With water temperatures still up around 50 degrees in the Mud Hole, and the upper 40s closer to shore, there’s an unusual January mix of species still available to anglers. Ling fishing has been very good, with some cod and blackfish included for bottom fishermen, while bluefish are still being caught in the Mud Hole — and bluefin tuna continue to tease boaters by surfacing in local waters.

The winter mackerel run is under way but hasn’t built up as yet. Captain Jimmy Elliott has had days with 100 mackerel a man on the Golden Eagle from Belmar, but those fish are still far to the east and mostly mediums. Captain Rich Falcone had the boat Thursday, when 50 mackerel was a good score, but herring are also being jigged.

Hopefully, it’s just the warmer waters that are delaying the run, as there have been none of the traditional inshore mackerel runs in the spring during recent years. Elliott said a striper was caught while jigging for mackerel this week, but was returned because they’re protected in federal waters.

The Golden Eagle sailed through birds working over school stripers and tuna just a mile offshore while returning to Shark River Inlet on Sunday.

There’s still no word on when the tough new tautog regulations (detailed in last Friday’s column) will come into effect, but all it will take is DEP Commissioner Robert Martin’s approval. Check my blog at nj.com/shore/blogs/fishing for updates. New York anglers took a real beating on tautog, as the 48 percent cut required there was almost entirely taken out of the recreational side. The angling minimum size was boosted from 14 up to 16 inches, and the four-fish limit applies for the season, which has been reduced to just Oct. 8 to Dec. 4. Meanwhile, the commercial limit was increased to only 15 inches — and there was no other change in commercial regulations.

The Garden State Outdoor Sportsmen’s Show drew big crowds last weekend at the Raritan Center. Captain Pete Myers was pleased with the business at his Run-Off Lures booth, and advised blackfish anglers that Axel Carlsen Reef remains a good bet for blackfish. He also noted that the bite is often best during the winter at mid-day.

A new Maryland tautog record was established Jan. 11 on the Morning Star from Ocean City when a 23-pounder was boated.

Captain Monty Hawkins said a 16¼-pounder was also taken that day, but he also placed 35 ALS tags in large blackfish that were released.

TOP CATCHES

At Point Pleasant, captain Bobby Bogan fished offshore wrecks in 150 feet Monday on his daily trip with the Gambler, and came up with a good catch of ling plus some cod. Bill Byrne of Toms River caught two dozen ling up to a 4-pounder plus a cod and an 8-pound white hake.

Captain Butch Egerter had a super day of ling fishing Thursday on his Dauntless, as catches ran into the 60s. Average trips have been producing 20 to 40 fish a man, with a few cod and blackfish included in the mix. Most surprisingly, there have been bluefish from 2 to 15 pounds almost every day in the Mud Hole. Three were caught Thursday, but about 30 hit on Monday, when there were also lots of tuna showing. A tuna was very briefly hooked a few days before that after hitting a fish being reeled up.

At Brielle, captain Howard Bogan Jr. found weekend bottom fishing on his Jamaica to be slow due to high winds and strong currents, but he had good ling action and some cod on Monday. The Jamaica sails from 4 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, and then departs at 11 p.m. for Sunday fishing on 50-to-100-mile wrecks. Call (732) 528-5014 for reservations.

Captain Joe Bogan found a few cod on snags during Saturday’s trip with his Jamaica II before adding lots of large ling. Anthony Coluccio of Mount Arlington bagged 54 ling, and Dale Isaacs from Manchester had 44, plus a cod.

Joe Melillo, at Castaways Tackle in Point Pleasant had a report of some small stripers being plugged Wednesday morning in the Deal area. Joe Blaze of Brielle and I checked that area Thursday morning, but the only angler we saw was casting off a Long Branch jetty. Blaze released a 30-incher while fly fishing in Island Beach State Park the Sunday morning before last. Don Hieb of Milford weighed in a 19-pound striper that Sunday at Betty & Nick’s in Seaside Park, and Eric Green took over the winter-long Polar Bear tournament at Grumpy’s Tackle in that town the following Tuesday by weighing in bass of 17.9 and 15.1 pounds.

