Well, the calendar says April, but the thermometer reads like its late February or early March. That cold wind doesn’t help either. But in spite of all that, April 1 brought with it the opening of the 2017 spring tog season. No fooling! That’s two big species, striper being the other which opened in the backwater in March, that are now available for us. Also, some of the shops are starting to open now, so the fishing lifestyle is definitely starting to awaken from its winter slumber. Let’s get moving.
Leading off – our baseball reference of the week – is Cameron at Boulevard Bait and Tackle. The shop is located just off Route 9 at the beginning of Sea Isle Boulevard. It opened full time for the season on Saturday, April 1 and had a nice supply of bloodworms available for those looking for them. The staff is also doing repairs to your rods and reels. That’s full rod repair, not just the tips. They can work on your reels also if necessary, and if you just need line, well that’s available, too. They work on all manufacturers, so stop by if you need assistance.
Some anglers that recently got out, succeeded and reported to Cameron are Roger and his daughter, who went perch fishing and ended up catching 10 “small stripers.” That theme continued as Clay got out to pursue perch, but caught 20 short stripers. Oh, he also caught a 30-inch keeper during his time on the water. He put his time in and was rewarded for his efforts. It just brings to mind the saying, “You can’t catch anything if you don’t get your line wet.” Chris, who had soft plastics and bloodworms as bait, also got in on the action. He caught a number of small stripers. The rivers and bays leading to them have led some to say, “The amount of juvenile stripers is insane!” It’s “a good sign for years to come.”
Sunday was good for Kris and Rob who caught 20+ stripers which had two legal fish plus a few perch, and Mike and John also chipped in with “steady striper action” which ended with one legal fish. “More keepers are showing up in the bays and rivers,” so that should give you an idea on where to head if you want to help contribute to our report. Good luck if you get out.
The Porgy 4 from Cape May got out Sunday and had some blackfish make it over the rail. An angler from a fishing forum I belong to caught six, with two of them being keepers. He was happy as it put some meat on the table. He reported it was slow in the beginning, but Captain Paul worked hard to get his fares on the fish, and it paid off.
Another Cape May boat, the Sea Star III, is set to get their U.S. Coast Guard inspection on April 5 and plans to set sail for the 2017 season on Easter weekend. The Good Friday trip on April 14 will depart at 9 a.m. and target blackfish. Captain Chuck also reports they are now taking reservations for their “PRIME TIME DRUMFISH” trips. Call (609) 884-3421 to get details, dates and most importantly, your seats.
Captain Skip from Stalker Fishing Charters in Cape May got his season started on Monday. He’s fishing out of his “spring dock in the upper bay” after moving the boat up there over the weekend. He got away from the dock on Monday, April 4, and immediately had his customers on fish. A couple were pictured in a report, and the fish caught went up to 25 pounds. That’s a good way to kick off his opening day. Give him a call at (609) 972-5218 to check for open dates.
Captain Tom from Fishin’ Fever Sportfishing Charters got out a report Thursday that I saw before completing the column. He was able to get out for three of the first six days of the month. The first two trips were “real tough,” but the third was more rewarding. They were able to get a near limit for the charter, and that included fish to 13 pounds. Call (609) 868-6014 for trip availability.
Jim’s Bait and Tackle in Cape May is up and running. They posted some pictures of the shelves being stocked, plus some jumbo bloodworms that they have for sale. They also reported some small stripers being taken from the beaches. Stop in, say hi and grab something the fish are hitting on, be it bait or whatever the hot lure is.
I got word of yet another local shop opening up for the season. Off The Hook Bait and Tackle is now ready for business. The store will be open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. until April 15, and then probably later in the day after that. Yes, just joking, as we know they’ll go later than 4 p.m. Right now they’re loading the shop with rods, reels and plenty of rigs. One special they have going on right now is 50 and 80 quart Calcutta coolers. Respectively, they are going for $249 and $299. Stop in for that special, for another need or just to say hi.
Slightly north in Avalon, the Miss Avalon had a video on Facebook that showed the boat getting ready to be dunked as their winter work was being completed. After a run back to Avalon, they will be pulling out on April 8 for their first blackfish trip of the season. If you head out and get a large tog, you can enter into their month long “TOGZILLA” contest. Give them a call at (609) 967-7455 or email them at info@missavalon.com.
For those looking for tog and willing to travel a bit, the T jetties up in Atlantic City are producing some nice three- to five-pound tog. A number of pictures that I saw had some nice looking tog, while some anglers had multiple fish. Grab your Korkers so you don’t slip on the rocks, get some crabs or clams for bait, and get out and give it a try.
Well, as you can see a lot is going on. Try to get out and get involved, and maybe I’ll see you around.
Send fishing news and photos to mrobbins@cmcherald.com.
