<b>Staten Island</b>

None of New York’s fishing seasons was open yet, but the doors are open at <b>Michael’s Bait & Tackle</b>, Tom said. The crew was doing inventory, setting up for the season, getting new tackle and gear in order.

<b>Bayonne</b>

Still cold, said Capt. Akira from <b>True World Tackle</b> and <b>True World Tackle Charters</b>, and few customers were fishing yet. Most boats were yet to be launched for the season, too. But winter flounder season opens Sunday, and sandworms will be stocked tomorrow for the flatties, and fresh clams are already carried for them, and flounder rigs are on hand. True World is open 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., and longer hours will begin when fishing picks up. 

<b>Keyport</b>

Capt. Carmine from the <b>Lucky Carm</b> hopes to splash the boat by Sunday’s opening of winter flounder season if the winds and weather calm down, he said. If the vessel gets launched, open-boat trips for flounder and striped bass will start that day. He’s going to run open trips with a minimum of three anglers every day when no charter is booked, probably sailing 7 a.m. to 1 p.m., and call ahead. All the bait, rigs and brand new fishing poles are ready. Bunker were arriving in local waters slowly but surely. Could be a good sign for spring striped bass fishing.

Short striped bass started to be hooked in the bay, and bunker were sometimes seen in the area, said Capt. Joe from <b>Papa’s Angels Charters</b>. He’s shooting for the first or second week of April to begin striped bass and winter flounder fishing for the season. Open-boat trips will be available 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. every day when no charter is booked. Call ahead for a spot, and check out the boat’s web site for fares and details.

<b>Atlantic Highlands</b>

Bunker and herring were already sighted in Raritan Bay, including on Monday, said Capt. Jack from <b>Bingo Charters</b>. That could bode well for fishing for stripers that love the baitfish. Charters on the boat, a 50-footer licensed for up to 50 passengers, will probably start the third week of April, focusing on stripers at that time. Patrons will begin with clamming or fishing with fresh bunker for the linesiders, and if birds are seen working baitfish on the water, the anglers will jig for catches. A few weekend dates remain for charters this spring, and grab them before they’re inevitably gone. Bingo also features open-boat trips every Monday evening by reservation.

A couple of bayshore anglers over the weekend reeled in and released 25 short striped bass between them at Union Beach, said Jimmy from <b>Julian’s Bait & Tackle</b>. They also let go a number of out-of-season winter flounder. Bunker were schooling the bay for the past two or three weeks. Jimmy himself was going to scope out that fishing in the bay yesterday, but the rains changed his mind. His last trip, reported last week, was a bottom-fishing outing that week, when dogfish “ate him alive” on three drops at the New Grounds, two drops at 17 Fathoms and a couple of tries in the deep.  Clams, bunker, bloodworms and sandworms are stocked, and the shop is ready to go for striper fishing and Sunday’s opening of flounder season.

The season on the <b>Atlantic Star</b> launches tomorrow, Capt. Tom said. Winter flounder fishing will be the bulk of the attention this spring, beginning Sunday, when flounder season opens. But the first two trips will bottom fish from 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. tomorrow and the next day or Friday and Saturday. Patrons on the bottom trips will target ling, blackfish or whatever option is best. Then the year’s first flounder trip will sail 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Sunday or Easter. Afterward two flounder trips will sail daily from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. beginning Monday. Worms and clams will be supplied for flounder bait. The boat always starts flounder fishing in the rivers and then follows the fish to the bay and sometimes the ocean as the flatties migrate offshore. Flounder catches did seem to improve last year, and the number of fish that bit was a little better than the previous one, and the blackbacks were a bit bigger, too. UPDATE, 3/24: The Atlantic Star was weathered out from strong winds Friday but bottom fished Saturday, south of Scotland, the boat’s first trip of the year. Patrons put together a decent pick of ling, not great, but okay, and better than Capt. Tom would’ve expected, considering lots of talk about dog sharks, through the dogs were annoying. But the big news is that the boat did fish for winter flounder on one half-day trip in the morning yesterday, the opening day of flounder season, on the Shrewsbury River, and a few of the flatbacks were bagged. The fishing wasn’t good yet, but that was probably to be expected, and a look at Tom’s logbook showed that more were caught this year than on opening day last year, so that was good. Tom did anticipate somewhat better catches, because of the mild winter. But maybe the fierce winds in the days prior to the trip affected things. Still, the number caught was a little better than last year. The boat fished the whole length of the Shrewsbury, including all the way in the back. The Navesink River is too shallow for a party boat. If catches really take off between now and Thursday, Tom might give an update to this report before then. Otherwise look for the next report Thursday.

