<b>Staten Island</b>

Thirty striped bass must’ve been landed on a charter Saturday, “hard to get a better day,” said Capt. Chuck from <b>Angler Sportfishing Charters</b>. The fish, up to a 29-pounder that a 7-year-old clocked, were bunker chunked at Ambrose Channel and the West Bank. Lots of chum was placed in the waters. A charter on Sunday reeled in a few less at the same place with the same bait. Only two bluefish were in the mix Saturday, and none showed up Sunday. Water temps dropped a little and were 54 degrees. Angler Sportfishing will keep striper fishing.

Fishing for blackfish was outstanding for the tog to 9 pounds with <b>Barbara Anne Fishing Charters</b> when trips had the weather to sail, Capt. Anthony said. Open-boat trips are sailing Tuesdays and Thursdays and sometimes other days when enough anglers want to go.

Blackfish were crushed on trips Saturday and Sunday with <b>Outcast Charters</b>, Capt. Joe said. The fishing was better Saturday, and the anglers limited out early on the fish to 7 pounds, catching and releasing more afterward. The anglers Sunday also limited out and released more, but the bite was a little tougher. But blackfishing was generally great now. The ocean held a nasty roll Saturday and was somewhat calmer Sunday. Outcast is focusing on blackfishing but will sometimes stop for striped bass, if working birds pop up on the way to or from the blackfish grounds.

<b>Atlantic Highlands</b>

Anglers aboard will begin mainly targeting blackfish on Tuesday, said Capt. Tom from the party boat <b>Atlantic Star</b>. The blackfish bag limit will be increased to six that day from the current limit of one. Trips were already bagging blackfish, though porgies and sea bass were the main targets until now. Blackfishing was good, and Tom hopes the catches hold up. Trips fished every day since the last report, and seas were nasty on Thursday, were better but still nasty on Friday, and on Saturday “were no bargain,” he said, though they were better. By Sunday seas began to settle somewhat, and no porgies and sea bass bit, but blackfish began to chew better. Sea bass and porgies might bite as seas settle more, but anglers will see. The Atlantic Star will begin blackfishing 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily on Tuesday, and crabs will be supplied for bait. <b>***Update, Tuesday, 11/16:***</b> All in all a good catch of blackfish was crunched on the season’s first trip for them today on the boat, Tom said. A couple of anglers limited out, and two managed no keepers, and the rest probably averaged two to four or five keepers, and shorts gave up action. A light crowd sailed, and apparently forecasts kept some from joining the trip. But winds only blew 5 m.p.h., and drizzle fell toward the end of the trip. Some of the fish weighed up to 6 and 7 pounds, probably not 8, though maybe the fish reached 8. Some of the keepers were only ½ inch larger than legal size.

Angling slugged away at short and keeper striped bass to 17 pounds the rest of the day on Sunday’s trip after the tide changed, Capt. Ron from the party boat <b>Fishermen</b> said in the report on the boat’s Web site. The fishing also bailed good catches of the bass in the morning from the last of incoming tide through slack. Several anglers limited out on the trip, and the high hook landed seven stripers. “Glad the weekend is over,” he said, talking about the huge swell that lasted four days through Saturday. He was surprised anything was caught in the conditions Saturday. But hot action with stripers, the best of the day, turned on for a couple of drifts late in the trip that day from slack tide into the change. Previously on the outing some drifts gave up five or six stripers, including a keeper or two apiece. Readings, snags and good pieces of bottom had to be worked. By the end of the day, several anglers limited out on stripers that just made the 28-inch size limit. A 16-pounder won the pool, and “must have been lost and swimming with the wrong school,” Ron said. “We called it the ‘baby sitter.’” The Fishermen is sailing for striped bass 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily.

