<b>Bayonne</b>

Winds and storms kept trips from sailing in a week, but anglers previously said they picked a few weakfish near the Verrazano Bridge, so a trip two Fridays ago first looked for them, said Capt. Akira from <b>True World Tackle</b> and <b>True World Tackle Charters</b>. No weakfish turned up, so the charter moved to the East River, smoking two 33-inch and 36-inch striped bass on eels. Akira had expected to catch bluefish more than stripers on the river at this time of the year, but he fishes the river for stripers. The river was even windy, and another trip fished on that Sunday, first sailing to Breezy Point to look for false albacore. No albies appeared, and the charter moved to Rockaway Reef, catching sea bass and porgies, but many small ones. The anglers moved to the Mud Buoy for a chance at false albacore, and no albies were seen, but bluefish were decked. Trips were weathered out on the boat since then, but a charter this weekend might search around the Mud Buoy for false albacore again, and bottom-fish for sea bass and porgies in the area. Despite winds, bulkhead anglers banked stripers at Hudson River Waterfront Walkway in Bayonne, mostly using bunker and sandworms.

<b>Atlantic Highlands</b>

Too few anglers showed up for entire the party boat fleet to fish Saturday, so neither the daytime nor the nighttime trips sailed on the <b>Fishermen</b> that day, Capt. Ron said in the report on the boat’s Web site. That was the only recent report posted, but  he expected to be back fishing in better weather in the next days. The Fishermen is now fishing daily for striped bass, after taking a break last week, after fluke fishing ended on the vessel because the flattie season closed. Stripers started to be landed on the boat last year around September 15 on clams. Trips this season will clam, bunker-chunk and jig for the linesiders, like usual. Ron was in Chatham, Massachusetts, last week, and great white sharks gathered a mile from shore, and helicopters kept an eye on them. One local fisherman said he watched a 2,000-pound great white devour a seal, and seemed shaken up from the sight. Seals, an estimated 30,000, are all over the waters at this time of the year. 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. Fridays through Sundays.

The boat stayed tied up in the weather Thursday and Friday, but bottom-fishing trips resumed Saturday on the <b>Atlantic Star</b>, targeting the channels, Capt. Tom said. Big porgies and some sea bass, triggerfish and blackfish were bagged, but the weather seemed to affect the fishing, definitely slower compared with before, and Tom hoped catches recovered quickly. Saturday morning’s trip was poor, and a few fish were picked here and there. The afternoon’s trip began to turn around and do better, with large porgies and a few keeper sea bass, blacks and triggers claimed. But both of Sunday’s trips were slow again, though big porgies were sometimes nailed, and sea bass, blackfish and triggerfish were sometimes coolered. Lots of small sea bass, some close to keepers and others that were keepers were around lately. Tom heard nothing about weakfish, and none of the fleet probably sailed for them in the blow. The season probably wasn’t too late to expect weaks to arrive in the bay, and the Atlantic Star does sail for them when enough of the trout come in, but whether any boats will concentrate on them now was a question. If none sail for weaks, then whether enough of the fish are around will be unknown. 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.

<b>Highlands</b>

All  charters were weathered out in the past week with <b>Sandy Hook Fishing Adventures</b>, but Capt. Bob took scouting trips that located a few weakfish in local haunts and striped bass willing to chew clams, he said. The bass were clammed during the daytime, unlike the stripers that were already feeding at night. Bluefish also tore around the bay and ocean. Full-day, half-day and evening trips are being booked for stripers, blues, weakfish and bottom fish. Fall is a great time to be on the waters, Bob said.

Boaters returned to the bluefin tuna grounds on the inshore ocean during the weekend after the storm, catching the fish, said Capt. Brian from <b>Jersey Devil Charters</b>. So if trips with Jersey Devil get the weather, they should battle the tuna. Anglers on the boat limited out on the bluefins on each outing so far, and Jersey Devil is focusing on the fishery, one of the best this season. Both charters and open-boat trips are running after them, and call if interested in the open trips, because the more who can go, the easier to schedule the fishing. Resident, non-migrating striped bass were active in the relatively cooler weather, and Brian knows anglers who boated them around the Shrewsbury Rocks and such places in the past days, and he’s up for striper charters. Jersey Devil specializes in stripers, especially trophy bass, once the fall migration begins, and has won or placed in many tournaments. But Brian is ready to go after the linesiders now.

