The N.J. Marine Fisheries Council is meeting at 5 p.m. to set 2021 regulations for summer flounder and cobia.

The only issue on fluke, as noted in recent blogs, involves the season — with South Jersey wanting to open as early as possible while northern anglers prefer to hold off in order to get in some late summer fishing that also provides a slightly greater number of fishing days. I’ll have the results tomorrow.

Small craft warnings are up through Friday afternoon. Unfortunately. the weekend forecast has changed and the northwest wind will not drop down until Saturday night — though Sunday and Monday still look good. The morning forecast is for northwest at 20-25 knots with gusts to 30.

It’s windy now, but west winds should result in a calm ocean as northwest winds drop to the 10-15-knot range over the weekend.

The Ocean Explorer from Belmar is holding off making its first cod trip as the marine forecast for tomorrow is northwest at 15-20 knots with gusts to 30 before increasing to 20-25 plus gusts to 30 later in the day.

In addition to the big striper caught in the back bay yesterday, the Tackle Box in Hazlet also had word of a few shorts in the same area. The cold winter should delay a striper run in theory, but big bass were caught in Raritan Bay by the third week in March last year — and you never know!

Chuck Many wasn’t in N.J. for the March 1 internal waters opener, but while visiting his daughter at Georgia Tech he fished in Lake Lanier to get his striper season started.

Most years it takes some time in March before even short stripers start hitting baits cast from back bays after the internal waters season opens on March 1, but yesterday the first striper from the back bay was a beauty! The Tackle Box in Hazlet reports that Tommy Karindrakas released a bass of about 20 pounds on a blood worm ball soaked in Fin Essence

The marine forecast is for southwest winds at 15-20 knots with gusts to 30 before dropping in the afternoon to 10-15 with gusts to 25 knots,

The ocean was fishable Sunday, and most of the rain held off as anglers on the Ocean Explorer from Belmar closed the blackfish season in hopes of overturning the seasonal pool leaders though none over 6 pounds were caught along with a few cod, pollack and ling (see below). That boat will shift over to the latter species on the next fishable day — perhaps Wednesday or Thursday.

Not only does the internal waters striper season open today in N.J. but also the winter flounder season with a limit of two at a 12-inch minimum. It’s mostly a shore thing now, but Bob Matthews may have a rental skiff or two available at Fisherman’s Den in Belmar Marina.

The marine forecast includes a gale warning through Tuesday. The morning forecast is for northwest winds at 25-30 knots with gusts to 35 plus the possibility of light freezing spray early.

Though ocean waters are open all year for N.J. striped bass, there is a closure in internal waters which ends on March 1. Don’t expect any great fishing in very cold waters, but some anglers will be trying with worms or very small lures.

A gale warning will be going up for Monday evening through Tuesday. The morning forecast is west at 5-10 knots with showers before increasing to northwest 15-20 with gusts to 25 knots, Gusts to 40 knots arrive tomorrow night.

NMFS has announced that the General category giant bluefin tuna season will close at 11:30 tonight since the quota from January through March has been taken. The season will reopen on June 1 with a daily quota of one per boat.

The Ocean Explorer from Belmar enjoyed a fine day on a flat calm ocean with mild temperatures yesterday. They hope to get out for a last day of blackfishing on Sunday. Though there were lots of bites on bottom, blackfish were scarce yesterday. A few cod and ling were boated. That boat will be sailing for cod throughout March.

A small craft advisory is up today for south winds gusting to 30 knots, but the morning corecast is for only northeast 5-10 knots before increasing to southeast 10-15 late in the morning. Rain is also in the forecast.

Chuck Many made a quick trip to Florida to visit family — and also enjoyed releasing red drum.

The N.Y. DEC has issued the folowing all for assistance:

Volunteer for DEC’s Striped Bass Cooperative Anglers Program

DEC is seeking participants to join the Striped Bass Cooperative Anglers Program to help biologists understand and maintain a healthy striped bass population. The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) requires New York State to provide catch information from its recreational fishery to manage this species. Volunteer anglers play a crucial role in helping DEC satisfy this requirement, and all anglers who fish for striped bass are invited to participate.

Anglers who fish for striped bass in New York’s marine waters south of the George Washington Bridge should contact the Diadromous Fish Unit at sbcaprogram@dec.ny.gov or visit DEC’s Striped Bass Cooperative Anglers Program webpage. In marine waters, the recreational slot limit is 28 – 35 inches (not less than 28 inches nor greater than 35 inches) and the season is open April 15 through Dec. 15.

Anglers who fish for striped bass north of the George Washington Bridge in the tidal Hudson River should email hudsonangler@dec.ny.gov or visit DEC’s Hudson River Striped Bass webpage to learn more about the Hudson River Cooperative Anglers Program. In the tidal Hudson River, the recreational slot limit is 18 to 28 inches (not less than 18 inches nor greater than 28 inches) and the season is open April 1 through Nov. 30.

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If you don;t mind rain, Saturday may be fishable. There’s a 90% chance of rain in the marine forecast, but the wind will only be 10-15 knots southeast before going southwest in the afternoon.The Sunday forecast is for northeast winds at a mere 5-10 knots with an 80% chance of rain.

The Paramount from Brielle postponed tonight’s far offshore wreck trip to Saturday at 11 p.m. A few spots may be open. Call 732 528-2117 for reservations.

With a calm ocean from west winds and a forecast of sunny weather with temperatures up to the low 40s, Friday appears to be as nice a day to fish offshore as can be expected in mid-winter.

Bottom fishing in NY/NJ Bight at this time of year is often poor due to very cold bottom water from snow melt flowing out of the rivers, but that wasn’t the case yesterday when the Ocean Explorer sailed from Belmar. Though the catch wasn’t too impressive, they reported lots of bites on bottom even though most were from bergalls.

