Though light winds prevail, an offshore storm is still creating a rough surf.

Mike Monte fished nice green waters at Sea Girt this morning in 3-5-foot seas, but couldn’t get a touch in good-looking breaking surf.

Allen Riley took a ride to the Sandy Hook surf and had a similar report of no action. There were few boats in sight, and no working birds which should be common at this time of year.

Capt. Ron Santee had another good bottom fishing trip Tuesday on his Fishermen from Atlantic Highlands as it took only three drops to make a good catch of sea bass and porgies plus a dozen blackfish and even blowfish,

The Paramount from Brielle had a good sea bass trip Tuesday, and will be sailing daily for them from 6:30-3:30.

The forecast is for southeast winds at just 5-10 knots.

Chuck Many sent the following report about yesterday.:

Great day with Cesar Carranza, John Korn, & Alex Katyan!!! Started in the ocean, got our first jumbo of the year, then came back to the bay, struckout on a couple spots, then found a good load of mainly small bass with a couple bigger fish mixed in. Game on! Went thru a flat of worms and a bunch of eels in no time. Ended with about 2 dozen and a bunch of blues. Can’t wait to do it again!!

The New Jersey State Police have surprised small boaters with a new regulation that all those on deck during trips starting in November must wear a U.S, Coast Guard-approved life preserver. That regulation is being imposed in order to facilitate searches during bad weather months.

This applies to all aboard boats of 26 feet or less from Nov. 1 to May 1. Those in an enclosed cabin do not have to wear the life preserver while there. I hope there is an exception made for flotation suits, which are by far the safest means of fishing from a boat in the winter.

Sea bass have taken over most of the attention from N.J. boaters since that season started in Sunday’s rough seas. By tomorrow, those seas will be down to three feet in a southeast swell with southwest winds at a mere 5 knots.

At Belmar, the Big Mohawk got back into action with a pick of sea bass in many areas plus some better flurries and some porgies. The Golden Eagle got out into calm seas Monday after a week and a half of waiiting out the storm. They looked for blues and found some before adding sea bass. They will continue with that program as the bottom settles out.

The Queen Mary finally got out from Point Pleasant and ended up with a good catch of sea bass and porgies plus some exotics.

Mike Monte reports the surf has improved with a return to green waters that should start producing the fall striper run in the Monmouth County surf. Betty & Nick’s Fishing Club in Seaside Park noted the water temperature has dropped to 66 degrees, which it was when striper fishing broke open last fall.

Eric Kerber reports it only took 2 1/2 hours to load up his On A Mission party from Belmar with sea bass plus nine large bluefish.

The back country is still producing sheepshead in South Jersey, as shown by Alex Mann at Absecon Bay Sportsman Center today.

It was expected that the big swell which has been pounding beaches would also be a problem for anglers fishing the N.J. sea bass opener on Sunday, and that was the case. However, that swell is dropping out and sea bass fishing should steadily improve. in the fine weather predicted.

The small craft advisory comes down at 9 p.m., and Tuesday starts with the wind direction NY/NJ Bight anglers have been waiting for — west, though at only 5 knots.

The Golden Eagle from Belmar looked for blues yesterday, and found some in the 2-pound class plus a bonito and some sea bass.

The Fishermen from Atlantic Highlands had to make many moves yesterday to find sea bass which would bite. Only one porgy was caught. Toay was much better, with only four drops instead of 12 — plus porgies in the mix. All went home with dinner.

Chuck Many reported the good first good night striper trip in October with Chris Buchta and Cesar Carranza.

The following release from the N.C. Maritime Museum at Beaufort provides a look back at the days before great white sharks were protected.

The story of the white shark head in our lobby!…

On September 26, 1984 a large white shark was caught by John Dodrill on board the vessel Alligator, Captain Lloyd Davidson, off the coast of Carteret County. The shark was caught about 40 miles off Cape Lookout, it was hoisted from the vessel at 3 a.m. the following day at the State Port in Morehead City. It weighed 2,080 pounds and measured 15 feet 10 inches long. The shark was brought by one of the local elementary schools where 500 children got to examine the specimen. It was later displayed at the Morehead City waterfront and eventually the state fair in Raleigh. The head was saved and mounted for display in the museum where it can still be seen today.