<b>Neptune</b>

With <b>Last Lady Fishing Charters</b> anglers creamed sea bass, a few blackfish and some large croakers, a good catch, on an inshore wreck-fishing trip Sunday, Capt. Ralph said. Space is available on an individual-reservation trip Wednesday for the same type of fishing, targeting sea bass, croakers, blackfish, ling and possibly a few cod at the wrecks 20 to 25 miles from shore. A couple of spaces are available on an individual-reservation trip for cod on Friday at the offshore wrecks, and the last four trips for cod clobbered the fish to 40 pounds, including lots of 15- to 20-pounders. More of the trips should be scheduled so long as the fishing holds up on Friday, and charters are also available for cod. A couple of bluefish charters bailed a mess of the slammers in the past days. A tuna trip 40 miles from shore on Saturday, the day after the storm, had no luck. Two other boats fished the area, landing one tuna apiece. Reservations are being accepted for an individual-reservation blackfish trip on Monday, November 16, when the bag limit jumps to six of the tog from the current limit of one.

<b>Belmar</b>

The party boat fleet was mostly docked because of the weather, but when the <b>Golden Eagle</b> did sail in rocking and rolling seas, bluefishing was “decent to good,” Capt. Greg said in an e-mail. All patrons caught blues to take home on the daytime trip Saturday, and all caught on a constant bite on the night trip, and the fishing was good on both. A canyon tuna trip was cancelled that was supposed to fish today to tomorrow, and bluefishing trips will sail instead. Reports said the tuna fishing was slow except at the northern canyons out of range from the port. But an Iron Man 36-hour tuna trip is still scheduled for next week from Monday to Wednesday, and four spaces are available. The Golden Eagle is bluefishing 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. daily. See the boat’s Web site for the tuna schedule, fishing reports, fish recipes and more.

Bluefish, the biggest kind, huge ones like 15, 16 and 17 pounds, were whacked near the Shrewsbury Rocks on Sunday on jigs on the <b>Nan Sea J</b>, Capt. Tom said. Seas were flat calm by then, after the storm, and water temps dropped considerably to 67.7 degrees, because of the weather. Tom heard about slow sea bass catches on other boats during the weekend, probably because of a stirred up bottom from rough seas during the blow. But sea bassing should bounce back, and the boat is sailing for them. Weekly, open-boat bluefin tuna trips are fishing every Wednesday on the inshore ocean, and call to get aboard. Tom started running the trips because the fishing’s been so good, and he hoped it continued. Overnight tuna charters are fishing at the canyons.

<b>Brielle</b>

Waters were dirty, but sizeable sea bass and porgies were clocked Sunday on the <b>Big Kid</b> at Sea Girt Reef after the storm, Capt. Ken said. A charter was supposed to fish for bluefin tuna on the inshore ocean today, and Ken will try to give a report on the results that would be added here later in the day. A friend nabbed a bunch of false albacore over the weekend and marked fish several miles east of the Atlantic Princess wreck that looked like bluefins, and that was the only news Ken heard about bluefins. Sea bass and bluefin charters will continue, and overnight, canyon tuna trips are running. Choice dates remain for trips in October for any fish available. Dates are beginning to fill for blackfish charters that will launch November 16, when the bag limit gets hiked up to six of the tog from the current limit of one. Reserve preferred dates while possible. <b>Update, Today:</b> Today’s trip limited out on bluefin tuna 50 miles from shore on trolled ballyhoos, Ken said. So the fish were still out there, and that was good, he said. 

Four anglers jumped aboard a sea bass trip Sunday with <b>Fish Monger Charters</b>, Capt. Jerry said in an e-mail. “Nice to finally be fishing again after what (felt) like an eternity of blow-outs,” he said. The anglers worked hard, grinding out scores of keeper sea bass, 11 porgies and a triggerfish. They began fishing in 55 feet, where waters were dirty, but life was found just about everywhere. The trip fished inshore waters for the first half of the day and offshore for the second half, and no spot was probably better than another, except the final drop in 80 feet, where a few better-sized fish came up. Otherwise the fishing was a pick through the day, lots of shorts chomping, but flurries of sizeable keepers. Fish Monger is also running light-tackle charters and open-boat trips for drag-burning false albacore and bonito.

