<b>Brooklyn</b>

Lots of sea bass were biting, and all customers were catching some keepers, but the problem was that too many of the fish were shorts, Capt. Steve from the <b>Big M Express</b> said.  But the number of keeper porgies was increasing. One trip tried for blackfish so far this season, and a few keepers came up, but the water was too warm. Another two weeks should cool the water, pulling in more of the tog. Open-boat trips are fishing every day when no charter is booked, mostly targeting sea bass, but also making a drop or two each time for blackfish to keep an eye on the bite. The Big M Express is docked at Tamaqua Marina in Gerritsen Beach in Brooklyn.

<b>Staten Island</b>

Sea bassing was good on trips with <b>Outcast Charters</b> from Friday to Sunday, Capt. Joe said. The fish were hooked in 40- to 60-foot depths, and no great numbers held at any one spot, and the boat had to cover ground, but catches were made. A charter Friday was very good, and scores of keepers were bagged, and the anglers even had to return to the dock by 12 noon because of a prior commitment. A 20-pound striper was also reeled in. Saturday’s charter was even better and was super for a catch of sea bass from 1 ½ to 3 pounds and a few porgies. Sunday’s charter was also excellent, though the sea bass were smaller and weighed up to 2 pounds, and the catch also included a few porgies. Four to five keeper blackfish were also usually landed on the trips, and the tog weren’t even being targeted. Outcast will continue to focus on sea bass, because the fishing’s been good. The water was warm or 71 degrees in the bay and 68 in the ocean, but when the water cools, charters will chase blackfish more and more, until eventually the tog will be the exclusive quarry. Outcast does a lot of tog fishing and specializes in the fish.

An open-boat trip with <b>Barbara Anne Charters</b> produced 50 jumbo porgies to 2 pounds, some triggerfish and some banded jacks last Tuesday, Capt. Anthony said. Blackfish could be caught, and New York’s blackfishing season is now open, but the water is warm, so blackfishing takes a lot of work. But it’ll pick up when water temps drop. Open-boat trips are bottom fishing every Tuesday when no charter is booked, guaranteed to leave the dock with a minimum of two anglers.

False albacore kept biting, and although Capt. Tommy Verderosa from <b>Frenzy Fishing Charters</b> did no fishing for them in the past couple of days, he sent a friend to a spot to catch them, and the friend hooked up, Tommy said. Previously Tommy’s charters, and also open-boat trips, were fighting the albies at places like off Coney Island and Long Island, usually casting Deadly Dicks to the fish. Tommy was bouncing all over to find them, and the fish will appear very quickly and then disappear, and anglers just need to keep an eye out for them busting water and then make quick, accurate casts. The fish also swim in circles, and Tommy anticipates where they’ll pop up next. Frenzy also offers fly fishing for the albies, but it takes some casting skill and double-hauling. Charters will remain available for these tough-fighting speedsters as long as they stick around, which might not be long, but nobody can know, and open-boat trips are also available, so give Tommy a shout to go. He’s got anglers already available for open trips for the albies, and he’ll tell you when the next ones will sail. Boaters were bailing bluefish that attacked big bunker at Great Kills yesterday, and one boater at the dock also came back with a couple of stripers. Tommy also sent a friend to a spot to find stripers, and the friend successfully chunked the fish. A few stripers were beginning to appear, so fall changes were beginning to happen. Some weakfish were also around.

<b>Keyport</b>

Lots of bluefish swam all over the bay, and fishing was good, and tons of bait was starting to move out of the creeks, said Chris from <b>Crabby’s Bait & Tackle</b> in a fax. But warm water in the 70s was keeping fall striper fishing from kicking off, through some of the linesiders, small ones, were biting around the train bridge. Most anglers were targeting porgies and sea bass because of great action. Crabbing was still good, and some nice ones were nabbed in the area.

