<b>Staten Island</b>

<b>Outcast Charters</b> was weathered out on a blackfishing trip Friday, but a charter sailed for blacks Saturday, and the boat had to bounce around to different pieces a bit, and some produced better than others, but the catch was excellent in the end, and the anglers limited out, Capt. Joe said. The charter fished in 40 to 55 feet as usual lately, and the fish weighed up to 8 pounds, and the morning seemed better than the afternoon. No striped bass fishing was done, but sometimes blackfish charters will stop and target stripers under working birds near the beaches on the way home. A charter was also going to run for blacks Sunday, but the trip had to be cancelled because of an illness in Joe’s family. Blackfish are a specialty on the boat, and the season is really kicking, but striper charters are also available.

<b>Keyport</b>

Striped bass fishing was in full swing, but lots of small fish were mixed in, said Chris from <b>Crabby’s Bait & Tackle</b> in a fax. Good reports were coming from all along the bay shore and the ocean, but for better-sized bass, “the night bite is the right bite,” Chris said. Clams, bunker and live eels got the hits. Winds kept most boaters at the docks, though tons of birds worked the bay. Trolling should be great at Sandy Hook Reef and Romer Shoal when winds calm down. No decent reports were heard about blackfishing because of the winds.

Pat Harrold’s party of six fished near Hoffman Island with <b>Papa’s Angels Charters</b> on Saturday and fought 14 blues and six short stripers to 26 inches that they released, Capt. Joe said. Eels, bunker and clams were brought along, but all the fish hit metal under a huge group of working birds. The anglers had a great time, Joe said, and the weather was somewhat windy but doable under mostly cloudy skies, and few other boats were fishing. Two spaces are available on an open-boat trip for stripers Thanksgiving Day from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m., so anglers can be back in time for turkey. Open-boat trips also sail every day when no charter is booked, and call to reserve.

Capt. Carmine from the <b>Lucky Carm</b> was in Naples, Fla., during the week, but his friend Doug Larson from Longfin Tackle took a trip that trolled more than 35 stripers, and kept eight, on the Brooklyn side of the Verrazano Bridge on Saturday, Carmine said. The weather was looking bad in the coming days, but Wednesday looked okay, and charters are available on the Lucky Carm both that day and for six hours on Thanksgiving. The weather’s been tough a lot lately, but Carmine will keep the boat in the water. In Naples he fished from the Naples Pier and reeled in Spanish mackerel, a couple of bonito and a king mackerel on a 2-ounce Hopkins jig. If anyone ever goes, he recommends fishing the pier highly, and it’s free, and no license is required on the pier. Fish were busting the surface, and dolphins even chased them around. Diesel was $3.75 a gallon there, and the Naples head boats raised their prices to $70 a head from $40 last year. 

<b>Atlantic Highlands</b>

Trips that mainly fished for tog, but that also kept bagging porgies, got under way on the <b>Atlantic Star</b> on Saturday and Sunday between the rough weather, Capt. Tom said. Tog became the primary target because the bag limit increased to eight on Thursday from the previous limit of one, although porgies, the previous focus on the boat, kept biting at many of the same places as the tog, and bait was supplied for both fish on the trips. Saturday’s trip fished Sandy Hook Reef, and a few blacks were taken, and the high hook scored four, and another lifted aboard three keepers, and another claimed two, and some picked up none. So it wasn’t great fishing, but some blacks were found, and one family fished for porgies and took home a bucket of the scup. On Sunday the weather was nasty, but blackfishing was actually a little better. The boat fished at the Scotland Grounds, because winds kept it from sailing to the reef, and a couple of drops produced a few fish, and another couple were a little better, and most patrons pulled a few keepers over the rails, and Tom thought the high hook returned to port with five. Anglers will see if the ongoing stretch of stormy weather pushes out the porgies, but if it does, customers will just fish for blacks. But until the porgy fishing slows, both green crabs for tog and clams for porgies and/or sea bass will be supplied.  The Atlantic Star is bottom fishing for blackfish, porgies and sea bass from 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily. No trip will sail Thanksgiving Day, but the boat will be back at it on Black Friday.

Fishing was poor on two trips Saturday and Sunday, and some blues bit, and so did dogfish and skates, but few stripers grabbed baits, said Capt. Mick from the <b>CRT II</b>. The trips fished all over, including Ambrose Channel, Sandy Hook Channel, Romer Shoal, and the clam beds. The CRT II will sail this season through Saturday, and openings are available this week, and Mick hoped stripers turned back on after the storm.

