<b>Perth Amboy</b>

Striped bass were eeled Monday and Tuesday on the <b>Vitamin Sea</b>, Capt. Frank said. But catches lasted 2 or 2 ½ hours in the morning, before boat traffic. Then the trips chased lots of birds working lots of bait, including lots of sand eels, along the water surface to catch stripers. There mostly small bluefish foraged on the bait, but occasionally stripers were jigged. So were weakfish, believe it or not, Frank said. He didn’t fish Wednesday, but heard from an angler who ran into a bunch of stripers that worked the bait that day. Maybe stripers that were offshore were pushing inshore, Frank hoped. Striper fishing is closed beyond 3 miles from shore. Charters are sailing, and space is available on an open-boat trip that will fish for stripers Sunday, if enough anglers sign up. Telephone to climb aboard or if interested in open fishing on other dates. The Vitamin Sea also fishes from Staten Island. “Get your dose of Vitamin Sea!” 
  
<b>Atlantic Highlands</b>

The striped bass bite on, on the party boat <b>Fishermen</b> on Wednesday, Capt. Ron wrote in a report on the vessel’s Web site. Somewhat of a chop, and water temperatures that dropped a couple of degrees, got the fish biting. The high hook landed four, keeping no more than a limit. Another angler pulled in two beauties, Ron said, and some bagged one. A 24-pound striper was the pool-winner, and only a handful of anglers joined the trip. Few showed up at the docks, and the Fishermen was the only party boat that sailed from the port that day. Catches stopped on outgoing tide, when seas became too rough for fishing, on the trip. Weather looked perfect for striper fishing today. The Fishermen is sailing for striped bass 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily, 6:30 to 11:30 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays and 6:30 to 9 p.m. Sundays. However, the boat is chartered this Sunday morning, so no open-boat trip will sail then.

Boaters jigged striped bass during daytime, and eeled them at night, said Jimmy from <b>Julian’s Bait & Tackle</b>. Sometimes they eeled them during daytime, other times not. Lots of big bluefish were boated. Surf anglers plugged stripers early in the day and clammed some later. Blues were beaten in the surf at certain places. Nothing was heard about porgies, but porgies were around, Jimmy thought. He wasn’t asked about blackfish. All baits are stocked.

Bottom-fishing sailed Monday and Tuesday on the party boat <b>Atlantic Star</b>, Capt. Tom said. No trip fished Wednesday, and forecasts called for strong winds today. But the trips the other two days caught a few fish. The angling wasn’t good, but blackfish, porgies and triggerfish came in. Out-of-season sea bass were released. Each drop gave up catches, and though strong winds were forecast, they were supposed to blow westerly, so the ocean’s fishing grounds shouldn’t become riled up, and that’s good. Tom hopes catches pick up, and tomorrow’s forecasts don’t look bad.  The Atlantic Star is bottom-fishing 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily for porgies and blackfish. Monday and Tuesday were the first of those ¾-day trips, after two half-day trips ran daily previously. The longer trips begin around now each year, so the vessel can sail farther to reach fish that are migrating farther from shore.   

<b>Highlands</b>

Striped bass to 36 or 37 pounds, a bunch, were jigged with <b>Fisher Price Charters</b>, Capt. Derek said. Lots were good-sized, and trips fished the ocean and bay, and throwback stripers and bluefish were mixed in. A few stripers were also eeled aboard. Fishing is booked through the weekend aboard, but charters and open-boat trips are running. The next open trips for stripers will run next week, and Derek will determine the schedule. Anglers can telephone to find out or to be kept informed about future open trips.

Roy Wurst’s group, sailing from <b>Twin Lights Marina</b>, jigged two stripers near the BA buoy, Marion wrote in an e-mail. Some trips caught the fish, like on the charter boat Hyper Striper, docked at the marina. Most were jigged, but boaters also tried but caught none or throwbacks. Not a lot sailed for them yet, and the season was early for the bass. Twin Lights, conveniently located on Shrewsbury River, with no bridges before Raritan Bay and the ocean, features boat slips, rack storage, a fuel dock, ship’s store supplies, and a complete bait and tackle shop. Bushels of clams are available, and live bunker will be stocked if the baitfish become in demand.

