<b>Brooklyn</b>

On the <b>Big M Express</b> a charter bottom fished three wrecks yesterday for a good pick of mostly sea bass, a few small porgies and some tog, the report on the boat’s web site said. Two of the three wrecks produced well, and the sea bass were on the large side, with some weighing 2 and 3 pounds. When no charters are booked, open-boat trips are fishing for blackfish and sea bass at 7 a.m. daily, and open striped bass trips are sailing 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays. The Big M Express leaves the dock from Tamaqua Marina in Gerritsen Beach in Brooklyn.

<b>Staten Island</b>

Four anglers hopped aboard for bottom fishing Saturday with <b>Outcast Charters</b>, and at first the bite was slow in the morning on incoming tide, Capt. Joe said. But by 10:30 a.m. or so the fishing picked up very well with a change of tide, and the group ended up with scores of keeper sea bass to 4 pounds, including some good-sized fish. What’s more, the anglers tried blackfishing 1 ½ hours to see if the tog were waking up, and 16 keepers to 6 pounds were nailed. “So not too bad,” Joe said, and maybe the slipperies were starting to turn on. The water was 65 degrees and cooled down nicely. Joe noted that striped bass fishing usually gets going when the water temp drops to 58 degrees. Outcast will keep sea bass fishing, and eventually most attention will be turned to tog fishing, a specialty on the boat. But some striped bass fishing will also be done, and while stripers are running, the tog trips almost always hit the beach front on the way home and add linesiders to the catch under the working birds.

A trip got into good blackfishing with <b>Kayla Rose Charters</b> yesterday, and the action really picked up, and bigger ones seemed to move in, Capt. Darrin said. Plenty of 5- to 8-pounders were bagged at the Rockaway Reef. Birds were also spotted working the water closer to shore, so the anchor was pulled up, and the anglers had a blast fighting a dozen false albacore, and then they returned to bottom fishing. The boat was sailing for blacks again today, and both charters and open-boat trips are targeting the fish. If interested in the open trips, simply call Darrin and let him know the date, and then he’ll see if he’s got other anglers interested, and he’ll put a trip together if so. He’s already got anglers on a waiting list for such trips. Kayla Rose also plans to make the run to the mid-range grounds for bluefin tuna one day this week, because friends were telling Darrin that the tuna were busting loose. So that fishing is also an option on the boat. A few striped bass were biting here and there, but there was nothing hot and heavy yet, and the extra couple of weeks of 80-degree weather probably delayed fall striper fishing a little, and the new moon was probably also putting off the action for the moment. Today’s trip on the boat was actually supposed to fish for stripers, but the anglers were probably going to bottom fish for tog instead.

<b>Keyport</b>

Joe Tomak and crew fished with <b>Papa’s Angels Charters</b> on Sunday morning and hooked mostly blues all day in the bay, Capt. Joe said. Dave Rebman walloped the biggest, a 12-pounder, and an 8-pounder was the smallest, and Joe’s 11-year-old son Brandon landed that fish, the first one of the day. The rest of the blues were 10 pounds or larger, and three smooth dogfish to a 36-inch beast were also caught. Jeff and Giovanna Duda were also aboard, and Jeff apparently hooked a doormat fluke that was lost at the boat. Lots of bait filled the water, and a ton of birds worked the surface, more birds than Joe had seen all season. Last week’s storm seemed to help fishing, and the weather was cold and required bundling up in the morning. If the water temp drops just a little more, migrating striped bass should start appearing. Open-boat trips are available 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. every day when no charter is booked, and so are evening open trips, probably sailing around 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. or some such time, and call to reserve. 

<b>Atlantic Highlands</b>

Striped bass charters began this weekend on the <b>CRT II</b>, and the Steve Rybicki group on Saturday morning boated the linesiders, Capt. Mick said. Striper fishing was tough on a charter that afternoon, but there are some stripers around.

