<b>Keyport</b>

Keeper striped bass were difficult to find, since the storm on Thursday, Capt. Frank from the <b>Vitamin Sea</b> wrote in an email. Two or three were bagged on each trip, and bigger stripers will be caught, like before, once the full moon wanes. Jigging produced super action with stripers, but mostly throwbacks. Bluefish, some of them large, were mixed in. Charters and open-boat trips are fishing, and the schedule is booked this week and this coming weekend. The striper run is on, and don’t wait to fish for them. They’ll be gone, and snow will fly, before you know, he said. Open trips for blackfish will begin on November 18, and telephone for the schedule.  “Get your dose of Vitamin Sea!”

Good striped bass fishing, Capt. Mario from the <b>Down Deep</b> said. The fishing was better during daytime than at night. Jigs or bunker were fished for them, and eeling for the bass was hit or miss, on the boat. Mario looks forward to the blackfish bag limit being raised to six starting on Sunday, from the current limit of one. Reserve charters and open-boat trips for blackfish, because room is running out quickly. Sign up for the <a href=" http://www.downdeepsportfishing.com/ddsf/76-2/" target="_blank">Short Notice List</a> on Down Deep’s website to be kept informed about open trips. Open trips for stripers are sailing at 3:30 p.m. every Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.  Look for special open trips for sea bass that will sail offshore.

<b>Atlantic Highlands</b>

Jigging was great on Saturday on the party boat <b>Fishermen</b>, Capt. Ron wrote in a report on the vessel’s website. Plenty of big blues, some keeper striped bass and a whole bunch of throwbacks were fought. The fishing gave up action from beginning to end on the trip. Nearly anything fished, caught, and rubber shads hooked most of the bass. A 15-pound striper was the pool-winner. Weakfish, croakers and butterfish were in the fishes’ stomachs on the trip. That was the most recent report posted on the boat’s website at press time, since a report on Wednesday. Wednesday’s fishing was covered in the previous report here. The Fishermen is sailing for striped bass and blues 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily and for stripers 6:30 to 11:30 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays.

None of the bottom-fishing trips fished Thursday and Friday on the party boat <b>Atlantic Star</b>, Capt. Tom said. Thursday brought a storm, and Friday was windy. But the trips resumed on Saturday. Sea bass and a few porgies were swung in, and fish were caught at every stop. Dog sharks were annoying, forcing the trip to keep moving. But Sunday’s trip escaped dogs, fishing first at two areas. Lots of porgies, mostly throwbacks, and a few sea bass came in. Action was good, and next, the trip fished another two places, and a few sea bass, a couple of porgies and a few blackfish, keepers and shorts, were shoveled up. The trip “mixed it up,” and nobody caught a bucketful, but all left with dinner, and a good mix of fish chewed. Fishing on the two days was actually better than Tom expected, after the rough weather. All in all, trips are catching fish, he said. He’d like to try fishing some different areas, but the dog sharks made him hesitate.  The Atlantic Star is fishing for sea bass, porgies and blackfish 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily. <b>***Update, Tuesday, 11/11:***</b> Was a nice day, Tom said in a phone call aboard at the end of today’s trip. Lots of porgies bit, and some were terrific-sized. The porgies were mixed sizes, but the anglers all put together a good catch of them. A few more sea bass chomped than before, not a lot, but more than on Monday. A few more blackfish also chewed than yesterday, and most were shorts, and a couple were keepers. If anglers want porgies, now’s the time, because trips will target blackfish starting Sunday, when the bag limit is amped up to six, from the current limit of one. Weather currently doesn’t sound bad for Sunday. <b>***Update, Wednesday, 11/12:***</b> Porgy fishing was good on today’s trip, Tom said. The fish were mixed sizes, and lots were large, and all anglers left with catches. Just a couple of sea bass were sacked, and no blackfish were. The trip basically targeted porgies, and avoided dog sharks, and this was a good day of fishing, he said.

