Famed N.J. marine artist Steve Goione just returned from covering Leg 2 of t he 2024 Los Suenos Signature Billfish Series where 42 teams fishing three days released over 2300 sailfish from those Costa Rican waters.

A small craft advisory is up in NY/NJ Bight until 10 p.m.

Friday’s forecast is for southwest winds at just 5-10 knots before changing to south 10-15 plus gusts to 25 with rain in the afternoon.

A gale warning is up in NY/NJ Bight through Thursday afternoon with the switch to clearing west winds. By morning it will be west at 25-30 knots plus gusts to 40 before dropping to 20-25 in the afternoon.

The Ocean Explorer from Belmar reported a nice day on the water Tuesday, but only short blackfish and pollock were caught from among the bergalls. They will switch to cod and pollock on Friday.

The Jamaica from Brielle will be running cod and pollock tris to 25-30 mile wrecks at 3 a.m. March 2 and 3. Call 732 528-5014 for reservations.

The lack of big bluefish was quite apparent. last year, and the final results of The Fisherman magazine’s Dream Boat contest illustrates that situation.

For several years there was a substantial run of jumbo blues into bays and rivers of NY/NJ Bight in late April and May which produced so many 15-pounders that the bluefish minimum was raised to 15 pounds. There were usually even bigger blues entered in the fall. Yet, last year there were only four blues entered in the spring and just the winner of 16.2 pounds in the fall as the last four places in the top ten went unclaimed by the best anglers from North Carolina to Maine.

There were decent quantities of small blues in the Bight during the summer and a few large ones among the abundant stripers in Raritan Bay during a brief period in the fall. Since stripers were eliminated from the Dream Boat as a conservation move, blues have usually been the largest of the seven species involved, but last year it was a 16.26-pound blackfish which won the contest for Bobby Cifarelli. Actually, he tied with Kyle Krause at 33 points. That huge tog became the tiebreaker as the biggest fish.

Bluefish have been regarded as a cyclical species in the past. There were periods of great abundance followed by almost complete disappearance. There were hardly any adult blues when I was a kid growing up on Long Island, even though we caught lots of snapper blues each summer with our cane poles. Hal Lyman of Salt Water Sportsman postulated a seven-year cycle, but after adults reappeared in the 1950s they grew bigger every year — and have never disappeared.

The present strict regulations will hopefully end the waste that prevailed during the prime years and limits the commercial fishery for what had been a cheap fish, but is now of greater value.

The Ocean Explorer from Belmar reported another beautiful day on the water Monday as there was lots of bergall life on bottom and a couple of cod boated plus one tog and some shorts. The pollock caught were shorts and went back.

Wednesday starts with south winds at 25-30 knots that increase to 30-35 in the afternoon along with 9-14-foot seas and showers.

Capt. Joe Massa with both a bluefish and striper from a “secret” spot.

The National Marine Fisheries Service reports that the zero retention regulation on shortfin mako sharks is continued this year. That applies to both recreational and commercial fisheries.

That species was the primary attraction to the once very important shark sport fishery which included many big money tournaments along much of the Atlantic coast. Despite all the pressure, makos remained fairly abundant before longliners started targeting them. As a member of the first Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, I was able to get a shark plan started and tried to get the longliners to accept a minimum size. Yet, they wouldn’t go for even 25 pounds. With a very poor reproductive rate, it surprised me that that the species stood up for so long before NMFS finally got involved. Don’t expect any change in status for some time in the future.

The great mid-winter forecast for Sunday was on target. The Ocean Explorer from Belmar reported “Wow what a nice day on the water,ocean was beautiful..We had life on the bottom..Plenty of perch biting along with the other exotics….Also had a handful of keeper blackfish to, just no jumbos..No cod or pollock today either..Nice day offshore with great people..Looking forward to getting back out there.”

A small craft advisory is up until 7 p.m. Tuesday starts with southeast winds at 10-15 knots which increase to 15-20 in the afternoon along with a chance of rain.

