The new Salmon Strips from Fisherman’s Choice should be deadly on big fluke when that season arrives in the New Year, but in the meantime they’ve been proving effective on such other species as tilefish. As noted above they come from the creators of marinated Squid Strips, and are also soaked in FIN-ESSENCE..

Check them out with Phil Sciortino at the Tackle Box in Hazlet.

Jerry Lasko reports the Ocean County school striper bite in the surf continues. Maren Toleno and Jerry fished dawn and dusk for a good bite in a surf blown flat by the west winds. She released 16 and Jerry was close behind with 14.

The small craft advisory is coming down tonight, and it will only be northwest at 10-15 knots by morning along with gusts to 25. That should also be fine for blackfish. The Elaine B. II should be able to fish from Bahrs in Highlands, and the Big Mohawk from Belmar will sail open at 7 a.m.

The Paramount from Brielle has added offshore wreck sea bass trips at 9 p.m. on both !2/20 and 12/21. There’s a 30-man limit, and the cost is $195. Call 732 528-2117 for reservations.

The MAFMC has recognized the sad state of the bluefish fishery and imposed large catch reductions for 2020 — including just three bluefish for shore fishermen and private boaters while allowing those who fish aboard for-hire vessels to keep five.

Anglers have been protecting the bluefish stocks by releasing the vast majority of their catch ever since the Bluefish Management Plan was enacted. Yet, rather than “bank” all those releases, the Council and ASMFC kept transferring recreational quota to the commercial sector. Now the public will be paying the price for that abuse of the management system which didn’t provide for any such action. I’ll have more about this in future blogs.

Nick Honachefsky has come out with a book that should be of interest to all surfcasters or would-be surfcasters. An autographed copy of The Jersey Surf Diaries can be ordered for $19.95 at http://www.saltwaterunderground.com/shop.

Surfcasting for stripers continued today, though Jerry Lasko said it wasn’t up to yesterday’s great bite. There was a strong west wind which eliminated the white water on the bars which is best for that fishery. The bite was best at sawn and dusk, but poor during mid-day. Jerry released 16 bass, and Maren Toleno had 32.

Vinny D’Anton has seen the Belmar bite die down, but went south to Brick after the morning warmed up and managed to release 12 bass that ranged up to 25 inches.

Though there’s a gale warning up to 6 p.m. for northwest gusts to 40 knots, the forecast for the morning is down to 20-25 knots with gusts to 30.

The following e-mail from Jerry Lasko tells the story of Ocean County surfcasting today:

The oddest recent catch in the Ocean County N.J. surf was the semi-tropical spotted sea trout hooked by Jerry Lasko while casting for school stripers on Saturday. He said the southern relative of the weakfish was a 20-incher, and the first he’s caught in N.J. Actually there is often a showing of them at the end of summer in Cape May County waters. I heard of only one other  caught in Ocean County this fall even when Spanish mackerel were common. Ironically, Jerry may have caught more spotted sea trout this year than adult weakfish. The striper bite continued today. Jay Russell said he couldn’t get a hit at Sea Girt, but went to IBSP and caught 10 bass on a Tsunami Sand Eel.

Though east gusts to 25 knots are forecast tonight, the morning looks good with a forecast of 10-15 northeast before switching to north in the afternoon along with rain.

Scroll down for a press release on Mako Mania

Small striped bass are showing no signs of leaving the N.J. surf. Bob Matthews at Fisherman’s Den in Belmar Marina says the volume is greatest to the south in Ocean County and in Island Beach State Park, but there are also bass in local areas hitting slim lures such as the A17 diamond jig with green tail. He also noted that blackfishing remains good for boaters in the ocean.

Jerry Lasko reported the southwest wind shifted to west and provided good Ocean County striper action despite somewhat stained waters. Many of their fish were hooked in very skinny waters, but Maren Toleno released 53, Will Fredricks 28 and Jerry 18.

The Jamaica from Brielle has room for additional reservations on the trip sailing to far offshore wrecks at 11 p.m. The calming weather looks perfect for jumbo sea bass fishing out there tomorrow. Call 732 528-5014 for reservations.

The gale warnings for west winds to 35 knots go down tonight, and by morning the forecast is only northwest at 5-10 knots before going north in the afternoon with 2-4-foot seas. There is a chance of snow in the morning, and rain or snow in the afternoon.

The weather during our winter is always good in Panama, and you can count on fishing every day for a great variety of species ranging from roosterfish and cubera snappers up to black marlin. Capt. Mike Augat is almost sold out at Pesca Panama, but has a few dates left to fill in — and is offering $1,000 discounts for the following periods: Jan. 12-17; Jan. 19-24; Jan. 26-31; and Feb. 2-7. Call Augat at 716 868-4432.

The impressive teeth of the cubera snapper are tough on poppers, but their surface strikes are the most thrilling I’ve experienced — especially when they leap far out of the water to blast a plug.

A gale warning is up through Sunday evening for west winds gusting to 40 knots, but that should knock down the swells to set up fishing conditions for Monday.

