<b>Staten Island</b>

Blues, blues, blues and three small striped bass were belted on a daytime trip Sunday with <b>Angler Sportfishing Charters</b>, mostly on the troll, Capt. Chuck said. But a trip that night whaled seven striped bass to 29 pounds at Ambrose and Sandy Hook channels on bunker chunks. Tons of blues also chomped the chunks, “of course,” he said. Four or five night trips are scheduled to sail this week so far.

Sea bass to 3 pounds and blackfish to 8 1/2 or 9 pounds, great catches of both, were mopped up with <b>Barbara Anne Fishing Charters</b>, Capt. Anthony said. The boat obtained a Research Set Aside Permit that allows trips to fish for sea bass during the currently closed season for them, and New York’s blackfish season opened on October 1. Charters are fishing, and open-boat trips are running inshore every Tuesday and Thursday. Open trips are also sailing on other days when enough anglers want to fish. One final open trip offshore will sail on Sunday this season. Reservations are required on open trips.

<b>Keyport</b>

A few striped bass were hooked, but not en masse, but water temps were in the mid 50s, and the angling should break open any time, said Capt. Joe from <b>Papa’s Angels Charters</b>. Big blues tore up waters at the Shrewsbury Rocks, but not so many stripers did. Friends bailed the blues there. Charters are fishing, and so are open-boat trips 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. daily when no charter is booked, when enough anglers want to sail. Call to reserve, and Paypal is accepted for all trips.

<b>Atlantic Highlands</b>

Boat traffic wasn’t nearly as busy on Sunday’s trip as on Saturday’s, and  some good striped bass fishing was found on Sunday’s outing, said Capt. Ron from the party boat <b>Fishermen</b> in a report on the vessel’s Web site. The trip fished at a new area that day, and the angling still took lots of running, because the fish fed on a tremendous amount of rainfish. A couple of drifts made the day, and certainly not as many stripers were caught as were read on the fish finder. A 26-1/2-pound striper was the pool winner, and two anglers limited out on stripers, sizeable fish. “Great day on the water,” Ron said. The Fishermen is sailing for striped bass 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily. Check out a <a href=" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQYAIDqNnzw&feature=player_embedded" target="_blank">video of the trip</a>.

The party boat <b>Atlantic Star</b>’s bottom-fishing trips sailed Saturday and Sunday, and all the anglers bagged fish, even if fewer than on the previous couple of trips, Capt. Tom said. Mixed sizes of porgies were hooked, and sometimes blackfish were rounded up, and out-of-season sea bass were released. Sea bass season will open this coming Monday. Clams are supplied for bait, and some anglers brought their own crabs for blackfish bait. An equal number of the tog seemed to be caught on clams and crabs. Saturday’s fishing, including for blackfish, was better than Sunday’s, and the weather was too calm for good anchoring on Sunday. The weather was beautiful that day, and conditions like lack of winds can cause the boat to lay all different ways on anchor. Boats lay in all different directions that day. The Atlantic Star is bottom fishing 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily for porgies and blackfish.

<b>Highlands</b>

Trips sailed for striped bass Friday through Sunday with <b>Jersey Devil Charters</b>, Capt. Brian said. A charter sailed on the trip Friday, probably landing 11 stripers, including five keepers, on the ocean off Sandy Hook Point. Bluefish, some of them big, up to 14 or 15 pounds, were mixed in. Trolled tube rigs and Stretch lures nabbed all the fish. On Saturday and Sunday, Jersey Devil competed in the Hi Mar Club’s 40-hour striper tournament. On Saturday the boat was sailed on the ocean all the way to Seaside, and no stripers turned up, and bait was scarce, and hardly any stripers were seen caught. Lots of blues were hooked with Jersey Devil. The boat was motored back to local waters, and eels were drifted along the edges of the channels, but no stripers bit. The vessel trolled Stretches during the last hour, and two small stripers were hooked. On Sunday the boat left port at 3 a.m., and stripers were trolled in the dark and through the morning, first on Stretches, then on tube rigs. Probably seven stripers to 17 pounds, and one bluefish, were trolled on the ocean off Sandy Hook Point. Brian believed the winning angler in the two-fish tournament entered a 42-pound striper and a 24-pounder that were bunker-chunked in Raritan Bay. In other news, Brian heard reports about bluefin tuna boated close to shore and farther from the coast at the Atlantic Princess wreck and the Chicken Canyon. Jersey Devil is available for bluefin fishing on charters or, if enough anglers express interest, open-boat trips. Call if interested in open trips, because the more who call, the easier to schedule. Bottom fishing was good for porgies and blackfish. Combo striper/blackfish charters will be available starting November 16, when the blackfish bag limit is increased to six of the tog from the current limit of one.