On the <b>Fishermen</b> the season kicks off April 5 with striped bass fishing, Capt. Ron said. Anglers on the ¾-day trips from 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. will start with clamming for the fish in the shallows of the bay, the normal routine in early spring. Later trips will work out to the ocean when the big bass arrive in May. Scattered, short striped bass were already seen in the bay, and so were bunker, but the water was still cold.

<b>Highlands</b>

UPDATE, 3/24: The first charter of the year left the dock with <b>Sandy Hook Fishing Adventures</b> yesterday to fish for winter flounder on the opening day of the season, Capt. Bob said in an e-mail. The anglers targeted the Navesink River, and heavy chumming was necessary, because the fish were slow to respond, but the fishing turned out well. They reeled in 19 keepers and released eight shorts. The fish measured 10 to 16 inches, and most were covered with some mud, suggesting they were only beginning to get up and around after winter. The bite will only get better, Bob said. He’ll continue sailing for flounder but will run both flounder and striped bass charters as soon as migrating stripers arrive.

Almost striped bass time, said Capt. Mike from the <b>Tuna-Tic</b> in an e-mail. Decent striper fishing sometimes already took place off South Jersey, and won’t be long until the bass fill Raritan Bay. The boat’s striper trips, running April 12 through the first week of June, will be offered mornings, afternoons and nights, for your convenience. After the first week of June, the boat moves to Waretown and starts shark trips out of Barnegat Inlet. The crew only battles sharks at this time, the middle of the spring migration, the best sharking of the year. These 14- and 24-hour trips often hook up with bluefin tuna, too. In late June three-day Offshore Adventure Trips, open-boat outings, begin to hunt canyon tuna—yellowfins, bluefins, longfins and bigeyes—mahi mahi, tilefish, white and blue marlin and whatever else comes along at the Continental Edge.  At the same time, inshore charters for blues, fluke and reef fish will run between the offshore dates. Nighttime bluefishing is especially popular on the vessel starting at this time of year, lots of fun with steady action, and Barnegat Ridge has produced some of the best bluefishing in the world in recent seasons. By mid August Tuna-Tic starts 24-hour canyon charters, when the night bite is taking off. But a number of people are already on the make-up list for this action, so if you don’t have six people for a charter, the crew can probably fit you in. The canyon season will end by late October, and then Tuna-Tic will come full circle, returning to the Highlands for fall striper fishing.

<b>Belmar</b>

Fishing on the <b>Golden Eagle</b> will start this weekend for the season, featuring two Take a Kid Fishing Trips for the Easter Holiday, Capt. Greg said. The trips will sail Saturday and Sunday, featuring discounted fares for children including rod rentals, Easter egg hunts aboard each day and extra crew to provide fishing instruction to the kids to try to make sure they catch. Patrons will also be sent home with gratis photos of themselves from the event. The boat will bottom fish in the ocean, mostly for ling and blackfish, sailing 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. No reservations are required. After the weekend the vessel will keep bottom fishing, and visit its web site or call the vessel for the schedule. A lookout will be kept for mackerel, and trips will make the switch to mackerel fishing if the spring migration takes place within sailing distance. One never knows exactly when macks might show up, and it could be this weekend or later. But they usually school past the coast on the northerly trek from late March to mid April.

Some flounder are certainly blanketing the bottom of Shark River, and the first week of the season usually serves up the best catches, and <b>Fisherman’s Den</b> is ready for the flounder season opener on Sunday, Mike said. The shop’s rental boats will be ready to fish the river, and all the baits and tackle for the flatties will be fully supplied. That was the main event, and fishing will kick in then, but a few surf anglers were plugging a small striped bass or two. Only one of the local party boats was fishing, leaving port for ling and blackfish, but that was about to change, with more of the vessels poised to begin the season.  UPDATE, 3/24: Eighteen rental boats left the dock to fish on winter flounder trips on Shark River on opening day of the season yesterday, and anglers who chummed heavily bagged a decent number of the fish, Tom said. The high-hook boat returned with 20 keepers, and other high-hooks groups on the boats included Ron Weaver’s gang with 20 keepers and about 12 throwbacks, Mr. Houseman’s crew with 19 keepers and 11 throwbacks and Ed Klump’s group with a dozen keepers and maybe seven or eight throwbacks. Some anglers fished from the pier and took four or five keepers and two or three throwbacks. Incoming tide and the first couple of hours of outgoing seemed productive

