Though the winter weather has been pretty good, it changes quickly — and another west gale watch is up from Saturday night through Sunday afternoon. However, Saturday starts well with southeast winds of a mere 5-10 knots before going southwest in the afternoon. Light rain and patchy fog is possible.

There were no fishing reports today, but the morning conditions should be fine for surfcasting and blackfishing. The Jamaica from Brielle will make their first Saturday cod trip of the winter at 4 a.m.  Room is available by calling 732 528-5014.

Chuck Manny continues to release big Virginia stripers during the catch and release season on his Ty Man out of Cape Charles. That included a 50 for Bob Bowden.

Chuck advises anglers who want a shot at these big pre-spawning bass that weigh more than normal, due to all the roe they’re carrying, by contacting SHO-NUF Sportfishing at 757 710-0098.That boat had a trip this week with eight bass out of 12 hits slow trolling live eels — and those bass releases ranged from 45 to 53 inches.

Blackfishing looks as if it will remain a best bet for some time as waters remain mild and tautog can still be found in relatively shallow waters.

The Big Mohawk from Belmar reported decent blackfishing today with some limits and a pool tog of about 7 pounds. Both types of crabs produced, though more keepers were caught on whiteleggers. They sail open at 7 a.m. tomorrow.

The Jamaica from Brielle switches to cod on wrecks to the east after the sea bass season closed at the end of 2019. They sail from 4 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Jan. 4, 10 and 12. Call 732 528-5014 for reservations.

The Mimi VI from Point Pleasant is sailing open at 7 a.m. Saturday and Sunday for blackfish. See photo above. The fare is $80, and reservations can be made by calling 732 330-8019.

Though small craft warnings are up through Friday afternoon, the present windy weather should drop off to southwest at 5-10 knots by morning. However, rain is expected.

Chuck Many continues to catch trophy stripers from his Tyman at Cape Charles, Va. during the release season by slow trolling live eels. He was alone last week for an epic trip with all bass from 36 to 54 pounds.

Tank Matraxia reported that strong west winds made for miserable blackfishing conditions even on the sturdy Tagged Fish from Highlands as the short chop almost made him seasick for the first time in decades. The fishing was also no good at Sandy Hook Reef and Shrewsbury Rocks. Tank said only a striper and a couple of tog were caught, and they were all shorts.

Ironically, he got word that a tog he tagged in May was caught on the same boat he was fishing on that day — Lock N Load. They were anchored very close to shore in calm conditions and had both keeper and short blackfish. It’s most unusual for those fish to be in shallow water on Jan. 1.

Small craft warnings are coming down tonight, and the morning forecast is for southwest winds at 10-15 knots with gusts to 20. Rain is expected after midnight tomorrow.

The west winds were good for Ocean County surf stripers this morning, and Jerry Lasko reported that he started the New Year off right with two  stripers while Maren Toleno released four.

My best wishes to all for a Fishy New Year and the catch of your dreams!

The ocean calming west winds are kicking in with gusts to 30 knots tonight. By morning it will be 20-25 knots with gusts to 30. Small craft warnings are up through late Wednesday night.

There were no reports today, and not all boats will be sailing on New Years Day. The Ocean Explorer from Belmar will be sailing for blackfish as usual at 7:30.  Hopefully the fishing will be as productive as it was for Joe Massa and his crew on My Three Sons from Morgan Marina during their last trip.

The Jamaica from Brielle is winding up its offshore wreck trips for jumbo sea bass before the season closes at the end of the month — with the last such trip departing at 11 tonight. Call 732 528-5014 to determine if any reservations are available.

Though a gale watch is in effect until 10 p.m., it will be dropping out later tonight — and the morning forecast is for west at 10-15 knots with gusts to 25 that will start knocking down the swell. Actually, the start of the NE this morning turned on the surf stripers after three days of poor fishing. Jerry Lasko reported that Maren Toleno released 33 bass and he had 13.

There was something very special about the weekend sea bass trip as Joe Welsh of Hopatcong not only caught his expected sea bass limit, but also added a mako shark estimated at over 475 pounds. Several lines had been cut off before Welsh reeled in a small dogfish that the mako came up for. It should have been a simple matter for the mako to strip even heavy sea bas tackle in seconds, but it hung around the boat and failed to cut the leader. As a result, it was hit with every gaff on the boat — most of which were broken or straightened out as the “green” mako went wild.

The gale watch in effect through Monday will certainly affect fishing, and may well push the school stripers still hanging on to feed on sand eels to the south before the waters clear.  East winds will be gusting to 25 knots tonight, and will be east at 20-25 knots tomorrow before gusting to 35 in the afternoon.