<b>Highlands</b>

A considerable roll was met on trips through the weekend that might’ve affected striped bass fishing, but good catches were boated, said Capt. Derek from <b>Fisher Price Charters</b>. The trips fished along the mouth of Raritan Bay and the ocean beaches from Rockaway to Sea Bright. Jigging for the stripers was slow on a trip Saturday morning. But keepers mixed in with lots of shorts were clammed on a trip in the afternoon. Eight keepers were bagged, and 65 shorts let go, on a trip Sunday afternoon. Only one bluefish was reeled in on all the trips. Charters are fishing, and the next open-boat trips will probably sail from Thursday through Saturday, and call to hop aboard or for the future open schedule. Mostly combo trips for stripers and blackfish will begin Tuesday, when the blackfish bag limit is hiked up. Act quickly to fish, because Fisher Price will sail until the second week of December before calling it a season.

Seas were big, but a trip sailed for striped bass Saturday with <b>Jersey Devil Charters</b>, Capt. Brian said. The anglers scored well, catching seven keepers and probably eight or nine throwbacks while trolling between the channels. Seas made the fishing a little tough until conditions improved once the tide changed. No trip ran Sunday, but fishing was slower for other anglers that day in increased boat traffic. Combo striper/blackfish trips will kick off Tuesday, when the blackfish bag limit is pulled up. The outings will jig or troll for stripers in the early mornings then anchor for blackfish. Hardly anyone probably fished for bluefin tuna farther offshore because of brutal seas. But Brian thought a couple of anglers made it out, fighting a bluefin or two per trip. Jersey Devil fishes for the tuna if the weather allows on charters or open-boat trips, when enough anglers are interested in open trips.  

<b>Neptune</b>

Two spots are available for a blackfish trip Tuesday, when the bag limit increases, with <b>Last Lady Fishing Charters</b>, Capt. Ralph said in an e-mail. More of the individual-reservation trips for the tog are set for November 16, 21, 27 and 28. One on November 26 is full. The trips will also fish December 5, 12, 18, 24, 26 and 31 and every weekend in January, including on New Year’s Day. More will be added, and “just call when you have one or two, and I’ll make up a trip,” he said. Some of the blackfish trips will jig for striped bass, if stripers are swimming the area. Anglers on a striper trip Sunday with Last Lady checked out two blackfish spots, and one was loaded with the tog. A limit of one per person, the limit through today, was bagged in 15 minutes. A trip today will return. Forty stripers, a terrific catch, were bagged on a trip Saturday. Striper fishing was slower on the trip Sunday, but the bass began to bite at 10 a.m., and five keepers were iced, and a dozen shorts were tossed back. Charters for stripers and any fish available are on tap.

<b>Belmar</b>

Striped bass and blues were jigged on the ocean in the past days on the <b>Nan Sea J</b>, Capt. Tom said. Fewer stripers bit than blues did, and the blues were the biggest kind, weighing up to 15 and 16 pounds. The slammers were aggressive, feeding on sand eels. The stripers weren’t large, and on Sunday’s trip they were up to 32 inches, and many were shorts these days. But all anglers on that trip went home with a keeper, for example. The weather was beautiful on Sunday’s trip, and there was a swell, but otherwise seas weren’t bad. Seas were rougher on previous days, and seemed to become calmer in the afternoons lately. But seas were definitely fishable. The season’s first blackfish charter will sail Tuesday, when the bag limit is increased. Open-boat trips will also sail for blackfish, and call Tom if interested. He heard that bottom fishing wasn’t so good in the swell.

