<b>Staten Island</b>

New York’s blackfishing season opened today, and an outstanding catch of the tog to 6 pounds was plowed with <b>Barbara Anne Fishing Charters</b>, Capt. Anthony said in an e-mail. Normally he’d expect better sea bassing than blackfishing during the first two weeks of October. But the blackfishing was actually better. As waters cool blackfish begin to feed more and more for the fall migration, and when that takes a foothold, blackfishing can become some of the best of the season, with double-digit fish not uncommon. Catches can remain strong through mid January. Now is the time to book prime dates for blackfishing, and don’t wait and get shut out. Check availability on the fishing calendar on the boat’s Web site. White crabs, rigs and sinkers are provided on trips. Charters are running, and open-boat trips are slated for October 8, 13, 15, 20 and 22. Barbara Anne pays bridge tolls with a receipt.

Blackfish to 9 pounds were pelted on the opening day of New York’s season for the tog today with <b>Outcast Charters</b>, Capt. Joe said. So the anglers smoked a good catch with sea bass mixed in, and even returned early. White crabs and clams were fished, and the tog mostly crunched the crabs, and the sea bass mostly inhaled the clams. The anglers were Iraq War veterans and active military members on a trip for Operation Homefront. “So it was a good time,” Joe said. The day was breezy, but the winds blew with the tide, and seas weren’t rough. More trips are booked for Saturday and Sunday, and the weather looked dubious for Saturday, but Sunday was probably a go.

<b>Atlantic Highlands</b>

Clamming for striped bass, looking in all the spots that should begin to produce, will start to be done on the <b>Fishermen</b> at the end of the week, Capt. Ron said in the report on the boat’s Web site on Monday. He didn’t expect too many results, but had to give it a try, because customers wanted. Ron heard about catches of a few striped bass, mostly shorts. In the meantime the vessel’s trips are chasing other fish like blues and bottom fish until striper fishing becomes the focus. The trip Monday nabbed blues on bait and jigs, and some of the anglers bottom-fished. They angled up some of the biggest porgies Ron saw in a long time. Winds eventually became nasty, and the trip headed for home. On Tuesday patrons also fought blues and picked up porgies, and winds that were slightly more west, instead of south, made all the difference compared to the previous day.  The Fishermen is sailing for striped bass 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily and for blues 3:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. <b>Update, Today:</b> Trips will begin clamming for stripers somewhat more on Monday, Ron said in an e-mail. Patrons on today’s trip met plenty of action, and some bucketed 12 to 15 beautiful, keeper sea bass and their fill of blues. Both jigs and bait worked well for the blues, and false albacore showed up late in the day, but none was hooked. Waters were absolutely clear, and anglers could see down 20 feet.

On the <b>Atlantic Star</b> bottom fishing was better on some trips than on others, but okay catches were made even on the slower ones, and everybody at least went home with fish, Capt. Tom said. The boat fished between the channels, and mostly porgies were plundered, and a few sea bass were bagged, and sometimes anglers brought their own crabs, catching blackfish on them. Both the morning and afternoon trips sailed on Monday in crummy weather, and the fishing was a pick, but everyone bagged fish. Tuesday morning’s trip ran in west winds, making one drop for catches that were “pretty darn good,” Tom said. The afternoon’s trip stayed docked because of winds. Both of Wednesday’s trips fished and caught, making only one drop in the morning and two in the afternoon. But bigger fish, a better ratio of keepers, bit in the afternoon. Sandworms that some anglers brought got more strikes on Monday afternoon’s trip than the clams supplied on the boat. The worms made no difference on Tuesday and Wednesday, but anglers can bring their own worms if they prefer them or in case they fish better on a trip. Crowds were light on the boat, plenty of elbow room. Seven to a dozen anglers fished on each of the week’s trips. If anglers never tasted porgies, some of the best-tasting fish, they should check them out. The Atlantic Star is bottom-fishing on two trips daily 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. to 6 p.m.

In the surf lots of blues were beaten in the afternoons, said Dottie from <b>Julian’s Bait & Tackle</b>. She heard about a few striped bass and no false albacore taken from the surf. Bottom-fishers rustled in a ton of porgies and some sea bass and blackfish.

<b>Highlands</b>

With <b>Fisher Price Charters</b> striped bass were eeled and wormed at night, Capt. Derek said. He kept the location mum because he had the spot to himself. He expected to try clamming for stripers during the daytime on Friday and see if the fish responded yet. Bluefish and false albacore could be jigged down the ocean beaches. Derek is probably finished with bluefin tuna fishing for the season, though the tuna should still be swimming in the inshore ocean. They stuck around through mid October last year.

