Lilly said the water temperature was only 48 degrees --a big change from the 53 degrees recorded Wednesday down the beach on Ty Man, after it was only 43 degrees in Sandy Hook Bay. Joe Blaze of Brielle walked into a mass of stripers on a huge school of peanut bunkers Thanksgiving afternoon at Sea Girt and caught lots of them on his fly rod while putting a friend into his first stripers with a spinning rod and a plug.

Many released a bass of about 22 pounds while jigging during the cold and windy morning off Sandy Hook, and weighed a 25-pounder from that area in just 22 feet late in the afternoon on a Tsunami Shad. Grumpy's Tackle in Seaside Park reported the Tuesday surf bite turned on late in the morning as many bass up to 38 inches were weighed in.

Following is a release from the DEP that will be of interest to surfcasters CHRISTIE ADMINISTRATION MARKS COMPLETION OF FLOOD-CONTROL CULVERT FOR MONMOUTH COUNTY'S WRECK POND PARTNERSHIP'S WORK IS PROTECTING PROPERTY AND IMPROVING ECOLOGY (16 P111) TRENTON The Department of Environmental Protection today joined with federal and local officials to mark the completion of a state-of-the-art flood-control culvert that will protect communities surrounding Monmouth County's Wreck Pond as part of the Christie Administration's comprehensive efforts to make New Jersey more resilient to storms and floods. During today's dedication ceremony, DEP Deputy Commissioner David Glass was joined by U. S. Rep. Chris Smith, Spring Lake Mayor Jennifer Naughton, U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service New Jersey Field Supervisor Eric Schrading, American Littoral Society Executive Director Tim Dillingham and other officials associated with the project.

Capt. Russ Binns trolled his Mar-Lin from Toms River right up to 5 p. m., and had his best shot late in the day when some birds started working on rainfish as a few bass and blues hit bunker spoons -- including a 20-pound striper. Capt. Ron Santee had just two stripers early before also getting getting into the big blues at the end of his trip with the Fishermen from Atlantic Highlands.

Although they're strictly fishing with crabs now, there were two legal-sized, but out-of-season fluke released Thursday while a few sea bass were added to the catch. At Brielle, the Jamaica II has had many limits of large sea bass and some of porgies along with some winter flounder on all of their extended trips.