<b>Neptune</b>

Cod and a pollock were picked aboard Monday with Mike Wallace’s crew, Capt. Ralph from <b>Last Lady Fishing Charters</b> wrote in an e-mail. The high-hook bagged four cod, and Joe Valler’s charter jigged large bluefish and a couple of good-sized stripers early in the day Saturday. Bill Goldberg’s party on Sunday “didn’t have the same results,” Ralph said. “It is important this time of year to leave early on the weekends.” Boat traffic becomes too heavy. An individual-reservation trip for cod and pollock is set for November 4. That will be the season’s final one of the trips to sail that far offshore, and big porgies and sea bass should also be scooped aboard. An inshore wreck-fishing trip is slated for November 10 for sea bass, ling, blackfish, porgies and cod. An individual-reservation trip for blackfish will motor out on November 16, the day the bag limit will be increased to six from the current limit of one. If you have a couple of anglers and want Ralph to make up another one of the trips on another day, contact him. More individual-reservation trips – for stripers, blackfish and wreck-fishing – will be scheduled. After November 16, ones for a combo of blackfish and stripers will run on weekends. After that day, one will also sail on a weekday each week.

<b>Belmar</b>

Bob from <b>Fisherman’s Den</b> apologized for not giving more reports this week, he wrote in an e-mail. “Been out fishing every night,” he said. “Not much sleep.” Surf fishing for striped bass was good for him. “But size not what I would like,” he wrote. Surf anglers worked hard for every striper caught, and the angling was best at night on needlefish, Bomber or SP Minnow lures. Boaters on the ocean landed striped bass – jigging, trolling and eeling them – and huge bluefish on jigs. Blackfish bit well at inlets and Point Pleasant Canal. One is the blackfish bag limit. “Reports keep coming in of abuse of the limit,” Bob said. The limit will be increased to six on November 16.

The full moon passed, and striped bass fishing picked up, Capt. Pete from <b>Parker Pete’s Fishing Charters</b> said.  He thought it would, he said in a previous report. The angling improved on the ocean the last couple of days. But the bass hit either in early mornings, late afternoons or evenings, or catches were “scattered,” he said. Good-sized stripers to 30 pounds were whaled, though. During daytime, fishing for huge blues was great on the ocean. The angling was somewhat finicky on Tuesday. On one day, very small blues, and mackerel, that schooled showed up. Plenty of life including bait filled the ocean. Sand eels were all stacked up. Fall fishing definitely seemed to be coming on, and was moving along like it should, Pete said. Porgies chomped on some days better than others in the ocean. Blackfishing was similar, and on some days was picky. On others, the tautog chewed well an hour or two then backed off, maybe feeding again another time during the day. Don’t have enough anglers for a charter? Contact Pete anyway, or <a href=" http://www.parkerpetefishing.com/" target="_blank">subscribe to Parker Pete’s e-mailed newsletter</a>, to be kept informed about individual-spaces available on charters. Look for the place to sign up on the right side of the page on the boat’s Web site.

Monster bluefish were able to be picked today on the party boat <b>Golden Eagle</b>, a report on the vessel’s Web site said. Fish were marked well, and plenty of birds worked bait on the waters, but the angling was a little off, wasn’t as good as before. No report was posted for Wednesday, and a tuna trip offshore fished overnight Monday to Tuesday, and “was not as good as the last one,” the report said. Only a handful were bagged, and 20 were lost, and a large swordfish was decked. Tuna were marked most of the night and day, and the fish swam through the slick, and broke water around the boat. Was frustrating to see so many but not catch many. The Golden Eagle is fishing 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily and 7:30 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. Thursdays through Sundays. Striperthons will fish every Monday and Friday starting Friday, November 1, running at 6 a.m., usually until 3 or 4 p.m.