<b>Neptune</b>

On bluefish trips anglers could hardly put a line in the waters without a fish walloping the hook, said Capt. Ralph from <b>Last Lady Fishing Charters</b>. The 13 anglers on a trip Saturday started tossing back blues after a half-hour. A cod charter is on the books for this coming week.
An individual-reservation cod trip will leave port at 3 a.m. Tuesday, October 13, and an inshore trip for blues, stripers and bottom fish will head out at 7 a.m., Wednesday,  October 14. Ralph will attempt to run individual-reservation blackfish trips every time no charter is booked, starting on Monday, November 16. The bag limit on that day gets increased to six of the tog from the current limit of one, and a trip will definitely sail. Individual-reservation trips for tog are also scheduled for Tuesday, November 24, and Friday, November 27.

<b>Belmar</b>

Rusty Johnson’s group put a beating on blues, way more than their limit, keeping no more than their quota, at the Shrewsbury Rocks on Saturday with <b>Last One Charters</b>, Capt. Rob said. Two keeper blackfish were also decked.

Loads of blues were clobbered on both daytime and nighttime trips on the <b>Miss Belmar Princess</b>, Capt. Alan said. False albacore sometimes got fought on the daytime trips, and striped bass, not many, began to appear. The striper population should increase until becoming thick in late November. Most of the daytime trips sailed in the past week, and the boat will keep running after these species during the day until switching to trips for bottom fish and mackerel in December.  The Miss Belmar Princess is fishing for blues 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily and 7:30 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays.

Some great catches of porgies were pounded on the <b>Big Mohawk</b>, Capt. Chris said. Decent catches of sea bass were socked, and plenty of tog, including a 13-pounder that was pummeled on the boat last week, were around. The weather was relentless, but trips got out Monday and Wednesday, and one would get out today. Waters were 66 degrees, relatively warm. The Big Mohawk is bottom fishing 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily.

Blues, mixed-sized fish 3 to 10 pounds or so, swiped jigs all day long Wednesday at the Shrewsbury Rocks on the <b>Nan Sea J</b>, Capt. Tom said. A 15-pound striper was also jigged, and a couple of sea bass and one porgy, bit in half by a blue, were reeled in. The weather was windy but from the west, so the land sheltered the seas, and the trip was comfortable. A trip today was supposed to bottom fish, and another on Friday might run for bluefin tuna on the inshore grounds, if the weather cooperates, because several anglers wanted to go. No news was heard about bluefin fishing lately in the windy weather, but they usually stick around in October. Open-boat trips are sailing for the tuna every Wednesday, and call to climb aboard.

Surf anglers dragged in a few striped bass, and John from <b>Fisherman’s Den</b> heard about no big ones landed, but the bass were around, he said. Most were clammed or were plugged at night or during low-light hours on lures like black Bombers. He heard about no false albacore fought from land, though the shop reported albies nailed from the surf and inlet last week. In the Shark River snapper blues were hung and not too many porgies and kingfish, only a few, were pilfered. When the weather was calm enough to sail and enough customers showed up to take a trip, the bluefishing party boats put customers on lots of catches, and the ones that bottom fished served up a mess of porgies and some sea bass with blackfish mixed in. 

<b>Brielle</b>

<b>Fish Monger Charters</b> managed to sail Wednesday, a rare trip between winds and weather, and sea bass fishing picked right back up where it left off, and weakfish were coolered, Capt. Jerry said in an e-mail. The trip limited out on sea bass and grabbed 18 keeper weaks among lots of short weakfish tossed back. Two blackfish, a couple of porgies and six blues were also bagged, and a few healthy-sized, out-of-season fluke were let go. Only three anglers jumped aboard, and that was too bad, because there was room for three more for another great day of bottom fishing with limits, he said. So Jerry and partner Capt. Wayne also fished, and they also limited out on sea bass. At first, quality sea bass were swung over the rails, much better size and ratio over last week. Two more spots also produced drop-and-reel fishing, including double-headers of the sizeable lumpheads. After the limits were made, blackfishing was tried, and keeper sea bass that were released couldn’t be kept off the hooks, but two keeper blacks were clubbed. Instead of going home at the usual 2 p.m., the trip stayed on the waters “in true Monger fashion,” Jerry said, to look for croakers and weakfish near the shore. A thick population of weakfish was found, and most were shorts, with the 18 keepers picked from more than 100 of the trout hooked. The bite was as quick as the lines could be dropped down, including double-headers. The anglers went home with lots of fish.

