<b>Port Elizabeth</b>

One angler reported bagging two striped bass 36 and 42 inches from shore at Thompson’s Beach during the weekend, said Sharon from <b>The Girls Place Bait & Tackle</b>. Another reported grabbing a couple of keepers while fishing on foot at the Cape May Ferry jetty on the bay during the weekend. What the first angler’s fish were hooked on was unknown, but the second landed the fish on bunker. Not much was heard about stripers boated from the bay, maybe because weather was relentless. Strong west wind blew almost every day. Wind from that direction roughs up seas on the bay, though the ocean close to shore can be protected from that wind direction. Land shields the ocean then. The bay must’ve been dirty because of the wind and seas. Those catches from land seemed surprising. Maybe boaters want to try fishing for stripers close to shore, because of that, instead of traditional places fished farther from shore for stripers on the bay, like 60-Foot Slough. A friend boated lots of throwback stripers and two keepers, none big, at Brandywine Lighthouse on the bay, on bunker. Customers sometimes reported boating stripers here and there on the bay last week. Rumors said stripers were trolled on the ocean toward Sea Isle City. Customers bought green crabs for blackfish bait, but no results were heard about the angling. The shop’s been stocking fresh bunker, the most popular bait for stripers on the bay in autumn. The weather could hamper the supply, because when the wind blows, bunker boats can’t always sail. The Girls Place, located on Route 47, just after Route 55 ends, carries a large supply of bait and tackle, and is the long, one-story, yellow building on the right. It’s on the way to the bay.

<b>Fortescue</b>

Throwback striped bass, throwback blackfish and some keeper blackfish, not large, bit in the bay, said Capt. Mike from the party boat <b>Bonanza</b>. Some of the Cape May boats traveled the ocean to Atlantic City for big striped bass to 40 pounds that gathered there during the weekend. The migration of large stripers this season reached as far south as Wildwood and Cape May. Then warmer weather seemed to draw them back north a little. The Bonanza will keep fishing, and anglers will see whether the migration of big stripers heads up the bay this autumn. Even if they arrive late, the boat will sail for them. If the bass by-pass the bay or keep migrating south in the ocean, without entering the bay, trips will be stopped for the year. But Mike will see what happens, and stripers could show up any moment. Open-boat trips are fishing every Monday and Friday, and charters are sailing.

A few throwback striped bass to 25 inches were angled Saturday on the party boat <b>Salt Talk</b>, Capt. Howard said. No keepers were hooked this season aboard yet. Trips on the boat moved around to fish for stripers. Spots fished included off False Egg Island Point and at the rips a little north and inshore of Miah Maul. Bunker chunks were fished for bait, and eels were tried on three or four drifts on Sunday aboard. One angler thought he hooked a striper on one of the eels, but might’ve been hooked on bottom. No bunker were seen in the bay, probably because seas were rough. The baitfish are difficult to see then. Marks were read on the fish finder that looked like bunker. Relentless west wind that always roughs up the bay probably didn’t help fishing. The bay was 44 degrees on Sunday, and Fortescue Creek was 39, according to the boat’s gauge. A charter was slated for today, but weather might be too rough to sail. Howard plans to fish open-boat on Thanksgiving, if enough anglers want to go. Open-boat trips are fishing when no charter is booked, and might be most likely to sail on weekends this time of year, because of demand. Anglers can telephone the boat to confirm.  

Back to Top