hot spot

When hurricanes and superstorms such as Superstorm Sandy wreak havoc along the coast of the Northeast, the result is more often than not, devastating.

March 1 cannot pull in soon enough! That’s the train of thought among those familiar with the early spring striper fishery in Ocean County’s Oyster Creek, particularly in the outflow section as the warmed water wends its way to Barnegat Bay.

While the Eights sit a bit outside the Delaware Bay they are well inside the Line of Demarcation and therefore a legal location to fish for striped bass.

With blackfish season running red hot, it’s a good time for South Jersey anglers to look at the Wildwood Reef for whitechins.

Roughly 5-1/2 miles off the coast between Manasquan and Shark River inlets, the Klondike (40 08.956/73 54.565) is an easily accessible, bottom fisherman friendly paradise. Rumor has it that its name was spawned from finding a “gold mine” of how many fish it always produced in the old days.

Located deep inside Jamaica Bay bordering the Train Trestle and Cross Bay Bridge, Silver Hole is a deep water depression once known for its exceptional early spring flounder fishing, which has declined dramatically here, just as it has in most bays and harbors surrounding Long Island.

Milford Harbor, called “The Gulf,” is a square bay measuring one mile by one mile. It’s bounded by Gulf Beach and Welches Point to the northeast, Trumbull Beach and Silver Sands State Park to the north, and a half-mile-long tombolo (called “The Bar”) ending at Charles Island to the southwest.

Twins, almost, birthed by the New Jersey Bureau of Marine Fisheries (the dam) and then artificial reef coordinator Bill Figley (the sire).

Not exactly a pinpoint hot spot, but a regular dockside reference for a couple of hundred miles down a razor’s edge on the three-mile line.

Absecon Creek has been undergoing some major “renovations,” and improvement projects at two entirely separate locations along the creek are finally coming to fruition after several years of careful planning.

Can’t say much for the snail-like crawl of the current in the combined 60-mile Delaware & Raritan Canal (D&R) and its Feeder Canal sibling, but the fishing for myriad species is certainly high octane and ignites in late February and continues through until ice up.

Tied with Atlantic City Reef for size at 4 square miles, and one of the two oldest of the artificial bottom layouts, Axel Carlson Reef is second only to the Cape May Reef (4.5 square miles) for size. It is rife with structure, the majority of which is rock, and is a magnet for sea bass, fluke and blackfish.

Just off Route 66 in Middlefield, Connecticut, lies a 116-acre impoundment named Beseck Lake. A bustling lake in the summertime, Beseck is much less utilized for winter activities.

Located at 700 Magnolia Blvd. in Long Beach, Magnolia Pier is an “L” shape designed structure approximately 300 feet in total length jutting out into Reynolds Channel.

Raritan Bay holds plenty of hot spots for the August run of doormats, but one that falls a little under the radar is the Chapel Hill Channel.

A mile south of Shinnecock Inlet floats the Shinnecock Sea Buoy.