<b>Point Pleasant</b>

Bottom-fishing trips sailed every day on the <b>Dauntless</b>, and patrons banged out lots of porgies and sea bass, Capt. Willie said. Anglers probably averaged 15 to 45 porgies and 10 to 15 sea bass apiece, and some limited out on porgies. A few triggerfish were mixed in, and quite a number showed up on Wednesday’s trip. A couple of bonito were boated, “but that was an accident,” he said. The boat fished in 50 feet in 67- to 68-degree waters, relatively warm. The coming closure of sea bass fishing in federal waters shouldn’t affect trips, because the fish on trips were landed within the 3-mile limit from shore. On the vessel’s nighttime, weekend bluefishing trips, good catches were consistently waffled. The Dauntless is bottom fishing 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. daily and is bluefishing 7:30 p.m. to 1 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays.

Anglers aboard reeled in lots of sea bass, picking through shorts to cull keepers, and a few porgies and triggerfish on the boat’s daytime trips, said Capt. Matt from the <b>Norma K</b>. When sea bassing closes in federal waters, the trips should still be able to pick up the lumpheads and the other fish closer to shore. The vessel’s nighttime bluefishing trips whacked a mess of 5- to 15-pounders, great fishing. The Norma K is bottom-fishing twice daily 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 2 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. The bottom schedule will eventually switch to one ¾-day trip, probably in late October or when daylight savings time ends in early November. The trips will switch to tog fishing on November 16, when the bag limit increases to six of the blackfish from the current limit of one. Bluefishing trips are sailing 7 p.m. to 1 a.m. daily.

The crew pulled the boat away from the dock with anticipation on Wednesday’s special trip for false albacore and bonito, because solid fishing for albies was reported copped on other vessels on Tuesday, an e-mail from the <b>Cock Robin</b> said. The trip set sail in windy weather, but the fish turned out to be scarce, and a dozen albies or so and one bonito were landed. The anglers did a great job of jigging and drifting baits, despite the weather, but the fish just wouldn’t respond. The previous outing for albies and bonito last week cleaned up on plenty of albies, and bonito made an appearance. Trips are fishing for blues 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily. However, the vessel will be docked for repairs today and Friday, resuming the daily schedule on Saturday. On Thursday trips, customers can help donate fish to Joan Valentine House, providing meals to people. Starting this month, the crew is accepting donations of canned goods and non-perishable items for St. Gregory’s Pantry in Point Pleasant. Captain Jim’s Camp Cock Robin for kids, limited to 12 anglers, featuring a dedicated mate for the youngsters, is under way every holiday.

<b>Toms River</b>

Snapper blues, blueclaw crabs and big, big eels roamed the Toms River, said Dennis from <b>Murphy’s Hook House</b>. Boaters anchored and chummed on Barnegat Bay to gather up blowfish and a few croakers and kingfish. The fish will probably stay in the bay another week before departing, because waters were cooling. A few striped bass, not many, were eeled in the bay along the sod banks, and the season was early. Small blues swam Barnegat Inlet, and 2-pound blues and occasional striped bass were toggled in from the surf. Somewhat of a mullet run, not a great one, moved along the surf, and sand eels and hickory shad were out there. Dennis heard about no false albacore in the suds in the last week, and waters cooled to 64 degrees. The annual Governor’s Surf Fishing Tournament takes place Sunday at Island Beach State Park, and the shop will open early at 4 a.m. Saturday and Sunday for the competition.

<b>Seaside</b>

The days turned chilly, felt like fall, and the fish noticed, said the report on <b>Grumpy’s Tackle</b>. The rumors that kept being heard about stripers beached in the surf were no more. They were now weigh ins! Four stripers from 11 to 19 pounds were checked in since Monday. Two were claimed on Grumpy clams, and two were plugged on lures. Mullet schooled up and down the ocean at Island Beach State Park, and hickory shad were in the mix. Small blues were around, including at the Seaside piers. If you were thinking the time might be right to begin plying the surf, “you may just have something there!” the report said.  <a href="http://www.grumpystackle.com/fishingreports/" target="_blank"> Click here</a> for updates.