Bottom-fishing trips on the <b>Atlantic Star</b> put together pretty nice fishing Saturday and Sunday, Capt. Tom said. Not a lot of keeper sea bass bit, but some good-sized porgies did, and everybody went home with fish. The porgies were mixed sizes, but some were big pie plates to 14 inches or a pound or pound and a half. A few blackfish were also starting to be caught. The boat sometimes fished between the channels and other times headed to Sandy Hook Reef, and fish were found at both spots. The vessel sailed on ¾-day trips these days and will sail one ¾-day trip daily the rest of the season instead of two half-day trips per day like before. The Atlantic Star is bottom fishing on a ¾-day trip from 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. every day.

On the <b>Teal</b> anglers scored a nice catch of striped bass Saturday night in the bay and ocean, and the bite seemed to be picking up a bit, and blues were also bagged, Capt. Rich said. The boat’s sometimes been striper fishing off Rockaway, and its trips will probably keep eeling for stripers, sailing on two trips from 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. every Saturday and Sunday.

Rough weather kept the <b>Fishermen</b> docked three days in a row through Friday, Capt. Ron said in the report on the boat’s web site.  The only positive thing was that the weather was turning colder, and water temps were expected to drop, and that was expected to help make fishing a little more consistent. The boat’s crew on Friday fished the surf while the boat was laid up, and they found birds working the water for a mile stretch, and they beached mostly big bluefish but also a few short stripers when the blues backed off. On Saturday the boat resumed sailing, and some nice, keeper stripers were bagged on a couple of drifts in the morning. The bite and current then stopped, and the boat got anchored, and the anglers tried fishing in a chum slick to see if striper fishing would turn back on. But no fish showed up, so they switched to jigging for blues. A handful of blues hit. A 16-pound striper was the pool winner that day, and young Ryan Silverman nailed the fish, showing his dad how to do it. The water was 65 degrees in a west wind. Sunday’s fishing was tough in northwest winds, a hard incoming tide, the chum running to the bow, and the boat swinging like a barn door on anchor. All kinds of sea bass bit, so the boat ran to the channel to try a drift, and a few bluefish were jigged. Then the trip ran down the ocean beaches, and some life was found off the Highlands. Blues were swarming on rainfish, but that made the fishing difficult, and only an angler fishing a 6-ounce Krocodile was scoring. Others tried plain jigs, jigs with tails, peanut bunker, you name it, and fish busted all around but mostly refused to bite. Boaters farther south reported nothing but bad news this day. But “I will get my revenge soon,” Capt. Ron said. The fall migration of stripers is about to bust loose. The Fishermen is fishing for striped bass and blues 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily. Afternoon bluefishing trips are running 3:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Fridays through Sundays.

<b>Highlands</b>

<b>Fisher Price Charters</b> was jigging lots of blues to 12 and 15 pounds in the past couple of days along the ocean beaches from Sea Bright to Long Branch, and occasional short striped bass were mixed in, Capt. Derek said. A trip on one day might produce a dozen short stripers and on another day might only find one. The water temp dropped a little since last week’s storm and was 65 degrees over the weekend, and lots of bait—including peanut bunker, spearing and rainfish—schooled all over. When the fall striper run kicks in, Fisher Price will certainly focus on the linesiders. We’re getting closer. Dates are available for charters.

Fishing began well last week, and slammer blues to 12 pounds attacked, and striped bass to 28 inches, but mostly 23- to 26 inches, chomped down on baits, said Capt. Bob from <b>Sandy Hook Fishing Adventures</b> in an e-mail. Then the weather caused three days of fishing to be lost. Trips resumed Saturday, but on that first day after the blow, things were slow. Stripers refused to bite from the Sandy Hook Rips to the clam beds and also from the “pipe” between the channels to Flynn’s Knoll and Reach Channel. Even blues had lockjaw, and anglers worked some schools of blues, tossing jigs, plugs and Storm shads, but the fish weren’t interested. Sea robins, skates and dogfish were the catch that day, when water temps had dropped to 67 degrees from 70-degree temps before the weather. But a pre-dawn trip Sunday managed to hook a 28-inch, keeper striped bass and three short stripers. Some dates remain available for charters in October, and prime dates are open in November and December.