An overnight trip to Hudson Canyon managed to sail Saturday to Sunday, once the weather broke after the storm, said Capt. Mike from the <b>Katie H</b>. But the trip stopped at the bluefin tuna grounds on the way out, trolling a small one and a bunch of skipjacks. The charter also stopped at the lobster pots on the way out, clobbering 50 mahi mahi from 3 to 15 pounds, a great catch. At first the anglers pitched bait to the dolphin, and then trolled more. At night the boat was set up on the chunk at the East Elbow of the Hudson, and the fishing was slow, terrible, and seemed so for everyone, and nothing bit. In the early morning other boats reportedly caught a few tuna at the 100 Square. But the mahi saved the trip and were ferocious after the storm. The anglers were given the option of fishing only on the bluefin grounds for tuna, but wanted to head to the canyons. The Hudson was 73 degrees where the boat fished, and Mike heard about a temperature break at the 100 Square. The trip on the way to the canyon met an 8-foot swell that eventually diminished, until seas mostly calmed by night. On the way home the fleet at the bluefin grounds sounded like they caught fish and that most boats limited out on two. A trip Tuesday will fish for the bluefins, and more overnight trips are slated to fish the canyons Thursday to Friday and Saturday to Sunday. Don’t have enough anglers for a full canyon charter? Call Mike, and he can probably book an individual space on a make-up trip.

On the <b>Jamaica</b> anglers put a beating on 4- to 10-pound blues on Sunday on jigs and bait, an e-mail from the boat said. Lots of the fish were around, and trips at night also lambasted blues. The boat is fishing for blues during the daytime on certain dates and at 7:30 p.m. every Friday and Saturday. Check the vessel’s Web site for the schedule. Special trips for bonito and false albacore are slated for Wednesday and Friday, and inshore bluefin tuna trips are on the books for Thursday and September 25. Receive a $20 discount on future trips for each paid fare on either of those dates. Overnight, canyon tuna trips will leave port Friday and Saturday afternoons. See the vessel’s Web site for the full schedule

Anglers were mostly relegated to fishing Manasquan River instead of the ocean because of the weather, and they pounded plenty of blues, hickory shad and small striped bass, said Dave from <b>The Reel Seat</b>. The blues attacked Ava 007 jigs, and the shad swiped both the 007’s and Sabiki rigs. The bass were landed on Ava 17 jigs or Maria jigs that look like a spearing or sand eel. The bass bit on all tides during all times of day, but moving tides were a must. The area’s striped bass migration could begin in mid October, but after the weather, who knows? The fishing could start earlier, and Dave hoped that bluefish at least began to swarm closer to shore because of the storm. Lots of out-of-season fluke were either hooked and released by mistake or caught and let go on purpose on the river on bucktails with squid. Be sure to catch the shop’s Columbus Day Weekend Sale featuring discounts on inshore and offshore tackle.

<b>Point Pleasant</b>

First Labor Day passed, and then the storms passed, and fall fishing is set to begin, an e-mail from the <b>Cock Robin</b> said. Bluefish—big, mean, break-your-tackle fish—were already gorging on sand eels, an autumn bait, with classic, screaming bird-play above on Saturday and Sunday. So the weather cleared, fishing conditions were prime and the fish were big. “Let’s go fishing!” the e-mail said. The Cock Robin is fishing for blues 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily. Stay tuned for a schedule of tuna, false albacore and bonito trips on the inshore ocean.  On Thursday trips, customers can help donate fish to Joan Valentine House, providing meals to people. 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>Seaside</b>

The surf calmed down and cleaned up after the storm, and today, a Monday, when most returned to work, was a beautiful beach day, said the report on <b>Grumpy’s Tackle</b>’s Web site. In other words, it figures! Anglers were scarce today and in the weather during the past days, but a few reports came in about 3-pound blues beached. Usual rumors about striped bass came in, but no bass were weighed in. <a href="http://www.grumpystackle.com/fishingreports/" target="_blank"> Click here</a> for updates.   

<b>Barnegat</b>

Capt. John from <b>Perfect Drift Sport Fishing</b> lay low during the storm but checked on the boat Saturday to clean up after the weather, he said. A bunch of blues showed up chasing peanut bunker off the end of the dock, so he chucked a bucktail out and landed a few. No weakfish were in the mix, but he saved a few of the blues for crabbing bait, and caught 20 or 24 keeper blueclaws in a couple of traps. Barnegat Bay is loaded with blowfish, kingfish, weakfish and blues, and Perfect Drift will fish for them until the fall migration of striped bass begins. Trips will also fish the wrecks for sea bass 10 or 12 miles from shore until then. A few stripers were already being hooked, but the main body of bass should begin to arrive around Halloween. Then charters will at first fish for the linesiders with live bait and clams at Barnegat Inlet along the jetties and at the sod banks and channels in the bay. Toward Election Day trips will start chasing stripers in the ocean on the troll and with jigs. But the arrival of the fish can begin earlier or later, depending on the weather. Waters need to drop to 52 or 54 degrees for the action to begin. So a wait remained for fall stripers, but the bay was chock full of fish, and sea bassing in the ocean was available.

