There were some signs of better striper fishing on boats today. The Golden Eagle only noted that it ran "north" from Belmar for lots of big blues on jigs plus stripers up to a 25-pounder. The Queen Mary from Point Pleasant had to fish over the three-mile limit for jumbo blues, and released the stripers they caught out there. I joined Capt. Bud Mc Arthur as he ran his Splinter from Brick north from Manasquan Inlet. He made one stop before Sandy Hook where Bob Bennett of Verona spotted some surfacing bass that looked like they were coming toward us -- but didn't. I saw a bird dip on a single swirl and cast a Tady jig to it -- catching a large bluefish and preventing a skunking. We came in early, and then heard of a bluefish blitz off the Red Church. The Tackle Box in Hazlet weighed in a 36-pound striper that was trolled on a white tube by Bill Dowling of Goshen, N,Y. and his son Brian off the Highlands Bridge. Bob Matthews, at Fisherman's Den in Belmar Marina, reported stripers mostly had lockjaw on the weekend, but G-Force from Neptune weighed in a 29-pounder trolled at Shrewsbury Rocks. Winter flounder are still being caught regularly from the bulkheads on worms, clam and mussels. The Jamaica II from Brielle has been doing very well with sea bass up to 4 pounds except on windy Friday. At Twin Lights Marina in Highlands, Gene Graman of Middletown reported poor eeling this afternoon from his That's It as only one 27-inch bass was released in Sandy Hook Channel even though bait was pouring out to sea. Dogfish ate up the eels in Ambrose. Capt. John Kolias tried jigging off Sandy Hook during Saturday's charter on Reel Fun. A keeper bass was jigged right away, but the action died after that. Allen Riley of South Plainfield and his crew fished the Monmouth Beach surf this morning without results under good conditions.  Jon Falkowski of Linden fished from 7 to 11 this morning throughout Island Beach State Park and never saw a bent rod. Sad news was the passing on Sunday of Walter Neumann from Clifford Beach at 81. A viewing for that fine angler is on Wednesday from 4-8 p.m. in Shore Point Funeral Home, 7269 Rt. 35, Hazlet.