What a great weekend! So many of us have waited for the dewinterization process to begin! Turning on the water and opening seasonal homes as well as pulling the shrink wrap or boat cover, the Island was lively and the shop was buzzing. After a snowy, cold, windy winter, it was great to see all the familiar faces.
Some anglers got out and fished. A couple guys hit the surf, but no report rebound. One can only assume, no report is bad news. For the most part local fishing is still concentrated to the winter hold over locations. Soon the early season hot spots will kick into gear.
In terms of one hold over location, Oyster Creek, there’s been lots of action but with that comes lots of fishing pressure. The traffic can be tough but fun fishing is there to be had.
Striped bass and winter flounder are the two main target species. Some small blues(hold overs or new arrivals?) were recently caught and bunker have been in there too. Guys catching bass are fishing with small bucktails, jigs and soft plastics. Baits like live blood worms and clam are also getting bites for the crew posted up on the bridge. Winter flounder are also chewing live bloods there too.
One customer reported, “Caught a handful of fishing today (Saturday). Yesterday was was much better!” Another report came from Finn Krokus of Little Egg. He fished this weekend and caught both bass and winter flounder. Here’s a photo of one winter flounder.
Just a heads up… For the time being we are still on winter hours (7am to 6pm). Soon we’ll extend. It all dependent on the weather, fishing and in store traffic.
Upcoming Fishing Tournaments
— Save The Dates —
The 15th Annual 2018 Berkeley Striper Club Spring Striped Bass Catch & Release Tournament starts May 24th. For More Info
The 17th Annual LBI Spring Surf Fishing Tournament starts April 21st. This year a bluefish division was added. For More Info