<b>Fisher Price Charters</b> sailed for striped bass throughout the weekend, and the angling was up and down, Capt. Derek said. He couldn’t know whether the full moon or boat traffic or what was the cause, but lots of the fish were read, and bait was plentiful. Anglers on deck landed stripers on the troll and on eels, mostly around the mouth of Raritan Bay, but they fished all over. A large body of stripers was around, but not as many bit as would normally, compared with the marks. Some bluefish were mixed in. Charters are fishing, and so are open-boat trips. The next open trips were yet to be slated, but will probably sail during the weekend if anything. Anglers can call Derek to be kept informed about the open schedule.

<b>Neptune</b>

One striped bass 30 pounds, a mess of blues that were mixed sizes, a boat limit of blackfish and a load of porgies were boxed Saturday on the ocean with <b>Last Lady Fishing Charters</b>, Capt. Ralph said. He was disappointed that not more stripers were hooked, but boat traffic was heavy.  An individual-reservation trip for stripers will fish on Wednesday, and space remains. An individual-rez trip offshore for cod, pollock and hake was rescheduled for next week on Thursday, November 4, that was originally planned for November 11, and three spaces are available. The season’s first individual-reservation trip for blackfish will sail on Tuesday, November 16, when the bag limit is increased to six from the current limit of one.

<b>Belmar</b>

Fishing for porgies on the ocean seemed the best angling in the past couple of days, and the fish bit like crazy on trips on the boat and were good-sized, said Capt. Tom from the <b>Nan Sea J</b>. Lots of blackfish also chewed, and the tog to 7 pounds were swung aboard. The anglers on the vessel tried striped bass fishing a little while, and one 38-incher and some blues were reeled in. Striper fishing sounded the best in a while on Sunday afternoon, but the Nan Sea J was bottom fishing then. Stripers were definitely around lately, but anglers had to work for them. No more tuna trips are on the books on the Nan Sea J this season, though the boat could sail for the fish if someone wanted. Tuna even swam inshore, and Tom heard about a few bluefin tuna landed near the coast in the past couple of days.

With <b>On a Mission Fishing Adventures</b> three keeper striped bass to a 42-inch 18-pounder “and 856 million blues,” Capt. Eric said, were tackled on Ava jigs on the ocean on Sunday. So that was a good trip, and rainfish schooled heavily in the waters, and blues and stripers were seen charging through them with mouths open. Anglers on the radio talked about seeing bluefin tuna at the Shrewsbury Rocks that day, but Eric saw none there. Still, this is the time of year when bluefins appear close to shore, and if the fish are around, On a Mission is available for charters for them. More trips will boat the ocean Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. Eric returned from a surf fishing trip to Montauk last week that belted tons of stripers. He guides surf trips in New Jersey, and surf angling around Belmar sometimes gave up stripers at night on Bombers and needlefish lures. Clamming and bunker chunking for stripers sometimes grabbed bass from the surf farther south at Island Beach State Park and Long Beach Island. Eric fishes with artificials, though. Currently so much bait schooled farther from shore that stripers had no reason to stack up in the surf, but that should change. Miles and miles of bait was seen in 50 feet during On a Mission’s trip on Sunday. Eric also guides freshwater trips on the Delaware River, and that angling is mostly finished for the year. The river cooled down, and its smallmouth bass fishing tapered off for the year.

