Fishing Line: March 29

Well, the early stretch of nice weather has proven to be just a tease of what should be arriving fairly soon.
As I start writing this column, it is cold and windy, but with the knowledge that stripers and perch are still being caught and that blackfish season opens in a few days, we’ll get through.
I personally like cold weather, so it doesn’t really bother me. It’s the wind that makes things tough and ruins trips. You only need to look to last fall and count the lost trips to realize that.
Hopefully, the wind won’t shorten an already short, as in one month, spring blackfish season, as well as what was shaping up to be a great early spring striper season. Let’s check out what’s been occurring around the area lately.
The recent windy and rainy weather has hampered the fishing scene throughout the area. After the rainy, windy weekend a couple weeks back, the waters were stingy with giving up their fish.
As the week was ending, one lucky couple used their share of St. Patrick’s Day luck to each land a nice keeper striped bass. Absecon Sportsman Center reported that Lynn and Jimmy Gifford each recorded 30-inch keepers during a morning of fishing. They were using bloodworms as bait in an unidentified river in Atlantic County.
It’s a good sign that the fish are still around and, hopefully, the warm weather predicted for this weekend will get them feeding in earnest.
Congratulations go out to 15-year-old Ayden Overstreet. His dad, Brandon, who I know and have fished with and who has been mentioned in the column before, reported that Ayden caught his first striper of the season. It was a 29-inch, 8.5-pounder. The fish hit on a bloodworm that was offered during their recent outing along the Delaware River.
Capt. Skip, at Stalker Charters, recently started his backwater striper trips. With the overall milder than normal winter we’ve had and with the forecast calling for increasing temperatures, Skip, in addition to a lot of us, is just waiting for fishing to break out all over. Give him a call at 609-972-5218 to grab an April or May date to check out the backwaters of our area.
The local boats are getting ready to ply their trades and search for fish. I’ll pass on news of these as I receive them. Let’s see what news came out this week.
The Miss Avalon is now in her slip. Capts. Irv and Brandon, and the crew, are finishing up with the winter work inside the boat. Obviously, the dry-dock jobs are completed, and only minor details and preparation remains.
They plan on sailing their first trip of the season April 7 and will be targeting blackfish. The trip leaves the dock at 8 a.m. and returns at 4 p.m. Check out their website to see the April schedule.  
The April first date is important because the blackfish season opens that day, and because it is the first day, you can go to the website of the Sea Star III and sign up for their Prime Time Drum Fishing dates.
Capt. Chuck says that preparations to the Sea Star III are progressing nicely and that he and the crew are looking forward to another exciting season.
Another thing to remember is that as the shore starts to awaken from its winter slumber, the local tackle shops are opening. Mike has had Sea Isle Bait and Tackle open, and now others will be following quickly. Stop by or call your favorite shop, as they will all be up and running before we know it.  
Well, with only two days to go before April starts, it truly feels that our winter break will be ending soon. Temperatures are rising, but slowly, and fish are slowly arriving in our creeks, back bays and inlets.
For those who like to target blackfish, let’s hope that the reefs and wrecks are crawling with them and that every drop provides you with action.
Get your gear ready, if you haven’t yet, and get psyched up for some fishing. Good luck if you get out, take care, and I’ll see you around.  
Send fishing news and photos to mrobbins@cmcherald.com.