With seemingly nothing but bad news being thrown at us every day, it’s nice to be able to savor some inspiration from fellow anglers about our favorite sport.

The Angler’s Book of Favorite Fishing Quotations is a small format hard cover from Hatherleigh Press that’s distributed by Penguin Random House.

The 104 pages each contain thoughts about fishing by well-known authors, fishermen and commentators — such as Mark Twain who advised “Don’t tell fish stories where the people know you; but particularly, don’t tell them where they know the fish.”

Even presidents had their feelings  about fishing, with Herbert Hoover noting that “Fishing is much more than fish. It is the great occasion when we may return to the fine simplicity of our forefathers.”

Comedians also had their say, such as George Carlin who observed “Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach him how to fish and he will sit in a boat and drink beer all day.”

I was pleased to see quotes from some departed friends I  fished with over the years such as Charley Waterman, Lefty Kreh and Lee Wulff. One of Lee’s quotes was one that the Izaak Walton of our time was most associated with — “Gamefish are too valuable to be caught only once”.

It’s unfortunate that a few pages weren’t added to identify the authors which were almost all familiar to me, but might not be to others. It will make a good gift for anglers who aren’t “readers”, as they can read portions at any time — but will probably not be able to put the book down once started.

There was a lot more east wind today, and small craft warnings continue into tomorrow afternoon. The morning starts with north winds at 15-20 knots and 4-6-foot seas before dropping to 5-10 knots in the afternoon.

As noted yesterday, it didn’t look good for today — and that is exactly what happened. If staying home with nothing in particular to do is rarely good, but this had to be that day as rain and wind rattled the windows.  Unfortunately, there’s not much light on the horizon.

Small craft warnings remain up through Tuesday afternoon. Though north winds are predicted to drop to 10-15 knots by the morning, there will still be gusts to 20.  There is another temporary drop to 5-10 knots in the afternoon, but rain arrives again after midnight  — and Wednesday doesn’t look good.

There’s still a lot of uncertainty about when and how we can fish. One blogger reported his marina is closed for retail operations, but open for repairs — and is launching boats.

The Tackle Box in Hazlet had to close due to the governor’s order, but Phil Sciortino will be delivering  bait and tackle to doorsteps or other designated spots if you prepay by credit card or Pay Pal. He’s having bloodworms being overnighted from Maine, and there are plenty of stripers awaiting them in Raritan Bay. Call him at 732 264-7711.

Phil Fischer reported he was releasing school stripers in Navesink and Shrewsbury rivers on Saturday. Tom O’Connor tried his local South Amboy beach that morning, but only released two bass of 14 and 26 inches.  He moved to the Belmar docks in the afternoon where he caught only a 9-inch winter flounder and a sun dial.

Yet another meeting will be impacted by the pandemic. The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management will be turned into a webinar event from April 7-8.

Worms were on the driveways after the last rain, so Dave Lilly knew it was time to start his striped bass season today — and the bass didn’t disappoint.

Dave trolled in the back of Raritan Bay for constant action on mo-jos with mostly keeper bass in the teens. No big fish, but all he could ask for as his friends caught all they wanted and returned to Keyport early in the morning.

Surprisingly, Lilly didn’t see or read any bunkers. Gannets were flying high, but he only saw one dive.

As noted yesterday, Capt. Freddy Gamboa had a very different experience on Friday as those stripers still hadn’t swallowed bunkers before hitting lures cast or trolled from his Andrea’s Toy out of Keyport. Yet, the only thing that didn’t work was live-lining bunkers, even though a few hits were missed.

Jerry Lasko and Maren Toleno fished the bay side of Bay Head yesterday evening, as she caught two stripers of about 22 and 24 inches.

N.J. trout waters will be closed (except for special regulation waters) next week. We can’t blame the pandemic for that. It’s to allow successful stocking before the opener.

Some anglers are wondering what will happen to party boats due to restrictions on groups gathering. A captain I talked to isn’t sure if he’ll be able to operate at this point. However, the Ocean Explorer from Belmar has been sailing on good weather days so far. Crowding hasn’t been a problem up to this point, and there’s been no specific policy relating the their operation that I’m aware of.

The shutdown of nonessential business operations could be a problem for tackle shops, but Betty & Nick’s in Seaside Park will be open for take-out food and the tackle portion of the building will be available to anglers.