<b>Point Pleasant Beach</b>

Fifteen longfin tuna to 40 pounds and some yellowfin tuna to 70 pounds were plowed on an overnight trip to Hudson Canyon with <b>Andrea’s Toy Charters</b>, a report said Monday on Andrea’s Toy’s Web site. A 20-pound bull mahi mahi was also boated, and the charter steamed for the canyon at 6 p.m. On arrival, the trip began chunking, and two longfins, the first bites, were gaffed at midnight. More tuna were missed as the anglers, new to tuna fishing, “got comfortable with the fish and the gear,” the report said. A large fish, “an unreal bite,” the report said, was hooked at 1 a.m. Each of the three anglers fought the fish, but the catch wrapped the line around a lobster pot buoy, and broke off. At 4 a.m., fishing busted loose, and the rest of the longfins, 13 of them, the yellowfins and the mahi were iced. “After the dust settled,” the report said, the charter chose to sail home in flat seas. Great night, the report said.  Capt. Fred in a telephone call said he’s not even thinking about inshore fishing, couldn’t say how inshore was. That’s because offshore was fantastic, unreal, he said, and Andrea’s Toy is concentrating on that. Canyon waters were 73 degrees, and 74-degree waters were “moving down the line,” he said. “Just let them know this is it,” he said. This is the final couple of weeks of tuna fishing. Andrea’s Toy will sail for striped bass and bottom-fish inshore afterward. When the dust settles. 

A great day on the water, Capt. Matt from the party boat <b>Norma-K III</b> wrote about a trip Tuesday for blackfish on the ocean aboard on the vessel’s Web site. That was the most recent report posted there, and the anglers picked away at the tautog at two of the five spots fished. The other spots were slower, and all anglers limited out on one blackfish apiece, and many blackfish were released. A 5-pounder was the pool-winner, and all the fish were green-crabbed. A few striped bass showed up locally that day, so jigs would be carried aboard to fish for them. The Norma-K III is blackfishing 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, is fishing for ling, cod and porgies during the same hours Saturdays and Sundays, and is bluefishing 7:30 p.m. to 1 a.m. Saturdays and Sundays. This weekend will probably be the year’s final for the bluefishing. “We will keep you posted on our upcoming schedule,” Matt said.

<b>Toms River</b>

In the surf, night was the time for striped bass fishing, said Dennis from <b>Murphy’s Hook House</b>. Not many stripers beached were keepers, but a handful were. Lures like needlefish or Ava jigs with teasers were fished. Probably 80 percent of the bass were hooked on teasers, so teasers were necessary. Bait anglers clammed or bunker-chunked somewhat fewer stripers but more keepers than lure anglers from the shore. Herring, shad, small weakfish, kingfish, sundials, skates and fluke also bit in the surf. Definitely some variety, Dennis said. Very few bluefish popped up in the surf or anywhere locally. Just a few were reeled in. Nothing was really doing for boaters fishing on the ocean locally. The surf was 64 to 66 degrees, and will maybe drop a couple of degrees in the next four or five days, because of colder weather. But the ocean probably needed to cool for stripers to be boated locally. The angling will open up overnight then. On Barnegat Bay, eeling for stripers was very good along the sod banks. A couple of customers eeled a 34-pounder, a 31-pounder and a 20-pounder on a trip, went back out Monday, and caught again. A few surf anglers eeled, catching stripers. In back waters like the Toms River, snapper blues, spots and crabs scurried around. But they’ll depart in two or three days, because of the cold. A few anglers in the know caught white perch well at places like that. Otherwise, the perching wasn’t that good, and the season was a little early. The cold will also help that.

<b>Seaside Heights</b>

Surf casters eased in striped bass and blues, said Mario from <b>The Dock Outfitters</b>. Metal or plugs with teasers, fresh clams and fresh bunker worked on the bass. Teasers especially did. Lots of bait schooled the surf, just out of casting range currently. Nothing was really angled from Barnegat Bay nearby. “Kind of quiet,” Mario said. The Dock Outfitters, located on the bay, features an extensive supply of bait and tackle, a dock to fish and crab from and boat rentals for fishing and crabbing.

