If the forecast is right, anglers will have a perfect December day for fishing on Tuesday. East winds are predicted to be only 5 knots along with mild temperatures – and there’s no chance of showers before late afternoon.

Merry Christmas and a Fishy New Year to all!

The weather forecast is perfect for those seeking to catch a striper before the Christmas festivities. Northeast winds at just 5 knots with two-foot seas are fine for surf and boat anglers, though there is also a slight chance of morning showers or patchy fog.

My granddaughter, Liz Gonzalez, got an early present this morning when she went fishing for the first time and released a 17-inch largemouth bass on the Frozen Elsa spincast rod combo her father, Luis gave her at birth. We were casting paddeltails from shore in a pond at PGA in Palm Beach Gardens when she hooked up — and also had another come off at the last moment. I’ll leave it to your imagination to wonder how many her grandfather caught!

Merry Christmas to all!

Sorry for the delay, but there were grandchildren to be played with.

The Golden Eagle from Belmar reported It was a slow day with the STRIPERS. We actually saw more on the scope today than yesterday. There were great readings at times but only picked a fish or two on a couple of drifts. The next trip will be on 12/26.

The forecast is for southeast winds at 5 knots — shifting to northwest in the afternoon.

One of the most unusual fishing stories ever occurred yesterday when a young man grabbed a net in the Bass Pro Shop at Ft. Myers, Fl. and scooped up a 50-pound tarpon from their live fish display before running out of the store with it. Though the video of that has been on both local and national TV many times, the thief hasn’t been located as yet.

Why the tarpon was targeted is even stranger as it’s a virtually inedible fish while there were plenty of smaller fine eating fish available.

Tarpon are protected in Florida, with the only exception being a license that can be bought in order to keep a tarpon of possibly record size. It will be interesting to see if the conservation penalty is imposed as well as the theft of net and fish.

Vinny D’Anton is headed to Sarasota for the winter, but said he got reports of some stripers being caught in many places yesterday despite a continuing rough surf.

Mike Monte drove to Brick Beach this morning and quickly caught two bass in the 25-27-inch class on a Tsunami Sand Eel at first light before the bite died out. Other anglers reported doing nothing in the Monmouth County surf this morning.

The Golden Eagle from Belmar reported “

We did a lot of looking and traveling today and read a good amount of bait with some BASS readings.  The STRIPERS did not cooperate too well.  We caught a few with a couple being KEEPERS.

It is going to be a beautiful day tomorrow with less ground swell so we will be right back at it.

There’s a great forecast for tomorrow, with southeast winds at just 5 knots. Furthermore, light winds are predicted right through Tuesday. That’s perfect for those offshore jumbo sea bass trips.

Chuck Many said east winds were howling Sunday in Chesapeake Bay. but he decided to troll anyway and that turned out to be a good decision for Cesar Carranza who released a 54-pound pre-spawning bass.

The Hudson River Fisherman’s Association sent the following to their members:

“

“As we announced at the December 12 General Meeting the HRFA EBoard voted in favor of Option B for the comment period (deadline Dec 22, 2023 ). Option B essentially maintains the status quo. Members in attendance agreed. Please email Emilie Franke your personal preference (if you have one) of the available options given below by noon time tomorrow. “

Mike Monte tried surfcasting in perfect conditions this morning at Sea Girt and Belmar, but said he and several others had no hits. However, he heard that stripers were caught yesterday evening and this morning much further south at Brick Beach. Furthermore, those weren’t the small bass expected in the winter, but 26-to-30-inchers on Tsunami Sand Eels. Betty & Nick’s in Seaside Park continues to list a very warm for December 52 degrees water temperature.

The Jamaica from Brielle has added another far offshore jumbo sea bass trip leaving at 2 a.m. Tuesday, 12/26. That’s to make up for all the trips lost to weather and to beat the end of the sea bass season on Dec, 31. The last trip produced many sea bass limits plus a few porgies and pollock as well as some weakfish. A 10-pound pollock took the pool.

A small craft advisory is up through Friday morning. Friday’s forecast is for northeast winds, but at only 5-10 knots.

Jamaica jumbo sea bass

Mike Monte didn’t have high hopes this morning. but was pleased to find that the Monmouth County surf had cleared and calmed enough to be fishable. There were lots of birds picking on sand eels, but no hits. Another angler further north had the same report.

A small craft advisory is up through Thursday afternoon. The forecast is for north winds at 15-20 knots plus gusts to 25.

The Golden Eagle from Belmar will not sail for stripers tomorrow, but plans to do so Friday and Saturday.

Chuck Many had good Chesapeake Bay release fishing Saturday as Cesar Carranza. Bill Doughty and Joseph Eller joined him to troll stripers with Capt. Clinton Lessard.

Big seas along the N.J. coast have done quite a bit of damage to the beaches. Mike Monte said he saw 12-14-foot waves which washed out storm fences, damaged boardwalks and washed away access areas. He noted that he’d never seen such damage from a non-tropical storm.

The west gale extending to Wednesday afternoon should help flatten the seas. As a result, the Golden Eagle from Belmar will be sailing at 7:30 a.m.for stripers which were still abundant when they last got out on Saturday.

A small craft advisory is up through Wednesday afternoon. The forecast is for northwest winds at 10-15 knots plus gusts to 20 in the morning.

 Chuck Many sent this shot of a big pre-spawning Cheasapeake Bay striper before release on Friday as he fished with Clint Gray and Cesar Carranza

Even if you haven’t gotten around buying a gift for a special angler, it’s possible to do so quickly with just a note in an envelope.

A membership in the International Game Fish Association will bring the annual IGFA World Record Fishes book plus many other publications during the year — and enable him to spot some “soft spots” in the records which may enable him to join the ranks of world record holders.

A subscription to The Fisherman magazine will be a weekly reminder of your gift and make him eligible for the Dream Boat Challange with its many prizes.

Party and charter boats plus tackle shops provide gift certificates at substancial discounts for Christmas. Just go to their web sites for a selection.

Though the weather kept boats at the docks today, the Golden Eagle from Belmar plans to get back out for stripers before that fishery is all over.

A gale warning is up util 9 p.m. for west winds up to 30 knots. Tuesday starts with west winds at 15-20 knots plus gusts to 25.

A small craft advisory is up from 6 p.m.to Monday afternoon. The forecast is for south winds at 25-35 knots plus gusts to 55. That switches to southwest with gusts to 35 in the afternoon. It’s unlikely that anyone will sail tomorrow.

It’s well beyond the time when boat fishing for stripers in NY/NJ Bight is over, but there’s still some hope on the NJ side where the ocean remains open all year.

Capt. Frank Massaria of Vitamen Sea from Keyport reported: “We ran our final bass trip of the season with Nick and his crew. Had to take a long ride but it paid off. Nothing big but very good action with bonus fish shorts and some keepers. Had a lot of fun with ith these guys. Not bad for Dec 16th.”

Frank may still do some blackfish trips if the weather cooperates.

A storm warning goes up from Sunday evening to Monday afternoon. The Sunday forecast is for east winds at 15-20 knots plus gusts to 25. Light rain in the morning — and more in the afternoon.