<b>Brooklyn</b>

Fishing in New York launches Tuesday, when the state’s winter flounder season opens, and the <b>Big M Express</b> will kick off the year with open-boat trips for the flatties that day. The season’s a little early, Capt. Steve said, but some of the mudbacks should be stirring around. Open trips will sail daily for them when no charter is booked. The Big M Express fishes from Tamaqua Marina in Gerritsen Beach, Brooklyn.

<b>Staten Island</b>

The season kicks off Tuesday for <b>Barbara Anne Fishing Charters</b> with an open-boat trip for winter flounder on New York’s opening day of flounder season, Capt. Anthony said. Then open trips will chase the blackbacks daily when no charter is booked. One to three passengers is the usual number on open trips, but a fourth can be added.

<b>Michael’s Bait & Tackle</b> will be geared up for New York’s opening of winter flounder season on Tuesday, the state’s first opening of the year in saltwater. Rigs, worms, clams, chum and more will be ready, Tom said. Until then, the staff will keep working on inventory, including loading the shelves with new goodies.

<b>Laurence Harbor</b>

Winter flounder seemed to bite relatively well for the early season up the rivers and in the shallow waters in the back of the bay, said Capt. Kyle from <b>Evening Tide Charters</b>. Lots of bunker were supposedly schooling around. “We got life,” he said. He was gearing up to start charters for flounder and striped bass by the second or third week of April.

<b>Keyport</b>

A friend fished along the bayshore around Pebble Beach and Morgan and picked up four short striped bass and saw lots of birds working bait, said Capt. Carmine from the <b>Lucky Carm</b>. Carmine heard unconfirmed reports about a few flounder beginning to bite in the river and the back of the bay toward South Amboy and also on the Keyport Flats. But the best news is that the Lucky Carm was splashed and is ready to fish. Space is available on an open-boat trip Sunday, and open trips will sail daily for flounder and stripers when no charter is booked. Call to reserve, and the open trips will probably run 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. Some prime dates remain for charters, and dates before the rush and they fill. The boat was outfitted with new, lightweight Shimano rods for a ball with the fish this season. UPDATE, 3/31: The season was launched on the Lucky Carm on Sunday with the boat’s first fishing trip of the year, an open-boat trip for flounder. Ritchie Dynes from NJFising.com and his friends Glen and Joe were onboard, and so were Dr. Andrew Sokol and son Jason, and so was Mike Titar from the Raritan Bay Anglers Club. They ended up with 10 keepers, and one more fish was probably a keeper but was borderline, and the angler released it. So it was a good day, a good trip. They started out at one spot in the bay that produced nothing for about an hour, so the boat moved, and then the anglers connected. The fish were hooked in the bay off Keyport among lots of other boats. Many of the other boaters hooked nothing, and flounder fishing is hit or miss, and you either find the fish or you don’t. Even if 50 boats are gathered at one spot, only two or three might be on a bite. Carmine always keeps searching for fish, and he got on a ledge that produced, while others nearby scored nothing. The anglers on the Lucky Carm were also good fishermen, and that helps with flounder fishing, along with finding the flatties. Flounder tend to school together, so finding a group matters. The bite was pretty decent on incoming tide, and Carmine kept the trip on the water an extra hour. The water was 43 to 44 degrees, and maybe sometimes 45. But Carmine questions whether water temp matters so much, and others sometimes say the water’s too cold, and the fishing will pick up when it’s warmer, but in the past, when flounder season was open earlier in the year, catches were made in 40-degree water, and these are cold-water fish, named “winter” flounder, after all. But the reasons the fish bite can be impossible to know. The trip left earlier than usual, because winds were forecast to pick up later, and they did. The weather was a little cool, but the Lucky Carm is wide and tall, so the anglers at least get a bit sheltered in the cockpit from cool winds. They also get to enjoy a heated cabin. So the Lucky Carm’s season is under way, and open-boat trips will continue to sail daily when no charter is booked. Striped bass fishing will also take place as soon as stripers really turn on. At one point the anglers saw stripers busting on bunker, but Carmine stuck with the game plan and targeted flounder, because the open trips run during limited hours, and apparently he made the right call, considering the catch. If the trip had been a charter with more time available, he might’ve stopped to try for the stripers. But stripers will become a focus soon enough, along with the flatties.

Fishing seemed the same as a week ago, said Capt. Joe from <b>Papa’s Angels Charters</b>. Last week he said short striped bass were landed from the bay, and bunker were schooling the area. He’ll start fishing next week or the following week for winter flounder and striped bass, maybe combo trips. Open Boat Special Trips will run 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. daily when no charter is booked, and call ahead to hop aboard.