On the <b>Lucky Carm</b> two charters over the weekend battled bluefish in the bay, Capt. Carmine said. Dr. Mike Mouravieff’s group with his daughter Jennifer, brother Perry and his brother’s wife Laurie fought blues to 11 pounds, and Perry grabbed the biggest, and Laurie was high hook. Jennifer Barker’s charter for boyfriend Dr. Mike Findura and his children Alexis and Amanda tackled blues to 6 pounds, the first-ever fish that the girls caught. At one point dogfish invaded, and Alexis reeled in a huge, 21-pound, 44-inch dog. The charters jigged the fish, and the bay was loaded with 4- to 8-pound blues. Carmine saw no striped bass during the trips, and the water was too warm and 73 degrees, a very high temp for this time of year. Stripers should start appearing when the water drops to the low 60s, and the water would normally already be that cold, and the striper migration would normally already be started. Carmine’s book shows that migrating stripers pushed in last year during the second and third weeks of October, so he hoped that maybe the fishing would begin this weekend. If charters are interested in going striper fishing, they can call Carmine and get the latest on whether the fish have arrived. In the meantime his trips will chase the abundant blues and will also bottom fish for sea bass, porgies and such.

Capt. Joe from <b>Papa’s Angels Charters</b> took a crew trip and clammed bluefish and short striped bass around buoy 11A, he said. Blues could be landed almost at will, and the short stripers were at least a good sign for the upcoming striper run. Open-boat trips are fishing 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. every day when no charter is booked, and call for reservations, prices and info.

<b>Atlantic Highlands</b>

Bottom fishing wasn’t too bad, and some trips were better than others, depending on conditions or the weather and currents, said Capt. Tom from the <b>Atlantic Star</b>. Trips fished between the channels, and sometimes more porgies than sea bass bit, and vice versa. Many of the porgies were very good-sized, mostly keepers with a few shorts mixed in. Many of the sea bass were small, and catching keepers was difficult, and Tom guessed that the size was because of fishing pressure, especially because fluke season closed early this year. The boat might anchor at a few spots where the fishing turned out tough, and then a couple of drops would produce good catches, and so on. The boat will keep bottom fishing the rest of the year, and eventually tog will become a target. The vessel will keep sailing on two half-day trips daily, but soon the schedule will switch to one ¾-day trip daily from 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. The half-day trips will continue at least through Friday, but the schedule for the weekend was yet to be determined, and customers can call the boat to confirm. The ¾-day schedule will definitely begin by next Monday.  For now, the Atlantic Star is bottomfishing on two trips daily from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. to 6 p.m.

This morning’s fishing on the <b>Fishermen</b> started off slowly with half a dozen striped bass clammed, and Capt. Ron didn’t like what he saw, so the boat went in search of fish to jig, he said in the fishing report on the boat’s web site. Jigging also began slowly, and at first a small group of birds worked the water, but then the group became quite larger. Bigger blues with bass mixed in were hooked, a few on jigs and a few on clams. On Saturday the boat bounced around in the ocean all morning, so patrons could try to catch stripers, but when nothing bit, the vessel headed back to the bay, and blues were jigged. The action was very good for 1 ½ hours, and most of the fish were 3 to 5 pounds, but a few gaffers were mixed in. On Friday fishing was slow, and on Thursday 12 keeper striped bass were bagged. Bluefishing trips were very good Friday and Saturday evenings, and the boat’s biggest blue of the season, an 18-1/2-pounder, was nailed. 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 from 3 to 10 pounds in the ocean and bay, Capt. Derek said. Anglers onboard also bottom fished and dropped down baits for striped bass, and bottom fishing turned up lots of short sea bass, a few keepers and a bunch of porgies. Striper fishing also produced lots of shorts, and the water was still warm and 68 to 71 degrees. Larger, migrating stripers were already arriving at this time last year, when the water was 63 to 65 degrees. But lately an occasional keeper striper bit at the clam beds on clams for Fisher Price, and lots of short stripers hit in the early mornings at the Sandy Hook Rips and between the channels on drifted worms or eels. Charters will concentrate on stripers when the larger fish appear, and blackfishing will begin November 15, when the bag limit increases to eight fish from the current quota of one. Some prime dates are still open for charters.

