It was way overdue, but the first legal striped bass was finally caught today on a party or charter boat when Capt. Stan Zagleski made his first trip of the season on Elaine B. II from Bahrs in Highlands. John Shaffren of Newark boated an 18-pound bass on clam that had a big belly. A heavy roe was expected, but Zagleski reported it was grayish-green. That was surprising since roes should be yellow this far from spawning time in the Hudson River. The roe turns green when it's ready to be shed. Given the very cold winter, it would seem that spawning could be delayed further into May rather than being early. Also surprising was the large bunker found in the stomach. There haven't been any confirmed sightings of bunkers so far, but the early arrivals often swim close to the bottom. Though that was it on Elaine B. , and Capt. Rob Semkewyc didn't have a hit on his Sea Hunter from Atlantic Highlands (even giving Romer Shoal a try), Capt. Derek Bielitz of Fisher-Price from Highlands reported having lots of action in the back of the bay Saturday as over 30 bites turned into 14 short bass releases in the back of the bay. However, a return to the same spot under similar conditions this morning produced only seven bites to catch two shorts. Bob Matthews weighed the first bass brought into Fisherman's Den in Belmar Marina. Chris Buchta of Toms River had a 20-pounder that hit a clam fished from shore in Sandy Hook Bay. Matthews also weighed a 9-pound rainbow trout caught on a meal worm in Spring Lake by Doug Murray of Point Pleasant. The Ocean Explorer had a hi-hook of nine ling on Saturday. Betty & Nick's Tackle in Seaside Park weighed in two flounder up to 2 pounds for Pat Mickles, who caught them on bloodworms in the bay and reported releasing a couple more. He noted small stripers are also hitting bloodworms there.  John Bushell took video of dolphins playing in the Island Beach surf this morning, and noted gannets were diving on herring. Capt. Jim McFarland put the Harris party from Hoboken into 60 pounds of haddock fillets plus 20 pollock today on Big Mac from Green Harbor, Ma. , but said fishing was slow due to big tides. He expects to lose time to strong winds forecast just as the cod season opens on the 16th -- not the 15th as noted last night. Harry Aiken reports from Delaware that 5-pound fluke are already being caught in Indian River. He noted that a large mesh net placed a few miles offshore by Delaware biologists to test for sturgeon also snared several stripers estimated at over 65 pounds. One was 64 inches long. Last year there were no stripers in that net.