A striped bass trip made it out Saturday morning on the <b>Teal</b>, and the weather made it difficult to leave the dock on any other outing in the past several days, Capt. Rich said. The fishing was a little slow, and anglers just had to wait out the weather, but some of the fish were jigged, and so were blues. Patrons had been eeling the fish on evening trips, and that action was strong before the storm. Lots of bait filled the water, and plenty of stripers could be jigged, but anglers had to get to them. The Teal is fishing for stripers 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. and from 3:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. every Friday through Sunday. But a trip is also expected to fish 7 a.m. Thanksgiving Day and will return a little earlier than the usual time.

<b>Highlands</b>

Jigging for striped bass was very good from Sandy Hook Bay to Long Branch during the past days with <b>Fisher Price Charters</b>, and blues were mixed in, Capt. Derek said. Most of the bass were shorts, but keepers to 26 pounds got boated Saturday. The bay was 52 to 55 degrees, and the ocean was 57 degrees, and a few dates were open for charters this week and next, and the season was running out, so now’s the time. Besides striper trips, tog charters are also available, and Derek tested the waters for tog a couple of times, and the fish were plentiful.

Three anglers looked for striped bass at night with <b>Sandy Hook Fishing Adventures</b> and limited out on linesiders to 34 inches and released about 20 throwbacks, Capt. Bob said in an e-mail. Another group of three left the dock in the afternoon and pulled up a boxful of blues to 12 pounds, two keeper stripers to 30 inches and dozens of throwbacks from 24 to 27 inches. Fishing’s been hot, and every day’s been getting better. All weekend charter dates are now booked until mid December, but prime weekdays are open.

<b>Sea Bright</b>

<b>Two Rivers Charters</b> fished the Shrewsbury and Navesink rivers Thursday, because of the weather, and stripers turned on during slack tide only, and probably 10 of the fish to 29 or 30 inches were hooked, all on jigs, Capt. Fletcher Chayes said. On Friday a trip fished off Sandy Hook Point and jigged all blues, no bass, to 18 pounds under working birds. A charter Saturday morning stopped at the tip of the Hook and caught some bass and a few blues but left the fish biting, because the plan was to fish the Shrewsbury Rocks. At the rocks small stripers and blues to 8 pounds were fly rodded, and Fletcher said he probably should have stayed at the tip of the Hook, because the stripers were bigger there, but the anglers still connected. The fish toward the rocks bit anywhere from 20 to 50 feet, a larger spread of depths than usual, as west winds drifted the boat offshore.

<b>Neptune</b>

Seas were brutal, but the boats from <b>Last Lady Fishing Charters</b> got out Sunday, one putting customers into stripers to 22 pounds, and the other fishing a mid-range wreck, Capt. Ralph said. The wreck fishing produced fewer fish than Ralph would like, but cod to 10 pounds and sea bass to 6 pounds were pulled up. Another mid-range wreck trip will fish the third week of December, and openings are available. A tog trip heads out Tuesday.

<b>Brielle</b>

Fishing was a blow-out yesterday because of winds and the storm, but some boaters were out in the morning and picked up a few stripers and lots of blues, even though they got beat up and probably shouldn’t have been out there, said Dave from <b>The Reel Seat</b>. Well, actually, he said they were “getting their brains handed to them, and if they had common sense, they would come back.” But how serious he was is unknown. Surf fishers in the morning fought 8- to 10-pound blues but also some stripers. Saturday’s weather was better, and both boaters and surf casters reeled in striped bass and blues. The stripers were smaller fish, and for example the shop was a weigh-in station for the Leggett’s Striper Tournament during the weekend, and a 13-pound striper was the biggest that a boater had entered when Dave gave this report yesterday, and a 10.9-pounder was the largest from the surf. Boaters trolled offerings such as shad rigs, and some customers said they trolled 50 bass and only one keeper. So there was a good number of fish, but ones with any size were scarce. Surf fishing seemed to be about finding the fish at any given time. Dave’s uncle hit the surf and would pick a striper, two or none at a spot, move to another place, pick another fish or not, and so on. Loads of sand eels kept schooling the ocean, and now peanut bunker had arrived. As far as Dave knew, stripers still bit in the Manasquan River, and blues swam along the inlet. Tog reports were mostly scarce because of the weather, but toggers supposedly scored well off Northern Monmouth County on Saturday.