<b>Neptune</b>

The boat ran great, Capt. Ralph from <b>Last Lady Fishing Charters</b> wrote in an email. That was after improvements to the engine, and the trip, on Sunday, had to travel a long way to fish for striped bass, but ended up with great fishing for them. None was big, and only a few bluefish were mixed in. The stripers were hooked on jigs and rubber shads, mostly deep or 35 to 40 feet down, and none was hooked along the surface. An individual-reservation trip for stripers is full on Tuesday, but openings are available on another one of the trips on Thursday. Space available on individual-reservation trips for blackfish this month are on November 20 and 30. The blackfish trips will sail every Sunday, Tuesday and Friday in December. Charters are available daily. <b>***Update, Tuesday, 11/11:***</b> Stripers weren’t big, but fishing for them was good on Monday on Dennis Martin’s charter, Ralph wrote in an email. The trip also dropped for blackfish, and the season’s first blackfish was bagged on the boat. <b>***Update, Wednesday, 11/12:***</b> Only 20 to 30 throwback stripers and one keeper were totaled on Tuesday’s trip, Ralph wrote in an email. “Hero or goat – today we were the goat,” he said. The trip fished where the boat did on the previous two days. Made a wrong turn – that’s striper fishing, he said. Buddies elsewhere nailed the fish, good catches. Will re-group and catch them Thursday, he said. Space is available that day. Also, an individual-reservation blackfish trip was added for this coming Tuesday.

<b>Belmar</b>

Four keeper striped bass and a bunch of blues 10 or 12 pounds were trolled on the ocean near Seaside on Wednesday with <b>XTC Sportfishing</b> on spoons, Capt. Scott said. On Saturday aboard, a couple of keeper stripers, probably 20 or 25 throwbacks and some 6- to 8-pound blues were trolled. That was on the ocean from the Highlands Bridge to Sandy Hook Point on rubber-shad and tube umbrella rigs. More striper trips will fish Tuesday and Wednesday, if weather allows. Dates remain for striper or blackfish charters. Blackfishing will begin when the bag limit is increased to six of the tautog on Sunday, from the current limit of one. XTC will still fish for tuna offshore this season, if trips get weather for that. 

After striped bass fishing was slow on Sunday aboard, the trip switched to sea bass fishing on the <b>Katie H</b>, Capt. Mike said. Striper fishing was slow for the whole fleet, a huge one. Blues were hooked on the boat during the striper fishing. But the sea bass fishing ended up decent. At first, a few places were tried for sea bass closer to shore. Dog sharks bit two or three at a time. So the trip pushed deeper, and sea bass were reeled in, and not many dogs were. Some of the other boats were there that also switched from striper fishing. The boat will keep fishing for stripers and sea bass. Blackfishing aboard will begin once the blackfish bag limit is increased to six starting on Sunday, from the current limit of one. Offshore tuna fishing was disappointing for the crew this season, because of weather. Nine or 10 of the trips had to be cancelled, because of wind and seas. That was too bad, because tuna were there.

Lots of bluefish, as many as anglers could want, schooled the ocean during trips Saturday and Sunday with <b>Parker Pete’s Fishing Charters</b>, Capt. Pete said. No trips fished aboard Thursday and Friday, after Thursday’s storm. Tons of small stripers, real small, swam the water during the weekend. Rainfish schooled, and bunker couldn’t be found. Pete has to imagine, he said, that fishing for large stripers will rebound in the next day or two, now that the moon is no longer full. Trips previously knocked off large stripers that chased bunker schools, catching the bass on bunker snagged and then livelined for bait. But at least the blues were around for trips to mug during the weekend. Parker Pete’s jigged big blues to 17 pounds. The small stripers bit trolled rubber-shad umbrella rigs, sometimes jigs. The ocean was 54 or 55 degrees on Sunday, and the schedule aboard is mostly filled with striper trips this month. A blackfish trip is booked for Sunday, when the bag limit will be raised to six of the tautog, from the current limit of one. Plenty of dates are available for blackfishing in December. Don’t have enough anglers for a charter? Jump on <a href=" http://www.parkerpetefishing.com/" target="_blank">Parker Pete’s website</a> to subscribe to the emailed newsletter to be kept informed about last-minute, individual spaces available to fill in charters. Look for the place to sign up on the right side of the page.

