<b>Staten Island</b>

One of the nighttime trips aboard clobbered a good catch of seven or eight keeper striped bass Friday, said Capt. Chuck from <b>Angler Sportfishing Charters</b>. One of the fish was fairly large, 37 pounds, and a new size-class of stripers seemed to be trickling in. All the bass on the trip were bunker-chunked, and all the anglers went home with fish. Waters on the outing had cooled a degree or two to 67 ½ to 68 degrees since earlier in the week. Lots of blues swarmed the waters, and fishing for them lately was also good. The 5-hour trips fish hours like 4 to 9 p.m. or 5 to 10 p.m. this time of year. Angler’s daytime trips usually start with trolling, and once fish are found, they switch to chunking or live-bait fishing. Sometimes the trips will also bottom fish. Open-boat trips will sail Wednesday and Thursday. Waters held lots of debris from runoff from rains this season, and boaters needed to be careful. Rains were falling again this weekend.

<b>Outcast Charters</b> had been sea bass fishing, including on a trip Saturday, Capt. Joe said. New York’s season for the fish was open through that day. Forty to fifty keepers were iced, and the angling was like the rest of the season, off compared to usual, but catches were made. Then the trip stopped at a blackfish wreck 40 minutes, and the tog fishing wasn’t great, but probably eight keepers 3 to 4 pounds were landed. New York’s blackfish season opened Saturday, and Outcast on the next trips will start concentrating on the slipperies, a specialty on the boat. No porgy fishing was done on the boat recently, but others said porgy fishing was good.

<b>Atlantic Highlands</b>

On the party boat <b>Atlantic Star</b> both the morning and afternoon trips Friday fished the bay, escaping currents at the channels in the ocean, and good catches of porgies were plundered, Capt. Tom said. So that worked out, and each trip only made one drop. Currents were unusually strong, and tides were high, despite being five days off the moon. Both trips aboard Saturday also crunched good porgy fishing on the bay on one drop each. On Sunday both the boat’s trips tried the bay, but the angling was no good, so the outings fished the channels, and anglers fought the currents. A few porgies were plucked on each drop, and lots of out-of-season sea bass, including good-sized ones, bit and were released. Plenty of fish were at the channels, and the fishing was good there before the currents, and the fishing just needed to wait for the currents to ease. Anglers had to fish with 10-ounce weights lately. No blackfish were reeled in on the trips, because the trips spent time fishing the bay. The Atlantic Star is bottom fishing for porgies and blackfish on two trips daily 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. to 6 p.m., and clams are provided for bait.

<b>Highlands</b>

Fishing for striped bass was sort of up and down through the weekend, said Capt. Derek from <b>Fisher Price Charters</b>. Twelve keepers were bagged aboard on drifted eels Friday. A trip on the boat Saturday was tough, and two keepers were taken, and a bunch of bites were missed, on eels. On Sunday on a trip six keepers and 18 throwbacks were clammed. Waters were warm, 68 to 70 degrees, and tides were very strong. Charters are sailing, and if open-boat trips sail in the next days, they’ll run on the weekend for stripers. Call to jump aboard or to be kept informed about future open dates. Fisher Price is also bottom fishing, and the trips bailed lots of porgies, playing catch and release with a mess of blackfish, keeping the porgies and limits of one blackfish per angler. Tons of out-of-season sea bass, keepers, had to be tossed back.

Loads of porgies, including big ones, 2- to 3-pounders, a couple of keeper blackfish, several shorts and two conger eels 3 ½ to 4 feet were wrestled aboard a charter Sunday, said Capt. Dave from <b>Raritan Bay Charters</b>. A dozen keeper-sized, out-of-season sea bass and several shorts were released, and so was a 19-inch, keeper-sized fluke and six dozen shorts. “Many double-headers,” Dave said. “Good day.” Open-boat trips are sailing when no charter is booked. Reservations are being accepted for open-boat striped bass trips this month and in November that sail when no charter is booked.

