After only releasing a couple, we started running out to the ocean to a report of a hot jigging bite, but Many made a brief stop under some birds in the mouth of the bay so I could throw a Tactical Anglers 5-ounce Sea Pencil to release a 38-inch striper that blasted it on the surface. Surfcasting has been mostly spotty, but it doesn't have to get any better for Brian Lytle of Keyport as the Tackle Box in Hazlet reports he made the long walk Thursday morning to the rip at Sandy Hook and found bass driving peanut bunkers to the beach.

Capt. Russ Binns of Toms River ran south to bunker schools he'd spotted from shore the day before, but said he heard of very few bass caught in large fleets off Seaside during a pretty day. Other than trolling a bluefish on a Stretch plug, the highlight was snagging a large squid out of a bunker school.

Today's northwest gale following Saturday's northeaster should be good in the long run, as it will settle the rough ocean, but it wasn't very fishable today. When I stopped by the canal earlier, when the tide was running, it looked like the ocean with a short steep swell that would have been tough to navigate for small boats.

Many decided to run out to a hot jigging bite in the ocean, but first stopped under some birds over a few blow-ups where I cast the large Tactical Anglers Sea Pencil to release a 38-inch striper. All we found further off was more bluefish, and Many finished up in the calmer Raritan Bay where he added our last striper release on a bunker -- though there was no late afternoon blast such as had occurred the previous day for Capt. Joe Massa of My III Sons from Morgan Marina.

The Queen Mary from Point Pleasant also marked some bass, but settled for jigging big blues. Joe Melillo at Castaways Tackle in Point Pleasant, continues to get a few weigh-ins of surf stripers.