Striped bass had “lockjaw” during the weekend, Bob from <b>Fisherman’s Den</b> wrote in an email. One of the boaters fishing for stripers, Larry Fisherman on the G-Man from Neptune, defied the odds, trolling a 29-pounder at the Shrewsbury Rocks. Surf anglers checked-in a few stripers to 14 pounds. “Fish hard – it might be rewarding,” Bob said. Better times are ahead, he’s sure, he said. But winter flounder fishing was terrific on Shark River. Hooking a dozen sizeable was common, and two is the bag limit, of course. The flounder – big, fat fish, Bob said – bit clams, worms and mussels. Have a great Veterans’ Day, and catch some fish, he said.
<b>***Update, Tuesday, 11/11:***</b> Short and to the point, Bob wrote in an email: Striper fishing was better on Monday, he said. Boaters had fair fishing for smaller stripers and big blues on the ocean. The stripers were jigged, and surf fishing for stripers also improved, but was still better at night. Boaters who bottom-fished on the ocean still rounded up sea bass, but looked forward to blackfishing starting Sunday, when the bag limit will be pulled up to six of the tautog, from the current limit of one. Shark River’s flounder fishing remained great. 

At times, fishing was super, astounding, for striped bass and blues today, on the ocean to the north, on the party boat <b>Miss Belmar Princess</b>, an email from the vessel said. Rick Vescovie won the pool with a 25-pound striper, and the blues weighed 6 to 12 pounds. “Numerous anglers limited out,” the email said. Ava 47 jigs, with and without tails, and silver or gold Krocodile spoons caught best. During the weekend’s trips, blues and lots of throwback stripers, a few keepers, were belted on the ocean to the north. Good shots of the fish turned up on some drifts, and anglers picked way. Kevin Morley won Sunday’s pool with a 25-pound striper, and the blues were 4 to 10 pounds.  The Miss Belmar Princess is sailing for striped bass and bluefish 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily. Veterans will receive a fare of $40, including a rod and reel, on Veterans’ Day on Tuesday, a $27 discount.

Some customers reeled up as many as eight striped bass on Sunday on the party boat <b>Golden Eagle</b>, but catching a keeper was difficult, a report on the vessel’s website said. Big blues were also pulled in, but fishing for them was better on Saturday’s trip. On Saturday’s trip, a combo of keeper stripers, throwbacks and big blues were clubbed. Every drift banged away at the fish, and sometimes 15 were hooked at once. Sometimes one or two were. On Friday, wind blew fiercely, a little tough for striper fishing, and that didn’t help. But lots of stripers were marked, and stripers were seen rolling on the surface, “but getting them to bite was another story,” the report said. The crew figured that when the moon was no longer full, the angling should pick up. That was because plenty of stripers were around, and the angling was a matter of when they wanted to bite. The Golden Eagle is fishing for striped bass 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 or 3 p.m. every Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday and on Striperthons 6 a.m. to 3:30 or 4 p.m. every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Offshore wreck-fishing trips will sail every Friday night in December for giant sea bass, porgies and cod, and don’t forget to reserve them.

<b>Brielle</b>

On the party boat <b>Jamaica II</b>, sea bass and porgy fishing was good most of the week, an email from the vessel said. The angling was slow on Friday, because of strong wind,  but on Saturday, catches included limits of sea bass to 3 ½ and 4 pounds for Ezra King from Baltimore and Jerry Washington from Gaithersburg, Md., respectively. Anthony Robinson from Maryland also scored well on sea bass on the trip. Seven-, 10-, 12- and 14-hour trips are fishing. The 14-hour Marathon Trips are sailing every Saturday.

