<b>Brooklyn</b>

Sea bass fishing was a little slower than before on an open-boat trip yesterday on the <b>Big M Express</b>, but each angler bagged 7 to 10 keepers apiece, and the fish weighed up to 4 ½ pounds, Capt. Steve said. A few porgies were also taken aboard, and a few small tog were released. Open-boat sea bass trips are running every day when no charter is booked, and when striped bass fishing begins, open trips will target stripers every evening. The water was so warm that fluke were still biting. The Big M Express is docked at Tamaqua Marina in Gerritsen Beach, Brooklyn.

<b>Staten Island</b>

Three anglers limited out on 30 blackfish to 6 pounds Tuesday with <b>Barbara Anne Charters</b>, and they also bagged 15 sea bass to 2 pounds, though the trips wasn’t targeting sea bass, Capt. Anthony said. As usual lately, anglers had to work for the fish, and the water was still warm and 66.5 degrees. In additions to charters, open-boat trips are bottom-fishing every Tuesday, guaranteed to leave the dock with a minimum of two anglers.

A false albacore charter was awesome Tuesday with <b>Frenzy Fishing Charters</b>, and 16 of the speedsters to 13 pounds were landed, Capt. Tommy Verderosa said. But a charter yesterday looked for albies, and the fish had disappeared. Not one was to be found, and Tommy couldn’t be sure why, but maybe the water temp dropped a degree or something. His charters had been drilling the fish at different areas including off Coney Island, fighting them on Deadly Dicks on light tackle and on flies. The fish pop up quickly, and Tommy just looks for them busting on the surface, and the fishing takes quick reactions. He’ll continue to look for them, and they could very well return and keep biting for a while. A charter Monday tried bottom fishing and pulled up a few small blackfish, so then switched to albies and fought a few. Tommy also fished himself for blackfish with Kayla Rose Charters on Sunday and scored a good catch. Striped bass fishing will turn on soon and was starting to improve a little. Frenzy will turn its attention to them when the run begins. If anyone’s interested in light tackle or fly rodding, Frenzy specializes in that type of fishing. Tommy is a custom rod builder and a fly tyer and enjoys sharing his fishing knowledge and also his experiences on the water with customers, and he still gets a kick out of fishing in the shadows of New York City and the rich waters of New York Harbor and the local area.

False albacore were fought off Breezy Point but were starting to thin out a little, said Vinny from <b>Michael’s Bait & Tackle</b>. Blackfish were beginning to make a showing in Raritan Bay and at some of the wrecks and rock piles, and anglers on the Barbara Anne got into a good catch of blacks to 6 pounds and some sea bass a couple of days ago. Blues and stripers were blitzing Great Kills Harbor every night, including along the surf, and the stripers were mostly shorts, but reports were just starting to be heard about some keepers landed from the wash at Princess Bay. Neil Diamond nailed a 47-inch keeper there. Weakfish were still being caught around the Verrazano Bridge, and an angler today showed off six keepers. Another couple of weeks are probably left for tuna fishing within range of the island, and the Cookie returned from a trip to the southern canyons, traveling more than 100 miles away, and tuna were all around, but only one was caught. The southern canyons seemed to give up better fishing lately, but reports were being heard about tuna showing back up closer to port at Hudson Canyon.

<b>Keyport</b>

Bluefishing was hard picking with the Scott Anderson charter in the bay Tuesday on the <b>Lucky Carm</b>, Capt. Carmine said. Some blues to 7 pounds managed to get boated, but it was nothing great, and everybody on the radio was complaining about tough fishing and giving up, because it wasn’t happening. A couple of charters including a striped bass trip will sail this weekend, and charters now are bluefishing, striper fishing and bottom fishing. Carmine’s friend fished the BA buoy yesterday and came back with a 40-pound bluefin tuna and said seas were flat calm. 

Lots of blues filled the bay, and the water needed to cool for striped bass to move in, said Capt. Joe from <b>Papa’s Angels Charters</b>. The boat is available for either charters or open-boat trips Saturday and Sunday, and open trips are also sailing every day when no charter is booked.

