<b>Brooklawn</b>

Striped bass fishing got a whole lot better, and catches were made at all the usual fall places, including the bottom of 60-Foot Slough, the top of 20-Foot Slough and off Pierce’s Point, said Rick from <b>Big Timber Bait & Tackle</b>. He also heard about a few that came from the Horseshoe, and others taken from the Cape May Rips. A 50-some-pounder was supposedly hauled from the Rips. Stripers to 40 inches could be found all through the usual spots, and hefty bass were entered in the weekend’s American Striper Association Tournament in Cape May. Stripers sometimes schooled along the coast, including off Townsend’s Inlet and at the Sea Isle Lumps. Blues also traveled off the coast, including at 5-Fathom Bank and Sea Isle Ridge. Croakers could still be located in Delaware Bay, and white perch and catfish were on tap in the rivers and creeks around Port Norris and Fortescue. Strong winds mostly kept fishing to a minimum on the Delaware River near the shop. But smallmouth bass could be fought, and largemouths were around. Smallmouths gather as far south on the Delaware as the Schuylkill River on the Pennsvylvania side and National Park and Mantua Creek on the Jersey side. Lots of catfish filled the river, and schoolie stripers always hold in the Big D. Bigger stripers were sometimes bloodwormed in the river along the Camden piers. Rick heard no word about ocean fishing from sea bass to tuna. Strong winds probably didn’t help, and tuna anglers seemed to call it quits for the year. Offshore tuna fishing was mostly a bust this year, because the fish failed to move in to the canyons along the Continental Shelf off the Garden State. But fishing for white and blue marlin and mahi mahi was great at the canyons, and plenty of bluefin tuna ran along inshore waters.  Big Timber Bait & Tackle carries bait and tackle for all fishing from freshwater to offshore. That includes a complete supply of lures and baits for rivers and lakes; rigs, tackle and frozen bait for bays; and offshore lures, rigs and baits.

<b>Port Elizabeth</b>

Customers boated striped bass at the southern tip of 60-Foot Slough and toward Brandywine Lighthouse, said Sharon from <b>The Girls Place Bait & Tackle</b>. Some caught, and some didn’t, but at least stripers were there. Fresh bunker, the favorite bait, became difficult to obtain, because the bunker boats rarely sailed in the windy weather. The bait ran out at the shop, and not much frozen remained early in the week. Sharon sounded busy when she gave the report over the telephone, and apparently lots of anglers were heading out, so she couldn’t talk much. Striped bass season was on! The Girls Place is located on Route 47 just after Route 55 ends, and is the long, one-story, yellow building on the right.

<b>Fortescue</b>

<b>Andrea Charters</b> racked up good catches of striped bass over the weekend, and lots of the fish filled the bay, and anglers aboard were given two choices, Capt. Dave said. They could choose to fish the upper bay, hooking larger numbers of the linesiders, but smaller ones with a few keepers mixed in. Or they could fish the lower bay for larger, trophy bass, but fewer hook-ups. Most charters are anglers who fish relatively infrequently, choosing the option to land more of the bass, playing catch and release with throwbacks, putting occasional keepers in the box. The charters might release 30 or 40 undersized fish and bag a few to take home. “There are fish that look good at the dock, and there are fish that look better on the table,” Dave said. Like all fish, the smaller bass with younger flesh tend to taste better. The bass on the upper bay ranged about 24 to 30 inches, and Dave knew about bass landed on the lower bay that weighed 40 to 50 pounds. Some private anglers especially will choose to spend the time to whack a big one, waiting for bites. All the stripers on the Andrea were caught on bunker chunks, sometimes soaked with bunker oil. But plain chunks or the bunker heads, usually the fish’s favorite, for whatever reasons, can also work. One of the boat’s anglers chunked 11 bass himself. Saturday’s weather and seas were calm, and Sunday’s conditions were a little rough. A ton of boats filled the waters, probably the most all year.