Windy weather continues tonight with northeast gusts to 20 knots. The morning forecast is for east at 10-15 knots plus gusts to 20 before increasing to 15-20 with gusts to 25 later.

The spring striped bass run in Raritan Bay is right on time, along with lots of bunkers that should keep them there.

The Andrea’s Toy crew at Keyport got boat maintenance  finished in time to get out on the water  for stripers in the teens so ravenous that Capt. Freddy Gamboa said many of them still had bunkers in the mouth when they struck the lures.

Nick Honachefsky picked up worms from The Tackle Box in Hazlet yesterday and soaked them in Finesscense as he released 23 shorts from shore up to a 27-incher.

Barnegat Bay is also producing school bass on both bloodworms and small lures.  There’s been no word from the surf as yet, but Betty & Nick’s in Seaside Park reported a smell of bluefish or bunker — or both, today. They also noted that the park personnel have been very cooperative with fishermen.

New Jersey state parks and Wildlife Management Areas are open for fishing, but the offices are closed and rest rooms not available.

Small craft warnings are up through Saturday afternoon. The morning starts with north winds at 15-20 knots plus higher gusts before dropping to 10-15 with gusts to 20 in the afternoon.

March 17 is the last day for submitting comments to the ASMFC relative to the recent scoping hearings on both bluefish and fluke. The e-mail address for bluefish is mseeley@asmfc.org — and for fluke, sea bass and scup it’s jbeaty@asmfc.org.

Andrea’s Toy from Keyport noted on Facebook that their first trip in Raritan Bay produced six stripers up to a 28-incher on Sunday. There was lots of bird life.

Joe Massa gave it a short try that day along with Herman Peters on his My Three Sons from Morgan Marina. Bunker were everywhere, and it was no problem to net then — but live baits weren’t bothered at all. They ended up catching three small stripers in shallow waters on the NJ side with bloodworms. Massa said he never saw so many gannets diving in the bay. Water temperatures were still low at 46-47 degrees in a chilly east wind.

The Ocean Explorer from Belmar had nice weather for Sunday’s cod trip, and got into more ling than the previous trip. Two keeper cod were also boated.

Southeast winds at 10 knots are forecast for the morning, with patchy fog and possible light rain. The wind shifts to southwest in the afternoon.

Sad news was received about a couple of North Jersey old-timers.

Manny Luftglass passed away in Lake Worth, Fl. last month at 84 after suffering complications from the flu. Manny wrote many fishing books, did some fishing columns for local papers and radio fishing reports.  He was twice elected as mayor of Somerville. His boat was named Gone Fishin, and I’m sure that’s what he’s doing now in heavenly waters.

The Hudson River Fisherman’s Association lost Fred Rung, a former vice president and 2013 winner of the HRFA’s highest honor– the Pete Barrett Award.

We’re still not up to what’s become the normal April start of the spring striper run in Raritan Bay, but there have been a few encouraging signs.

Just before publishing this blog, I got word from Andrea’s Toy Sportfishing in Keyport that they got into stripers today. Presumably, that was by trolling in Raritan Bay, but I’ll have to confirm that tomorrow.

At Seaside Park, Grumpy’s Tackle reports more stripers are being hooked on both bloodworms and small lure throughout Barnegat Bay. Most are under 25 inches, but a few keepers were reported Saturday.

The Ocean Explorer from Belmar got out in good conditions yesterday, but didn’t find any cod. There was lots of action with dogfish and bergalls. A few ling and a pollock were boated.

Monday starts with east winds at 10-15 knots and 3-foot seas. The wind will shift to southeast and blow harder at night with a possibility of showers after midnight.

Bob Correll of Bay Head has had to put up with constant northeast winds in Marathon, Fl. , but his wife Mary Agnes managed to jig a good-sized cero mackerel yesterday. Ceros are the least abundant of the tropical mackerels, and rarely encountered to the north when Spanish are often common and a few kings also reported during the summer. The cero is easy to identify  by the fairly solid lateral line. Others cut the mono leader with those sharp teeth.

Chris Appell of Locust Valley, N.Y. got a good fight out of a small tarpon before the release the previous evening when Correll ran his 32 See Vee to the shallows where it hit a live bait.