Though fishing effort on Easter Sunday was down, there were some dramatic changes. The Seaside Park tackle shops reported big bluefish showed up. Grumpy's said they had reports from Barnegat Bay plus the surf and rivers. Betty & Nick's pointed out the Pine Beach area of Barnegat Bay.
The Golden Eagle from Belmar found big bass to 25 pounds plus shorts on top not far from the inlet. There should be several party boats on those bass tomorrow.
The Raritan Bay striper bite has been best at night. Johnny Bucktails has earned his captain's license, and Capt. John Contello took a party out of Keyport on Saturday night that had a seven-man limit in 20 minutes of chunking before releasing many others.