Striped bass were hooked with <b>Jersey Devil Charters</b> in the northern bay Saturday on trolled spoons and Stretch plugs, and one of them was a decent-sized linesider that got off, and a couple of bluefish were mixed in, Capt. Brian said. The water was 66 degrees, several degrees lower than earlier last week, so the fish will probably start moving around. When the striper run really takes off, Jersey Devil will focus on looking for big ones on the troll and on bunker chunks, and trophy stripers are a specialty. Jersey Devil has won or placed in a quite a few striped bass tournaments in the past several years. Bluefin tuna fishing was good at the Mudhole before last week’s storm, and Brian spoke with nobody who had fished for them after the storm, but the tuna should still be there, and Jersey Devil will charter for them. It’s a great chance to catch tuna without having to make the long run all the way offshore. However, canyon charters for tuna all the way offshore are also still available.

<b>Sea Bright</b>

An overnight tuna charter drilled 15 yellowfins that weighed about 90 pounds apiece from Wednesday to Thursday at the 100 Square of Hudson Canyon with <b>Jersey Shore Fishing Charters</b>, Capt. Jake said. Jersey Shore runs canyon charters on the charter’s own boat, providing instruction on how to catch the fish, and this trip ran on the charter’s own 44-foot Striker. Probably eight other tuna broke off, and eventually the fish box was full, and seas were calm at night but were building, so the fish were left biting at 5 a.m. Bluefin tuna were biting closer to shore at the Monster Ledge, and a trip was possibly going to leave for those grounds today.

Tons of bluefish to 12 pounds, pretty much as many as anyone could want to catch, were jigged in the bay with <b>Two Rivers Charters</b>, Capt. Fletcher Chayes said. Decent-sized, out-of-season fluke were also pulled up and released, and Fletcher heard that false albacore were still around. The water was 65 degrees, so the temp dropped a couple of degrees. A friend fished for bluefin tuna at the Monster Ledge yesterday with a bunch of other boats but caught none, and the fishing was slow for everyone. But the friend then bottom fished and bagged ling.

<b>Neptune</b>

Canyon fishing was holding up for <b>Last Lady Fishing Charters</b>, and trips were producing mostly big yellowfin tuna and 30- to 50-pound longfin tuna, Cat. Ralph said. Four spots are available on an open-boat trip October 29 to 30, and the rest of the open canyon trips are full at this time, so act now. Tuna charters are also available. Bluefishing was also very good for Last Lady, and whenever bluefishing slowed for a moment, the anglers would switch to bottom fishing for sea bass. Individual-reservation striped bass trips will begin to run every Sunday on October 28. Ralph took the grandkids to Jenkinson’s Pier in Point Pleasant yesterday and saw boaters nailing a mess of striped bass along the beach front. Open-boat blackfishing trips will begin on both of Ralph’s boats on November 15, when the bag limit jumps to eight of the tog from the current limit of one.