<b>Atlantic Highlands</b>

Fishing for striped bass was a little slow, and rough  weather was needed to cool the water and pick up the bite, said Jimmy from <b>Julian’s Bait & Tackle</b>. The stripers that did bite were mostly hooked at night. Lots and lots of bluefish were everywhere from the rivers to the bay to the ocean, and catches were excellent. Bluefin tuna were showing up at the Mudhole lately, and false albacore were popping up both at the Mudhole and near the ocean beaches. Bottom fishing was good.

Striped bass fishing was up and down on the <b>Fishermen</b>, and when the fish decided to eat, customers caught them, Capt. Ron said. The season was still early, and the water was still warm, and patrons were still pulling up out-of-season fluke and releasing them. Three of the flatties were hooked yesterday, and four came up the day before. Striped bass fishing on the boat was very good Monday but dropped off Tuesday. On Wednesday’s trip action was slow in the morning, and one keeper striper and a half-dozen shorts were hooked, until the tide started changing toward noon. Then three drifts produced nice catches, and about a dozen keepers to 18 pounds were bagged. At first around noon a mess of bluefish invaded, as many blues as anyone could want to catch, but eventually stripers were landed on the edge of the school. The boat is mixing up bluefishing and striper fishing until the striper run kicks off. The blues are jigged, and the bass are either clammed or jigged. The water yesterday was 65 degrees, and the fall striper migration will kick in when it drops to 57 to 59 degrees. Loads of baitfish were around, and waters between the channels were crammed with rainfish yesterday, but not a lot of stripers were among them, and the boat had to move around to find the bite. That tells Ron that the bass were still up in the back waters and were yet to drop down toward the ocean for the migration. The fishing was also unpredictable, and the spot that gave up the linesiders yesterday was also fished on the boat the day before with no luck. The boat is also bluefishing in the evenings from Fridays to Sundays, and those catches were excellent. The evening bluefishing will continue until stripers come in thick, and then the bass will be the target on the evening trips. 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.

Charters on the <b>CRT II</b> were heading out today and this weekend for striped bass, and stripers were around, but sometimes they bit, and other times they didn’t, Capt. Mick said. A charter last Saturday morning hooked some. Stripers will be the target the rest of the season on the boat, unless sea bass fishing seems to pick up, and then the lumpheads could be a focus, too. Choice dates are available for charters at the end of October and through November, and the boat will fish until a little after Thanksgiving.

Bottom fishing was nice, and every day was different, and some were better than others, but everybody was going home with fish, said Capt. Tom from the <b>Atlantic Star</b> said. Monday’s trip was very good at the Sandy Hook Reef, and mainly big porgies were bagged, and a few sea bass showed up. Tuesday was slower, but everybody took home fish, and on Wednesday at the Mud Buoy the water was cold, and some porgies were taken, and sea bass fishing was a little better than before. Some fish were also biting between the channels, and the boat’s trips were fortunate to have several different places to fish, depending on the weather and winds. A few blackfish were boated recently, and some customers were bringing crabs aboard and sometimes pulled up blacks and sometimes didn’t. The water was a bit warm for blacks, and Tom was telling customers to concentrate on the porgies, because they were good sized, and porgy fishing was producing the best ratio of keepers. The Atlantic Star is bottom fishing on a ¾-day trip from 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. every day.

<b>Highlands</b>

Striped bass fishing was tough or up and down, and mostly down, said Capt. Bob from <b>Sandy Hook Fishing Charters</b> in an e-mail. He was finding more of the fish in New York waters than his usual spots in Jersey. Another Take-A-Vet fishing trip sailed on the boat yesterday with Air Force sergeants Andy Silkworth, Scotty Wanger and Mike Fletcher, and they first took a shot at stripers. They drifted eels at the Sandy Hook Rips, and only skates and sea robins bit, so they shifted to the clam beds, but more of the same bit. So then they switched to battling slammer blues to 12 pounds and had a blast. Afterward they did some bottom fishing at Sandy Hook Reef and boated sea bass to 4 pounds and released undersized tog. “The men could not have been more appreciative of the trip,” Bob said. “(They were) beyond words at a point (when) I told them that we are extremely thankful for the job they do and sacrifice they make. What was most important is that everybody made a new friend,” he said. A couple of dates remain for charters this month, and prime dates are available in November and December.