<b>Brielle</b>

Good catches came up on Friday’s offshore wreck trip on the <b>Jamaica</b>, and some limits of giant sea bass to 6 ½ pounds were bagged, and ling, cod and a few pollock were mixed in, an e-mail from the boat said. Saturday’s fishing was slow, but patrons did nail 40 cod and pollock, with sea bass and ling mixed in. Recent pool winners included Joe Sanzone with a limit of sea bass, 12 ling and a cod and Rick Strodel with 21 sea bass, six whiting and a 20-pound pollock. Other winners included Tony Vigil with a 7-pound sea bass, David Keller with a 6-pounder, Mike Ruff with a 13-pound pollock and Chen Cai with a 12-pound cod. The 18-hour trips, fishing the 60- to 80-mile wrecks, will sail Friday and Saturday but apparently not on Easter. Afterward the trips will resume departing every Wednesday and every Friday through Sunday through April until the boat begins striped bass fishing. The crew expects the offshore fishing to remain good. Trips for tilefish and wreckfish, the actual species “wreckfish,” will run 12:30 a.m. on the Fridays of April 25, May 2 and May 9. <b>Bogan’s Boating School</b> is offering the boating safety course and certificate required in New Jersey. One-day classes will take place 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. April 5, 13, 19 and 27 at Bogan’s Basin. The test-opt option is available at the basin from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays for those born before 1979.  

<b>Point Pleasant</b>

The boat is geared up and running great, and <b>Angela Rose Charters</b> is set to start charters for winter flounder on opening day of the season Sunday, Capt. Anthony said in an e-mail. The crew loves flounder fishing better than any other trips, and will hit the waters from northern Barnegat Bay to the Manasquan River to Manasquan Inlet, and in that order, as the fish make the trek to the ocean this season. One of the highlights will be a “wicked” new flounder rig that Mai Tai Lure Company has developed with Anthony this year. Angela Rose will completely rig with custom tackle from Mai Tai this season. Anthony is always one of the first, if not the first, to report about flounder fishing in this area each year and is a true fan of the angling. Back in February he said he already booked a bunch of charters for the flatties, so the schedule must be packed even more now. Over the winter the crew completely overhauled the  <a href="http://www.angelarosecharters.com" target="_blank"> Angela Rose web site</a> with new pages including ones about Kids’ Fishing, Monthly Pools, Shared Charters and the rebuilding of the original Angela Rose vessel. Surf over and check it out. UPDATE, 3/24: Angela Rose Charters hit the season running with a winter flounder trip yesterday, opening day, with a group of anglers who shared a charter. They picked at the fish, and there were lulls, including an hour before the first flattie was boated, and other waits like an hour or 45 minutes, but the crew ended up with eight keepers bagged and a handful of throwbacks released in the 43-degree water. A 16-1/2-inch 2.1-pounder was the biggest and was now leading Angela Rose’s monthly pool. Chumming heavily with Angela Rose’s homemade chum and stirring the bottom was the ticket to catches, and if anglers weren’t working hard, they weren’t hooking anything. Other boaters were seen who either caught zero or some of the mudbacks. Angela Rose didn’t say exactly where the trip fished, but the boat chases the flounder from northern Barnegat Bay to the Manasquan River at this time of year.

UPDATE, 3/24: One of the patrons on the party boat Norma K supposedly bagged six keeper winter flounder yesterday, opening day of flounder season, said Rob Sr. from <b>Gates Bait & Tackle</b>. He heard that the boat fished in northern Barnegat Bay around the Mantoloking Bridge. A few small striped bass were reportedly beached now and then in the Seaside surf, and those were the only striper reports locally. Offshore boats probably still came back with sea bass, but one party boat captain told Rob that cod fishing was beginning to slow down. Sandworms and bloodworms are stocked, and so are fresh clams when available. Windy weather has made sailing difficult for the clam boats. Gates is now open every day. The Gates Motel, located on the grounds, is also open and is popular with anglers who stay the night to avoid driving early or late before or after trips on the local charter and party boats. Later in the season, as fishing picks up, anglers simply make a fishing vacation out of a visit. Both the tackle shop and the motel are located within walking distance of the charter and party boat fleet, Manasquan Inlet and the surf.