<b>Brielle</b>

Boaters along the ocean beaches and surf casters got into all-out slams with bluefish, striped bass, bonito and false albacore on Saturday, said Dave from <b>The Reel Seat</b>. Dropping temps, northwest winds and bait pouring out of the bays seemed to trigger the action after the end of the week’s blow. The blues weighed up to 15 pounds, and the stripers were shorts to keepers, and the bonito were 3 to 4 pounds, and the albies ranged 8 to 12 pounds, and the fish were popping up everywhere. Boaters jigged and trolled the fish. One customer hooked all these species from a boat and then bottom fished off Elberon. A handful of big porgies came up, and lots of undersized sea bass bit, and no blackfish were hooked. Offshore boaters started returning to the canyons by the weekend after the strong winds, and not a lot was heard back from them yet, but the party boat Jamaica came back with yellowfin tuna from Hudson Canyon, and some customers dropped baits for tilefish and scored.  A customer Sunday morning was headed out to the Mudhole for bluefin tuna, and nobody else reported returning to those grounds after the weather, but previously bluefins to 50 pounds were biting well from the Arundo wreck to the Monster Ledge on the chunk, the troll and on jigs, such as Shimano butterfly jigs. The Manasquan River was loaded with small striped bass and blues, and bonito and false albacore pushed up the river one day last week.

A bunch of good-sized blues to 8 pounds were fought with <b>Reel-Ality Sportfishing</b> on Saturday in the ocean from Spring Lake to Mantoloking, Capt. Larry said. The fish were sometimes seen in the water flying by, and they sometimes leapt out of the water, and they were quickly swimming south. The area was so loaded with bait that it was crazy, and the blues hit nearly anything, including jigs that were cast and jigs that were trolled. On a trip Sunday things were different, and the water was loaded with bait, and three bonito were trolled, but the fishing seemed tougher for everyone. Larry heard about other boaters landing a few striped bass and sometimes huge blues, and boaters far to the south seemed to catch bonito. Larry had wanted to head off to the Monster Ledge for bluefin tuna that day, because bluefins were definitely biting, but seas were already too rough after sailing 5 miles offshore, so he had to head back and fish closer to land, where seas were more protected. The weather was also windy Saturday, but again, waters close to shore were protected. But the Reel-Ality will sail for the bluefins at every opportunity, and here’s your chance to grab tuna close to shore without having to make the long run to the canyons. Get in on the bluefins while the bite lasts, because it could end quickly.

Anglers on the <b>Katie H</b> tried bottom fishing Saturday, and the bite was slow, probably because of churned up water from the blow and warm water this season, Capt. Mike said. But some sea bass were landed, and bluefish were running crazy near the beaches, so the anglers fought them, and that made the day. The blues were going so wild that Mike saw some leap onto the sand while chasing bait and then tumble back into the wash. He never saw them do that before. But the Katie H is mostly canyon tuna fishing now, and this was just a break from the usual trips, and a couple of tuna charters will resume this weekend.

<b>Point Pleasant</b>

“It was a good fishing day,” said Rob Sr. from <b>Gates Bait & Tackle</b> yesterday. Lots of blackfish were hugging the rocks farther back along Manasquan Inlet, and porgies were also grabbing baits at the inlet. Striped bass were starting to become more abundant in the surf. Besides the tackle shop, Gates includes a hotel that’s popular with anglers, because the shop and hotel are located conveniently within walking distance of the charter and party boat fleet, Manasquan Inlet and the surf. Anglers often stay the night on fishing trips, either saving an early morning or late night drive to hop on a boat or making an extended, overnight trip out of fishing the inlet and surf.

A half-day charter on the <b>Benchmark</b> tried trolling for striped bass in the ocean yesterday and managed a 29-inch keeper, the report on the boat’s web site said. Then the charter spent the rest of the morning jigging plenty of blues. On Saturday a charter headed out to chum for blues, and 3- to 10-pounders hit pretty steadily once the tide changed. A false albacore and some porgies and sea bass were also hooked for a mixed bag. Previously the boat was running a heavy schedule of offshore tuna charters.

On the <b>Dauntless</b> anglers put together a nice of day of bottom fishing yesterday, catching mostly sea bass with some porgies mixed in, and the customers probably bagged 10 to 25 fish apiece, Capt. Willie said. Triggerfish were also boated, and Jose Rodriquez won the pool with a trigger that weighed about 4 pounds. And that’s the way the fishing’s basically been going, except sea bassing was improving a little. When blackfishing begins to turn on, the tog will become part of the targeted species along with sea bass and porgies. Bluefishing on the boat was good Saturday night, and plenty have kept biting right through the season. The Dauntless is bottom fishing 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. every day and is bluefishing every Friday and Saturday evenings.