Ocean conditions weren’t good as the sea bass season opened today in New Jersey. Indeed, the Big Mohawk from Belmar took a pass on the opener due to those conditions which also often have a negative effect on the sea bass bite. They’ll be out there tomorrow. The Golden Eagle from Belmar is running a special early trip from 6:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.

A small craft advisory is up through Monday morning, but the forecast is for north winds at just 5-10 knots, before going east in the afternoon. The seas drop to 3-5 feet with an east swell and rough inlets.

The exceptional rain combined with big seas made for a dirty surf. However, Nick DiNapoli caught a fat 31-inch striper on salted clams at Monmouth Beach.

Capt Joe Massa from Morgan Marina fished with a group of avid tog fishermen last week in Rhode Island on The City By The Sea Charter. Capt. Heaney put the group on big tog along with quality sea bass. Massa said the tog bite for two days was epic. Dozens of fish between 6 and 12 lbs were caught by the group which released all the big tog . The fish were keyed in on big white leg crabs which Massa cut in half and used a slider rig with two hooks in the crab

Massa (see below) said City By The Sea Charters is the top bottom fish boat in Rhode Island, where the waters are the best for tautog in both quantity and quality which we don’t see in New Jersey.

Striper anglers should be sure to take in Chuck Many’s appearance at 6:30 this evening in the Tackle Box on Rt. 36 in Hazlet. Many is the top striper pro in the area, and he doesn’t hold anything back when discussing his techniques which have resulted in many 50-pounders being released from his Tyman out of Highlands.

A small craft advisory remains up through Sunday evening, but there’s finally some improvement in the weather. Sunday starts with north winds at 10-15 knots plus gusts to 20 and 4-6-foot seas. That should be good enough for most boaters to get into the opening day of the N.J. sea bass season on Sunday.

Record rain after an unending northeaster has virtually shut down saltwater fishing in NYNJ Bight except for those persevering in backwater areas which have remained clear. Unfortunately, there’s still no sign of the roaring northwest wind needed to clear up this situation.

There is finally a mention of west in a future forecast, though it’s only for a light west wind on Tuesday.

In the meantime, there are small craft warnings through Sunday evening. It will be northeast in the morning at 15-20 knots plus gusts to 25 along with 5-8-foot seas and more rain.

The N,J, sea bass season opens on Sunday. and the Jamaica from Brielle has switched from tuna fishing on rough offshore seas to a 9-hour sea bass fishing trip in calmer waters. Call 732 528-5014 for reservations on the 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. sailing.

Ian Scott Devlin with the sporty and good-eating Atlantic bonito.

Striped bass fishermen, and especially those who would like to become successful striper anglers, should be sure to take in the seminar being presented Saturday at 6 p.m. in the Tackle Box at Hazlet by New Jersey’s most prominent striper pro. Chuck Many.

Chuck is one of the most dedicated striper fisherman I’ve met in decades of fishing for that species from North Carolina to Maine. The results he’s achieved aboard his Tyman from Highlands include many tournament victories and an American Striper Association Angler of the Year designation — all while releasing even those bass weighed in for contests. However, quite unlike most striper pros, Many is happy to share his expertise and techniques with others who want to become better striper anglers.

There will be plenty of stripers to be caught after the lengthy period of northeasters which should get the fall migration started. Some big bass were caught in Raritan Bay at the beginning of the storm, and that bite should resume as waters clear.

Unfortunately, there’s still no forecast of a calming northwest blow. However, at least the northeaster has backed off to a small craft advisory through Saturday evening with diminishing seas. The Friday forecast is for northeast at 20-25 knots with gusts to 30 plus rain and 5-8-foot seas. By Saturday, it starts at northeast 15-20 with gusts to 25 plus 4-6-foot seas and only a chance of rain.

Hopefully, by Sunday’s opening of the N.J. sea bass season there will be decent conditions for that fishery. The Fishermen from Atlantic Highlands expects to get started again that day.

