<b>Brooklawn</b>

Fishing stayed about the same on the bay, and weakfish got picked up at places like the stakes and off the E.P. Tower, and croakers were scattered throughout, said Rick from <b>Big Timber Bait & Tackle</b>. Fall striped bass fishing will be the next big change in the angling, and catches of larger, migrating bass usually begin around Columbus Day or mid October. They’ll be caught in the bay, and not so many will push up the Delaware River near the store in fall, unlike in spring, when huge numbers migrate upriver to spawn. Ship John is about the farthest the fall migrators will go. But smaller keepers, more than during summer, will swim up the river in fall, and those are fish that will spend the winter there. Resident, non-migrating, schoolie stripers currently still held in the river, and fishing for them changes little. They’ll be found at different areas from day to day, depending on where the bait is located, but the usual haunts like at the island off National Park or the river at the Gloucester City Pier will attract them. Largemouth bass fishing on the river continued to improve, as waters cooled, and try fishing along the weed beds, tossing lures such as lipless crank baits, Rat-L-Traps or Spro Aruka Shads. Catfishing also kept improving with falling water temps that perk up the fish, also drawing them to shallower waters than when they hid in deeper, cooler holes in summer. In the ocean offshore boaters lambasted white marlin, a great year for them. Rick heard about trips that produced 8 to 10 hook-ups, and a crew on one boat from Ocean City reportedly clobbered 27 of the fish. The area between Baltimore and Poorman’s canyons was hot. Bluefin tuna fishing on the inshore grounds slowed down when waters cooled after the tropical storm, but a few were still around at the Elephant Trunk. 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>Pennsville</b>

Customers boated weakfish from Sea Breeze to the 6 buoy but also banked the fish from the surf at Fortescue, said Matt from <b>Shag’s Bait & Tackle</b>. Good-sized bluefish were also beached there. The anglers also talked about reeling aboard better-sized croakers than before. Freshwater and debris from rains slowed down fishing on the Delaware River, but the usual schoolie striped bass and white perch could still be hooked. Shedder crabs, the favorite weakfish bait, but also preferred for the stripers, were becoming scarce by this time of year. But fresh bunker or bloodworms will work as a substitute for the linesiders. No fresh bunker will be stocked until the fall migration of stripers kicks off, but bloodworms are on hand. Anglers look for the schoolies at sandbars, oyster beds and structure like bridge pilings. Crabbing on the river and tributaries slowed down, maybe because of the full moon and/or freshwater from rains, but the catches always go up and down and should rebound.

<b>Port Elizabeth</b>

When the weather allowed boaters to fish, they did catch weakfish, and a few customers scored well during the weekend off Fortescue, said Sharon from <b>The Girls Place Bait & Tackle</b>. The fish seemed scattered, and besides off Fortescue, waters off the Maurice River Cove from the 1 buoy to the 2 and 3 buoys to Thompson’s Beach also produced. The supply of live shedder crabs for weakfish bait was becoming scarce, almost finished for the year, and the shop is stocking them when possible, but frozen shedders are on hand and also work. Even hardshelled crabs can work, though the store will probably carry no hardshells the rest of the season, unless a demand develops. But plenty of other baits can be substituted for weakfish, and the trout will bite bloodworms, spots, squid, chicken and artificials like FishBites. Bloodworms tipped with a strip of spot is probably the best substitute. Bloodworms are carried, including extra-large ones that arrive each Wednesday, and fresh spots are on hand. So is squid, chicken soaked in shedder crab oil, FishBites and nearly every bait that’s commonly used at this time of year. Don’t count out the chicken. It works! Croakers also held in the bay, and the bigger ones swam deeper waters 25 or 30 feet, and the southern bay was probably best.  Bay anglers now waited for the fall run of striped bass. 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>Newport</b>