The <b>Gambler</b> resumed  open-boat tuna trips Friday evening, even with lingering strong winds from the cold front, and conditions weren’t so bad that night with mostly following seas, Capt. Bob said. Two trips sailed Friday and Saturday nights, and fishing was very good for yellowfin tuna, longfin tuna, a couple of swordfish and some good-sized mahi mahi. On Friday night the tuna mostly bit from 3 a.m. to daybreak, and then at daybreak the action mostly dropped off. However, after daybreak Keith from the Jersey Coast Shark Anglers nailed a 210-pound Allison tuna. On Saturday night Chris Karbownik hauled aboard two 100-pound swordfish in addition to three yellowfin tuna from 30 to 60 pounds and a couple of gaffer mahi mahi. A bunch of 8- to 12-pound mahi were bagged that night. Tuna fishing actually seemed to be improving, and Capt. Bob thinks the best canyon fishing is yet to come, so he’s probably going to add some trips in November. Space is available on trips running several times a week in October, and the trips that would be added in November would fish from Sundays to Mondays. The boat will start sailing on daily striped bass trips on November 1, but if the tuna trips sail, the striper trips would take place every day except Mondays. The Gambler is well-known for its daily striper trips. After striper fishing starts to slow down, the boat will start sailing on offshore bottom-fishing trips once a week, probably beginning in December.

<b>Seaside</b>

Things were heating up, said the fishing report on <b>Grumpy’s Tackle</b>’s web site. After a quiet, rainy day Thursday, striped bass to 15 pounds started being report caught Friday in the suds at no particular place, apparently on swimming plugs. On Saturday loads of peanut bunker were swarming up and down the beaches, at some places heavier than others, and anglers just needed to hunt for them. Lee Spencer weighed in a 10.3-pound striper that hit metal, and Sean Smida checked in an 8.1-pound striper that was hooked on a peanut that was snagged then dropped down for bait, and the peanuts were a great bait. Reports were also being heard about a steady pick of short stripers with keepers mixed in. Sunday also brought bass, ballistic bluefish, peanut bunker and big mullet into the surf, and the fishing continued to heat up, and it would only improve as the season progressed. A 20.6-pound striper was weighed in that bit a Grumpy clam, and so was a 10.9-pounder that grabbed a Grumpy clam. 14.4-pound striper was weighed in that smacked a popper, and so were 10.2- and 10.5-pound blues that smacked poppers. A 9.3-pound blue was also checked in that ate mullet. Two different anglers stopped by with a 4-pound blackfish and a 3.4-pounder that both attacked crab. As of 1 p.m. today a 14.8-pound striper was weighed in that sucked down a Grumpy clam. <a href="http://www.grumpystackle.com/fishingreports/" target="_blank"> Click here</a> for updates.

A 14-pound 8-ounce striped bass was weighed in today that bit clam in the surf at Island Beach State Park, said the fishing report on <b>Betty and Nick’s Bait & Tackle</b>’s web site. Surf fishing was a slow pick Sunday, but bait, busting fish and working birds were just out of casting distance at Lavallette. Saturday was a whole other story. Bluefish 10 to 15 pounds hit the surf in a school a quarter of a mile long 10 to 50 feet off the beach, pinning down plugs or poppers on every cast from 2 p.m. till dark. Rainfish, spearing, mullet and cupcake bunker were spraying everywhere, and the water was black with the bait and blues. Striped bass were the only fish missing, and usually some linesiders pick up the pieces after the carnage. Even world renowned surf fisher Bob Popovics reportedly said he never saw anything like it. Striped bass were hitting sometimes in the past days, but more cold nights were probably needed to get it going. The surf today was 1 to 3 feet, 65 degrees and clean. <a href=" http://www.bettyandnicks.com/fish.shtml" target="_blank"> Click here</a> for the latest.

