Gene Graman of Middletown had the touch today as his crew on That's It from Twin Lights Marina in Highlands struggled with big smooth dogfish that have spread into Raritan Bay. Though his first bass while chunking at the mouth of the bay around mid-day was only a 25-inch short, that was the first bass to get through the dogfish that ranged up to about 15 pounds. Graman then boated a 34 1/2-inch striper plus one a bit shorter before any of his crew could score. Fortunately for me, at least the one bass I hooked was a good one that buried a 30-pound Bog Grip after I placed an ALS tag in the 43-inch (to the fork of the tail -- as the ALS measures)  bass before the release. Joe Greco, (formerly from Edison) was up from Fort Myers, Fl. -- and he hooked a bass of about 15 pounds at the same time. Carlos Rebelo of Keyport had a couple of big dogfish that ran off line like a bass, and also the only small bluefish, but didn't break through on bass before Graman pulled anchor as it was getting rough with wind against tide and there was a prediction of afternoon thunder storms. Graman had first run down the beach in the morning as we watched the water temperature drop from the upper 60s to the upper 50s as a result of the strong south winds we've been having during late afternoon this week. Shrewsbury Rocks was barren, as I couldn't even give away a small bunker strip on bottom to the bergalls and small sea bass that are normally abundant there. That could indicate that the bottom waters there are frigid. Capt. Stan Zagleski said the volume of fluke being caught from his Elaine B. II out of Bahrs in Highlands isn't up to his standards, but many are of impressive size. That was particularly the case with today's first doormat of the season on that boat as Al Warinas of Trenton boated a 10.4-pounder as part of his limit. Greg Barnett of Trenton added four keepers up to 5.11 pounds.  Bluefish remain scarce as they prepare to spawn in the ocean. The Golden Eagle from Belmar found some today, but they were difficult to tempt on jigs. The boat ended up anchoring on rock piles to catch some fluke, ling and whiting.