Posted on May 13, 2021 Sea bass & Bonus stripers open Saturday in NJ There will be a big change in NJ fishing this weekend as the sea bass season begins and striper anglers in the Bonus Program can keep a single striper between 24 and less than 28 inches; Party boats have been having a hard time finding standard keepers while releasing shorts that will now be legal. Anglers must be aware that this only applies in NJ waters, The same fish inspected in N.Y. are just shorts even if they were caught in N.J. waters. Sea bass must be at least 12.5 inches. and 10 are allowed through June 22. The weekend weather looks to be ideal as tomorrow starts with west winds at 5-10 knots and doesn’t change much over the weekend. Several giant bluefin tuna were caught in NY/NJ Bight recently, but as noted in this blog earlier in the week the one giant allowed in the Angling category as a trophy catch is now closed. Tony Arcabasio demonstrated there are big stripers off the southern Jersey coast by using his Tony Maja bunker spoons to troll four from 46 to 53 inches today. Maren Toleno caught the striper below with her first cast at Island Beach State Park yesterday morning, but Jerry Lasko reports she only caught one small bass after that in crystal clear waters with no bait.