<b>Atlantic Highlands</b>

Small striped bass started to be reeled up from the bay at Cliffwood Beach and similar early season spots, and winter flounder began to come up from the Navesink and Shrewsbury Rivers, Capt. Mick from the <b>CRT II</b> said. He should start fishing early next week, starting with flounder charters, and adding striped bass trips when stripers turn on. Late April is fairly open for charters, and plenty of space is left in May and June. Grab the dates while you’ve got a choice.

Winter flounder were sometimes bagged, a few decent catches, in the back of the bay and up the rivers, said Jimmy from <b>Julian’s Bait & Tackle</b>. Striped bass took baits along the bayshore, some days more than others. Ling could be boated at Scotland, and dog sharks were no problem there. Sandworms, bloodworms, clams and other baits were stocked. “Everything,” Jimmy said.

Flounder trips fished twice daily all week on the <b>Atlantic Star</b> in the Shrewsbury River, and Monday’s fishing was a little better than on opening day of the season on Sunday, Capt. Tom said. But it wasn’t good fishing yet this week. Some customers would boat two or three keepers, and others none, but most fish were legal-sized, and probably only 10 shorts were landed since the opening. Some nice-sized ones were caught, including a 17-1/2- or 18-incher and a number of 16-inchers. Trips fished the whole length of the river, and two flounder might come up at one spot, and one on another, and once in a while maybe five at another. Slack tides can be good for flattie fishing in the river, and no slack tides took place on the trips since Monday, so patrons were always fishing in the current. The vessel only fishes in the Shrewsbury and not the Navesink River, because the Navesink’s depths are too shallow for the party boat. Tom tried no fishing in the bay yet but will follow the fish there as they migrate. Last year’s fishing also started out about this way. Lots of bunker and herring were schooling around, and seals, a usual visitor at this time, were seen. On Monday morning seven of the creatures were perched on top of a pipe. The Atlantic Star is sailing for winter flounder twice daily from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. UPDATE, 3/31: Flounder fishing was slow in the Shrewsbury River the past couple of days on the Atlantic Star, and Capt. Tom guessed that maybe the cold weather was keeping the bite tougher than before, and previously catches did pick up with warmer conditions. The boat fished Saturday and Sunday, but no trips sailed Thursday and Friday. The best drop probably produced six or seven keepers and a couple of shorts, but some spots gave up no keepers, and others would turn up a couple of shorts, and so on. Most of the fish that bit were keepers, but more shorts appeared than before, and maybe that meant the fish were on the move. Previously almost all the fish were keepers, but even on these past two trips, none of the shorts was tiny, and they were about 10 inches. Even slack tides that can be best on the river were slow. Patrons pulled up a mix of females and males, and the females were all spawned out. There was really no warmer weather in the past days, and the temp at the dock was below freezing in the morning. So flounder fishing was off to a slow start this year. But Tom hoped that warmer weather forecast for the next days would turn things around, and he’ll keep sailing for flounder on two trips daily.

Tons of birds were working the bay the other day, feeding on bunker, so migrating striped bass shouldn’t be too far behind, said Capt. Ron from the <b>Fishermen</b>. Small bass were already hooked in the back of the bay. The boat’s season will start in two Saturdays, April 5, sailing for the linesiders from 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily. Clamming for the fish in the bay’s shallows is usually first up, before trips move to the ocean to land big migrators. 

<b>Highlands</b>

<b>Sandy Hook Fishing Adventures</b> ran its second winter flounder trip of the season a couple of days ago or on Tuesday in the rivers, and the bite was slower than the first trip on Sunday, but a few mudbacks were landed, fair fishing, nothing outstanding, Capt. Bob said. The fish remained slow to respond in the 44-degree water, and Bob’s been chumming twice as much more as usual. A few striped bass also bit, a good sign for striper fishing. The first drop fished in the Navesink River, and one throwback hit, so the crew moved farther up the river. Four keepers to 16 inches were bagged, and three short stripers to 19 inches were hooked and released. Next Bob decided to try the Shrewsbury River, and when one of the chum pots was pulled up, three stripers about 14 to 16 inches followed it toward the surface. On the Shrewsbury a few more keeper flatfish and several throwbacks were landed.

Charters on the <b>Knot Easy</b> will start breaking the harbor on the third weekend of April, with a trip that Sunday booked for striped bass, Capt. Matt said. The next weekend is already full. So if you want stripers, or maybe flounder, the time to book is here, because dates are filling.

