<b>Port Elizabeth</b>

The upper bay’s striped bass fishing improved, and Blake’s Channel was giving up catches, and the linesiders were pushing up the shipping channel, said Sharon <b>The Girls Place Bait & Tackle</b>. The fish should also still be biting in the lower bay, and anglers had been reporting that the 19 buoy was a good spot to connect, though nothing was heard about the 19 this past weekend. The shop is carrying fresh bunker for bait when available, and the stormy weather was often preventing commercial boats from sailing for the menhaden, so supplying the bait was tough, including today. But the store stocks as much as possible, and calling ahead to reserve is important. The tog bag limit jumped to eight last week from the previous limit of one, and tog are biting, and the shop is now carrying green crabs for bait for the slipperies. The shop will be open 5 a.m. to 11 a.m. Thanksgiving Day. The Girls Place is located on Route 47 just after Route 55 ends, and it’s the long, one-story, yellow building on the right. There’s a large parking lot with plenty of room for trailered boats. 

<b>Newport</b>

Striped bass were finally being weighed in from the upper bay near <b>Sundog Marina</b>, and big blues moved in, and the stripers were feeding on the scraps that fell down from the blues tearing through baitfish, Mike and Mickie said in an e-mail. So of course fresh bunker was the bait of choice. After the blowout from strong winds Friday, Lewis Patrick headed out Saturday and returned with a 41-inch striper he boated at Blake’s Channel. Last Wednesday was a hot day for the fishing, and Lewis Patrick also fished then and came back with three keepers to 47 inches and released lots of shorts. Bill Penn that day bagged a 31-inch keeper and threw back lots of shorts, and George Boland on the same day ran into big blues but no stripers. But George picked up two 33- and 34-inch stripers the previous day, when Ken Frazier also grabbed a 29-inch keeper and played with lots of shorts. Last week on Sunday was a slow day, but a few keepers were checked in, including from 60-Foot Slough. The folks at the shop congratulated Bill Simmerman, who sails from Sundog, for winning 1st place in the Baypoint Striper Tournament with a 55-pound striper. The marina is still accepting indoor and outdoor winter boat storage, and winterization including power washing and shrink wrapping is available at a great price. Striper season slips are still available, starting at $50, and the docks should be kept in the water till December 15, unless ice sets in. Duck season ramp passes are available for only $50 for the whole winter season. Sundog is stocking fresh bunker and bunker chum and oil.

<b>Fortescue</b>

Striped bass trips left port on the <b>Buccaneer</b> both Saturday and Sunday, and 33 shorts were landed the first day, and blues and shorts were caught the second, Capt. Ralph said. But keeper stripers were getting bagged, and the fishing definitely picked up, and Ralph apparently was in the wrong spot for keepers those days. But the fishing was turning on, and it’s time to go. If you were thinking about hopping aboard, better pick up the phone before it’s finished.

Several big stripers and big blues were bunker chunked on the <b>Karen Jean</b> on Saturday and Sunday, Capt. John said.  The fishing was as good as it’s been this season, and as good as it’s going to be, and the Fortescue charter fleet hooked them both along the shipping channel and inshore. Some of the head boats also sailed to the lower bay and hooked up. Seas on the Karen Jean’s trips were a little rough Saturday morning until things came around and were a little sloppy on Sunday. A few openings are left this season for striper charters on the boat.

<b>Bivalve</b>

Striped bass were now getting boated everywhere in the bay, including sometimes at the 1 buoy and such places, said Connie from <b>Longreach Marina</b>. The Atco Hookers Striper Tournament finally took place Saturday after being weathered out several Saturdays in a row. Gary Wilson and George Weingart on the Bite Me II won 1st place with a 29-pound linesider. Someone named “Feaster” took 2nd with a 27-1/2-pounder, and Johnny Thompson won 3rd with a 27-pounder. Longreach Marina’s month-long striper tournament wrapped up last Thursday, and Steve McMann won the event with a 40-1/4-pound striper. He also caught a 61-1/4-pounder earlier this season that was previously reported. Other anglers who checked in fish in the past days included Ed Davis with a 54-pounder, Alex and Michael Nardella with three stripers to 36 inches and Chuck Umba, who showed off a 42-incher yesterday. Fresh bunker was stocked when available, and the bait was becoming difficult to obtain with all the rough weather keeping the bait boats from sailing.

<b>Cape May</b>

<b>Jaftica Sportfishing</b> fished the Cape May Rips on two trips Saturday and one trip Sunday, and striped bass catches were pretty good, Capt. Ray said.  On the first charter Saturday a mid-morning bite was probably the best Ray saw at the rips this season, though he heard about other good bites. Anglers were hooking a bunch of bass, and the biggest one taken on the Jaftica weighed 22 pounds, a pretty good one for the rips. But the action didn’t hold up for the afternoon trip, and only a couple of shorts were managed on the vessel. On Sunday Danny Mathis’s group were aboard on a trip that Danny won in a raffle that Jaftica held earlier this year to benefit one of the boat’s mate’s who was injured. Danny had never fished saltwater before, and he was high hook and landed the biggest bass. The stripers on this trip probably ranged 15 to 18 pounds, and seas were rough. No bluefish were reeled in during the weekend on the vessel, but maybe a couple of baits, not many, were bitten off. The anglers fished an equal mix of live eels and live spots, and live eels seemed to draw the largest stripers. The water was in the low 50s, a good temp for the fishing, and more stripers seemed to be heading down the coast toward Cape May. Bunker chunking for stripers in Delaware Bay sounded hit or miss, like boaters who caught fish caught them well, and others did not.

