<b>Fortescue</b>

Open-boat trips are fishing for striped bass Fridays through Mondays on the party boat <b>Bonanza</b>, Capt. Mike said. Charters are also striper fishing, and some of the fish are showing up locally. Many were throwbacks, and fishing for bigger stripers that migrated in seemed to be coming alive on the southern bay. The trips aboard are fishing with chunks of bunker for stripers, and the outings will fish to the beginning of December or longer, if the fish remain. The blackfish bag limit will be increased to six starting on Sunday, from the current limit of one. That’ll give the option to split up trips, fishing for stripers part of the day, and angling for blackfish the other part, if stripers “aren’t biting right.”

Trips fished Saturday and Sunday on the party boat <b>Salt Talk</b>, Capt. Howard said. Junk fish bit on Saturday, and a couple of bumps might’ve been stripers, but that couldn’t be certain. On Sunday, one striper was hooked and ran off, but got off. The trips fished off False Egg Island Point or at the slough off the point with chunks of bunker. A few stripers were boated locally, and seemed to be resident stripers or younger stripers, yet to migrate. One of the party boats docked a keeper, Howard thought. The bay was 52 to 57 degrees, depending on location and time of day, according to the boat’s gauge. Charters are booked to fish for stripers Thursday through Saturday, if rough weather doesn’t cancel the trips. The coming cold front might rough up weather. An open-boat trip will fish for stripers on Sunday, and open trips are sailing for the bass when no charter is booked. Open trips might be more likely to sail around weekends this time of year, and anglers can telephone the boat to confirm the schedule.

<b>Cape May</b>

Fishing for striped bass was no good on the bay Saturday on the <b>Heavy Hitter</b>, Capt. George said. He wasn’t even sure that any stripers bit on the trip. One striper, a 48-incher, large, was bagged Sunday on the bay on the boat. The fishing wasn’t easy on the bay during the weekend, but when stripers were bagged, they were big. Three stripers bagged was the most George knew about from a boat on the bay over the weekend. Some boats landed one or two, and many landed none. George knew about no stripers taken from the Cape May Rips or the ocean near Cape May during the weekend. Four stripers 38 to 41 inches were bagged on the bay on the Heavy Hitter on Tuesday, on the season’s first trip for stripers aboard. That was a good start, and the angling was slow for the fleet on Wednesday through Friday, George heard. Chunks of bunker are fished for the bass on the bay, and bunker did school the bay during the weekend. Maybe the full moon affected fishing around the weekend.

Striped bass were in, said Capt. Frank from <b>Melanie Anne Sport Fishing Charters</b>. Fishing for them was good on the bay and at the Cape May Rips. The angling was no good on the ocean toward Cape May. But stripers were sometimes trolled from the ocean farther north. On the bay, stripers, large, were bunker-chunked at places like the mouth, 60-Foot Slough, 20-Foot Slough and the Punk Grounds. At the rips, stripers were hooked on livelined bait or on the troll. Melanie Anne will begin to offer combo striper and blackfish trips, once the blackfish bag limit is hiked to six starting on Sunday, from the current limit of one.

A customer is on standby to take the season’s first Cast and Blast Trip on the bay with <b>Fins and Feathers Outfitters</b>, Capt. Jim said. That’s a combo of striped bass fishing and duck hunting on the bay over a couple of days, and when Jim gets the word that the fishing is ready, the trip will go. The customer travels to the area on weekends. The season’s first one of the trips was originally scheduled for yesterday, and Fins also offers trips that just fish for stripers, of course. Stripers should swim the bay from now until Thanksgiving, at least. Jim will haul the duck boats, four of them, to the bay this weekend. Fins hunts both ducks and geese along the bay. Jim is currently guiding duck and goose hunting in Pennsylvania.

Sounded like striped bass started to be boated from the bay, said Nick from <b>Hands Too Bait & Tackle</b>. The fish, mostly up to 45 inches, were chunked on bunker, like at the Cock and Balls, off Cape May Canal and tight to shore off Joe’s Point. A couple of boats were heard about that trolled stripers on the ocean toward Avalon. Not much was heard about striper fishing in the surf, and the migration seemed be making its way south to local waters. Blackfish bit along surf jetties. In the back bay, striper fishing seemed to start dwindling, Nick heard that sea bass fishing was good on the ocean. A buddy scored a good day, bagging 15 sea bass, on the party boat Porgy IV from Cape May on the ocean Tuesday. Took somewhat of a ride from shore to reach them, but the trip caught well, and also socked large bluefish. Fresh bunker and clams and live spots and eels are stocked. 

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