<b>Brielle</b>

Eight big striped bass to 38 pounds and a bunch of blues were plowed on Saturday on the ocean on the <b>Big Kid</b>, Capt. Ken said. All the fish jumped on Tony Maja’s Bunker Spoons with one Bomber lure down the middle. The new Tony Maja’s Custom Bunker Spoon Rods were also fished. “It was an all Maja day,” Ken said, and that worked out well. The action of the rods was great. The Big Kid will keep fishing for stripers, and sea bass will begin to be targeted on the boat when sea bass season opens this coming Monday. Blackfish trips will begin on November 16, when the blackfish bag limit will be raised to six from the current limit of one. Charter dates are booking quickly this season, and call for availability.

Many boated for striped bass on the ocean during the weekend but mostly fought blues, said Dave from <b>The Reel Seat</b>. The anglers seemed to score somewhat better on stripers during the weekdays, when boat traffic was lighter. A few stripers swam around, and sometimes they popped up to the surface, and anglers cast to them and caught on occasion. Dave sometimes heard good reports about striper catches on Shimano’s new Waxwing jigs, meant to be reeled in close to the surface. He wasn’t saying that because the jigs are stocked at the shop, but instead because the Waxwings caught. For example, not a lot of the Waxwings were left at the store, and Dave wasn’t sure when Shimano would ship more. Many of the blues were big or 8 to 12 pounds. Surf anglers also tackled more blues than stripers, and the angling seemed better a bit to the south. Locally surf anglers connected at Sea Girt, Spring Lake and Bay Head. Manasquan River held some stripers, and Dave saw phone photos of the catches. Bottom-fishers copped good angling for porgies, and blackfishing seemed to taper off for them, at least for customers. Maybe waters became too warm, but Dave couldn’t know the reason. Bottom anglers who fished farther from shore picked up a few cod. Bluefin tuna swam all around the ocean, from 60 feet on out. Fishing for them turned red hot at the Atlantic Princess wreck again, and they were bigger fish, 100 pounds and larger. Dave also heard about bluefins caught at the Klondike wreck during the week. Party boats fishing farther from shore at the canyons put customers on yellowfin, longfin and bluefin tuna, and were plagued by blue sharks.

<b>Point Pleasant Beach</b>

Weekend fishing was weekend fishing: filled with boat traffic, an e-mail from the party boat <b>Cock Robin</b> said. But striped bass were sometimes bagged on the boat on both Saturday and Sunday on the ocean, and Saturday’s fishing was better than Sunday’s. Tons of stripers were marked on the fish finder. “When they decide to eat, look out!” the e-mail said. A big body of the fish held to the north, and they’ll have to swim south. “The sea robin bite is on fire!” the e-mail added. Tuesday’s trip will be cancelled because of winds. The Cock Robin is sailing 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily.

Seas were difficult on a canyon tuna trip overnight Friday to Saturday on the party boat <b>Gambler</b>, despite forecasts for diminishing seas that never happened, Capt. Bob said. Seas didn’t just make the fishing difficult, but made landing the fish challenging. But anglers who managed to stay at the rail caught 25- to 75-pound yellowfin and longfin tuna, an equal mix, good-sized fish. Three anglers bagged two tuna apiece, and almost all anglers who stayed at the rail bagged at least one. Some of the anglers had a tough time all around because of the seas. Three more trips will fish for canyon tuna this week, before the boat’s tuna fishing is finished for the year, and Bob believed two had openings. See the <a href=" http://www.gamblerfishing.net/offshoretrips.html
" target="_blank">Gambler’s offshore tuna schedule</a> online. Trips on the boat also began striped bass fishing last week, and will continue striper fishing whenever no tuna trip is sailing. Daily striper trips will kick off this coming Monday. The first striper trip ran sometime toward the middle of last week on the ocean, and some big bass were bagged at mid day, and some blues were mixed in. A striper more than 30 pounds was the biggest, and probably three or four weighed more than 20 pounds. The fish spit up all the different types of forage, including sand eels, rainfish, sardines, squid and baby weakfish. The stripers hit nearly any jigs, and the catches were a matter of right place, right time.