Bluefishing was good and striped bass fishing was slow, said Capt. Bob from <b>Sandy Hook Fishing Charters</b> in an e-mail. Blues from 3 to 8 pounds could be boated in the bay, and slammers from 8 to 12 pounds could be fought from Sandy Hook to the Shrewsbury Rocks. Some bass, mostly shorts to 26 inches, were mixed in, and a few keepers were pulled up from the Sandy Hook Rips and Flynn’s Knoll on drifted sandworms and eels. Capt. Bob was waiting for the long overdue fall striper run, and water temps were 71 degrees Saturday. He’s got a good number of trips on hold until the run starts, and dates are open for charters this month through December. Charters are targeting not only blues and stripers but also bottom fish.

Four bluefin tuna from 25 to 40 pounds were landed with <b>Jersey Devil Charters</b> on Saturday on the chunk, and 16- or 17-pound mahi mahi were also chunked, Capt. Brian said. So the fishing was good, and a friend scored well on the bluefins yesterday, and the action’s been fairly consistent. Book now if you want to catch tuna close to shore, while you’ve got the opportunity. This fishing doesn’t turn on every year, and you’ve got to grab the opportunity while it’s happening, or you might have to wait for another good season, whenever that might occur. The water on Jersey Devil’s trip was clean and 70 to 71 degrees, and fog was thick. Striped bass, blues and little tunny were also biting off Monmouth Beach and were an option for fishing.

<b>Sea Bright</b>

Five bluefin tuna and three false albacore were trolled at the Monster Ledge with <b>Jersey Shore Fishing Charters</b> on Friday, Capt. Jake said. On Sunday three mahi mahi, three false albacore and a skip jack were trolled at the HA. Jersey Shore will keep running such trips for the moment.

Lots of giant blues were drilled in the bay on metal and rubber with <b>Two Rivers Charters</b> on Saturday night, Capt. Fletcher Chayes said. A couple of small striped bass were also hooked, but the number of blues made striper fishing difficult. Fletcher last week had fought false albacore off False Sandy Hook Point but heard about no albies in the area since then. Friends who had been clamming stripers off Rockaway were complaining that the bite dropped off.

<b>Neptune</b>

Bluefishing was phenomenal for <b>Last Lady Fishing Charters</b>, and so was canyon fishing, Capt. Ralph said. His canyon trips were both chunking and trolling, and catches included yellowfins to 100 pounds and longfins to 50 or 55 pounds. Sea bass trips were producing the lumpheads to 3 ½ pounds. Last Lady’s next individual-reservation trip will be for striped bass on October 24, and a few openings remain. An open-boat, mid-range, wreck-fishing trip on October 21 is full, but another will be scheduled. Open-boat blackfishing trips will begin in November.

<b>Belmar</b>

Tuna fishing went pretty well at Hudson Canyon on an overnight trip on the <b>Nan Sea J</b> from Friday to Saturday for a mix of longfins and yellowfins, Capt. Tom said. All the fish were chunked, except one longfin that was trolled. On the chunk the fish bit butterfish, sardines and squid and seemed to prefer none over the others. The water was 70 degrees, not too warm, and was beautiful and blue, and lots of squid swam past. Tuna seemed to be caught everywhere from the Hudson to the southern canyons, and the fishing was good, and the boat will keep sailing offshore through October. A sea bass charter reeled in lots of the fish yesterday, but lots of them were small. The boat fished from 20 feet to 60 feet, and a handful of porgies also showed up. The water was 67 or 68 degrees in the morning and 69.4 in the afternoon. Charters are also available for bluefishing, and striper charters will begin when the fall run kicks off, and the Nan Sea J fishes through December.

