At year’s end it’s a real gift to get a comfortable day at sea, but Tuesday may be one with a forecast of west winds at 10-15 knots.

Chuck Many reports he had the Wakefields out on Tyman last Tuesday at Cape Charles, Virginia and it was a grind. ‘Had decent conditions for the first hour or two and thought I would get a bite. Didn’t, then wind against tide made it very tough. They never gave up despite the raw, cold conditions and it paid off. Didn’t get the 50 we were looking for, but got one between 49 & 50 pounds”

A small craft advisory is up until 1 a.m. Monday, but conditions improve after that.

Monday’s forecast is for north winds at 10-15 knots with gusts to 20, but that drops off to east at just 5-10 in the afternoon — and Tuesday looks very good,

Blackfish remain abundant in the Shrewsbury Rocks area as Capt. Joe Massa demonstrated last week

Wishing a Merry Christmas and a Fishy to New Year to all my followers.

A small craft advisory is up through Sunday evening with gusty NW winds on Sunday.

Chuck Many continued his satellite tagging efforts with Gray Fish Tag Research and The Fisherman magazine by implanting one of those tracking tags in a 47-inch, 44-pound bass at Cape Charles, Virgnia last week. Also aboard Chuck’s Tyman were William Sisson of Gray and Tom Lynch of Angry Fish Gallery in Point Pleasant.

The forecast is for south winds at 10-15 knots with gusts to 20 and rain. Mike Monte tried the Monmouth County surf this morning without a hit, and was surprised to see no birds or bait.

The Jamaica from Brielle has room on its Dec. 26, 1 a.m. sailing for offshore sea bass wrecks — along with those at 10 p.m. Dec. 27,28,29 and 30. Call 732 528-5014 for reservations Wednesday’s trip produced many sea bass limits plus a few bluefish, a couple of porgies, a weakfish and an angler.

The re don’t seem to be many dedicated surfcasters left, but Mike Monte thinks there’s still a good possibility of catching a bass or two from 18 to 24 inches in the Monmouth County surf. He got shut out this morning, but caught a couple yesterday. The few anglers he’s talked had similar reports of a shot at a bass or two especially at dawn and dusk.

The forecast is for southwest winds at 15-20 knots before shifting to northwest at 10-15 in the afternoon.

With ocean water temperatures still well over 40 degrees, Capt. Joe Massa reports blackfish remain on the feed. He had a triple limit of tog yesterday while fishing with two friends in the Shrewsbury Rocks area with his My Three Sons from Morgan Marina. The bite was in 75 feet.

The forecast is for northwest winds at 15-20 knots plus gusts to 30 before diminishing to 10-15 plus gusts in the afternoon.

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it’s unusual to hear about blitz fishing for stripers in the N.J. surf at this time of the year, but Mike Monte got just that type of report this morning.

Mike had been shut out the last three mornings — and was happy to catch two small bass in the Monmouth County surf in an area where there were lots of birds picking on sand eels. Then he got word of an angler who was fishing Sandy Hook when it exploded with larger bass from 24 to 34 inches on peanut bunkers which produced 10 bass for him. The odds of that happening again tomorrow are long, but it’s worth checking out.

The forecast is for ideal west winds at 10-15 knots with gusts to 20 before increasing to 20-25 in the afternoon. There’s also a chance of rain.

Chuck Many is chasing big stripers at Cape Charles, Virginia — such as this 54-pounder before release.

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It was a perfect December day on the ocean, but anglers on the Big Mohawk from Belmar had to pick through shorts for up to a few limits of blackfish,

Good fishing weather close to the beach continues tomorrow with a forecast of west winds at 10-15 knots plus gusts to 20. The wind shifts to north at just 5 to 10 knots in the afternoon,

Fishing for jumbo sea bass on far offshore wrecks continues to hold up, but time is running out on the season which ends with the new year.

The Golden Eagle from Belmar reported “super crazy” action on their last trip with a boat limit of sea bass before sun-up, along with lots of porgies some blues, a dozen weakfish, and a 40-pound angler. Only three trips with space remain, with the next on Dec, 26.

The Jamaica from Brielle has openings on Dec. 20, 21 and 22 — and will be adding more after Christmas. Call 732 528-5014 for reservations.

The forecast is for a mere north wind at 5 knots before going southwest in the afternoon.

Veteran marine journalist Patrick Mansell has written a book about Bud n’ Mary’s Marina in Islamorada that will be of interest to all who have fished in the Florida Keys or hope to do so. The 350-page soft cover is heavily illustrated and available from Amazon. I’ll have more about it in future blogs.