There were some significant changes in fisheries on Mother's Day as surf fishing came to life and both stripers and blues began hitting in the ocean. I didn't have any high hopes early this morning as it was low tide, and not a good time to fish my favorite beaches. I went to Point Pleasant for deeper waters, and found a fairly large swell that was breaking inshore. It was easy to cast a plug over those waves, and there was good water right to the drop-off. To my surprise, there was also some action as I released three bluefish from 20 to 23 inches plus two small stripers  on the Daiwa SP Minnow. Last year I made my first surf attempt in May, and caught a 28-inch bass on one of my first few casts. Today I caught one exactly half that length that hit the plug's rear treble in the wash. Just before leaving I added a 17 1/2-inch release. It was an active morning, though there were no missed hits. Leif Ericson did even better with his fly rod at Deal as he hooked a grand slam with a 4-pound weakfish, a 3-4-pound blue, and a similar-sized striper plus a 15-incher that had an ALS tag in it. That tag was photographed so the bass could be released with the tag still on it.  Allen Riley of South Plainfield made a Saturday afternoon trip to Monmouth Beach to fish with clams and bunker. His brother, Ed Riley of Edison, released a 20-inch striper and a big blowfish. Bob Mathews, at Fisherman's Den in Belmar Marina, said bunker showed in the ocean roday, with bass to 30 pounds and blues to 12 pounds among them.Two Shark River Surf Anglers club members scored with bass in the surf -- a 12 1/8-pounder for Tom Cook, and a 14 1/4-pounder by Matt Sickler. Flounder were biting in Shark River along with 5-to- 10-pound blues, while fluke up ti 23 inches were released. Bill Mayfield of Manasquan weighed a 23-pound cod caught with clam on a private boat. Capt. Howard Bogan said bass and blues finally started hitting in the ocean as schools of bunker were close to shore. Manny Rosado of Reading, Pa. won the pool with a 20-pound bass.  The Jamaica will sail daily for bass from Brielle at 7:30 a.m. At Seaside Park, Grumpy's Tackle reported Jeff Crilly used the snag & drop technique to catch a 10.2-pound blue and a 22.4-pound striper. John Bubish weighed a 9.9-pound blue caught on bunker.Betty & Nick's Tackle reported a surfcaster used a popper to catch nine small blues and a "micro" bass. A 23-inch fluke was released in the surf. Mark Mastrian of Seaside Park weighed a 9-pound  striper.The Queen Mary from Point Pleasant also got into bass and blues today, and the Golden Eagle from Belmar had a few of each on jigs. Capt. Rob Semkewyc said he had a good pick of keeper and short bass on his Sea Hunter from Atlantic Highlands in Raritan Bay. Capt. Scotty Hilliard had a similar report from the back of the bay on his Prowler 5.` The Tackle Box in Hazlet reports big blues are invading the bay at Leonardo and Belford.