A bluefish/bottom fish charter headed to the ocean Saturday with <b>Reel Class Charters</b>, Capt. Allen said. The anglers began jigging to the north near Shark River Inlet, hooking sea robins and out-of-season fluke that were released. Allen got a phone call about blues and a few striped bass swimming off Seaside, and the trip sailed there. Blues and no stripers were hooked. The trip worked north, and a bunch of blues were fought. The boat was moved to Axel Carson Reef at the end of the trip for an hour at a rock pile in 60 feet. Six blackfish, including four keepers to 10 pounds, were landed. So were porgies that were bagged and a bunch of good-sized, out-of-season sea bass that were let go. On Sunday a trip started fishing on the ocean a little south of Manasquan Inlet, first jigging fluke, including a 21-incher, and sea robins that were tossed back. The anglers worked south, getting a couple of shots at blues, nothing great. They ended up off Seaside, and Allen got a call about a bite off Long Branch, and the trip ran there. The bite was missed, and some fluke and a few blues and sea bass hit. The boat was trolled home, and a few blues attacked, but the trip was tough. Other anglers said porgy fishing was also difficult this day. Fishing through the whole weekend was tough, and no striped bass bit on Reel Class’s trips. Lots of fish were read on the fish finder, were stacked up, but refused to bite, and lots of bait schooled. Sand eels swam abundant, and mullet schooled tight to the beaches. The full moon might’ve been the reason stripers refused to bite, but Allen couldn’t know the reason. The bait and fish marks boded well for the future at least. Trips will mostly focus on stripers and blues, but are also porgy fishing, and can begin sea bass fishing this coming Monday, when sea bass season opens. More attention will be paid to blackfish when the bag limit is increased to six of the tog on November 16 from the current limit of one. An open-boat trip will probably fish on Sunday, either jigging for stripers and blues or bottom fishing for porgies and blackfish, whatever’s best. See <a href=" http://www.reelclassfishing.com/rates/open-boat-info" target="_blank">Reel Class’s open-boat schedule</a> online.

<b>Barnegat</b>

On the <b>Hi Flier</b> striped bass and monster blues were boated every day on the ocean, Capt. Dave DeGennaro said in an e-mail. Mostly blues smacked the hooks the last few days, but enough stripers were drilled to keep things interesting. Forecasts look a mess the next few days, calling for winds and off-and-on rains. But that just means trips will fish for 10- to 20-pound stripers on Barnegat Bay. “What’s better than that for sitting out the blow?” Dave asked. By Thursday or Friday, winds will come around from the west, and trips will fish both on the ocean and the bay. On the ocean anglers aboard are diamond jigging and trolling off Island Beach State Park in 35 to 60 feet. On the troll, Tony Maja’s Bunker Spoons and umbrella rigs are hot. The anglers are also doing “an interactive style of wireline trolling” with bucktails, Dave said. Anglers hold the rod while trolling, jigging the bucktail with long sweeps of the rod. That’s highly productive, and the fish hit like a train wreck! The bucktails are tipped with pork rinds, and are tied to a top-shot of mono attached to the wireline. The bucktailing is done with short, 5-1/2-foot trolling rods. But the rods are “old school fiberglass,” Dave said. They’re soft enough to enjoy the fight, though they look like sawed-off broomsticks. On the bay anglers aboard are catching the stripers on live spots from Double Creek Channel to Barnegat Lighthouse. But trips will also start clamming for the fish in the channels, and Dave will bring both spots and clams to try it all. He always prefers high, slack tides through the first couple of hours of outgoing for the clamming. The Hi Flier is sailing open boat every day when not chartered. 