Two main bodies of striped bass that were boated seemed to school the ocean, and fishing for them was pretty darn good, and was best at first light and in late afternoon, said Eric from <b>The Reel Seat</b>. One body held from the Shrewsbury Rocks to Sandy Hook, and the other toward Seaside and Island Beach State Park. The bass were trolled on bunker spoons, and white worked best. But somewhat smaller stripers were trolled on umbrella rigs with rubber shads. Livelining bunker for the bass wasn’t as good as previously, probably because the fish were smaller than before. The big ones weighed 20 or 25 pounds, and many of the keepers were smaller or 32 or 34 inches. Boating for bluefish to 12 or 13 pounds was good on the ocean, and the blues could be trolled. But if boaters jigged for the blues at marks, they could catch all day. In the surf, fishing for stripers was great, mostly at night and in early morning, and a large spread of the fish seemed to swim from Sandy Hook to Island Beach. Eric banked the bass, throwbacks, but catches, at Mantoloking every night, on Daiwa SP Minnows and 5-inch Tsunami shads. During daytime, sometimes peanut bunker schooled the surf. Then stripers were beached in the middle of the day, or in late afternoon, on popper lures and metal. Bluefish hit the surf at Sandy Hook, but not many did locally. That could change any moment, because blues schooled the ocean close to shore. Blackfishing held up in Point Pleasant Canal and along inlets. Not a lot were keepers, but the tautog were hooked. Stripers were sometimes reeled from Manasquan Inlet. Plenty of blackfish seemed to swim the inshore ocean, and boating for them should be decent, when the bag limit is raised to six of the slipperies starting Sunday, from the current limit of one. Sea bass, porgies and sometimes cod were cranked from wrecks in about 120 feet. Farther from shore, party boats picked away at longfin tuna and yellowfin tuna at Hudson Canyon, usually on the chunk in early morning and late afternoon. Not much seemed to happen with big-game fishing at mid-range.

<b>Point Pleasant Beach</b>

<b>Mushin Sportfishing</b> fished for striped bass on several trips in the past week, Capt. Alan wrote in an email. The fish were marked heavily, in the ocean north and south of Manasquan Inlet. At times, the bass were seen rolling on top, “and under birds,” he said. A huge body of stripers definitely swam the coast.  Stripers didn’t cooperate on a trip Wednesday, so the trip fished wrecks at the Mudhole. The boat limited out on sea bass to 5 pounds and caught large porgies and some cod to 18 pounds “to fill the cooler,” he said. On a trip Friday, stripers and blues were trolled, “but it was not what we expected, given the readings,” he said. The trip attempted to jig stripers, but the fish refused to bite. That was frustrating, when stripers could be seen along the surface and were marked. Stripers were more cooperative on a trip Saturday, but were 25- to 27-inch throwbacks. They bit trolled, small tubes, and red caught best. Blues were also hooked. Trips aboard will focus on stripers this month, and will target blackfish, once the bag limit is lifted to six of the tautog starting on Sunday, from the current limit of one. Mushin means a relaxed state of readiness.

<b>***Update, Tuesday, 11/11:***</b> Fishing was tough during the weekend, and boat traffic was heavy, and maybe that spooked the fish, said Capt. Bob from the party boat <b>Gambler</b>. But angling was better on Monday, and big bluefish, a good number, were plowed, and a few striped bass, only a couple of keepers, were hooked. On today’s trip, lots of fish were marked, but fishing was slow again. Stripers and bait are definitely there in the ocean. Fishing for the bass is just a matter of when they decide to bite or whatever it is that turns them on. The Gambler is fishing for striped bass 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily. Offshore trips for jumbo sea bass, reservations required, are set for 3 a.m. to 6 or 7 p.m. December 20, 21, 26 through 28 and 30 and 31.

A shot of sea bass would bite a few minutes at each stop on Saturday on the party boat <b>Norma-K III</b>, Capt. Matt wrote on the vessel’s website site. Then the angling would drop off, and a few cod were also hung on the trip. But fishing was a big improvement on Sunday’s trip. Most of the places fished turned out good sea bassing, and a few porgies were bucketed. The high hook limited out on sea bass, and most anglers bagged five to 10 sea bass, and a 10-pound cod was the pool-winner. The season’s first Magic Hour Ling and Cod trip sailed on Saturday night, and current ran strongly, and 16 ounces of weighed needed to be fished, just to reach bottom. The trip wound up fishing shallower water, picking at ling, sea bass and a few blues, and a cod won the pool. The fishing was generally slow in the conditions. The Norma-K III is fishing for sea bass 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily. The trips will switch to blackfishing starting on Sunday, when the bag limit will be pushed up to six of the tautog, from the current limit of one. Magic Hour Ling and Cod Trips are sailing 3 to 9 p.m. every Saturday.