Fewer than 40 of the $125 tickets are left for the Canyon Runner Seminar to be held in Atlantic City on Jan. 28. In addition to all the presentations and workshops, there will be a special session by experts on daytime fishing for swordfish. Call Adam La Rosa at (732) 842-6825 for reservations.

Fishing for sailfish has been exceptional with the northwest fronts that have hit the Florida Gold Coast lately. Miss Annie is one of the New Jersey boats berthed in Florida for the winter and chartering for sailfish. She’s located at Sailfish Marina on Singer Island in Palm Beach Shores.

For information contact captain Matt Rabenstine at (561) 927-7967.

Captain Pete Wagner, of Hyper Striper at Highlands, is averaging four to 10 Pacific sailfish in the 80-to-110-pound class per day with Dream Girl at his winter base in Los Suenos on the west coast of Costa Rica.

A dorado (dolphin) or two is usually included. He can be e-mailed at hyperstripercharters.com.

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LING: Fishing for red hake has been very good lately on Mud Hole and Shark River Reef wrecks. Scotland and the Farms are other possibilities.

COD: The best is yet to come when water temperatures get lower. A few are being picked on offshore wrecks, and wherever ling are located.

MACKEREL: There are some in the Mud Hole, but more further to the east. Most have been mediums so far. Hopefully, the main body hasn’t reached us as yet.

BLACKFISH: The best action now should be in deeper waters such as 17 Fathoms, though the Axel Carlsen Reef and the Rattlesnake should also produce.

STRIPED BASS: Still a possibility. Some were reported from the Deal surf this week. 

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This January is one for the books! Capt. Arthur Stokes was trying to troll bluefin tuna surfacing this morning in 60 feet of water off the Spring Lake Hotel from his Fintastic out of Clarks Landing in Point Pleasant. What are tuna doing here in the middle of the winter? 

From a catching standpoint, mackerel and ling are much better bets. Capt. Jimmy Elliott of the Golden Eagle from Belmar had another good day with mackerel, as most fares had about 100 mackerel on the east side of the Mud Hole. Elliott said there was no drift in the light morning wind, and dogfish were a problem — but it was still good fishing. Unfortunately, the easterly wind and rain will probably eliminate that fishing for a day.

Bruce Vitale of Piscataway fished aboard the Ocean Explorer from Belmar, and reported good ling action plus some tautog.

You can’t prove it by me, but there are still some stripers around. Grumpy’s Tackle in Seaside Park reported that their winter contest had a new leader Tuesday when Eric Green weighed in two bass of 17.9 and 15.1 pounds.  

Joe Blaze of Brielle and I walked on at Island Beach State Park in the morning and cast into a calm, clear sea with just a 3-foot swell. It was a great morning to be on the beach, and cormorants were picking up some sand eels, but we never had a hit. The only other angler there did get one light tap. I also tried casting a plug into the building east wind in the evening at Point Pleasant with the same lack of results.  

A better place to be on Thursday will be at the Garden State Outdoor Sportsmen’s Show in Raritan Center, Edison. That show runs through Sunday at the Expo Center. Go to www.gsoss.com for information and directions. I’ll have more about the show tomorrow, and will be doing seminars there Saturday and Sunday.

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Mackerel: Solid fishing from the east side of the Mud Hole to Ambrose. Mostly mediums so far.

Ling: Very good catches being made on Mud Hole and Shark River Reef wrecks, as well as at 17 Fathoms.

Cod: A pick on wrecks from the Mud Hole out to the east. Should get better when water finally turns much colder.

Striped bass: The boat action has been from Shark River up to Shrewsbury Rocks, but anything could happen after the storm. Joe Mellillo at Castaways Tackle in Point Pleasant said night fishing had been good before the storm for 24-to-28-inch bass on jetties from Belmar north at night. The surf is very dirty from the storm, but should clean up with a couple of tide changes. Melillo said the water temperature went up with the storm.

