Today’s blog was misleading as the regulations are the same but DEP Commissioner Catherine McCabe was referring to catch-and-release trout fishing, being open in designated areas rather than the complete opener on April 11.

Northeast winds are back with us tomorrow — along with rain.

The morning forecast is for northeast at 15-20 knots, before dropping to east at 10-15 in the afternoon.

There isn’t much fishing being done at present due to worries about the pandemic, but Nick Honachefsky of Saltwater Underground reports that he fished Saturday with Kenny and Andy Dubman as they caught 25 stripers by casting shad lures in Raritan Bay. Nick has also been catching school bass from 22 to 27 inches by casting bloodworms from Bay Shore beaches.

Capt. Vinny Vetere got started with his Katfish from Great Kills on a warm day last week by taking the one person he knew that surely presented no virus threat – his wife. She broke the ice for hopefully better days ahead.

The Hudson River Fisherman’s Association has a striped bass release tournament starting at 7 a.m. April 17 and running to 12 p.m. May 15. It will be contested strictly in the Hudson River and adjacent waters such as the East River — but not in Raritan Bay and ocean waters. There are both catch, photo and release — and catch, photo, tag and release divisions.  For info call Joe Albanese at 908 456-2968.

East winds are gusting to 25 knots tonight, but it looks better by Sunday afternoon.

The morning forecast is for east at 15-20 knots before dropping to 10-15 in the afternoon. There will likely be some rain, drizzle and fog during the day.

While large stripers are the attraction in Raritan Bay, there’s been a showing of small bass for shore fishermen further south. Jerry Lasko and Maren Toleno fished an Ocean County beach this morning, and caught a few on paddeltails — though they were only 12 to 14 inches.

Though you can’t prove it by me, there are some small bass in Point Pleasant Canal. I saw an angler release one this morning, and he said he also caught another. I cast a Tsunami shad for about an hour during a moderate outgoing tide without a bump.

Below is the 18-inch blackfish released in the canal this week by Bill Hoblitzell after it hit a worm intended for flounder.

With seemingly nothing but bad news being thrown at us every day, it’s nice to be able to savor some inspiration from fellow anglers about our favorite sport.

The Angler’s Book of Favorite Fishing Quotations is a small format hard cover from Hatherleigh Press that’s distributed by Penguin Random House.

The 104 pages each contain thoughts about fishing by well-known authors, fishermen and commentators — such as Mark Twain who advised “Don’t tell fish stories where the people know you; but particularly, don’t tell them where they know the fish.”

Even presidents had their feelings  about fishing, with Herbert Hoover noting that “Fishing is much more than fish. It is the great occasion when we may return to the fine simplicity of our forefathers.”

Comedians also had their say, such as George Carlin who observed “Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach him how to fish and he will sit in a boat and drink beer all day.”

I was pleased to see quotes from some departed friends I  fished with over the years such as Charley Waterman, Lefty Kreh and Lee Wulff. One of Lee’s quotes was one that the Izaak Walton of our time was most associated with — “Gamefish are too valuable to be caught only once”.

It’s unfortunate that a few pages weren’t added to identify the authors which were almost all familiar to me, but might not be to others. It will make a good gift for anglers who aren’t “readers”, as they can read portions at any time — but will probably not be able to put the book down once started.

There was a lot more east wind today, and small craft warnings continue into tomorrow afternoon. The morning starts with north winds at 15-20 knots and 4-6-foot seas before dropping to 5-10 knots in the afternoon.