<b>Keyport</b>

Raritan Bay’s striped bass fishing was great, said Capt. Mario from the <b>Down Deep Fleet</b>. The fish to 28 pounds were crushed aboard on rubber shads and bunker chunks. Open-boat trips, including open trips that will begin to fish daily, and charters are sailing. Open trips will also fish in afternoons on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays, in addition to open trips already fishing in mornings. Down Deep runs two 40-foot boats that can accommodate up to 15 anglers. A blackfish trip was weathered out today, because of forecasts for wind. The next blackfish trip is set for Wednesday. Join the <a href=" http://downdeepsportfishing.com/short-notice-list/" target="_blank">Short Notice List</a> on Down Deep’s website to be kept informed about open trips. See available dates on the calendar on the site. 

Striped bass fishing was as good as it gets, Capt. Frank from the <b>Vitamin Sea</b> wrote in an email. The fish, weighing up to 30 pounds, could be found throughout Raritan Bay. Jigging, trolling and bait hooked them. Many of the fish were big females, and please consider releasing them, and keep the smaller, better-eating males, he said. Take a photo and let the big breeders swim away. That’s a good feeling, he said, and will help. “Remember when the bag limit was two fish at 28 inches?” he wrote. Better conservation is the only way to get back to that, he said. “We are blessed to have such a great fishery in our back yard.” Let’s take care of it, he said. Space aboard is filling as fast as Frank announces dates. One spot is available next week on Tuesday morning for an open-boat trip. Afternoon trips will begin to run next week, in addition to morning trips that are already fishing, and telephone to reserve. Charters are available next week on Monday through Wednesday, April 18 through 20. If no charter books, open trips will fish then. If you want stripers, now’s the time! he said.

<b>Atlantic Highlands</b>

Fishing was launched Sunday for the year on the party boat <b>Atlantic Star</b>, sailing for striped bass on Raritan Bay, Capt. Tom said. The fishing wasn’t great but better than expected, after cold weather and reports that weren’t great. The morning trip landed four or five keepers and about 15 shorts. The afternoon was slower, and a couple of keepers and seven or eight shorts came in. Quite a few fish were read on the fish finder on the trips, and that’s good. Most of the fish were clammed, and a couple were hooked on swim shads. Fishing was weathered out Saturday aboard. Tom was going to try to run another one of the trips this morning, and a chance of showers was forecast for this afternoon that would probably keep the afternoon’s trip docked. Rough weather with rain was forecast for Tuesday. If all of this happens, Wednesday might be the next best day when a trip is likely to fish. Two trips daily might begin Thursday or Friday, and telephone the boat to confirm the schedule.

<b>Neptune</b>

Some striped bass reportedly showed up in the ocean off Shark River Inlet on Saturday, said Capt. Ralph from <b>Last Lady Fishing Charters</b>. He’ll probably splash the boat this month, and space is available for an individual-reservation trip for sea bass May 27. More of those trips already filled on May 23 and 24, the first two days of sea bass season. The season will be closed beginning June 20, so the season is less than a month.

<b>Belmar</b>        

<b>***Update, Tuesday, 4/12:***</b> The <b>Miss Belmar Princess</b> had been slated to begin fishing on Wednesday for the year, an email from the party boat said. But wind will weather out the first trips, and the boat is expected to begin fishing Friday instead. The trips will sail 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily for striped bass. Purchase three gift certificates for daily trips for blues and stripers, and get one free. Hurry, because the offer will end soon, it said. The certificates are valid any time and never expire. Call the boat to purchase.

Striped bass fishing began Sunday on the <b>Golden Eagle</b>, a report said on the party boat’s website. A couple of keepers and some throwbacks were decked. “Not bad for the first day, with only a couple of handfuls of customers onboard,” it said. The fish were hooked on swim baits and Run Off gold crocodiles and hammered jigs. The report didn’t say where the boat fished, but another boat reported that the Golden Eagle fished Raritan Bay that day. That was unconfirmed. Wind was expected to keep the Golden Eagle docked today and Tuesday. Trips are slated to sail for striped bass and blues 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily. The boat fished for mackerel previously.

The boat will be in the water by the end of the week, said Capt. Pete from <b>Parker Pete’s Fishing Charters</b>. Fishing aboard will begin soon for the year. A little work remains to be done on the vessel in the slip to prepare. Blackfishing was decent on the ocean, when boats had the weather to sail. Striped bass fishing was good farther north, on Raritan Bay. But a few stripers were caught on the local ocean recently. Plenty of dates are available for striper fishing in May and June on the ocean aboard. Don’t have enough anglers for a charter? Book an individual space on a charter that needs anglers. 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. Also see a Trip Calendar that was recently added to the site, where available dates are posted.