The <b>Salt Talk</b> will now run open-boat trips for striped bass 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays when no charter is booked, Capt. Howard said. Call ahead to confirm whether a charter will sail, and the boat is already chartered this Friday through Sunday. A trip left the dock last Sunday, but windy, rough weather hampered catches, and the boat wouldn’t lay right, and the lines went haywire, and only junk fish bit. Not enough people showed up to sail Saturday, but that’ll probably change because of all the catches reported from the weekend. Howard fished with friends instead Saturday, and a 36-incher was bagged, and another run-off got off. The Salt Talk’s trips fish either bunker chunks or eels, whatever works best at the time. Waters were 54 degrees, already cool, and that’s good. Last year the temp didn’t drop till the end of the month.

<b>Bivalve</b>

Boaters from <b>Longreach Marina</b> returned with a bunch of big striped bass they belted from the southern bay, and the crowd was like gangbusters Saturday, Pat said. Sunday’s weather was rough, keeping many home. But on Saturday the parking lot was full, and Pat had to direct traffic a good while. Customers on Monday also creamed a slough of catches, so the bite seemed to continue. Fresh bunker for bait was scarce, and none was available Monday, but Pat expected to stock some today. The Atco Hookers Striper Tournament took place Saturday, and John Howard from the Natalie Jean won first prize with a 58-1/4-pound whopper. Albert DiStefano from the Old Lady Grady took second with a 50-pound beauty, and Cliff Knaub from the Argonaut scored third with a 47-1/2-pound lunker. Very respectable sizes. Nick Cook, not entered in the tournament, pummeled two 43- and 49-pound stripers. More anglers and their catches included: Brad and Travis Phillips, four stripers 31, 37, 41 and 44 inches; Gary Wilson and Marian Kennedy, stripers 37, 38, 42 and 44 inches; Hal Butdorf and Kevin Boulden, two 44-inch stripers and two 36- and 39-inch stripers; Sean Harris and John Goldsboro, 38-inch striper; Tony Rizzo and Anthony Conigliaro, 30- and 40-inch stripers; Billy Dilks, 38-1/4-inch stripers; the Gloucester City crew, 36-, 38- and 40-inch stripers; Joe Hossinger, 39-inch striper; Tom Dubois from the Poppy’s Toy, 43-1/8-inch striper; Cathryn Osborne, 41-1/2-nch striper; David, Carmen and Ben Spiewak, 36-, 38-1/4-, 38-5/8-, 41- and 43-inch stripers; and Ed Gallagher, 23-1/2-pound striper. Lot of large stripers!

<b>Dennisville</b>

At <b>Captain Tate’s Bait & Tackle</b> customers said they hauled in very good catches of striped bass, Tim said. Sixty-foot Slough, 20-Foot Slough, Tussy’s Slough and off Bug Light all produced. Fresh bunker is stocked, even though the bait became scarce. But anglers should call ahead to reserve, because the menhaden are selling out quickly. The shop’s striper tournament kicked off Friday and runs to Sunday. The entry fee is $25, and all the funds are paid back in first, second and third prizes for the biggest fish. Entrants must enter no later than the morning before fishing. Customers and their catches already checked in for the contest included: George Duffield, 39-pound striper; Ed Dempsey, 36-pound striper; Brian Payne, 30-pound striper; Dennis Quinn, 29-pound striper; Joe Napoleon, 28- and 26-pound stripers; Bill Ludlam, 28-pound striper; Quinn Overcash, 27-pound striper; Jimmy Duchelia, 26-pound striper;  George Jones, 22-pound striper; and Carmen Ray, 19-pound striper. Be sure to check out Captain Tate’s new meals. Anglers can call ahead and order bait, breakfast, lunch and dinner to have it all waiting for them when they arrive. Now that’s convenient!

<b>Cape May</b>

Large striped bass swam 60-Foot Slough and near Brandywine Light, said Capt. Bob from the <b>Down Deep</b>. On Friday Mike Gardner’s charter hauled in a couple of stripers to 35 pounds, and on Saturday Bill Clark’s party shellacked 14 stripers including six keepers to 35 pounds. The Holman Ford gang also put the brakes on stripers to 35 pounds on Sunday.