<b>Forked River</b>

Big bluefish slammed from boats on the ocean were known about, said Kyle from <b>Grizz’s Forked River Bait & Tackle</b>. They pushed record size, he thought, and someone from the local tuna club smashed a 25-pounder. The record is 27 pounds, Kyle thought. Striped bass were winged along Barnegat Inlet’s north and south jetties. A 42-pounder was popper-plugged from the inlet last week. A 30-pound striper was hauled in, and the location was uncertain, but Kyle was pretty sure it came from along the north jetty. Boaters clammed and eeled stripers on Barnegat Bay along the sod banks sometimes. Fall fishing was nothing crazy yet, but some catches started. The bay’s blowfishing seemed finished for the year, or nobody was known about who fished for them.

<b>Barnegat Light</b>

Weather wasn’t cooperating now, but some good catches of striped bass were docked at <b>Bobbie’s Boat Rentals</b>, Vince Sr. said. They came from Barnegat Inlet and along Barnegat Bay’s sod banks, all on livelined spots. No stripers were boated on the ocean locally yet this season. But surf anglers scored okay on stripers, sometimes on sizeable ones. Big bluefish were pounded on the ocean, including just off the inlet. “They come and go with the tide,” Vince said. Tons of blackfish were socked, were easy to catch these days. They hung along Barnegat Inlet’s rocks and along wrecks that anglers knew held them. “But they’re all over,” Vince said. Bobbie’s includes a bait and tackle store, a fuel dock, and boat and kayak rentals, and is known for a large bait selection. Plenty of live spots are stocked, and the baitfish will be carried into December. Fresh clams and fresh bunker are carried, and are catching the stripers in the surf. Green crabs are carried, and are rustling up the blackfish.

<b>Barnegat</b>

From an edited e-mail from Capt. Dave DeGennaro from the <b>Hi Flier</b>: “Our first two trips sailed from our current location in Manasquan Inlet on Sunday and Monday. I moved the Hi Flier north to this inlet to get closer to the fish, and it has paid off. On Sunday, we trolled four keeper bass that were 28 inches, 18 pounds, 24 pounds and 26 pounds for Phil Falato, Mike Blasetti, and my son Nick. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZ2rKmGUoBQ" target="_blank"> Here’s a video of Nick</a> finishing off his new personal best 26-pound striper. All the fish were taken on my own custom umbrella rigs trolled on wire line at the Shrewsbury Rocks. On Monday, we returned to those grounds, finding big flocks of birds and fish busting on the surface. We diamond-jigged 16- to 19-pound bluefish for 3 hours. These are the biggest kind of blues, and they’re a workout. We’ll be sailing out of Manasquan for at least another week, maybe two, depending on when things heat up farther south. The boat is chartered for Sunday, so we’ll be running open-boat trips 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and Monday. Three person max. All fish are shared. We’ll be ready to cast, jig and troll both stripers and blues. Last Wednesday night, I took my two boys, Nick, 15, and Max, 12, on the <a href="http://www.gamblerfishing.net" target="_blank">Gambler</a> out of Point Pleasant Beach for an overnight canyon tuna trip. After a slow night of fishing, we had a wide-open bite on 35- to 40-pound longfin tuna that lasted hours. We had seven between us, and the boys each added a mahi mahi. Awesome boat, awesome crew. <a href="http://youtu.be/aX0HLUNIc3k" target="_blank">Here’s a video of Max</a> doing battle with a 37-pound longfin that ate a bait he pitched on a spinning rod for a mahi mahi. It was a pretty big spinner, my Cabo 80, and he handled it like a champ.”