<b>Brielle</b>

Offshore fishing was better than hit or miss, but some anglers produced more catches than others, said Dave from <b>The Reel Seat</b>. The Moon Dancer with owners Lud and Jen Bohler and Capt. Mike Petrole returned from Spencer Canyon on Saturday and reported boating six longfin tuna, a 90-pound yellowfin, some 20-pound mahi mahi and a 110-pound swordfish, all on bait, and they tried jigging, but jigging hooked nothing. Dave fished on the party boat Voyager Wednesday to Thursday, and tuna fishing was on the slow side, and eight or nine longfins were boated. Once the sun rose, tuna were streaking through the slick but refused to bite. Dave in the morning started tilefishing, and he pulled up two right away, and then a bunch of anglers started tilefishing. He ended up with three tiles to 30 pounds, and most seemed to catch at least one, and one angler nailed a 200-pound bigeye tuna on a tilefish rig fished along the bottom. Dave had brought squid to fish for the tiles, and he’ll use regular old frozen squid that’s sold for fluke bait, putting two on a hook if the squid are small. He also keeps squid that he catches during the night for tuna but died and drops them down to the bottom for tiles. But the tiles will hit nearly anything, and Dave has landed them on ballyhoos during the summer, and both tuna and mahi belly has also worked for him. Some people even use Gulp squid with good results, but Dave uses circle hooks, so he doesn’t prefer Gulps. Some also use the sardines that are popular for tuna fishing, but the sardines are fragile, and Dave doesn’t want to have any doubts about whether the bait is still on the hook when fishing that deep along the bottom, and he would at least not use sardines on both hooks for that reason. Reeling up your line just to check bait isn’t practical. Close to shore, bluefin tuna fishing was turning on pretty well at the Monster Ledge, and most anglers were chunking them, like on butter fish with maybe spearing spicing up the slick. Some also jigged the fish, which ranged from small ones to 50-pounders. Sea bass fishing was kind of slow, and there were lots of fish, but a small percentage were keepers. Quite a few porgies were biting, and mostly party boats were fishing for them. The beginning of the striped bass migration will depend on the weather, and the water was still warm and close to 70 degrees. Lots of small striped bass and small blues schooled Manasquan River, and Dave heard about no weakfish hitting locally. One angler said a bunch of blowfish were holding near the Mantoloking Bridge. 

An angler with <b>Reel-Ality Sportfishing</b> loaded up on bonito and a couple of false albacore in the ocean off Spring Lake yesterday morning till the action dropped off at 11 a.m., Capt. Larry said. A bunch of bluefish started hitting then, so the boat left, but the angler took home a dozen of the tasty bonito, 4- or 5-pounders, good-sized ones. The water was clear, and a trip with Reel-Ality a couple of weeks ago also found bonito off Spring Lake before last week’s rougher seas. On yesterday’s trip the fish were trolled on a custom-made daisy chain that imitates spearing that Larry builds. On Saturday Larry took a trip by himself and trolled a 28- or 30-inch bluefin tuna but lost it at the boat in very foggy weather that kept the trip short. Larry declined to name the location, “no sense in giving it away,” he said, but the fish were there, and others caught them fairly reliably recently, so if anyone wants to nab bluefins inshore, jump aboard now while the fishing is possible. Space is open for charters both this weekend and next. Larry first marked a pile of bait fish under the boat and trolled all around them. Then he moved away for a moment but then came back, and this time the bait was more spread out, like something was breaking them up. Then “boom!” the bluefin hit the spread.

Offshore trips fished Spencer Canyon on the <b>Katie H</b> from Friday to Saturday and from Saturday to Sunday, Capt. Mike said. Friday’s charter boated 15 longfin tuna and a 120-pound swordfish. The charter Saturday returned to the same area, and fishing was a little slower, but eight tuna, about half yellowfins and half longfins, were bagged. Four or five tuna were also lost on each trip, and a huge ray grabbed one of the baits and nearly spooled the reel until the hook pulled.  The water was 71.5 degrees and very clean, with visibility down to 20 feet, and a little bit of bait swam around, enough to catch to use for fishing. Butterfish and sardines produced, and live squid didn’t seem necessary, but the swordfish nailed a squid. Mike heard that big bluefin tuna to 200 pounds were walloping lines at the Texas Tower, early in the season for that action. He also heard about small bluefins caught at the Mudhole. The Katie H will keep sailing to the canyons.