UPDATE, 3/31: Striped bass charters should start after April 19 with <b>Jersey Devil Charters</b>, Capt. Brian said. He’ll first compete in the FLW Striper Tournament out of Fortescue on that day, and then he’ll begin running striper charters. Waters around Raritan Bay are currently loaded with bait, more bait than Brian’s seen in a while for this time of year, and a few scattered stripers were biting, but he heard about none hitting bunker so far. When his charters start, he’ll probably at first troll Stretch plugs and big, TGT bunker spoons to cover lots of water and look for the fish. But when schools of bigger, migrating stripers become common, his anglers will start bunker chunking and livelining bunker for the fish. The FLW Tournament will be an appropriate warm-up for Brian, because he’s a frequent striper tournament entrant and has often won and placed in tournaments. Winter flounder fishing is also a possibility on charters, but by that time in April, striped bass trips will probably be most in demand, and a stripers, including big ones, are a specialty for Jersey Devil.

Striped bass, mostly shorts, were starting to hit in Raritan Bay, mainly at the Keyport Flats, and winter flounder anglers were picking away along both the Shrewsbury and Navesink rivers and the back of the bay, said Capt. Derek from <b>Fisher Price Charters</b>. Nearly the whole bay was loaded with herring and bunker, so when big, migrating stripers push in, the action should be on. Migrators seemed to begin appearing off Cape May on the southern end of the state. Derek heard about catches of smaller stripers there, but also a few bigger ones. One angler had been catching small ones at a particular spot off Cape May, then suddenly one day recently he hooked eight big ones to 34 inches at the same place. Derek launched the boat two days ago and is ready to fish for both flounder and stripers. Now if only the windy weather would break, and forecasts looked like winds all week. Reserve your trips now, before the options are limited.

<b>Neptune</b>

Bottom fishing and striped bass fishing in the ocean will start the season for <b>Last Lady Fishing Charters</b> in mid April, Capt. Ralph said. On the bottom trips ling and sea bass should bite, and blackfishing should be possible if the regulations allow fishing for the tog. The government was haggling about the proposed regs, and some kind of change from the current four-fish limit was imminent, and a moratorium starting April 1 was the worst case scenario, but Ralph felt optimistic that better regs would pass.

<b>Belmar</b>

The season on the <b>Golden Eagle</b> launched over the weekend with bottom fishing trips in the ocean, actually annual Take a Kid Fishing Easter Trips both Saturday and Sunday, and ling catches were “decent to good,” Capt. Greg said. Some blackfish were also taken Saturday, and Sunday’s fishing was tougher, but the fish started cooperating during the final 1 ½ hours, and all anglers caught. The trips included onboard Easter egg hunts, candy, and some surprise free and discounted fares, and the kids seemed to have a ball. The boat will now bottom fish on Fridays through Sundays, the schedule until other fishing begins to take off, like mackerel fishing or striped bass fishing. The water’s still a little chilly, but bluefish were already schooling off the Delmarva Peninsula, a hundred miles south. Usually mackerel arrive off Jersey first, and bluefish shortly follow, and striped bass come next. The macks don’t always school close enough to shore to target off Jersey, and they were scarce the past couple of springs, but sometimes they do.

Fewer flounder were biting in the Shark River this week than on the opening day of the season on Sunday, but the flatties were caught every day, said Mike from <b>Fisherman’s Den</b>. The water was cold, but he thinks any slower fishing is more likely because of the late opening of the season and fike netters. Maybe 5 or 10 years ago, flounder anglers would grab bite after bite, no matter how many were keepers. But now bites seemed to average maybe 10 a trip. The problem with the late opening is that the fish can have already spawned and headed out the inlet to the ocean, and the problem with the fike nets is that the nets were catching the fish all winter, 24 hours a day, hogging the resource. But customers were sailing on the shop’s rental boats, fishing the river for flounder daily, and anglers on the docks were also catching. Local surf fishers were beaching a few small striped bass, sometimes on clams, sometimes on worms. Sandworms, bloodworms and clams are stocked. Fatheads and shiners will be stocked for the opening day of trout season in two Saturdays. When the weather allowed the party boats to sail, they were coming back with ling and blackfish.

