Blackfish anglers have been generally finding lots of shorts while working for a few keepers — but have also enjoyed a fairly common bonus of keeper cod such as this 28-incher caught by Dave Rubek while fishing yesterday with Capt. Joe Massa on My Three Sons out of Morgan Marina.

Surprisingly, that cod had an adult bunker in its stomach — the first time I’ve ever heard of cod feeding on them.

At Belmar, Capt. Michael Ardolino said striper jigging on Miss Belmar Princess started slow this morning — but then turned “insane” for keepers primarily on shads.

The Golden Eagle is shifting over to stripers in the morning at 7:30.

Antonio Salvatore used his birthday present Tsunami outfit from Charlie’s Bait & Tackle in Normandy Beach to not only catch his first legal striper but also to release it.

There’s also some hot surf fishing going on at Fortescue beach, where Higbee’s Bait & Tackle reports bloodworms have been producing four to six big bass a day from 28 inches to that 55-incher shown earlier in the week. The action has been on early morning and late afternoon tides.

The forecast is for southeast winds at 10 knots before going southwest up to 20 knots in the afternoon. Showers are possible along with areas of fog.

Some caught best early, and others later — and some did best on shads while others used live bunkers and some had the most fun with top water plugs — but everyone seemed to get into a striper bite in Raritan Bay today despite the weekend mob.

Miss Belmar Princess reported a good catch of keeper bass, but didn’t indicate where that action was — in the nearby ocean or after a trip to the bay.

Nick Honachefsky said he’s caught over 200 bass from shore this spring, but the first one from the surf is always special.

The forecast remains favorable with east winds at just 5-10 knots and a slight chance of showers plus fog.

At Belmar, the Golden Eagle and Big Mohawk both reported lots of short tautog Friday while cod also remain in the picture.

The Fish Bound from Ocean City, Md. continues to hook trophy tautog. with 15 double didget tog, such as this one by Dennis Muhlenforth, released in a four-day period.

The Jamaica from Brielle got into stripers on Friday, and will continue in that quest.

One of the all-time great party boat skippers has passed on to heavenly fishing grounds. as Capt. Al Lindroth died on April 10 at 93.VII

That news was especially disturbing to me as my early party boat fishing out of Freeport, Long Island was primarily with Al on the Viking VII – and later on his own Capt. Al which eventually moved to Pt. Lookout. Primarily a wreck fisherman in the days before electronics, Al became best known for pioneering winter offshore wreck trips for big cod which provided the rare opportunity for the average angler to catch a really big fish at just the price of a party boat trip.

During those early days of Cow Country Codfishing, there was a rush to get to wrecks with loran numbers bought from draggers who hung up nets on them. Capt. Richie Kissinger was Al’s primary competitor on Starstream II from Freeport, but they later became good friends who I’d see at fishery management meetings after the 200-mile limit was passed.

Join the Hudson River Fisherman’s Assn. in fishing the Fred Rung Memorial Striped Bass at Alpine Boat Basin from 3 p.m. until dark. That tag-and0release contest is free to HRFA members, while others make a $10 donation which can even include bait and tackle. Call Peter Musse at 201 233-3119 for details.

The weather looks good again except for possible showers. Southeast winds will be just 5-10 knots.

The Mimi VI from Pt. Pleasant has set up some limited tautog trips. Call 732 370-8019 for details.

A recent blog about my April 7, 1989 trip aboard the Fishermen out of Atlantic Highlands over to the Staten Island clam beds to catch 29 winter flounders resulted in a couple of readers who remembered not having to go that far, as the Miss Take II and other party boats anchored in Shrewsbury River off The Quay to catch lots of flounders as long as the tide was running. I used to kid Capt. Stan Zagleski Sr. of Elaine B. II about that being his most profitable trip of the year since he barely had to turn on his engines at Bahrs Landing before dropping the anchor on the other side.

Before the month was out, I was gathering up kids on my block in Wall to make a run on my Sheri Berri out to Southeast Lump to jig mackerel. I didn’t record how many we jigged that day, but my personal figures were 80 mackerel and one herring.

When I was a kid growing up on Long Island there were always mackerel every spring. It was just a question of when they would arrive on a spawning migration from Virginia — and how abundant and easy to reach they’d be. However, the foreign fleets virtually wiped out what had been the most abundant species of the Mid-Atlantic and New England coasts. Fortunately, mackerel made a big comeback after the 200-mile limit went into effect. That lasted until NOAA Fisheries gave into pressure from the State Department and ignored the advice of both the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council and allowed excessive Soviet mackerel fishing to continue. I originally thought that the migratory population may have shifted further offshore, but that wasn’t the case. Despite their historical abundance, the Atlantic mackerel remains a rarity in the Mid-Atlantic and a monument to NOAA Fisheries mismanagement.

Capt. Frank Massaria said striper fishing in Raritan Bay was great this morning on both shads and live bunkers. He had his grandson Frank along on Vitamin Sea from Keyport, and was proud that he released the two largest bass at 36 and 37 inches.

There’s another fine forecast for the morning with west winds at 5-10 knots before increasing to10-15 plus gusts to 20 in the afternoon.

Following is an unusual quote by a west coast woman who became a commercial fisherman over half a century ago and was quoted in a Salty Tales article on Facebook:

“An old salt after her first trip out, Sarah recalls the night a storm tossed their 56-foot boat around ‘like a surfboard riding the waves.’ She admits, however, her first two hours at sea were not nearly as exciting. ‘I had to talk myself out of being seasick.’ she said. ‘I’d never been on a boat before. We don’t have too many fishing boats in Ohio. After a while, I learned that the trick is to make your body a part of the boat and move with it, not against it.’

