on Sundays. It’ll probably be open on Sundays soon, too.

<b>Sea Isle City</b>

Capt. Joe Hughes from <b>Jersey Cape Guide Service</b> and <b>Sea Isle Bait & Tackle</b> had been potentially going to splash the boat for the year last weekend, he said. But weather became too cold, and a little snow fell. He expects to paint the boat’s bottom this week and splash the vessel this weekend. He might fish for striped bass on the back bay then, or the season might be too early. He knew about no stripers biting in the bay yet. He’ll reel up his year’s first striper from the bay in the next weeks, he’s sure. He’s always one of this website’s first captains to catch stripers each year. By mid-April, his fishing will explode on the bay. Then stripers, bluefish, summer flounder and big weakfish can hit in the water, sometimes all in one trip. Anglers might think the season is early for flounder, but sometimes flounder are the first fish he yanks from the bay. They’ll be out-of-season then, and his trips will release them. But South Jersey’s shallow, warm bays are some of the state’s first waters to give up flounder each year. Some anglers don’t expect to catch in saltwater as early as mid-April. But the angling is some of Joe’s best of the year, and anglers should book the trips. The stripers live in the bay year-round, and the water warms enough for them to bite then. The blues migrate to the bay from the south by then. The weakfish are big, so-called tiderunners, that arrive in the bay to spawn that time of year. The flounder migrate to the bay from the ocean, looking for warmth. For the stripers in the early season, Joe will fish soft-plastic lures slowly, along bottom, at places like creek mouths, emptying into the bay on outgoing tides. Outgoing is warmest that time of year, and afternoons on sunny days will fish best for them, because the water warms during the day. Joe is also still running traveling charters to the Florida Keys that fish from Christmas to Easter each year, mostly on weekends. He keeps another boat there throughout that time. 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>

Capt. Jim from <b>Fins and Feathers Outfitters</b> has been guiding snow goose hunts, he said. One of the hunts on Friday hunted along Delaware Bay. Wind blew strongly, probably 30 m.p.h. from north and northeast, but the bay was flat calm in that wind direction. Lots of the geese, “big wads,” he said, were seen, and just a few were shot. So he guided one of the hunts the next day in Central Jersey in fields, and the hunters scored well. Lots of the geese were seen there, and warm weather this week might make the birds migrate north quickly. He hopes the birds stay in New Jersey for a time, and his hunts also hunt the geese in neighboring states, following the migration. The goose season is open through April 5, and afterward, Jim expects to fish for steelheads on upstate New York’s Salmon River from his nearby lodge. He hosts anglers and, in winter, snowmobilers there. The steelheading usually peaks in April. After that, Jim hopes to fish for striped bass from New Jersey, if stripers are swimming along South Jersey then. He’ll run trips for drum on Delaware Bay in May in New Jersey. Jim’s boat is in the water in Jersey, and he never winterizes it, because he uses the vessel, along with sneak boxes, for goose and duck hunting throughout winter. Fins and Feathers offers a variety of outdoor adventures, including saltwater fishing from Avalon and nearby, duck and goose hunting in New Jersey and surrounding states, steelhead and salmon fishing from the lodge and fly-fishing for trout on Pennsylvania’s streams like the Yellow Breeches.

<b>Cape May</b>

The <b>Heavy Hitter</b> will begin fishing in April for the year, Capt. George said. Trips will hunt blackfish then, and blackfish season will be opened that month. If striped bass swim within range of Cape May that month, trips could sail for them, too. Stripers could potentially be boated far up Delaware Bay, in Delaware River, really, near the Salem power plant, beginning in late March or early April, like they have in recent years. But that’s too far, about 30 miles, to sail from Cape May. The fish are hooked on chunks of bunker and clams, probably best on the bunker. If stripers gather near Cape May this spring, that usually happens a little later. Drum trips fish Delaware Bay in May aboard. Four to six inches of snow fell at Cape May in last week’s storm, George heard.

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