Hello everybody! This is my first weekly bulletin of the 1998 season. I have beencaught up in all the work of the Daily Fishing report on the Internet that it took the windout of my sails to keep a Weekly Bulletin going. Internet folks and Non-Internet folks, please be patient with the content of my Bulletins, because I may make references to items in the store or on the Internet that may not pertain to you individually. It is necessary for me to write to both audiences and that may become confusing at times.

I'll start by slamming the weather. I imagine that I am not alone in complaining about the over abundance of wet days this year. Some anglers actually enjoyed the nasty weather, because it brought a very productive run of Striped Bass this Spring to Graveling Point. On the flip side, many are behind on their boat work and are becoming a little cranky. Regulations are the hot item each May. The last week of April, the State of New Jersey saltwater regulations are distributed. The first thing we all do is flip to the new size and limits page and see if everything we have heard and read is accurate. Sometimes it is and well, sometimes it isn't. The major changes effecting most of the anglers fishing in Great Bay are for Fluke, Blackfish and Crabs...yes crabs. A quick summary of the changes...Fluke 15", 8 fish per angler...Blackfish, 10 fish Jan. 1 - May 31, 1 fish June 1 - Oct. 9, 10 fish Oct. 10 - Dec 31, at a minimum length of 14". Crabs- The only change is in crabs is in regard to the Commercial style crab pots. I guess it is the thought that counts. Bio-degradable panels and devices that prevent turtles from getting into the traps are now required on all crab pots that can catch crabs while the pots are unattended. We have condensed the regulations on to a single yellow sheet of paper that is on the counter, pick one up. The books that the State has issued are in a large pile in front of the counter; it's the book with the green and white cover. You guys on the net can just visit the salt water fishing regulations button on the homepage. But, for the complete regulations, be safe and pick up a booklet.

I have lost track of just how many days in a row it has rained, but I am sure Great Bay is muddy. For whatever fish you decide to try and catch the next few days, use bright color lures and jigs. Many knowledgeable anglers agree that the chartreuse color is a good fish producer under muddy water conditions. The Bluefish are still in Great Bay even after all of the rain. Two surf anglers caught four Bluefish, two short Striped Bass and a keeper Fluke from Pebble Beach on Tuesday morning. A lot of Bluefish have been caught since then too. Today, May 14, I weighed in several Bluefish between 8 and 10 pounds that were also caught at Pebble Beach. Boaters did not indicate to me any good Bluefish stories. I can safely assume that since the Blues are still as far back in the bay as Pebble Beach that they are surely in their favorite areas like Grassy Channel and the area of Little Beach (Northern most point of sand where Brigantine meets Little Egg Inlet) and along many of the other sand bars along Little Egg Inlet. Look for sea gulls to point the way to the feeding Bluefish. When you get there, troll a #3 Clarke Spoon or your favorite Bomber or Rebel Lure. Remember to choose a lure with light greens and yellow colors.

Fluke fishing was good before and is still good after all of the rain. Today was the first day anglers could actually try Fluke fishing again in quite a few days. The period of good Fluke fishing activity was short lived, due to the strong afternoon wind. Anglers had good activity in the clam stakes on the North West side of the fish factory. A ratio of three throwback Fluke to one keeper size Fluke didn't put a whole lot of fish in the box, but kept the fishing day pretty active. Squid and minnows are the bait choice for Fluke. Try an 1/8 or 1/4 ounce Chartreuse bucktail lure on one of your lines. I think you will be pleasantly surprised.

A last minute Friday morning update: Bluefish activity in Little Egg Inlet couldn’t get any better. The birds were pointing the way to the fish. It is a catching blitz at the time of this posting. Striped Bass were sucking up the Bloodworms at Graveling Point at 7:00am. Anglers returned for more bait, ‘cause they ran out! Still too early to expand on Fluke information, no new reports yet.