<b>Barnegat Light</b>

Joe Franke, Sean Castle and Jan Lambert were aboard for an open-boat trip with <b>Reel Fantasea Charters</b> last week, Capt. Steve said in an e-mail. They hit Barnegat Inlet early in the day and slammed bluefish on a combination of poppers and plugs. A commercial scalloper, the Karen L, passed by, and as its last bird was lifted out of the water, Steve thought the vessel looked awfully unstable. A moment later one of the anglers got Steve’s attention, and Steve looked up and saw the Karen L lying completely on its side in the inlet. The fishing lines were lifted up, and Reel Fantasea shot toward the commercial boat to give any assistance possible. On arrival the vessel’s alarms were sounding, and the captain and mate were already aboard another boat. Reel Fantasea was one of the first on the scene, even beating the Coast Guard. But everyone ended up safe, and a barge was supposedly on its way to recover the Karen L. Afterward the anglers with Reel Fantasea then walloped quality-sized weakfish on soft plastic lures, a solid day of lots of fishing action in unsettled weather, with the anglers dodging a couple of storms. On Saturday Steve competed in a fishing tournament with brother-in-law Steve Amato and Jay Simmons, and loads of blues and four striped bass were landed. There was also a runoff from apparently the largest striper of the day that got off along the inlet. John Repko was on deck another day with slower fishing, and blues were less than cooperative, and with lots of boat traffic, any striped bass that might’ve been around weren’t biting. So the trip headed to a local wreck for non-stop action with fish including sea bass, porgies, blackfish, snappers and grunts. Some keepers were landed but more were released than bagged. Only six dates remain for charters next month: November 2, 4, 11, 18, 29 and 30. Book today if you want to ensure a spot.

<b>Brigantine</b>

Twelve yellowfin tuna to 90 pounds were battled to the boat on a charter at Wilmington Canyon on Saturday night on the <b>Fishin’ Fever</b>, and a small swordfish was released, Capt. Tom said. The water was rather cold and 68.5 degrees, and the clarity was terrible, and squid, but not many, were around, so the water really didn’t look good. Only five other boats were fishing the Wilmington that night, and their total catch was one yellowfin tuna, a couple of longfin tuna and a couple of short swords. The catch of a dozen yellowfins would’ve been good on any night, but given the bad water conditions and the slow fishing on other vessels, Tom was especially happy with the results. The charter left for home at 4 a.m. because seas had built to 5 to 7 feet and were tight. Tuna charters will be available through this month, and open-boat tuna trips will sail the next two weekends, and space is available. The boat will move to Cape May by November 3 and start fishing the fall migration of striped bass.

<b>Atlantic City</b>

Sea bass and porgy fishing was very good on the <b>AC Lady</b>, and more of the fish were found in deeper water 8 to 10 miles from shore lately, Capt. Rich said. Triggerfish, weakfish, croakers and blues are usually also getting boated on the trips recently. The boat is bottom fishing on ¾-day trips from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. A number of Captain’s Special Tog Trips will probably sail starting November 15, when the tog limit gets hiked up to eight fish from the current limit of one.

<b>Margate</b>

Bottom fishing was fantastic on the <b>Jessie O’</b> in the ocean, producing excellent mixed-bag catches of porgies, sea bass and blues, Capt. Jay said. The porgies included keepers with some throwbacks, and the sea bass included a bunch of shorts with some keepers, and the blues were small but good-eating, feisty fighters. A charter Saturday also limited out on tog, and no triggerfish were biting lately, for some reason. The Jessie O’ is sailing open-boat on bottom fishing trips daily, and charters are also available. Fall striped bass season is getting closer, and Jay’s back-bay boat, the <b>Fish N’ Fun</b>, will launch open-boat striper trips October 27 that will sail twice daily from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. A special Thanksgiving Day open-boat striped bass trip is on the books that will sail 6 a.m. to 12 noon, getting anglers home in time for turkey dinner and football, and call to reserve. A cruise this Thursday is sold out that will watch the Sands Casino get imploded.