The <b>Reel-Ality</b> pushed out to the ocean Saturday, and the anglers got into non-stop action with lots of short striped bass and a bunch of blues, Capt. Larry said. The fish were about an even split, and some were jigged on shad bodies, and some were trolled on tube lures, and both methods produced doubles, and the fish were all over, biting one after another. The boat took a right out of the inlet and fished from 2 miles south to about 9 miles south or down to around the Thunderbird. The schools swam from 25-foot depths to 70-foot depths, and birds were busting, and anglers could hardly do anything wrong. Fall fishing!

A charter was aboard for a cruise to Manhattan on Friday, but Capt. Mike from the <b>Katie H</b> had his eye on the bazillion birds and breaking fish stacked up from Elberon to Monmouth Beach, so on the way home he stopped for 20 minutes, he said. His first cast produced a 28-1/2-inch striped bass, and one of the people on the cruise hooked up. Mike also landed two shorts, and some blues also bit. “They just won’t go away,” he said. Anglers probably could’ve caught all the stripers they wanted if they stayed a few hours. The water was 54 degrees or in the mid 50s, and the Katie H is now fishing for stripers, blues and tog, and plenty of openings are available, including Thursday through Sunday. The crew will probably call it a season after the first weekend of December, unless someone wants to fish afterward.

<b>Point Pleasant</b>

Action was very good on the <b>Gambler</b>’s daily trips in the ocean this past week, and on Saturday’s trip lots of 4- to 10-pound blues were jigged, and so were lots of short bass and some keepers, Capt. Bob said. A variety of jigs worked, and Dave Morck threw a 5-ounce Krocodile, let the jig hit bottom and then retrieved it quickly, and he reeled in a limit of two stripers plus a bonus-tag striper, lots of short bass and a number of blues. The bigger bass hit toward the surface, and Eric Leash used the same method and boated a 31-inch striper and a 30-incher. A striper close to 20 pounds was the biggest on the trip, and the action was non-stop and very good. Lots of bait including peanut bunker, sand eels, snapper blues, larger anchovies and rainfish filled the water, and that should keep stripers moving in. Capt. Bob knew about a large body of stripers that was pushing down from Long Island, so he hoped they were about to make a stop at local waters. He noted that when anglers see forecasts for strong northwest winds and stiff seas, conditions that appeared toward the end of this week, that actually produces some of the best fishing. Those winds can kick up seas to 6 or 8 feet farther offshore, but seas closer to land, where striper fishing takes place, are protected from westerly blows and can be fine. So don’t let such forecasts keep you from coming down. The Gambler’s final tuna trip of the year sailed last week from Sunday to Monday at Hudson Canon, and the fishing was slow. The water was cooling down fast, and although the crew found a shot of warmer temps, no fish were there. The boat then switched to tilefishing, but that bite was also slow. Bob heard afterward that commercial boats had previously worked the western edge of the canyon where the Gambler had tilefished, so maybe that was the cause. The Gambler is now fishing for striped bass7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. every day and will also fish Thanksgiving Day. That trip will only run 7:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., and the fare will be reduced by $10. Because of all the bait and fish, Bob expects striper fishing to last through December, and afterward the boat will switch to giant sea bass fishing offshore in January. Those long-range trips will leave port every Thursday and Saturday, and reservations are beginning to be accepted.

Steve Magyari’s gang of three anglers jumped aboard for a jigging trip with <b>Reel Class Charters</b> on Saturday, broke the inlet at 7:30 a.m. and found birds working the water for miles, both north and south, Capt. Allen said in an e-mail. The boat stopped off Jenkinson’s Pier, and the anglers immediately hooked fish—cocktail blues, many short stripers and some “measurables”—and they stayed with the fish a while. Then they ran north off Spring Lake, found more action that was somewhat more spread out, but the fish were bigger, and Steve’s brother R.J. walloped a 19-pound blue, one of the biggest ever taken on the boat. A couple of keeper stripers were then bagged, and all the fish ate jigs. They continued north, and Allen got a call about more fish, and the anglers landed some more off Deal, and then they pushed farther north to Long Branch. Then they found the mother lode! Birds swarmed like an Alfred Hitchcock movie, and fish swam the top, bottom and everywhere, rolling beside the boat without caring at times, and poppers, jigs, Storm shads and nearly anything caught them, depending on where the fish held in the water column, and the anglers followed the fish all the way to Shark River Inlet. The day was pure insanity with no lulls until the trip ended at 3 p.m., and the only time fish weren’t being caught was when the boat was sailing. Two to four fish were hooked at a time, and the totals landed were incredible. The stripers measured 20 to 29 inches, and shorts far outnumbered keepers. But some nice keepers were boxed by the end of the day. The blues weighed 3 to 19 pounds. You gotta love fall.