<b>Fisher Price Charters</b> found lots of blues along the ocean beaches, and striped bass, mostly shorts but occasional keepers, were sometimes mixed in, and so were false albacore, and all the fish hit diamond jigs, Capt. Derek said. When the striper migration begins, charters will concentrate on them, usually fishing clams or eels but also jigging and trolling. Water temps were strange yesterday, because Derek saw 59-degree water at Atlantic Highlands Harbor, 65 degrees off Sandy Hook Point and 71 degrees at the Shrewsbury Rocks. He fished the Monster Ledge yesterday with a friend, and they scored two bluefin tuna 25 to 30 pounds, one on a peanut bunker and the other on a diamond jig. The water at the Monster Ledge was 63 degrees, and a friend who fished there last week read 71 degrees. The bluefin fishing lately seemed like some boaters hooked good catches and some landed none. A charter boat that fished near Derek yesterday reeled in seven bluefins.

<b>Sea Bright</b>

Tons of blues, fish to 5 and 6 pounds or maybe a little bigger, were around and were slamming top-waters, said Capt. Fletcher Chayes from <b>Two Rivers Charters</b>. He heard that small striped bass were sometimes boated at the clam beds and Romer Shoal, but no big ones seemed to arrive yet. A friend said a buddy took a trip to Montauk and saw 20- and 30-pound stripers being cleaned at the docks. Another friend bottom fished and crushed porgies on two days, and Fletcher was unsure where he fished, but he thought the Deal rocks was probably the spot.

<b>Long Branch</b>

Fishing was quiet, and John from <b>Jim’s Bait & Tackle</b> beached no fish in the surf in the past three days except two small blues 1 or 1 ½ pounds, he said. A buddy fished Monmouth Beach today and saw loads of anglers but nobody catching anything. The water was too warm and 68 to 70 degrees, and the temp needed to drop to get striped bass moving. But you’ve got to go fishing to catch something. The last fish weighed in at the shop was two weeks ago and was a 12-pound striper that John himself picked from the surf. Plenty of snapper blues swam the Shrewsbury River, even if blues seemed to be leaving the back waters and heading out, and crabbing was still good in the river.

<b>Belmar</b>

Porgy fishing was very good, and the fish were big, and blackfishing was starting to pick up, said Capt. Chris from the <b>Big Mohawk</b>. Sea bass were sometimes boated, and trips were fishing at no particular spot but were targeting waters all over. The Big Mohawk is bottom fishing 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. every day.  The boat will specifically go right after blackfish when the bag limit increases to eight of the tog November 15 from the current limit of one.

Anglers on the <b>Nan Sea J</b> anchored along hard bottom Tuesday and reeled in a nice catch of 1- to 2-pound porgies, Capt. Tom said. Some sea bass, blues and small amberjacks also bit. The water was 65 degrees, so the temp was falling. A canyon tuna charter will fish Sunday to Monday, and the boat will run to the canyons through this month. Striped bass charters will start in November, and anglers onboard will keep bottom fishing, including for tog when the bag limit jumps to eight of the blackfish November 15 from the current limit of one. The Nan Sea J will keep fishing till January.

A few striped bass came from the surf, but of course the water was too warm, said Moe from <b>Fisherman’s Den</b>. But boaters were catching decent numbers of stripers on the troll along the beach front. A load of bonito, false albacore and blues were running along the beaches, and they even pushed up Shark River along with some stripers and weaks for a moment last week. But porgies have been the main catch in the river. The local party boats were scoring well on blues, and sea bassing was slowing down on the boats. Blackfish were picked on the boats, but everyone was waiting for the blackfish bag limit to jump up to eight on November 15 from the current limit of one. Farther south, anglers fishing the Point Pleasant Canal were reeling in nice-sized stripers, and blackfish, but mostly throwbacks, were also biting there.