<b>Brielle</b>

UPDATE, 3/31: The number of winter flounder that were biting locally kind of depended on who was asked, said Dave from the <b>The Reel Seat</b>. Some anglers bagged two or three and others limited out. Those who knew where to fish and didn’t hold back on bringing plenty of chum scored more. Most of the flatbacks seemed to be hooked in northern Barnegat Bay toward the Mantoloking Bridge and the Point Pleasant Canal. Nothing fantastic was heard about flounder fishing in the Manasquan River, but Dave knew that at least some flounder were there, because every once in a while a seal would come up with a flounder. A few anglers saw small striped bass swimming in the bay at Mantoloking, and they caught none, but worms or rubber shads would probably work. Local surf fishing for stripers should begin in a couple of weeks or so. Dave in the past never tried the surf much before the last week of April, when he would plug small stripers. But surely anglers will begin to dunk clams and worms for the fish in the wash sooner. An offshore wreck-fishing trip on the party boat Jamaica reportedly loaded up on lots of big sea bass Saturday.  A fund-raising dinner for the <a href="http://www.ssfff.net" target="_blank"> Save the Summer Flounder Fishery Fund</a> will take place Friday, April 11, at the Crystal Point Yacht Club in Point Pleasant. Tickets are $75 and need to be purchased in advance, and time is running out, because the fund needs to let the club know the number of people by the end of the week, so purchase tickets now. Tickets can be purchased online on the SSFFF web site or through the mail at the address on the site. Or tickets can be purchased by calling The Reel Seat.

<b>Point Pleasant</b>

Bottom-fishing trips left port every day lately on the <b>Dauntless</b>, and catches were mostly improving, although yesterday’s bite was slower, Capt. Butch said. Mostly ling were reeled up, but a few blackfish were bagged, and sometimes cod continued to be hooked, when the boat fished deeper water, around 120 feet. Quite a number of tiny blackfish hit, and not too many keepers showed up. The bottom fish were moving closer to shore, and the boat targeted water as shallow as 70 feet. Fewer dog sharks, a nuisance by this time of the season, were stealing baits in the shallower depths. The water was 43 degrees, still chilly. The temps will have to rise to 48 degrees to hold mackerel, if the Bostons show up close enough to shore to target this spring. The Dauntless goes right after them if they do. That usually happens from the first weekend in May to the second week of the month. But macks were scarce in these waters the past two springs, and if the water warms too quickly, they seem to pass the coast too far out, and then anglers will only see bluefish that come through right after the mackerel, the first major migration in spring. The Dauntless is bottom fishing 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. every day.

Three anglers jumped aboard a shared charter for flounder fishing on northern Barnegat Bay in 46-degree water on the <b>Angela Rose</b> two days ago or on Tuesday, an e-mail from the crew said. Incoming tide produced a few flatties, but a small flurry of bites took off when the tide almost reached high. By the end of the day, 12 flatbacks were bagged. The fish were lethargic and not biting aggressively. One of the anglers tied for second place in the boat’s monthly pool with a 1.7-pounder. If he holds his position, he’ll win quite a prize: a free Happy Hour trip, 12 free spots on shared charters next year, a $100 gift certificate to Fisherman’s Supply in Point Pleasant and free Angela Rose apparel. Wow. UPDATE, 3/31: Three trips chased winter flounder from Thursday through Saturday, an e-mail from the Angela Rose crew said. On Thursday the charter started late at 12:30 p.m., and the crew had one location in mind, anchored up there and chummed heavily. The anglers landed three keepers right away, and then things slowed about an hour. But with an adjustment of the anchor line, the crew got the bite going again, and the three anglers went home with 12 keepers and released a couple of shorts. On a shared charter on Friday the boat headed right back to the same spot. Flounder started hitting right away, and the anglers were clearly on a honey hole, because nearby boaters only managed a few fish. But on the Angela Rose the anglers were into a steady pick all day, and consistent pounding of a sash and the boat’s “magic” homemade chum was a key to keeping the fish under the vessel, and 33 keepers were grabbed. One of the anglers made Angela Rose’s top-five flounder so far this season with a 1.12-pounder. On a charter Saturday the Angela Rose team thought the bite would be wide open, but didn’t turn out that way, though the day was saved by the end. The fishing was tough in solid 15-knot winds from the north/northwest, and the tide was a bit funny, and the water was cooler than on the previous day. Two fish were landed quickly, but then nothing touched the baits for almost 5 hours. A few location changes were made, and another two flatties were drummed up. With 10 minutes left before quitting time, one more drop was made, and bam bam bam, three flounder were landed. The charter stayed some extra time, and eight more keepers were hooked at that spot, for a total of 15 keepers and three released shorts for the day. One of the anglers moved into second place in the monthly pool with a 1.13-pound flatback.  

