<b>Keyport</b>

The DeSantis group fished for striped bass at Romer Shoal and Flynn’s Knoll on Saturday with <b>Papa’s Angels Charters</b>, Capt. Joe said. A 29-1/2-incher was bagged, but the angling was slow. Joe saw “no nets go down,” he said, on other boats during the trip. Lots of vessels were gathered southeast of Romer. His charter fished with clams, and striper fishing might’ve been slow that day, but action with stripers was probably impending. Was that time of year. Trips aboard will keep striper fishing, and are also available for bottom fishing for porgies and blackfish. Open-boat trips are available daily, when there’s demand, when no charter is booked. Call to reserve.

No shortage of bluefish was out there, Chris from <b>Crabby’s Bait & Tackle</b> said in a fax. Blues were beached from the surf from Perth Amboy to Sandy Hook. Bunker chunks, spoons and diamond jigs beat them, and boaters trolled monster blues. Andy Wysocki, Linden, weighed in a 14.6-pound blue he trolled near the Mud Buoy on an umbrella rig. Louis Taglia, Old Bridge, trolled a 17.8-pound, 35-inch, whopper blue off Staten Island’s Mount Loretta on a Stretch 25 lure. Striped bass were sometimes seen at the shop, “and it’s only going to get better,” Chris said. A 31-inch striper was clammed at Cliffwood Beach, and a 29-incher was banked at Union Beach. Fresh and salted clams seemed the bait of choice and were stocked, and eels and sandworms also seemed to work. Blackfish and porgies swam plentiful. Ed Coleman, Keyport, and friends on the Killer Kennedy limited out on blackfish every time they sailed for them. A 10-pounder was the largest on one trip, heaved in near Romer Shoal Light, and a 7.8-pounder was the biggest on another, hauled in from the Sandy Hook area. Green crabs got the tog chomping. Catch the shop’s first-annual End of Season Sale on multiple items. But during the weekend of November 18 to 20, all the shop’s inventory will be discounted up to 25 percent! Just in time for the holidays. Custom gift baskets can also be ordered.

<b>Atlantic Highlands</b>

Bottom-fishing trips sailed Friday through Sunday, after the rough weather previously, on the party boat <b>Atlantic Star</b>, Capt. Tom said. Friday’s trip copped a bit of a pick of porgies, and Tom was fairly happy with the results, considering the nasty weather Wednesday and Thursday. The fishing wasn’t great, but picked away at porgies. A couple of anglers pulled in a few blackfish, keeping their limits of one apiece, giving away the rest to other anglers aboard. Fishing on Saturday’s trip “was no bargain,” Tom said.  The angling was tough at several places, and some blackfish came in. Some of the fish were foul hooked, apparently meaning fish were there, but were reluctant to bite. Porgies and blackfish were then hooked toward the end of the trip. Sunday’s trip began fishing at the same place Saturday’s trip caught at the end of the outing. But the fishing wasn’t good this time, and the boat was moved to Sandy Hook Reef. Porgies were picked, and some blackfish were nabbed, and the fishing was somewhat improved. A 10-pound 14-ounce blackfish was walloped. The porgies were mixed sizes, including large ones. All the anglers took home a few fish, Tom thought, whether porgies or blackfish or both. So the fishing was definitely better that day, and Tom hoped that with better weather now, the catches will keep improving like that, and become good. Most of the blackfish on the trips bit crabs, and when green crabs can be bought in bulk, trips are carrying them for bait. But green crabs have been scarce, and anglers interested in blackfishing might want to pick up a half-dozen at a tackle shop on the way to trips. The tackle shop at the marina recently closed. Sometimes shops can provide the crabs to anglers, but can’t supply the bait in bulk to boats. The boat carries porgy rigs that work well, and anglers don’t need to buy packaged rigs at shops. The vessel also carries a single-hooked blackfish rig that works well. The Atlantic Star is fishing for porgies and blackfish 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily.