The <b>Dauntless</b> stayed in port yesterday but bottom fished the previous two days or Monday and Tuesday, and catches were actually the best so far this winter, Capt. Butch said. Mostly ling were boated, but a few blackfish and a few cod were reeled up. Even a handful of sea bass were taken, and maybe they were lumpheads that never pushed offshore but bit because water temps bumped up two or three degrees. The water after last weekend’s storms warmed to 45 degrees, and that temperature was pretty much spread out from close to the beach to farther out where the boat fished. That was unlike previously, when the water close to shore was colder than a little farther off. The boat fished anywhere from 120 feet to 220 feet, targeting shallow spots when the current was strong and deeper water when the current backed off. The Dauntless will keep bottom fishing 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. daily, including on Easter, and fishes every day, all year, except on Christmas. If mackerel show up this spring, trips will go after the Bostons. The water needs to push up to about 50 for mackerel fishing. Last spring very few mackerel migrated close enough to shore to target, but every year’s different.

UPDATE, 3/24: An offshore trip on the <b>Voyager</b> over the weekend produced a good variety of sea bass, ling, cod, pollock, whiting, out-of-season porgies that were released and even some mackerel, an e-mail from the boat said. Notable catches included Rudy Fristachi’s 16 ling, 3 cod, a number of sea bass and 20 released, jumbo porgies, and Lee Stuckey’s 8 sea bass, 8 ling, 3 cod, some mackerel and released porgies. Also, Pat Hilla was high hook with cod, catching five, and he also bagged a bunch of ling and sea bass. A 12-hour cod trip has been added to the schedule and will sail 6 a.m. Friday, and the crew expects good fishing, because the inshore wrecks have “had two weeks to rebuild,” the report said. Presumably that meant that rough weather kept boats from fishing the wrecks during that time.  The season’s final offshore sea bass trips will run 11:30 p.m. both on Friday and on Saturday. Then the vessel will undergo painting until resuming trips by Friday night, April 25, when a special cod and pollock trip will sail. However, trips might begin the week before if the painting is finished.  Brian from <b>Fisherman’s Supply</b>, where the boat is docked, said in a phone call that bunker were sometimes spotted schooling down the local beaches. The baitfish could be a good sign for the impending striped bass migration. Stripers so far reportedly were hooked at times farther north. Brian also heard that local winter flounder fishing was slow in the morning and picked up in the afternoon yesterday, the opening of flounder season. He wasn’t asked where the fish were hooked, but the word seemed to be that northern Barnegat Bay was the spot, typical of the early season. The shop is carrying frozen bait, and its hours have been extended to 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays. The doors are open 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.

Capt. Fred and crew from <b>Andrea’s Toy Charters</b> will start testing the waters on Monday, beginning with winter flounder fishing in the northern Barnegat Bay and Manasquan River area, he said. If anyone’s interested in a charter for the flatties, the boat’s available. But the main focus will be open-boat trips offshore for tilefish, sea bass, pollock and cod that will start within the next two weeks.  The tiles will be targeted at the canyons, and then the boat will move inshore for the other fish. Call to reserve. Afterward Andrea’s Toy will move to the Highlands for striped bass fishing, probably with flounder fishing mixed in, a little later this spring. Then Fred moves back to Point Pleasant for everything from sharks to tuna to fluke in summer.

