After a Saturday trip only produced fish spotted on the surface that wouldn’t hit, the Golden Eagle from Belmar got into some keeper stripers plus shorts and some bluefish today which might set up good action in favorable conditions this week. See photo below.

Small craft warnings are up through Monday afternoon, but the direction is favorable with northwest at 10-15 knots plus gusts to 20, diminishing to 5-10 in the afternoon.

There wasn’t such good news from Raritan Bay today as Capt. Ron Santee Jr. of the Fishermen at Atlantic Highlands said striper fishing was a struggle despite perfect wind and current conditions until there were some short stripers plus a big black drum at the end of the day. As a result, he’s taking a day off before sailing again on Tuesday.

Scott Leadbeater had better news from Saturday morning’s trolling at the mouth of the bay with his Aquasport from Atlantic Highlands. It was cold, damp and drizzly, but trolling slowly with mo-jos produced a decent pick of mostly 30-34-inchers despite the big fleet.

There have been some better surf reports. Greg Tirpak got into some short stripers yesterday morning at Mantoloking on aYo-Zuri pencil popper and teaser. Betty & Nick’s Tackle in Seaside Park reported two bass to 43 inches by George Ford this morning while fishing clams;

Though most northern anglers probably dream of catching a billfish, relatively few ever do so unless they arrange a trip to Florida for the relatively abundant Atlantic sailfish. Yet, there are even many Florida fishermen who also haven’t caught a sailfish because that effort usually involves specialized techniques such as kite fishing. Relatively few sails are caught by accident, but that just adds to the thrill.

When my son-in-law Luis Gonzalez and I joined Bob Correll of Bay Head on his Sea Vee 32 from his new home in Hutchinson Island this morning our goal was a large snapper or grouper from some hard bottom nine miles off St; Lucie Inlet. We had no problem loading up with threadfin herring on Sabiki rigs for a shot at pelagic species before heading offshore, and also had squid to tempt bottom fish.

I worked had to get through small fish for a tasty snapper, but the only fish I hooked that fought like the target was cut off halfway up. The same thing happened when Bob and Luis fought lengthy battles before being bitten off by unseen toothy critters. However, as Bob was bringing in a chopped off amberjack head he spotted a fish chasing the bait on Luis’ line – and that hook-up resulted in a small sailfish tearing up the surface to break our losing streak with a release. I was then surprised to hear Luis note that was his first sailfish despite years as a small boat fisherman from Jupiter to Miami. One of the greatest attractions of fishing is that you never know when the unexpected may produce a moment to remember forever.

At Atlantic Highlands, the Sea Hunter reported a pick of school stripers today, but won’t be sailing on Mothers Day due to a lack of reservations. The Fishermen also got into some striper action despite an ebb tide running into a southeast breeze. They were mostly shorts, but anglers caught up to three. Capt. Rin Santee thinks conditions will be good tomorrow and is sailing. The forecast is for west winds at 10-15 knots before going southwest in the afternoon with a chance of rain.

There was good surf news today from Jerry Lasko who got into stripers up to 27 inches on lures at an Ocean County beach. A few blues were mixed in.

Bob Misak of Betty & Nick’s Fishing Club released a 43-inch bass in that that area

Spring party boat striper reports have been generally poor so far, and thee were none from those fishing out of Jersey Shore reports. However, the Golden Eagle from Belmar did catch some short and keeper stripers today.

The Sea Hunter from Atlantic Highlands got into a pick of Raritan Bay short stripers today plus a 37.5-incher.

Saturday’s forecast is for east winds at just 5-10 knots plus showers.

Though it’s still not what it should be, Capt. Rob Semkewyc reported a better striper bite in Raritan Bay today on his Sea Hunter from Atlantic Highlands. There was a good start and finish that produced mostly 24 to 26 inch stripers plus one keeper. He’ll be back at them the next two days, but Mothers Day is usually a tough Sunday for party boats. He’ll sail if at least 10 anglers confirm they’ll be coming, so be sure to call in advance,

John Bushell is getting more reports of school stripers being caught on local beaches near Betty & Nick’s Tackle in Seaside Park.

Allen Riley made his first trip to the Sandy Hook surf this week, but did nothing on fresh bunker and saw no signs of fish or bait.

Friday’s forecast is for northeast winds at just 5-10 knots before switching to east in the afternoon.

The Fisherman magazine reports the spring run of big porgies in Peconic Bay is well underway, but Tuesday’s N.Y. fluke opener only produced scattered keepers in most areas.

Quite in contrast to the usually aggressive spring bluefish arriving inshore this month, choppers in the ocean can be very frustrating — especially for party boat anglers who can’t get hits on the metal jigs they normally use. That seemed to be the case Tuesday on the Golden Eagle from Belmar which reported breaking blues and lots of bunkers, but few blues caught.

I experienced the same thing decades ago before finding a relatively simple solution. The problem seems to be that early blues aren’t actually feeding on the surface, but rather just enjoying the warmth of sun-warmed surface waters. They weren’t interested in following a jig into the cold depths. Even poppers didn’t always work on those lazy blues. Yet, by casting a small swimming plug such as a Mambo Minnow, Bomber, or Rebel just far enough beyond and ahead of a surfacing blue and reeling it right by its head the lure would invariably be hit. I hate to deal with the treble hooks. but the results were outstanding. This is a good time to use up any already beat-up plugs with rusty hooks!