<b>Reel Class Charters</b> will begin fishing in two Sundays or on April 6, Capt. Allen said. Winter flounder trips will kick off the season, fishing the migration from northern Barnegat Bay to the Manasquan River to the ocean. But Allen will also run up to the Cedars in the ocean off Sandy Hook or down to southern Barnegat Bay if necessary. Trips were already pretty booked up, but some openings were available during the last week of April. May was fairly full, and June was beginning to fill, but summer was more open at this point. Striped bass and fluke charters will follow as the weather warms, including the annual Fluke Till You Puke Marathons, open-boat trips that will probably run 8 hours on Wednesdays.

Offshore canyon fishing for sea bass and tilefish will be first up for <b>Andrea’s Toy Charters</b> this season, and will begin with open-boat trips any day, Capt. Fred said. If interested, give him a call, and he’ll keep you informed about potential dates. He also expects to test the waters in northern Barnegat Bay for winter flounder on crew trips soon. Some of the flatbacks were already biting there and in Raritan Bay. During the last week of April the boat will move to Keyport on Raritan Bay to target striped bass during the spring run, before returning to Point Pleasant afterward.

Waters seemed somewhat cold for winter flounder fishing in Barnegat Bay, but the fish were bagged, and the top of tides seemed best, said Rob Sr. from <b>Gates Bait & Tackle</b>. Surf casters were scarce locally, but sharpies fishing farther north at Long Branch saw bunker schooling. Although none of the baitfish were reported seen closer to the shop, anglers on one of the Point Pleasant party boats said whales were seen close to shore, so bait must’ve been around. A couple of Rob’s buddies were catching plenty of striped bass farther south at the Oyster Creek power plant discharge at Forked River, casting Yozuri plugs and rubber shads, lots of action. They also picked up scattered flounder. Clams, sandworms and bloodworms are stocked, and so are mussels when available. Salted clams are carried, and so is frozen squid for party boat anglers. The doors are usually open 6 a.m. to 2 p.m., though the shop was closing early today because of overcast, cool weather and coming rains that seemed to keep anglers away. The hours will probably be extended until 6 p.m. toward the end of the month. The Gates Motel, located on the grounds, is open full time and is especially popular with anglers, who stay the night before or after party boat trips or simply make a fishing vacation out of a visit. The tackle shop and hotel are located within walking distance of Manasquan Inlet, the party and charter boat fleet and the surf.

<b>Toms River</b>

Winter flounder were pulled up from the Toms River at Island Heights at the Yacht Club and Pavilion docks, usually onesies or twosies, but an angler Tuesday nailed six, and another this week scored five, said Dennis from <b>Murphy’s Hook House</b>. Jeff from the shop reeled in one on a trip. Dennis expects the bite there to last another week, and the fish were already spawned out, meaning they’ll start swimming to the bay and eventually the ocean. White perch and striped bass were also sometimes reeled in from the river, and probably 10 of the stripers caught were heard about in the past week. Most were small or 18 inches, but one 28-inch keeper was taken. Boaters flounder fishing Barnegat Bay off the Water’s Edge Restaurant, on the south side of Goodluck Point, were also catching. Anglers needed to let the chum work there, and often gave up too soon. The chum might take 1 hour or 1 ½ hours to draw the fish. The bay around the Pelican Island Bridge also put out flatbacks, and one customer bagged five. Stripers, small and especially fat ones, 12- to 18-inchers, also bit in those waters. Bunker were schooling the bay and also popping up in the Toms River, and that’s what was attracting the stripers. A number of flounder anglers weighed in fish after trips to northern Barnegat Bay near the Mantoloking Bridge. They included Dave Slowinski, who along with buddies bailed six to eight flatties to 1.81 pounds apiece two days ago or on Tuesday. On the same day Cliff Harbor weighed in a 2.38 flatback that came from near the bridge. One of those trips fished the beginning of outgoing tide, and the other fished the end of outgoing. Chris Bala also fished there Sunday and checked in two flatties 1.54 pounds and 1.44 pounds, his two biggest that day. A handful of customers were fishing the surf, soaking clams for stripers, but nobody reported a catch yet. One angler stopped back after a trip yesterday and caught none and saw nobody else catch any.

<b>Seaside</b>

Practically nobody was fishing the surf yet, but a few diehards were catching and releasing shorts in the Island Beach State Park wash, the report on <b>Betty and Nick’s Bait & Tackle</b>’s web site said. If anglers start showing up on the beach next week, more stripers should be caught. The surf yesterday was 44 degrees, 1 to 3 feet and clean. <a href=" http://www.bettyandnicks.com/fish.shtml" target="_blank"> Click here</a> for the latest.

Surf anglers were scarce so far, but one of staff from <b>Grumpy’s Tackle</b> stopped by one of the hot spots in the bay one night this week and saw striped bass caught on Storm shads on a perfect tide and flat water, the report on the shop’s web site said.  <a href="http://www.grumpystackle.com/fishingreports/" target="_blank"> Click here</a> for updates.  