<b>Atlantic City</b>

The surf calmed by Sunday after the storm, was somewhat dirty, but began producing catches, and by today waters were clearer, and catches were on! said Noel from <b>One Stop Bait & Tackle</b>. Surf casters waffled lots of fish, a variety of tog, triggerfish, spots, sea perch, porgies, blues, striped bass and out-of-season flounder they let go. One angler who was at the shop while Noel gave this report today said he plugged four stripers including one keeper and also beached a 3-pound blue and lots of mullet. Pods of mullet kept schooling past, 20 to 30 feet off the jetties. Fish for the stripers early in the mornings before sunrise or at dusk, and probably one in five will swipe a plug instead of bait. Tons of tog could be found, and an angler could probably hook 30 or 40 in a day, including 10 keepers. Dunk green crabs along the jetties for them, and fish crabs or clams along the rocks for the triggers. Fish bloodworms for the spots, sea perch and porgies. The flounder were plentiful and the biggest of the year, and too bad the season closed. All the baits mentioned and more are stocked.

<b>Margate</b>

Sea bass, blues, blackfish, porgies and triggerfish, a good selection of species, were cranked aboard on a wreck-fishing trip Sunday with <b>O-Beth Sportfishing</b>, Capt. Eric said. Seas were 2 to 3 feet, and waters were 68 degrees. Eric knows nobody who fished for tuna since the rough weather, but O-Beth is targeting tuna.  He’ll move the boat to Cape May for fall striped bass fishing around mid October like always. The striper charters will fish bunker chunks on Delaware Bay and live bait or bucktails at the Cape May Rips. Keep an eye on <a href=" http://www.obethfishingcharters.com/" target="_blank">O-Beth’s Web site</a> for info about the striper fishing that will be posted soon. Wreck-fishing and tuna fishing will continue from Cape May as long as the fish keep biting, and tog charters will be added from Cape May when the bag limit increases to six of the blackfish on November 16 from the current limit of one.

<b>Longport</b>

Croakers, weakfish, including keeper weaks, not just the shorts that typically appear first in the ocean during the season, and sea bass were piled up on an open-boat trip Sunday on the <b>Stray Cat</b>, and the weather was beautiful, Capt. Mike said. The sea bass were taken 11 miles from shore, and the croakers, a mix of different sizes, and the weaks could be found just about anywhere. “Just ride out as far as you want, and stop,” Mike said. The weaks were read on the fish finder in “harder, tighter” marks, he said. Another one of the trips was headed back out today, and annual, open-boat trips began to sail daily when no charter is booked. A charter is booked Tuesday, and Saturday’s open trip is sold out, but space is available Sunday. The open trips will switch to blackfishing when the tog limit is increased to six on November 16 from the current limit of one, and the Stray Cat is a big-time blackfishing boat. Other boats that trolled the inshore ocean during the weekend after the storm found only a few fish like false albacore, Spanish mackerel and mahi mahi, but the fish remained out there, and the trolling should rebound. Anglers who fished the canyons for tuna during the weekend found few fish. But northerly currents screamed, and the fishing should pick up when the current backs off in a day or so. Charters on the Stray Cat are doing the inshore trolling and canyon fishing as well as the bottom fishing.

<b>Somers Point</b>

Bridge and jetty anglers rounded up tog, kingfish, small blues and sometimes striped bass, and occasional stripers were also grabbed from the back bay and at Great Egg Harbor Inlet, the Ocean City fishing pier and the surf, said T.C. from <b>Brennan Marine</b> in a fax. Croakers gathered in numbers in 30 to 40 feet in the ocean, and sea bass were plucked from the reefs.  The weather mostly shut down offshore fishing, but Chris Lutz and crew fished Toms Canyon early last week, tackling eight yellowfin tuna 30 pounds and larger, mostly on the chunk and on jigs, but some on the troll. They also trolled 10 mahi mahi in the 10-pound class from the Toms to Lindkenkohl Canyon.

<b>Ocean City</b>

Seas at the inlet were too stiff for a trip to fish Saturday, but one fished Sunday in better weather, wrangling up a healthy catch of croakers, weakfish including six keepers to 16 inches and 3- to 4-pound blues on the ocean, said Capt. Craig from <b>Fish Tale Charters</b>. The conditions were perfect for the fishing, with light, northwest winds, a big difference from the strong northeast winds in the past week, and with cloud cover for part of the day, keeping the air temperature comfortable, not too high. The weaks began to bite in 38 feet, and the croakers and blues were picked up in 50 feet, and drifts were repeated from the shallower to deeper waters to keep collecting the mix of fish. Squid strips were fished, but once a few smaller blues and croakers were landed, they were stripped out for baits, and the bigger croakers and weaks pounced on those strips. The anglers had fun, Craig said, and went home with a bunch of fillets. Fish Tale will keep doing this fishing until striped bass season. Reservations are being booked for fall striper fishing, when the boat will be moved to Cape May, mostly to fish at the Cape May Rips with live eels or spots or bucktails. Later in the season stripers are sometimes caught along the ocean off Cape May, like on jigs while trips chase birds working the waters. A few dates are already booked for November, so now is a good time to lock in dates.