You never know what may happen at this time of year as long as water temperatures remain in the forties. As noted in yesterday’s blog, Joe Massa got into lots of school stripers on the way back from blackfishing to Morgan Marina with his My Three Sons. Those were only small bass under birds, but during Christmas Week about a decade ago my son Mike and I joined Massa to check out Shrewsbury Rocks and spotted bids working at the inner buoy. Mike dropped a jig, but the expected bass turned out to be a cod!

We went on to jig a mix of stripers and cod including both shorts and keepers up to the mid teens. I also caught bluefish (remember them?), and Mike even jigged a blackfish. To top it off, a medium bluefin tuna jumped out of the water at the inner buoy. Though cod are found in shallow waters at times in New England, it’s very rare to find them so close to shore in the Mid-Atlantic. Other boaters got some of those cod the next day before a storm put an end to what we thought might be a basic change to area fisheries that’s never been repeated.  A photo of the striper marks Massa had on his Fishfinder yesterday follows:

Joe Massa took advantage of today’s weather to run down the beach with his My Three Sons from Morgan Marina to some of his favorite blackfish drops that produced enough keepers up to 21 inches among lots of shorts on whitelegger crabs before coming across working birds on the way back. His crew then had light tackle sport releasing 20-24-inch stripers on jigs.

The Elaine B. II from Bahrs in Highlands had lots of tog action Friday, and added their first cod of the year.

Bob Matthews reports from Fisherman’s Den in Belmar Marina that party boats there continue to do very well with blackfish, while surfcasters are catching small bass.

Good weather continues tomorrow with northeast winds at 5-10 knots before shifting to east in the afternoon. On the other hand, a gale watch will be going up for Monday morning through late that night.

Anglers who haven’t already loaded up on sea bass are running out of time as the season closes at the end of the month.

The far offshore wrecks remain loaded with jumbo sea bass, and a few more trips are available. The forecast is great with northwest winds at just 10-15 knots on Saturday.

The Jamaica from Brielle reports Thursday’s trip produced many sea bass limits up to 7 pounds plus some big porgies and a few weakfish. They have room on trips sailing at 11 p.m. Sunday and Monday. Call 732 528-5014 for reservations. The Paramount will be making the same trips at 9 p.m. tonight and tomorrow.

Capt. Stan Zagleski found blackfishing to be just fine on his Elaine B. II from Bahrs in Highlands today after making a move to deeper water following a slow start. Most fares caught about four keepers — and he’ll be doing the same thing at 7 a.m. tomorrow in a fine weather forecast.

The forecast is for south winds at 10 knots, shifting  to southwest in the afternoon.

Jerry Lasko reported that Ocean County surf conditions were about the same as yesterday. He caught seven school stripers, and Maren Toleno released 17.

The Canyon Runner Seminar is coming up Feb. 1 in Atlantic City.  The cost of tickets is $125, and they are well worth it for offshore anglers. Some of what will be presented follows:

