<b>Brooklawn</b>

The Cape May Rips put up striped bass on eels, said Rick from <b>Big Timber Bait & Tackle</b>. Sizeable stripers were boated there, and he also heard about large ones taken on bunker chunks in the shallows 20 feet or less from Bug Light to farther north. The southern end of 60-Foot Slough is always a place to chunk. Stripers, lots of them, schooled the ocean beyond 3 miles from shore, where fishing for them is closed. Places like 5-Fathom Bank attract them. Big, monster blues could be fought from a bit offshore to the same areas like 5FB. In the Delaware River fishing for largemouth bass was productive, even if the bigmouths were small. The fish began to gather in certain spots like the Graveyard near the Commodore Barry Bridge. Anglers fished for them with crank baits and jerk baits. Catfish chomped in the river and the creeks along the river. Big Timber stocks tackle and bait for fishing in all waters from freshwater to bays to offshore. Looking for the perfect holiday gifts? Stop by for gift certificates!

<b>Fortescue</b>

Anglers on the <b>Buccaneer</b> on Sunday beat a 42-inch striped bass, missed a couple of others, and released probably 20 throwbacks to 26 inches, Capt. Ralph said. So the 42-incher and the action with throwbacks made for an all right trip. Seas and the weather were beautiful, but seas were rough on a trip Saturday. Some anglers on the bay caught stripers this past week, and some did not. No bluefish were hooked on the Buccaneer in the past days, and Ralph heard about none landed then, after big slammers showed up in the bay earlier, like usual. Two of the blues were landed, and seven broke off, on the Buccaneer during the previous week. The lack of news about blues now was unusual. Ralph knew that boaters tore up stripers farther south in the bay at the Cape May Rips. Striper trips are set to fish with him Saturday and Sunday, and he’ll probably call it a season afterward. Call if interested in fishing for stripers. Last chance.

Two more trips are on the books to sail for striped bass on the party boat <b>Salt Talk</b>, Capt. Howard said. Afterward he’ll wrap up the boat’s season. One sizeable striped bass and three big blues were bagged on a trip Thanksgiving morning. No stripers bit on a trip Sunday. Either the weather was too rough or no trips were scheduled on the rest of the days in the past week. So the fishing was winding down on the boat, and the Salt Talk will resume sailing in May for stripers and drum. Howard thanks everyone who sailed on the vessel this year, and looks forward to starting back up in spring! Book spring striper and drum charters now to lock in the best dates.

<b>Port Norris</b>

Striped bass fishing last week was probably the best of the season, though not lots of anglers hit the bay, said Harrison Moore from <b>Port Norris Marina</b>. Anglers and their catches included Charlie Wilson, Port Norris, with his 45-pound 48-inch striper, and 9-year-old  Michael Ayars, Hammonton, with his 36-1/2-pound 47-1/2-incher. Harrison himself, who’s from Port Norris, reeled in a 25-pound 45-inch striper, and his dad, Jeff Moore, also from Port Norris, heaved in a 28-pound 43-incher. Harrison heard about bluefish boated early last week but none since. But, again, not a ton of anglers fished. The 60-foot charter boat <b>Bodacious</b>, sailing from the marina, had at least one more striper trip booked this season, if Harrison knew correctly. Fresh bunker, the bait to dunk for the linesiders, became scarce, and the marina’s bunker supplier stopped catching the menhaden for the year. The supply at the shop is expected to be slim to none. The marina will be open through December 12, weather and bait-availability permitting, before closing for the season.  

<b>Bivalve</b>

From <b>Longreach Marina</b>, lots of boaters fished, and a few stopped in afterward to report their catches, Pat said. They and their catches included: Joe Laskin, Gloucester, 49-inch striped bass; Bill Lewis and Bill and Bear Witt, Vineland, five stripers 45, 42, 40, 39 ½ and 35 inches; Big Joe, Dividing Creek, 38-, 34- and 32-inch stripers; and Al Jones, Cherry Hill, 34-1/2-inch striper. Saturday’s weather was terrible for fishing, but Sunday’s was better. Fresh bunker for striper bait became difficult to obtain, and the shop’s supplier stopped sailing for the baitfish for the year. The boats are required to be pulled from the slips by December 15. The marina will continue to be open afterward, and the hours will be determined later.

<b>Cape May</b>

Super striped bass fishing was boated at the Cape May Rips through last week, until the blow and rough seas Saturday, said Capt. Bob from the <b>Down Deep</b>. Then the angling declined, and a trip Sunday hooked 22 stripers including four keepers. But nearly every trip on the boat limited out on the fish at the rips previously, fishing with eels, spots and bucktails. Tons of stripers swam the rips, and many were small, but some were sizeable. One of the stripers on Sunday’s trip was a 30-pounder that Rich Fox eeled. All the different rips, including at Prissy Wicks Shoal, Overfalls Shoal and Middle Shoal, seemed to harbor the fish at some time or other in the past days. Delaware Bay’s striper fishing seemed to drop off a bit, Bob thought.

Probably 30 striped bass, including a half-dozen keepers, were picked up at the Cape May Rips on Sunday while the anglers livelined with <b>Legal Limit Charters</b>, Capt. T.J. said. Lots of stripers, many of them shorts, filled the rips. A trip on T.J.’s other boat, sailing from Tuckerton, copped a difficult pick of blackfish on the ocean Sunday, but the anglers still limited out on a healthy catch of the tog to 5 pounds, some sizeable ones, but none huge. No trips on the boat from Tuckerton fished for stripers recently, but others caught stripers there.

Trips locked up on good catches of striped bass at the Cape May Rips on Thursday and Friday on the <b>Heavy Hitter</b>, Capt. George said. Eels were the best bait, and a few smaller bass were hooked on spots, and bucktails claimed some of the fish. No trip fished on Saturday because of winds, and fishing was slow on a trip Sunday at the rips, producing 8- and 9-pound bluefish and out-of-season flounder tossed back. Nobody seemed to set the world on fire Sunday, and some caught, but nothing to get excited about. George couldn’t know if the blow Saturday caused Sunday’s slow down. Boaters who fished the bay for stripers seemed to bunker chunk some in the past days. One angler from the docks on Sunday hooked none when fishing the bay.

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