Sunday’s forecast starts with west winds at 20-25 knots that increase to 40 knots during the day. However, by Monday morning the forecast is for northwest winds at just 5-10 knots. There is a chance of snow — and then likely rain and snow in the afternoon.

The Jamaica from Brielle canceled its Saturday night trip to far offshore wrecks, but has added another at 11 p.m. Sunday to fish for sea bass on Monday. Call 732 528-5014 for reservations. The Friday trip produced a boat limit of jumbo sea bass plus some porgies and bluefish. Peter Seabrooke from Kings Park, N.Y. won the pool with a 6.5-pound sea bass, followed by Sergio Costa of Farmingdale at 6.2 pounds.

The Big Mohawk from Belmar has dropped its Sunday blackfish reservation trip due to the weather, but will run another on Monday that has some spots open. Call 732 974-9606 for reservations.

Jerry Lasko reported the best volume surf day of the year as stripers responded to 4-5-foot southeast seas at 15 knots with clean water and a day-long bite. It was especially good at dawn before slowing until the tide started dropping and provided the white water on bars that bass desire. Maren Toleno had her third best day ever with 86 bass released, and Jerry managed 28.

Capt. Stan Zagleski got out blackfishing with his Elaine B. II from Bahrs in Highlands, but found the shallow waters weren’t productive in the southeast swell. He moved to deeper waters that produced a pick of mixed-size tog.  That boat sails daily at 7 a.m. weather permitting.

The 13.4-pound trophy tog I mentioned last night was actually boated on Elaine B. II on Nov. 30 — not last Saturday.

A small craft warning went up at 4 p.m.through Saturday afternoon. That will change to a gale watch from Saturday evening to Sunday. Southeast winds of 10-15 knots with 6-9-foot seas switch to southwest in the afternoon. Rain and fog are predicted in the morning.

Jerry Lasko reports that the Ocean County surf striper fishing was very good at dawn and dusk despite a tough north wind. It was slow during mid-day, but he ended up with 19 and Maren Toleno had 24 releases of the small bass.

Friday’s forecast is for southeast winds at just 10 knots, with a chance of rain in the afternoon.

The Elaine B. II from Bahrs in Highlands likes the Friday forecast, and will be sailing for blackfish at 7 a.m.  Capt. Stan Zagleski was still fishing in shallow waters on Saturday when Jim Anderson of Lake Hopatcong boated a 13.4-pound trophy tog.

The Jamaica from Brielle reports it doesn’t look good for the Saturday night offshore sea bass wreck trip, so they’ve added another for 11 p.m. Sunday. Though the Saturday trip hasn’t been canceled as yet, those booked for it can switch to the new date if they wish. Call 732 528-5014 for reservations.

Though there was still a swell running, the Island Beach State Park stripers responded to Tsunami Sand Eels all day. Jerry Lasko said they hit on both tides and only turned off at dead low.   He released 20 bass, and Maren Toleno did even better as usual with 43.

There’s a small craft warning up this evening, but the wind drops to north at 10-15 knots in the morning with gusts to 20. It switches to 10-15 northeast in the afternoon.

The Big Mohawk from Belmar has a reservation blackfish trip tomorrow at 6 a.m. followed by an open tog sailing Friday at 7 a.m.

The Jamaica from Brielle has room on tomorrow’s 11 p.m. sailing to the far offshore wrecks for jumbo sea bass. Call 732 528-5014 for reservations.

Alexandria Rothman cast a Deadly Dick to catch this colorful pargo at Zihuantenejo, Mexico while fishing with her father recently. Pargo is the Spanish name for the snapper family, which contains many species including the cubera I’m holding at the head of my blog. I’ve caught many of the pargo illustrated during trips to Panama, where they’re called rock snappers. Despite their relatively small mouth, I’ve caught them even on the big poppers cast for cuberas and roosterfish.

Capt. Vinny Vetere gave the Hudson River one last try last weekend with his Katfish from Great Kills. Though bunkers were available for live bait in the Hudson River, there was no sign of stripers and he took the boat out of the water as he doesn’t fish for the small bass. Ironically, the last bass over 15 pounds caught on Katfish was the bass-of-the-year 67-pounder trolled on Nov. 14.

Keegan Rothman (16) seems to catch big fish wherever his father takes him.  That includes this large roosterfish hooked recently at Zihautenejo, Mexico.

Offshore jumbo sea bass fishing was off on Saturday due to a strong current, but bounced back Sunday on the Jamaica from Brielle when limits were common along with some porgies and pollock plus lots of bluefish. Nery Cardona of Upper Darby, Pa. was a pool winner with a 7-pound sea bass.  Him Yee from Flushing, N.Y. had a 13-pound pollock. The Jamaica sails at 11 p.m. every Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Call 732 528-5014 for reservations.

Small craft warnings are up through late tonight for northwest gusts to 20 knots. That drops to north 5-10 knots in the morning  before going to west 10-15 in the afternoon with gusts to 20. Snow and rain are predicted in the morning, with a chance of snow in the afternoon. The Big Mohawk from Belmar has canceled tomorrow’s trip, but plans to fish for blackfish the next day.