You Can’t Afford to Miss This! New for 2020 – Capt. Deane Lambros – Specialized Big-Eye Tuna Trolling Techniques New for 2020 – Capt. Deane Lambros – Advanced Canyon Recon – How & WHEN to Find and Catch Your Quarry Without Fishing the Crowd – Fish Earlier and Farther  New for 2020 – Capt. Capt. Jim Freda – “Shore Catch” Inshore Tuna – When, Where, Why & How “Core Class”  New for 2020 – Capt. Gene Quigley – “Shore Catch” – Top Water Tuna – Plugging, Popping and Stick Baits – Casting for Tuna New for 2020 – Capt. Craig Angelini – Advanced Offshore Sharking for Monster Makos New for 2020 – Capt. Mike Zajac – “Core Class” – Learn How to Truly Run the Pit like the Professional Mate New for 2020 – Capt. Mark DeCabia “Rebel” – How to Have a Successful Canyon Trip Without Targeting Bigeyes (Focus on Yellowfins, Longfins, Mahis, Swords – How to Adapt to What & WHEN the Ocean Gives) New for 2020 – Capt. Mark DeCabia “Rebel” – Bigeye or Bust – Private boat big-tactics – Average More Big-eyes per trip than the Pros – Big Fish Tactics New for 2020 – Using Your Electronics to Find Fish “Core Class” – Matt Finney – Master Electronics Technician – Wintron New for 2020 – Capt. Tim Pickett – Day Time Swords in Northeast Canyons – It’s On in the Northeast – Just Ask Some of our Attendees Last Year New for 2020 – Capt. Tim Pickett – Small Boat Dredge Fishing – Fish Your 30 Footer Like a 60 Footer New for 2020 – Lt. Wynn Carney – Supervisory Enforcement Officer, Mid-Atlantic Region – Ask Any Question you May Have – Learn Why The Rules are What They Are New for 2020 – Latest Tracking Northeast Yellowfin & Big-Eye Tuna by Dr. Walter Golet MOST BREAKOUT TOPICS EVER! 1)  Canyon Recon – The Art of Finding Tuna – “Core Class” – How & WHEN to Find and Catch Your Quarry Without Fishing the Crowd – Fish Earlier and Farther – Capt. Deane Lambros & Canyon Runner Team 2) Advanced Big-Eye Tactics – Specialized Big-eye Tuna Trolling Techniques – Capt. Deane Lambros & Canyon Runner Team 3)  Offshore Sharking for Monster Makos – Capt. Craig Angelini & Canyon Runner Crew 4)  Water Temp Analysis “Core Class” Basic Courses for First Time Attendees – Capt. Len Belcaro 5) How to Have a Successful Canyon Trip Without Targeting Bigeyes (Focus on Yellowfins, Longfins, Mahis, Swords – How to Adapt to What & WHEN the Ocean Gives) – Capt. Mark DeCabia “Rebel” 6)  Advanced Water Temp Analysis – Debrief on the Year – Capt. Len Belcaro 7)  Using Your Electronics to Find Fish “Core Class” – Matt Finney – Wintron 8)  Private Boat Big-Eye Tactics  – Outfish the Pros – Capt. Mark DeCabia 9) Rigging Ballyhoo for Tuna “Core Class – Hands On Training” – Canyon Runner Crew 10) Small Boat Dredge Fishing – Capt. Tim Pickett 11) Canyon Trolling 101 “Core Class” – Must Know to Excel Offshore – Capt. Craig Angelini & Canyon Runner Crew 12) Day & Night Time Sword Fishing the Canyons – Yes It’s Happening – Capt. Tim Pickett – Lindgren Pitman 13) NMFS – Ask Any Question You May Have – Learn Why The Rules are What They Are – Lt. Wynn Carney – Supervisory Officer 14) Hi-Tech Rigging Baits for Big Fish – Capt. Charlie Vanderbeck – Canyon Runner 15) Canyon Chunking 101 “Core Class” – Rig Up like a Professional Crew – Capt. Chris Squieri Atlantic Yacht Haven 16) Tuna Jigging 101 – Learn from The Best – Dave Arbeitman – The Reel Seat 17) Offshore Trolling & Chunking from a Center Console – Capt. Freddy Gamboa – Andrea’s Toy 18) Winning Marlin Tactics – Tournament Winning Angler Brad Burgess – Canyon Runner 19) Offshore Game Plan – Trolling & Chunking – Capt. Sean Welsh & the Crew of the Restless Lady 20) Inshore Tuna – When, Where, Why & How “Core Class” – Capt. Capt. Jim Freda – “Shore Catch” 21) Engine Preventative Maintenance & Repairs at Sea – John Lane – Forked River Diesel 22) Tilefishing the Canyons – Dave Arbiteman – Reel Seat 23) Learn How to Service and Maintain Your Reels – Penn Reel’s Technicians – 15 Minute Hands-On Session 24) Rod Building, Repair and Maintenance – Joey Lamonica from Joeys Rod Building -15 Minute Hands-On Session 25) Learn How to Truly Run the Pit like the Professional Mate – Capt. Mike Zajac & Canyon Runner Crew 26) Latest Tracking Northeast Yellowfin & Big-Eye Tuna by Dr. Walter Golet 27) Gulf Stream Marlin & Yellowfin Trolling – Capt. Dennis Ednee – “A-Salt Weapon” 28) Top Water Tuna – Plugging, Popping and Stick Baits – Casting for Tuna – Gene Quigley – “Shore Catch” *”Core Classes” – While big-eyes and tournaments might steal some of the headlines – 95% of the time when you are offshore your focus should be on these core skills. If this is your first time attending our Seminar or if you’ve been here before but haven’t attended one of these classes – it’s time you do so. It’s these skills that build the foundation of a great offshore team. For additional information and Tickets Call 732-272-4445 Email: info@canyonrunner.com

Canyon Runner, 62 Ivy Hill Rd, Red Bank, NJ 07701

They should all be much further south by this time, but school striped bass are still feeding in the N.J. surf. Maren Toleno and Jerry Lasko celebrated Christmas morning with the Ocean County bass as she caught 30 and Jerry 10 in a surf with some swell and whitewater. With northeast 10-15 knot winds forecast  tomorrow that fishing should continue. Pete Connell was passing through Spring Lake yesterday morning when he spotted a surfcaster leaving and found out that he had released a couple of bass there.

The party boat fleet should also be in full operation tomorrow.