Was cold, but when the boat could fish, blackfishing was decent, said Capt. Pete from Parker Pete’s Fishing Charters. It was decent during a trip Tuesday, and Pete spoke with people who fished for them on other vessels, and they reported quite decent catches of blackfish, including sizeable. He heard from nobody who tried for striped bass, so didn’t know if stripers were around. Don’t have enough anglers for a charter? Contact Parker Pete’s anyway for individual spaces available on charters. Or subscribe to Parker Pete’s e-mailed newsletter to be kept informed about the spaces. Look for the place to sign up on the right side of the page on the boat’s Web site.

Cold, wind and snow failed to prevent some surf anglers from fishing, Bob from Fisherman’s Den wrote in an e-mail. They were rewarded with multiple small striped bass beached. “The optimum word is small,” he said, but most of the anglers he spoke with didn’t mind, so long as the fish hit. The bass, feeding on sand eels, were spread out in Monmouth and Ocean counties. The fishing was hit or miss, or the stripers bit at Point Pleasant Beach one day, Bradley Beach another, and so on. “It’s been that kind of season,” he said. Many surf anglers stowed their tackle away for the season, hoping for better catches next year. On boats, blackfishing was good on the ocean. Dan Hawley bagged an 11-pound 12-ounce blackfish on the Laura Ann on green crab. Plenty of fishing was actually left. “Get in your last licks,” Bob said.