<b>Neptune</b>
Big bluefish, striped bass to 20 pounds and large porgies got Mohawked from Thursday to Sunday with <b>Last Lady Fishing Charters</b>, Capt. Ralph said. All were hooked on bait. Three openings remain for an individual-reservation, overnight tuna trip to the canyons this Friday to Saturday. More of the trips are slated for Saturday to Sunday, October 15 to 16, and Wednesday to Thursday, October 19 to 20. An individual-reservation trip for cod and pollock will run Sunday, October 23. Individual-rez trips for stripers are set for Sunday and October 12, 25 and 30. The blackfish bag limit will be increased to six on Wednesday, November 16, from the current limit of one. Individual-reservation trips for blackfish are a go on that day and on Friday, November 18, and more will be scheduled, and blackfish charters were filling fast. Bluefishing was on, and if anglers want limit catches, bailing them on bait, join a charter now. <b>***Update, Tuesday, 10/4:***</b> From an edited e-mail from Ralph: “Fall fishing continues to be VERY GOOD. Lots of bluefish, stripers, big porgies, blackfish, cod and tuna being caught NOW. Individual-Reservation Schedule: STRIPERS, Oct 9, one spot left, Oct 12, 19 and 29 (moved from Oct 30), spots available, $100/person. CANYON, Oct 7-8 and 14-15, all full. Will be putting another trip together week of Oct 17, $400/person. If interested, e-mail or call. OFFSHORE-COD/POLLACK, $225/PERSON, Oct 23, full. Next trip for cod, Nov 8th. BLACKFISH, Nov 16, $100/person, Nov 18, spots available.Available for charters AM or PM both boats.”

<b>Brielle</b>

“Decent week … all kinds of different trips, and all kinds of good catching,” Capt. Joe Bogan from the party boat <b>Jamaica II</b> said in an e-mail. A cod trip was great last Monday, and Pete Talevi was high hook with 14 cod, and Tim Keebler won the pool with an 18-1/2-pound cod. Porgy trips aboard produced up to 40 of the scup per angler, and blackfish to 8 pounds. Roy Williams walloped 41 porgies and a 7-pound tog. Trips to the Mudhole on the boat nailed big ling “and a nice spread of keeper cod around the boat,” Joe said. Mac Dubois axed 16 ling and four cod. Coming up: ¾-Day Porgy Trips 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. October 4, 6, 11, 13, 18, 20 and 23; Mudhole Wreck Trips for Big Ling/Cod 5 a.m. October 7, 8, 10, 12, 16, 21 and 23; 12-Hour Porgy/Blackfish Trips 5 a.m. October 5, 9, 14, 15, 19 and 22; and Inshore Tuna Trips 2 a.m. October 17 and 24. <b>***Update, Tuesday, 10/4:***</b> From an edited e-mail from Capt. Ryan: “Very good cod trip Monday on a beautiful flat calm ocean. Mostly large schoolie fish 6-10 pounds, with only a 16-pound pool winner. Over 200 keeper fish boated for a relatively small crowd – anybody's guess how many throwbacks. Yup, a lot of the same guys: Dale Isaacs, Manchester, 21 cod; Ray Bryant, So .Orange, 16 cod; Alex Pisani, 19 cod; Tim Keebler/Jim Davis teamed up for 33 cod; Omar Richardson, 9 cod; Frank Elsishans, 16 cod; and OK Kim, 16 cod. A few ling were also caught, not as many as last trip. ADDING NEW DATES: October 12, 19 and 22, 2 a.m., for cod. Call to reserve.”
Striped bass were trolled at the Shrewsbury Rocks on the ocean, and later in the week some were livelined on bunker, said Chuck from <b>The Reel Seat</b>. He took a trip that trolled 30 stripers to 22 pounds. When boaters livelined the bunker, they sometimes hooked fairly large bass to 25 and 30 pounds. Lots of blues swam toward the rocks, and the blues held inshore, and the bass swam offshore. Chuck heard nothing about false albacore, but assumed the fish were around. Surf casters banked stripers for sure, mostly in the early mornings and evenings. Stripers swam in pods in the Manasquan River, and some of the fish were good-sized. A pod might show up, and an angler might land a few stripers, or the fish might refuse to bite. Then the pod would disappear. They popped up in places like near the Railroad Bridge and at the entrance to Will’s Hole. Lots of blackfish hovered along the Point Pleasant Canal. A few stripers and blues came from the canal, but anglers are quiet about the catches, and blackfish at the canal were the news. Someone speared a 29-inch blackfish, a big one, at the Railroad Ridge. The bridge is more difficult to fish, but the tog could be located there. Actually, blackfishing was dynamite everywhere. Good reports rolled in from all locales, and the blackfish were sizeable. Porgy fishing on the ocean was fairly decent. The scup were reportedly smaller, but they were caught in numbers, including at Sandy Hook Reef, the Shrewsbury Rocks and different lumps. Nothing was heard about inshore fishing for bluefin tuna. Anglers sailed for them, but bluefins seemed relatively scarce this season, and the bait seemed not to be there in populations like usual. Farther from shore, lots of longfin tuna were decked, mostly on the troll, but a few on jigs, at Hudson Canyon and a few canyons south of there. Nighttime fishing was decent for yellowfin tuna at the canyons until Saturday night, when catches slowed, and green waters moved in. The yellowfins were mostly 30 to 40 pounds, occasionally to 70 pounds, and swordfish and bigeye tuna were occasionally cranked in.