Bottom fishing trips will start the season on the <b>Gambler</b>, probably on the first Saturday of April, Capt. Bob said. Blackfish should be one of the focuses, but other trips will also steam farther to the mid-range grounds—20 to 40 miles off—for sea bass, ling, cod and pollock. UPDATE, 3/24: The Gambler’s season-opening schedule has been set, Capt. Bob said. The boat will begin sailing Saturday, April 5, running trips from Thursdays through Sundays at first. On Thursdays and Saturdays blackfish will be targeted on the inshore grounds, and on Fridays and Sundays ling, pollock and cod will be fished for at the mid-range wrecks from 20 to 40 miles offshore.  Bob also noted that the <a href="http://www.ssfff.net" target="_blank"> Save the Summer Flounder Fishery Fund</a> will hold a fund-raising dinner April 11 at the Crystal Point Yacht Club in Point Pleasant. Tickets are $75 and need to be purchased in advance. They can be purchased through the mail or online on the SSFFF web site, and visit the site for info about tickets, location and hours. Tickets can also be purchased by calling The Reel Seat in Brielle.

<b>Bricktown</b>

Winter flounder fishers will probably focus at first on northern Barnegat Bay from the south side of the Mantoloking Bridge to the mouth of the Point Pleasant Canal when the season begins Sunday, said Pete from <b>Pell’s Fish & Sport</b>. Sandworms, bloodworms, clams and chum will all arrive tomorrow to be ready. Shiners and nightcrawlers were also coming tomorrow for freshwater anglers. As flounder season progresses, the fish will school through the canal and eventually end up in the Manasquan River to Manasquan Inlet before leaving for the ocean for the warm months. That was the main news for now, and nothing else was really biting, but flounder season should kick off the year’s catches. Jason from the shop tried striped bass fishing at the Mantoloking Bridge but had no luck while casting soft plastic lures and floating Berkeley artificial worms. All kinds of new tackle and goodies have arrived at the store. The doors are open every day except Tuesdays until opening seven days a week starting April 1. <b>UPDATE, Monday, 3/24:</b> Local winter flounder anglers were landing somewhat fewer fish than expected yesterday and today, after the season opened yesterday, and the water was still a little cold. Most seemed to bag two or three apiece, and Jason himself went out today and came back with two keepers. However, Gary Ward and Bob Lusby stopped by and showed off a catch of 11 keepers they boated on kayaks in northern Barnegat Bay south of the Mantoloking Bridge, and they lost some, probably because of the kayaks. But the interesting thing is that they caught the fish in the shallow flats about 5 feet deep, and most people, including Jason, fished the deeper channels. So the warmth of the shallows might be key. Outgoing tides were better, because of warmer water.

<b>Toms River</b>

Anglers were landing striped bass at Barnegat Bay at the Route 37 Bridge, mostly in the dark, on rubber shads, including white ones and black-backed ones, and some were even throwing Bomber lures, said Dennis from <b>Murphy’s Hook House</b>. Bunker pushed up the Toms River about 1 ½ weeks ago, and lots of stripers followed them. Customers on the river lately were fooling a few stripers and a few white perch at Island Heights, mostly on bloodworms. They should find a few winter flounder there off the Yacht Club Dock and the Pavilion Dock when flounder season opens Sunday. The bay around the Pelican Island Bridge should be a good spot for bank fishing for the flatties. Boaters should connect with the blackbacks in the bay off the Water’s Edge Restaurant, usually a good early season producer. Two customers this morning bought salted clams to try for a striper in the surf. But nothing was heard about surf catches yet, and the season was a touch early, but that could change any day. Fresh clams will start to be carried on a regular basis tomorrow. Bloodworms and sandworms are stocked, and shiners for freshwater fishing are coming tomorrow. Nightcrawlers and killies are also on hand. Flounder rigs are buy one, get one free through March. What’s more, loads of Seeker rods are on clearance sail, and a bunch of freshwater tackle is marked down. The shop is open at 8 a.m. daily but will begin to open at 6 a.m. daily on Sunday. Tomorrow the hours will be extended to 7 p.m. daily. Spring has sprung! UPDATE, 3/24: Customers reported reeling up winter flounder at a number of places on the opening day of the season yesterday. One said he took five or so of the fish from the Toms River at Island Heights, and a number of catches also came from Barnegat Bay along the Pelican Island Bridge. One angler said he looked for the flatties in the bay off Water’s Edge but scored a donut, but that’s unusual, and that spot normally produces. Gunner’s Ditch in the northern bay also put out the flatties.

