Can you feel the excitement? The weather is warmer, bait and tackle shops are open, more boats are heading out and the reports are getting better and better. A sure sign the fishing season has begun.
The offshore fishing report from the Atlantic Star for April 10 had all but a few anglers with their limit of sea bass and each averaged two to three tile fish.
Michael and Kim Hemsarth, Kenneth Square, Pa.; Jim Guelich, Mt Laurel; Peter Wong, Brooklyn, NY, and Dino Tabactsidis, Sicklerville; were among the successful anglers.
Heung Kim, Baltimore, Md., caught his limit of sea bass and an 18.5-pound tile to win the pool.
On April 13, the Atlantic Star had another great trip.
Chris Molinaro, North Haledon; Had Birchmire, Cherry Hill; Brad Warren, Malvern, Pa.; and Mike Jung, NY, all caught the limit of sea bass with fish up to 6.5-pounds.
Scott Dunlevy, North Haledon, brought in 20 sea bass including the 6.75-pound pool winner.
Schmedley Charters sent in their first report of the season. Captain Joe reports that Thursday, April 9 was a little different then the previous week; with the full moon, fishing wasn’t at its peak. He ended up at the Horseshoe, with a few shorts and a couple of keepers.
Good Friday, was definitely good for fishing. They had 11 stripers and one drum weighing 20-25-pounds. This was their first drum of the year. The Captain was fishing up by Egg Island Flats.
The Big Game has many open boat dates available including some prime drum dates in May. E-mail to reserve your dates at CAPTJPSR@aol.com.
Charlie Langan at South Jersey Marina is back as well and reports that their charter fleet is all de-winterized, fired up and ready to go.
With the striper and drum seasons underway, their recent trips have produced good results. This is just the beginning of what hopefully will be a banner Spring season. Anyone who wants to join in can book a charter reservation by dialing 609-884-3800.
Harbor View Bait and Tackle reports continued good striper fishing with keepers up to 34 inches; many anglers catching their limit.
Striper action remains steady in the upper bay with most fishers using clam but some plug and surface lures are working, too. The charter boat Risky Business also had their first drum fish.
Blackfishing is good on local wrecks with many limit catches of tog up to 10-pounds. Clams are working best there with some success on green crabs.
The summer flounder regulations in New Jersey consist of an open season from May 23 through Sept. 4, 18-inches or greater and 6 fish per day.
The size limit for black sea bass is now 12.5-inches, the season remains open all year with a bag limit of 25 fish per day.
Musky School on Greenwood Lake offered by Muskies Inc. Learn how to catch these elusive fish and support the improvement of NJ musky fishery. This six-hour course includes a shore lunch. This is a catch and release event, $300. Contact johnsonke@optonline.net or 201-563-2554 or muskiesinc.org/
Electronic Marine Concepts will be holding a free seminar on How To Use Your Radar, April 27, 6 p.m., 3156 Rt. 9 Suite 6, Rio Grande, 463-8867 or e-mail brianf@electronicmarineconcepts.com
David Pritchard, Captain Joe’s son has started a fishing forum at sjfishing.net. This site has information for fishing regulations, tide charts, permit updates, tournament info, and forum dedicated to all types of fishing.
Check out SeeMyBigFish.com and be sure to send your fish stories to cmiller@cmcherald.com. This column appears first online at capemaycountyherald.com
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