<b>Brielle</b>

Seas became okay on the ocean, after worse seas previously, so boaters returned to fishing on the waters, Mohawking lots of striped bass, with blues mixed in, to the south toward Lavallette on jigs, said Dave from <b>The Reel Seat</b>. Anglers on one charter boat landed more than 100, keeping no more than their limit, releasing the rest. The party boat Gambler from Point Pleasant Beach reportedly scored well on stripers on jigs Saturday. Stripers were also beached from the surf. Dave last week on Monday in flat seas banked 20 stripers in the surf at Mantoloking from 6 to 7 a.m. on a T-Bone needlefish lure. His uncle reeled in about the same number on an Ava 17 jig with a colored tail. Dave saw other anglers hook up on other lures, including one angler who caught on a popper plug. Dave talked to other anglers who grabbed stripers from the surf at Sea Girt, Bay Head and Seaside, and the action was just good fishing. On the next day Dave arrived a little later, seeing a few stripers landed when he first got there, and he lost one on a needlefish, catching no more. A friend Saturday afternoon reeled in four stripers to 20 pounds in the surf at Mantoloking. Anglers caught stripers in Manasquan Inlet, mostly on leadheads with rubber shads or Fin-S Fish. Probably 40 anglers fished at the inlet on Sunday morning in a place where six anglers could fish comfortably. Not much was heard about blackfishing at the Point Pleasant Canal, and The Reel Seat sells no crabs for blackfish bait, so Dave wouldn’t necessarily hear. He last heard that the angling slowed compared with before, but conditions could’ve been the cause, possibly. Bottom fishing slowed on the ocean because of a churned up bottom in the swell, but bottom anglers waxed healthy catches of blackfish before the seas, and the bag limit will increase Tuesday. The ocean was too rough for reports to roll in about tuna fishing, but lots of tuna were bagged previously. Catch the shop’s second annual free striper tournament for surf anglers Thanksgiving weekend from 12:01 a.m. Friday, November 26, to 2 p.m. Sunday, November 28. No entry or pre-registration are required, and the only requirements are that anglers catch the stripers from the surf and weigh the fish at the shop. Prizes will be: 1st place, an 8-foot St. Croix Mojo rod with a Penn spinning reel; 2nd place, seven custom wood plugs; and 3rd place, a small Bronco surf-fishing bag with plugs and metals. Not too shabby for free! Dave said.

All anglers with <b>Fish Monger Charters</b> limited out on striped bass on the ocean by 9:15 a.m. Sunday, though the trip began late at 7:30 a.m., Capt. Jerry said in an e-mail. Was good to get out after staying docked in weather a few days, he said. The anglers caught and released more, landing a couple of dozen, and fought a bunch of blues mixed in. All were nabbed on Ava jigs, and tailless ones fished on a retrieve worked best. Stripers were hooked on every drift, and at first they were caught at birds diving. When the birds dispersed, all the trip had to do was move and stop on readings. After limiting out and playing with stripers and blues another hour, the anglers decided to fish for blackfish to end the day. The first drop was no good, but on the second the anglers each bagged a limit of one, throwing back a bunch more keepers and shorts. The tog weighed up to 6 ½ pounds. Awesome day on the waters! Jerry said. Fish Monger will keep fishing for stripers and will begin targeting blackfish when the bag limit is raised Tuesday. During the rough weather last week, while trips were docked, Jerry traveled to upstate New York to fish the Lake Ontario tributaries. He and friends clobbered steelheads and brown and rainbow trout. Fresh brown trout eggs were key for bait, and they tied 200 egg sacks apiece each night to keep up with the fishing. They fished only with noodle rods and 6-pound fluorocarbon leaders.

<b>Point Pleasant Beach</b>

Some anglers during the weekend’s trips bagged one striped bass on the party boat <b>Cock Robin</b>, and others limited out on two, and sharpies drilled three with a bonus tag, an e-mail from the vessel said. The fish mostly fed on sand eels, and bluefish to enormous-sized ones were creamed. “This week looks great!” the e-mail said. “Do not tell us you’re not coming because of rain. It will not rain!” The Cock Robin is sailing 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily except 6 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Wednesdays. On Thanksgiving a trip will run 6 a.m. to 1 p.m.

After a week of strong winds and big seas that weathered out trips, <b>Reel Class Charters</b> resumed fishing Sunday, Capt. Allen said in the report on the boat’s Web site. The trip, a charter including two anglers who joined the trip to fill in for two who dropped out from the charter, broke the inlet late at 8 a.m. Despite the late start and running around to put together a catch, five striped bass to 32 inches, a load of mixed-sized blues, including really big gators, and a sizeable sea bass were jigged, a decent day. Allen decked one of the blues that had to be 18 pounds. A whole silver eel was found in the slammer’s stomach. The anglers fished from south of Manasquan Inlet to north of Shark River Inlet, jigging the fish, bunches of blues with stripers mixed in, sometimes under working birds, sometimes at readings, until the action stopped at noontime. 

