<b>Staten Island</b>

The weather kept <b>Outcast Charters</b> from sailing through the weekend, but blackfishing’s been going well the past couple of weeks aboard, Capt. Joe said. New York’s blackfish season opened October 1, and trips for the tog are a specialty for Outcast. Sometimes the fish were good-sized, and a 13.9-pounder and an 11.5-pounder were some of the biggest. On other days the blackfish were 3 and 4 pounds, with 5- and 6-pounders mixed in. Outcast will keep blackfishing, and sometimes will chase stripers, if trips run across schools of stripers that can be jigged on the way to and from blackfishing. Sea bassing will also be added to blackfishing aboard when sea bass season opens Tuesday.

<b>Keyport</b>

No trips sailed aboard in the weather, but Capt. Joe from <b>Papa’s Angels Charters</b> saw 45-degree water temps at the marina Sunday, he said. Those temps, no longer too warm for striped bass, and other signs, like reports about herring and sand eels in Raritan Bay and along Sandy Hook, boded well for striper fishing. Plus he heard about a few better-sized stripers, in the 30-pound range, caught. Papa’s Angels will probably fish another two weeks before Joe wraps up his season. If anglers want striped bass, go now. Open-boat trips are fishing for stripers daily when no charter is booked. Call to reserve.

<b>Atlantic Highlands</b>

“After losing the weekend, today was like starting all over again,” Capt. Ron from the party boat <b>Fishermen</b> said in a report on the vessel’s Web site today. But the anglers aboard limited out on striped bass “and then some,” he said. At first on the trip, Ron hoped to find birds working the waters, and stripers that could be jigged. But none was found. “Went to Plan B and the bait, glad we did,” Ron said. The anglers picked away at shorts and keepers, and the fishing began slowly. But at slack tide, the bigger bass turned on! Andy Seeney won the poll with a 20-pounder, and Anchor Joe caught the second-biggest, a 17-pounder. The weather is supposed to blow northeast again Tuesday, “possibly just a little too hard for these older bones,” Ron said. But the weather looks good for trips the rest of the week.  The Fishermen is sailing for striped bass 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily. However, the boat is chartered Friday morning.

The party boat <b>Atlantic Star</b> sailed today, after being tied to the dock since Thursday in the weather, Capt. Tom said. The anglers on the trip so far picked at blackfish, Tom said in a phone call at 11 a.m. on the outing. He hoped to find porgies before the trip was finished. The storm might’ve affected the fishing, and lots of life was read on the bottom. Water temps dropped a few degrees, and that might’ve also affected the bite. Only a handful of anglers joined the trip, but the day was nice, so the boat was headed out. Forecasts looked like the boat could be weathered out Tuesday, the opening day of sea bass season, but anglers can call this evening to confirm. Wednesday currently looked alright. The Atlantic Star, starting Tuesday, is fishing for sea bass, porgies and blackfish 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily.

<b>Highlands</b>

Striped bass fishing aboard was good last week, and was very good Friday, said Capt. Derek from <b>Fisher Price Charters</b>. The anglers drifted eels for the fish along the channels. Trips were weathered out Saturday and Sunday, but a striper trip was set to sail this afternoon. Charters are sailing, and the next open-boat trips will fish for stripers probably Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. Call to climb aboard or to be kept informed about future open trips. Fisher Price will keep striper fishing through November, and will begin blackfish trips, or combo striper/blackfish ones, November 16, when the bag limit is increased to six of the tog from the current limit of one. A few dates remain for blackfish charters.

Trips aboard were lost through the weekend because of the weather on the <b>Hyper Striper</b>, Capt. Pete said in an e-mail. But the Bob Williams charter today had already limited out on striped bass to 27 pounds by the time Pete sent the e-mail on the trip at 9 a.m. Before the weather, Russ Schofield’s trip Thursday morning limited out on stripers, and Rich Gibson’s outing Thursday afternoon limited out on the linesiders to 24 pounds. The Rowe Electric crew on Friday morning limited out on stripers to 25 pounds, and the Frank Mills gang on Friday afternoon limited out on the bass to 32 pounds.

<b>Neptune</b>

Fishing for striped bass was slow on a trip Sunday aboard after the storm, and only one striper was bagged, said Capt. Ralph from <b>Last Lady Fishing Charters</b>. But a trip aboard Friday shoveled up a good catch of four stripers to 20 and 25 pounds and a bunch of big blues. No trip fished with Last Lady on Saturday in the storm. Individual-reservation trips with openings include those for: stripers, Sunday; sea bass and stripers, November 13; blackfish, November 16, 20, 27 and dates in December; and cod and pollock offshore, November 23.

<b>Belmar</b>

Fishing stayed docked the past four days in the weather with <b>Fin-Ominal Sportfishing</b>, Capt. Jared. Trips aboard the previous two weekends cleaned up on tuna, totaling 25, at the canyons, covered in previous reports. Striped bass trips are set to fish Saturday and Sunday.

<b>Brielle</b>

A couple of party boats, probably running for bluefish, might’ve sailed the ocean Sunday, said Dave from <b>The Reel Seat</b>. But strong winds continued that day, after the storm, and those vessels were about the only that fished in the last several days. Surf anglers banked striped bass Thursday through Saturday, and a few of the fish Sunday, mostly from Normandy Beach to the south. On Saturday the surf anglers caught on Ava 27 and 47 jigs, using the 47’s because the surf was big. But late in the week they also connected on needlefish and small swimming plugs, because sand eels were sometimes around. Nothing was heard about bluefish hitting in the surf. Boaters who sailed when the weather allowed last week trolled stripers at the Shrewsbury Rocks on bunker spoons. Bunker schooled lately, but few fish were on them. Whether bluefishing was good on the ocean was unknown, but the party boats probably scored all right on blues. Manasquan River held mostly shad and a few stripers. Stripers were reportedly hooked in the Point Pleasant Canal. Ocean bottom fishers, before the storm, found good blackfishing, and ling fishing that wasn’t bad. A bunch of cod bit, and little was heard about porgies. Yellowfin tuna fishing was good before the blow at Hudson and Wilmington canyons. 

