John Bushell has been answering the question about how's the fishing that way for what seems like months now. When he answered a phone call at Betty and Nick's Bait and Tackle in Seaside Park on Friday morning, he repeated the short, to-the-point description of the scene on the beaches north of Barnegat Inlet.

And he already had weighed two striped bass and had eyewitness accounts of other short bass caught in the surf Friday morning. One of the bass weighed Friday went 12 pounds, and the other was 29 inches. One of the surfcasters reported on the Betty and Nick's website that he saw four other bass caught.

http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/s...a8a7dd035.html

It may be all over but the shouting for boaters, but striped bass are still available in January. The Fishermen and Sea Hunter have finished their seasons in Atlantic Highlands, and the Golden Eagle made it's last striper trip from Belmar today. Capt. Rich Falcone found little life to the south before turning around and heading north into some action. Nearly 30 shorts were released, but six keepers came aboard.

http://www.nj.com/shore/blogs/fishin...ble_to_th.html

With the sea bass season closed, the Jamaica from Brielle is switching to cod and ling on Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays at 4 a.m. Call 732 528-5014 for reservations. The last offshore wreck trip for jumbo sea bass on Saturday produced some sea bass limits plus a few cod and pollock -- and both a bluefin tuna and a lobster. Rob Finkle of Sparta boated a 30-pound pollock.

http://www.nj.com/shore/blogs/fishin..._cod_ling.html


Nick Honachefsky, now editor of Salt Water Sportsman in Florida, returned to his N.J. roots this week, to enjoy great ling fishing today at Shark River Reef on the Dauntless out of Point Pleasant. Along with six other friends, the catch came to about 250 ling plus three keeper cod and two legal sea bass. The largest fish boated was a 5-pound white hake. Most unusual was a 5-pound fluke that had to be released. As has been the case lately, many of the ling were small. However, Honachefsky said there were some larger ones included. His group did particularly well by using Gulp Swimming Mullet in addition to clams. Three other cod were boated by other anglers.

http://www.nj.com/shore/blogs/fishin..._the_daun.html

Don Marantz didn't do well jigging stripers aboard Miss Belmar Princess today, but he witnessed a most unusual event when a bluefin tuna in the 150-pound class was boated at Shrewsbury Rocks. It hit a jig worked by an angler from Hunterdon County, but was a group effort also fought by the mate and other patrons on tackle a tuna that size would normally strip in the blink of an eye. Capt. Len Forsyth followed the tuna until the most unusual catch was secured. Striper fishing was poor at the Rocks, but working birds were later located off Asbury Park where shorts and a few keeper bass were caught.

http://www.nj.com/shore/blogs/fishin...boated_on.html