<b>Seaside</b>

Not a lot to report about surf fishing, because not a lot were fishing from the beach, the report on <b>Grumpy’s Tackle</b>’s web site. People kept mentioning striped bass caught from Barnegat Bay and the Toms River, but none of the fish was hitting the scale. Ocean temps were “sniffing” the mid 40s, not bad for this time of year.  <a href="http://www.grumpystackle.com/fishingreports/" target="_blank"> Click here</a> for updates.  

Five to eight anglers hit the surf Sunday, but no word came back from them, said the report on <b>Betty and Nick’s Bait & Tackle</b>’s web site. Afterward nobody said they gave it a try. There was a 5-foot dropoff on the beach at Island Beach State Park from Area 10 to the Judge’s Shack early in the week, and the shop urged beach drivers to be careful. The surf Monday was 44 degrees, 2 to 3 feet and clean. <a href=" http://www.bettyandnicks.com/fish.shtml" target="_blank"> Click here</a> for the latest.

<b>Barnegat Light</b>

Gannets, lots of them, were working along the surf at times, according to people walking the beaches, but few anglers were surf fishing yet, said Nick from <b>Barnegat Light Bait & Tackle</b>. Bunker and herring were migrating into the bays. Striped bass 20 to 27 inches were bucktailed in Barnegat Bay behind the Dike about a week ago. Striper fishing at Oyster Creek sounded solid, usually on sandworms or bloodworms. Striper anglers seemed to be catching and releasing plenty of out-of-season winter flounder in Barnegat Bay off the mouth of Oyster Creek. The shop will be fully stocked with flounder baits, rigs and supplies for the opening of flounder season Sunday. A special blend of flounder chum is being mixed up at the store that includes scallop guts, scallops and clams. Fresh clams for bait are already carried, and sandworms and bloodworms will arrive today or tomorrow. The doors are usually open about 7 a.m. to 4 or 5 p.m., and a set schedule will probably start in a week or so. Oceanside Bait & Tackle, Nick and his partner’s other store, located in Brighton Beach on the southern half of Long Beach Island, will probably open for the season April 1.

<b>Mystic Island</b>

Fishing was basically in the same holding pattern, said Maureen from <b>Scott’s Bait & Tackle</b>. The shop’s web site said yesterday that no activity was swimming around at Graveling Point and Pebble Beach on Great Bay, although the weather and water conditions were just right for striper catches to begin. Those spots are traditionally some of the first to give up the linesiders. Not even white perch or winter flounder were nibbling the bloodworms, the best bait for stripers in the early season, when the fish are lethargic from cold water and seek an easy mea to digest. Quite a few anglers fished those spots Monday, the site said, and some were dressed for winter in the cold, steady winds. Few bites were even felt, and a lone 26-inch striper that was caught and released Sunday was the high hook so far. But the striper fishing is definitely coming, even though the question is when. When it does begin, the season is now late enough that it should last right into the first week of May. The first bluefish usually arrive by early May and take over much of the fishing for a while. The shop’s annual award of a $100 gift certificate for the angler who checks in the season’s first keeper striper from Graveling Point was still available. Maureen said the store’s fresh clam supply was okay, although the supply was sometimes tough for others in the windy weather that kept clam boats from sailing. Scott’s works with a number of different suppliers. Bloodworms are stocked, and so are minnows. She believed grass shrimp were on hand for white perch fishing. UPDATE, 3/24: Still no keeper striped bass weighed in from Graveling Point through the weekend, the report on the store’s web site said. That wasn’t because of lack of effort, and lots of anglers lined the point and Pebble Beach. But winds were fierce until dropping off on Saturday. The folks at the shop were surprised no keeper was seen yet. A look at the site’s list of the first keeper in past years showed that the first was checked in March 29 in 2005. But the first was usually weighed in before then in other years. Has to be any hour now! the site said.