That seasickness solution was as good as any a half century ago as there were no medications available when I was a kid growing up on Long Island. I got sick on my first two trips and was afraid I’d never be able to pursue my sport at sea. The only solution I could think of was not eating at all. That’s exactly what I did — not eating any breakfast, and not touching my sandwich until the boat was inside Jones Inlet that afternoon. By then I didn’t know if my stomach pains were from hunger or the sickness I’d avoided. I then started taking a chance on dry toast in the morning before taking any other risks,

I couldn’t have imagined then that a couple of decades later I’d be the only officer eating lunch in the wardroom of a rocking and rolling destroyer in 20-foot hurricane-driven seas off Bermuda! Fortunately, there are medications now that can solve the seasickness problem without going through what I had to endure before developing an “iron” stomach.

That won’t be a problem for anglers fishing for stripers in Raritan Bay, where the usual lack of swell prevents seasickness. If the forecast holds, even the ocean may be easy on the stomach as only 10-15-knot southwest winds are predicted for Thursday. The Golden Eagle from Belmar reported good blackfishing Tuesday after the dogfish backed off a bit.

Tony Arcabascio sent this photo of Gen Wong using his Tony Maja Flutter Spoons to catch those bay stripers.

Comparing big stripers is difficult these days as all big ones have to be released. Yet, I haven’t seen any release photos to compare with the bass released by Doug Taylor of Milleville, N.J. which Higbee’s Bait & Tackle says is the largest ever caught from Fortescue beach. Not only was it 55 inches long, but it also had a huge girth.

Not nearly as large, but a sure sign of spring on the beach was this black drum caught by Jamie Gramley in a photo submitted this week by Betty & Nick’s Fishing Club in Seaside Park.

There’s another good forecast for Tuesday as the day starts with just west at 10-15 knots before increasing to southwest 15-20 in the afternoon.

The Ocean Explorer from Belmar reported Monday’s bottom fishing was tougher due to a large swell, though some cod were caught along with tog. The Big Mohawk from that port reported good bottom life with the high hook catching a limit and blackfish up to 7 pounds.

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Ryan Class has been waiting years to catch his first legal striper before coming up with this one at the north end of Brigantine — and then releasing his prize. Riptide Bait & Tackle reported the catch made on salted clams.

Northern N.J. striper fishing was off this morning, but Capt. Michael Ardolino’s son broke the ice on Miss Belmar Princess

There’s a great forecast for Tuesday – west at 10-15 knots before going southwest at 15-20 in the afternoon.

While party and charter boats along the NJ Shore are waiting for ocean striper fishing to break open, they have been able to get by with decent fishing for blackfish and cod.

At Belmar, the Golden Eagle reported a slow start Saturday before they hit two wrecks which produced tog up to 7 pounds along with lots of shorts.

They’ll be out there again at 7:30 tomorrow.

The Big Mohawk reported a strong current down the beach on Saturday resulted in a slower bite though the high hook had a limit and tog up to 5 pounds were boated along with a few cod.

The Ocean Explorer noted that Good Friday was good to them as tog up 6 pounds responded despite a strong current.

Capt. Joe Massa ran his My Three Sons from Morgan Marina out to 17 Fathoms on Saturday for cod and tog, but found too much dogfish competition out there before moving closer to shore for the same species.

Monday’s forecast is great — west at just 5-10 knots.

I wonder how many of my readers remember when it is was possible to fish for winter flounder from a Raritan Bay party boat?

After opening one of my yearly fishing notebooks, I can assure you that was possible in 1989 as on April 7 of that year I fished aboard the Fishermen from Atlantic Highlands with Captains Ron Santee Sr. and Jr, on the clam beds off Staten Island — and caught 29 flounders!

There were no restrictions all on winter flounders in those days, but my notes broke down that catch into two tiny 8-inchers, two of about 10-12 inches – and 25 of the present 12-inch (and then minimal filleting size of 12 inches) which included four of 2 pounds and a 2 1/2-pounder.There were two chum pots down, and it was important to fish close to them as bloodworms, black mussels and skimmer clam all produced bites. According to my notes, I was high hook, but another angler caught 12 to 15 while “Ron Sr. must have caught 18-20 while fishing part time.”

Other party boats were also opening the season with winter flounders at that time before striped bass made such a comeback that that clamming for them became the April attraction.

It should ne noted that private boaters chumming heavily often had catches of over 100 flounders at that time. Even if flounders were able to overcome commercial pressure on their summer offshore grounds plus an abundance of seals inshore from Climate Change that was supposed to send them in the opposite direction, it would not be practical for a party boat to fish for flounders now with a two-fish per angler limit.

The Sunday forecast is for northeast winds at only 10-15 knots before going east in the afternoon with two-foot seas.

At Belmar, the Big Mohawk reported good Friday morning bottom fishing with lots of short tog plus some keepers and a few cod.

There were several reports today of a tougher early striper bite in Raritan Bay this morning, though most anglers seemed to end up doing well.

Andreas Toy from Perth Amboy reported the 31-footer covered a lot of ground early before getting into a good bite with bigger bass ranging up to a 42-incher. Most of the bass were caught on flutter spoons along with a couple on shads.

Saturday’s forecast is for north winds at 10-15 knots plus gusts to 20 before switching to southwest at 10-15 knots in the afternoon.