<b>Brielle</b>

Tuna fishing was very good this week, an e-mail from the <b>Jamaica</b> said. After a slow trip Friday night, the bite turned on, and Saturday’s trip was the best of the season by far. On that night the boat returned to the same area as on Friday, and the fishing was slow until 3:30 a.m., when the tuna invaded through 6:30 a.m. Sometimes they were jumping out of the water all around the boat, and 40- to 75-pound yellowfins were reeled in, and so were 35- to 50-pound longfins. Most of the fish were hooked 80 to 130 feet down, and both bait and jigs produced. Many passengers limited out on yellowfins, and some added a longfin or two to their catches. During the peak of the bite the captain even limited out on yellowfins in 45 minutes while jigging when he took over chunking duties. Sunday night’s trip was also good, and the fishing also started slowly. Two yellowfins and a 130-pound swordfish were nailed in the middle of the night, and then an occasional tuna and an additional sword bit until morning. More tuna finally started appearing at 6 a.m., and the best fishing turned on from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m., and the fish were still biting when it came time to go home. Rob Finkle was high hook with five longfin tuna and a swordfish. Other notable catches included John Zapella’s three yellowfins to 65 pounds and the 130-pound sword and John Short’s two yellowfins and a longfin. A tuna charter Monday night was also good. A couple of tuna were lost at first, and a few 6- to 10-pound mahi mahi were later caught, but then the action was solid from 3 a.m. to 6:30 a.m., and yellowfin and longfin tuna were fought to the boat on bait and jigs. The outlook was good for upcoming tuna trips, and space is available on open-boat trips almost every day in October and November, and charters are also available. Call the boat or visit its web site for info. In a sign that the season’s about to change, offshore wreck trips for giant sea bass, cod, pollock and hake are now slated on the boat in November and December. Six dates are scheduled for 14-hour Wreck-A-Thons in November, and a bunch of 18-hour trips to the 60- to 80-mile wrecks are on the books for late November through December. The 110-foot <b>Atlantis</b> is available for daytime and nighttime charters, including tuna charters, for any species available both inshore and offshore for groups from 18 to 120. <b>Bogan’s Boating School</b> is offering the boating safety course required in New Jersey, including private classes at your own location for a minimum of eight students and the test-out option. Visit njboatschol.com for the list of regularly scheduled classes and other info.

Overnight, canyon tuna trips are slated to leave port on the <b>Katie H</b> on Friday and Sunday, and the forecast looked like gale winds would force Friday’s trip to be cancelled, but Sunday was probably a go, Capt. Mike said. A boater from the dock headed south this week and fished Wilmington Canyon for a catch of 13 tuna. Canyon fishing on the Katie H will continue as long as possible, even up to Thanksgiving. Big bluefin tuna usually also move into Hudson Canyon around now, so that fishing might become an option. Reports were being heard about small bluefins boated at the Mudhole at inshore grounds, and a friend reeled in seven on one trip and four on another. If anglers want to fish for the inshore bluefins on charters during weekdays when no canyon trips are booked, that’s a possibility.

<b>Point Pleasant</b>

Bluefin tuna fishing’s been “ridiculous” at the Monster Ledge, and <b>Andrea’s Toy Charters</b> went 6 for 7 on the tuna to 35 pounds yesterday on live peanut bunker on 40-pound fluorocarbon, Capt. Fred said. If you’ve got lots of live bait or peanuts you’ll do well, and if you fish dead bait or jigs, you’ll do okay, but not as well. The water at the ledge was probably 66 or 67 degrees, optimum for bluefins, and they’ll tolerate temps down to the low 60s. Andrea’s Toy is also still running open-boat canyon tuna trips, but only during windows of perfect weather for safety on the 31-foot Contender. Give Fred a call to be added to the list of anglers he keeps informed about when the trips will sail. Canyon fishing’s still very good on the nighttime chunk. Lots of bonito and false albacore were chasing rainfish along the ocean beaches, and no migrating stripers moved in yet, and the water along the beach was too warm and in the mid 60s. Andrea’s Toy’s inshore charters for now are battling bluefish on light tackle until the stripers arrive.