<b>Sea Isle City</b>

Waters were somewhat churned up after the storm during the weekend, but the back bay’s striped bass smacked surface-poppers, were unaffected, said Capt. Joe Hughes from <b>Jersey Cape Guide Service</b> and <b>Gibson’s Tackle</b>. The fishing, a specialty for Jersey Cape, this season was “good to better than good,” Joe said. Father and son Jay and Luc VonCzoernig jumped aboard Saturday, landing several stripers on the bay on Skitter Pop lures, among quite a few bites, mostly on outgoing tide. Joe took another trip for the fish Sunday on incoming, and the fishing seemed slower than on outgoing, but stripers were caught. Anglers have to work for the fish when popper fishing, but there’s plenty of action on a trip. Great, ideal tides for the fishing or high tides in the late afternoons to dusk were happening this week. Waters were beginning to stabilize after the weather, and Joe anticipates good fishing in the next days. His trips also fly-rod for the bass with poppers. An offshore trip was planned on Saturday but was nixed because of winds. So the trip fished the inshore ocean instead, trolling a few false albacore. But the fishing seemed affected by the weather and should rebound. Anglers in a fleet of boats were seen that appeared to catch croakers in 40 to 50 feet. Amberjacks that Joe’s anglers had been fighting on the ocean seemed to leave. They might come back, but water temperatures dropped. The ocean was 68 degrees after the storm and 73 or 74 before. Bluefish seemed scarcer on the ocean after the weather but could return. A friend said surf casters beached blues and a few striped bass at Avalon’s 8th Street jetty at Townsend’s Inlet on Sunday, and the friend hooked some. Jersey Cape is offering after-work special trips on the back bay from 4 p.m. to dark, a great time to fish, when nobody else is on the waters, and action can be best. Offshore charters are available that troll for tuna, marlin or other big game during the mornings and cast bait, lures or flies to mahi at the lobster pots during the afternoons. Joe will offer traveling charters this month and next, and one type is coming up quickly: Weekend trips in Montauk for the blitz of stripers and blues from the middle of this month to late October. If you’ve wanted to fish the migration at Montauk, here’s your chance, and a few openings remain. The other traveling trip will head to Martha’s Vineyard and the Elizabeth Islands in Massachusetts for fly-rodding for stripers on Columbus Day weekend. During the holidays and also around Easter Joe always offers guided trips from the Florida Keys at Islamorada for everything from bonefish to redfish, and space remains available this year.

<b>Cape May</b>

All trips, including an overnight, canyon tuna trip slated for Saturday to Sunday, stayed in port because of the weather through last week, said Capt. Bob from the <b>Down Deep</b>. The storm began to diminish by Saturday, but forecasts called for too much winds to fish the canyons. Bob hoped the weather at least stirred up the canyons and helped fishing. An inshore trolling trip is on the books for Wednesday, and previously the trips on the boat banged out fish like false albacore, Spanish mackerel, mahi mahi and blues. Another overnight canyon trip is slated for Saturday to Sunday. Striped bass fishing will kick off on the vessel in mid October, and dates are being booked.

Boats sailed last Monday and couldn’t fish again until Friday, because of the weather, and fishing was a little tough because of the conditions, said Matt from <b>Jim’s Bait & Tackle</b> in an e-mail. Croakers were scattered all along the ocean front, and good catches came from McCrie’s Shoal, Mary Lou Slough and Cape May Reef. At the reef sea bass and triggerfish were mixed in with the croakers. The bigger sea bass swam at the wrecks a bit farther from shore in 85 to 120 feet. Last Monday was the last time false albacore were heard about, and they were battled then from the East Lump to the Northeast Lump and at Sea Isle Ridge. Anglers were waiting to hear whether they were still out there. Boats from Delaware beat fairly good catches of yellowfin tuna at the Hot Dog early last week, but no word rolled in about the fish since then. But reports were heard about white marlin and mahi mahi plowed on Saturday just north of Wilmington Canyon between 100 and 300 fathoms. Reports about quality catches of whites and mahi also rolled in recently from the Toms and Carteret canyons, out of reach for most local boats. Mullet, not big numbers but some, began to appear in the surf. Striped bass, smaller fish from 25 to 32 inches, were beached from the surf along the jetties when mullet were in.

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