Bottom fishing was up and down, and some days were better than others, an e-mail from the <b>Paramount</b> said. But overall the fishing was just fair, and quite a few sea bass bit, and the action was good, but catching keepers was tough. On some days patrons averaged 8 to 10 keepers apiece, and on others days fewer. This is one reason the boat continued to leave the dock at 6:30 a.m.: It allowed the vessel to arrive on the grounds before other boats, and it also allowed a somewhat longer day to catch more keepers, because the boat returned at 3:30 p.m. A smattering of porgies showed up on some days, but none appeared in significant numbers yet, so no claim was made that the trips were catching porgies. Sometimes ling were also caught when the boat moved to a spot or two at the Mudhole after sea bassing tapered off on a trip. Last Wednesday’s weekly Deep Water Mudhole Ling Special was okay, and high hooks reeled up 10 to 15 of the fish, and most customers took 5 to 10. A bluefishing trip was good Saturday, and blues usually stay around through November, and the trip will sail again 7:30 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. this coming Saturday Bottom-fishing trips are sailing 6:30 a.m. to 3:30 pm. Mondays through Sundays except on Wednesdays, targeting sea bass, porgies and occasional ling and blackfish. The Deep Water Mudhole Ling Specials are running 6:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. every Wednesday, targeting ling and occasional blackfish, sea bass and porgies.

<b>Point Pleasant</b>

Anglers on the <b>Dauntless</b> were picking away at sea bass, porgies and ling, coming back with five to 20 fish apiece, depending on the angler, Capt. Willie said. Bluefishing on the boat was very good this weekend, and bluefishing seemed like it would last a while, and the water was warm, almost 70 degrees. Bottom-fishing trips are sailing 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. every day, and bluefishing trips are running 7:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. every Friday and Saturday.

<b>Reel Class Charters</b> sailed with four anglers aboard Saturday for a jigging and bottom-fishing trip in the ocean, Capt. Allen said on the report on the boat’s web site. Pea-soup fog kept them from leaving the dock until 10 a.m., but once they were on the ocean, visibility was pushing 3 to 4 miles. Birds were spotted working baitfish and fish were seen breaking the surface 1 to 2 miles off Belmar. Tailor bluefish were there at first, but then 5- to 7-pound bonito—nice-sized ones—busted on rainfish and spearing around the boat. The anglers got two good shots at the fast-moving fish, so fast that they were literally there one second and gone the next, and the speedsters were hooked on metal and rubber shads. Afterward the anglers looked around jetties, casting rubber shads, but nothing was doing, and then they bottom fished off Long Branch. But only small sea bass bit, though a quality fluke came up that had to be released, because fluke season’s closed. Next the anglers chased more blues under birds off Spring Lake. So the day took lots of running and gunning and was tough, and the anglers had to work for their keepers.

An open-boat trip fished Hudson Canyon with <b>Andrea’s Toy Charters</b> from Thursday to Friday and reeled in five species: yellowfin tuna, longfin tuna, mahi mahi, a swordfish and some tilefish, Capt. Fred said. There were also shots at mako sharks and blue sharks, but the fish failed to get hooked. Still, it was a good catch, a successful mixed-bag trip that Andrea’s Toy specializes in, for more fun, better chances at a hook-up and more variety for dinner. The trip started with trolling at mid day, but nothing bit. So the anglers hopped around the lobster pots and nailed more than two dozen mahi mahi to 10 pounds on light spinning tackle. At night the boat was anchored for chunking at the 100 Square, but not much life showed up, so the anglers went on the drift in the deep. An 80-pound yellowfin tuna was bagged, and a swordfish was released. Then the anglers set up on the anchor again along an edge, and some bait showed up, and so did lots of life, including mahi mahi, blue sharks and mako sharks, so the anglers stayed and waited for tuna to bite. At 3 a.m. the action was on, and yellowfins showed up. Four of the tuna to 85 pounds were drilled, the biggest yellowfins of the year, and longfins hit the slick at 5 a.m., and four of the albacore were nailed. The tuna were hitting Shimano butterfly jigs, sardines and squid. In the morning the anglers drifted for tiles and reeled in the fish to 10 pounds. The Hudson recently was 69 degrees, and Andrea’s Toy was fishing from 69 to 72 degrees. The fish will keep showing up as long as the water is at least 65 degrees and holds bait. Open-boat canyon trips will continue to be the focus for now, and Capt. Fred had thought that the trips would be finished by this time, but the fishing’s been good, so he’s going to continue. The trips will sail during solid windows of good weather, and they run on a 31-foot Contender that cruises at 45 m.p.h., making it to the canyons in half the time of a party boat, allowing more fishing time and the opportunity to target the different species. Call Fred to get on the list of anglers interested in these trips, and he’ll keep in touch, letting you know the schedule as the weather unfolds. Inshore charters will also sail, again for mixed bags, and the selection at the moment includes blues, bonito and bottom fish. Lots of blues were schooling the ocean, and bonito were popping up close to shore. Lots of small bottom fish like sea bass were biting, but catches of keepers were possible. Schoolie bluefin tuna were reportedly appearing at the Mudhole, and Andrea’s Toy should start fishing for them after Capt. Fred checks it out. The bluefins would be chunked with peanut bunker on the trips.