<b>Barnegat Light</b>

“Great, great fishing today,” a report said about the bluefishing trip aboard Friday on the party boat <b>Miss Barnegat Light</b>’s Web site. Bluefishing was also good on Saturday’s trip. On Saturday’s nighttime trip, bluefishing was a slow pick at first, got better and better, and ended up lock and load for 6- to 12-pounders. Bait and jigs caught the blues on all the trips. The Miss Barnegat Light is bluefishing 8 a.m. Fridays through Sundays and 7:30 p.m. Saturdays. The <a href="http://www.missbarnegatlight.com/TunaFishing.html" target="_blank">Miss Barnegat Light’s tuna trips</a> are fishing overnight Sundays.

<b>Mystic Island</b>

Ten- to 20-inch striped bass were confirmed to be in the waters off Graveling Point that anglers boated, a report on <b>Scott’s Bait & Tackle</b>’s Web site said. A couple of the boaters were catching kingfish and blowfish when the stripers showed up. “You know something is different after hooking 5-inch blowfish all morning, and then one of those little stripers takes your bait for a ride!” the report said. Conditions looked good for larger stripers to arrive, and mullet and bunker were seen along the beaches on Long Beach Island. Surf casters there only banked small blues and kings so far. Plenty of 1-pound blues were around in the back waters. Anglers fishing the banks of Little Sheepshead Creek grabbed plenty of the snappers, and a 2-pounder took off with the bait once in a while. Several customers found good tog fishing along the banks from the Fish Factory to Big Sheepshead Creek. “It really is a matter of getting on just the right spot,” the report said. Somewhat larger blues worked the southernmost tip of Long Beach Island. Break out the casting plugs or small metal, or drift strips of mackerel along the bars. Look for a little bird play, because that might point the way.