Two keeper striped bass–a 40-inch 25-pounder and a 33-inch 18-pounder—were bagged and four throwbacks were released on the bay with <b>Fine Line Fishing Charters</b> on Saturday, Capt. Dave said. The fish were bunker chunked at 60-Foot Slough, and the area was packed with boats, and tournaments were going on. All the bass bit on incoming tide earlier in the day, and when the tide turned, winds stopped and the weather started getting warm, the action seemed to end. Spiny dogfish reportedly swarmed closer to the ocean, so Dave stayed away from the area. Waters were 52 degrees where he fished. Be sure to check out the $50 discount on weekday charters. See the boat’s web site for details.  

Striped bass were targeted Friday and Saturday on the bay on the <b>Heavy Hitter</b>, Capt. George said. Sunday was windy, and George knew a couple of boaters who tried fishing that day but came back early. Ray DeCrane’s charter was the crew Friday on the boat, whacked a striper larger than 35 pounds and lost another near the vessel. Ross Restuccio’s crew from South Jersey Well Drilling was the charter Saturday, drilled four keepers more than 20 pounds apiece and released a throwback. All the fish were bunker chunked, and striped bass were starting to come into the bay, and catches seemed to first pick up Friday and Saturday. The fishing was luck of the draw so far, and sometimes boaters by chance got on the right spot and connected more than others. The fishing seemed better Saturday, surprising because 500 boats must’ve been on the waters, and a few striper tournaments were taking place. The bay was 54 to 55 degrees, and a few stripers were pulled from the Cape May Rips this season, but not much seemed to go on there at this point. George noticed no boats at the Rips on Friday, but a few seemed to fish there Saturday.

Five striped bass to 30 pounds were beaten on the southern bay on Saturday with <b>O-Beth Sportfishing</b>, Capt. Eric said. The fish were bunker chunked, and lots seemed to be around that day, and waters were probably in the mid 50s. Eric heard nothing about catches at the Cape May Rips.

Anglers on the <b>Fishin’ Fever</b> bunker chunked striped bass to 30 pounds on the bay, Capt. Tom said. A bunch of shorts were around, but lots of stripers, including larger ones, moved in. A mess of bass and blues were moving down the coast and got trolled and jigged. The Cape May Rips were cloudy from all the windy weather but started to clear up, and Tom’s friends were striper fishing there yesterday, and he was going to find out how the waters looked and fishing went. The Fishin’ Fever will keep fishing the bay for bass but will also ply the Rips. Fishing along the beachfront will also be done when conditions are unfavorable in the bay or Rips, like cloudy waters or winds that kick around seas. Tog charters will be in the mix when the bag limit increases November 16, and the tog population seemed tremendous.

<b>Copacetic Sportfishing</b>’s striped bass fishing kicked off toward the end of the week on the lower bay, nailing a few of the fish on bunker chunks through the weekend, Capt. Mike said. The linesiders ranged from 28-inch, just barley keepers to 40-inch 25-pounders. They swam anywhere from 15 feet to 35 feet in the 55-degree waters, and both tides produced. The fishing will only get better, and catches should turn on at the Cape May Rips this week if the windy weather lets up, so waters clear. Anglers on the boat fish the Rips for stripers with live spots, live eels and artificials like bucktails.

Nine stripers, including five keepers 37 to 45 inches—a 25-pounder—were bunker chunked on the bay Saturday with <b>Legal Limit Charters</b>, Capt. T.J. said.  His brother ran a charter on the boat Sunday on the bay, and seas were rough, and not much was going on.

The bay’s striped bass fishing picked up fairly well, and double-digit catches were not uncommon by later in the week, said Matt from <b>Jim’s Bait & Tackle</b> in a fax. The linesiders seemed to hold in deeper waters in 25 to 30 feet along the edges up and down 60-Foot Slough, Tussy’s Slough and the Cock and Balls. Fishing for them at the Cape May Rips was mostly slow, because waters were dirty from winds earlier in the week. The bite there improved somewhat Saturday but was still slow. Surf fishing was also hampered because of chopped up seas, and mostly only short bass were pulled from along the Cape May Point jetties. Sylvia Shaper, 11, weighed in a 35-pound striper she hauled from 60-Foot Slough on Friday. Carl Peters checked in a 32-pound striper, the biggest of 13 he reeled up. Fred Jacobs walloped a 41-pound striper among 10 landed, and Rich Manera bagged stripers 36 ½ pounds, 36 pounds and 12 pounds among eight more tackled.

Back to Top