<b>Staten Island</b>

<b>Outcast Charters</b> limited out on blackfish Thursday and Sunday, Capt. Joe said. The two trips bounced around to different areas to catch, but the fish weighed up to 10 pounds on each, and the fishing was good. The trip Thursday stopped to jig striped bass that were seen on the way home. But the stripers were throwbacks, only 16 to 20 inches, very small. Outcast will stop on stripers if seen when blackfish trips are traveling and the anglers want, though small bass seemed abundant lately. But blackfishing held up and was good aboard this season, and is a specialty for Outcast. Trips are also available from Sewaren, New Jersey.

<b>Atlantic Highlands</b>

On the party boat <b>Atlantic Star</b>, lots of blackfish – lots of throwbacks, with some keepers – were pitched aboard, Capt. Tom said. A few were “nice,” he said, and the daily trips for blackfish sailed Saturday and Sunday, but not Friday. Today’s trip was expected to be weathered out. Only a few anglers joined the trips, and on Sunday, one limited out. On Saturday, some anglers bagged three, four or five apiece. One landed no keepers Sunday, Tom thought, but all the trip’s anglers at lease reeled in throwbacks. One or two landed no keepers Saturday, he thought. Green crabs are supplied for bait, and white leggers are available for sale aboard. Which caught best was difficult to say on these trips. Sometimes green crabs worked better lately, and sometimes both caught equally. The Atlantic Star is blackfishing 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily. <b>***Update, Monday, 12/9:***</b> Tuesday’s trip will be docked, because of weather, Tom said. Forecasts are calling for snow then, and Wednesday’s weather doesn’t look good, but that could change. Anglers can telephone about whether that day’s trip will sail. <b>***Update, Wednesday, 12/11:***</b> Trips aboard will try to sail Thursday and Friday, Tom said, and weather is questionable for the weekend.

<b>Highlands</b>

Blackfishing was good, but really had to work for the fish, on Sunday on the <b>Vitamin Sea</b>, Capt. Frank wrote in an e-mail. Twenty-eight of the tautog, two less than the trip’s limit, to 7 pounds were bagged. Many shorts also bit, and action was good. Plenty of blackfish were around, and should bite, well into January, so long as waters don’t become too cold. Charters are fishing, and open-boat trips will continue. Anglers can telephone if interested. “Get your dose of Vitamin Sea!”

With <b>Fisher Price Charters</b>, good blackfishing was boated, Capt. Derek said. The fishing, sailing when weather allowed, was better on some days than others. But almost all trips limited out, and a bunch of healthy-sized blackfish were pasted aboard this past week. That included 10-pounders and almost up to 12 pounds. Charters are fishing, and the next open-boat trips for blackfish will steam Thursday through Sunday. Telephone to climb aboard or to be kept informed about future open trips.

<b>Neptune</b>

All bigger blackfish were bagged Saturday with <b>Last Lady Fishing Charters</b>, Capt. Ralph wrote in an e-mail. First, one angler pumped in two large ones, and thought he might win the pool. Then another angler caught one bigger, and released another that weighed more than 12 pounds. He heaved in four more large ones, too. The 11 anglers totaled about 30 “quality-sized togs,” Ralph said. Most were hooked on white leggers. Charters are available daily, and the next individual-reservation trips for blackfish will sail Wednesday and Saturday. All bait and tackle is included. Sea bass season will be closed on January 1, and charters are available for them offshore. The cabin is heated, and coffee is brewing, and a microwave is aboard.

<b>Belmar</b>

Some promising reports rolled in from the surf Saturday, Bob from <b>Fisherman’s Den</b> wrote in an e-mail Sunday. Large numbers of small stripers, “with a few actual nice keepers,” he said, were sometimes beached in Monmouth County. Asbury Park, Deal, Avon and Bradley Beach gave up some of the fish. Sea herring sometimes showed up in the surf, and that could be the reason that better-sized stripers appeared. “The old saying ‘it ain’t over till it’s over’ couldn’t describe bass fishing better,” he said. Belmar’s party boats scored some great blackfishing. The fish weighed up to 12 pounds, and many limits were bagged. “This would be a good time to fill the freezer for winter,” he said. 

Anglers aboard landed three keeper striped bass to 28 pounds, a few dozen throwbacks and a few blues Saturday on the party boat <b>Golden Eagle</b>, “but just not enough fish,” a report on the vessel’s Web site said. Not a great day of striper fishing, it said, and that was the only report posted after Thursday. Trips will now fish only at 7:30 a.m. Fridays through Sundays, because of the time of year.

Weather was seasonal, like snow on Sunday, but blackfishing was pretty steady the past few days, said Capt. Pete from <b>Parker Pete’s Fishing Charters</b>. Seas weren’t so bad in the snow, and anglers picked away at the tautog aboard. Striped bass pushed inshore of 3 miles a moment last week, because water temperatures rose to 48 degrees. That was around Thursday or Friday, and Pete forgot exactly when. But some keepers were bagged aboard, and lots of throwbacks were also in. Striper fishing is closed beyond 3 miles from shore. Don’t have enough anglers for a charter? Contact Parker Pete’s anyway for individual spaces available on charters. Or <a href=" http://www.parkerpetefishing.com/" target="_blank">subscribe to Parker Pete’s e-mailed newsletter</a> to be kept informed about the spaces. Look for the place to sign up on the right side of the page on the boat’s Web site.