Capt. Frank Masseria is putting together an open boat live bait striper trip for Sunday on his Vitamin Sea from Keyport, Call 917 439-6448 for reservations.

Adam LaRosa says his Canyon Runner from Point Pleasant has a few open dates into mid-October to finish the offshore season with yellowfin chunking that’s been very productive. Call him at 732 272-4445.

The Hudson River Fisherman’s Assn. has postponed their Fly Fishing Derby scheduled for Saturday at Sandy Hook until further notice.

New Jersey has taken action to bring state regulations into complience with those in federal waters. Thus, cod must be at least 23 inches long during seasons from May 1-31, and Sept. 1 to Dec, 31. The bag limit is five.

The summer flounder season in NJ waters ended in rough seas today as the Ocean Explorer from Belmar had to cancel a last day Marathon trip when the ocean remained “wild” last night rather than dropping down to a manageable big swell condition. The only good news is that the sea bass season opens on Oct. 1 and runs through Oct. 31 with a bag limit of 10 at a 12.5-inch minimum.

The longest lasting northeaster anyone can remember continues with small craft warnings for northeast winds at 15-20 knots on Thursday along with 4-6-foot seas and likely afternoon showers. There’s still no change to calming west winds in future forecasts.

Nick Honachefsky reminds us there are less than 10 days left to sign up for the Barrier Island Beach Brawl! – by which time the northeaster may finally stop blowing!

The Oct. 6/7 – 2 day surf fishing tourney features $25,000 worth of free fishing tackle rod/reel/gear door prizes, plus cash prizes for15 eligible species- with Striper PHOTO/Release only.

Nick emphasizes that registration gets you a $50 FREE Goody Bag just for signing up! You can’t go wrong by getting into this fun-fishing contest. Sign up at local tackle shops, or visit saltwaterunderground/barrierislandbeachbrawl.com.

Everyone I’ve talked to agrees that they’ve before seen such a long,unrelenting northeaster. Mike Monte says the surf is filthy, and infishable. He thinks it will take several days of northwest winds to clear it up, but there’s nothing of that sort in upcoming forecasts.

The gale warning comes down at 6 p.m., before shifting to a small craft advisory through late tonight. Wednesday starts with northeast winds at 15-20 knots plus gusts to 25 — and 5-8-foot seas.

The Ocean Explorer from Belmar has been planning a season–ending fluke trip for Wednesday in hopes that the wind will back off enough for them to fish deep water rocks and wrecks in search of a fluke that could be worth over $5,000 for those joining the seasonal and monthly pools as well as the daily. An 8-pounder presently leads in those pools. Those interested can text 848 565-0519 for info and a reservation.

A fond memory from Mel Deak. Whitey and Jimmy Morenz ran Miss Take II out of Highlands for many years for stripers, weakfish and blue. That 60-foot party boat was built in 1952.

The northeaster just keeps coming, and with big waves crashing the beaches surfcasters must be alert to the dangers posed by backwashes.

It’s possible for N.J. surfcasters to cast into a pretty stiff northeaster in search of that first striped bass blitz of the fall, but the greatest danger isn’t the big waves coming at you — but rather the backwash as all that water pours back down the beach and can easily sweep your legs out from under you.

Falling down in the surf line can be a killer, especially at this time of year when there are few people on the beaches. Getting back up as the waves keep coming is no sure thing even for veteran anglers. Unless you carry a walking staff, your rod butt may be all you have to work with under the circumstances — especially if your waders have taken in water. Using a strap across your wader top is a good idea on lonely beaches even if you don’t plan to wade beyond the wash.

The northeaster just keeps coming, with no sign of a calming northwest blow. A gale warning is up through Tuesday afternoon with northeast winds at 25-30 knots plus seas up to 9 feet in a south swell. Inlets will be rough, and there’s a chance of rain.

The N.J. fluke season closes after Sept. 27, which may not make any difference unless the weather improves.

NYC Capt. John McMurry says it hasn’t been a good year for big dolphin during his tuna trips, but this one caught before the storm was an exception.