<b>Bricktown</b>

Boaters plowed striped bass, super action, on the ocean at Axel Carlson Reef on Friday, and good action on the fish from there to Seaside in 65 to 75 feet on Saturday, said Capt. Rich from <b>Jersey Hooker Outfitters Bait & Tackle</b> in an e-mail. On Sunday striper fishing became even better: Boaters lambasted insane action on the linesiders around Sandy Hook Reef. In other action, lots of blues and some stripers swam off Asbury Park in 65 feet. Schoolie bass were hooked in the afternoons in 50 feet off Lavallette. Last Monday trollers put together a healthy pick of stripers off Seaside and Island Beach State Park. Blackfish were honked at rock piles in 45 to 60 feet. With <b>Jersey Hooker Charters</b>, Rich’s charter sailing from Point Pleasant Beach’s Canyon River Club Marina, a trip sailed Sunday with Ken Jelnicki from Surf Rocket, Jason DeCarlo from njswf.com, Rob and Capt. Rich’s father. They fought tons of gator blues and a few stripers in 65 feet off Asbury Park. Next they whacked great blackfishing at a rock pile. Then they steamed to Mantoloking, wrestling a bunch of short stripers while trolling Sportfish Products six-arm sand eel umbrella rigs and the company’s six-arm white shad rigs. <b><i>***Black Friday Sale:***</i></b> Up to 25% savings on select items 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the store. <b><i>***Tautog Special:***</i></b> Catch the special discount on 5 hours of blackfishing on the charter boat!

<b>Tuckerton</b>

Little Egg Inlet’s striped bass fishing slowed a lot Saturday and Sunday, probably because tons of boaters clammed for the fish there, Capt. T.J. from <b>Legal Limit Charters</b> said. But trips on the boat nailed the fish before, covered in previous reports. Trips will begin blackfishing after the bag limit is amped up Tuesday. One space is available on an <a href=" http://www.legallimitcharters.com/c-11-open-boat.aspx" target="_blank">open-boat trip/shared charter</a> for blackfish Sunday. Anglers on T.J.’s other boat, sailing from Cape May, boxed stripers at the Cape May Rips and Delaware Bay in the past days, and the see the report under that port.

<b>Mystic Island</b>

At Little Egg Inlet on Friday anglers who caught the falling tide early in the morning “whooped up” on striped bass, said the report on <b>Scott’s Bait & Tackle</b>’s Web site. No big numbers of stripers were boated the rest of the day, and once falling tide ended that morning, rough seas at the inlet became even worse. Many of the boats then were forced to cluster in an area near Little Beach, and not a lot was caught. Later some were able to spread out to favorite holes, picking away at the fish. On Saturday anglers on a few boats bailed many stripers, and the boaters were apparently those who fished in scary seas at the white waters at the bars at the inlet. “Smarter anglers who played it safe,” the report said, boated occasional stripers, but more probably came home with none. Seas finally began to calm Sunday, and anglers scored well on stripers at the froth at the south bar at the inlet. Those who chummed heavier hooked better numbers. Seas were calm enough for boaters to run all over the ocean that day, but getting through the inlet wasn’t so nice. Nothing was heard about results on the ocean. Fog made few anglers fish this morning, though one reported a good catch of stripers at the inlet on the last of falling tide. Radio chatter talked about some catching later in the day, but whether any red hot activity went down was doubtful. Still, one angler and crew banged out an excellent catch of bass to two 20- and 25-pounders at mid afternoon. They found a bunker pod moving through, and the bigger bass was hooked on one of the bunkers one of the anglers snagged. “Bait means bass!” the report said. Clams are the usual bait at the inlet, and fresh, shucked clams were expected to be plentiful at the shop through today. But some use fresh bunker, and the bunker was difficult to stock. One of the bunker suppliers gave catching them his best shot on Saturday, coming up empty. Word said bunker appeared farther north, but the supplier heard about that too late in the day to reach the baitfish. 