Crabbers at <b>Beaver Dam Boat Rentals</b> averaged a half-bushel or more blueclaws, and the sizes were terrific, Linda said. Freshwater from storms had little effect on Oranokin Creek, where the customers crab from rental boats, and the full moon also had little impact. But the moon just occurred last night, and that could trigger crabs to shed, and they’ll refuse to eat when shedding. But not all crabs shed at once, so the influence of the moons varies and is unpredictable. Fall is a great time to crab, and theoretically the hardshells have grown to their largest sizes, after shedding a number of times through the summer. Waters were still warm, and autumn is also a great time for Beaver Dam’s rentals of kayaks and canoes, because wildlife is abundant as the season’s migrations take place. Ducks were already more numerous, and the division of wildlife reported seeing large flocks at times. Customers usually rent the vessels to paddle up the creek for sightseeing. The rental boats that crabbers use are towed up the creek, and the staff checks on the crabbers once an hour. But if crabbers want to take a break in the meantime, they simply cell phone the shop, and the staff comes and gets them. Reserving the boats by telephoning ahead is recommended for both weekdays and weekends. Beaver Dam is still open full time, seven days a week, at least through the month. At some point in October hours for crabbing will be cut back to weekends, depending on the weather. Crabbers should note that a Cub Scout pack will be at Beaver Dam on Saturday, October 4, and all boats might be taken, and call to confirm. Beaver Dam accommodates groups like scouts who work on merit badges or do other activities. For fans of the radio show Sportsman’s Hotline on WFNJ--at 5 p.m. Fridays on 1240- and 1440-AM--the crew from the show will crab at Beaver Dam, and feel free to stop by and meet them, and go crabbing. However, the show crew was originally going to be there September 23, but now will be there September 30. Beaver Dam is gearing up for duck season and rents duck blinds to hunters. The first duck season is October 18 to November 1, and the second is November 15 to 18. During the first season, the blinds will be open when crabbers stop crabbing, so call the shop to find out when that will be, and that depends on the weather. But the blinds will be available the entire second season. Beaver Dam is also a deer check-in station, and deer hunting has already kicked off in several zones with the fall bow season. Beaver Dam provides everything needed for crabbing, including trap sales and rentals, bait, crab spice, crab crackers, suntan lotion, drinks, snacks and ice cream. The shop is open a little later now at 6:30 a.m., because the sun rises later, and crabbers and the staff need to be able to see.

<b>Fortescue</b>

Weakfish were boated at the 1 and 6 buoys, and the 1 seemed to attract larger ones, said Dave from <b>Al’s Bait & Tackle</b>. Croakers in local waters were small, and Fortescue beach anglers landed most. The surf casters also fought 1- to 3-pound blues and actually more weakfish than before. Mullet was a good bait for the blues, and chicken also worked, and chicken soaked in shedder crab oil, stocked at the shop, was also productive for weaks. Shedder crabs were becoming scarce for weakfish bait, but strips of croakers and spots were also decent baits for the trout, and spots schooled many areas. Plenty of blues, the same size as in the surf, held along the first drop-off near Fortescue. Fall striped bass fishing usually kicks off in the bay by the third week of October. Boaters usually dunk bunker chunks for the linesiders, and so do beach anglers, though bloodworms are a more popular bait for bass from the wash, for some reason. Strong winds 20 or 25 knots blew a lot in the past days, making boating difficult, and winds today honked 15 to 20, and skies were overcast. But this was the weather that would create change and fall fishing.