Great blackfishing Sunday, Bob from <b>Fisherman’s Den</b> wrote in an email. Two of Belmar’s party boats limited out on the tautog. A six-angler charter from Belmar limited out on the slipperies and released many keeper-sized. A 10-pounder won the pool, and Beatriz Soto on the trip landed seven keepers to a 7-pound 8-ouncer, keeping no more than a limit. Fifteen keeper striped bass were jigged under birds working the ocean on Saturday’s blackfishing trip on the party boat Big Mohawk from Belmar. A few anglers from the trip stopped by and said so, just before the shop closed for the day. “Some of the fish were large,” Bob wrote, and the blackfishing was good, the anglers told him. The stripers were hooked when birds were seen diving, and the trip sailed over and took a look. Blackfishing was also good along Shark River Inlet. Marty Westerfield from Wall bagged three there on Sunday, and most anglers he saw hooked keepers there. Blackfish were also landed along Point Pleasant Canal. Worms and crabs caught well at the inlet and canal. Striped bass fishing was top-notch on Raritan Bay. Some anglers said the angling was especially good for this early in the year. The fish to 30-pounds were angled on rubber shads Sunday. Give the fishing a go, but keep no more than you need, because the fish are breeders, Bob said. Good striper fishing was also had from the bay lately on the troll and on bait including clams and bunker chunks. Reports were seen about big stripers plugged on Delaware River. Be aware about regulations there, including about where the fishing is currently closed on the river for spawning. Anglers release them. Throwback stripers began to be played now on Shark River and in the surf. Worms and clams caught best. Fishing is improving, difficult to believe in this season’s fickle weather, Bob said. Keep the faith, and things are looking up, he said.

<b>Brielle</b>

A ton of schoolie striped bass seemed to swim Manasquan River, said Eric from <b>The Reel Seat</b>. Anglers on Saturday fought eight to 12 apiece, 14- to 24-inchers. The fish held from Route 70 Bridge to Route 35 Bridge and near Point Pleasant Canal. They swiped small soft-plastic lures, like Fin-S Fish on small bucktails, and 4-inch rubber shads. Local winter flounder fishing seemed poor at best. A few were reported caught from the river and in nearby Barnegat Bay, near Mantoloking Bridge. But the fish seemed to be migrating out, and participation in flounder fishing dropped off, because anglers chased the schoolie stripers instead. The only stripers heard about from the ocean were in the surf. A handful of schoolies were beached from the surf on clams or lures like Daiwa SP Minnows, but were “kind of few and far between,” he said. Plenty of stripers swam Raritan Bay. Trolling for them was best for fish to the upper 20 pounds on white umbrella rigs, white Mojos and white Stretch 25 lures. Shore anglers reeled in the bass, occasionally a 20-pounder, from the back of the bay on clams, sometimes bunker chunks. But trolling caught much better. A smattering of reports said stripers, not many, began to be hooked from Barnegat Bay toward Barnegat Inlet. On the ocean, blackfishing was good, when boaters had the weather to sail. Up to 14- and 15-pounders caught were heard about. Blackfish swam along Sea Girt Reef and rock piles off Long Branch, chomping clams and green crabs. They’ll bite clams in the early season’s cold water sometimes.

<b>Point Pleasant Beach</b>

The dock’s been under construction, being rebuilt, for the <b>Norma-K III</b>, and that should be finished, and the boat returned to the slip, by mid-week, Capt. Matt hopes, he wrote in a report on the party boat’s website. Daily blackfish trips should begin this weekend.

<b>Mystic Island</b>

No matter rough weather, fishing for striped bass and drum was pretty good at Graveling Point and Pebble Beach, a report said on <b>Scott’s Bait & Tackle</b>’s website. The striper fishing was hit or miss, and outgoing tides fished best for them, “draining them from the river,” it said. Graveling and Pebble are shore-angling spots at the confluence of Mullica River and Great Bay. Clams and bloodworms hooked the stripers best, and stripers began to be trolled on the river, so plugs should begin to catch at Graveling and Pebble.  The drum fishing seemed best at night, but some bit during daytime. Incoming tides fished best for them, “pulling them in from the ocean,” it said. Clams hooked them best. White perch bit well in the river, and grass shrimp sold well for that angling. People fished for them on the river at places like Green Bank and Lower Bank and near Wading River. The annual $100 gift certificate remained up for grabs for the angler who checks-in the year’s first bluefish from Graveling or Pebble. Blues were fought in the river, so this seemed unusual that they were yet to be found at Graveling and Pebble. The blues, migrating from the ocean each spring, had to pass there to reach the river.

