The International Game Fish Association (IGFA) has its annual auction coming up on Jan.29 in the Ritz-Carlton at Ft, Lauderdale. Fishing tackle, fishing trips and marine art are featured at this annual event. For info call 954 927-2628, or visit events@igfa.org. Those attending can participate in the dinner which starts at 8 p.m.

Huge waves pounded the Shore today, and a gale warning is up through 8 p.m. Tuesday’s wind will be northwest at 15-20 knots with gusts to 30.

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Winter holidays rarely work out for anglers, and tomorrow is no exception.

Southwest winds at 25-30 knots plus gusts to 40 with 10-to-14-foot seas are forecast along with rain. At least there won’t be any tornados such as occurred in Fort Myers today. A trailer park was torn up as the cold front came through.

‘It’s not often that a switch to northeast is an improvement, but the forecast for Sunday is down to 10-15 knots before it goes east at 25-30 plus gusts to 40 at night.

There’s either a gale warning or gale watch up through Monday

A good weekend for watching football on TV..

A posting yesterday on njfishing.com revealed there was massive abuse of conservation regulations during the fall. An officer from the N.J. Division of Fish and Wildlife Bureau of Law Enforcement noted at the recent Marine Fisheries Council meeting that over 200 summonses were issued in just one month last fall for over-limit stripers. Worst of all, that was probably only the tip of the iceberg. It’s the sacrifices by anglers that have led to the great striper fishing of recent years. Hopefully, those cases will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

A gale warning is up from Friday morning through late in the night. North winds of 20-25 nots plus gusts to 35 increase to 25-30 with gusts to 40 knots in the afternoon.

Jeff Merrill reported a fine trip yesterday with Fish On out of Sailfish Marina on Singer Island, Fl. as they went one for two on sails along with some gaffer dolphin up to the 35-pounder shown before adding some bottom fish.

There’s been lots of wind this winter, but anglers should be treated to a fine day tomorrow.

The marine weather forecast is for southwest winds a mere 5 knots

Blackfish have been biting in 70-foot depths off the northern N.J. Shore, and striped bass may show up at any time while chasing herring in the surf. It’s worth taking a look as birds will be working over any activity.

The annual Canyon Runner Seminar is a must for offshore boaters plus a great break in the middle of a cold winter. It’s coming up on the first Saturday in February at Harrah’s Resort in Atlantic City from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Call Adam La Rosa at 732 272-4445. Tickets must be bought in advance and are going fast.

The forecast is for southwest winds at 20-25 knots plus gusts to 30.

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Chuck Many was still into releasing pre-spawning stripers at Cape Charles, Va. from his Tyman last week.

South Carolina may not seem very far north, but it certainly is when it comes to snook. That tropical game fish is rarely found anywhere north of Florida, so Chuck Many was shocked when he was casting for redfish in the salt ponds at Hilton Head and caught snook — especially in the middle of the winter.

The forecast is for northwest winds at 20-25 knots with gusts to 30 before diminishing to 15-20 in the afternoon.

Jerry Lasko reports that surfcasters had to chase stripers north from Lavallette up to Point Pleasant under a cloud of birds. One over 20 pounds was caught among the fish feeding on bunkers and herring. The afternoon was no good in the south wind.

The forecast is for northwest winds at 20-25 knots.

Few surfcasters are left along the Jersey Shore, but Jerry Lasko and Maren Toleno each released 10 stripers this morning in their local Ocean County surf. There were lots of birds working offshore, but the bass came in at times and included a few larger fish such as Jerry’s 31-incher.

The Tsunami Sand Eel was best, but Maren also managed one on a popper. As usual, there were no boats or other surfcasters.

A gale warning is up. Southwest winds of 20-25 knots increase to 25-30 with gusts to 40 in the afternoon. Rain is likely.