<b>Highlands</b>

Fishing for striped bass had been good, but was tougher during the weekend, for some reason, said Capt. Derek from <b>Fisher Price Charters</b>. The fish were read, and plenty of bait schooled, but few of the stripers bit. Some were caught aboard, but not like previously. The angling was somewhat better on Sunday than on Saturday for Fisher Price. Anglers on the trips eeled and clammed, and tried jigging. Waters were 62 degrees and cooled in the past week. Charters are sailing, and the next open-boat trips for stripers will probably fish Wednesday and Friday to Sunday. Call to climb aboard or to be kept informed about future open dates. Fisher Price is pretty much concentrating on stripers. When the blackfish bag limit is increased to six of the tog on November 16 from the current limit of one, trips will fish for either stripers or blackfish or a combo.

Jack Schmidt’s party plopped five keeper striped bass in the box, releasing a bunch of shorts, Thursday aboard, “before the wind blew us off the water,” Capt. Pete from the <b>Hyper Striper</b> said in an e-mail. In the afternoon Frank Lobello’s charter raked in four keeper stripers to 18 pounds, releasing a bunch of shorts. On Friday morning Anthony Monaco’s crew limited out on stripers to 24 pounds, afterward bagging a limit of one blackfish apiece to 8 pounds. On Saturday morning Denny Moore’s charter iced nine keeper stripers to 22 pounds, limiting out on blackfish to 6 pounds afterward. In the afternoon John Vingara’s party also totaled nine keeper stripers, letting go lots of shorts. On Sunday morning Margo Cronin’s charter put up three keeper stripers to 30 pounds then limited out on blackfish to 7 pounds.

<b>Neptune</b>

Cod fishing was fair aboard Sunday, and more than 20 of the fish to 12 and 15 pounds were boxed, Capt. Ralph from <b>Last Lady Fishing Charters</b> said in an e-mail. The catch wasn’t up to what he expected, and the trip didn’t fish a couple of wrecks that are holding big cod. “Afraid of weekend warriors,” Ralph said. “(On) the wreck we had the best results on, we had to contend with (a boat) we could have passed food to … as he was drifting by us – one of the reasons I hate fishing for certain species on the weekends.” Lots of out-of-season sea bass to 5 pounds were released. Porgy fishing was phenomenal with Last Lady during the weekend, and bluefishing was good aboard. Blackfishing’s been super for Last Lady. A couple of individual-reservation blackfish trips were added on November 20 (five spots left) and 27. Individual-rez trips for the tog with openings also include those on December 4, 11, 18 and 23 (five spots left), and more will be scheduled. If anglers have a specific date they’d like to go blackfishing, e-mail Ralph, and he’ll add the date if possible. A few spots remain for an individual-reservation trip for striped bass and sea bass November 6. An individual-reservation trip for cod and pollock has been moved to November 23 that had been scheduled for November 8. One of the trips for sea bass, porgies and blackfish is set for November 8. The blackfish bag limit will still be one per person then, and will be increased to six on November 16. Another one of the trips is on the books for November 13. If stripers are still around, the trip will also target them. Charters are also available daily.

<b>Belmar</b>

A steady catch of 7- to 10-pound blues was smacked once again Sunday on the ocean on the party boat <b>Golden Eagle</b>, a report on the vessel’s Web site said. The trip fished “out east” again, the report said, and several anglers limited out. “Just a good day of beating up the blues,” the report said, and both jigs and bait caught them.  The Golden Eagle is bluefishing daily 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily and 7:30 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays. However, Striperthons are sailing every Monday and Friday. “Let’s get the fall striper run going,” the report said. “Good trip last Friday.” Check the <a href="http://www.goldeneaglefishing.com/tuna_schedule_res_form_2011.pdf" target="_blank">Golden Eagle’s canyon tuna schedule and reservations form</a> for info about the boat’s tuna trips.

An open-boat trip Sunday looked for striped bass on the ocean at first with <b>Fish Stix Sportfishing</b>, a report on the boat’s Web site said. Lots of bait was around, but no stripers showed up. So the trip went blackfishing at the rocky bottom. The tog bit instantly, turned off a while, then chewed again. Forty or 45 keeper-sized ones to 7 pounds were landed, and the three anglers kept a limit of one apiece, fish that were 6 and 7 pounds, playing catch and release with the rest.  An open trip Saturday also searched for stripers at first, jigging for them, but none turned up. Lots of bait swam. So the trip began blackfishing, and the angling was slow to start. But eventually the tog started snapping, and a steady pick began. About 50 keeper-sized tog, fish to 7 ¾ pounds, including lots of 4- and 5-pounders, were reeled in. The four anglers kept no more than their limits, playing catch and release with the rest. “Great day on the water with an awesome crew!” the report said. Visit the <a href="http://www.fishstixnj.com/index.php/open-boat-trips" target="_blank">Fish Stix open-boat page</a> online.