<b>Surf City</b>

Fishing was slow, said Sue from <b>Surf City Bait & Tackle</b>. Seven striped bass were entered so far in the Long Beach Island Surf Fishing Classic. This was the season-long tournament’s third week, and fewer fish were entered lately than previously. Two were entered Sunday, and they were the final ones this week, when Sue gave this report this afternoon in a phone call. Surf anglers fished hard to catch stripers. Sometimes the fish were banked at Holgate. Ava jigs, clams and bunker latched into stripers from the surf. A kid who entered a striper in the derby Sunday drilled the fish on an Ava with a green tail. Throwback stripers gathered along the bridge in the bay. But the season was early, and waters were warm. The shop’s netter said fishing was three weeks behind. The surf was 62 degrees a couple of days ago, and good-sized kingfish, a warm-water catch, were nipped from the surf. Some were heard about a couple of days ago, and bloodworms or Fishbites artificial worms will catch them. Fluke, another warm-water fish, were hooked in the surf. Blackfishing was good along Barnegat Inlet’s jetties and the condo docks in Barnegat Light. Fresh clams are stocked, and the store was waiting for fresh bunker to arrive. Eels are carried, and Sue hopes to stock more bloodworms, because they sold like wild, because anglers focused on kingfish. Visit <a href="http://www.surfcitybaitandtackle.com/" target="_blank">Surf City Bait & Tackle’s Web site</a>. Keep in touch on <a href=" http://www.facebook.com/pages/Surf-City-Bait-and-Tackle/207533229268619
" target="_blank">Surf City Bait & Tackle’s Facebook page</a>.

<b>Mystic Island</b>

A couple of stripers were reported pasted from Mullica River today, said Scott from <b>Scott’s Bait & Tackle</b>, and he guessed some keepers could be cranked from the river. But overall, news was slow this week. Few customers reported fishing, and Scott guessed they waited to hear about the season’s first migrating stripers locally. One 18-inch throwback hooked was known about from the end of Radio Road from shore. Anglers would think striper fishing would develop more at places like that. No stripers caught could be confirmed from Little Egg Inlet. One angler fished there 7 hours, only tying into sharks. Stripers were around in the bay, but whether on the Tuckerton side or in Great Bay wasn’t known. A 33-pound striper was weighed in on Saturday that was trolled from the ocean on a Stretch lure. Stripers started to migrate, no doubt. Catches were sometimes heard about from farther north, like one report from an angler who sailed on a Point Pleasant Beach party boat. Nobody mentioned blackfishing. Fresh, shucked clams, bloodworms, green crabs and live grass shrimp are stocked.

<b>Absecon</b>

Capt. Dave from <b>Absecon Bay Sportsman Center</b> was only going to report about striped bass, because that’s what anglers should fish for, he said.  Basically, striper fishing was on fire, he said, and he expects it to get better. His first striper charter sailed on October 16, covered in a previous report. The trip, with one angler, landed six keeper stripers and plenty of throwbacks on the back bay. The keepers were livelined on spots, but Dave’s trips are mostly fishing jigheads with Gulp jerk shads or 6-inch Crawtail Grubs. He favors chartreuse, but anglers who used other colors, like white or pink, swore by those colors. His charters have been like that ever since. They’ve been phenomenal, he said, catching up to 50 stripers each outing on the bay. The sizes were a mix from 15 to 30 inches, and keepers were taken on each charter. A charter Wednesday with an angler and his nephew, in the rain, pulled in one keeper and a dozen throwbacks “very local,” Dave said, in the Broad Creek and Absecon area. Not much was heard about other boats fishing in the weather that day. That included from the ocean, and the ocean was of interest because news was heard about sizeable stripers turning on along the surf that day, Wednesday. Reports Dave heard were second-hand, but he saw the bass to 25 pounds from Brigantine photographed. “So things are coming together,” he said. Still, the bay was warm enough for weakfish that were hooked from the waters occasionally. Fishing the jigs especially offered a chance at them. Weaks probably schooled the ocean front, Dave guessed, and those waters were warm enough. Blackfishing was good, like along the bridges on the bay, and the waters cleared up well. Clear waters are usually necessary for blackfish to bite, and the conditions look good for the weekend. The shop is loaded with bait, including plenty of beautiful, live spots, Dave said, eels, fresh clams and green crabs. Fresh bunker is supposed to arrive this afternoon.