<b>Bricktown</b>

Monster blues 10 to 15 pounds slamming the beach were pretty much the main news most of the week, said Jason from <b>Pell’s Fish & Sport</b>. The gators were mostly attacking peanut bunker. Surf casters sometimes got shots at a few striped bass, mainly in the early mornings. Jason got one himself, a 24-inch short, on a wooden swimmer, and he saw several others landed, and a few customers reported catches. The water was warm for stripers and in the mid to high 60s, but catches should pick up when the temp falls a little. Bonito and false albacore were pushing into the beach, usually like 8 a.m., a little after sunrise. Jason and friends got into them at Bay Head one morning, fighting 3- to 5-pound bonito and albies to 8 pounds in the surf. In the Manasquan River fishing for short striped bass was very consistent, and Jason hooked a bunch at night at the Railroad Bridge. Victor Silva landed 15 to 20 of the shorts on a white Fin-S Fish at slack tide. One customer grabbed three weakfish, all around 5 pounds, at the mouth of the Point Pleasant Canal on the Barnegat Bay side. So a few weakfish could still be found in the bay. Lots of tog, including keepers, were gathering in the Point Pleasant Canal, and Jason landed three on a trip. The tog were consistently hooked in the middle of the canal, even though sometimes they mostly hang along the edges. If anglers just wanted to have fun, Jason was sending them to the Mantoloking Bridge in Barnegat Bay to play with small sea bass, porgies and drum.

<b>Toms River</b>

Waters from the Toms River at Island Heights to Barnegat Bay at the BB marker were dishing out small blues and weakfish, and the weaks pounced on drifted sandworms and peanut bunker, said Dennis from <b>Murphy’s Hook House</b>. Peanuts, spearing and bait still filled the bay, and striped bass fishing was finally producing nice fish along the sod banks of the bay at night on eels. But otherwise striper fishing was slow, including along the beach front and in the surf, and the water was too warm. Temps were 66 or 67 degrees, so temps were at least dropping, but they seemed to be going down a degree or so a week. A few stripers were taken in the surf, usually after dark on plugs. Bluefishing in the surf was fairly consistent, maybe producing every other day, and high outgoing tides were a little better than other times. The pocket along Barnegat Inlet’s north jetty was giving up small blues at dusk pretty regularly. Both surf casters and boaters slammed big, 8- to 12-pound blues along the coast Tuesday afternoon from Ortley Beach to Brick Beach. Crabbing was good, and a customer yesterday nabbed 1 ½ dozen keepers, all 6 inches or larger.

<b>Seaside</b>

Lots of small bluefish were hitting in the surf at Island Beach State Park in the afternoons and evenings, said the fishing report today on <b>Betty and Nick’s Bait & Tackle</b>’s web site. But not much was going on yesterday, though blues were usually showing up during those hours, and south winds probably shut down the bite that day. Conditions were like summer again, and a return of cool weather and northwest winds were needed. Lots of fresh mullet was stocked, and fresh large bunker that was scarce lately was also carried. Roberts Rangers, an excellent casting lure for bluefish that customers were requesting, were also shelved. The surf was 1 to 2 feet, 67 degrees and clean. <a href=" http://www.bettyandnicks.com/fish.shtml" target="_blank"> Click here</a> for the latest.

Wow, what a day! the fishing report said Tuesday on <b>Grumpy’s Tackle</b>’s web site. By 9 a.m. the surf looked like a war zone, with thrashing white water from colossal bluefish storming up and down the surf from Lavallette to Brick Beach. Peanut bunker were washed up all along the stretch, and anglers were hooked up all day. Some old timers said they never saw anything like it before. Weigh-ins included Dave Arnold’s 19.1-pound giant that hit a swimmer. Today the report said bluefishing was generally an afternoon and evening thing, and anglers had two options: big slammers, and a good starting point to look for them was Lavallette and Ortley Beach, but the surf casters did have to look for them; and small blues 2 to 4 pounds along the length of Island Beach State Park. All sizes favored poppers, but plugs worked. Metal seemed less popular either only because anglers weren’t fishing metal or the fish weren’t taking the jigs. Mullet was the best bait. Croakers, apparently plenty, were biting in the suds in the evenings. Striped bass will remain scarce in the wash until the water cools a little, but early mornings were the best time to find the shorts to 30-inchers that were sometimes around, and dunk clams, because they weren’t that interested in plugs yet. <a href="http://www.grumpystackle.com/fishingreports/" target="_blank"> Click here</a> for updates.  

<b>Waretown</b>

<b>Perfect Drift Sport Fishing</b> was mostly keeping a low profile until striped bass fishing begins. Capt. John heard the ocean was 68 degrees, so it’s going to be a while before the migration, he said. About the only fishing he heard about was bluefish that were biting along the ocean. But when stripers turn on, charters will go right after them, from clamming for the fish in Barnegat Bay to jigging and trolling for them in the ocean.