<b>Seaside Heights</b>

Surf fishing for striped bass slowed a bit, after the angling was hot previously, John from <b>The Dock Outfitters</b> wrote in a report on the shop’s website on Sunday. Plenty of bait remained in the water, including peanut bunker, adult bunker and clouds of rainfish. Matching the hatch could be important. The bass could key in on one size and action of baitfish, and ignore all others. That could make lure selection important. But when anglers came up with the right lure to match, and presented the lure the right way, fish on! he said. Schools of blues, slammers to 10 pounds and larger, were mixed with stripers chasing bunker in the surf on Thursday. The Dock Outfitters, located on Barnegat Bay, blocks from the ocean surf, features a bait and tackle shop, boat and jet ski rentals in season, a café and a dock for fishing and crabbing.

<b>Barnegat Light</b>

Striped bass, but fewer than last week, were boated from the ocean Saturday and Sunday on the <b>Super Chic</b>, Capt. Ted said. That seemed because of a tremendous amount of boat traffic. The traffic was worse on Saturday than on Sunday, but was bad on both days. Keepers to 18 or 19 pounds and throwbacks were taken on livelined spots on both trips. Livelined eels were also tried, and the trips last week caught on both livelined spots and eels. Bunker still schooled the ocean on the weekend’s trips. One 13-year-old angler on Sunday’s trip totaled a keeper, winning the pool, and three throwbacks. The next striper charter will sail on Tuesday. Blackfish trips will sail once the bag limit is jacked up to six of the tautog starting on Sunday, from the current limit of one.

Big schools of fish were seen on Friday and Saturday, but not many of the fish bit, a report on the party boat <b>Miss Barnegat Light</b>’s website said. The vessel is jigging for striped bass and blues on Fridays through Sundays. On Sunday’s trip, not many fish were found. The masses were out fishing this weekend, so maybe boat traffic affected the angling. Trips aboard were also supposed to fish today and Tuesday, and the crew hoped that less traffic would help the fish “school up and feed,” the report said. The Miss Barnegat Light is jigging for striped bass and blues 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. every Friday through Sunday.

<b>Barnegat</b>

<b>***Update, Tuesday, 11/11:***</b> From an edited email from Capt. Dave DeGennaro from the <b>Hi Flier</b>: “Not a good weekend … but the bite is back on now. We sailed Friday through Sunday this past weekend. It blew a gale NW on Friday afternoon, so we stayed close to the inlet (Manasquan), and hammered away at 10- to 15-pound bluefish on the bunker spoons. No bass in the mix. On Saturday, we ran down to Ortley, Lavallette, Island Beach … nothing. I was networked with five different captains from the Shrewsbury Rocks to Beach Haven, and between the six of us, we didn't have a fish in the cooler. The radio echoed the same sentiment all day long. I even tried trolling the same area where I had been catching those gator blues for a week by the inlet, and not a touch. The writing was on the wall. One last ditch effort – we tried the live bait in the inlet, and caught 15 bass in seven drifts. The first drift was a triple, and the next six drifts were all doubleheaders. All the fish were 22 to 26 inches, except the last fish of the day. That was a 29-inch fish with nice girth, a 10 pounder, to save the day, and mess up that nice, clean ice in our cooler. Fast forward to Sunday: More nothingness all morning. But ‘no worries,’ I told my guys. ‘I had a sure thing for Plan B.’ Yeah ... 2 hours on the exact same tide produced not even a runoff, where we caught all those shorts, just 24 hours earlier. Back to the dock with a zero. Apparently the bite is back on, though. I received multiple calls from friends who were out Monday and today. Lots of 12- to 25-pound fish on live bunker. Anywhere from Point Pleasant down to Island Beach. From 10 to 60 feet of water. Could be that just getting a few days off that full moon was all the difference. Our neighbors to the north still have big blues and bass, and now these good-size bass and bunker – (the ones) we thought breezed through – are either back, or a new batch invaded. Who cares which? I'm not big on theories. I just want to catch them. Running open-boat 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday and Friday. Three people max. All fish are shared. Best to call or text. Also available 6 a.m. to 12 noon Sunday and Monday for charter or open-boat. Same details as above.”