Blackfish:There had been good action inshore in 65-foot depths before the storm. The bottom water has been several degrees warmer than the surface. There’s now some action further off at 17 Fathoms.

Bluefin tuna: Unbelievably, there were bluefins surfacing off the Spring Lake Hotel in 65 feet on Wednesday.

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Weekend prospects are looking good, with temperatures going back up to the fifties.

Striped bass: Surfcasters continue to pick away at mostly short bass. I plugged one Thursday morning at Point Pleasant (and lost another), and plugged another at dusk. There was a surf blitz of mostly 15-to-20-pound stripers from Point Pleasant to Mantoloking on Wednesday afternoon, but there were no birds or fish the next afternoon.

 There will be no party boats fishing for stripers after the Gambler from Point Pleasant completes Friday’s trip before switching to daily cod and ling on Saturday. The Gambler picked a dozen keepers and 20 shorts while jigging Thursday on readings south of the inlet. The Sea Hunter from Atlantic Highlands quit after Sunday, but had been into lots of shorts and some keepers under birds between the channels.

Mackerel: None have been caught so far, but the winter run is overdue. Capt. Jimmy Elliott begins daily 7 a.m. trips to the Mud Hole with the Golden Eagle from Belmar. Miss Belmar Princess will be doing likewise.

Blackfish: These fish are still being caught in relatively shallow waters. Capt. Stan Zagleski had a good catch from Elaine B.out of Highlands in just 65 feet, about 3 1/2 miles offshore, on Thursday. While the surface temperature was 44 degrees, it was a “balmy” 50 degrees on the bottom.

Cod: After the best local codfishing in decades ast winter, there’s been no end to the season as cod were caught throughout the summer at areas such as Shark River Reef.  The week before Christmas we jigged cod in relatively shallow waters at Shrewsbury Rocks.

Ling:Large quantities are being caught on deep Mud Hole wrecks and at Shark River Reef. Many are small, but there are enough large ling to make the effort worthwhile.  

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Following is the balance of Friday’s column that didn’t make print:

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Capt. Jimmy Elliott got the winter mackerel season started today on the Golden Eagle from Belmar. There were just spurts of jigging action, though the high hook had 75 to 100 of the small to mediums. There were also plenty of herring, and spiny dogfish weren’t a problem for those who kept their rig off bottom. One bluefish was also hooked. Elliott expects to do better on Sunday as he’l be concentrating on the portions of the Mud Hole that produced best.

The Jamaica from Brielle had very good ling fishing today, plus a few cod up to a 10-pounder. Sunday’s trip is from 4 a.m. to 5 p.m. Call 732 528-5014 for reservations.

Striped bass are still a possibility in the surf. Joe Blaze of Brielle and I walked on at Island Beach State Park this morning. I released a short and dropped another on a Tsunami Halograpic Sand Eel. John Miller used the same lure just north of me to release a 30 1/2-inch bass. Blaze didn’t have any luck on fly tackle in a very strong current running to the north.  It was a pleasure to fish in the mild weather, but the surf was surprisingly rough for virtually no wind.

Betty & Nick’s in Seaside Park reported  that Ron Tremblay of Howell kept bass of 9 and 11 pounds in the park, and released  a 17-pounder on a schoolbus Bomber. That shop also knew of a 12-pounder at Lavallette and of some shorts at 2-Bit Road.

 Bob Correll of Bay Head fished locally to break the ice for the new season with a short on metal at his local beach.

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Capt. Jimmy Elliott called from the Golden Eagle out of Belmar this afternoon to report he’s found the concentration of mackerel after just picking in the Mud Hole yesterday. A move to Ambrose produced coolers full of medium mackerel. The Golden Eagle is sailing daily at 7 a.m. for mackerel.

Capt. Mike Copeman of Renegade from Point Pleasant said the hot afternoon striper bite north of Shark River Inlet dropped off the last two days. Another boat got into stripers earlier in the day at Shrewsbury Rocks, and the Renegade caught acouple of bass after the hot bite was over. Copeman will continue to fish the afternoons when those stripers have been hitting. Art Berkman was the angler who jigged the 40-pounder on the Renegade during Friday afternoon’s trip. He used a T-Hex jig.