<b>Forked River</b>

Barnegat Bay’s blowfishing slowed a little but still produced catches at Tices Shoal, the BI and BB markers, and the 40 buoy, and Barnegat Inlet also gave them up, said Dave from <b>Grizz’s Forked River Bait & Tackle</b>. Fish with small pieces of clams or worms dropped right next to a chum log. Weakfish were wrangled in from the bay here or there at the BI and BB and around the mouth of the Forked River. Striped bass were hooked around the Viking Village Dock at Barnegat Light.

<b>Barnegat Light</b>

Kingfish swam the surf in numbers, gobbling up bloodworms, said the report on <b>Barnegat Light Bait & Tackle</b>’s Web site.  Surf casting for striped bass started to produce, and a couple of sharpies talked about landing the fish on a regular basis. The shop is trying to keep live clams and fresh bunker stocked for the fishing, whenever the relentless winds allowed the commercial boats to get out for the bait. Blowfishing hung in there on Barnegat Bay at least through last week, because water temps held fairly steady. But weakfish were just about gone from the bay. So start looking for stripers instead. Short stripers were played in the Mud Channel off the Sedge House and behind High Bar Harbor on Fin-S Fish or bucktails, and the fishing went surprisingly well, but no keepers turned up so far. Tog were packed like sardines along the Barnegat Inlet rocks, and anglers who put in the time could bag a keeper with no problem during outgoing tides. A few triggerfish remained along the inlet, though one would think they’d be gone already, and sheepshead and drum showed up for inlet anglers. Be sure to wear cleats on the rocks, because the fall winds keep them wet and as slippery as ice throughout the season.

<b>Mystic Island</b>

“I quit,” said Scott from <b>Scott’s Bait & Tackle</b>. He had just learned that sea bass fishing would be closed in federal waters. That was tough news along with other calamities for anglers like the potential closure of weakfishing and tight restrictions on fluking that might get tougher yet.  But on the fishing front, customers at the shop bought green crabs on Wednesday, planning to take advantage of today’s weather, the calmest weather forecast in some time, to fish for tog that lined the sedge banks on the opposite side of the Fish Factory or at Shooting Thorofare. The blackfish were there, and the bag limit was only one per angler until increasing later this season, but the fishing offered fun, and if three anglers on a boat could bag three fish, that was something at least. Good numbers of croakers schooled the ocean, and weakfish, more shorts than keepers, also schooled out front. Reports were heard about a few short striped bass hooked in the Mullica River. Scott believed they were trolled, but now was the time to swim eels for them, too. Customers bought eels to try for stripers at Little Sheepshead Creek and Little Egg Inlet, but none returned for more bait, so maybe they found none so far. Fishing was almost in a holding pattern while anglers waited for the migration of bigger striped bass to arrive, traditionally beginning around October 28. The bay’s water temps were not quite striper temps but were definitely changing, might’ve become cool enough to end fishing for the small fish like kingfish and blowfish. The last kingfish checked in at the shop were seen a week ago.  Customers certainly caught white perch in the rivers, mostly to the south like maybe around the Great Egg Harbor River. No live grass shrimp, the favorite perch bait, were carried, but Scott might soon catch and stock them.

<b>Port Republic</b>

Mullica River anglers began to tie into a few striped bass, said Violet from <b>Chestnut Neck Boat Yard</b>, and she saw one keeper. The fishing should get better and better as waters cool, and the linesiders are eeled and clammed, usually on high tides. A healthy run of stripers usually turns on early in the season on the river around the Parkway Bridge, and that action might kick in next week. White perch could always be netted on the river, and customers sometimes boated croakers on the ocean. Eels, fresh clams, minnows and frozen baits including salmon belly are stocked.

<b>Absecon</b>

Lots of fishing could hook up in the rivers, said Curt from <b>Absecon Bay Sportsman Center</b>. He likes to hit the rivers at this time of the year for a variety of fish that gather there. This morning he took a trip that fished the mouth of the Mullica River, and four keeper weakfish and a load of white perch were drilled. Occasional blowfish, blues, herring and a few small striped bass and such will chew, and Curt’s trip also picked some of those species. Bloodworms, shedder crabs and small pieces of clam can be dunked for bait. But stripers should begin to be eeled at night on the Mullica any time. Striper fishing gets hot there, especially around the Parkway Bridge, early in the season, when waters drop into the 60s. Curt saw 65-degree waters there today. The fishing will switch to a daytime bite when the river goes down to the mid 50s around Halloween. Anglers occasionally landed stripers in the bay toward Absecon along the sod banks and bridges at night on eels or spots, and that fishing is best when high tides coincide with 7, 8 or 9 p.m. The bass get hungry toward dusk, and they like high waters. The tide was currently high at 6 p.m., so the ideal time was just beginning and should be productive this weekend. A few tog hung around the sod banks and could be nailed along the bridges and the ocean wrecks. Lots of 1- to 3-pound blues chased peanut bunker in Absecon Creek. Boaters on the ocean could box croakers and weakfish near the coast. Surf casters beached kings, croakers and blues. Live spots, eels, peanut bunker and mullet are stocked. No shedder crabs are left, but bloodworms, fresh clams and plenty of other baits are on hand.