<b>Waretown</b>

Striped bass catches seemed to keep pace—no let up—at the Oyster Creek power plant outflow, said Dale from <b>L&H Woods & Water</b>. The mouth of the outflow produced, and bloodworms or sandworms, both in stock, were best bets. Stripers and spearing were schooling along the shore of Barnegat Bay toward the outflow at night, and crowds of anglers seemed to scare the stripers away. But when the fish appeared, plenty seemed to hit small plugs. But one angler found them busting on spearing at 10:30 p.m. when other anglers had left, and couldn’t get a bite. Winter flounder fishing was so-so, and the bay off the outflow seemed best. No customers said they limited out, and five, six or seven keepers seemed more common. Sounded like a half-dozen boats fished there today and got into a slow pick, and yesterday was better. Jeff Evans fished there Sunday and came back with a 2.7-pound flattie that he weighed in. Outgoing tides seemed best, and chumming heavily with clams and fishing with bloodworms was the ticket. Dale fished the waters through an entire incoming and hooked nothing until after the change. A few customers tried surf fishing, but nobody reported catches. Clams should be the way to draw a bite from a surf striper. Bloodworms and sandworms are stocked. So are 5-pound bags of frozen clams, not salted. Quarts and pints of clams are also carried. Trout season opens in two Saturdays on April 5, and L&H’s store in Wall Township will hold an annual event for children to fish that shop’s stocked trout pond that day. Ages 5 to 11 accompanied by an adult can toss a line to hook up. Some 5-pounders are usually stocked for the day, and children who land the big ones usually receive a prize or certificate or something.

<b>Barnegat Light</b>

Long Beach Island surf casters started landing a few schoolie striped bass, said Nick from <b>Barnegat Light Bait & Tackle</b>. Regular customers “Fred and Pete” were clamming the fish in the Barnegat Light suds. Stripers were pouncing in Barnegat Bay off Oyster Creek, more on worms than artificials. One angler drifted a bloodworm in the bay behind the Dike and scored a bass. Plenty of flounder came up from the bay off Oyster Creek, and they also swam the bottom around the bridge to the island and nearby in the bay off Surf City and Ship Bottom. Bunker were seen in Barnegat Bay, and Nick heard about no herring there, but herring started to be found in the Great Egg Harbor River at Mays Landing. Fresh clams, bloodworms, sandworms and chum are stocked, and the store is open about 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Nick and his business partner will try to open their other shop, Oceanside Bait & Tackle on southern LBI at Brighton Beach, next week.

<b>Mystic Island</b>

Finally. The season’s first keeper striped bass from Great Bay was checked in yesterday at <b>Scott’s Bait & Tackle</b>, the second-latest time the first keeper was ever recorded at the shop, Scott said. Lenny Senkarik caught the 29-1/4-inch 9-pounder at Pebble Beach on a bloodworm and won the store’s annual prize of a $100 gift certificate for the year’s first keeper beached in that area, or from the shore of the bay toward the end of Radio Road. Graveling Point is the most popular fishing hole there. And guess what? Lenny also caught the first keeper when the first catch was latest: on March 29, 2005. Although this year’s first is great news, unfortunately the fishing was still slow. Lenny yesterday got one bite and landed the keeper. Another customer made the trip to the area 12 times so far and scored no bites. But he bought 10 more clams and wasn’t giving up. There was no explanation for the late start to the fishing, and water temps were right, 45 to 48 degrees lately. This area is usually one of the first in the state to give up stripers. Outgoing tides are usually best in the early season, because they bring warm water from the Mullica River and the creeks, instead of cold water from the ocean. Bloodworms are usually the best bait, easily digestible for the cold, lethargic fish. But clams also work, especially when the bite is on. Herring and eels will start to produce when warmer water perks up the stripers, and the herring migration gets going. Nobody was talking about trying to fish for white perch, but Scott figured that with April coming and temperatures creeping up, Collins Cove on the Mullica River will no longer be the best spot to hook the slabs. The whiteys gather in the cove in the cold weather to find warmer water, out of the current and shallower. But now the fish should start spreading out, including up the creeks like the Nacote. Live grass shrimp, the best bait for perch, are stocked. Nobody reported tog fishing, but green crabs are stocked for them. The supply of bloodworms and clams was in good shape. Nightcrawlers are carried for freshwater anglers, and Scott wasn’t asked whether minnows were on hand for freshwater, but they usually are. Meal worms will be supplied two or three days before the opening of trout season in two Saturdays.