<b>Surf City</b>

Bluefishing kept improving in the surf on Long Beach Island, and the 10- to 15-pounders stormed the waters today, said Steve from <b>Surf City Bait & Tackle</b>. Striped bass were pulled from the suds here and there lately, and a couple were weighed in daily. But striper angling was improving from the shore, and waters had probably been too clear and calm for the fishing. The surf was beginning to churn up today, and that might help. Fresh bunker was the best bait for the fish in the surf, and is stocked. Fresh clams and fresh mullet can also work, and both are carried. Steve boated the ocean on Wednesday, fighting aboard a couple of blues to 15 pounds, and he saw a few of the slammers caught on other boats. But the action in the surf was the main news for customers.

<b>Mystic Island</b>

Catches of striped bass were scattered or spotty, reports on <b>Scott’s Bait & Tackle</b>’s Web site said  in the past days, but impressive weigh-ins were sometimes brought in. Anglers seemed able to hope to catch a big bass. One angler today totaled eight stripers, including a 31.1-pounder and a 25.4-pounder, at Little Egg Inlet. Another angled up four at the inlet today. Another had three bites today that resulted in two stripers 18.7 pounds and 18 pounds at the inlet. All the anglers fished with fresh clams, and outgoing tide seemed most productive today. Big blues were trolled on the ocean today on Stretch 25 lures. Head out the inlet, motor north a little, and look for working birds. On Sunday striper catches were few and far between at the inlet. But two surf anglers checked in a 22-pound striper and a 17.2-pounder from Graveling Point and Pebble Beach. Not too many stripers came from the inlet on Saturday, but, again, some impressive weigh ins were seen from there. One couple of customers checked in a 26.2-pounder and a 10.7-pounder from a trip that connected late in the evening. Another showed off a 19.3-pounder hooked just before noon. Anglers on another boat picked up six stripers early in the morning, landing none the rest of the day. An angler who declined to name the location of his catch came in with a 35.8-pound beauty on Saturday.  

<b>Brigantine</b>

“Let the games begin!” said the report today on <b>Riptide Bait & Tackle</b>’s Web site. Anglers went head to head with big striped bass today from the surf and boats, and Steve DiGiacomo checked in a 46-1/2-pound 51-incher that he nailed this morning from the surf near the island’s north-end beach-buggy access. He now leads the shop’s striper derby. Some 25-pounders were also beached from the surf, and boaters hung stripers to a 42-pounder. Fishing was slow for surf anglers during the weekend, but boaters then weighed in stripers from up and down the coast from ½ mile to 1 mile from shore. Fresh bunker was difficult to obtain from suppliers, but Riptide Rotters, slightly aged clams that the shop sells at a discount, caught the fish from both shore and boats. Some anglers swear by the bait. When schools aren’t coming through, anglers just have to put in the time to catch a striper. Carmine Falcone hit the surf every day lately with no luck until Saturday, when he hauled in a fat 44-incher from the surf at night at the Brigantine Hotel. The 5th annual Riptide Striped Bass Derby is under way, lasting until the end of the year. Entrants win cash awards for the biggest stripers caught from the surf along Brigantine’s front beach. First place wins $750, and 2nd cops $400, and 3rd earns $150. The entrant with the biggest bass each month wins $25. The rest of the proceeds are donated to charity, and the event donated more than $13,000 to charity since the tournament began, Andy said. Phil Fors from Rolling Tackle Box donated a 13-foot Breakaway HDX surf rod that will be awarded to the entrant with the biggest striper during the week after Halloween or November 1 to 7. The entry fee for the tournament is $20, and entry must be accompanied by a Brigantine beach buggy permit. That way all entrants get to drive the beach to fish.