<b>Brielle</b>

The crew hoped for striped bass that could be jigged on a trip Saturday on the ocean, after the rough weather, but none showed up, Capt. Jerry from <b>Fish Monger Charters</b> said on a Facebook post. So the trip anchored for bottom fishing, “and had to run away from double-headers of out-of-season sea bass,” he said. But a couple of good-sized, keeper cod came up. The trip “headed for blackfish,” Jerry said, and 3- to 4-pounders shoveled up a good bite. All the anglers kept their limit of one, and played catch and release with more, and the high hook landed 15. “Nice to be back on the water!” Jerry said.

On the party boat <b>Jamaica II</b> a Mudhole trip Sunday was “pretty  good,” an e-mail from Capt. Ryan said. Big ling “and a sprinkle of cod,” he said, got waxed “all around the boat.” Most of the anglers ended up with a mess of fish, and a few only bagged five or ten. The trip fished super-deep in 275-plus feet. Customers and their catches included: Mack Dubois, 41 ling, 2 cod; Mike Sibilia, 34 ling, 3 cod; Roy Williams, 27  ling, 2 cod; Terry Masters, 25 ling; and Curtis Reems, 24 ling, 2 cod. On the boat Saturday a cod trip was okay. Mostly schoolies, no big cod, chomped, and most anglers went home with fish, “but a few caught the skunk,” Ryan said. Fishing was best in the middle of the boat through the day, for some reason, probably current. The bow and stern were out of the current on a few drops. Customers and their catches included: Bob Plasket, 18 cod; Wesley Shourt, 15 cod; Omar Richardson, 12 cod; Dave Tootchen, 11 cod; and Bobby Bohrer, 9 cod. The next Mudhole trips will sail 5 a.m. Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, and the next cod trip will fish 2 a.m. Sunday. Sea bass trips will begin when sea bass season opens November 1.

Striped bass were boated on the ocean early last week from around Ortley Beach to the Seaside Heights piers, said Dave from <b>The Reel Seat</b>. Quite a few were crushed Tuesday, and the fish swam among bunker. A customer checked in a 38-pound striper, and another applied for an IGFA record for a 24-pounder he nailed on a 4-pound tippet, around then. Afterward, in the past days, lots of bunker schooled the ocean, but more bluefish than stripers bit among them. Stripers then were boated among the baitfish until disappearing once the sun came up. To the south in the ocean, loads of small weakfish schooled that some boaters mistook for stripers on the fish finder. The weakies, with a one-fish bag limit, were up to 14 inches, just larger than the 13-inch size limit, so they weren’t really worth targeting. Surf fishing for stripers was hit and miss, at least near the shop, and there was more miss. One customer landed the bass from the surf on 4-inch Storm shads Saturday. Lots of small stripers swam Manasquan River, like along the Route 35 Bridge. Striper fishing in the Point Pleasant Canal was sort of slow, though previously the bass, some of them in the 20-pound range, were picked here and there in the canal in the middle of the night. Dave heard about a 30-pounder. Nothing was heard about whether blackfish bit in the canal like they did before, but they could have. The shop sells no crabs for blackfish bait, so nothing is necessarily heard about the angling. Fishing for porgies and blackfish was good at Axel Carlson Reef. One customer talked about pumping in ling and cod, a good catch, from Shark River Reef. Bluefin tuna were picked at the Monster Ledge, all on the troll. At the canyons, the Wilmington gave up tuna during the early weekend, when the weather finally calmed. Boats also fished the canyons Sunday, and results were yet to be heard, but Dave expected more news about canyon fishing this week, after news from the boaters rolled in.