<b>Point Pleasant Beach</b>

A mix of snow and rain forced Saturday’s trip aboard to be cancelled, and gale winds caused Sunday’s trip on deck to be nixed, Capt. Allen from <b>Reel Class Charters</b> said in a report on the Reel Class Web site. That was the first time that snow forced a trip aboard to be cancelled before December. Six inches of snow fell in northern New Jersey, and only a coating fell in Point Pleasant Beach. But the nor’easter during the snow caused waters to cover the docks at Clark’s Landing Marina, where Reel Class’s boat is slipped. The weather lately, or actually since Hurricane Irene at the end of August, was forcing lots of trips to be cancelled. But a charter is slated for this Saturday, and space is available on an open-boat trip this Sunday for striped bass and blues, and more spaces will be available here and there this season, until Allen wraps up the Reel Class season after Thanksgiving weekend. See the <a href="http://www.reelclassfishing.com/rates/open-boat-info" target="_blank">Reel Class open-boat page</a>.

<b>Barnegat Light</b>

Excellent bluefishing was crushed Friday on the party boat <b>Miss Barnegat Light</b>, a report on the vessel’s Web site said. The 6- to 14-pounders were swiped on bait and jigs, and fishing aboard Saturday was expected to be cancelled because of the nor’easter, the report said. Sunday’s trip might’ve also been weathered out, because no report was posted for either day. That was the season’s final weekend of bluefishing on the boat, and striped bass trips will launch Friday. The Miss Barnegat Light will fish at 8 a.m. Fridays to Sundays.

<b>Barnegat</b>

From an edited e-mail from Capt. Dave DeGennaro from the <b>Hi Flier</b>: “The forecast is for stiff, 20- to 30-knot, northeast winds … and stripers. We are catching them in Barnegat Bay, so the wind doesn't really matter as much. Where we are fishing, there is land on all sides to offer the lee protection that makes it completely fishable. On Sunday we had 16 fish from 27 to 32 inches. Five were big enough for the cooler. All of the action was drifting live spots from the inlet all the way back into Oyster Creek and Double Creek channels. When the ocean finally settles down, we will fish a combination of the bay and ocean, but the inside bite is excellent right now. We will be running open-boat stripers Thursday through Sunday. Duration, time of departure, and cost will be determined closer to the dates, so call for info. If the weather allows, I would like to do a mix of the ocean and bay fishing. But if the wind continues to blow, we will stay in the bay and liveline spots.”

<b>Beach Haven</b>

The <b>June Bug</b> was kept in port during the weather, Capt. Lindsay said. But the storm might’ve cooled waters, triggering striped bass to migrate to local waters from 30 miles to the north. The June Bug is slated to sail for stripers later this week. Afterward the vessel will probably be moved to its winter home at Oregon Inlet, North Carolina. Some boats from New Jersey fished Sunday afternoon, after winds calmed down.

<b>Mystic Island</b>

Conditions for fishing were somewhat improved Sunday morning at Little Egg Inlet, compared with conditions in the tough weather the previous days, “and that allowed a better showing of catches,” a report on <b>Scott’s Bait & Tackle</b>’s Web site said. A half-dozen striped bass to two 21- and 23-pounders were weighed in from the inlet. “Now that we are into a fall-like weather pattern, you can count on the bass action improving,” the report said. “Hopefully, it will be kicked into full gear by the end of the week.”

<b>Sea Isle City</b>

One of the back-bay trips for striped bass, fishing with popper lures or flies, is supposed to run aboard this evening, said Capt. Joe Hughes from <b>Jersey Cape Guide Service</b> and <b>Sea Isle Bait & Tackle</b>. The fishing’s been going very well, covered in recent reports. The weather was rough in the past days for trips. Before the storm, Joe had reported that larger, migrating striped bass, sporadic populations, had begun to swim the ocean off Sea Isle. His trips will focus on them and large, migrating bluefish there when the action takes off any day. Many of the trips are booked, and anglers should lock in dates now if they want to fish the run, the best angling of the year. The fishing usually lasts through November and into December, peaking around Thanksgiving. Looking ahead, see Jersey Cape’s <a href=" http://www.captainjoehughes.com/page4.html" target="_blank">traveling charters page</a> for info about 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>

Anglers aboard were supposed to sail for striped bass during the weekend, but got weathered out, said Capt. Bob from the <b>Down Deep</b>. Fishing was weathered out throughout the week onboard, but a trip might get the weather to sail today. Charters on the Down Deep are fishing for striped bass.

Hardly any boats fished in the weather, and the <b>Heavy Hitter</b> was kept docked, Capt. George said. But charters are striped bass fishing, and a sea bass trip is supposed to sail Tuesday, opening day of sea bass season, but might get weathered out.  So sea bass trips will now be added aboard. Was difficult to say whether stripers arrived, because few fished in the weather. But stripers should be around by this weekend, usually are by the beginning of November. Call if interested in trips for striped bass, sea bass or blackfish. George was at the docks this weekend, continuing to rig tackle for those three fish.

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