They did catch 7 or 8 keeper blackfish plud some shorts, a few ling and a small cod. As a result, they will be sailing again on Friday. The wind forecast is northwest at 5-10 knots before going to soitheast in the afternoon.

Unfortunately, rain arrives tomorrow night and is forecast for Saturday.

Paul Haertel of the JCAA reminds NJ anglers that comments on the proposed fluke season (as noted in my blog), have to be in by noon tomorrow. His comments follow:

“The New Jersey Marine Fisheries Administration is accepting comments for the 2021 Recreational Summer Flounder Season. All minimum size and possession limit regulations will remain unchanged, including the Island Beach State Park and Delaware Bay special management areas. The possible options are as follows:Option 1) May 22nd – September 19th 121 days (the same as last year)Option 2) May 28th – September 28th 124 daysNo other options are available for our 2021 fluke season. Please include the following in your comments:1. Your preferred option (1 or 2)2. The state or county you fish in or from3. Describe the type of angler or general public category that best fits you (shore angler, private boat, party boat, charter boat owner/captain, or other type of fishing industryPlease make sure to include “2021 Summer Flounder Options” in the subject line when providingcomments to the following email address: NJmarineFishPublicComment@dep.nj.govThe comment period will close on February 26, 2021 at 12:00 PM. Comments need to be received prior to that time to be included in this management decision at the March 4th, 2021 Marine Fisheries Council Meeting. When available the webinar information will be posted at https://www.state.nj.us/dep/fgw/mcnclmtg.htmThe Jersey Coast Anglers Association encourages all those who wish to comment to do so via email and/or during the public comment period during the meeting. We also realize that some people have different opinions and we respect that as well. We know that some back bay fishermen and others prefer the early season. Those who favor the early season believe that fluke bite better in their areas during May, they are anxious to get the season started and pointed out that there are often storms during September that ruin the fishing.However, that being said JCAA member clubs strongly support Option 2 with later season for the following reasons:1. We need to close the gap between when fluke season ends and sea bass season begins. With an early season there will be an 18 day gap with little for the inshore and shore based anglers to fish for. With the later season this gap will be narrowed to just 9 days.2. In the spring there are plenty of other fish to fish for. Sea bass season opens on May 15th and good sized striped bass, bluefish and black drum are available as well as a smattering of weakfish.3. The water in the ocean and even the bay is too cold for fluke to bite in May.4. Tackle stores, marinas and other businesses will suffer during the fall since other than being able to keep one blackfish there is not much to fish for unless you run offshore.5. With the later season we will have the opportunity to fish 124 days as opposed to 121 days with the earlier season. This could at least give us a little buffer if the ASFMC/MAFMC forces us to cut back again.6. Many fishermen like to target large and even trophy sized fluke as they migrate offshore and feed heavily stopping at reefs and wrecks along the way. There is a good chance of catching a true doormat during this time of the year.7. Most surf fishermen prefer to fish for fluke during the fall as their best opportunity to catch keeper fluke is during the mullet run.8. Polls were conducted on various Facebook fluke fishing group and with over a thousand responses people favored the later season by a margin of more than two to one. Even the Back Bay Anglers group favored the later season by a margin of 30-18.9. After losing most of our fall season in 2017 we were able to extend it again in 2018. At that time, we agreed to begin the season on the Friday before Memorial Day (5/25) and ended it on 9/22. In 2019 we lost a day at the tail end of the season which ran from 5/24-9/21. Then in 2020 we lost two more days at the end of the season which ran from 5/22-9/19. It seemed that the Friday before Memorial Day had become our traditional opening day and we would like to keep it that way. It’s time for the pendulum to swing the other way and have a later season. Next year and for the next few years Memorial Day will come earlier again so we can start the season earlier then. To reiterate, we now have an opportunity to close the gap until sea bass season begins from 18 day to just 9 days. Let’s do it!”

As noted in last night’s blog, the only option NJ anglers have on fluke is the season. hat comes up every year as the southern portion of the state would like to open in Apil when fluke are already available to them while those to the north don’t do well in still cool waters and have striped bass to fish for. There is also much better fluking toward fall in the north, and that’s when surfcasters do best with them. Some feel there should be a dividing line at Barnegat Inlet so both sides could be satisfied.

Hagemann released this big black grouper from Big Game Sportfishing in Marathon

The New Jersey Marine Fisheries Administration is accepting comments for the 2021 Recreational NJ Summer Flounder Season. All minimum size and possession limit regulations will remain unchanged, including the Island Beach State Park and Delaware Bay special management areas. The possible options are open seasons from:May 22 – September 19 (the same as 2020), or May 28 – September 28. No other options are available for the 2021 Recreational NJ Summer Flounder Season.Please include in your written comments the following:Your preferred option (1 or 2)The state and county you fish in or from. Describe the type of angler or general public category that best describes you (shore angler, private boat, party boat owner/captain, fishing industry, other).Submit comments to: : NJMarineFishPublicComment@dep.nj.gov. THIS IS THE ONLY E-MAIL ADDRESS TO USE TO SUBMIT COMMENTS. Please make sure to have “2021 NJ Summer Flounder Options” as the Subject.The comment period will close on February 26, 2021 at 12:00 p.m. Comments will need to be received prior to that time to be included in this management decision at the March 4, 2021 Marine Fisheries Council meeting. When available, webinar information for this meeting will be found on the meeting schedule page.

There may be a window of fishing opportunity tomorrow, and the Ocean Explorer from Belmar will be sailing for blackfish.

The forecast starts with southwest winds at 10-15 knots before increasing to south 20-25 with gusts to 30.