<b>Point Pleasant Beach</b>

An overnight tuna trip limited out Friday to Saturday on the party boat <b>Gambler</b>, Capt. Bob said. The fishing, at Spencer Canyon at 70-degree waters that were found, was very good, serving up 30- to 70-pound yellowfins throughout the night. Mahi mahi and skipjacks were also reeled in. Space is available on tuna trips departing Tuesday and Thursday. Visit the <a href="http://www.gamblerfishing.net/offshoretrips.html" target="_blank">Gambler’s tuna schedule</a> online. Striped bass trips will begin November 1. Anglers can join the <a href="http://www.rfanj.org/" target="_blank">Recreational Fishing Alliance Fall Fish-a-Thon</a> aboard 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday, November 4, targeting bottom fish, including cod, ling, sea bass, tog and porgies, limited to 40 passengers.

A repeat crew jumped on an overnight, offshore canyon trip with <b>Andrea’s Toy Charters</b>, a report on the boat’s Web site said Saturday. “These guys have had some memorable canyon trips (aboard),” the report said, “(but) this was not the one.” One longfin tuna, some gaffer mahi mahi and skipjacks were rustled up. Tough reports were heard about Hudson Canyon’s fishing, so the trip fished to the south, finding 71-degree, clean waters. At first, skipjacks were trolled, “and (we) lost our first good bite,” the report said. The trip started chunking for the night, and blue sharks and a pup mako were fought throughout the dark. A couple of sizeable mahi were also decked. After daylight, the trip went back on the troll, and the one tuna, more gaffer mahi and skipjacks were tugged in. Tough trip, and the anglers “busted my (chops),” the report said, “but appreciated the effort.” Andrea’s Toy is fishing the canyons on open-boat trips and charters, and will sail for striped bass when the migration kicks in, and for blackfish when the bag limit is hiked up to six of the tog on November 16 from the current limit of one. Andrea’s Toy specializes in mixed-bag fishing for greater fun, better chances of hooking up and more variety for dinner. So, for example, offshore trips target a variety like tuna, mahi, swordfish, sharks and tilefish, all in one outing. Inshore trips might mix up fishing for fish like stripers and blackfish in one outing. However, when a bite like stripers is turned on inshore, the trips close to shore might focus on stripers alone, for example.

<b>Seaside Heights</b>

A few large striped bass were banked from the surf at Island Beach State Park during the weekend on mullet and clams, a report on <b>The Dock Outfitters</b>’ Web site said. The crew at the shop hoped to stock fresh bunker, the report said Sunday morning, and fresh clams came in Friday. Green crabs for blackfishing were stocked and were scarce everywhere lately. Barnegat Bay began to produce good catches of stripers at night on plugs “at the usual (places),” the report said.  Catch the shop’s specials on Shimano Stradic 5000 and 6000 reels. Take advantage of the bin of $5 and $10 plugs on sale. Fresh clams, fresh bunker, eels and the complete line of baits is stocked. Catch Wacky Wednesdays, featuring clams for $2.75 per dozen.

<b>Barnegat Light</b>

Strong winds kept Friday’s bluefish trip from sailing on the party boat <b>Miss Barnegat Light</b>, a report on the vessel’s Web site said. But lots of blues were burned on Saturday’s trip. Some anglers limited out on the 6- to 14-pounders, and patrons averaged six to ten of the fish, taken on bait and jigs. But the story was different on Saturday night’s trip. “Truth in reporting is hard sometimes, but here it goes,” the report said. The trip headed back to where the fish were decked on the daytime trip, but dogfish had invaded the area, and bluefishing was horrible. The trip looked over a bunch of spots, but dogs were located at all. A few blues were caught, “but just an overall frustrating evening,” the report said. The Miss Barnegat Light is bluefishing at 8 a.m. Fridays through Sundays and at 7:30 p.m. Saturdays. The <a href="http://www.missbarnegatlight.com/TunaFishing.html" target="_blank">Miss Barnegat Light’s tuna trips</a> are fishing overnight Sundays.