<b>Seaside</b>

Surf fishing was spotty, but blues appeared here and there, said the fishing report on <b>Betty and Nick’s Bait & Tackle</b>’s web site. An angler who nailed a 20-pound 8-ounce striped bass won the Governor’s Surf Fishing Tournament on Island Beach State Park this weekend and weighed in the prize winner at the store.  The surf yesterday was 1 to 3 feet, 69 degrees and clean. A new delivery of PlugCaster pencil poppers arrived in all the good colors, and call the store to reserve. <a href=" http://www.bettyandnicks.com/fish.shtml" target="_blank"> Click here</a> for the latest.

Beaches were crowded with anglers this weekend, and bluefishing continued to be the dominant force in the summery weather, said the fishing report on <b>Grumpy’s Tackle</b>’s web site. The blues showed no pattern except quick shots into the suds in small schools, and if you were a bird chaser, you could expect to go fishless. The best bet was to soak mullet, the best bait for the blues, and blind cast popper lures, surface plugs or metal while watching for signs of life. Many reports had been heard about croakers in the surf, and proof finally rolled in. One angler hooked many of the hardheads and weighed in a 1.8-pounder, the shop’s first of the season. Reports were also heard about small striped bass found occasionally. Loyal customers Dillon and Bailey Carfone, ages 8 and 6 respectively, won a trophy at this weekend’s Governor’s Surf Fishing Tournament at Island Beach State Park with a 3.7-pound bluefish that they wrestled onto the sand. Another customer weighed in a 9.4-pound striper that won a prize in the Seaside Heights Kids Tournament. The shop got in a new supply of Gibbs plugs and PlugCaster lures, so get them while the selection is good. <a href="http://www.grumpystackle.com/fishingreports/" target="_blank"> Click here</a> for updates.

<b>Barnegat Light</b>

Gary Mease, owner of Ocean Gate Yacht Basin, and father-in-law Reggie Savoy fished Barnegat Bay and Barnegat Inlet with <b>Reel Fantasea Charters</b>, Capt. Steve said in an e-mail. Bluefish slammed popper lures at the inlet upon arrival, and the fishing looked like it was going to be a turkey shoot, but then the action turned into a pick just as quickly. Next the anglers moved to the back of the bay for good action with nice-sized weakfish on soft plastic lures. On another trip regular customers Jay Simmons, Joe Franke and Ernie Rosenburg found the blues more responsive, and the guys were sometimes all hooked up at once. Then they headed off to a wreck for non-stop fishing for sea bass, blackfish, porgies, bergals, jacks, grunts, blues and throwback fluke, and the rods never stopped bending.

<b>Brigantine</b>

An overnight tuna trip returned to the dock yesterday with <b>Fishin’ Fever Sportfishing</b>, Capt. Tom said, and the anglers went 10 for 12 on tuna at Lindenkohl Canyon. Seven of the boated fish were 70- to 80-pound yellowfins, and three were longfins from 40 to 45 pounds, and all bit on the chunk. The water was a little cool and 70 to 71 degrees and held lots of bait, including lots of small squid, and a bunch of porpoises. A 35-foot whale shark also swam up to the transom, pretty neat to see. The weather was nice at first, but later 20-plus knot winds started blowing from the northwest. Reports sounded like catches on other boats ranged from good to poor, and the fish bit up and down the line from Baltimore Canyon to Hudson Canyon. Fishin’ Fever will try to keep tuna fishing the next three weekends, including on some open-boat trips the weekends of Oct. 20 and 27, before heading to Cape May to start fishing the fall run of striped bass at the Cape May Rips and Delaware Bay. Space is available on the open tuna trips. Tuna charters will sail this weekend. Inshore trolling charters are also on tap for bonito and false albacore.