<b>Absecon</b>

The third keeper striped bass of the year was seen at <b>Absecon Bay Sportsman Center</b>, Ray said. Alex Showell, the nephew of the shop’s owner, plugged the 12.05-pounder in the Mullica River on a black and silver Rebel. Ray thought the fish was taken on Sunday, if he remembered correctly. It was unclear whether Alex won the shop’s award for the third keeper, a $50 gift certificate, but the store’s two prizes for the first stripers over 20 and 30 pounds, a $100 gift certificate each, were yet to be won. Ray knew about no stripers caught in the bay near the shop so far this season. An occasional short was pulled from the Brigantine surf. Not many herring were showing up, and the migration should be thick by now. A commercial fisherman with 20 nets only caught three yesterday. Herring seemed to be getting scarce, for whatever reasons, and Ray was surprised that herring fishing wasn’t closed already, and it might be soon. Lots of locals were fishing for white perch and connecting in the usual rivers including the Egg Harbor, Mullica, Wading and Bass. Dunk bloodworms for a hit, and perch anglers were turning up a keeper striped bass once in a while. Fresh clams ran out of stock, but the shop is trying to get more. Bloodworms are on hand, and plenty of frozen bait is carried. Fresh herring will be available if the baitfish ever become abundant.

<b>Brigantine</b>

Surf casters were mostly waiting for striped bass to move through, but a handful of shorts and some skates were hooked off the Brigantine Hotel, said Jim from <b>Riptide Bait & Tackle</b>. Everybody was fishing clams, and fresh clams were arriving at the shop to be ready for the weekend. Bloodworms and frozen bait, including frozen herring, were already on hand. Anglers were keeping an eye out for baitfish like herring but saw none so far. The shop’s first keeper striper of the year was checked in and was landed on Delaware Bay at Fortescue, and the angler won a $200 gift card from the store for the achievement. A $300 gift card is up for grabs for the first keeper checked in from the Brigantine surf. Nothing was heard about striper fishing in the back bay, because few if anyone put a boat in the water yet. Riptide is the only place where anglers can enter the Fish for Life Striper Derby, benefitting the South Jersey Cancer Fund, and running till May 15. The $20 entry allows beach buggy access on 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 the island, so many anglers were entering just for the access. Entries are limited to 150 anglers, and 85 were signed up.

<b>Atlantic City</b>

A few tog, not that many, were hooked along the rocks, said Noel from <b>One Stop Bait & Tackle</b>. Stripers were plugged, clammed and wormed toward Harrahs Casino. Fresh clams and bloodworms are stocked. An occasional winter flounder was picked up from off the T-jetty. No herring schooled locally, but some reportedly trickled up the Mullica River.

Fishing was pretty much status quo, the same as last week, with a handful of striped bass clammed or bloodwormed from the surf, and some taken from Delaware Bay, said Jack from <b>Offshore Enterprises Bait & Tackle</b>. Clams and bloodworms are carried when available, and frozen baits were fully supplied. The shop’s rental boat, a 17-foot Angler with a 50-horsepower engine, should be available to fish the bay sometime next week.

<b>Longport</b>

“We’re bailing them,” Capt. Mike from the <b>Stray Cat</b> said at 8 a.m. today, minutes before this report was posted. He called from the water to say tog were flying over the rails already, on a trip fishing 8 miles offshore that left the dock an hour before. “We’ll limit by 9:30 a.m.,” he said.  The water was 41 degrees. Stray Cat sailed on no trips previously during the week, but an open-boat tog and mackerel trip was fishing today. These trips will continue through the weekend, and six spots were open tomorrow, and four were left Saturday, and space might be open Sunday, but Mike wasn’t asked about Sunday’s openings. The trips will fish the grounds about 10 to 15 miles offshore, and all outings are open-boat trips at this time of year. UPDATE, 3/31: Stray Cat slipped in another tog trip yesterday, and seas reached 4 to 6 feet in winds, but the bite was okay, halfway decent, Mike said. A couple of respectable-sized slipperies came up, and everybody went home with fillets. The fish managed to be found in 70 feet on three pieces that were tried through the day. The blackfish are chewing well for this time of year, probably 10 days ahead of schedule compared with usual. Open-boat trips will target tog 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily through Friday, and if the weather is too rough to fish the ocean, the trips will fish the bay instead, setting up at Ship’s Channel for winter flounder, or maybe poking around for striped bass, so that anglers like those who took off work can still fish. On Saturday a special, open-boat, offshore trip will run for sea bass 30 miles off the coast in 140 or 160 feet. The humpbacks probably moved closer to shore than before.

