New Jersey Fishing Reports

Anglers over the weekend hauled in striped bass, said Sharon from The Girls Place Bait & Tackle. Weather was an issue since then, but customers were happy with the catches through the weekend, and a bunch of big blues also moved into the bay. Many of the stripers were shorts, but big ones were in there, too. A 54-pounder was the winning in fish in one of the tournaments. The stripers seemed spread all over, didn’t come from one particular spot. Fresh bunker were usually in good supply for bait. Availability became sketchy in the last two days in the weather, but more were being gotten for the shop today. The stock of fresh clams was usually in healthy supply, and more were being picked up today, and so were green crabs for tog fishing. Plenty of tog were claimed at other areas, and Sharon heard about nobody fishing for them on the bay, but places on the bay do produce the blackfish. The rocks at the bottom of Miah Maul Lighthouse is usually a sure place to grab them. 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

Five big striped bass and 14 large blues were tackled on the Buccaneer on Saturday, Capt. Ralph said. On Sunday big blues and more stripers were creamed on the boat. The trips fished toward the Elbow with bunker, but boaters even connected with the linesiders at the first and second drop-offs. The bass on the Buccaneer measured up to 35 inches, and Ralph saw ones at the dock that were 48 and 50 inches. The local fishing was good and was even picking up, amazing. Was a good season for the striper fishing, and the angling continued, but the time was coming when the marina will begin to be shut down for the year. Sometimes the big blues could get in the way of striper angling. Lots of bunker schooled the waters.

Decent catches of striped bass were made last week on Monday and Wednesday through Friday on the Salt Talk, and the fishing turned slow on trips through the weekend, Capt. Howard said. Vince Torchio limited out and won the pool with maybe an 18- or 20-pounder on Wednesday’s trip, and Anthony Formica also limited out on one of the trips. Big blues began showing up in catches, and all the fish were bunker chunked. Patrons tried eeling for the bass a couple of times with no takers. Only charters, no open-boat trips, are sailing now, and the vessel’s season was winding down. But space is available through the weekend and afterward.

Striped bass fishing was good, and right off Fortescue was a place to get them, and the first and second drop offs from the port produced great catches lately, said Dave from Al’s Bait & Tackle. Some of the bass were big, too, and a buddy whaled a 50-pounder on Sunday. Slammer blues like 10- to 15-pounders swam abundant, tearing up everything in their way, and large ones like them hadn’t been seen in such a population in quite a few years in the bay. If anglers fish, they’re going to catch something, and getting through the blues to stripers might be the only challenge. Fresh bunker was the bait to dunk. Al’s Bait & Tackle is closed for the season, mentioned in last week’s report, and will reopen during the first week of April. But Dave was glad to keep giving reports.

Bivalve

A ton of striped bass kept being docked, and the marina was so busy Saturday that things were like the old days, said Pat from Longreach Marina. The bass were boated all over the bay, and big blues began to be in the mix. Dan Shelton from Millville walloped a 55-1/4-pound 50-1/2-inch striper, a beauty! Fresh bunker for bait was in good supply. Anglers and their catches included: Jerry Maher, West Deptford, 36-1/2-inch striper; Gary Wilson and Gary Harbs, Franklinville, limit of stripers to 44 inches; Gary Harbs on another trip with Marian Kennedy, Vineland, limit of stripers to 42 inches; Joe Pierce and Ben McDonald, Millville, 36-, 32- and 30-inch stripers; Bruce Cantwell and Jim Murphy, Washington Township, 38- and 40-inch stripers; Bob Lauletta, Gloucester, five stripers to 42 inches, all but two released, and three blues 8 to 10 pounds; William Lewis, Joe Ratliff and Ray Rydell, Vineland, 48-, 40-, 34- and two 38-inch stripers and a 16-pound blue; T.J. and Scott Messick and Lynn Labove, Mt. Ephraim, 36-, 35- and 30-inch stripers; Paul Goodman, Williamstown, 36- and 32-inch stripers he kept and 46-, 42- and some 30-inchers he released; Tom Sacca and Dominic Feraci, Vineland, four keepers to 53 ½ inches including a 44-pounder and a 42-pound 47-incher; Wayne Ryback, Charlie Semerich and John Wolanski, five keepers; Brian Saxton and Jerry Usher, Laurence Township, four big blues; and Rob, Ivan and Jamie Murphy and Fino Diaz, five stripers to 41 ¾ inches and two big blues.

Cape May

Seven striped bass to 38 inches and six blues 10 to 12 pounds were pumped in from the bay on Joe Glenn’s charter with O-Beth Sportfishing on Sunday, Capt. Eric said. A trip Saturday hauled in three stripers to 37 inches from the bay, and another on Thursday waxed six bass to 40 inches on the bay. All the fish were bunker chunked and were hooked on incoming and outgoing tides, and a couple even bit on slack, so the fishing lasted throughout the days. Waters were 53 degrees, and the weather was pleasant Thursday and Saturday, but seas were somewhat sporty but fishable on Sunday. The year’s been good for the bay’s striper fishing.