<b>Longport</b>

Sea bass season will open on Monday, and the <b>Stray Cat</b> will get back after them, sailing on an open-boat trip to the wrecks 30 miles offshore that day for the lumpheads, Capt. Mike said. Six spaces are available, and trips cleaned up on the fish until the season closed on October 12. Sea bass should be stacked up on the wrecks, because of no angler pressure recently. Open trips will fish from Friday to Sunday for whatever’s biting. Four spaces are available on a sea duck hunt Thursday on the ocean. One of the trips already sailed this season, scoring a good shoot. Stray Cat each year also offers Cast and Blast Trips that fish and gun for ducks in one outing.

<b>Sea Isle City</b>

Wonder where the striped bass were? They were in Montauk! Or at least some were. The season’s final weekend getaway to Montauk sailed on the boat this weekend, said Capt. Joe Hughes from <b>Jersey Cape Guide Service</b> and <b>Gibson’s Tackle</b>. The fishing was epic! he said. Mike Roth joined the trips on Saturday and Sunday, and on Sunday fly-rodded 40 blues 10 to 15 pounds and one 28-inch striper on Gardiners Bay. The fishing was mayhem for 5 hours straight. On Saturday he lambasted 75 fish – almost all stripers, and maybe 10 were blues – on flies off Montauk Point. The bass, 26- to 33-inchers, blitzed from 11 a.m. on, attacking on nearly every cast. A sinking line worked best at first, when the stripers were more spread out. Afterward a floating line was fished, when the linesiders swam thick. Clouser flies were fished throughout the trips. On Saturday hardly any boats sailed the waters, and only two were seen in the distance late in the trip. On Sunday lots of boats were around, but they were spread out, not a problem. Montauk can be known for boat traffic, so seemed the crowds had stopped fishing the migration at Montauk as much as earlier in the season. The run seemed to be diminishing, and waters were cold or 52 to 55 degrees in many places. But waters were 58 degrees in some places, and that’s where the fish were caught. The smaller sizes of the bass could also be a sign that the end was running. Still, lots of the 26- to 33-inchers were around. Joe runs trips each year that fish the migration of stripers, blues and false albacore from Montauk. See <a href="http://www.gibsonstackle.com/page6.html" target="_blank">Jersey Cape’s Traveling Fisherman Web Page</a> for info about the trips to Montauk and other destinations, including weekend getaways to the Florida Keys that Joe offers annually each winter. If the migration is tapering off at Montauk, the run should be headed to New Jersey. The migration seemed yet to arrive off Sea Isle City, but could appear any time. Traditionally the fish suddenly arrive, then the angling goes nuts for a month. Book November trips now for the migration of stripers and blues at Sea Isle, because dates are filling quickly. Keep up with Joe’s fishing, photos and videos on <a href=" http://captainjoehughes.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Jersey Cape’s blog</a>.

<b>Avalon</b>

Fishing was tough on an overnight trip to the canyons from Thursday to Friday, according to a report on <b>Over Under Adventures</b>’ Web site. It was “just one of those trips we all want to pretend never happened,” the report said. After the previous trip plundered a 200-pound swordfish, released two more swords and bagged eight tuna, a catch covered here in a previous report, the crew aimed to fish the same waters on this trip, following the waters a bit south. But friends who fished the waters said the tuna were gone, so Over Under changed plans. The crew discussed options, and also talked them over with Mitch Roffer from Roffer’s satellite charts, deciding to head to a 4- to 5-degree temp break at Baltimore Canyon.  The break was found, but nothing bit there on the troll for a couple of hours at the beginning of the trip. Seas were also a lot worse than forecast, making fishing difficult. Waters were cold on one side of the break, and fishing along the edge of the break was nearly impossible in the seas. But the trip was sort of stuck in the area, forced to fish there that night. The crew planned to give the fishing until 10 p.m., but everyone on board was growing tired of the seas that were plain uncomfortable, even with a sea anchor. Options were limited, and moving inshore for better seas was really the only choice. The ride from 1,000 fathoms to 500 fathoms was not pretty, even when sailing only 8 knots. A sliver of warm waters was found inshore by chance, and the trip fished there. A long liner in the area said yellowfin tuna might be found there. A good-sized swordfish bit at 4:30 a.m., was fought for 15 minutes and got off. That was the only bite on the trip. At 7:30 a.m. the trip sailed to lobster pot buoys on the west wall of the Baltimore, looking for mahi mahi, but they seemed to depart for warmer waters. The trip headed home, and seas began to lay down at 50 fathoms, and the boat was able to cruise at 23 knots. The crew cancelled that night’s trip to re-group. Reports sounded like tuna bit to the north again. This was one of those seasons when tuna seemed to get pushed offshore, lost to the deep, when they reached as far south as Lindenkohl Canyon. The crew expects to fish to the north the rest of the season, unless consistent catches develop in the southern canyons.” Charters and   <a href=" http://overundercharters.com/index.php?page=opendates" target="_blank">open-boat trips</a> are fishing offshore.