<b>Margate</b>

<b>O-Beth Sportfishing</b> overnighted at Spencer Canyon fro Friday to Saturday and nailed six yellowfin tuna and also went 3 for 4 on swordfish to 80 pounds, keeping two of the swords, Capt. Eric said. The fish were chunked at night, and sardines and live squid were the ticket, and the bites were spread out through the night, and no particular time was better than another. Tons of squid schooled, and Eric believed the water was 70 to 71 degrees. O-Beth will move the boat to Cape May next Monday to be in place for the fall striped bass run at the Cape May Rips and Delaware Bay. But tuna trips will continue, and fall sharking will also take place. Here’s your chance to do battle with sharks one last time before the sharks migrate to warmer waters for the spring. The monsters pass by the coast on their way south in the fall, and they push the opposite direction in spring. Many anglers only target them in spring, but the action can be just as good in fall.

Trolling at the Ham Bone, Triple Lumps and AC Pots yesterday, an attempt to find false albacore or bonito, was unproductive for <b>Fine Line Fishing Charters</b>, so the boat moved inshore, and loads of 15- to 18-inch croakers were bailed, Capt. Dave said. But the hardheads were hooked in 80 feet, surprisingly deep water. Squid was the bait, and the water was 70 degrees or very warm, and seas were calm, but fog was thick. Dave will move the boat to Cape May for fall striper fishing this coming Monday, and charters will be ready to fish for the linesiders the following Saturday.

<b>Longport</b>

Bottom fishing on the <b>Stray Cat</b> was pretty good the past couple of days for lots of sea bass and porgies, and some nice-sized ones were coming up, Capt. Mike said. A trip today was going to try fishing deep in 120 feet to see if big sea bass were there. No blackfish were around so far, and a small one was hooked Friday that was the first of the season on the boat, and the water was incredibly warm. Mike saw temps around 73 degrees, a full 10 degrees above the usual temps at this time of year, so no fish were migrating yet. Open-boat sea bass trips will launch this Wednesday, running daily, and call to reserve. Open striped bass trips will take place twice a week, probably on Sundays and Thursdays, when the striper migration begins. Charters will also start at that time that will chase stripers from 6 p.m. to 12 midnight, eeling the fish along the inlets and beach front. Open blackfishing trips will begin November 15, when the bag limit increases to eight fish from the current limit of one. 

<b>Sea Isle City</b>

On the <b>Captain Robbins</b> patrons put together mixed bags of sea bass, croakers, porgies, triggerfish, small blues, bar jacks and amberjacks, Capt. John said. No trip sailed Tuesday, but the boat headed out the rest of the week, and the pool winners were: Jeff Stetler with a 3-1/2-pound sea bass Sunday; Jean Schaller with a 4-1/2-pound sea bass Monday; John Reagan with a 4-3/4-pound triggerfish Tuesday; Larry Benvins with a 4-1/2-pound trigger Thursday; James Wood with a 3-3/4-pound trigger Friday; Henry Sumers with a 4-1/2-pound trigger Saturday; and Chris Lanzalotti with a 4-1/4-pound trigger Sunday. A charter with the Pete Cocci group sailed on the boat Friday evening and landed sea bass, blues, eels, croakers, bar jacks, and amberjacks, and Dwight Chase won the pool with a 4-1/2-pound bluefish. The Captain Robbins is bottom fishing 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. every day.

Capt. Joe Hughes from <b>Jersey Cape Guide Service</b> and <b>Gibson’s Tackle</b> was fishing the Cape Cod area from Woods Hole, Mass., this weekend with Jay Vonczoernig, he said. Striped bass fishing was great, even if it was slower than past years, and at least 20 a day were fly rodded on chartreuse and white Clousers on sinking lines and Gurglers on floating lines. The bass measured up to 26 or 27 inches, and a bunch of sea bass to 14 inches, all over 12 inches, were jigged, and a tog even hit a jig. False albacore fishing was sporadic, but some were found at Cape Pogue. Other waters fished on the trip included Buzzards Bay and around the Elizabeth Islands and Martha’s Vineyard. The water was 68 degrees, very warm, and the warmest Joe ever saw up there at this time of year. Back at home, striped bass fishing in the back bay behind Sea Isle should still be good, and as October wears on, the first blitzes under working birds should start to take place in the bay, and that action usually begins with bluefish before stripers. Plenty of bait including mullet and bunker still filled the water before Joe left. In November the fishing will begin to switch a little more to the ocean under birds, and Joe expects to fish clear through December. The water around Sea Isle was also very warm, and fishing looked like it would be running late this season.

