New Jersey lost one of its great fishermen on April 23 when Bob Lake of Brick passed over the bar at 78. Best known as a striper and doormat fluke pro on his Kimberly Anne out of Manasquan Inlet, he was also a fine offshore skipper with giant tuna to over 700 pounds to his credit along with shark tournament wins.

Lake was a member of the Greater Point Pleasant Party & Charter Boat Association as well as the Manasquan River Marlin & Tuna Club. As Jeff Merrill noted, Lake was happy to pass on his fishing expertise to anyone seeking it.

The Ocean Explorer from Belmar reported on Sunday’s bottom fishing as follows “What a beautiful day out there,flat calm warm and just perfect…Fishing was good to us as well..Had good life on the bottom all day long..Blackfishing was good at times with lots of shorts coming up,,Blackfish Bobby actually had his limit…Some just had shorts but the fish were chewing..In between that we had a good pick at ling as well…Lot of nice sea bass came up as well..Looking forward to opening day in a few weeks….Any way,,as for now we are in stand by mode,,I have coast guard inspection on Thurs. Will keep you updated.”

Light east winds continue with a forecast of 5-10 knots tomorrow.

Vinny D’Anton is finishing up his winter in Sarasota, Snook have been missing from his wading spots, but a boat trip today with a local guide produced lots of them plus redfish on live baits.

The Hook House sent a shot of a 40-inch striper released on clam bait at IBSP by Kevin Wistuba.

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