On the <b>Dauntless</b> anglers sailed every day, even during Sunday’s storm, and bottom fishing was pretty good that day, mostly for sea bass and porgies, Capt. Willie said. The boat fished in shallower water Sunday, because conditions were rough, and it fished in deeper water during better weather Saturday, when patrons boated mostly sea bass and ling. But some blackfish were also lifted aboard that day, and so were two big striped bass, Fazal Kohn’s 29.3-pounder and Tom Durham’s 27.4-pounder. The vessel is carrying both green crabs for tog bait and clams for the other bottom fish, and trips are running 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. every day. The Dauntless will fish Thanksgiving Day but will probably return an hour early.

Striped bass and blues were dragged from the surf in the past days until the storm, and boaters were bailing the fish close to shore, said Rob Sr. from <b>Gates Bait & Tackle</b>. The surf fishers threw Deadly Dicks, Ava jigs, Krocodiles and such metal, and sand eels and peanut bunker schooled. Clams or bunker also worked as always. Once the weather turned bad, anglers moved to Manasquan Inlet for pretty good catches of blackfish on green crabs. Fishing was generally good, and all the baits mentioned are stocked. The shop is conveniently located within walking distance of the inlet, the surf and the charter and party boat fleet. The grounds also feature a motel, very popular with anglers, who stay the night and avoid an early or late drive to or from a charter or party boat or anglers who simply stay at the motel and make a fishing vacation out of the visit.

<b>Seaside</b>

An angler checked in today and said  the surf was fishable at Seaside, and he was holding with 6 ounces on outgoing tide, but no fish were showing up yet, said the fishing report on <b>Betty and Nick’s Bait & Tackle</b>’s web site. But Sunday’s surf fishing was the best of the fall so far. One customer said striped bass fishing was non-stop for 3 hours at Barnegat Inlet’s north jetty, and another said fishing for alligator blues and stripers was red hot at Brick Beach. The fish were also blowing up at other places throughout the day, such as Area 18 at Island Beach State Park and the bathing beach in the morning at the park. John Bushell Jr. from the shop pulled two short bass and two big blues from the wash north of the Casino Pier on a 2-1/2-inch Custom Lures Smooth Eel, the hottest lure around, casting into the northeast winds like a champ and swimming like an eel. The lure was out of stock at the shop, but John hoped more would arrive Wednesday. Then he got a call about fish farther north but moving south, and after driving around looking a while, he found them at the Manasquan Inlet pocket. Anglers there were lined up and hooking fish big time, and John ended up with a dozen huge blues and stripers until the northeast winds “gave me a headache,” he said. A long list of at least 30 anglers who reported catching fish that day was in the report, and many of those anglers reported a load of fish apiece, mostly stripers but a fair number of blues and even a 76-pound black drum. The surf today was 2 to 3 feet, choppy and 54 degrees.  <a href=" http://www.bettyandnicks.com/fish.shtml" target="_blank"> Click here</a> for the latest.

After a steady pick of mostly striped bass with some blues mixed in Friday in the surf, Saturday’s fishing was disappointing, but Sunday’s action in the wash turned back on big time, said the fishing report on <b>Grumpy’s Tackle</b>’s web site. A total of 46 fish—40 stripers and 6 blues—were weighed in Sunday. Many of the striper weighed 9 to 10 pounds, and a 25.7-pounder was the largest, and lots slurped down Grumpy clams, but others smacked peanut bunker, metal, needlefish, poppers, soft plastic lures and a few other offerings. The weather was stormy Sunday, but no matter. A load of Montauk Mike’s lures recently arrived, including jointed eels, eel jigs, Peanut Bunker Spoons and poppers. A supply of Bomber lures, 5-1/2-inch needlefish and Rascal Pencil Poppers that are devastating also hit the shelves. <a href="http://www.grumpystackle.com/fishingreports/" target="_blank"> Click here</a> for updates. 