<b>Cape May</b>

<b>Copacetic Sportfishing</b> did some bottom fishing, and lots of croakers and blues were hooked in 40 feet along the beach front on cut bait, he said. A few trips also stopped at the reefs and anchored for sea bass, and there was tons of action, but only 1 in 4 of the fish was a keeper. Sea bassing will improve as days grow colder and shorter. Mike was waiting to begin striped bass fishing, and he expects to start by the end of the month, sailing to the Cape May Rips to fish with bucktails or live bait and to Delaware Bay to fish with bunker chunks. The cool weather forecast for this week should help. A few stripers were beginning to bite at the inlets and such areas, so the fish were at least beginning to move, but the fall migration hadn’t really begun yet. Striper charters are booking up pretty well, but a few dates are left. Copacetic is also open for fall shark fishing, and although many anglers think of spring as the time to go sharking, the beasts return during fall on their migration south. The action is just as good as in spring, and maybe the only difference is a shorter season, because the fish sometimes push quickly to southern waters. Book a trip and fight your makos and threshers on their return trip past the coast.

An overnight trip fished Wilmington Canyon with <b>Jaftica Sportfishing</b> from Friday to Saturday and did very well, Capt. Ray said. Some nice yellowfin tuna to 80 pounds were nailed on the chunk at night, when a swordfish was also released, and a couple of gaffer, 15- or 16-pound mahi mahi were trolled. There was lots of bait in the water, and squid kept appearing, and so did blue runners and such, and the tuna were hooked on sardines and live squid. Ray thought the water was 75.5 degrees, and tuna also seemed to get boated at the Baltimore, Spencer and Lindenkohl canyons. Charters are also available for croakers, bottom fish and blues along the beach front and for blues at the Cape May Rips. Striped bass charters will probably begin the third week of October, fishing the Cape May Rips and Delaware Bay. Jaftica held a raffle for a striper charter this year to benefit the recovery a mate from the boat who was injured in an accident, and the drawing was being held last night, so stay tuned for an announcement of the winner.

Brian Zasey and Chip Froehlich overnighted at Wilmington Canyon on the <b>Heavy Hitter</b> from Saturday to Sunday, and a swordfish was released, and two tuna got off, Capt. George said. Trips will probably sail offshore another week, and striped bass charters will kick off at the end of the month. Until then, bottom fishing trips will be available for croakers and other fish along the beach front, and lots of blues could be landed at the Cape May Rips.

Bunker chunking for striped bass usually begins during the second week of this month, or in other words this week, but the fishing might start late because of warm water, said Matt from <b>Jim’s Bait & Tackle</b> in a fax. If you dropped a piece of bunker down now, sharks would be all over it. Surf fishing was similar to the previous week, and mullet schooled the wash, and mostly bluefish gave up action. Striped bass were few and far between, but John Peters did weigh in an 8-1/2-pound striper. The best striper fishing now was along the bridges at night, and high tides were taking place in the evenings this week, good conditions for the fishing. Weakfishing in the ocean off Hereford Inlet slowed down a bit, but kingfishing there picked up. Capt. Steve London on the Stanley Rose fished outside the bull buoy and lifted aboard 24 nice kingfish on clam. Offshore boaters found hot tuna fishing at Lindenkohl Canyon on the overnight chunk. The crew of the Jenny Lynn II pinned down 13 tuna to 96 pounds Friday night. Wilmington Canyon also gave up good tuna chunking at night and catches on the troll during the day. On the Salty Susan eight yellowfins were nailed, and the anglers went 1 for 2 on swordfish and also scored three gaffer dolphin, all on the chunk on the west wall of the Wilmington. Anglers on the Almost Enuff also fished the Wilmington and trolled nine longfin tuna and a wahoo.

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