<b>Brigantine</b>

“Have I mentioned anything about the winds lately?” Capt. Andy from <b>Riptide Bait & Tackle</b> asked in a report on the shop’s website. Wind blew 15 to 20 knots from east, making surf fishing tough. Anglers could fish the cove to have the wind at their back. Wind blew 15 to 20 from west previously, and that was fishable. Anglers did beach throwback striped bass then sometimes, and keepers were expected any time now.

<b>Atlantic City</b>

Customers still fished, despite rough weather, and still clobbered striped bass, said Noel from <b>One Stop Bait & Tackle</b>. They bloodwormed lots, 20- or 22-inchers, a little bigger than before, nearby in the surf at the T-jetty and back in the channel along Absecon Inlet. The T is at the ocean end of the inlet, lined with jetties. Customers fish here on foot, and also hooked blackfish, good-sized, “nothing picture worthy,” he said, along the inlet. Bluefish were yet to show up, but should arrive any day. Fishing for big blues and good-sized stripers was excellent in the area last spring. All baits, a large supply, are stocked, including bloodworm and green crabs. Bloodworms are on special on Tuesdays and Wednesdays for $20 for two dozen.

<b>Longport</b>

The <b>Stray Cat</b> began to be sailed back to New Jersey from the Florida Keys, Capt. Mike said. The boat fished from the Keys this winter to early spring, and is currently in North Carolina getting new engines installed, where the boat was built. The vessel will be a little faster, because of the engines, and will begin fishing in New Jersey by mid-May. The Florida fishing was great, and Mike expects to offer trips from there again next winter.

<b>Sea Isle City</b>

Weather was horrendous Saturday, but Kevin McCarthy and crew jumped aboard Sunday morning, said Capt. Joe Hughes from <b>Jersey Cape Guide Service</b> and <b>Sea Isle Bait & Tackle</b>. One striped bass was reeled from the back bay. Joe fished the bay with his wife that afternoon, and two stripers were landed. Two of the stripers on the trips were 24 inches, and one was smaller, and all were hooked on Bass Assassins on jigheads fished slowly along bottom. Sunday morning was very cold, and ice had to be chipped off the boat. The afternoon’s weather was pleasant. The water was cold, but the trips caught anyway. The bay’s fishing is going to explode soon. Bluefish will migrate to the bay, and Joe heard an unconfirmed report about a blue from the bay already. Weather was cold this past week, but time of year will make the bay’s fishing turn on. “The fish (have) got to do their thing,” he said. Stripers usually become more active then, and the blues should tear up the water. Weakfish and summer flounder will bite. The flounder are out-of-season until flounder season opens, but are caught and released. Late April and May give up excellent fishing, some of the year’s best, on the bay. Some anglers don’t think about fishing that early, but they should.  Keep up with Joe’s fishing on <a href="http://captainjoehughes.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Jersey Cape’s Blog</a>.

<b>Wildwood</b>

Weather was too rough to be fished Saturday on a trip that had been slated with <b>Fins & Grins Sport Fishing</b>, Capt. Jim said. The trip was going to blackfish but be prepared to jump on striped bass, if stripers popped up. He’s opportunistic and keeps tackle aboard for any possibility. A couple of boats sailed for blackfish in past days, picking the tautog, occasionally good-sized. Small striped bass were around at different places. Some of the year’s first puppy drum in the state were heard about. Water was as warm as the low 50 degrees, and 55 is when fishing really gets going. Fishing’s poised to bust loose. “They’re coming,” he said. A weakfish weighed at a tackle shop around Sea Isle City was even heard about. Fins is slated to fish every day, and reservations aren’t required but suggested. Telephone for availability.

<b>Cape May</b>

The boat was splashed this weekend, said Capt. George from the <b>Heavy Hitter</b>. That’s a 35-foot Bertram, a new vessel, replacing the old Heavy Hitter. Fishing aboard is supposed to kick off for the year this weekend, sailing for blackfish. Some boats blackfished Sunday, catching some, he thought. Saturday’s weather was terrible, but no snow fell in Cape May, when he was there. But lots of snow fell just up the Parkway, at Ocean City, when he drove home. Snow plows worked on the snow there. He sailed the boat to the slip at Cape May from dry dock along Maurice River that day. Conditions weren’t bad, just 3-foot rollers, on the sail down Delaware Bay, until he reached the Cape May ferry. Then wind probably blew 25 or 30 m.p.h., and seas were white water. But he then ducked into Cape May Canal and brought the boat to the slip at Utsch’s Marina. The bay was 46 degrees on the trip. George heard about no black drum from the bay yet this season. The bay’s drum fishing usually begins when the water reaches the mid-50 degrees. The Heavy Hitter sails for drum in May each year. George heard about no striped bass, except stripers landed from Delaware River from shore. Surf angling for stripers usually lights up near the Cape May ferry on the bay and at Poverty Beach along the ocean in May for some weeks.

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