<b>Waretown</b>

Scores of stripers must’ve been hooked with <b>Perfect Drift Sportfishing</b> yesterday in the ocean, and two were keepers, and blues were mixed in, Capt. John said. The fish were definitely out there by now, and anglers just needed to find a pod and get on them. The schools ranged up and down the beaches, both north and south, and the direction didn’t really matter, hitting from the beach to 60 feet. Diamond jigs hooked the fish, and John at first was going to troll, but too many boats were chasing the schools. Lots of vessels were fishing, and winds were pretty strong and from the west. The water was 52 degrees, and charters were cancelled because of the forecasts for yesterday and today. A trip would’ve been possible Friday, and winds were strong but from the west, so waters close to shore were protected compared with farther offshore. Boaters who did fish that day took a beating but caught. The fishing was about the same throughout last week, with birds working the water over bait, and fish underneath them. More trips are slated to sail with Perfect Drift on Wednesday and from Friday through Sunday. A friend surf fished at Island Beach State Park yesterday and landed three keeper stripers, and surf fishing’s been good for blues and bass.

<b>Barnegat Light<b>

When wind-driven, northeasterly rains with 4- to 6-foot seas weren’t kicked up, the weather was blowing even harder, with 30 to 40 m.p.h. northwesterly gales this past week, said Capt. Steve from <b>Reel Fantasea Charters</b> in an e-mail. So fishing along the ocean beaches took a hit, forcing cancellations or trips to return early. Still, those who braved the conditions slammed striped bass and blues non-stop when they could sail. The only bad part about the fishing was that the weather dictated how long the anglers could safely stay with the fish. So fall fishing was in full throttle, and as long as the weather stays cooperative, the fishing “should be a slam fest until further notice!” he said. He wished everyone a happy, healthy Thanksgiving.   

<b>Beach Haven</b>

Tog became the target on the <b>Miss Beach Haven</b>, because the bag limit last week was raised to eight from the current limit of one, and the togging was good so far, Capt. Frank said. The fishing was excellent Saturday, and the anglers didn’t limit out, but they pulled up an incredible number of the blackfish to 5 pounds. Seas 6 to 8 feet made fishing tougher Sunday, but tog were picked all day, and plenty of anglers scored four to six keepers. Only tog and no other fish were biting on these trips. The Miss Beach Haven is sailing for tog 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. this Friday through Saturday, and after the Thanksgiving Weekend the boat will resume its usual schedule of sailing the same hours on Saturdays and Sundays.  

<b>Atlantic City</b>

Lots of stripers, plentiful, including keepers, were beached in the surf, and the run was picking up, said Noel from <b>One Stop Bait & Tackle</b>. Ten- and 12-inch bunker schooled, and no bluefish did, but fairly big blues were sometimes battled at Longport, but they came through and left. Sharpies were fooling the bass on live eels and clams, and tog were hitting along the jetty rocks on green crabs and clams, and all these baits are stocked.

<b>Margate</b>

Stripers, monster blues and tog were getting boated daily on the Jessie O’ Fleet or the ocean-going <b>Jessie O’</b> and the back-bay boat the <b>Fish N’ Fun</b>, an e-mail from the fleet said. Stripers from 15 to 20 pounds and slammer blues over 12 pounds were hauled aboard this past week. Anglers onboard competed in Captain Andy’s Marina’s Striper Tournament this weekend, and Doug Derrickson boated a 17-pound striper on the trip. Both vessels are sailing on two trips daily at 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. for stripers, monster blues and tog. Space is available for an annual Thanksgiving Day trip from 6 a.m. to 12 noon, and a Black Friday Special will feature one fare at half price when you bring a friend, running 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

<b>Longport</b>

Thirty m.p.h. winds on Thursday, east winds stronger than forecast, kept the <b>Stray Cat</b> from leaving port for tog on the first day that the bag limit jumped to eight from the previous limit of one, Capt. Mike said. But the boat got out Saturday and Sunday, and the anglers on Saturday whacked striped bass and blues under a giant bird play near the beaches. All the stripers were keepers, and the blitz was heavy duty, a “dream come true,” Mike said. The fish swam off Atlantic City first thing in the morning, and they schooled south down the beach, right in the zone. Patrons jigged A47’s, and the boat is fishing daily on open-boat trips for tog, but when action like that turns up, the trips go right after it. At this time of year the crew keeps jigging rods rigged and ready to go, and it’s just a matter of breaking them out. Sundays’ trip tog fished in stiff, 4- to 6-foot seas from G.E. Reef to O.C. Reef, and lots of the fish that bit were smaller, but a couple of patrons limited out. Fishing is absolutely outstanding now. “It’s limit to limit fishing,” Mike said. In addition to the open tog trips, striper trips will sail open-boat every Tuesday and Sunday, and if the anglers limit out, they’ll switch to tog.