A couple of trips on boats from the docks turned up good blackfishing Saturday, Capt. Mike from the <b>Katie H</b> said. He heard nothing about the angling Sunday, but was sure the catches were good then, too. Better-sized striped bass swam 2 miles from shore a couple of days last week, after the fish previously swam beyond 3 miles, where striper fishing is closed. On Saturday, striper fishing didn’t sound productive, and Mike heard nothing about the fishing Sunday. He knew an angler who bagged three sizeable stripers, with a bonus tag, to 25 pounds early last week on a party boat from Point Pleasant Beach. On the next day, the fish were gone. Stripers are on the move this time of year. Bluefin tuna swam from the reefs to the Mudhole to all the way offshore at Hudson Canyon. “Pick your size,” Mike said. The smaller bluefins held inshore, and the larger held offshore. But fairly large ones were heard about from the Mudhole. A friend walloped a 500-pounder all the way offshore a few days ago. The Katie H, featuring speed and all the amenities, including for comfort in autumn weather, is still in the water this season, available for fishing.

<b>Brielle</b>

Mostly big, fat ling were scooped aboard, and fishing was good, on wreck-fishing trips through the past week on the party boat <b>Jamaica II</b>, Capt. Ryan wrote in an e-mail. Fishing was also good on blackfish trips. On the wreck trips, a few sea bass and cod were mixed in with the ling, and so was a 22-pound monkfish that Ed Winston eased in. Ray Gilbert from Baltimore’s 35-pound cod was the highlight of the week on the outings. Catches also included Jeffrey Huffman’s 43 ling and Teddy Melnic’s 31 ling. On the blackfish trips, catches included limits of the tautog to 8 pounds. Fourteen-hour wreck trips are sailing 3 a.m. to 5 p.m. every Saturday for cod, ling and sea bass. Twelve-hour wreck trips are running 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. every Sunday and Wednesday for ling and cod at the Mudhole. Blackfishing trips are sailing 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. every Monday and Friday.

Striped bass were dragged from the surf Saturday at Allenhurst, Point Pleasant Beach, Bay Head and Mantoloking at first light, said Dave from <b>The Reel Seat</b>. Small plugs like Daiwa SP Minnows and some of the Savage minnows, or metal like a T-Hex or a Deadly Dick, caught in the surf lately, “definitely with a teaser,” he said. Nothing was really heard about boating for stripers on the ocean, because customers boated for bluefin tuna instead. When weather enabled them to boat, and the customers could avoid boat traffic, they landed the bluefins 5 to 15 miles from shore. That was mostly while trolling ballyhoos on Joe Schute daisy chains. Farther offshore, fishing for bluefins was very good at Hudson Canyon. The fish were 300 to 500 pounds, and sometimes smaller ones, 100-pounders, were heard about. Boaters mostly chunked at the Hudson, and a customer also docked a 280-pound bigeye tuna from the Hudson on Thursday. 

<b>Point Pleasant Beach</b>

Anglers picked away at blackfish – some keepers and a good number of shorts – Friday on the party boat <b>Norma-K III</b>, a report on the vessel’s Web site said. That was the only report posted in past days. A 12-pounder was the pool-winner, and the high hook bagged five, and everybody bagged at least one, except one or two anglers. Green crabs caught most, and whites hooked only a few. Green crabs are supplied, and whites are for sale aboard when available. The Norma-K III is blackfishing 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily. Magic Hour Ling Trips are fishing 3 to 9 p.m. every Saturday.

<b>Sea Isle City</b>

A crew on one boat took a short trip on the ocean Saturday that limited out on striped bass, including some “nice, big fish,” <b>Sea Isle Bait & Tackle</b>’s blog said. The trip began late in the day, “like dusk late,” it said. The trip fished from the inlet to 2 ½ miles from shore, returning to port in no time. Like usual in autumn, boaters had to pick weather wisely to make it out, and Saturday afternoon was a time to go. Visit <a href="http://seaislebaitandtackle.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Sea Isle Bait & Tackle’s blog</a>.

The migration of striped bass might’ve started to wind down in the ocean, said Capt. Joe Hughes from <b>Jersey Cape Guide Service</b>, affiliated with <b>Sea Isle Bait & Tackle</b>. But he couldn’t confirm, because no trips sailed aboard for them, and nobody was heard about who did, in weather this weekend. That doesn’t mean striper fishing is finished aboard for the season. Joe will chase the fish as long as they remain. He’s also gearing up for traveling charters to the Florida Keys that he runs from Christmas to Easter each year, mostly on weekends.  Anglers can arrive on a Friday, fish all day Saturday and part of Sunday, return Sunday evening, and be back to work Monday. A large variety of fish, from redfish and speckled sea trout to tarpon and sailfish, can be targeted. See <a href="http://www.captainjoehughes.com/page3.html" target="_blank">Jersey Cape’s traveling charters Web page</a>. Keep up with Joe’s fishing on <a href="http://captainjoehughes.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Jersey Cape’s blog</a>.

<b>Cape May</b>

Striped bass fishing was cancelled Friday and Sunday, because of weather, but sailed Saturday on the <b>Heavy Hitter</b>, Capt. George said. Three keeper stripers – a sizeable one 35 or 36 inches, a 32-incher and a 28-incher – and a bunch of throwbacks were cranked in. The keepers and some throwbacks came from Cape May Rips while the anglers, Ken Pfeffer’s charter, eeled and bucktailed. A bunch more throwbacks were hooked while the anglers bunker-chunked off Cape May Point. Friday’s weather wasn’t bad, but the charter that day cancelled because of rain. Sunday’s weather was rough, and a friend said it was all white water that day. Blackfishing and sea bass fishing are also available aboard, and the Heavy Hitter will fish until this weekend, and George will call it a season afterward.

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