Capt. Dave DeGennaro from the <b>Hi Flier</b> and sons Nick, 9, and Max, 6, ran to the Monster Ledge for bluefin tuna on Tuesday on a friend’s boat, Dave said in an e-mail. Two 15- and 20-pound bluefins were nailed on jigs in the morning, and at noon Max and Nick both hooked up two minutes apart. They were fishing live finger mullet swum 70 feet underneath Redi-Rig Release Floats. The boys took an hour to land the bluefins, but they did it themselves, and Nick boated a 42-pounder, and Max tackled a 32-pounder.

Boaters picked up a few striped bass earlier in the week that chased a big school of bunker in the ocean off Harvey Cedars and Surf City, but the fish had disappeared yesterday, said Dick from <b>L&H Woods & Water</b>. Otherwise no big stripers had migrated up the coast yet, and the water seemed too warm. Surf casters occasionally pulled small stripers onto the beach and also fought bluefish. Dick heard about no weakfish nabbed in Barnegat Bay, and the bay’s weakfishing seemed about finished. Nobody mentioned going crabbing, but some people were probably catching the blueclaws.

<b>Barnegat Light</b>

Blues and more blues came from the surf, and anglers this weekend hauled in the gators to 18 pounds, said Josh from <b>Barnegat Light Bait & Tackle</b>. A few stripers bit in the wash, and Kevin Wong walloped a 40-pounder over the weekend on half a bunker. No bonito and false albacore were showing up along the shore, even though the speedsters were getting caught farther north toward Seaside along the beach. Tons of weakfish schooled 150 yards off Long Beach Island, and Barnegat Bay’s weakfishing was still very good. Some smaller stripers also started showing up in the bay, grabbing spots and Fin-S Fish. The shop is stocking live peanuts, and good-sized blackfish could be lifted up along the Barnegat Inlet jetties, and half a green crab will do the trick. Green crabs are stocked, and sea bass were also hovering around the inlet jetties. Tuna fishing was good at the canyons, and Josh heard that trips were weathered out tonight.

<b>Brighton Beach</b>

Lots of blues were the catch from the surf, and the action was hot through the weekend but cooled off a bit Monday and Tuesday, said Kevin from <b>Oceanside Bait & Tackle</b>. Afterward he heard about one blitz at Brant Beach. Seven or eight blues from 9 to 14 pounds were weighed in today, but none was wrestled in from a blitz. Bunker and mullet were the baits to toss, and the bait swimming in the wash included peanut bunker, adult bunker and mullet, but the mullet run was slowing down. Not much was heard about striped bass found in the surf in the warm water, but a few anglers lucked into 20-pounders on the southern end of Long Beach Island, and a 40-pounder was bagged at the north end Saturday night. A 39-pounder was also beached at Surf City sometime around Sunday. The shop is fully stocked with bait including clams, fresh bunker, live spots, live eels and all the frozen baits. Oceanside opened this spring and is located at 8201 Long Beach Boulevard on the southern end of Long Beach Island. The owners also own Barnegat Light Bait & Tackle.  

<b>Beach Haven</b>

Bottom fishing wasn’t bad Saturday on the <b>Miss Beach Haven</b> and produced a nice catch of tog, some sea bass and some porgies, Capt. Frank said. Tog fishing’s been excellent lately, and although the bag limit is currently one, patrons were usually catching their limit. Sunday’s bottom fishing was poor for no apparent reason, and it was just one of those days, Frank said. An overnight tuna charter sailed Tuesday to Wednesday and battled to the boat seven yellowfin tuna and longfin tuna and a couple of nice mahi mahi. The fishing was alright, and the yellowfins were good-sized and 70 pounds, and the fish bit around 4 a.m. The water was cold and 67 degrees, and lots of squid and bait swam around. The boat is available for tuna charters and will keep sailing for the fish as long as the bite holds up. A special offshore wreck-fishing trip will run 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Veterans’ Day, Monday, November 12, fishing the 30- to 35 mile wrecks, and reservations are required. The last such trip last week scored pollock, cod and giant ling. The Miss Beach Haven is bottom fishing 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. every Saturday and Sunday. The trips will start leaving a little earlier after the tog bag limit increases to eight fish on November 15.

