Two more months...
 

Till NJ fishing starts to get going ......

I'd say 3 more.

Two and a half.....:)

I usually don't start fishing till May but by April, others are ...

I used to start fishing in late March/early April in the Shrewsbury river for flounder, but with the 2 fish limit it just didn't make sense anymore. I can buy them already filleted in the store for a tenth of what the trip would cost, and these old bones are a lot more comfortable in a warm house instead of freezing in a boat that early in the year. Now I usually start when the snapper Bluefish show up.

Back in the 70's when I lived in Tom's River we would fish all winter long in the Jake's branch of the river for white perch, but I don't even know if they are still around. There was a hole off treasure island that they would school in. Sandworms on a dropper float going down about 15' would put 1-2 dozen in the boat each trip. Cold as heII, but fun fishing. White Perch fillets taste really good, kinda like a fishstick but without the mealy flavor you get from sticks.

Theres s a few crazy people here in Ohio breaking through ice in rivers and launches to get to Erie to walleye fish right now.

Im not that crazy. Ill wait another month, month and half to start to have my fun

Back in the day stories.....where do I start !
One would be renting a wooden dory from a place on Shinnecock Bay, hooking up our 9.5 Rude, and just bailing winter flounder on tandem hook rigs with 1" piece of worm on each hook.
40, 50 flounder days were common......my dad just baited and unhooked fish for us all.

Back then St. Patty's day was the unofficial start to the Flounder season, so we would run out to the Hampton's, go to Oscars rent the skiff, have him put on the 18 hp which he would only rent to me, (that's a long story) then head out to Heady Creek for those nice big fat Flounders. Sometimes getting past the Shinnecock Inlet was a problem. There were too many times I had to pull the boat into the creek due to the tide, but once we anchored, tied on our spreaders, put on the blood worms and chummed with corn, it was 2-3 hours of pure fun, until the tide changed.

My best day at Dale'sPoint at the bay side of the PtPleasant canal was an 80degree day in March. 15 pounds of flounder fillets. I miss those days in the tin boat.

The azaleas are starting to bloom here, soon Phatdaddy will post up a spanish mackeral report and it will be officially spring.

Yes - Hamptons......we rented from Tony's.......other side of bridge, on the bay not inlet side. Great winter flounder fishing.

hey b, you called it. not saying they are here in force, but the scouts have arrived.

Where are you located ?

Northern gulf coast, bout 1100 miles south of you.

I plan to be ready to fish by mid April........
1. Raritan Bay stripers
2. Ocean bunker stripers
3. Gator blues
4. Fluke, fluke and more fluke
5. Seabass, ling, tog, maybe a cod, whatever
6. Back to stripers

That's my typical season.

You forgot to add Steelhead Trout and Salmon from Lake Ontario. Nothing better than Salmon and Steelhead steaks on the grill.

Hey Destroyer, you forgot Black Fish!!!!

Lol You're right, I didn't mention them and neither did Bgreene. My bad. Truthfully though, I very, very rarely fish for them, so it was easy to forget them. Somehow I just never developed a taste for them.

I also didn't mention Weakfish, which are scarce now but if a legal one hits my lines while fishing for something else he's not going anywhere except in the fishbox. And don't even get me started on Whiting (Frostfish) that once were in such abundant numbers off our coast until the Draggers obliterated them. I still want to know why NOAA doesn't clamp down on the draggers .. they are killing the species .. :sad: :cry:

I had read the weak fish population destroyed by the commercial fleet that hits them during winter off the Carolina's. I read that the boats dump huge nets of weakies, headed to become soft wet canned cat food. Report was that they school up and become easy target for the nets.