<b>Brigantine</b>

One angler, “Linda D.,”  crushed 18 striped bass to 25 pounds, weighing in three, from Brigantine’s surf early Wednesday morning at <b>Riptide Bait & Tackle</b>, Capt. Andy wrote in a report on the shop’s Web site. She became in first through third places in the store’s striper derby with the bass. She landed two stripers and a redfish from the beach that night, and said many anglers “are casting over the fish, so the (stripers) must be staying in tight to the beach,” Andy said. The only other report about a striper from the surf was that another angler broke one off.  The shop’s annual bounty will be awarded for fall’s first striper 43 inches or larger checked in from Brigantine’s surf. The bounty was up to $390 today, and entry is $5, required 12 hours before catching the fish. The winner takes all the cash. The Riptide Striper Derby, the annual Brigantine surf-fishing contest, is under way until December 23.  When entrants purchase a Brigantine beach-buggy permit, the tournament provides another permit to drive onto the beach along the entire island, instead of only at the cove, south jetty and north end. Prizes are $500, $300 and $150 for first, second and third prizes, respectively. Plus, a monthly $100 prize and a weekly $25 prize are awarded.

<b>Atlantic City</b>

A 47-pound 49-1/2-inch striped bass was weighed in from the surf, said Noel from <b>One Stop Bait & Tackle</b>. That is the biggest striper reported on this site this fall, and a bass that size could become the largest for the season. A good number of stripers were waxed by shore anglers, on fresh clams, fresh bunker, plugs and eels. Lots of bait including sand eels flooded the waters. Fishing was definitely on, Noel said. The shore casters flung in many blackfish. Bluefish, spots and occasional kingfish were banked. Customers fish on foot along the ocean surf and Absecon Inlet, both near the shop. The inlet is lined with fish-attracting jetties. The store carries a large supply of bait, currently including fresh bunker. 

<b>Ocean City</b>

Striped bass caught were mostly throwbacks that were heard about, said Justin from <b>Fin-Atics</b>.  The shorts were angled from the back of the bay at feeder creeks, like on spots, eels and popper lures. But even that was nothing consistent. Spots and a few kingfish hovered the surf, and those are fish that swim warmer waters than stripers mostly do. But a few stripers 12 to 30 inches were heard about from the surf, banked along structure like jetties and pipes, on soft-plastic lures, top-water plugs and divers. Tons of stripers littered the bay along bridges, but none was larger than 20 inches, really. Nothing was heard about boaters fishing the ocean. “Nobody’s going to waste the gas,” Justin said. One of the party boats was seen fishing Great Egg Harbor River, instead of the ocean, with a full crowd. Justin never heard about something like that before. Anglers on a trip from Ocean City’s intermediate school saw the boat. The school trip fished for catches like white perch and small fish like sea bass. Blackfishing dried up in the past week or nothing was heard about them in that time. 

<b>Sea Isle City</b>

The back bay’s striped bass fishing was pretty good, finally, said Capt. Joe Hughes from <b>Jersey Cape Guide Service</b>, affiliated with <b>Sea Isle Bait & Tackle</b>. He lately mostly ran annual traveling charters to Montauk, New York, reported previously. But on Monday evening, he fished the bay with his wife near Sea Isle City. Ten stripers were jigged, and a couple were missed, on Bass Assassins in Electric Chicken in only 2 hours. On Wednesday evening, three were jigged, and two were missed, in only a 45-minute trip with his son and mother in law. Plus, tides weren’t ideal for the fishing on the outings. High tides at dusk, coming around every two weeks, are. The fish could’ve been fly-rodded, too, and the bite was sub-surface. In summer and early fall, Jersey Cape popper-plugs and popper-fly-rods stripers along the surface in the bay. Take an After Work Special Trip from 4 p.m. to dark on the bay, a great time for fishing. Joe will return to Montauk to fish the migration of large stripers and blues this weekend for the final time this season. Then he’ll turn attention to the migration at Sea Isle in the ocean. That angling happens in November and December, usually peaking around Thanksgiving, and should be booked now. Looking ahead, annual traveling charters to the Florida Keys will fish from Christmas to Easter, mostly on weekends. A large variety of catches can be chased, from redfish and speckled sea trout to tarpon and sailfish. The trips can be a mini, fish-filled vacation.  Keep up with Joe’s fishing on <a href="http://captainjoehughes.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Jersey Cape’s blog</a>.