<b>Mystic Island</b>

Lots of boaters sailed for striped bass but located none Saturday on the ocean and at Little Egg Inlet, said a report on <b>Scott’s Bait & Tackle</b>’s Web site. They no doubt enjoyed a beautiful day, at least. A 16-pound striper was weighed in that day that was boated on the bay, someplace between Pebble Beach and Graveling Point. A 26-pound striper was checked in Saturday from the inlet. “Better catching days are coming,” the report said. Striper fishing was also slow that day, and only three of the fish caught were known about. Bluefish 1 pound swam plentiful at the inlet. Gusting winds kept anglers from fishing through Thursday.

<b>Brigantine</b>

Plenty of kingfish and blues swam the surf, said a report on <b>Riptide Bait & Tackle</b>’s Web site. Fresh clams, “Riptide Rotters,” were stocked today, and jumbo bloodworms were on hand, “and (we’re) just waiting for the stripers to show up and start to suck them down,” the report said. “Just playing the waiting game for these fish – who know when they’re going to show up?” Good-sized eels were available, including in bulk for $85 for a hundred. The annual Riptide Striper Derby is under way, lasting to December 23. Anglers who enter the first, second and third biggest stripers from the Brigantine front beach will win $500, $300 and $150, respectively. Plus a $25 weekly prize, a $50 monthly prize and a $100 woman’s prize will be awarded. Entry in the tournament provides beach-buggy access to the island’s front beach for those who have a Brigantine beach-buggy permit.

<b>Sea Isle City</b>

For the first time this season, a trip aboard searched the ocean for the migration of striped bass and blues, said Capt. Joe Hughes from <b>Jersey Cape Guide Service</b> and <b>Sea Isle Bait & Tackle</b>. None of the fish was found on the charter Sunday, and none was heard about, but the migration will happen one of these days, and it’ll be huge! Joe said. One small weakfish maybe 12 inches was landed, and the trip, with Tom Scranton and friend Bruce Riordan, probably could’ve landed a bunch of weakies, but stripers and blues were the goal, so the anglers kept searching for them. But when the migration was apparently yet to arrive, the trip moved to the back bay, hopped on Joe’s skiff, and whacked 12 to 14 stripers and one blue on poppers along the shallow flats. The bay’s popper fishing for stripers, with both lures and flies, is a specialty on the boat. Joe also did some of the bay fishing in the past days, and catches of 12- to 28-inch stripers were very good. The angling should last a moment longer, and tides are ideal this week for After Work Special Trips in the afternoons to evenings for the fishing. Last chance to go. Once the migration of bigger bass and blues hits the ocean, Jersey Cape will concentrate on them. Many dates are full for charters for the ocean fishing in November and December, and anglers should book ahead if they want to fish the run.  Jersey Cape is also fishing offshore for tuna and big game, and friends were fishing there while Joe hunted stripers this weekend, and he hoped to hear about good results. The fishing’s been good this season. Looking ahead, see Jersey Cape’s <a href=" http://www.captainjoehughes.com/page4.html" target="_blank">traveling charters page</a> for info about annual trips aboard to the Florida Keys this winter from Christmas to Easter. Reserve now, taking advantage of the best rates, like on airfare. Anglers can arrive at the Keys on a Friday evening, fish all day Saturday and part of Sunday, return Sunday evening, and be back to work Monday. The trips can be a mini, fish-filled vacation, for a large variety of catches from redfish to sailfish. Keep up on Joe’s fishing on <a href="http://captainjoehughes.blogspot.com" target="_blank">Jersey Cape’s blog</a>.

<b>Cape May</b>

Trips aboard finally got the weather to sail, and striped bass catches were under way with <b>Relentless Sport Fishing</b> for the season, Capt. Dave said. A trip on deck Saturday with three anglers limited out on stripers, not huge, measuring in the low 40 inches, and threw back probably a dozen keeper-sized stripers and a bunch of shorts. So that was a good catch, and striper fishing wasn’t as solid on a trip on the boat Sunday. But the five anglers bagged four stripers and let go 15 throwbacks. All the fish were bunker chunked on Delaware Bay, and Relentless was now going to move the boat to Fortescue, farther up the bay, to sail for stripers. More of the trips were booked for today and this coming Friday. Relentless is probably finished tuna fishing for the season, especially if trips keep sailing from Fortescue, a longer run offshore than from Cape May. But tuna fishing seemed to be going well. 

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