<b>Brigantine</b>

Surf casters snatched up all the different fish or kingfish, croakers, blues and striped bass, and fishing was good, said Capt. Andy from <b>Riptide Bait & Tackle</b>. Species like the kings made the angling seem like the end of summer. For the kings, bloodworms worked a lot better than Fishbites artificial bloods. Many of the stripers were plugged instead of landed on bait, and that was unusual. Don’t come looking specifically for stripers, but anglers who plugged in the mornings or evenings or at night sometimes connected. The weather was rough for boating, and winds blew for days. But one boater was fly-rodding weakfish on the bay at any of the dock lights at night. The Riptide Striper Derby will run October 12 through December 30, featuring cash prizes for the biggest stripers nailed at Brigantine. Fifty dollars will be awarded for the biggest bass in October and November, and the grand prizes for the biggest entered throughout the contest will be $150 for first place, $75 for second and $25 for third. The rest of the proceeds will be donated to Hooked on Fishing and a children’s fund. For anglers with a Brigantine beach buggy permit, the tournament’s $20 entry fee will allow them to drive the entire length of the island.

<b>Longport</b>

Blues, croakers and weakfish will be on the menu on daily, open-boat trips on the <b>Stray Cat</b>, now that sea bass fishing will be closed in federal waters, Capt. Mike said. But a few days were left before the closure, and plenty were on the feed. Bigger blues and striped bass will also be on tap once the migration starts, and the trips will switch to tog fishing when the bag limit gets hiked up to six of the blackfish on November 16 from the current limit of one. Stray Cat is a big-time tog-catching boat. Annual Cast and Blast Trips, a combo of fishing and duck hunting, will launch on the ocean around Columbus Day. Angle up tog, stripers and blues in the front of the boat, and gun for sea ducks on the back.

<b>Ocean City</b>

Both ocean boaters and surf casters could mug a mess of fish including kingfish, spots, small blues, croakers and weakfish, said Bill from <b>Fin-Atics</b>. A few small striped bass, but occasional larger ones to 30 or 32 inches, were searched out in the suds on all kinds of lures from swimming plugs to rubber baits. Blues filled the inlets, and the back bay was jam-packed with 12- to 23-inch stripers everywhere that also charged all types of lures and rubber. The ocean reefs and wrecks were littered with sea bass, for those who wanted to sail for them before the fishery gets shut down. Farther from shore, Hudson and Carteret canyons sometimes turned out yellowfin and longfin tuna, including on the overnight chunk. Southern canyons such as the Baltimore and Norfolk gave up a white marlin bite. Little else was heard about big-game fishing because of the weather.

<b>Sea Isle City</b>

Most customers fished the surf and inlet, banking striped bass and blues on swimming lures and popper plugs in the wash and blues at the inlet, said Wes from <b>Gibson’s Tackle</b>. Most of the stripers, smaller fish but sometimes 25- or 26-inchers, were pumped in during mornings or evenings, but sharpies caught them at mid day today. More than a few blues were around in the suds, and a friend beached three blues and one striper this afternoon, for example. Wes saw a handful of mullet, not many, like maybe 30 on Wednesday evening, swimming the 68-degree surf. Very small and few kingfish roamed along the shore. Stripers bit in the back bay on popper lures, live spots, eels and clams, and small sea bass schooled the bay. When the weather allowed boaters to sail the ocean, they found croakers, weakfish and blues while drifting at Sea Isle Lump. Salted clams dropped to the bottom were all that was needed for bait for the croakers and weaks. The blues traveled along the surface, hitting small trolled or cast lures, metal or spoons. Triggerfish seemed to depart the cooler waters.