The Atlantic City Boat Show moves into Atlantic City Convention Hall from Wednesday to Friday and includes fishing seminars provided by The Fisherman magazine. Visit acboatshow.com for details.

The Empire State Outdoor Sportsman’s Show opens Thursday at Rockland Community College Fieldhouse in Suffern, N.Y. – and runs through Sunday. Call 845 319-3976 for details.

The Saltwater Fishing Expo will run from March 15-17 at the N.J. Convention Center in Center in Edison, N.J. For tickets and details visit saltwater sportshows.com

Monday’s forecast is for southwest winds at 10-15 knots plus gusts to 20 before dropping to 5-10 in the afternoon.

Sorry for the late blog, but I was tied up in a “wild” third birthday party for my granddaughter, Liz Gonzalez, in Palm Beach Gardens.

As noted in yesterday’s blog, the Sunday forecast in NY/NJ Bight could hardly be better for mid-winter, with north winds at only 10 knots or so before shifting to southwest in the afternoon.

Anglers in NY/NJ Bight should have a chance to wet a line this weekend.

A small craft advisory is up through Saturday afternoon, but the northwest 15-20-knot wind Saturday should knock down the big swell before Sunday’s great forecast of just 5-10 knots from that direction which will likely result in a flat calm ocean.

The Ocean Explorer from Belmar had to fight a big swell yesterday, but it wasn’t rough. There were a few short blackfish hooked from among bergall bites, but those who stuck with jigs picked at pollock, including a doubleheader, plus one cod. They expect to sail tomorrow.

This beautiful shot of bluefin tuna feeding in the Channel Islands was posted by John Overton Photography.

It’s been very windy and rough off Florida’s east coast this winter, but on Feb.19 a couple of fishermen were able to get offshore with their 42-foot Duffy to deep drop for swordfish. Everything went well for them as they boated a sword estimated at 500 pounds by formula. Unfortunately, this wasn’t a qualifying sportfishing catch as an electric reel was used.

A small craft advisory is up in NY/NJ Bight from this evening to next. Friday starts with southwest winds at 10-15 knots plus gusts to 20. Seas are 4 to 6 feet in an easterly swell which produce rough inlets. Rain is also predicted.

My phone has been down all day. Anyone trying to reach me should e-mail cristori@aol.com

The historic photo published here recently showed Asbury Park Fishing Club anglers with striped bass caught around 1910. I’m running that again in order to illustrate how fishermen dressed in the “good old days”. It’s been a long time since even party boat fishermen came aboard in coat and tie. The great NYC fisherman Vince Scotti showed me how he consistently trolled big bass with his long tube lure decades ago — and always arrived at his boat in an old suit before putting foul weather gear on top. Could that be the secret to catching big stripers?

The Ocean Explorer from Belmar reported about yesterday’s blackfish trip as follows:

“We made it out this morning in lumpy condtions but it did lay down and we had a comfortable day offshore…We had life to,,plenty of perch biting along with some short blackfish…handful of keeper blackfish onboard,,no Jumbos so your safe another day Timmy..No cod or pollock today,,guess they werent in the mood..Seasonal pool is 4400 bucks and wide open for the taking so come down and take a shot..We are fishing everyday unless weather stops us..See ya tomorrow.”

The forecast is for east winds at 5-10 knots before shifting to south in the afternoon. Seas will be 4-6 feet with a chance of afternoon rain.

The Ocean Explorer from Belmar got offshore yesterday and reported as follows:

“We had nice conditions offshore today,,a little rocky but not bad with Northwest winds..Had decent life again with water temps up to 43 degrees out there….Lots of perch biting kept you busy…But also had a few keeper blackfish,.6 or 7 keeper pollock and a nice codfish and ling to…So not a lot of fish and not everybody caught but enough to keep you interested..Caught the cod on a jig again and double header pollock on jig teaser as well.”

The NY/NJ Bight forecast is for east winds at 10-15 knots.