After it looked grim for any school striper action in the winter surf, there was a bit of encouragement today. Joe Melillo, at Castaways Tackle in Point Pleasant, reported Jerry Lasko, Roy Hartly, and Mike Vesscove all reported catching shorts this morning in Point Pleasant and Bay Head on small plugs and teasers despite low tides. Grumpy's Tackle in Seaside Park reported hearing of a schoolie caught in the surf on Friday. I took Luis Gonzalez of Homestead, Florida down to the Sea Girt surf after the early afternoon high tide and released a 19-incher on a 6-inch Tsunami Sand Eel while Gonzalez had another small bass miss the same lure. Bob Matthews, at Fisherman's Den in Belmar Marina, also reported there were some small bass hitting in the Monmouth County surf. It's not much, but the first positive striper news this week. Matthews also noted that big blackfish are still being weighed in, There were two of 14 5/16 and 13 1/16 pounds yesterday, but he didn't get the names of the anglers because they were trying to revive and release those very old tog, just as Jimmy Chambers of Edison did with his 18 3/4-pounder last week. Matthews said winter flounder are still being caught from the bulkheads, but that season only runs through Dec. 31 before reopening on March 1. The Golden Eagle was scheduled to seek out mackerel today from Belmar, but with no report as of 7:30 that doesn't bode well for that fishery. The Elaine B II from Highlands had slow blackfishing Friday, with the best results in deeper waters. Catches ran up to three keepers, and Capt. Stan Zagleski noted that the tog were pale gray rather than their usual color.