<b>Absecon</b>

The first keeper striped bass of the season, a 28-1/2-incher that Al Ambroselli plugged in the Egg Harbor River on Tuesday, was checked in at <b>Absecon Bay Sportsman Center</b>, Ray said. Al won a $200 gift certificate from the shop for the first keeper, and Ray was unsure where on the river the fish came from, but he guessed it probably bit around Beesley’s Point. Ten minutes later George Bucci weighed in a 19.9-pound keeper that he plugged in the shallows of Delaware Bay. He won a $100 gift certificate from the store for the second keeper, and the prizes for the following were still unclaimed: a $50 gift certificate for the third keeper, a $100 gift certificate for the first more than 20 pounds, and a $100 gift certificate for the first more than 30 pounds. George obviously almost won for the first over 20 pounds as well. The place where George scored, the shallow water on Delaware Bay, depths like 10 or 12 feet, are some of the first to turn on for striper fishing during the season. Ray heard that the linesiders were already being caught there, and bunker were already schooling the bay. Anglers fishing the shallows throw plugs, because the stripers come right up to the surface to chase the bunker, and the key is to retrieve the plug as slowly as possible. Retrieving the lure too quickly is the mistake that anglers usually make. Ray was hearing about only a very few herring showing up so far, and they were mostly closer to saltwater and in the bays, and he heard about only a few up the Mullica River so far. No herring is stocked at the shop yet, but the baitfish will be carried as soon as available.  Customers were fishing for white perch at the usual spots like the Egg Harbor River, the Mullica River, the Bass River and the Wading River. One angler said he bailed the fish on the Wading. Grass shrimp or bloodworms will do the trick, and one person said he even caught them on small bits of clams. The store carries no live grass shrimp but carries the nets to catch them, and the staff will give a quick lesson on how to do it. Bloodworms are stocked, and so are minnows. Fresh clams ran out, and the prospects for getting more looked dim in the next few days, because the weather was too windy for the clam boats to sail and was supposed to keep honking through Saturday or Sunday. Winter flounder season opens Sunday, and hardly anyone flounder fishes locally anymore, but they used to catch lots of the flatties. Loads of flounder used to be caught at places like behind Brigantine and off Venice Park in Atlantic City. Flounder anglers chum heavily with chum buckets but also by throwing stuff in the water like rice in bunker oil or corn. They also use heavier sinkers than usual to bounce them off the bottom for puffs of smoke, and they paint the sinkers red, yellow or chartreuse, because flounder are curious, attracted by the sight and maybe smell. Flounder should be targeted on black or dark mud bottoms and won’t be found on sandy bottoms. UPDATE, 3/24: No more news about keeper stripers was posted on the store’s web site through the weekend, so none probably came in.

<b>Brigantine</b>

The first two striped bass of the season, a couple of shorts, were beached from the Brigantine surf on Saturday, said Capt. Andy from <b>Riptide Bait & Tackle</b>. So things were starting, and the water was warming, and stripers were already biting up the Mullica River. Skates also swam the Brigantine wash, and striper fishing usually begins in the suds within a week of skates pushing in. The shop’s $200 bounty for the first keeper bagged from the local area and checked in was still up for grabs.  Both fresh clams and bloodworms are arriving at the shop tomorrow, and frozen, salted clams are already stocked. Live eels leftover from last year are also carried. Riptide is the only place where anglers can enter the Fish for Life Striper Derby, run by Maria LePera and benefitting the South Jersey Cancer Fund. One the advantages is that the $20 entry allows beach buggy access to the entire length of Brigantine during the contest for those who own the town’s beach buggy pass. The town’s pass only allows access to the north and south ends of Brigantine, so many anglers are entering the tournament just for the extra beach access. Entries are limited to 150 anglers, and 60 already signed up, so act fast. So the brunt of the news from Brigantine was that Surf’s Up. Finally time to head back out to the beach.

<b>Atlantic City</b>

UPDATE, 3/24: A few striped bass started to be picked up here and there, said Jack from <b>Offshore Enterprises Bait & Tackle</b>. He knew about a couple of 30-pounders nailed in Delaware Bay, and an occasional 30-incher, not many, pulled from the surf. The back bay gave up a few of the linesiders, too. Fresh clams will arrive tomorrow, and clams were a bit difficult to find because of windy weather that kept the boats from clamming. Bloodworms were also expected to arrive soon. All the frozen baits, including clams, are stocked. The store’s rental boat, a 17-foot Angler with a 50-horsepower engine, should be splashed the first week of April for fishing the bay. The store is usually open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays and 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekends, and hours will be solidified when fishing kicks in.

<b>Longport</b>

<b>Stray Cat</b> was tied to the dock in the windy weather, but the vessel is running open-boat trips for blackfish and mackerel to the 12- to 20-mile grounds, he said. Open trips are also heading farther out for sea bass. A few macks and a handful of blacks were hooked on a trip last week, and a trip afterward in the same areas scored nada. A recent sea bass trip loaded up. The weather should calm enough to sail tomorrow and Saturday, and the weather was so bad this week that stiff seas wouldn’t even let the boat get out of the inlet.