<b>Brigantine</b>

Five reports rolled in about striped bass to an 18-pounder beached from the surf in ripping currents Friday, the report on <b>Riptide Bait & Tackle</b>’s Web site said. Surf angling was slow on Sunday, considering the number of anglers out there. A couple of stripers to 20 pounds were weighed in from the wash that day. Bob Daley checked in a 32-pounder from the beach at Brigantine’s north end this afternoon, taking over second place in the shop’s striper derby. He socked the fish on fresh bunker, and the shop was loaded with fresh bunker, fresh clams, eels and spots today. John Rogo weighed in a 27-pounder today. Catches from the suds today also included Larry Goldfrit’s 21-pounder, the first seen at the shop today, a fish that he bunker chunked this morning in the middle of the island, and Jeff Forsman’s 15-pounder taken at mid island. The current still ripped today, and surf casters used 6- to 8-ounce sputnik or satellite weights. The 5th annual Riptide Striped Bass Derby is under way, lasting until the end of the year, and Steve DiGiacomo was in the lead with a 46-1/2-pound 51-incher. Entrants win cash awards for the biggest stripers caught from the surf along Brigantine’s front beach. First place wins $750, and 2nd cops $400, and 3rd earns $150. The entrant with the biggest bass each month wins $25. The rest of the proceeds are donated to charity, and the event donated more than $13,000 to charity since the tournament began, Andy said. The entry fee for the tournament is $20, and entry must be accompanied by a Brigantine beach buggy permit. That way all entrants get to drive the beach to fish.

<b>Longport</b>

Despite a huge, magnificent, 10-foot swell, and a hairy inlet, a trip Saturday racked up a solid catch of sea bass and blackfish 7 to 8 miles from shore on the <b>Stray Cat</b>, Capt. Mike said. A surprising number of sea bass came from those depths, and the blackfish, up to 6 pounds, bit clams, not crabs, and looked bruised, knocked around because of seas. But the angling was good. No fish, including striped bass and blues, swam close to shore, because the swell dirtied waters near the coast. Waters cleaned up 6 miles out. Lots of bait and bunker schooled 8 miles off. Seas calmed a lot Sunday and should calm more today. One of the annual Cast and Blast Trips, outings that gun for ducks and fish in the same day, was slated for today. The fishing on the trip will probably swim eels for stripers, because dog sharks were no problem. But if dogs become a problem, jigs will be fished. Six spaces are available for an open-boat blackfish trip Tuesday, when the bag limit is increased. Stray Cat then will begin lots of blackfishing, a specialty on the boat. The fishing can be excellent on the wrecks off South Jersey that are less pressured than up north. Mike has called Longport the Blackfish Capitol of the World. Much of the schedule by this time of year is filled with open-boat trips, and call to jump aboard. But charters are available for fish from blackfish to stripers to sea bass, whatever’s biting. Charters are running as far as 65 miles offshore for jumbo sea bass, and cod are hovering 35 miles from land, if anglers want fish for the freezer. The Cast and Blast Trips are available on either charters or an open-boat basis.

<b>Sea Isle City</b>

More than 25 striped bass to 18 pounds were caught and released on the ocean on a trip Sunday, said Capt. Joe Hughes from <b>Jersey Cape Guide Service</b> and <b>Gibson’s Tackle</b>. That was his season’s first catch of stripers on the ocean, though Joe is sure the fish must’ve been there previously. But the day was the first in some time with seas and weather calm enough for him to reach the grounds he wanted to explore to see if the migration arrived. It had! A big ground swell remained, but seas were relatively calm, considering seas in the previous days. Mike Spaeder and son were the anglers on the trip, and they also fought and released six blues averaging 15 pounds apiece, and two fluke. They fished with white Fin-S Fish on ¾-ounce jigheads. The angling should continue a while, and is the best of the year with Jersey Cape. Joe’s anglers also fish for the bass and blues with bucktails, metal and flies. Looking ahead, Jersey Cape’s annual traveling charters, weekend getaways, that fish from Islamorada in the Florida Keys will take place once again this winter starting in January. Anglers can arrive on Friday evening, fish all day Saturday and part of Sunday, returning that day. Accommodations can be arranged.  See the <a href="http://www.gibsonstackle.com/page6.html" target="_blank">Jersey Cape’s Traveling Charters Web page</a>. Keep up with Joe’s fishing, photos and videos on <a href=" http://captainjoehughes.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Jersey Cape’s blog</a>.

