Raritan Bay stripers hitting — when conditions are right

I’m back with a new computer and will try to catch up this week.

Raritan Bay striper fishing is off to the expected fast start, but even with abundant bass there must be reasonable conditions for a good bite.

After enjoying a bite Saturday on the change of the tide, Capt. Ron Santee was looking for the same thing this morning with his Fishermen from Atlantic Highlands only to see that plan defeated as the wind came up hard against the current and it quickly got ugly. He’s taking Monday off, but will be back at Tuesday.

Dave Lilly reported that all he had to earlier in the week for steady releases was to troll Tony Maja mp-jos off Keyport. He was delighted with the Tony Maja MoJo rod which has a light tip that signals when the trolling speed is just right.

Chuck Many had great fishing slow trolling live eels down the beach from his Tyman out of Highlands last summer, but decided to try that technique in the bay this week. That produced a released 47-pound striper plus several others when he made the mistake of fishing too many lines by himself.

At Belmar, the Golden Eagle had close to a boat limit of stripers Saturday during an all-day bite. The Big Mohawk had a pick of blackfish up to 5 1/2 pounds Saturday along with some keeper cod and ling.

The marine forecast is for east winds at 10 knots.