Anglers with <b>Andrea Charters</b> bagged weakfish each day of the weekend, and Saturday was better than Sunday, maybe because of the approaching full moon, but the anglers limited out both days, Capt. Dave said. The fish seemed spread out from the 1 buoy to Egg Island Point to the 6 buoy, and the trips fished a bunch of places through the area, and the trout came up at each one. Shedder crabs were used for bait, although they were becoming difficult to obtain. Anglers onboard tipped the shedders with strips of croakers and spots that were caught, and the number of small croakers that schooled was incredible, and spots were also around. An angler on one of the trips used bloodworms for bait to be the bait gatherer, landing croakers and spots. Another customer used squid to land a few weakfish. The fishing certainly required weeding through all the little fish, but keeper weaks could be culled. The small fish were so abundant that if no hit was felt within 2 or 3 minutes, the line needed to be reeled in, because surely the bait was stolen. Bluefish 2 or 2 ½ pounds also bit and were abundant, and probably two dozen hooks were lost because of bite-offs from the toothy fish. Fourteen out-of-season flounder of all sizes, from no bigger than the palm of a hand to healthy-sized keepers, were caught and released, amazing how the flatties turn up when the season closes. About 10 puffers were caught Sunday, and several kingfish were hooked Saturday. So weakfishing remained good on the boat, and the bay was in the mid to high 70s or warm. Andrea Charters will keep after weaks, a specialty on the vessel, as long as possible. Striped bass charters will start in mid October, and the weaks and blues should stick around until then. The trout tend to leave the flats as the season wears on, and then Dave targets them at structure like the reefs in Delaware waters or the lighthouses. That’s also where he starts weakfishing at the beginning of the season, because for some reason the early and late fish gather there.

<b>Bivalve</b>

Tony Scarpa, Eddie Fiore and Steve Norvath limited out on weakfish, said Pat from <b>Longreach Marina</b>. Al Boulfinghouse, John Britton and Ken Burg bagged 17 weaks, and Bob Hill reeled in 14 weaks, including 5 keepers, and a blue. Bill Weeks, Joe Smith and Jerry Groover landed 10 weaks, 15 blues, 9 croakers and lots of sea bass, and John Frank and Alan Kapren pinned down 7 weaks, a bunch of croakers, some spots and a big kingfish. John and Kim Plummer fished one of the creeks and the bay near the creek, picking up 15 throwback striped bass, 30 white perch and more than a dozen puppy drum they released. So customers kept catching weakfish, and they hooked the fish anywhere from the 1 buoy to closer to shore. A few shedder crabs are stocked every day for weakfish bait, but the supply was getting tight. 

<b>Dennisville</b>

Plenty of weakfish could be found at the stakes off Reeds Beach, at places like the Pin Top and also south of the number 1 buoy, said Tim from <b>Captains Tate’s Bait & Tackle</b>. Sizeable croakers could be located in the southern bay, and lots of big ones gathered at Cape May Reef in the ocean. Tog could be bagged at the rock piles, for those who wanted a one-fish limit. The bag limit jumps to six of the blackfish November 16. Kingfish showed back up in the ocean surf and in the back bay behind Avalon. Spots also roamed the ocean suds, and striped bass sometimes started to be plucked from the beaches, and blues schooled along the ocean front. Offshore boaters scored phenomenal white marlin catches at the southern canyons. Overnight canyon fishing for yellowfin tuna was yet to start, but small yellowfins could sometimes be stuck. Loads of mahi mahi and good numbers of wahoos were walloped. Many of the bluefin tuna on the inshore grounds moved north, but some still hung at the Lobster Claw.

<b>Cape May</b>

On the <b>First Cast</b> Dr. Donna Angotti’s family limited out on weakfish Sunday on the bay, Capt. Rob said. They fished with shedder crabs and just about hooked the gamut of fish in the bay, including croakers, oyster crackers and sharks.

North of Bug Light, around the fish nets, along the Erickson stakes and up to the number 1 buoy were places to find weakfish, and many were small, but keepers 16 to 18 inches were around, said Matt from <b>Jim’s Bait & Tackle</b> in a fax. Spots and croakers swam among them, and the bigger croakers held in the ocean, and were the main fish biting locally. McCries Shoal was a location to start looking, and the Tug Boat Channel offshore of McCries was another, and plenty of the hardheads also hovered around Cape May Reef and the FA Buoy. Churned up waters from the weather hampered surf fishing until recently, and croakers started to get beached again by Saturday late in the day and Sunday, and catches should improve through the week.

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