Dog sharks inundated a striped bass trip at the Cape May Rips on Saturday, but a 15-pound 35-inch striper was bagged, said Capt. Craig from Fish Tale Charters. Winds against the tide hampered the drift most of the trip, but winds blew with the current toward the end of the day, and that’s when the striper was eeled. The anglers fished with eels and bucktails, and not many bass were reeled in at the trips that day, and he saw only three others, and the trip fished from one end of the rips to the other. “If we fished one rip, we fished them all,” he said. Just one of those days, he said, and he gave the anglers credit for fishing hard, hanging in there and plugging away the whole time. At least the one striper was bagged, but Craig would’ve liked to have seen more in the box. No blues showed up, but sounded like boaters fishing along the ocean fought 10- to 15-pound blues left and right.

Charters on the Heavy Hitter eeled and trolled at the Cape May Rips and the nearby ocean Friday through Sunday, Capt. George said. Dan DeNossa’s gang put together a good catch of striped bass and blues on Friday, and Ken Russell and company socked substantial stripers to 35 inches and a couple of blues on Saturday, and Alex Limbanounos, George, Lou, Eddie and Steve tackled a quality catch of bass and a bunch of blues on Sunday. They wanted blues, so they trolled the ocean front, also picking up stripers. Lots of blues schooled the ocean near the shore, if anglers wanted them, and stripers were sometimes mixed in.

Jaftica Sportfishing fished the ocean front and the Cape May Rips, piling up striped bass to 37 inches and blues, Capt. Ray said. The rips mostly gave up stripers, good-sized keepers with shorts mixed in. The ocean shoveled up about half stripers, half blues. Anglers aboard bucktailed the ocean and fished with spots, eels or bucktails at the rips.

Fishing for striped bass put a beating on the fish, very good catches, at the Cape May Rips and Delaware Bay on the Fishin’ Fever, Capt. Tom said. The rips sent out numbers of the bass—30, 40 or 50—on spots and bucktails, and the bay sacrificed large ones, up to 32 pounders, close to limits, on bunker chunks on the boat this past week. Big blues to 12 and 15 pounds appeared up the bay, fun action. Trolling and jigging for stripers and lots of large blues started to heat up along the ocean front in a big way.

Striped bass to 37 inches, good fishing for them, was scored at the Cape May Rips on Saturday with Legal Limit Charters, Capt. T.J. said. The anglers reeled in eight keepers, if he remembered correctly, choosing to release all but two, and five throwbacks. Spots caught them all, and the fish refused eels. Many small stripers swam the waters.

Plenty of striped bass were around at the Cape May Rips, and most charters averaged 20 of the fish, sometimes including five or six keepers, usually at least one big one, said Capt. Bob from the Down Deep. Lots of shorts, lots of action. Ron Leider from Robinson Pallet waffled the big bass of the week, a 35-pounder, on the boat, and John from Superior Builders subdued a 30-pounder on Sunday on the vessel. Action was fairly strong through the past week, and waters were 53 to 54 degrees, and if the temp holds, the fish should stick around a moment. Plenty of big blues schooled the ocean, if anglers wanted to go after them. They were beyond 3 miles, where striper fishing is closed.

The Cape May Rips kept giving up good striper fishing on eels, spots, bucktails or trolled lures, and some areas, basically the inshore rips, started to hold smaller bass, said Matt from Jim’s Bait & Tackle in a fax. But the offshore rips at Somer Shoal and Overfalls Shoal held some large ones. In Delaware Bay the better striper fishing was located up the bay a little at the Punk Grounds, Banana Peel, Crooked Neck and the Horseshoe, and 40- to 50-pounders continued to be weighed in on a regular basis. Plenty of big blues schooled 5-Fathom Bank, getting trolled or jigged. Stripers also swam there, but the waters are beyond 3 miles from shore, where striper fishing is closed, and the linesiders should be released at boat side, not even brought in the boat. Northeast winds that pushed bunker against the beaches turned on surf fishing Wednesday and Thursday, and stripers to 30 pounds and slammer blues were tackled at the cove at the 2nd Street jetty. Anglers hoped for a replay as easterly winds returned Sunday through today or so. Marty Happerman, Cherry Hill, weighed in a 57-1/4-pound striper that came from the Banana Peel. Curtis Mahoney, Villas, checked in a 42-pound bruiser that came from 60-Foot Slough. Douglas Cantrell, Mt. Ephraim, beached a 36-pound lunker from the surf at the 2nd Street jetty.