New Jersey Fishing Reports, New Jersey Fishing Charters

Fishing for striped bass was probably better now than all season along the South Jersey Coast, said Sharon from The Girls Place Bait & Tackle. Customers reported very good catches, including from the bay. One customer ran a trip this weekend that pounded nine stripers off the E.P. Tower in 10 feet. But the fish seemed spread throughout the bay. Fresh bunker, the favorite bait for the bay, will be stocked at the shop through Sunday. Afterward the store will be closed for a winter break. Call ahead to ensure a supply of bunker, especially for Sunday, because the store will order no more than needed for that day. A few eels, not a lot, are stocked, and so are green crabs for tog fishing, and tog fishing was going well. Bloodworms are no longer carried, and demand was low. Sea bass season will be open until closing January 1, so anglers currently have their last chance at sea bass for the season. The ocean was 51 degrees, ideal for striper fishing. Conditions for striper fishing were better now than in November. The Girls Place is located on Route 47 just after Route 55 ends, and it’s the long, one-story, yellow building on the right. There’s a large parking lot with plenty of room for trailered boats.

Fortescue

Striped bass including a 37-incher and a 36-incher and bluefish were beaten on a trip Sunday on the Buccaneer, Capt. Ralph said. So that was a nice day, he said, and seas were rough on another charter on the boat Saturday, but the trip also caught stripers. Quite a few stripers were angled on both trips, and plenty remained in the bay, but those were the final trips of the season on the Buccaneer. The fish were still entirely possible to catch. Stripers near Fortescue were resident fish or younger bass that were yet to migrate. Still, sizeable ones swam among them. During some years migrating stripers swim the bay near Fortescue. But the migrators seemed to remain toward the ocean this year. Ralph thanks everyone who fished aboard this season, and looks forward to next season. Trips next year will launch in spring with drum fishing. Ralph is a pioneer of drum fishing, running trips for them since the 1960s, before the rest of the fleet sailed for the boomers. His drum schedule gets packed, so think about locking in the charter dates while they’re available.

Cape May

Striped bass, lots of throwbacks, but some big keepers, were socked at the Cape May Rips on trips Friday and Sunday on the Heavy Hitter, Capt. George said. The shorts gave up lots of action, and the keepers were all beauties. Larry Walker’s charter aboard Friday whacked stripers to a 46-incher. Joe Derito’s charter on deck Sunday whaled stripers to a 43-incher. The 43-incher was actually heavier than the 46-incher, a long, skinny fish. So sizeable stripers could be slugged at the rips, on eels or bucktails. Those were the final trips of the year on the Heavy Hitter, and the vessel was being pulled from the waters for the year. But George has access to another boat to run charters on through this winter. Trips with him will remain available for stripers, as long as the linesiders stick around, sea bass, cod and blackfish. Sea bass fishing was good, but far offshore, and the season for them will close January 1. Decent cod catches were boxed. Call if interested in any of this fishing.

Fishing for striped bass at the Cape May Rips last week aboard was the best yet this season, Capt. Bob from the Down Deep said. He wrapped up his season with the trips, and the catches went very well last Monday to Wednesday. One trip landed 13 keepers. The Horn charter bagged five keepers and reeled in 40 stripers total, including throwbacks. Trips scored lots of action. Catch this: Holiday gift certificates are available for trips aboard. Bob thanks everyone who sailed aboard this year, and will kick off fishing again on the boat probably in March, starting with striper fishing. Drum trips will launch in May.

Last Week's Report

Brooklawn

The bay churned out striped bass, good-sized fish, at usual places like 60-Foot Slough, Bug Light and Cross Ledge on bunker chunks, said Rick from Big Timber Bait & Tackle. The Cape May Rips also gave up the bass, fish to the 40-inch range, not huge, on livelined eels or spots. Reports were heard about stripers landed on the Delaware River in the Elsinboro area on bloodworms. Ocean surf anglers banked stripers. In freshwater, stocked trout bit well at places including Haddon Lake and Greenwich Lake. Largemouth bass fishing was “kind of iffy,” Rick said. Some trips produced good catches, and others were slow. Big largemouths were sometimes nailed, but large numbers of the fish usually weren’t. Big Timber stocks bait and tackle for fishing on all waters from freshwater to bays to offshore.

Port Elizabeth

Quite a few sizeable striped bass were beaten throughout the bay, said Sharon from The Girls Place Bait & Tackle. Catches were heard about from places including off Pierce’s Point to the shipping channel near Miah Maull to clear up the bay to the 34 buoy. The fish seemed scattered everywhere. The shop had good fortune so far at stocking fresh bunker, the bait of choice, and fresh bait will probably be stocked this week on Thursday and Friday. Then the bait will be carried as long as it lasts, and afterward frozen bait will be on hand, and the shop will probably stay open through next week, before going on winter break. But if the weather is good, and demand for bait and tackle remains, the shop could be kept open longer. Blackfishing also seemed good for customers, and lots of live green crabs were sold for the angling. The Girls Place is located on Route 47 just after Route 55 ends, and it’s the long, one-story, yellow building on the right. There’s a large parking lot with plenty of room for trailered boats.

Fortescue

A couple of big striped bass were bagged Sunday on the Buccaneer, Capt. Ralph said. One big bluefish was also decked, and on a trip Saturday, probably 50 throwback stripers were landed, and one keeper was bagged. The trips fished with bunker chunks, and the Buccaneer will fish through Sunday, and afterward Ralph will call it a season. Charters on the boat are only $400, compared with $500 or $600 on other vessels.

Cape May

Seven striped bass 30 to 32 inches and three big blues were bunker-chunked on the bay on charter Saturday on the Heavy Hitter, Capt. George said. A 40-inch striper was hooked and got off. The charter jumped aboard again for bunker-chunking on the bay Sunday, but the fishing was tough. A 22-inch throwback striper and four out-of-season summer flounder bit. The weather on Sunday was actually too nice for the fishing. Striper fishing seemed equally good on the bay and at the Cape May Rips in the past days. George will wrap up trips on the boat for the season after this weekend, but he’ll have access to another vessel to run charters on afterward. After striper fishing ends, anglers on board will be able to sail for bottom fish like blackfish and cod.

Striped bass to 30 pounds were bunker-chunked on the bay on Sunday with O-Beth Sportfishing Charters, Capt. Eric said. That was the final trip of the season from Cape May for O-Beth, and the boat will now be moved to Margate to sail for blackfish the rest of the year.

Throwback striped bass had to be picked through for anglers to land large ones at the Cape May Rips, but trips aboard each bagged sizeable keepers, and scored plenty of action, there, said Capt. Bob from the Down Deep. Eels, spots and bucktails caught the fish equally. Rich McBrian’s charter on Monday crushed large stripers at the rips. Mike O’Rourke’s party on Tuesday limited out early on good-sized ones there. Bill Moore’s party on Thursday put together a good catch of the bass at the rips. Walt Nowinski’s crew on Friday bagged four large stripers at the rips. John Reese’s charter on Saturday did a job on stripers at the rips. Brad Wagner’s group on Sunday at the rips also whacked stripers, including 14-year-old Owen Wagner’s 35-pounder, the largest of the past week aboard. The Down Deep will fish through Sunday before Bob calls it a season.