Ironically, another good way I found for getting a few early season shark baits in the boat was to very slowly troll the areas blues were showing with small metal jigs that will ride just under the surface. If you catch a “racer” blue that’s long and very skinny, don’t bother bringing it to the fillet board as you’ll find that it has grayish meat and very little of it.

Thursday’s forecast is for northwest winds at 15-20 knots with gusts to 30 which drop to 15-20 in the afternoon.

There was both good and bad news from party boats today as ocean blues were spotted but didn’t want to bite, while the Raritan Bay stripers that haven’t been cooperating for party boats finally showed some interest in bait.

The Golden Eagle from Belmar reported seeing blues plus lots of bunkers, but couldn’t jig very many. On the other hand, they finally jigged a short striper and also had an Atlantic mackerel.

At Atlantic Highlands, there were few customers, but at least they had some striper action. Capt. Rob Semkewyc of the Sea Hunter had shots of action on both tides though there were no big bass. Capt. Ron Santee of the Fishermen said there were both shorts and keepers on bait after shads didn’t attract any interest. A 42-incher provided some real excitement.

The threat of showers tomorrow may result in some boats not sailing, so be sure to call before coming down. Southeast winds at 10-15 knots are predicted before a switch to west in the afternoon.

Nick Honachefsky recently celebrated his birthday with his first bluefish of the year.

Some Jersey Shore party boats haven’t even started sailing yet, and the ocean striper run is way overdue — but bluefishing is off to a good start. The Golden Eagle from Belmar had some limits of blues from 3 to 15 pounds on Sunday, and did the same thing today with the best jigging being early in the trip. Anthony Rocco posted this photo on Facebook of both shore anglers and boaters enjoying the bluefish run in Manasquan Inlet

There were no party boat striper reports from Raritan Bay — which is a bad sign..

West winds at 5-10 knots are predicted for the morning before a switch to south.

Capt. Rob Semkewyc saw some hope for the Raritan Bay striper bite on his Sea Hunter from Atlantic Highlands this morning as casting shads produced a legal striper plus a few shorts before trollers started working the area. A move to try bait fishing produced some shorts before it also went dead in the boat traffic. Semkewyc is looking forward to the morning for a fresh start without so much boat traffic.

The forecast is for south winds at 5-10 knots; with a possibility of showers or thunder storms in the afternoon.

Shore anglers have been taking advantage of bluefish blasts whenever they occur. Sarah Nadine caught these blues in the Seaside Park area.

Capt. Vinnie Vetere is ready to start chartering with his Katfish from Great Kills, but exploratory trips have revealed an influx of big bass into Raritan Bay which are a “no-brainer” for trolling. Vetere can be contacted at 917 693-8908

Party boats have been having a hard time getting hits from the many stripers they’ve been marking, but there were good reports of feeding schooliies in the bay before the winds got too strong.

The wind forecast kept most boaters in port today, but many will be itching to get out tomorrow with southwest winds down to 10-15 knots — though still with gusts to 25.

The west winds have been fine for surfcasters who have been picking away at mostly short stripers on clams while hoping to get into blasts of newly-arrived jumbo blues on poppers or any other lures cast to them. Bob Matthews, at Fisherman’s Den in Belmar Marina says those blues have also been coming into both Manasquan and Shark River inlets.

NOAA Fisheries is adjusting Atlantic bluefin tuna daily retention limits for recreational fishermen. The adjusted limits go into effect on May 2, 2021, and extend through December 31, 2021, unless modified by later action. What is changing?  Limit per Vessel per Day/Trip Adjusted Retention Limit per Vessel per Day/Trip Private vessels with a Highly Migratory Species (HMS Angling category permit 2 school bluefin tuna (27 to <47”) &1 large school/small medium (47 to <73”) Charter boats with an HMS Charter/Headboat permit fishing recreationally 3 school & 1 large school/small medium Headboats with an HMS Charter/Headboat permit fishing recreationally 6 school & 2 large school/small medium  Who is affected The changes apply to HMS Angling category permitted vessels and HMS Charter/Headboat permitted vessels when fishing recreationally. The daily retention limits are effective for all areas except for the Gulf of Mexico, where NOAA Fisheries does not allow targeted fishing for bluefin tuna. Anglers may still catch and release or tag and release bluefin tuna of all sizes, subject to the requirements of HM gale warning S catch-and-release and tag-and-release programs. All released bluefin tuna must be handled in a manner that will maximize survivability and without removing the fish from the water. Catch reporting Angling category and HMS Charter/Headboat permitted vessel owners are required to report the catch of all bluefin retained or discarded dead within 24 hours of landing or the end of each trip by:Accessing the HMS Permit Shop. Using the HMS Catch Reporting app. Calling 888-872-8862 (Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. until 4:30 p.m.). A gale warning is up through late tonight for west gusts to 45 knots. That’s fine for surfcasters, and will knock down the swell, but boaters will look forward to Sunday with northwest 15-20 knots dropping to 10-15 in the afternoon.