A trip with <b>Fine Line Fishing Charters</b> fought a mess of 1- to 3-pound blues under birds working around Great Egg Harbor Inlet on Saturday, and more of the fish were hooked than could be counted, Capt. Dave said. Waters at the inlet and along the nearby ocean beaches were loaded with the fish, and the water temp was 64 to 65 degrees, so things were finally starting to cool down. Winds blew from the northwest, so the area close to land was protected. Fine Line today is moving the boat to Snug Harbor Marina in Cape May to fish the fall striper run at the Cape May Rips and in Delaware Bay the rest of the season.

<b>Longport</b>

Fishing for porgies and sea bass was a little better over the weekend than last week on the <b>Stray Cat</b>, and anglers were fishing hard, Capt. Mike said. Lots of porgies made up much of the catch, and lots of blues also bit, and a few nice tog also came up. The boat fished 6 to 8 miles from shore and not in deeper water like Mike had previously said he might try, and the fish bit a little better closer to shore, and the water was 66 degrees. Stray Cat is now sailing for sea bass on open-boat trips every day, and call to reserve. A previous report said that all Sundays were sold out, but that was incorrect, and spaces are available every day of the week. Mike was planning to order eels this week and see if any striped bass attacked. Eventually two open-boat striped bass trips will probably sail on weekdays and one on weekends when the striper migration turns on. Open-boat tog trips will start sailing daily November 15, when the bag limit is raised to eight fish from the current limit of one. Stray Cat had great tog fishing last year at South Jersey’s reefs and wrecks that are less pressured than pieces farther north, and Mike hopes for a repeat.

<b>Sea Isle City</b>

On the <b>Captain Robbins</b> anglers pulled aboard mixed bags of croakers, triggerfish, bar jacks, amberjacks and sea bass on most days this past week, with Capt. Mike Weigel at the helm, Capt. John Sullivan, the boat’s owner, said. On Monday Jerry May won the pool with a 4-pound trigger, and on Tuesday Jim Lane Jr. took the money with a 4-1/4-pound sea bass. Also on Tuesday, both Lucas Bridge and Brian Reed limited out on weakfish. The boat was weathered out Wednesday through Friday, and on Saturday Ben Elliott took the pool with a 4-1/4-pound triggerfish. Also on that day, Bruce Roberts, Mike Stetler and an angler named Jim all limited out on weakfish. The weakfish on these trips were hooked along the ocean beaches along with croakers and some kingfish, and the rest of the fish were bagged at structure farther from shore. The Captain Robbins is bottom fishing on 8-hour trips at 8 a.m. every day.

Julio and Sergio Rojas were aboard Saturday for a catch of about 40 bluefish to 4 pounds along the ocean beaches on Fin-S Fish on 3/8-ounce jigheads, said Capt. Joe Hughes from <b>Jersey Cape Guide Service</b> and <b>Gibson’s Tackle</b>. They also released small weakfish and a flounder, and blues were running wild under bird plays off Sea Isle and Avalon the past couple of days, and they also schooled along Townsend’s Inlet. On a trip Sunday striped bass to 26 inches were fought in the back bay on popper lures, and the stripers this season will rise to the top to smack poppers for a while yet, usually until at least mid November, until the water becomes too cold. A bunch of blues to 4 pounds were also drilled on this trip under bird play after bird play that stretched from Corson’s Inlet to Hereford Inlet. So things were starting to look like fall fishing, and the water was 68 degrees and full of peanut bunker, bay anchovies, spearing, mullet and all baits. The blues out front were often very small, but if anglers looked around, bigger ones were out there. Small weakfish were swimming along the bottom in 35 to 50 feet, depending on the day, but it was tough to get through the blues to reach them. Joe hadn’t heard of many croakers along the beach front. Surf fishers also beached blues this weekend, and birds worked from 6 inches in the surf all the way out. Striped bass were also landed along the jetty rocks on poppers and metal, but again the blues made reaching them difficult. Joe also saw a bunch of kingfish landed in the surf on bloodworms, and the season was late for kingfish, but they were turning on pretty well. Joe heard about no false albacore or bonito found near the beaches. Farther from shore, sea bass and other bottom fish were hovering around the wrecks and structure, and even farther, tuna fishing was still good. A buddy was tuna fishing when Joe gave this report, so expect an update on that trip in the next report.