<b>Brigantine</b>

<a href="http://riptidebaitandtackle.com/articles.php?category_id=6" target="_blank">Click here</a> for a report from <b>Riptide Bait & Tackle</b>.

<b>Longport</b>

A final coat of paint was applied Sunday on the <b>Stray Cat</b>, and the boat will resume fishing on Wednesday at the latest, Capt. Mike said. He took advantage of a moment to paint the vessel, and trips will fish for striped bass and, starting Sunday, blackfish. The blackfish bag limit will be lifted to six starting Sunday, compared with one currently. Stripers had been caught on the ocean, though the fishing wasn’t so good on Sunday. On Friday and Saturday, lots of bait schooled, and birds worked the bait, and whales swam. On Sunday, in no wind, the fishing didn’t go well. Mike heard from a couple of boats that struck out. But 17- to 20-pound stripers were boated on Friday and Saturday. Stripers are moving fast, migrating along the coast. Charters and open-boat trips are fishing, including open trips on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays, when no charter is booked, and telephone for the schedule. Open trips include one on November 26, the day before Thanksgiving. A special open trip will fish 8 a.m. to 12 noon on Thanksgiving Day, for only $29.95 per angler. A few sea bass are also biting in the deep in 100 or 140 feet.

<b>Ocean City</b>

Sea bass fishing was really good on Saturday on the party boat <b>Miss Ocean City</b>, Capt. Victor said. Pretty much all sea bass, no other fish, bit, and no trip fished on Sunday. Open-boat trips are fishing the ocean every Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, unless a group wants to sail on another day. Groups of 10 or more receive a discount.

<b>Sea Isle City</b>

Boaters sometimes decked striped bass from the ocean this weekend, said Capt. Joe Hughes from <b>Jersey Cape Guide Service</b> and <b>Sea Isle Bait & Tackle</b>. Some of the bass were big, up to 50 pounds. The stripers were spread out, and catches were sporadic. A trip aboard Saturday with Patrick Milliken and friends trolled for stripers on the ocean but hooked none. So the trip wreck-fished, landing a bunch of sea bass, blackfish and spiny dog sharks. A trip aboard Sunday, with Mark and Dominic Lescue, ended up wreck-fishing, landing a bunch of large blackfish, and spiny dogs. The ocean was 53 degrees, and no confirmed reports were heard about bluefish caught in the ocean. The trips wreck-fished within 5 miles from the coast. Stripers, smaller, younger ones, yet to migrate, bit in the back bay. Jersey Cape’s had good fishing for them recently. Annual traveling charters to the Florida Keys will fish from Christmas to Easter, mostly on weekends. The trips can be a mini, fish-filled vacation. 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>Avalon</b>

A customer is on standby to take the season’s first Cast and Blast Trip on Delaware Bay with <b>Fins and Feathers Outfitters</b>, Capt. Jim said. That’s a combo of striped bass fishing and duck hunting on Delaware 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 today, 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, and offers the hunting from Delaware Bay to surrounding states throughout the waterfowl seasons. Fins offers a variety of outdoor adventures that also include salmon and steelhead fishing on upstate New York’s Salmon River from Jim’s lodge, and fly-fishing for trout on Pennsylvania’s streams like the Yellow Breeches. 

<b>Cape May</b>

Fishing for striped bass was no good on Delaware Bay on 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, covered in the previous report. 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 Delaware 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. Sea bass fishing was good on the ocean. 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.

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