<b>Cape May</b>

The season’s first striped bass trip fished on Saturday with <b>Legal Limit Charters</b>, bunker-chunking on Delaware Bay, Capt. T.J. said. Lots of skates and dog sharks bit, but one 34-pound 48-inch striped bass was crushed. That was the only striper T.J. knew was bagged by anyone during the day, though he reported last week that an angler from the docks chunked a few stripers on the bay early that week. That angler hooked none during this weekend, though he fished then. Striper charters are underway with Legal Limit, and so are open-boat trips/shared charters for the fish. See the <a href=" http://www.legallimitcharters.com/c-11-open-boat.aspx" target="_blank">open-boat/shared charter schedule</a> online.

Bluefish and false albacore were beaten on a trip Saturday on the <b>Down Deep</b>, Capt. Bob said. The next trip is slated on the boat for Saturday. That charter will kick off steady striped bass fishing on the vessel. Not a lot of stripers were heard about that were caught, but a few big ones actually were. They were all bunker-chunked on Delaware Bay, and, as far as Bob knew, none was taken at the Cape May Rips so far. But the bass boated on the bay was a good sign. With the chunking, anglers just have to be patient and wait for a bite. A couple of dates remain in November for charters, and a few are left in December.

A striped bass charter cancelled on Saturday, so Capt. George from  the <b>Heavy Hitter</b> and the boat’s mate Billy hopped on a friend’s boat for tog fishing on the ocean for a couple of hours that day, George said. Plenty of tog, none big, but up to 3 pounds, bit, and the angling was so-so. A trip on the Heavy Hitter a couple of weeks ago nailed bigger tog to 7 pounds. On the current trip, lots of out-of-season sea bass grabbed the baits. Sea bass season opens one week from today, and an angler already called to go sea bassing on a charter the next day or on Tuesday. The Heavy Hitter will keep striper fishing, and the trips can do a combo of striper and tog angling. Sea bass trips will be available once the season opens. George saw boats return to the docks with a few stripers this weekend, nothing exciting, but a few catches. All the bass were bunker chunked on Delaware Bay. The ones that were caught were big, like 25-pounders. He also stopped by Port Norris, farther north on the bay, this weekend. People at the marina there said boats sometimes returned with one or two stripers, nothing spectacular yet, but a few fish. One trip that out-of-state anglers took on a small aluminum boat from Port Norris lucked into two 25-pound stripers. A 50-some-pounder was reportedly weighed in at Port Norris Marina. The bay was 59 or 60 degrees. If interested in a striper charter, call George. Weekdays are available, and only a few spaces on weekends are. Space is available during the first weekend of December, and that’s usually a good weekend for the angling. In other news, some boats from the docks sailed for bluefish this weekend, running to places like Peacock Shoal, 5-Fathom Bank and East Bank, because reports said big blues 10 to 15 pounds swarmed the waters in the previous days. But the blues seemed to disappear this weekend, and none of the trips found them.

Back to Top