<b>Ocean City</b>

Striped bass were flooding the waters around Cape May, said Dan from <b>Fin-Atics</b>. Twelve-foot shallows in Delaware Bay were producing the fish on plugs and bait, including bunker, and probably also clams. Bunker were schooling the area. Someone also said stripers started being caught around Sea Isle City. Dan heard about no herring migrating to local waters yet. Nobody mentioned bottom fishing, like for sea bass, and the weather was too windy and rainy all week. The state was supposedly deciding this year’s tog bag limit, but no news about a decision rolled in so far.  Fin-Atics is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sundays. Dan also noted that the Ocean City Marlin and Tuna Club Billfish Tournament takes place August 11 through 16. Last year the prizes included $10,000 for 1st place, $5,000 for second and $2,000 for third. Two levels of Calcuttas were up for grabs, and so were prizes including trophies, rods and reels and so on. Prizes should be similar this year.

<b>Sea Isle City</b>

Tog fishing on the <b>Captain Robbins</b>, the boat’s first fishing of the season, starts in two Saturdays, Capt. John said. The trips will sail 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., and bait, probably clams, will be supplied. Clams will probably be used because the fish have “soft” mouths at this time of year.

UPDATE, 3/24: Capt. Joe Hughes was fishing in the Florida Keys from Islamorada, he said. But back at home, striped bass will surely still be hitting in the back bay behind Sea Isle, and he expected to catch when he returned. He hooked his first stripers of the season last week in the bay, landing six of the fish to 25 inches on one of the trips, and the action, and charters, were on for the year. On that trip, Clousers on a fly rod and Bass Assassins on a spinning rod were tossed to connect with half the fish on each. At this time of year, Joe’s anglers work the flies and lures slowly and often fish the shallow flats that warm first. High outgoing tides are productive, because warm water from the creeks moves in, compared with cold water from the ocean. Joe also likes the afternoons, when the water’s had a chance to warm. Striper fishing in latter March and through April is usually great in the bay, not like the wide-open action with working birds in the fall, but it’s consistent. The fishing’s one of the best opportunities to shake off cabin fever and reel in the first stripers of the year. Lots of people overlook this fishery, but it’s some of the state’s best in the early season. In the Keys Joe so far had fished one day, taking a trip with Capt Rick Miller, and windy weather forced the trip to sail toward the mainland and fish near Flamingo on the flats and around the mangrove islands.  Joe caught two snook, two seatrout and a 5-pound Jack on chartreuse and white Deceiver flies and a small bonefish slider fly. Bonefishing and tarpon fishing wasn’t really happening, but boaters and charters were reporting lots of cobia catches on the opposite, ocean side of the Keys.

<b>Cape May</b>

Striped bass charters with <b>Copacetic Sportfishing</b> will probably start in a couple of weeks or around the first week of April, Capt. Mike said. He was the first Cape May captain to report catches last year. His marina’s slips are now open, and a few boats were splashed. Mike heard no first-hand, confirmed reports about striper catches locally yet, though he read reports in the magazines and such. The first striper trips on the boat will fish the flats of Delaware Bay, depths 10 feet or less, where the linesiders initially bite. Bunker and herring will sometimes school the waters, and sometimes the fish at that time will smack surface plugs. But most spring charters for the bass will chunk clams in the bay, and eventually the schools move to deeper water there. Sometimes waves of the fish can appear in the Cape May Rips, and then charters will fish mackerel strips on bucktails to hook up. The waves can come through more often later in spring, but they do sometimes pop up earlier in the Rips. Black drum will also begin to swim to the bay in spring, and then charters will sometimes at first target both stripers and drum at the same time, because the fish hang out in the same areas. Later stripers will mostly move out of the bay, and then drum will be the focus on charters for a while. Puppy drum 20 or 30 pounds will come through first, usually by mid April. Big drum traditionally first appear around the first full moon of May, but the run can start at different times. A number of dates remain for charters, even on a couple of weekends, but as soon as a few warm days kick in and give people the bug to fish, they’ll fill up.

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