<b>Cape May</b>

On the <b>Heavy Hitter</b> anglers boated striped bass on three trips Friday through Sunday, Capt. George said. On Friday’s trip John Barr’s group waffled a 44-inch 30-some-pound striper at the Cape May Rips on an eel. On Saturday’s trip George Crowsley’s gang nailed stripers to 35 or 36 inches on eels at the rips and while trolling during slack tide. On Sunday Harry and Brian from the Insulators’ Union’s trip drilled stripers to 35 or 36 inches while eeling at the rips and trolling during slack tide. Seas were terrible lately, but the fish were there. Winds screamed for days but dropped to 5 to 10 knots by Sunday.

Three trips Friday through Sunday each hauled in striped bass including 15- to 20 –pounders, and a 28-pounder was the biggest, said Capt. Eric from <b>O-Beth Sportfishing Charters</b>. The fish were bunker chunked on Delaware Bay. Friday’s trip decked six stripers, and Saturday’s trip probably totaled eight. Sunday’s trip angled up six. Stripers are hitting! Eric said. Seas were somewhat rough in the mornings on the bay, but flattened out compared with previously. The weather was beautiful during the weekend. O-Beth is focusing on stripers, and trips will begin to sail for tog in December when the boat is moved to Margate after striper fishing from Cape May.

Five anglers on a trip Sunday walloped five striped bass to 33 inches at the Cape May Rips with <b>Fish Tale Charters</b>, Capt. Craig said. So that was a good catch, and the fish were angled from 7 to 8:30 a.m. on outgoing tide. Four pounced on livelined spots, and one jumped on a bucktail. Several other stripers grabbed baits but got off before reaching the boat. The trip arrived at the grounds at 7 a.m., made a couple of passes at one location, and nothing bit. The boat was moved to another rip with shaken up waters that the fish like, and that’s where the bass were caught, as the boat made a number of passes through the place. This was the first striper trip for several of the anglers. Craig hooked the bass that hit the bucktail, passing it off to an 11-year-old on his first-ever striper trip. Fish Tale is fishing for stripers at the Cape May Rips, and eels and bucktails are provided, and anglers provide their own spots if they’d like, and Craig ban pick up the baitfish. Having the smorgasbord of eels, bucktails and spots isn’t a bad idea, and when anglers opt to fish with spots, they usually use them first on a trip. That’s probably why most of the bass on this trip were landed on the spots. Some of the fish attacked eels but weren’t landed, and by the time the anglers used more eels, outgoing tide had changed, and the fish seemed to prefer feeding on outgoing this day. Craig heard nothing about stripers in the ocean, but few boaters reached the ocean in the tall seas lately. Seas by this trip on Sunday were fine, though seas remained sporty through Saturday. Sometimes Fish Tale will fish for stripers on the ocean, when that’s the better option, jigging for the fish there.

Not a ton of striped bass swam the Cape May Rips, but the waters gave up a fairly good bite, and anglers had to work for the catches, said Capt. T.J. from <b>Legal Limit Charters</b>. The linesiders to 40 inches were hauled aboard the boat. Striper angling was so-so on Delaware Bay, sometimes turning out the fish, other times not. T.J.’s other boat is fishing for stripers from Tuckerton and will begin blackfishing from there after the blackfish bag limit jumps up Tuesday. See the report under that port.

All charters racked up striped bass this past week on the <b>Down Deep</b>, and on a couple of days the fishing was good, and on a couple was slow, Capt. Bob said. He heard about stripers caught in the ocean under working birds farther north at places including Brigantine, and those fish should migrate south to the local area, and striper fishing should just get better. The trips on the boat fished at the Cape May Rips with eels and spots, and the baits worked equally well, and they also fished on Delaware Bay with bunker chunks. The fishing at the rips seemed to be picking up somewhat. On the bay Sunday an angler on a friend’s boat chunked a 53-pound striper. The bunker supply was scarce, and single baits cost $3 apiece.

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