<b>Ocean City</b>

Delaware Bay put out a few striped bass, mostly on surface plugs in 12-foot shallows, and a handful of stripers were supposedly beached along the south end of Ocean City on bloodworms and clams, but fishing was yet to really kick off, said Dan from <b>Fin-Atics</b>. Herring were seen schooling off Townsend’s Inlet. Nobody mentioned bottom fishing, and the weather was often rough for boating to the grounds. Bloodworms and frozen clams are stocked. Fin-Atics is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sundays.

<b>Sea Isle City</b>

The season’s first trips will get underway on the <b>Captain Robbins</b> on Saturday, sailing for tog, Capt. John, the boat’s owner, said. Capt. Mike Weigel will once again take the helm, on trips that will sail 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily, when the weather allows and enough anglers want to go. Anglers can call about availability. Crabs and clams will be supplied for bait.

Capt. Joe Hughes from <b>Jersey Cape Guide Service</b> and <b>Gibson’s Tackle</b> expects to catch striped bass in the back bay this weekend, he said. He’s already connected with the fish this season, and the best tides, high outgoing, take place in the middle of the day this weekend, and those conditions are prime for the warmest water, if the weather’s decent. Warm water is a key in the chill of early spring. Joe throws flies like Clousers or soft plastic lures like Bass Assassins to the fish at creek mouths that drain the warm, shallow flats. He quarters the flies or lures across the current, working them as they swing across. The artificials land more strikes than bait, especially because lure fishing by nature is a matter of casting and searching, instead of stationary bait fishing. But bait like clams and bloodworms will also draw attention, including from bigger fish. But for better action, artificials produce. Joe fished the Florida Keys last weekend, but on the previous weekend he hammered six stripers, half on flies and half on soft plastics, on one trip in the bay behind Sea Isle. The fish were feisty, active and feeding, and his season, including charters, was under way. Early spring offers some of the best fishing for the stripers on these flies and lures, also a great opportunity to shake off cabin fever and reel in your first striper of the year. In other news, Joe was looking at a satellite chart of offshore waters and saw a shot of warm seas off the area from Lindenkohl Canyon to Baltimore Canyon. It was attached to the Gulf Stream, and that usually means tuna are there. The boat that Joe runs offshore in the warm months was in Florida after spending the winter there, but if it were here, Joe would be considering making the trip offshore, despite the early season. Last year he spotted warm water there early in the year in May, pointed the bow east, and found loads of bluefin tuna. More than 25 bluefins to 90 pounds were hooked, and Joe and a friend only fished three rods, because that’s all that could handle the melee. The waters out there now included about a 20-degree temperature break, about 45 degrees to 67 degrees, incredible fish-holding potential.  

<b>Cape May</b>

Striped bass were biting near Cape May, and Capt. Tom from the <b>Fishin’ Fever</b> knew about trips on boats that hooked scores of the bass, mostly shorts and a few keepers, probably in the shallows of Delaware Bay, he said. The Fishin’ Fever’s charters will start sailing April 12, clamming for stripers and black drum in the bay. The stripers might still be swimming the shallow flats by then, but they start to push to deeper water in the bay as the season progresses. When they do go deeper, that’s when drum will also begin to be found. Drum usually start biting by mid April, but the peak fishing, when the big ones come in, usually takes off around the first full moon of May and can keep cranking through the next moon. In late May charters on the boat will get another shot at big stripers that are pouring into the bay out of the Delaware River after spawning up the river. This can be one of the best chances to land especially big trophies. In the first or second week of June the boat moves to Brigantine to start fishing offshore for sharks and tuna. Bluefin tuna might be the first up to bat, but if yellowfins come in, they’ll be an option, too. Tom was actually already seeing a shot of warm water, Gulf Stream water that likely held tuna, off the area around Baltimore Canyon past 100 fathoms this week. The boat was being prepped for the season, but he wished it was ready, so he could take a shot at the blue-water big game.  

<b>Jim’s Bait & Tackle</b> will open for the season Saturday, Matt said. Afterward the hours will depend on the weather, and not a lot of fishing was going on yet. He heard about a few striped bass clammed at 20-Foot Slough in Delaware Bay, but no red-hot action yet. The best fishing seemed to be for small stripers that bit along the sod banks of the back bay on clams and strips of herring. Matt also heard a few reports about winter flounder hooked in the back bay at places like Sunset Lake. But the shop’s been closed, so not a lot of news was known. Some of the party boats were starting to fish for tog in the ocean this weekend. Surf clams and bloodworms will be stocked at the store.

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