Back-bay striped bass fishing was excellent, said Mike from <b>Sea Isle Bait & Tackle</b>. The angling was probably “the best thing going,” he said,  and quite a few of the bass were mugged, mostly in evenings, after work, or 4 p.m. to dark, something like that. But that was the only time anglers mentioned going, so whether the bass could be hooked during other times was unknown. Anglers were around who caught them like crazy, like 12 of the fish in an afternoon. Bucktails with twister worms probably caught best. Whether the worm was a Gulp, Mister Twister or something else probably didn’t matter, so long as it imparted movement. More and bigger stripers than before were axed at bridges at night the past few days. Sometimes a sizeable one was hammered, and a 33-incher was. Weakfish were mixed in, not a ton, but some. Bluefish and weaks, not numbers like before, but some, were lifted from Townsend’s Inlet from shore. Some days were better than others, and if fishing from shore, the inlet was the best bet, because no catches were reported from the ocean surf. Stripers were beached from the ocean surf farther north at times, like at Brigantine. Blackfish were tugged from Townsend’s on the Avalon side along the sea wall. Only one report rolled in from an ocean boater. The angler fished a wreck, saying blackfish and a few triggerfish covered it up.  The migration of large stripers and bluefish is impending, and the store’s striper tournament, the South Jersey Striper Slam, will be held November 8 to 10. Registration is $125 per boat and $50 for shore or kayak anglers, and first-place winners will take all the money, and prizes will be awarded for second and third places. The boundaries are from the ocean to the bays, from Great Egg Harbor Inlet to Cape May, not including Delaware Bay. Calcuttas are available, and an awards ceremony, with soda, sandwiches and sides, will be included on the final day. Contact or visit the store for more info, and more is available on <a href=" http://seaislebaitandtackle.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Sea Isle Bait & Tackle’s blog</a> and <a href=" https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sea-Isle-Bait-Tackle-LLC/178718692176097" target="_blank">Facebook page</a>.

<b>Cape May</b>

The party boat <b>Porgy IV</b> will begin wreck-fishing on the ocean November 1, Capt. Paul said. Sea bass season will be opened that day, and Paul previously said the vessel could sail for striped bass before then, if stripers showed up where the boat fishes, in the ocean or Delaware Bay. But he didn’t really think stripers would arrive that early, because they haven’t in recent years, though they used to. Sure enough, he heard about no stripers from the ocean or bay yet. Small stripers bit along bridges and docks in the back bay, he thought, and he heard nothing about surf catches. The boat’s been docked since sea bass trips ended aboard on October 15, when sea bass season was closed. The Porgy IV will begin wreck-fishing at 8 a.m. daily on November 1.

A couple of boats were known about that are supposed to fish for striped bass this weekend, said Capt. George from the <b>Heavy Hitter</b>. He’ll hear about striper fishing then from Cape May for the first time this season. His first striper charter this fall is slated for November 1. Charters can also sail for sea bass starting then, opening day of sea bass season.

Quite a few blackfish were clutched from along jetties, mostly on green crabs, said Nick from <b>Hands Too Bait & Tackle</b>. Striped bass seemed to be sliding down the coast, and migrators seemed to be reported from places including Brigantine, north of Cape May. A few Cape May surf anglers put together good striper fishing along jetties on lures. Fishing for small stripers was good on the back bay, like at bridges. Nothing was heard about larger, migrating stripers boated yet, like from Delaware Bay. But that should be a matter of time, and plenty of bunker schooled the bay, and that could bode well. Coastal waters were still warm, and warm-water fish were still around, like spearing. Pompano and kingfish netted from the surf were heard about. They should depart soon because of cold weather that started. Nick hooked a ling from the surf, and the cold-water fish seemed promising. He didn’t know the surf temperature, but kept putting his hands in the water, and it felt in the 60s. Fresh clams, eels, bloodworms and green crabs are stocked. Fresh bunker will be carried.

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