<b>Mystic Island</b>

Weakfish and lots of life was swimming around the ocean the past couple of days, said Scott from <b>Scott’s Bait & Tackle</b>. The weaks with croakers mixed in and blues up top were hooked in the ocean between Little Egg Inlet and Wreck Inlet, and on Tuesday weaks were found in the ocean at the Rutgers buoy off Little Egg. The weaks were mostly shorts at both spots, but some were 18-inch keepers. In the ocean the weaks will jump on long, thin squid strips soaked in shedder oil and dropped down on top-and-bottom rigs. In the bay the weaks favor shedder crabs, bloodworms and such baits instead. The trout were still hooked in the bay at the mouth of the Mullica River and at Marshelder Channel. Little Sheepshead Creek also produced the fish but at night. No migrating striped bass showed up yet, and the water was too warm. “It’s summertime here at Scott’s Bait and Tackle,” Scott said, and the air conditioner was running.  But water temps did drop into the low 60s, considerably better than the low 70s recently. The migrating, big bass will come, and in the meantime schoolie, resident stripers 18 to 20 inches were picked up in the bay at scattered areas, often at the same places as the weakfish.  A mess of little porgies and baby sea bass filled the bay on the Mystic Island of the Fish Factory. They were all undersized, but fun for kids and action. A customer yesterday hit the area at Scott’s suggestion and returned and thanked Scott for the good advice. Bits of salted clam fished in a clam chum slick is the way to go, and no kingfish were around anymore. When the little fish start to disappear, look for the striper run to begin, because temps dropping to striper range will push out the little ones.

<b>Absecon</b>

A few weakfish, and sometimes a big one, but not a lot of the trout were boated in the bay, said Lou from <b>Absecon Bay Sportsman Center</b>. Lots of 1- to 3-pound blues and sometimes big slammers to 15 pounds were taken from the bay. Triggerfish and tog was also found in the back waters. Striped bass were tricked up in the bay at times, usually before sunrise, and peanut bunker were the best bait. Stripers were also eeled at Absecon Inlet, and kingfish were reeled in from the inlet. Surf fisher also pulled on lots of kingfish, and bloodworms were the bait for kings. Mullet were still schooling the bay. The shop is carrying a full range of baits, including live spots and live mullet.

<b>Atlantic City</b>

Surf casters were catching kingfish like crazy on bloodworms, and striped bass could also be lifted from the suds on plugs, bucktails, clams and mullet, said Noel from <b>One Stop Bait & Tackle</b>. Mullet were still running, but fewer of them than weeks ago. Blues were everywhere, and lots of tog kept grabbing green crabs along the jetty rocks. Porgies were hitting bloodworms in the back bay, and weakfish were getting hooked off Harrah’s Casino. Boaters were eeling stripers in the channel between Atlantic City and Brigantine. All the baits mentioned are stocked.

<b>Margate</b>

Mixed bags of porgies, sea bass, blues and sometimes tog, when tog were targeted, were the catch on daily, open-boat trips on the <b>Jessie O’</b>, Capt. Jay said. Both open trips and charters were heading out for the fish. The boat was taking a sold-out trip today to watch the Sands Casino get imploded, and demand was so high that an overflow crowd was probably also going to make the run on another vessel. Fall striped bass season is coming, 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.

<b>Ocean City</b>

Surf fishers could find bluefish, but even that action slowed down, said Dan from <b>Fin-Atics</b>. News was pretty quiet at the moment. Boaters could search around for the blues a little more. Not much was heard about kingfish catches in the suds. A kid who works at the shop during summer was on a trip that pulled up a 29-pound 13-ounce striper from Great Egg Harbor Inlet on a rubber shad. “Anything in the back bay?” Dan was asked. “Sandsharks,” he joked. No offshore reports were heard, and the weather’s been windy.