Boating was tough in the winds, but the westerly direction worked well for surf fishing, knocking down seas, said Capt. Joe Hughes from <b>Jersey Cape Guide Service</b>, affiliated with <b>Gibson’s Tackle</b>. So he fished there in the mornings and evenings during the past couple of days, banking striped bass, not hot and heavy, but catching on every trip, along with a bluefish or two. The bass swam near the jetties, attracted to structure, and Joe began to see mullet schooling the beach front, and the bass “related to them,” he said. Most of the bass were hooked on popper lures, but some were belted on swimming plugs and flies. Joe likes poppers such as a Gibbs or an Atom for the surf, throwing heavier ones than he does on the back bay, where he usually casts Skitter Pops. The weight helps him wing out the lure. In the surf he uses poppers that sink if not retrieved, unlike the ones he uses on the bay that float. Swimming plugs that Joe favors in the wash include Bombers in yellow during the day in clear skies or in black or blue over silver during overcast skies. At night he prefers black. The size of the swimmers is 4 to 6 inches like a Bomber Long A, because the local area’s bait isn’t huge. But Joe planned to run a trip today that would fish on the back bay with poppers for striped bass, a specialty for Jersey Cape, and the fish were certainly there. Sea bass, mostly small but fun, good for family fishing and kids, also filled the bay. The stripers in the bay usually keep biting through November, but Joe’s charters start to focus more on the ocean as the fall migration of stripers and blues begins. Migrating stripers and blues usually arrive in the ocean during the second or third week of October, and the fishing is usually in high gear around the first week of November. Trips often jig for the fish with soft plastics on leadheads, and they also popper fish “when appropriate,” he said. Fall is the best time to catch high numbers of fish and large ones. Joe this past week started running his annual traveling charters to Montauk in October for the migration of stripers, blues and false albacore, shellacking the fish last weekend. The fishing is usually great, and the geography offers shelter from nearly any wind direction, because boaters can usually tuck behind a land mass somewhere. That’s convenient for traveling. Joe’s annual traveling charters to Woods Hole and the Elizabeth Islands in Massachusetts are coming up on Columbus Day Weekend. The fishing is usually for stripers, but false albacore sometimes pop up, and so do big blues. Joe can arrange accommodations for anglers on the traveling charters, or they can make their own arrangements, whichever they choose. Visit <a href=" http://www.gibsonstackle.com/page6.html" target="_blank">Jersey Cape’s Web site</a> to see more about the traveling trips.

<b>Wildwood</b>

Somewhat more striped bass than before started to be pulled from the back bay, said Mike from <b>Canal Side Boat Rentals</b>. One angler plucked three this morning, and a buddy boated one yesterday.  Clams got them to chomp, and nobody set out to catch blues, so if any were around, Mike saw none. Nothing was heard about weakfish or kingfish, but not many fished during the week. Small sea bass about 9 inches roamed the bay, and out-of-season flounder were yanked in and released in the waters when anglers fished for stripers. Crabbing was decent. Minnows and frozen shedder crabs, whole and filleted mackerel, various types of squid, fresh-frozen clams, salted clams, frozen mullet and bunker, including for crabbing, and more baits are stocked. Live blueclaw crabs -- currently $20 per dozen for number 1’s and $12 per dozen for number 2’s, depending on the market price -- are carried for eating. Canal Side rents canopy boats and kayaks for fishing, crabbing and sightseeing. The shop is open daily, but call to confirm at this time of the year. Reservations continued to be made for the boats in the coming days. The doors will probably be open another week before being closed for the winter.

Winds mostly knocked out fishing on the <b>Adventurer</b>, but Saturday’s trip sailed, and patrons dusted up croakers and blues 4 or 5 miles from shore, Capt. Gary said. The croakers will swim closer to shore as waters cool. Trips had also been catching sea bass, but the weather put a damper on that fishing that day. When sea bass fishing is closed beyond 3 miles from shore, trips will probably fish for croakers and blues and begin searching out striped bass. When the striper migration takes off, trips will be all over them, able to fish anywhere from the ocean to Delaware Bay, because of the location of the port. Striper fishing will probably begin with bunker chunking on Delaware Bay, followed by eeling for the fish at the Cape May Rips. Ocean fishing for the linesiders usually takes off later in the season. The Adventurer is fishing on open-boat trips 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Fridays through Sundays, and call to confirm, making sure no charter is running instead.

<b>Cape May</b>

Small blues and small striped bass were sometimes hung from the surf, said Nick from <b>Hands Too Bait & Tackle</b>. Any cut bait drew in the blues, and clams pulled in the stripers. Nothing was heard about croakers or weakfish in the ocean, but the winds probably kept boaters from sailing. Little was heard about the back bay in the weather either. But hang in there, he said, because the striper migration is looming.

Back to Top