Joe Blaze of Brielle had already caught and released a striper of about 30 inches on his fly rod after walking on at Island Beach State Park before I even got there after rigging my rod. Blaze said the bass hardly fought, as he was able to strip it in rather than reeling in the clack line to fight it on the fly rod. There were lots of anglers enjoying another great day on the beach, but I saw only one other fish hooked — and it got off.

Bruce Vitale of Piscataway fished aboard the Gambler from Point Pleasant with Mike Obuch from Bridgewater as they had a fine catch of ling after the first few drops weren’t productive. Vitale, who noted that the mates were very helpful when spiny dogfish interfered, also had a 5-pound cod, a conger (silver eel), and an ocean pout. A few sea bass were also caught, but had to be returned as the season is closed.

Capt. Joe Bogan fished a wreck today that was loaded with porgies. The Jamaica II from Brielle also had cod up to a 25 1/2-pounder by Trevor Daniels of Mt. Holly — plus ling. The next 14-hour trip departs at 3 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 14. Thursday’s trip produced 30 or more ling per person. Kevin Matysik of Perth Amboy  bagged 81 ling and one cod.  

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Captains Bob and Mike Bogan wish they didn’t decide to make the move from stripers to cod on Saturday after the results of the last two days on the Gambler from Point Pleasant. Mike only fished the Mantoloking pipe on Thursday for a a dozen keepers up to 20 pounds plus 20 shorts — and even a 10-pound cod.  However, it appeared this morning that the south wind had killed that action. I jigged a 31-inch bass on a 6-ounce Run-Off Hammered jig, but the only other keeper was a similar bass jigged by mate Kevin Pavone - and there was just one short. Bogan couldn’t work the pipe properly with the change in wind, and eventually made the run south to the Seaside pipe – where just one short was jigged. Back north at the Mantoloking pipe there was no action at all except for the winter season’s first mackerel on a teaser. It looked like a poor ending to the very extended striper season before the skipper moved north and found some gannets diving just north of Shark River Inlet. The first drift produced instant hook-ups with a variety of sizes, and the second resulted in several 15-to-20-pound bass being boated.  Mike Bogan came down to jig the largest of 25 to 30 pounds, and he reported the Renegade from Point Pleasant (the only other boat out there) had a 40-pounder. Most anglers caught at least one or two keepers, but there were also bass as small as 20 inches. All in all, it was an incredible sight for January 6. Where were all those bass in November?

There should be more mackerel reports Saturday as the Golden Eagle and Miss Belmar Princess run out of Belmar to the Mud Hole to get the winter season started.

Joe Melillo, of Castaways Tackle in Point Pleasant surf-fished locally in the afternoon, and only had one hit while plugging — though Kenny Reed of that town released a 30-inch striper when they first arrived.

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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. Capt. Jimmy Elliott will begin running the Golden Eagle at 7 a.m. Saturday for mackerel. None have been caught locally so far, but there have been some reports from the east. Mackerel are overdue for the winter run, and the water temperature is right for them to be in the Mud Hole. Elliott said it was the same thing during the last warm winter, when mackerel didn’t show until January — but the season then ran much later into the winter.

The Gambler from Point Pleasant will stick with stripers through Friday.

Betty & Nick’s Tackle in Seaside Park had reports of a few stripers being caught in Island Beach State Park this morning. I made a brief attempt in the Point Pleasant surf when I saw Roy Heartley plug the second of his two shorts. A couple of others were also caught along the beach, and I got one hit on a Tsunami Halographic Sand Eel.

Capt. Pete Meyers, of Run-Off Lure Co., made his annual Jan. 1 trip for big blackfish Sunday on a friend’s boat out of Manasquan Inlet. There were no huge tog that day, and hardly any at all on Sea Girt Reef. A move to to the Axel Carlsen Reef produced a decent catch, including some 4-to-5-pounders.

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