<b>Sea Isle City</b>

Customers on the <b>Captain Robbins</b> boated lots of sea bass this past week with Capt. John Weigel at the helm, and the vessel is now tog fishing, Capt. John Sullivan, the owner, said. Pool winners were: Jim McPlums with a 9-3/4-pound bluefish on Monday; William Scarry with a 6-1/4-pound blue on Tuesday; and Al Crudele with a 9-3/4-pound blue on Wednesday. On Saturday the boat fished for sea bass, and Bob Furko took the money for a 12-3/4-pound blue, and C.J.Davis, Bob Drain and John Brown each limited out on sea bass, and angling for the knotheads was great for quality fish. Capt. John wanted to thank the Barth Plumbing group from Sea Isle for sailing on the trip. On Sunday the boat tog fished, and Brian Nickson limited out on the slipperies to 6 ¼ pounds, and George and “Hollywood” both limited out on the blackfish to 5 pounds.  The Captain Robbins is fishing for tog 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily, and green crabs for bait are gratis.

Tom Barnes and friend Dave tackled a dozen blues to 8 pounds, mostly on 5-3/4-inch Fin-S Fish on 1-ounce jigheads worked along the bottom, at Peacock Shoal on Saturday with Capt. Joe Hughes of <b>Jersey Cape Guide Service</b> and <b>Gibson’s Tackle</b>, Joe said. The action was a steady pick all day, not red hot but good. The fish were spitting up sand eels, and clouds of the bait were swarming the ocean at least the past couple of weeks. Two flounder also grabbed the jigs, and the ocean was 54 to 55 degrees, and that’s just fine for this time of year. Lots of blues and stripers were holding at 5-Fathom Bank and most inshore lumps, turning up at different spots each day. FFB is beyond the 3-mile limit from shore where stripers can be legally caught, so any linesiders that are hooked there or such places must be released. Joe heard reports about big bluefin tuna that boaters jigging blues and stripers were seeing in the ocean, and that’s typical for this time of year. The bluefins are moving through, not really eating, so they’re difficult to target. Blues and sometimes stripers were blitzing closer to shore and under bird plays at times. Striper fishing was reportedly decent at the Cape May Rips and Delaware Bay. Surf anglers were reeling in stripers on poppers, swimming plugs and clams, and clamming was especially effective at Whale Beach. The back-bay water dropped to 45 degrees from the strong westerly winds, so popper fishing there for striped bass finally slowed down a lot, but that could change. Clamming was producing stripers in the bay, and the fishing wasn’t fast and furious, but the keepers took clams. On another note, tog fishing was good at the wrecks on crabs and clams.

<b>Wildwood</b>

A bunch of anglers fished yesterday despite the storm, but they didn’t seem to hook much, said Fred from <b>No Bones Bait & Tackle</b>. Back-bay anglers were still waiting for striped bass fishing to kick in, and the shop held its back-bay striper tournament Saturday, and among the 11 boaters entered, an angler with an 18-pounder won, and the crew on the same boat also decked a 16-1/2-pounder. When the fish were cleaned, both had an eel in their bellies, and the 18-pounder had 24 clam bellies in its stomach from the clam chumming slick. Anchoring, chumming with clam bellies and fishing with the bellies is the popular way to go in the area. The shop’s rental boats, 17-foot Carolina Skiffs, are available to fish the bay, especially for stripers, through December 31, and clam bellies are well stocked. Striper fishing at the Cape May Rips exploded on Tuesday, and a neighbor of the store’s showed off two stripers 45-1/2-inches and 40-inches that he eeled at the rips. Then on Wednesday a bunch headed to the rips, and big blues invaded and chopped up all the baits. A few boaters seemed to score well on stripers in Delaware Bay at their own spots, but then the weather turned bad. Surf fishing around Wildwood was slow, and surf casters were waiting for the fall run to turn on, and winds in the past days either dirtied the water or filled it with weeds.  One customer saw someone beach a 22-inch redfish, the only red Fred heard about this season.  Tog fishing was going well at the ocean rock piles, and one angler snuck in a trip for tog Thursday morning before the weather deteriorated, bagging a limit of eight in 20 minutes. The same angler and four friends fished Sunday, and all limited out. Many of the tog were around 4 pounds, and Fred heard about an 8-pounder taken from the same place. Fish like the 4-pounders always bite a lot early in the season, when a mess are carpeting the bottom structure.

<b>Cape May</b>

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Back to Top