<b>Wildwood</b>

Boaters were lifting up croakers, blues and small weakfish along the ocean beach front, said Cathy from <b>Sterling Harbor Bait & Tackle</b> in an e-mail. Surf casters at North Wildwood reeled in small blues and an occasional striper, and the back bay gave up small stripers along the sod banks that banged top-water plugs or clams, mostly on high tides. Offshore fishing was weathered out late in the week, but earlier in the week yellowfin tuna were chunked on overnight trips at the canyons. Dave Bowman and crew on the Blue Hoagie fished Wilmington Canyon and came back with two wahoos and three tilefish.

<b>Cape May</b>

The Holman Ford Company charter reeled up bluefish, croakers and weakfish on the <b>Down Deep</b> yesterday, Capt. Bob said. The 2-1/2-pound blues, practically all anyone could want, schooled the Cape May Rips, and the croakers and weakfish swam off Hereford Inlet. The Dixon charter boated the same fish along the same locations on another day. On Saturday Bob McGuire’s party tackled two bluefin tuna 65 and 95 pounds at the Misty Blue wreck.

<b>O-Beth Sportfishing</b> is moving the boat to Cape May from Margate today, getting ready for the impending fall striped bass run, Capt. Eric said. The action usually begins to get serious by the last week of the month, and that’s next week, and it depends on water temperature, and the temps were starting to drop after the cold front blew in last week. Charters on the boat will fish for the stripers at the Cape May Rips with bucktails or live bait and in Delaware Bay with bunker chunks. Charters from Cape May will also be available for fall shark fishing, and although many anglers think of spring as the time to go sharking, the autumn can produced just as many of the fish like mako sharks, because the sharks are passing through on a return migration south during fall. In spring the fish swim past on a migration north. O-Beth had been tuna fishing from Margate until now, and tuna charters can still sail from Cape May, because the fish are still biting.

The Cape May Rips were full of small blues, and a few hardy boaters went out at night and eeled a few striped bass at the rips at Middle Shoal, said Matt from <b>Jim’s Bait & Tackle</b> in a fax. Nothing much was heard about Delaware Bay’s striper fishing yet, and the only stripers reported caught there came from all the way up at Salem and a little south. Surf fishing around Cape May was producing mostly small bluefish and an occasional striped bass, but not many keeper stripers. The jetty rock piles were loaded with blackfish and triggerfish, and one angler weighed in a 12.75-pound sheepshead, a big one that he nabbed at Cape May Point on a green crab. Croakers were still plentiful at the buoy off Hereford Inlet, and a few weakfish, kingfish and 1- to 2-pound bluefish were mixed in. Farther from shore, lots of small sea bass and small porgies were hugging the artificial reef, and the bigger fish were 20 miles offshore. Farther offshore, tuna fishing was holding up very well at Spencer and Wilmington canyons, where overnight chunking produced good catches of yellowfin tuna to 100 pounds and larger. Swordfishing was pretty good during the week, and anglers on the Miss Andrea fished the Spencer and went 4 for 6 on swords on a trip Wednesday to Thursday, and one of the beasts was fought five hours before it was lost at the boat. The crew also bagged 12 yellowfin tuna.

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