<b>Sea Isle City</b>

Bluefish were thick, including at Townsend’s and Corson’s inlets and in the ocean along the beaches, said Capt. Joe Hughes from <b>Jersey Cape Guide Service</b> and <b>Gibson’s Tackle</b>. They ranged from snappers to 6-pounders and also blitzed the surf. Striped bass kept hitting in the shallows in the back bay, including on popper lures and flies, one of Joe’s specialties. The fishing was really still in a summertime pattern, and every year’s different, and it’s neat, Joe said. The fishing was good, solid action, and it’s been a good season, and Joe was happy with it. Croakers and small weakfish could also be hooked in the ocean. Surf casters were fighting lots of blues, but if they could get through the blues, striped bass were definitely on tap. Low-light hours or dawn, dusk and night were times to maximize the chances of striper hook-ups in the wash, because blues thin out in the suds at those times. If trying for the stripers, throw poppers while daylight is still available, or cast swimming plugs. At night use black swimming plugs. Waters were absolutely loaded with bait, like schools of peanut bunker that could be seen as waves lifted to break in the surf. Joe’s friend Frank Stedley fished Baltimore Canyon from Sunday to Monday on the Low Profile with Over Under Adventures and had a great time. The trip went 9 for 15 on tuna on the chunk and also drilled a 336-pound swordfish. Be sure to check out Joe tonight as he gives a presentation on saltwater fly fishing at the<a href=" http://www.southjerseycoastalflyanglers.com/" target="_blank"> South Jersey Coastal Fly Anglers’</a>
meeting at 7 p.m. at the Bayside Center at 520 Bay Avenue in Ocean City. He’ll give an overview of saltwater fly angling, including local fishing but also techniques that work anywhere, covering topics from fly selection to casting, retrieving, line choices, different techniques and also topics that the audience might want him to cover.

<b>Wildwood</b>

A mess of small fish were biting in the bay, including sea bass, porgies kings and blues, said Fred from <b>No Bones Bait & Tackle</b>. Even the fish in the surf were small, and he headed to the surf along Hereford Inlet yesterday and landed blues, but the biggest was probably 2 pounds. Fun to catch, but the water needed to cool to push out the small fish and bring in big, migrating stripers. The water in the back bay was 70-degrees, and a storm was headed to the area this weekend, but it was coming from the west, and fishing needed northeast storms to churn up and cool the water for better striper fishing. The surf on Fred’s trip was loaded with mullet, peanut bunker and baby herring the size of shiners, and they were pushing the herring onto the sand, and the baitfish were dying there, and birds were picking eating them. About 30 anglers were fishing the surf there, and anglers had the bug to fish the wash, and the opening of the beaches to vehicles was also attracting them. Permits are available that allow vehicles to be driven on the sand along the coast of North Wildwood, Wildwood and Wildwood Crest, and separate permits are required from each town. Fred thought the North Wildwood permit, the most popular area because of Hereford Inlet, cost $10 for residents and $25 for non-residents for the season, and they’re available at the North Wildwood police station. Keeper weakfish were sometimes taken from the surf lately, and boaters along the ocean beaches were hooking weaks that were just barely keepers. Boaters fishing for striped bass in the bay were sometimes clamming shorts, and some said they landed keepers, but Fred saw none. On high tides anglers threw popper lures to land the bay’s stripers, but even that fishing seemed to slow down. Striper fishing is one of the shop’s specialties, and rental boats are available to target stripers or any other fish in the bay. The 17-foot Carolina Skiffs are available through December 31.

<b>Cape May</b>

Lots of reports about bluefish caught were heard, including about catches from the surf, although none of the blues was big, said Lyn from <b>Hands Too Bait & Tackle</b>. Croakers and sometimes a short striper might also get hooked in the suds, but the water was too warm for the best striper fishing. He had luck with stripers a few weeks ago, clamming some in the surf at 3 a.m. for a half-hour. The shop will start carrying fresh bunker for striper bait as soon as the bite turns on.

<b>Jaftica Sportfishing</b> will start fishing for striped bass tomorrow at the Cape May Rips and other places, Capt. Ray said. He heard about a few of the linesiders caught, and lots of resident ones were around, and Cape May Inlet was holding them. The boat’s mate fished on a trip the other day that landed a dozen at the inlet. Lots of bait’s been around, and the fish were starting to move. Jaftica will probably take one last shot at tuna at the canyons this coming week. A friend fished Tuesday night between Baltimore and Wilmington canyons and caught yellowfin tuna, limiting out on the fish. Some of the yellowfins were smaller and 50 to 60 pounds, but big, 100-pound Allisons were nailed in the early morning. The friend fished on the warm side of a 69- to 72-degree temperature break. 

Back to Top