Three keeper striped bass, a 45-inch, 26-pounder, a 38-incher and a 29-incher were bagged with <b>Fine Line Fishing Charters</b> in lower Delaware Bay yesterday on an 8-hour charter, so that was a nice catch, and four throwbacks were released, Capt. Dave said. Winds were whipping, but there was no rain, though people on land reported rain all day, and the water was cold and 48 degrees. Fine Line is fishing for stripers both in the Cape May Rips and in the bay, but seas were a little rough for the rips this day, so the boat stayed in the bay.

Fishing for striped bass was going well for <b>Copacetic Sportfishing</b> at both the Cape May Rips and Delaware Bay, and the action for everyone was generally red hot, even if anglers had to bear the elements, and it was blowing a lot lately, Capt. Mike said. Stripers to 32 pounds were bunker chunked in the bay on the boat so far, and outgoing tides seemed better than incoming. Charters were smoking them pretty well at the rips, and one four-person charter limited out on stripers to 22 pounds there. Live spots seemed the best bait at the rips for charters on the vessel, but eels hooked a few, and one fish was even clammed at the rips, and incoming tides seemed better in those waters.

The <b>Heavy Hitter</b> fished for striped bass Monday and Wednesday, and Friday’s trip was blown out, but charters Saturday and Sunday also looked for stripers, and all the charters fished the Cape May Rips, Capt. George said. Saturday’s charter wasn’t bad, and six or seven stripers were landed, and more probably would’ve been boated with more experience from the anglers. Sunday’s weather and seas were rough with northeast winds, and one striper and one blue were reeled up, and blues bit off four or five baits, and four of five anglers became seasick. Blues were terrible on Wednesday, attacking five or six baits at a time, and the blues scattered afterward. All the anglers fished with eels, and eels were attracting the larger bass. The water was 52 degrees and filled with loads of bait. The anglers on trips through the week included the Ryan Moore and John DiGeorgio charter, who put together a decent catch of bass to 38 inches; the John Lupo party, who took stripers to 38 inches and the Andy Gallagher gang, who boated stripers to 38 inches, including a bunch from 34 to 36 inches.

Charters on the <b>Legal Limit</b> fished for stripers at the Cape May Rips and put together a fair catch of nice fish to 35 inches on Saturday, Capt. T.J. said. But Sunday blew hard, and the fishing wasn’t good picking, because the water was very muddy from being rough.

On the <b>Down Deep</b> charters were out for striped bass almost every day except Friday, mostly fishing the Cape May Rips, with pretty good results, Capt. Bob said. Most of the trips the first few days of last week limited out, and the fishing was decent Saturday. Fishing at the rips was a struggle for others Sunday, but the Bob Dilks charter on the boat that day fished Delaware Bay, because of rough weather, and wrestled six stripers, including two about 42 inches each, onto the boat. Fishing at the rips was good all over during the week, including at Prissywicks Shoal, Overfalls Shoal and the usual spots.

Striped bass swam the Cape May Rips in pretty good numbers, and monster blues were sometimes there, and last Monday through Wednesday were excellent fishing days, and some anglers reported double-digit catches, said Matt from <b>Jim’s Bait & Tackle</b> in a fax. The fish bit everything from live eels and live spots to bucktails and diamond jigs, and some of the stripers were considerable sizes. Pete Nichols weighed in a 43-pounder that he bucktailed at Somer Shoal. Jose Perez weighed in a 32-pound striper that came from Overfalls Shoal, and Sal Sorace had trouble avoiding blues but nailed a 22-pound striper at Prissywicks Shoal. Delaware Bay’s striper fishing was holding up, although dogfish started to appear. The Cock and Balls area produced nice fish, and a good bite also took place at the oyster grounds south of Tussy’s Slough. Josh Hagen fished the Cock and Balls and weighed in a 47-pounder, and Harry Schaeffer tried the Brandywine Light area and came back with a 41-pounder. Michael Gardner, 15, fished the bay for a 32-1/2-pounder. Tog fishing was outstanding at the Cape May Inlet jetties, and Kim Fong Nu weighed in a 10.31-pound slippery that bit there, and Capt. Rob Haines and crew limited out there Friday in 20 minutes. Most inshore wrecks were also home to plentiful, healthy sized tog. Sea bass were beginning to pile up on the wrecks around 120 feet. Lots of the lumpheads were small, but some were 2- to 3-pound humpbacks that were mixed in. 

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