<b>Brigantine</b>

Pat Amato weighed in an 11-pound striped bass from the Brigantine surf, a report on <b>Riptide Bait & Tackle</b>’s Web site said. Blues and kingfish already swam all around the surf, “and now maybe the stripers will start to move in?” the report asked. The weather was colder than a witch’s toe Friday night, the report said, and was expected to be like that for a couple of days. Waters should begin to cool “and bring down those fat stripers that are up in Montauk,” the report said. Fresh mullet, fresh clams and bloodworms were stocked. The annual Riptide Striper Derby is under way, lasting to December 23. Anglers who enter the first, second and third biggest stripers from the Brigantine front beach will win $500, $300 and $150, respectively. Plus a $25 weekly prize, a $50 monthly prize and a $100 woman’s prize will be awarded. Entry in the tournament provides beach-buggy access to the island’s front beach for those who have a Brigantine beach-buggy permit. Again, the Atlantic County Surf Fishing Derby is also happening.

<b>Sea Isle City</b>

Annual trips to Montauk kicked off aboard this weekend, and catches were epic, said Capt. Joe Hughes from  <b>Jersey Cape Guide Service</b> and <b>Sea Isle Bait & Tackle</b>. The trips this weekend focused on false albacore, but the outings each year fish the legendary migration of striped bass, blues and albies, at least through the next two weekends this year. Dustin Laricks joined the first trip, on Thursday, slamming at least 12 false albacore on flies, and some blues in some weather and fog. Mike Roth climbed aboard the outings Friday to Sunday, and the albie fishing was even better, and the weather was improved. On Friday he fly-rodded 18 albies and a 37-inch 19-pound striper, a beautiful fish. On Saturday Mike fly-rodded 22 albies and a 30-inch striper. On Mike’s trip Sunday, a half-day trip, he fly-rodded at least a dozen albies. A few of the fish on the weekend’s trips were jabbed on metal on spinning rods. Fish blitzed and birds worked the waters through the days. “Pretty ridiculous,” Joe said. Fly-rodding for stripers was a little slow through the weekend, but again, the trips honed in on albies. Back in Sea Isle, Jersey Cape’s trips were going well that popper fish for stripers on the back bay with lures and flies. Take one of the Afternoon Special Trips for the angling, convenient. Jersey Cape begins fishing the ocean from Sea Isle for large, migrating stripers and blues toward late October. Lots of those trips are already booked for November and December, and if anglers intend to jump aboard for the angling, they should reserve now. Thanksgiving is traditionally the peak. See Jersey Cape’s <a href=" http://www.captainjoehughes.com/page4.html" target="_blank">traveling charters page</a> for more info about the Montauk trips Also see the page for Jersey Cape’s annual trips to the Florida Keys this winter from Christmas to Easter. Reserve now, taking advantage of the best rates, like on airfare. Anglers can arrive at the Keys on a Friday evening, fish all day Saturday and part of Sunday, return Sunday evening, and be back to work Monday. The trips can be a mini, fish-filled vacation, for a large variety of catches from redfish to sailfish. Keep up on Joe’s fishing on <a href="http://captainjoehughes.blogspot.com" target="_blank">Jersey Cape’s blog</a>.

<b>Cape May</b>

Trips were weathered out Saturday and Sunday on the <b>Down Deep</b>, Capt. Bob said. But a trip Tuesday, the only that made it out in the past week aboard, steamed to Wilmington Canyon with a father and son on a charter. Mahi mahi, good sized ones to 22 pounds, including a few around 20, and two yellowfin tuna 35 pounds were crushed, and a white marlin was missed. So that was a good catch, and a good experience for the son, 13-year-old Kevin Witasik, Capt. Bob said. Striped bass fishing will begin probably during the last week of October on the Down Deep, and a few dates remain for the charters.

Fishing was weathered out through the weekend, and Capt. George from the <b>Heavy Hitter</b> knew no boats that sailed, he said. Trips with him are inshore trolling for fish like blues and are sailing offshore for tuna on daytime-trolling trips and overnight chunking ones. George knew about one party-boat-sized charter boat putting anglers on 31 tuna the other night. The trip also hooked tuna and wahoos during the day, but more fish overnight. Striped bass charters on the Heavy Hitter are starting to book up that will probably start late in the month. Call if interested in any of this fishing.

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